SIMPLE & SAUCY CHILI

1 lb. ground beef (I used home-canned beef from storage)

1 onion, chopped (can use dehydrated)

1 tsp. oil

15 oz. can diced tomatoes

1 (10 3/4 oz. ) can tomato soup (I like the chili even saucier so I added an additional can of soup and half can of water)

1 (15 oz.) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

salt to taste

1/8 tsp. pepper

1/4 tsp. dried cumin

1/2 tsp. chili powder

Brown ground beef and onion together in oil; drain.  Add remaining ingredients and warm through.  Served with warm corn muffins, this makes a comfort-food meal!

HEARTY FOOD STORAGE SOUP

6 c. beef broth

2 c. Dehydrated Vegetable Stew Blend

1 lb. lean ground beef, browned and drained

1 qt. crushed tomatoes

1 tsp. oregano

1 tsp. basil

1/2 tsp. thyme

pepper to taste

Brown and drain hamburger and set aside.  Combine broth and dehydrated vegetables and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes.  Add remaining ingredients and heat through. Taste the soup and allow to simmer until vegetable are the desired tenderness.  My kids liked this soup because the vegetables are diced into small pieces. 

I like to serve it with these quick breadsticks.  I LOVE this recipe, because you can serve fresh breadsticks with dinner even if you don’t have a lot of time.

EASY CHEESY PAN BREADSTICKS

Dissolve until foamy:

1 T. yeast

1 1/2 c. warm water

Then add:

2 T. sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

3 1/2 – 4 c. flour (I use half white wheat flour)

Knead for 3 minutes.  Let dough rest for 10 minutes. Spread dough into greased cookie sheet. Then spread with this mixture:

1/4 c. butter (I use Smart Balance)

1/4 c. mayonnaise (I use light mayo)

1/4 c. grated parmesan cheese

1 tsp. Garlic Supreme (or 1/4 tsp. parsley flakes + 1/4 tsp. garlic salt)

Here’s the breadsticks at this point:

Let the dough raise until it’s doubled (you can put it into a warm oven for 15 minutes). Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Cut into strips to make breadsticks. Here’s the finished product before it’s cut into strips:

If you’ve dutifully collected the amounts of grains, legumes, flour, sugar, oil, and salt needed for your family’s storage, it’s time to think about adding in fruits and vegetables.  Freeze-dried and dehydrated products retain much, much more of their nutrients than do canned or even frozen produce.  They are a bargain, lightweight, and more compact to store than their water-packed counterparts. Using dehydrated produce removes the need to wash, pit, peel and dice, so it can be a real time-saver.  However, depending on how you are using the product, it may be necessary to plan ahead to allow time for the product to rehydrate.  In many circumstances, dehydrated vegetables can be added as-is to your recipes.  Dehydrated onion flakes are one example.  I use dehydrated onions so often, I almost don’t consider them part of my food storage.  I spare myself the tears of chopping fresh onions and use the dehydrated version in soups, sauces, casseroles, etc..  Here is one of my favorite recipes using them:

CANDIED CHICKEN

3 c. brown sugar

1/4 c. prepared mustard

1 c. ketchup

2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

1/3 c. dehydrated onion flakes

1 tsp. salt

1 1/2 c. water

Combine all ingredients and pour over 4-5 chicken breasts in a large casserole dish.  Cover with foil and bake for 1 1/2 hours at 350 degrees.  This makes a lot of sweet sauce that can be served over rice.

There are a lot of dehydrated products that make regular appearances in our family meals.  My previous posts show my love for dehydrated apples and dehydrated bell peppers.  We eat potato flakes (reconstituted of course) at least once a week.  I store a dehydrated vegetable stew blend that includes diced potatoes, cabbage flakes, onion, carrots, celery, bell peppers and tomato flakes.  Added to beef stock, it makes an easy soup or stew.  You can vary the recipe with the additions of meat, rice, pasta or other vegetables.

To purchase these or other dehydrated fruits and vegetables, here are my top three choices for the best prices:

1.  Alison’s Pantry.  Visit the site to see if there is a distributor in your area.  Alison’s Pantry sells a wide variety of restaurant quality foods as well as bulk grains and dehydrated storage foods in #10 cans.  Orders are placed with local distributors and then paid for and picked up the next month. This is where I order the dehydrated stew blend mentioned above, and also bulk bags of brown rice.

