Dehydrating Beans

There are a myriad of ways to use dry beans to feed your family.  As we have learned in previous posts on beans, some are really good, and some are from Satan himself.

After you try one or two of Satan's specialties, you become very suspicious of any new bean suggestions.  No one can blame you.  But you come upon somebody somewhere's recommendation to try dehydrating beans, and you're kinda like that poor moth that can't resist being drawn to the light.

Zap.

OK, dehydrated beans aren't too bad.  Honest.  And there are a few things you can actually do better with dehydrated beans.

• Make a trail snack.  Cooked beans, ready to dehydrate, are seasoned with salt or other spices (curry, chili powder, onion or garlic powder, Chinese five spice, garam masala) and then spread on dehydrating trays.  These have a texture or crunch like hard pretzels.
• Add just the right amount to soup or stew.
• Make a quick cream of bean soup.
• Make instant refried beans or hummus.  One guy suggested doing this after dehydrating the beans.  It makes more sense to me to mash the beans before dehydrating.  Rehydrate for 10-12 minutes, then simmer, stir, and add water if necessary to achieve desired consistency. 
• Make instant chili.
• Make single servings instead of opening up a whole can or jar and wasting half or more.

Cooked beans are very easy to dehydrate.  Simply spread them on dehydrator trays and season if desired.  If preparing for refried beans or hummus, don't forget to mash the beans first.  Dehydrate at 125 degrees for about 8-12 hours.

Vacuum sealed in canning jars, these beans will store for about six months.  Sealed in Mylar, they should be good for a few years. 

When you want to use the beans, rehydrate with boiling water for fastest results.  The amount of time and water needed will vary by type of bean. 

Links to related posts:
Baking with Beans
Beans in Food Storage
Refried Beans
Bean Flour   
Pinto Bean Fudge  

© 2019, PrepSchoolDaily.blogspot.com 

Mini-Batches of Chocolate Chip Cookies

(I wrote the following three months ago, long before coronavirus became a household word.  It may seem trivial to consider how best to make chocolate chip cookies in light of all that is happening around the world.  In the words of Mike Leavitt, HHS Secretary back in 2007, “Everything we do before a pandemic will seem alarmist. Everything we do after will seem inadequate.”  Small batches of chocolate chip cookies definitely fall on the inadequate end of the spectrum.  And loads of people who have visited this blog for the last eighteen months will judge many of the articles posted here as alarmist.  So be it.  Today, for a few moments, take a break from the coronavirus coverage and make some cookies.  We all need to take a breather.  OK, I need a breather.)

Many years ago, when I realized the trajectory this country of ours was on, and that storing food for uncertainties was no longer just what a prudent person does, but rather, what every person with a couple of brain cells to rub together should be doing, I started compiling all our family recipes into a single binder.  I wasn't going to hang onto dozens of cookbooks any longer that had only a few favorite recipes each.  I copied everything I wanted and then donated the books.  And I made copies for all the children.

But now where are we?  Nationally, we're still on the same trajectory and picking up speed.  But here at home, we've only got two children left, and one doesn't even eat with us most of the time.  Every one of those recipes needs to be scaled down.  The kids are starting families of their own and need their own fun-size recipe versions as well.  And yes, it isn't too difficult to look at a recipe and cut it in half.  But you know, it takes only one mistake.  And I swear, it always happens about halfway through the recipe and it never fails that I scattered that ingredient all over the bowl and there's no way of scooping it back out.  The only remedy is to just make a full batch and add back in the other half of the ingredients.

Even if I manage to remember to halve everything, the recipe isn't quite right. It needs a smaller pan.  Or only half an egg.  Stuff like that.

So when I ran across a cookbook titled Dessert for Two, somehow a lightbulb went on.  It's a no-brainer really, isn't it?  And yet, the utility of having small-scale recipes for the interesting times ahead just hadn't quite dawned on me until now.  I've been trying out a lot of recipes.  More than I should.  And it's not just scaling down the recipe itself that I want to do, but I also want to have some that are just-add-water mixes.

