Twelve Days of Christmas: Project #5 Canned Jelly

 One of the biggest staples in the Lower household is our peanut butter and jelly stock. The kids love pb&j.

Recently, a friend brought me a gift. She taught me to make jelly. It was like stirring up a pot of sugary goodness in my own kitchen. I can't tell you how wonder the sound of canning jar lids "popping" sounds for the first time.

The recipe came with the pectin (an ingredient needed to make the jelly) and it was a little confusing to follow if you didn't know where to look. As a writer, I am tempted to re-write the instructions and send it back to the company so that people like me don't get so confused having to jump from the front side to the back side of the paper.

As we got these all canned and I was placing them in my cupboard, I remembered the delious blackberry jam I had gotten years ago in a family exchange during Christmas. A jar of jelly with or without a small loaf of fresh baked bread can make a great gift around the holidays, too.

All you need is some canning jars, pectin, fruit, sugar, and time.

Oh, and jelly is also good on those Christmas morning pancakes!

Twelve Days of Christmas: Project #3 Homemade Kahlua

 Today's project for the Twelve Days of Christmas is homemade Kahlua. It's one of the rare drinks I like and his very popular amongst family members. It taste great in milk and ice or in a cup of hot chocolate on a cold winter night.

Homemade Kahlua Recipe

Ingredients:

• 4 cups water
• 1 1/2 cups instant coffee crystals
• 4 1/2 cups 100 proof vodka
• 8 cups sugar
• 2 vanilla beans

Directions:

Mix water, sugar and coffee crystals. Heat and stir until dissolved. Cool to room temperature. Add vodka. Stir to combine. Pour mixture into 6, 12.5 oz. bottles. Cut each vanilla bean into thirds and drop bean into each bottle. Cap. After 2-3 weeks strain, remove beans and rebottle.
Makes the perfect gift!
- See more at: http://www.beanilla.com/blog/homemade-kahlua-recipe#sthash.D9NhzTqn.dpuf

Ingrediants:


4 cups of water
1 1/2 cups instant coffee crystals
4 1/2 cups 100 proof vodka
8 cups of sugar
2 vanilla beans


Directions:
Add water and coffee crystals in large pot. Heat and stir until dissolved. Cool at room temperature, add vodka.  Pour into decorative bottles. Cut your beans in thirds. Place a bean in each bottle. Cap (or cork like we did) and let sit for 2-3 weeks. Then strain and remove bean and put back in bottle.

This is an inexpensive and creative gift to give your family and friends this holiday season.

Don't forgot to include some biscotti!

Twelve Days of Christmas Project #2: Biscotti Baking

 Over the Thanksgiving break, my friend the Trailer Trash Diva and I got together and made these awesome little Biscotti packages for Christmas gifts.  She's not only creative when it comes to re-design, but in the kitchen, too.

 A couple scoops of this, a little of that, some chopped nuts, dark chocolate chips, and we were well on our way to creating our Biscotti.

Don't these just look so yummy? We also made a batch of peppermint, those were my favorite. If you love to bake, then this is one of those treasured gifts you can share this holiday season.

For now, we'll let these cool. Stop in tomorrow and see how we packaged them up and got them ready to hand out as Christmas gifts.

Gosh, that Peppermint smells good.

You know it's December with the peppermint feels the air.