Replies

Real estate took such a hit that I don’t think I could afford to sell here and Az. got way too expensive right after I left. I’ve got some great neighbors now and I’ve learned to appreciate how important great neighbors are. So different than the walled neighborhoods in Phx.<<<

Kingman is much cheaper than Phoenix and less crime, but it is coming and of course the dope making goes on, there are meth labs all over and they keep arresting them and more come in.

Prescott and Flagstaff are college towns and expensive.

In 1990, I spent a week in Cedar City, Utah and wanted to move there, but the time was not right.

It is also a college town, but I think different from what we have here, they had classes and stage productions going on for the town to join in.

I was looking at a small home and managed to lock my keys in the car, so asked the man across the street what to do and he said call the cops first, if they can, they will open the door.

It was a Lincoln and you couldn’t pick /jimmy the lock, so the beautiful young man called for a locksmith and stayed with me until he came.

I found out that since the house was 3 or 4 miles from the college, none of the students lived there and that he had never had a call to this block before.

And how much he loved Cedar City.

Cedar City has desert to the west of town and to the east it is fancy ski resorts.

The street was a 100’ wide and huge trees shaded it.

Just plain beautiful.

If I had not found Cedar City, I was thinking of the tree country, areas of Texas, LOL, not the flat land where I was born in the Panhandle.

Now, it is impossible and I won’t make any more moves in this lifetime.

I really think that listening to the police scanners will decide on the area you move to, for some area’s have so many gangs that the bullets will come through your walls and kill you.

Las Vegas is out, that is a real hellhole now, the gangs shoot up the areas on an hourly basis.

Bullhead City and Laughlin, Nv. have all the problems Las Vegas does and they are only 35 miles from Kingman.

Phoenix and Tucson are both bad areas, for if there is a big nuclear blast in San Diego, the air currents are said to be such that they will dump the fallout on them.

Next time you come this way, take a few days and check out southern Utah, I like what I have seen of it.

Good luck with making it happen, you could put the house on the market and wait until someone buys it, a long wait no doubt, but it sure will not sell, if it isn’t listed.

For canning food, you only need to read through the posts of Dela Where, he is doing it right and has posted several reports and links to canning, following the latest guides for safe canning.

LOL, I am out of date and would need to start all over again.

http://everydayfoodstorage.net/2008/11/04/lion-house-chicken-noodle-soup/food-storage-recipes

Lion House Chicken Noodle Soup: Dehydrated Vegetable Food Storage Recipes
Posted on November 4th, 2008 by Crystal-Everyday Food Storage

This is my favorite homemade chicken noodle soup when I don’t have a lot of time. It is a little creamy, full of flavor and looks so rustic with the chunks of chicken in it…plus it uses food storage. Soups are a great place to use food storage since most call for vegetables, beans, or milk! Remember if you’re using dehydrated vegetables you don’t need to hydrate before you add them to something like a soup because they will hydrate as it simmers.

Lion House Chicken Noodle Soup
2 tsp. chicken bouillon
6 cups chicken soup stock
2 C. chopped carrots (1 1/2 C. Dehdyrated Carrots)
2 C. chopped celery (1 1/4 C. Dehydrated Celery…you know I used this because I never keep fresh celery on hand because I don’t like it in anything but soups!)
3/4 C. chopped onion (1/4 C. Dehydrated Onions)
2 Cans cream of chicken soup (want a great sub for this…I’ve figured out how to make your own condensed soups with Magic Mix! Check back next week for more information on it!)
1/2 C. milk (1 1/2 T. Dry Powdered Milk + 1/2 C. Water)
2 C. Cooked Chicken
4 C. uncooked noodles
salt/pepper to taste

Boil chicken in water. Pull out and pull chicken into chunks (I refrigerate first and add this in later..it’s easier to pull when it isn’t hot). Add veggies, cream of chicken soup, and noodles to stock. Cook until veggies are tender. Add Milk. Serve with whole wheat bread.

http://everydayfoodstorage.net/2008/11/06/fanatic-friday-pumpkin-soup/food-storage-recipes

Fanatic Friday: Pumpkin Soup: Food Storage Recipes
Posted on November 6th, 2008 by Crystal-Everyday Food Storage

Doesn’t this soup look delicious? I’ve always been on a hunt for a GREAT pumpkin soup and it looks like my search is over! I hope you enjoy this recipe submitted by LesliAnn. (Doesn’t her picture look so professional?!) Anyway, give it a try!
Pumpkin Soup (Adapted from Rachel Ray)
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp butter
1 fresh bay leaf (I used 2 dried bay leaves)
2 ribs celery, finely chopped (*Note from Crystal…you know I’ll be using my dehyrated celery)
1 medium yellow onion, chopped (or substitute dehydrated onions from the cannery- Combine 2 Tbsp dried onions with 8 Tbsp hot water and let sit 15 minutes)
Salt & Pepper
3 Tbsp flour
1 Tbsp poultry seasoning (or 2 tsp thyme)
2 Tbsp hot sauce
6 cups chicken broth
29-oz canned pumpkin puree
2 cups half and half (or heavy cream) (*Note from Crystal: Make your own substitute by using 3/4 C. Milk + 2 C. Water)
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Directions: Heat oil, butter, bay leaf, celery, onion, salt and pepper over medium-high heat in a soup pot. Cook 6-7 minutes until tender. Place celery and onion mixture in a food processor or blender for just a few seconds until mixture is smooth. (This part is optional- but I don’t like chunks of onion or celery in a smooth pumpkin soup) Place back in soup pot and make sure the mixture is hot. Add flour, poultry seasoning and hot sauce; cook 1 minute. Whisk in chicken broth and bring liquid to a bubble. Whish in pumpkin in large spoonfuls, incorporating it into the broth. Simmer 10 minutes to thicken a bit. Add half and half or cream and nutmeg. Keep warm until ready to serve. Yields-16 cups

http://everydayfoodstorage.net/2008/05/21/the-magic-of-magic-mix-recipes-perfect-for-kids/food-storage-recipes

Magic Mix Recipe, Cheeseburger Mac ‘n Cheese, and Magic Mix Pudding- Magic Mix Food Storage Recipes
Posted on May 21st, 2008 by Crystal-Everyday Food Storage

I’ve heard about this “Magic Mix” from the USU Extension Service which is made from powdered milk and knew I had to give it a try when it claimed to make very easy white sauces. All I have to say is that I have a new MUST HAVE in my fridge! White sauces can be hard to make. If you don’t do it just right then you have this thick clumpy mess, we all know what I’m talking about right? Well say “goodbye” to that and say “hello” to Magic Mix and perfect white sauces. It is AWESOME!!! Not only does it use powdered milk it saves TONS of time & money and is super EASY to use!! Try these recipes out for try, your family won’t be able to resist!

McDonald’s Cheeseburger Macaroni and Cheese
(no joke! It tastes just like a McDonald’s cheeseburger, what kid can resist? Not to mention it’s a complete meal in one and is just as easy and fast as the stuff in the blue box plus it sneaks in vegetables. Try it! Your family will eat powdered milk! :)

Ingredients:
2 C. White Sauce from Magic Mix (See Below)
2 C. Uncooked Macaroni (from food storage :)
2 C. Cheese
1-2 tsp. salt or garlic salt (optional)
1/2 C. Ketchup
1 T. Yellow Mustard
1 lb. Cooked Ground Beef (I cook all my ground beef when I buy it and separate it into 1 lb. bags which makes a meal like this SOO easy!)
1/4 C. Dehydrated Onion hydrated in 1/2 C. Warm Water, drained (optional)
1 Bag Frozen Mixed Vegetables (if you want an easy way to cook frozen vegetables, simply poke the bag with a fork and cook in your microwave for 5-6 minutes. Those new Steamer veggie bags do the same thing but are tons more money!)

Directions:
Cook Macaroni in boiling water until tender. Cook hamburger while macaroni cooks. Drain macaroni and make white sauce in empty pot. Combine all ingredients and heat through. (I garnished mine with fresh tomatoes.)

Magic Mix White Sauce-makes 1 C.
2/3 C. Magic Mix
1 C. Water
In saucepan combine Magic Mix and water. Stir rapidly (I use a wire wisk) over medium heat until it starts to bubble. (Use Magic Mix White Sauce for all recipes calling for a white or cream sauce.)
Magic Mix Pudding- Makes 4 1/2 C. Servings
Okay, I don’t even like pudding but since my husband does I thought I’d make him some (and what kid doesn’t like pudding?). I was able to make it while my macaroni was boiling and it chilled while we ate. Well I took one bite and was SOLD!!! I’ve never had pudding that tasted so good, was so easy to make, and took such little effort!!
1/2 C. Sugar
1 C. Magic Mix
2-3 T. Cocoa (optional)
2 C. Water
1 t. Vanilla
Combine Magic Mix, sugar and cocoa in saucepan and mix well. Add water, stir over medium heat until pudding bubbles. Add vanilla and beat. Cover and Cool.

The secret behind making MAGIC MIX: (Makes 5 Cups of Magic Mix)

Step 1: You will need some sort of good mixer. Make sure you use beaters when making the mix as shown above. If you don’t have a good mixer, start calling around…get together with a friend and make some…it is SOOOO worth it!

Step 2:

Ingredients:
2 1/3 C. Powdered Milk
1 C. All Purpose Flour (Yes, use All Purpose)
1 C. (2 sticks) Margarine (***HAS TO BE REAL MARGARINE, NOT SPREAD***) or Butter, at room temperature

Combine dry milk, flour and margarine/butter into a large bowl.

Step 3: Mix until it looks like corn meal. (You may want to start off slow and work up to the fastest setting so that it doesn’t blow powder all over)

Step 4: Keep mix tightly covered in the refrigerator. (note: keep your #10 cans for just such a purpose! They are 50 cents and work great for storing home made mixes)

http://everydayfoodstorage.net/2008/11/10/make-your-own-condensed-soups-from-magic-mix/food-storage-recipes

Make your own Condensed Soups from MAGIC MIX: Magic Mix Food Storage Recipes
Posted on November 10th, 2008 by Crystal-Everyday Food Storage

YEAH!! You’ve asked for more recipes for magic mix, so this week will be dedicated to the magic of magic mix! Did you know you can make your own condensed soups (like what you get in a can and use in casseroles)? Yes, you can! And the best part is, that it’s practically just as easy as opening a can…and much cheaper! Plus, you gain control over what you’re putting in it…and of course rotating your food storage. I’ve found that homemade condensed soups are SO MUCH BETTER than the store bought stuff. You’ll be amazed. Make sure you check out the video to see just how simple it really is and keep coming back for more recipes for making your own condensed soups! For information on how to make magic mix, click HERE.

