Imagine, you have to live by eating off your food storage... hmmm... 365 days of wheat, rice, honey and dry milk... yuck! What will you flavor it with? How will you change the taste? First off, you can change the wheat, you can grind it fine for flour, crack it with your grain mill for cereal, and sprout it for eating or making . Wow, three different things you can do with the wheat to change the texture. With your rice, you can use it as is, grind it fine to make a flour, or grind it like corn meal and have cream of rice !!! Unless you know how to make natural sourdough, or natural sprouted wheat dough, you won't be able to make bread with your wheat !!
I know the basics to start with are wheat, rice, dry milk and honey; but honestly, unless you use it daily or weekly, if you really have to try to all of a sudden survive on this you will get major intestinal upset! Not kidding, people not used to eating wholewheat will get diarrhea which then causes dehydration. Not a good option. So start using your whole wheat now, get your body acclimated to the wonderful grain.
Powdered milk does and will go rancid. Is the powdered milk in your storage whole, half fat or non fat, instant or regular? It truly makes a difference. I suggest non fat, it keeps the longest.
Honey, yes it can and will crystalize, no big deal really, you will just have to cut it out of the jar or jug. It happens when the honey loses moisture, but it does not mean it is bad!! Infact honey is a natural disenfectant. Did you know you can put raw honey on a cut and it will help prevent it from getting infected? The trick is finding true raw honey.
Rice... most of the rice I canned at the cannery is parboiled which = par gross!!! The texture is nasty, the flavor is dull, and the nutrients are lacking. If you want full nutrient rice, then you would need to get brown rice, problem is, brown rice is high in natural oils and hence goes rancid faster than white rice. AND brown rice, unless you are used to the flavor, is hard for some to like.
Ok, so far we only have the 4 things in our food storage.. How will we change the flavor? What will we make? How will we cook it?
Changing the flavor can honestly be changed by how you treat the grain. Get a family grain mill (you won't regret it) and you can now make flour, cracked wheat, and farina (cream of wheat). Did you know if you sprout your wheat the nutritional value goes up exponentially and it changes from a starch to a vegetable? Yup, very true, what a bonus. Easy to do, grab a clean peanut butter jar, or glass jar, put your 1/2 cup of wheat in there, soak in room temp water for about 18 hours, then drain. Rinse the grains 3 times a day for about 2 to 3 days or until you have little tails about 1/3 the length of the wheat kernal. Now you can grind it up fine and make sprouted wheat bread. OR grow it until the tail is 2/3 the length of the kernal, cook up and you have a nice chewy grain to eat. OR let it go until full length of kernal, and dry it and grind it fine and you have demalt (great way to get a good rise out of your yeasted breads). I will post a recipe for sprouted wheat bread in a bit. Ok, cracked wheat is a common cereal, easy to do in your family grain mill, set your mill so it cracks the wheat or breaks it in half. Cook 1 part wheat to 2 or 3 parts water depending on how you like it. Boil until all liquid is absorbed. Go a little further and set your mill to grind the wheat so it comes out like corn meal or cream of wheat, ta da, a different textured cereal.
Want a different taste? Instead of using water to cook your wheat cereals, use milk.. Yup, good ol' fashioned porridge!! yummers
Turn your rice into pudding. How? Make up your milk, and cook your rice in the milk. As it absorbs the milk, it releases natural sugars which will help to thicken up the milk..So use a ratio of 1 part rice to 3 parts milk.
You can also do something really fun with left over farina or cream of rice cereal, pour into 13x9 pan and let cool, you will want it atleast 1/2-inch thick. When cold, cut into squares and fry up in your cast iron pan, serve with a light drizzle of honey... of course you can only fry it if you have some fat..but that is an entire other blog post. You could also cover with gravy if you happened to cook up some meat and were able to make gravy.
So now after this looooong post about how to use some of the basics my question remains, Could you really handle eating only wheat, rice, honey and powdered milk for 365 days with nothing else? Think hard, I doubt it. Infact I think many of you would starve from either getting sick from eating things you aren't used to, or starving from refusing to eat it.. again..and again.. My point????
