My Food Storage Deals

Big blog change! Follow our NEW blog at www.dealstomeals.blogspot.com

2010-04-20T13:00:00.007-06:00

(Continue to follow this blog at the NEW blog address www.dealstomeals.blogspot.com)

Hello Blog Friends!

I am SO excited about the future of this blogging hobby I started nearly two years ago! I began this blog with very few (if any!) expectations that anyone would read my blog, let alone care what I have to say or share. The last couple of years have been a wonderful experience and it has been fun to get to know many of you, hear your excitement for food storage increase, and to see how FUN blogs can be!

Before our company Deals to Meals began, our company name was My Food Storage Deals--and thus, this blog www.myfoodstoragedeals.blogspot.com came about. Well...as our company expanded and changed, so did our name. This is why we then created our other blog www.dealstomeals.blogspot.com For nearly a year I have been trying to balance and post on both blogs. This has become a difficult task for me. Not that I don't enjoy both blogs, it is just hard for our readers to navigate through both, find information they are looking for, and for me to keep up on posting.

Well..this is about to change! We are working on combining both of our blogs into ONE and are excited about new features and information we will be able to offer when we finish this process. As of now this blog has been focused on food storage and our Deals to Meals blog has been focused on cooking tips, meal planning, and recipes. Both of these themes go so well together, I think the combination will only be beneficial and a good move all around.

So, long story short, this is my last post on this blog (wierd!) Our blog will now be switched to the web address www.dealstomeals.blogspot.com Be patient with us as we convert the two together--I promise, once it is done, it will be an AMAZING blog with exciting new options! If you are a current follower of this blog, feel free to become a follower/Google Reader of our other blog. You will continue to get food storage information, tips, and recipes on this blog, as well as even MORE recipes, tips and tricks.

Thanks again for reading, commenting, and being part of this blog. I am excited to continue sharing and posting for many years to come!

Caselot Fun and Confessions!

2010-04-14T20:28:00.011-06:00

(My friends showing off their 'loot' after our caselot shopping adventure!)

Do any of you love case lot time as much as I do? Case lot sales make me giddy inside--call me weird! Here in Utah we have them at least twice a year and this week they are going on at Macey's and Smiths. For those of you who have a Smith's near by (Nevada, Montana, Wyoming, Oregon, Washington, etc.), check out their ad and see if their case lot sale is continuing this week as well. They have some GREAT deals on many items this week!

For those of you who do not like grocery shopping, like my cute friend Amanda, try going with friends, it makes ALL the difference! Shopping is always more fun when you have good company! So..find a friend, login to our website to see what the best deals are, and off you go for a fun girls adventure.
Where is my food you ask? How did I go case lot shopping and only buy 1 case of black beans and some wheat? Well, I have to confess something...I am addicted to buying food storage. Being at a case lot sale for me is heaven on earth--food, good deals, the feeling of being prepared, etc., it all comes together for a good ol' fashion fun time for me. Well..after a heart to heart with my husband and our checkbook, we realized this addiction I have with buying food storage. Does anyone else have this problem out there? There is something SO fun about getting good deals and being prepared.
So, with the encouragement of my husband (my PATIENT husband!), I have decided to challenge myself and only spend $100 for the next three months on groceries. This should be okay since I have food storage (plenty!) and three freezers bursting at the seams. I will keep you posted on how my 'new' budget goes--so far I am doing pretty well, but I still have half the month left--yikes!

If any of you have tips on sticking to a food budget, or any other advice you could have for me, feel free to leave a comment! Deals to Meals of course will help you know what to buy and how to cook with the food that is on sale...I just need someone to come with me and say "buy 3 of these items instead of 20"--haha!

So, whether or not you have $100 to spend this month on groceries like I do, or you are taking your tax return and shopping up a storm--I wish you luck on your case lot shopping! Have fun saving money, shopping, being with friends, and getting that natural high that comes from being prepared...all within a reasonable budget--right??
Here are a few pictures from Diana's (my sister & Calif. rep) Girls Night out of Case Lot Shopping--SO FUN!

Enter to win!

