Stuffed Drinking Jars

It's yummy Monday.

It's also Gift it.

So you know what that means!  Yummy Gift It!

Today's fun and yummy gift is courtesy of my brother-in-law's birthday.

Long ago, I introduced my family to the amazingness of Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies, and my bro IL fell in instant love.
It was a love story to withstand the test of time.

So, naturally, when his birthday rolled around, I wanted to make some for him.  But I also wanted to give him more than a plate of cookies.  What goes better with oreo stuffed choco chip cookies but MILK??  So, I just needed to figure out a way to incorporate that.  Which is how the Stuffed Drink Jar idea was born.

However, there are no drink jars large enough to hold a decent amount of stuffed cookies.  So I had to make my own.  This jar is ginormous.  Not the hugest pickle mason jar you can find, but just the next step down.  This baby is a half gallon jar.  And that's key to this gift, because it allows you to stuff an even dozen cookies down inside it. (more if they aren't the stuffed kind)

So, how do you make your 1/2 gallon jar into a drinking jar?

You'll need:

a 1/2 gallon jar

washi tape

a large drill bit and drill

a tiny pliers

a reusable, large diameter straw (they sell them by the drinking jars - my straw is Aladdin brand and came in a 4 pack)

twine

printable tag

cookies

First, bake some cookies.  Whatever is the recipients favorite.  Bonus points if they're stuffed cookies... you know, to match the theme.

Stuff the cookies into the jar.  Well, after you let them cool, of course.

Take the inner lid.  Cover it in strips of cute washi tape.

Use a drill with a large drill bit to drill a hole off to the side.

Use a small, extra grippy, pliers to squeeze all around the drilled hole so the jaggedy-ness is pressed tightly to the bottom side of the lid. (I used a very small jewelry making pliers because I could really get it into the hole)

Put the straw through the hole from bottom up.

Place the straw in the jar (be careful not to impale any cookies) and the lid on top.  Screw the ring around tightly.

Print out a tag and punch a hole.  

Put the tag on some twine and tie it around the ring.

Ta-da!

I think this would be a great "welcome to the neighborhood" gift, "happy school starting" teacher gift, or "cheer up!" gift.  Or, let's face it.  An anytime at all gift, for no reason at all gift, for anyone at all who likes cookies gift.

 In short, the best kind of gift.

Here are your tags:

Obviously, you could actually use these tags for nearly anything that is STUFFED in anything else.  A bucket stuffed with microwave popcorn?  Sure.  A box stuffed with stovetop stuffing?  Weird, but also ok.  If the thing being stuffed inside the other thing is also in itself STUFFED, well, that's just an awesome bonus.

*Be sure to check below for all the fun parties I link to!*

It's always time for chocolate.

I love chocolate.  It's a deep-rooted, passionate, long-lasting, feverish kind of love.  It may not be the healthiest love affair ever, but it is what it is, right?
This is a cake I came up with one night while standing in the kitchen during a particularly potent bout of chocolate-love-itis, when there was nothing in sight that would sufficiently relieve the fever.

I pulled from a few cake recipes and added some twists of my own, then rounded it all out with a dose delicious, homemade chocolate butter cream frosting.

There's a recipe card I'm pretty sure you want to print out.  Yep.  Fellow chocolate-itis sufferers unite!

I admit, I'm a novice when it comes to my own baked creations.  Experiments in the kitchen go awry more than I'd like.  But sometimes I hit on something truly delicious.  This cake is NOT your average chocolate cake.  It is NOT light and fluffy.  It is not soft and squishy and moist.  While this guy surprised my with its density, it wasn't a bad surprise.  And I decided I actually kind of liked it - it was a pleasant variation on the typical treat.

I've concluded that it's a cross between a cake, brownie and chunk of fudge and have dubbed it "Chocolate Fudge Cake".  And really, how can you go wrong with a cake, a brownie and some fudge all rolled into one?

Honestly.  How??

*Be sure to check below for all the fun parties I link to!*

The floor of my van MIGHT taste really good...

This is yet another one of those "old fashioned bar" recipes that comes in many variations from many sources.  I can't for the life of pin down the source of this particular recipe... one of those seasonal newsletter type holiday cookie recipe books?  A church cookbook?  My mom's old recipes?  Betty Crocker's cookie book?  Not sure.
Despite its unknown origins, these bars are worth a bake.  They're like a pecan pie, but without any corn syrup.  Or hard to make crust.

The recipe calls for quite a lot of butter (hence the name) but honestly, isn't that what dessert it about anyway?  Butter and sugar.  Maybe a few fruits or nuts for flavor.

