Gift in a Jar

Yes, Christmas is less than four months away. Since I'm already building my list and my budget, I'm compiling my go-to recipes for homemade gifts.

Oatmeal :
The layers in the jar give a pretty "sand art" appearance that makes the jar pretty enough to give as a gift along with the instructions for making the recipe.

You'll need:
Makes about 36
5/8 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup all-purpose flour (note: flour is divided to make separate layers in the jar. If you are not making a Gift-in-a-jar, just combine the two flour measurements)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup white sugar
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Let's start:
Layer the ingredients in a 1 quart or 1 liter jar, in the order listed. Attach a tag with the following instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a cookie sheet or line it with parchment paper. In a medium mixing bowl, beat together 1/2 cup softened butter, 1 egg and 1 teaspoon of vanilla until fluffy. Add the entire jar of ingredients, and mix together by hand until well blended. Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until edges are lightly browned.

Spicy Vinegar

Again, from my Martha Stewart magazine. It has such good ideas! I found this recipe to make infuse vinegar with peppers. Yum!

You'll need:
* 20 peppers per half-liter bottle
* half-litter bottle
* white vinegar (or rice vinegar for Thai version)

Let's start:
1. Sterilize half or three quarter liter glass bottles by using the sterilize button on the dishwasher or boiling them for 10 minutes.
2. Wash peppers, cut a slit in each and insert into bottles. You'll need 20 per half-liter bottle.
3. Meanwhile heat 2-3 cups white vinegar, or rice vinegar, to just boiling.
4. Funnel into bottles to fill, let cool and cork.
5. Refridgerate after corking.

This is another great gift- just create tags, print, and attach with twine.

Dried Tomato Goodness

I found this on Martha Stewart and had to share. If you're like me, in love with tomatoes, you'll want to save this. :)

Oven Dried Tomato Recipe

You'll need:

* 24 cherry tomatoes
* 8 to 10 plum tomatoes, cut in half
* 8 to 10 yellow, orange, red, or green tomatoes, cut into 1/4-inch-thick or thicker slices
* 1 tablespoon sugar
* Herbs, such as basil, oregano, or rosemary, to taste
* Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Let's start:

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Line a pan with parchment; for thinnest chips, use a Silpat baking mat. Arrange tomatoes, cut sides up, on pan, spaced 1/2 to 1 inch apart. Sprinkle with sugar and herbs; season with salt and pepper.

2. Transfer pan to oven; dry until juices have stopped running, edges are shriveled, and pieces have shrunken slightly; timing will vary depending on the variety, ripeness, and desired degree of dryness, 1 1/2 to 6 hours. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

This also makes for a great gift!