Gingerbread Pancakes

(Sorry, another 'not so great picture' to add to my collection!)

A few weeks ago I was over at my mom's house for breakfast and she made these AMAZING Gingerbread Pancakes. She said she got the recipe off of Studio 5 and I have loved them ever since. You will definitely want to add this recipe to your food storage favorites! The bananas with the Gingerbread Pancakes and the Buttermilk Syrup was such a great combination. I should have posted this recipe before the holidays because the flavors remind me of Christmas and the fall--but good anytime of year!!

Here is the link to get this recipe http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=204&sid=8280860

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French bread brought to a whole new level!

One of the recipes I get asked about the most often is my homemade French Bread recipe. This recipe is SO easy and so light and airy. Baking this bread at the high temperature of 450 also gives this bread a crispy outer layer and keeps the inside soft and tender. This bread also can be made and the extra loaves frozen for later. Serve this bread with any pasta dish, turn it into garlic cheese bread, or use as a sandwich like I did below.

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Here is the French Bread recipe (this amount makes 2 loaves):
2 1/2 c. warm water
2 T. yeast
3 T. sugar
2 T. white vinegar
Add these ingredients together and let sit until bubbly
1 T. salt
1/3 c. canola or vegetable oil
6 c. flour

In a mixer add the water, yeast, sugar, vinegar, and 3 c. of the flour. Mix until combined. Let sit for 5-10 minutes, or until bubbly and foamy. Add the oil, salt, and remaining flour and knead for 5 minutes. Once the dough is combined and has been kneaded, let the bowl and dough sit on the counter until it doubles in size. You can also do the quick method by putting the bowl in your oven on the bottom shelf with a small pot of boiling water. This will help the dough stay soft and rise more quickly. Either method will work great. Once the dough has risen to the top of the bowl, punch it down and let it rise again. You can do this as many times as you have time for (one is only needed though). The more times you punch down your dough, the more air bubbles your bread will have.

Put the dough on a greased counter top and divide into 2 sections. Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray and sprinkle a thin layer of cornmeal on the bottom of the sheet. Roll the dough balls into long rectangle shapes. Slash the tops of the loaves bread 3-5 times. Let rise 30 minutes (or until doubled). Bake at 450 for 15-20 minutes-until top of bread is golden brown.

Now that you have this AMAZING French Bread recipe you need to try this loaded sandwich. I got this recipe from one of my favorite food blogs and it was de-licious!! It was shown as an appetizer, and that is what I used it for, but it could easily be made for a quick week night meal. Here is my version of the recipe (I made a few changes):

Loaded French Bread

1 loaf french bread, cut in half lengthwise (This mixture for me actually made two loaves worth)
1/2 stick butter, softened (not melted)
2 heaping Tbsp. Mayonnaise (stick with the real stuff, not low-fat)
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup shredded Monterrey jack cheese (or you could use more mozzarella)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 can olives, sliced
20 slices pepperoni, chopped
1 c. mushrooms, sliced, then roughly chopped
2-3 green onions, sliced and chopped
1/2 c. sliced banana peppers (these were my favorite part of the sandwich--the vinegar taste of the pepper was perfect in this mixture)
1 c. grape tomatoes (or regular), cut in half
Garlic powder, basil, Italian seasoning, etc. as desired

In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients (except for the bread) using a spatula or wooden spoon.

When everything is mixed together really well, spread the mixture evenly over the bread and bake at 325-degrees for about 20-25 minutes or until cheese is melted and bread is slightly crispy. Cut up into individual slices and serve.

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FREE CLASS in California & Nevada!

I am excited in the next couple of weeks to visit our friends and fans in California and Nevada! I will be teaching three FREE classes on food storage, emergency preparedness, saving money at the grocery store, and meal planning. If you would like to come and join us, email us at Diana@dealstomeals.com for the exact addresses of where we will be in CA & NV on the following dates:

March 2nd: Mission Viejo, California
March 3rd: Whittier, California
March 6th: Las Vegas, Nevada

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Food storage not so crazy after all?

