Taste Test Tuesday: I Can't Believe It's Food Storage recipes

Yesterday I shared my review of the food storage cookbook:  I Can't Believe It's Food Storage by Crystal Godfrey.  Today I want to list &/or link a couple of my favorite recipes from the book and/or her website:  www.everydayfoodstorage.net.

Easy No-bake Blender Cheesecake:  find here on her website, I also posted about it here.  This recipe uses dry milk to make sweetened condensed milk, you can also use dry milk in this recipe to make yogurt cheese to replace cream cheese.
Cheeseburger Meat Loaf:  this is one recipe I have only found in her book--not on her website, I have altered it to fit my family's tastes & to use more food storage items--maybe I'll share my altered version sometime.  This recipe uses dry milk to make evaporated milk.
Whole Wheat EZ Bread:  find here on her website, I've also posted about it before and made pull-apart breads with it--see apple cinnamon pull apart bread, or pull-apart bread in recipe index.
Cheeseburger Mac n Cheese:  find here on her website, or the post I did on it here.  This recipe uses Magic Mix and dried onion
Magic Mix, Magic Mix Fudgsicles and other things made with Magic Mix (these are also found in the New Ideas for Cooking with Basic Food Storage cookbooklet I posted about before at different times) 

These are just a few of the recipes my family has enjoyed from this cookbook and the website:  www.everydayfoodstorage.net, there are many other great recipes!!!  I highly recommend this food storage cookbook, along with the New Ideas for Cooking with Basic Food Storage cookbooklet for those just starting out with using food storage--the recipes are great and easy.  But even if you are a food storage guru, you may find some things you haven't tried and like.

Taste Test Tuesday: Replacing oil with beans in box mixes

Yesterday I shared my review on the cookbooklet:  New Ideas for Cooking with Basic Food Storage.  Today I am sharing one of the tips from that booklet:  to replace fats in baked goods with beans.  To help make it not as scary to use beans instead of fats like oil, start with box mixes for brownies and cakes then try from-scratch recipes.

Replacing oils:  puree cooked beans in the blender--add a little water as necessary to puree.
Replacing butter/shortening/margarine:  mash cooked beans, adding more liquid if necessary to recipe.

Enjoy!

Miscellaneous Monday: Food Storage Cookbook Review

There are many sources available for recipes that use food storage items, specifically long-term food storage items.  One of these sources is a recipe booklet:  New Ideas for Cooking with Basic Food Storage.  I've posted about this booklet before like on the post found here; it is also available online in a couple places, here is one such place.  Well today, I am going to share my review on this recipe booklet.

First off, the layout.  The recipes are categorized by the long-term food storage item main ingredient.  Recipes that use wheat are together, recipes that use oats are together, etc.  I like this layout for when I want to use a specific long-term food storage item, as I can easily find a bunch of recipes all together.

The recipes & tips:  Most of the recipes are easy to make and tasty.  They don't require a lot of food items that most people don't have on hand, nor do they require food storage items beyond basics that some/many people may not have like powdered butter, freeze dried foods, or tomato powder.  They do indeed help someone use their food storage items.  Some of the recipes I have shared on this blog come from this recipe booklet.  I've also seen other food storage blogs that have used these recipes.

Overall: If I was to give a score I'd say A+ or 5/5.  It is a very handy recipe booklet to have for those who want to know how to use basic long-term food storage items (sold at a LDS Home Storage Center, aka cannery)--wheat, oats, beans, rice, dry milk, flour, dried apples, etc.  I like that it uses basic ingredients for the recipes.  I've not tried all of the recipes, but those I have tried I liked.

Taste Test Tuesday: 3 Dry Milk recipes

Today I will be sharing 2 dry milk recipes that I got from www.everydayfoodstorage.net.  The first is a main dish, the second a dessert recipe.  The 3rd recipe I have shared before (see this post), but will share again because it is used in the dessert recipe.  I have really liked the recipes I've gotten and tried from www.everydayfoodstorage.net and highly recommend them.

