Mom's Meatloaf

2 lb ground beef

2 egg

1/4 cup of bullseye

1/2 cup of quick oatmeal

a little bit of garlic salt and pepper

Mix it together and form it into a loaf. Pour bullseye over the top. Bake for 2 hours at 350.

Recipes

So here are a few the the recipes that I think will work in the Food Storage category. I tried to gather recipes that have mostly storable items. But a recipe here and there will have fresh ingredients. I am sure I will get this more refined as time goes by but really I am the only one reading this so who cares?!

Taco Soup

Recipe from Our Best Bites

1 lb. extra lean ground beef (93% lean or or leaner)

1 onion, chopped

4-5 cloves garlic, minced

1 1.25-oz. packet taco seasoning (about 1/4 c.)

3 c. water, divided

2 28-oz. cans diced tomatoes

1 15-oz. can tomato sauce

2 15-oz. cans kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 can corn, drained

Toppings: Pico de Gallo, light sour cream, shredded cheese, crushed tortilla chips, tortilla strips, guacamole, etc.

Heat a large soup pot over medium. When ready, brown the ground beef with the onion and garlic. When almost brown, add the taco seasoning and 1 c. water. Add the remaining ingredients, including the remaining 2 c. water, bring to a medium boil, then, cover and reduce heat. Simmer for at least 15 minutes. Serve with desired toppings. Makes 10 12-oz. servings.

Slow Cooker Instructions: After browning the meat, place all the ingredients into a slow cooker and cook on low for about 6-8 hours.

Freezer Instructions: Because of all the canned goods, you'll just take up a lot of space in your freezer if you freeze the whole recipe. However, after it's been cooked, the leftovers freeze extremely well. You can even try freezing individual portions in 12-oz. freezer-safe containers and then reheating them for a quick lunch.

Freezer Biscuits

submitted by Melanie -Sisters Cafe

4 cups flour

2 TBs. baking powder

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp soda

1/2 cup butter

16oz sour cream

3-5 tsp water

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. Cut in butter until there are small well blended pieces. Add sour cream and water, mix well. Knead and roll out to 1 inch thick. Cut with biscuit cutter. Freeze individually on a cookie sheet. When frozen solid, place in a freezer bag to store. When ready to use, place frozen biscuits on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 425 for 15=17 minutes or until top is golden. makes 16-20.

Caramelitos

submitted by Melanie - Sisters Cafe

1 cup flour

1 cup quick oats (sometimes I use regular)

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 cup chocolate chips (I like milk for this)

3/4 cup caramel topping

1/2 tsp soda

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup butter, melted

1/2 cup pecans, chopped (I never add these but good)

3 Tablespoons flour

Mix flour, oats, sugar, soda, salt and butter. Press half of the mixture into a 11x7 pan and set the other half aside. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Remove from oven. Sprinkle with chocolate chips and chopped pecans (if using). Blend 3/4 cup caramel with 3 T. flour. Pour (drizzle) over chocolate chips. Sprinkle the balance of the flour oat mixture over the dessert. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until light brown. Allow to cool and set before slicing.

Homemade Granola Bars

submitted by Melanie - Sisters Cafe

2 1/2 cups quick cooking oats

1/2 cup rice krispy cereal

1/4 cup coconut

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup honey

1/2 tsp vanilla

Add all ingredients to a bowl and mix together until combined. Press into a square 8x8 pan.

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes and score into bars.

Let it set completely and then cut into bars. Enjoy!

Favorite Minestrone

submitted by Melanie -Sisters Cafe

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 potatoes, peeled and cubed

5 carrots, chopped

4 stalks celery leaves and all, chopped

1 sweet onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste

1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 can petite diced italian tomatoes

2 (14 ounce) can chicken broth

4 cups water

a couple of handfuls of chopped fresh spinach leaves

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

1 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano

1 tablespoon salt

2 cups cooked shell pasta

DIRECTIONS

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Stir potatoes, carrots, celery, onion and garlic into pot. Mix in tomato paste, beans, tomatoes, broth and water. Season with basil, oregano and salt. Cook and stir 30-40 minutes, or until vegetables are tender.

Add the chopped spinach the last 5 minutes.

Cook shell pasta in a seperate pot until al dente. Stir pasta into soup. Serve with a generous sprinkle of fresh parmesan! Yum!

