HOMEmade gifts- Mocha Cappuccino Mix

Who wouldn't love a warm frothy cup of Mocha Cappuccino? I keep a container of this mix on hand at all times. Even my friends who are not coffee lovers love this Cappuccino Mix. Yes, it's true I do keep company with non-coffee drinkers. Once you give this as a gift be prepared to keep up the tradition, I gave it to a neighbor once and the next year gave her something different and I was met with disappointment.....and I do not like to disappoint. It makes me itchy. Cappuccino Mix is so easy to whip up, you can literally make a batch in 10 minutes, and it's a great gift for anytime of the year.

Here's what you will need. I try to buy the Nesquik and Coffee-mate in bulk at Costco, then I can triple the batch with out breaking the bank.

Mocha Cappuccino Mix

1 cup Coffee-Mate coffee creamer

1 cup Nesquik chocolate drink mix

2/3 cup instant coffee crystals

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Add 3 tablespoons of mix to 8oz. of hot water. Stir. Enjoy!

If you triple the batch like I did.....are you ready I am going to use my math skills....it will yield approximately 9 1/2 cups of mix giving you 6- 1 1/2 cup gifts to give (give or take a 1/4 cup here or there) and 1 1/2 cups of mix yields 8-8 ounce cups of delicious, creamy, Mocha Cappuccino! Phew....now my brain hurts and I am sure I probably made some sort of mathmatical error in there somewhere. Feel free to set me staight in the comments.

If you are going to triple the batch use your largest mixing bowl. Add all the ingredients.

Using a wire whisk I mix the ingredients well making sure that the flavors are evenly distributed.

Cappuccino Mix ready to package.

Then I pick my containers. I have used the plastic lined paper bags, mason jars, or you could fill zip-loc bags and put them in coffee mugs, with a ribbon and note card.

Tie a bow on it and you are done. In less than an hour you can whip out 8 of these tasty drink gifts.

The vessels you could choose are endless. The dollar store often has the clear glass mugs and if you are frugal unlike me you can find many great deals, after Christmas, on holiday themed containers to use for the following year. I am so bad at planning ahead for this sort of thing...but I have friends who are marvelous at it.....I think I will be like them when I grow up.

There are also a myriad of ways to label your packages. I simply wrote on my bags in marker, but you can purchase stick on labels and print out really nice professional type labels, like my friend Elaine at The Italian Dish....Elaine also has many other super ideas on her blog. One being making homemade vanilla extract, which needs to be done a few months ahead of time, so I might need to try that homemade gift next year! But you should check it out it's really beautiful!

Cinnamon Ornaments are another great way to spice up your gifts. I posted about them last Christmas if you want to check out that fun craft you can go here.

OK one more idea or maybe two, and then I will let you be on your way. The above mug was made by my littlest one. We have a pottery shop in our town where one can go and pick a piece, paint it, and they then will fire it in their kiln, and Voila, you have an awesome gift for around $10. Great for Grandparents. Fill it with the Cappuccino Mix and there you have it.

Promise this is it....check out Add A Pinch's awesome salt dough ornament idea. Fun for decorating your tree or tying on gifts, and easy to do with little ones.

Now I'm going to go start my Christmas decorations! Have a great day.

Luv Ya,

HOMEmade gifts- GRANOLA

Homemade Granola makes for a wonderful gift. It's easy to make and it's a great snack or can be eaten for breakfast in a number of ways. Granola is also easy to personalize to your taste or the taste of the person you are giving it to. And very easy to make with your children, for giving to their teachers, coaches, and bus drivers. Sure beats a gift certificate from BK Lounge or McyD's.

Granola
printable recipe

1 stick butter

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup maple syrup

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

4 cups old fashioned oats

1/2 cup nuts whatever sort you love, we prefer pecans

1/2 cup of at least two dried fruits more if you like (cherries, blueberries, cranberries, apples, raisins, golden raisins, currents....the skies the limit!)

1/2 cup pepitas (optional)

1/4 cup wheat germ

1/4 cup flax seed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Hello there shoogA!

Please make this your own. Using any combination of nuts and fruits and you prefer or that the recipient of your gift would love. The only thing that is not optional is the oats!

Blend oats, fruits, nuts, wheat germ, flax seed, and pepitas in a large mixing bowl. Then in a sauce pan combine butter, maple syrup, honey, brown sugar, and salt bring to a boil, stirring continuously until butter is completely melted and syrup begins to thicken. About 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Allow syrup to cool for a few minutes before pouring over dry mix of oats, nuts and fruits. Fold syrup into dry mix with a spatula until it is completely incorporated.

Spray an 11x15 inch sheet pan with non-stick cooking spray, spread granola in pan and press down. Place pan in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. Remove and allow to cool.

