Storable Dinner - Scalloped Potatoes

This recipe relies on my white sauce mix that speeds up the preparation of many meals.  They are my Sarah's favorite potatoes! Fresh potatoes can store for many months so can easily be part of your 3 month menu plan. Just put them in a box out in your garage during the cold winter months. Keep them away from light as much as possible and if you can store the box up off the cement floor, your potatoes will last longer. Whisk sauce ingredients together in a pan. Stir and heat until thick. Layer sliced potatoes, dried, minced onions and chopped ham (optional) in 9x13 pan. Pour sauce over the top. Make sure potatoes are evenly coated. Cover with foil. Bake at 325° for about 2 hours or until potatoes are tender. Remove foil and serve. We cooked up some frozen veggies to serve on the side. Scalloped Potatoes
Creamy and delicious—great as a side dish or add some chopped ham to make it a meal.
7–8 large potatoes, peeled and sliced	3 Tbsp mayonnaise
½ cup dried, minced onion	1 tsp salt
¾ cup white sauce mix	¼ tsp pepper
3 cups hot water	Paprika, optional
1 Tbsp chicken bouillon	Cooked ham, optional
Layer potatoes and onions in a greased 9x13-inch pan. You can use dehydrated potato slices that you have soaked in boiling water for 15–20 minutes. You can also add precooked ham pieces if you'd like. Whisk white sauce mix, water, bouillon, and mayonnaise together in a saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened. Stir in salt and pepper. Pour sauce over potatoes. Sprinkle with paprika if desired. Cover and bake at 325° F for 2 hours or until potatoes are tender. I also cook this in the microwave. It always cooks faster on the edges so you have to stir it a few times when you use the microwave. You can also do it in the crockpot. Cook on high for 3–4 hours or on low for 6–8 hours. Recipe source: All Things Provident by Tamara Price

PASTA

This newsletter was prepared by Deliece Fasteband of the Hickories Ward.

Buy it:  Pasta is very inexpensive to buy and when dry packed it can be stored for up to 30 years.   It is one of the easiest items to add to your food storage. Making your own pasta is lots of fun and tastes delicious, but it is far more difficult to store all the ingredients to do so.

Store it: Pasta can be stored in almost any airtight container.  My pasta was purchased on sale and is still in original packaging.  It is part of my 3 months to a year supply. It will store this way for 2-3 years. You may want to place the packages of pasta into another airtight container such as a bucket or Rubbermaid bin to keep rodents out.

Use it: Pasta is very versatile and can be used as part of many main dishes, as well as great side dishes.

Preparing and Storing Pasta

Getting Started
Use a large pot.   For each pound of pasta, you will need at least four quarts of water.  A bit of  salt can be added after the water comes to a boil.

Preventing Sticking
Plenty of water and frequent stirring will keep pasta from sticking. Do not add oil to the water – this prevents sauces from clinging to the pasta.  Always cook pasta uncovered.

When is it done?
Pasta should be al dente (firm to the bite). If undercooked, it will have a chalky core and floury taste. If overcooked, it will be limp and soggy. When cooking pasta for baking later, it is especially important that it is al dente as it will continue to cook in the oven. Start tasting the pasta two to three minutes before the end of the cooking time given on the package.

Draining
Before draining the pasta, reserve one to two cups of the cooking water; it contains starch from the pasta that can add body to sauces.  After draining, shake the colander a few times.  It is not necessary to rinse pasta unless you want it to cool.

Cooling and Drying

Drain and toss pasta with a little olive oil. To cool pasta for salad or manicotti, run under cold water while draining.  To dry pasta,  arrange it on a sheet pan and pat with a paper towel.

Storing Cooked Pasta
Refrigerate cooked pasta in an airtight container for 3 to 5 days. You may add a little oil (1-2 teaspoons) for each pound of cooked pasta to help keep it from sticking.  Cooked pasta will continue to absorb flavors and oils from sauces so it is best to store cooked pasta separately from sauce.

To save time, you can cook extra pasta and freeze for up to 8 weeks. To reheat, drop frozen pasta into boiling water for 2-3 minutes. Drain and serve.

Freezing Pasta Dishes
The best pasta shapes for freezing are those that are used in baked recipes, such as lasagna, jumbo shells, ziti and manicotti.  You’ll have better results if you prepare the recipe and freeze it before the final baking.  To bake, thaw the dish  at room temperature and bake as the recipe directs.

If you don’t want to tie up your baking pans in the freezer, line them with plastic wrap before filing.  Once food has frozen, lift out, remove plastic wrap, and transfer to  freezer bags (label & date)and  place in freezer. When ready to bake, remove from plastic bag and place in pan to reheat.

