Our crazy cold snap is supposed to go through tomorrow at noon and then, the temp swings upward. It’s so cold right now. Late post as I ended up working today.

Somehow, my work did not close the past couple of days and yet, we are canceling family night on Thursday because of the weather. Make it make sense! So much more I could (but will not) say about my work lately.

Anyway, on my stay home days I made hot chocolate twice this week! Two kinds.

Kind of Normal

Okay, so I did say kind of normal. I made my normal hot chocolate packet but then, did this to it:

Had some leftover marshmallow creme buttercream frosting and thought it might make a nice hot chocolate topping. Slight problem, if you take it straight out of the fridge, it sinks! So, I added some whipped cream and then, added the marshmallow creme buttercream. It was good but I probably need to try it some time with marshmallow creme (or the frosting) at room temperature when I add it to the hot chocolate.

The next kind of hot chocolate was the true winner this week!

Oreo Hot Chocolate

I’ve discovered I need to be careful with the hot chocolate recipes as sometimes more than one of the same type exist out here on the Internet (imagine that). So, after my Nutella disappointment, I carefully curated the Oreo Hot Chocolate recipes out there and settled on this one called Creamy Oreo Hot Chocolate.

Oreos happened to be on sale at the grocery store last time I went and so in addition to snagging a package for lunch treats (my husband and G both usually take their lunches to work, I do sometimes), I knew an Oreo hot chocolate was happening.

I pretty much followed the recipe exactly this time. Only thing I did different was skip the food processing part. A sandwich bag and a rolling pin worked well for me.

This made for a delightful dessert! Perfect for an overly cold and snowy night. Reminded me a bit of the Italian hot chocolate as it got thick but not quite as thick though I did mostly use a spoon for it as opposed to taking sips.

Of all the hot chocolates I’ve tried so far, this one I can absolutely see myself making again!

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Now, not related to my hot chocolate experiments, I just want to share that my husband is doing one of the most Midwestern activities ever. He’s grilling hot dogs in 8 degree weather! He brushed the snow off the grill to do this. No further comments from me at this time.

Maybe I’ll ask if he wants a hot chocolate for dessert.

Kind of a clunky title up there but that’s exactly what this post is about today.

Really thought I was going to have to work (we don’t get snow days quite as often as the public schools) so super excited when that message showed up on my phone.

Got my snow day list ready instead of trying to figure out what to wear:

• Pajamas. Check!
• Latest Paula Hawkins book loaded on my phone. Check!
• Hot chocolate. Check!
• Not needing to worry about driving in the snow. Triple check! (For the record, I can do it but it’s nice not to have to do it)

Hot Chocolate Time

I’m happy to report I enjoyed this Chocolate Covered Cherry Hot Chocolate. And it was easy enough to make, could be an occasional repeat around here. Seemed like a good choice for Valentine’s Day week.

Mostly, I followed the recipe exactly with a few exceptions: I cut it in half so just made one cup. Didn’t want to dirty a pan for one cup of hot chocolate so I warmed my milk in the microwave and then just mixed in the hot chocolate mix. Also, I only had regular hot chocolate mix with marshmallows (though I do only buy Swiss Miss brand so that part was the same). I find the little marshmallows just melt into the hot chocolate anyway so doubt it impacted the flavor.

Clearly, I also didn’t take the time to make a chocolate covered cherry opting instead to just add some cherries on top of the whipped cream (Reddi-wip over here) and garnished with a bit of regular cocoa powder.

Final thoughts: This had good flavor and would probably be truly amazing with the extra chocolate in the garnish. I think a shot of amaretto might really enhance this hot chocolate if you were so inclined (though maybe not at 8:a.m.). Might consider simply adding in a teaspoon of almond extract as well if I make it again.

It’s got enough cherry flavor that if you for some reason do not like cherries, you will not like this. I liked it as I like cherry flavor. The only flavor I really despise is grape so I won’t be trying any grape hot chocolate not that I’ve see a recipe for that anywhere.

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Are you a fan of cherry flavor? Are there any flavors you intensely dislike? What flavor do you think would be a good addition to a hot chocolate?

What about snow days? Do you get those? And if so, how do you spend them?

Hope if you are in the path of this latest snowstorm, you stay safe and warm!

It’s an ice day around here (well, for me). Husband went to work and G had a late start. It’s not a pretty ice storm either. It’s the kind where the roads/sidewalks look fine but then you step outside and it’s slick! Lots of wrecks and highway shutdowns this morning.

Oddly, Monday was so warm that I went to the grocery store with no coat and we grilled pork chops for dinner. Yesterday, the temperature took a dive and by the late afternoon, the bitter wind arrived.

Anyway, here’s the hot chocolate report for this week.

Iced Hot Chocolate

A few weeks back I tried a vanilla hot chocolate packet which I did not like at all. And to my dismay, I’d accidentally purchased 2 of them! I noticed on the back of the packet directions for making iced-hot chocolate. Interesting. Since it was so warm on Monday, I gave it a try. Definitely better this way. Probably not going to be a go-to for me but way better than the hot version. However, I’m going to stick with iced-coffee (or blended–a better value at the fancy coffee shops) and iced-tea when the weather is warm.

