Recipe of the Week: Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix

When our children were young, winter meant hot cocoa - and lots of it.  But small children tend to leave half the mug undrank (undrunk?)  and it pained me to waste so much.  When I considered the cost of each individual pouch of mix, I felt like I was pouring good money down the drain along with the cold, undrinkable cocoa. The bulk canisters of pre-made mix weren't any more cost-effective (on a price-per-serving basis, they were even more expensive than the pouches most of the time.)

But a friend of mine shared with me her recipe for homemade hot cocoa mix.  Score!  It's easy to mix up and very inexpensive if you have a lot of hot cocoa lovers to satisfy.   Over the years, I tweaked her recipe a little her and there, most notably adding the chocolate pudding mix.  Here's my current version, which is still subject to change - feel free to modify to suit your own preferences for taste and texture.

Nancy's Hot Cocoa Mix (with a few tweaks)

Ingredients:
8 cups powdered milk
1/2 cup powdered chocolate drink mix (Nestle is always a favorite but any brand will work)
1 4-ounce box instant chocolate pudding (optional but recommended for thicker texture)
1/3 cup powdered non-dairy creamer (you can use cinnamon, peppermint or other flavored creamer if you prefer)
1/3 cup powdered sugar

Directions:
Sift or mix together in a large bowl or canister - stir well until there are no streaks of brown or white.  (A pasta stirrer makes a good utensil to blend the dry ingredients).

Store in tightly sealed canister or other container.  Use 1/3 cup mix to 8 ounces boiling hot water.  Stir and serve with or without marshmallows (homemade mallows  make it extra yummy!) or whipped topping.  Makes approximately 30 servings.

Happy mixing!

 

There is no such thing as a free lunch, or free time.

I never knew where this expression came from, but apparently there was a time in America when saloons offered "free" lunch as long as the gun-slinging patrons were buying drinks.  (Back when bars were called saloons, and patrons carried sidearms, I guess.)  But then as now, the expression rings true:  there's a price to be paid for everything.

There's also no such thing as "free" time, even though we've brought the full force of technology to bear in our attempts to create more discretionary time in our 86,400 seconds of every day.  Cooking and cleaning time has been drastically reduced by the introduction of appliances and "convenience" foods, and I love my washer and dryer, as well as my refrigerator, freezer and stove.  It's common that they are all going simultaneously, in fact.

But sadly it seems whatever free time we created has been sucked up by other activities: longer office hours, longer commutes, more activities for ourselves and/or our children and more hours spent in front of an electronic screen, whether it's a computer or television.  (Or for those of us who are multi-taskers, both.  Simultaneously.)

I fear we have made some poor trades in our relentless pursuit of "free" time, starting with cooking.  Or the dearth thereof.  Our grandmothers (and for some of us, our mothers) thought nothing of taking fresh, raw ingredients every day and preparing them into delicious, nourishing food for their family - there were no other options.  Eating out was a rare treat.  Food was never fast, except maybe the occasional grilled cheese sandwich.

Yes, it took time to cook beans or a roast, or to make cornbread or biscuits from scratch.  But whether they recognized it or not, they had the advantage of knowing - and controlling- exactly what they fed their families.  Now many families rely on purchased meals for more dinners than not.  (Let's face facts: there is nothing happy or healthy about a drive-thru dinner.)  For many families, a home-cooked dinner consists of heating up frozen, canned or boxed prepared "food" full of unpronounceable chemicals and laden with salt and sugar to preserve them.

Time and again, economists have pointed out that foods made from basic staples (dried beans, pasta and rice) and plain vegetables and meats are the most economical food choices, bar none.  It makes sense there's a price to be paid for the convenience of someone else cleaning, dicing and cooking, even if that "someone" is an assembly line of robots and minimum-wage workers.

The hidden cost is even more insidious - our backsides are bloating and our arteries are clogging, even as our wallets are shrinking.

What is our family's health worth to us?