 Although it's incredibly difficult to keep your hands off, I do recommend making these a day ahead.  It doesn't actually take an entire 12 hours for them to set completely, but it DOES take a long time.  And though they taste amazing and warm and gooey right out of the oven, you'll lose all your filling as it oozes and settles in the bottom of the pan. (or the bottom of your VAN if you're transporting them right away, not that I know from personal experience or anything, that's purely hypothetical.  As in, if you take them out of the oven, put them on a tray and try to drive across town, be prepared for the whole darn top to slide off the pan and onto the van floor when you hastily grab the pan at the stoplight to prevent it from sliding off the console and making a mess - thus burning your hand as well.  Hypothetical.)

They taste phenomenal with a little vanilla ice cream.  Lick your lips good.  What am I saying?  Lick the PLATE good.  

They're so good that I bought pecans in bulk at Costco so I could have them on hand to make this ALL THE TIME.

I'll admit it.  I'm not ashamed.

Ok, I didn't REALLY lick the plate.  That's kind of gross.  But they are good enough to do so if you're so inclined.

Well, now I want to go make some.  Sheesh.  

*Be sure to check below for all the fun parties I link to!*

I love lemon. Almost as much as chocolate.

The other day I was in the mood for something lemony.  This happens fairly often, and the typical remedy is making the best lemon bars in the world.

But it happened to be a Tuesday, which as you know means my parents were coming over to be guinea pigs for new recipes.  Therefore, I needed a new recipe.  I couldn't very well make my mom be a guinea pig for her own lemon bar recipe, no matter how good it is.

I began a search.  After perusing several lists and options, I decided to go with cake.

Why?  Don't ask me.  I just felt like cake.  On a whim I googled "lemon layer cake" and found this recipe on Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice.

Oh, my delicious lemony goodness.  Thank you for this recipe.

Now, I've not made a printable recipe card for you, because if you go to that blog, you can use the printer friendly version of HER recipe and quite frankly, I hate it when people steal my stuff, so I'm not going to steal hers.

Just know that it is NOT HARD.  It's really not.

And furthermore, it is the very first ever round cake I have ever made that has actually turned out.  In fact, while I was making it I was silently cursing myself for picking this recipe, since I've tried and tried again to make layer cakes and it just doesn't happen.  They fall apart.  They stick to the pan.  They implode.

But this cake... I can't explain what the difference was (trust me, I wish I knew), it slide so nicely out of the pan and rested with such relaxed ease on my cooling rack that I couldn't help but lap the kitchen in a victory dance.  

One change I made to the recipe was to add more lemon juice - both to the cake and the frosting.  I can't help it, I love lemon.  I nearly doubled it and it was fantastic.  So if you like lemon a whole lot, I encourage taking such action.

And now I leave you to make your own delectable lemon creations.

*Be sure to check below for all the fun parties I link to!*

It's odd. But good.

How many times have I insisted to you, "it looks bizarre, but it's actually delicious!" ??  A lot, I know.  Today is one of those times.

You know what makes this little "recipe" even better than those other weird ones?  It's SUUUUPER easy.  And super cheap.  It's a trifecta of awesome.

It's so easy, I'm not even giving you a recipe.  Nope.  I refuse.  But I will give you al little how to collage.

Just lay out some ritz crackers, bottom up.  Put a rolo on each one.  
Pop them in the microwave for about 15 seconds (this will depend on your microwave).
Take them out and put another cracker on top, bottom down.  Do this right away while the chocolate is still hot and melty.
Done! 
The chocolate kind of oozes out the holes and the sides a little.  They're tasty right away, but good if you let them sit for a bit too.

See???  So easy!  Somehow the saltiness of the ritz crackers combines with the caramelyness of the rolos and the melty chocolate just gets all deliciously warm and gooey...

It's like a s'more but easier!  And not as gross because there's no marshmallows.

This is the perfect treat to make if:
A. You're in a hurry and have to take a lot of something.  A bag of rolos and a box of ritz go a LONG way.  And takes like 2 minutes tops.
B. You want a sweet treat that takes no effort.
3. You'd like to make some kind of dessert but you don't want the leftovers around tempting you.  It's so easy to make just how many you need and no more!

Have you seen these before?  Are they too weird for you?

*Be sure to check below for all the fun parties I link to!*

So I eat dessert for breakfast. You're surprised???

A few weeks ago I had the thrilling opportunity to guest post on A Girl and a Glue Gun for her cool Food Friday series.  It was pretty much the bomb.  If you missed it (pshhhaw) OR if you want to see it again because it looks so delicious, here it is!

