Recipe: Instant Hot Cocoa Mix

A few days ago I posted up a recipe for instant vanilla chai tea mix. On the website that I found that recipe on was also a recipe for instant hot cocoa mix! It sounded so yumy that I decided to gift that to people as well. I originally found the recipe over on momadvice.com. It sounded yummy and I decided to make it for everyone! The only problem I had with her recipe is it didn't really say how much it makes.

So this recipe makes 4 quart sized jars.

Ingredients:
8 cups nonfat dry milk powder
3 cups sugar
2 cup non-dairy coffee creamer
1 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 (4 ounce) packages instant chocolate fudge pudding

Recipe: Chocolate Chip Bacon Cookies

So this is the time of year for baking, and you know what my favorite thing to bake is? Chocolate Chip Cookies. However, lately I noticed that my chocolate chip cookies were missing something. You know what they were missing? BACON. You just have to trust me on this one and dive in and try them.These cookies are really soft, and to tell you the truth, if you are scared of the bacon you can leave it out, although I wouldn't recommend it!

Chocolate Chip Bacon Cookies

Ingredients: 

4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 cups butter, softened

1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar (for the cookies)
2 cups brown sugar (for the bacon)

1/2 cup white sugar

2 (3.4 ounce) packages instant vanilla

pudding mix

4 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

4 cups semisweet chocolate chips

2 packages worth of caramelized bacon (see directions below) (also, when I made these with the bacon I only used one package of bacon, still good, but it totally needed more bacon. Two packages worth should be perfect!)

Thursday Night Unwind

Oh yes! We've made it to Thursday again! And as usual I have an action packed weekend planned. First on the list is after work. I'm going to a bar with some coworkers called The Lazy Oaf Cafe. I've never been there before, so it should be a good time. After that I'm going to the Crossroads Coffee House to see a friend's dad's band play. Then of course there will be some crafting and good food as well throughout the weekend. good times indeed. First step is to get through tomorrow at work... actually, that's the 2nd thing. First thing is to get to sleep tonight. So I think it's time to unwind! Up for tonight is a band that isn't as good recorded as they are live. Cause lets face it, you don't like The Flaming Lips because they have an amazing singer... you like them because they put on an AMAZING live show!

The first time I heard of the Flaming Lips, I was at a live concert thrown by Southern Comfort. I was there for the band that came on before them, so I was already up front & center. Then the band I went to see got off the stage and the Flaming Lips started. I was gonna walk away... but I'm soooooooooooo glad I didn't!

First up we have their song called the Yeah Yeah Yeah song... live (of course) :) Enjoy!!!!

Recipe: Spanakopita Bites

Tis the season for good food, family, and friends. And to start that out this Thanksgiving I'm going to be sharing some of the recipes of what's going on at my house. Now, while you have your turkeys or ham (or cornish hens in my case) cooking in the oven, your guests are going to need something to munch on in the mean time. So this is what I made to day to keep the rumbling bellies at bay. Spanakopita bites!

I originally found the recipe at What's Cooking Chicago. It said to use mini cupcake pans, but I used a regular cupcake pan and they were still awesome!

Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
1 small onion, chopped
3 green onions, chopped
10 ounces frozen chopped spinach. thawed and squeezed dry (I used a bag of fresh spinach chopped and it still turned out good)
4 to 6 ounces domestic feta cheese, crumbled
1 cup cottage cheese
1 egg
Salt and pepper to taste
1 pound phyllo, thawed
8 tablespoons butter (1 stick), melted
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Thursday Night Unwind

And we are here at another Thursday! It's been a long week and I am excited to be done with tomorrow and get on with the weekend! Some exciting things are in the works.

First of all at midnight tonight I find out if my zipper face costume placed in the instructables.com contest. I also entered my t-shirt scarf into another contest on that site so we'll see how that goes. I am working on some great tutorials for some Christmas decorations, and also I'm creating my first knitting pattern. Once it's perfected it'll be posted! 

But enough about what's going on with me. You are here tonight for some exposure to some good tunes. Now I know I didn't do a Thursday Night unwind last week so guess what... you're gonna get a double whammy! (yay). Tonight I'm showcasing videos from Phantogram & The Hundred in the Hands. We are going to alternate back and forth. First off we have The Hundred & The Hands with Pigeons:

good stuff huh? I love this music video! Next will be one by Phantogram. This one is called Mouthful of Diamonds.

Finally the Weekend!!!

I know we all love the weekends, but for me... OMG I freaking LOVE the weekend. It means I can spend endless hours gaming or crafting or cooking or whatever! No time limits, no stopping to talk to a client or boss, just what I want to do when I want to do it and for however long I feel like doing it.

On the agenda for this weekend is some hard core knitting, some movie watching, and some Halloween decorating (hopefully pictures will come of that)! I totally scored at the craft store and got really pretty yarn that I plan on making some shawls out of.