Joy in the Kitchen!

Hot Chocolate in the summer?  Must be time for CAMPING!!!  We're heading to a family reunion soon and I just found that I'm out of hot chocolate mix.  We love to make our own... we can make it creamier, or more chocolaty, and as we use quite a bit, homemade makes a good amount.   I have never really checked the cost of this against pre-made hot chocolate mix.  This is so handy for mixing up a double sized mug of hot chocolate to sip around the campfire in the summer, or for family to mix up as they want it all winter long. Usually I make a double batch of mix and keep it in a 2 gallon ice cream bucket.  I have to make the mix a couple of times through the winter.  This morning, my younger girls mixed this up in just a few minutes.  Hot Chocolate Mix 11 C.  Instant Milk Powder 3 C. powdered chocolate drink mix (like Nesquik) 3 C. powdered creamer 2 C. powdered sugar 2 tsp. powdered vanilla (optional) Mix all together in a large bow...

We LOVE a good cup of hot chocolate on a cool morning! Or for a bedtime treat! Or after playing outside in the cold! It's just starting to be cool enough in the morning to start serving hot chocolate at our house. Hooray! Most of the time I use an all in one mix (I'll post a recipe for that another time) that you just add to water. It's okay... but my favorite is this kind made fresh. Honestly, you just have to play with this recipe and adjust it to your taste. There wasn't a recipe to begin with... I learned to mix the sugar and cocoa "To just the right color" by watching my Mother. The recipe below is my best calculations of sugar & cocoa to get the "right color". LOL I mix up quite a bit of sugar & cocoa and just keep it in the cupboard. Then all I have to do it warm the milk & add sugar/cocoa mixture until it tastes right. Here's enough recipe to get you started. Enjoy! 3 quarts milk (or the equivalent of that usin...