Archive | May, 2012

Homemade Cold Cereal: Two Flakey Varieties

31 May Flaked Cold Cereal (29)

Print the recipe cards!  homemade cereal honey bunches of oats

homemade cereal wheat flakes

For this week’s posts I’m focusing on cold cereal!  Yes, you can make it yourself!  In today’s recipes we’re looking at the “how to” of two flaked cold cereals.  Lo and behold the mystery is revealed!  All you need to make them are simple ingredients found in your pantry…  healthier and at a fraction of the price of boxed cereal.  Your only problem will be in doubling (possibly quadrupling ?)  them to make enough to keep up with how quickly they’re eaten!

Both of these recipes were adapted from recipes found in “A Bite of Independence Through Self Sufficiency”, the wonderful (sadly, out of print) book I mentioned in May 10th’s post a few weeks ago.  I hope you enjoy them!  It’s a great feeling to know you can “out price” and “out smart” the boxed cereals at the grocery store by making it yourself!

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Chicken Noodle Casserole

24 May Chicken Noodle Casserole (1) - Copy

Print the recipe!  chicken noodle casserole

Easy and fast!  This recipe is basically a chicken version of tuna noodle casserole (found here) adapted to be a food storage meal.  Since my family isn’t too crazy about tuna I was excited to try this recipe made with chicken; it turned out well and everyone liked it!

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“Everything” Chinese Noodles

19 May Everything Fried Chinese Noodles (20)

Print the recipe page!  everything chinese noodles

What a fun recipe!  You’re going to just love this one!  From Lauren Groveman’s Kitchen, these noodles are going to rock your Asian menus in salads, appetizers and main dishes.   Paired with her homemade Duck Sauce (I adapted it here to be pantry friendly) there’s just so many options you can take!

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Homemade Saltine Crackers

17 May Saltine Crackers (16)

Print the recipe card!  homemade saltine crackers

How about some saltine crackers to go with your soup?  This recipe is so simple!  With basic ingredients, including just 4 cups of flour, you can make *a lot* of saltines (dare I say, more than comes in the box from the store?) and, unlike store bought, you get to control what goes into them!  For a healthier version, give it a try using oat flour or rye flour in place of half of the all purpose.  If you’re cutting back on salt, top them before baking with a mixture of half salt/half herbs and spices.

Besides the fact that you’ll love them, save money and have another recipe you can make with your food storage (which you can tweek to your liking), I love that this recipe goes without the partially hydrogenated oils and other shady ingredients found in commercial brands.  Love it, love it, love it!

One last thing (I can’t help myself) and then I’ll get to the recipe.  Please…I’m begging you… get yourself a pasta maker if you don’t have one!  This is another recipe you have to have one for so just do it and get it over with.  You’ll thank me later ;)

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Wheat Meat: Meatless Spaghetti and Meatballs

10 May Wheat Meat (19)

Print the recipe page!  meatless spaghetti and meatballs

We’re moving into radical food storage territory today!  As a disclaimer, I have to say, if it hadn’t been for my friend Sherida trying this herself first (and having her kids loving it) I probably wouldn’t have believed this would have worked.  So hopefully if this seems like a super crazy idea I can be the same type of guinea pig for you to find the courage to try it.  If you do, you’ll have an added option from your food storage that not only uses up the wheat you’re storing but also saves money at the grocery store and creates healthy “fake your family out” meatless meals.  Wheat meat looks and tastes like meat, it’s the same consistency of meat;  I think you’ll be as surprised as I was!

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Lessons learned

5 May

Recently I was asked by a group trying to collect a “best of” preparedness ideas to submit the top 3 things I’ve learned from cooking with food storage.  It got me thinking, as I wrote it up, that it might be helpful information to those here visiting too.  So today, instead of a recipe, I’m offering instead some “food for thought” from someone who, I assure you, has had plenty of mishaps along the way in cooking with food storage. And it’s no wonder… trying to cook with ingredients and methods that are totally different from what we’re used to equates to a steep learning curve, one that costs money (from thrown away food) and time.  Been there and done that.  Thank goodness it’s been during a time when my family hasn’t depended on the food we store to survive, as I’ve many times ended up calling out for pizza to save dinner the nights recipes have bombed (which explains my family’s support of me in this project :) ).  Anyway, for what it’s worth, here’s my top 3 tips when trying to store food that your family will eat:

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Chicken Burgers

2 May Chicken Burgers (31)

Print the recipe! chicken burgers

I began this recipe (originally from Food Network) encouraged by the great reviews but still a bit hesitant.  If it worked like it said it did with ground white meat chicken, ground canned chicken should work too.  Still though the chicken mixture itself, as warned in the original recipe, was really wet and I worried whether it would hold together.  ”Forge ahead” the first recipe said. I did and canned chicken or not, it worked!  The only “food storage” adjustment I had to make in cooking was to keep the patties thin since the ending texture was better that way.  To go along with them I found a new homemade bun recipe that everyone liked.

These burgers were a {HUGE} hit, right up there with pizza for how “normal food” tasting they were.  I’m excited to try other ideas by which to build on them!

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