With that in mind, I spent a delightful afternoon making chocolate chip cookies.  I put on a few pounds, to say the least.  I hope you appreciate my efforts.

Mini-Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies
12 cookies

All fresh ingredients	Straight cheap food storage and just-add-water mix	A little more upper scale and just-add-water mix
6 tablespoons butter	6 tablespoons coconut oil	3 tablespoons dehydrated butter powder + 2 tablespoons coconut oil
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 large egg yolk	1 tablespoon dehydrated eggs	1 tablespoon dehydrated eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract	1/2 teaspoon powdered vanilla	1/2 teaspoon powdered vanilla
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup chocolate chips
2 tablespoons chopped walnuts (optional)	Omit	Optional
2 tablespoons sweetened flaked coconut (optional)	Omit	Optional
	2 tablespoons water	2 1/2 tablespoons water

For the fresh baking option:
Combine the first six ingredients (per the left side) and mix thoroughly.  Then add in the next four ingredients and combine those well before mixing in with the butter-sugar-egg mixture.  Add in the chocolate chips and optional ingredients and mix by hand just until combined.  (Because I wanted to be sure these would still taste good if they were mixed by hand, that's what I did.)  Drop dough by tablespoonfuls onto cookie sheet.

For the just-add-water mixes
Combine all the ingredients except the chocolate chips, nuts, coconut, and water.  Put these in a Ziploc bag.  Put the chocolate chips, nuts, and coconut in another Ziploc bag.  Attach baking instructions, including the amount of water to add and baking temperature.

Now baking without reliable electricity can present some challenges.  But when it comes to drop cookies, it's not a big deal.  We can easily roll with the punches.  Perhaps the sun oven isn't heating as well as you'd like.  Maybe the coals for the Dutch oven are winding down.  Or conversely, maybe they're a little on the warm side but dinner's not ready to go in yet.  Regardless, you have options to work with as far as temperature and time go.  Whether you bake your cookies for 20 minutes at 300 degrees or 8 minutes at 375 degrees, they're still going to taste great.

Bake at 300 for 20 minutes.
Bake at 325 for 14 minutes
Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.
Bake at 375 for 8 minutes.

Remember that cookie dough made with coconut oil lacks the buttery flavor of cookie dough made with butter.  But the cookies taste just fine.  Using some coconut oil and butter powder restores the buttery flavor and reduces the slight oiliness of the straight coconut oil recipe.

If you are the type to eat raw cookie dough, note that it would be better to use pasteurized powdered eggs to reduce the risk of food poisoning.  Augason Farms is one company that pasteurizes their eggs.  However, most do not.  Also, studies in recent years have shown that raw flour is often a culprit in food poisoning, so using pasteurized powdered eggs doesn't get you off the hook.  

I happen to like eating cookie dough.  I'm not stopping anytime soon.  But we probably shouldn't let children do it.

You can get powdered vanilla in the spice section of larger mid- to upper-scale grocery stores and on Amazon.  It runs about ten dollars for four ounces.  Kinda pricey, but if you are only using it for just-add-water mixes, then it isn't that bad. 

Links to related posts:
Thai Peanut Noodles and Curry Rice with Chicken
How to Dehydrate Pasta and an Instant Meal
Instant Soups 

Nixtamalization and Making Masa

Nixtamalization.  OK, so not only is that a word that almost no word-processing program recognizes, but it isn't even pronounced as it's spelled.  That nix is pronounced neesh.  Believe it or not.
And yes, you need to know this, if you are storing whole dent corn as part of your food storage.  If your dent corn is only for animals, you're done here.

Nixtamalization is a process the Native Americans and Central Americans used to process their maize.  It removed toxins that sometimes develop in corn, especially corn that's gotten some mold in it, and it also made the niacin nutritionally available to the human body.  It looked like a ridiculous waste of time to colonial Americans and Europeans, who soon dismissed the process.  And those who adopted a diet heavy in un-nixtamalized corn developed a nasty little condition called pellagra that sometimes proved fatal.

