cooking ala mel

Rich Hot Chocolate

February 5, 2011

The week I got my wisdom teeth out, I decided I would reread the Harry Potter series. My dad got me the boxed set of the British versions for Christmas, so I couldn’t wait to reread to see how the wording was different in the other version. With the snowy weather out, curling up with some hot chocolate and reading all day was nothing short of perfect.

My dad is a band teacher, so he always gets a lot of gifts from his students, which my sisters and I usually commandeer as soon as he brings them home. This year, he got some Starbuck’s hot cocoa mix. I felt bad using all of the packets, so I made up some of my own hot chocolate. Sorry, Starbuck’s, but I’m not going back. My hot chocolate is beyond delicious.

Extremely Rich Hot Chocolate
makes one 16 oz. serving
3/4 cup boiling water
1/2 cup fat free milk
1 T cocoa powder
a small handful of semisweet chocolate chips (roughly 12-15 chips – I used Ghirardelli’s 70%)
a dash of pumpkin pie spice (mixture of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves & ginger)
about 1 T honey (to taste)
mini marshmallows, if desired

Mix the cocoa, chocolate chips and pumpkin pie spice in a 16-oz. mug. Boil water and add to mug, stirring until smooth and completely melted. Add honey and stir until smooth. Add milk until almost full (a small amount of room left for marshmallows). Stir until mixed and enjoy with a few marshmallows. For those wanting an extra boost of flavor, try adding a splash of whipped cream vodka.

Gingerbread Pancakes

February 5, 2011

After getting my wisdom teeth out and attempting to eat soup, I knew I wasn’t going to last all week on soup, applesauce and ice cream. Having wanted to try to make gingerbread waffles, I decided to make it easier on my mouth and made pancakes instead. While mixing up the batter, my dad caught me in the kitchen and told me he’d fry them up for me, since it was still the first day of my surgery.

I ended up soaking them in maple syrup so they’d be nice and soft and devoured as many as I could for how long it took me to eat them, and I saved the rest for breakfast for the next few days (I think I managed two per sitting). They tasted like spiced donuts with the syrup, soo yummy!

I made them again when we got back to school; I was so excited for Alex to try them. Yum yum!

Gingerbread Pancakes
yields about 7 medium sized pancakes
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1 cup milk (I used fat free, lactose-free)
1 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1 egg
about 1 1/4 T molasses
about 3/4 t cinnamon
about 1/2 t ground ginger
about 1/4 t ground cloves
about 1/4 t ground nutmeg

Combine ingredients in a medium sized bowl until just incorporated (will be slightly lumpy). Cook on preheated griddle until bubbles start to form and edges appear dry. Flip and cook until lightly browned.

Hearty Vegetable Soup

February 5, 2011

I got a crock pot for Christmas from my sister, Jenny, and I was really excited to try it out. We had a good bit of veggies leftover at the end of the week, so I decided to try my hand at making a vegetable soup. I think I succeeded – this was extremely delicious! It took longer than I expected it would take to make it, but I think I’ve figured it out just fine.

Hearty Vegetable Soup
makes about 3 quarts
4 cups vegetable stock
2 large carrots, chopped
2 medium zucchini, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup frozen spinach
1 celery stalk, chopped
15 oz. great northern beans (1 can), rinsed
15 oz. diced tomatoes (1 can)
1 potato (I used russet), chopped
about 1/4 cup onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 T olive oil
1 t basil
1 t Onion Onion seasoning
1/2 t pepper
1/2 t salt

Sauté the garlic and onion in the 2 T of olive oil until onion is translucent and both are fragrant. Chop up all of your vegetables and put them into a 3-quart pot or crock pot. Add your vegetable stock, beans and tomatoes and heat over medium heat (or on high in crock pot) until potatoes and carrots are just softened. Add spinach and seasonings and cook until spinach is wilted. Serve with a bit of asiago.