Okay, whether you’re routing for the Packers or the Giants-this weekend is a great excuse to use some food storage!  If you know me, I love chili dogs-it’s one of those guilty pleasures I have. The only problem with chili dogs is that they are SO messy!  (And anyone who knows me, also knows I have a problem with messy foods…in that I tend to make them messier!)  So I thought, how perfect to encase the chili like a pig in a blanket type idea….and it worked out wonderfully!  I think this is a PERFECT dish for any football parties you may be having this weekend…or any basketball games you may be watching  plus it uses food storage!

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.

You know me, I like to EASE my way into things and I think the best way to start emergency cooking is to see what you ALREADY have that can be made with shelf stable items in case of emergency. (Keep in mind that I only see this as a FIRST step, we’ll be covering other things like dutch ovens and solar ovens….but let’s just EASE into this! Now, please keep in mind that the first few days of a natural disaster you will be busily cooking and using the food in your fridge and freezer before it goes bad. But, of course, after your fresh and frozen food as been used up you’ll want to have shelf stable food (meaning the food that doesn’t need to be refrigerated) to eat. As I was thinking about this I realized that a lot of people spend a lot of money on food like this, but if you don’t have the money you can buy shelf stable meals at any grocery store (and when it’s on sale some times it’s as cheap as 88 cents!). Chicken helper is one of the easiest to make from shelf stable items because it even says on the box that you can substitute a can of chicken in place of the fresh chicken. (Which also, if you think about it is a good idea because you’d use less fuel cooking the meal if you don’t need to first cook the chicken.) Obviously, the milk you can use powdered milk but you may be perplexed about what to do about the margarine. This may not be the best thing to try putting beans in. However, I did discover that olive oil (or any oil) works just as well and that you don’t have to use as much oil as it calls for margarine. So not only are these meals great to keep on hand for an “everyday emergency” or when a baby-sitter or husband who doesn’t like to cook needs to cook but also for a natural disaster. I love it!

Here is what I did to make it work:

The recipe originally calls for:
1 lb. uncooked boneless skinless chicken breasts
3 T. margarine or butter
1/2 c. hot water
2 c. milk

Cut chicken into 1-inch pieces. Melt margarine in 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until outsides turn white.

Stir in hot water, milk, Sauce Mix and uncooked pasta. Heat to boiling, stirring occasionally.

Reduce heat; cover and simmer about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until pasta is tender. Remove from heat and uncover (sauce will thicken as it stands)

Here is what I did:
1 12.5 oz. can cooked chicken, undrained (undrained there will be about a 1/2 c. of broth)
1 1/2 t. olive oil
1/2 c. of broth (from the can-why throw it out? It just adds more flavor)
2 c. milk (2 c. water + 1/3 c. powdered milk)

Combine chicken, broth, oil, water, dry milk powder, and sauce mix in skillet (you’ll need to use a whisk to combine everything). Add in uncooked pasta and stir. Heat until boiling, stirring occasionally.

Reduce heat; cover and simmer about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until pasta is tender. Remove from heat and uncover (sauce will thicken as it stands).

*You could also use a can of peas for some color or add in other spices (garlic, lemon pepper, etc.) to flavor it differently.

© 2010 – 2011, Crystal. All rights reserved.

I got this from Jennifer W. and I’m just amazed at how creative all of you are! Here is contestant #2 for the Fanatic Friday contest. Remember you’re deciding what I’ll be eating for Halloween!

Jack-o-Lantern Chicken Pot Pie

1 Heaping cup potato, diced
1 cup onion, diced
1 cup celery, diced
1 cup carrot, diced (you could try using dehydrated carrots- I have not, but I bet it might work)
1/3 cup melted margarine
1/2 cup all purpose flour (I used half white, half wheat)
2 cups chicken broth (boullion works fine)
1 cup half and half
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 8 oz can of corn
4 cups chicken, cooked and chopped (a great way to use canned/bottled food storage chicken)
a pie crust (either your own or store bought, but here’s a great pie crust recipe at the end)

Directions
1- Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2- If using raw chicken, boil it in water (I boil it in extra chicken broth) for 15 to 20 minutes until white.  Let cool, then chop or shred.
3- Meanwhile, saute onion, celery, carrots, and potatoes in butter for 10 minutes.
4- Add flour to sauteed mixture, stirring well.  Cook one minute, stirring constantly.
5- combine 2 cups broth and half and half
6- gradually stir into vegetable mixture and add DRAINED can of corn
7- Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until thickened and bubbly.
8- Stir in salt and pepper; add chicken and stir well.  Pour into shallow 2 quart dish (or divide between personal sized ramekins) and top with pie shell.  Cut in slits for the steam to escape, just little lines around the face to make it look like a pumpkin.
Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly and cooked through.

