By Cara Terreri

Posted: 09.22.09 | Tagged: food, kitchen, reuse

Before you say "ew, gross," hear me out. In our house, we always have at least one full cup of coffee leftover in the bottom of the pot. Yes, this is wasteful. Somehow I can't seem to brew the amount that we actually drink. I always think I'm going to drink more than I actually do. And I end up reheating the same cup of coffee 3 times and still don't finish it. Ree-diculous. But back to the point.

If you also find yourself with leftover coffee on a somewhat regular basis, consider putting the leftover brew to other good uses. Like...

Iced coffee. Collect your daily leftover coffee into a container and stick it in the fridge. When you need an afternoon pick-me-up, shake or stir the container and pour your cold coffee over ice (preferably coffee ice cubes, see below). Add creamer, milk, chocolate syrup and sugar, to your liking.

Coffee ice cubes. Pour leftover coffee into an ice cube tray. Use your coffee ice cubes to cool down a piping hot cup of coffee (especially helpful if you drink it black). Or, use the ice cubes in your iced coffee drink. Or, if you're the "night cap" sort of person, drop a few cubes into a drink with Baileys or Kahlua...mmm. Or (last one, I promise), throw a few cubes into a blender and make a coffee milk shake. Cheaper than a Starbucks Frappuccino!