It's all in the Packaging

  I am so glad you stopped by. I have so many creative things I want to share with you! First, do you love this little happy? Well, this little happy made me cry. My 24 anniversary was Monday, and when I got up that morning this precious treasure was waiting for me on the kitchen counter. One of my girls had taken a starbucks cup wrapper and filled it with paper straw and heart shaped cookies she'd made and a five dollar bill with a note to treat myself to  starbucks.

[caption id="attachment_1358" align="alignleft" width="200"] Anniversary Happy[/caption]

She wrapped the whole thing in a plastic bag and finished it off with a piece of ribbon. Can you see now why my little happy made me cry? Happy tears of course.  Anyway, my whole point in telling you that story is that you can take just about anything and with an ounce of creativity you can turn ordinary into extraordinary.

I can't believe I am even saying this out loud, but school is right around the corner. So over the next couple of weeks I am going to post fun, easy, creative ideas of things you can make for your teachers. Even if you don't have children at home, you can make these things and surprise a friend or neighbor or mother or sister...you get the idea. I love to make things for my children's teachers. They work so hard and I know that they sacrifice so much and I think a treat the first day of school or a little happy on friday is the least I can do for them. As a matter of fact, as I was leaving my favorite lunch spot about three weeks ago I ran into two teachers from our school. They had been working all day on their classrooms getting ready for new students. It's summer, and they both have families at home and yet they are both using vacation days to work in their classrooms. Thank you Mrs. Parsons and Mrs. Smith. I know that there are many teachers that are doing the same thing so how hard is it to create a little something special to take them on the first day and say "Thank you!"

[caption id="attachment_1359" align="alignleft" width="300"] My family's favorite brownies[/caption]

I thought I would start with the easiest idea of all. Baking. I love to bake sweet, yummy, gooey treats! And I love to give them away with a handmade note and a huge ribbon. It's all in the packaging! That's where you can get really creative! When my children were little I would get a brown or white lunch sack and let them color the front of the bag. Then I would put a little thing of

[caption id="attachment_1360" align="alignleft" width="300"] layer chocolate chips on oreo crust[/caption]

chicken salad in there with a couple of brownies and tie it off with a good looking ribbon. As my children got older the packaging changed a little but not much. Rather than decorating the bag, they would collage or paint a handmade tag and top off the bag with colored tissue paper. Either way, it was a fabulous treat for the teacher on any given friday. It's easy, fun, inexpensive and delicious!

[caption id="attachment_1361" align="alignleft" width="300"] Layer with bit of brickle[/caption]

This is my favorite brownie recipe. I got this from my friend Katie who is  a fabulous cook! She got the recipe from our school cook book. However, I've changed it up a little, and this is the one we love. Don't be limited to just this recipe. This is one of those things you can add just about anything and it would still be divine!     Line your pan with tin foil. Melt 3/4 of a stick of butter and pour it in the pan. Crush a box of

[caption id="attachment_1362" align="alignleft" width="300"] MMMMMM...Eagle brand!!![/caption]

oreos and spread them in the pan on top of the butter. Cook 10 minutes on 350. Then the fun part. Put a layer of chocolate chips on top of the oreos, Then layer bit of brickle. Then layer another bag of chocolate chips. Then layer another bag of bit of brickle. ( Don't think about the calories!) Then ... put a can of condensed milk on top of that covering the whole thing. MMMMMM...... Bake 20 minutes on 350. ( by the way I used a 9x12 pyrex dish) Let it cool. Cut into small pieces, it's so rich!!!! It's so divine!!!!! Refrigerate until time to serve. Break apart when time to serve.  You are going to love it!

I hope this makes school starting a little more fun for you and your family! When you make these brownies, leave me a message and let me know how it turned out! Thanks ! Love love love, Ruthie