Add to the basics. Herbs can really go a long way, and if you buy them from the bulk bins you can get them for cheap. Great herbs to get???? Thyme, rosemary, marjoram, minced dried onion, minced dry garlic, oregano, basil, poultry seasoning, SALT, pepper, chili powder, paprika, celery seed, dill, ground CINNAMON (has health benefits too!!!!), nutmeg, juniper berries, alspice berries, vanilla, ground ginger, ground cloves (health benefits!!), bouillon cubes.. Spices are there to keep the palate from getting bored. You can also dry your own veggies to add: zucchini, carrots (blanch first!), potatoes (blanch first), peppers, oranges, orange peel, lemons, lemon peel, limes, lime peel, apples, bananas, raisins, peaches, pears.. Dried fruits and veggies take up less room than canned, can be rehydrated and used, or simply eaten as is, but remember to drink plenty of water.
So there you have it... what has been on my mind now for over a month. If you only have the basics, will you get appetite fatigue?
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
A big upset..
I just wrote a long awesome post.. and it disappeared. I am a bit upset. I will try to right it again... later after I get kids in bed. :(
Monday, October 17, 2011
Crock Pot Challenge Week 2
Wow.. second week with some yummy stuff!!! Again no pictures... I promise I will post them when I take them!!!
Chicken Cordon Bleu
Chicken breast (boneless skinless)
Ham, sliced, cut up or cubed
Carmelized onions and garlic
Thick cream of chicken soup or white sauce (homemade)
Shredded swiss cheese
Place chicken in bottom of crock, top with ham, then onions and garlic. Spread white sauce or cream of soup over meat. Cook on high 4 hours or low for 7 hours. IF frozen chicken used, cook on high. About 20 minutes before serving, stir in swiss cheese (OR reserve and serve over each serving).
Chicken with Beans and cream sauce
4 - 5 boneless chicken breasts
1 (15-ounce) can black beans
1 (15-ounce) jar salsa, any kind you like
1 (15-ounce) can corn, drained *****
1 (8-ounce) pkg. cream cheese
Place frozen chicken in bottom of crock pot. Pour everything else over the top, EXCEPT cheese!! Cook on high 4 hours or low 7 to 8 hours or until chicken is done. Place brick of cream cheese on top and replace lid, let sit for about 30 minutes until ready to serve. Stir cheese into the rest of sauce. Serve over rice or noodles.
*****Obviously due to allergies, we did NOT use corn, and we used home made salsa, and homecanned beans. We also used a lot less cream cheese, and used sour cream for those who needed more creaminess.
Crock Pot Apple Cheesecake
BUT we used blueberries instead. I cooked them with some lemon juice and a splash of vanilla to make a compote of sorts. I also stirred in a teaspoon or two of butter at the end to make the blueberry sauce really sing. So instead of using apple pie filling (homemade of course) I used the home made blueberry sauce. So darn good!!!!!
Crock Pot Mystery Meat Meal
Potatoes, peeled, large cubes (raw)
1/2 onion, diced
Meat, cooked mystery meat from freezer
Chicken stock
Pepper
Cook on low for 4 hours- 8 hours or high for 4 hours.
Ok, so yes this was a guess.. ha ha .. I wasn't sure if it was pork roast, roast beef or what.. It turned out to be roast beef that I had smoked during the summer. It was so yummy. So this proves you can throw almost any good food in the crock pot and end up with a winner. Granted Bo and Princess didn't eat much of it, they don't care for meat and potatoes (weirdos), but everyone else loved it.
So guess what happens when you fill your crock pot 3 or more times in a week? You only "cook" 3 times a week, and reheat the rest !!!! Tonight we are having leftovers, and we will be having them until I have room in my fridge. And I promised myself some cod this week, or smoked salmon.. I am trying to figure something I can do for fish in the crock pot.
I love my crock pots!!! Tomorrow mornings breakfast will be porridge in the crock pot, I can't wait!!! I love porridge in the crock pot! BUT, this will be made most likely dairy free so Peaches can have some too.. so I will make some rice/coconut milk tonight too. mmmmm good.
Chicken Cordon Bleu
Chicken breast (boneless skinless)
Ham, sliced, cut up or cubed
Carmelized onions and garlic
Thick cream of chicken soup or white sauce (homemade)
Shredded swiss cheese
Place chicken in bottom of crock, top with ham, then onions and garlic. Spread white sauce or cream of soup over meat. Cook on high 4 hours or low for 7 hours. IF frozen chicken used, cook on high. About 20 minutes before serving, stir in swiss cheese (OR reserve and serve over each serving).
