More Magic Mix Entrees--Chicken and Rice Casserole and Macaroni & Cheese

Up for today are a couple more recipes to try with Magic Mix.  All ingredients for the first are food storage items in this house; for the second, only the cream cheese isn't food storage, but even that can be substituted with some yogurt and butter powder.

Both recipes were adapted from entrees found at StoreThisNotThat.com.  They have some fantastic recipes there using food storage items.  They're just more focused on regular conditions and simply rotating food rather than being able to prepare good meals under the more challenging conditions the interesting times ahead may present.

Chicken & Rice with Green Beans
2 pints canned chicken, drained, with juice reserved
2 cups Magic Mix
1 can (15 oz) cut green beans
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided
3 cups rice
water

Measure reserved chicken juice and add enough water to make 1 1/2 cups.  Pour this into a saucepan over medium-low heat and stir in Magic Mix.  Cook until thickened, stirring frequently.  Remove from heat and gently fold in chicken, green beans, rice, and 3/4 cup of the cheese.  Pour into 9x13 pan.  Sprinkle with remaining cheese.  Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Macaroni & Cheese
 2 cups elbow macaroni, cooked according to package directions and drained
1/3 cup Magic Mix
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
4 oz cream cheese (or 4 oz plain yogurt with 1 tablespoon butter powder)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon paprika

Combine Magic Mix and water in a large saucepan over medium-low heat.  Stir rapidly until mixture thickens.  Add the cheeses and seasonings, and stir until cheese is melted and sauce is smooth.  Gently fold in macaroni.  Pour into a 9x9" greased casserole dish and bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. 

Basic Food Storage--Grains

As I was working on the blog the other day, trying to organize it and make information a little more accessible for my readers, I went looking for the post on grains for basic food storage.  And it was nowhere to be found.  I'd written on wheat, oats, rice, flour, and popcorn, but nothing on grains in general.  Embarrassing.  Time to remedy that.


Most long-term food storage programs have whole grains as the basis.  Whole grains, in general, store well, are nutritious, and offer the biggest bang for the buck.  Most food storage plans based on using long-term storage foods recommend a minimum of 300-400 pounds of grains per person for a year.  What people actually store is a matter of personal preference.  What do you eat?  Actually, what a lot of us eat now may not bear a whole lot of resemblance to what we will be eating in the future.  So maybe it's time to think about what we actually want to eat and make sure that we store those foods.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has long counseled its members to store food and other necessities for a time of need, and that's where the 300-400 pounds of grain recommendation initially came from.  Many others have adopted the Church's counsel (great!--everyone needs food!) and have expanded upon it with their own recommendations for the various kinds of grains and amounts.  There is no right or wrong.  But there might be a good, better, and best.  Some people just want to keep it simple.  However, I know from experience that food fatigue is real, especially in my family, and I really want a substantial variety of options in cooking and baking.

The chart below shows several examples of the recommended amounts of grains to store, just to give you an idea.  Websites for these recommendations are linked below, except for KISS (keep it simple, stupid) and my family.  Again, these are just examples.  I, for one, would never store millet. I don't even know what to do with it.  Amaranth and quinoa are the "in" grains now; maybe they're something you want in your storage.  I think cornmeal goes rancid too quickly, so I prefer to store dent corn, which I can mill later.  I also store masa for making tamales and corn tortillas.  

	KISS	AVOW	Mt Mahogany Stake	Highland Stake (satisfied)	Highland Stake (comfortable)	My family
Wheat	400	100	200	200	250	300
Flour		75	75	34	40	25
Rice		40	25	68	85	50
Pasta		40	50	33	40	30
Millet			20
Oats		20	15	33	40	30
Cornmeal		10	5	32	40
Popcorn			5			20
Dent corn						20
Barley			5
Mixes		10
Cereal		5
Total	400	300	400	400	495	475

Baking mixes have a rather short shelf life, which is one reason why I prefer to cook from scratch.  And they tend to have a lot of additives and preservatives.  And they take up more space to store. 

