Preserve It . . . Canning Corner - Jar Cakes!

Jar Cakes are the Coolest Invention!

Who would have thought that you could bottle a

cake and it would last for 4-6 Months?!?

Cake Jars work best when made from scratch.

Heavy Cakes do the best!

Pictures are coming, my cakes are in the oven

as we speak!

You Will Need:

Clean Wide Mouth Pint Jars and Rings

New Lids

and Your Favorite Recipe!

(Avoid cakes with chunks like zuchinni or carrots.)

Use Crisco to grease the insides of the jars.

Use 1 cup of cake mix per jar.

Make sure jar rims and super clean so that the jars

will seal correctly.

Bake cakes in jars that have been placed

on a cookie sheet. (Bake WITHOUT Lids!)

Place lids on jars until immediately after baking.

Jars will be hot so make sure you use hot pads.

Lids should be placed in simmering water while cakes are

in the oven so they will be ready for the jars

when the cakes have finished baking.

Tighten lids with rings and listen for the ping.

A sealed jar lid will not move up and down after it has

been sealed correctly.  A sealed lid will be concave.

Let sit 12 to 24 hours and test the seal again.

Any unsealed jars should be put into the fridge,

and eaten within a few days.

(I'm sure it won't last longer than 1 hour!)

To eat cake . . . just use a knife to loosen the edges

and then the cake will slide right out.

Here are a couple of recipes for you to try:

Preserve It . . . Canning Corner Cake Jar Recipes PDF

Now you can have your cake and eat it too!

If you're looking for a Great Mother's Day Idea

this one would be MARVELOUS!

It's a . . .

A Jar Cake Swap

and

Mother's Day would be the perfect time

to give it a try! 

Each person will make a different cake jar recipe,

bring it baked and ready to Swap at a

Mother's Day Luncheon.

By the end of Lunch, you could have as many different

cakes as you have guests!

Sounds like a great idea to me, and I would love to have the

opportunity to try different recipes without having to

make them all myself first.

You could present each MOM with all of the

Jar Cake Recipes put together in a mini-photo album

that has been "Tricked-Out" with a little scrapbook paper

and ribbon!

(I'll see what I can do to help with that!)

I will the posting the second idea

I promised

yesterday . . . later today.

(Sorry, time just got away from me!)

Wednesday's Preparedness Project: 

A Portable Changing Pad!

Happy Easter Everyone!

Here's an Easter Egg Hunt with Real Meaning!

Fill 12 Eggs with the contents listed below.

(You can use the pictures included in the PDF File,

or the actual thing.)

Write a number on each of the plastic eggs.

Send the family out to find the eggs.

Don't open them until each of the 12 Eggs

have been found.

Once the eggs have been found:

Take turns opening them starting with #1.

Show the symbol and then read the scripture

that goes along with it.

Continue through all 12 Eggs.

You may want to take the opportunity to

bear your Testimony to your family

after the last egg.

Egg #1:  3 Dimes

(30 Pieces of Silver)

Egg #2:  A Small Cracker or Piece of Bread

Egg #3:  A Sacrament Cup

(Yep, this is an old one!)

Egg #4:  A Length of Twine

Egg #5:  A Piece of Soap

Egg #6:  A Swatch of Purple Cloth

or a Crown of Thorns.

(One real thorn can be used here.)

Egg #7:  A Nail

Egg #8:  Two Toothpicks or Some Small Sticks

(To represent, casting lots.)

Egg #9:  A Bag of Crushed Rocks and Potting Soil

Egg #10:  Strips of White Cloth

Egg #11:  Spices Tied in a Small Piece of Cloth

Egg #12:  Leave This Egg Empty!

He is not here . . .

HE IS RISEN!!!

We hope you have been able to remember

the Savior this Easter, and to

bear Testimony of His life and mission.

Here's the Egg and Scripture PDF:

Easter Egg and Scripture Packet PDF

Here's the Egg, Scripture, and Picture PDF:

Easter Symbols Eggs, Scriptures, and Pictures Packet PDF

Preparedness Project - Family Activity Bag and a Fruits and Veggies File Folder Game!

We've talked a lot about the Family Emergency Activity Bag,

but I've never shown you what one looks like.

An Activity Bag could make all the difference in an Emergency.

Make sure you store it with your 72 Hour Kits.

So, here it is:

It's just a duffle bag filled with activities and games

to help pass the time in any emergency situation.