Cream of Chicken Condensed Soup

1 C. Magic Mix
3/4 C. Chicken Broth (either from a can, bouillion, or liquid from canned chicken)
1 t. Dry Parsley
Dash of Onion Salt

Mix together with wire whisk over medium heat, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil and remove from heat.

http://everydayfoodstorage.net/2008/08/17/maceys-sale-banana-pineapple-freeze-and-much-much-more/food-storage-recipes

Banana Pineapple Freeze: Powdered Milk Food Storage Recipes for Kids
Posted on August 17th, 2008 by Crystal-Everyday Food Storage

This is not only a fun way to sneak some powdered milk into your kids but also a great way to use up the pineapple juice you drain off from your canned pineapple. Let kids cut the banana (age appropriate) with a plastic knife or a butter knife and add ingredients to the blender and watch it do it’s magic. The real treat is drinking it at the end! What a great idea for a hot summer day. If your kids start school today, whip this up with them when they get home and have a great conversation about their first day! Also, if you’ve ever wondered what the cooking abilities of your young children are (and I think you’ll be surprised at what they can do!) make sure to scroll all the way to the bottom of this post.

Banana-Pineapple Freeze

1 C. Unsweetened Pineapple Juice (you can use pineapple juice that you drain from using canned pineappe just double check that the juice you drained off is unsweetened - you could also just use crushed pineapple)
1/2 of a Medium Banana, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 T. Dry Powdered Milk (non-instant)
1 C. Ice Cubes
Place ingredients in blender jar in order listed. Place cover on blender jar. Turn blender on and use the “Crushed Ice” setting.

For a nice variation: Omit ice cubes and use 1 C. frozen strawberries.
Makes two 8-ounce servings.

http://everydayfoodstorage.net/2008/07/27/oatmeal-raisin-cookies-with-surprisecarrots/food-storage-recipes

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies with SURPRISE!…CARROTS!
Posted on July 27th, 2008 by Crystal-Everyday Food Storage

We’re moving on up! Not only are we sneaking in food storage items like dehydrated eggs, whole wheat, and oats with this cookie but vegetables as well! Finely grated carrots are a great addition to ANY oatmeal raisin cookie. I knew carrots would taste great in this cookie because 1) they are sweet and won’t detract from any of the flavors 2) the spice cinnamon is a perfect blend for carrots, because theyit’s the same spice that goes in carrot cake and 3) the texture of the carrots will be hidden with the oats. YEAH!! No more fighting to get kids to eat vegetables! Remember the goal is to try these concepts in your own recipes so if you have a favorite oatmeal raisin cookie recipe or want to use my other recipe from the cookie extravaganza go right ahead (start out with 3/4 C.-1 C. finely grated carrots and add with the raisins at the end). If you need the recipes from the cookie extravaganza, just email me at everydayfoodstorage[at]gmail[dot]com. If you want one to try, this is a great “Make Ahead” cookie dough because it needs to be refrigerated for 4 hours before baking. So make the dough in the morning and have your kids help you bake them in the afternoon for Family Home Evening! They’re delicious!

Oatmeal Carrot Cookies-makes 6 dozen
1 C. Butter, softened (2 sticks)
1 C. Shortening
1-1/2 C. Sugar
1-1/2 C. Brown Sugar
4 Eggs (1/4 C. dehydrated eggs + 1/2 C. water)
2 t. Vanilla Extract
2 C. Finely Shredded Carrots
4 C. Quick-cooking Oats
1-1/2 C. Whole Wheat Flour (notice this recipe has a lot of brown sugar so it will hide the wheat well)
2 t. Baking Soda
2 t. Salt
1 t. Pumpkin Pie Spice or Cinnamon
1 C. Chopped Walnuts (optional)
1 C. Raisins (Soak in water while you’re making the dough)
In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter, shortening andsugars. beat in eggs and vanilla. Add Carrots; mix well.
Combine the oats, flour, baking soda and sal; add to cremaed mixture and mix well. Stir in walnuts and chocolate chips. cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls 3 in. apart onto baking sheets coated with cooking spray. bake at 375 for 10-13 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool for 2 minutes beofre removing wire racks.

Tip for using Dehydrated Carrots-You can also use this dehydrated carrots. You will want to pulse them in your blender to make them smaller pieces first and then hydrate them (remember it takes about half the amount of dehydrated carrots to equal the regular measurement)

http://everydayfoodstorage.net/2008/07/25/fast-easy-carrot-raisin-salad/food-storage-recipes

Fast & Easy Carrot Raisin Salad: Dehydrated Carrots Food Storage Recipes
Posted on July 25th, 2008 by Crystal-Everyday Food Storage

This salad is such a classic and so good. I haven’t seen it around in a couple of years so I’m like Justin Timberlake and I’m bringing Carrot Raisin salad back! It tastes EXCEPTIONAL with garden grown carrots and is great for little helpers.

Carrot Raisin Salad-serves 5
2 1/2 C. shredded carrots (you could also re-hydrate 3/4 C. dehydrated carrots from the cannery)
1/2 C. raisins
1/2 C. Mayonnaise
1 t. lemon Juice
2 T. sugar
1 can Crushed pineapple, drained-optional (you can save the juice and soak your raisins in it for a half hour for more flavor)

Mix all ingredients together and store covered in refrigerator. For an added flare, serve on a bed of lettuce greens.

See what I mean? EASY!!

http://everydayfoodstorage.net/2008/07/22/the-evolution-of-the-cutest-carrot-cake-youll-ever-eat/food-storage-recipes

The Evolution of the Cutest Carrot Cake You’ll Ever Eat!:Dehydrated Carrots and Whole Wheat Food Storage Recipes
Posted on July 22nd, 2008 by Crystal-Everyday Food Storage

1) Prepare your favorite carrot cake recipe (don’t worry I’ve got one for you at the end of the post) and bake it in two bread pans. After it has baked and cooled cut three triangle wedges out of the top…like the shape of a carrot. Prepare your favorite cream cheese frosting (you know it…I’ve got one for you at the end of the post, if you need it) Take 1/2 C. of the frosting and tint orange with food coloring. Fill in the wedges on the tops of the cake.

2) Frost the tops of the cakes with cream cheese frosting as needed. Be careful when frosting not to spread the orange frosting that will be underneath. The easiest way to do this is to put large dollups of frosting on top of the cake and gently frost until covered.

3. Take 1/4 C. frosting and tint green with food coloring. Place in plastic bag. Cut a small tip off of one corner to frost. Use plastic bag to make squiggly line on top of where you cut out your carrots.

Do you see the carrots beginning to appear?

4) Frost remaining area of cake with remainder of cream cheese frosting. You can coat one with walnuts on the sides…you know how I like for people to know which one has nuts.

5) Cut cake into bread-like slices. Isn’t that adorable?! There are frosting carrots in the cake! I made this for my brother’s birthday who loves carrot cake. It was a HUGE hit!

6) Of course…watch as everyone gobbles it up!

Carrot Cake:

2 C. Sugar
1 1/2 C. Vegetable Oil (or applesauce)
4 Eggs (1/2 C. dehydrated eggs + 1 C. Water) beat before adding to batter

In separate bowl combine and add to above:
2 C. Flour (I did half all purpose and half whole wheat because it was a new recipe. I wanted to make sure it would taste good first. Remember, if you’re trying something new and are unsure doing half all purpose and half whole wheat always has great results!)
2 t. Baking Soda
1/4 t. Salt
2 t. Cinnamon

Fold in:
2-4 Cups finely grated carrots (if you don’t have carrots from your garden, dehydrated carrots from the cannery work great. Just make sure you pulse them a couple of times in the blender before you rehydrate to make them into smaller pieces)
3/4 C. broken nuts (optional)

Bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes, till it pulls away from sides of pan.

BEST EVER Cream Cheese Frosting (I’m not kidding!!)

1/2 C. (1 stick) Unsalted Butter, softened
4 oz. Cream Cheese, softened
2 C. Powdered Sugar (confectioners’ sugar)
1 t. Vanilla Extract

I put a link to you on my blog… you’ve got a lot of great food storage recipes & ideas. http://www.americanhomemaker.blogspot.com

http://everydayfoodstorage.net/2008/09/02/making-delicious-bread-for-sandwiches/food-storage-recipes

Tips Making (Delicious!) Bread Machine Bread for Sandwiches
Posted on September 2nd, 2008 by Crystal-Everyday Food Storage
If you ate bread machine bread growing up, you probably know that it can be dry, hard to cut with a thick crust, and a mess to make. Well it can be that way or it can be the most DELICIOUS bread you’ve ever eaten and take no time at all to do. Making bread is definitely more nutritious and MUCH, MUCH cheaper then buying the equivalent bread at a super market. If you don’t have a bread machine, check your local second hand store. I know mine had at least 4 today when I went. You can always do a Google search for instructions on a particular machine.
SAVE TIME: Make Bread Mixes! This is the same idea behind making a lot of sandwiches at once. If you make your own bread mixes and store them in the fridge, then it is one mess and takes about 1 minute to make a loaf of bread. Nice, right? (To make a bread mix, combine all dry ingredients from your favorite recipe (except for yeast) in a ziploc bag and store in the refrigerator)

This is a whole loaf.

As you can see it is thinly sliced.

In fact it looks so good (and tastes so great with butter & honey) you could serve it at a brunch!

It also makes the most delicious sandwiches!

My tips for making DELICIOUS homemade bread in your bread machine.

1) Use white wheat (it’s taste is more subtle) and always use the wheat setting (whole wheat needs to rise longer than bleached white flour).

2) Add potato flakes to your bread machine recipe to add the soft texture of a store bought bread. I add 1/2 C. to mine. This is extra great since the cannery just started carrying potato flakes! (This trick has been used since the olden days when women would use the water used from cooking potatoes in their bread to make it soft. )

3) Allow bread to cool in a closed Ziploc bag (or towel) to make the crust soft. Somehow, and I’m not sure of the science behind it, the moisture goes back into the bread and makes the crust VERY soft. My bread doesn’t get moldie or dry out as quickly as before. A softer crust makes the bread much easier to cut. CAUTION: I was told me that before store bought bread a crunchy crust was the way to tell the bread was fresh…so I guess if you like the fresh crunch to your bread continue to air cool.

