Dinner in a Bag

Here are some dinner recipes that are great for food storage.  If you really want to get into it, you can actually package everything on the ingredient list into a box or bag and label it. 

When it comes time to make dinner, just head to the food storage and grab a bag!  Everything you need is right there.  This is a great way to 'see' how many meals you actually have in food storage.

If you have a vacuum sealer, you can even measure and store spices long term.  Canned meat will come in handy when packaging meals this way. 


Here are some recipes, but don't stop here, create your own as well.

Hawaiian Haystacks

Cooked Rice, Sauce (recipe below), grated cheese, and any veggies you have canned or fresh

 

Sauce:  1 ½ cups water

                1 ½ t chicken bouillon

                2 cans cream of chicken soup

                2 cups diced chicken breast

                1/8 t each of onion salt and garlic salt.

Mix all ingredients together and warm in a saucepan on the stove ( or microwave)

Salad topping ideas:  Peas, corn, chopped tomatoes, diced celery, sliced olives, diced sweet peppers, chow mein noodles, pineapple tidbits, cashew nuts, coconut, raisins, sliced green onion, slivered almonds

Spaghetti

1 Bag Noodles                           1 pint Meat

1 can spaghetti sauce

Cook noodles according to directions. Warm sauce in large saucepan. Add meat and noodles.

Taco Soup

1 can corn                                 1 can kidney beans

1 can black beans                      1 can diced tomatoes

1 sm. Can tomato sauce              1 pint meat

Taco Seasoning

Place all ingredients in large saucepan. Cook until beans are tender.

Chili

2 cans chili beans                      1 can diced tomatoes

1 can kidney beans                     1 can black beans

1 pint meat                               Chili Powder

Place all ingredients in large saucepan. Cook until beans are tender.

Shepherds’ Pie

1/2 cup chopped onion                                   1 pound ground beef

2-3 cups diced carrots, beans and corn         1 can tomato soup

1 t Worcestershire sauce                                      ¼ t dried thyme

¼ t pepper                                                   Mashed potatoes

 

Cook meat and onion till meat is brown.  Stir in veggies and ¼ cup water.  Cook, covered, 5-10 minutes till veggies are tender.  Stir in soup, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, and pepper.  Transfer to a 9x13 dish.  Top with mashed potatoes and grated cheese.  Microwave for 3-5 minutes or until heated through, or bake in 375 oven for 30 minutes or till heated through.

Beef Macaroni

1 pound ground beef                  2 cans (14-1/2 oz each) stewed tomatoes

1/4 cup dried minced onion        1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon chili powder             1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon sugar                    1 cup uncooked elbow macaroni

In a large skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Add tomatoes and seasonings; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in macaroni; cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Uncover; simmer until macaroni is tender and sauce is thickened. Yield: 4 servings.

Beef Soup

1 pint meat                               Diced potatoes

Diced carrots                           Dried onions

2 (16 oz) cans tomato soup

Rehydrate potatoes and carrots in 2 parts water for 20 minutes. Drain. Pour all ingredients into large sauce pan. Heat through

Cheesey Mac

1 pint meat                               1 can tomato soup

1 can cheddar cheese soup         2 c pasta

Mix together all ingredients. Pour into casserole dish. Bake at 350 degrees until heated through.

Chicken Stuffing Casserole

1 pint chicken                                     1 box stuffing mix

1 can cream chicken soup                     ½ c. Parmesan Cheese

1 T. butter, melted

Mix together soup and chicken. Spoon into casserole dish. Sprinkle stuffing on top. Then sprinkle cheese. Top with butter and bake at 350 degrees til browned.

Ritz Chicken

1 pint chicken                                     Ritz Crackers

2 can cream chicken                            1 T. butter, melted

2 T. poppy seeds                                2. cups rice.

Mix chicken with soup. Spoon in casserole dish. Crumble crackers. Mix together poppy seeds, melted butter, and crushed crackers and arrange on top. Bake at 350 degrees until browned. (About 30 min. ) Cook rice.

Country Chicken Soup

1 pint chicken                                     1 c. diced carrots

1 c. diced potatoes                              2 oz dry onion soup mix

2 T. sugar                                             4  c. water

1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes        ½ c. small pasta

1 T. Italian Seasoning                         1 T. oil

 

In a large stock pot, heat oil over medium heat; sir in carrots, potatoes, onion soup mix, sugar, water, tomatoes, Italian seasoning, hot pepper sauce, and pepper. Stir frequently. Bring to a boil , add pasta and reduce heat. Simmer gently for 30 to 40 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add chicken. Heat through

Chicken Salsa

1 pint chicken                                     1 jar black bean salsa

Rice

Cook rice. Add jar of salsa and chicken to rice.

Chicken Alfredo

Pasta Noodles                                     1 jar Alfredo Sauce

1 pint chicken

Cook pasta according to directions. Heat sauce in medium saucepan. Add cooked noodles and chicken. Heat through.

Make your Food Storage Awesome with Canned Meat!

I went to an activity at my sister-in-law's house (thanks Bryn!) where I watched a demonstration on canning meat at home.  I was surprised at how simple it was! 

Basically cook your hamburger, put it in a can, and process it in a pressure cooker (must use electric or gas stove)!  Easy peasy.  For chicken, you don't even have to cook it ahead of time.  Just cut it into strips and stuff it in a can.  The meat will cook while it processes.

The only trick is to make sure you are exact on processing times so you meat seals safely.  But seriously, how great would it be to have Taco meat (yes, you can add flavoring before canning) in your Food Storage?

Here are the notes my sister-in-law sent me on canning meat (Let me know if anyone is interested and we could possibly arrange a class out here!):

1. Clean jars (wash jars, boil lids and rings. Use tongs to handle the lids to avoid contamination)

2. Prepare meat (chicken can be sliced and used raw, strips of meat can also be raw, but ground meat needs to be cooked prior to canning)

3. Put 1/2 t. of salt in each jar, fill with meat leaving about 1/2 inch of space from the top. Add water to jars only containing ground meat. Place lids on top and screw on ring.

4. Fill Pressure Canner (it has to be a pressure canner) with 3 quarts of water, place jars inside (if stacking jars, place 2nd row staggered (not directly on top of the 1st row), and place & lock lid on

5. Turn on heat and wait for a steady stream of steam to be released from steamer (should take about 15 min)

6. Let vent for 10 minutes

7. Place the valve on canner

8. Let pressure get to 14 lbs (takes about 7 min)

9. Set timer for 75 minutes; making sure pressure stays at 14 lbs the entire time. You will do this by adjusting the heat. If the pressure drops below 13 lbs, you will need to start the timer over

Stay tuned next week for some great food storage recipes that use canned meat!