******Perfect Pie crust:
1 cup wheat flour
1 cup white flour, sifted
3/4 cup shortening
1 tsp salt (use garlic salt for the chicken pie recipe, regular salt for dessert recipes)
4 Tablespoons ICE COLD water

Measure flour and salt in a bowl; combine.  Add half of shortening with a pastry cutter.  Cut through.  Add the remaining shortening; cut through.
Sprinkle in the water, 1 Tablespoon at a time, and mix it with a fork after each tablespoon until the dough holds together.  DO NOT BE IMPATIENT AND ADD EXTRA WATER!
Press into a ball and divide the dough in half.  Roll the dough between two sheets of parchment paper to make a two crust, 9″ pie (or just leave it as one thick pie crust for the top, which works well for this chicken pie recipe- its just personal preference).  If using many little ramekins, divide crust between number of ramekins used.
For chicken recipe, after crust is rolled flat, remove top parchemnt paper and use a knife to carve a face in the middle, taking care to remember that the face will be put on upside down when placing it on the pie and peeling the bottom parchment paper off.

Want to enter the Fanatic Friday recipe contest? November will be all about Thanksgiving favorites. Did you know that even the Pilgrims were counseled to have a year supply of food? There’s no better way to celebrate them than to make things for Thanksgiving that use items from OUR one year supply. Have a food storage recipe that would be perfect to serve on Thanksgiving? Please share it with us at fanaticfridays@gmail.com! For more information on the contest click HERE.

© 2009 – 2011, Crystal. All rights reserved.

Wow!! After all of these recipes your family will definitely be in the fiesta mood. Ole!! We’re covering every meal of the day along with a fun drink to make! Make sure to check them all out and try one out with your family.

Hola! Get your family in the fiesta mood by starting their day off with a breakfast burrito made from your dehydrated eggs. If you haven’t had your family try scrambled dehydrated eggs, this is a perfect time! There are lots of other flavors in the burrito if you’re scared they won’t like the eggs. Personally, I just did cheese, eggs, and salsa but another great combo to try is cheese, eggs, breakfast sausage, and a fruit salsa. Remember when converting multiple eggs that there are 16 tablespoons in a cup. I also use powdered milk as a 1/4 of the liquid called for to rehydrate the eggs since scrambled eggs are supposed to fluffy. The other thing I realized this morning when I made these is that you will probably want to do a couple extra eggs then you would normally with real eggs. The rehydrated eggs don’t make as much.

For lunch, who can forget bean burritos made from dehydrated refried beans. For more info on this, check out my previous post “Think outside the bun”

Or…very delicious shredded beef tacos made from your canned beef in your 3 month supply. For more info on that, check out this entry.

For dinner try Enchilada Casserole…it’s for those of you short on time but LOVE enchiladas! It tastes just like the real thing and is so delicious and EASY that I don’t even make real enchiladas anymore! The other great thing is that a lot of the ingredients come from your 3 month supply..including canned chicken!! Make one of your sides the dehydrated refried beans and you’ve got it made!! For tips on rehydrating your beans, click here.

Tortilla Casserole

1 ½ C Sour Cream
2 Cans (10 ¾ oz) Cream of Chicken Soup
1 Can (7 oz) Diced green Chiles
1 Can (10 oz) Mild enchilada sauce
3 C cooked chicken or 3 cans chicken or turkey, drained (save the juices for broth!)
12 Corn tortillas, torn into bite size pieces (or Tortilla chips)
1 ½ C grated Cheese (Cheddar)

Save 1/2 C. of grated cheese and mix all other ingredients in a bowl. Pour mixture into 9×13 pan and top with remaining cheese. Cover and bake at 350 for 45 minutes. This casserole can be made ahead and put in the fridge. (Allow for extra baking time if you do this.)