Grandma's White Bread

submitted by Brittany ~ sisterscafe.blogspot.com

2/3 cup powdered milk *see note

3 heaping Tbsp of instant yeast

6 tsp salt

2/3 cup sugar

6 Tbsp shortening

6 cups warm water

Flour (approx. 15 cups total)

Mix powdered milk, yeast, salt, sugar, and shortening in large mixer like a Bosch. (*your Kitchen Aid is not big enough! It will handle a half recipe though.) Add warm water. Add about 4 to 5 cups flour and beat until well mixed. Add flour slowly until dough comes away clean from the edge of the mixing bowl. Allow to knead for 5 more minutes. Do not add too much flour. Cover with greased plastic and allow dough to rise. Once it has doubled in size, divide into 6 parts. Form each into a log, tucking and pinching the dough underneath to make it smooth on top. (This is easily done if you lightly roll out the dough and roll up lengthwise, pinching together seam and tucking in the ends.) Place each into a greased loaf pan and raise until the size of a bread loaf. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Makes 6 loaves.

*I have made this bread with fresh milk too and it works great. Just omit powdered milk and use 3 cups warm milk and 3 cups warm water in the place of the 6 cups warm water.

Soft Pretzels

submitted by Brittany-Sisters Cafe

1 1/2 cup warm water

1 pkg yeast (or 1 Tb)

1 Tb sugar

1 tsp salt

4 cups flour

Add sugar to warm water then sprinkle yeast on top. Let float for a minute then stir to dissolve the yeast. Let sit for 10 minutes as yeast activates and starts to foam. Add salt and flour and knead 5-10 minutes; adding more flour as needed to reduce stickiness. Divide dough in to 12 pieces and roll each piece into a long rope or "snake". Twist into pretzel shape and place on nonstick baking sheet. Make an egg wash with one egg and a Tb of water, lightly beaten together. Brush pretzels with egg wash then sprinkle liberally with Kosher salt. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes or until lightly browned.

*Soft pretzels just aren't the same the next day. They are still good but not as soft and fresh tasting. I'll tell you a secret though... brush them with melted butter, sprinkle on Parmesan cheese, and toss them under the broiler for a minute and you have a delicious cheesy pretzel snack! Yum!!

Our Favorite Breadsticks

Submitted by Melanie -Sisters Cafe

1 ½ cup warm water

1 Tablespoon yeast

2 Tablespoons sugar

3 ½ cup flour

½ tsp salt

Butter for pan

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add sugar and let it sit and bubble for a few minutes. Add the salt and flour. Knead for 3 minutes. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes. (I do all of this in my Bosch--any mixer would work great) Melt 3-4 Tbsp of butter and pour most of it onto a cookie sheet. Roll dough to cover cookie sheet. Cut to desired width, then twist or lay flat on cookie sheet. Brush remainder of butter on breadsticks and sprinkle with garlic salt, parmesan cheese, and parsley (or whatever seasonings you like). Raise for 10-20 minutes. Preheat your oven to 375 and bake for 20 minutes, or until golden. You can roll them out to fit a cookie sheet and they will be pufffy and soft. If you prefer a thinner, crunchy breadstick roll them out to fit a cookie sheet and a jelly roll pan. Either way they are great!

The beginning

Alright. I am basically telling no one about this blog. Who would really want to follow a food storage blog anyways? But this is my new years resolution so I need to keep myself in check. Well I am 30 and finally starting to gather food storage. I really should have done it before now. The prophet has been asking us to do it for years...actually I remember hearing about it as a kid...so that makes it A LOT of years. It has always seemed so overwhelming...enough food to feed 6 people for one whole year? Holy crap!

So I decided to start small...baby steps, right? I got a book right after New Years titled "Not Your Mother's Food Storage." Love it. It is sooooo simple. It helps you gather a 3 month supply of food storage but not just the disgusting food in the #10 cans...you know the freeze dried fruits and veggies that you pray you never have to eat? You gather only foods that you actually already consume on a daily basis. My budget is NOT big...like $50 a month. I wanted to ask Bret to throw an extra $50 in but then I went to the dentist today and realized that my teeth are crap and then remembered that Halle just had her tonsils out so I think me asking for a raise is out of the question:). So this blog could pretty much last forever because it may take me that long to get my food storage together!

But in the past week I have accumulated a few things...24 cans of pinto beans($11.99), a giant bag of pancake mix($5.99), 12 cans of spaghetti sauce(9.60), dried eggs(13.99), and 100 oatmeal pouches($12.50). Yep it will take a while but it feels good to be going!