Recipe Chic: Cooking with Your Food Storage

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Using your Food Storage
By Kathleen Gordon-Ross, associate editor

"Store what you use, Use what you store." This is the best advice I've heard when it comes to a practical approach to food storage. Without this practical rule of thumb it's easy to waste time, money and food on things your family will not consume.

I love my friend Sondra's approach to food storage. To make the concept more manageable, she broke the year into weeks, and got enough ingredients to make her families seven favorite meals 52 times. With the same seven core meals duplicated 52 times, she instantly has a year supply of dinners her family loves. Each time she makes that favorite meal for her family, she purchases the ingredients needed and trades them out with those in her food storage. This way her food storage always stay's current and ready to use.

Food Storage is an essential element in being prepared and self-reliant. Whether you've had your food storage collected for 50 years or you're just getting started with 50 lbs of flour, the recipes and resources collected below will prove invaluable. For those with a storage of food, they will encourage you to use and rotate your storage. For those getting started or adding to their storage, I hope this helps you to do so efficiently and effectively.

EGG SUBSTITUTE

Using Flax Seed:
This recipe is every bit as good as real eggs for use in your favorite baked goods. For each egg needed, place in blender:

1 Heaping Tablespoon of whole organic Flax seed, blend until it becomes a fine meal. Add 1/4 cup cold water blend 2-3 minutes until thickened and has the consistency of eggs.

Each 1/4 cup of Flax seed mixture will replace one egg in baking

Using gelatin:
Before starting recipe for cookies, cake etc...
Combine 1 tsp unflavored gelatin with 3 Tbsp cold water and 2 Tbsp plus 1 tsp boiling water. This mixture will substitute for 1 egg in a recipe.

Recipe from waltonfeed.com.

INSTANT OATMEAL

To make individual instant packets, combine the following ingredients in small ziplock bags.

1/2 cup oats, blended until powdery
1/4 cup unpowdered oats
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar (optional)
optional: Add any dried fruit that is broken into small pieces like dried apple pieces, raisins, dried apricots and/or cinnamon.

Seal baggie and store in a dry place.

Microwave directions for cooking:
Empty packet into microwavable bowl. Add 2/3 cup water or milk. Microwave on high about 1 1/2 minutes, stir.

Conventional directions for cooking:
Empty packet into pan. Add 1/2 cup boiling water; cook and stir over heat until thickened.

Recipe from www.thefamily.com.

CREAM OF CHICKEN SOUP

Here's a way to make cream of chicken soup from beans. The kids love the stuff.

1 Cup Navy Bean Flour (Lima beans or Garbanzo beans will also work.)
4 Cups Water or Milk
1 Tablespoon Chicken Bouillon
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup dehydrated onions or 1 small onion optional

Grind the dry beans in a wheat grinder. Usually, 3/4 cup of beans will make 1 cup of flour. Add the other dry ingredients to the bean flour. Stir 1/2 cup of water or milk into the bean flour until it is mixed then add the rest of the water or milk and heat it in a medium sized sauce pan, constantly stirring. As it reaches the boiling point it will thicken. Boil it for about a minute. If it gets too thick add a bit more water/milk until your soup thins down to what cream of chicken soup should be. If it lacks flavor, add a bit more chicken bouillon. Garnish with dry parsley flakes.

Serves 4.

Recipe from waltonfeed.com.

TUNA CASSEROLE

8 ounces cooked noodles
1 can tuna
1 can cream of mushroom soup
2/3 cup powdered milk (see directions on package for mixing)
1 cup Ritz crackers, crushed into crumbs
1 cup canned peas, drained

Mix tuna, peas and noodles together and layer in greased casserole dish. Combine cream of mushroom soup and milk and pour over tuna and noodles mixture. Top with crushed cracker crumbs. Bake at 350°F for about 30 minutes.

Makes 4 servings.

CHICKEN PASTA

1 (12.5 oz.) can chicken, drained
1/4 cup all purpose flour
Salt and pepper, to taste
3 Tbsp. olive oil
6 Tbsp. chicken broth
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 Tbsp. capers, drained
4 oz. spaghetti, cooked

Break chicken into bite-size pieces but do not flake it. Mix flour, salt and pepper. Coat chicken with seasoned flour. Heat oil in a heavy skillet on medium-high. Brown coated chicken until golden. Remove from pan and keep warm. Add chicken broth, lemon juice and capers. Boil rapidly to reduce to about 1/4 cup. Remove from heat. Add chicken and stir to coat chicken with the sauce. Serve over cooked spaghetti.

Serves 2.

Recipe from www.simplyprepared.com.

Simplyprepared.com also offers a cookbook called "Pantry Cooking" it is authored by a member of the Church. For additional information about the cookbook, it's author, and to order your own copy, visit: www.simplyprepared.com/page4.html

CHOCOLATE SNACK CAKE

1 2/3 cups all purpose flour
1 cup packed brown sugar
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup water
1/3 cup oil
1 teaspoon vinegar
½ teaspoon vanilla

Mix dry ingredients. Stir in liquid ingredients completely. Pour into an ungreased 8-inch square pan. Bake at 350°F for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool. Dust with powdered sugar just before serving.

