Basil Butter Just blend 1 cup chopped basil into 1 pound of unsalted butter and a pinch of salt . Then its good to go on the Thanksgiving dinner table or in a glass jar as a gift with a hand written label. Cheap glass jars and blank labels are available at the dollar store. Be sure to wash and dry the jars before putting anything in them.
Honey Walnut Butter Simply blend in a food processor 1 pound of butter, 1/2 cup honey, 1/4 tsp of cinnamon and a 1/4 cup of walnuts. Just serve with store bought or homemade apple bread. Or just present in a glass jar as a gift with a hand written label.
Chocolate Bark You'll need a 10 ounce package of chocolate chips, 1 Tbsp of vegetable oil, 1 tsp. of peppermint or almond extract, some nuts, dried fruit and candy bits. Just melt the chocolate chips in the microwave at 50% power for 3 minutes, stirring halfway through. Add the veggie oil and the extract. Stir in the nuts, dried fruit and/or candy bits. Then spread it out on a baking pan lined with greased foil. Let it harden in the frig for about 2 hours. Then break apart and serve . You can also place the bark in a small gift bag lined with white tissue paper from the dollar store and give it out as gifts.
Orange Cello Vodka You'll need 7 medium navel oranges,( preferably organic) One 750 ml bottle of plain cheap domestic vodka, 2 1/2 cups of water, and 1/12 cup sugar . use a veggie peeler to remove the peel from the oranges in long strips. Save the oranges for a snack or another use. Using a small sharp knife, trim away the white pith and discard. Place the orange peels in a 2 quart pitcher or a large glass bowl. Pour the vodka over the peels and cover with plastic wrap. Steep the orange peels in the vodka for 4 days at room temperature. After the 4 days are up, in a medium saucepan, combine the water and sugar over medium heat. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the syrup to cool for about 20 minutes. Then pour the syrup over the vodka mixture. Cover and let stand at room temperature overnight. Strain the mixture through a mesh strainer. Then discard the peels, and transfer the orange vodka into another bottle with a funnel. Then serve as an after dinner drink. You can pick up a large cheap bottle, a funnel and gift labels at a dollar store for $1 each.Or buy several smaller bottles to use as gifts. Hand write your own labels and place on bottles. Make sure you wash and dry the store bought bottles before putting the orange vodka in them.