Cheeseburger Mac & Cheese  http://everydayfoodstorage.net/2008/05/21/the-magic-of-magic-mix-recipes-perfect-for-kids/food-storage-recipes

2 C. White Sauce from Magic Mix 2 C. Uncooked Macaroni 

2 C. Cheese 1-2 tsp. salt or garlic salt (optional)
1/2 C. Ketchup 1 T. Yellow Mustard

1 lb. Cooked Ground Beef (I also like to add cooked cracked wheat to this)
1/4 C. Dehydrated Onion hydrated in 1/2 C. Warm Water, drained (optional)

1 Bag Frozen Mixed Vegetables or fresh tomatoes to top

Directions:  Cook Macaroni. Cook hamburger while macaroni cooks. Drain macaroni and make white sauce in empty pot. Combine all ingredients and heat through. 

**My notes:  This isn’t your store bought mac & cheese, but it IS yummy and a great way to use food storage including adding cooked wheat to the ground beef after it is browned.  MMM....

Ice cream Cups  http://everydayfoodstorage.net/2008/06/09/food-storage-ice-cream-cups-powdered-milk-food-storage-recipes/food-storage-recipes

2 C semi-sweet chocolate chips (or white chocolate chips or PB chips)

1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk (can use homemade)

1 c finely chopped nuts, pecans, oreos, cookie pieces, etc.

In heavy saucepan over low heat, melt chips with sweet milk (can make own sweetened condensed milk), remove from heat and stir.  Stir in pecans.  In individual paper lined muffin cups, spread about 2 T of mixture.  With lightly greased spoon spread on bottom and up sides of each cup.  Freeze 2 or more hours.  Before serving, remove paper liners--it is easier to remove if allow to sit at room temperature for 5 minutes first.  Serve with icecream.

Sweetened Condensed Milk

1/2 c hot water 1 c dry milk

1 c sugar 1 T butter (optional)

Blend in blender, until thoroughly blended (a few minutes).  Can use immediately or freeze or put in fridge.   In the post I did before sharing this recipe, I also shared a couple other recipes using dry milk--like no bake cheesecake, and homemade yogurt.

Enjoy!

Taste Test Tuesday: Magic Mix

Milky May:  2 recipes today:  Garlic Rosemary Chicken and Magic Mix

Garlic Rosemary Chicken:  This recipe uses Magic Mix--recipe & information below.  With the amount of chicken I used as shown in the picture, there was just enough of the creamy sauce to coat the chicken rather than having chicken in sauce to top the rice.  The amounts of chicken and sauce can be adjusted to family likes--whether you like having chicken in a creamy sauce or having chicken lightly coated by the creamy sauce.  The seasonings can also be adjusted as well as replaced with other seasoning blends.  Freezer meal alert:  this freezes well, simply reheat in a microwave--works good to make individual servings or family size servings.

Magic Mix can be used for sauces, gravies, puddings, cream soups, etc.  I have made all of these using Magic Mix in the past, including making homemade fudge-cicles-mmm.  It is really a nice mix to have on hand for making quick meals that need white sauces, gravies, soups, etc.  It works really great with recipes that use cheese--parmesan, cheddar, mozzarella--things like chicken alfredo, macaroni and cheese, casseroles that use cream soups and cheese.

Enjoy!

Here are some websites with more information on Magic Mix and recipes to use them:

http://www.theideadoorfiles.com/index.php/self-reliance-food-storage-prepardness/161-preparedness/food-storage/203-basic-food-storage-booklet --this leads to a recipe booklet for items sold by LDS home storage centers, it includes recipes using dry milk and Magic Mix.  Love this recipe booklet, many useful recipes.

http://extension.usu.edu/files/publications/publication/pub__3295363.pdf --Utah State extension Magic Mix pamphlet, uses instant powdered milk

http://extension.usu.edu/duchesne/files/uploads/FCS/Freezer%20Meals/freezer%20meals%20agogo_packet.pdf--includes a recipe or two that uses Magic Mix

http://cru.cahe.wsu.edu/CEPublications/em4693/em4693.pdf  --Washington State’s extenstion Magic Mix pamphlet

Taste Test Tuesday: Dry Milk Recipes

A few recipes using dry milk powder for today, hope you enjoy them!  I had originally thought of spreading these recipes over a few weeks, but since they go to together (kind of anyway), I decided to share them together.  

