Taste Test Tuesday: Ham Potato Bean Soup

Got left over ham?  Or simply wanting another way of making it tasty?  I got this Ham, Potato and Bean Soup from my sister.  It is delicious.  It works great to use dry milk powder--use 2 c water mixed with 6 tablespoons of dry milk powder for the 2 cups of milk.  Also replacing cooked white beans with the canned is fine too, or using dried/freeze dried veggies, make it yours and  Enjoy!

Taste Test Tuesday: Beach Street Chicken

MMM.... Today's recipe, Beach Street Chicken, is so yummy!  I got this recipe from here:  http://dealstomeals.blogspot.com/2009/03/my-favorite-pasta-recipe.html.  It is delicious.  This works great to use a sun oven to cook the chicken, it also is a great prepare ahead recipe (freezing the chicken with the marinade ingredients).

Enjoy!

Taste Test Tuesday: Black Bean Pumpkin Chili

Today I want to share a recipe I got from my sister:  Black Bean Pumpkin Chili.  This chili is great because leftover turkey from Thanksgiving or Christmas or any other turkey dinner can be used.  It's use of healthy things like veggies, beans, pumpkin and turkey (a little healthier than red meat, right?), olive oil make it a winner, too.  Instead of fresh veggies, dried or frozen could be used instead.

Enjoy!

Taste Test Tuesday: Honeyville grain sale & products

Taste Test Tuesday:  Another sale at Honeyville so you can get your food storage for cheaper!  

from the email you can sign up for to be notified of sales and deals:

"Honeyville's 5 day 10% Off Sale starts Today, Monday, Oct. 21st and ends Friday, Oct. 25th, 2013

. To claim your 10% savings, shop online at store.honeyvillegrain.com before the sale ends. Just shop as usual, then simply enter the coupon code "HARVEST" during checkout and enjoy the savings."

This sale started yesterday, I meant to post but as always some well meant things get put aside.  This sale goes till Friday so there is still time to take advantage of it.

As far as taste test Tuesday:  of the products I have bought from Honeyville grain, I have thought they all were good quality and tasty--well as tasty as dried or freeze dried/powdered foods can be compared to fresh, as fresh is almost always better tasting.  But when it comes to having shelf stable foods, I have really liked the ones I have tried from Honeyville, especially the dried green onion--so nice to have on hand!!!

Here are some of the foods I have tried and liked and how I have used them:
green onion:  mixed in with eggs, on/in enchiladas, cheese & egg casseroles
diced potatoes:  in soups and pot pies--perfect size for these as they are small cubes--about the size of a pinkie nail--but in the shape of a cube
hashbrown potatoes:  as hashbrowns, or potato casseroles where shredded potatoes are nice to have
egg powder:  for baking--cakes, brownies, rolls, etc.  Remember egg powder was designed for baking not for eating like scrambled eggs--they do have a different taste, but in baked goods that difference in taste isn't noticeable.
freeze dried fruits (blueberries and strawberries):  great for snacking, in oatmeal or other cereals, in yogurt, rehydrated to make a fruit sauce for desserts or yogurt.

Notes:  Once you open a can of freeze dried or dried food, you should use it within 6-12 months.  I found this particularly true with freeze dried--as they do absorb moisture over time.  Also, I recommend reading the comments that customers have made, as they often have great ideas on how to use the food or insight on why or why not the person liked the product.

Taste Test Tuesday: Dehydrating Frozen Veggies

Today I will share an easy way to dehydrate veggies by using frozen veggies.  Normally when dehydrating foods, you have some prep work like chopping & blanching, but when you buy frozen veggies from the store, this work is already done for you (or at least should have been done), so all you have to do is spread it out on the trays and dehydrate.

If there are large clumps or areas of ice go ahead and break them up and remove as much ice as you can.  Some veggies might be too big for your trays, like broccoli or cauliflower heads, simply chop them up more if you need to--which may require some thawing time.

Some veggies are more aromatic than others, like peppers or onions, so just be aware if you are sensitive to smells.

Enjoy!