Not only does the nixtamalization process eliminate mold and make niacin available, but it also transforms the corn so that it can be turned into a dough.  If corn tortillas are on the menu at the TEOTWAWKI Cafe, you've got to be able to nixtamalize your whole corn.  Here's how:

Nixtamalized Corn
2 cups whole dent corn
2 tablespoons pickling lime
6 cups water
1 teaspoon salt

Rinse the corn in a colander.  In a medium stainless steel or enamel pot, dissolve the pickling lime in the water and add salt.  (Quickly wash off any lime that gets on your skin.)  Pour in the corn and remove any floating kernels.  Slowly bring to a boil over high heat, and then reduce the heat to low.  Cook for 15-45 minutes.  To test for doneness, remove two or three kernels from the pot and let them cool until they can be handled comfortably.  Rub the kernels between your fingers.  Does the skin or outer layer (the pericarp) come off easily?  If so, the corn is done.  If not, keep cooking.  However, do not cook longer than is necessary.  Mushy kernels will not work well.  Remove from heat and let cool for four hours on the counter or overnight in the refrigerator.

Drain the corn in a colander in the sink and wash it in cold running water.  Rub the kernels vigorously with your fingers to remove the softened hulls.  This will take several minutes.  Drain thoroughly.  Now use as desired:

• Add to soups or stews.
• Grind them with a food mill or a food processor designed for moist foods to make masa for tamales or corn tortillas.  
• Refrigerate unused masa and use within three days.

Corn that is being turned into masa for tamales and tortillas must be nixtamalized.  It won't make dough otherwise.  The same goes for corn that is to become hominy.  And--this is especially important--if corn is going to be the foundation of the diet, it must be nixtamalized or niacin deficiency and pellagra become a real risk.  The nixtamalization process makes niacin nutritionally available to people.  However, if the corn is being used for cornbread and/or is part of a well-balanced and varied diet, people will get niacin in other ways.  Also, while nixtamalization makes niacin available, it reduces the amount of other vitamins and minerals.  Un-nixtamalized corn still has other vitamins and minerals that make it a worthwhile addition to your food storage.

Note.  Pickling lime is food-grade calcium hydroxide.  It is generally found with home canning supplies at grocery stores.  It is also sold simply as Cal in Latin American grocery stores.

Links to related posts:
Corn for Long Term Storage 
Pellagra and Vitamin B3  

For further reading:
https://www.motherearthnews.com/real-food/make-masa-nixtamalized-corn-zmaz04amzsel
https://honest-food.net/how-to-make-nixtamal-nixtamalization/

© 2020, PrepSchoolDaily.blogspot.com 

11.2.23

Sterile Gown, Gloves, and Towels

As I type this post, there is an awful lot of panic purchasing going on in the world due to the Wu flu COVID-19, or whatever you want to call it.

Anyway, there's been lots of panic buying of masks.  Maybe gloves will follow.  Some people are worried about food and report stocking up.  I haven't seen any of that here.  Yet.  I am glad to panic early and beat the rush.

As others focus on their immediate task at hand, preparing for COVID-19, if it's coming, it's time to consider other items to have on hand also.  China apparently makes 95% of the pharmaceuticals in the world.  It wasn't the brightest idea to let that happen, for sure.  So hopefully you panicked early and got your medications taken care of as well.

As far as sterile supplies go, these are the last few things to consider acquiring.  Let's make it clear again.  I am not going to be performing any surgeries. I don't have the training or the desire.  These supplies are for a doctor to care for my family.

And some might be thinking, if things get that bad, I won't want to survive.  That may be true, and there will probably be many who make that choice and don't prepare to this extent.  There are definitely a lot of conditions that just won't be treatable without advanced medical support.  But not all.