Chicken with Beans and cream sauce
4 - 5 boneless chicken breasts
1 (15-ounce) can black beans
1 (15-ounce) jar salsa, any kind you like
1 (15-ounce) can corn, drained *****
1 (8-ounce) pkg. cream cheese
Place frozen chicken in bottom of crock pot. Pour everything else over the top, EXCEPT cheese!! Cook on high 4 hours or low 7 to 8 hours or until chicken is done. Place brick of cream cheese on top and replace lid, let sit for about 30 minutes until ready to serve. Stir cheese into the rest of sauce. Serve over rice or noodles.
*****Obviously due to allergies, we did NOT use corn, and we used home made salsa, and homecanned beans. We also used a lot less cream cheese, and used sour cream for those who needed more creaminess.
Crock Pot Apple Cheesecake
BUT we used blueberries instead. I cooked them with some lemon juice and a splash of vanilla to make a compote of sorts. I also stirred in a teaspoon or two of butter at the end to make the blueberry sauce really sing. So instead of using apple pie filling (homemade of course) I used the home made blueberry sauce. So darn good!!!!!
Crock Pot Mystery Meat Meal
Potatoes, peeled, large cubes (raw)
1/2 onion, diced
Meat, cooked mystery meat from freezer
Chicken stock
Pepper
Cook on low for 4 hours- 8 hours or high for 4 hours.
Ok, so yes this was a guess.. ha ha .. I wasn't sure if it was pork roast, roast beef or what.. It turned out to be roast beef that I had smoked during the summer. It was so yummy. So this proves you can throw almost any good food in the crock pot and end up with a winner. Granted Bo and Princess didn't eat much of it, they don't care for meat and potatoes (weirdos), but everyone else loved it.
So guess what happens when you fill your crock pot 3 or more times in a week? You only "cook" 3 times a week, and reheat the rest !!!! Tonight we are having leftovers, and we will be having them until I have room in my fridge. And I promised myself some cod this week, or smoked salmon.. I am trying to figure something I can do for fish in the crock pot.
I love my crock pots!!! Tomorrow mornings breakfast will be porridge in the crock pot, I can't wait!!! I love porridge in the crock pot! BUT, this will be made most likely dairy free so Peaches can have some too.. so I will make some rice/coconut milk tonight too. mmmmm good.
Monday, October 10, 2011
Crock-Pot Challenge Week 1
First, I'm sorry. I forgot to take pictures! UGH.. Owell, we had some wonderful yumminess this last week.
Split Pea Soup
2 cups cubed ham or a meaty ham hock (or a kielbasa cut up, or italian sausage cooked and cut up)**
2 cups split peas, rinsed and checked for rocks
small onion minced
2 carrots, cut into chunks
1 bay leaf
2 cloves of garlic, minced
fresh ground pepper
1 and 1/2 quarts of chicken stock
water
Place all in crock pot and give a stir to break up the pea clumps, for some reason they like to stick together when wet. Put the lid on and set it to low and let it go all day. Stir well before serving. If we use a meaty ham bone, then we will pull the bone out and take all the meat off and put it in the crock pot. The dog usually gets the bone when I am done with it. Then stir the meat in well and serve.
**I use just about any kind of high flavor meat. I have used smoked ham hocks, the bone from the spiral cut ham from costco, kielbasa sausage, italian bulk sausage, brats. The key is to have a good flavor meat.
We also had a new "chili", one we liked quite a bit! It's from the Taste of Home Casserole book. This is thick, not a soupy chili. The rice kind of makes it creamy. The kids must have loved it because when I got home from work I got praises and there was only a little left for DH and I to share.
Chili Casserole
1 pound bulk sausage (we used hamburger)
2 cups water
1 can (15-1/2 ounces) chili beans, undrained (I used home canned black beans)
1 can (14-1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained (I used homemade mexican soup base, salsa that didn't turn out)
3/4 cup uncooked long grain rice (I used cal-rose as it is what I have)
1/4 cup chopped onion (I used half an onion, and cut it up fine)
1 Tablespoon chili powder (I used 2 tsp. as I ran out of chili powder)
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon prepared mustard (French's)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder (I used 2 cloves garlic minced)
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese (oops forgot this)
In a skillet, cook the sausage over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Transfer to slow cooker. Add the next 10 ingredients; stir well. Cover and cook on low for 7 hours or until rice is tender. Stir in cheese; cook 10 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Yield: 6 servings.
