Spice of Life
June 8th, 2008 by KimIf we’re going to actually eat our food storage items, it’s a good idea to store some seasonings to make them more palatable. Alison’s Pantry offers a large selection of spices and seasoning blends that can spruce up your pantry items. Here are a few that our family has tried and enjoyed:
Tuna Salad Seasoning–This is a blend of spices that transforms a tuna sandwich into tuna salad even if you don’t have celery or onion on hand.
Chili Seasoning Mix–a not-too-spicy blend that will perk up all those dried beans you are storing, and turn them into a meal.
Mom’s Meatloaf Seasoning–this is a seasoning blend that takes the guesswork out of flavoring your meatloaf. If you are storing canned ground beef or dehydrated beef crumbles, this seasoning would be a good one to store. Click on the link and check out the great recipes on the AP site for this one.
Tasty Tomato Herb Dip–don’t wait until an emergency to enjoy this one! This seasoning blend can be combined with sour cream and mayonnaise to make an easy dip for vegetables or crackers. Add in fresh chopped roma tomatoes and crumbled bacon for a real treat.
And my favorites, Alison’s Pantry Fruity Flavored Powdered Flavorings–these come in Sweet Vanilla, Strawberry and Lemon and can be added to anything from whipped cream to cake mixes and frostings. I use the Sweet Vanilla Powder in my baking because it doesn’t include alcohol so all of that great vanilla flavor stays in the recipe rather than baking out. I also like to sprinkle the Vanilla Powder into our all-natural fruit smoothies (just frozen fruit, about 2 c. orange juice, and sometimes a tablespoon of dried milk, ground flax, or oatbran like the smoothie stores add) to create an “orange julius” flavor. It’s great in oatmeal as well. Keeping these powdered flavorings on hand gives you options. I love that I can whip up frosting and it doesn’t have to just be vanilla!
Alison’s Pantry offers the seasoning blends in plastic containers that are large enough to divide and share with a friend. In fact you can split them up into several small shakers and package them for a unique gift for bridal showers or Christmas. The vanilla and fruit-flavored powders are in sizes you’ll want to keep for yourself, but buy them in the multi-packs because it’s not only a little bit cheaper, but you’ll likely start talking about them and your friends and family will want to sample yours. 
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Whole Wheat Brownies…YUM!
June 8th, 2008 by KimA friend gave me this recipe and I just made a few alterations to make it lower fat (so I could justify making it more chocolatey with the mini-chips. :)) As a brownie-lover, I was so surprised how delicious these are with no white flour. All of my testers thought the same. Enjoy!
WHOLE WHEAT BROWNIES
2 C. whole wheat flour (best if from white wheat)
2 C. sugar
3/4 C. cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 C. water
1 C. oil (I use 1/2 c. applesauce and 1/2 c. oil)
1 tsp. vanilla
Optional: Add about 1 C. each of chopped walnuts and mini chocolate chips
Mix all ingredients together and pour into greased 9 x 13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Let set for 10 minutes before cutting.
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Rice Leftover Ideas
May 17th, 2008 by KimIt used to be that white rice was so cheap, if you had a cup left over after a meal, it probably went in the garbage. With prices skyrocketing and some supplies limited, it makes sense now to stretch this pantry staple as far as it will go. Here are a few simple ideas to avoid waste.
1. Cover leftover rice with milk and heat through. Serve with sugar, nutmeg and cinnamon for breakfast or a treat. I have tried this with brown rice…but some healthier choices just can’t be converted. I didn’t like it.
2. Make an easy Chicken and Rice Soup with broth, veggies, chicken (canned if you don’t have any other) and stir in the rice at the end to heat through.
3. If I have brown rice left over, I make fried rice the next night. Or, we like Hawaiian Haystacks–rice with homemade chicken sauce over the top and then layered with your choice of toppings (cheese, celery, slivered almonds, pineapple tidbits, chow mein noodles, etc.)
It’s fun and frugal to share ideas on how to stretch our food dollars. I would love to hear your ideas too. Please post!
In response to a request, I am including directions for my easy Chicken Sauce for Hawaiian Haystacks. I’m sorry for the delay on responding. This is one of those recipes that varies a little each time. I start with a roux–melt about a cube of butter, and then whisk in flour to make a paste. Then slowly add chicken broth and one can evaporated milk to make a creamy sauce. I add the milk first and then add the broth until the sauce is the desired thickness. Then I just season the sauce to taste with cracked pepper, a little rosemary, maybe a little garlic powder, and salt. Finally, I stir in 1-2 cups cooked, shredded chicken. You can cheat and make this recipe with a can of cream of chicken soup thinned with milk, but we like the above version much better.
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You can’t eat it, but…
April 24th, 2008 by KimYou can’t count laundry soap as food storage but I think you can call it a storage essential. My sister-in-law, Kim, has been experimenting with homemade laundry detergent recipes from the web and has posted her success on her blog. I love hearing someone else’s trial and error story before I endeavor to try something new, so I think her post is great. It provides the recipe for the detergent that she has liked best, and the step-by-step process she took to create and use it. Homemade detergent is certainly cheaper than buying store brands, and it can be helpful if you have family members with sensitive skin. I can’t wait to try it myself!
