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Tag: Copycat

Copycat Starbucks Frappuccino
Since I moved to London a few months ago, I’ve been both blessed and cursed with the luxury of having a Starbucks right downstairs from my office. When I lived in Paris, the occasional treat of a grande white chocolate with whipped cream was just that… an occasional treat. If I was on my scooter, then it was a dangerous balancing act trying not to spill the drink precariously tucked at my feet. If I was driving, then I had to illegally — er, creatively — park and race in and out before blocking traffic, getting a ticket… or both. Now, all I have to do is head down two flights of stairs and find myself conveniently waiting in line to order my favorite drink du jour.

I know Starbucks has a lot of haters, but I can’t help it: I love the stuff. What I don’t love, though, would definitely be the hefty price tag and the tons of sugar and calories. When I realized that I’d developed a pretty much every-day habit of indulging in the stuff, I decided it was time to shake the addiction. And by that, I mean: I decided to start making it at home.

Because I like to buy lots of cool stuff ~~I don’t need~~ on Amazon, I just so happened to already have the perfect bottles to store my homemade version of these delicious drinks in. So now, I make them in advance (they keep for up to a week in the fridge) and enjoy them whenever I want, and for a fraction of the price. Fellow Starbucks addicts around the world: you’re welcome – this recipe is for you ☕️

Ingredients:
- 150 ml coffee (brewed & chilled)
- 25 ml whole milk
- 1 tablespoon simple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Whipped cream (optional)
Instructions: this one’s pretty simple, you just place all of the ingredients in your mug (or bottle if you’re making this ahead of time), add a little whipped cream when serving and enjoy!

Note: This recipe is a copycat of the bottled version of the Starbucks Frappucino, not the one they sell in their cafés (ie, made with ice!).
July 25, 2015
McMuffin copycat make-ahead breakfast sandwiches
Updated: July 12th 2015

I like to think of myself as an organized, structured and generally speaking a planner. Of course, the downside to that is that I also tend to take on way too much and then stress myself out about actually being able to finish everything on time. So I’ve had to come up with a few shortcuts to maximize my time and one tiny change has made a big difference in my daily routine: make-ahead breakfasts.

I always tell myself that I’m going to get up extra-early to make myself a big, healthy (and filling) breakfast that’ll get me through the morning, but that happens once a week (okay…once a month?) I’m not really a light breakfast kinda girl, so I definitely need something substantial first thing in the morning to get me going. These are perfect because I can make a bunch of them over the weekend, then have a healthy and filling breakfast ready to go every morning in under ten minutes.

Ingredients:
- English muffins, not toasted*
- Eggs, cooked**
- Cheddar cheese
- Turkey bacon
- Mustard, mayonnaise and ketchup, combined
Instructions:
- Place your toasted muffins face-up, then slather on the mustard-mayo-ketchup mixture.
- Next, add the egg and bacon and finish with the cheese.
- Wrap in aluminium foil until served
To reheat: warm oven to around 200degrees, then reheat for around 10 minutes or until warm.

*In my original recipe, I recommended toasting the English muffins, but this came out a bit too hard/rubbery a few times since, so I’ve been using un-toasted muffins and the result is much better and these taste a lot like real McMuffins!

**Eggs: In order to get perfectly round eggs, I bake mine for about 10 minutes at 200degrees in a muffin tin. Just spray a bit of cooking oil in them to make sure they don’t stick, and they’ll slide right out and be perfectly cooked every time.

Notes: I make these McMuffin copycat breakfast sandwiches for a Monday-Friday work week, so five at a time. If you want to make more, I would store them in the freezer if you need to keep them longer than 4-5 days!
May 26, 2015
Homemade (copycat) Totino’s Pizza rolls
Okay, so I should start this post out with a disclaimer stating that I was planning to write about a light and healthy summer version of my 30-minute black bean soup. As I was getting ready for work I was going over the recipe in my head, making sure I had all of the ingredients, and above all, thinking about the spoonfuls of crème fraiche that I was going to be dumping on top of a nice warm bowl of black bean soup after work. Alas, that recipe will have to wait because I’m yet again in need of some good ole comfort food

That’s right… my motorbike was stolen…AGAIN! The first time was annoying but I got her back more or less unharmed, but this time was definitely a down-right pain in the butt. The seat was broken, along with the rear-view mirrors and the gas tank cover…. and not surprisingly, she doesn’t start. So, Jonathan is tasked with sorting that out while I sort out Round 2 of comfort foods. For this edition, we are taking off the healthy-eating hat and putting on the “I need pizza rolls, asap!!” hat. Yet another one of my childhood favorites, I could eat these little preservative-filled artificial cheese-oozing mini-taste-nothing-like-pizza rolls every day. But I don’t, because I’m a reasonable adult (read: only because they don’t sell them in Europe).

From one pizza roll lover to another, trust me: this recipe is the real deal! No need to make your own pizza dough (though you could), and no need to cut calories by baking instead of frying (though you can!) – just good old fashioned snack food to help you get through a bad day, or to make a good day even better 😉

Ingredients:
- 20 Wonton wrappers
- 2 cups marinara sauce
- 1 cup Italian sausage (cooked)
- ¼ cup Black olives (finely chopped)
- ¼ Green peppers (finely chopped)
- 1 cup mozzarella (shredded)
- 1 cup Vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup Fresh basil (garnish)
Instructions:
1. Set out your wonton wrappers, then layer on about a teaspoon of marinara sauce then add the rest of the ingredients.
2. Wet the edges of the wrappers with a bit of water, and carefully close them.
3. Heat the vegetable oil in a medium saucepan or pot, then add the wonton rolls in batches (don’t over-crowd them!) and fry until golden brown.
4. Strain them and remove any excess oil, and allow to cool for a few minutes before serving.
5. Garnish with fresh basil as desired.
May 22, 2015