Hot-chocolate mix makes great gift

Dear Heloise: I have been trying to find your recipe for hot chocolate — I always make it for the holidays to give as gifts. It's the recipe with all the dry ingredients. Will you please reprint it? Thank you. —Patricia Reeves, Jacksonville, Fla.

Look no further — here it is:

2 cups of powdered milk

Dash of salt

1/4 cup of cocoa

1 cup of powdered sugar

Combine the ingredients well and put in a pretty container with a tight-fitting lid. Add a label with directions: "To use, put approximately 4 tablespoons into a cup and then fill with about 8 ounces of boiling water. You can add more mix to get the taste you like. Stir and enjoy!" This recipe and many other scrumptious ones are in my Heloise's Flavored Coffees and Teas pamphlet. Just send $3 and a self-addressed, stamped (63 cents), long envelope to: Heloise/Coffees & Teas, P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, TX 78279-5001. Hint: For a creamier hot-chocolate mix, also add about 1/3 cup powdered nondairy creamer and/or 1 tablespoon of malted-milk powder. Yummy! —Heloise

P.S. Add a dash of cinnamon or allspice to zing up the flavor — and, of course, a marshmallow!

Dear Heloise: While I love pancakes, my diet doesn't. As everyone knows, it's usually not the pancakes that are bad for you, but the butter and syrup. So, I would like to send along my breakfast tip:

I make up a serving of pancakes (3- to 4-inch pancakes) and top them with any variety of low-fat or fat-free yogurts. It's delightful! I get to eat pancakes with a new flavor all the time, and it's much healthier. Plus, you don't get that heavy feeling after eating pancakes. I highly recommend it. —Bonnie in Pennsylvania

Dear Heloise: You know what I just figured out the other day? I found that you can carry six glasses of soda to six thirsty youngsters using a muffin tin! This made it easier, and I did not have to run back and forth for cups. When you have a bunch of youngsters to deal with, every little thing helps. —Kerry in Wyoming

Dear Heloise: To keep pasta from boiling over, I give the inside rim of the pot a good coating of nonstick vegetable spray, and the water doesn't boil over. I've also found that if I give the colander a light spray, none of the pasta will stick to it, either. —Joyce A. from New York

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