***

Hello!  I'm the me over at bugaboo, mini, mr & me - my name's Kim (which is the best name, am I right?).  I love to share my creative endeavors and I'm not ashamed to bear it all; the triumphs, the failures, the bad days, the REALLY bad days, and the insanity... I'm a writer, a wife to my polar opposite and best friend, a theatre major/wannabe budding actress turned SAHM to my 3 beauties, and a lover of yellow.  I craft, sew, bake, snapshot, and blog to stay sane and the truth is, I'm in love with the creative process - from beginning to finished result (whether good or bad) I just love the journey.  Furthermore, I'm beyond thrilled to be here on my namesake's blog sharing a delicious one of a kind recipe with you today!  (No, really.  THRILLED.  As you read this, I am likely giggling stupidly with giddy schoolgirl excitement.  I'll just let you picture that before we proceed shall I?  Ok, moving on.)

My mother is an amazing cook - as I'm sure many of our mother's are - and she has, fortunately, handed down a few of her cherished recipes.  When I'm feeling particularly blue, all I want is some good old-fashioned comfort food, a la mom - chicken and dumplings, creamy mac and cheese, cheesy broccoli soup, skin-on smashed potatoes, pecan bars... well, the list could go on and on, but I'm already drooling so I should stop.  Anyway, if there's one recipe that stands out from my childhood, it's hands down 

Yep.  That's right.  Porridge.  Straight from the bear family's table.  Don't ask me how my mom got their recipe, but she did and every single Thanksgiving morning I awoke to a steaming bowl of this delicious, creamy, fluffy, heavenly goodness and ate my fill while watching tiny people being pulled along by giant balloons as the Rockettes did a high-kick I could only duplicate in my dreams.

Fast forward to my wedding day, when the secrets of this delectable breakfast concoction were bestowed upon me - with a very serious charge to never.  NEVER.  reveal the secret of the woodland carnivores or a pox be upon my head.

Perhaps it's this never-ending, bone-chilling, soul-sucking, dreary, arctic winter (no seriously.  We've gotten over 60' of snow here) but I find myself craving Three Bears' Porridge pretty much constantly and though I always considered it only a Thanksgiving treat, I admit to making it much more often because the real secret behind this delicious breakfast?  IT'S SO DECEPTIVELY EASY.

 So, I take my life in my hands today in order to share this cozy comforting breakfast with you.  It'll warm you right up and your littles will love you.  They will beg you for more.  Honestly.  This is a favorite with my two picky eaters - who will inevitably lick the bowl clean while waiting for seconds.  Not only will this start your morning off right, make you nice and toasty, AND earn you bragging rights because it SEEMS so fancy pants but REALLY take you no effort at all, BUT it's ALSO super versatile.  The fluffy porridge is your base, but you can add just about anything in there and it'll be super tasty.  Our favorite is cherry pie filling, which admittedly makes it more dessert than breakfast.  Don't you judge me.

Without further ado, here's the recipe - in a printable 3x5 recipe card just for you!  

So, you know, if you're all healthy or whatever you could just cut up some fresh peaches or throw in some raspberries or blueberries or what have you.  When I was a kid my mom always added fruit cocktail - but she knew how much I hated the mushy, warm grapes so she'd pick them out for me.  Now THAT'S love.

I'm just going to give you this tip right now.  Make a double batch.  Trust me.

Excuse me a moment please...

So there.  I've given up the secret.  Just don't tell my mom.  I don't want a pox on my head.  

Choco-PB-Shortbread-aholics Anonymous.

This is one of those delicious, go-to bar recipes that makes a resurgence every so often in various forms.  The type of recipe you can't even remember exactly where it originated or how you came to be in possession of it.  A recipe that's probably as old as time (or at least as old as peanut butter is - when was that stuff invented?) and as such, has so many versions and morphs you likely have one somewhere in your books.  But there's a reason it's withstood time and alterations.

It's delicious.

Shortbread?  SHORTBREAD?  Do you have a love affair with shortbread like I do?  I'm not sure why, I can't explain it, other than it's basically the equivalent of eating a few sticks of butter.  Yum.

Kidding.

How can you improve upon shortbread??  ADD PEANUT BUTTER.  

Amiright?

The chocolate ganache is the cherry on top.  Just a bonus really, but totally not the same without it.  

It's likely that by this point you really want the recipe.  Happy to oblige.

No, I do not know how many calories are in one small square.  And no, I don't want to know.  Do you have to take the fun out of everything?

I'm not even going to apologize for introducing you to this delicious, sugary, buttery, caloric heaven.  No, I will not.  Even if you become addicted and need a support group.  Which I am about to start.  You're welcome to join me.

*Be sure to check the right sidebar for all the fun parties I link to!