Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothie

My new lifestyle doesn't allow for much refined sugar if it isn't balanced with protein and fiber. So, imagine my delight when I came up with this dessert recipe. It satisfies my sweet tooth but supports my system with what I need to live.

Pick N Save is helping me out with milk on sale and I am pairing it with coupons and coming up with the tastiest money saving around! It is normally $3.15. and I got it for $1.99/lb. to make my featured recipe today.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothie

Ingredients:
1/2 cups Milk
1/4  cup Peanut butter
1 tbs unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups ice
1 Tbs honey
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup Greek Yogurt, plain

Directions:
1. Combine all ingredients in a blender run until ice is crushed and mixture is smooth.

Servings: 4

Cooking Times
Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes

Nutrition Facts
Serving size: 1/4 of a recipe (5.4 ounces).
Percent daily values based on custom values.
Nutrition information calculated from recipe ingredients.

Amount Per Serving
Calories 260.08
Calories From Fat (33%) 85.49
% Daily Value
Total Fat 10.16g 17%
Saturated Fat 2.53g 23%
Cholesterol 6.19mg 3%
Sodium 124.01mg 5%
Potassium 718.81mg 21%
Total Carbohydrates 36.91g 17%
Fiber 11.6g 39%
Sugar 9.99g
Protein 15.04g 24%

Source
Author: Susan Ewing

Recipe Cost: $2.81 ($2.77 on sale)
Serving Cost: $0.70 ($0.69 on sale)

Search for Coupons

I am posting this menu plan along with I'm an Organizing Junkie and $5 Dinners .

Peppermint Latte

My Peppermint Latte is one shot of espresso with peppermint syrup and steamed milk topped with milk foam.


I got an espresso maker for Christmas:


So, I put myself through barista school:-) Learned the difference between a latte (with milk and a little foam) and a cappuccino (a lot of foam and a little milk) and a macchiato (espresso on top of milk). I also made some flavored syrups to go in them and my favorite for this season is peppermint.
So, here is my recipe for Peppermint Latte. Enjoy:-)


Peppermint LatteIngredients:
1 shot espresso
1 tbs Peppermint Syrup (See Recipe Below)
3.5 oz milk, to steam and foam
1 Candy Cane (for garnish, if desired)

Directions:
1. First, make the peppermint syrup (see recipe below).

2. Next, brew the espresso per your manufacturer instructions. Pour 1 oz into your coffee mug.

3. Add 1 tablespoon of the syrup to the espresso.

4. Steam and foam milk per your manufacturer instructions. Add the milk to the espresso mixture and top with foam.

5. Garnish with a candy cane and enjoy.

Servings: 1

Cooking Times
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes

Nutrition Facts
Serving size: Entire recipe (6 ounces).
Percent daily values based on the Reference Daily Intake (RDI) for a 2000 calorie diet.
Nutrition information calculated from recipe ingredients. One of the recipe's ingredients was not linked. This ingredient is not included in the recipe nutrition data.

Amount Per Serving
Calories 132.59
Calories From Fat (15%) 19.53
% Daily Value
Total Fat 2.16g 3%
Saturated Fat 1.37g 7%
Cholesterol 8.54mg 3%
Sodium 48.24mg 2%
Potassium 195.65mg 6%
Total Carbohydrates 25.05g 8%
Fiber 0g 0%
Sugar 25.44g
Protein 3.56g 7%

Recipe Type
Christmas, Drinks

Source
Author: Susan Ewing

Recipe Cost: $1.37 (And how much do you pay Starbucks????)

Peppermint Syrup
Ingredients:
1 cup water
2 cups sugar
2 tsp peppermint extract

Directions:
Make the peppermint syrup by dissolving the sugar in water over medium heat. Bring to a boil and turn off flame. Add peppermint extract and let slightly cool. Pour into glass jars and enjoy in your beverage. Refrigerate the leftovers up to 30 days.

Servings: 20

Cooking Times
Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes

Source
Author: Susan Ewing


This is definitely a happy Tackle It Tuesday with 5 Minutes for Mom !

