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Chicken Barley Soup

9 May Chicken Barley Soup (5)

I’ve got some great “tried and taste tested” content coming up in the next two weeks!  It’s a little different than my “norm” recipe schedule, here there and everywhere (haha!) but I think you’ll like it.

First off, in my second post this week I’ll be posting a compilation of various grocery store ingredient taste tests.  Basically a directory of which brands (of which products) to consider more closely as you’re building your pantry.  This comes as I’ve been collecting this information for a while, trolling various published taste tests and adding up their results. My goal with this post has been to get a better picture of which brand’s products are worth stocking up on versus which ones aren’t.

Secondly, the “Soup in a Bag” reviews are back!!  With the detail in each tester’s trial, I’ve decided to post them each independently M-W-F of next week.  And, best of all, thanks to permission given from the book’s author, each post will include the tester’s favorite recipe for you to try yourself!  Awesome!!  Get ready to enjoy!

Speaking of soup, appropriately enough, swim team just started for my three oldest kids which means the water is freezing and I have kids coming home with blue lips and chattering teeth for the first few weeks.  So you can guess what’s on the menu a lot lately.  This homey soup is the food storage version of this recipe and went over well with everyone, even the five year old.

serves 6 -8 Continue reading →

Truly Impossible Pie

2 May Impossible Pie (13)

A friend of mine who reads the blog and is trying to put together a breakfast plan using her wonder oven, asked me last week about making an impossible pie in a wonder oven.  I thought it was an interesting twist and got to thinking about it.  Well, I’m so glad she asked because now I’m totally in love with this recipe!!  So, what’s an impossible pie, you ask? Children of the 70′s (and their mothers) should remember this Bisquick creation, where Bisquick was poured over top of an egg batter layered with vegetables, meat and cheese and baked.   It’s impossibility was that you got a “crust” without rolling out pie dough.  The result was a quiche that was fast and easy to fix.

Well, if ever there was an impossible pie, I’d give that title instead to this variation!  If you’d asked me even a year ago, I never in a million years would have thought this to be a possibility as a food storage recipe.  Thanks to discovering Honeyville’s OvaEasy Eggs, now it is.  And beyond that, it utilizes the heat retentive cooking of a wonder oven, which makes it a breakfast possibility even if the power is out.  You see, you can’t bake anything — for breakfast— if the power is out.  The sun isn’t out to heat your sun oven so you’re options are limited to cooking over a stovetop of some kind.  Not that hot cereal isn’t great, but it gets old like everything else.

This recipe exemplifies the idea that in using a wonder oven your pot and lid act as a “mini-oven”, just as in making bread, where you can still bake using just a minimal amount of stove top fuel if the power is out. Continue reading →

Homemade Hamburger Helper: 9 varieties

4 Apr Homemade Hamburger Helper (20)

We’re all looking for an easy way to get dinner on the table.  Most nights we’d like it to be without too much thought and without having to worry whether the family is going to eat what we make.  Betty Crocker and other manufacturers have made a killing on the idea of “dinner in a box” albeit with the price of preservatives, colorings and chemicals added in.  Enter Suzanne McMinn.  This gal heads up the site “Chickens in the Road” and she’s figured out a number of the Hamburger Helper boxed dinners for us, allowing us to enjoy the convenience we want minus the additives we don’t.

Now I have to be honest, I’ve never bought Hamburger Helper and only learned about this website and recipe idea from a reader who asked for a food storage version of it.  But I’m so glad she did!  And can we say “pantry meal time”??  I love it when I see people naturally coming up with the same idea.  Ready packed meals make sense whether you’re using them day to day or to have on hand in case of emergency, whether the emergency be immediate –to have ready to grab and go with your 72 hour kit– or longer term.

Thanks to Suzanne doing the hard work,  I’ve done the much easier part of translating them to food storage.  And btw, there are all kinds of additions you can make to these recipes, I’d suggest visiting Suzanne’s original blog post for more ideas on that.  Also, all of the recipes call for 1 lb. ground beef (or about 2 cups cooked), so if you’re using fresh ground beef (or hamburger from the freezer) that’s the amount you’d need.

