Cake in a jar

This recipe works really well if you want to mail to a loved one. I mailed DH some on his last deployment. They made it from CA to Iraq in one piece (flat rate box & bubble wrap). After they got there it didn't last much longer. I sent it in his St Patrick's day themed box, so I tinted the cake green. Send icing separately!!

*What you need...
- wide mouth 1/2 pint canning jars
- Cake mix of your choice
- all the ingredients the cake mix calls for (eggs, oil, etc or not, lol)
- cooking spray
- cookie sheet

*What you do...
- Pre-heat oven for the temperature it calls for.
- Mix cake according to directions on box.
- Wash canning jars & boil the tops (I boil while the cake is cooking).
- Spray inside of jars & place on cookie sheet.
- Pour cake mixture into jars 1/3 to 1/2 the way.
- Cook. It does take a little longer than what the box calls for. I think mine bake for about 40 minutes.
- As soon as the cake comes out, screw the lids on. Let cool. Tighten lids some more.

Cake Mix cookies

I did 2 different versions with multiple varieties for this recipe.

What you need...
- 1 box of cake mix, your choice
- 2 eggs
- 1/3 cup oil

What you do...
- mix all ingredients well
- cook at 350 degrees F. for 8 to 10 minutes.

Variation #1

I used a white cake mix. I 13 Christmas trees, 1 Ginger Bread Man, 1 Snowflake, & 13 peppermints out of 1 box of mix. The trees, man & snowflake all cooked for 8 minutes. The peppermint cookie cooked for 10 minutes. For the peppermint cookies I just crushed some peppermint cookies in a bag. I cooked the cookies (plain) for 5 minutes. I took them out & sprinkled the crushed peppermints. Gently pat them in & put back into the oven for another 5 minutes. I iced & sprinkled the cut-outs.

Variation #2

I used a chocolate cake mix. I'm still cooking these, but I think in the end I might have 18 Ginger Bread Men, and I will probably do the rest of the dough with the crushed peppermint. Again, cook the men for 8 minutes. I used sugar sprinkles on the men. Like the peppermint, I put the sprinkles on half way through cooking (4 minutes, sprinkle, pat, 4 minutes).

Lemon Snowflake cookies

What you need...
- 1 package of lemon cake mix with pudding (18 oz)
- 2 1/4 cups frozen whip topping, thawed
- 1 egg
- powder sugar

What you do... In a mixing bowl, combine cake mix, whipped topping and egg.
- Beat with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Batter will be VERY sticky!!
- Drop by teaspoonfuls into powder sugar; roll lightly to coat.
- Place on ungreased cookie sheets.
- Bake at 350F for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned on edges.

The stickiness makes it a pain to get onto the cookie sheet, but the end product is worth it!! You can probably get about 3, maybe 4, dozen out of the mixture. I'm still making them. I only have 1 dozen made, but there is still a lot of the dough left.

Projects

I have a laundry list of them & I need to get my rear in gear. Top of my list right now is something for my future SIL. Not sure if she reads this, so I will hold off on details until after the holidays.

My list:
- mystery project
- sew the curtains for Tootie's room
- glue/sew the blinds for his room
- finish the curtains for Princess's room
- make her a canopy
- catch up all the scrapbooks

I'm sure I will be adding a few projects to the list once I start working in our room & bathroom, but I want to be done with the kids rooms first.

Spinach Souffle-Phyllo Cups (Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade)

I made these for Thanksgiving, too. Big hit! They do have a little bit of a bite to them. I doubled the recipe. Sandra Lee made them in regular size muffin tins (6 servings). I made mine in mini muffin tins (48 pieces doubling the recipe).

5 sheets phyllo dough
Olive oil cooking spray
1 package (12 oz.) spinach souffle (Stouffers)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 (2-ounce) package crumbled feta cheese

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Lay out 1 sheet of phyllo dough. Spray lightly with olive oil cooking spray. Repeat with 4 remaining sheets. Cut phyllo sheets into 6 pieces (12 for mini). Fit each section into a muffin cup. Bake for 10 minutes.

Remove plastic cover from spinach souffle and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Remove from microwave and stir in lemon juice, salt, and cayenne pepper. Divide spinach mixture into baked phyllo cups. Sprinkle feta cheese over spinach mixture. Return to oven for 6 minutes. Serve hot.

Pumpkin cheese cake

I made this for Thanksgiving. It was delicious. I had extra mix & graham cracker crust, so I made 6 mini cheese cakes in a regular size muffin tin.

**graham cracker crust (super easy!)
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 24 crackers)
1/4 cup sugar
6 tbsp butter; melted
optional: cinnamon, nutmeg,or allspice (I used cinnamon graham crackers)

Mix all in a bowl. Press into pie plate or pan.

**pumpkin cheese cake (super yummy!)
4 packages of cream cheese; softened (8 ounces each)
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/3 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp grated nutmeg
1 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground allspice
salt to taste
6 eggs; room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups pumpkin puree

Preheat oven to 325 degrees f. To prepare filling - Beat cream cheese until fluffy. Add sugar, flour, cinnamon,nutmeg, cloves, allspice, and salt. Beat to combine. Add eggs one at a time & mix well after each one. Add vanilla extract and beat well. Fold pumpkin puree into mixture. Pour into your choice of crust. Bake for 1 1/2 hours in center of oven. Turn oven off, open door & let cake stand for 3 minutes. Cool cake, cover loosely & chill over night.

Cowboy blanket

Tootie's big boy room is cowboy themed. I found some great decorations from one of our local horse & feed stores. I found hanging lanterns & cowboy sheets at Target. I'm going to also make the curtains, blinds, and fix up a bland kids chair. I'm hoping to have everything done in the next couple of weeks. Here's the blanket I already made...