Whatever you choose to store for your family, store what they will eat.  Happily.  Store it well.  If your food comes in boxes or bags, repackage it.  Boxes often harbor weevils.  While they are harmless to eat and may even provide some protein, most people prefer other forms of protein.  Also, keep in mind that one pound of Frosted Flakes does not have the same caloric or nutritional value as a pound of wheat.  They are not interchangeable.

Links to related posts:
Food storage calculator
Wheat
Pasta 
DIY Instant Oatmeal 
Popcorn


For more information:
Highland Stake food storage calculator
Mount Mahogany Stake food storage inventory
AVOW food storage guide    (page 57)

© 2019, PrepSchoolDaily.blogspot.com

16 may 2021

DIY Instant Rice

Happy Martin Luther King Day.  Yes, it's one of those ridiculous federal holidays.  But schools everywhere are out, so I'll take a break as well.  (And we’re trying to get all the bugs worked out with the flash drives and online ordering.  As of this moment, we think most bugs are worked out and that you can order online.  Give it a try.  Email if it isn’t working for you and we’ll try again.)

 

Instant rice is totally a DIY thing.  You need never spend too much money on too little rice with way too little flavor ever again.  Here's how:

Cook your rice per instructions on the package.  Use any kind of rice you want.  A rice cooker will produce perfectly cooked rice that dehydrates perfectly as well.  It's been my experience that using the minimum amount of water advised by the rice cooker instructions results in the best final product without any clumping. 

Spread the rice on your dehydrating racks and set temperature to 145 degrees.  Or spread the rice on cookie sheets and dehydrate in a warm oven.  Some ovens actually have a setting for dehydrating.  You may need to prop the door open a crack to let water vapor escape.  Dehydration will take from four to twelve hours, depending on the temperature setting, fan, and humidity.  Dehydrate until the rice is brittle and there is absolutely no water left.  Let cool.  (Dehydrating rice at a lower temperature runs the risk of food poisoning with Bacillus cereus.  And no, reheating the rice will not inactivate the toxin.)

Vacuum seal in canning jars or bags, or if you make a lot, in a plastic bucket with oxygen absorbers.

Reconstitute in a 1:1 ratio like any other instant rice, i.e., bring two cups of water to a boil, add two cups of rice, cover with lid, let stand five minutes, fluff with fork and eat.  Perfect for quick meals.

Links to related posts:
Copycat Rice-A-Roni Mixes
Basic Food Storage--Rice
Spanish Rice

© 2019, PrepSchoolDaily.blogspot.com 

1 april 2021

Spanish Rice

One of the best things about the internet is being able to find recipes for everything.  And so it was, about ten years ago, when I'd already spent a few years trying to wing it in the kitchen making my own Spanish rice.  And failing to some degree every time.  I finally set aside my pride and went to the internet.

And there it was.  The perfect recipe.  Easy.  Only five ingredients.  And it could be made entirely from food storage.  What's not to love?

And when you combine this recipe with previously posted recipes for tortillas, refried beans, and salsa, you have the basics of a Mexican dinner.  Throw in a little cheese (freeze-dried, or what you've been able to keep in a root cellar) and perhaps a garden salad, and you're set.  And just in time for Cinco de Mayo, though why that's important to celebrate in this country, I haven't yet quite figured out.

Spanish Rice
2 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons chopped onions (or 1 heaping teaspoon dehydrated onions reconstituted in 2 tablespoons water)
1 1/2 cups uncooked rice
2 cups chicken broth (or 2 teaspoons chicken bouillon in 2 cups water)
1 cup chunky salsa

Saute the onions in oil.  Add the rice and cook until lightly browned.  Add the broth and salsa and bring to a a boil.  Reduce heat; simmer 20 minutes, until liquid is absorbed.

Links to related posts:
Flour tortillas   
Refried beans   
Salsa   

© 2019, PrepSchoolDaily.blogspot.com   

20 june 2024