Miscellaneous Monday: Ideas on Incorporating Food Storage

March Food Storage Madness:  This month I hope to share ideas on many different aspects of food storage from getting and storing it, to using it and more.

Today's March Food Storage Madness:  Spring cleaning--getting some of that food storage out and actually using it!  If we store food and never use it, it wastes money, time & space.  So below are some ideas on incorporating different food items into what you may already be making/eating:

Wheat:  wheat can be cooked whole or cracked, or it can be ground into flour.  Got recipes that use flour?  Most recipes do well switching out white for wheat flour--either a complete switcheroo or partial.  Cooked whole or cracked wheat isn't just for cereal anymore!  Are you having meals with ground meats?  Cooked whole or cracked, wheat is wonderful to add to ground meat dishes.  Having rice?  Again cooked whole or cracked wheat can be added to rice dishes.  Salads--yep, same thing!  You can also make wheat meat (wheat gluten) and flavor it to taste like beef, chicken, sausage and more.

Dry milk:  besides simply making up a gallon and using it in cereal or for drinking (I suggest adding a little vanilla to it though for taste), dry milk can be used in baking or making sauces, puddings, cream soups and more.  Got a recipe that requires cream of ... soup?  Instead of buying a can from the store, you can make your own using dry milk using S.O.S mix or Magic Mix.  Need to make a white or cheese sauce, dry milk can be used--Magic Mix again to the rescue!

Dried fruits:  great for adding to cereal, yogurt, making fruit sauces & pies.  They are also great by themselves as a snack.

Dried veggies:  great for soups, adding to egg dishes (like casseroles or quiche), rehydrate and add to other casseroles or stir fries.

Beans:  Cooked beans can be added to meat dishes, casseroles, rice dishes and more, simply add with the meat or in place of the meat.  Cooked beans can also be pureed and used to replace the oil/butter in baked goods like cake or brownies!

Canned meats:  great for soups, chilis or even salad sandwiches (like chicken salad or tuna).  Great for casseroles too.

Dry Egg Powder:  most dry egg powders are made for use in baking--so if baking and the recipe calls for eggs, dry egg powder can be used.  If using for making scrambled eggs or omelets, the taste may not be to your liking.  There are products that claim to taste better for these types of uses (like egg crystals).  Also, dry egg white powder is great for when you only need whites.

I hope these ideas help in using your food storage.  It is so much better to learn how to use these things in tasteful ways now, than during an emergency.  Have fun, enjoy using your food storage!

Taste Test Tuesday: Chicken Rice Soup and Jello Dessert

The recipes I am sharing today come from my sister-in-law.  The first a chicken rice soup can be adapted to use even more food storage than just the rice and flour by using canned or dried foods, and dry milk, and adding cooked beans.  It was nice and creamy and yummy.  The second recipe uses frozen strawberries, so easy to make year-round without killing the budget trying to spring for fresh strawberries.  If you like sweet and salty, this is a great dessert to have with the salty pretzels and the sweet jello & cream mixtures.

Enjoy!

Honeyvillegrain sale

If you sign up for Honeyvillegrain emails, you may already know that from Jan17-Jan22, you can get 15% off your entire order!   (that doesn't include the already awesomely low flat rate shipping).  But, if you haven't signed up to receive emails with deals and such,

Here are the details (from the email):

"We hope you're still holding true to those New Year's Resolutions. If building up your food storage pantry or a special new diet is part of your resolution, then we may be able to help. From now until Tuesday, January 22nd we're offering deep discounts (15% Off Your Entire Purchase*). Tell your friends and family!  Simply enter the coupon code "RESOLVE" during checkout. Shop online at store.honeyvillegrain.com  or visit a local Honeyville store near you for your 15% savings starting today."

Way cool!  Their prices are normally already great, but with these % off sales they periodically do, you get an even better deal.

So, as the email says:  "Tell your friends and family!"