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Cooperative Wheat Purchase
April 11th, 2008 by KimLike many in our area, I have been actively researching the best prices for hard white wheat to complete my family’s storage supply before prices potentially increase. This week the highest price in the area is $31.99 per 45 lb. bucket at Your Family Matters, and the lowest is $26 per bucket through Joseph’s Storehouse. The Church Storehouse may receive more red wheat, but the hard white wheat will be unavailable until the fall harvest. However, I have made a good contact and plan to purchase 360 buckets (each is approx. 45 lbs.) that should be available by the middle to the end of May. If the prices hold (wheat prices per bushel have actually been coming down slowly), these buckets will be $25 each (this includes shipping and tax). This wheat is triple cleaned and will be checked for moisture and nutrient content before packaging. When I know that data, I will post it as well. If you are interested in purchasing any of these buckets, please e-mail me and I will keep a list of names to inform when the wheat is available.
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Speedy Raspberry Jam
March 6th, 2008 by KimI have to pass on a simple, but great time-saving find. Our family LOVES raspberry jam, especially on homemade bread. I purchased frozen Dole Raspberry Crumbles from Alison’s Pantry to save money (because they are flavorful and a great savings over fresh berries in my area), but I ended up saving a lot of time as well. Since these raspberries are already “crumbles,” I was able to skip the entire step of crushing the berries. They cook down to perfection and make delicious jam in almost half the time.
These raspberries are also handy for sauces, or are a less-expensive way to add berries to fruit smoothies (no need for the glamour of whole berries if they are just going to be blended!).
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Sweet Stock-Up
December 10th, 2007 by KimThe holidays are a great time to stock your pantry with baking ingredients. These items go on sale from about the middle of October through Christmas. Buy evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, canned pumpkin, chocolate chips, nuts, and spices. To extend the life of some of these things, I use my vacuum sealer and my freezer. You can store nuts and chocolate chips in vacuum-packed portions that work for your most-used recipes, and then store the packs in a white plastic bucket or your freezer.
Canned broth and gravy, canned vegetables and boxed stuffing are other great pantry buys this time of year. This week, at my local Albertson’s, Mrs. Cubbison’s whole grain stuffing mixes are $1 each, and Swanson’s natural chicken broth is 50 cents per can. Often, these healthier choices cost even more than their standard counterparts, so it’s nice to find them at a bargain. Juices are also typically discounted for the holidays, so stock up for the year, especially if you have kids.
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Canning Day
October 21st, 2007 by KimThis week, my church’s women’s organization hosted a “Canning Day” from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.. Our Church has a gym that is used for everything from basketball games to Christmas parties, but on Monday it was used to fill and seal over 300 cans for food storage. Long tables were set up and all necessary supplies were made available, including #10 cans, lids, and oxygen packets. At the end of each table was an electric can sealer, and a mylar bag sealer was also available. Women were invited to bring any bulk items they wished to can for long-term storage. I canned cornmeal, pinto beans and granulated sugar, but it was fun to see what everyone else brought to build their own storage. Some of the other items canned were a 16 bean soup mix, brown sugar, dehydrated carrots, cornstarch, baking powder, and even dried parsley.
The women loved having the convenience of being able to drop in at a time that worked in their schedule, and it was both fun and satisfying to socialize and complete food storage goals. The event was such a success, we’ll be doing it again in February. In the meantime we’re watching for case-lot sales and other bargains on bulk foods.
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Season’s Greetings with Peach Cobbler
October 9th, 2007 by KimFreezer peach cobbler is a great way to enjoy sweet peach flavor past its season. Pull one of these easily-assembled treats from your freezer for Thanksgiving dinner or for a Christmas gathering, and your guests will be asking for the recipe. This one comes from a great freezer cookbook, Don’t Panic-Dinner’s in the Freezer.
Western Slope Peach Cobbler
Filling:
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. almond extract
6-8 fresh peaches, peeled and sliced (enough to fill a 9 x 13 pan)
Topping:
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 large egg
1 stick margarine
Mix 1 1/2 cups sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and almond extract. Add fresh fruit to mixture, place in freezer bag, and freeze.
When you are ready to prepare the cobbler, thaw the fruit filling and pour into greased 9 x 13 baking dish. For topping, mix sugar, flour, and baking powder. Beat egg and mix with flour/sugar mixture until crumbly. Sprinkle over fruit. Melt margarine and drizzle over top. Bake at 350 degress for 45-60 minutes, until light brown.
This is a simple and delicious cobbler, and a fun way to preserve peaches.
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A Peachy Way to Store Fruit
October 8th, 2007 by KimAs I’ve mentioned before, I really think it’s important to store the foods your family will actually eat and rotate. One year my mother, my husband and I spent several days bottling a mass of beautiful peaches. We were so fulfilled to see rows of this glowing fruit on our pantry shelves…but, after eating a few jars, the rest of the quarts just sat…and sat. We found that the way our family rotates peaches best is by freezing them.
We love to make all-fruit smoothies, so we quarter the peaches (with skins still on), remove the pits, dip them in a Fruit Fresh solution (to preserve the color), and flash freeze them on cookie sheets. When sufficiently frozen, we bag the peaches in zippered freezer bags. The flash freezing keeps the peaches from sticking to each other and forming a mushy clump that won’t fit in your blender.
Of course, canned fruits will last longer than frozen ones, and will be preserved even if the power were to go out for a sustained period. But, freezing the fruits your family loves allows you to savor their flavors past their season and without the added sugar.
Sometimes we don’t mind the sugar, and we love to use peaches for make-ahead frozen cobblers. I will post recipes for our family’s favorite fruit smoothies and the freezer peach cobbler under the Gems in a Jar section of the site. I’d welcome your ideas and recipes for preserving and using fruits in season. Please post!
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