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Home Made Gift Recipes

Here's those recipes I promised to help out with making gifts in a jar and other home made gifts for Christmas and other occasions.  

These recipes have been handed down in my family and proven to be excellent
 by several generations.  I know they will be fun for you to make either as a family project or individually.  The only limits are your own imaginations.
 
Play Clay
Mix in heavy saucepan:
1-cup cornstarch
2 c baking soda
1 ¼-c cold water and food color if desired.
Cook to boiling over medium heat, stir constantly to the consistency of mashed potatoes.
Transfer to a plate, cover with a damp cloth and let cool about 2 1/2 hours.
Knead as dough, roll very thin, cut with cookie cutters and let dry completely bone dry.  Paint with watercolors or tempera, dip in clear shellac or spray with a clear plastic spray.  Makes pretty Christmas tree ornaments, mobiles, jewelry, wind chimes etc.
 
Play Dough
1-cup flour
1/2-cup salt
1 tsp alum  (can get at market or a drug store)
1/2-cup water
Food color
Blend, cover tightly, refrigerate.
 
Finger Paint
Put 6 tablespoons of cornstarch in small amount of cold water to make a paste.
Pour this mixture into1-quart of boiling water, and stir until thickened. 
Add 1-drop oil of cloves (get at drug store.... candy flavoring) in this case using it as a preservative.
Put in small jars, tint as desired.
 
Salt Dough
4 cups flour and 1 cup salt into a bowl; slowly add 1 1/2 cups water and mix well with your hands.  Knead for 5 minutes.
 
1. Can roll out and cut with cookie cutters or a wet knife. Bake at 350° for approx 45 minutes.
If using this method to make ornaments, make sure you make the holes for the hangers before baking using a drinking straw (small) to make the holes.
When cool, paint and shellac (for shine)
Aerosol spray works great, just make sure you spray in a well-ventilated area so not to breath the fumes from the paint.
After spraying, sprinkle heavily with glitter while it's still sticky.
Variations can be made by using this same basic recipe but instead of using cookie cutters, get creative and mold the dough into figurines, pieces of art, I even made a candlestick phone out of this with the long section being empty toilet paper rolls slid down over a chopstick and stuffed full of newspaper.  After gluing everything together I painted it all with model car paints (black and gold) attached a piece of black cord and it looked like the real thing. 
The only thing that will hold you back is your own imagination.
Just let yourself go nuts.
Cover boxes, jar lids, jars, (just make sure whatever you cover isn't flammable if your going to stick it in the oven to dry.
I prefer air-drying to using the oven; it may take longer but the dough sets better and you don't have to worry about it turning brown (getting baked) 
When you use model car paints, I found if you paint every surface you could see (top, sides and bottom) it seals the object and will last for years without drawing moisture.
I have some ornaments we made when the kids were little.  My youngest is 36 now.
I store them in one of those popcorn tins so wrapped in foil so the mice don't decide to eat them.
 
 
Beef Jerky from the oven
 
Trim off all visible fat from a lean flank steak (brisket, chuck or other lean beef also suitable).  Cut lengthwise with the grain into long thin strips. (No more than 1/4 inch thick)
 
Combine:
1/2-cup soy sauce
1/4-teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon lemon pepper
 
Pour over beef strips and toss until well coated.  Place a wire rack on a baking sheet; arrange strips on rack to touch, but not over-lap.  Bake in a very slow oven...150° - 175° overnight, 10 -12 hours.  Store at room temperature in an airtight container.  If all fat has been removed, jerky will keep indefinitely.  It should not be crisp... if it is, oven is too hot.  Keep rack at least 4 inches from oven top.
 
Solid Perfume
Melt an 8-ounce jar of Vaseline and a 3-ounce block of paraffin.  Stir to blend then pour into a clean, odor-free grease container.  Cover and cool.  Chill 1 hour.  Score the surface     deeply     in a grid pattern; spray or drop scent on the strainer section of the grease can.  Cover and seal with tape.  Repeat every day for 10 days.  Pack in pocket-sized pillboxes with light lids. (Use a Popsicle stick for packing) 
Here's a great place for that salt dough creation top for the container. 
Old Blistex jars and Carmex cleaned thoroughly and scalded work great for these.  Have your friends and church members save them for you over the year.
These metal lids can stand being covered and put in the oven.  Then glue old beads, craft eyeballs (wobbly) or Paint etc.  Looks pretty and they make a great surprise stocking stuffer.
 
Here's an old fashioned wallpaper cleaner that works great for cleaning any walls without water dripping up your elbows and into your armpits.  No spilling accidents and you know right where you left off cleaning.
 
Wallpaper Cleaner
In a saucepan (old saucepan that will be used for non-food purposes only)
Mix 10 tablespoons flour and 6 tablespoons salt, both heaping.
Put 4 tablespoons vinegar in a cup and fill with water.
Add to flour mixture along with 2 tablespoons kerosene and mix as a cake batter. 
Cook over low heat until a ball is formed, stirring constantly.  Let cool completely before using.

This stuff is great for cleaning rough wood in attics and garages and sheds and places like that; just don’t rub hard and you won’t get splinters in your hands when you knead it to make a clean surface to continue cleaning.  That’s the great thing about this stuff.
You can use it until it starts looking like chimney soot before you have to throw it away.  When your finished with the lump, use it as a frog for arranging dried flowers and throw it away when your tired of the flower arrangement.  LOL
 
 
Carrot Cake  (Aunt Irene Wise's recipe)
Sift into a large bowl:
3 (c) cups flour
2 (tsp) teaspoons cinnamon
2 (tsp) baking soda
1 (tsp) salt
2 (tsp) baking powder
Make a well in center and add:
1 1/4 c oil
1/2 c sugar
4 eggs
2 c grated carrots
1/2 c chopped walnuts or raisins, or both
Blend thoroughly.
Bake in prepared 9" x 13" sheet cake pan, or 2 - 9" square (or round) layer pans. 
Bake at 350° 
Sheet cake pan      40 minutes
Layers                  35 minutes
Test for doneness.  Bake additional if needed.
 
When cool, dust with powdered sugar or use the broiled topping below.
 
Broiled topping  (Mom - Helen Frohman's recipe)
This one is her preference for the Carrot cake and also good on German Chocolate cake.
 
Mix all together:
6 (tbsp) tablespoons soft butter or margarine
4 (tbsp) canned milk
1/2 (c) cup walnuts
3/4 c packed brown sugar
 

 
 
 

posted by Jan myrz @ 2:24 PM