This weekend was exhausting but fun. I thought I would take Sunday and get ahead for the week. I spent the majority of the day cooking for the upcoming week. The satisfying part is that I crossed several things off my to do list.

Pick out wedding dress – Check! (I found a lace sequin dress @Burlington Coat Factory for $20!)

Pick out boots for wedding dress – Check! (Found a pair also @Burlington Coat Factor for $15!)

Finish getting school supplies for the younger boys -Check!

Pick up a few groceries and cook ahead a few meals – Check!

Enjoy some family time with Exploding Kittens -Check!

Plan out the week with spending a few minutes with my blog planner- Meh.. . Can’t really cross this one out.

Work on my new project and get a better understanding of what that will entail. . That is next on the list.

Create the wedding FB invitation for the reception that will go out the first of September- Nope.

Invite family to the wedding-FB invitation- Check!

So I was able to complete a few items on my list. Makes me feel pretty good. Finding the dress and boots is a huge relief to me. I was afraid I would have to order the dress online and I wasn’t really finding any I liked. And for $20, can’t go wrong! The boots look amazing with the dress but they aren’t the cowboy boots I had originally wanted.

What I am really excited about is crossing this off my list, I have been wanting to try this for a month or so now. . .

Overnight Oats with Phoenix Chai Tea from The Vampyre Tea Company

~Breakdown

Where: The Vampyre Tea Company

Info: Phoenix Chai- Phoenix Chai is a new tea that is still in the works and I was extremely fortunate to try it before it is available for sale.

~The Good. . . . The Bad. . . .

This is a chai blend and knowing that chai blends are not my favorite, I decided to go a different route. Awhile ago, I found a recipe online for overnight oats with chai tea. I love overnight oats. If you aren’t familiar with them, its basically when you put oats (I use just regular oats that you find in the cereal isle- you can use any kind you like) in a container and add in ingredients. You let that sit overnight and in the morning you have a delicious alternative to traditional oatmeal. There are literally hundreds and hundreds of recipes online for overnight oats. Some with peanut butter, some with fruit, some with coffee, some with pumpkin. . .the sky is really the limit.

Now I have to add this disclaimer: I traditionally don’t use recipes. My mom compares my cooking to the show on Food Network-Chopped. It isn’t a lack of planning its more that I take a look in the cupboards and I see what I have to piece a meal together. With having 6 people in the house, everybody has different tastes.

Here is how I made my overnight oats using Phoenix Chai. I pulled out my usual suspects/ingredients. My oats, almond milk, honey, and the dry tea mixture. The dry tea mixture had a nice rounded chai aroma. Not too strong but you could definitely tell there were spices in the mix.

I use a mason jar whenever I do my overnight oats and I only make one serving at a time. I find that if they stay in the fridge too long, they became very mushy.

I went ahead and brewed the tea up in 2 cups of water- 10 min-212F. Instead of using my Breville to prep the tea, I went ahead and added the dry tea mixture to my cup and poured in the boiling water. I thought this might help develop the flavors a bit more. Plus, I was being a tad lazy. I was still steeping a different tea from a previous tea time in the Breville.

I went ahead and started adding in my oats into the mason jar. I basically do this just by eye. If you need more specifics like I said, there are tons of recipes online. (I’ve found that its actually hard to mess up overnight oats. I haven’t had a bad serving yet!)

I filled the mason jar halfway with oats and then added in almond milk to the same level. I added in more oats to almost the top. At this point the tea was ready to be added. I added in half of the tea to the oats, mixing everything together and adding in a dollop of honey. I screwed the lid on and put the jar in the fridge for the morning. The rest of the tea I poured over ice and added in a bit of honey.

I’m excited to try the oats in the morning! But for now, I’ll just have to settle for the iced chai tea.

First sip in and this is quite tasty. This isn’t an overspiced chai blend but more of a subtle one. The ginger is the forefront flavor with the rest of the flavors falling behind. What I like most is the way the cardamom is there but hanging out on the sidelines. Some chai blends have a smack you in the face sort of approach with their spices and this one doesn’t have that. I’m also having it iced with honey and almond milk so the spices may be toned down more than if you have this without the add ins. Regardless, I’m really liking this. This is a chai that I can get behind and as I sit here writing I noticed that I’m out of tea. Time for another cup. This is good!

Edit: I did try the overnight oats and I’m in heaven. This is a great way to enjoy chai tea. The chai spices really work well with the oats giving a flavor that is similar to the cinnamon oatmeal but with a spiced kick. The honey I added in gives a sweet contrast to the spices. I think I found a new way to start enjoying tea! I absolutely recommend trying this if you enjoy overnight oats.

What a fun new way to try tea. I’ve cooked with tea before but never tried anything like this. I think I’ve just open the door to some new interesting twists on my breakfast!

~The Geek

Not only does Vampyre Tea Company create unique and interesting tea blends based off of the dark and macabre, but they also have their own publishing company. Crazy Duck Press. I was lucky and able to get my hands on a few of the books and so far I’m liking what I’ve read. I’m currently reading Dead Girl- A Romantic Zombie Tale of Revenge. So far, this supernatural thriller has my interests.

I love when a company can keep my interest with teas and books!

~Yours in all things Geek-Nichole/CuppaGeek