4) Experiment with Gluten. I add 1 T. of gluten to my bread. Gluten makes the bubbles in your bread strong so that your bread doesn’t sink from the bubbles popping too early.

5) High Altitude dwellers should cut down the amount of yeast called for in the recipe because bread rises faster in high altitude areas and since the bread machine is a timed process it doesn’t know to bake when the dough has doubled in size. For reference, I halfed my yeast from what it called for in my recipe.

5) Make the process easy by filling Ziploc bags with all dry ingredients minus the yeast and placing in your fridge. This way you always have fresh homemade bread ready and waiting to begin for you with no mess!

Just as a side note, I’ve tried using other people’s very delicious whole wheat bread machine recipes in my bread maker and they never turn out (because of the high altitude problem) so don’t be discouraged if this happens to you! Just try to make your bread machine’s recipe to how you like it.

#
Crystal, on September 3rd, 2008 at 4:57 pm Said:

Wow! To answer all of the questions: I DO NOT add any extra water for the potato flakes. You’ve got to try it, it makes the bread so moist and chewey…just like store bought bread.

And for those of you who want my recipe here it is…

100% Whole wheat Bread-2 lb. loaf
1-2/3 C. Water
2 T. butter, softened
1/3 C. packed brown sugar
2 t. salt
4-2/3 C. whole wheat flour
1/3 C. potato flakes
3 t. yeast (I use 1 t. yeast and add in 1 T. gluten because I live in high altitude, you’ll have to play with where you live)

Let me know how it works for you!

…and Tammy…I would just try 1.5ing (is that a word?) the recipe and see if that doesn’t fit better in one 12 inch pan. (this is assuming that your normal recipe is for an 8×4 pan and that your 12 inch pan is 4 inches wide) If it isn’t enough then try making more of the recipe and if it is too much than make less.

#
Crystal, on September 5th, 2008 at 2:06 pm Said:

Cami,

I thought potato pearls wouldn’t make a difference so I tried it out and it did make a difference.
:( It didn’t taste good at all! You could totally taste the “butter” taste from the pearls and it didn’t give it the chewyness. Oh well, save the potato pearls for making really good mashed potatoes! :)

Crystal
#
Crystal, on September 5th, 2008 at 2:08 pm Said:

Little Dochy,

The main difference between baking the bread in the oven vs. a bread machine will probably be size and shape of the bread. Personally, I like that with a bread machine you can just throw it in and not worry about it until it starts beeping at me. I also like that I can leave the house while it’s baking and it doesn’t heat up my house. But taste wise it shouldn’t be that big of a difference just for the difference in baking.

Crystal

#
Crystal, on November 7th, 2008 at 2:03 pm Said:

Jean,

My biggest trick is simply making the crust soft enough (by letting it cool in a ziploc bag or towel). Once the crust is soft it is very easy to cut into thin slices.

Crystal
#
Laura, on November 12th, 2008 at 9:16 am Said:

Another trick to make the bread soft is a trick that my mother used and I use too. Right after I “dump” the loaves out of their pans, I spritz the loaves with a squirt bottle - all over and even turn the loaves on their sides and spritz the bottoms. After a few minutes, the water has soaked in and I give the tops another spritz. I have wonderfully soft crusts and never soggy.
#
Kellie, on November 12th, 2008 at 1:02 pm Said:

I just discovered your blog. I am really enjoying it. I haven’t had a chance to try anything yet, but i love food storage too. I was wondering if you ever make anything with flour that you ground yourself. I have heard that you can make flour for bread out of beans, rice, and almost any other kinds of grains. Have you tried it? I haven’t yet, because i am getting my grain mill for Christmas and i’ll have to wait until then.

#
admin, on November 13th, 2008 at 5:11 pm Said:

I haven’t tried that yet. I have read conflicting reports about using bean flour…so I’m still researching it. I do know of one reader who made her own corn bread from scratch (ground up the corn and everything!) and she said it was amazing. I wouldn’t surprise me since everything tastes better super fresh!
#
Rosanne, on January 10th, 2009 at 9:35 pm Said:

I grind up popcorn and make my own cornbread mix all the time. I’ve been doing it for years, and have even given the mix as a holiday gift several years. We love it because it’s very hearty, yet has a very nice texture. Perfect menu mate for warm winter soups! Here’s our favorite recipe:

1 C. ground cornmeal (from popcorn)
1 C. white flour
1/4 C. sugar
1/2 t. salt
4 t. baking powder

Mix dry ingredients, then add:
1 egg
1 C. milk
1/4 C. oil

Mix just enough to moisten (don’t over beat!); spoon into muffin cups and bake at 375 for 12-14 min.; or pour into sprayed 9×9 and bake at 400 for about 20 min. Enjoy!
#
Megan, on January 10th, 2009 at 11:54 pm Said:

Rosanne~

How do you grind your popcorn? I just purchased a stone mill grinder but it cannot do popcorn. I didn’t know this when I ordered 50 pounds of Organic popcorn for my food storage room!!! Eeek! Now I have all this popcorn… for popping I guess! I would love to find a way to grind it without shelling out another few hundred dollars for another machine. Thanks!

#
Rosanne, on January 13th, 2009 at 11:59 am Said:

Megan,

I have a K-Tec kitchen mill that’s been doing the job for me for about 20 years. I’m sorry to say I don’t know anything about stone mill grinders, or how else you could grind your popcorn. :( Good luck!
#
Rosanne, on January 13th, 2009 at 12:06 pm Said:

Kellie,

I have ground up many different grains and beans in my K-Tec kitchen mill and used them in all kinds of things. One of the sneakiest is to use white bean flour to thicken white sauces! It’s been a while since I’ve done that, but if I remember correctly, you can skip the fat that is normally used, though you do have to stand over the pot and stir to cook the bean flour. Have fun experimenting!

#
nikole, on January 13th, 2009 at 5:08 pm Said:

I tried potato pearls in a white bread recipe I made in my bosch and it was really good but I had to reconstitute them. I soaked them in some hot water and made the potatoes and added it to the oil/water. I first made the mistake of throwing them in dry and they never softened and were just little bb’s of potato pearls in the dough. I tossed the entire batch and started again with adding water to them first and mashing them up. I made cinnamon rolls with the same dough and they were great too!

#
Tami, on March 15th, 2009 at 6:32 am Said:

After asking what I consider to be the experts about bread machine bread and what makes it tougher, I was told that the bread will always have a tougher crust in a bread machine due to the direct heat all the way around it. I’m sure I must have misunderstood something because the heat is all the way around it in an oven, too, but ever since then, I’ve gently dumped the raised dough out of the bread machine, gently formed it into a loaf that fits in my loaf pan, sliced the top for expansion, and let it rise in a preheated oven for 20-30 min., then turned on the oven to 350 and baked for 30 minutes without allowing the oven to reach 350 before I start the 30 minutes. I know it sounds like it defeats the purpose of the whole bread machine idea, but I went to the extra expense of getting the zojuruski bread maker because I wanted a traditional loaf, and then the crust was tougher than store bought, so my family wasn’t nuts about it. NOW, we go through almost a whole loaf every day. (This morning I used your idea of making the mixes up ahead of time for the week, so I’m looking forward to saving a little time.) Even my 14-year-old son last night had friends over and wanted me to make a loaf of bread for them (and take him to the store to get junk food for their movie.) Anyway, if you’re having a tough time getting a soft crust, I’d experiment with just placing it in your own baking pan and cooking it just to see if it’s the one thing that makes a difference for you. Love the site!

http://everydayfoodstorage.net/2008/07/17/death-by-chocolate-zucchini-cake/food-storage-recipes

Death by Chocolate Zucchini Cake: Whole Wheat Food Storage Recipes
Posted on July 17th, 2008 by Crystal-Everyday Food Storage

Okay, so I’m not going to lie to you. I’m not usually a fan of homemade chocolate cakes. Sometimes they can be really dry and very cocoa-ey tasting. However, when I found this recipe I knew I had to try it. It didn’t originally call for whole wheat flour but because it had brown sugar and cocoa I knew it would be perfect for disguising the color and taste of the wheat. I used that same trick when I originally found the zucchini bread recipe posted earlier this week.

Everyday Food Storage Essential Tip: Always remember, you can disguise wheat in any recipe that calls for any of the following ingredients: brown sugar, cocoa/chocolate, fresh fruit or vegetables (banana, apple, or in this case zucchini, etc.).
Anyway, back to this amazing cake. It is moist, ooey and gooey, and oh so chocolatey! The best part about it is that it’s a snack cake…meaning… you don’t have to bother frosting it!! It wouldn’t take a rocket scientist to know this cake is delicious, but just in case you were wondering I really did feed it to a rocket scientist and he loved it and was shocked there was wheat in it! So give it a try, you’ll be amazed how delicious it is.

Death by Chocolate, Zucchini Cake
one 8 inch pan, if you want it for a 9×13 just double the recipe
1/2 C. Brown Sugar
1/4 C. White Sugar
1/4 C. Butter
1/4 C. Oil (or Applesauce)
2 Eggs (if you’re doubling the recipe use 3 eggs)- 2 T. dehydrated eggs + 1/4 C. Water
1 t. Vanilla
1/4 C. Buttermilk-3/4 T. Dry powdered milk + 1/4 C. Water + 1/4 T. lemon juice or white vinegar, let stand for 5 minutes before adding to the recipe
1 1/4 C. Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 t. allspice
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. salt
2 t. baking soda
3 T. cocoa
2 C. Zucchini, grated
1/2 C. Chocolate Chips
Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 325.
2. Cream brown sugar, white sugar, butter and oil together in large bowl.
3. Add eggs vanilla and buttermilk and stir well to mix.
4. In a separate bowl mix remaining dry ingredients together and add to mixture.
5. Fold in grated zucchini.
6. Pour into greased, floured 8 inch round cake pan or 8×8 pan.
7. Sprinkle the top of cake with chocolate chips and bake at 325 for 30-35 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.

http://everydayfoodstorage.net/2009/01/08/fanatic-friday-rewind/food-storage-recipes

Fanatic Friday Food Storage Recipe Rewind: Low-Fat Chocolate Chip Cookies
Posted on January 8th, 2009 by Crystal-Everyday Food Storage

You’ll never guess what this cookie DOESN’T have in it! I’ll give you one guess…if you guessed a fat you are right! There is no butter or shortening in this cookie. Instead you have the protein, fiber and health benefits of….yep…BEANS! To make the deal even sweeter this low calorie cookie only has 1 cup of sugar and is full of even more fiber when you use whole wheat flour. The cookie has a great cake-like consistency and of course no bad flavor or after taste! I served them to my brother, nephew and husband and no one knew there was anything different about the cookie, in fact to quote them: “These are AWESOME!!” I think this may be one of my favorite food storage recipes yet!

