Semi-Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix

jillee’s family’s favorite semi-homemade hot chocolate mix

Here’s what you’ll need:

• 4 cups powdered milk
• 21.8 oz box Nestle Nesquik (you could substitute the homemade Nesquik, I just haven’t tried it yet.)
• 16 oz instant coffee creamer
• 1 cup powdered sugar (you can adjust this to taste. I like it a little less sweet and this amount is perfect).

Mix all of this together in a big bowl. (Trust me on this one!) Pour into a storage jar or canister. To make a mug of cocoa, fill it with water or milk and heat in the microwave. Add 3-5 heaping tablespoons of mix to the cup and stir well.

Got this recipe from here.

NO PECTIN STRAWBERRY JAM

Combine in a saucepan, bring to a boil and boil TWO minutes.
4 c. crushed fruit
2 T. apple cider vinegar
Then add:
4 c. sugar
Stir and bring to a boil. Boil TEN minutes
Put into hot jars that have been prepared for canning. Fill to within ½ inch of the top. Put hot lids on clean jar surface. Screw on rings. Turn jars upside down for 15 minutes and then turn them right side up again. If a jar does not seal by morning, use it first.

I found this recipe on facebook, and I wanted to document it so I can try it someday when we have lots of strawberries again, like this last spring! Mmm! (Melissa Howlett's fb page.)

Davidson's Sticky Popcorn

Put 1/2 cup butter and 1/2 cup brown sugar in a glass dish and microwave for two minutes.  Stir in 1 cup mini marshmallows. Microwave for one minute. Stir again. Pour mixture over 2 quarts (or 2 bags) popcorn in a large bowl and mix in 2 more cups mini marshmallows.

Yum!!

(Brianna Davidson submitted this as her favorite FHE treat at least ten years ago! It was a quick favorite, even for this person who doesn't like caramel corn!)

Recipes I'm trying soon:

Three recipes from Skinny Crockpot that I will be trying soon:

Easy Roasted Rosemary Chicken
Herb Roasted Chicken
Lemony Chicken And Rice

And other to try soon:
MEXICAN CHICKEN 
Chicken Adobo Filipino Stew

Lemon Zucchini Bread
If I really like it, I'll post it on this blog!

Quick Orange Chicken (Lower Sugar!)

Got this recipe from Best Recipes Diabetic Cooking magazine, the May/June 2004 issue.

2 tbsp frozen orange juice concentrate
1 tbsp no sugar-added orange marmalade
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp salt
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (abt 1 lb)
1/2 C fresh orange sections
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Microwave Directions

1. For sauce, combine juice concentrate, marmalade, mustard and salt in 8-inch shallow round microwavable dish until juice concentrate is thawed.

2. Add chicken, coating both sides with sauce. Arrange chicken around edge of dish without overlapping. Cover with vented plastic wrap.  Microwave at HIGH (100%) 3 minutes; turn chicken over. Microwave at MEDIUM-HIGH (70% power) 4 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in center.

3. Remove chicken to serving plate. Microwave remaining sauce at HIGH (100%) 2-3 minutes or until slightly thickened.

4. To serve, spoon sauce over chicken; top with orange sections and parsley.

Makes 4 servings.

Dietary exchanges:
3 lean meat, 1/2 fruit

Nutrients per serving:
Cal - 157
Total Fat - 2 g
Carb - 8 g
Chol - 65 mg
Fiber - <1 g
Cal from fat - 16%
Sat fat <1 g
Protein - 26 g
Sodium - 234 mg

Southwest Pork & Sauce

To use some pork I had for a Sunday dinner, and since we'd had one of the old standby's recently and I wasn't in the mood to hunt up a recipe..I made one up. (I do that periodically - sometimes it works, sometimes not so much!) Since it was such a hit with the family, I had to write this one down.

Pork carnitas or boneless ribs (about 2 lbs?)
1 tbsp cumin
2 cloves minced garlic
1/4 C chopped cilantro (I had some in the freezer*)
1 can cream of chicken soup,  (or use some from the mix recipe like I did)
Salt & pepper to taste
(Oh, I did add about 1/2 tsp Knorr's Tomato bouillon

Place in slow cooker and cook for 4 hours on high. We served it over brown rice, with veggies & salad on the side, and everybody raved over it...mmmm! Successful Sunday dinner!

*Got that idea from my friend's blog, Frieda Loves Bread.

Cranberry Apple Muffins Recipe

My sister introduced these to me when our family visited them recently. I'm including it here, because I couldn't risk losing this recipe - it was SO good, and I had a bit of trouble finding it on the internet. Here's the recipe link where I finally found it. I included the byline from Esther Bowers, because she was the name of the original recipe creator, according to my sister's recipe. 

We did make it with 2/3 parts whole wheat flour and only 1 cup sugar to lighten it up a bit. We could have tried applesauce instead of oil, but we haven't yet. Oh, and I wouldn't make this without using fresh/frozen cranberries - they are the best part!



It's sometimes difficult to get our daughter to eat healthy foods, but she gobbles up these fruit-filled muffins. Although these are a "must" around the holidays, I keep cranberries in the freezer so I can whip up a batch any time of year. —Esther Bowers, Westland, Michigan

• Prep: 20 min. Bake: 25 min.
• Yield: 18 Servings

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Ingredients

• 2 cups shredded peeled apples
• 1-1/3 cups sugar
• 1 cup chopped fresh or frozen cranberries, thawed
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 1 cup chopped nuts
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander, optional
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

• In a bowl, combine apples and sugar; let stand for 10 minutes. Add cranberries, carrots, nuts, eggs and oil; mix well. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, coriander if desired and salt; stir into apple mixture just until moistened. Fill paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full.
• Bake at 375° for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks. Yield: 1-1/2 dozen.

Nutritional Facts1 serving (1 each) equals 241 calories, 11 g fat (1 g saturated fat), 24 mg cholesterol, 282 mg sodium, 33 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 4 g protein.