Harvest Sangria

We are not big drinkers at all around here, but I wanted to make something special for our Thanksgiving dinner. (Not to mention I was afraid I needed something "special" to survive cooking my first Thanksgiving dinner!) My husband and I both like sangria (probably because it doesn't taste like alcohol,) so I concocted a new little recipe!

Here's how I made it,

1 bottle of Chardonnay (I used 2 buck Chuck, of course.)
1/2 cup of Triple Sec
1/4 cup Vodka
16 oz of apple cider (or more or less to taste)
1 apple, sliced
1 pear, sliced
1 orange, sliced
3 whole cloves
2 cinnamon sticks
A splash of club soda

Yesterday, I mixed everything but the apple cider together. I stirred it several times over the course of the day, and I let it sit in the fridge overnight. This morning, while I was making everything else, I added the apple cider. I also fished out the pears, cinnamon sticks and cloves, and I rimmed our glasses with cinnamon and sugar. When it was time to eat, I topped our glasses off with a little bit of club soda! So delicious, and the apple slices are absolutely a treat! YUM!

Poor Man's Mocha

Since my husband's layoff, he's been suffering from Starbucks withdrawal. He's not a complete addict, but he sure loves Starbucks as an all too frequent special treat with his own spending money. Since there isn't any spending money in our new (hopefully short term) budget, I helped him come up with a Starbucks replacement. I saw this recipe on Hungry Girl and adapted it in to a slightly more frugal version with items we already had around the house. He thinks it's a win, so it must be good!

 Ingredients,

12 oz milk
1 tablespoon of instant coffee
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
2 teaspoons of chocolate malt powder
Sugar to taste (I used vanilla.)

Dissolve powders in 1 oz of hot water. Stir or shake with milk and serve over ice. (I didn't have any, so we shook it in an iced stainless steel drink shaker.)