We’ve started this month right with the Chocolate Molten Lava Cake.  Mmmm….it makes my mouth water just thinking about it!  Remember, I’m doing this because there is more out there than just cake mixes people! L-O-T-S!  And when you are cooking more from scratch you a) have more control over the ingredients and b) you have more opportunities to use your food storage and c) can do it for a lot cheaper!

But I realized that I have gotten a little ahead of myself because you know I’ll be using a lot of beans in place of butter and oil.  Why? Well beans are CHEAP, from your dry beans you can make the equivalent of a can of beans (which is about a pound) for under 20 cents! Has anyone seen what a pound of butter costs these days?  Last time I checked it was around $3 a pound-good grief.  Plus, beans are virtually fat free, full of protein and fiber which means less calories and they make you feel full!  No joke!  I can eat one piece of cake made with beans instead of oil and feel FULL.  Before I could eat 2 (or 3 or 4) and not feel satisfied.  Plus, beans make a very moist product and I promise there is no bean taste!  And just because I know you’re wondering, I don’t use powdered butter or shortening because for the most part it isn’t cheaper than using fresh plus it lacks the protein and fiber of beans.  So, I want to make sure you all understand how to use the beans and how to be successful at it because I’m BIG on YOU figuring out how to do this with YOUR recipes.

TIPS FOR USING BEANS FOR OIL AND BUTTER

1. If your recipe calls for oil, you are going to use a bean puree.  What is a bean puree you ask?  It’s simply cooked beans with enough water to whirl in your blender.  If you want a simple way to try this, take a can of beans (the entire can) and dump it in the blender and blend it.  Done.
2. If your recipe calls for butter, you are going to use cooked, drained beans.
3. For substituting beans for both butter and/or oil you are going to use a 1:1 ration.  That means if your recipe calls for 3/4 C. oil, you are going to use 3/4 C. bean puree.  If your recipe calls for 1 C. butter you are going to use 1 C. beans.  You’ll use the same measurements for beans as your original recipe says to use for either the oil and/or butter.
4. When wondering which beans to use-you are going to match color for color.  If it is a chocolate cake, use black beans. If it is a spice cake, use pinto beans.  If it is a white cake, use white beans.  Now, here is the tricky part…you can also use white beans in chocolate cake but you can’t use black beans in your white cake.  Your family will wonder what all of those black specks are.  To be safe, you can use white beans in almost anything.
5. Now, you’re going to add the beans however your recipe says to use the butter and/or oil.  So, if your recipe says to cream the butter with the sugar-you’re going to cream the beans with the sugar.  If your recipe says to add the oil to the dry ingredients, you’re going to add the bean puree to the dry ingredients.
6. If you are using beans in something like brownies or cookies that are supposed to be chewy, the beans will not make it chewy-it will be cake like.  So if you’re family is big on chewy that doesn’t mean you have an excuse not to use beans.  It just means you need to use half oil/butter and half beans.  It will still be chewy and you’ll still be saving money and adding fiber and protein!  Remember, I’m not big into all or nothing-even a little or half is better than nothing and it’s important that your family likes what you make!

Use beans for breakfast, dinner and dessert with my Everyday Bean E-Cookbook!

Help Spread the Word!

I love it when you share my tips and recipes for food storage!  Do me a quick favor, if you like what you see please share it on facebook, pinterest, or blog about it!  And make sure if you link to me, either use the word “food storage” or “Everyday Food Storage” to link back to me.  Thanks-it makes all the hard work worth it!

© 2012, Crystal. All rights reserved.

Yeah, you heard me right.  Isn’t that so exciting?  It’s sort of reminiscent of the Great Food Storage Cookie Extravaganza (download that food storage handout if you missed it)  Why am I doing this?  Well, let’s be honest we all eat cake now and  wouldn’t you like to know how to do it healthier, for less money, and with your food storage?  Let’s be honest, if and when it all hits the fan-comfort food will still be necessary!  And, I think we’ve all been over come with boring old cake mixes.  There are GREAT cake recipes out there that will dazzle your taste buds and amaze you with their simplicity!….Enter Chocolate Molten Cake…

Have any of you eaten at Chili’s and had their chocolate molten cake?  It’s so delicious and is all the rage to make at home.  I’ve seen a lot of recipes all involving special little bundt pans for individual cakes and a lot of time and effort.  Well this recipe that I’m going to share with you was big in the 50′s and tastes JUST LIKE Chili’s Chocolate Molten Cake but you can make it in one 8×8 cake pan, use your food storage, and make it in the same amount of time it would take you to whip up a cake mix.  You may have heard it under names like Magic Cake, Pudding Cake, Hot Fudge Cake, or Surprise Cake.  Why?  Because it is really magic, it makes it’s own sauce or pudding if you will-so of course this is a great cake to serve warm with ice cream.  Honestly, my husband ate half the cake (and that is saying a lot for him!)