Keeping small children entertained while you take care

of "SURVIVING" the emergency,

will make a hard situation a lot easier!

Here is a list of ideas for YOUR Activity Bag:

Side Walk Chalk

Frisbies

Football

Lego's

Beads and String

Craft Kit

Coloring Books

Markers

(Don't use crayons . . . they melt!)

All About Me Picture Books

or

A Small Family Picture Book

(These are a great way to add make sure you end up with

as many pictures as possible.  Losing family pictures is

heart-breaking, believe me . . . I know! 

This just gives you one more safe place to keep them.)

Memory Games

Dice

Jacks

Marbels

Puzzles

Water Color Paints

Cards and Card Games

Finger Puppets

Snack Boxes

Family Picture Block Puzzles

Go Fish in a Bag Game

As well as all of the other games we listed

on the Preparedness Project List.

(This LIST was posted: February 24, 2010.)

Zurcher's is a great place to find some

inexpensive games and toys.

The games and activities included in this bag

can be used for Sunday Activities,

Emergency Birthday Party Gifts,

as well as for everyday family activities.

Just make sure to replace what you take!

Here's ANOTHER Fun Game YOU Can Add:

Fruits and Veggies

File Folder Matching Game

Here's the PDF:

Fruits and Veggies File Folder Match Game Packet PDF

You Will Need:

1 Printed Copy of the PDF

1 File Folder

(I like to buy the colored folders.)

Sticky-Back Velcro

Access to a Laminator

Scissors

Instructions:

Print 1 copy of the PDF File.

Cut out the fruits and veggies.

Attach 1 set of the fruits and veggies to the file folder.

Laminate entire folder.

The second set of fruits and veggies pieces

will just be laminated individually.

Add Sticky Back Velcro to each piece.

I used the soft side of the velcro on the pieces,

and the hard side to the pieces attached to the file folder.

Now, all you have to do is add it to your bag . . .

That's It!

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Preparedness Project: "Go Fish" Bag

We have one more St. Patrick's Day Game

for YOU.

Help LUCKY find his 4-Leaf Clover!

Here's the Packet:

4-Leaf Clover Hunt (Shamrock Packet) PDF

Print Shamrocks onto White Cardstock

Cut and Laminate.

Attach the Shamrock's to Popsicle Sticks

and hide them all over the yard.

What a perfect day for a Treasure Hunt!

Each Shamrock has a Number or Points.

The person with the most points WINS!

Now let's go FISHING . . .

Go Fish in a Bag, is the

Preparedness Project for Today!

This game will go into your

Family Emergency Activity Bag.

(It's great for church as well!)

You will need:

1 Small Bag of Rice

Plastic Letter Tiles

(I got mine at Walmart for $4.95)

You'll have extra . . . but we have plans to use them later.

or Wooden Game Tiles

1 Vertical Badge ID Holder

Ribbon

Printed PDF File Pictures of Fish

I also added some plastic fish . . . just for fun!

(I got mine from Zurcher's.)

Here's the PDF:

Go Fish Bag - Game PDF

Photo Mounts or Double Sided Tape

1/2 Yard Heavy Clear Vinyl

(I got mine at JoAnn's in the Tablecloth Section.)

Quilt Binding Tape & Matching Thread

and a Sewing Machine

Instructions:

Cut 2 pieces of 8 1/2" by 8 1/2" Clear Vinyl

Sew around 3 of the sides - 1/4" seam.

Add Rice, Plastic Fish and Game Pieces.

Make sure the rice only fills the bag 1/2 way up.

To make game pieces:

Cut fish from PDF page and stick with double-sided tape

to the plastic or wooden tile.

You will stick a fish on one side and the "Go Fish"

square on the other side.

Finish sewing the the last half of the bag.

Add quilting tape to finish the edges.

Make sure you push the rice and pieces back when

you are finishing the edges so that you don't

hit anything with your sewing machine needle!

Finish by adding a ribbon with the badge attached.

I put the ribbon over the seam ends where

I started and ended with the quilting tape

so that you couldn't see the seam.

This will hold the pictures of all of the fish so that they

know what to look for.

Cut cards and place back to back in the clear

vertical badge holder.

Here's the PDF:

Go Fish in a Bag Fish Cards PDF

Add the picture to the badge and  . . . YOU'RE DONE!

Soooo Easy and the best part, beside hours of

entertainment for little ones . . .

You will at least have a bag of rice

to eat in an emergency!