I’ve been wanting to make a cocoa mix for the kids for the cold.COLD.cold weather we’re having, but have been terribly discouraged that all the recipes I’d found call for non-dairy creamer.

Ever wonder to yourself, “Hey, Self, if it’s not dairy then just what IS it?”  Well, I checked.

It’s nuclear waste.

So, I decided not to feed it to my kids.  Wasn’t a very hard decision, except for that part where I still don’t have any mugs full of steaming cocoa for my bairns.  Drat!

Had to let that idea go.

Saturday I took Hank shopping at WalMart and even thought, “Hmm, maybe I should just buy a tea pot and let ‘em drink tea.”  Which they would do, and do it happily.  But, foiled again.  StuffMart ain’t got no stinkin’ tea pots! (Lion King nod)

Well, after the WallyWorld adventure Hank wanted to go to Half-Priced Books (love that place!) to buy some History books for cheap.  (Is this kid great or what?)

Now, lemme ask you, what’s the best place in Half-Priced Books?

The CLEARANCE section!

I hope I’m conveying the magnitude of my love for buying good books for really.REALLY.really cheap!

I smiled hard and tried not to embarrass my teenage shopping companion with hysterical giggling and maniacal squealing when I found this treasure tome.

Could one book be more ‘right up my street’?  Mrs. Tarr must be my Fairy-god-mother.

Can you read that clearance tag?

$2

Maybe Half-Priced Books is my Fairy-god-mother!

And here is my interpretation of Mrs. Tarr’s recipe for Hot Cocoa Mix.

In your big bowl mix:

• 1½ cups cocoa
• 2 cups sugar
• 4½ cups instant non-fat dry milk

Stir it well.  Pour the mix into two clean and bone dry quart jars.  Store them cool, dry and dark (in the pantry).

You’ll have a little left over.  Make a cup for your cutest kid and slip the rest into your coffee (you can thank me later).

Here’s how to make enough hot cocoa for 2 kids under age ten.  Older than tens can drink the whole batch alone.

Pour ½ cup boiling water into a pint jar.  Add ½ cup of the Hot Cocoa Mix.  Stir well.  Now add another ½ cup of boiling water, and ¼ – ½ cup of milk.  Stir and pour into mugs!

The milk can be warmed if your kids like their cocoa good and hot!  Mine don’t, so adding cold milk brings the temperature down to ‘drinkable’ with no waiting!

Now, go buy some SwissMiss or some-such, gather your children around and do a blind taste test and let me know which y’all like best.

I know which one my kids prefer!

Linked to Works for Me Wednesday.

New and “Approved” Smoothie . . .

. . . that I just made up this morning because I had a jillion bananas gettin’ very spotty.

You’ll need:

• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 carrot, peeled and snapped in two (very satisfying, tactile experience!)
• 1 fresh pear, rinsed and quartered, I don’t even core it!
• 3 spotty bananas
• a handful of ice cubes
• a blender

Put all the ingredients into the blender and turn it on high until everything is all incorporated and blended smooth.  Pour into glasses and hand your happy kiddos a glass of deliciousness and a straw!

Notice, I didn’t add any sweetener.  The bananas were very sweet!  This was a very yummy start to our morning!

Here are your links to Real Food Wednesday & Tempt My Tummy Tuesday.

Chocolate is where it’s at!

Simple fact of nature.  I know y’all are all on board with me on that one, right?

Well, I’ve been having trouble getting the chocolate into my mouth while keeping the sugar (and artificial sweeteners) out of my mouth.  This is a dilemma!

Until!  I was reading on Facebook a while ago (See, Hubs?  Facebook has actual value!) anyway, I was reading what Kim said (while wearing her Frugal Hacks disguise) that her Frappuccino recipe was really yummy and just like the real (4bucks) thing.

I read the recipe and almost cried when I read the sugar part, almost, but not quite, because I already knew the good stuff (frappuccin0) had the bad stuff (sugar, aka vile poison) in it.

So, I got up from my computer thought about it  for a bit.  And it finally struck me.  Duh, don’t put sugar in it, put Agave Nectar instead.  Yes!  This will work!

You see, I have been suffering from the overbearing thought that, while I can bake with Agave Nectar, I don’t really know how.  I mean, it’s a liquid. Even less viscous than honey.  So I just don’t see any cake or cookies happenin’ for me anytime soon.

btw ~  If any of y’all know where I can find dessert recipes using Agave Nectar instead of sugar, GREAT! Shoot me a link!

So I RAN to the kitchen and got out all the ingredients for a MOCHA FRAPUCCINO and in no time had whizzed myself up TWO great big glasses of the lovely elixer!  One is in the freezer for this afternoon.

NOW it feels like the weekend!  Shoot, it feels like a PARTY!

Psst! Is it afternoon yet?

Here’s your link to Frugal Friday.