I am sure many of you have already heard these stories, but I thought they would be worth mentioning here on our 'food storage' blog. The idea of storing basic food and water to drink and eat doesn't seem so crazy anymore, does it? Between the earthquake in Haiti and the winter storms back east, they can teach us all a great lesson or two about being prepared!

Thankfully, the people back east were lucky to have a warning that the storm was coming. Most natural disasters come without any warning--this is when we will really find out if we are prepared or not. Better to prepare before, and not have to do last minute shopping and fight the crowds.

Here are a couple of paragraphs from a few news articles I found interesting:

Supermarkets 'ransacked' as snow storm smacks Washington

WASHINGTON (AFP) – As the second big snowstorm of the winter began dropping flakes on the US capital Friday, panicked parents grabbed their kids early from school and headed home to brace for what locals are calling "Snowpocalypse."

Many stopped off at supermarkets to stock up on last-minute provisions, but found others had already beaten them to it, emptying shelves of everything from soup to Super Bowl snacks and sidewalk salt.

Holly Bailey, a writer who lives in Washington's upscale Georgetown neighbourhood, described scenes of chaos at a local Whole Foods shop as genteel Washingtonians lost their cool in their rush to beat the big snow.

"The parking lot is road-rage central and there are people running down the street with bags trying to get in the store," Bailey told AFP.

"Yesterday, at one point they shut the store because there were so many people inside and they were letting in customers one-by-one as others came out. It was chaos. People were yelling. It was like a scene from a disaster movie," she said.
"I got there at 7:00 am and there were really long queues, and the place looked like it had been ransacked, especially the meat and veg sections," she told AFP.
"People are panicking. The shelves are almost empty. People are hoarding things like bottled water and canned food."

Mid-Atlantic shuts down ahead of huge snow warning
WASHINGTON – Shoppers jammed aisles and emptied stores of milk, bread and shovels Friday as a massive snowstorm blew into the Mid-Atlantic. Forecasters predicted a record 30 inches or more for the nation's capital, and authorities already were blaming the storm for the deaths of father-son Samaritans in Virginia.
In Alexandria, Va., James Ivery, 60, and his wife had already bought supplies but were back at a Harris Teeter supermarket to get out of the house one last time before the storm. Many shelves and bins were emptied of milk, vegetables, eggs and cold cuts. "It just seems like people are panicking."

Kudos to all those trying to prepared BEFORE we are compelled to!

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Carrot Craze!

Spiced Carrot Waffles with Cinnamon Cream Syrup-YUM!


I was surfing through food blogs the other night and found a recipe that I KNEW I needed to try from the Tasty Kitchen. I found the recipe at 10:15 p.m. and was so excited to make this recipe I decided to make it that night and have it ready for the kids in the morning before school.

It really was delicious and the best part about it was that it used up the bags of carrots I had in the fridge that were about to go bad. I stock up my fridge and freezer when carrots go on sale (in the hopes we will be EXTREMELY healthy and reach for a carrot instead of a cookie :) Sometimes it works, and other times (like this past week) it didn't! So..I had 3 bags of carrots I needed to use up and this recipe saved the day! The carrots and applesauce make these waffles moist with a sponge like texture. They are SUPER good, and somewhat good for you!

I had my sisters and their kids come over for breakfast and they were a hit! Some of the kids asked why there were carrots in their waffles, but once they tried them, they were hooked. We even ate a second batch of them for lunch later that day--DELIGHTFUL!

I know many of us are trying to watch our calorie intake this time of year, but the Cinnamon Cream Syrup is worth the calories. It was the perfect pair with these waffles! Enjoy!

