• Wrap pasta in plastic to keep it separate from the other ingredients, if you cook it as long as the other ingredients they will just be mush. You could also substitute ditalini for alphabet pasta, macaroni, or other small pasta.
• Layer ingredients in a sterilized one-quart mason jar.
• You can layer the ingredients in any order you like in the jar but if you are going for the prettiest presentation you want to break up the colors so that there is variation in each layer.
• I went; with onion, dried split peas, pasta, beef granules, barley, lentils, herbs, rice, and split peas.
• Write the recipe for preparing the soup on a card. If you are gifting it, tie it to the jar with a ribbon.

To make soup:

• Brown and drain 1 lb of ground beef.
• Stir the contents of the jar into 4 quarts of water, ground beef, a can of diced tomatoes, and then add salt and pepper to taste.
• Bring ingredients to a boil then cover, and reduce to a simmer for 45 minutes.
• Stir in pasta, replace the lid, and simmer for another 15 minutes.