Hot Cocoa Mix

Cold days call for hot mugs of chocolate.  This simple recipe is cheaper than boughten mix, and contains no high fructose corn syrup.

2 c. dry milk powder
1 c. white sugar
1 c. cocoa powder (can use less depending upon taste)


Sift ingredients together, breaking up all chunks. Store in an air-tight container.
To prepare hot cocoa, place 1/4 c. mix in a mug. Add 8 oz. hot water.

Note: For flavor variation, substitute 1 c. powdered coffee creamer.

Our 100th Post

Chocolate-Ribboned Peanut Butter Banana Bread

Topping:

1/2 C. all-purpose flour

1/2  C. packed brown sugar

1/4 C. creamy peanut butter

1/2 t. ground cinnamon

Batter:

1/2 C. butter, softened

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 1/4 C. sugar

2 eggs

1 C. mashed ripe bananas (3-4 bananas)

1 t. vanilla extract

2 1/4 C. all-purpose flour

1 1/2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. baking soda

1 t. ground cinnamon

1 1/2 C. semisweet chocolate chips

For topping: In small bowl, stir flour, brown sugar, peanut butter, and cinnamon until crumbly; set aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter, cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, beating well. Beat in bananas and vanilla. Stir in flour, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon until just moistened.

Divide half of batter between two greased 8"x4" loaf pans. Sprinkle with half of topping and top with chocolate chips. Repeat layers of batter and topping.

Bake at 350° F. for 45-55 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire rack.

Enjoy with a glass of milk.

Note: This tastes even better when you prepare it with your friend and blogging partner!  Thank you for sticking around 100 posts!  ~H&K

Perfect Cornbread

Perfect Cornbread

1 c. flour (can use all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, or corn flour)

1/4 c. sugar

4 t. baking powder

3/4 t. salt

1 c. yellow cornmeal

2 eggs

1 c. milk (or cream)

1/4 c. shortening (can use oil or melted butter)

Preheat oven to 425°F.  Sift flour with sugar, baking powder, and salt; whisk in cornmeal.  Add eggs, milk, and shortening.  Beat with whisk until just smooth.  (Do not overbeat.)  Pour into 10 1/2-inch cast-iron skillet.  Bake for 20-25 minutes.  (Cut with plastic knife or spatula to avoid harming cast iron.)

Note: the pictured cornbread was made with corn flour, which can be found with other Hispanic foods.  This particular batch was also made using heavy whipping cream instead of milk, which makes for a much richer bread that hardly needs buttered.

Jelly fish

To understand this post, you must watch the video.  Even so, you may not understand me.  

Jelly Fish Sandwich

2 slices whole wheat bread
1/3 can tuna
1 T. jelly, any flavor (we used mixed berry)

Take some jelly, take some fish.  Make a sandwich.

Just make sure you don't eat a real jellyfish!

Banana Breakfast Cookies

Delicious, filling substitute for granola bars!

3 ripe bananas
2 c. rolled oats
1 c. raisins
1/3 c. plain yogurt
1 t. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350° F.  Mash bananas in a large bowl.  Add remaining ingredients.  Mix well; allow to sit for 15 minutes.  Drop on paper-lined cookie sheets.  Bake 20 minutes or until lightly brown.

Lazy Mary Frosting

Okay, so I haven't not been cooking!  I've just been making the same, old favorite recipes.  But this one is super easy and keeps me from having no posts in September; and I used it twice last week.


Lazy Mary Frosting

Yumtiousness

1 c. chocolate chips
1 8-inch square cake or brownies


Bake cake or brownies as directed in recipe.  Sprinkle chips atop, immediately after removing from oven.  Return to oven for 2-5 minutes, or until glossy.  Remove from oven and spread with a metal spatula until smooth.  This is seriously amazing frosting!


Alternate recipe: Sprinkle 1 c. chocolate chips in a lightly greased 8"-square pan.  Bake at 350° F. for 3-ish minutes.  Spread until smooth.  Cool, break into pieces, and enjoy!!  :)  


Who needs brownies?

Morsels of Chocolate is 2!

I missed posting our anniversary, but this blog is officially two years old!  Thank you to our faithful readers who have followed us this long!

