Cleaning your Grill with Coffee

Ever brew up a large pot of coffee and then not have time to finish it all? Save that coffee for cleaning your grill.

A grill that has grease burned on can be difficult to clean, but coffee will make it easier. Since coffee is acidic it helps to break the grease down making it easier to remove.

Soak your grill grates, utensils, and/or burners in the coffee for about an hour then scrub off the grease and rinse it off. The grease should come off without as much scrubbing as usual.

Want some other ideas on using coffee this summer? Read up on our previous post about making a coffee rub for steak.

Need parts or accessories for your coffee maker? Visit Coffee Maker Outlet.

Upcycle Coffee Cans

Does your coffee come in a metal can? Or even a plastic one? There are tons of ideas on how to re use those cans so that they aren't piling up at the garbage dump.

Here are some ideas for upcycling those coffee cans that we were able to come up with:

Paint them or Decoupage for giving gifts: Remove any labels and wash the outside so that the paint will adhere evenly.Then using spray paint made for either metal or plastic (depending on what type of coffee can you have) spray in a color that you like. You can use these spray painted cans to put gifts in to give to people for holidays or other special occasions.If decoupaging use a type of glue recommended for decoupage and use it to adhere the paper that you want to decorate your can with.

Use to absorb moisture: Take a coffee can, fill with charcoal briquets, punch holes in the lid and place in a closet that stays damp in order to absorb moisture.

Turn into a lantern: Using a drill or other tool punch holes in a pattern on your coffee can (this idea is only good for metal cans). Place a candle inside and light for a pretty candle lantern that you created yourself.

Yarn or Twine Storage: Punch a hole into the lid of a can and place the end of your yarn or twine through it. Then put your yarn into the can and put the lid back on. This will help keep your yarns from getting tangled and help you to always find the end of it.

Make a Kitchen Compost Bucket: Place an empty coffee can on your kitchen counter so that you have a place to toss kitchen scraps in between your trips out to the compost pile.

Emergency Traction Can: Keep a coffee can filled with clean litter so that if you ever find your car stuck without traction  you have litter on hand. To regain traction take the can and litter and sprinkle it where you need to in order for your car to regain traction.

Use as a Planter: You can paint your can in any color that you want, then punch some holes in the bottom, put about 1" of gravel in order to keep the holes from becoming blocked, fill with potting soil and plant some pretty blooms in your new planter.

There are tons more ideas for using coffee cans. So fire up your coffee maker and get to using those coffee grounds so you have a free coffee can to reuse around your home. Have more ideas? Please share them with us in the comments!

10 Uses for Leftover Coffee

For those of you who really enjoy coffee and own a one of the large pot coffee maker brands you may find yourself with leftover coffee from time to time. So what can you do to not waste that coffee?

First you will want to save your coffee, the best way to save it is to put it in a container in the fridge. I like using a glass milk bottle to store my coffee in the fridge, since it is clear glass I know right away what is in the container. I do let the coffee cool some before pouring into the milk bottle so that the heat doesn't crack the glass.

Here are 10 uses for your leftover coffee:

1. Make some Mocha Brownies. Just replace the water or milk in your favorite recipe with coffee.
2. Coffee Ice Cream. If you own an ice cream freezer, you can use the coffee to flavor your vanilla ice cream recipe to give it a nice coffee flavor.
3. Use to marinate your steaks or beef. Many people like to mix it with chili powder for their marinades.
4. If you own any houseplants that need more acidic soil you can use coffee to water them occassionally to help boost the acid level in the soil.
5. Freeze to use as ice in iced coffee drinks so that your iced coffee doesn't become watered down.
6. Create a mocha frosting. This can be done with most frosting flavors, just stir it into the frosting that you are making, works well on most cake flavors as well.
7. Use to dye fabrics, paper, or even to stain wood. 
8. Make Tiramisu, just do a search for tiramisu recipes and choose the one that sounds the best to you.
9. Make red eye gravy.
10. Keep cooled in the refrigerator and make your own easy iced coffees throughout the day.