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

(Made with white beans)
½ cup cooked white beans
1 cup brown sugar

4 eggs (1/4 C. Egg Powder + 1/2 C. Water)
1 tsp. vanilla

2 ¼ cups wheat flour
1 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt

2 cups chocolate chips
1 cup pecans (or walnuts) chopped

Beat beans and sugar together. Add eggs, vanilla. In separate bowl sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add flour moisture to bean/sugar mixture. Stir until well blended. Stir in chocolate chips, and nuts. Cover and refrigerate dough for 1 hour. Preheat oven to 350°F. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet. Bake 10-15 minutes depending on size of cookies. Makes 4 dozen.

#
Andrea, on January 9th, 2009 at 11:50 am Said:

I use powdered white beans (that you grind in a wheat grinder) in bread subbing it in place of oil. i have heard that you can replace oil, butter, or shortening cup for cup with beans. i am going to try this with powdered beans and see if it works too. they look scrumptious, thanks for the website.

#
admin, on January 12th, 2009 at 1:47 pm Said:

Trisha,

To learn more about cooking beans go to: http://everydayfoodstorage.net/2008/01/06/cooking-your-beans/food-storage-recipes Thanks!

Crystal
#
Crystal, on January 12th, 2009 at 2:18 pm Said:

I’m so glad so many of you are trying this recipe! The picture in this post is the picture with the recipe…and the beans. If you didn’t like substituting all the beans, try doing it half and half. The key is to learn the concept…and figure out how your family will eat it!

Crystal
#
Becky, on January 12th, 2009 at 3:56 pm Said:

We made these as a Sunday treat. Yes, we occasionally make a treat on Sunday’s - not often, but occasionally.

When I first made the dough it turned out quite wet - so foolish me decided to put in some flour. I did not realize how much of a foolish mistake that was until I had to leave the kitchen for about 30 minutes to do something. The whole wheat flour absorb the excess wetness. The cookies turned out more like a nice mound, but we just manually flattened it.

For those of you who do not know, spelt wheat flour is a wonderful option here if you grind your own grains.
We use spelt for cakes and pancakes and some quickbreads. It has a much lighter texture for such delicacies.

When we first tried the cookies straight out of the oven, it’s texture was extremely grainy. We were turned off. But, an hour or two later, we discovered that something happened to the cookie and it became absolutely tender and not so grainy. It was delicious. We were most impressed.

For those of you who have a hard time converting to whole wheat cookies, something you can do with this recipe to cut down on the contrast of whole wheat is to do 50/50 whole wheat flour (spelt is really the best for cookies) and oat flour. We keep oat groats in our pantry always because we like the texture oat flour puts in all our baking. Try it!

#
Mary Lou, on January 12th, 2009 at 7:59 pm Said:

I tried these cookies today using the egg powder, whole wheat flour and garbanzo bean puree (hey, it’s what needed to be rotated the most!). I was a little worried since the garbanzos have a stronger taste, but I couldn’t tell at all. I prewarned my husband, who gave them an honest try and stated “Hey, these are pretty good”. So I boldly offered them to my super-picky 7 year-old, who promptly had 2 and asked for a third. I couldn’t believe I had to hold him off until after dinner! I will definitely make these again. Thank you, Crystal, for helping me to get beans into my boy!

http://everydayfoodstorage.net/2008/06/13/pick-and-choose-to-make-your-own-fathers-day-menu/food-storage-recipes

Pick and choose to make your own Father’s Day Menu- Lots Of Food Storage Recipes!!
Posted on June 13th, 2008 by Crystal-Everyday Food Storage
Cheddarwurst topped with mustard, sauteed onions and diced banana peppers, served with cheesy grilled red potatoes, summer squash vegetable melody, and fruit cocktail.

Grilled chicken pesto alfredo served with summer squash vegetable melody, and balsamic sunshine salad.

Tastes just like Outback steak with sauteed onions, cheesy grilled red potatoes, corn succotash, and tropical sunrise fruit salad.

Strawberry Lime Riviera bars. Cold, Creamy, and DELICIOUS!!!

Make your own menu….

Main Dishes

Cheddarwurst-This delicious upgrade from hot dogs are easy to make and very delicious! I know Sarah Lee is running a special at grocery stores where you can buy 2 Hilshire farm packages of sausage you get a bag of buns free up to $3.19. A great deal! Top with mustard, sauteed onions (see below under toppings), and chopped banana peppers. (Remember it is great to practice grilling with an alternate source of heat!)

Grilled Chicken Pesto Alfredo- This meal is easier and CHEAPER then you’d ever imagine! First grill up some chicken (personally I use thighs because they have more flavor and are much cheaper). While your chicken is grilling make your parmesan white sauce (a.k.a alfredo sauce) out of your MAGIC MIX!!

Magic Mix White Sauce-makes 1 C.
2/3 C. Magic Mix
1 C. Water

In saucepan combine Magic Mix and water. Stir rapidly (I use a wire wisk) over medium heat until it starts to bubble. (Use Magic Mix White Sauce for all recipes calling for a white or cream sauce.) Click here to learn more about magic mix.

Add 1 cup of parmesan cheese per one cup of white sauce and a dash of salt and pepper. You can stop here and have alfredo sauce or add in 1/4-1/2 C. pesto to make a creamy pesto sauce. Personally I buy my pesto at Costco and divide the large bottle into small ziploc bags and freeze.

Serve over hot noodles.

Tastes just like Outback Steak- YUMMY!!! This rub makes the BEST steaks. You’ll never want to spend the money eating out again! Hopefully by now you’ve seen how food storage can save you money and you have a little extra to splurge for Sunday. Make sure and check the meat specials for meat that is marked down. It’s a great option since you’ll be grilling it ASAP! Top with satueed onions (See under toppings)

4 steaks
8 teaspoons salt
4 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon coriander (I’ve made with out and it tastes fine)
1/2 teaspoon turmeric (I’ve made with out and it tastes fine)

Directions
1. Mix together seasoning ingredients and rub into each side of steak.
2. Grill steaks on a large frying pan over medium-high heat; press down on steak with spatula or tongs to sear the edges.

Side Dishes

Corn Succotash- Mix one can of corn with 1/2 C. hydrated carrots and bell pepper mix. Toss with olive oil. Wrap in aluminum foil and grill on the bbq for 10 minutes or until warmed through. DELICIOUS! and no mess to wash.

Grilled Cheesy Red Potatoes- Slice potatoes (does not have to be red) toss with olive oil. Wrap in aluminum foil and grill on the bbq for 20 minutes, flipping after 10 minutes, until done. Top with cheese, sour cream, and chives or green onions

Summer Squash Vegetable Melody- 1/2 head of cabbage sliced, 2 zucchini, 1 yellow squash, 1/2 C. hydrated carrots. Toss with olive oil. Wrap in aluminum foil and grill on the bbq for 15 minutes, flipping after 7 minutes.

Tropical Sunshine Fruit Salad- 2 cans mandarin oranges, 1 can chunked pineapple, 2 C. sliced strawberries, 1/2 C. coconut (optional), 1/4 C. chopped walnuts (optional), lemon yogurt. Toss and serve immediately.

Balsamic Summer Salad- Chopped lettuce, 1 can mandarin oranges, sliced red onion (remember red onion goes a long way), 3/4 C. craisins, and sprinkle with feta cheese or Parmesan. Toss with balsamic vinaigrette and serve immediately.

Fruit Cocktail- *sigh* and the easiest of them all Canned fruit cocktail topped with a little cool whip. (to make your own whipped topping, click HERE)

Toppings
Sauteed Onions-
1. Re-hydrate your onions in water that equals double the amount of onions you are using. Remember that 1/4 dehydrated onions will equal one cup chopped onion once hydrated.
2. After letting your onions sit in water for about 10 minutes, drain off any excess water.
3. Wrap in aluminum foil with a little butter and put on your grill for 5-7 minutes.
4. VOILA! Sauteed onions with no mess, no chopping, and in no time…thanks to food storage!

Desserts
Strawberry Lime Riviera bars-These are cheaper than ice cream, taste better, and are made from food storage. How can you lose?

1-1/4 cups crushed pretzels
6 Tbsp. butter or margarine, melted
1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk (click HERE for instructions on making your own)
1 cup pureed strawberries
1/2 cup lime juice
1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Strawberry Whipped Topping or COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed

MIX pretzel crumbs and butter in 13×9-inch pan; press firmly onto bottom of pan. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Add strawberries, sweetened condensed milk, and lime juice; mix well. Gently stir in whipped topping; pour evenly over crust.

FREEZE at least 6 hours. Remove from freezer 15 min. before serving. Let stand at room temperature to soften slightly before cutting to serve. Store leftovers in freezer.

For more dessert ideas, click HERE .

http://everydayfoodstorage.net/2008/09/21/2-for-1-breadsticks-or-pizza-in-under-30-minutes-from-one-easy-recipe/food-storage-recipes

2 for 1-Breadsticks OR Pizza in under 30 minutes from ONE easy recipe: Whole Wheat Food Storage Recipes
Posted on September 21st, 2008 by Crystal-Everyday Food Storage

Sorry for the non post on Friday, things got a little hectic around here. But to make it up to you I’m giving you a 2 for 1 post! This is my ABSOLUTE favorite recipe and ever since I fot it from my sister-in-law we haven’t bought pizza (contrary to what my husband says on the video :). The other great thing about making this as pizza is that you can make the crust in the morning and then top it with your toppings in the evening and have dinner ready in under 10 minutes! I love meals you can make most of earlier in the day when life isn’t so busy. It is so easy, makes NO mess (okay well, just a little mess), and is DELICIOUS. Everytime I make these breadsticks for company it is a HUGE hit and they always ask for the recipe, so who better to share it with than all of you!!