What about an appendectomy?  It's supposedly very simple surgery, and often the first one surgeons in training perform.  And appendicitis is a pretty common illness.  It strikes without warning and we don't yet know how to prevent or avoid it.  I'd want to be able to provide a surgical gown to a doctor who is working on a family member.

And what about childbirth?  Perinatal infections were a leading cause of death among women until physicians started washing their hands and antibiotics came on the scene.  In a compromised situation, I'd definitely want everyone attending to my daughters and daughter-in-law to be wearing sterile gowns and gloves.

Sterile surgical gown.  Doctors are not loading up on sterile gowns to attend to people outside their own families.  There are a few options to choose from.  Basically, you'll need to decide whether you want to get disposable or reusable.  And you may want to get a few, even if they are reusable.  The doctor usually doesn't operate alone.  His assistant should have a sterile gown as well.

Sterile gloves.  The boxes of gloves we've already discussed and stockpiled are not sterile.  They are not suited for surgeries.  Sterile gloves are individually packaged and will run about a dollar a pair on a good day. 

Sterile towels.  Sterile towels may be purchased in packages as such, or you can get regular surgical towels that are reusable and durable enough for autoclaving.  The initial cost is about the same, but the reusable ones are, duh, reusable.  The disposable sterile towels will not stand up to repeated autoclaving.  Sterile towels will be used much more often than sterile gowns and gloves.  Anytime there is any stitching to be done, it's important to cover the surrounding area with sterile towels or drapes to prevent the suture material from coming into contact with contaminants.

Links to related posts:
Wrapping Instruments for Sterilization
Sterilizing with a Pressure Canner
Appendicitis  

5 february 2023

Chocolate Molten Lava Cake

(I wrote the following article last summer, and it just kept getting bumped for other things that I thought were more important.   But for the past couple of weeks, the whole coronavirus thing has been at the forefront of many people's minds.  We need a break.  I need a break.  So today I figured is a good day to post on something chocolate-related.  Also, it's Cheap Candy Day.  If you believe in being truly prepared for TEOTWAWKI, get out quick this morning and stock up on the leftover Valentine's Day candy.)
Because my daughters were visiting their grandparents for two weeks, doing work around their yard and getting them ready to sell their house, we did not have many treats at home.  While that was great for healthier eating and our waistlines, after two weeks I was wanting something sweet and chocolate-y.


I've had the following recipe for a while, but just hadn't had the opportunity to try it until last night.  It originally came from StoreThisNotThat.com.  That blog's not active anymore, and some information and recipes have been removed, but there is still a lot of good stuff there.  Their focus is on using food storage every day, but without too much attention on the idea that someday there won't be a grocery store or electricity.  I've adapted the recipe just a bit.

Chocolate Molten Lava Cake
1/2 cup wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
6 tablespoons cocoa, divided
3 tablespoons non-instant milk powder OR 5 tablespoons instant milk powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cool water
2 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 1/2 cups hot water

Whipped cream or ice cream, (not really) optional

Combine the flours, sugar, 2 tablespoons cocoa, dry milk powder, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.  Stir in the cool water, oil, and vanilla until smooth.

Pour batter in an ungreased 9-inch square pan.  Mix brown sugar and remaining cocoa in a small bowl and sprinkle evenly over batter.  Pour hot water on top.  Do not stir it in.

Bake at 325 (glass pans) or 350 (metal pans) for 35-40 minutes.  Serve with ice cream.

Overall review:  This ends up about half cake/brownie and half chocolate sauce.  So that's a little bit of a downer for me.  I'd like more cake and less sauce.

Family reviews:  QOTPE (Queen of the Picky Eaters) was immediately suspicious.  She was sure I had put beans in, because, you know, beans must be in every new dessert recipe Mom's trying out (that is so not true, but anyway), or there must be some pudding substitute (again, not true).  I even used flour from a new bag purchased at the store last month just to appease her sensitive buds.  She still insisted something was wrong and didn't eat the cake, just the ice cream.