Classic Italian Pasta Salad  from AllRecipes.com

8 oz spiral pasta, cooked and drained
2 ½ cups assorted cut-up fresh vegetables (broccoli, carrots, tomatoes, bell peppers,

cauliflower, onions, mushrooms, etc)
½ cup cubed mozzarella or cheddar cheese
1/3 cups sliced pitted ripe olives
1 cup Italian dressing
Pepperoni or chicken (optional)

Combine all ingredients except dressing in a large bowl. Add dressing; toss well. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Pantry Posse Stew by Becky G.

1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 tsp dehydrated onion flakes
1/2 tsp oregano
1 TBSP parsley flakes
1 can bean with bacon soup
1 can vegetable soup
1 can vegetable beef soup
1 can ranch style beans
1 can corn
1 cup uncooked elbow macaroni
1 soup can of water

Combine all ingredients and simmer until the macaroni is tender & the soup is very hot. If the soup is too thick, add a little water. Serve with scones or corn bread. This makes a hearty soup.

Alfredo Sauce

4 cups fettuccine, cooked

1   1/3 cups hot water

½  cup instant powdered milk to mix with the hot water

1 small clove of garlic

1 Tbsp flour

2  Tbsp fat free or regular cream cheese

½ cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

1  ½ Tbsp of butter or  Molly McButter flavoring

Place water, dry milk, garlic, flour, cream cheese, Parmesan cheese and butter in sauce pan and blend  well.  Heat on stove stirring constantly until just before boiling point.  Pour over cooked and drained noodles and toss until coated.   Cooked chicken can be added.

Tomato Soup with Pasta and Basil

1 quart canned tomatoes

2 Tbsp olive oil

1/3 cup dried, minced onion

1/2 - 1 tsp dried, minced garlic

1-2 Tbsp dehydrated green peppers

4 cups chicken broth

1/4 cup tomato paste

1/4 cup fresh basil leaves or 1-2 Tbsp dried basil

1 cup shell pasta

Combine all ingredients except the pasta in a blender and allow to sit until dehydrated items are soft. Once they are soft, blend until smooth. Heat in a pan over medium heat. In a separate pan, cook pasta until done. Drain and add to tomato soup just before serving.

Homemade Hamburger Buns

Making Hamburger Buns is quick and easy once you have figured out making bread dough. You'll find one of our favorite recipes here. Really, any basic bread dough will work, you can even use frozen dough if that is how you do things in your kitchen.

When I make bread, I always fill my big mixer so it gives me enough for 3 loaves. This picture shows me dividing the dough into 3 equal portions.

Flatten one portion out to be the height of a wide mouth canning ring.

Use the canning ring as a cookie cutter to cut out the hamburger buns.

Place buns on a greased baking sheet. I always shape the remaining dough into a bun the best I can. You'll notice the "odd" looking one squished in the middle there. Allow enough room between buns for them to rise without touching.

Spray the tops of the buns with Pam and sprinkle with sesame seeds if you want to. I don't usually bother with this step, but I wanted you to see the true result. Let the buns rise until about double in size.

Bake at 350° F for 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned. You can see the "odd" bun quite well here. Oh well, my husband isn't picky. He'll love the little bit bigger bun. Cool on a wire rack. Slice and use for hamburgers, sloppy joes, pulled pork, chicken salad, etc. These freeze very well so don't hesitate to make a large batch one day and be set for quite a few meals. If you  freeze sloppy joe filling or pulled pork, you'll have an entire meal ready to go in 10 minutes or less for a busy night.

Storable Dessert - Chocolate Cream Pie

Pie crusts freeze so well.  I always keep some on hand for a quick dessert or a pot pie for dinner.

When baking an empty crust, place a piece of foil on the crust and fill it with a handful of dry beans.  I used black beans.  They hold the crust down so it isn't full of air bubbles when you take it out of the oven.  Bake at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool.

Mix a small box of chocolate pudding or any other flavor you would like with 1 1/2 cups of reconstituted powdered milk.  Chill until set.  Fold in 8 oz of frozen whipped topping, thawed. Fill pie crust with pudding mixture. We like to add bananas to our chocolate pie and coconut to vanilla pudding for a coconut cream flavor. Top with additional whipped topping before serving.

The last time I made pie crusts, I did 5X the batch so I ended up with 10 pie crusts. We used some at Thanksgiving and then I have had them ready to go since then.

