Thursday, October 31, 2013

Cornbread Mix-in-a-Jar ~ Hostess Gift ~ Prepare Your Own Pantry



"Laura peeked, and hid, and peeked again, while the Indians ate the cornbread that Ma had baked. They ate every morsel of it, and even picked up the crumbs from the hearth…. when every crumb of cornbread was gone, the Indians rose up."

~ Laura Ingalls Wilder, Little House on the Prairie


Our family is going to be having some extended overnight guests and I love preparing in advance for them. One thing that always goes with the cooler weather (which is also economical) is bean dishes and soups. Cornbread is the quickest way to get a fresh "bread" to the table which compliments these foods. This is where a homemade mix comes in handy! It only takes a few minutes to make...


Prepare For Your Pantry:

Convenience mixes is another wonderful way of stocking your pantry. Simply prepare an assembly line of clean jars and start measuring. Being this recipe includes some whole wheat flour, try and use the mixes up within 6 months (visit our shelf life basics post for more information). 


Happy Hostess Gift:

This would also make a helpful hostess gift if decorated with ribbons and cute labels. We are sharing our printable HERE which features round labels and a direction label which can double as a gift tag, etc.

You may also be interested in these fun and sweet "happy harvest gifts".


Home Education/Crafting with Children:

Children would also enjoy making these and can decorate them (art) and make their own direction labels (copywork). Little ones can practice hand/eye coordination by cutting and pasting our labels (basic skills). This would give you a fun but useful home economics, math (fractions when measuring) and craft lesson for your homeschool.


How to Make:

It is important to use the wide-mouth jars because you will need to pack the ingredients down as you go and most hands won't fit into the smaller openings. Also, the ingredients may not fit in a regular-mouth jar.

Note: An all-purpose gluten-free flour mix can be substituted for the all purpose and whole wheat flours in this recipe however because of the different volume of flour, mixes made with GF flour may require a larger jar.

Direction label for quart sized jar.

For quart sized jars (which makes a 9 by 13 inch pan of cornbread), add the following to a clean jar (shake gently to settle each layer) ~
  • 1 c. Organic cornmeal
  • 1 c. all purpose flour (unbleached is best)
  • 2 tbsp. baking powder
  • 1 tsp. fine sea salt
  • 1 c. whole wheat flour 
  • Pack ingredients down until firm then continue to add:
  • 1 c. all purpose flour 
  • ¾ c. cane sugar (use the natural sugar for the light brown color)
  • Pack down as you add the sugar and there should be just enough room.
  • Attach label and instruction tag.
Direction label for pint sized jar.

For pint sized jars (which makes an 8 by 8 inch square pan of cornbread), add the following to a clean jar (shake gently to settle each layer) ~
  • 1/2 c. Organic cornmeal
  • 1/2 c. all purpose flour
  • 1 tbsp. baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp. fine sea salt
  • 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
  • Pack ingredients down until firm then continue to add:
  • 1/2 c. all purpose flour
  • 3/8 c. cane sugar (use the natural sugar for the light brown color)
  • Pack down as you add the sugar and there should be just enough room.
  • Attach label and instruction tag.


Options:

You can add the ingredients in a different order providing you pack them down half way. I do suggest closing with sugar because it is more sturdy and packs down the best at the very end (flour would make a mess if added last).

Printables:

We are sharing a set of printable tags and labels for you to be creative with. Simply download from HERE and print. The cute corn graphic is courtesy of the Graphics Fairy

You will find the original recipe for the cornbread in a printable version here in case you would like to add to your recipe book or give with your hostess gift.