Burrito Pie

3 flour tortillas
1 (15-oz.) can refried beans
2 1/2 c. shredded cheese
Salsa (optional)


Grease a deep-dish 9-inch pie plate.  Spread a layer of beans in the bottom of the pan.  Top with salsa, and a layer of cheese.  Spread beans on one side of one tortilla.  Place on top of cheese with the beans facing up.  Top with salsa and more cheese.  Repeat layers once.  Top with a tortilla and the remaining cheese.


Bake at 350° F. for 25-30 minutes.


Serve with lettuce, tomatoes, and sour cream, if desired.


This can easily be prepared the day before it is baked.  Add ground beef if desired.

Orchard Whirlwind Milkshake

1 nectarine or peach, cored and chopped

1 c. vanilla ice cream

milk

Whirl in blender until smooth.  Serves 1 or 2.

This is very handy!

I will want to keep this link in my favorites.  :)

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

Unsure what to do with all the zucchini from your garden/your neighbors' gardens/your friends' gardens/your enemies' gardens?  Try this moist and delicious cake! 

½ c. butter
½ c. oil
1¾ c. sugar
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla
½ c. buttermilk or sour milk
2½ c. flour
¼ c. cocoa powder
½ t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
½ t. cinnamon
½ t. cloves
2 c. grated zucchini
½ c. chocolate chips


Preheat oven to 325°. Cream butter, oil, and sugar. Add eggs, vanilla, and milk and beat well. Sift dry ingredients; beat into butter mixture. Stir in zucchini. Pour into 9”x13” pan and sprinkle chocolate chips evenly over the top. Bake for 40-45 minutes. (This makes a tender, moist cake that needs no frosting because of the chocolate chips.)

Pre-baking

Post-baking

Hint of Mint Double Chocolate Cookies

1 c. sugar
1/2 c. butter, softened
1 egg
1 t. vanilla
3 drops mint extract
2-ish c. flour
cocoa powder to taste (approximately 1/4 c. or so)
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
chocolate chips (probably a cup or so)

Preheat oven to 375°F.  Cream butter and sugar; add eggs and flavorings and beat well.  Add flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.  Add chocolate chips to taste.  (Taste dough to make certain it is yummy.)  Drop by teaspoon onto papered cookie sheets and bake for 8-10 minutes or until slightly underbaked.  Cool approximately 1 minute before transferring to a plate to cool.  While cookies are warm, enjoy one--or two--with a glass of milk.  Take the rest with you to the fireworks display on July 4th to win instant friends.  ;)

Apologies for the approximations.  K and H developed this recipe from a regular chocolate chip cookies recipe, so we added the cocoa powder until it looked right.  And H never measures chocolate chips--whatever looks good is what I add.  So have fun with it and let us know how it turns out!  ~H & K

Blueberry-Pecan Biscuits

2 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
3 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1 T. raw sugar, plus more for topping
4 T. unsalted butter
1/2 c. blueberries
1/4 c. chopped pecans
2/3 c. sour milk

Preheat oven to 450°F.  Sift flour, baking powder, and salt; stir in sugar.  Cut in butter until crumbly.  Gently add blueberries and pecans.  Add milk all at once, gently stirring until dough follows fork around bowl.  Be very gentle with the dough to avoid crushing berries.  Drop by tablespoon onto lightly greased baking sheet; sprinkle top with raw sugar.  Bake for 12-15 minutes.  Serve with yogurt or eggs.

Total prep time: approximately 1 hour.

Vegetarian Taco Salad

vegetarian chili beans
lettuce, washed and torn to small pieces
tomatoes, washed and chopped
cucumbers, washed and chopped
minced onion
shredded cheeese, any variety
salsa
tortilla chips
sour cream

Combine or layer in any order on serving plates or in one large bowl.  All ingredients may be substituted or omitted as desired.

This is a delicious no-cook meal which even my meat-loving Dad enjoyed!

Quesadillas Supremas

Olive oil for skillet
Flour tortillas
Shredded cheese
Chopped, cooked chicken
Mashed avocado
Chopped tomato
Minced bell pepper
Salsa and sour cream (optional)

Heat a very small amount of oil in a cast-iron skillet.  On one half of each tortilla, spread a teaspoon or two of avocado.  Top with chicken, tomato, pepper, and cheese.  Fold tortilla over toppings.  Place one at a time in hot skillet, cheese side up.  Cook until side is browned (a few minutes); flip and cook until the other side is browned and cheese is melted.  Place on serving plate.  Cut into four pieces.  Serve with sour cream and salsa for dipping, if desired.  Each quesadilla serves one.

