I thought I might give these jarred mixes as gifts to some of the folks I know. A few years ago, I did that with dry baking and candy mixes that I made, giving them at Thanksgiving as a trial, and they were so popular that the people wanted to buy them as gifts to give others. I am hoping that happens again. I paid for Christmas that year with the money I made.
These can be given in jars, but I also have scads of celophane bags left over from the above, and some Christmas ribbons, so I will probably use a bag. They are about 9 cents each.
Today, I tried two: Chicken noodle and Beef/Barley/Wild Rice
They are both very good, but I may lean toward the beef just as a matter of taste.
In a pint jar, for the chicken, I got some 25 cent packs of pasta: fideo, alphabet, stars. I get them in the Mexican food section. They are probably a few cents more than buying in bulk, but much less than in the larger packages, and there is a large variety of small shapes.
I got some bulk chicken and beef soup base. I think you can use boullion, but it is more expensive here. And I also got dried soup mix, which is basically dehydrated onions, celery, carrots, parsley, salt, etc.
So, in the pint jar for the chicken, I placed 3 T of soup mix, 3 T of chicken base, the package of pasta, and then the last inch or so I filled with dehydrated peas. To test, I used 8 cups of water, and a pint jar of my diced chicken. It took about 20 minutes overall to prepare. I rate it a strong 7.5 on a 1-10 scale.
The beef, I used 3T of soup mix, 3 T beef base, 1/2 cup pearl barley, 1/4 cup wild rice, 1/2 cup dehydrated mixed vegetables, and then filled the rest of the jar with white rice. I am simmering it in 8 cups of water, probably about 40 minutes total. I have tasted the broth and I love it. It is maybe an 8.75.
The next will be potato, leek and mushroom. I have to dehydrate the leaks, so it will be tomorrow. (Thanks to the person who mentioned dehydrated leeks on another thread. Gave me the idea !!!) The base for it is chicken boullion, country gravy mix, dried parsley, onions and celery, and potato flakes. I may stick in some dehydrated hash browns for texture. We will see how it goes. But that's tomorrow.
Yesterday, I tried lentil, split pea, chicken and wagon wheel pasta to stand up to the thickness. Also added canned cubed chicken. I didn't like it. Maybe rated it a 4. It was hearty, used essentially the same seasonings as the chicken today, but the texture was a problem for me.
These can be given in jars, but I also have scads of celophane bags left over from the above, and some Christmas ribbons, so I will probably use a bag. They are about 9 cents each.
Today, I tried two: Chicken noodle and Beef/Barley/Wild Rice
They are both very good, but I may lean toward the beef just as a matter of taste.
In a pint jar, for the chicken, I got some 25 cent packs of pasta: fideo, alphabet, stars. I get them in the Mexican food section. They are probably a few cents more than buying in bulk, but much less than in the larger packages, and there is a large variety of small shapes.
I got some bulk chicken and beef soup base. I think you can use boullion, but it is more expensive here. And I also got dried soup mix, which is basically dehydrated onions, celery, carrots, parsley, salt, etc.
So, in the pint jar for the chicken, I placed 3 T of soup mix, 3 T of chicken base, the package of pasta, and then the last inch or so I filled with dehydrated peas. To test, I used 8 cups of water, and a pint jar of my diced chicken. It took about 20 minutes overall to prepare. I rate it a strong 7.5 on a 1-10 scale.
The beef, I used 3T of soup mix, 3 T beef base, 1/2 cup pearl barley, 1/4 cup wild rice, 1/2 cup dehydrated mixed vegetables, and then filled the rest of the jar with white rice. I am simmering it in 8 cups of water, probably about 40 minutes total. I have tasted the broth and I love it. It is maybe an 8.75.
The next will be potato, leek and mushroom. I have to dehydrate the leaks, so it will be tomorrow. (Thanks to the person who mentioned dehydrated leeks on another thread. Gave me the idea !!!) The base for it is chicken boullion, country gravy mix, dried parsley, onions and celery, and potato flakes. I may stick in some dehydrated hash browns for texture. We will see how it goes. But that's tomorrow.
Yesterday, I tried lentil, split pea, chicken and wagon wheel pasta to stand up to the thickness. Also added canned cubed chicken. I didn't like it. Maybe rated it a 4. It was hearty, used essentially the same seasonings as the chicken today, but the texture was a problem for me.
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