Insanely Rich & Delicious Hot Cocoa

A couple of days before Christmas, The Man brought me a recipe he'd found for slow cooker hot chocolate. Based on the ingredients it sounded like there was no way it would not be delicious...heavy cream, sweetened condensed milk, vanilla, whole milk...I mean seriously had to be good, right?

Then the two days before Christmas were so warm there was no one anyone felt like hot cocoa. Christmas Eve it was so warm in the house while we were cooking that we had the air conditioner on, all the windows open and fans going. So despite the fact I'd purchased all the ingredients, it didn't look like we'd be wanting any hot chocolate.

Thankfully, at about two Christmas morning, a strong cold front blew in. That cooled things off quite quickly and by eight the next morning we were ready for cocoa while we opened gifts. It was beyond delicious and I think it even gave our coffee loving uncle a bit of relief from staying in a coffee-less house for the holidays. (Never fear, he found the bagel shop around the corner.)

There's lots of winter left to go in the northern hemisphere, so I wanted to share it with you. There's no going back to powdered cocoa mix after this. This recipe came in a flyer from Ralph's grocery stores.

I did not make this in a slow cooker. I just cooked it up in a few minutes in a stock pot on the stove. I'll give you all my tips and tricks in that regard at the end of the recipe.

Slow Cooker Hot Chocolate

Prep: 5 min
Cook: 2 hours
Serves: 12 - 1 cup servings

1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
6 cups milk (we used whole milk)
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (1 full bag Ghiradelli chips)

In slow cooker, stir together heavy cream, milk, vanilla and chocolate chips. Cover and cook on low heat for 2 hours, stirring occasionally, until mixture is hot and chocolate chips are melted.

Stir again before serving. Top with your favorite fixings and enjoy. Refrigerate any leftovers.

I just dumped everything in a stock pot on the stove, kept the heat very low and stirred occasionally. It was ready in just a few minutes. I used a wire whisk to whip it up a bit before serving. The chocolate needs a little encouragement to fully combine with all the dairy ingredients and giving it a whip was just the trick. The chocolate also tends to separate a bit if it's just sitting a while so I kept my whisk close and continued to stir it occasionally.

Everyone at my house went gaga for this cocoa. We ended up postponing our brunch because the cocoa was so delicious, rich and filling. And the second cup was as good as the first. We went simple and just topped it with a whipped cream which was perfect. This would be a wonderful treat for guests over the holidays or on any cold night. I know I am going to get requests for this again. Enjoy!

Now Is My Time #57: Saying Goodbye To 2014

It's the official end of Now Is My Time 2014. Hard to imagine it's been an entire year already. That went by fast. If I am really going to honor the goals and progress I've made this year, it's critical that I take some time this week to look back and to evaluate how it all went.

Sharing this all with you here on the blog has really helped me to stay focused. I knew that each Monday I needed to evaluate where I was, where I needed to grow and make plans to accomplish those things.

I've had some great support along the way and I have been most grateful for that. The greatest lesson of this year has been that better self care means better life in every way - and it does not have to take time or attention away from other big priorities. When you take good care of yourself you are able to do things more efficiently and be happier and more energetic throughout the day.

I don't think Now Is My Time truly ever ends because it is my lifelong responsibility to keep myself healthy and strong of body, spirit and mind throughout my life. But I will always remember this year and it will inspire me going forward as I continue to grow and learn.

Being the best I can be is the foundation for my new theme for 2015 which I can't wait to introduce to you next Monday. In the past ten days some pretty amazing new opportunities have shaken things up around here and we are looking forward to some big, new adventures in the next few weeks and the coming year. I will look forward to telling you about those in the new year as well.

Hope you've had a wonderful holiday season and that the year to come will be a great one for you and yours!