Hot Cocoa - by Stace (snow day food 1 of 5)

We had a snow day today, and we made lots of warm goodies to eat.

When I heard the girls were coming home early, I knew I wanted to have some hot cocoa ready. The last dreary weather day we had, I concocted some cocoa out of a few ingredients I had on hand and had it waiting for the girls when they came home. They were grouches when they walked in the door but all smiles and giggles when they saw the cocoa with whipped cream and sprinkles.

I started with a stainless steel bowl of dark chocolate chips over a pot of boiling water.

When the chips melted, I poured in half and half, sugar and a little coconut oil (tip from a blog and I cannot remember which one now). I whisked this slowly letting the heat rise (but not boil). I just kept adding sugar and milk to taste.
This is a thick, rich cocoa (it is like drinking a chocolate bar!). My teens loved it, but could not finish the whole cup (fill cups about 1/2 full and add whipped cream and sprinkles).


For the whipped cream -- we bought a carton of heavy whipping cream, added sugar (to taste) to that and whipped it in the stand mixer until it looked pretty.

Enjoy!

ingredients:
1/2 package dark chocolate chips
1 cup (about) half and half
4 T sugar (about)
1 t coconut oil

melt chips, add half and half, sugar and oil
whisk slowly over boiling water
test heat occasionally (do not let cocoa boil)
serve with whipped cream and sprinkles.

Recipe link: Potato Soup - by Stace

I have been searching for a good potato soup recipe, and I think I am going to try this one tonight -- the smoked Gouda hooked me. It is so cold, and we need a hearty, warm soup. We are putting up our Christmas lights today, trying to get our house in order, preparing for some serious holiday baking this weekend.



Here are the notes I took from the video (in case it gets deleted)

Ingredients:
1 T dried basil
½ stick of butter
2 cups shredded smoked Gouda
6 small diced potatoes
2 carrots
2 celery sticks
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
2 cups heavy cream
6 cups ck broth
roux (4 T butter 4T flour)

in a stock pot on med high melt butter down
add celery onion and carrot
cook until onions are translucent
add basil
add garlic
stir for 3 minutes
add potatoes
stir for 3 minutes
pour in ck broth
boil for 20 min
add roux and whisk (1 T at a time and whisk)
let it cook until thickened
then whisk in half and half
simmer 20 min
stir in cheese
melt it down, slowly stirring cheese in
sprinkle with cracked pepper when served

edited to add:
We made this for our Christmas movie marathon night -- it was so much fun. Lydia chopped celery, Michaela chopped onions, and I chopped carrots; we sat at the table chopping and talking -- enjoying each others company. Then we all sat down to a DELICIOUS and filling soup (with rosemary sourdough bread). Afterward we watched Charlie Brown Christmas, Santa Claus is Comin' to Town and The Cricket on the Hearth -- with a warm cup of hot cocoa. This is one of my favorite Christmas memories from this year.

posted by Stace

Chicken and Dumplings - by Stace

Mom made this for us on Monday...so comforting. Dad always said (still says) mom made the best chicken and dumplings he ever tasted.

Ingredients
1 whole chicken
green onions
celery
chicken bouillon cubes
salt and pepper

boil chicken in water and set aside to cool
add celery and onions to broth
along with 3-4 bouillon cubes
tear chicken apart and add back to broth

Make buttermilk biscuit recipe. Roll dough and cut into thin squares.

Add dough squares right before serving. Drop one or two in and let them float back to the top. Keep adding (but not too quickly or they will stick together).

Add more chicken broth if the dumplings absorb too much of the juice.

Enjoy! Very filling -- no crackers or bread needed.

Posted by Stace

Chicken Tortilla Soup - by Stace

My husband and I invented this recipe at our first house in Fort Worth. We enjoyed cooking it together while listening to music and drinking wine. As our girls have gotten older, we have included them in the cooking; they enjoy "doing it themselves." This is a kid favorite that our girls request often. I hope to be able to make it with my grandchildren someday, sharing the stories of warmth and togetherness it brought to our blended family -- one of our first original traditions :)

Ingredients:
1 pound of trimmed chicken breasts
3 T olive oil
1 lg onion, chopped
1 jalapeño, chopped
1 box of organic chicken broth (32 oz)
4 T butter
1 can crushed organic tomatoes
1 can black refried beans
1 can whole black beans
1 or 2 cans Hatch red enchilada sauce
2 bags (32 oz) frozen corn
1 bag corn tortillas
16 oz Monterey Jack Cheese
1 large avocado

Directions:

• Sauté onion and jalepeno in saucepan (with olive oil)
• Add chicken and cook until tender. Set aside to cool
• While chicken is cooking, pour 1 box (32 oz) of broth into saucepan
• Let broth get hot, then add butter
• After butter melts, add crushed tomatoes
• Allow to simmer for a few minutes
• Add beans and Hatch sauce
• Add onion and jalepeno (from chicken pot)
• Add chicken (simmer 20 minutes)
• Add corn (simmer 30 minutes)
• Cut tortillas into strips and fry in oil
• Salt strips and place in bottom of soup bowls
• Top soup with Monterey jack cheese and avocado slices

Notes: You can use a whole chicken if you like. Boil it, set it aside to cool. Then remove skin and tear apart for soup. My husband has a thing about touching chicken while it is on the bone, so we usually use boneless, skinless chicken breast (so we don't gross him out).

01/26/2011 -- More Notes - I made this soup again last night, and I used a slightly different process. It was the best soup yet! I started with boiling a chicken (added sloppy slices of onion and carrot along with salt) in one pot. Then I melted butter in my dutch oven, added diced jalepenos and Serrano peppers (because we ran out of home grown habanero and that is what the grocery store had available). I let those cook for a minute or two, releasing the oils. Then I added fire-roasted crushed tomatoes. Next I took the broth right from the pot of chicken and added it to the dutch oven. I then added my other ingredients one by one. The soup was smoky and spicy -- just the way I like it, so I thought I would share...

posted by Stace