Category: Survival Club

30 Minute Rolls

Dough can also be used for pizza crust.

•3 1/2 c warm water
•6 T instant yeast
•1 c oil
•3/4 c granulated sugar
•1 T thrive iodized salt
•3 T thrive whole egg powder (reconstituted)
•3 T additional water
•8 c thrive whole wheat flour (approximate)

1. *Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. *Use a mixer to combine warm water, instant yeast, oil, and granulated sugar. Let rise 5 minutes until bubbly.

3. *Add remaining ingredients to bubbling mixture. Mix well and roll out.

4. *Form dough into rolls and let rise approximately 15 minutes.

5. *Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden brown. Cool and serve.

Yield: 36 rolls

Chicken Tortilla Soup ala Food Storage

2 cans diced tomatoes
1/2 cup tomato powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
6 cups water
2 Tbs sugar
3 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 cup freeze dried green chilies
1/2 cup freeze dried chicken

1. Put all ingredients in a crock pot and cook on high for 4 hours.

2. Serve with toppings such as shredded cheese, sour cream and tortilla chips

3. This makes a LOT.  You might want to halve it.

Apple Berry Pie from Food Storage

NOTE: I only used ONE crust (on the top) and put the other crust in the fridge.

For the Crust
2 cups Shortening Powder
1/3 cup water at room temp
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup ice cold water
For the Filling
1 cup Dehydrated Apple Slices
1 cup Freeze Dried Berries (raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, blackberries etc)
1 cup water
2/3 cup Brown Sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
3 Tbs Cornstarch
4 Tbs lemon juice

FOR THE CRUST

1. Reconstitute your shortening by mixing the powder with the 1/3 cup water. The powder will float on top of the water at first. Keep mixing and you will get a crumbly texture. Keep going until you get a liquid cream. Put this soft shortening in the fridge for 30 minutes until it has the texture of regular shortening.

2. Once shortening is ready, use your hands to mix it with four and salt until it resembles cornmeal.

3. Add water and mix until combined (DO NOT knead, just mix lightly)

4. Split dough into two pieces.

5. Roll out one piece on a floured surface until dough is very thin.

6. Fold in half twice so it looks like a triangle

7. Unfold it into your pie pan and “wiggle” it down (don’t stretch or pull / push it down)

8. Tuck extra down under the edge to create a “rim” around your pan.

9. Add filling to pie pan

10. Roll out 2nd piece of dough the same as the first and place it over the filled pie.

11. Pinch the two pie crusts together with finger on one side and thumb on the other to create a pretty edge.

12. Bake at 375 (dark pan) or 350 (glass pan) for about 1 hour.

FOR THE FILLING

1. Combine apples, berries, water, sugar, cinnamon, salt, cornstarch, and lemon juice in a small pot and bring to a boil.

2. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 10 minutes. Apples will begin to break down and the liquid will turn into a thick syrup.

3. Carefully spoon mixture into pie crust.

Servings: 8

Oil Free Chocolate Cake (made with black beans)

1 box devil’s food chocolate cake mix (Aldi)
water (as called for)
instant black beans (amount of oil called for)
eggs (as called for) – use egg powder

1. Prepare black beans as directed.  If using canned beans, make sure to drain and rinse thoroughly.

2. Mash beans thoroughly.

3. Mix on medium speed beans with water and eggs

4. Add cake mix and mix as directed

NOTE: You can do the same thing with WHITE beans and a yellow cake mix.  Try substituting beans for butter in cookies, etc.

Black Bean and Corn Salsa ala Food Storage

1 cup THRIVE Instant Black Beans
1 cup THRIVE Sweet Corn
1 can diced tomatoes
1/4 cup THRIVE Green Chilies
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 Tbsp cilantro, finely chopped
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp garlic powder
salt to taste

1. Cook beans (follow cooking directions)

2. In a small bowl, add corn and cover with hot water. Let sit 5-8 minutes or until corn is softened and rehydrate. Drain.