Ok, so personally, in the past I have ordered and been amazed with their service and products.   I've tried both dried and freeze dried products--love the freeze dried blueberries!!!!--so yummy to add to yogurt with some cooked cracked or whole wheat berries and a few sunflower seeds for crunch.  The other products I have tried have been great too. I still always compare prices with other companies that sell food storage companies just to be sure before I buy anything, but for certain items, honeyville has often beat the other prices when shipping is included in the total cost.  There are certain items that are still a better deal at LDS home storage centers, or when Emergency Essentials does group specials on items (because group specials also qualify for free shipping); but honeyvillegrain's prices are pretty good, in general, for dried and freeze dried fruits and veggies.

Taste Test Tuesday: Beef Stroganof

Today's recipe comes from my sister-in-law.  I've tried a few different beef stroganof recipes, and liked each, too.  So here is one of them...  Though I didn't add as many mushrooms and I used dried onion and minced garlic.  When I made it, it was a little liquidy so you will want a bowl to serve this in rather than a plate.  This can also be served with rice/wheat instead of noodles.

Enjoy!

Wednesday Why: Shelf-Stable Meals/Menu

What are some shelf stable meals?  And what is an example of a 1 month shelf stable meal menu?  When I say shelf stable I mean food items that can remain on a pantry/cupboard shelf until opened.  Also if using dehydrated foods, will need to store more water to rehydrate these items compared to their canned counterparts.

Some great meals that can be made using shelf stable food items are:  Soups, chilis, noodle dishes, rice dishes, baking mix foods, cereals/grains; all with canned/dehydrated fruits and veggies as sides.

Specifically:
Soups/Chilis:  canned soups/chilis or homemade using: broths, canned/dehydrated veggies & meats, canned/dry beans, pasta sauces, salsas, tomato sauces, jarred sauces and rice or noodles.
Noodle dishes:  Make casseroles, soups or pasta/sauce dishes.  Simply add canned/dehydrated meats, veggies, condensed soups, jarred sauces/salsas and seasonings to taste.  Like spaghetti or other noodles with pasta sauce, canned noodle dishes (like ravioli, Spaghetti O's, etc.), boxed or homemade Mac & cheese (using jarred cheese sauce or velveeta since these don't have to be refrigerated until opened), ramen noodles.
Rice dishes:  casseroles or soups using rice.  Simply add canned/dehydrated meats, veggies, condensed soups, jarred sauces/salsas and seasonings to taste, just like with noodles.
Potato dishes (using potato flakes):  Make up flakes to mashed potatoes, add canned/dehyrdrated meats/veggies/condensed soups and seasonings to make casseroles--using mashed potatoes as a crust of sorts
Potato dishes (using dehydrated potato dices, slices, shreds, etc):  make casseroles by adding condensed soups, canned/dehydrated meats or veggies and seasonings.
Baking Mix dishes/foods:  pancakes, biscuits, waffles, pot pie/pie/cobbler crusts/topping, cornbread, breads, some cakes and cookies
Cereals/Grains:  using dry milk for drinking milk and thereby the milk in cereals, oatmeals, grits, cracked wheat cereal.  Make wheat cereal with wheat berries or cracked wheat and sweetener/jam.  Crackers are a great 72 hour kit item, but also great for meals at home--use with tuna/canned chicken, PB&J or cheese.

Sample 1 month menu using shelf stable meals:

You may have other favorites that already use or could use shelf stable items in place of fresh.  When you find a meal that your family likes that uses only shelf stable items, then write it down and add it to your rotation.

When making your own menu, you can choose any number of breakfasts, lunches and dinners, I chose 7 different meals to rotate through, you can do more or less.  Then simply stock up on the items needed to make those meals--even though these items are shelf stable, you will want to use and rotate through them before the expiration date.

Hope this helps in giving ideas on meals that can be made when the fridge/freezer isn't working.  All of these meals can be made using an alternative cooking method if the electricity is out.  I originally put this menu together a few years back in preparation for hurricane season, knowing that if one hit, the electric could be out for anywhere between a day to a couple of weeks days.

Taste Test Tuesday: Cheese & Beef Bake

First of all, this week at Kroger Ronzoni pasta is on sale!  When you buy 10, the final cost is only 49 cents!  Yeah!  This is one of the better deals on pasta that has happened over the last few years--so stock up.  The usual sales-the buy one get one free-tend to only get the price per box down to about 60-80 cents.

