Hi everyone! Wow it's good to be back in Texas! The wedding was great and it was fantastic to see my family again, but boy I missed being home! I shared my blog URL with a few of my family members so I am hoping we'll see them stop by here soon.. and oh yeah and we also got to meet my brother's girlfriend! My sister and I are a tad overprotective of our little brother. We want him to be with someone who will fit in with our menagerie so we tend to ..how shall I put it.... interrogate them?
There is no torture involved. Just questions.. a few hundred questions actually. You know what I am talking about right? Your typical if-you-are-going-date-my-brother-you-had-better-pass-the-older-sister-test-or-else type stuff (you older sisters KNOW what I am talking about). We asked what her favorite foods were (she likes Indian & Thai so that was a plus 15 points), dislikes (she does not like cheese - I almost lost it but then I found out she does like it melted so that was only a minus 5 points), shoe size (7), afraid of heights? (def not - we took her up to the top floor of our hotel and went to the edge to see what she would do and she was not scared or anything - even when we pretend pushed her)... and I guess the clincher.....Does she like crafts? I need to pause here to let that sink in. It's a biggie. A make or break kind of thing. I am thrilled to report that not only does she like crafts (plus 50 points) she ALSO brought a purse that she had made to show us (for advice from the sewing sister sages that we are - snort - yeah right) AND.. I feel a little bit famous here.. she reads my blog (Hi BenChops GF!!!). Did I mention she quilts AND is funny AND is coming for a visit in Jan...! In case you are wondering what she looks like.. you can see her arm in the pic above (to the left of my sister's wine glass). This is good stuff folks.
So let's talk about jar gifts!
Several years ago (9 I think) I received something that would completely change my approach to giving gifts during the holidays. It was a brownie mix in a jar. Seems simple enough and I know you see them all over the place now.. but for me this was something new. The kind lady who gave me the gift also included the detailed list of the contents of the jar as well as the recipe of how to make them. I did not even wait until the next year to start making these.. I promptly made up a batch to give out that very weekend.
This has since become a tradition that my mom and I embark upon every year (we have even made soups in a jar and other sweets as well). We get together with a massive assortment of recipe ingredients, jars, decorations, etc... and make up about 50 or so. If you get an assembly line going you can crank out a bunch of these puppies in record time!
Today I am sharing just the recipe and a shot of a finished jar. Later this week I'll have templates you can download and print of the recipe, tags and even some other nifty ideas for how to decorate the tops of the jars with fabric!
So here you go... Brownie Mix in a Jar
Layer these ingredients into a quart sized mason jar in the order I have them listed.
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 and 1/8 cup flour
1/3 cup cocoa
1/2 cup flour
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
2/3 cup white sugar
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup vanilla chips
1/2 cup walnuts
For the recipe tag you will list the following (..later this week I'll have tags available for you to print that has this info on it - but this will at least get you started in case you don't like the tags or are just hankering to make some easy yummy brownies).
Combine the contents of the jar with:
3 eggs, 1/2 cup oil, 1 teaspoon vanilla.
Pour into greased pan. Bake at 350 F in a 7"x11" pan for 32-37 minutes or a 9"x9" pan for 27 - 30 minutes. Enjoy!
That's all for today. I am recovering from the massive trip. It took us 13 hours to get there and 13 hours to get back. I am completely worn out!
Have a nice Monday everyone!
P.S. I won something over the weekend that nearly knocked my slippers off. I'll be posting a loverly pic of it as soon as I get it.. but you can check it out now HERE in all her Owly Fabulousness...
P.S.S. It's not too late to enter my Finally Friday Giveaway. You can read all about it HERE!