Strawberry Smoothies

Check me out over at At Work, At Play or At Home All Day talking about girlie stuff:-)
Here, I am doing more menu planning with I'm an Organizing Junkie and finding more deals at Pick N Save for $5 Dinners .

June is National Dairy Month so, milk was on sale for $1.88/gallon at Pick N Save (normally, $2.59/gallon)!! I picked up a couple extra gallons and made my Strawberry Smoothies. Check it all out below:-)

Here is what I am serving this week:

Monday: Semi-Homemade Spaghetti

Tuesday: Bourbon Chicken

Wednesday: Honey Dijon Pork Loin Roast

Thursday: Leftover Buffet

Friday: Eat Out
Strawberry SmoothiesServes 4
Ingredients:
1 cup Strawberries, chopped
1/2 cup milk
1 cup yogurt
1 cup ice cubes

Directions:
1. Blend all ingredients in a blender until smooth.

2. Enjoy:-)

Nutrition (calculated from recipe ingredients)
----------------------------------------------
Calories: 113.41
Calories From Fat: 19.65
Total Fat: 2.23g
Saturated Fat: 1.15g
Cholesterol: 5.90mg
Sodium: 61.21mg Potassium: 483.70mg
Total Carbohydrates: 21.06mg
Fiber: 5.92g
Protein: 6.36g

Recipe Author: Susan Ewing

Recipe: $2.08
Serving: $0.52

Appletini

What a week!! I have been working hard on my cookbook but, I have so many recipes! It's hard to narrow it down and get everything done. Especially since I am doing it part-time. I need one of these:

Poker night tomorrow. Maybe I will have one then:-) Happy Weekend!

Pumpkin Pie Cocktails

The best way to start a Thanksgiving celebration is with a great cocktail. Mine tastes just like pumpkin pie, so it's like starting with dessert!

It is made with a pumpkin-infused vodka. There are many different flavored vodkas out there and if you can find a pumpkin one, that is the easiest. If not, you can infuse your own! It takes a little bit of preparation beforehand but it is soooooo worth it:-)

Pumpkin Pie Cocktail
Ingredients:
1 part Pumpkin Infused Vodka (see recipe below)
1 splash of Cointreau
Ice
Pumpkin pie spice, for garnish
1 dallop of whipped cream, for garnish
1 cinnamon stick, for garnish

Directions:
1. Swirl Cointreau in a martini glass and then dump out.

2. If desired, rim glass with pumpkin pie spice for garnish.

3. Shake Pumpkin Infused Vodka and ice and strain into the glass.

4. If desired, garnish with a dallop of whipped cream and a cinnamon stick.

Serves: 1

Pumpkin Infused Vodka
Ingredients:
1 can (10 oz) pumpkin puree
1 quart vodka
1 tbls vanilla
1 tbls nutmeg

Directions:
1. Combine all ingredients in a 1 1/2 quart mason jar. Seal the jar and let stand 4 days or up to 3 months. Shake the jar every couple of days for even infusion.

2. When the infusion period is over, strain the vodka through cheesecloth into a 1 quart jar. Your infusion is now ready to serve.

Pomegranate Mango Champagne Cocktail

I am adding a new feature to my blog. After entertaining or contributing food or drink to a party, I will write about what went right and/or what went wrong and what I would never do again and/or what I would totally do every time. Since I just threw a party this weekend, I will start with that.

As I mentioned in my previous, the 20th high school reunion party went really well but, there is always room for improvement. One area is my bar tending skills. I made Pomegranate Mango Champagne Cocktails however, I made a huge mess making them and they were kind of pusty. So, in the future, I am going to serve them as a toasting beverage and then offer lower maintenance beverages for the remainder of the party.

Another goal I have is to publish at least one new recipe a week (Thanks Sydney for the inspiration on that one:-). So here is the recipe for the Pomegranate Mango Champagne Cocktail that I served this weekend:

Ingredients:
1 glass of your favorite champagne or sparkling wine
1 oz of pomegranate juice
splash of Rose's Cocktail Infusions Mango Twist Mix or any Mango liquor

Directions:
1. Pour champagne into a champagne flute.
2. Add pomegranate juice and the Mango Mix.
3. Garnish with fruit skewers as desired and enjoy.