30 Minute Breadsticks OR No-Fail Deep Dish Pizza Crust

(If it is too thick for your family, you can either half the recipe or put one full recipe onto two cookie sheets)

2 1/2 C. Medium Hot Water
5 tsp. SAF Instant Yeast*
2 Tbsp. Sugar
3 Tbsp. Oil
1 tsp. Salt
6 C. Flour (you can do half all-purpose and half white wheat or 100% whole wheat)
1 to 2 Cubes of Butter

Directions:
1. Pour medium hot water in mixing bowl. Sprinkle yeast on top and allow to dissolve.
2. Add sugar, salt, and oil. Gradually add approximately 6 cups of flour.
3. Melt 1-2 cubes butter on cookie sheet in oven as it is heating to 400 degrees and melt in oven. 4. Place dough on cookie sheet and press to fill pan, make sure butter gets on top of the dough.
5. Allow to double in size (About 10-15 minutes)
6. Cook for 10 to 12 minutes or until desired browning is accomplished.
7. Cut into strips or top with favorite pizza toppings.

* When using regular yeast change amount to 2 Tbsp.

Crystal, on September 22nd, 2008 at 7:28 am Said:

Julie-s,

I do make this whole wheat sometimes and it turns out great. When I do it as pizza I usually do whole wheat because there are so many flavors going on but I’ve done breadsticks before whole wheat and they’re good too. Also, I only use one cube of butter. My neighbor only uses 1/2 of a cube. It’s all what your family likes. The original recipe I received from my sister-in-law is 1-2 cubes. It’s up to how you like it!

#
Bringhurst Family, on September 24th, 2008 at 9:17 am Said:

Okay so what’s on the breadsticks garlic salt with parsley?
#
Crystal, on September 24th, 2008 at 9:32 am Said:

Yes, it’s Lowry’s Garlic Salt with Parsley. It’s the best kind. I love it!
#
Crystal, on September 24th, 2008 at 9:35 am Said:

Shayleen,

Close…there are 3 tsp. in 1 Tablespoon…so just one more tsp if you don’t have the fast acting yeast. I’m so glad you tried it! I guess everyone now knows my love for butter. :)
#
Camille, on September 24th, 2008 at 1:46 pm Said:

These sound really delicious! A couple of questions - sorry if they’re answered by the video, but we have s-l-o-w internet so I haven’t watched it. The recipe says to press the dough to fill the cookie sheet, making sure the butter gets on top. So do you roll it out partway and flip it over so the butter is on the top? Also, it sounds like if you’re doing pizza, you bake it before you add the toppings, so how long do you bake it once you add the toppings? Thanks for all the fun recipes - this is a great site! :)

#
Crystal, on September 26th, 2008 at 8:16 am Said:

Camille and Brown Bunch,

When you press the dough onto the pan with the butter it will force some of the butter to go on top of the dough. Just make sure it covers the dough. Also, I bake the pizza for about 5 minutes once the toppings are on. Just long enough for the cheese to melt. Let me know how it works for you!

Crystal

Crystal signed a book contract in January, it made me feel good to know that she might get paid for the fantastic job she has done, showing others how to do food storage and to use it.......
granny

http://everydayfoodstorage.net/2008/09/23/sweet-sour-meatballs/food-storage-recipes

Sweet & Sour Meatballs: Rice Food Storage Recipes
Posted on September 23rd, 2008 by Crystal-Everyday Food Storage

This is one of my favorite meals from growin up. As a kid it was delicious because it’s sweet and has the pineapple in it and….well…it’s still completely delicious as an adult. It’s really easy to make and if you don’t have frozen meatballs you can make some, bake them, and then freeze them and always have them on hand. Plus, it sits on rice. I think rice is on of the easiest food storage items.
Sweet & Sour Meatballs
20 Meatballs

Combine and Cook in a skillet until the sauce is Clear and thick:
1 can 20 oz. Pianeapple Chunks & Juice
1/3 C. Vinegar
6 T. Sugar
1 T. Soy Sauce
3-4 T. Corn Starch mixed into 1/3 C. Water (I just mix the cornstarch into my liquid measurer)

2 Green peppers cut into strips, add to above and simmer 5 min.
3 Tomatoes cut in wedges, stir into above and serve immediately over rice.

Meatballs
2 lbs. raw Ground Beaf
1/2 C. Oatmeal
1 beaten egg (don’t use powdered egg for this)
2 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. Garlic Powder
Combine ingredients and form into walnut size balls and bak in jelly roll pan at 425 for about 10-15 minutes or brown in 3 T. Butter on large skillet.

http://everydayfoodstorage.net/2008/09/25/mamma-mia-spaghetti/food-storage-recipes

Mamma Mia Spaghetti: Pasta Food Storage Recipes
Posted on September 25th, 2008 by Crystal-Everyday Food Storage

Spaghetti has always been my favorite meal and what I grew up asking for on my birthday. I was so shocked to find out how EASY and DELICIOUS home made spaghetti sauce can be. My favorite part is that it can be made entirely from your canned three month supply (assuming you go meatless) or you can add meat too. Also, did you know it’s something you can do in a slow cooker and have it simmering all day (and smelling good all day)? Sauces always taste better the longer they can simmer. It’s fast, easy, and delicious…not to mention you can use some of those cannery noodles.

Spaghetti Sauce

2 T olive or vegetable oil
1 C fresh or 1/4 C dry onion chopped (1 med to large onion)
2 small green bell pepper, chopped (1/2 C)
2 large cloves garlic, minced or finely chopped
2 cans (14 ½ oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained
3-4 cans (8 oz.) tomato sauce
2 T chopped fresh or 2 tsp dried basil leaves
1 T chopped fresh or 1 tsp dried oregano leaves
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper

Saucepan on the Stove Directions:
Heat oil in 3-quart saucepan over medium heat. Cook onion, bell pepper and garlic in oil 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Stir in remaining ingredients, . Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 45 minutes
Use sauce immediately, or cover and refrigerate up to 2 weeks or freeze up to 1 year.

Slow Cooker Directions:
Omit the oil (unless you are using olive oil for flavor)
Mix the remaining ingredients together in 3 ½-6 quart slow cooker.
Cover and cook 6-8 hours.

Serving with:
1 lb. cooked ground beef, Meatballs, or Italian Sausage
1 to 1-1/2 lb Spaghetti pasta, cooked
Tossed salad
Time saving Tip: When you buy hamburger or ground italian sausage cook it before you put it 1 lb. packages in the freezer. That way it’s one mess but you’ve cooked the hamburger for multiple meals in advance. No need to thaw before you add it to the spaghetti sauce, if you let it simmer, it thaws in the sauce. EASY!!!

http://everydayfoodstorage.net/2008/09/16/fast-hearty-breakfast/food-storage-recipes

Oatmeal on the Go Bars & Sandwich Maker Eggs: Oat Food Storage Recipes
Posted on September 16th, 2008 by Crystal-Everyday Food Storage

Okay, I have a problem, in that I really, really like to eat (if you could’nt tell by my blog entirely dedicated to food) and I like to sleep. What this means, for me, is that my want to sleep-in is always at battle with the part of me that HATES eating cold cereal in the morning (because I hate being hungry an hour after I finish!). Well thanks to Heidi and a change of a Make-a-Mix muffin I know have a hearty breakfast in just minutes thanks to my handy-dandy sandwich maker!

Heidi’s Instructions for a “Perfect Egg” in a Sandwich Maker:

1. preheat the sandwich maker
2. spray the bottom of sandwich maker (the eggs don’t actually touch the top so if you spray the tops now it burns off before you flip the machine and the egg ends up sticking to the top).
3. crack eggs and salt/pepper
4. close lid and cook for 2 minutes
5. open and spray top
6. close lid and quickly flip entire sandwich maker over (I had no problems setting this on my counter as the outside of my sandwich maker stays relatively cool, but maybe other machines will need to be put on a heat-proof surface?) –I didn’t do this, I just left my sandwich maker on the counter and it worked great
7. cook for 1 minute and 45 seconds for what I call a “perfect egg” (runny yolk, but absolutely no runny whites) or cook about 45-60 seconds more for a firm yolk.

For my kids I cracked their eggs into the wells and broke and stirred the yolk a little with a plastic knife. They LOVED them and wanted more and maybe my kids are just extra messy, but I usually end up with bits of scrambled eggs on my table/floor and this was no mess and no waste!–Thanks Heidi, the idea is AWESOME!

Oatmeal on the Go Bars

These are just that a way to take oatmeal on the go. If you don’t have a sandwich maker, you can definitely make these as muffins (350 degree oven for 15-20 minutes) and freeze them.

1-3/4 C. Quick Mix (Directions given below)
3/4 C. Quick Oats
1/4 C. Sugar
1/4 C. Brown Sugar
2 T. Dehydrated Egg (or one egg) + 1/4 C. Water
3 T. Powdered Milk + 1 C. Water
1 C. Raisins (or dried other dried fruit, I let mine rehydrate in the water I need for the powdered milk)
2 t. Cinnamon

Mix ingredients together until moist. Fill sandiwch maker or muffin pans 2/3 full and bake for 2 minutes in a sandwich maker or 15-20 minutes in a 350 degree oven for regular muffins.

Quick Mix

A couple of different people have sent me their recipes for Quick Mix (Bisquick…isn’t that fabulous that you can make your own?!) which I haven’t had a chance to try yet…hmm…maybe we need to do a quick mix cook off…anyway, this is what I use and KNOW works for this recipe. If you have a quick mix recipe you use, feel free to try it with this recipe.

4-1/4 C. All-Purpose Four
4-1/4 C. Whole Wheat Flour (I use white wheat)
1/3 C. Baking Powder
1 T. Salt
2 t. Cream of Tartar
1 t. Baking Soda
3/4 C. Dry Powdered Milk
2-1/4 C. Shortening

In a large bowl, sift together all dry ingreients, Blend well. Cut in shortening until evenly distributed (use the beater on your power mixer or a shortening knife). Put in a large airtight container. Label. Store in a cool, dry place. use within 10-12 weeks. Makes about 13 C. Quick Mix. If you want to see pictures of how to make these dry mixes click HERE (this will take you to picture instructions I did for Magic Mix)

[Use Quick Mix to replace Bisquick in recipes..]

http://everydayfoodstorage.net/2008/05/19/faqs-about-milk/food-storage-recipes

FAQ’s about Powdered Milk
Posted on May 19th, 2008 by Crystal-Everyday Food Storage

How much Milk can you make from a #10 can?

Okay, I’ve had a lot of people asking me about how much milk you can make from one #10 can of powdered milk. The answer is a little over 5 1/2 gallons which makes it about $2.36 a gallon. While you’re figuring out how much money that will save you, let me also mention that when you buy powdered milk the price is then fixed and you don’t have to worry about the prices going up from one week to the next! The best part of food storage is living off of last year’s income. For example: I bought powdered milk last year before it doubled (gulp!) in price at about $6.50 a can so I’m paying $1.15 a gallon for my milk. See why food storage is so awesome?! Food storage can do the same for you! Let me say again, that food storage is NOT just for a huge natural calamity! Food storage lets you get through a time of inflation with out an emergency on your food budget.