Easy Lemon Drop Cookies

1/2 c. butter, softened
1/2 c. white sugar
2 t. vanilla
1 egg
1 (3-oz.) package lemon-flavored gelatin dessert
poppy seeds (optional)
2 c. flour
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt

Preheat oven to 375°F. Cream butter and sugar; add eggs and vanilla and beat well.  Beat in gelatin and poppy seeds.  Add remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly.  Chill dough for approximately 20 minutes.  Drop by teaspoonful 2 inches apart on paper-lined cookie sheets.  Bake 8-10 minutes.

This is a great way to use the package of gelatin which has been sitting in your cupboard for two years, which expired last October, and which you don't think you will use any other way.  Feel free to experiment with other flavors of gelatin.

Asparagus with Cream Sauce

Found this and edited it till it made a perfect sauce. Do steam the asparagus instead of boiling it; boiled asparagus can have a bitter taste.

Ingredients:
Asparagus spears, hard end cut off
4oz. cream cheese
1/4 cup milk
1 Tbsp lemon juice
dash salt
2 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese
Ground chives, to taste

Directions:
Steam asparagus until tender. In small saucepan, whisk cream cheese, milk, lemon juice, and salt over low heat until smooth. Add parmesan and chives and heat through. Serve warm over asparagus. Serves: 4-6.

--K.

Lessons learned

Lesson #1: Bad smoothies


Bad smoothie #1: Frozen banana and lemon yogurt.  Something about the lemon-banana combination is terrible. (Might be better if another flavor is added.)


Bad smoothie #2: Pureed cantaloupe and plain yogurt.  Which leads me to Lesson #2:


Lesson #2: Pureed cantaloupe should be avoided at all costs.  It resembles applesauce in consistency; but unlike applesauce, it tastes horrible!  (And I love ordinary cantaloupe.)

Best Smoothie Ever

1 banana, frozen
2 T. peanut butter (approximately)
1 T. cocoa powder (approximately)
water (or milk) to thin
sweetener may be added to taste, if so desired

Combine in a blender until smooth.  Chill before eating, if desired.

Soft cookies

Secrets for soft cookies:


~Melt the butter.  And use butter--not a substitute.
~Use brown sugar.  No white.
~Do not over-bake!  This will ruin all your efforts.
~In fact, under-bake.  Then leave the cookies on the sheets a few minutes.  They will continue cooking.
~Do not place cookies on a wire rack.  This dries them out, resulting in hard cookies.
~Store cookies in an airtight container, along with a slice of bread.


Trust me.  It works!  :)

Peanutty Chocolate Banana Muffins

2 c. flour
1 c. sugar
1 T. baking powder
½ t. salt
1 c. mashed, ripe bananas (I used 3 bananas)1/3 c. milk
1/3 c. peanut butter
3 T. peanut oil (can use vegetable or canola)
1 egg
1 c. chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 400° F.  Place papers in 17 muffin cups (18 if you make small muffins). 

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.  In a separate bowl, mix bananas, milk, peanut butter, oil, and egg.  Add to dry ingredients, mixing just until moistened.  Stir in chocolate chips.  Place ¼ c. batter in each muffin paper (use less per muffin if you want 18 muffins). 

Bake 20-25 minutes.

The reason the number of muffins is off is that this recipe originally made 1 loaf of bread, baked at 350° for 60 minutes.  And the original recipe calls for chocolate chips and chopped peanuts to be sprinkled on top before baking.

Cheesecake Pudding

1 sm. box white chocolate pudding mix
1 8-oz. cream cheese, softened
2 c. milk, divided

Combine cream cheese with 1/4 c. milk until smooth.  With a wire whisk, beat in remaining milk.  Add pudding mix and beat 1 minute, until smooth.  Spoon into serving dishes; serve after 5 minutes.

Any pudding may be used.  Cream cheese makes it richer and also firmer.

Super Quick Dinner Muffins

1 c. flour (can use all or half whole-wheat flour)
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
2 T. mayonnaise
1 c. milk

Preheat oven to 350° F.  Grease a regular-sized 6-cup muffin tin.  In a medium bowl, combine dry ingredients; add mayonnaise and milk.  Spoon into muffin cups.  Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until nicely puffed and browned.

