I am going to try something new today. It is coming toward the end of September. Fall is here and the holidays are next. Colder weather, football, Halloween (yay), Thanksgiving, parades and Christmas. Get the feeling now? It is never too late for getting gifts together and keep in mind that hot soups and stews will be how we show our love to our family. So why not combine the ideas of warm, savory meals with gift giving? Gifts-in-a-jar are great ways to bring happy smiles to the gift receiver, even for those who normally can't boil water without scorching it.
Just keep a few things in mind:
always use food safe jars with airtight lids
use dry jars of the correct size
a canning funnel makes it so much easier
and
make alot, those last minute gifts are a pain to find!
Put the directions for the final product on gift tags to tie to the jar. For the lid itself, make a decorative effort with a 9 to 10 inch piece of fabric to put under the canning rim (if thats what u used) or just cover and tie with ribbon or raffia.
Hoppin' John Soup Mix
1 C dried black-eyed peas
1 T dried minced onion
1 T dried vegetable flakes
1 chicken bullion cube, unwrapped
1 t dried minced garlic
1 t dried thyme leaves
1/2 t ground cumin
1/4 t black pepper
1/8 t ground red pepper
1 boil-in-bag white rice
1. Place black-eyed-peas in a 1 pint good storage jar with tight fitting lid. Place onion, vegetable flakes, bullion cube, garlic, thyme, cumin, black pepper and red pepper into a small food storage bag. Close with a twist tie and cut off the top. Place on top of peas, add bag of rice. Close jar.
2. cover top of jar with fabric; attach gift tag with raffia or ribbon.
makes 1 pint jar.
Hoppin' John Soup
1 jar Hoppin' John Soup Mix
2 to 3 C water
1 can (14 1/2 oz.) tomatoes with green chilies, undrained
4 slices crisp-cooked bacon, crumbled or 1 smoked ham hock
Lemon pepper or hot sauce
Chopped parsley (optional)
1. Remove rice and seasoning packet from jar; set aside. Place beans in large bowl; cover with water. Soak 6 to 8 hrs or overnight. (To quick soak beans, place beans in large saucepan; cover with water. bring to a boil over high heat. Boil 2 minutes; Remove from heat, let soak, covered, 1 hr) Drain beans and discard water.
2. Placed soaked beans, water, tomatoes, bacon and contents of seasoning packet into large saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until beans are tender. MAsh beans slightly with a potato masher. Season with lemon pepper. Submerge bag of rice in boiling salted water. Boil 10 minutes. Drain rice; mix with parsley, if desired. Serve soup with rice.
Makes 4 to 6 servings.
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