Each recipe serves 4-6

Continue reading →

Easy Hamburger Soup

28 Mar Easy Hamburger Soup (11)

A simple to prepare yet hearty soup that easily adapts with food storage ingredients.  As an everyday meal it’s a great “catch-all” for whatever extra veggies you have in the refrigerator to use up!  I like making this recipe in a large batch because we like the leftovers the next day but if it’s too large a recipe for your group you can easily cut it down by half.  Also, remember, you can replace the soup back into your wonder oven after serving if you’re wanting to keep it hot!

Although it simmers for 45 minutes I’ve categorized it as a pantry meal for how simple the preparation is (plus, it easily “packs” as one).  Ten minutes –fifteen if you’re using freeze dried ingredients– and it’s on it’s way!

Serves 10-12

Continue reading →

Radio Show: Wonder Ovens!

25 Mar Wonder oven

Take a listen tomorrow, March 26th at 1pm CT (or any time afterward, it’ll be archived with the same link) where Joyce Pierce, host of the “All You Need to Know Show” with the Preparedness Radio Network, has invited me over to talk about Wonder Ovens!

We’ll be talking about making them, using them and why having one is so valuable as you’re getting your food storage preps together!

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/doctorprepper/2013/03/26/all-you-need-to-know

A few post-script details from what was talked about…

  • To find a local supplier of the styrene beads, I called a national supplier of foam products, Insulfoam (1-800-228-4412), and asked where in my area they supplied “unexpanded polystyrene bead”.  From there I was given a local supplier, which (in my area) referred to them as “virgin beads”. 
  • Once you have the beads and the pattern ready you can follow the rest of the instructions easily by visiting the step by step instructions on the following two sites. We filled the pillows using 4 gallons of beads to fill the top and 6 gallons to fill the bottom.  This made a set of pillows “floppy” enough to fit in an 18 gallon bucket.  

www.Iwillprepare.com 

www.prepared-housewives.com

  • for those of you wondering what the styrene pellets look like and how big they’re “not”…here’s a picture of the size you’re looking for.

Styrene Pellets

  • Due to the difficulty we had in creating the pattern from the angles given online, if you’d like a paper pattern mailed I’m offering them for free.  (I’ll pull this from this post if it becomes too much to keep up with.)  Just send me an email to request one with your mailing address if interested.  My email address is myfoodstoragecookbook@hotmail.com. 

Mexican Tortilla Lasagna

14 Mar Mexican Tortilla Lasagna (27)

Many crock pot recipes work well in a wonder oven and this former crock pot recipe does exactly that.  It follows the same idea as Wonder Oven Lasagna that I posted a year ago, if any of you remember.   Also, if you don’t have a wonder oven, don’t worry, it can still be baked (the changes are in the notes section).

Again, this is a meal that takes longer to make due to the homemade tortillas (which in timing it, this step took an extra 30 min.) but the reward is that you end up with a family friendly meal that doesn’t taste like food storage. Continue reading →

Baked Shells Casserole

7 Mar Baked Shells Casserole (29)

Today’s recipe is my food storage version of a popular Rachel Ray dish of the same name.  It turned out to be her #1 most downloaded recipe of 2010 in fact.  It does take some extra time to make but (food storage or not) it’s a guaranteed winner!

Continue reading →

Curried Coconut Chicken

3 Mar Curried Coconut Chicken (20)

This is a fantastic recipe!  It’s easy to make and (since most of it’s ingredients are shelf stable in the first place) it works as a food storage meal without a problem.   It was adapted from this Curried Coconut Chicken recipe from Allrecipes.

Due to it’s extended simmering time, it’s perfectly suited for cooking in a Wonder oven or thermal cooker and really isn’t reasonable to make (as far as fuel storage goes) without one.  Also, as a side note, we prefer the stewed tomatoes coarsely pureed rather than left in chunks, (that’s the way I’ve made it here) but you can make it any way you want to.

My husband, usually not a fan of curry, is a fan of this recipe.  That fact alone is enough for me to believe that a majority of you out there will like it too.  Enjoy! Continue reading →

Cajun Red Beans ‘n Rice

13 Dec Cajun Red Beans 'n Rice (12)

Print the recipe page!  cajun red beans n rice

If you’ve read much here on the blog, you know that one of the websites that inspired me most initially was Karen Wilkinson’s kneadfulthingsnow.com.  So I was alarmed to receive an email this week that one of my links to her website wasn’t responding.  I tried it myself and sure enough it wasn’t.  I’m trying to contact Karen to see if I can find out where her site has gone, but in the meantime this brings me to share a word with you about the worth of recipes and the frailty of the internet.