What is the difference between Powdered Milk and a Milk Alternative?

A good way to describe this is to think about the difference between Orange Juice and Tang (or for those of you who have been with this blog for awhile…the difference between whole wheat flour and all purpose flour :). A milk alternitive is a milk drink but not milk. They make it from a by product of milk called whey and fortified (which only means they add back in) a couple of vitamins and minerals. Since it is made from whey (which is a by product of making cheese) it has far less protein than regular milk and it’s the protein in the milk that makes it a great food storage item. The current price of this “milk drink” is $12.02 while the cannery is selling powdered milk for $13.30 so for a dollar more you get real milk…not a bad deal. I’m checking into if you can cook with it but my guess is that since it doesn’t have the same properties of milk that you can’t. Also, check out the difference in ingredients:

Powdered Milk
Nonfat Dry Milk, Vitamin A Palmitate, Vitamin D3

Milk Alternative
Made from sweet dairy whey, non-fat dry milk solids, partially hydrogenated vegetable oil (contains one or more of the following:canola oil and/or soya oil), corn syrup solids, sodium caseinate, dipotassium phosphate, propylene glycol monostearate, mono and diglycerides, lecithin, carrageenan, Vitamin A, Vitamin D.

WHAT??? Partially Hydrogenated Oil…does anyone else watch Dr. Oz on Oprah that is the worst kind of oil for you not to mention they throw in Corn Syrup…another Dr. Oz no-no.

So to sum up, personally I don’t think a milk alternative is worth it.

Is it true that you can make Sweetened Condensed Milk and Evaporated Milk out of Powdered Milk?

YES!!! Plus, you can make buttermilk, white sauces and so much more…check back to find out how.

http://everydayfoodstorage.net/2008/05/16/making-delicious-powdered-milk/food-storage-recipes

Tips for Making DELICIOUS Drinkable Powdered Milk
Posted on May 16th, 2008 by Crystal-Everyday Food Storage
Yes, you read that correctly. It is possible to have delicious powdered milk and here’s how…
Here are the items you will need to start mixing your milk. Personally, I use a Sterilite 1 gallon jug that you can get at Wal-mart for a couple of dollars. It has an easy pour spout and has measurement lines for your water. Best of all it fits well in my fridge door.

Fill your jug with half of the water you will need. If you are making a gallon of milk then add 3 C. of powdered milk. Mix with a wire wisk.

The milk should look like this. It will be thicker, but don’t worry we’ll add the rest of the water later.

There are two tricks you can do to milk your milk taste fantastic! The first is to add 1 1/2 t. sugar.

The other is to add 1 t. of vanilla (which is about a cap ful).
See which one/both of the tricks your family likes best.

Then add in the rest of the water and mix again. Your milk will be a little frothy and because of that you may not be able to fit all of the water in the jug. Make sure to add a little more water to it before serving. (I’ve found that adding just a little more water than is called for also helps a great deal.)

This is a MUST!!! You HAVE TO, HAVE TO, HAVE TO serve the milk chilled. There is nothing worse than WARM powdered milk.

I taught my mom these tricks and now they drink powdered milk too. In fact, she had my niece over once and served her some milk from the jug and she didn’t even bat an eyelash that anything may be different. So again I say, DON’T warn your family. Just see what they do. :)

If you’re worried that your family isn’t ready to go straight powdered milk, don’t worry! Mine wasn’t either. We began by mixing it half and half with whole milk which creates 2% milk. Then we mixed it half and half with 2% milk and got skim milk. Now we just drink powdered milk. It’s great! I never have to worry about how much to buy, if we’re running out, or the rising cost of milk. Even if you never go straight powdered milk, mixing your powdered milk with store bought milk is a great way to extend the expensive milk and save you MONEY!

#
Charlene, on February 21st, 2009 at 7:20 am Said:

Many years ago bought a bunch of powdered milk from the cannery. My family would not drink it at any cost. The expiration dates came and went. (This was before we knew milk had a much longer shelf life.) I ended throwing it all away.
As I continued to work on my storage, again, years later, I decided that I had to have milk and since the storage life was longer now, maybe it would work out. Milk was my last big item to add to my long-term storage. Began using milk in recipes and it was fine. However, remembering the reactions of the family the last time I bought cannery milk, I wasn’t quick to try again for their drinking/cereal.
This week made a batch with the sugar and vanilla. YEAH!!!! I’m not a milk drinker, but I thought it tasted like milk. Last night enticed the hubby to have some with cookies. HURRAY!!!! I think we can DO THIS! I’m SO happy. Now with all your other ways to use the powdered milk, I can foresee rotating through it just fine. Thank you, thank you.
#
Patricia Putney, on February 21st, 2009 at 6:43 pm Said:

A few other suggestions to help with using the powdered milk. Begin by taking whatever milk the family usually drinks (regular, 2% or 1%) and combine it with equal parts reconstituted powdered milk. Continue to cut the milkk the family drinks 1/2 & 1/2 with reconstituted powdered milk until they are drinking 100% reconstituted powdered milk. Another big rule of using powdered milk for drinkining or cereal is to let it chill at least 8 hours in the fridge. This allows the flavor to mature and it will taste much better. (This is also true of the fruit drink mix.)

http://everydayfoodstorage.net/2008/06/17/yummy-yummy-magic-mix-fudgesicles/food-storage-recipes

YUMMY, YUMMY Magic Mix Fudgesicles: Magic Mix Food Storage Recipes for Kids
Posted on June 17th, 2008 by Crystal-Everyday Food Storage

Before you embark on this adventure with your kiddies, you will need to make your magic mix. Magic Mix, is just that, MAGIC and a must have in your fridge! It makes a perfect white sauce in minutes (a.k.a cream soups, macaroni and cheese, cheese sauce for broccoli, etc.), makes INCREDIBLE tasting pudding, and of course…uses your food storage, in the powdered milk form. Since you all loved the video last week so much, I made a video on how to make magic mix.

The basic instructions for Magic Mix are as follows:
2-1/3 C. Powdered Milk
1 C. All Purpose Flour (Yes, use All Purpose)
1 C. (2 sticks) Margarine (***HAS TO BE REAL MARGARINE, NOT SPREAD***) or Butter, at room temperature
Combine dry milk, flour and margarine/butter into a large bowl and refrigerate.

Now you’re ready to make your delicious fudgesicle. The next time you hear the ice cream man’s tune playing in your neighborhood have your kids make these. They are super easy, delicious, and also great portion control…if you can stop at just one :)
Magic Mix Fudgesicles

Instructions:

Make the Magic Mix Pudding recipe as follows: (if you want to see a picture of what the pudding looks like, click HERE)

1/2 C. Sugar
1 C. Magic Mix
2-3 T. Cocoa (optional)
2 C. Water
1 t. Vanilla
Combine Magic Mix, sugar and cocoa in saucepan and mix well. Add water, stir over medium heat until pudding bubbles. Add vanilla and beat. (*note* you won’t refridgerate this like you would if you were making the pudding, just go straight to the next step after adding the vanilla)

Add 1/2 C. milk (1-1/2 T. Powdered Milk + 1/2 C. Water) to pudding and stir.

Pour into ice cube trays with toothpicks or little dixie cups with spoons. The best way to get the toothpicks to stay put while you’re freezing is to cover the ice cube trays with aluminum foil and then stick the toothpicks in, as picture below.

Super easy, right? Let me know how it works for your family! I know mine ate them up!

[Magic Mix keeps up to 6 months in Refrigerator.]

http://everydayfoodstorage.net/2008/06/20/delicious-make-ahead-milk-shakes/food-storage-recipes

Delicious, Make Ahead Milk Shakes!-Powdered Milk Food Storage Recipes for Kids
Posted on June 20th, 2008 by Crystal-Everyday Food Storage

If you’ve every tried to serve milk shakes as a fun treat with dinner then you know the problem with them. You have a SERIOUS timing issue because they need to be served RIGHT AWAY or they get soupie and then the whole experience is ruined! So why not make the shakes ahead of time? Sounds good to you? Well it sounded good to me. This recipe was delicious and LOW-CALORIE! Since it is made out of pudding and not ice cream! This milk shake is actually kind of healthy! It just takes pudding (which can be the of the sugar-free variety), milk, and fruit. EXCELLENT!

Make Ahead Milk Shake

3-1/2 cups milk (1/2 C. + 2- 1/2 T. Dry Powdered Milk + 3-1/2 C. Water)

1 pkg. (4-serving size) Vanilla Instant Pudding (can be sugar-free)

1 medium ripe banana, cut into chunks

1/2 cup strawberries

Place all ingredients in blender and blend for 1 minute. Refridgerate until ready to serve.

(If you’re wondering why mine is orange, it’s because I drained a can of peaches and made ours a peach shake. That way it all comes from food storage….AWESOME!!!)

#
Rindee, on June 21st, 2008 at 2:49 pm Said:

I tried this recipe yesterday, but had to be a little creative because I didn’t have strawberries.
I used frozen blackberries instead, and since they are so tart, I added 2 Tablespoons of sugar. I also used the bulk vanilla pudding from the cannery, so I guessed that a 4 oz pkg of vanilla was about 1/2 cup, but it didn’t turn out as thick as I anticipated, so next time I would add a little more.
BUT It was very yummy. I was suprised that it didn’t taste like it was made from powdered milk at all! We will make this one again for sure!

http://everydayfoodstorage.net/2008/06/05/take-me-out-the-ball-gametake-me-out-to-the-fun/food-storage-recipes

Take me out to the Ball Game…Take me out to the Fun!
Posted on June 5th, 2008 by Crystal-Everyday Food Storage

Okay, so with gas prices at a ridiculous price my family decided to do our own baseball night at home including chili dogs, grilled pineapple, and corn on the cob. It was a blast! There wasn’t a good baseball game on TV so we watched “The Rookie” (you could also watch “A League of Their Own” or a good baseball game on TV…we prefer Angel games :) and ate chili dogs. Much cheaper than traveling to watch a game, buying tickets, buying six dollar chili dogs…and my favorite part…no line at the bathrooms! It was a perfect night. :) Try it at your home for a cheap, entertaining evening with good food and good fun!