3. Mix the black beans, corn, chilies, red onion, and cilantro together in a large bowl.

4. Sprinkle with red wine vinegar, sugar, olive oil, cumin, garlic and salt.

5. Stir and refrigerate for several hours.

6. Serve with tortilla chips.

Homemade Flour Tortillas ala Food Storage  (I haven’t made these — they just seemed like something I’ll want to try!)

A couple of notes:

DO NOT let your pan get too hot.  You may even need to turn it down before you finish cooking all the tortillas as the pan will continue to heat.
DO NOT cook the tortillas for too long: 20-30 seconds MAX on the first side and 20 seconds on the second side.
Roll and cook each tortillas separately.  If you roll them all first, they will shrink and become too thick before you get around to cooking them.

1 cup. all purpose flour
1 cup. White Wheat flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 Tbs THRIVE Shortening powder
1/2 cup+. water

1. Combine flour, salt, baking powder and shortening powder.  Add 1/2 cup water and mix. If needed, add more water a tbsp at a time, until it just comes together. I added about 3 extra Tablespoons.  You do not want the dough too dry.

2. Divide the dough and roll into 12 balls.  Let them rest for 15 minutes.

3. Take a dough ball, and flatten with the palm of your hand. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface.  (Do not use too much flour or the excess flour will burn when you cook the tortillas).  Roll the dough out very thin: it will become transparent.  As you roll it out, turn the dough a quarter turn with each stroke until it is about 6 inches in diameter.

4. Heat your skillet over medium heat: make sure it is hot before placing the tortilla on it.  Cook the first side for about 20-30 seconds, until it just begins to turn golden. Flip and cook the other side for 20 seconds. Place cooked tortilla in a ziplock bag.  This will keep it soft and warm while you cook the other tortillas.

I thought you might get a kick out of our breakfast this morning – so I was raised by a thrifty mom who taught me wisely not to waste food.  So, those yummy rolls were sliced in half this morning and made into French toast a la food storage – aka 3 Tbsp of egg powder + ¾ cup of milk (made from milk powder) + vanilla and cinnamon.  Then, I top the French toast with my homemade sugar syrup flavored with “Mapleine.”  If you’re not familiar with Mapleine, give it a try.  You can find it in the spices area near the vanilla.  My mom made sugar syrup from brown sugar – no maple flavoring – but I’ve decided I prefer the flavoring.  The recipe for syrup is on the back of the bottle – but pretty much it’s 2 parts sugar to 1 part water.  I make 1 cup of sugar + ½ cup water and just heat it in the microwave.  I store it in my fridge in a glass canning jar.

We topped the French toast with sliced fresh peaches I purchased from www.bulknaturalfoods.com – a west Tennessee family run food co-op specializing in organic/minimally processed foods.  Please check them out.  I bought a 25lb box of amazing peaches for $15 + $5 shipping.  You are not locked in to anything – you just order what you want each order you’re interested.  This would be a great way to purchase some things to can.  We could go together to buy a couple boxes of peaches and then can them.  I have a DELICIOUS peach salsa recipe that I canned last summer.

A few storage tips:

Make a list of what recipes/snacks/foods your family eats regularly and stock up on those items whenever they go on sale.  I started out by keeping a list of what the everyday price was on items at Walmart and at Aldi.  (My list of those are 2 years old and it’s CRAZY how much those prices have risen in 2 years!  Can you say INFLATION?)  This helped me to know when things were really on sale.  I’ve gotten away from shopping at Walmart and have found that when I stock up on items at Kroger when they’re on a good sale I can save money over Walmart anyway.  Also, know the prices for regular sized items (say a 4 lb bag of sugar) so when you’re at Costco you know if the 25 lbs bag is a good price.  I kept this list printed out in my wallet.  Now I use a free I-Phone app called “GROCERY IQ.”  I put in the notes section what the price was – say for hamburger or tuna, etc. so I know whether something is a good price or not.  As I’m growing older, I really notice that if I don’t write it down I don’t remember it!  Here’s my Aldi price list from 2 years ago:

ALDI PRICES 4/21/2010

 Sugar                                      2.49         (5lb)

Flour                                      1.39         (5lb)

100 cal cookies                       1.99         (5.3 oz)

Triscuits                                  1.49         (9.5 oz)

Wheat thins                            1.39         (10 oz)

Cake Mix                                .89

Extra Virg Olive Oil               3.99         (16.9 oz)

Choc Chips                             1.69         (12 oz)

Frosting                                  1.19         (16 oz)

Pecans                                    2.89         (6 oz)

Peanut Butter                         1.39         (18 oz)

Oatmeal – flavored                  1.49         (15 oz)

Tuna in water                         .49           (5 oz)

Spag Sauce                             1.19         (26 oz)

Fabric Soft                             1.89         (70 sheets)

Orange Cleaner                     .99           (32 oz)

Dishwasher Gel                     2.49         (75 oz)

Lt Sour Cream                       .89           (16 oz)

Butter                                      1.99         (16 oz)

Smart Bal Butter                    2.29         (15 oz)

Sliced Cheese                          1.99         (8 oz)

Hamburger (80%)                  2.49/lb

Hamburger (93%)                  2.99/lb

Whole wheat bread               1.19         (20 oz)

Mushrooms                            .99           (8 oz)

Black Beans                           .59           (15.5 oz)

I found this GREAT website at www.dealstomeals.blogspot.com and she is like a food storage mega woman.  So, let’s say tuna is on a mega sale, stock up as much as your budget allows – say, buy 30 cans.  Base is on the expiration date and how much your family would eat before it expires.  Watch the expiration date – I have stocked up on peanut butter and on canned evaporated milk and not used them before they expired.

Stock up on what you use – cereal, oatmeal, ketchup, mayo, oil, sugar, flour, tuna.

I’m a bit embarrassed to show you what kind of junk our family was eating a couple years ago when I made this list, but for the sake of transparency I’ll put my list here.  This list allowed us to know what to have in our “home store.”  Now that we are eating less processed food, I store larger quantities of a smaller variety of items — so rather than buying things pre-made, I make them from scratch or use more whole foods and fresh fruits and veggies.

FREEZE stuff!  Cheese, butter, hamburger (I buy in bulk, cook it with onions and portion it in ¾ lbs portions in quart size bags).  When your fresh fruit looks like it’s going to turn – freeze it, or even cook it and freeze it.  Costco has great prices on fresh strawberries, so I’ll buy a 4-lb thing fresh.  Then, if we don’t eat them all, I wash them, cut off green tops and freeze them whole on a cookie sheet.  After they’re frozen, toss them in a ziplock bag and you can use them individually.  Grate up zucchini, press out the excess liquid and freeze in a baggie to use for muffins.  Bananas, peaches and blueberries are great frozen – they’re great in muffins or smoothies.  We do have an upright freezer in our garage that allows us to stock up on what’s on sale.

“America’s Cheapest Family Gets You Right on the Money: Your Guide to Living Better, Spending Less, and Cashing in on Your Dreams” by Steve and Annette Economides is available at the Collierville library and had lots of great tips.

As far as using actually Shelf Reliance foods, my favorite products would include: egg powder, instant milk powder, sour cream powder, shortening powder, freeze dried chiles, carrot dices, bell peppers, diced onions, potato beads (instant potatoes), mushrooms, tomato powder, instant black beans, and hard WHITE winter wheat.

Shelf Reliance carries a #10 can of Garden Vegetable seeds.  We bought 2 cans and have been experimenting with planting one can and stored the other.  The seeds are non-hybrid and even come with a little sheet explaining how to collect and store the seeds to replant the next year.

Thanks you guys!

We did not discuss cooking without electricity.  Here’s a cool website with some great recipes:

http://www.outdoorcookingmagic.com

We invested in some cast iron dishes.