Warm Winter Wishes Soup and Bread Gift

Who doesn’t enjoy a bowl of soup and freshly baked bread on a cold winter’s night? No one, that’s who. Or practically no one, anyway. I think that makes this a practically perfect gift for the holidays. 

I like to use a ceramic loaf pan to “wrap” the gift. I used glue dots at adhere the die-cut sentiment, and placed each mix in a Chinese takeout box, with the preparation directions on the labels. To finish it, I tied a ribbon around it and attached a tag. Easy-peasy,right?

I make my own soup and bread mixes, which keeps this a thrifty gift, but you could just buy the mixes and put them into the takeout boxes, as well.  But when you see how quick and easy the mixes can be made, you might just be a convert to DIY!

LENTIL SOUP MIX

• 2 cups dried lentils
• 1 tablespoon chicken bouillon granules
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon celery salt
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon dried lemon peel
• 1 bay leaf

Place lentils in a resealable plastic bag.
In a small bowl, combine chicken bouillon, onion powder, cumin, celery salt, salt, garlic powder, thyme, pepper, lemon peel, and bay leaf. Transfer seasoning mixture to a small cellophane bag. Give with serving instructions. Yield: about 3 tablespoons seasoning mix

To serve: Rinse lentils. In a Dutch oven, cover lentils with 2 quarts water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium low. Stirring occasionally, cover and simmer 15 minutes or until lentils are barely tender. Stir in seasoning mix. Cover and simmer 30 minutes longer or until lentils are tender. Serve warm. Yield: about 7 cups soup

Click here for printable preparation labels for the soup mix

BEER BREAD MIX

• 2 1/2 cups self-rising flour
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder (optional)
• 3/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning(optional)

In a bowl, mix the self-rising flour, all-purpose flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, onion powder, and Italian seasoning. Place in ziptop or cellophane bag. Give with baking directions.

Preparation Directions: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place bread mix in a large bowl.  Add 12 oz beer (or seltzer water) and mix just until moistened. Transfer to a greased loaf pan. Top with the 3 Tbsp melted butter. Bake 45 to 55 minutes in the preheated oven, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

Click here for printable instruction labels for beer bread