2010-04-13T11:23:00.002-06:00

Visit our blog www.dealstomeals.blogspot.com and find out how you can win a one year membership to Deals to Meals FREE!

Good luck :)

Tortilla Trauma!

2010-04-08T22:01:00.008-06:00

(My version of Costco's uncooked tortillas--I have a LONG ways to go!!)

Do you love the new trend of the uncooked tortillas? Where have these been all my life? They are FAR superior to a precooked, dried out tortilla. The fact you can make them right before you eat dinner and have warm tortillas off the griddle in seconds is the next best thing to sliced bread!! The ONLY downfall is how expensive they are! It is hard to get a package of regular tortillas on sale for .77, verses the $3-$4 a package for the uncooked tortillas. For now, this is something I will splurge on, but in the case of an emergency or time I have to live off of my food storage, I think I will need an alternative.

Tortillas really are a great item to have the capability of making from your food storage. They would work great for wraps for lunches, be used in enchiladas, soups, burritos, and can even be used in desserts (they are great buttered with cinnamon and sugar or with a cream cheese filling and fruit inside). The other great thing about learning to make your own tortillas is that they can be made without a leavening agent (like yeast) and you wouldn't need to bake them in the oven if your power was out. They can be cooked on the grill or in a pan over a camping stove.

Now to my dilemma! I have not mastered tortilla making yet and it is driving me crazy! I am posting the recipe I have been using (it seems to be a pretty basic recipe I see out in the blog world), but I can not get them to work. They are either too thick, too dry, too doughy, or too ugly. You name it and I have had a something go wrong. My tortillas are more like saltine crackers than they are a soft, warm tortilla.

I need your help! If you know the secret to making a soft, thin, and heavenly tortilla, will you please share your knowledge with me? ANY tips or tricks would be helpful for me--just leave a comment or email me at Shandra@dealstomeals.com. THANKS!! In the mean time, here is my sub-par tortilla recipe:

Homemade Flour Tortillas
2 c. all purpose flour
2 t. baking powder
1 t. salt
3 T. shortening

Mix together with enough water to make a stiff dough. Roll dough VERY thin and fry on hot skillet.

(My dough in a food processor)

(My dough balls that were uneven and dry)

(My million dollar tortilla smasher that I bought off of Ebay that doesn't work!!)

(My not-so-cute tortilla cooking on my grill)

Thank you in advance for your help with my tortilla dilemma :)

Powdered Eggs at the BEST price!

2010-04-05T17:24:00.004-06:00

I posted a few posts ago about the importance of having powdered eggs in your storage. I have a couple cans in my storage but wanted to beef up my supply by 2-3 more cans (I use a lot of eggs in my cooking!).

After some price comparisons, I have found the least expensive place in Utah to purchase powdered eggs. Macey's is having their case lot sale this week and are having their powdered eggs (2.25 lb. can) for $14.99. This is normally a great deal, but I have found it for even less!

Honeyville Grain (the store--not the online store) is having a powdered egg sale that is good through April 17th. They have their 2.25 lb. can of powdered eggs on sale for $12.04! This is equal to 78 eggs (or $1.85 dozen). This is a little more than regular priced eggs (prices have gone up throughout the years), but these are still an economical item to have in your storage.

Here is there address in case you live close enough to take advantage of this sale:

635 N. Billy Mitchell Road #A
Salt Lake City, UT 84116
Monday-Friday 9 a.m.-6 p.m.
Saturday 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

For those of you out side of Utah, this will help you know what price would be a good deal for you to stock up on. Anything under $15 for a 2.25lb. can is a GREAT deal and worth stocking up your food storage.

Oatmeal Breakfast Muffins

2010-03-30T16:34:00.007-06:00

I was looking through a cookbook and found a couple of recipes that I thought looked good. I love having healthy (okay..somewhat healthy) after school snacks for the kids--or else they ransack the pantry looking for granola bars and fruit snacks. These muffins seemed like they would be worth trying. I have to admit, they were pretty good! My husband did say that he thought they were a little too healthy (I tend to do that--hey, at least I didn't put pureed beans in them!) They have a VERY dense texture, but I feel like they would fill the kids up and would be great in lunches. We have three friends over and they all came back for seconds :)

I happened to have flax seed on hand, so these muffins worked great to get rid of those. If you don't, I would assume you could use more flour or oats in it's place.

