Gifts for Friends Who Don't Cook

With the holidays around the corner and being on a strict gift budget this year, I have been thinking about things I can make that would be appreciated by the recipients. I think of these following recipes as gifts from the heart. We all have friends who are either too busy to cook great meals or just plain don't cook. I have several bachelor friends, as well as family members who just don't take the time to cook for just themselves. By giving them the beginnings of a great home cooked meal, I think you are giving a gift that demonstrates both caring and concern for their health and well being. And a couple of these are not bad recipes just to make ahead for yourself, either. Many of the ingredients listed can be found as "organic" in most supermarkets. If you are vegetarian or are giving this as a gift to a vegetarian friend, I would suggest using "SmartGround" by Litelife in the recipes that call for meat. SmartGround is a great vegetarian substitute.


I have included an idea for the gift tag with the preparation instructions, which should be included with these food gifts. There is one for each of the following recipes at the bottom of this page.  You can use mine as a template or create your own version. 

Country Soup Mix in a Jar
Fills one 1-quart jar, in pretty layers
1/2 cup barley
1/2 cup dried split peas
1/2 cup uncooked rice
1/2 cup dry lentils
2 tablespoons dried minced onion
2 tablespoons dried parsley
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper
2 tablespoons beef bouillon granules
1/2 cup uncooked alphabet pasta
1 cup uncooked twist macaroni
In a wide mouth 1-quart jar, layer the barley, peas, rice and lentils.
Then layer around the edges the onion, parsley, salt, lemon pepper, bouillon
and the alphabet pasta. Fill the rest of the jar with the twist macaroni. Seal.
Attach a gift card with cooking instructions.


Vegetarian Black Bean Chili Mix in a Jar

This is very healthy. It has almost no fat, and is mainly from the bottom of the food pyramid.
 It is also relatively inexpensive to make, even if you use organic dried ingredients.


3 cups black beans, sorted
3 tablespoons dehydrated onion
3 tablespoons granulated garlic
1 teaspoon crushed oregano
2 teaspoon salt
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (do not omit)
1 1/2 cups white rice.
Instructions:
Put black beans into the bottom of a jar.
Combine spices in a zip-type bag. Poke a hole in the upper edge of the bag, being careful not to pierce the bag where air can get into the spices. Tie around the top of the jar with raffia or other natural fiber ribbon. Attach a gift card with cooking instructions.You can tie spice bag and gift tag together, if you like. Put rice in a zip-type bag, and place in the jar.

Creamy Wild Rice and Mushroom Soup Mix in a Jar

Great last minute gift idea!!

1 (2.75 ounce) package country gravy mix (regular or no-fat)

1 tablespoon chicken bouillon granules

2 teaspoons dried minced onion

2 teaspoons dried celery flakes

1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes

1/4 cup uncooked wild rice

1 cup uncooked white rice

2 tablespoons coarsely chopped dried mushrooms

(shiitake, chanterelle or oyster)* 

Pour gravy mix into wide-mouth pint jar.

In small bowl, stir together bouillon granules, onion, celery and parsley.

Pour into jar to make second layer.

Add layers of wild rice, white rice and mushrooms.

Seal with lid. Attach gift tag (below) and decorate jar as desired.

Love Soup Mix in a Jar

18 cubes "salt-free" vegetable bouillon

1/4 cup dried minced onion

1/2 cup dried split peas

1/2 cup mixed dried red and black turtle beans

1/2 cup uncooked twist macaroni

1/4 cup barley

1/2 cup dry lentils

1/3 cup long-grain white rice

1 cup uncooked tri-color spiral pasta

Use a canning funnel or any funnel that has about a 2-inch neck. This will make it easier to fill the jars with the ingredients. Be sure to use a wide-mouth, 1-quart canning jar. Layer ingredients in the order given: bouillon, onion flakes, split peas, small shape pasta, barley, lentils, rice, and enough tricolor spiral pasta to fill jar.

(IMPORTANT NOTE: For a meat version of this soup, just omit dried red and black beans, the vegetable boullion cubes and use beef instead. Remember to change the instruction card info for the non-vegetarian version, decreasing the cooking time to 45 minutes, before the pasta is added at the end, so that the cooking time is around 1 hour.)

Attach a tag with cooking instructions.

Painted Desert Chili Mix in a Jar  

I just like the name of this one.....it really is beautiful. 

Layer in a 1-quart jar:

1/4 cup dried parsley

2 tablespoons granulated garlic

2 tablespoons taco seasoning

2 tablespoons dried onion flakes

2 tablespoons taco seasoning

2 tablespoons cumin

2 tablespoons paprika

2 tablespoons white cornmeal

2 tablespoons taco seasoning

2 tablespoons granulated garlic

2 tablespoons chili powder

2 tablespoons dried parsley

1 cup dried pinto beans

1/4 cup small dried white beans

1/4 cup small dried black beans

Approximately 1 cup dried kidney beans

The ingredients are layered, like sand art. Don’t worry about getting the layers even. The desert effect comes  from the rippled appearance of the spices. One tip is to carefully add each seasoning along the edges of the jar, then fill in the middle of the layer. This way all of the beautiful colors show along all of the edges.
Attach a gift card with cooking instructions.


And here are those instruction tags I mentioned: 

Vegetarian Black Bean Chili Mix in a Jar  Wash beans. Put in pot with contents of seasoning bag.  Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and cover beans with 2 inches of water.  Bring to a boil and simmer until very well done (about 2 hours).  Beans should be very soft. Add water as needed to keep beans from sticking.  There should be some liquid left on beans when done.  To cook rice, put 3 cups water and 1 teaspoon salt into a pot and when it boils,  add rice. Lower heat, cover and steam for 20 minutes.  Serve about 1/2 cup rice in bowl, and ladle beans over the top.  Sprinkle with minced cilantro, finely chopped green onion, a squeeze of lime juice.

Country Soup Mix in a Jar Add contents of jar to 3 quarts of water, 2 stalks chopped celery,  2 sliced carrots, 1 cup shredded cabbage (optional) and 2 cups diced tomatoes.  Over medium low heat, cover and simmer about 1 hour, or until vegetables are tender.

Creamy Wild Rice and Mushroom Soup Empty contents of jar into a large saucepan or Dutch oven.  Add 7 cups water; heat to boiling. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 25 to 30 minutes  or until rice is tender, stirring occasionally. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley.

Love Soup In large kettle, brown 1 pound or ground beef, "Smart Ground" or other "ground meat" substitute 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 approx. 45-55 minutes or until beans are done.  Add tricolor pasta and simmer 15 minutes more.  Serve with your favorite bread or rolls and a tossed salad.  Makes 12 servings

Attach these instructions to the jar:

Painted Desert Chili Mix in a Jar Pour contents of jar into 12-quart pot.  Add: 1 medium diced onion  4 (15 ounce) cans diced tomatoes  1 large can of tomato paste  1/2 cup cider vinegar  1/2 cup brown sugar  49 ounces tomato juice  2 pounds ground beef or turkey, browned  Fill remainder of the pot with water. Bring to boil.  Let simmer for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Add salt and pepper to taste. Makes a lot of chili...invite the neighbors!

Link to Page 2 of Dry Soup Mixes