Gevalia Kaffe Review and Giveaway

I'm a coffee lover, and I've passed that on to my kids already...they ask for "coffee milk" with breakfast! I was thrilled to get the chance to try new Gevalia Kaffe, thanks to Kraft and My Blog Spark. I was given two Gevalia products to try - the French Roast and the House Blend, along with this Gevalia mug.

I love robust and strong coffee, and I normally drink Bold or Extra Bold coffee from Starbucks. The Gavalia French Roast is their dark roast and the House Blend is a medium roast.

I started off trying the Gevalia French Roast, and I was pleasantly surprised by the flavor. It was strong and robust, and while I made it a little stronger than I normally make my Starbucks coffee, it tasted excellent.

I tried the House Blend next, and this ended up being more like I expected. The flavor was mild (translation: a little weak), and I was mostly underwhelmed. 

The Verdict: The Gevalia Kaffe French Roast was a winner. I ask for bags of Starbucks for Christmas every year, so I don't buy a ton of coffee on my own. I would get this French Roast on my own; a much better grocery store option than some other coffees out there! I wouldn't buy the House Blend just because I like darker coffee, but I think it would be great for someone who prefers a more mild coffee. The bag of House Blend certainly won't go to waste in my house! I'll probably drink it when I want a cup of coffee before bed.

Win it!

My Blog Spark and Kraft Foods have provided me with a Gavalia Kaffe Prize Pack for one of you! To enter this giveaway, all you need to do is comment on this post telling me how you like your coffee. And if you aren't a coffee drinker but know someone who is, tell me who you would give this to. Please make sure your email address is enabled in your Blogger profile, or leave your email in your comment so I can be in touch if you win. The giveaway will end Sunday, March 4, 2012 at midnight, at which point the winner will be chosen at random. 

For more information about Gevalia Kaffe, but sure to visit their website or like Gevalia on Facebook. Also, Walmart has a free sample of Gevalia Kaffe available; sign up here.

Kraft Foods has provided sample product to me and is providing the prizes for this program at no cost to me.  This program is not administered or sponsored by Kraft Foods or its affiliates, but solely by Thrifty Living.

Garden Update - May

Our garden is coming along nicely right now! The weather has been fairly moderate and we are getting a ton of rain. I'm going to be spoiled when I have to water again because I am totally out of the habit.

I've also been adding coffee grounds to my garden! I keep a tub in my fridge and dump my coffee grounds into it every day. When I have a substantial tub-full, I spread it around my little plants. I did this two years ago with grounds from Starbucks (they had big bags sitting by the door for your garden, but I haven't seen them at our Starbucks since) and I felt like it helped my plants a ton. I did a little research and it sounds like coffee grounds are especially helpful when the soil is more clay-like, which is exactly what we have here in Delaware.

We have 6 nice looking zucchini plants

And a bunch of tomato plants. I opted to not thin them out too much yet, but I probably will need to soon.

We have a happy little pot full of basil...yum!

And our lettuce is amazing! Its been a real treat to snip off lettuce before dinner. We've had salad several times, as well as tacos.

I bought a package of Impations seeds and was shocked to find a whopping 4 seeds when I opened it! Does anyone know if that is normal? I am thinking of writing to the company because it seemed so strange. I'm not really upset -- I'd mostly like to know if it was an accident. If it was not an accident, I've learned my lesson and I will just buy the plants next time!

We also have a ton of marigolds growing throughout our raised bed. I've read that marigolds are a natural deterrant for bugs, so I am excited that they are coming in so well. I'm planning to move some to our front yard once they get a little bigger and I need some more room for my growing squash and tomato plants.

Homemade Peppermint Mocha

Yes! You read it right! The Starbucks specialty right in your home, for far less than $4.50 :-)

This recipe is adapted from one I found on the Cotton Babies blog. I also made my own peppermint syrup, using the recipe in that post. It was very simple! In a medium saucepan combine 2 cups water and 2 cups sugar. Bring to a boil, then add 2 teaspoons peppermint extract. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Refrigerate and enjoy!

After I made my peppermint syrup, the rest was easy, thanks to my new immersion blender!

Of course, you don't need an immersion blender to make this work! Here's the ingredients:

Combine 3/4 cup strong coffee, 1 Tablespoon peppermint syrup, 1 Tablespoon chocolate syrup (she also has a recipe for making this yourself, but I am going to use up what I have first!), and 1 Tablespoon half and half (the recipe says 1/8 cup coconut milk). Blend it up well!

And enjoy!

The mocha I made today was a little large than the recipe, I just altered the proportions accordingly. Now, its not exactly like Starbucks, but if you crave that specialty drink often, this will save you a bundle!