Food Storage Chocolate Molten Cake

1 cup all-purpose flour (1/2 C. whole wheat flour + 1/2 C. All-purpouse flour)
3/4 cup sugar
6 tablespoons baking cocoa, divided
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup 2% milk (3 T. dry non-instant powder milk or 1/3 C. instant powder milk + 1/2 C. water)
2 tablespoons canola oil (2 T. bean puree)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup packed brown sugar
1-3/4 cups hot water
Whipped cream or ice cream, optional

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, 2 tablespoons cocoa, baking powder and salt. Stir in the milk, oil and vanilla until smooth.

Spread in an ungreased 9-in. square baking pan. Combine brown sugar and remaining cocoa; sprinkle over batter. Pour hot water over all; do not stir.

Bake at 350° for 35-40 minutes. Serve warm. Top with whipped cream or ice cream if desired.

Crystal’s Tip: If you’re using a glass pan, decrease your cooking temperature to 325. Why? Glass bakes hotter than metal and you won’t get that burnt chocolate taste.

Help Spread the Word!

I love it when you share my tips and recipes for food storage!  Do me a quick favor, if you like what you see please share it on facebook, pinterest, or blog about it!  And make sure you link either the word “food storage” or “Everyday Food Storage” back to me.  Thanks-it makes all the hard work worth it!

© 2012, Crystal. All rights reserved.

It would be easily served with Tator Tots or potato chips and then a vegetable tray where they can pick their own veggies.  (Notice I filled half my plate with them to try and make up for my chili dog creation!

Chili Dogs in a Blanket
1 can Chili (or homemade chili)
2 T. dehydrated onion
1/2 C. Shredded Cheese (optional)
2 oz. Cream Cheese (optional)
4-6 Hot Dogs (cut into thirds-lenth wise)
EZ Bread Dough (Click HERE for the recipe)

Mix bread dough according to directions and let rise until doubled.  In the mean time, combine chili, dehydrated onion, and cream cheese and heat until the cream cheese is melted.  Roll dough out to 1/4 inch thick and using something circular (about 5 inches in diameter), cut out circles from dough.  Keep rolling dough out and cutting until dough is gone (like you would for biscuits).  Put a thin layer of chili mixture on dough circles, followed by cheese, and a hot dog piece.  Fold side pieces together and pinch all edges together.  Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

© 2012, Crystal. All rights reserved.

And…in case you didn’t get to catch my latest food storage showing on Studio 5-you can catch it below.  I ventured into the world of chocolate meringues and discovered a great way to make them look (and taste) even more delicious! Food storage and gourmet collide once again. Think of them as fudge chocolate meringues.  They are crisp on the outside, chewy on the inside, gluten-free, fat-free, and about 10 calories a pop.  Now we’re talking! To view the food storage video, click HERE.

If you’re wondering where to get powdered egg whites, currently you can get them from Honeyville Grains.

© 2012, Crystal. All rights reserved.

Multi-Level Dehydrating & Baking Rack for Sun Oven

A simple, effective way to use a GLOBAL SUN OVEN to dry and dehydrate with the power of the sun. Easily stackable wire racks allow up to 3 layers of drying or dehydrating. Can be used for baking 3 layers of cookies, tarts, breadsticks, cinnamon rolls, flat bread, pizzas, or fish. (Alright, this is awesome just for baking cookies and cinnamon rolls, let alone dehydrating too!)

Comes with a set of 3 stackable racks and one roll of unbleached, silicone coated parchment baking paper.

Want to learn more about Sun Ovens-what they are, how to use them, or to take the mini Sun Oven class, click HERE for all of my Sun Oven information!

Hurry and take advantage of this amazing Sun Oven deal!

© 2012, Crystal. All rights reserved.