Notes: 
  • Everything will fit perfectly if packed tight enough.
  • If giving them as gifts, consider the sizes of the family when deciding which jar to use.
  • Make sure you attach the proper instruction tag for the proper sized jar.
  • You will find other printable homemaking projects here.
  • Homemaking is a lot of fun. I encourage you to give it a try! :)

All the fine print. This post may be shared with some or all of the following link-ups: The Art of Home-Making MondaysModest Mom Monday'sMonday's MusingsMake Your Home Sing MondayGood Morning Mondays,  The ScoopTitus 2 TuesdaysTuesdays with a TwistRaising HomemakersThe Homesteader HopWise Woman Link UpHomestead Blog Hop Wow Us Wednesdays,  Coffee and ConversationHomemaking ThursdaysHome Sweet HomeOur Simple HomesteadAwesome Life Friday Link UpFive Star Frou Frou Friday, and Shabbilicious Friday. Thank you lovely ladies for hosting these. This post may contain affiliate links (which are merchant links that help to support this site at no additional cost to you if you purchase an item through them).

26 comments:

  1. HI Jes, It is that time of the year for corn bread. I love baking on Winter! I love the pictures, and thank you for sharing my friend! Blessing to you and your family~

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  2. Your ideas are so cute! We just got a new printer and I hope hubby can hook it up tonight! We have our annual harvest exchange coming up and I would love to bring this!

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    1. That would be perfect! And cute… YES, there is so much UNcute stuff out there, I think it is time to counteract it :) Have a wonderful harvest exchange, that sounds fun!

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  3. You are awesome! I am doing this for myself, but I love to give useful gifts that I know won't end up in the landfill.
    Thank you.

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    1. I agree! I prepared 6 quart jars for our pantry and already broke into one! My hubby loves this cornbread! :)

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  4. I think I've said this before, but I love your labels. I have noticed how my pantry looks so much more organized just by using your labels. Another cute idea and I love how us homeschoolers can turn any project into a school lesson:) Thanks for the great post.

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    1. So glad you can use them! The funny thing is that I just left your blog and left a comment (noticed your pumpkin label) and came back to find yours :) And I totally agree since life is one big lesson!

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  5. You come up with the greatest ideas, JES! I love this :) I must say that I like this better than a cookie mix in a jar. Thank you for sharing. Hugs to you!

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    1. Good! I remember growing up on those Marie Calendar's cornbread mixes which is what made me think of it :) Only these are healthier...

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  6. I love corn bread and I love this idea, of course! Can't wait to make some of these for myself and others (if they make it that far!).
    Rebecca Ayers

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  7. This sounds wonderful and what a great gift idea...can't wait to give it a try

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  8. Can I just say - I LOVE THIS POST! This is such an wonderful gift for Thanksgiving! Thank you so much for sharing it with us all!!! I was your neighbor at Hear It, Use It & I am so glad that I was!!!
    Blessings,
    Joanne

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  9. Oops, sorry, wrong linkup. It was Modest Mom :)

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    1. Okay :) I was wondering about the other site since I have never visited there :) I am glad you find this useful! :)

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  10. Love this! I've pinned it so I don't forget! This would also make an excellent Christmas gift! Thanks for the inspirational idea and printables!

    Stopping by from A Wise Woman Builds Her Home!

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  11. I love a great cornbread recipe! Such a lovely gift idea! Thank you so much for sharing at our mason jar holiday party!!!

    :) Linda
    @It All Started With Paint & Mason Jar Crafts Love

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  12. Thanks so much for sharing this on The Thankful HomeAcre Hop, Jes! I'm featuring your post today :)

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  13. I love mixes!! They save time and money. I will have to try this one :) thanks for sharing at the Simple Homestead Hop this week!

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  14. Great idea. Shared on my social media pages. Thanks for sharing on the Homestead Blog Hop.

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  15. Tried to print the labels but cannot gain access. Is your link no longer valid?

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    1. Hmmm 🤔 the link is working for me... not sure what is going on.. maybe try copy and pasting from here:

      https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-u1o1gJ_PK0THF6THRuZ2pBYUk/view?resourcekey=0-0n_qZd9c-c3qLFFVoeIadg

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