Hot Cocoa for the win!

There’s nothing like snuggling up with a cup of hot cocoa after coming in from the cold… ok, ok, I know… it doesn’t really get that COLD here in Florida but I sure can remember some cold days from my

time further north and I still enjoy a nice cup of hot cocoa every now and then.

I can remember my mom making us a pot of cocoa on the old wood cookstove. We would sip as much as we could before we had to head out the door to catch the school bus… at one time we had to walk 1/2 mile uphill to get to the bus and in another place we lived it was an even further walk downhill… not much easier if the driveway was iced over.

Here are some of our All-Time Favorite cocoa recipes:

Cocoa In A Crockpot

Hot Cocoa (Powdered)

Single-Serve Hot Cocoa

The Best Hot Cocoa

Of course, you can always use the ready-made kind at the store too but there is just something a little extra special about whipping up some cocoa from scratch and the memories you make will be cherished for a lifetime!

You can also whip up some fresh cookies to go along with your cocoa for an extra special snack!

December 2022 Menu

I know I haven’t posted a menu in a while but I figured I could post the one I just made up. This was made using the free printable meal planner I have HERE. You will see that we have certain things that rotate on a set schedule but we do try to keep our dinners a little varied to keep everyone happy.

DayBreakfastLunchDinnerSnacksDesserts
Sunday
12/4
Eggs, hash browns, sausage, English muffins Fried chicken, potato salad, baked beans  Fruit 
Monday    Cereal/Oatmeal scrambled egg sandwichesSteak/Sweet N Sour Meatballs, Mac N Cheese, Baked Potato Fruit 
Tuesday
St. Nicholas Day
  Santa Pancakes  PB&J sandwiches, fruit  Leftovers Fruit 
Wednesday FULL MOON Muffins, Bagels, or Toast W/Eggs and Cheesy Gritssoup, grilled cheese, fruit slices, rice pudding  Homemade pizzas Fruit 
Thursday  French Toast, FruitChicken Salad, sliced tomatoes & cucumbers, lettuce  Loaded potato soup, crackers Fruit 
Friday  Cereal/Oatmeal  LeftoversSalmon/Chicken Patties, Mashed Caulitaters, Creamed Peas, pineapple slices Fruit   
Saturday   Make Sourdough Donuts or English Muffins Chicken Stir Fry, Fried Rice, Egg Rolls, steamed veggies, sauce Fruit 

Notes:

DayBreakfastLunchDinnerSnacksDesserts
Sunday 12/11  Monkey Bread, Eggs & Grits   Cheddar Chicken, potatoes, veggies Fruit 
Monday   Cereal/Oatmeal  egg salad sandwiches, veggies  Homemade pizzas Fruit 
TuesdayFrench Toast, Fruit  PB&J sandwiches, fruitTaco ring, salad  Fruit 
Wednesday  Blueberry Oatmeal Bread, scrambled eggs  Soup,
Grilled Cheese
Sandwiches, french fries Fruit 
Thursday  Pancakes, Fruit  tuna salad sandwiches, fresh veggies  Spaghetti, Salad, Garlic Cheesy pull-apart bread Fruit 
Friday  Cereal/Oatmeal  LeftoversBacon-Wrapped Pork Tenderloin, mashed potatoes, veggies Fruit 
Saturday POLAR EXPRESS!  Waffles, Eggs, Bacon SEE MENUFruitFudge
Cookies

Notes:

DayBreakfastLunchDinnerSnacksDesserts
Sunday
12/18
  Biscuits n gravy/Sausage/Eggs   Breakfast for Dinner Fruit 
Monday   Cereal/Oatmeal  scrambled egg sandwiches  Tortellini Soup, buttered bread Fruit 
Tuesday  French Toast, Fruit  PB&J sandwiches, fruit  Easy Bean Tostadas, Rice, Salad Fruit 
Wednesday  Muffins, Bagels, or Toast W/Eggs and Cheesy Gritssoup, grilled cheese, fruit slices, rice puddingShepherd’s pie, fried cabbage, beer bread, fried apples Fruit 
ThursdayPancakes, FruitChicken Salad, sliced tomatoes & cucumbers, lettuce  Homemade Pizzas Fruit 
Friday  Cereal/Oatmeal  Leftovers  Alice Springs Chicken, salad, baked potatoes Fruit 
Saturday Christmas Eve  Make Sourdough Donuts or English Muffins   Fruit 

Notes:

DayBreakfastLunchDinnerSnacksDesserts
Sunday
12/25 CHRISTMAS
Cinnamon Rolls, SCRAMBLED EGGS, SAUSAGE, OR BACON   SEE MENU  
Monday
  Cereal/Oatmeal egg salad sandwiches, veggiesLeftovers Fruit 
Tuesday French Toast, FruitPB&J sandwiches, fruitTacos or Taco Soup, Rice, Chips Fruit 
Wednesday  Cinnamon Swirl Quick Bread, scrambled eggs  LeftoversMississippi Pot Roast, mashed potatoes or egg noodles, veggies, milk Fruit 
ThursdayPancakes, Fruit  tuna salad sandwiches, fresh veggiesCreamed Spinach & Bacon-Smothered Chicken, salad, garlic bread Fruit 
Friday  Cereal/Oatmeal  Leftovers  Sloppy Joes, French Fries, Slaw Fruit 
Saturday
NEW YEARS EVE
  Cheese Danish, eggs, bacon Crunchy Chicken, Squash Casserole, Mashed Potatoes, or potato cakes Fruit 

Notes:

Some days are left blank to allow us to use up some of our pantry and freezer supplies. You can check out some other meal-planning posts HERE and HERE.

Time to think about those last couple of Holiday Meals!

Here in our neck of the woods, the stores are looking a little sparse so I’ve been trying to grab what I can when I see it for our upcoming holiday meals… have you planned yours out yet? If not, I’ve got some easy recipes for you to use and some menus from previous years that may inspire you.

Our holiday meals here may not be quite as grand as they have been in the past but when everyone joins around the table we have more than enough!

Here are some of our favorite recipes:

Appetizers:

Deviled Eggs

Oven-Fried Mushrooms

Party Cheese Ball

Pickled Eggs

Sausage Balls

Spinach Dip

Main Dishes:

Brown Sugar & Honey Glazed Ham

Roasted Turkey w/ Giblet Gravy

Side dishes:

Black Eyed Peas

Candied Sweet Potatoes

Favorite Sweet Potato Casserole

Grandma’s Mac N Cheese sprinkled with bacon

Greens

Homemade Bread Stuffing

Mashed Potatoes and/or Super Yummy Caulitaters

Momma’s Green Bean Casserole

Nanny J’s Carrot Souffle

Nanny J’s Corn Pudding

Old-Fashioned Cornbread Dressing

Potato Salad (with cauliflower alternative)

Simple Cranberry Relish

Steamed Broccoli with Cheese Sauce

Bread:

30 minute Rolls

Hoe Cakes 

Cinnamon Butter

Empty Tomb Rolls (aka Resurrection Rolls)

Honey Butter

Mama’s Best Dinner Rolls

Desserts:

Blackberry Pig in a Poke

Cheesecake

Chocolate Covered Eggs

Chocolate Pudding Pie – (This was something I always looked forward too with my Mom-Mom)

Coconut Cake

German Chocolate Pie

Luscious Four-Layer Pumpkin Cake

Mama’s Southern Pecan Pie

Milk Chocolate Fudge (Christmas Fudge)

Nana’s No-Bake Pig Out Pie

No-Bake Eggnog Cheesecake

No-Bake Peanut Butter Pie

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin Roll

Watergate Salad

Beverages:

Cocoa In A Crockpot

Ms. Shirley’s Hot Apple Cider

Old-Fashioned Lemonade

Susie’s Sweet Tea

Need a recipe you don’t see listed? Try checking out the search bar or leave a comment and we’ll try to get one posted ASAP!

We hope you all have a wonderful holiday season!

12 Days of Cookies

Here are some of our favorite Cookie Recipes:

Day 1:

Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Day 2:

No-Bake Oatmeal Cookies

Day 3:

Haystacks aka Noodle Cookies (2 versions here)

Day 4:

Easy Sugar Cookies (We also added some butterscotch and some white chocolate chips to a few and they were delicious.)

Continue reading “12 Days of Cookies” →

Christmas Cookie Countdown!

No matter what kind of cookie you like, I think we have you covered!

Here are some of our most favorite cookie recipes:

5 ingredient chocolate chip cookies

7 layer cookies

Blonde Brownies

Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Easy Sugar Cookies (We also added some butterscotch and some white chocolate chips to a few and they were delicious.)

Granny’s Chocolate Chip Cookies

Haystacks aka Noodle Cookies (2 versions here)

Hot Dog Cookies

Lazy Dazy Cookie Cake

Mudballs recipe

No-Bake Oatmeal Cookies

Peanut Butter Cookies

Peanut Butter Cake Mix Cookies

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Wheels

Peanut Butter Cracker Cookies

Pizzelles

Protein Pleasure Cookies

Rice Krispie Treats

Rolo Cookies

Russian Tea Cakes (These are a holiday favorite here at our house.)

S’mores

SOFT AND CHEWY GINGER MOLASSES COOKIES

If you need even more ideas be sure to check out this post:

Santa’s Top 10 Favorite Cookies That Can Be Made Ahead of Time!