Another GREAT food storage recipe--Homemade Biscuits

Hey ya'll, here is a GREAT southern recipe for Biscuits and Gravy. Throw some fresh fruit on the side and you have a delicious breakfast--or dinner! Nearly every item in the biscuits can be found in your food storage and freezer (butter). These would be great to make in an emergency if you did not want to cook a yeast bread. You could use them with sandwiches, for breakfast, or as a side dish with dinner.

Americas Test Kitchen did it again with this great recipe!

Buttermilk Biscuits
Makes 12
2 c. flour
1 T. cornstarch
2 t. baking powder
1 t. sugar
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
8 T. butter, cut into 1/4 in. cubes and chilled
3/4 c. cold buttermilk (or 1/4 c. milk & 1 t. lemon juice--you could also use powdered milk if you didn't have milk on hand with the lemon juice)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Put all of the dry ingredients into a large bowl and mix with a wisk. Scatter the butter evenly over teh top and pules to combine, about 12 pulses (or use a dough blender/pastry knife to cut butter into dry ingredients). Stir in the buttermilk with a spatula until the mixture forms a soft, slightly sticky ball. Do not over mix. Divide the dough into 12 even pieces (I just grabbed balls and eyeballed 12). Roll into a rough ball and place on an ungreased baking sheet. If you want cute and evenly formed biscuits you can roll the dough out onto a floured counter, roll the dough out, and use a cup to make perfectly shaped biscuits. Bake until the biscuit tops are light brown, 10-12 minutes. Serve warm with jam or gravy.

*For the gravy, I just made a country gravy with 1 lb. sausage, flour, butter, salt & pepper, and milk. I cooked the sausage until done and set aside. I then made a quick roux with flour and butter and then added the milk. I let simmer until the gravy thickened and then added salt & pepper to taste. Delightful!

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7 Day Challenge--win great prizes and test your preparedness level!

Are you REALLY prepared for an emergency? Our friends from the website www.foodstoragemadeeasy.net are hosting an annual 7 DAY CHALLENGE to see just how prepared we all are! They will be offering prizes, giveaways, and great information to all those who sign up for this challenge. Deals to Meals will also be giving away a THREE MONTH FREE MEMBERSHIP every day of the challenge. Sign up and see how you can have the chance to win a FREE membership to our service. The GRAND PRIZE will also recieve a FREE year membership to Deals to Meals (among many other great prizes!).

It is FREE to sign up for the challenge, and is a great opportunity for each of us to test our preparedness skills and find out the areas we need to improve. Why wait for a real emergency, let's take the opportunity this month to practice what we have been preparing for :)

Sign up on their website www.foodstoragemadeeasy.net/7day/ so you can recieve more information on their 7 Day Challenge and find out what you need to do! (When you sign up, feel free to enter Deals to Meals in the Referrer box so they know our readers found their website through us) Thanks!

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I don't know if it is the Italian blood in me or not, but I LOVE pasta! I don't know who doesn't, especially kids. Well, if you are tired of the same old spaghetti sauce and noodles, here is a little twist that might make you excited to eat pasta again! Make some homemade French Bread (recipe in past posts) or Macaroni Grill Bread and you have a dinner that tastes as good as any Fancy Shmancy Italian Restaurant....only, for 1/4 the price!!

Creamy Bolognese and Spaghetti
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb. extra lean ground beef, sausage or ground turkey (I like Jimmy Dean sausage from Costco)
1-2 c. pre-made spaghetti sauce (my homemade marinara recipe that is to DIE for is one of the first posts on this blog)
1 can (14 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained
¼ c. Italian Salad Dressing
4-6 oz. cream cheese (depending how creamy you like it--the 1/3 less fat works great)
2 t. dried basil (fresh is even better!)
1 t. Italian seasoning
1 t. Garlic Spread (from Costco--yummy on anything!)
16 oz. spaghetti noodles
Parmesan cheese

Saute onions in a large skillet on medium heat until they begin to be translucent. Add meat and cook until cooked through, stirring frequently. Drain any excess grease from pan. Stir in spaghetti sauce and tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 15 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in cream cheese, seasonings and Italian salad dressing. Serve hot over cooked & drained noodles. Garnish with Parmesan cheese. Serves 6.
*VEGETARIAN OPTION: OMIT MEAT

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'Ideal' and NOT so ideal food storage tips

I know many of you do not live in Utah, and do not enjoy the benefits of having a cold storage/basement to store your food storage in. I am sorry about that! There are ways though, to help encourage a more 'ideal' storage condition with out having to have a basement. Here are a few tips and guidelines when storing your food:

Ideal storage conditions do not exist in every home, so just do the best you can. It is better to have some food stored in poor conditions than no food stored at all. An ideal storage area consists of:
1. Cool Temperatures—Usually a range between 50-70 degrees is acceptable (basements are ideal for storing food if possible). If you do not have a basement, try to store the majority of your food in a room with air conditioning or somewhere that stays cooler than the rest of the house (garage that has a/c, cellars, under beds, in storage room with air conditioning, etc.) If you MUST store food in a garage, store canned goods rather than your whole grains (flour, rice, wheat, mixes, etc.). The canned goods will store better in heat than food that is less protected from the elements.
2. Dry—Humidity between 50-70%. Anything higher makes for mold, moisture, and mildew to grow. If you live in a humid area, be careful to store your food properly. Canning your food (especially your long term foods and grains) in number 10 cans (like the ones from the LDS Cannery) is the most ideal. These cans with the oxygen absorbers will keep your food fresher longer and decrease your chance of mold growing in your food.
3. Dark—A room with little to no sunlight is ideal for storing food. A basement is perfect for this again, but if you do not have this option, store your food under beds or somewhere where the direct light will not see. Putting your food in storage buckets or dark tupperware containers will help keep the light away from your food.
4. Well ventilated—Keep food away from heating vents and ducts, pipes, etc. A room with air conditioning is ideal for storage (if you live in an area of extreme heat and do not have a cool basement). The more dry and cool your conditions, the longer and better your food will be preserved.
5. Secure shelves in case of an earthquake. Tie or anchor shelves to wall studs, floors, or other shelf units to prevent tipping. A PVC pipe stretched across a shelf will help keep food on your shelves (especially those shelves holding glass jars/bottles.) Keep the heavier items in your storage on the bottom of your shelving. Toilet paper, cereal, paper towels, etc. do great on the top of your storage shelves because they will not be damaged in the case of an earth quake.