Another commonly asked food storage question is how long will short term food storage cans last.  In fact, my best friend called me just last week to know if some discounted fruit snacks that were close to reaching their best by date were safe to buy and eat.  So, what do I mean by short term food storage cans?  Well, I’m talking canned items you would purchase at a grocery store like canned corn, canned green beans, etc.  If you’ve noticed these items have a “best by” date printed on the can.  Is the food still good to eat after the best by date?  It is important to understand what the USDA is talking about when they put these definitions on cans so we know how long we can safely keep it in our food storage!

USDA FOOD DEFINITIONS FOR FOOD STORAGE:

• A “Sell-By” date tells the store how long to display the product for sale. You should buy the product before the date expires.
• A “Best if Used By (or Before)” date is recommended for best flavor or quality. It is not a purchase or safety date.
• A “Use-By” date is the last date recommended for the use of the product while at peak quality. The date has been determined by the manufacturer of the product.
• “Closed or coded dates” are packing numbers for use by the manufacturer.

WHAT ABOUT MANAGER SPECIAL ITEMS IN FOOD STORAGE?

Now, what if you saw some meat in the “Manager Special” section of the meat department reaching it’s “Sell by” date that is a great deal that you’d like to either add to your freezer for some food storage or to can.  Is that safe to buy and use in food storage or will it “expire” on the date indicated on the packaging?  Well, lucky for you and me the USDA requires the sell by date to be a few days before the product is likely to become rancid and unsafe for consumption.  The USDA has already figured that most of us buy meat to use within the next couple of days (assuming proper storage).  To check out USDA’s chart of how long product will last in your fridge with proper storage, click HERE.

© 2012, Crystal. All rights reserved.

Have you ever been stumped by how to turn one of your own recipes into a food storage recipe?  Well, you’re not alone!  During this q&a month, I’ve had a lot of people ask me about specific recipes they have and how they would convert them for food storage.  Because of this, I’m happy to announce that I’m going to make helping you with YOUR recipes a regular part of my blog!

Here is how it will work…

You email me at everydayfoodstorage (at) gmail (dot) com a recipe that you have that you have always wished I would look at and turn it into a food storage recipe.  Each week I will pick one recipe to experiment with, perfect, and blog about! Don’t worry, I’ll still be sharing a lot of MY OWN recipes, posting videos, etc.  I just want to show you that ANY of YOUR recipes can use food storage (not just my own magic recipes) and successful tips for how you can turn even more recipes into food storage recipes.

Since next month I’ll be focusing on cakes, I’d especially love it if you sent me a cake or muffin recipe to convert.

Stay tuned for more exciting changes!  WAHOO!

© 2012, Crystal. All rights reserved.

I get asked quite frequently “which is the best dehydrator?” And why not? There are so many wonderful things you can do with a dehydrator and they are so easy to use and there are so many to choose from.   Plus, when paired with a good Food Saver you can store your dehydrated products for a very long time making your own food storage! So how do you know which dehydrator you should buy?

Well in a perfect world these are the things you want to look for in a dehydrator…

1. The dryer not on the top or bottom.  You see a dehydrator works by blowing warm dry air on the food allowing the water to evaporate from the product.  However, if you have the blower or dryer on the top or the bottom it won’t dry your food evenly.
2. A dial that allows you to control the heat.
3. A built-in on off switch

Um…so those are really the only things you want to look for in a dehydrator perfect world…where price is not an issue.  Fortunately, there is a dehydrator that has this…unfortunately it is only in one brand-The Excalibur.  Sounds fancy just in the name, doesn’t it?  There is a fabulous lady in my neighborhood that I work with who actually has a top dryer dehydrator (like a Nesco) and a back/side dryer (Excalibur) and put them to the test to see which worked best.  Well it isn’t surprising that the Excalibur dehydrator dried the food in a faster amount of time and created a better product that was evenly dried.

Now, if you have a Nesco (like me) don’t fear!  Nesco’s dehydrator (a top drying dehydrator) works-good enough.  Especially, if you’re not an avid dehydrating family.  However, I will admit that I am saving my pennies for an Excalibur.  Why?  Because my eyes have been opened to all the things you can do with a dehydrator…and honestly, it’s amazing. (READ: more great posts and videos on this to come!)

So in the meantime- if you’re looking for a great deal on an Excalibur you can

1. buy it off Amazon-let’s be honest Amazon is always cheap plus you don’t pay sales tax or shipping.
2. if you’re in Utah-I have seen them at Costcos in the Summer
3. you can always check garage sales, family members, and ksl classifieds (if you’re in Utah)

Other options for dehydrators are…

1. if you have a convection oven (not a conventional oven) you can use that as a dehydrator.
2. you can also dehydrate foods in your Sun Oven!

