Care Packages

Dating A Military Man

Care Packages

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Recipes and Ideas!

Websites for ideas:

http://militarygirlfriends.8m.com/packages.html

http://www.geocities.com/militarycarepackage/

Click here for a link to the USPS Web site for Overseas Military Mail.

From Stina/femmetita's kitchen... (Okay, it's really from my Mrs. Field's cookbook! lol)

Monster Chunk Cookies

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter
1 1/3 cups (packed) dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
12 oz. semisweet chocolate, cut into large chunks

Preheat oven to 300º degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, oats, baking soda and salt. In a large bowl w/ an electric mixer, cream the butter. Beat in the sugar and continue to beat until well combined. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then add the vanilla. On low speed, blend in the flour mixture, stirring in the last but with a wooden spoon. Stir in the chocolate chunks. Divide the dough into 15 equal portions. Place the portions of dough 3 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet and pat into disks 1/2-inch thick. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes, or until lightly browned on the underside. Cool on the cookie sheet for 1 minute, then carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Yield: 15 large cookies

A childhood favorite for Krista/kris1119

Snickerdoodles

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cream of tarter
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cream the butter, shortening, 1 1/2 cups of sugar, eggs and vanilla. Blend in the flour, cream of tarter, soda and salt. Shape dough by rounded spoonfuls into balls.

Mix together the 2 tablspoons of sugar and 2 teaspoons of cinnamon. Roll the balls in the mixture. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes - until set but not too hard. Remove immediately from baking sheets.

***Here are some notes from a few of our message board members***

• From Rebekah (garnet1117): Cards/letters -- no matter what else you send, cards, letters, and pictures are the most important!!! It doesn't matter WHAT you write about, even the most mundane news about your life, or general news from back home will make them happy, and they'll read it over and over again! It also helps to keep in mind that letters should be kept happy and upbeat. One soldier I spoke with said, "Anything that you send will surely improve morale. But don't send any problems, or concerns. They have an opposite effect. Keep it upbeat." A couple guys also warned that if you send letters that are. . .shall we say. . ."Suggestive," they will be greatly appreciated, but you can expect that they will have been shared by the end of the tour! Our favorite trick of spraying the letters with perfume was also suggested!

Skin so Soft (yes, this really was suggested by a veteran soldier! It's a great bug repellent)

Ketchup packets from fast food joints, little bottles of Tabasco (helps with those oh-so-tasty MREs!)

This one's a direct quote from one of the guys: "one thing I really appreciated was a small pillow she sent me. She made a little case for it and it didn't take up much room at all. He may catch the butt of some jokes for a bit, but he'll be the only one waking up with a smile."

•From Mindi (mindimorris): If you send large packages (like I have!) try to pack things in smaller boxes within the larger box, that way he has more storage options, and he could use the extra cardboard to build stuff. It also keeps things from shuffling around in the box while it's in transit.

Also, BOARD GAMES!!! I found this nifty set of chinese checkers, chess, and checkers all in one box...lightweight and easy to pack. Toys in general are a big hit. Especially if they make silly noises! DB has told me about a Spongebob Squarepants toy that has become legendary!

As a joke, I also sent him an inflatable beach ball...hehehe

• Send self addressed stamped envelopes. Often times they don't have the time (or money) to buy stamps and write out envelopes.

• Send him a roll of stamps so they don't have to go to the post office to buy some.

• Calling cards are a nice way to ensure he doesn't break the bank by talking to you on the phone.

• By gettting him a membership to Sam's Club/Costco/BJ's Wholesale (search online to find which one is near him) he'll be able to get lots of barracks munchies for very little money.

• If he's a coffee drinker, he'll love it if you send him a small one-cup coffee maker complete with some filters and ground coffee.

• Pictures of you, pictures of family, pictures of friends, pictures of home... you get the picture (ha ha). Any and all pictures will be welcome. Be very careful with naughty ones, esp if he has a roomate! Wallet size are great because they can go with him wherever he goes (Hint hint: the field)

• Send letters that you've recorded on tape. If he doesn't have a tape player, get a cheapie walkman and send it to him with your tape all cued up.

