Homemade Hot Cocoa

Every night we play a half hour of board games. Tonight was Chutes and Ladders. As usual we had a blast. Even though this is an older game, can you believe I have never played it? We had a lot of fun. I am so proud of how Maggie is really "getting" playing games. We have tried to play board games before, but taking turns was always a big issue. It seems like something has "clicked" in the last couple of months and we are really enjoying our games at night.

I promised Maggie that we would make some special Hot Cocoa tonight after our game time and of course she didn't forget! This is a new recipe to me. I have an old tried and true one, but can't seem to find it. Although it's a simple recipe, it's been awhile since I have made it. Anyway, here is the recipe we tried tonight. It was pretty good.


•3/4 cup powdered milk
•1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
•3/4 cup sugar
•1/2 cup cocoa powder
•4 ounces bittersweet chocolate

Directions
Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Take the bittersweet chocolate and roughly chop it up to give a chunky but consistent size. Mix well with a wooden spoon and then store in a dry airtight container.

To make the hot chocolate, simply add 1/2 cup of water and 1/2 cup of milk per 1/2 cup of hot cocoa mix. Heat in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring with a whisk. Heat until hot, but do not boil, about 6 to 7 minutes.

If the look on her face tells you anything, she enjoyed it!




I did have an absolute "fail" this weekend. I have been craving pumpkin ravioli's for a couple weeks now. I got sick and that pushed it off. Then I have been a little busy and time just hasn't been on my side so I haven't wanted to put the energy into making pasta. Well, I thought the other night when I was watching Giada on Food Network that "my sign" flashed in front of me when she was making ravioli's and said that a "short cut" is to use Won ton Wrappers. She was making them on her show and they looked great. If Giada can do it, why can't I? Right? WRONG! The first thing that was wrong is the Won ton Wrappers are just way too thin. Highly disappointing to this Italian gal. Not at all "ravioli like". The second "fail" was the pumpkin recipe itself. Chris and Maggie were really sweet. They tried (after I told them I would NOT be offended if they didn't like them) to eat them. Maggie took two bites and Chris ate about 3. Pretty bad. I did a lot of work to make the filling. Cooked a pumpkin and everything! Oh well, live and learn right? Every recipe can't be good, can they?

All my hard work was for nothing.



But, we did get these:



They will be turned into a nice tasty treat tomorrow!