My dear husband also did not care for the cake and agreed with QOTPE that something was wrong.  To be fair, the cake isn't all that cake-like.  But it's a molten lava cake, so it isn't supposed to be.

The other four of us thought it was just fine--but only if there is ice cream to go with it, which is why I added to the recipe ingredients that ice cream is not really optional.  Yes, ice cream might be hard to come by, especially in summer.

Links to related posts:  
Canning Candy
Canning Chocolate 

© 2019, PrepSchoolDaily.blogspot.com

Whole Wheat Berry Burritos

Lydia:  What's for dinner, Mom? (Then that look of horror starts on her face--you know, that look.)  It's not food storage, is it?
Mom:  What makes you say that, Lydia?
Lydia:  Well, you have your laptop open to your blog, so I thought it might be food storage.
Mom:  We have to try out new recipes with food storage now.  What are you going to do when you have children who fuss about food storage for dinner?
Lydia:  I'm going to have perfect children.



I am always on the lookout for new recipes that can be adapted to use food storage items and that can be pretty easily prepared.  But you know, finding such recipes is kinda like walking through a cow pasture; you've got to be really careful or you could end up in a big mess.  And if you made it for dinner, then all the kids will know and will never ever let you forget if it was awful.  It would be easier to step in a cowpie.

Trying out new food storage recipes is not for the faint of heart.  And I'm happy to report I've got another winner here.  Give it a try for your family.  It's very kid-friendly.  The way the recipe was originally written would take forever to prepare.  I fixed that.  There's no way I'm soaking beans the night before and then cooking them all day.  Too much time, too much fuel.

Now, I'll concede that some people will find making tortillas by hand to be a bit time-consuming.  But if you're only making enough for fresh eating for dinner, you won't need that many.  And you can always tell the over-ten crowd that they need to roll their own if necessary.  The wheat and bean filling comes together very quickly.

Whole Wheat Berry Burritos
1 pint (15 oz can) pinto beans, drained
2/3 cup cooked rice
2/3 cup cooked whole wheat berries
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon chili powder
3/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon paprika
2 tablespoons dehydrated diced green chilies
1/4 cup SOS mix
1 cup water
3/4 teaspoon chicken bouillon

Rehydrate dehydrated green chilies in 1/2 cup hot water; set aside.   In a medium bowl, combine beans, rice, wheat berries, and spices.  Mix well and set aside.  Prepare sauce by putting SOS mix and water in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Add chicken bouillon, if desired.  Stir continuously until thickened.  Remove from heat.  Stir in bean mixture and return pan to heat.  Warm thoroughly.  Spoon 1/4-1/3 cup of bean filling into the center of each tortilla. Fold two opposite ends in slightly to close, and then roll the opposite sides over the filling.  Garnish and serve with shredded cheese, chopped tomatoes, salsa, sour cream, and/or cilantro.

Comments:  OK, as I was preparing the SOS sauce for this (the original recipe called for a can of cream of chicken soup), and contemplating adding it to the bean mix, I honestly thought it was going to be kinda gross.  I held out some of the bean mix just in case because I thought that mix looked pretty good already.   Anyway, the bean mix and sauce together were surprisingly good.  Lydia, the only child at home tonight, really liked it.  (Surprised she admitted to it after saying such disparaging things about food storage just an hour earlier.) 

Links to related posts:
Wheat
How To Pressure Can Beans
SOS Mix
DIY Chicken Bouillon
Salsa   

5.5.23

A DIY Mosquito Trap

Like in many parts of the country, in my neck of the woods the county sprays some kind of pesticide to kill mosquitoes around the lakes and waterways.  In an economic or societal collapse, that's something that could go away pretty quickly.  Which means hordes of mosquitoes arriving on the scene just as fast.  Most of the time, mosquito bites are a nuisance to be avoided as much as possible.  But sometimes, they are also carrying diseases like malaria, yellow fever, and West Nile virus.
As the mosquitoes have not yet taken to wearing signs to identify themselves as potential assassins, we have to assume all are guilty and do everything in our power to eliminate them first.  We can use all the DEET and herbal repellents we want, but ideally, we should be killing the little buggers before they even come close to us.  So here's a simple mosquito trap you can make from materials you likely already have on hand.