And so, today I am sharing a pasta & wheat recipe:  Cheese & Beef Bake.

I adapted this recipe slightly--I added the wheat, green onions and used homemade taco seasoning rather than a packet, but otherwise it is pretty much the same.  The original recipe I have came from my sister-in-law.  Using only 1/2 c of cooked cracked wheat, it wasn't noticeable at all, flavor-wise or otherwise.  I think I may try it with some dehydrated peppers next time.  I used medium shells pasta, but macaroni or other pasta shapes would work too.

Enjoy!

Taste Test Recipe catch up: Wheat recipes

The recipes I am sharing today use wheat (or not).  The first, Hamburger Casserole, I didn't include wheat in the recipe but it is the same as the other ground meat recipes, simply add 1/4 c or more of cooked wheat berries or cooked cracked wheat.  The great thing about adding wheat to ground meats, is it doesn't stand out taste wise.

Next is Hamburger Pie, again a great recipe to add wheat to as well as beans and dried veggies.

And now chip dip.

Popped wheat doesn't use ground meat, but I wanted to share it anyway.  Be sure to pop wheat without any oils or butter so that when it starts popping up, it won't hit you and burn you.  Simply add any oils & seasonings after it has been popped.  I noted that this is much harder to chew than popcorn, so I wouldn't recommend giving it to young children or anyone who can't chew hard/crispy foods.  It is a tasty snack otherwise though.

Taste Test Tuesday: Chicken Broccoli Alfredo

This chicken alfredo recipe uses SOS mix.  Utah State University cooperative extension put together a little cookbook with SOS mix and recipes that use it, it can be found here:

http://extension.usu.edu/files/publications/publication/FNP_101.pdf http://extension.usu.edu/files/publications/publication/FN_Cooking&Baking_2011-02pr.pdf

SOS mix can be used in place of canned creamed soups, and for other cream sauces and soups.  Cheap and quick!

Here is the recipe, with a few adjustments on my part based on what I used.  Technically you could cook the noodles in with the sauce, like the original recipe calls for, but I found it made the sauce way to runny and I had to add more noodles to equal the sauce.

Enjoy!

Taste Test Tuesday: 5 Dry Milk Recipes

Milky May:  Today as sort of a grand finale of Milky May I will be sharing 5 recipes rather than one that use dry milk.  First, I will highlight 3 recipes I have tried from the wonderful dry milk recipe handout found here:  http://peaceofpreparedness.com/Resource%20Library/Recipies/Got%20Milk%20Recipes%202011.pdf.Then I will share a recipe using a recipe from www.everydayfoodstorage.net that I have tried and liked.  And lastly a peanut butter no bake cookie using prepared dry milk.

The recipe in the handout for this is actually called Bacon Brunch Pie, but as I was making it I thought it was more like a crustless quiche and so thought of it as Basic Quickmix Quiche, with either name, it is good.  I thought it would go great with sausage or other meats like ham or even browned ground beef.  I used fresh eggs instead of egg powder when I made it.  I also didn't use bacon bits as the original recipe calls for but cooked bacon crumbles/pieces.  I also added the tomatoes thinking to serve some shredded lettuce on top for a kind of BLT quiche.  Whether by itself or with lettuce with it, it had the consistency of quiche or scrambled eggs with veggies in it.

Another recipe from this great handout:  Country Gravy

MMM.  This gravy was yummy.  It is much like the gravy that can be made with Magic mix.  I like them both as they are both quick and easily seasoned to taste.

And again from peaceofpreparedness handout:  Pasta Primavera

I added cooked chicken to this as well--adding it with the rehydrated veggies--it did make it so there wasn't as much creamy sauce--just enough to coat everything lightly so if you do like more sauce with your veggies and pasta, you will need to add more of the sauce ingredients:  flour, dry milk, sour cream and water.  Depending on how hot or mild you want it, you will want to adjust the dried pepper and crushed red pepper amounts.  As is, it was ok for me but a little hot for others--it really depends on individual likes.

