Soup Mix in a Jar

I wanted to make some of my Christmas gifts this year and thought how neat it would be to give soup mix in a jar as gifts to those family and friends of mine that cook.  They turned out really beautiful and were a huge hit.  I even gave one to my boss!

Ingredients:
1/3 cup beef bouillon granules
1/4 cup dried minced onion
1/2 cup dried split peas
1/2 cup uncooked twisted macaroni
1/4 cup barley
1/2 cup dry lentils
1/3 cup long-grain white rice
1 cup uncooked tri-color spiral pasta

Directions:
1. Use a canning funnel or any funnel that has about a 2-inch neck.  This will make it easier to fill the jar with the ingredients.  (I didn't have a funnel and it was still pretty easy to fill the jars and get the layers I was looking for.)  Be sure to use a wide-mouth, 1-quart canning jar.

2. Layer ingredients in the order given: bouillon, onion flakes, split peas, small shape pasta, barley, lentils, rice, and enough tri-color spiral pasta to fill jar.

3. Attach tag with cooking instructions: In large kettle, brown 1 pound ground beef or stew beef cut into bite-size pieces in a little olive oil.  Remove tricolor pasta from top of jar and reserve.  Add the rest of the jar contents to the kettle with 12 cups water.  Let come to a boil and simmer 45 minutes.  Add tricolor pasta and simmer 15 minutes more.  Serve with your favorite bread or rolls and a tossed salad.

One thing you may want to add to the recipe is to soak the peas first for a few hours.  One of my friends made the recipe and her peas were hard, but another made the recipe with no problems.  Enjoy!

Yankee Doodle