© 2012, Crystal. All rights reserved.

This is actually an interesting question about store bought 72 hour kits-one I’ve pondered myself.  They are EVERYWHERE-Costco, Wal-Mart, and pretty much any big food storage company sells one.  It seems like such an easy way out of making your own-who wouldn’t want to just buy one and have it all done?  Well considering all the questions I got, I bought one (from a company that shall remain nameless), consulted my expert on emergency preparedness friend (Debbie Kent from www.peaceofpreparedness.com) and now have an educated opinion….so buckle up…you know me, I’ll give it to you straight and this may be a bumpy ride!

This is what I’ve learned about store bought 72 hour kits…

1. They are EXTREMELY pricey-you could definitely make your own for less money.
2. I got a “deluxe” model to try out, thinking well if it has that much stuff and costs so much it must be great….and you know…have all the items fit in the backpack and not weigh a million pounds (I exaggerate, of course) because of course they put this together for people like you and me so we wouldn’t have the headache of putting together our own.  NOT TRUE!  The items DID NOT all fit nor was the backpack anywhere as light as it should be for a regular person to carry it.
3. I also loved that it came with a red backpack-what else screams emergency better than a RED backpack?  Unfortunately, the backpack was so cheap the zippers barely work.  So, I’m also hoping that if I have to hike in this thing it will actually stay together weighing as much as it does.
4. I also noticed that a majority of the items in the kit could easily be found at your dollar store for a fraction of what I paid through the “deluxe” home 72 hour kit from a store.  (Debbie Kent agrees with me on this fact-which is one of the major reasons she says to make your own!) In fact, I’d say you could find BETTER items at your dollar store, I know I just found liquid skin at my dollar store and stocked up for all of our 72 hour kits and first-aid kits.
5. It comes with stuff you don’t need.  Somebody explain to me why I need a wing stove and a mess kit if I’m going to be eating 3,000 calorie bars (also included in the kit).  When I asked Debbie Kent about it-she said that is the number one mistake in those store bought kits-the wing stoves.  Because you don’t need it if you’ve got the 3,000 calorie bars, you’re just taking up needed space and weight with it.
6. Buying one of these pre-made kits doesn’t mean you’re in the free and clear!  You still need to add personal to you items (clothes, feminine hygiene products, baby items, etc.) plus you have to put it all in the backpack anyway.

BLAST!  I wish there was an easy way out of the 72 hour kits…but at least you didn’t just spend hundreds of dollars to test it out like I just did!  If you want to know what SHOULD be in your 72 hour kit so that you can make ones for your family download Debbie’s 72 Hour Check List.  Also, make sure and look through Debbie’s other great information HERE.

© 2012, Crystal. All rights reserved.

IT’S HONEYVILLE GRAIN’S BIGGEST FOOD STORAGE SALE EVER! SAVE 20% ON YOUR ENTIRE ORDER* from Thursday 1/12/2012 through Tuesday 1/17/2012. Stock up and save on all of your favorites, and try some of our great new items. Simply enter coupon code 2012 during checkout. ORDER NOW! SALE ENDS ON TUESDAY the 17th of January.

http://store.honeyvillegrain.com/

It’s time to do a little housekeeping in the massive Honeyville warehouses. That means our biggest sale ever and a great opportunity to stock up. From Thursday 1/12/2012 through Tuesday 1/17/2012 you can save 20% off your entire order*. To receive your instant discount, enter the coupon code “2012″ in the coupon code field on the second page of the checkout process. Be sure to click on the Apply button to activate the discount. Act now as this discount is only good from Thursday, January 12, 2012 through Tuesday, January 17, 2012.

This month they are featuring brand new Gourmet Soups in the #10 cans. They have Broccoli Cheese and Creamy Potato Cheese and they’re simply out of this world. They’ve got a shelf life of 3 to 5 years in the sealed #10 can, but these guys never last in my home storage. We always find an excuse to work them into our meals. Good stuff. We also have a new Freeze Dried Meat and Poultry Supply from Wise Foods. These are great kits. Each one has a variety of 60 servings of Freeze Dried Meats that are conveniently packed into 4 serving Mylar pouches. A great buy on some premium protein. Take a look at all of their new additions.

http://store.honeyvillegrain.com/newproducts.aspx

Another item that I love to purchase from Honeyville is their GLUTEN! Check it out by clicking HERE.

© 2012, Crystal. All rights reserved.