Hot Chocolate

It's that season again. Not really, but I believe you can have hot chocolate at any time of the year. Home-made is so much better than packaged, if you're serious about your chocolate.

Hot Chocolate:

You'll have to keep testing and adding the following ingredients to taste as you add it to a small sauce pan.

I use half milk, half water, because I don't drink milk usually. Plus, you have a more chocolate flavor if there is less milk.

I notice that 3 tbsp cocoa, and an equal amount of sugar gives it a rich chocolate taste that is not too sweet.
Stir well, and throw in some chocolate chips to melt in there, or chocolate syrup.
Add 1 tsp of vanilla extract.

Heat up until ready.

Pour in cup and add whipped cream, marshmallows, or both.

Whipped Cream:

Home-made whipped cream is the best. Just buy a jar of heavy cream and whip it with an electric beater until it is firm. I add just a little bit of sugar, and rum. You can store it in an air-tight container for a few days if you whip it firm enough.

Fun fact: Did you know that if something like heavy cream is 'Ultra-Pasteurized', you don't have to store it in the refrigerator until it is opened?
It is just in the cold section of the grocery store, because that's where people expect to find milk products.
In reality, anything living and beneficial has been killed in it, so it has a shelf life comparable to cereal.

Fiesta Rice

I can't believe I haven't posted this. It's so easy, and adding the black beans makes it a one-dish vegetarian meal.

Chop up one onion and one green bell pepper
Saute in butter in med-large pot
Add one can of diced tomatoes plus a can of water
Add one cup of uncooked rice

Cover, until rice has absorbed the water.
Stir in a jar of salsa and a can of black beans
Salt and Pepper to taste

Add sour cream as garnish when you serve

Bi Bim Bop

This isn't really a recipe from scratch, more like preparation instructions. Bi Bim Bop is Korean mixed vegetables mixed with steamed rice. If you were to prep the vegetables yourself, you would be making 6-7 separate dishes in small amounts.

Steam rice. When mine was done, I added a tbsp of bean paste (found in a Asian market) and sesame oil, salt & pepper

Mixed vegetables. A good Korean grocery store should have these already prepared. Mine was labeled 'Seasoned 5 vegetables' It contains bean sprouts, radish, carrot, watercress, fernbracken all seasoned differently.

Put rice in a large bowl and arrange a portion of each vegetable on top.
Top with a fried egg.

To eat, mix everything together in with the rice.