Cravings

Let me just get this out of the way up front.  No – I am not expecting.  These are not pregnancy cravings.  Sorry Grandma, grandchild #3 is not on the way.

Okay, moving on.  I gave up my coffee recently for several reasons.  It is expensive.  I like it only with liquid creamer or half and half.  Also expensive.  And I was wasting a lot when I would get distracted by kids and household disasters, coming back to find my coffee cold.  You can only reheat it so many times before it looses something, you know?

I have never liked hot chocolate, except on rare occasions.  Until now.  With a tight budget, the sweets have also been gone.  One night I was desperate for something hot and chocolate-y.  So Ben whipped up some homemade hot chocolate.  I was instantly hooked.  It actually tasted like chocolate – not like a powdered cocoa packet.  Smooth.  Creamy.  You get the point.

But alas, hot chocolate is expensive too.  Milk.  Chocolate chips.  Pricey. 

The next time I went to Costco I picked up one of these:

For $10, it’s a steal.  The equivalent of about $1.50 per bag in the store.  Cheap.  And I love having it on hand.  For cookies (on a whim).  Topping on coffee cake.  And of course, hot chocolate.

Just mix 1/3 cup of sugar, 1/3 cup of chocolate chips, and 4 cups of milk in a sauce pan over medium heat, until the chocolate is melted and the milk is heated through. {serves 3-4}.  Even Elaine has started asking for this treat!

It is  a treat in our house, but it is also my latest craving.  And it is still cheaper than Starbucks!  At $4.04 each, I can buy a gallon of milk for $3.19 and use a scoop out of my chocolate chip hoard.  And it serves all of us, not just one of us.   Mmmmm…one more thing to love about winter!