Oatmeal Breakfast Muffins
1 egg
1/4 c. canola oil
1/2 c. applesauce
4 bananas
3 T. sour cream
1 t. vanilla

Mix above ingredients together.

1 1/4 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. flax (if you have flax in seed form, put in a blender with the wet mixture above for 1 minute until well blended)
1 1/4 c. quick oats
1/3 c. brown sugar or honey
1 t. cinnamon
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 c. raisins or craisins
1/2 c. chocolate chips (optional)

Mix together the wet ingredients. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Put muffins in a greased muffin tin and bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes (until they are browned on top and have a cake-like texture). You could use all raisins or all chocolate chips--personally I think chocolate makes everything taste better!

Another great recipe to use up that food storage!

It's official--Deals to Meals is now in 12 states!

2010-03-25T21:28:00.002-06:00

Yeah! The day is finally here--we are now up and running in 12 states! We have been working long nights and put hundreds of hours into getting these states up and running--a BIG thanks to our friend and programmer Kevin! Our website has also had many new and EASY to use features added that we know you will LOVE!

Who would have guessed a couple of years ago that our company would go from servicing a few people here in Utah to being able to help people all over the Western United States. It has been a true blessing to be able to help many of you save money, return to the kitchen and dinner table with your families, eat healthy meals, and begin to prepare and build your food storage. Your stories and testimonials are what keep us going on our many long nights and stressful moments. With 12 states, 42 stores offered, thousands of recipes, and MANY late nights, we are just grateful and pleased with what Deals to Meals has turned into.

We owe a great deal of our success to each of you and thank you for helping us spread the word. We do not advertise (we're not that big yet!) so we rely on each of you who enjoy our service to help us spread the word. We would LOVE it if you could tell your friends and family in the following states that we are now up and running and excited to serve them!

Like always, ALL new members will receive a two week FREE trial (no contracts) to see how much money and time we can save them. Please let us know if you have ANY questions or comments about our service--we are here to serve you!

The following are the states and stores we offer on our website:

DEALS TO MEALS IN 12 STATES:
Utah, Idaho, Arizona, Northern California, Southern California, Nevada, Texas, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Montana, Wyoming and New Mexico!

We offer our service for the following grocery stores:

Utah
Albertsons, Fresh Market, Maceys, Reams, Smith's, Buy Low, Sunflower, Harmons, WinCo, Rancho Markets & Ridley's

Idaho
Smith's, Albertsons, Fred Meyer, Paul's, Safeway, Broulim's, Ridley's, Yoke's, Super 1 Foods, Trading Co & Grocery Outlet

Arizona
Albertsons, Sunflower, Fresh & Easy, Safeway, Fry's, Bashas', Smart & Final, Sprouts & Food City

Northern California
Safeway, Raley's, Save Mart, Lucky, Smart & Final, Grocery Outlet & Nugget

Southern California
Buy Low, Smart & Final, Albertsons, Ralphs, Stater, Henry's, Vons, Fresh & Easy, Food 4 Less, & Sprouts

Nevada
Albertsons, Vons, Fresh & Easy, Food 4 Less, Sunflower, Smart & Final, Smith's, Buy Low, Grocery Outlet, Raley's & Safeway

Texas
Albertsons, Sunflower, Sprouts, Kroger, HEB, Randalls, Brookshire's & Sun Harvest

Oregon
Albertsons, Safeway,QVC, & Fred Meyer

Washington
Albertsons, Safeway, Fred Meyer, Yoke's, Super 1 Foods, Trading Co, Ralphs, QVC & Grocery Outlet

Colorado
Safeway, Sunflower, Sprouts, Albertsons & King Soopers

Montana
Albertsons, Smith's, Safeway & Super 1 Foods

Wyoming
Albertsons, Safeway, Paul's, Ridley's, Smith's & King Soopers

New Mexico
Safeway, Sunflower, Smith's, Albertsons & John Brooks

Visit our website for more information: www.dealstomeals.com

Last days of BIG savings at Smiths!