Chili Dogs
This is a great way to use chili from your 3 mos. supply or if you have a large crowd over make some chili up in your crock pot and let it cook all day. If you need a good chili recipe, I like to use this one (Kids love it and it is more sweet than hot).

3 C. Dry Red Beans*
6 C. Water

In a large pot, combine and soak overnight. Cook 1 ½ hours, adding more water as needed to cover beans. Drain beans and combine with:
1 Can (16 oz.) Tomato Sauce
1 Can (16 oz.) Stewed Tomatoes
1 ½ C. Ketchup
¼ C. Lemon Juice
¼ C. Brown Sugar
1 C. Coarsely Chopped Celery
1 C. Coarsely Chopped Onion
1 Small Bay Leaf
1 T. Chili Powder
1 ½ tsp. Salt
½ tsp. Dry Mustard
2 T. Worcestershire Sauce

Brown and drain 2 lbs. lean ground hamburger. Add to chili. Cover on low in a crockpot. ( The longer it cooks, the thicker it becomes and the better it tastes – add water as needed.)…and please, for the love of Pete, use a Reynolds Crock pot liner…they are worth the money!

*2-15 ¼ oz. cans red kidney beans may be substituted for the dry beans. Remember to drain these beans.

Grilled Pineapple
If you ever need an easy side dish, go to your 3 mos. supply and pull out pineapple slices. Throw them on your grill until you get the grill lines and serve warm. DELICIOUS!!!

http://everydayfoodstorage.net/2008/06/22/visit-the-carribean-islands-with-this-fruity-salad/food-storage-recipes

Carribean Sunrise Salad: Three Month Supply Food Storage Recipes
Posted on June 22nd, 2008 by Crystal-Everyday Food Storage

Doesn’t it look delicious? Well it is! I created this salad when I was assigned to bring a fruit dish to a bbq I was attending. I looked in my fridge and realized I had a hand full of strawberries and like 4 grapes to my name. YIKES! You see my problem. That isn’t too appetizing of a fruit dish. I also knew that no one would appreciate a can of pineapple thrown in a bowl either. So thanks to my handy dandy 3 month supply I was able to combine canned fruit with fresh fruit to make a DELICIOUS, tropical salad.

Carribean Sunrise Salad
2 cans mandarin oranges, drained
1 can chunked pinapple, drained
2 C. sliced strawberries
1/2 C. coconut (optional)
1/4 C. chopped walnuts (optional) or granola
lemon meringue yogurt (this is my favorite, it gives it a marshmallowie taste) or plain lemon yogurt or…if you don’t have any yogurt remember that whipped topping we can make out of powdered milk? That works great too as fruit dip or in this salad. It makes it taste like coconut milk, especially if you add in the coconut. YUMMY!
Toss and serve immediately (or at least fairly soon. The strawberries will go bad quickly with all the other sugary juices).

http://everydayfoodstorage.net/2008/06/24/bring-one-of-these-one-of-a-kind-salads-to-your-next-gathering/food-storage-recipes

Whole Wheat Berry “Pasta” Salads: Whole Wheat Food Storage Recipes
Posted on June 24th, 2008 by Crystal-Everyday Food Storage

Ooh…la…la…has anyone else noticed that wheat berry salads are all the rage right now? It is so great that the whole “whole grain” thing is so in, you know what I mean? Thanks so much to Charlene for sending me these VERY DELICIOUS salad recipes. They will knock the socks of anyone you serve them to.

This salad was so delicious! It had such a unique blend of flavors that were very fresh tasting and I loved the little kick from the cranberries. I picture this salad being an absolute hit at a baby/wedding shower or luncheon.

Wheat Berry Salad with Apples and Cashews

1 C wheat berries (wheat berries are the whole kernal of wheat, like what you get at the cannery) or brown rice
5 C water
3 T vegetable oil
½ C orange juice
2 T red wine vinegar
2 t ground coriander
½ t ground cinnamon
2 Granny Smith apples, cored, diced (I cheated and used 1 C. dehydrated apples, simply re-hydrate in 2 C. warm water and dice)
2 T fresh mint, finely chopped
½ C cashews, toasted, coarsely chopped
1 shallot, minced (you can use a green onion or chives if you don’t have a shallot)
1 C dried cranberries
feta cheese (optional) Charlene doesn’t ususally add this but I did because I LOVE feta

Pick over the wheat berries for any foreign bits. Rinse and bring wheat berries to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 1 hour or more until tender. Drain and cool.
In a small bowl, mix the vegetable oil, orange juice, vinegar, coriander, and cinnamon. Set aside.
To the wheat berries, add apples, mint, shallots, and cranberries. Toss with the dressing to coat. Prior to serving, add the roasted cashews.

Note from Charlene: If I make this ahead of time, I sometimes find that I need to add more dressing, as it absorbs the liquid.

Forget the ordinary pasta salad. This was amazing and has a lot of room for variation! I didn’t have time to run to the store to buy some of the ingredients so I used 1 avocado diced, 2 roma tomatoes, 1 C. artichoke hearts, and regular olives and it was so delicious with the dressing listed below! I can only imagine how good the original recipe must be! I also think it’s good enough that you could add in some grilled chicken and call it dinner.

Feta Wheat Berry Salad Adapted from “The Best of Gourmet 1994”.
1 C whole wheat berries
½ C Feta cheese, diced (I like the basil and sun-dried tomato variety)
½ C red onion, minced
½ C cucumber, peeled, seeded, chopped
¼ C roasted red peppers, julienne strips of drained bottled peppers, chopped
¼ C pepperocini salad peppers, chopped
¼ C mixed fresh herbs, minced (I like parsley, mint, thyme, and basil) plus some for garnish
1 T Kalamata black olives, pitted, brine-cured, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
5 T olive oil
2 T fresh lemon juice
1 T balsamic vinegar

Pick over the wheat berries and remove any foreign bits. Rinse and add the wheat berries to boiling salted water and reduce to a simmer. Cook the wheat for 1 hour or until it’s tender.

Drain and cool.

Stir together the wheat berries, Feta, onion, cucumber, roasted pepper, pepperocini, herbs, olives, and garlic. In a separate bowl, mix the olive oil, lemon juice, and vinegar. Mix everything together. Garnish with herbs.
Serves 4-6.

Note from Charlene: Sometimes I need to add more dressing if it absorbs a lot as it sits.

Presentation tip: Whenever you have a salad that doesn’t have a lot of color in it or needs more green in it to really WOW the people you’re serving, line the bowl with romaine lettuce leaves. It’s so easy and such a nice touch.

http://everydayfoodstorage.net/2008/06/26/strawberry-molded-salad/food-storage-recipes

Strawberry Molded Salad: Cracked Wheat Food Storage Recipes
Posted on June 26th, 2008 by Crystal-Everyday Food Storage

Did you know that you can use cracked wheat to extend your ground beef, to substitute for nuts or RICE? The nice thing about using it as rice is that it is MUCH FASTER to cook than brown rice. (15-20 minutes MAX!) Watch this short video to learn how to crack wheat in your blender. Coffee grinders are the best for cracking wheat so if you find yourself needing to crack a lot of it I would pay the $10 bucks to buy a coffee grinder. Make sure when you’re cracking wheat in the blender that your blender is completely (and when I say completely I mean COMPLETELY) dry or it won’t crack the wheat. Also, make sure to use small amounts like no more than a little over 1/4 cup at a time.

Practice using cracked wheat as nuts I tried this Strawberry “Nut” Jell-O salad. This is my ULTIMATE FAVORITE Jell-O salad in the WHOLE WORLD. (Have I convinced it tastes awesome yet?) It is different from anything else you’ve seen at a potluck and the cracked wheat in the salad gives a really great texture. It almost tastes like little bits of strawberries in the salad. You’ve got to try this, you’re family will LOVE it and no one NOT NO ONE will guess there is wheat in it!!!

Strawberry Nut (Wheat) Molded Salad

1 small pkg. strawberry Jello (I cheated and used raspberry and it was still DELICIOUS)
1 C boiling water

Combine Jell-O and Water & refrigerate until syrupy, then add to the rest (word to the wise-you have to watch this like a hawk. It goes from syrupy to jelled very quickly. I would check it between 15-20 minutes after you put it in the fridge)

1 C cooked cracked wheat for mock nuts
1 C whipped cream or Cool Whip Whipped Topping
1/2 C sugar
2 C mashed fresh strawberries
Refrigerate until firm or over night. Serve on a bed of lettuce with a dollop of whipped cream/topping sprinkled with cooked cracked wheat as your mock nuts.

#
Denise, on July 1st, 2008 at 9:05 am Said:

I have never heard of using a coffee grinder to crack wheat. Does it have to be a special model? Can you use to grind wheat to make flour? Sorry for so many questions. I have just stumbled on your sight and I am really enjoying. We are working hard to get our food storage, but I made a goal to learn how to use it so that it wouldn’t go to waste.
#
Crystal, on July 3rd, 2008 at 12:16 pm Said:

Denise,

Any coffee grinder will crack your wheat very nicely. They do not grind your wheat. You will need to get a wheat grinder to make flour out of. Try the blender wheat pancakes until you can get a grinder. They’re delicious!

#
Mrs. Jones, on June 29th, 2008 at 9:35 pm Said:

This is probably a dumb question, but do you dry out the cracked wheat before you use it as a topping so it’s crunchy?
#
Crystal, on June 30th, 2008 at 2:32 pm Said:

Mrs. J.,
Not a dumb question, I should have clarified…so thanks for asking! Definitely DO NOT dry out the cracked wheat. It will be like eating rocks.

http://everydayfoodstorage.net/2008/06/10/blender-no-bake-cheesecake/food-storage-recipes

Blender No-Bake Cheesecake- Powdered Milk Food Storage Recipes
Posted on June 10th, 2008 by Crystal-Everyday Food Storage

When I got an email from Tammy R. in Huntington Beach describing her cheesecake that she made all in her blender using sweetened condensed milk (if you haven’t watched my tutorial video on how to make your own sweetened condensed milk from food storage, click HERE
), I knew I had to try it! It was fabulous, and trust me I’m a cheesecake snob! Not to mention you can make the ENTIRE thing in your blender. There is no mess, no fuss, and just one thing to clean! Just how we like it.

Tammy also said, “One of the best things about using the powdered milk sweetened condensed milk for this recipe is….you get a little more volume in the cheesecake then with the canned versions….and the best part is….it really sets up firm! When you used the canned stuff, most of the time it is a little (or a lot) runny, and never seems to set up completely, or stay that way. But not with this stuff. It was the best! Once it was “set” it could be out at room temperature for a potluck or whatever, and you never had to worry about it turning into a soupy runny mess.”
So try it. You’ll love it!

