Delectable Hot Cocoa

Living 25 miles from an affordable grocery store has prompted me to get creative and frugal over the years.  One thing I started making several years ago is my own hot cocoa mix.  This is not the kind with instant milk.  This has real milk and not only is it good, but I have recently tried something that has made it even BETTER!!

Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa

Its so easy!  I remember my Dad talking about his mother making hot cocoa and how good it was.  I figured if Grandma could make it work with eleven kids during the great depression, surely I could figure something out!

I am into using glass pint and quart jars for everything these days.  

Fill a pint jar about 2/3 full of raw sugar (or white sugar)  

Fill the rest with Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa powder.  

Mix well, then add to milk and microwave it for one minute. Stir.

I microwave it a little longer to the temperature I like.  Oh, so yummy!  

Its the perfect treat for after a certain little person takes a good nap without a fight ;-)  (I like it after my {very rare} nap, too!)

Another variation is to pour about 3/4 cup of coffee, add the mixture and half-and half creamer!  It tastes so creamy and mocha-ish!  It certainly warms you up and lately all I'm doing is looking for ways to warm up!!

The weather is so up-and-down!  We've had 0 to 40 degrees in the last week.  Freezing rain,  a thunderstorm in January, and now its right around 0 with probably a -20 windchill!  {I can't wait for spring!!}

I'm Linked up at Our Simple Country Life  Frugally Sustainable

Crispy Ranch Chicken

Chicken strips was on the menu.


I felt like spicing it a bit.


The kids put ranch dressing on everything (that's why I buy it by the gallon in the "bulk" section at Walmart), so I thought I'd beat them to the punch and put it on the chicken first.


Ingredients:

Chicken breasts, cut into strips
1-2 cups of ranch dressing (I didn't measure and I had to refill my bowl once or twice)
Italian bread crumbs

I sliced the chicken into strips, dipped them in ranch dressing, then rolled them in the bread crumbs.  I placed them on a greased baking sheet and baked at 350 for 20 minutes, flipped them and baked another 20 minutes.

That's it!  The verdict?  Yummy!  Juicy! (not as dry as rolling it in milk/egg mixture)  No leftovers!  I was pretty bummed about that, but I guess that means it got an "A"!

Chicken Enchilada Soup

Every Thursday night is Mexican night at our house.  Tonight we had Chicken Enchilada "soup".  The original recipe was not labeled "soup" but that is what it turns out to be.

6 small flour tortillas, cut into triangular pieces like a pizza.  I use whole wheat.
In a mixing bowl, combine the next 4 ingredients to make a (sort-of) soupy sauce.
1.5 lb (3 cups) of cooked chicken pieces.  Sometimes I grind chicken breasts, if I can get a good deal.
1 can of 98% fat free cream of chicken soup.
1- 19 oz. can enchilada sauce.
1-2 can beans (black or kidney) I added both.  More protein, and it makes the recipe go farther.
8 oz shredded Colby-Jack cheese.
Optional extras: sour cream, green chilies, black olives.

Use a round crock pot or deep baking dish. Cover the bottom layer with the sauce, then a layer of tortillas.  Continue alternating layers, throwing some cheese in there every couple layers, like you would when making lasagna.  Put sauce and cheese on the top layer.  Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes, until cheese is melted. (Or microwave for 5-10 minutes or crock pot a few hours.)  Serve with a ladle.  Serves 6.

Delicious Iced Coffee

There is just nothing like a nice cold glass of iced coffee on a hot summer day!  It is so cool and refreshing.  With the help of a friend, I have developed a delicious recipe so I can enjoy it any time, and at minimal cost, too.

In the blender add:

Some ice {maybe 4-5 cubes}
1 cup water
1 cup milk {I use skim, then its a fat-free drink!}
2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup sugar
1 heaping tsp instant coffee
Blend until the ice is chopped and enjoy your iced coffee!

Linked up with MenuPlanMonday

Homemade {and healthy} Coffee Creamer

{source}

I love coffee.

I love to smell it as soon as I can after crawling out of bed in the morning.

I love to hold that hot mug in my cold hands and warm up in the wintertime.

I love it iced in the summertime.

I love coffee creamer.  


I love lots of different kinds of coffee creamer, but vanilla is my all-time favorite.  Hubby doesn't like me to buy the pre-made coffee creamers because one of the ingredients is "hydrogenated" somethingorwhatever.  {Hydrogenated anything is "not healthy".}  So for a while I was using coffee syrup with half & half.  "Yummy!" but I decided it was an unnecessary expense, so I thought I would try and invent my own vanilla coffee creamer:

1 quart carton of Half & Half
1/2 cup sugar
3 Tbsps. vanilla flavoring
Shake well,
Enjoy!

Skillet Dinner

I am what you might call a "dump" cook.  I can, of course, follow a recipe, but I like to make up my own, too.  This recipe was inspired by a restaurant inside Silver Dollar City,  Branson Missouri.  There was a giant trough-like skillet, right along the sidewalk outside the restaurant where they had this hodge-podge of vegetables and sausages cooking together.  I stopped.  I stared.  I studied.  Then I went home and started cooking and experimenting with my skillet.

I start with olive oil, garlic (the kind already minced and jarred in olive oil) an dehydrated onions (Since I can't chop onions!), salt, cracked black pepper, and a little water.  Then I add chopped chunks of a dozen or more baby carrots and start dicing potatoes.  For our family I usually use 6-8 large potatoes, depending on how many will be home for dinner.  Sometimes I add green or red peppers if I have them on hand.  I like to throw in some zucchini  I froze in a quart-size freezer bag last summer.  Then I take one of those Kielbasa sausages and dice up the whole thing and throw that in there.  I put the lid on and let it get all steamed up.  (I use low-moisture cookware.)  After a while I add a couple tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce stir well, put the lid on for 10 minutes, stir again, steam for 10 minutes... until the carrots are tender.  I serve it with some whole wheat bread & butter, and that's our meal.  Its very low calorie, and low fat, and very healthy!  Its not for everyone, but {most of us} we like it!

Menu Plan Monday

Pray for Elizabeth