2010-03-22T14:58:00.002-06:00

I am sure many of you have already made your shopping trip to Smith's this week (for those of you who live near a Smith's Food & Drug). They are having SCREAMING GOOD DEALS on several items worth stocking up on this week.

Here is my 'loot' I bought today for $107--I saved over $210--wahoo!!
This what I bought and what the good deals are:

*8 jars of Classico Spaghetti Sauce (my favorite brand--if I have to eat store bought :)---$1.49 each when you buy combination of 8

*32 cans Del Monte Diced Tomatoes 14.5oz. .49 (regularly $1.59 a can!)

*25lbs. American Beauty Pasta 16oz. .49 (I have pasta coming out of my ears, but who can resist .49 a pound!!)

*9 jars Best Foods Mayonnaise 30 oz. $2.49

*7 Wesson Canola Oils 48 oz. $1.99 (CRAZY good deal--usually $5.89 a jar!)

*112 Powerades 32oz. .25 each (I calculated these Powerades and at this amazing LOW price, they are the same price per ounce as water bottles ($3 a 24pk.). I bought several cases to add to my water supply. They will be good for several years and will be great to have in an emergency. The Powerade drink has Vitamins B3, B6, and B12 which are good for replenishing your body when you are sweating or dehydrated. This is an amazing good deal, stock up!!

Good luck with your food storage shopping this week. These deals at Smiths end March 23rd, tomorrow.

If you live in Arizona or other states that have a Von's store, they are having a few of these items at pretty comparable prices--check your local ads or become a member of Deals to Meals and we will let you know all of the great deals each week as well!

Crazy Cheap Croutons

2010-03-17T14:19:00.007-06:00

Okay, for some of you this is going above and beyond in the Betty Homemaker category, but if you are like me and run out of croutons and still want a crunch on your salad, this is an EASY way to save a couple of dollars! Those of you who laughed when they read my post about making homemade breadcrumbs can just skip past this post ;)

Okay, to make homemade croutons, all you need is old/stale bread, butter, and seasonings. I had a package of dry hamburger buns that I kept for this very reason, so they came in handy the other night for dinner. Just cut them up into small cubes, put them on a pan (I put mine on my baking stone), drizzle some melted butter over your bread, season with garlic powder/spread, parsley, oregano, pepper, or whatever seasonings you like, and bake at 350 until they are golden brown. For leftover croutons, just store in a tupperware and they will last for a couple of days. Because you used fresh butter, they will begin to taste stale if you keep them on the shelf too long. I am sure you could keep them in the fridge if you needed to.

Put these delicious and EASY croutons on your favorite salad for the perfect crunch!

GIve Away Winners!

2010-03-12T10:28:00.002-07:00

Visit our blog www.dealstomeals.blogspot.com to find out the three winners of our Good Things Utah Give Away!

Good Things Utah Contest!

2010-03-11T10:20:00.000-07:00

Would you like to win a ONE YEAR MEMBERSHIP to Deals to Meals?

To thank you for watching our segment on Good Things Utah we would like to enter YOU into a drawing for one of TWO one year memberships and a six month FREE membership.

Let Deals to Meals help you SAVE time and money! We do ALL of the work for you--tell you where the BEST deals are from the major grocery stores, plan your weeks' meals around SALE items, and help you know which items each week to add to your food storage and freezer. We take ALL of the guess work out of what's for dinner and help your family spend LESS on their monthly food budget.

There are NO contracts with our service. We GUARANTEE you will save MUCH more than your $4.95/mo. membership fee or we will refund your money 100%!

HOW TO WIN A YEAR MEMBERSHIP FOR FREE?

Watch our segment on Good Things Utah and be the FIRST person to sign up on our website to try our service for TWO WEEKS free and you will be the winner of a ONE YEAR MEMBERSHIP!

Be the SECOND to sign up on our website and you will be the winner of a SIX MONTH MEMBERSHIP!

