Mexican Brunch

Having company over for a Sunday brunch before general conference gave me the perfect opportunity to pull out our fancy teacups and serve hot chocolate. It was quite delicious! Because we were having breakfast burritos, I decided to make a Mexican version of cocoa. This is definitely something I'll try again.

Mexican Hot Chocolate

• 3-4 cups whole milk (or 2% milk with 1/4 cup cream)
• 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 3 tablespoons sugar (white, brown, coconut, even honey or maple syrup)
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or 1/4 teaspoon chili powder)
• 4 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Pour milk into a saucepan. Combine cocoa powder, dry sugar, cinnamon and cayenne then whisk into the milk. Heat - but don't boil! Stir in chocolate to melt, then add vanilla. Keep warm and serve with whipped cream and/or marshmallows if desired.

Let's add recipes for the rest of our meal as well:

Mango Lemonade

Make a simple syrup (boil together equal parts water and sugar) and let cool. Combine mango puree with some fresh lemon juice. Stir in cold water and some of the syrup until it looks right.

Since those directions may not be terribly helpful, here's the recipe I started with - 2 cups mango chunks, 6 tablespoons lemon juice, 2 tablespoons sugar and 1 1/3 cups water mixed in a blender. Oh, and I found my recipe from last year!

Breakfast Burritos

This is a great dish to customize. Cook some sausage (this time we also had chorizo) or bacon. Scramble some eggs (with smoked paprika). Cook some sweet peppers and onions. Place a bit of each on a warmed tortilla with some Jack or Cheddar cheese. Top with salsa, sour cream, guacamole, etc.

Hashbrowns

Place several potatoes in a saucepan, cover with water, bring to a boil, simmer for 15-20 minutes until tender. Chill overnight. Peel and grate the potatoes. Cook in a frying pan - using vegetable oil or bacon grease - along with some chopped onion and minced garlic - until crispy golden. 

We also had fresh fruit, Mexican Shrimp Ceviche and Pumpkin Streusel Coffee Cake.