Fluffy Hot Chocolate

It's quickly becoming a tradition in the Mad Men kitchen to have a mug of hot cocoa after playing in or shoveling snow.  We've drunk a lot of hot chocolate in the past few weeks.

Today I had the desire to make from scratch. I found this recipe on allrecipes.  It was highly rated, I had all the ingredients; yippie!

A tried and true Swiss Miss fan, I but those boxes like crazy when they go on sale at like 79 cents a box.  But this is even cheaper, and has all ingredients you'd recognize--cocoa, sugar, milk... the only not really REAL ingredient is the marshmallows (but, be honest.  You know you're putting those marshmallows into the Swiss Miss anyway ;)  )

This was so easy and so tasty.  It got a thumbs up from the hubby and The Boy asked for seconds.  Hubby even saved the leftovers for another time.





Fluffy Hot Chocolate; slightly adapted from allrecipes

• 8 teaspoons sugar
• 4 teaspoons baking cocoa
• 4 cups milk
• 1 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions

1. In a saucepan, combine the first four ingredients. Cook and stir over medium heat until the marshmallows are melted, about 8 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in vanilla and cinnamon. Ladle into mugs.

Frosty Latte

A few weeks ago, I went to a Pampered Chef party at Lauren's, and Brooke was the consultant.  Lauren made this tasty drink using eggnog ice cream, and I figured it would be a tasty treat using the Oreo Cheesecake ice cream I was in love with.

As the only coffee drinker in the house (horror!), I decided to make only one mug of this.  I was fairly shocked that there's almost no coffee by doing so.  Hmm, it barely tastes like coffee... maybe M would like it after all.

Just don't tell him, cause I want to save this yumminess for myself.

I gulped this thing down so fast, despite the fact that today is a snowy day with temps in the 20s.  Delicious.

I used my handy Pooh Bear mug, which was the perfect size (I wish I could find more mugs like this at the Disney Store; it's not so huge like the others they sell!)
 

and topped it with some more Oreo crumbs.  Yummy!

Pumpkin Spice Latte

Although it is still technically summer, Starbucks has brought back its Pumpkin Spice Latte. It's so full of sugary tastiness, it's one of the only ways I can tolerate Starbucks coffee. Checking out Make it Fast, Cook it Slow from the library couldn't have come at a better time; a SAHM with no income has a hard enough time not spending wads of cash and this will make it easier for me to avoid the Starbucks/coffee shop in the mall.

Stephanie posted the recipe on her blog here. I didn't take a picture, which is probably for the best because mine didn't look nearly as pretty as hers does.

--2 cups milk (I used skim)
--2 T canned pumpkin
--2 T white sugar
--2 T vanilla (not a typo. it asks for tablespoons)
--1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
OR: 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/8 tsp cloves, 1/8 tsp nutmeg, and a teeny tiny pinch of ground ginger
--1/2 cup brewed espresso or 3/4 cup strong brewed coffee

--garnish with whipped cream (optional)

The Directions.

This will make enough for 2 people to have a big mug with a bit leftover. If you are having friends over, adjust the recipe accordingly. I used a 4-quart crockpot, but as small as a 1.5 quart will work with these amounts.

Add the coffee/espresso and milk to the crockpot. Whisk in the pumpkin, spices, sugar, and vanilla.

Cover and cook on high for 2 hours if everything is cold. Whisk again.

Ladle into mugs, and garnish with whipped cream and additional cinnamon.