Now onto another source for great food storage recipes:  www.everydayfoodstorage.net.  The Chocolate Cake Cookie Mix recipe below is using the chocolate cake mix found here:  http://everydayfoodstorage.net/2012/02/27/making-your-own-cake-mixes-food-storage-style-dark-chocolate-cake/food-storage-recipes, there is also a great handout about making your own cake/muffin mixes and how to adapt recipes to mixes--see the above post link for that.  So onto cake mix cookies using this cake mix recipe.

I'll admit I like this cake mix made into cookies much better than when I made it into cake using the recipe shown on everydayfoodstorage.net.  When it comes to chocolate cake I like the homemade-made-from-scratch chocolate cake much better than this cake mix or store-bought cake mixes.  But this cake mix does make excellent chocolate cookies!!!  They are so yummy!  The variations my family has tried:  using peanut butter chips (I think we also added chocolate chips when using peanut butter chips); using white chocolate chips and chocolate chunks, just chocolate chunks.  ALL variations were delicious.  When using teaspoon to tablespoon sized balls, it makes around 50 cookies.  Also, if using melted butter instead of softened butter, you will need a little more mix.  Also, this is a batter that unless you have a powerful mixer, you will need to mix by hand--especially as you add more mix to make the dough stiff and add chocolate chips--a wooden spoon works great for mixing.

And now for another cookie recipe:  Peanut Butter No Bakes

This no bake cookie recipe comes from a church congregation cookbook that I have, it simply calls for milk, I simply adapted it to use dry milk and even cooked cracked wheat.  Great with or without the cooked cracked wheat.

Enjoy!

I hope the recipes I have shared this month, as well as in the past, have been helpful in giving ideas on using dry milk.  For more recipes that use dry milk, click on labels then dry milk or go to the recipe index page and look for recipes that indicate they use dry milk.  Enjoy!

Taste Test Tuesday: Whole Wheat Basic QuickMix

Milky May:  Today I will actually be sharing a few recipes, because they use the same basic mix that I want to share.  Not only does it use whole wheat flour but it also uses dry milk powder.   The recipe for this Whole Wheat Basic Quickmix I got from a friend from Michigan, she is one of the ones who got me started with my zeal for using wheat often and in different ways many years ago.  So on to the quickmix recipes...

I love this mix, it makes delicious biscuits!  And it is whole wheat!!!

MMM, just thinking about these biscuits.  I've made them plain, I've also made them with additional seasonings and cheese, both are delicious.  If I haven't shared my apple cheese biscuits in the past, I will have to share that another time, but this recipe will also work by adding shredded cheese and rehydrated dried apples.  The picture above were ones I made with shredded mozzarella and italian seasoning.

My kids love chocolate chip pancakes--I've used both regular sized semi-sweets and mini, the minis don't sink to the bottom of the batter as easily as the regular sized chips do (this is true for breads and muffins too).  You can also add a little peanut butter, or pumpkin, apples and cinnamon, etc. for some different flavors--adjust the liquid/oil slightly as needed.  For the pancakes, I made them without any oil, but if you would like you could add 1-2 T of melted butter or oil to the batter--this is where pumpkin or peanut butter would replace the oil rather than adjusting the liquid.  As for the waffles, I made them after mixing up the pancake batter, I doubled the recipe, then after using about half of it for pancakes, I mixed in some oil (no extra egg this time) and they turned out fine, though I think having the extra egg would be better, so the oil amount above is actually just a guess-timate, it could be as much as 3/4 cups, but I think I used at least 1/2 c worth.

Tomale Pie is another recipe that can use this quickmix, but it is also very good with cornbread.  I share this recipe, because it is good but also it shows that the biscuit mix/cornbreads can be used as a crust of sorts for pot-pies and such.  This is also a good recipe to add dried veggies-like carrots, onions, peppers, etc.

Enjoy!