The remaining people (new members only) who sign up on our site through the end of today (12:00 p.m.) will be entered into a drawing to win another free ONE YEAR MEMBERSHIP!

You can't lose! Try our service for FREE for two weeks with the chance to win a FREE YEAR'S membership.

Sign up on our website www.dealstomeals.com today!
(Winners will be announced tomorrow at noon on both of our blogs)

Save $100's on your monthly grocery budget by knowing which items are GREAT vs. GOOD deals. No need to use coupons! We making saving easy. We compare all of the weekly deals from the major grocery stores to Costco, Sam's Club, and Walmart and let you know when items are on sale for less--meaning it is a GREAT deal.

Let us help you plan your meals around items on sale. This will save you $100's by knowing which items to buy and having your recipes planned for you each week. All of our recipes are homemade, healthy, and delicious!

Learn to build up your food storage and freezer at the lowest prices possible.

Learn to use your food storage in your weekly meal planner--helping you rotate and use what you are storing.

Case lot time in Utah & Idaho!

2010-03-08T12:05:00.000-07:00

For those of you who live in Idaho, Ridley's, Broulim's, and Paul's are all having GREAT case lot sales this week! Stock up on basic food storage items like flour, sugar, rice, tomatoes, beans, and MUCH more!

For those people in Utah, Fresh Market, Buy Low, and Ridley's are also having their case lot sales. These sales end TOMORROW--so go shopping before these prices go up!! For those in Orem, Hyrum, and Tremonton you now have the new grocery store Ridley's. This is an Associated Food Store that has bought out a few of the Albertson's that have gone out of business. These prices can be found on our website under Idaho's weekly deals until we have them accessible under Utah. The deals for Ridleys are also on the Utah Tips of the Week sheet if you would like to know which items are GREAT deals!

For all those who would like help knowing which items this week from the case lot sales are GREAT deals, become a member of Deals to Meals! We will tell you exactly which items to buy, how much to buy, their shelf life, and help you know how to save money on your monthly grocery budget. Everyone is welcome to try our service for TWO weeks free and see if our system will work for you. Enjoy and have fun shopping!

Gingerbread Pancakes

2010-02-24T21:05:00.003-07:00

(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

French bread brought to a whole new level!

2010-02-17T21:40:00.009-07:00

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.

Printer Friendly Version

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.

FREE CLASS in California & Nevada!

2010-02-17T19:55:00.003-07:00

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

Food storage not so crazy after all?

2010-02-08T12:18:00.005-07:00

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!

Carrot Craze!

2010-02-04T20:48:00.007-07:00

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.

Deals to Meals Expanding to TEXAS & NEW MEXICO!

2010-02-03T21:01:00.004-07:00

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!

Money Saving Tip

2010-02-03T20:16:00.006-07:00

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!

Beans...the options are limitless!

2010-01-28T13:37:00.010-07:00

The other day I was making White Bean Chicken Chili and decided to use some of the dried white beans from my storage (SO much less expensive than canned beans!). I put 3 lbs. of beans in my large roaster oven and had them simmer in the water for 4-5 hours. By the end of the day the beans were perfectly soft and ready for my chili. Needless to say, out of 3 lbs. of beans, I had LOTS of left overs and wondered what to do with them. I have read several blogs and books where they say you can substitute white beans pureed for fat/butter in recipes. I decided to give this method a try. I was over all quite pleased with the results! Here are a few of my cooking adventures with pureed white beans.

My first attempt was pretty terrible. I don't know if it was the recipe I used or the fact I used 100% whole wheat and 100% beans-with no butter or fat. The cookies turned out dry and crumbly and NOT worth posting about. When I perfect a chocolate chip cookie recipe with white beans I will post about it.

I then decided to try white bean puree in some muffins I was making for an after school snack for the kids. These actually turned out pretty good! I think if you used all white flour you wouldn't even be able to tell the difference of the butter or beans. However, I tend to go over board with the wheat flour in hopes of being healthy, and usually do too much. Try this recipe with half wheat flour and half white flour and I think it will be perfect! I have tried all bean puree and no butter and they just turn out too crumbly and dry. Having some fat in the recipe helps the item stay moist and soft. Sorry...these are 'healthier' not 100% healthy :)
*I liked the lemon butter/sugar topping of these muffins, but I think a traditional streusel would actually taste even better.