I know (I do!!!!) that it's not easy to choose to spend any of our "free" time preparing food, especially if you view it as a drudgery or chore.  That choice may be harder if you lack confidence and experience.  And even your best efforts may be met with resistance if your family's palates are hardened through repeated exposure to high doses of fat, salt and sugar, courtesy of processed foods.  That's a lot of negatives to overcome.

But look at the positives: a gradual shift toward real food is healthier and eases your family's cash outlay.  Whether they realize or appreciate it now, your children will one day be glad you established a tradition of weeknight family dinners, prepared and eaten at home.  It's worth it when you find recipes your family likes and their eyes light up when they hear (or smell) a favorite is on the nightly menu.   That seems like more than a fair trade for the investment of some time and effort in the kitchen most evenings.  And who knows, you might find yourself enjoying it more than when you spent that time in other pursuits.

I hope the recipes and ideas I post will help others to take control of their family's nutrition and finances.  It may not seem natural or easy at first, but anyone can choose to invest some time into weaning their family off convenience foods and introducing real food to their table.  One of my favorite Facebook feeds is LifeHacker, and they recently gave a list of foods that everyone should know how to cook.  It's a decent list, and if you start with basics like spaghetti sauce and chicken soup, you can slowly fill in with other favorites you and your family like.  Once you've established a repertoire of "thumbs-up" recipes, you can look for make/freeze adaptations like once-a-month cooking.  A few hours of prepping and freezing once every few weeks can mean a month of hot, delicious dinners on your table faster than the pizza guy can deliver. Not to mention way cheaper.

Since there's really no such thing as a free lunch, or free time, let's choose wisely how we spend our family's time and money.

Happy cooking,

Frugal February

I've seen a few indications that other people celebrate frugality and simplicity in February.  But even if it's not a recognized observance, I'm going to make it my area of focus and resolve for the month.  I don't think we'll make the leap into extreme frugality (not even for a month), but there are some things that I can do to help us live a little simpler and cheaper, while still living well:

Making my own bread and rolls.  I love the convenience of scooping up bakery artisan breads and sandwich rolls, but wowsers, they are pricey.  I can make really good rolls and bread myself, and I have the tools and ingredients to do it. It's just a matter of planning ahead to allow enough time for bread making.

Using up the stuff in the pantry and freezer.  I realized when I blogged about my overstuffed pantry that I have gotten more than a little sloppy in my shopping habits, mainly because I have extra room.  I doubt we'll find ourselves with bare shelves on February 28,  but I'm going to challenge myself to build our weekly menus around the items on hand before buying any other staples.

Taking stock of cleaning supplies.  Like the pantry situation, my cleaning supply cabinet is overstocked, and I obviously have more stuff than I should. So this month will be used to figure out what's in there, use them for the purposes I bought them for, and be more judicious before rushing out to buy more.

Getting more out of what we have:

1. Using up the gift cards.  I carry around several hundred dollars in gift cards, and typically forget I have them.  I've taken an inventory and will start using them when I'm patronizing the stores and restaurants I have cards for.
2. Using those smart cards and discount coupon books.  No, I'm not advocating more spending, but when we do head out to eat or be merry, I will do my best to look for a discount we can use.
3. Squeezing all the good out of our YMCA family membership.  It's a monthly obligation of around $100.  Since I started running almost two years ago, we've steadily increased our visits to the point that one of us is there just about every day.  (I work out daily during the week and sometimes on the weekends with Mr. Official and Swimmer Girl, who each sneak in the occasional weeknight visit, too.)  We just need to keep it up, and if/when we aren't using it any longer, cut it off so it doesn't return to being a waste of money.
4. Making my magazines work a little harder.  I am embarrassed to admit to how many periodicals we subscribe to.  But worse than that are the magazines that sit un-read.  Starting this month, I will make it a point to make a recipe, cut and use the coupons, and/or use tips or advice from every one of them that comes in the mail.  And if I find some of them aren't delivering anything useful, they will not be renewed, no matter how good of a renewal deal they dangle in front of me.

Happy frugality!