• Send him a video letter if you can get your hands on a camcorder. Make sure he has a VCR!

• Make a mix tape/CD of all your favorite songs and send it to him. (Stand up comedian acts burned onto CDs make great spirit lifters!)

• Baby wipes for quick clean ups in the field

• Magazines & Books (A note of caution: When sending a package, please keep in mind that some geographical regions (such as the mid east) are more sensitive to materials that are abundant in the US and Europe. In particular, pornography. And also, a technical note, US military men aren't allowed to posses anything that displays sexual penetration.)

• More expensive but GREATLY appreciated - Gameboys/Computerized games, digital cameras (it‘s tough to get to a photo lab even when it‘s right around the corner!), and personal CD players

• Hard candy

• Ramen noodles

• Pringles

• Toiletries: toilet paper, antibacterial soap & hand gel, laundry detergent

• First aid items: cough drops, travel packs of Aspirin/Motrin, Band-Aids

• Sun Block 45 SPF

• Lollipops, chewing gum

• Beef jerky, trail mix, peanuts, Pop Tarts

• Peanut butter

• Kool-aid powder in Plastic Canisters

• Undershirts, underwear, and socks (military type of course)

• Squirt guns, yo-yos, silly putty, playing cards

• BATTERIES!!!

• Those disposable cameras so he can take pics for you, and a SASE for him to send it home to you to develop for him

• Non-perishable items (I.E.: Canned Tuna, Sardines, Canned Oysters, Vienna Sausages, Chef Boy-ar-dee meals)

Tips on sending baked goods:

• Pack small cookies into pringles cans for mailing

• Don't send chewy homemade cookies. They contain too much moisture and will go bad while in the mail.

• If you do bake your own cookies, let them cool until they are warm but not hot. Wrap them two at a time, back to back, in small pieces of tin foil. Pack them in the smallest box possible. Fill the rest of the box with unsalted, unbuttered popcorn to keep the moisture down.

Lovin' from Emma/emmadaisy's oven...

Pumpkin-licious Bars

4 Eggs
1 cup of oil
2 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 cup pumpkin
2 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon

Frosting:

1 (3oz) package of cream cheese
1 stick margarine or butter
2-3 cups powered sugar
1 tsp almond flavoring

Mix all ingredients and pour into 11 x 17-inch jelly roll pan about 1 inch deep. Bake at 350º for 20 minutes, test with toothpick. Frost when cold. (I usually leave the bars out over night so that they dry out. The frosting seems to add back the lost moisture while in-route of shipping.) Decorate, sprinkled pecans are yummy!

Jen/cl-highlyfab and her Joy of Cooking cookbook with very, very yummy...

Applesauce Cake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Sift together: 1 3/4 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. cloves
In a separate bowl cream together: 1/2 cup butter or shortening (I suggest butter or margarine).
Add gradually and cream until light 1 cup white or packed brown sugar (I suggest brown sugar)
Beat in: 1 egg Stir the flour mixture gradually into the butter mixture until the batter is smooth. (You can add 1 cup raisins and 1 cup dates, currents or nutmeats here but I don't - yuck!)
Add: 1 cup applesauce. Bake in a greased loaf pan 50-60 minutes. When cool, sprinkle with a little bit of powdered sugar

***Here are some notes from a few of our message board members***

• From Gia (ladygia812): Girl Scout Cookies "If Zane won't eat them, I know someone will!"

• From Emma (cl-emmadaisy): I recently went to the post office and found out it's actually illegal to send it tobacco AND *COFFEE* overseas! I don't know about sending tobacco domestically ... but I think coffee's alright. (I was really surprised to hear about customs not allowing coffee!!)

• From Haven (iloveairmansmith): When my brother was over in the desert during Desert Storm...My mom called up my bro.'s fav radio station and dedicated a song to him from our family over the air, then she recorded the dedication plus about a half an hour of programing before and after. She didn't tell him about the dedication but told him he had to listen to the whole thing. He said he was so surprised when he heard it and almost started crying because it was like he was hearing the dedication over the airwaves live.

Got a care package idea or site? Email us and we'll get it on this page! DMM_CLs@yahoo.com