Goods in a Jar

It's a sad day. Christmas tree is gone, decorations are packed up and all of our gifts have been put away in their new home. Holy smokes, were we ever spoiled!  Our families were ridiculously generous and thoughtful yet again this year. THANK YOU FAM! 

This year I decided to make a useful, homemade gift for our Grandmother's.  Attempt #1: Soup mix in a jar. It looked cute and was inexpensive however I was nervous to give it as a gift because I never sampled it. Onto plan B. Chocolate chip cookies in a jar. Done. They looked equally as cute as the soup but this time I was confident that the would turn out great when baked.  The bonus, I had all the ingredients in my cupboard already. Cha-ching! Last weekend I cooked up a batch of the soup and it tasted great. Dang! I should have given both out as gifts! ah well, next time.  All of the ingredients used can be purchased at the Bulk Barn.

Minestrone Soup Mix in a Jar
1/4 cup red lentils
1/4 cup green split peas
1/4 cup barley
1/3 cup beef bouillon powder
2 tbsp. parsley flakes
3 tbsp. onion flakes
1/3 tsp. thyme
1/3 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. basil
1/4 cup shell macaroni
Yield: 2 jars (pint sized)

I decided not to layer the soup because most people don't want to make a ridiculously large pot of soup.  This way you can make a few servings at a time. Mix all ingredients in a bowl thoroughly. Pour into a pint sized mason jar (I purchased jars from Dollarama) and attach a tag that says:

"For 6 servings combine 1/4 cup of soup mix and 4 cups of water in a large sauce pan over medium-high heat  Add a sliced carrot, 1/2 can of diced tomatoes and 1 cubed potato. Bring to a boil, reduce to low temperature and simmer for 40 minutes."  

Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix in a Jar
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup white sugar

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

 Yield: 1 jar (pint sized)

Layer all of the above ingredients in a pint sized mason jar (I purchased jars from Dollarama) and attach a tag that says:

"Empty contents of jar into a large bowl. In separate bowl combine 3/4 cup of butter, 1 egg, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat until creamy. Add to dry mixture. Drop by tablespoonful onto an ungreased cookie sheet, and bake in a preheated 375 degrees F oven for 8 to 10 minutes."