Thursday, December 22, 2011

Double Chocolate Hot Cocoa Mix

Arielle and I have been busy today. Doing THIS....


Why? Because we are going to fill these jars with Double Chocolate Hot Cocoa Mix..... You can find the original recipe (more details), photos and directions at The Yummy Life Blog.  I plan to begin following this blog. I will go ahead and post the recipe as I've learned that links often disappear. Monica has other mixes too.


INGREDIENTS - makes 6 cups
  • 2 C powdered sugar
  • 1 C unsweetened cocoa (Dutch-process recommended)
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp cornstarch
  • 1 pinch of cayenne pepper
  • 3 C non-fat dry milk powder
  • 1 C mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS
  • Mix sugar and cocoa
  • Add salt, cornstarch, and cayenne
  • Add powdered milk 
  • Add chocolate chips
  • Store in air tight container
Monica suggests mixing it in a food processor. I don't have one. This worked well. 

Pour into jars


ONE MUG OF CHOCOLATE:  Fill 1/3 - 1/2 of mug with cocoa mix. Add hot water or milk and stir until mix is dissolved. 

POSSIBLE ADDITIONS: 
  • Dissolve a caramel or such in a mug. 
  • Add 1T to a cup of Chai Tea. 
  • Top with marshmallows or whipped cream and sprinkle with cinnamon, shaved chocolate, or crushed candy canes.
  • For a mocha drink, add a shot of espresso before the hot liquid. 
  • For spiced cocoa, add 1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice to mug.
  • Spike with a T of peppermint/vanilla etc  flavorings
  • Add a cinnamon stick or candy cane.
Monica has several choices of printable tags and beautiful photos on her blog. Of course, it wasn't as easy as expected here in Northern Japan. I couldn't find cayenne pepper. I couldn't find Dutch-Processed cocoa. I couldn't find card stock or sticker paper. I ended up using origami paper to cover the lids and am hoping that the tags with a rubber band will work.  I can't face attaching them all with mod podge. LOL NO Christmas wrap or ribbon at the local stores.....and I'm not about to drive to the base on these icy roads. LOL

One thing about a home-made gift from ME - you ALWAYS know it's home-made and not purchased. LOL 

After all this, I'm short. I made 8 batches. I'll need to buy some more jars...don't think I can face more Mod Podge...have I said that already....we may go with naked jars. 

The proof is in the tasting and the kids tell me this is "Much better than Ghiradeli!"  Michael and I like this too. It's tastes like a glass of HOT COCOA made on the stove with milk. Yummmy. I'm happy; controlling the ingredients is a bonus. Even Zander can have this. We had switched to Ahlaska or Ghiradeli due to ingredients for him.  I'm going to have to be careful as drinking too much caffeine will give me a migraine - which is why I use Rooibos Chai these days. I found it fairly easy to resist the Ghiradeli and Ahlaska.  


If you're local, yes, you may well be getting a jar...and if you aren't local....here's a little virtual gift. Make yourself a batch, have a cuppa on me.

Choosing Joy!
©2011 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Tastes Like Chicken

Stick with me and the title will EVENTUALLY make sense. 


I finally accepted the snow was not going to go away and that I would simply have to buck up and drive in it. NO ONE would drive WITH me - except Stacia. We wanted to get some groceries, some comfort food.....roast, chili, chicken pot pie fixins...... 

We braved the roads and got all the way to the gate when I realized I had left the wallet (with my id and CAMERA) at home. This happens from time to time when 40 something or others  alternate between online and local shopping. ::grin::  I was NOT going to take 30 min to get back home and then 30 min to get back to base (Yes, I DO drive like a granny in the winter and THAT is why I have had two accidents over here with minimal damage!). We went to Universe and Homac with our list. 

We decided to have Gyudon, Yakisoba and Ramen instead. ::snort:: We didn't find everything we needed (Michael and Jared did a quick run for us on their way home).  The funny thing about shopping on the economy is that I'm never 100% sure what I have.....tonight I had mystery meat in the yakisoba.....not sure what it was but it "tastes like chicken" and that works for us. LOL 


After amusing myself brainstorming most the morning, I had hoped to collect all these ingredients to make nifty little hot chocolate mixes for friends. Can't find Cayenne Pepper anywhere - off or on base..... I DID find little jars...but no card stock or sticker paper to make labels. I may have to use the mod podge stuff.....can't be TOO HARD! What could go wrong?  I thought of making vanilla or peppermint liqueur....but realized I don't have the time...which had me picturing the chaplains' wife passing out bottles of vodka and beans/candy canes. 

I have come up with a way to make "American Rice Balls" for our Japanese friends. I'll let you know if it works. I'm thinking Rice Krispy treat in a ball. ::snort:: 

In other words the day was fairly relaxed....the kids played, we planned and that's about it. 


Choosing Joy!
©2011 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...