Review -- 90 Days with the Keurig K550 Brew System

NOTE: This was originally posted on The CP Chick, Dated 03.22.15

90 Days with the Keurig K550 Brew System

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

So many choices. So Simple. So Delicious. The Keurig® 2.0 K550 Brewing System features revolutionary Keurig 2.0 Brewing Technology™, designed to read the lid of each K-Cup™ or K-Carafe™ pod to brew the perfect beverage every time. The K550 brewer allows you to brew a 4-cup carafe with the same ease and convenience of brewing a single-serve cup — all at the touch of a button.

The brewer has other great features including an extra large 80 ounce water reservoir, 2.8 inch color touch display, programmable clock, an auto brew option and a strength control setting for brewing bolder coffee. There’s even a separate setting for hot cocoa and other specialty beverages like lattes and mochas. The K550 model also has a customizable night light in the water reservoir and offers hot water on demand. So many options to choose from — not at all like a typical coffee maker.

Choose over 400 different varieties, from 60 brands you love including Green Mountain Coffee®, Starbucks®, Lipton®, and more. Look for Keurig Brewed® seal on your favorite K-Cup pod and K-Carafe pod varieties to ensure a delicious cup every time.

The Keurig 2.0 K550 Brewing System includes a Keurig™ Carafe, a 2.0 Water Filter Starter Kit with one filter, and K-Cup® and K-Carafe™ pods to get you started.

Variety pack includes:

4 K-Carafe™ pods:

- Green Mountain Coffee® Breakfast Blend
- Green Mountain Coffee® French Roast
- Green Mountain Coffee® French Vanilla
- The Original Donut Shop® Regular

6 K-Cup® pods:

- The Original Donut Shop® Regular Extra Bold
- Green Mountain Coffee® Hazelnut
- Green Mountain Coffee® Nantucket Blend®
- Barista Prima Coffeehouse® Italian Roast
- Starbucks® Pike Place® Roast
- Celestial Seasonings® English Breakfast Tea

It is no secret our house loves coffee. When we had traditional 12-cup coffee pots, we easily brewed 3 or more pots a day.

But the downfall is when you have people who like different flavors and/or strengths of coffee. I like mine on the light or mild side and preferably flavored... typically what you would get from a convenience store coffee kiosk. Mama Melissa, however, likes hers on the strong or dark side, but flavored as well, preferably cinnamon. As she says, she likes 'road tar' coffee.

With the Keurig™ K550 Brew System, all our needs are met. I can have my mildly-roasted Pumpkin Spice coffee and Mama Melissa can have her strongly-brewed Cinnabon coffee, all with a lift of a door and a tap on the screen.


^^What I recieved -- The K-cups had been put away at this point


^^The Keurig™ K550 set up and ready for a brew
Brewing a cup of coffee through the Keurig™K550 is VERY easy. Just lift the front lid of the unit, drop the K-Cup into the holder, close the lid, select your cup size and strength, and then hit the Keurig 2.0 button.

Descaling is easy, and the Keurig™ 2.0 will tell you when it's time to do so. Just run the special descaling solution through the machine as directed on the bottle, and then run a full tank of clear water through the machine.

I will warn you, This is part of the Keurig™2.0 family of brewers. These brewers have the DRM management software installed to ensure you are using only Keurig™-approved K-Cups. Not only does this ensure the flavor of the coffee, but this also ensures that these Keurig™-approved K-Cups will not damage your machine.

The Keurig™ 2.0 brewers can be purchased through all major store chains and directly through Keurig, starting at $149.99. For more info, please visit Keurig.com

FINAL THOUGHTS
Thanks to the Keurig™2.0, I love the freedom of being able to enjoy whatever coffee I want, without forcing the rest of the house drink a flavor they may not like.
STARS:
WOULD RECOMMEND: Yes

A HUGE Thank you to Lauren Pavlik and the entire team at Keurig/Green Mountain coffee for allowing me to do a review.

**As per FTC guidelines, I received this product in exchange for an honest review. Only compensation I received is the product(s) mentioned above. All opinions are my own and your usage/results may vary.**

Recipe -- Egg Nog

Egg Nog
This was given to me by a friend. I LOVE Egg Nog, but at the time this was originally posted, I'd never tried making homemade Egg Nog!
I did end up making this a few months after I originally posted it to my old recipe blog, but separating the egg was messy and a complete pain to do. Sure, This allows me to have Egg Nog all year, but I think I'll stick to just having it during the Holidays.

INGREDIENTS
4 eggs
1/4 C sugar
1qt milk, chilled
1 1/2 t vanilla
1/4 t salt
Nutmeg to taste

1. Beat 3 whole eggs and 1 yolk until very thick and light in color.
2. Add 3 1/2 T sugar, beating in thoroughly.
3. Stir in milk, vanilla, and salt and pour the mixture into glasses.
4. Beat remaining egg white until almost stiff, add remaining sugar and beat until stiff.
5. Top each glass of eggnog with a spoonful of meringue, sprinkle with nutmeg if desired, and serve immediately.

