World's Greatest Hot Chocolate

When your back yard looks like this...

(and yes, this is my back yard.)

You might want a little of this...

My friend Dennis shared with me a Hot Chocolate recipe about a year ago and I now make it all the time.  I have even given it as Christmas gifts. 

Here are the ingredients:

I picked up all these at the dreaded store Walmart.

All you do is find a really big bowl or a brown paper bag works too, mix together a large can of hot cocoa mix, a large can of coffee creamer, half a box of dry milk, and half a bag of powdered sugar.    Now, just get yourself a cup of hot water and add about 1/3 cup of mix.  Give it a good stir and enjoy!

You can add more or less of the dry milk or powdered sugar depending on how sweet you would like your hot chocolate.  I make it all different ways because honestly, I cannot always remember the exact ingredients unless I get out my recipe and who always has time for that? 

Thanksgiving Dressing

Thanksgiving is a wonderful Holiday...my favorite to be exact. 

For the last 12 years, I have spent most of this day in my mother-in-laws kitchen.  We cook most of the morning, eat, veg out, and play games the rest of the day. 

She is a wonderful cook and she has taught me many things.  One of those things being how to make fantastic dressing!  Now granted, I have never made it all by myself.  I feel much better with her over my shoulder telling me what to do and that way I know I won't mess it up.

This is her mother's recipe and it is wonderful.

corn bread / old bread / biscuits
2 eggs
onion
celery
butter
(2 tsp) sage
(2 Tbs) salt & pepper
apple (peeled & chopped)
chicken or turkey broth

Chop onion and celery, and saute in butter in a small pan until tender. Mix all the ingredients and then add the broth until it is nice and juicy. You can add meat at this point if you would like. Bake in the oven at 400 for 10-20 minutes.

Happy Thanksgiving



I have found out that I really love to COOK! New recipes are fun to find. I like the simple ones with a limited number of ingredients. I like Rachel Ray's Show and I get lots of recipes from her. I also get a number of emails from Kraft, Betty Crocker, and Eat Better America. Those sites are really helpful too. They have simple, healthy, and quick recipes.


The latest recipe I tried was from Rachel Ray. I fed it to my dh and he LOVE IT. He said he would pay money for it. We are not big guacamole fans in my house so if you are not either then don't worry. This is really good. Try it. It is Tex-Mex Chicken Club.

Tex-Mex Chicken Club
Ingredients
1/2 tablespoon EVOO
4 slices smoky bacon, chopped
2 pieces boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
2 small or 1 large ripe avocado
1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, grated or pasted
1 small jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1 lime
4 slices ripe tomato
4 leaves leaf lettuce
1 tablespoon butter
4 large eggs
4 deli slices Pepper jack cheese, Monterrey Jack or cheddar cheese
8 Slices white or wheat Pullman bread, toasted
Yields: Serves 4

Preparation
Heat a drizzle of EVOO in large skillet over medium high heat. Add the bacon to the skillet and cook until crisp, 3-4 minutes, drain bacon and reserve. Wipe out all but 1 tablespoon of the drippings. Halve the chicken breasts across, producing 4 cutlets. Add cutlets to the skillet and season with salt, pepper and cumin, oregano and chili powder. Cook chicken 3 minutes on each side to golden and firm.

Mash avocado with onions, garlic, jalapeno, the zest and juice of 1 lime. Stir in bacon bits. Taste the guacamole and season with a pinch or 2 of salt if you think it necessary.

Remove chicken from skillet then wipe clean and reduce heat to medium. Add butter and melt. Fry eggs to medium or well, 4-5 minutes, turning after 3 minutes. Melt cheese over each egg under loose foil tent in last minute or so of cook time.

Place fried eggs on toast and top with thin chicken cutlet, lettuce, tomato and bacon guacamole, set toast tops in place and cut corner to corner.

**I actually forgot about the egg when I was cooking and we didn't put the egg on our sandwiches but I will try it next time. I also used low calorie white bread and just toasted it. I healthfied it for me and my dh.