Blueberry Muffins
2 c. wheat flour
2 c. white flour
1 cup sugar
6 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
zest of two lemons
2 egg
2 cup water
6 T. dry powdered milk
1/2 c. butter, softened
1/2 c. white bean puree
2 cup frozen blueberries

Topping (this makes extra - you can try cutting it down if you want):
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 Tb lemon juice
lemon zest
1/2 cup sugar

Beat eggs, bean puree, butter, water, powdered milk, and sugar. Stir in blueberries. Add dry ingredients and stir gently to combine. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Combine butter and lemon juice. While the muffins are still warm, dip the tops in the butter and lemon juice, then dip in sugar. Makes 24 muffins.

This afternoon I decided to try another recipe with white beans (I had lots to get rid of!) and this one is my favorite so far. This Oatmeal Raisin cookie recipe was one I adapted from Mrs. Fields Cookbook into a healthier version. Again, you need some of the fat, so use 1/2 beans and 1/2 butter and they will be delicious! This recipe makes a TON! You can freeze the extra dough for later or give some away to your neighbors.

Healthy Oatmeal Cookies (Okay...healthier)
2 c. brown sugar
2 c. white sugar
1 c. butter
1 c. pureed white beans
Beat top ingredients and then add:
4 eggs
2 t. vanilla
Add dry ingredients and beat together:
1/4 c. powdered dry milk
2 c. white flour
2-3 c. wheat flour
2 t. baking powder
5 c. oatmeal (quick or regular)
2 t. soda
1 t. salt
2 c. raisins or chocolate chips
3 c. nuts (optional)

Bake at 350 for 10 minutes on greased cookie sheet. Don’t over bake.

**GREAT TIP: Make extra white beans and puree them into separate portions for later. Label your bags with how much beans you put in the bag and keep them in the freezer until you need them. When you are baking, pull out a bag, thaw them in the microwave, and add them to your recipe as desired. It works great!

Great Question!

2010-01-27T20:51:00.006-07:00

"I have a question for you. Since you are, of course, preparing for whatever may come.....I am wondering if you have made other preparations other than food storage? I was wondering what kind of house you live in and what you do when there is no electricity for heating, cooking, etc. Do you plant a garden, raise your own animals.....i.e., chickens, cows, etc. for eggs, milk, meat, etc.? I just find it interesting to know to what extremes people are going to. Also, wondering if you've looked into alternative medicines or storing those?"

~Sandra

Great questions! No..I wish I could raise my own chickens (maybe??) and do more of that type of preparation. However, we just live in the out skirts of Salt Lake and have neighbors in our backyard—not a lot of space for anything other than a garden. I try and plant as much as I can in my garden and bottle, dry, freeze, or can the extras of the season. We also have three fruit trees that have proved to be a blessing—free apples, pears, and peaches in the summer. It doesn’t get better than that!

As far as fuel storage, we do have a generator, gasoline, camping stoves, propane heaters, butane stoves, etc. We keep a good stock of fuel that we would need for cooking and heating in an emergency.

I do store basic medicines: Tylenol, Asprin, Vitamins, Cough Syrup, Cold/Flu medicine, etc. Any medicine my family uses on a regular basis (during sick season that is), I try to store a couple extras for an emergency—or if we were unable to have access to them. For those who use prescription medicine it is important to store as many extras as you can in your storage. I for example, have Asthma, so I always keep my prescriptions filled and max out my allowed supply, so I have extras on hand. I know this is not possible with all medicines, but if it is possible, it is a good thing to do.

Other items I try to keep well stocked are hygiene items: toilet paper, paper towels, wipes, shampoo/conditioner, bar soap, liquid soap, laundry soap, dish detergent and soap, toothpaste, extra toothbrushes, cotton balls/q-tips, hand sanitizer, bleach, Clorox wipes (for cleaning and sanitizing), and other basic cleaning supplies.

