Spice Tea

This is also from my grandmother’s recipe file, and another of my favorites.  The extra Vitamin C in the Tang kept me virus-free for an entire winter!

18 oz.  Tang*
1.5 oz. Lipton Lemon Tea (unsweetened**)
4 c. sugar
2 t. cinnamon
½ t. ginger
½ t. cloves

Mix together; serve with boiling water to taste.  (I usually use 2-3 teaspoons in a mug.)

*I am sorely disappointed to alert you to the fact that Tang contains artificial colors Yellow 5 and Yellow 6 and the preservative BHA, all of which are big-time Purpose Driven Mom no-no’s.  I am searching for a suitable substitute and will update this recipe as soon as possible.

**The unsweetened Lipton lemon tea mix is extremely hard to find.  If you buy pre-sweetened tea mix, omit the sugar from the recipe.  And, as any Purpose Driven Mom will tell you, double check what your sweetener is made of.  😉  Lipton uses real sugar in the non-diet versions.  That being said, please note that the Lemon flavor variety of the Lipton tea mix contains Red #40 and several other ingredients that raised my eyebrows.  However, I noted that the Lipton tea mix unsweetened regular flavor contains only tea and maltodextrin.  The choice is yours. Personally, I’d sacrifice the lemon in order to get a purer tea product, and just squeeze a little fresh organic lemon juice into the hot tea for flavor.

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MaMa's Hot Cocoa Mix

Over the river and through the woods to grandmother’s house we go…  This is my grandma’s recipe for hot chocolate.  While I no longer approve of the powdered creamer and all its chemical ingredients, it is the favorite hot chocolate of my childhood.  (Stir often…it tends to settle in the cup quickly.)

1 8-qt. Box powdered milk
1 1-lb. Box Nestle Quick
2 c. powdered sugar (sifted)
1 6-oz. Jar Coffee Mate 

Mix Well.  Use 1/3 cup of mix added to boiling water to make one cup cocoa.

Mulled Cranberry Cider (Wassail)

Tags

beverages, cider, holidays

1½ – 2 cups sugar

6  3-inch sticks of cinnamon

1 T whole cloves

2 quarts water

32 oz cranberry juice cocktail**

¼ cup lemon juice

1 cup orange juice

Place cinnamon sticks and cloves in center of 8-inch square of cheese cloth and tie with a string.  Place in large dutch oven with sugar, water, cranberry juice and lemon juice. Bring to boil, stirring occasionally.  Once it boils, reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Discard cheesecloth packet and add orange juice.  Stir.  Serve hot or cold. 

**may substitute pomegranate juice for the cranberry juice cocktail.