Galaxy Print Cookie Boxes

I hope you enjoy this set of printable boxes- one size makes a box that will hold 2 sandwich cookies (Birthday Cake Oreos shown in photo), the other box will fit 4 cookies. With the Birthday Cake Oreos, which are a tiny bit thicker than regular Oreos, the lids bulge slightly. All the boxes in the photo have cookies in them, so you can tell it's not very visible.

Click the images below for larger versions, print on card stock, cut out, score folds, fold, glue!

Raspberry White Chocolate Mocha MILKSHAKES!

So the first thing that I thought of when I saw the Ball® Sip and Straw lids is "Those straws are big enough for thick shakes!"

Then discussed with The Turnip Girl the best kind of shake to make. She's wild for frozen coffee drinks, ice cream and as you know, anything chocolate. We talked about the popularity of Raspberry White Chocolate Mochas, so there it was. The perfect shake.

She used a BELLA 13984 Rocket Extract Pro Personal Blender .

You will need:
1 oz of white chocolate- or 7 squares of a Lindt White Chocolate Classic Recipe bar (those are the ones that break into 30 pieces)
3/4 cup cold milk
2 Tbs. instant espresso powder- I like Medaglia D'Oro Instant Espresso Coffee , and keep a jar for adding to baking and other things.

Put those in your blender and blend until the chocolate pieces are completely broken up. If you're using a Rocket Extract Pro, this happens really quickly

Add in 1 cup of vanilla ice cream, 1/4 cup frozen raspberries and blend for a few seconds more to incorporate it.

Pour into a cup and serve.

Soo good! The espresso powder makes the coffee flavor nice and strong, and the frozen raspberries taste so much better than raspberry flavored syrups.

The photo above was taken by the Turnip Girl, the flower in the photo is one that a little girl in the neighborhood gave her, and she decided it should be in the picture. Isn't it pretty?


Like Ball® Canning & Recipes  on Facebook for lots of recipe ideas and links.

No-bake cultured cream parfait AND TG's rhubarb lemonade recipe

I know what we consider hot weather here is what a lot of you consider a nice day. But it's 70 today and that's a bit warmer than is comfortable. Baking on the 4th of July is NOT going to happen. But no bake desserts in jars? That's easy, cute and transports well.

So starting from the left- those are no-bake parfaits. There are a lot more berries than it appears and it's two of my favorites- strawberries and blueberries.

For 4 pint jars you will need:

To culture the cream:
1 pint of heavy cream
2 Tbsps plain yogurt- make sure it's just milk and cultures
A warm day- or a warm water bath

Put the yogurt and cream in a 1 qt jar, screw on the lid,  shake once, then set in a warm place overnight. After about 12 hours the cream will be very thick when you tilt the jar. Put it in the fridge to chill.

Making the parfait:

Graham cracker crumble:
Melt 1/2 cup butter in the microwave if you absolutely can not stand the idea of turning on the stove (like me, seriously, 70 degrees is really warm for Anchorage)
Mix with 1 cup graham cracker crumbs (about 1 sleeve, crushed fine)

Rinse the strawberries and blueberries. I got a quart of strawberries and a pint of blueberries, there was some leftover for about a minute. Slice the strawberries.Put berries in the fridge until the cream is whipped.

Mix the chilled cream with 1/4 cup super fine sugar, 1 tsp vanilla and if you have it, 1 tsp Grand Marnier.
Whip the cream! With cultured creams, I've found my cream whipper does not work well, even if they are really cold. Whipping by hand with a whisk works great and an electric mixer would probably work too. I prefer the whisk because it's quiet and quick.

Put a few spoonfuls of the crumb mixture in the bottom of each of your jars, then put in a 1/2 inch layer of strawberries, add cream, add blueberries, add cream, continue alternating until it's nearly full, then top with more graham cracker. A nice addition is to fancy slice a strawberry so you can fan it out on top before putting the lid on.

Culturing the cream adds a delicious tangy flavor, and makes for a smooth, silk like cream. The crumbs and berries provide texture and flavor. My daughter likes to whip in some cocoa powder as well for hers because everything is better with chocolate.