Hazelnut Hot Chocolate

I think I’ve perhaps learned my lesson with these particular packets of hot chocolate:

The Hazelnut chocolate cocoa mix is missing hazelnuts from the ingredients! Geez. Since I had time this morning I opted to go in search of an actual hazelnut hot chocolate recipe instead. Maybe I’ll try the iced version of the packet another time.

I found a recipe for Nutella hot chocolate here.

And since we always have some of this in our pantry:

I decided to give it a try.

Cut the recipe in half as I was the only one interested in it. Final product:

Looked pretty. Apparently, I’ve become a pretty big hot chocolate critic. This was only okay to me. Not something I’m going to make again. And I do love Nutella! Maybe it needed more, it reminded me more of a hot Nesquik than hot chocolate. I guess is it even technically a hot chocolate?

Going to stick with having my Nutella the proper way, just having it straight off a spoon. Or heated over a bit of ice cream. (G likes peanut butter and Nutella sandwiches but I’ve never tried those).

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I’ll end this post properly with this fun throwback (we actually heard it on the radio this weekend!):

And a couple questions: Have you ever had an iced-hot chocolate? Do you think Nutella hot chocolate counts a genuine hot chocolate?

*Full Disclosure: I had to pay a cat tax collector in a bit of whipped cream while trying to judge my Nutella hot chocolate. She refused to be photographed.

Okay, maybe hot weather is relative. Snow melting, no coat in January weather? The first super early round of mud season is upon us weather? Hello, potholes weather (actually, that weather’s been here for a bit!). A fool’s spring definitely.

Quick post as it was a long day, I make my own schedule so why would I agree to close one day and open the next? Ugh. Not bad days but I’m tired.

Hot Chocolate of the Week:

Not a hit with me even with marshmallows added. And I typically do like Dove chocolates (though to be fair, I’m a dark chocolate fan much more than milk chocolate). I think this came from my work Christmas gift. Hoping I’ve not ruined quick hot chocolate for myself by making those homemade versions! I made this Sunday when it was cooler out.

Hot Weather (for January)

It’s beautiful and sunny outside except it’s also oh so muddy! Lots of snow from a blizzard makes lots of mud when it melts. Just a reminder that this was our weather just last week on Tuesday:

So between the two, I’ll take the warmer weather. That said I’ve seen this meme numerous places to the point I’m not sure how to credit the original author but it’s extremely accurate:

What season is it where you are?

Nope, not a typo in my title. I tried two different types of hot chocolate this week. And yes, it is only Wednesday.  Take a look at what temperature we woke up to on Tuesday:

Yeah, just a little chilly out there. Still, I had a hair appointment and since I was out anyway, made a brief stop by the grocery store. Don’t worry it was up to 3 degrees by the time I made it to the store. So, you see the logic of trying two hot chocolates this week instead of only one.

Monday’s choice:

Monday wasn’t quite as cold. However, I thought it would be a good day to try out a new recipe since I had the day off work. Colonial Hot Chocolate seemed fitting somehow as it was also Inauguration Day.

Hmm…needs a little something. How about a bit of whipped cream topped with cinnamon-sugar?

My thoughts: While I enjoyed the flavor of it, I didn’t care for the grittiness of it. Not sure if I did something wrong or that was just how they had their hot chocolate in colonial times. I do think if you put the spices in a tea strainer or maybe strained the hot chocolate before pouring in the cup, it would improve the experience quite a bit.

Notes: I didn’t have any star anise so left it out, I think it would’ve enhanced the flavor but I didn’t miss it that much. Also didn’t have any orange rinds (I’d definitely add that if I make it again) and opted to leave out the red chili pepper.

Tuesday’s Choice:

Even without the bitter cold, this choice wins of all the hot chocolates I’ve tried so far! Italian Hot Chocolate is definitely to be savored and not slurped away.

I added a bit of whipped cream to this but it did not need it. At all.

Look how thick this is:

My thoughts: First, a disclaimer, Italian food is my absolute favorite so no surprise I loved this. It was so rich and thick, definitely more a dessert than a drink. I mostly drank it off the spoon. My family, who I made try this one, all said um, it’s pudding. And it does have that texture. G thought it was a bit bitter but he’s not a dark chocolate fan.

Notes: I did make a few mistakes while making this, accidentally mixing the sugar at the beginning with the cocoa/cornstarch mixture. Making this is definitely a process that requires patience. I didn’t add any extra flavors to it. If When I make it again, I might swirl in a bit of vanilla or a bit of amaretto but I don’t think it really needs anything at all. Did I make two cups (J changed his mind about wanting any) and have a second cup without the whipped cream for dessert after dinner? Yes, yes I did.

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Remember as part of my 25 for 2025 list, I’ve decided to try a new kind of hot chocolate every week this winter (and packets count if I don’t have time to make it from scratch!).

Have you ever tried Italian hot chocolate?

Do you have a favorite style of hot chocolate I should try?

