Food Storage Friday: Potato Pearl Soup

Ok,  if you have potato pearls you have to try this. To quote my husband "It tastes like Thanksgiving in a bowl." And it's EASY! If you don't have potato pearls, go get some.  I found this winner in Food Storage for the Clueless by Clark and Kathryn Kidd, which a friend recommended to me. Unfortunately it is out of print and it was awhile before a copy was available for less than $40. I eventually found one and I haven't really started reading it, just trying a few recipes. This soup is fast, easy, yummy and uses mostly food storage ingredients. I can't say that it's healthy, but it tastes like comfort food and sometimes you need that...like when everyone in the house has had a cold sometime in the past two weeks. Just saying.

Potato Pearl Soup
Food Storage Ingredients:
4 & 1/2 cups milk
2 Tablespoons dried chopped onion
1 teaspoon salt
dash of garlic salt
dash of pepper
2 cups potato pearls
2 & 1/2 cups broth/stock

Fresh Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons butter
1/2 cup water

1. Heat butter, onion, salt, milk and pepper until scalding. 2. Gradually stir in potato pearls. Keep cooking and stirring until smooth. 3. Gradually add the broth & water. 4. Garnish with paprika and parsley if desired.

The original recipe called for more salt and butter. I cut them down and still added the water to get it to a place where I liked the taste. I also used turkey stock that I made and froze after Thanksgiving last year. Hence the strong Thanksgiving flavor and the small bits of carrot. So yummy. The original recipe calls for chicken broth, so I'm sure that that is good too. You *could* use fresh milk for this, but when I make recipes that call for cooking more than 2 cups of milk, I mix it up from my food storage. It's cheaper, no one can taste a difference and I need to rotate the stuff anyway.

Food Storage Friday: Shepherd's Pie

 This is Thing 1's "favorite non-sugary food". And I love that it is super easy to make. I could probably get her to make it next time, if I cook the meat first, it's that easy. This is the way that my mom made shepherd's pie growing up and I love it, but I have since learned that shepherd's pie traditionally has green beans and some sort of tomato-based sauce. I really don't think that I could get my kids to eat something like that, but this way works for us. And when I take the leftovers to work I always get comments about how great it smells.


Shepherd's Pie
Food Storage Ingredients:
2 cans corn, drained
1 can cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1 Tablespoon dried minced onions
3-4 cups prepared mashed potatoes

Fresh Ingredients:
1 lb cooked extra lean ground beef, drained
1/4 cup grated cheddar cheese

1. For bottom layer mix beef, onions and soup in a casserole dish. 2. Spread canned corn over meat mixture for second layer. 3 Spread mashed potatoes over corn. 4. Sprinkle with cheese. Cook until cheese is melted.

Usually I bake this in the oven at 350 for 15 minutes, but I'm trying not to turn the oven on these days. The dish I used was small enough that I cooked this in the microwave for a few minutes without any ill effects. Once I tried using half wheatberries to half ground beef. It was not a winner. The texture was just wrong. I also swear that I took a picture of this when I made it last, but it is MIA. I'm sure that you guys can use your imaginations to conjure it up in your minds.

Food Storage Friday: Mini Meatloaves and Mashed Potatoes

Surprisingly of all my food storage recipes, my meatloaf is the biggest crowd pleaser (with the exception of my wheatberry salsa, but that's more a snack than a meal.) This is unfortunate, because I generally try to avoid preparing meals that involve me squishing my fingers in raw meat.  My in-laws (who as a group are generally against eating healthy) love it and every time I bring the leftovers to work, someone asks me what in the world I am eating because it smells amazing. Seems like good enough tests for me. I found the recipe that I based this off of in Taste of Home's Budget Suppers. Of course I cut down the salt, doubled the whole grain and changed things up a bit to turn it into something I would want to eat. The secrets that makes this meatloaf so great are:

1. The sauce on top
2. They are smaller so they cook faster than the average meatloaf 
3. The Worcestershire sauce inside to give it a little zip

Mini Meat Loaves
Food Storage Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup evaporated milk
3/8 cup dried minced onion
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
1/3 cup ketchup
1 Tablespoon prepared mustard
mashed potatoes, prepared according to directions

Fresh Ingredients
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 1/2 pounds extra lean ground beef

1. Mix oats, milk, egg, onions, salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce in a bowl. 2. Mix in ground beef until mixed thoroughly. 3. Form into balls, (I make them slightly smaller than my fist, but I have small hands) I put a small dent in the middle with my thumb to thin out the part where the meat is the thickest to help make sure that they cook more evenly and also hold some of the sauce in. 4. Mix ketchup, brown sugar and mustard into a sauce and spoon over meatloaves. 5. Bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes. Serve with mashed potatoes and vegetables. Makes 10 mini meatloaves.

Notes: I feel like this meal is somewhat higher intensity than I usually do, so I serve it with mashed potatoes, which are like the fast food of the food storage world. These also freeze and reheat well.

Sour Cream and Cheddar Potatoes

Here's a recipe that I made up Saturday night after work (equals quick and easy). It was so yummy that I made it again. This and a green salad makes a very satisfying meal. So if you were wondering 'What in the world should I do with these little yellow potatoes from my Bountiful Basket?', give this a try. It kind of reminds me of a dutch oven breakfast that my leaders often made when I went to girl's camp as a teenager.

