5 Bean Soup Mix

Here is the recipe that I prepared as a gift idea on WCAX 4 o'clock News:

My daughter and son-in-law gave me a jar of this mix last year and it was so good, I asked them for the recipe. It makes a great vegetarian meal and is also wonderful with some cooked hot or sweet sausage or meatballs added in the last hour or so of cooking time.

Eventually I'll invent my own soup mix recipe, but for now, enjoy this one my kids got from Cassie Johnston at Whollefully.com.

Vegetarian Five Bean Soup Recipe

To make this soup mix into an attractive gift, assemble it in a quart canning jar. Although the recipe suggests wrapping the spices in parchment and sealing with tape or stickers, they are not likely to hold it in place. Parchment, after all, is intended to prevent sticking! I used staples. For a simple alternative, you could put the spices in a small plastic bag.

You will want to stuff some parchment or other food safe paper into the jar to take up any extra space if you don't want the beans to get all mixed up should the jar get tipped.

For a festive touch, I have added a label with instructions for making the soup, a 6" circle of fabric, and a ribbon. Use a larger circle of fabric (7 - 8") if you want to hide the spice packet from view.

Tip: If you don't have a helper, you can use a rubber band to hold the fabric circle in place while you tie the ribbon.

Here's a link to the instructions on a neat downloadable label

Here's the label I made - right click to download, print front and back and glue them together.