DIY Mosquito Trap

Materials:  2-liter plastic soda bottle, ruler, marker, knife, tape (Scotch, electrical, masking, duct).

1. Measure four inches from the cap of the soda bottle and mark around the side of the bottle.  
2. Use a sharp knife to cut along the marked line.
3. Remove the cap and invert the top of the bottle, like a funnel, into the bottom of the bottle.  
4. Tape the edges together to seal the trap.  

Now for the solution to attract mosquitoes to the trap.

1. Heat 1 cup of water.  
2. Add 1/4 cup brown sugar and stir until completely dissolved.
3. Let the mixture cool to lukewarm.
4. Add 1/8 teaspoon yeast and stir to dissolve.
5. Pour this mixture into your mosquito trap.

Make sure your sugar solution is below 105 degrees.  Water that is too hot will kill the yeast.  No carbon dioxide will be produced.  On the other hand, water that is too cold will not activate the yeast.  As you recall, mosquitoes are attracted to carbon dioxide, which we produce lots of when we exhale.  This solution also creates carbon dioxide.  The mosquitoes are drawn into the bottle and they die.

Also, make sure that the gap between the entry into the trap and the solution is not too large or too small.  You want to make sure the mosquitoes can fly in without having a large enough gap that they can find their way out.  Mosquitoes fly up to escape. 

Set the bottle outside, but a little distance away from you.  The mosquitoes will start showing up for their date with Death in no time.

Links to related posts:  

DIY Tick Tubes
DIY Insect Repellents  

Mosquito-Borne Diseases--Dengue, Chikungunya, Zika, etc.  

Mosquito-Borne Diseases--Yellow Fever

25 may 2023
Preparedness  survival  emergency  bugging out in bug pack survivalist prepper freeze dried dehydrated food storage gamma lid bucket #10 can medicine supplies supply emergencies disaster natural civil war political unrest hyperinflation inflation canning jar Mylar oxygen absorber disease
injury pneumothorax family children antibiotics alternative refrigeration solar communications salmonella pneumonia CPR medic mask gloves beans wheat rice oats corn oil coconut water purification filtration iodine pasta sugar salt iodized dry powdered milk mountain house essentials bread education home school vitamins skills chickens goats rabbits homestead redoubt American fuel wood ticks mosquitoes repellent disinfect sterilize Armageddon TEOTWAWKI SHTF WTSHTF societal
Preparedness  survival  emergency  bugging out in bug pack survivalist prepper freeze dried dehydrated food storage gamma lid bucket #10 can medicine supplies supply emergencies disaster natural civil war political unrest hyperinflation inflation canning jar Mylar oxygen absorber disease
injury pneumothorax family children antibiotics alternative refrigeration solar communications salmonella pneumonia CPR medic mask gloves beans wheat rice oats corn oil coconut water purification filtration iodine pasta sugar salt iodized dry powdered milk mountain house essentials bread education home school vitamins skills chickens goats rabbits homestead redoubt American fuel wood ticks mosquitoes repellent disinfect sterilize Armageddon TEOTWAWKI SHTF WTSHTF societal

Preparedness  survival  emergency  bugging out in bug pack survivalist prepper freeze dried dehydrated food storage gamma lid bucket #10 can medicine supplies supply emergencies disaster natural civil war political unrest hyperinflation inflation canning jar Mylar oxygen absorber diseas
injury pneumothorax family children antibiotics alternative refrigeration solar communications salmonella pneumonia CPR medic mask gloves beans wheat rice oats corn oil coconut water purification filtration iodine pasta sugar salt iodized dry powdered milk mountain house essentials bread education home school vitamins skills chickens goats rabbits homestead redoub

t American fuel wood ticks mosquitoes repellent disinfect sterilize Armageddon TEOTWAWKI SHTF WTSHTF societal

