Hot Chocolate Mix

I always prefer things homemade than store bought. Hot chocolate is no exception. I've done things very simply in the past like just use Splenda & Hershey's Cocoa. A friend (Thanks D!) gave me a sample of this at Christmas! It is delicious! I knew I wanted to share it with friends. It got rave reviews by all. I can't wait for another snow day to go out - get nice & cold & come in to a big mug of this!



Hot Chocolate Mix
Source: Brown Eyed Baker

Yield: About 20 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes

3 cups nonfat dry milk powder
2 cups powdered sugar
1½ cups cocoa powder (Dutch-processed preferred, but regular okay)
1½ cups white chocolate chips (or chopped white chocolate)
¼ teaspoon salt

1. Whisk together all ingredients in a large bowl. Working in two batches, pulse the ingredients in a food processor until the chocolate is finely ground. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 months.

2. To make hot cocoa, put 1/3 cup of the cocoa mix in a mug and stir in 1 cup of hot milk. Top with whipped cream or miniature marshmallows or maybe even some Peppermint Schnapps or Rumpleminze.

I mixed up about 10 cup worth in the crockpot on low & then let it warm in there most of the day.

White Peach Sangria Recipe

Who doesn't love Sangria in the summer?? This recipe was a hit at a party we had this past weekend. It was gone way too early into the evening. I got the recipe from Allrecipes.com & tweaked it a bit. I also made the batch much bigger!

White Peach Sangria

Source: All Recipes.com

Ingredients

• 1 (750 milliliter) bottle dry white wine ~~ I used the equivalent of 8 bottles of wine, Pinot Grigio ~ 1.5 liter bottles of Cavit
• 3/4 cup peach flavored vodka ~ I substituted mostly brandy & a bit of peach schnapps ~ I used about 6 cups
• 6 tablespoons frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed ~ used about 3 cups
• 1/4 cup white sugar ~ about 2 cups, used Splenda

A big bag of frozen fruit ~ I used a mix from Costco of peaches, strawberries, honeydew

Directions

1. In a large pitcher, combine wine, alcohol, lemonade concentrate and sugar. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Add frozen fruit.
2. Refrigerate sangria until well chilled, at least 2 hours, or overnight to blend flavors. Serve over ice.
3. Some people liked it just as it ~ others added some fresca to theirs.

Frozen Cosmo

I'd heard about this concoction and had to try it!  This was a great frozen drink!  

Frozen Cosmo

I didn't have a measuring tool to measure in these increments so I just used the measurements for parts.  It worked perfect.

20 ml.  Citron Vodka

20 ml.  Vodka

60 ml.  Cointreau

120 ml.  Cranberry Juice

1 tsp.  Lime Juice

8 small ice cubes.

Blend.

Vodka Slush

Always looking for some fun party drinks. This fit bill.

Vodka Slush

Ingredients

2 cups white sugar

7 cups water

1 TBSP instant tea powder

1 (12 oz.) can frozen orange juice concentrate

1 (12 oz.) can frozen lemonade concentrate

2 cups cold water

2 cups vodka

1 liter lemon-lime flavored carbonated beverage

Directions

1. In a 6 quart pot combine sugar and 7 cups water. Bring to boil and stire until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat. Stir in tea powder while hot. Add orange juice concentrate, lemonad concentrate and 2 cups cold water. Chill in refigerator.

2. When cold mix in vodka. Pour into a plastic container leaving room on top for expansion. Freeze for 24 hours.

3. To serve, scoop about 1 cup into a tall glass and quickly stir in 1/3 cup lemon-lime soda.

Hot Chocolate with Peppermint Schnapps

HMMM~ Steeler playoff game, cold temps. Spruced up hot chocolate - the perfect accompaniment. I doubled the recipe, put it in a thermos - PERFECT!

Hot Chocolate with Peppermint Schnapps
1 quart milk - I used 1%
6 oz. bittersweet and semisweet chocolate, chopped or grated - I used a little of both
9 oz. peppermint schnapps - I used rumpleminz which worked well
Whipped cream, for serving

Heat 1 cup of the milk in a medium saucepan over low heat. Add chocolate, stirring constantly, until melted. When the chocolate has melted, increase heat to medium and add the remainder of the milk while whisking rapidly. Do not allow to boil.

Serve in small cups fortified with 1 1/2 oz. of schnapps & whipped cream.

If transporting in a thermos, heat thermos up with hot water to get it warm for 1 minute. Pour water out, add schnapps and fill with hot chocolate

Source: Foodnetwork.com