Curry

This kept me fed during the Blizzard of '96 as it came to be known on the East Coast.  I was serving as a missionary in the Washington, D.C. area when we were buried under 6 feet of drifting snow.  We lived in a basement apartment and the stairwell was completely filled with snow.  Conveniently, the snow shovel was kept in the garage outside.  We ended up having to use a cookie sheet and a large bowl to carry snow to the bathtub and melt it down the drain to create a path so we could get out.  What an adventure!

My companion and I had been transferred to the area just a couple of days before the snow came and we hadn't gone grocery shopping yet.  We were just finishing what we had brought from our previous areas.  Thankfully, some good members thought of us and called to check in on us.  I'm sure they acted in response to our own mother's prayers.  Anyway, there was one family in the ward with a 4 wheel drive who was willing to brave the roads.  They stopped by another member's home and picked up a couple of loaves of homemade bread and a can of powdered milk.  They also cooked us a big pot of curry and rice.  They delivered this food to us and we were so very thankful.  (Even missionaries need food storage!)  I had never eaten curry before, but my companion who was from Japan, said it was convenience food over there and something they ate often.  She was thankful for a taste of home.  We ate that pot over the course of the week since it took 6 days for the snow plows to dig us all out.  We loved it!

Now whenever I make this, it gives me a chance to relive this adventure and tell the story to my children.  Food, smells, and tastes can hold so many memories.

Carrots and potatoes store very well in the garage here in Idaho in the winter months.  You can very safely plan them into your 3 month meal plan.  You can also use dehydrated vegetables in this dish.  We like it full of veggies and light on the chicken, but you do it how you want.  Serve it over a bowl of cooked rice.

Chop potatoes, celery, and carrots or use dehydrated veggies.  I added a handful of dry onions.

Check for the packages of Golden Curry in the Asian isle of your local grocery store.

Add precooked chicken or turkey.  I used a mix and just pulled them from the freezer.

The curry packet had two chunks of seasoning.  We like a little more mild flavor so we only use packet.

Cover your vegetables with 6 cups of water and simmer until tender.  Drop the curry in and allow to melt into the stew.  Stir until thickened.  Serve over cooked rice.

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal

This is one of our family's favorite storable breakfasts.  It is high in fiber and such a cinch to make.  We keep 3-4 of these mixes in the cupboard all winter long.  For those of you on a gluten-free diet, you'll have to search out the gluten free oats so you can add this to your food storage meal  plan options.


I combine the dry ingredients in a mix and store in a quart-size ziplock bag to speed up busy mornings.  Store the apples in a separate ziplock inside the other bag so you can drop them in the water when you first put it on the stove.

The dry apples soften as the water comes to a boil.

Gourmet oatmeal in under 10 minutes!  Our family likes it with a little milk added when serving.

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal
2 ½ cups water	½ cup chopped, dried apples
⅓ cup brown sugar, packed	Raisins or Craisins, if desired
1 tsp cinnamon	Chopped nuts, if desired
¼ tsp salt	2 cups regular oats
Combine the dried apples and any other fruit you may choose with the water in a saucepan.  Bring to a boil and add the remaining ingredients.  Cook for about 5 minutes until all the water is absorbed, stirring occasionally.  You can use 1 peeled and chopped apple in place of the dried apples.  You can also substitute other fruits such as peaches or berries.  It is always delicious!

Leftovers

If you're trying to shrink your grocery budget, consider how many leftovers you are throwing away.  I read one time that Americans throw away 14% of the food they purchase at the grocery store!  This was astounding to me.  I knew we threw away some things, but after reading this statistic I committed to do better at re-inventing our leftovers so we would use them before they were bad.  The other thing I often do is freeze the leftovers to pull out in a couple of weeks when they can seem new again.  Sometimes I make a large batch on purpose of certain dishes because I know they freeze well and I want to save me some work in the future.

Here are some ideas -

Meal 1: Serve sloppy joes
Meal 2: Make a Shepherds Pie with sloppy joe meat on the bottom, then a layer of green beans, then a layer of mashed potatoes, and finally a layer of grated cheese

Meal 1:  Roast a whole chicken
Meal 2: Boil the carcass to make a delicious chicken soup broth, strain the broth and then add egg noodles, leftover chicken, and a few vegetables to it - Simmer until done
Meal 3:  If you have enough chicken left, make chicken tacos

Meal 1: Serve spaghetti
Meal 2:  With the leftovers, make a spaghetti pie to put in the freezer for another dinner later

Meal 1:  Serve chili
Meal2:  Serve chili mac & cheese or chili dogs
Meal 3:  Make tamale casserole and freeze for later

Meal 1:  Serve burritos
Meal 2:  Layer up the ingredients to make a Mexican lasagna and freeze for later

With a little creativity, you can come up with a new way to serve the same thing.  It doesn't ever hurt to have a leftover day either.  We call these meals "choose your own adventure dinners."  Commit to making your food dollar stretch just a little further by using it up instead of throwing it out.