**We did not use the cheese. Infact we try not to use a lot of dairy or rely on it as it is hard to keep cheese good when the power is out. Besides, it didn't need it.
We also made chicken stock.
Baked chicken bones (bones from dinner the night before, and no, I pulled the meat off of them and only served the meat)
Salt, 2 to 3 teaspoons
Bay leaf
Carrot peelings
Onion, 1/4 to 1/2 of an onion
1 to 4 cloves garlic, smashed or minced
Put all in crock pot, cover with water; Cover and turn on low for 8 to 10 hours or overnight. Strain, and transfter to quart jars or a bowl and put in fridge. When cold, scrape off the fat. Bring to boil if going to can it. IF not using right away, you can wait to scrape off the fat for when you will be using it.
We also had Crock-Pot Mud Cake, it is a favorite!
So for the first week, we used our crock pot 4 times. I hope to have a day where everything is cooked in a crock pot.. Maybe this week.
I will try to update these with pictures when I make them again :)
Split Pea Soup
2 cups cubed ham or a meaty ham hock (or a kielbasa cut up, or italian sausage cooked and cut up)**
2 cups split peas, rinsed and checked for rocks
small onion minced
2 carrots, cut into chunks
1 bay leaf
2 cloves of garlic, minced
fresh ground pepper
1 and 1/2 quarts of chicken stock
water
Place all in crock pot and give a stir to break up the pea clumps, for some reason they like to stick together when wet. Put the lid on and set it to low and let it go all day. Stir well before serving. If we use a meaty ham bone, then we will pull the bone out and take all the meat off and put it in the crock pot. The dog usually gets the bone when I am done with it. Then stir the meat in well and serve.
**I use just about any kind of high flavor meat. I have used smoked ham hocks, the bone from the spiral cut ham from costco, kielbasa sausage, italian bulk sausage, brats. The key is to have a good flavor meat.
We also had a new "chili", one we liked quite a bit! It's from the Taste of Home Casserole book. This is thick, not a soupy chili. The rice kind of makes it creamy. The kids must have loved it because when I got home from work I got praises and there was only a little left for DH and I to share.
Chili Casserole
1 pound bulk sausage (we used hamburger)
2 cups water
1 can (15-1/2 ounces) chili beans, undrained (I used home canned black beans)
1 can (14-1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained (I used homemade mexican soup base, salsa that didn't turn out)
3/4 cup uncooked long grain rice (I used cal-rose as it is what I have)
1/4 cup chopped onion (I used half an onion, and cut it up fine)
1 Tablespoon chili powder (I used 2 tsp. as I ran out of chili powder)
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon prepared mustard (French's)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder (I used 2 cloves garlic minced)
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese (oops forgot this)
In a skillet, cook the sausage over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Transfer to slow cooker. Add the next 10 ingredients; stir well. Cover and cook on low for 7 hours or until rice is tender. Stir in cheese; cook 10 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Yield: 6 servings.
**We did not use the cheese. Infact we try not to use a lot of dairy or rely on it as it is hard to keep cheese good when the power is out. Besides, it didn't need it.
We also made chicken stock.
Baked chicken bones (bones from dinner the night before, and no, I pulled the meat off of them and only served the meat)
Salt, 2 to 3 teaspoons
Bay leaf
Carrot peelings
Onion, 1/4 to 1/2 of an onion
1 to 4 cloves garlic, smashed or minced
Put all in crock pot, cover with water; Cover and turn on low for 8 to 10 hours or overnight. Strain, and transfter to quart jars or a bowl and put in fridge. When cold, scrape off the fat. Bring to boil if going to can it. IF not using right away, you can wait to scrape off the fat for when you will be using it.
We also had Crock-Pot Mud Cake, it is a favorite!
So for the first week, we used our crock pot 4 times. I hope to have a day where everything is cooked in a crock pot.. Maybe this week.