Chicken Rice Soup

This is a nice alternative to chicken noodle soup, when one is restricted to a bland diet.

2 boneless, skinless chicken thigh pieces
3-4 celery stalks, diced
3-4 carrots, peeled and diced
parsley, to taste
rosemary, to taste
black pepper, to taste
garlic powder, to taste
onion flakes, to taste
8 c. water
1 c. brown rice, rinsed
Olive oil

Place chicken pieces in a large, heavy soup pot.  Add celery, carrots, parsley, rosemary, pepper, garlic, and onion.  Add water.  Cover.  Bring to a rapid boil; reduce to simmering and cook about 2 hours, until chicken is thoroughly cooked.  Reduce heat to very low, enough only to keep warm.

Carefully remove 1 1/2 to 2 c. broth from soup pot.  Place in a saucepan with rice.  Cover; bring to rapid boiling.  Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until rice is tender, about 45 minutes.  Stir in approximately 1 T. olive oil.

Place one small scoop of rice in each serving bowl; ladle soup over rice.  Serve immediately.  Serves 8-10

Store rice separately from soup.  If added to soup for storage, it absorbs too much liquid from the soup and begins to resemble oatmeal in appearance.

Dinner Rolls

4 to 4 1/2 c. flour
1 T. dry yeast
1 c. milk
1/3 c. sugar
1/3 c. butter
1 t. salt
2 eggs

In a large mixing bowl combine 2 c. flour and the yeast.  In a saucepan heat milk, sugar, butter, and salt until just warm (115° to 120°) and butter is almost melted; stir constantly.  Add to flour mixture; add eggs.  Beat at low speed of electric mixer for 1/2 minute, scraping sides of bowl constantly.  Beat 3 minutes at high speed.

Stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can mix in with a a spoon.  Turn out onto a lightly floured surface.  Knead in enough of the remaining flour to make a moderately stiff dough that is smooth and elastic (6-8 minutes total).  Shape into a ball.  Place in lightly greased bowl; turn once to grease surface.  Cover; let rise in a warm place until double (about 1 hour).

Punch down; divide dough in half.  Cover; let rest 10 minutes.  Shape into desired rolls (normal rolls, crescents, clover-leaves, etc.).  Cover; let rise until nearly double (about 30 minutes).  Bake at 375° for 12 to 15 minutes or until done.  Makes 2 to 2 1/2 dozen.

(Who knew fresh bread could be so simple?)

Cinnamon Crunch Muffins

Muffin:

1 c. oatmeal

1 c. flour

1/4 c. brown sugar

1 T. baking powder

1/2 t. salt

1 c. milk

1 egg

1/4 c. melted butter

Struesel Topping:

2 T. butter

3 T. oatmeal

2 T. brown sugar

2 T. chopped nuts

2 T. flour

1 1/2 t. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400° F. Place muffin papers in a 12-cup muffin tin.

Mix first 5 ingredients. Add milk, egg, and melted butter. Mix until dry ingredients are just moistened. Using 1/4 c. measure, fill muffin cups 2/3 full. Mix topping ingredients. Sprinkle evenly atop muffins.

Bake for 20-25 minutes. Serve immediately.

Note: I discovered the 1/4 c. trick this morning when making these muffins. Usually, I cannot fill them evenly and I have unevenly-sized muffins. The 1/4 c. measure is less messy than a spoon, and the muffins are more closely uniform.

Double Blueberry Whole-Wheat Pancakes

In honor of National Blueberry Pancake Day, my family and I savored these toothsome pancakes for supper this evening.

Sauce:

1/4 c. water

1 t. cornstarch

1 1/2 c. blueberries

1/4 c. sugar

1/8 t. salt

2 t. lemon juice

Combine water and cornstarch in a medium saucepan. Stir in blueberries, sugar, and salt. Simmer 5 minutes or until blueberries cook down and the liquid is thickened, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and add lemon juice. Cover and set aside.

Pancakes:

1 c. milk

1 T. butter, melted

1 egg, beaten

1 1/2 c. whole-wheat flour (approximately)

2 t. baking powder

2 T. sugar

1/4 t. salt

1/2 c. blueberries

Combine milk, butter, and egg in a small bowl. In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients. Pour milk mixture into dry ingredients; stir just until blended. Fold in blueberries.

