Courtesy photos
It’s the first of December, so it’s time to start thinking about what presents you want to give this year. I have always preferred gifts that require a little thought. Even if that thought is to what store I want a gift card from. Starbucks nope, PetSmart yes, please! What do you get the person who has everything? We all have people in our lives who are difficult to shop for, whether it’s because they have everything they need, or their interests and preferences are hard to pin down. I have found that most people like food gifts. Whether that gift is homemade, or store bought. My friends and I try not to give gifts that we have to dust. One type of food gift is a meal kit. A breakfast basket could have a box of pancake mix, maple syrup, coffee, jam, granola, and fresh fruit. You could give a basket of favorite snacks for movie watching. Mason Jar gifts include homemade mixes for teas, soups, and cookies. A box of homemade cookies or candy is always a great gift. Fruit baskets are another good gift if you need a present in a hurry. Food is a wonderful thing to give to friends, a thoughtful message that conveys comfort and nourishment. Gifts in a jar are one of the easiest to create, and one of the most loved gifts to receive! There’s nothing quite like getting a jar full of a delicious snack mix. One of my favorite things about giving snack mixes as gifts is that a little goes a long way and takes very little time to make. Jar mixes of soup are handy to have when you need a quick snack and no groceries. Just add boiling water and eat.
Debbie’s churro snack mix
Ingredients
4 cups rice Chex cereal
4 cups corn Chex cereal
¾ cup brown sugar
½ cup sugar
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
¼ cup light corn syrup
1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon baking soda
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line 1-2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Place cereals in a large bowl and set aside. Combine sugars and cinnamon in a medium bowl and set aside. Combine brown sugar, butter, and corn syrup in a medium saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil. Cook, stirring continuously, for 1 minute. Remove mixture from heat and stir in baking soda, then pour over cereals. Toss until evenly coated and transfer to lined baking sheet. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture over the cereal. Bake for 6 minutes, then flip cereal over and cook for another 2-3 minutes or until cereal is golden brown. remove from oven and let cool, then break up cereal and store in an airtight container.
Potato soup mix
Soup Mix Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients:
1-3/4 cups Instant Potato Flakes
1-1/2 cups Instant Dry Milk Powder
3 tsp Chicken Bouillon Powder
2 tsp Dried Minced Onion
1/2 tsp Celery Salt
1/4 tsp White Pepper
1/4 tsp Dried Thyme
1/8 tsp Turmeric
1 tsp Dried Parsley Flakes
1 TBLSP Dried Chives
Instructions:
Stir together all the ingredients.
Store the mixture in a jar with a tight fitting lid.
To make the soup: Boil one cup of water and then stir in ½ cup of the soup mix. Add any additional salt & pepper to the prepared bowl of soup as needed.
Notes:
To make a vegan option: Substitute soymilk powder for the dry milk powder, substitute a couple cubes of vegetable bouillon for the chicken bouillon, and add a couple tablespoons of nutritional yeast