After granola is cooled use a spatula to break it up into pieces.

If you are keeping all this goodness for your self then you will need to store it in an airtight container. Granola freezes well, if stored in freezer Ziploc bags, making sure that it is completely cooled and removing as much air as possible before freezing.

If you are making it for giving then you can fill plastic lined 1/2 lb. brown paper bags like these that I found at the Webstaurant Store. Or you could fill Ziploc bags with granola and place them in a pretty gift bag, or fill any number of airtight Christmas themed containers that are in grocery stores everywhere this time of year. You might even want to write the recipe out on a recipe card to give along with your gift of homemade Granola, because once they have it they are going to want more! It's addicting.

Happy Giving!

Apple Butter- homemade GIFTS

Apple Butter.......mmm-hhmmm yummy. You have no idea how delicious Apple Butter makes your house smell while it's cooking. Even the next day it smells like you are baking a pie. This Apple Butter recipe is fabulous. You will need to set aside a chunk of time, but basically it's super easy. It just needs to cook in the oven forever....well 3-5 hours anyway.

So here's the deal. My mom came to town a couple weeks ago, she was raving about this Apple Butter a friend gave her. I asked her to get the recipe so we could make it together, I wanted to be able to share the whole experience with you, and you could then in turn, make it, and give it, and so on and so forth.

I had some amazing pictures....some of the best I have possibly ever taken. Award winning. The lighting was fantastic, the colors of the apples and spices were amazing. Oh my heart is aching....BECAUSE all the pictures I took that day are corrupted! AAAAAhhhhG. I can look at them on my computer, but when I try to do anything with them it's just a black hole with an exclamation mark in the middle of it. I even called my pastor....he's good at this sort of stuff...computer stuff. And settling down one of his flock when they're having a mental breakdown over some pictures that are pretty much lost. Who knows I may get the problem solved. I'm praying...you can too. I will add the pictures later if I figure it out, but for now this is all I got people.

I trust you will be able to recreate this smooth delicious spread with out pictures, because I know you are all superstars in the kitchen and it really is so easy you will just need a few tools.

Large pan 6- 8quart and a roasting pan.

8 pint sized jars and lids

or 12 4 ounce jars and lids

food mill

Can you smell it? I filled 4 ounce and 1 pint jars for giving.

This was my second batch, I didn't bother taking many pictures because I HAD so many beautiful ones already.

Don'tcha just wanna stick your finger in there and have a lick! It's perfect on a slice of warm beer bread. Give your brother-n-law the Beer Bread and your sister-n-law Apple Butter. They will hug you and kiss you and thank you profusely. Then they will excuse themselves to go have a little "bread and butter" party. WooHOO.

One more picture.....now that you saw all the pictures. I will share the recipe with you. Again I am sick about not having the pictures. Tomorrow is a new day. Thankfully.

This recipe makes approximately 9-10 pint sized jars of Apple Butter. You could easily cut the recipe down or in half and get the same results. Don't cut it down too far though because you will want to keep some for yourselves!

Apple Butter

16 cups apple pulp (I used a variety of apples, Jonagold, Spy, Macintosh, and Ida Reds)

1 cup apple cider vinegar

8 cups sugar

5 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1. Core and slice apples(do not peel) because of the difference in size of apples it's hard to say how many apples you will need. I piled the apples high in my 8 quart dutch oven. Add just a little bit of water or apple cider, cook on medium heat until apples have cooked down.

2. Remove from heat and put cooked apples through a food mill into a large bowl. Transfer apple pulp into roaster or large dutch oven, making sure that the processed apple pulp measures out to 16 cups.

3. Now add the remaining ingredients, sugar, vinegar, cinnamon, clove and nutmeg. Combine all ingredients.

4. Place in a 325 degree oven for 3-5 hours stirring every 30 minutes or so. Cook with lid on for the first two hours and the last hour or two take the lid off. I actually was naughty and went grocery shopping while my last batch baked....it was totally fine left alone for 1 1/2 hours. The apples should reduce almost in half, and become thick and a dark mahogany color.

5. I spooned mine right into my cleaned canning jars and followed the directions that came with the jars for canning in a water bath. The recipe said that the Apple Butter could also be frozen....if you so desired. Here's a site with some good canning info if you have jars without directions.

IDEA: One great way to use Apple Butter other than on bread is to season and brown a pork roast, then slather it with Apple Butter, stick it in your crock pot with a cup of chicken stock or water for the afternoon 3-4 hours on the high setting...Voila tender juicy pork!

So there you have it. Tie a pretty bow around your jar with a cute little hand written tag...hey have your kiddos make the tags even better...enlist the troupes! If anything is unclear please leave your questions in the comments and I will answer them as soon as possible.

Hoping you find it easy.

HAPPY GIVING!