Emergency Cooking with Shelf Stable Items:Food Storage Recipes

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.

Fanatic Fridays Contestant #3

Our third contestant in the “What in the world should Crystal’s family eat for Halloween” is Heidi, this is what she had to say…”Since you like spaghetti and your husband likes chili bake, I thought it would be perfect to share a recipe from my grandma called Chili Ghetti. It hasn’t been a yearly Halloween dinner, but I think it would be great to start making it a tradition. I always loved when my mom made this growing up. Enjoy!”

Chili Ghetti

1 lb. hamburger, browned and drained
2 15 oz. cans chili
3 1/2 c. tomatoes, chopped (or 2 15 oz. cans stewed tomatoes, chopped)
8 oz. spaghetti, cooked and drained
3 c. grated cheddar cheese
1 c. sour cream
3/4 c. chopped onion ( or slightly less than 1/4 c. dry onion)

Mix all ingredients together and pour into a 9×13″ pan. (You could also just mix them together in the pan to save a bowl.) Bake at 350 degrees for 30 min. or until warmed through.

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.

Ode to Pizza-Hot Pockets (aka Pizza Pockets): Whole Wheat Food Storage Recipes

I’m so happy so many of you remember this recipe!  With all this talk of pizza, I’ve had a lot of people asking for this post so I’ll put it up again, either to introduce you to pizza pockets or to jog your memory!  This recipe is SO great & suprisingly EASY (so easy I made a video to prove it)! There is so much for your kids to help with in this recipe. They can knead the dough, help you roll it out, help fill them (I love giving kids options of what they put inside the pockets), and of course EAT them! You can do Hot Pocket flavors like Pepperoni Pizza, Ham & Cheese, Broccoli Cheese and others or you can make up your own! These also freeze great and re-heat in the microwave well. (So great for lunches on the go or for your hubbie to take to work) Or you can make them for a dinner party and let everyone choose what they put inside. It’s so fun!

Garden Vegetable Garlic Pizza-Food Storage Recipes (my ode to pizza!)

Okay, so you may or may not know this about my family but we LOVE pizza. I don’t know if I should admit this or not but we eat it probably once a week….which before I made our own pizza was expensive (very, very expensive…even with coupons). When I first started making pizzas I stuck with the originals (Hawaiian, Mushroom & Olive, etc.) but as I’ve branched out, I’ve discovered some really fun things you can do with pizza….and food storage! Now, obviously if you’re making your own pizza crust you’re using your food storage, and why not try it with whole wheat?! I noticed over the summer that Papa John’s is now marketing a whole wheat pizza (which of course costs more). So if Papa John’s sells it…there is no reason why you can’t make it! Personally for a pizza crust, I either do the 30 Minute Pizza Crust, or the EZ Bread Dough Recipe. But enough about the crust..that is the boring part…let’s talk toppings (other than pepperoni). Papa Murphy’s has this pizza that I LOVE. It has this white garlic sauce, mozerella cheese, fresh vegetables and chicken. I had always wondered what that oh so delicious secret sauce was…until it dawned on me…it’s a WHITE SAUCE with GARLIC. Well…good grief…I know how to make a white sauce (and pretty easily I might add), thanks to magic mix. So yes, I was very pleased with myself when I could make that Papa Murphy’s pizza, just how I liked it, at a fraction of the cost…and so can you! Here’s how…

Garden Vegetable Garlic Pizza

1 Pizza Crust
1 Grilled Chicken Breast (optional)
Fresh Vegetables (which ever your family likes, if you choose to do broccoli like I do, you’ll need to slightly cook the broccoli before adding it to your pizza or it will be too crunchy)
Mozarella Cheese 
1 C. Garlic White Sauce (2/3 C. magic mix, 1 C. water, and 2 T. fresh, minced garlic-garlic should be done to taste, mix over medium high heat until it thickens)
Asiago Cheese (optional) I just like to put a little on top

Place garlic white sauce on top of crust, then cheese, then toppings and bake.

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