Pie Crust
This crust recipe freezes very well. Double or triple the batch and freeze in individual crust sizes. It will keep for 6 months or more in the freezer.
2 cups all-purpose flour	1 cup shortening
½ tsp salt	Ice water
Cut the shortening into the flour and salt mixture with a fork until the pieces of shortening are between the size of quarters and nickels (no smaller.) Add ice water a tablespoon at a time. Toss the moistened area with a fork until it begins to pull together into a ball. Set it aside and add more ice water to the dry parts, tossing as you go. When all the dough is moistened, but not sticky, separate it into two parts. Shape into disks about 4 inches across and wrap in plastic wrap. (You can freeze the dough at this point to use later. Thaw and roll out when it is still cold.) Refrigerate the dough for at least 10 minutes, but 2–3 hours is best. (The trick to a crispy crust is larger pieces of fat that are cold so they can create pockets of steam in the crust when it bakes.) Roll out between two pieces of plastic wrap to fit the pan. If baking empty, place a piece of foil over the crust and fill with a hand full of dry beans. This will keep bubbles from forming in the crust. Bake at 400° F for 8–10 minutes until lightly browned. If filling crust, use a precooked filling that is already thickened to speed up the baking process. Top with crust, cut a few vent holes, and bake at 400° F for 30–35 minutes or until golden brown. Check after 25 minutes and cover edges with foil if crust is browning too quickly.

Storable Lunch or Dinner - Meat Pasties

Meat pasties are basically single serving size meat pies. History tells us that miners used to take them in their lunches in place of a sandwich. It is one way to trade up the way you serve beef or chicken stew. I've done them with canned meats and dehydrated vegetables and they turn out deliciously! I also use items from my freezer sometimes. This time, I mixed frozen peas and carrots with hashbrown potatoes. I stirred in some precooked hamburger and then made a thick gravy using reconstituted powdered milk, flour, beef bouillon, onion, and garlic. I mixed all of this together for the filling.

Roll out pie crust (I always keep some in my freezer ready to go.) and place filling on top.

Fold over and crimp the edges well. Cut a few slits for ventilation. (These pasties can be frozen at this point for up to 3 months.)

Bake at 400 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until the crust is lightly browned.

Enjoy with your favorite side dish - we opened some bottled fruit to make it an easy night.

Cinnamon Applesauce Ornaments

Everyone has their own loves during the holiday season. We're all about the Homemade Country Christmas at our house. We love popcorn garlands, gingerbread cookies, homemade candies, and singing carols together. The kids love to get in on some of the homemade fun. This is a very easy and low-cost activity. The ornaments turn out darling and they look great hung on the tree or tied to a jar or gift bag of goodies to give away.

This project only takes two ingredients - Applesauce and cinnamon. (I buy cinnamon in bulk at our local grocery store and keep it in pint jars.)

Start with 3/4 cup of applesauce or so. It's all a bit of a guess with this recipe. Mix in enough cinnamon to make a stiff cookie dough consistency. (Be careful when young children are helping you. Too much cinnamon can be harsh on young skin. I try to do most of the mixing with a spoon to avoid any issues.)

Here is our dough.

Roll out between two sheets of plastic wrap to about 1/4 inch thickness.

Remove the top piece of plastic and cut into desired shapes.

Place on a waxed paper lined baking sheet.

Use a drinking straw to cut a small hole in the top of each shape. Bake at 200 degrees for about an hour. After an hour or so, I just turn the oven off and leave the tray inside. The remaining heat helps dry out the ornaments completely. I'm sure you could make them in a dehydrator also. You just want to have them dry all the way through.

When done, you can paint with glitter glue to give them a shiny, glittery appearance. They also look fun with a small gingham ribbon glued on them. String a piece of yarn or thread through the hole to hang them on your tree or decorate up a package.

Food Storage and Provident Living Gift Ideas

Giving Food Storage gifts can be an inexpensive and fun way to show you care and help someone else be more prepared.  Since many gifts of this type are homemade it is often one of the best gifts we can give.  Below are a handful of fun gifts ideas for the holidays.  Enjoy!

Storable Baking Mixes Recipes

Storable baking mixes are a fun inexpensive gift that everyone loves.  You can package them up in jars with ribbons or ziplock bags inside fabric or paper gift bags.  Below are some recipes that you may enjoy or you might consider creating mixes from your own favorite recipes. 

Useful conversions:

1 cup fresh milk = 3 TBSP Non-instant powdered milk + 1 cup water

1 egg=2 TBSP dried egg powder + ¼ cup water

Add dry ingredients to your baking mix and wet ingredients to your baking directions

Delightful Apple Spice Muffins by Lisa T. (Allrecipes)

Dry Ingredients:

1 cup white sugar

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp ground allspice

4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

Directions:  Mix dry ingredients together in a ziplock bag. Include baking directions on the bag or on a cute festive notecard.

Baking Directions:

Mix 1/6 cup margarine, 4 eggs, and 2 cups applesauce with muffin mix, place in muffin tins and bake in preheated 350 degree F oven for 17-20 minutes.  Makes approximately 24-28 muffins.

Pumpkin Muffin Mix (All Things Provident by Tamara Price)

Dry Ingredients: 

1 ½ cup all-purpose flour

¼ cup sugar

2 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

½ tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp nutmeg

1 ½ TBSP dry milk powder

Directions:  Mix dry ingredients together in a ziplock bag. Include baking directions on the bag or on a cute festive notecard.