Grease a griddle or cast-iron skillet. Heat over medium heat until water droplets sprinkled atop sizzle and dance. Drop batter by 1/4-c. measure onto hot skillet. Cook about 3 minutes on each side, or until golden.

Serve pancakes with blueberry sauce. And cream cheese, if desired. Other options include peanut butter, bacon, ham, whipped cream, other fruits, or whatever else your little palate desires.

Great Pumpkin Cookies

J and I made these at her house last weekend. :)

1 c. butter (room temperature)

1/3 c. granulated sugar

1/2 c. + 2 T. packed brown sugar

1 c. canned pumpkin

1 egg

1 t. vanilla

2 c. flour

1 t. baking soda

1 t. baking powder

3/4 t. cinnamon

1/4 t. allspice

1/8 t. nutmeg

1 c. chocolate chips (approximately)

Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly grease cookie sheets.

Cream butter and both sugars until light. Stir in pumpkin, egg, and vanilla. Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and spices. Stir into batter to make a medium dough. Stir in chocolate chips.

Drop by spoonsful onto cookie sheets. Bake for 10-ish minutes, watching carefully, until done. Cool on sheets for 5 minutes before removing to racks or plates to cool completely.

Store: in an airtight container

Freeze: if desired

Mail: no; they grow stale too quickly

These are most delicious warm, but do not lose their charm after cooling.

Potato Cheese Soup

Thank you, Preciosa, for sharing this recipe with us!

This picture doesn't do it justice.

2 c. diced potatoes

1/2 c. diced carrots

1/2 c. diced celery

1/4 c. chopped onion (optional)

2 c. water

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 c. butter

1/4 c. flour

2 c. milk

1 c. cooked, diced ham

2 c. shredded cheese

Combine potatoes, celery, carrots, onions, seasonings, and water. Cook until tender. Combine butter, flour, and milk. Cook until thick. Combine vegetables with white sauce. Add cheese and ham. Heat, but do not boil. Serves 4-6 people.

Your Recipes

Hello MC readers! As you can tell, K and H are terrible bloggers, averaging at best, 2 or 3 recipes per month. But maybe you have a favorite recipe that you would love to see featured. If you do, email it to us at morselsofchocolate(at)gmail(dot)com. If we approve of it, we will post it and give you the full credit for the recipe. Looking forward to finding recipes in our inbox! =)

Note: all submissions will be subject to grammatical and technical editing. Submitting a recipe does not guarantee that it will appear on this blog. Multiple submissions will not disqualify the submitter from recognition. We will not share your email address with anyone. Morsels of Chocolate reserves the right to test submitted recipes before posting them.

Black Bean and Salsa Soup

2 (15-oz.) cans black beans, drained and rinsed

1 ½ c. vegetable broth

1 c. chunky salsa OR 1 can Ro-Tel tomatoes

1 t. ground cumin

4 T. sour cream

2 T. thinly sliced green onion

Combine beans, broth, salsa, and cumin in a blender. Blend until fairly smooth.

Heat mixture in a saucepan over medium heat until thoroughly heated, stirring frequently to prevent scorching.

Ladle into 4 individual bowls, and top each serving with 1 T. sour cream and ½ T. green onion. OR serve with tortilla chips and shredded cheese.

Serves 4.

H's Chicken Tacos

(Measurements? who needs measurements? So sorry--I measured nothing.)

Chicken, cooked and cubed (I used boneless, skinless chicken thighs)

Hatch chili peppers, diced as small as possible (mine were frozen when I chopped them--that might affect things)

Red onion, diced as small as possible (not very much--onion is potent!)

Fresh garlic, diced as small as possible (I used more than it needed--garlic is potent, too)

Butter (not very much at all--probably less than a Tablespoon)

Frozen corn

Black pepper to taste

Cilantro to taste

Finely shredded cheese

Chopped tomatoes

Torn lettuce

Soft taco shells

Cook chicken (I baked it in the oven). Chop peppers, onion, and garlic. Cook onion and peppers in butter until tender; stir in garlic and corn; season to taste with freshly ground black pepper. Cook over low heat until corn is hot. Prepare tomatoes and lettuce. Warm tortillas in the oven, if desired. Cube chicken. Serve immediately.

Servings: that depends what quantities of ingredients you use.

Note: If desired, serve with sour cream and/or black olives. If you must.

Note: If you are vegetarian like K, you may substitute beans for the chicken. If you must.