Sour Cream and Cheddar Potatoes
2 lbs butter gold baby potatoes, scrubbed and cut into quarters, (leave the peels on, they're good for you)
1 14 oz can of chicken broth
3 Tablespoons of butter
1 cup reduced fat sour cream
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/4 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1 Tablespoon dried minced onion
6 slices of Canadian Bacon, coarsely chopped

1. Put potato quarters in a small pot with chicken broth. Boil covered for 15 minutes. (The broth won't totally cover the potatoes, that's ok, the steam will cook them. And don't stir them, just leave them be for 15 min.) 2. Pull the lid back to let some of the steam escape. When you have a 1/4" of liquid or less, turn down the heat to medium low. 3. Add butter and stir. 4. After butter is melted, add remaining ingredients. Stir until cheeses are melted.

I imagine that you could experiment with other kinds of potatoes, but it would change the cooking time. And I'm sure that some good spiral ham instead of Canadian Bacon would taste great, or you could easily leave out the meat entirely.

Food Storage Friday: Split Pea Soup

I know it doesn't look like much, but this is the recipe that really got me started. A little over a year ago I read I Dare You to Eat It by Liesa Card. I was in the middle of my third move in 8 months (long story), my husband is allergic to many fruits and vegetables (unless they're processed in some way) and he is aversive to most produce that he's not allergic to. Not to mention that my children are the pickiest eaters I have ever encountered. Despite these obstacles, Liesa had me convinced that I could use my food storage and it would bless my life. Now I was very comfortable with rice, pasta and oatmeal cookies, but  I decided that I would really test my boundaries- Split Pea Soup. So I bought a pound of dried split peas and made it. When my husband came home from work he asked what was in the crock pot. I told him and he responded “I’m excited. I love split pea soup!” “Really?” “Yes, it’s my favorite.” I was shocked. At the time I had known him for 14 years and I never would have guessed that. (His family still occasionally teases him about not anything that was the color green when he was small, not even mint ice cream.) I suppose it had never come up because I never made it, thinking he would never eat it.  I ladled it into bowls and asked my four-year-old what kind of sandwich she wanted for dinner. (At the time I had given up trying to get her to eat the things I normally make for dinner.) She said “I want what you guys are having.” AND SHE ACTUALLY ATE IT. I was so excited I emailed Liesa and we have been swapping food storage stories and ideas ever since. If my family can eat food storage, anyone's can. 

 Here's my version of the recipe. Last week I threw the ham bone from Thanksgiving in the freezer and used it for the soup, or you can use the ham flavor packet that comes with most one pound bags of split green peas. Not all bags come with it, look closely at the packaging.

Split Pea Soup

Food Storage Ingredients:

1 lb (2 cups) dried split green peas

2/3 cup dried carrots

1/2 cup dried onions

1 12oz can evaporated milk

1 15oz can potato chunks, drained and diced

1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

salt and pepper to taste

Fresh ingredients:

1 cup diced celery

1 cup smoke spiral-cut ham, chopped

1 ham bone

8 cups water

1. Put water, split peas and ham bone in crock pot. Cook on high for 5 hours. 2. Add vegetables and cook on low for 2 more hours. 3. Saute ham chunks in a pan until edges are crisp. 4. Stir Worcestershire sauce, canned milk and ham into soup and serve.

I've made this with fresh carrots, onion and potatoes and they work just as well, but frankly my food storage is more convenient because there is less chopping involved. If you use fresh potatoes it's 2 medium, chopped, carrots- 2 cups, chopped, and onions- 1 small, chopped. I've also done it without canned milk because I spaced it one evening. It was still good, but better with the milk.

Food Storage Friday: Chicken Vegetable Chowder

There are six basic staples of long term food storage: rice, wheat, oats, pasta, beans, and potatoes. Potatoes are pretty darn easy to incorporate into your diet. To quote my friend Liesa "Mashed potatoes are the fast food of food storage." Anyone can add them as a side to a meal with very little effort. Mashed potato flakes can be stored for approximately 30 years. I am not a big potato person, however growing up my mom made this chicken vegetable chowder that I loved. Getting the recipe out of her is easier said than done, because she doesn't cook by recipe, more by taste and eyeballing it. So here is my version. To me, this is comfort food. :) If you wanted to, you could use fresh baked potatoes or even just mashed potato flakes. The point is to get your family used to eating these staples on a fairly regular basis.

Chicken Vegetable Chowder
Food Storage Ingredients:
1 (15oz) can of potatoes, drained
1/4 cup mashed potato flakes (or more if you need them)
3 cups chicken broth
1 (12 oz) can of evaporated milk

Fresh Ingredients:
6 cups of finely chopped vegetables
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon prepared honey mustard
1 cup cooked chopped chicken (I've done this many times with canned chicken too)
1 cup shredded cheddar
pepper to taste

1. Put vegetables, canned potatoes, onion, garlic and chicken broth in crock pot. Simmer for 2-4 hours on low. 2. Mash everything with a potato masher until potato chunks pea sized or smaller. 3. Add evaporated milk. 4. Add potato flakes to thicken to desired consistency. 5. Add remaining ingredients and cook on low until heated through (30 minutes or so)

Notes: I served these in soup rolls, but you can do as you please. For vegetables I generally use carrots, broccoli and cauliflower, but this time I used parsnips instead of cauliflower because I had them from my Bountiful Basket and didn't have a clue what else to do with them. My mom always used half and half for this recipe. I don't like purchasing half and half. The remainder of the container always expires before I get around to using, besides you can get the same creaminess from evaporated milk with fewer calories and less saturated fat. She also uses bacon grease mixed with flour to thicken her soup instead of potato flakes. Yes, I know it taste better, but I detest working with bacon. Period. Yesterday when my husband heated some of these leftovers for lunch he accidentally put a dash of balsamic vinegar in it. It made it better. When I got home from work he fixed some for me that I way and I agreed. Give it a try.