EVERYDAY FOOD STORAGE » Freeze Dried Berries

General Information on Freeze Dried Berries and Recipes!

Crystal — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 20:27:10 +0000

For more information on what I talked about on the show, click HERE.

For the Raspberry Syrup recipe, click HERE.

For the Low-Fat Whole Wheat Blueberry Recipe, click HERE.

Sunshine Crepe Filling-Freeze Dried Berry Food Storage Recipe

Crystal — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 07:01:43 +0000

My all time favorite breakfast is crepes and hardly ever are the stars aligned where I have cream cheese and fresh strawberries for the ultimate filling….especially in the winter (sorry, I’m not usually in the mood to spend $2+ a pound for strawberries). So, I came up with this filling. It’s a close second in my book and actually, my husband liked it better than the fresh strawberries. It has a nice “fresh” taste with a lot of combined fruit flavors and is really easy to whip up. And of course, I topped it with some Raspberry Syrup-I wasn’t kidding when I said it was my new favorite!

Sunshine Crepe Filling

4 oz. cream cheese
1 1/2 T. orange marmalade (don’t worry, it doesn’t taste “marmalad-ey” it just helps to give the orange flavor)
1 T. sugar
1 medium banana
1 1/2 – 2 c. freeze dried strawberries (hydrate only half and add the other as dry)

Blend ingredients in blender.

I also know, that some people are very scared of making crepes because they seem hard, or maybe at least fragile to make. So I did a quickie (and I mean quickie) video of how to do it, check it out below!

Berry-Apple Pie: Freeze Dried Berry Food Storage Recipes

Crystal — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 07:01:37 +0000

While experimenting with freeze dried berries, I HAD to try it in a pie. I’ve always been confused why pies are so big in the Summer when it’s ridiculous to bake a pie in 100 degree weather. I mean I understand that is when the fruit is in season…but wouldn’t it be so much better to make the berry pie in the winter/spring when you’re itching for something to remind you that Summer WILL come? Yeah, that is what I thought. So if you’re itching for confirmation that Summer is coming, you’ve got to try this sweet and tart, ultra-easy berry pie-with some ice cream on top, of course!

Taste of Summer Apple Berry Pie

Crust
1 prepared pie crust

Filling
2 1/2 C. dehydrated apple slices, hydrated
1 C. freeze dried blueberries, hydrated
1 C. freeze dried raspberries, hydrated
1 T. lemon juice
1/3 C. granulated sugar
3 T. cornstarch

Topping
1 C. oats
1/2 C. whole wheat flour
1/2 C. packed brown sugar
1 t. ground cinnamon
1/2 C. butter, softened
1/2 cup chopped pecans, if desired
Vanilla ice cream, if desired (but let’s be honest, we all know you desire it!)

DIRECTIONS
1. Heat oven to 425°F. Place crust in 9-inch glass pie plate; flute edges (that means you crimp the edges around the top of the pan). Bake 8 to 9 minutes or until crust is set. Cover edge of crust with strips of foil to prevent excessive browning. Bake 6 to 7 minutes longer or until crust is golden. Cool completely on cooling rack, about 15 minutes.
2. In large bowl, gently toss filling ingredients, making sure to drain any excess water from hydrating berries. Spoon filling into pastry-lined pie plate.
3. In large bowl, beat topping ingredients with electric mixer on medium-low speed until crumbly. Sprinkle topping evenly over filling.
4. Line cookie sheet with foil. Place pie plate on foil-lined cookie sheet (this is essential because sometimes the filling can bubble over and if it does it will burn on the bottom of your oven….which is no bueno). Cover pie with foil; bake 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 375°F; bake 45 to 50 minutes longer or until bubbly. Remove foil from pie; bake 20 to 25 minutes longer or until topping is golden brown. Cool completely on cooling rack, 2 to 3 hours. (I actually didn’t have mine cool all the way because I like my pie warm with ice cream.)

Strawberry Syrup: Freeze Dried Berry Food Storage Recipes

Crystal — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 07:00:05 +0000

And possibly, my favorite of all. Only because I LOVE fresh strawberries on vanilla ice cream and this is as close as I can get in the winter!

Strawberry Syrup
1 1/2 c. freeze dried strawberries
2 c. water
1/2 c. sugar
1 T. lemon juice

Mix ingredients together in blender until smooth. Serve over pancakes, cheesecake, ice cream, angel food cake etc.

