Home Made Spagetti Sauce

I am a little picky on my spaghetti sauce. It has been difficult for me to find a spaghetti sauce I like that is a reasonable price to purchase for food storage. I recently came across this recipe and have used it several times. I love it. It is simple, healthy, and home made with items that could be in your food storage.

The recipe has two parts to it. The first is a dry mix that you could have premeasured and in individual bags for added convenience.

Spaghetti Seasoning Mix:
1 T minced onion (I have used chopped and it worked fine.)
1 T parsley flakes
1 T cornstarch (I leave this out it keeps it a little more saucy and not as thick)
1 T salt
¼ t instant minced garlic
1 t sugar
1 T dried green pepper (I don’t have this in my food storage so haven’t made the recipe with it yet. I am sure it tastes great though)
¼ t basil
¼ t thyme
¼ t sage
¼ t marjoram
¼ t oregano

Spaghetti Sauce:
2 lb of ground beef
2 16 oz cans tomatoes
2 6 oz cans tomato paste
2 4 oz cans mushrooms (never put this in I don’t like mushrooms)
3 T of seasoning mix (I just put all the

Brown ground beef and add all ingredients. Simmer 30 minutes.

I have made it with a few variations. For example; I have not used meat yet. I have added 1 pint jar of pinto beans, which was pretty good. I don’t have thyme or marjoram in my spice cabinet yet so I haven’t made it using those two spices yet, however the flavor is great.

Also I use diced tomatoes and my cans are 14.5 oz. If you are worried about your family not enjoying the tomato bites, just throw the tomatoes in the blender or food processor first. If I make the recipe as is, our family of 3 only uses half. I put the leftovers in a freezer container and keep it for days that I don’t want to be cooking. You could probably make a double batch to get the same effect.

Bottom line, TRY IT. It is a fast recipe, if it wasn’t it would not be in my collection of favorites.

Happy cooking!

White Sauce Recipe

I have found that one of the hardest items to rotate for people is powdered milk.

Here is a recipe that I use a lot that can help with rotation. This is a base for soooo many sauces. I have used it twice this week already. We have had it on the board many months back, but wanted to put it on the blog for easy access.

White Sauce:
1 cup Water
3 Tb Powdered milk
1 Tb Flour (2 Tb for a medium sauce, and 4Tb for a Thick Sauce)
1/4 tsp Salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1 Tb Butter
Place water and butter in pan, and bring to a boil. Mix powdered milk, flour, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Once water is boiling add dry ingredients and whisk for one minute. Turn off heat.

Yesterday I added 1/8 tsp dry mustard, some garlic salt, and 1 cup of shredded cheese and added it to macaroni. (Simple Mac and Cheese the wholesome way)

This morning I added 1/4 tsp chicken bouillon, and put it on biscuits for biscuits and gravy. (Next time I will just cook up some sausage, mix it in and omit the chicken bouillon).

Experiment with it. You can use it (with proper flavorings) in place of any canned cream of soup. It is cheaper, and healthier. Talk about working within a budget.

Let us know what you think.

Burrito or Taco filling

Here is a great food storage recipe. I would imagine if you don't have refried beans you could use cooked or canned beans. (Home canned beans would be my choice) 

Can't wait to try the recipe. Thank you Susi!

 

"I have a recipe that I use a lot that contains all cannery items, or items from food storage.

It is a burrito or taco recipe.

It makes a large batch and can be scaled down to fit a smaller family.

 

4-5 cans beef chunks (the size of the cannery cans)

1 jar cannery salsa

2 big handfuls of dehydrated refried beans (from the cannery)

1 handful of dehydrated onions

1 bag (8oz) cheese

 

Add all ingredients in to a pan, including the water from the beef chunks.  It is necessary to have the water so that it can rehydrate the beans and onions.  Let them all simmer till the beans and onions are rehydrated, or till all the liquid is soaked up.  Add the cheese to the mix.  Serve with tomatoes, lettuce and sour cream if desired.

 

Homemade tortilla recipe would work great with this.  

 

This can also be refrigerated and possibly frozen to add more to the food storage."

 

Submitted by: Susi McCabe

 

 

Home Made Instant Oatmeal Packets

My Daughter loves and I mean LOVES oatmeal. The good news is she prefers home made versus store bought. The down is every morning I get out a pot and make 1 cup of oatmeal. I dislike having to wash a pot for such a small amount of food. I came across this recipe a while ago and decided to try it out today. I am very excited. It was simple took hardly any time, and is far less expensive than what you pay in the store for the same convenience.

This is the same recipe that was on the board several months back.


"To make individual instant packets:

In blender, blend 1/2 cups of oats until powdery.

Into each of the packets (perhaps a zip-lock style sandwich bag) combine the following ingredients:

1/4 Cup unpowdered oats
2 Tbsp powdered oats
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar (optional)

Close the top securely and store in a cool,dry place.

Microwave Directions for cooking:
Empty packet into microwavable bowl. Add 2/3 Cup water or milk. Microwave at HIGH about 1 1/2 minutes. Stir."

I opted to use a smaller food processor instead of my blender. I also left out both the sugar and salt. I don't need the extra sodium, and we add a little brown sugar to sweeten the oatmeal just a bit after it is cooked.

 

  

 One of my top priorities is my families health, but life is busy. Any time I can combine healthy eating and convenience I do it. Try it and let us know what you think. Enjoy!

Home Made Tortillas

I first started making my own tortillas almost 2 years ago. It all started with a thought "If I ever have to live off my food storage alone, where would I get tortillas?"  It has since evolved and I do it now for many more reasons. Mostly store bought tortillas are too dry! Plus this is a far more healthy option for my family.

I will share with you a great recipe that my sister in law gave me. I am pretty sure she did not author it, and would love to give credit where it is due, but am just not sure who it is due to. One thing I really like about this recipe is that it doesn't call for lard or shortening. I don't use lard nor store shortening so this is a perfect recipe for me.

I have always used the food processor method for mixing until last night. I ventured out a bit and mixed by hand. I was honestly surprised at how easy and quick it actually was.

Whole Wheat Flour Tortillas

1 Cup unbleached or all-purpose flour
1 Cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 Cup canola or vegetable oil (I use extra virgin olive oil)
2/3 Cup warm water

For hand mixing:

Rub flour, salt and oil together with your fingers untill completley incorporated and fine crumbs form.

 

 Pour water into dry ingredients and immediately work it in with a fork. Dough will be in large clumps. Sprinkle with flour and knead until smooth.

 

Food mixer:

Place flour and salt in bowl of food processor. Add oil and process for about 3 seconds. With machine running, pour water through feed tube in a steady stream. Let machine run until dough forms a ball. Continue to run machine another 4-6 minutes to get the dough extra smooth.

For either mixing methods:

Allow dough to rest in a bowl, covered, for at least 30 minutes before baking.

Roll out or press tortillas as flat as you would like. (I do them really thin. As thin as I can without them becoming see through)  Brown in frying pan on medium-high heat for about 15-20 seconds per side. Place hot tortilla on towel and cover with another towel. (I don't do this) After each tortilla is placed in the towel, lightly spray with a water bottle to keep tortillas moist. (Or this) Makes 8-10 medium sized tortillas. (I usually get closer to eight fit in my pan size)"

I haven't mastered the circle tortilla yet, but you should have seen my first batches! Now is the time to practice.

Try it out and let us know what you think.