It wasn’t all too long ago (my grandmother’s era) that recipes were guarded, prized and generally kept to oneself or strictly within a family.  There are some funny stories my grandmother used to tell about women in the town she grew up in who either outright refused to share certain recipes or gave out bogus “altered” ones to keep their true recipes safe.  Owning a copy of a good recipe was a big deal back then.

Today, we see the opposite: recipes are everywhere.  Good ones, bad ones, and everything in between.  This is great but with so much saturation we risk taking them for granted.  As far as emergency preparedness goes (in my opinion) a recipe that uses your preps, that your family will eat, could mean the difference between surviving and staring at a wall of food storage not knowing what to make.

Bottom line:  if there’s a recipe you think you might want to include in your food storage preps, don’t wait — get it printed out.  You can always toss it later but on the other hand, you might be really glad you’ve copied it; you just never know.  Remember, all the recipes here on the blog can be printed as a simple recipe card and are found at the top of each post.

Which brings us to our recipe, brought back to you from being “lost”… Continue reading →

My $180 lesson

14 Nov

We all know the simplest ideas are usually the best.  Unfortunately, figuring out what’s simple (and best) isn’t always so simple.  After a long road, I’ve finally found the simplest, cheapest and best container for making bread in a Wonder Oven.   If you’ve already read the step by step “how to” of making bread in a wonder oven (over in this post), knowing this item is out there will save you a lot of hassle.  It’s the best tool for the job for the least amount of money.  After all I’ve spent in both time and money figuring it out, it seemed worthy of a post to save others the same trouble. Continue reading →

Rice Pudding

26 Apr Wonderoven Rice Pudding (1)

Print the recipe card!  rice pudding

My kids really love this rice pudding.  It’s made for dessert one night, eaten for breakfast the next day (if they can get away with it), and goes into their lunch bags as a treat for lunch.  It’s easy to make in the wonder oven, includes simple ingredients and even though the recipe doesn’t call for eggs (which is good for my food storage plan) it’s still thick and creamy.  Yum!

Continue reading →

Spanish Rice, two varieties

26 Apr Spanish Rice (19)

Print the recipe cards!  

traditional spanish rice

tomatillo pilaf

Forget the Rice-a-Roni.  These two wonder oven made rice dishes are just as easy to make and taste a whole lot better!  Left overs freeze well so you can even enjoy it later when it’s needed for a fast meal.  In using with your food storage plan, serve this with Creamy Chicken Enchiladas, Shredded Beef Taquitos, Tacos, Tamales or any other fiesta minded main dish.

Continue reading →

Making Tamales

5 Apr Making Tamales (47)

Print the recipe card!   tamales

Frankly, I don’t want to have to say goodbye to tamales … ever.  It seems like every three months or so I find myself desperately craving these little corn-husked bundles, at which point you’ll find me visiting the homemade Mexican grill down the road and spending $1.45 for a 2 tamale fix.  What would happen  if there weren’t tamales to be bought from the wonderful spanish speaking “I’ve-made-tamales-my-whole-life” women at the restaurant?  Sadness, I tell you.

To avoid such I set out to find a reasonably simple way to make my own.  Mind you I’m not interested in spending all day in the kitchen (as some recipes suggest) no matter how much I’m wanting tamales.  On top of that, I wanted a recipe who’s staple ingredients could be stored long term.  Once again I turned to a reliable recipe testing source, Cook’s Illustrated (specifically their “Best International Recipe” book) to teach me how to make something that before I’d only bought.  What I found was an uncomplicated recipe that brought everything to the table I was looking for and turned out some pretty great tamales if I do say so myself!

Oh , and did I mention this recipe provided another perfect chance to save fuel by using my wonder oven?  (*see this video if you’re wondering what a wonder oven is!)

Continue reading →

Wonder Oven Lasagna

10 Mar Wonder Oven Lasagna (17)

Print the recipe card!  wonder oven lasagna

Since I’ve been on a Wonder Oven cooking kick lately I thought I’d throw out one more idea on the topic before taking a blogging break next week to go on a trip with my family.