Spiced Carrot Waffles (my adapted recipe to include more food storage items)
1 c. white flour
1/2 c. wheat flour
1/4 c. corn meal
1 T. baking powder
2 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. nutmeg
1/2 t. salt
3 T. sugar
2 eggs (or egg powder and water equivalent)
1 3/4 c. water (or you could use buttermilk and leave out the powdered milk)
5 T. dry powdered milk
1 c. packed shredded carrots
1/4 c. oil (I used even less oil and substituted more applesauce-it worked great!)
1/4 c. applesauce

Stir together the wet ingredients, spices, and baking powder. Add the flour and cornmeal and mix until incorporated. For an even fluffier waffle (who has time for this??), you can separate the eggs, beat the whites to a stiff peak, and fold them into the recipe before cooking. This will make your waffles more fluffy if you have the time. Cook waffles on a hot waffle iron. Serve with Cinnamon Syrup.

Cinnamon Cream Syrup
1 c. granulated sugar
1/2 c. corn syrup
1/4 c. water
dash of salt
1 t. cinnamon
1 t. vanilla
1 (12oz.) can of evaporated milk

In a saucepan, combine the first five ingredients. Bring to a boil over medium heat; boil and stir for 2 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes. Stir in milk and vanilla. Serve over pancakes, waffles or French toast.

TIP: I could tell reading through the ingredients that I would love this recipe so I chopped extra carrots to freeze for a later breakfast in a hurry. Carrots freeze GREAT for later cooked meals, so stock up when prices are low.

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Deals to Meals Expanding to TEXAS & NEW MEXICO!

We are excited to announce that we are working on expanding to SEVEN more states in the next month. Texas and New Mexico will be the first two states we will open beginning March 1st. As a company we do not spend money on advertising so we can keep your monthly rates as low as possible. So..we NEED YOU! If you have friends or family in Texas or New Mexico that you think would be interested in saving money and time with Deals to Meals, send us an email!

Krista, our Arizona rep will be opening these two new states. Feel free to email her at Krista@dealstomeals.com and let her know you are interested in a FREE trial to our service in Texas or New Mexico and she will add you to her list.

Stay tuned for details on expansions to Colorado, Wyoming, Washington, Oregon, and Montana. We are hoping these states will be up and running by the middle of March--yeah!! Email us at Diana@dealstomeals.com if you are interested in deals from these five states. Thanks!

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Money Saving Tip

I was making a recipe the other day that called for 3 cans of chicken broth. I couldn't remember if I have shared my chicken broth tip with you or not? There are several items in my kitchen that are 'must haves'--for example: lime juice (we go through this like water in our kitchen), Montreal Steak Seasoning, Costco's Garlic Spread, etc. The list could go on and on. One must have in my kitchen though is Chicken and Beef Base or Bouillon.

Many recipes call for chicken/beef broth or chicken bouillon in recipes and to buy it by the can is extremely expensive. I was just at Walmart the other day and their Great Value can of chicken broth was almost $1--ugh! If you add 3-4 cans in a recipe that is an expensive addition.

So, the tip: Keep your kitchen well stocked with Chicken and Beef Base (this is least at Costco or Sam's Club-McCormick or Tone's makes are good brands) and large #10 cans of Chicken and Beef Bouillon (you can get this online, Maceys, or most Walmarts).

I keep a glass mason jar in my spice cabinet filled with the chicken and beef bouillon so I can easily measure out a tablespoon or teaspoon, add with water and use in my favorite recipes. The chicken and beef base needs to be kept in the fridge once it is open, but will last at least a year once it is opened. The base is a little more expensive but has an awesome flavor, so I ration that on my 'high end meals' and use the powdered bouillon for large soups, stews, etc.

These are also great items to have in your food storage in the event we had to live out of our storage and eat all of our dried beans, rice, noodles, etc. we would want some flavor!

That is probably the longest post in history about bouillon, but it really is one of my FAVE items in my kitchen! Have fun cooking!

**One other benefit is they are MSG free!

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