Taste Test Tuesday: Roasted Potato Quiche

The picture isn't very good, I by far am not a professional, but the food is good.  I used dry milk to make the milk for this recipe, as well as the dry veggies and eggs.  I did use store bought potatoes, but this would probably work using the dried diced potatoes.  It was different having potatoes instead of a crust, but it was still good and it used food storage!


Enjoy!

Taste Test Tuesday: Potatoes & Sausage

I'll admit I had to come up with amounts for this recipe after the fact, so you may have to adjust to get it to the right taste your family enjoys.  I should have written down what I used at the time I made it rather than trying to remember.  But, I think the above is pretty close to what I used.  I didn't have sour cream on hand, so I used milk instead, it turned out fine.  This recipe would also be good adding some bell peppers (fresh or dehydrated)

When rehydrating veggies, you can use water or stock.  For more flavor, especially when making potato flakes into mashed potatoes, I highly recommend using chicken broth/stock.

Freeze dried or dehydrated fruits and veggies are a great addition to home storage as they take up less space than their canned or even frozen counterparts.  I like to have canned, frozen and dehydrated in my storage, rather than just one or the other, here is why:  I want to have the ability to have canned should there be a lack of water (as dehydrated requires water to rehydrate); I like to have dehydrated also since space to store food isn't always optimal and they are very nice and handy to only have to rehydrate or throw into a soup; and I like frozen for the ease in preparation and taste in everyday cooking.

Enjoy!

Taste Test Tuesday: Creamy Chicken Soup

I actually made this to make chicken pot pie, but it was a little too soupy so I had it as soup as well.  But, I still tried it in a pot pie and like my note says, right out of the oven it was still soupy, but after letting it cool (actually overnight in the fridge), and then reheating it, the filling did thicken up a bit and didn't require a bowl.  Whether it was soupy or thickened though, it was still good.  I think I might have added some parsley while everything was boiling, but can't remember for sure.  This recipe is nice because you can adjust the veggies and seasonings to match individual and family tastes--as the picture shows, I also added peas.

Enjoy!

Taste Test Tuesday: Baked Grits & Sausage

MMM...  I adapted a recipe I found in a local low-country cookbook I picked up from the library for 25 cents, and this is what happened...yumminess.  The amounts of the veggies can be adapted to suit individual or family tastes, but the above amounts resulted in a delicious breakfast casserole.  Next time I thought I'd try it with wheat sausage, but this time I used regular sausage with all dried veggies.  The amount of grits can be varied to suit personal needs and tastes, I used regular grits, but instant would probably work too.

Grits are nice to have on hand for quick meals.  They cook up quickly, they are great to add meats, cheeses or veggies to (much like an omelet).  They don't store as long as wheat or oats, but do store for a little while in an airtight container (see the expiration date on the package to determine the best time frame to use the grits).

Enjoy!

Taste Test Tuesday: BBQ Rice & Wheat

This recipe is a great one for adding in wheat, whether you are trying to hide it or not.  If trying to hide the wheat, instead of adding it to the rice, add it in with the ground meat--after browning the meat, add cooked cracked wheat to it, mix and heat then it is nicely hidden, simply add it to whatever recipe you are going to use ground meat for.  Otherwise, by combining the cracked wheat with the rice, you are able to cook them together saving some time and energy.

Here is a picture of when I cooked rice with wheat:  I used 1 1/2 c rice, and 1 1/2 c sifted cracked wheat.  I love rice cookers when it comes to cooking both rice and cracked wheat!

In the recipe above, I used equal amounts of rice and cracked wheat.  I also used dried onion and celery, so no butter.  But I did add a little soy sauce just for fun to the sauce.  As far as the ketchup (and water) goes, this time I didn't measure it, I started with half a bottle of ketchup and ended up using it all, then filling the ketchup bottle half full, swishing it around to get all remaining ketchup out and using that for my water, a great way to use up any ketchup!  As far as the amounts of onion and celery go, use whatever you like, I like a little more, but it is good with less too.

This was normally a rice only dish, without any wheat.  I have added it to the meat mixture, and as above, to the rice as well.  I think it tastes great with or without wheat, but why not add the little extra health benefits of wheat?

Enjoy!