I just remembered a little something I was going to share in the blog yesterday.
If you've been reading this blog from the early days, you may remember that I discovered that pancake syrup is easy to make. Brown sugar, water, heat until boiling, add a bit of vanilla flavor if you like - simple! I will never buy pancake syrup again!
Well, I have now discovered that flavored coffee creamer is really rather easy! A friend of mine down here got herself hooked on French Vanilla coffee creamer, and then bought me some for our anniversary and got me craving it too! But, it's REALLY expensive to buy it close by to where we live. And then the one store that does sell it, didn't have any more.
So, I thought, let's look online! 1 can of condensed milk, 1 1/2 cups of milk and some vanilla flavoring and voila, we have ourselves coffee creamer!!! AMAZING!!!
So, I was wondering what things have you discovered that are actually rather easy to make instead of buying? Especially if you've moved somewhere and can't get your favorite things anymore, or cheaply enough. Please share in the comments if you have any.
Now if only I could figure out how to make peanut M&M's...
I started baking bread when we were in Mexico. It was either a tortilla or Pan Bimbo :-(. Homemade bread is not only cheap but waayyy better tasting than what you get at the store. If you use a no knead recipe it is very simple to make as well.
ReplyDeleteMy hubby makes amazing bread, but hasn't tried it since we moved into this house! I'll have to keep bugging him!! haha!
DeleteSour cream, mozzarella, Alice springs chicken ( a dish from Outback), hoisin and worcestshire sauce. No churn ice cream.... A few of my favorite things. Happy to see you still blogging. It is nice to read the larger stories.
ReplyDeleteI think I need your no churn ice cream recipe!
DeleteEnchiladas!! Specifically, the sauce.
ReplyDeleteI need to learn how to make homemade enchilada sauce. I am going to make homemade syrup now. Great idea.
DeleteI have tried this & it is great! I'm happy to have found the homemade version on Pinterest. Below is an edited recipe from Pinterest. My comments are in all caps. Starbucks cider - for those cold winter days of 70 degrees!
ReplyDeleteHave you ever tried the Caramel Apple Cider at Starbucks? It is really yummy.
The thing with the Caramel Apple Cider is that it is a little pricey - $3.25 for a tall size drink.
You can make this yourself at home pretty easily with just 4 ingredients. And even better you can customize it to exactly your tastes. The Starbucks version is a little too sweet for me so I actually prefer to make it at home.
This recipe was published by Starbucks plus I did my due diligence by hitting Starbucks up repeatedly to sample this drink side by side with what I made.
I feel pretty confident that this is almost exactly what you will find there. The only difference is that you probably don’t have the high powered machine at home to froth up the cider. So yours will be frothless but not to worry. The flavor is the same just be sure to get the cider nice and hot.
Starbucks cider
Here is what you need:
Apple Juice or Apple Cider (Tree Top is what my Starbucks uses but I don’t think it matters too much)
Caramel sauce (to drizzle on top)
Whipped Cream (store bought or I like to make my own whipped cream) (I DON'T EVEN BOTHER WITH THIS - STILL YUMMY!)
Cinnamon Dulce Syrup from Starbucks (recipe below if you don’t have this or don’t want to buy it)
So you just want to add those things into a cup- the trick is to get the cider super hot so a microwave is fine or I use the stove top.
Start by adding 6 tablespoons of Cinnamon Dulce Syrup to the bottom of a mug or a saucepan. (INONLY USE 3 CUZ IT'S SWEET ENOUGH!)
Next add 12oz of Apple Juice or Apple Cider. Heat on medium until nice and hot (not quite boiling) and pour into a mug. (In the micro this is roughly 2 minutes)
Top with whipped cream and then drizzle a layer of caramel syrup on top.
YUM!
The Cinnamon Dulce syrup is sold in 1 L containers at my Starbucks for $13. Expensive but seriously that will last you ages and ages.
homemade Cinnamon Dulce syrup
Since the flavor of Cinnamon Dulce is basically a cinnamon simple syrup, you can also make it yourself:
Add 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1/2 cup white sugar to a saucepan.
Add 1 cup of water and stir well. Bring to a slow boil and remove from heat.
Add 1 tablespoon of cinnamon and stir well.
The cinnamon won’t dissolve completely but that didn’t make a difference to me. Store in a sealed container in the fridge for a few weeks.