I will try to update these with pictures when I make them again :)
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Crock-Pot Challenge
Wow, it's October already!! I mentioned recently a crock pot challenge. In this challenge, I will be making as many meals as possible in the crock pot.. How many crock pots do you have? I don't know about you, but I love the crock pot, bbq, and cast iron dutch ovens; that said, I have 1 bbq, 1 dutch oven (I'm saving for more!!) and 4 or 5 crock pots (not sure, I can't remember if I bought one I wanted or not, and it is too cold in my house to get out from under my blankie to go look).
So this challenge will be for breakfasts and dinners and some desserts, not lunch as my family is not home for lunch. Crock pot cooking is as easy as you make it. I am NOT saying use processed foods, I am simply saying preparation is key, but I think it is key with cooking any meal.
So as I make a crock pot meal, I will try to post it on here, I am hoping to do this daily, but on days where I am working long shifts I do not think I will have the energy to post until the next day or so. BUT I will update :)
So this challenge will be for breakfasts and dinners and some desserts, not lunch as my family is not home for lunch. Crock pot cooking is as easy as you make it. I am NOT saying use processed foods, I am simply saying preparation is key, but I think it is key with cooking any meal.
So as I make a crock pot meal, I will try to post it on here, I am hoping to do this daily, but on days where I am working long shifts I do not think I will have the energy to post until the next day or so. BUT I will update :)
Sunday, September 25, 2011
FORGET - ME - NOT
Women's Conference was amazing and President Uchtdorf always knows the perfect thing to say. He just happened to mention one of my favorite flowers, and I found it odd because I was just thinking about them this week and how with being so busy with school and work, I didn't see them this year. And then President Uchtdorf said what he did about these petite lovely flowers that I love to draw. If you look closely, they have a star in the center of each flower..Remember, you too have been touched by our Lord and he knows you by name.. Below I have what each of the five petals are to help us remember.
I love these sweet flowers, and I love ladybugs. Now these flowers remind me even more of how much the Lord loves me. And the ladybug reminds me that even though I am only one of many, I can do all things through Christ.
Forget Not: {5 Petals}
...to be patient with yourself....the difference between good sacrifice and foolish sacrifice....to be happy now....the why of the Gospel....and....Forget Not that the Lord loves you.
I love these sweet flowers, and I love ladybugs. Now these flowers remind me even more of how much the Lord loves me. And the ladybug reminds me that even though I am only one of many, I can do all things through Christ.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
What have you done this month?
Wow it is mid-September, what have you done for preparedness this month? Personally with working over 40 hours a week this month I haven't done as much as I would like, but I have done some.
I canned pears, got wood for fires, froze blueberries, planted peas and checked to see how much wheat I have in storage. I also would like to do a complete inventory; plant onions, garlic, beets, lettuce and spinach; get some quilts done; and spray for spiders. Of those three I am not sure what will get done.
The weather has changed dramatically these last two weeks. Sunny and hot to sunny and warm to suddenly cloudy and very cool (almost cold). With that coldness things start coming inside: spiders, ants, yellow jackets and rodents!!! Yuck! Are you ready?
A heads up, Foley's has some deals on produce, I am not sure how much longer he will be providing for us as this has been a weak season. Sorry I didn't have any deals through my co-op, but the prices weren't very good, and I haven't had time to drive outside of Monroe to I think Sumner or Gold Bar to pick up stuff. I hope we have a warehouse sale again soon.
I am hoping to do a crock pot challenge in October.. I will post more on that later.
Love you all! Have a safe weekend!
I canned pears, got wood for fires, froze blueberries, planted peas and checked to see how much wheat I have in storage. I also would like to do a complete inventory; plant onions, garlic, beets, lettuce and spinach; get some quilts done; and spray for spiders. Of those three I am not sure what will get done.
The weather has changed dramatically these last two weeks. Sunny and hot to sunny and warm to suddenly cloudy and very cool (almost cold). With that coldness things start coming inside: spiders, ants, yellow jackets and rodents!!! Yuck! Are you ready?
A heads up, Foley's has some deals on produce, I am not sure how much longer he will be providing for us as this has been a weak season. Sorry I didn't have any deals through my co-op, but the prices weren't very good, and I haven't had time to drive outside of Monroe to I think Sumner or Gold Bar to pick up stuff. I hope we have a warehouse sale again soon.
I am hoping to do a crock pot challenge in October.. I will post more on that later.
Love you all! Have a safe weekend!
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