Saturday Scribbles Vol 3

Welcome to another edition of Saturday Scribbles where I share whatever is on my mind.

With the cold temperatures here to stay for a little while, I find myself trying to figure out ways to stay warm. Sure there's the most common of turning on the heater, which it is on. But there's also the piles of blankets. And my personal favorite for cold days, a cup of hot tea or a mug of hot chocolate.

I'm not too picky when it comes to tea, though I typically avoid most berry, peach, or lemon. I prefer the herbal teas. Mint, Peppermint, & Ginger are among my favorites.

But what I really love is a good mug of hot chocolate. Over the years, I've tried several different varieties. Like Nestle, Swiss Miss, Kroger brand, Hershey, Godiva, Ghiradelli's, etc. Even different flavors - mint chocolate, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate, etc. But my all time favorite is the one my best friend and I made when I was reviewing The Farmer's Daughter's Cookbook. This particular homemade hot chocolate recipe is rich, creamy, and perfect as you can see from the picture below.

One of the best birthday gifts I've ever received was from my best friend last year. She figured out the individual serving size of the hot chocolate recipe. She put it into an airtight container with the instructions on the lid to add the liquid ingredients (water, milk, butter) and to microwave. I absolutely love it! The other evening, when it was really cold, I mixed up a mug of the hot chocolate, and savored it. Because a little goes a long way.

Anyway, here is the recipe for this super creamy, wonderfully delicious hot chocolate.

(Sorry it's not the individual sized serving!)

Creamy Hot Chocolate

Ingredients

• 3 Tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 5 1/2 cups milk (whole milk works best)
• 1 Tablespoon salted butter
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

Instructions:

1. Mix cocoa sugar, and water in a medium saucepan over high heat.
2. Heat, stirring, until sugar is dissolved.
3. Reduce to low heat and add milk and butter.
4. Heat just until hot, stirring frequently.
5. Add salt.
6. Serve. Makes 6 cups

Enjoy!

So tell me what are some of your favorite hot chocolate recipes?

Something yummy...and for once not about books!

So it's been a long time since I talked about something other than books or more books or Mary Kay. Don't get me wrong, I obviously love all of those.

The other day, I was making dinner. Yeah, I know. Me cooking! Trust me it's rare and typically when I do cook, I cook over the weekend and eat left overs all week. Soups and Spaghetti-O's are typically so much easier for me. Anyway, moving on. I was in the mood to cook. I happened to have everything I needed for this dish - chicken, crescent rolls, cream of chicken soup, cheese, and milk. And a variety of random spices. Well when it came out of the oven, I saw that it actually looked pretty, so I snapped a picture of it. I usually don't do that either. Then I thought, well why don't I share this with all my blogging friends. And of course pin it to Pinterest. So that decision led to today's post.

Here is the recipe.

Crescent Roll Chicken

Ingredients:

• 3 chicken breasts, cooked, cut into small pieces (I always spice my chicken when I'm cooking it. I use garlic, random other spices like Oregano, Thyme, sometimes rosemary)
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese (or whatever grated cheese you have on hand. I typically use colby jack)
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 can crescent rolls (I've discovered that using the can of BIG rolls worked best)

 Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Combine cheese, soup, and milk into a large bowl. Mix together.
• Pour half into a 9x13 in pan.
• Separate rolls.
• Place as much cut up chicken as will fit into the center of the roll. Roll up, tucking in the edges.
• Place filled roll into pan. Repeat until all rolls are used.
• Spoon the other half of the sauce over each roll. 
• Sprinkle grated cheese all over.
• Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until lightly browned.
• Serves 4 (each person gets 2 rolls)

That's it. This is really super easy to make. I've made it several times over the years. It's a great way to use leftover chicken! I don't even remember what cookbook I found this in. 

I know you could easily pair this with green beans or other veggies. 

So if you try, let me know how it turns out.