Recipe - Overnight Oatmeal

Overnight Oatmeal
I love oatmeal. Whether it's the instant kind, the cook kind, oatmeal cookies or Oat bread, I can DEVOUR oatmeal like no one's business. It's good for me, so I don't see the harm in eating it!
I prefer the instant kind, because it's easier for me to make. But this looks just as easy to make.

INGREDIENTS
1 container (5.3 oz) Yoplait® Greek 100 yogurt, any flavor
1/4 cup old-fashioned or quick-cooking oats
1 tsp chia seed
Stir-ins (see ideas below)

1. In container with tight-fitting cover, mix yogurt, oats and chia seed. Add desired stir-ins.
2. Cover; refrigerate at least 8 hours but no longer than 3 days before eating. Cool oatmeal is an on-the-run breakfast.

Stir-ins
Pomegranate Power Oatmeal: Stir in 1/4 cup pomegranate seeds.

Honey Power Oatmeal: Stir in 1 tablespoon honey or 2 tablespoons comb honey.*Those with bee sting allergies should consult their physician before consuming comb honey.

Banana Power Oatmeal: Stir in 1/4 cup banana slices.

Almond Power Oatmeal: Stir in 1/4 cup toasted almonds.
To toast almonds, sprinkle in ungreased heavy skillet. Cook over medium heat 5 to 7 minutes, stirring frequently until almonds begin to brown, then stirring constantly until almonds are light brown.

Blueberry Power Oatmeal: Stir in 1/4 cup blueberries.

Blackberry Power Oatmeal: Stir in 1/4 cup blackberries.

Now, my friend LeAnn posted an alternative recipe on her facebook...

INGREDIENTS
1/3 cup milk
1/3 cup oats (cooking kind)
4 tbsp yogurt (she used vanilla flavor)
Pinch of cinnamon
Sugar to taste
Fruit of choice

1. Mix cinnamon, sugar and oats.
2. Add milk and mix well.
3. Refrigerate overnight (8 hrs+)
4. Add fruit and yogurt; stir and eat

Recipe - Pumpkin pie milkshake

Pumpkin pie milkshake
I wanted to repost this now, since we are in the throes of Pumpkin Spice season.

So, a few years ago, I had some leftover Perry's Pumpkin Pie ice cream left over from the Holiday Season, and I wanted to get rid of it before it totally went bad on me (It was already separating at the bottom of the carton and getting a little freezer burn on it).
But, I didn't just want to eat it... so while I'm getting the milk for my morning coffee, I thought, 'What if I made a milkshake with it?' And that's EXACTLY what I did.

INGREDIENTS
1 cup Pumpkin pie ice cream (I used Perry's brand)
1 cup milk

1. Put ice cream in glass.
2. Pour milk over ice cream.
3. Blend until smooth.



I think this would have worked better if the ice cream was fresher and didn't have pieces of pie crust in it. The last few sips had a gritty texture to them. Keep that in mind when buying flavors for this purpose.

Recipe -- Blue Cheese with Bacon Roast Beef Wrap

Blue Cheese with Bacon Roast Beef Wrap
Had these one night and OMG, they are SO good. They are VERY filling. I've been known to put away a Subway Foot Long© in one sitting and ONE of these wraps had me full.

INGREDIENTS
4 (10-inch) flour tortillas or flavored wraps
1 pound thinly sliced deli-style roast beef
3/4 cup Marie’s Blue Cheese with Bacon Dressing
4 cups baby spinach leaves
1 cup shredded carrots

1. Cover tortillas with roast beef. 
2. Spread 3 tablespoons Marie’s Blue Cheese with Bacon Dressing over roast beef on each tortilla. 
3. Cover with spinach leaves; sprinkle with shredded carrots. Roll burrito style; cut in half on the diagonal

TIP: This will be messy if not prepared as directed. In our house, steps 1 & 2 were accidentally switched and made the tortillas turn VERY dough-y and fell apart while eating it.

Recipe - Mama's Tuna Fish Sandwiches

Mama's Tuna Fish Sandwiches
I love Tuna Fish, but just plain tuna and mayonnaise is, well... plain. My mama made this for us tonight and 2 hours later, I'm STILL full.

INGREDIENTS

4 cans tuna fish (in water not oil)

4 cloves of garlic

1/2 onion

Parmesan cheese

Pinch of salt
Pepper to taste

Chunk of pepperoni (2 inches long or more to taste), paper removed

6 tbsp mayo or more

2 tsp mustard(optional)

1. Open tuna cans and drain well.

2. Chop up onion, garlic, and pepperoni in small pieces. Place ingredients in bowl, then add tuna.

3. Mix items together until blended.

4. Add mayonnaise and mustard; mix again to make everything well mixed.

5. Add cheese, salt and pepper, mixing well again

Serve on kaiser rolls or your choice of bread. Makes 6 big sandwiches.