What are your suggestions for using leftover coffee?

Making Irish Coffee Ice Cream

Sometimes it is good to just relax on a hot afternoon with a nice cold treat. Spring is officially here and the weather is finally warming up. Now is the time to bring out your ice cream freezer and put it to the test with this coffee ice cream recipe. This is a 21+ recipe

Irish Coffee Ice Cream Recipe

Ingredients needed:
1 1/2 cups milk
2 Tbsp. instant espresso coffee powder
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/4 cup heavy cream
4 oz. egg substitute
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup Irish whiskey or brandy
dash of salt

Directions:
In a small saucepan mix your milk, espresso coffee powder, and brown sugar. Heat over low heat until your sugar and espresso powder have dissolved. Remove your saucepan from the heat and place in a bowl of cold or ice water so that the mixture can be cooled to room temperature. Pour this mixture into a blender or food processor and add the rest of your ingredients. Blend until everything is smooth. Cover and place in the refrigerator until it is ready to freeze. Blend for another few seconds before your pour into your ice cream freezer. Follow the instructions on your ice cream freezer manual for the rest of the steps (each freezer is slightly different).

Yields: 1 Quart

History of the Coffee Percolator

Coffee consumption goes back thousands of years and the methods of making a coffee beverage have changed greatly over the years. The coffee percolator was once considered a huge innovation in how to make your own coffee, now there are some people that do not even know that this device is or where it came from.

The original coffee percolator was invented by a British scientist/solider widely known as Sir Benjamin Thompson. He invented his percolating coffee pot after pioneering work with the Bavarian Army. His coffee percolator was unlike later models as it did not use the technology to form a continuous cycle of catching the rising boiling water through a tube.

In 1865 the first US patent for a coffee percolator was issued to James Mason. His percolator did not use the continuous method either.

It wasn't until 1889 that the patent for the coffee percolator that we are familiar with was issued to a Hanson Goodrich.

The design of the coffee percolator enabled coffee to be made on a stove top or over a campfire. Since it was created in a time that electricity was not well known, the coffee percolator did not rely on it to create coffee. To this day coffee percolators are popular with campers, outdoors men & women since it enables them to still be able to enjoy their morning cup of joe without needing to find a source of electricity.

Unfortunately with the invention of drip coffee makers the coffee percolator has nearly been eradicated as an ancient and outdated device. However, we still have people who look for the coffee percolator during power outages or before taking big camping trips.

Cleaning a Coffee Grinder

Some people use their coffee grinders to grind more than just coffee, but if you have used it to grind up some strong smelling spices,  you will want to clean it before going back to grinding your coffee up.

To get rid of strong odors and flavors, grab a handful of cheerios and put them through your grinder for about 30 seconds. The cheerios act as an odor absorber.

If you don't have cheerios another options is to place a small charcoal briquette into your grinder (do not turn grinder on) cover with a paper bag and let it sit overnight. Charcoal is known as an odor absorber (many filters have charcoal in them) and this will help to absorb some of the odors out of your grinder for you.

With out the extra odors from any spices that you've used your coffee grinder on, your next cup of coffee from your percolator coffee pot should taste just how you like it.

Use Coffee to Deter Aphids

While it may seem like spring will never come, the gardening season will be here before we know it. There is a spray that you can create using coffee grounds that will help deter aphids from eating your garden. So save your coffee grounds from your coffee maker in order to create this garden spray. The reason you will use coffee grounds in this spray is because insects, especially aphids, do not enjoy the energy that comes from consuming plants with caffeine on them.

Ingredients:
(Any or all of the following herbs)
Yarrow
Tansy
Pennyroyal
Thyme
Lavender
Rue
Catnip
Artemisia
And 2 tablespoons used coffee grounds
2 cups of water

Directions:
Mix a cup of the herbal mixture with your coffee grounds and 2 cups of water. Allow mixture to marinate for 24 hours. Use a strainer and place liquid into a spray bottle. Your spray is now ready to use and should keep for several weeks.