Frugalite Kitchen Tool

I bought a Food Saver wide-mouth mason jar attachment (10.99) today at Bed, Bath, and Beyond, luckily I had a 20% off coupon.  Then I went to the Bosch Kitchen Center and found both the wide mouth (.99) and regular (7.99) mouth jar attachment . 

Food Storage

Now I can use my 1/2 gallon mason jars for storing barley, brown rice, home dried fruit, home dehydrated veggies, homemade croutons & crackers, fresh dried herbs, etc. The vacuum seal will extend their shelf life. I can vacuum seal jar cakes, nuts, spices, etc. and keep in the freezer. I may also use freezer jars for home grown, blanched, and frozen veggies.

Donna's Red Velvet Jar Cakes

Make and freeze these little elegant delights ahead of time.  Weeks ahead of time, if need be.  But, don't tell your family!  If they find them you may not have any left! These little cakes are moister in a jar than made as a cake. These are great to have on hand to drop off with a friend as a sweet little birthday reminder or even for a kind uplift.

Ingredients
1 box Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe Red Velvet Cake Mix

Directions
Prepare twenty four 1/2 pint wide mouth freezer jars (these are straight sided jars), following guidelines for preparing baking pans, as listed on the box. Mix according to box directions. Pour 1/4 cup of batter into each prepared jar. I use a Pampered Chef "Measure All." Bake at 350 degrees for 19-23 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean. Then cool completely. 

To Freeze
If cake is too high to frost, use a knife to loosen cake from sides and slide cake from jar. Use a bread knife and slice off top of cake. Cakes that are over the top of the jar can be sliced horizontally in half and placed in two jars! Frost and then place a clean lid and canning jar band on the bottle, tighten band and place in the freezer.

Serve frozen or thawed.