Years ago the department stores starting carrying these seasonal jarred food gifts. The first time I had seen these was when I received the “Hot Cocoa MIx” from whoever it was that drew my name for Christmas that year.
Initially I was super duper impressed. I thought what an ingenious idea to put food gifts in jars and sell them at an affordable price……. then I tasted it.
Less than desirable comes to mind. Just sayin’!
Over the years I’ve tried lots of different variations of these food gifts in jars and have found quite a few that are absolutely delicious, once I started assembling them in jars myself that is.
This crock pot black bean chili mix is delicious and people ask me for the “recipe” all the time.
Here is how I do it:
- 3 cups of dry black beans (make sure you sort through them and remove anything that doesn’t belong)
- 4 Tablespoons of dehydrated chopped onions
- 3 Tablespoons of dehydrated sliced garlic
- 1 teaspoon of dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons of sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon of chili powder (or cayenne pepper…. but DO NOT OMIT THIS)
Pour the beans into a quart sized jar.
Mix all of the seasonings and spices together and put in a small bag (I just use a sandwich zip top baggie).
Place the seasonings bag on top of the beans and place lid on jar.
Include these instructions:
Black Bean Chili Mix
Remove baggie from jar and set aside. Pour the beans into a large bowl and cover completely with water by 3 inches and soak overnight. Drain and rinse the beans in the morning and add to a 5 – 6 quart crock pot. Add 1 1/2 pounds of stew meat, the seasoning baggie contents and cover with water (2 inches above contents in crock pot). Cook on low for 8 – 10 hours or on high for 4 – 5, Serve topped with sour cream and shredded cheese. Enjoy!
Adorn the jar with a ladle tied on with festive ribbon. This is a perfect gift for the cold winter days ahead.
NOTEI buy the 5 lb bags of dry black beans and make several of these jars at one time. It also has a good shelf life (just go by the soonest experation date on the container of the ingredients you used) AND I have a quick gift if I forget someone or have unexpected guests. 
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