Roast Beef

Rub both sides of beef with Dijon Mustard, Salt, pepper and sugar. Leave beef in an oven safe dish, uncovered overnight. This will tenderize the meat.

The next day, place the meat in a oven 350* for 20 minutes per pound or until a meat thermometer reads 140* - 160* Be careful not to over cook the meat.

Chicken Piccata

Pound chicken breasts between waxed paper, until thin.

Dip in an egg wash, and then into flour, which has been seasoned with salt and pepper.

Fry in a skillet with 2 Tbsp. butter and 2 Tbsp. olive oil.

Remove chicken and keep warm. In the same skillet make the sauce.

Sauce

3 Tbsp. butter

Juice of 1 lemon

1 Tbsp. capers

2 tsp. chopped parsley

Reduce and pour over the chicken.

Gifts from the Kitchen

Beef Dry Rub

Grind Coriander seeds &black peppercorns and place in a bowl.

Add:

Salt (salt should be 1/3 of this rub)

Garlic power – to taste

Cayenne pepper to taste

Oregano

Mix and place in decorative jars.

If making a rub for pork use Caraway seeds instead of Coriander seeds.

Sugar & Spice Bath Mix

1 cup baking soda

2 Tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. ginger

1 tsp. cloves

Mix together all the ingredients until well blended. To use: Add 2 Tbsp. of the bath mix in a warm tub. Store the mix in a clean, dry container. Yields 5 oz. Enough for 2 – 3 baths.

Dill Dip Mix

3 tsp. dried parsley flakes

1 ½ tsp. dill weed or dill seed

¾ tsp. salt free herb seasonings blend like Mrs. Dash, Lawry’s Salt Free or McCormick All Purpose Seasonings

¾ tsp. sugar

A pinch of salt

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl. Place mix into a plastic bag and place in a decorative box. OR wrap mix in plastic wrap and attach to a spoon and decorate the spoon. Either way you need to attach the instructions below to this gift. An easy thing to do would be to “cut” and “paste” these instructions onto card stock, print them out, punch a whole in the upper corner and tie onto your box or spoon.

Dill Dip Instructions

Remove decorative wrapping.
Place ¾ cup mayonnaise and ¾ cup sour cream into a medium bowl.
Pour mix into mayo and sour cream.
Mix until well blended. (If you did wrap the mix in a spoon you can say – Use gift spoon to stir!)
Serve with chips or raw vegetables.

Crunchy Peanut Butter Cookie Mix in a Pint Jar

¼ cup honey roasted peanuts

½ cup peanut butter chips

1 ¾ cup yellow cake mix

Layer ingredients in order given in a 1-pint wide mouth-canning jar. Press each layer firmly in place. Seal jar. Decorate jar. Give with instructions below. An easy thing to do would be to “cut” and “paste” these instructions onto card stock, print them out, punch a whole in the upper corner and tie onto your box or spoon.

Crunchy Peanut Butter Cookies

Empty contents of jar into a medium bowl. Blend dry ingredients.
Add: 1 egg and ¼ cup oil
Mix well. Shape into walnut-sized balls.
Bake at 350* for 12 – 15 minutes. Cool 3 minutes on baking sheet. Remove to wire rack to finish cooking. Yields 18 cookies.

If you are interested in other Jar Gifts just google “recipes for Jar Gifts” There are a million sites out there with interesting and creative ideas.