Hot drinks for a cold day

So anyone who really knows me knows I really am not the biggest fan of snow. Is it beautiful? Oh yes, spectacular...but see, I can't enjoy it because I know that it is cold, sludgy, dirty, has the ability to be wet and dry at the same time, and did I mention COLD??? I live here in Michigan for 2 reasons only, Chris loves it, and my family lives here. So I have to suffer through the season and try to keep a positive attitude. But one thing that I really do love is all the soups and hot drinks we can consume! I absolutely LOVE to hold my coffee cup full of either coffee, cider, or hot chocolate. So I was thinking while drinking my coffee and watching the snow fall (YUCK!) how I should post some of my favorite hot drink recipes. Enjoy!

Caramel Apple Cider

I use this recipe:

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups apple cider
• 1 1/2 tablespoons caramel sauce or caramels, dip
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

1. Combine apple cider, caramel and vanilla into a sauce pan.
2. Heat over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until apple cider is hot and caramel has melted.
3. Pour into a mug and enjoy.

Ginger and Lemon Tea

Ingredients:

• 1 medium piece fresh Ginger, peeled (a spoon is great for this) and chopped
  
• 2-3 fresh lemons
• 3 quarts water

Directions:

1. Fill pot with water.

2. Put in ginger and lemons zest from 2 lemons, squeeze in one of those lemons juice (more if you like flavor).

3. Bring to boil then simmer about 45 minutes.

4. Put through a colander to get out the pieces.

5. Pour tea into cup, then but lemon slice on top to float, enjoy!

Russian Friendship Tea

This is also great as a gift, just put the mixture in an air tight container

Ingredients:

2 cups instant orange drink (like Tang)
1/2 cup sweetened iced tea mix powder
1 envelope sweetened lemonade mix
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

Instructions:

Fill a mug with boiling water and stir in 2-3 teaspoons of mix, to taste.

Homemade Hot Chocolate

Ingredients

1 tbsp. cocoa powder
1 tbsp of chocolate (about a square of Hersheys) (totally optional, I like the chocolate taste)
2 tbsp. sugar
2 tbsp. water
1 c. milk
a bit of vanilla, if desired

Directions:

1. Combine cocoa, sugar, and water in a small saucepan.

2. Heat it on low heat, stirring occasionally to prevent the paste from sticking to the pan.

3. After about 1 to 2 minutes, add milk vanilla and Hersheys if you want.

4. Mix it all together until it reaches your preferred temperature. I add Cinnamon at the end, yum!

These are so yummy to make, give them a try! And as a side note to you moms with little ones, please be careful when cooling the drinks on the counter or table. I have a close friend who set her hot chocolate on the counter to cool, turned around to get a glass, and her two year old somehow grabbed it off of the counter. She ended up getting 2nd degree burns! Poor baby!