Just a super quick post this afternoon.

A Dud

I am more of a vanilla person so really expected to enjoy this one.

I did NOT. It was not good. Maybe too soon after the rich Belgian hot chocolate? Or maybe it’s just called hot chocolate for a reason? And I accidentally bought 2 packets of it. SIGH. Maybe I can figure out something to do with the other package to make it better.

A Delight

Before baking:

And after:

(Sorry forgot to flip the photos). YUM. Just YUM.

The blueberry French toast bake that Carrie shared was a hit! Mostly with me. To be fair, my husband said it would make a “good side” and that he didn’t care for mushy bread. (NOTE: the bread was not mushy at all. He just isn’t a huge sourdough fan and that’s what I used) J decided he was not a fan of hot blueberries but thought it would be great with other fruit. G just thought it needed something on top. My family is super picky though. This dish is an absolute 10/10 for me.

I made a few mistakes in the recipe like accidentally doubling the seasonings when I halved the recipe but I don’t think that hurt it at all. And not really a mistake but I always add a 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg to my recipes with real blueberries.

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Everyone was home again yesterday. Today, things are starting to slowly return to routine. My husband and G went off to work though G had a late start. I’m doing a load of laundry and pondering what I might want to do today.

I knew I wanted to put up a blog post. Maybe return to doing winter Wednesdays. So for today, just a few images. Even the nature centers were closed yesterday (and it was cold out there!) but I was craving some outdoor time (and sunshine!). So, a few phone snaps from the back yard to start.

Also, not the best pictures because my hands even in the fingerless gloves were COLD. I also should’ve grabbed the real camera for decent bird pictures because we had a great variety. That said, I do like how this zoomed in phone picture of a junco and cardinal sitting in the oak tree has a surreal painting like feel:

The cardinal a bit more in focus. The sun and wind knocked most the snow off this side of the oak tree so that’s why it looks so bare.

Higher up, the trees looked like this:

The trees were making me happy yesterday along with the bright blue skies! Just the tippy top of the trees in this photo had ice left.

Time to warm up:

On my list of 25 for 2025 (still thinking on that word of the year but leaning toward either savor or trust), try a new hot chocolate every week of winter. So I opted to start out by trying this Belgian hot chocolate recipe.

It was so good and so rich that I couldn’t drink an entire cup (I didn’t even fill this cup full). Half of it is still in the fridge to be rewarmed, perhaps later today.

Definitely a 5 star cup of hot chocolate!

Note, I love dark chocolate so opted for the darkest chocolate I could find that stayed with the parameters of the recipe.

Have you ever had Belgian hot chocolate? Also, if you have a kind of hot chocolate you think I should try, I’m open to suggestions. It doesn’t need to be homemade, if it’s a packet flavor, I’d like to know that as well.

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Now, I’m off to fold a bit of laundry, put away a few remaining stray Christmas decorations, and clean up around here a bit. However, you spend this winter Wednesday, I hope you enjoy it!

Sometimes it feels like February is the longest winter month. I know we all start getting a bit antsy for spring this month. And it doesn’t help with days of warmer spring like temperatures teasing. Then, the temperature likely plummets and here comes some cold. This is typically our coldest month. We’ll see what happens. And it always feels like the longest winter month to me as well.

However, we also get sunrises that look like this:

And there are things to do to keep the February blahs at bay. Though some do take intention.

Fun Things in February:

1. Groundhog day! (He didn’t see his shadow, so early Spring. Of course, here it was a sunny day so hopefully all our groundhogs slept through and didn’t see any shadows that way)
2. My husband’s birthday (Maybe you have family/friend birthdays to celebrate this month?)
3. Galentine’s Day…this is tonight for me. Getting together with girlfriends at the Cheesecake Factory for a fun dinner and exchange of small tokens of friendship.
4. Super Bowl Sunday! Go Chiefs! It’s more fun to watch when your team is playing but I still watched many years when neither of the teams wore red.
5. Pancake Tuesday. I’m all about holidays involving food!
6. Mardi gras
7. Valentine’s Day. Just pass me the dark chocolate and we’ll be fine.
8. President’s Day, a holiday is a holiday and a day off work for this one!
9. Chinese New Year is Saturday, it’s the year of the dragon!
10. And of course, there are 29 days in February this year as it’s a Leap Year.

 A Fun Photo:

I took this reflection of the sunrise in the window of my husband’s truck this morning. It captured the sunrise colors better than my proper photo. 

What do you plan to celebrate in February?

After so much cold and rain, the clouds parted, the Chiefs won (again!), and the warm sunshine arrived. It’s been a busy start to the week (work-wise) over here so not much time to post. This post is going to be short as well. Hopefully, I’ll have a minute to catch up on Friday. Just two photos for today.

Walking in Sunshine

(And mud, I took a picture but the computer doesn’t want any muddy pictures. Not sure why it won’t load. I did enjoy squishing into the mud while wearing my boots though)

My Kind of Winter Day

We went from the arctic blast to cloudy and rainy to 62 and sunny today! Welcome to Midwest living. How’s your weather?