6. Stay organized. A well organized home (especiallly in small spaces)
will make for more storage space for your food storage. If you live in a home with out a basement, shelves may be the solution to your problem. Build inexpensive wood shelves in your garage, in closets, crawl spaces, under stair passages, etc. to help maximize your storage space. Put non-parishable items (like camping, recreational items, summer/winter gear, holiday decorations, etc.) in your garage to leave more space inside your home for your food storage. It is better for these items to be outside in a garage and the elements than it would be for your food to be stored at high temperatures. One of my secrets of staying organized is to have an ON-GOING D.I. (or Salvation Army) pile in my garage. Anytime I find something in my home that we do not use, or that is taking up needed space, I add it to my 'give away' pile. Keeping your home clutter free will help you have more room for the FUN stuff to store, like FOOD!!

7. Be Creative! Desperate times call for desperate measures! Food storage makes for great furniture pieces :)

I have been impressed with so many of your success stories! Many of you are in difficult climates, live in small apartments/spaces, or have situations that are not 'ideal' for storing a years supply of food. However, I have been amazed at how well so many of you have tackled your home's/family's challenges and continued to work on building your storage--no matter the circumstances. Bravo to you for your efforts!! As I go around and teach classes on food storage I always like to share the story of a lady who emailed me from Arizona and told me how she and her husband felt strongly that they needed to get their food storage..despite their small home's challenges. They moved their THREE small children into ONE room so they could have one complete room (that was air conditioned) to store their food storage. What a sacrifice! I figure if she can sacrifice a third of her home for her food storage, many of us can't complain about the situations we are working with.

Thanks again for your success stories! You are an inspiration to so many of us. Keep up the good work!!

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Healthy after school snack

If your children are like mine, they come home from school like raviging beasts (cute ones, I do have to say!). My kids seem to come home starving every day after school, and many mornings leave in such a hurry that they don't eat a lot of breakfast.

These muffins are the answer for my children! They are hearty, healthy, and fill them up with something worthwhile, until dinner is done. Not to mention, they are a GREAT food storage recipe and can help use those long term grains in your storage--oats, wheat, and your flour.

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Banana Muffins
1 1/2 c. flour (I used 1/2 wheat flour and 1/2 white flour)
1 c. sugar
1 tsp. soda
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. nutmeg
3 tsp. cinnamon
1 egg
3/4 c. applesauce
2 c. smashed bananas (about 2-3 bananas)
1 3/4 cup oats
1 pkg. chocolate chips (I used Hershey's Cinnamon Chips--they tasted great!!)

Mix eggs, sugar, applesauce, bananas. Add everything else then chocolate chips.
Put in muffin tins and bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees. YOu will probably want to double these--they are gone before you know it!

**Thanks Andrea for the recipe :)

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Storing the 'Extras"

People ask me what 'extras' (nonfood items) I find useful (or necessary) to store in my storage. I am not sure I have a complete YEAR supply of these items, but these are a few of the necessities I think are important to keep well stocked in your food storage:

*Toilet Paper (what would we do without this???)
*Laundry detergent (I store the liquid soap and a couple big tubs of the el-cheapo powder stuff you can buy 20lbs. for a few bucks--this would be my TRUE emergency soap)
*Hand soap (liquid, bar, sanitizer)
*Paper Towels
*Toothpaste and toothbrushes
*Shampoo & Conditioner
*Deoderant
*Women's sanitary products (is that what you would call those?)
*Bandaids and other basic emergency/first aid supplies
*Basic cleaning supplies (to sanitize your house in case of an emergency/pandemic, etc.) Bleach being one of the most important.
*Extra medication and vitamins (basic pain relievers, fever reducers, antacids, etc. are all good 'basic' medicines that would be good to have in case of an emergency--not to mention medication you need for more serious illnesses)
*Candles
*Batteries & Flashlights
*Warm Blankets (in the case the power went out in the winter for a long period of time)
*Gasoline (if you have a generator--you can legally store 30 gallons on your property)
*Propane (in ALL shapes and sizes--small canisters, extra BBQ propane)
*Butane (for my small butane stove)

I am sure I forgot several items, but these are some basics that I don't think I could do without in an emergency. If you can think of others...post them in the comments :)

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Watch us on Studio 5!

If you didn't see our clip from Studio 5 today, check it out, it was a lot of fun!
http://studio5.ksl.com/ After going to their website just scroll down until you see our logo.

If you live in California, Arizona, Idaho, or Nevada and know of a daytime television show LIKE Studio 5 in your area, we would love to hear your feedback. We are looking to travel and be on different shows in our 'new' states where our service is offered, but we are unsure of which shows are worth going to. We would love any info you could send our way. Thanks!!

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