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Does anybody have any recipes for the dry soup mixes you see sometimes in fancy gourmet stores? You know, the type with the bag of pretty beans, the spice packet, and instructions? I'd love to make some for Christmas presents. I have done this a few times just for my own family so that we wouldn't have to spend the money on the expensive pre-made ones at the store. If you have a dehydrator, then you can dehydrate small chunks of vegetables as well like carrots, peas, corn. What really works best is getting those frozen mixed vegetables and dehydrating them. They're already mixed, you just need to dehydrate them. For a any bean soup, simply combine: 3/4 - 1 C. beans (navy, pinto, red, etc.) We never add salt, but Bragg's Liquid Aminos because it's so much lower in sodium than any salt and better for you anyway. Another reason would be for those people who can't have salt or want to salt it to taste for themselves. Simple enough solution in that. Now when you give the gift, you can simply put on the label all the other ingredients they will need to add (i.e., chopped garlic, water, other vegetables if desired, salt, etc...). The site below has a lot of excellent mix recipes. When you get there click on Make Your Own Mixes. You should find plenty to choose from (it will be hard to decide which ones to make!) http://busycooks.miningco.com/ Here's a great site for Jan T. who wanted some recipes for dry soup mixes. There are 3 or 4 different sites that branch off of this one that I know for sure have at least 5 different dry soup mixes. A group of friends and I all got together last November to make up bean soup mix jars to give teachers, acquaintances and anyone for whom you need a homemade last minute gift. Using the assembly line technique, we filled washed jars (any size that you want, we used 1/2 quart) with layers of different beans (consult a recipe book and follow the instructions for different bean recipes if you're afraid to experiment. We used great northern, black, pinto, lentils, and navy). Layer different shades and colors to give the most beautiful effect. Kids really enjoy scooping the beans and it's a good time to talk about measures, colors, and sizes. In a small plastic bag place the spices that the bean soup recipe calls for (try pepper, garlic, marjoram, thyme, parsley, and a bay leaf). Place this in the top of the jar and seal it. Pass the jar down the line and have circles cut out of colorful remnant fabric to tie around the top of jar with raffia, ribbon, or even a rubber band. Preprint the recipe you have chosen (including instructions for presoaking the beans) and cut out using pinking shears about 1" x 1". Punch a hole in the recipe and tie the recipe onto the jar. It makes a beautiful gift. Here is a soup gift recipe I found on a crockpot recipe listserve Bean and Barley Soup 1/4 Cup of each (or any combination to make 2 1/4 cups) Anasazi Beans Layer all together in a jar or plastic bag. In another bag place your seasonings: 1/2 C Brown Rice For preparation, add: 8 C Chicken, Beef or Vegetable Broth Include these directions: Sort and rinse beans. In large covered pot, combine beans with 8 cups of water. Bring to boil and boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, for 1 hour, (drain cover with water and refrigerate overnight) OR Drain andrinse. Combine beans with broth, rice, onion and spices. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer 3-4 hours or until beans are tender. Stir occasionally and add water as needed so that the beans are well covered. Add tomatoes the last hour of cooking (tomates make the beans cook slower). Remove bay leaf before serving. OR After draining beans combine all ingredients except tomatoes in a slow cooker on high for most of the day. Add tomatoes during last bit and serve remember to remove the bay leaf. Enjoy, it is wonderful and your kitchen house will smell great. If you make up the gift packages your friends will be singing your praises.Cathy G. 1/2 C. Dry Split Peas Additional Ingredients: 1 lb. Ground Beef Preparation Instructions: In a 1 1/2 pint jar, layer the first eight ingredients in the order listed. Seal tightly. Yield 1 batch. To prepare soup, carefully remove macaroni from the top of the jar and set aside. In a large saucepan, or Dutch oven, brown beef; drain. Add the water tomatoes and soup mix. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 45 minutes. Add the reserved macaroni, cover and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until the macaroni, peas, lentils, and barley are tender. Yields 4 quarts. Dried Mix: 1 (14 oz.) pkg dry green split peas Combine all ingredients. Keep in airtight container. Store in cool place. Makes about 12 cups of mix The Soup: 6 cups water Put water in large kettle. Add soup mix and salt. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Add carrots, celery, cabbage, tomato sauce, and veg. juice. Add cooked meat. Simmer 20 minutes, until vegetables are cooked. Makes 6 to 8 servings. Do you have a time or money saving idea that wasn't included in this article? Please send it to tips @stretcher.com. We get the best ideas from our readers!
Other Dollar Stretcher Food Articles: Smelly Plastic Kitchen Containers The Not-So-Starving Student Freezing Cookies and Cookie Dough Inexpensive Food Gifts Food Shopping Myths |
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