Hot Chocolate Mix

Here's a great recipe from DebbieM:

"We love Hot Chocolate this time of year. The kids really like those little packets but they are SO expensive here. So, I searched and tried many kinds of recipes. Most have powdered milk and creamer in them. Creamer is not always available and powdered milk like Everyday or Milkado have added sugar. (There is a kind without sugar called Anik Spray but it is not easy to get.) Here is an EASY recipe that passed my kids taste test! : )"

Hot Chocolate Mix

1 cup + 2 Tablespoons fine castor sugar (also called Bura)

¾ cup cocoa

1 tsp. salt

Mix together. Store.

Microwave or heat a cup of milk (about 1 to 2 minutes). Add two tablespoons of the mix and enjoy!

If you like the recipe, you can triple it:

3 ½ c. sugar

2 ¼ c. cocoa

1 Tablespoon salt

Pina Colada

Again, this is a Stafford family tradition on Thanksgiving. I always looked forward to getting to Grandma's and having some of this pina colada. I love the way the frozen juice flakes off into the drink. So yummy...

Pina Colada

1 box of Tropicana pineapple juice

3 packets of Maggi Coconut milk powder

1 1/2 c. water

2 litre of Sprite

Combine the coconut milk powder with the 1 1/2 c. water. Stir till it's thoroughly combined. Pour whole box of pineapple juice and coconut milk into a bundt pan and freeze it. When you're ready to serve, place the bundt pan in a bowl of warm water to loosen the ring. Place the frozen ring in a punch bowl or serving bowl, and pour the sprite over the top!

So I did this last year with the boxed coconut milk, and it just wasn't quite right. My grandmother actually uses a small can of coconut cream, but I have not been able to find any coconut cream here. This year I'm trying the thick milk using the powder, we'll see how it goes! If any of you know where or how to get coconut cream, please let me know! : )

Pumpkin Spice Latte

Here's a yummy fall drink recipe from RachelR.

Anyone who enjoys pumpkin spice lattes from Starbucks will like these. I used real pumpkin in mine. I think this recipe is neat since you can get pumpkin in India. If you have some allspice and vanilla, you're good to go. I frothed the milk mixture with a whisk and it turned out really foamy. We have an espresso machine, but this recipe tells you how to do with regular coffee.

Pumpkin Spice Latte
makes 1-2 servings
Ingredients:
2 cups milk
2 tablespoons canned pumpkin OR 1 teaspoon of Torani Pumpkin Spice Syrup (your choice)
2 tablespoons sugar or sugar substitute - you can halve this amount
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1-2 shots espresso (about 1/4 cup of espresso or 1/2 cup of strong brewed coffee if you don't have an espresso machine.)
Directions:
In a saucepan combine milk, pumpkin and sugar and cook on medium heat, stirring, until steaming. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and spice, transfer to a blender and process for 15 seconds until foamy. If you don't have a blender, don't worry about it - just whisk the mixture really well with a wire whisk.
Pour into a large mug or two mugs. Add the espresso on top.
Optional: Top with whipped cream and sprinkle pumpkin pie spice, nutmeg, or cinnamon on top.


Megan's Note: I was making this with cinnamon and a bit of nutmeg, because I didn't have any pumpkin pie spice.  But I found that the powdered spice doesn't dissolve well and makes the coffee a bit grainy.  So I started heating the milk with a cinnamon stick and some cloves, then straining it out.  This worked great and made the flavor intense and smooth!