Baking Directions:

Add ½ cup water, ½ cup pumpkin puree, 2 TBS oil, and 1 egg to muffin mix.  [Pumpkin puree can be replaced by applesauce, mashed sweet potatoes, or butternut squash.]  Place in muffin tins and bake in preheated 375 degree F oven for 15-20 minutes. 

Whole Wheat Blueberry Pancakes by Brosette Lewis (Allrecipes)

Dry Ingredients: 

1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour

2 tsp baking powder

3 TBSP non-instant powdered milk

1/2 tsp salt

2 TBSP Sugar

Frozen Ingredient:

1 cup frozen blueberries

Directions:  Mix dry ingredients together in a ziplock bag.  Package the frozen blueberries in a separate bag or container.  (Be sure to leave frozen blueberries in clear packaging so they can be frozen immediately.)  Include baking directions on the bag or on a cute festive notecard.

Baking Directions:

Add 1 cup water, 1 egg, and 1 TBSP oil to pancake mix.  Gently mix in blueberries last.  (Blueberries do not need to be defrosted prior to cooking.)  Cook pancakes on hot griddle.  Enjoy!

White Sauce Mix (All Things Provident by Tamara Price)

Dry Ingredients:

3 cups non-instant dry milk powder

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp salt

Directions:  Mix together all three ingredients into a ziplock bag.  Include baking directions on the bag or on a cute festive notecard.

Baking Directions:

Whisk 5 Tbsp white sauce mix with 1 cup hot tap water in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until thick. Use in any recipe calling for 1 cup white sauce. Many recipes ask for 1 cup of milk, some flour and a little butter. You can use this white sauce in any of those recipes. It is a completely fat free alternative and tastes great!  It will store for up to 5 years on the pantry shelf!

Cinnamon Apple Pie Topping Mix by Kate Patten

Dry Ingredients: 

1 cup lightly spooned flour

½ cup packed brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

Directions:  Mix dry ingredients together in a ziplock bag.  Include baking directions on the bag or on a cute festive notecard.

Baking Directions:

In small bowl cut ½ cup softened (not melted) butter (1 stick) into this mix until crumbly and use as the top crust for your apple or other flavored pie.  Sprinkle with white sugar for looks if desired. (Covers one 8” pie top.)

Christmas Ornaments Made from Food Storage

Cinnamon Ornaments (All Things Provident by Tamara Price)

Ingredients:  Cinnamon and Applesauce

Directions:  Combine equal parts cinnamon and applesauce.  Work with your hands until you have a dough ball that is not too sticky.  You may have to add extra cinnamon depending on how thick your applesauce is.  Roll out the dough and then cut with cookie cutters. Use a straw to make a hole at the top so you can thread ribbon through later or poke a thin piece of wire through the top of each ornament that you can use to hang it once it is dry.  Allow to air dry for a few days, turning as needed, to allow it to dry on all sides.  To speed up the drying process, you can place items on a baking sheet and bake at 200 degrees F until dry.  Again, flip items over, if needed to dry completely. Once the ornaments are dry, they can be painted with acrylic paints.  It is also fun to paint them with glitter glue.  Heating from the Christmas tree lights really helps the cinnamon smell comes out.

Dough Ornaments by ehow.com/ essortment.com

Ingredients:  1 cup salt, 4 cups all-purpose flour, and 1 ½ cup warm water

Directions:    Preheat oven to 200 degrees.  Mix salt and flour together. Add water slowly and kneed until dough is stiff. Roll dough out to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut desired shapes from dough using cookie cutters or similar objects. Make a hole in the top of each ornament using a pencil, straw, toothpick or similar object. Bake ornaments for 1 hour in 200 degree oven.

Allow to cool.  Then decorate with watercolors, acrylic, tempera or other type of paint or use colored markers.  Coat ornaments when dry with a clear protective coating if desired.  Put ornament hanger or ribbon through hole and hang.

Other Food Storage Gift Ideas

Homemade Jam

Homemade Wheat Bread

Bottled Fruit

Bottled Pie Filling, with pie instructions (really make it a hit and add the cinnamon apple pie topping mix)

Dehydrated fruits (peaches, pears and apples) or vegetables

Sprouting trays with seeds and instructions

Bulk spices and bullion in decorated pint jars

Recipes for food storage items and binders

Long-Term Food Storage Items (such as cans of wheat, beans, etc.)

Other Provident Living Gift Ideas

First aid kits

Emergency candles

72 hour kits

Hand wheat-grinder

Back packs

Alternative cooking stoves

Solar ovens and buddy burners

Propane Stove and Gas

Water filtration bottles and pumps

Water storage containers

Labeler machine