Grocery Cart Challenge

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Homemade Frappuccino

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(pictured: Chocolate Dulce de Leche Frappuccino)
After reading about all the “wonderful” ingredients that Starbucks so lovingly puts into their drinks, I thought that I would share my recipe for a homemade Frappuccino, which is wonderful to whip up on a hot summer day, but could easily be enjoyed year round.  This could probably be easily adapted to create any number of flavors that you can dream up!  Please note that, since we are eating whole/real foods, the ingredients we use are as natural as we can get, which is why I’ve used whole milk & heavy whipping cream.  I also make my own sweetened condensed milk from whole milk & sugar.  (Be sure to check out Kitchen Stewardship for lots of great recipes!)

Homemade Dulce de Leche Frappuccino

  • 1 cup strong coffee
  • 2 cup ice
  • 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 1/2 cup whole milk
  • 2 Tbs Turbinado sugar (or to taste)
  • 2 Tbs Dulce de Leche (caramel can be substituted)

Place all ingredients in blender & blend on medium speed until mixed well.   Pour into glass, topping with whipped cream & drizzled Dulce de Leche if desired, & enjoy! 

Makes approx. 4 (8 oz.) servings

*Chocolate is a nice addition to this drink – just add a little to the mix prior to blending & continue as instructed.
*Milks & sugar can be adjusted to taste.

*How to make Dulce de Leche:  You need 1 can of sweetened condensed milk.  Open can & pour into glass jar, cover with lid.  Place jar is saucepan with just enough water to cover the contents of the jar + about 1/2-inch.  The whole jar does not need to be submerged.  Place over medium high heat until the water begins to boil.  Loosely cover & turn heat down to maintain a good simmer. (Lid can sit on top of jar without touching pan.)   Cook until condensed milk becomes a medium caramel color. 

**The darker the color, the thicker, more caramel-like it will be. 

I haven’t done a lot of experimenting yet, but I can foresee many different flavor possibilities in the future! 

This post is linked with:

Foodie Friday
GCC Recipe Swap
Ultimate Recipe Swap
Comfy In The Kitchen
Foodie Friends Friday
The Peaceful Mom (Show & Tell Saturday)
Homemaker By Choice
Farmgirl Friday Blog Hop

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Cloud-Like Pancakes

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I don’t know about your family, but mine loves pancakes. For the first few years of my marriage, I used to buy the premixed kind the you “just add water and shake”. But, when I started really getting into frugality several years ago, I started to really learn how to cook, and one of the things I wanted to make was pancakes from scratch. I tried several recipes, but none really said “these are the ones I want to make for my family”, know what I mean? That is, until I found this one on Frugal Families. These pancakes are light and fluffy and always turn out. Sometimes they might not rise as well as others (maybe somebody added too much liquid?), but they always taste really good, AND the freeze well! I love to keep these on hand in the freezer, especially during the school year. They make for a quick “grab-n-go” breakfast. I hope you enjoy them as much as my family does!

Cloud-Like Pancakes

1 c. white flour
2 Tbs sugar
2 Tbs baking powder (yes this is tablespoons)
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg
2 Tbs oil
3/4 c. milk (I usually use buttermilk)

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Combine dry ingredients. Add egg, oil and milk. Batter will be bubbly and foamy.

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Scoop/pour batter onto hot griddle/skillet.

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Cook until edges are dry and center is set, then turn.

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Cook until done. Enjoy with any/all of your favorite toppings!

** Recipe doubles nicely!**

This post is linked to:

Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap
Foodie Friday
Friday Feasts
Food On Fridays
Family Recipe Fridays
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July Grocery Shopping – Weeks 3 & 4

My grocery budget for the month of July is $300. So far, I’ve spent $182.44. I did not have to go shopping the week of July 13th, so that really helped me to stretch my grocery budget!

Here’s what I got last week and over the weekend (sorry – no photos this week).

Sam’s Club:

50 lb sugar
5 lb shredded mozzarella cheese
5 lb shredded mild cheddar cheese

Piggly Wiggly:

1 box gallon storage bags
2 (12 oz) bags white baking chips
1 bottle orange extract
4 pieces of candy

Wal-Mart:

5 lb container Country Time Lemonade
2 lb butter
3 (5 oz) boxes Jell-O
4 (2.5 oz) boxes Jell-O
5 Totino pizzas
4 gal. Green Tea
4 gal. Milk

Total (w/ tax): $99.73

Total for the month of July: $282.17

Total left in budget: $17.83

I do still need to get potatoes, but it shouldn’t be too much.

**UPDATE: Brian picked up 20 lbs of potatoes at the store for me last night and spent $6.45.

New total for the month: $ 288.62

New total left in budget: $11.38

Not bad!!

Don’t forget to check out The Grocery Cart Challenge to see how everyone has done this week!