Recipe - Buffalo Chicken Salad

Buffalo Chicken Salad
So, when this recipe was originally posted, we had DiGorno's Pepperoni Pizza with Buffalo Style Wyngz© for dinner. Because not many people in my house like Buffalo/Hot Sauce (or chicken, for that matter), the Buffalo sauce went unused that night.

The next day, wanting to use it before it spoiled, I cut up a boneless chicken breast and made a VERY simple chicken salad. Curious as to how it would taste, I grabbed the packet of  Buffalo Style Wyngz© sauce and added it to the ingredients already in the bowl. The chicken salad didn't even last 36 hours. I was even SCRAPING the bowl to get every last bit!

INGREDIENTS
1 LARGE boneless skinless chicken breast, cooked and shredded.
1 packet of DiGorno's Buffalo Style Wyngz© sauce (or 1/2 cup Frank's® RedHot® Buffalo Wings Sauce)
3/4 cup Mayonnaise

1. Boil and then bake 1 boneless skinless chicken breast until thoroughly cooked. Cool completely, then chop/shred into tiny pieces.
2. Mix the mayonnaise and chicken together thoroughly, then add the wing sauce. Mix completely.
3. Chill for 2-4 hours. Serve on bread.

TIP: To make preparation easier, you can use canned chicken. I prefer Swanson brand chicken for recipes. For this particular recipe, I recommend using 2 9.75 oz cans. Open the cans, drain WELL and shred as normal. For 'chunkier' salad, chop into bite size pieces.
For a different texture to the sandwiches, toast the bread before assembling the sandwiches.

This is a recipe you can adjust to your liking of spiciness. You can easily double or even TRIPLE this recipe for a larger quantity.

Recipe -- Tangy Macaroni

Tangy Macaroni
My adopted mom made this about a few years ago and I love it. It's a non-conventional twist on macaroni salad.

INGREDIENTS
1/2 lb macaroni of your choice
Ranch Dressing (enough to coat)
3 tbs Italian dressing
1-2 tbs Nance's Sharp & Creamy mustard (to taste)

1. Cook 1/2 lb of macaroni as directed on package; drain well.
2. Mix macaroni with the dressings and mustard until well coated.
3. Serve immediately or chill for 2-3 hours to let flavors blend.

TIPS
PLAIN RANCH? THAT'S SO BORING - Use a 'flavored' Ranch dressing for a different flavor. We like to use Kraft Ranch with Bacon.
TWIST IT UP! - Don't think you need to stick to plain elbow macaroni. Go ahead and use Rotini, bow-tie pasta or even small shells!

Recipe - Kifle Cookies

Kifle (Polish Cookie Recipe)
My Mom and I would make these every year for Christmas. I couldn't get enough of these cookies. You can use a wide variety of fillings for these cookies... My Mom and I liked Poppy Seed and Nut fillings the best.

INGREDIENTS
1 lb. butter
6 c. flour, unsifted
1 c. sour cream, 8 oz.
12 egg yolks
Few grains salt


FILLING: Baker brand dessert fillings


1. Cut shortening into flour until mixture seems crumbly.
2. Beat egg yolks slightly and add to flour-shortening mixture 
3. Add sour cream and mix this into flour and shortening thoroughly, making a dough.
4. Divide the dough in half and store it overnight in the refrigerator.

5. Next day take each dough ball and roll out on a floured board, making them thin.
6. Cut into 2"x2" squares, using as much of the dough as possible. (re-ball edges of dough and repeat steps 5 & 6 as needed)
7. Spread 1 teaspoon filling in the center of each square. Fold opposite corners of the dough squares into the middle.
8. Bake in 350 degree oven for 12 minutes until straw colored.
9. Cool, then sift confectioners' sugar over all the kifles. (OPTIONAL)

Recipe - Ambrosia Salad

AMBROSIA SALAD
This recipe was a tried and true staple at my house every holiday when I was growing up. I honestly could NOT get enough of this. It pairs well with ham, but my mom was known to make it with turkey also.
 
INGREDIENTS
1 can (15 oz) crushed pineapple, WELL DRAINED
2 cans (8 oz each) mandarin oranges, WELL DRAINED
1 cup mini-marshmallows
1 pint sour cream
1 cup flaked coconut

1. Drain fruit WELL. Mom usually let them drain in a colander for 2-4 hours.
2. Mix all ingredients together THOROUGHLY.
3. Chill in refrigerator for at least 4 hours. Mom would usually let it chill overnight to let the flavors completely blend.