Speaking of my daughter, she made lemonade and measured this time. For those of you living where you can consistently get good lemons, LUCKY!! We use lemon juice because it's more consistent.

Yes, I have jar love. I also have some of the newest products from Ball Canning to show off.

Using a 1 pint jar because  Ball® jars are wonderful. They have measuring lines which makes it all so easy-
Put in 2 Tbsp of sugar
Pour in lemon juice to the first line,
Fill with cold water to the top line. Lid, shake well.

Now in your big 24 oz  Ball® Mason Jar mug (you have one right? They are huge and nicely made!)
Slice up a 4 inch piece of rhubarb, add whatever other fruits sound good. She did! Then lots of ice. Pour the lemonade over the fruit and ice, and use a Sip and Straw lid and a wide mouth jar band.
The nice thing about doing it this way is that she can customize the drinks a bit. Like her dad likes it just like that, but she likes it more sour so she makes hers with more lemon, and a touch more sugar.

Another new product, like the Mason Drinking Jars, and the Sip and Straw Lid that's just really neat is the infuser.

This works with wide mouth jars- like the big  Ball® Mason Drinking Jar (they do have a regular sized version of the drinking jar as well) or the tall Ball jars you use for things like asparagus. I love this. The Sip and Straw lids are NICE. They have reusable thick straws, perfect for smoothies and shakes. The infuser lid though, that's perfect for people like me that try to stay hydrated but like a little flavor. Shown above, it has rhubarb, blueberries and strawberries in it, but soon it will be raspberries from my yard. Yum. It has a drinking hole on top, and has a gasket for a tight seal. The basket is big enough for a nice amount of goodies.

The jars, the mugs, the drink lids are all available on their site- and it's been re-designed to be more mobile friendly.

The lids, jars and mugs were provided to me at no cost. No other compensation was given, and my love for  Ball® Canning products is real.

Book Review- Sticky Fingers DIY Duct Tape Projects

Sticky Fingers DIY Duct Tape Projects by Sophie Maletsky 
I'm an enthusiastic duct taper, and duct tape was my daughter's first craft material.

This book is written for people who are just getting started in taping. It starts with the absolute basics, how to make a duct tape sheet, how to use a backing material for bigger projects so you can use less tape, how to make strips, weaving and the packing tape clear window.

The first project is a basic pouch. Pouches are a good first project because there is no fold in the middle, and they are the basis for a lot of other projects. She explains how to make the pouch, then a few different methods of closing it. So by the time you are done making all the pouches, you'll have a very good grasp of closing methods for duct tape projects.

The projects include a wallet of course. Every duct tape book should have a wallet in it! But there are also flowers, bangle bracelets, purses, frames and pouches. With the variety of tape designs out there (quick obligatory shout out for my personal favorite Retro Owls!) and the projects in here, there are gift ideas for years. There are also tips for using the empty rolls and tiny scraps so nothing goes to waste.

This book is written for tweens to teens, and has a lot of photographs and very clear instructions. The author has been writing and designing for that age set for a while. Which means if you're an adult who wants to start working with tape crafts, it should be a cinch to follow. This will give you the basic skills, then you can start designing for yourself.

The type at the bottom of the roll on the cover says "easy to pick up, hard to put down" and that's the absolute truth. Duct taping is addictive as a craft. But it's also fairly inexpensive if you save your design tapes for the parts that show and use a backing material or less expensive plain old gray duct tape on the inside of projects. I do recommend this book.
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My own tip for new duct tapers? A lot of the time you don't have to make packing tape windows because there is so much clear plastic packaging on things that are bought on a regular basis. I save that clear plastic, cutting down to sheets where possible, but some stuff looks good with a bubble window full of confetti or small gumball machine toys too. It can add an extra dimension of whimsy and you get to recycle.

Published by Zest books


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I received a complimentary copy of this book to review, I received no other compensation, and my review is my honest opinion of the book. You can read more about my review policy here.