Easy No Bake Cheesecake
1 recipe (or 1 can) sweetened condensed milk
1 8 oz philadelphia cream cheese or equivalent
1/3 cup lemon juice (fresh or reconstituted)
1 tsp vanilla1 premade
9 inch graham cracker pie crust (or the equivalent made from scratch)
1 can pie filling (whatever flavor you like–cherry seemed to be the most popular)
Blend the ingredients for the sweetened condensed milk in the blender. Turn blender to low and add the vanilla, lemon juice and cream cheese. Gradually increase the blender speed, until smooth and creamy. (you may have to stop the blender once or twice to scrape down the sides). Pour into prepared crust. You will see it start to thicken, even as you spread it into the pie crust! Chill 2 hours. (If you are in a hurry, you can put it in the freezer for half the time, without changing the properties of the cheesecake at all). Top with premade pie filling and serve. Yum!

Cook’s note: Recipe does not set up as well if you use the lower fat versions of cream cheese. Also, if you are making the homemade pie filling, the filling must be cooled to room temperature before you put it on the cheesecake. It then needs to chill an additional 2 hours to set up the pie filling completely.

Bargain Tip: Buy a lot of cream cheese at Thanksgiving/Christmas time or at Easter time when it is a really good deal here (the expiration dates are long) and then use your supply from the fridge for many recipes until the next 6 months rolls around and then buy more.

BTW: the second picture of the cheesecake is for those of you like me that always threw away the lid to the graham cracker crust. I don’t know why, but it took me forever to figure out that you can invert it and use it to cover your crust.

http://everydayfoodstorage.net/2008/06/09/fun-easy-dessert-week-that-wont-heat-up-your-house-perfect-for-a-summer-bbq/food-storage-recipes

Fun & Easy Dessert Week That Won’t Heat up Your House-Perfect for a Summer BBQ
Posted on June 9th, 2008 by Crystal-Everyday Food Storage

I’ve gotten a large request for some tutorial videos and now that I got a larger memory card for my camera, I can do it! Before we go over some tasty desserts, make sure and watch this short video so you can see for yourself how EASY and SIMPLE it is to make your own Sweetened Condensed milk out of your powdered milk. We’ll be using it a lot this week!

Chocolate Ice Cream Cups- makes 1 1/2 dozen cups.

These are so easy (much easier than you would think) and really dress up your ice cream. The other great thing is that you can make a bunch and then freeze them a.k.a great for an everyday emergency and a great dessert!!

2 C. semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used white chocolate chips, but the semi-sweet are easier to use)
1 14 oz. can of sweetened condensed milk (1 C. dry powdered milk, 1 C. sugar, 1/2 C. hot water, 1 T. Butter-blend in blender very well)
1 C. finely ground pecans (I used Oreos but again the nuts are easier)

1. In heavy sacuepan over low heat, melt chips with sweetened condensed milk; remove from heat. Stir in pecans. I n individual paper-lined muffin cups, spread about 2 T. chocolate mixture. With lightly greased spoon, spread chocolate on bottom and up side of each cup.

2. Freeze 2 hours or until firm. Before sering remove paper liners. Fill chocolate cups with ice cream. Store un filled cups tightly covered in freezer.

Note: It is easier to remove the paper liners if the chocolate cups site at room temperature for about 5 minutes first.

Coming up Next…

Okay, so my sweet tooth has gotten the best of me and I’ll be highlighting quick easy desserts to make for your family that don’t involve heating up your house with an oven and are perfect to serve at a BBQ. Because I’m going to have tons of desserts around this week, I’ve also dubbed this salad week at my house and will be highlighting tastie salads to make (even some that involve whole wheat berries! Thanks Charlene!) next week. On Fridays I’ll put on an entire meal you can do that will WOW! your family along with a inexpensive fun family activity to do together on the weekend.

As a side note…If you have kids and need ideas to do with them everyday check out http://www.365daysforactivities.blogspot.com/. It was started by a busy mom of 3 with some great ideas to do everyday! (And we like the everyday things :)

http://everydayfoodstorage.net/2009/03/15/st-patricks-day-fhe-jell-o-cookies-food-storage-recipes/food-storage-recipes

St. Patricks Day FHE, Jell-O Cookies: Food Storage Recipes
Posted on March 15th, 2009 by Crystal-Everyday Food Storage

Okay, before I go on vacation for a week (sorry, no new posts until Monday, March 23…and I’ve promised my family a vacation with out computers :). I thought I’d share with you a really fun idea for a St. Patricks Day Family Home Evening. Tradition says that St. Patrick used the shamrock to teach people about the trinity. Likewise we can teach our family that Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are separate but one in purpose. However, most of us don’t have shamrocks growing in our back yard (and if you do…you’re really lucky because that means you live in a WARM area!). That is why I’m sharing this new recipe with you for Jell-O Cookies that you can shape shamrocks out of by forming 3 balls (while teaching that the God Head is three separate beings) and flattening them with a glass (while teaching they are one in purpose). These cookies are also great for other holidays if you use different flavors of Jell-O to make different colors.

Fruit Jell-O Cookies
1/2 Cup sugar
3/4 Cup shortening (butter works well too)
1 3oz. pkg flavored Jell-O (lime or other green colored Jell-O)
2 eggs (2 T. Dry Powdered Eggs + 1/4 C. Water
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 Cups flour (I used half white wheat, half all-purpose)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2-3 drops green food coloring

Mix first five ingredients. In separate bowl, combine dry ingredients and blend into first mixture. Roll into nickel sized balls, place three together and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten balls with flat cookie stamp or glass bottom. Bake 6 to 8 minutes at 400 degrees.

Roll cookie dough into nickel sized balls and place three together in pyramid form.

Take cookies and flatten with bottom of glass.

Flattened cookies on cookie sheet.

http://everydayfoodstorage.net/2009/01/06/delicious-low-fat-chocolate-bundt-cake/food-storage-recipes

Delicious Low-Fat Chocolate Bundt Cake: Bean Food Storage Recipes
Posted on January 6th, 2009 by Crystal-Everyday Food Storage

Who knew chocolate cake could be so delicious, low-fat, and full of fiber and protein! The great thing about substituting bean puree for oil in cake mixes is that there is NO texture difference like with the brownies (since brownies are supposed to be chewy and cake is supposed to be…well…cake like). The other bonus to using beans is that the cake doesn’t go stale as quickly because there is no oil (and oil is what makes it stale). So, with cake make sure you substitute ALL the oil with bean puree…there is NO adverse effect on taste or texture plus you get all the benefits of fiber and protein to your diet, meaning you won’t eat as big of a piece! You can use this idea with any boxed cake just make sure you match the color of beans with the color of cake i.e. White Beans-Vanilla or Yellow Cake, Pinto Beans-Spice Cake, Black Beans-Chocolate or Devil’s Food Cake. So now you can make a cake from all food storage ingredients…powdered eggs for eggs and bean puree for oil. YEAH FOR FOOD STORAGE!!

Extra Tip: Make your cake a Bundt cake because you don’t generally frost those cakes…cutting out those frosting calories. You can simply dust the cake with powdered sugar or use a simple glaze. It still looks elegant…remember gourmet places always use powdered sugar as a topping.

Bean Puree

This is really easy to make.

Home Cooked Beans: Take cooked beans (reserve the cooking water) and blend in your blender with enough water to create a thick paste. (Basically enough water to make all the beans turn into a puree. If you need to see how to cook beans, read below.

Canned Beans: Dump entire contents of can (beans and water) into a blender and blend until it is a thick paste.

Click HERE to learn how to cook your dry beans.

http://everydayfoodstorage.net/2008/01/06/cooking-your-beans/food-storage-recipes

Tips for Cooking Your Beans to use in Food Storage Recipes
Posted on January 6th, 2008 by Crystal-Everyday Food Storage

Cooking your DRY Beans: Dry beans need to be soaked before they can be cooked.

Quick Soaking - For each pound of beans, add 10 cups hot water; heat to boiling and let boil 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat, cover and set aside for at least 1 hour.

Overnight Soak - For each pound (2 cups) dry-packaged beans, add 10 cups cold water, then let soak overnight, or at least 8 hours.

Cooking Beans

Once your beans have soaked and tripled in size, it’s time to cook them. The most important step in this process is to drain off the soaking water and rinse the beans before cooking to help decrease the gas side effect. Depending on the bean variety, it will take 30 minutes to 2 hours to cook. Make sure and check the package for more specific directions. You’ll know the beans are done when they are tender, but not overcooked. If your beans have been sitting in your food storage for a long time you will need to cook them for a longer period of time. Cool the beans in their cooking liquid if you are not adding them to another liquid, like a soup, when they are done cooking.

Storing Freshly Cooked Beans

Because cooking beans can be a process, you may want to cook more than you need and store them for next time to save you time (and you’re only making one mess!). Store cooked beans tightly covered in the fridge up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 6 months.

Filed under: Beans that Magical Fruit, Cooking Tips

#
Eat It: Low-Fat Chocolate Cake | Fun With Food Storage, on January 7th, 2009 at 9:48 am Said:

[...] To read the full post, visit http://www.everydayfoodstorage.NET [...]
#
Katrina, on January 7th, 2009 at 10:07 am Said:

Crystal!!! Made the boxed brownies with almost all bean puree and about 2 T. oil Monday. SO GOOD! My biggest hope was that my 5 year old would love them to get more fiber and protein in him and he did!
I’m not real big on using boxed mixes (but I do!), mostly because they still have hydrogenated oils and high fructose in them, but yesterday I used bean puree in brownies from scratch!!! I’ll be posting the recipe on my blog later today, and still want to tweak it a bit, but it worked and they are good. Just a little bit more cakey I guess, but still fudgy and a great treat–using even more food storage by making them from scratch!
Thank you for the awesome idea.
With the boxed brownies, I used powdered egg white and for the scratch ones I used Egg Beaters with a touch of yolk, but am going to also try the scratch ones with dry eggs.

#
Marselyn, on January 7th, 2009 at 4:13 pm Said:

So, do you substitute the puree cup for cup? If the recipe calls for 1/3 cup oil, you would use 1/3 cup bean puree?

~~~~~~~

#
admin, on January 12th, 2009 at 1:42 pm Said:

Marselyn,

Yes, you substitute bean puree cup for cup with oil. Isn’t that so great…it’s SO easy!

Crystal