Blueberry Syrup: Freeze Dried Berry Food Storage Recipes

Crystal — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 05:00:46 +0000

So why just stop at raspberry syrup? Freeze dried berries also come in blueberries (full of anti-oxidants) and strawberries (check out the recipe for strawberry syrup on Wednesday’s post!)! Not to mention that real blueberry or strawberry syrup (not that Hershey’s strawberry FLAVORED syrup) is extremely expensive and in some areas hard to find. Now you can make it from your food storage for cheaper and have it taste FRESH. (Have I mentioned that I love the freeze dried berries because they taste FRESH?!

Blueberry Syrup
1 1/2 c. freeze dried blueberries
2 c. water
1 1/2 c. sugar
1/2 t. lemon juice

Mix ingredients together in blender until smooth. Serve over pancakes, cheesecake, ice cream, angel food cake etc.

Raspberry Syrup: Freeze Dried Berry Recipes

Crystal — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 02:45:37 +0000

I have to say that this is my NEW favorite topping on almost everything and that I’m drooling just writing this post! It is so easy to make (just blend it all in the blender…and you know how I LOVE my blender), is entirely delicious and tastes FRESH. In the bleak of the winter it’s nice to have a slight taste of heaven. Especially, if you’re like me and your all time favorite dessert is vanilla ice cream with fruit (or fruit sauce, as the case may be) you will love having this around! But remember, it tastes good on so many other items: cheesecake, french toast, trifle, and the list goes on and on!

Raspberry Syrup
(makes about 2 cups)

1 1/2 C. freeze dried raspberries
2 C. water
1/2 C. sugar
1 T. lemon juice

Blend ingredients in blender. If you want it warm, make sure to transfer it to a microwave safe container and heat until warmed through.

Low-Fat Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins-Ultimate Food Storage Recipes

Crystal — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 05:10:45 +0000

We’re moving up in the world! My good friend sent me this recipe, it was like it was meant to be! Not only have I tried a MILLION (okay, maybe a slight exaggeration) muffin recipes trying to find one that is light and fluffy but I was also in the middle of all my freeze dried berry experiments. With a couple of modifications this recipe became PERFECT for food storage….AND delicious (as in the BEST homemade muffins I’ve ever made/eaten). I even brought these to a luncheon and they were devoured-whole wheat, oats, beans, freeze dried berries and all! p.s. I’m pushing you guys and only listing the beans for the recipe, if you haven’t tried it by now-you’re entirely missing out! If you’re still nervous, you can watch a video of how I cook my beans and store them in smaller amounts for baking by clicking HERE. And remember, using beans in place of oil and butter doesn’t change the taste and it actually IMPROVES the texture, making it very moist, light, and fluffy!

Low-Fat Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins

2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
4 eggs (1/4 c. dry egg powder + 1/2 c. water)
2 cups sour cream
1/2 c. + 2 T. bean puree
2 cups light brown sugar
2 cups rolled oats
2 cups blueberries (1-1/2 c. freeze dried blueberries, hydrated and drained)
2 tbsp. sugar

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line two 12 cup muffin tins with paper liners. (This recipe won’t work without them.) In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside.
In a large bowl, beat the eggs with the sour cream until thoroughly combined. Add bean puree and brown sugar. Stir in the oats. Fold in the flour mixture and then, very gently, fold in the berries. Fill the muffin cups 2/3 full. Drop a generous pinch of sugar onto the top of each muffin.

Bake the muffins for 25 to 28 minutes, or until the edges are medium brown and the tops are firm. Cool for 5 minutes; then remove muffins (in their papers) and finish cooling them on a rack. Makes 2 dozen muffins.

Freeze Dried Berries and Cereal: Freeze Dried Berry Food Storage Recipes

Crystal — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 20:18:38 +0000

Alright, so if you didn’t have the time to try the blueberry pancakes, you’ll definitely have time to try this one! Freeze dried berries are a perfect compliment to almost any cereal. My personal favorite is the corn flakes with freeze dried raspberries. It reminds of my summer trips to visit my brother in Portland where we would just go out to his backyard and pick raspberries and add them to our cornflakes. The best thing is that you don’t need to rehydrate them first because your milk will do it for you and the flavor is so fresh! If this sounds like a weird concept, just walk down the cereal aisle because this idea isn’t new. But you’ll notice that those cereals with the freeze dried fruit (which usually tastes bland) costs a whole LOT more! These berries are full of flavor and taste great!

Here are some of my family’s favorite combinations:
Cream of Wheat with freeze dried Blueberries (we call this purple cereal, since my 2 year old is obsessed with colors)
Cheerios with freeze dried Strawberries and fresh banana slices
Frosted Mini Wheats with any of the freeze dried berries
Special K with Blueberries (they actually have a version of this with little (and I mean little) blueberries specs on the flakes…this is soooo much better!)