Cranberry Martini

Congratulations! We have survived Thanksgiving and Black Friday! Tons of delicious turkey, stuffing, pies, and countless calories later I am now stressing about preparing for Christmas.

I get the honor of preparing that massive quantity of cookies that my Grandmother used to make. I went to the grocery and after an hour of battling the crowds, I reappeared with 25 pounds of flour, 25 pounds of sugar, an assortment of nuts, sprinkles, baking chocolate and 10 pounds of butter. We won't discuss the eggs. That was a nightmare. A very distracted mother was allowing her young child WALK on the eggs. I'll go back for eggs another day. Once I've got my cooking baking game plan figured out. Look out for all the delicious recipes that will follow!

While I work on that game plan, I will be sipping on one of my favorite holiday drinks. A delicious Cranberry Martini.

Vanilla Bean Latte, a great copycat of Starbucks Vanilla Latte, and healthier for you too!

I spent my day walking around a gigantic mall, attempting to finish up my holiday shopping before the masses get turned loose into the public. One thing about gigantic malls is that they are filled with multiple Starbucks and a Teavana thrown in for good measure. While not a fan of over-priced, high calorie drinks, I ♥LOVE♥ the smell of coffee. It's just magical.

I resisted the urge to stop in and buy one of those crazy expensive drinks, but now that I am home and am breaking out the Starbucks coffee grounds (reserved around here for limited occasions as I am not a fan but once in a while you need that super strong coffee to make a perfect drink!)

Salted Caramel Chai Tea Latte

They say that wisdom comes with age. At 31 I still do not feel wise enough to make life altering decisions on my own.

The biggest decision I feel confident in making today is adding salted caramel and steamed milk to my chai tea. This was an amazing decision, by the way. Sweet. Salty. Creamy. Smooth. Foamy. Absolute Bliss. Oh yeah, and crazy simple if you have the caramel sauce already on hand.

Mulled Apple Cider

I grew up in Winchester, Va. The home of everything apple on the Eastern side of the country. There is the huge Apple Blossom Festival in the late spring. White House Foods is based there. I grew up going to Richard's Fruit Market to buy local apples. I still remember their huge pot over the fire in the back where they were busy cooking down their delicious apple butter. My best memory was of buying fresh cider at Virginia Farm Market, where they always had free samples of the mulled cider.

Over the years since having moved from Winchester, I have tried countless recipes for mulled cider, wanting to find the perfect combination that brought back those fond childhood memories.

Perfect Creamy Hot Chocolate

After making marshmallows last week, I have been dying for an opportunity to make some hot chocolate. Tonight is one of those perfect evenings that just screams for a over sized blanket, the porch swing, a good book, and a steaming cup of hot chocolate. 

This is the perfect way to unwind after a crazy day at work. Some days I love my job as a preschool teacher. Other days, much like today, I come home wondering how did he manage to stick that there? 

Any great hot chocolate needs to start with a delicious chocolate syrup. I prefer to make my own. I made up a small batch, just enough for two cups of hot chocolate. It's simple and takes less than 5 minutes. There is no reason not to make your own. 

Pumpkin Spice Latte

I walked into work on September 4th and over half my coworkers were carrying around Starbucks coffee cups, sipping on a pumpkin spice latte. I, however, refuse to indulge in a "fall treat" when it is 79 degrees outside and not a single leaf has fallen from the trees. Maybe if I still lived in Ohio where it was in the 50's a few weeks ago I'd have indulged in this wonderful treat, wait...no I wouldn't. I am just not a fan of Starbucks. I have never acquired a taste for their coffee in general. Also, I am poor, I cannot afford $5 drinks. I am much happier making my own coffee drinks. Plus I know exactly what goes into it. 

Cinnamon Caramel Macchiato

I might be a morning person but I still NEED my coffee fix to face the day. Especially when I wake up an hour before my alarm goes off.

I also live in a town that does NOT have a Starbucks! It's probably better that it's not around, I really don't need to be spending $5+ on my morning addiction each day.

Since there is no Starbucks near by, I typically make my own coffee creations using my wonderful Keurig Single Serve Coffee Maker.

I buy the Starbucks Espresso Roast coffee at Wal-mart. I have one of those reusable coffee filters for my Keurig (because I'm too cheap to spend $0.75 per cup...although I do get them when I have good coupons!)