Applesauce Cake: Omit cocoa and vanilla. Stir 1 ½ teaspoons ground allspice into the flour mixture. Reduce water to ½ cup and stir in ½ cup applesauce.

Chocolate Chip: Omit cocoa and vanilla. Stir in 1/3 cup chopped nuts into flour mixture. Sprinkle 1/3 cup mini chocolate chips over the batter in pan.

Double Chocolate: Sprinkle ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips over the batter in pan.

Maple Nut: Omit cocoa and vanilla. Stir ½ cup chopped pecans into the flour mixture and ½ teaspoon maple extract in with the water.

Recipe submitted by Christine, Lawrence 1st Ward, Topeka, KS Stake.

More Food Storage Recipes

http://www.thefamily.com/recipes/foodstorageind.htm

http://www.simplyprepared.com/page7.html

http://waltonfeed.com/grain/y-rec/

http://www.nursehealer.com/Recipes.htm

http://www.foodstorage.net/recipes.htm

RECIPES USING TVP
www.cookingvegetarian.com
www.vegsoc.org
www.vegweb.com
www.greeting4u.com
www.nursehealer.com

I know a number of families who use TVP in their daily cooking as well as in their food storage. If you're looking for some additional recipes, here are a couple of good places to go.

Looking for information about TVP, its benefits, and tips for using it in cooking, visit these web sites:
waltonfeed.com
www.beprepared.com

PANTRY COOKING
PANTRY COOKING contains more than 350 recipes using only storable foods. No fresh or frozen ingredients are required so you can pull together a delicious meal from what is on hand. Recipes have been developed and tested over a 17-year period on groups large and small with great success.

PANTRY COOKING also offers an extensive chart of substitutions for the times you run short. And for those interested in long term storage, there are shelf life charts and a plan for determining needs based on a rotating menu plan.

For additional information about the cookbook and to order your own copy, visit: www.simplyprepared.com

MONTHLY
FOOD STORAGE NEWSLETTER
www.nursehealer.com/NL.htm

A FREE Monthly E-mail Food Storage Newsletter is available by joining the FREE Food Storage Newsletter Announce-Only Email List (this website has a number of other e-mail lists, too). This newsletter will provide food storage guidelines, acquisition plans, shelf life information, cooking and food preparation ideas, and buying and storage tips. These ideas are gathered from numerous resources. It is written so that anyone interested in food storage for any reason may find useful information in it. An archive of past newsletters is available on their website.

BUILDING A YEAR SUPPLY - A MONTLHY FOOD STORAGE CALENDAR
www.thefamily.com

If getting a years supply of food stocked up seems overwhelming, this calendar breaks up your year supply into weekly shopping items. Having this kind of "shopping list" all ready created helps you see that it is possible to have a year supply stored up in a short amount of time.

WATER STORAGE
www.foodstorage.net/guides3.htm

Storage of Emergency Water - Various sources recommend home storage of a two week supply of water. The amount often recommended is seven gallons per person for drinking and food preparation, and another seven gallons per person for other limited uses such as hand washing, teeth brushing and dish washing (total fourteen gallons per person for two weeks). Both glass and plastic containers are commonly used for water storage at home. Containers should be clean and sanitary. Glass containers are breakable and somewhat heavy compared to plastic, but they are not permeable to vapors and gases, the amount of leaching (dissolving) of chemicals from glass into water is insignificant. Plastic containers are lightweight and substantially more resistant to breakage than glass.

If plastic containers are used, care should be taken to assure that they are made of plastic approved for food contact by the Federal Food and Drug Administration. Polyethylene plastic is approved for food contact and is commonly used for containers of various sizes, including 55-gallon drums. Certain types of plastic containers are not intended for food contact (such as vinyl plastic waterbeds, or trash containers) and may leach undesirable chemicals into stored water. Leaching of chemicals from approved plastics is negligible.

For long-term storage, water should be sterilized or disinfected. Water stored in thoroughly cleaned plastic or glass containers can be chemically disinfected for long-term storage by treating each gallon with sixteen drops of liquid chlorine bleach (Clorox or Purex type bleaches, containing 4% to 6% sodium hypochlorite). One teaspoon of bleach disinfects five gallons of water. This level of treatment will prevent growth of microorganisms during storage.

Water stored in plastic containers should not be stored near gasoline, kerosene, pesticides or similar substances. Vapors from these substances could permeate the plastic and affect the water. Thick-walled polyethylene containers are significantly less permeable to vapors than are thin walled containers, Be certain, when selecting a storage container for water, that it has a tight fitting cap or lid to prevent entrance of contaminants and evaporation of water. Because sunlight has an adverse affect on plastic, water should be stored away from direct exposure to sunlight.

Sterilized or disinfected water, stored in clean, food-approved containers with secure lids or caps, should be safe for use even after many years of storage. Replacement of stored water with fresh water should be necessary only if the stored water becomes contaminated in some way or if the container should begin to leak. Be certain to label each container so there will be no question about its contents. Include the date and information on the method of disinfection used.