Breadsticks

Breadsticks are fun to serve as a snack with pizza dipping sauce or to serve along side a bowl of steaming soup.  My kids love to dip them in their chowder. You can make any recipe for bread dough or use frozen dough you have thawed out.

Roll your dough out into a rectangle.  If your dough is pulling back and difficult to roll, just let is sit a few minutes.  The gluten needs to relax a little.You want your dough to be pretty thin - remember that it will rise to double it's size .

If you want to add some spices, brush dough with melted butter.  If you want plain bread sticks, skip this step.

Sprinkle with spices.  I added garlic powder and basil.  They are also good with some Parmesan cheese.  Cut into 1/2-inch wide strips using a pizza cutter.  I love my solid surface counter top that lets me cut right on it.  Transfer your dough to a cutting board if you have to.

Make one horizontal cut through the center.  Twist each piece and place on greased baking tray.

Allow to rise about 20 minutes.  Bake at 425 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.  Brush with melted butter while hot.

Place in a fabric lined basket and cover with a towel to keep warm.  These freeze well.  Just allow to cool completely and place in a plastic bag and freeze for later.  To reheat, wrap in foil and place in a warm oven for a few minutes.

Groundhog Day Cupcakes

We've always tried to do a little something fun when Groundhog Day rolls around.  This year I was inspired by a picture I saw on another blog - Dozen Flours.  It was a little groundhog made from a tootsie roll coming up out of the cupcake.  I used the homemade tootsie rolls we made to do my best.

Start with a chocolate cupcake.  We made chocolate zucchini cupcakes, but any mix will do.  Cut a small hole in the center to make room for the groundhog.

Frost with white frosting

Mold a large tootsie roll into a little groundhog head.  I used a large chocolate chip for his nose and 2 mini chocolate chips for the eyes.  I then melted some white chocolate to use for the teeth.

Press him down into the hole so it appears he his poking his head up out of  his burrow.  I crumbled the little pieces left from cutting the holes out to look like a little dirt on top of the snow.

My young kids had lots of fun making them with me and my older kids will get a kick out of them when they get home from school today.

Tootsie Rolls

My kids joke with me and tell me my kitchen is my laboratory.  Today, I decided to experiment once again.  I found two fun recipes for making tootsie rolls.  They were different enough that I thought it was worth an experiment.

Tootsie Rolls 1
1 cup honey	½ cup baking cocoa
1 cup dry milk powder	1 tsp vanilla
Cook the honey until it reaches a temperature between 250° F–255° F.  You will need to use a candy thermometer to test the temperature.  If you get it too hot, the candy will not be chewy.  It will be hard.  Once the honey reaches the right temperature, remove it from the heat.  Mix the dry milk powder and the baking cocoa together.  Add this mixture to the hot honey along with the vanilla.  Stir until well combined.  Pour out onto a greased surface and allow to cool for about 15 minutes or until it is cool enough to handle.  Knead just a bit.  Roll into long, thin snakes and then cut into individual size candies.  Wrap in pieces of waxed paper.  Makes about 50 small chews. Tootsie Rolls 2 2 Tbsp butter or margarine, softened 1 tsp vanilla ½ cup baking cocoa ¾ cup dry milk powder 3 cups powdered sugar                                ½ cup light corn syrup Combine the dry ingredients in a ziplock bag.  Mix the wet ingredients together and then add to the bag.  Knead until it is all well combined.  (This takes a few minutes.  I ended up dumping it out on the counter to finish the job.)  Roll into long, thin snakes and then cut into individual size candies.  Wrap in pieces of waxed paper.  Both are good, but we decided the texture of the first recipe is a little smoother - more like you would expect with a tootsie roll.  Plus, the ingredients make it just a little more healthy - if you can consider candy healthy.  I can see some benefits to the second recipe though.  It could be fun to do with a scout troop or on a camping trip since there is no cooking involved and there is very little mess.  The best thing is they are both made from fully storable ingredients and I now know how we can make sure chocolate is available during a time that we were having to eat just our food storage! Plus I'm going to use the candy to make Groudhog Day cupcakes for tonight.  I'll post a picture soon.

Bean Puree

I use bean puree in many recipes to replace the fat and often the eggs as well.  Making it is quite easy.  

Begin with cooked beans.  These had been in the freezer so I just thawed them out.  You can also use canned beans that you have rinsed.

Place beans in a small, deeper dish.

Add just a Tbsp or 2 of water and then use a hand immersion blender to puree them

You want them about the consistency of peanut butter.

White beans will hide in any recipe.  So I make lots of white bean puree.  Other colors of beans work just as well they just don't hide as well.  I use black beans in chocolate recipes and red or pinto beans in things like pumpkin or banana muffins.    

I freeze it in 1/2 cup portions in snack size baggies so it is quick to thaw and use when I am baking.

You can use a regular blender to make the puree.  It is hard on the motor though since it is so thick so I prefer the hand immersion variety.  Also, don't do too much at once or you'll burn it's motor out as well.