And finally, a fun drink to make using your rice.

Horchata

1 cup uncooked white long-grain rice

5 cups water1/2 cup milk (1 1/2 T. powdered milk + 1/2 Water)

1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract

1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon

2/3 cup white sugar

DIRECTIONS: Pour the rice and water into the bowl of a blender; blend until the rice just begins to break up, about 1 minute. Let rice and water stand at room temperature for a minimum of 3 hours. Strain the rice water into a pitcher and discard the rice. Stir the milk, vanilla, cinnamon, and sugar into the rice water. Chill and stir before serving over ice.

Make sure and check back Wednesday for my Mother’s day Giveaway!  YES!!!!

© 2009 – 2011, Crystal. All rights reserved.

© 2008 – 2011, Crystal. All rights reserved.

Why you should LOVE cooking with your kids-it’s learning in disguise!
From the Penn State Cooperative Extension

Most children learn quickly that eating is fun. They also enjoy helping adults cook. Put the two together and you have the perfect recipe for learning. Children learn best when they’re busy and interested in what they are doing.
When children are busy scrubbing, mixing, stirring, kneading, spreading, tossing, squeezing, and pouring, they don’t realize there’s a special ingredient that you’re adding: It’s called learning!

• Cooking involves reading and talking. There is much to talk about as a recipe is read, followed, and prepared.

• Children learn math skills through counting, measuring, and following step-by-step directions.

• Science is learned as children see how food changes during cooking. They learn about hot and cold, floating and sinking, dissolving, melting, and freezing.

• Good nutrition is encouraged through cooking. Seeing exactly what goes into a recipe helps children learn to make better decisions about the food they eat.

• Children can learn about and connect with other cultures as they prepare foods from various cultural groups.

• Thinking skills are developed as children learn to compare and make relationships in food preparation. If we use too much flour in our cookie recipe, the result is a dry, hard cookie. Proportions are easily mastered when children learn that if you double the ingredients in the cookie recipe, you get double the cookies.

• Social skills are practiced in cooking when children work together, take turns, and solve problems. Most importantly, self-esteem abounds when children prepare foods for themselves and others.

Here’s another great recipe to try with your kids in the kitchen…

This meal is great for young children to help with or for children who are old enough to cook an entire meal by themselves. It is just as easy as the macaroni and cheese in a blue box, all they need to know how to do is boil water and cook noodles.

Tuna Fish Casserole

Ingredients:
2 C. Elbow Macaroni (Yeah for food storage!)
3 Cans Tuna Fish, drained
2 Cans Cream of Celery Soup
2 C. Cheese
1 12 oz.-16 oz. Bag of Peas

Instructions:
In a large pot, bring water to boil. Add macaroni and cook for 12-13 minutes, or until soft. Add peas for last 3 minutes of cooking. Drain macaroni and peas. Combine drained tuna, Cream of Celery Soup, and cheese and heat over medium heat until the cheese is melted. Add the macaroni and peas and stir.

Round out the meal:
Serve with baby carrots or tomato wedges, fresh salad (let children have some fun and pick the toppings for the salad), and milk.

For more tips and tricks for using food storage in your everyday recipes, please visit www.everydayfoodstorage.NET

© 2008 – 2011, Crystal. All rights reserved.

I just made the most TASTEY beef tacos on Friday. The meat was tender, savory, and very delicious. My husband thought I’d been cooking it all day. But I have a little secret he doesn’t know…

I realize that in posting this, I will most likely blow my cover entirely but it is worth sharing for all of your convenience and taste buds! One of my favorite things about food storage is its help with the EVERYDAY emergencies (thank goodness because everyday emergencies happen far more often than earthly calamities). Friday is usually my cleaning day and I can get most of it done while my baby is taking her morning nap but on Friday she decided she only wanted short naps and for me to hold her so we had a great time cleaning the house together ALL day. The clock struck 5:30 and I knew my husband would be home soon and I had no dinner! (Sound familiar to anyone else?) I grabbed two cans of chunked roast beef from Costco and a can of green chilis and was on my way. Canned meat is the best for “quickie” meals.

© 2008 – 2011, Crystal. All rights reserved.