The Absolute Best Uses For Your Keurig

Coffee is the quintessential breakfast beverage. The Atlantic reports that one in three American homes uses a pod-based coffee maker, and Keurig is certainly one of the most popular. Though it's hard to imagine any office space or a hotel room without one now, Keurig does have its own origin story. Good Housekeeping explains that John Sylvan and his roommate Peter Dragone began their Keurig company in the early 1990s. At the time, they reportedly looked up the word "excellence" in Dutch and named their new coffee company "Keurig" based on that research.

Since then, customers have used the Keurig to brew great cups of coffee, but that's not the only thing a Keurig can do. At its core, a Keurig is a kettle that boils water and combines it with the contents of a K-Cup. A K-Cup is a small pod that can hold whatever you are hoping to brew. If you're making tea or coffee, the K-Cup will contain a powder that dissolves to create your desired beverage. If you are brewing tea or coffee, the contents will steep rather than dissolve. Many brands have gotten into the K-Cup market, but you can also create your own K-Cups with a refillable cartridge.

However, a Keurig has many uses that go far beyond the morning task of making coffee; Keurigs are also ideal for brewing hot water. With everything from preparing your breakfast to treating your dinner guests to the perfect dessert, there's something for all Keurig owners.

Oatmeal makes a fabulous and nutritious breakfast. The Mayo Clinic explains that this breakfast favorite has beta-glucan, a soluble fiber that can help lower cholesterol and blood glucose, thereby helping lower your heart disease and diabetes risk. Though the grocery store shelves are full of oatmeal options, there are certainly some oats that are better than others. For instance, McCann's Imported and Mom's Best make some of the best oatmeal around.

To put your Keurig to work making your morning oatmeal, begin by running one cycle without a K-Cup to help clear out any lingering coffee flavor. Then, add your oatmeal to a bowl that will fit easily under your Keurig spout and brew water without a K-Cup in your Keurig. After your water finishes brewing, let your oatmeal sit between two and three minutes, then stir very well, and add your favorite toppings like bananas, blueberries, honey, and shaved almonds.

You can follow these same steps for baby instant cereal. Since the water will come out quite hot, be sure you cool down the cereal before serving it to your little one.

Iced coffee always presents a difficult problem: How do you cool your coffee without losing any flavor and potency? The answer is quite simple, and with a Keurig, it couldn't be easier: Make ice cubes out of coffee.

To do this, find your glass measuring cup with an easy-pour lip. Put that cup under your Keurig spout, brew up a cup of coffee and let it sit for a few minutes on your counter. If you like your ice coffee black, pour this coffee into an ice cube tray and pop it into your freezer. However, if you always flavor your iced coffee, add some of your favorite sweetener or syrup to your measuring cup. If you want to make your coffee extra decadent and delicious, add some sweetened condensed milk into the cup. This will add creaminess and sweetness at the same time. After adding your flavoring and sweeteners, pour them into your coffee trays.

With these ice cubes, you won't dilute your coffee; instead, you'll enjoy fully delicious iced coffee, even as your ice melts.

Like coffee, you can find plenty of K-Cups for hot cocoa. However, if your preferred hot chocolate does not come in a K-Cup, you can use any powdered hot cocoa too. If you are using a K cup meant for hot cocoa preparation, you'll prepare it the same way you would your coffee. To prepare hot cocoa with powder, you'll need to follow a few extra steps. First, pull out your favorite hot cocoa mug. Orange mugs have the best-tasting hot cocoa, so if you're in the market for a new favorite mug, think orange (interesting, right?). Otherwise, anything you have will do. Next, pour your powdered cocoa into the cup and then brew hot water on top of it. You could brew coffee on top of your hot cocoa for a delightful coffee and hot chocolate combination.

If you're looking for an extra special, adult's only hot cocoa, consider a Grand Marnier Hot Chocolate. At the bottom of a mug, add chili powder, ground cinnamon, brown sugar, vanilla extract, salt, black peppercorns, and allspice berries. Then, brew your K-Cup hot chocolate on top. Stir and allow these ingredients to mingle for a few minutes, then pour through a fine mesh strainer. Add Grand Mariner on top with whipped cream, and enjoy.

In addition to great coffee, Keurigs also brews excellent tea without the extra fuss of a kettle, tea bag, and steep time. Even still, tea has a long and storied history, steeped in tradition and colonization. The UK Tea and Infusions Association states that the origins of tea come from a legend in which Chinese emperor Shen Nung sat below a Camellia sinensis tree in 2737 BC. While perched beneath the tree, a leaf fell into his hot water as his servant poured the water. Being an herbalist himself, he gave the mix a try, and tea was born.

Fast-forward to today, and tea is a popular beverage around the world, and could not be easier to make, thanks to Keurig. Simply add your tea K-Cup to the machine and choose your desired brew size. Note that the larger the size you select, the more mild your tea taste will be. After brewing your tea, consider adding maple syrup instead of honey or other sweeteners. Maple syrup amplifies the flavor of your tea, mixes great with iced and hot tea, and even won't settle at the bottom of your mug or glass like honey sometimes goes.

In addition to great tea, coffee, and cocktails, a Keurig is also helpful in whipping up the perfect lemonade. If you're looking for something a little more refreshing, watermelon lemonade may be just the ticket.

To begin, add sugar, lemon zest, and mind sprig in a large mug. Then, on top, brew half a cup of water. Allow this to steep for several minutes before straining and removing the solids. Let this liquid cool down entirely before moving on so that you don't run into problems when moving to the blender in the next steps.

While your liquid is cooling, prepare your next ingredients by cubing 4 cups worth of watermelon. For the best lemonade, be sure you take special care to choose a ripe watermelon at the store. Then, in a blender, combine your cooled water, the cubes of watermelon, lemon juice, remaining water, and lemon juice. Blend until you're happy with the consistency, and serve. To garnish, rim glasses with sugar, add a small slice of watermelon on the side of the glass and place a sprig of mint in each one.

Mashed potatoes are the ultimate comfort food, and, according to Mental Floss, the origin story for mashed potatoes stretches over 10,000 years. From the Andes mountains to your kitchen countertop, you can even create this favorite side dish with a Keurig. To begin, run a cup of just water to rinse out your Keurig and remove any coffee taste hanging about. If it's been a while since you've cleaned your Keurig, you may need to run two cycles before making your mashed potatoes, just to be safe. Then, take a mashed potato cup and brew hot water from your Keurig to the fill line on the cup. Stir, then allow the dehydrated potatoes and water to sit and combine.

In addition to making a quick side dish, instant mashed potatoes make a great pantry staple for a quick bite and several cooking hacks. For instance, instant mashed potatoes make an easy and delicious soup thickener. You can also use them in loaded baked potato soup, as the topper for shepherd's pie, and even as an ingredient in mashed potato rolls.