Gifts In a Jar - Peppermint Vodka

Three of our jars just after the peppermints had been placed in the vodka by the girls.

I was searching for a hot chocolate mix that was yummy.  I've made a few in the past and GAG!  They were not what we wanted.  Seriously, some of them made the packets of *cocoa* seem gourmet level!  Do any of you have a homemade mix that will stand well as a gift in a jar?  If so, PLEASE share with me! 

As I searched through the multiple and varied hot chocolate mix recipes that take up a huge portion of the internet, I noticed a theme.  Seems there are quilte the multitude of persons out there that love them an adults only hot chocolate! 

Now, I have to admit that I don't drink.  My alcohol is used for cooking.  Love me some wine in my pizza sauce and I've posted a few canning recipes that use various adult beverages . . . . but I don't "do" booze as a beverage. 

So, when I notied this, I immediately asked a few friends if this was a common "thing".  Seriously, I'm such a dork I thought of hot chocolate as only something kids and wussy adults such as I would imbibe.  The friends had responses of "HECK YA!" and "Hmmm, never tried it, but now that you've mentioned it . . . ."

So, I decided to try it.

There really wasn't a recipe other than "take peppermint candy and let it dissolve in vodka.  Serve in your hot chocolate."

So, that is what I did . . . .

Peppermint Vodka

1/2 Pint Canning Jars

Vodka

Peppermint candies

Red Food coloring

Clean and Sanitize 1/2 pint canning jars with lids that seal (reuse old leads and seals or use the plastic ones).  Fill jars with vodka.  Unwrap peppermint candies (please, use the good ones, the ones that use actual peppermint oils and extracts and not artificial flavoring).  Drop candies in Vodka.  We used two candies in each jar just because we had enjoyed sampling the peppermints and only had enough to place two in each jar.  Enjoy watching the peppermints dissolve.  Now, you can be done at this step, or use red food coloring to make the flavored vodka look festive.  The girls wanted this treat for their "aunties" to look like Christmas, so we put 8 drops of red food coloring in each 1/2 pint of vodka.

We left the vodka sit a few days before gifting them.  We flipped them daily bethe sugary dissolved candies would settle in a layer at the bottom of the jar. 

To serve - shake jar and pour some in your favorite hot cocoa or sip it on its own.

 

Granola!

I enjoy granola in my yogurt.  Not all of the time, but as a treat.

Then, one day a few years ago, I was reading the ingredients of one of the more highly recommended "healthier" granolas and was confused - WHY did they feel the need to add salt?  The company, who shall remain nameless, had listed each item:  oats, honey, almonds, salt, etc.  So, I knew the salt was added on its own and didn't get listed simply because it was already on the almonds or another ingredient.

So, like I always do, I decided to jump on the 'net to see what I could find about this little treat.  Seriously, it couldn't be too hard to make a granola . .  could it?

Checking out pinterest and Allrecipes and a few other sites, I realized that making granola might be a little time consuming, but would come together quickly.  As a bonus, I had every ingredient on hand to make my first attempt.

And, that attempt was devoured in no time flat!  Miss Mia became a convert and started requesting it as her "dessert" after dinner.  Aisey . . . well, they were like her Scooby Snacks.  There were some larger clumps, and she took to requesting those as special treats when she was being good or celebrating successes (potty training bribes, I will admit).

I've slowed down making it . . . not because it isn't good, because it is GREAT, but because I have to watch how I "spend" my energy.  I highly recommend tying this at least once!  Plus it's always fun to show the kids how we can make something at home instead of driving to a store and buying something that may have ingredients you don't necessarily want as part of your life. 

Granola
~ adapted from wallflourgirl

6 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup almonds, chopped (walnuts and pecans would work as well)
1 1/2 c brown sugar
1/3 c water
1/2 c vegetable oil
1/4 c maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla
1 T cinnamon

Preheat oven to 300F.

Spray roasting pan (or anything 9x13 or larger) lightly with Pam.  Dump the oats and almonds into roasting pan.  Set aside.

Heat brown sugar nd water in a medium saucepan until sugar dissolves and mixture begins to boil.  turn off heat and stir in remaining ingredients.  Pour mixture over oat mixture in roasting pan nd still until oats are evenly coated  Ensure that oat mixture is even in height by patting down gently so there will be no uneven browning.

Bake at 300F for 45 minutes, until a deep golden brown.  Stir every 15 minutes.  Remove roasting pan to cooling rack and let baked granola cool completely.  After granola has cooled, crumble to size of your choice (as I said, there were some larger bite sized clumps mixed in with mine, but the girls liked it that way because it was like getting a "treat" with the larger clumps).

Stir in airtight container (wide mouth canning jars with reusable plastic lids are great to use . . . . or the large plastic nut containers - I LOVE the squareness of those containers - and the fit nicely in the pantry).  I cannot tell you how long this can last - our granola usually disappears within a week of being made.

Super Yummy and Quick Pizza Crust!

The girls wanted PIZZA!  I did as well, but didn't want to take the time to make a cauliflower crust and I was kinda tired of always using tortillas, so I pulled out the old tried and true.  This is a nice crust as it only needs to rise 15-20 minutes before preparing as pizza crust!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups warm water
• 1 T yeast
• 4 cups flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 T Sea Salt
• 2 T Italian Seasoning
• 1 T Minced Garlic

  Olive Oil

In mixing bowl, mix warm water and yeast.  Let sit 5-10 (closer to 10, usually for me) until mixture is bubbly.  Add 2 cups flour (one cup at a time) to the yeast mixture and mix well with dough hook attachment on your Kitchen Aid.  Add the additional 3 cups flour (one cup at a time), salt, Italian Seasoning and Minced Garlic.  Continue to mix/ knead dough with dough hook until dough becomes a smooth ball (you may need more/less flour, depending on weather - this time, we had to add another almost 1/4 cup for dough to be to my liking). Cover bowl with clean kitchen towel. Let dough rest for 10 to 20 minutes. 

Evenly coat pizza pan with Olive oil.  

Preheat oven to 400F.  Split dough into two pieces (these make very large pizzas, you may need to split dough into 4 or more pieces, depending on size of your pizza pans).   Sprinkle top of dough with flour.  Roll one part of dough out on pizza pan.  Continue with second part of dough. 

Top dough with whatever toppings your family likes.  Bake at 400F for 15 -20 minutes, until cheese is light golden brown.

This recipe can make cheese sticks - load the dough with lots of cheese and bake a little less (around 12-15 minutes).

Additionally, this can make cinnamon sticks - leave out the Italian Seasoning and Garlic when mixing dough, use butter instead of olive oil when rolling out dough.  Spread additional softened butter over rolled out dough and then sprinkle with mixture of cinnamon/sugar.  Bake around 12 - 15 minutes).