Gifts In a Jar - Friendship Tea

We have some family friends that don't have a kitchen.  I'm serious.  They had an incident with a house fire more than a year ago and the kitchen still hasn't been completed.  Due to this situation, gift giving on our end was a little more difficult.  I wanted to make them some of the various Gifts in a Jar the girls and I have been gifting to friends and family.  Unfortunately, a kitchen is required for the baking or partial prep of the chosen gifts.

So, while brainstorming for ideas, Dad mentioned that their friends both drink tea and not coffee.

WOOT!

I HAVE my idea!

Friendship tea!  This yummy tea would be perfect in a jar, and only needs hot water - something I know our family friends DO have in their home!

And, due to the friends having given my girls many gifts and treats over the year, this would be a cute gift my girls could make for them as well.

There are many, many recipes for this tea online - Search for Spiced Tea, Christmas Tea, Friendship Tea and even the poorly named Russian Tea and you will be bombarded with recipes.  Some have sugar, some have none, some have lemonade, some only lemon flavoring, the combinations are endless.  Find a few that interest you.  Give a little and take a little.  Make it your own!  Then, make another batch, toss it in a jar and give it as a gift.  Your friend will love you for it!

Our batch of tea was the perfect size for one of my now emptied and run through the dishwasher Jewelry In Candles jars.  Due to the candle being soy, the recycled jars are perfectly acceptable to be used for food storage!

Friendship Tea
1 cup Tang
1 cup Lemonade (presweetened)
3/4 cup unsweetened, decaf tea crystals
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon cloves

In a food processor, place all ingredients in bowl.  Pulse until mixed.  Store in airtight container.

When ready to serve, place 1 - 2 Tablespoons of mix in hot water.

This can also be made by placing all ingredients in a bowl and stirring.  I use the food processor as it makes the mix a little more fine and powdery and less of a mess when there are helpers in the kitchen.  Just imagine an open bowl, a spoon and a fight between a five and seven year old over who gets to stir.  Yes, pressing "pulse" on a food processor is a lot less mess!

Again, the sugar is 100% optional.  And if you can't find the presweetened lemonade, go ahead and buy two packets of unsweetened kool aid (the kind that will make 2 quarts a packet).  Then, just add some sugar to your liking, up to a cup, I would say.

Gifts In a Jar - Slow Cooker Country Bean Soup Mix

Two of our Soup Mixes ready for their recipe cards and ribbons.

This soup is great!  It can start out its life in a jar after sitting in your pantry where it has rested since you got together with a group of friends to make up some freezer/pantry meals or it can all come together for the first time in your slow cooker.

This past Christmas, we needed gifts for teachers, bus drivers and mail delivery persons.  After preparing a few jars of this recipe, I still had enough of everything left over to make our own meal!

I was glad I did.  Everyone really liked it.  And you know me, I love the simple recipes best!

If making this in a jar for storage, just add all dry ingredients to a Quart Jar.  When ready to cook, add contents of a jar, 6-8 cups water, browned turkey sausage and a 26 oz can of crushed tomatoes to a 6 quart Slow Cooker.

Slow Cooker Country Bean Soup
3 cups dried beans, any combination (for a prettier gift, use 1/2 cups of 6 different beans or even layer two different types of beans 1/2 cup at a time)
2 T dried minced onion
1 T dried parsley flakes
2 tsp beef bouillon
1 tsp dried minced garlic
1 tsp dried basil leaves
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp pink Himalayan sea salt
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes

Layer beans in 1 quart jar.

In small baggie, mix onion, parsley, bouillon, garlic, basil, oregano, salt pepper and red pepper flakes.  Tie with twistie tie.  Place on top of beans in quart jar.  Seal jar with appropriate tight-fitting lid.

Include tag when gifting:

Slow Cooker Country Bean Soup
1 Jar Country Bean Soup Mix
6-8 cups water
1 26 oz can diced tomatoes
8 oz smoked sausage links, browned and sliced

Remove seasonings from jar and set aside.  Dump beans in large bowl and cover with water.  Soak overnight.  Drain beans in strainer and discard water.  Rinse beans until rinse water runs clear.

Brown sausage links in skillet, and slice.

Combine soaked beans, water, tomatoes, sausage and contents of seasoning packet in slow cooker. Cook on low 6-8 hours, until beans are tender.

Soup can be made thicker by using a potato masher to mash some of the beans and replacing mashed beans in slow cooker during last half hour of cooking.

Gifts In a Jar - Peppermint Vodka

Three of our jars just after the peppermints had been placed in the vodka by the girls.

I was searching for a hot chocolate mix that was yummy.  I've made a few in the past and GAG!  They were not what we wanted.  Seriously, some of them made the packets of *cocoa* seem gourmet level!  Do any of you have a homemade mix that will stand well as a gift in a jar?  If so, PLEASE share with me! 

As I searched through the multiple and varied hot chocolate mix recipes that take up a huge portion of the internet, I noticed a theme.  Seems there are quilte the multitude of persons out there that love them an adults only hot chocolate! 

Now, I have to admit that I don't drink.  My alcohol is used for cooking.  Love me some wine in my pizza sauce and I've posted a few canning recipes that use various adult beverages . . . . but I don't "do" booze as a beverage. 

So, when I notied this, I immediately asked a few friends if this was a common "thing".  Seriously, I'm such a dork I thought of hot chocolate as only something kids and wussy adults such as I would imbibe.  The friends had responses of "HECK YA!" and "Hmmm, never tried it, but now that you've mentioned it . . . ."

So, I decided to try it.

There really wasn't a recipe other than "take peppermint candy and let it dissolve in vodka.  Serve in your hot chocolate."

So, that is what I did . . . .

Peppermint Vodka

1/2 Pint Canning Jars

Vodka

Peppermint candies

Red Food coloring

Clean and Sanitize 1/2 pint canning jars with lids that seal (reuse old leads and seals or use the plastic ones).  Fill jars with vodka.  Unwrap peppermint candies (please, use the good ones, the ones that use actual peppermint oils and extracts and not artificial flavoring).  Drop candies in Vodka.  We used two candies in each jar just because we had enjoyed sampling the peppermints and only had enough to place two in each jar.  Enjoy watching the peppermints dissolve.  Now, you can be done at this step, or use red food coloring to make the flavored vodka look festive.  The girls wanted this treat for their "aunties" to look like Christmas, so we put 8 drops of red food coloring in each 1/2 pint of vodka.

We left the vodka sit a few days before gifting them.  We flipped them daily bethe sugary dissolved candies would settle in a layer at the bottom of the jar. 

To serve - shake jar and pour some in your favorite hot cocoa or sip it on its own.