Hot Cocoa!

On a cold winter day when the gray sky doesn't seem to want to turn blue, this great hot chocolate will make the cold weather not so bad. My babysitter used to work at a cafe, and she made delicious cocoa. One day she taught me how to make it.

This is what you need for 4 servings:

• 4 cups milk
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 4 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• A dash of cinnamon and a dash of nutmeg

How to make it:

• Pour the milk into a large pot on the stove.
• Turn to high and stir in the cocoa powder and sugar.
• Slowly add in the cinnamon and nutmeg, do not stop stirring.
• Once smooth pour into mugs and enjoy!

It's easy, isn't it?!

The Best Lemon Blueberry Muffins

These were originally lemon raspberry muffins, but you can use any berry for these.

Here's what you need:

• 2 cups flour
• 9 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda 
• A pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
•  2 teaspoons olive oil
• 3 eggs 
• 1/2 cup milk 
• 1 cup blueberries

Here's how to make it:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
• Butter a muffin pan and set aside.
• In a medium sized bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
• In a different size bowl mix the lemon zest, oil, eggs, vanilla, and milk.
• Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until well combined, and gently fold the blueberries into the batter.
• Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pans.
• Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the muffins.

Let them cool, and enjoy!

Quick Dinner

It was Friday and I had just come home from a friend's house. My mom pulled out frozen fish sticks and said, "Fish for dinner!" I am not very fond of fish for dinner, so I said, "Can I try making dinner to night?"my mom said sure, and I got to work. I love mushrooms, so I decided to make breaded mushroom caps and pasta with spinach and mushrooms.

Here's what you need for breaded mushroom caps:

• 5 or 6 small mushrooms (your favorite kind of mushroom)
• 1-2 cups bread crumbs

Here's how you make it:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
• Wash the mushrooms and separate the stem from the cap.
• Pour the bread crumbs into a bowl.
• Roll the mushroom caps in the breadcrumbs so that the mushroom cap is coated in breadcrumbs.
• Put the breaded mushroom caps into a glass bread dish and put into the oven.
• Bake for 10-15 minuets. 

This is what you need for the pasta:

• 2 cups pasta
• 2-3 cups water
• 3-4 cups spinach
• 2 small mushrooms
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon chopped ginger (optional)

This is how you make it:

• Pour the oil onto a pan, and set the pan to high.
• Put the garlic and ginger onto the pan.
• Add the mushrooms and spinach to the pan.
• Take off the stove when the spinach has cooked down. 
• Pour the water into a pot and add the pasta.
• Let the pasta come to a boil.
• Once the pasta is comes to a boil, strain it.

Serve with the pasta with the spinach on top, and the mushroom caps on the side.

Enjoy!

Crepes You'll Flip For!

Over this last summer we had a guest, Marie, from France, and she showed us how to make crepes!

Ingredients:
2 cups milk
1 cup flour
4 eggs
a pinch of salt
1 tablespoon brown sugar

How to make it:

• Whisk together milk and flour. Slowly pour in the flour so that the batter stays smooth.
• Add the eggs one by one, making sure not to whisk it too much.
• Whisk in the brown sugar and salt.
• Cover and let it sit for 1-2 hours, or over night.
• Butter a skillet and pour a small amount of batter onto it, spreading it around so only a thin layer of batter lays on the skillet.
• When the edges start to fold over, flip the crepe with a spatula or as shown above (it might take a few tries).
• These are good for breakfast with fruit in them, or dessert with powdered sugar sprinkled on them.  

Chocolate Cheesecake

Dinner was cooking on the stove. It was almost ready, but something was missing. DESSERT! So I pulled out my cookbook, an apron and got to work. I wanted to make cheesecake, but I didn't have much to use so I made my own recipe, and threw in some chocolate too!

Ingredients:

14-16 ounces of cream cheese

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 large eggs

1 cup sour cream

4 teaspoons cocoa powder 

1 1/2 cups gram cracker crumbs 

4 tablespoons melted butter

3-4 teaspoons sugar

How to make it:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F 
• Fold the melted butter into gram cracker crumbs in a medium sized bowl. Add the cocoa powder and mix until combined. Once well combined spread over a 9" pie pan. This is your chocolate crust.
• In a large mixing bowl, with a hand held mixer, beat the cream cheese, 3/4 cup sugar and vanilla. Add in the eggs and sour cream. Beat until smooth and creamy.
• Pour mixture into prepared pie crust.
• Microwave the unsweetened chocolate and butter until both are melted. Stir together, and add 3-4 teaspoons sugar to taste. Remember unsweetened has no sugar, so you can add more sugar if it's too bitter. 
• Spread the chocolate mixture over the rest of the cheesecake before baking. To make a pattern pull a knife over the top layer making over lapping lines.
• Bake for 30-45 minutes, or until when shaken, the center doesn't move.
• Cover and refrigerate for 2+ hours.
• Enjoy!

Rice Pack Warmer

Those of you who play sports like tennis, dancing, or swimming know that after a while your muscles get tired and achey. Why spend money on electric blankets and heating pads when you can make your own?
It's fun to sew and fun to use. I made mine 12" by 6", but you can make it any size you like. If you are making yours 12" by 6" then you need a piece of cloth that is 12" by 12".

Here's all you need:
A sewing machine
A bag of uncooked white rice
A cloth that is twice as wide as the size you would like it to be. This cloth must be microwavable (use  cotton, not a fake material. It will melt!!!)

Here's how you make it:

• Fold one side of your cloth to the other half so that the sides of material that you want for the outside are now facing each other.
• Sew up two of the sides so that all that is left to sew is the top. 
• Use the hole in the top to turn the material inside out. Use a funnel  or a rolled up piece of paper and pour the rice into the pouch of material that you have made. 
• Pour enough rice that it gets heavy, but not stiff. Remove the funnel and fold the edges to the inside and use the sewing machine to close up the hole.
• To heat the pack, just put it into a microwave and microwave for 45 seconds to 90 seconds.
• DON'T COOK THE RICE! You shouldn't microwave for over 90 seconds.

Peanut Butter Whoopie Pies

The other day I decided to make some cookies. Later I found that even though these aren't difficult to make, they are absolutely delicious! The filling can also be used to top other cookies or decorate cakes.
What made me choose these cookies was the combination of peanut butter and chocolate, it always gets me!
Martha Stewart came up with this recipe, and you can read more about it in her cookbook called Martha Stewart's Cookies.

Ingredients:
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature
2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
2 cups buttermilk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the filling:
1 1/3 cups creamy peanut butter
2 sticks butter, softened
1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Combine flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With an electric mixer beat together
the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla. Beat until combined.
on low speed add in the dry ingredients, and mix until combined

2. Drop 2 tablespoons of batter onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake until set, about 8 minuets.
let them cool for 5-10 minuets.

3. Filling: with an electric mixer, beat the peanut butter, the softened butter, and slowly add the confectioners sugar on high. Beat until smooth and creamy.

4. Gently spread the filling across a cookie, then put a cookie on the other side, sandwiching the filling.
Repeat until there aren't any cookies left.

5. Enjoy with a tall glass of milk!