Two More Just-Add-Water Single-Serving Emergency Meals

The wisdom of having individual servings of emergency meals impresses me the more I think about it.  We have the perfectly packaged #10 cans of Mountain House options, that due to the lack of disasters we've never had occasion to use.  But the more I think about it, the more I wouldn't want to open them because there are only a few of us at home now.  Often my husband and son can't even eat at the same time my daughter and I are, or they can't have the food we're having.  Individual portions that can be prepared on demand are making even more sense now.

So here are a couple more options for you to try out.  (

Please note that the salt content of store-bought and homemade bouillon varies greatly.  You may wish to omit the salt when making the mixes and add it in when preparing the food for consumption.  Perhaps include a salt packet in the bag.  Or make one and determine how much salt you want to add before making a whole bunch.)

Mexican Chicken and Rice
2/3 cup instant rice
1/3 cup freeze-dried chopped chicken
1/2 cup freeze-dried corn
1/4 cup freeze-dried tomatoes (1/8 cup dehydrated)
1 1/2 teaspoons chicken bouillon
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon minced dried onion
1/4 teaspoon dried minced jalapeno
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Combine all ingredients in a Ziploc bag and seal.  Shake well to combine.

To prepare:  Pour bag contents into a large insulated mug and add 1 1/2 cups of boiling water.  Cover and wrap in towels to conserve heat if necessary.  Let cook for nine minutes, stirring halfway through to mix ingredients and continue cooking.

Couscous with Chicken and Vegetables

1/3 cup couscous

1/3 cup freeze-dried chopped chicken

1/4 cup freeze-dried corn

1/4 cup freeze-dried peas

1 teaspoon dried onion

1 1/2 teaspoons chicken bouillon

1/4 teaspoon thyme

1/4 teaspoon sage

1/4 teaspoon parsley

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1/4 cup freeze-dried peas 

To prepare:  Pour bag contents into a large insulated mug and add 1 1/2 cups of boiling water.  Cover and wrap in towels to conserve heat if necessary.  Let cook for nine minutes, stirring halfway through to mix ingredients and continue cooking.

Remember to rotate these every six months or so.  I don't know what it is, but when I pull emergency food out of packs, I just don't want to eat it.  The packaging's been smushed a little bit.  It looks a bit tired.  It's been out in the garage a whole six months.  All these thoughts go through my head, and I only want to eat the better-looking packaged stuff that's in the house and looks fresher.  But I force myself to rotate it.  

And you know what?  It tastes just fine!  It's important to work past those little psychological humps while life is good so that it won't be a problem in a crisis.

Links to related posts:  
Meal Tins   
DIY Minute Rice  
Couscous  
Thai Peanut Noodles with Chicken and Vegetables  
Curry Rice with Chicken and Vegetables  
Instant Soups for Emergency Kits 
Dehydrating Pasta for Instant Meals 

Preparedness  survival  emergency  bugging out in bug pack survivalist prepper freeze dried dehydrated food storage gamma lid bucket #10 can medicine supplies supply emergencies disaster natural civil war political unrest hyperinflation inflation canning jar Mylar oxygen absorber disease
© 2020, PrepSchoolDaily.blogspot.com
injury pneumothorax family children antibiotics alternative refrigeration solar communications salmonella pneumonia CPR medic mask gloves beans wheat rice oats corn oil coconut water purification filtration iodine pasta sugar salt iodized dry powdered milk mountain house essentials bread education home school vitamins skills chickens goats rabbits homestead redoubt American fuel wood ticks mosquitoes repellent disinfect sterilize Armageddon TEOTWAWKI SHTF WTSHTF societal