2. San Francisco Herb Company.  This is a great place to do some sampling.  The dried vegetables come in 1 lb. bags so you can order a variety to experiment and see what your family prefers before investing in larger amounts.  They even sell interesting products like coconut milk powder and spinach flakes, so you can make your own version of Great Harvest’s Spinach Feta Bread.

3. LDS Home Storage Center. For potato flakes, carrots, onions, and apples, the prices can’t be beat.  Of course, you’ll have to can them yourself.  Click on the link to see the items that can be ordered pre-canned online.

Place 1 lb. of stew meat in crock pot.

Add about 4-5 cups of chopped potatoes, carrots, celery and onion.

Stir together 1 can cream of mushroom soup, 1 soup can of water, 1 small can tomato sauce, and 2-3 Tbsp. Savory Stew Seasoning and pour over meat and vegetables.

Cook for 8 hours on low.

I’ve decided once you try dehydrated, you don’t go back.  I actually feel spoiled by the convenience of using freeze dried and dehydrated fruits and vegetables in my cooking.  My latest favorite is dehydrated green peppers.  My children used to remove green peppers from any food I sneaked them into.  Recently one of my daughters started requesting them on her pizza, so I thought the pepper may be making a comeback.  I wasted no time trying to find recipes to incorporate the flavorful green veggie, but it seems I was out of the habit of buying green peppers.  I always forgot to pick one up at the grocery store.  Enter dried bell peppers!  The photo above shows the Alison’s Pantry Dried Green Bell Peppers that I now keep at the ready.  Life just got more flavor!  I love these things!  Not only are they always available for my recipes, but I love that these ones are in 3/8″ dices.  They are nice and small so my more-picky children don’t notice what is making their food taste so good.  And this saves me the time of washing, chopping and disposing parts of the pepper.  (I am all about making dinner fast, as I still have an infant on my hip 90% of any given day. ) Although they won’t work well in green salads, they are great for pasta salads, spaghetti sauces, and two great recipes I am including below.   The shelf life is at least a year, but you can vacuum seal the unused dices in a mason jar or freeze them to extend the lifespan.  The Alison’s Pantry Peppers come in 1/2 lb. bags which are a great size to experiment with before you dive into a full #10 can. 

TOMATO STEAK

2-3 lb. chuck roast

salt and pepper to taste

1 medium size onion, diced

1/4 green pepper, diced (I just sprinkled in dried peppers to my liking)

2 carrots, grated

1 Qt. tomato juice (I used a jar of home-bottled crushed tomatoes)

Place chuck roast in crock pot and sprinkle with salt and pepper.   Cover with onion, green pepper and carrots.  Then pour tomato juice over all.  Cook on low for about 8 hours. (This can be done in a dutch oven in a 325-350 degree oven for 3-3 1/2 hours also.)  When cooked, the meat should shred nicely.  Thicken the sauce for gravy.  Serve over warm mashed potatoes.  We added some of the Alison’s Pantry Beef Gravy base to the gravy for more flavor and to help with thickening.  It was delicious.

Kudos to my friend, Amy, who shared this great standby recipe that can incorporate several food storage items if desired.

GREEN SAUCE PASTA

Start 1 pkg. bowtie pasta boiling.

Combine the following 3 ingredients: 

2 TBSP. parsley flakes

2 TBSP. basil

1/4 cup butter, melted

Then add:

1 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese

1/4 c. parmesan cheese

1/4 c. olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tsp. pepper

2/3 c. boiling water

After mixing, stir in cooked shredded chicken (leftover rotisserie works well), and any steamed or sauteed veggies you like.  We like to saute zucchini, yellow squash, broccoli, red and green peppers, onion, and mushrooms. (The rehydrated peppers make one less item to wash and chop.)  Combine all ingredients with cooked bowtie pasta and toss well. This is a delicious recipe!  Amy often takes it to friends when they need a meal.  (That’s how I first had the privilege of trying it!)

HAMBURGER PIE

1 onion, chopped

1 can whole kernel corn

1 c. grated cheese

1 lb. ground beef

1 c. green beans

1 can tomato soup

5 c. mashed potatoes

Cook onion and ground beef until brown.  Add drained beans, corn and soup.  Pour into greased 2 quart casserole dish.  Scoop mashed potatoes with ice cream scoop and place over the meat mixture.  Top the potatoes with the grated cheese.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.