This has to be the easiest way out there to make lasagna!  I love it because it only takes one pan to make and I can get it started and then forget about it until dinner.  To make it into a long term storage meal,  use either freeze dried or home canned beef/sausage (in the sauce), food storage ricotta style cheese in place of fresh (see 8/24th’s post) and top it with rehydrated freeze dried mozzarella cheese.   {P.S. — you can see how freeze dried mozzarella is rehydrated and used by checking out either 10/5th’s  or 1/21st’s post.}

This is so easy that a simple step by step with pictures is all it needs here on the blog for explanation … Enjoy!

Continue reading →

Wonder Oven 101: Making Muffins

8 Mar Wonder Oven Muffins (18)

Print the instruction card!  Wonder Oven Muffins

We’ve had an extra busy week with family in town (and preparing for a spring break family trip) but, luckily, having a Wonder Oven is a big time saver in getting a meal on the table!

A big part of my breakfast plan includes different varieties of muffins.  This post is a “how to” on how to make muffins in an alternative way using your Wonder Oven!  You’ll notice it’s similar to making bread in a Wonder Oven but just on a smaller scale.  There are two reasons I love it:  1) I can set the muffins going before I go to bed and have them ready first thing in the morning.  2) I have a way to make muffins even without an oven.  And 3) muffins made this way are especially moist and delicious.  You’re going to love making muffins this way!

Continue reading →

Overnight Oatmeal

3 Mar Overnight Oatmeal (7)

Print the recipe card!  overnight oatmeal

Using a wonder oven is the easiest way to cook oatmeal, especially in cooking steel cut oats or oat groats. If you haven’t tried making oatmeal with your wonder oven yet you’re going to love it!  Plus the time you’ll save:  minimally processed whole oat groats (where only the husk has been removed from the grain) or steel cut oats (groats that have been cut into small pieces) can take 30 – 60 minutes to cook on the stove.  The prep time using a wonder oven, however, is just 5 minutes beyond the time it takes to boil the water.

Start it before you go to bed and you’ll wake up to hot delicious oatmeal ready to eat!

serves 6-8

Continue reading →

Making Yogurt

17 Nov Making Yogurt 30

This week I’ve been experimenting making *yogurt* from powdered milk and shelf stable starts. Having made five batches of yogurt in all (with three that turned out) I’ve discovered is that it’s completely possible to do, even using powdered milk and no actual yogurt to start with– and it’s simple to make.  All you need is a good thermometer and the right ingredients.

As plain yogurt, it can be used as a sour cream topping substitute while flavored it can be enjoyed for breakfasts and snacks!

Continue reading →

Arroz con Pollo

21 Sep FS-- Arroz Con Pollo 018

Print the recipe card!  arroz con pollo

There are many variations on this dish.  If you already have a favorite Arroz con Pollo recipe chances are it can be turned into a food storage meal!  I chose this one, inspired by Chef Brad’s “Those Wonderful Grains II”, because it includes two grains that I store, quinoa and millet.  Also, mustering up my courage, I finally decided to give whole canned chicken it’s day in court.  I’ve been wondering for a while what this product was like — after trying it everyone here agreed, it really wasn’t bad!

Continue reading →

Wonder Oven 101: Cooking Meat

16 Sep FS-- meat in wonderoven 024

Print the instruction card!  wonder oven cooking meat

Quick little detour today from long term cooking to show you a low fuel cooking option involving one of my favorite wonders of the world…my Wonder Oven!  One thing I just love using it for is cooking meat.  It’s simple to do, cooks the meat perfectly tender and I don’t ever have to worry about it burning.  Just wait until you taste meat cooked in a Wonder Oven — it’ll quickly become your favorite too!

Continue reading →

Salmon Cakes with Dilly Lemon Rice

30 Aug FS -- Salmon Cakes 035

Print the recipe page!  salmon cakes with dilly lemon rice

This is our family favorite recipe for salmon cakes that I turned shelf stable by using a cooked flour and water mixture in place of the eggs that the original recipe calls for.  The flour combination surprised me but it really worked well and my kids didn’t even notice the difference!  The Dilly Lemon Rice is a recipe of Anitra Kerr’s shared here with permission.  Finished off with lemon herb mayonnaise served on the side, this meal is a refreshing change from the usual.

Continue reading →

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