I originally got this recipe in a basic food storage recipe booklet my family was given for Christmas a few years back.  I finally found this recipe booklet here on theideadoor.com, here and then later here on mormonshare.com, as I searched for it in the hopes of finding who made it and whether it is copyrighted or not--so that I could know if I could share the recipes or not, as of yet I haven’t found any such copyrights, so I hope it is ok to share the recipe(s).  And for whoever put this wonderful recipe booklet together--thanks and wow!!!

Then a few years later, I came upon this website:  www.everydayfoodstorage.net.  Can I just say that I love this site!  I have tried multiple recipes from this site as well as in the recipe book she put together (I Can’t Believe It’s Food Storage), and haven’t been disappointed.  Anyway, on this website can be found this recipe, as well as recipes using this recipe.  Here is one of those recipes, homemade blender cheesecake--mmmm!

You can also use homemade yogurt cheese in this recipe, see the site for a video on using and making it, here.  I'm also including the recipe to making yogurt below.  The picture above shows the cheesecake I made using homemade yogurt cheese.  I have made it using regular cream cheese as well, and it is good that way too, but I do love that the yogurt cheese reduces the calorie and fat content of this yummy dessert.  From the picture you see it was too good to wait to take a picture of the whole cheesecake:) and my crust was crumbly--oh well.  I measured out 8 oz of yogurt cheese with a simple kitchen scale this time, but in times past I guess-timated.

The recipe below is adapted from other websites to use homemade sweetened condensed milk.

The carmel recipe that I adapted to use food storage (dry milk sweetened condensed milk) I originally found here (jamiecooksitup:  I love this site too, great recipes!).  It was linked to this site, where this recipe is shared, but also a great tip on using a candy thermometer for this recipe.  These two recipes differ in the time it says it takes for the mixture to turn to carmel, I would go with the longer times--as when I made it it took at least 20-25 minutes for it to turn carmel color.


I'm still trying to decide whether this was a success or a yummy failure...

It did work to use homemade sweetened condensed milk.  The carmel was VERY chewy and sticky--not something you want to eat if you have braces (or a weak jaw)!  Coming out of the fridge after setting, it is lick-able, but not bite-able, at least not without effort.  Your jaw gets a work out here, not sure if all carmel apple carmels are this chewy or not--or if it is because I used homemade sweetened condensed milk.  I would let the carmel apple sit at room temperature for a good 20 or so minutes before trying to bite into it.


And finally, for today:  how to make homemade yogurt, and yogurt cheese.

This recipe is similar to one found in the basic food storage cookbook mentioned earlier in this post, and a recipe or two on allrecipes.  I combined and adapted them to find what worked for me, the above recipe has worked and continues to work for me in making homemade yogurt with dry milk.  You can see it is very near the consistency of store bought yogurt-not a liquid yogurt.  I sometimes do actually measure out dry milk powder and the yogurt, other times guess-timate-so sometimes I end up with more--whether you use the lesser amount or the greater amount it still works great.  Though using the greater amounts shown I have gotten a slightly thicker yogurt than when I use the lesser amounts.

To make yogurt cheese from this:  you will need a flour sifter/strainer that can rest on top of a bowl.  The bowl will need to be deep enough that the sifter doesn't touch the bottom.  You will also need coffee filters (or cheesecloth--I've only used coffee filters to this point).  Line the sifter with 2 or 3 coffee filters.  Fill about 1/2 full of yogurt that has been chilled.  Cover with more coffee filters then put something to weigh it down--a ziploc bag filled (and sealed) with water works great.  Let is sit like this for several hours--the longer it sits the thicker it gets, after overnight, it is about the consistency of soft cream cheese.  It can now be used in place of cream cheese for a low-fat version!  I have also used just the coffee filters attached to empty yogurt containers without a strainer.  (see pictures below for a visual of what I just described)

To see a video tutorial on making yogurt and yogurt cheese see www.everydayfoodstorage.net, she has done a great job of showing how to do this here, she also has a yogurt making handout.  Like I said, I love that site!

The pictures aren't that great, but hopefully they help.  I do prefer the sifter over the bowl--It does seem to work better for some reason.  I really like the creaminess to the cheesecake recipe above when I use yogurt cheese-mmm so good!

I hope you enjoy making and tasting these recipes!