Homemade Cinnamon Sugar Biscotti

One thing that I've been having a harder time finding time for with a newborn is baking! I really love to have homemade bread with dinner, my husband got addicted to my homemade scones (a pregnancy craving of mine), and we love many other homemade treats. Since it had been a few weeks since I'd baked, I had been sitting on this recipe from Annie's Eats, just waiting for the free time! The biscotti was really simple to make, with minimal hands-on time and great results!
(I ended up taking very few pictures because the process was so quick)

Cinnamon Sugar Biscotti
For the dough:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1½ tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
1 cup sugar
6 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk
1 tsp. vanilla extract

For the topping:
¼ cup sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 large egg, lightly beaten
 
Preheat your oven to 325 so that it is ready to go. Mix the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl, then set aside. Cream the butter and sugar in a mixer on medium for about 3 minutes.

Once the butter/sugar mixture is fluffy, add in the egg and egg yolk, allowing them to get mixed in well. Add the vanilla and allow to blend. Then, on low speed, add the flour mixture gradually. The directions said to use parchment paper on a baking sheet and form the dough there. I did not have parchment paper, so I just greased a baking sheet. I also formed the dough on my (greased) counter and then transferred it to the baking sheet. Form your dough into 2 logs about 9 inches long and 1 and 1/2 inches wide. Mine did not look pretty, but they still turned out great.

Brush the dough with the remaining egg, then top with cinnamon sugar. I ended up mixing the egg with the cinnamon sugar, and brushed that mixture on all at once, and it worked well, so I would probably do it that way again!

Bake for 40-45 minutes until the dough is firm to the touch. Allow the logs to cool enough to handle, then cut diagonally into pieces. I used a cutting board for this and then placed the pieces back on the baking sheet. I also brushed them with the egg-cinnamon sugar mixture again. Bake for an additional 10-15 minutes.

This was delicious still warm with a cup of hot chocolate, but has also been great with my morning coffee and with tea. Its basically like a crunchy, wonderful Snickerdoodle cookie!

Mmmmmm!
This would make a wonderful gift (think Christmas already!). I would put a few pieces in a little plastic bag with a cute ribbon and stick the bag in a cute mug with some coffee, tea, or hot chocolate for a cute and tasty gift!

Free Coffee Fridays at Burger King

Every Friday in November Burger King is offering a  FREE 12 oz cup of Seattle's Best coffee! The offer is valid only during breakfast, but no additional purchase is necessary!

Free coffee and cheap Sunday paper

Starbucks Coffee

I am really excited about this! Starbucks is running an 8 week promotion to encourage you to try their different bold varieties...and there is a reward at the end! Every week for the next 8 weeks, they will be brewing a different variety of their bold coffee. You can get a cup for $1.50, and you will also receive a card with a sticker showing that you tried the week's brew. At the end of the 8 weeks, if you collect all 8 stickers (that is, try all 8 varieties) you will get a free pound of your favorite!

Many of my favorite Starbucks brews are going to be featured (Gold Coast, Sumatra, Komodo Dragon!), which is why I am so excited.

Week 1 has already started and runs through March 14th. The rest of the schedule is as follows:
Week 2: March 15-21 French Roast
Week 3: March 22-28 Starbucks RED
Week 4: March 29-April 4 Komodo Dragon
Week 5: April 5-11 Cafe Verona
Week 6: April 12-18 Cafe Estima
Week 7: April 19-25 Gold Coast
Week 8: April 26-May 3 Sumatra

Notice that the week starts on Monday and runs through Sunday. You can read more on the Starbucks Bold site.


Delaware News Journal

There is a great deal running on home delivery of the Sunday DE News Journal - $1 a week! I am currently getting the Sunday paper this way. This offer is for new subscribers only (must have been inactive for 30 days to join) and is running through April 30, 2010. So if you are currently subscribing, I think you could cancel your subscription, wait 30 days, and then still be able to take advantage of this offer. Also, when you subscribe via EZ pay or pay all at once when you order, you will receive a free 2010 Entertainment Book!

This is a great way to get easy access to the Sunday coupon inserts every week!

Go here to get all the details.


Remember, there are still a few days left to enter my giveaway!

Free Starbucks Coffee

I am a coffee lover, and coffee lovers do not drink instant coffee! A few months ago I got to try a free sample of Starbucks VIA which (gasp) is instant coffee. It really wasn't bad, though probably not something that I will buy on any sort of regular basis.

To promote VIA and get people to try it, go into participating Starbucks from October 2-5th to take the Starbucks VIA Taste Challenge, tasting VIA and Pikes Place. And just for tasting you will receive a coupon for a free tall brew coffee! I called the Starbucks in Middletown and confirmed that they are participating.

A Starbucks habit is not very thrifty, but it is a nice treat. I enjoy using my Starbucks gift card, and I recently learned about the rewards program with my gift card. Go here to register your gift card and take advantage of these rewards:

Free syrup and milk options for your beverage
Free brewed coffee refills (hot or iced)
Free Tall (12 fl oz) beverage with your 1 lb whole bean purchase
Up to two hours free AT&T Wi-Fi per day

AND

a free drink on your birthday!

Free coffee...I'm there!