About all I do in pint jars is pickles. Spreads, etc., as well as jams and jellies, are all half-pints.
And generally, I just take a main dish and a couple of sides, or a side and a dessert, to a pot luck. Or, if the main is being provided, I will just bring one side and dessert, or either-or, depending on what it is. I always err on the side of too much at church potlucks, because you never want anyone who forgot about it or a visitor to feel like there's not enough food. Yes, I err on the side of excess. It's hereditary.
My late mother-in-law, God rest her soul, was the queen of goodie gift-giving. She either prepared or made cakes (usually angel food; she made a killer angel food cake) for dozens of folks, including her former maid, who was in a care home with advanced diabetes. And she always left a homemade treat/gift (a cake, or a box of goodies) atop the trash can for the sanitation workers. Me, I do well to manage three sets of my kids in-laws, staff at one client's office, staff at my daughter's office, and one or two really good friends. Plus I will make "favorites" for certain other friends; one friend always gets a loaf of "birdseed bread" (King Arthur multigrain), and a container of pimiento cheese. Another gets a quart or two of homemade vegetable beef soup. One gets a pot roast. A new one on the list this year got Rice Krispy treats, because she loves them and contends she can't make them (how can you NOT be able to make Rice Krispy treats???).
In today's Memphis newspaper, the food writer posted recipes for a couple of what appear to be easy candy treats. I am not a chocolatier, and have no aspirations to become a chocolatier. But these peanut butter cups and "Betterfingers" looked marvelous. I'm going to try both. Will post recipes if anyone's interested.