First Aid items are also an important part of your emergency preparedness supplies (72 hour kits, car kits, etc.). Having a wide variety and different sizes of bandaids, wraps, etc. are important for storage. There are several items that are important to have in your First Aid kit. You can find lists online of important items to store. I will post more about first aid later in the month. This is part of my goal with some of our tax return money--beef up our 72 hour kits and first aid supplies. Watching the people in Haiti helps you realize some of the items you may be low on.

Feta Fun!!

2010-01-21T21:51:00.005-07:00

Do you love feta cheese as much as I do? It is probably one of my absolute favorite cheeses. I don't know if it is the salty flavor or the smooth texture I love more--but, boy..it is delightful! I had ground beef thawed in my fridge today and I was dreaming of a feta filled hamburger. I have never had this before, but I imagined it being yummy! So..I did a little research and created my own recipe that was FANTASTIC! I even had a second small helping tonight because it was SO good (late night snacks are okay for pregnant people, right??).

Before I get to the recipe, here is a tip to save money on your bread budget. I didn't want to go to the store for $2.50 whole wheat hamburger buns, so I found an easy way around it. I was making wheat bread this morning and decided to make a few hamburger buns while I was at it. I used the same dough and just formed them into large roll shapes. They cooked up perfectly and made for the perfect INEXPENSIVE hamburger bun--fabulous!

Okay, here is my made up recipe for these fantastic Feta Burgers (play around with the amounts of items, I didn't measure, so these are just estimates):

Stuffed Feta Burgers
2 lbs. lean ground beef (ground turkey would also work great)
Montreal Steak Seasoning (good amount!)
2-3 T. Worcestershire sauce
1 t. garlic powder
2 t. dried parsley
1 egg
1/4 c. breadcrumbs
Large chunk of feta cheese (I prefer the Greek Feta that is sold at Costco in a large square block--it is softer and has better flavor. Feta freezes well if you won't use up the whole package).
1 package hamburger buns (or homemade) Brush each side with a little olive oil or butter and broil for 30 seconds to a minute until golden brown.

Mix all together (minus the feta) and form half of the mixture into 7 patties. Put a large chunk of feta cheese on top of each half of the patties. Put the remaining beef mixture flattened on top of each patty, covering the feta cheese. Grill burgers until cooked through on the grill (dust off the snow on your outdoor grill, it will be worth the effort to have the yummy charcoal flavor!)

Serve burgers on a whole wheat bun with lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumber sauce (below):

Cucumber Sauce (this is what makes these burgers)
1/4-1/3 c. mayonnaise (not low fat, you don't want a sweet flavor--sorry!)
1/4 c. sour cream
2 t. dried dill weed
1/2 t. garlic salt
Dash of lemon juice
1 small cucumber, peeled and shredded
Ground pepper
1/2 t. parsley
Salt to taste (it should be salty and tangy with the lemon juice)

Mix together and chill until ready to serve with burgers.

Enjoy!

Haiti Relief Effort

2010-01-18T13:18:00.003-07:00

I, like many of you, can hardly bear to hear any more news or see pictures of the devastation in Haiti. I don't know that I have ever seen such poverty and destruction as I have in this country. It truly is devastating and our thoughts and prayers go out to those suffering. I am sure all of us are trying to find ways and think of things we can do to help the people in Haiti. My children have done jobs around the home and other service projects to be able to donate the little money they have to Haiti. It is neat to see how touched they are and their sincere desire to help. My encouragement to all of us today is to find some way, no matter how small, to give of our time or money (or even something as simple as prayers) to those who are in need. Small donations of any amount I am sure will be able to provide food and water for these people.

My husband and I have decided that ALL of this months membership fees from NEW members to Deals to Meals will go directly to the Haiti Relief Effort http://www.ldsphilanthropies.org/ How can you be part of this effort?

If you have signed up to Deals to Meals in the month of January, or if you sign up this month, email us and let us know you would like your months membership fee to go to Haiti. We will then send payment to the Haiti relief efforts at the end of the month from all of this months new subscription fees. If you are already a member of Deals to Meals, we encourage you to find a way that you can help those in Haiti as well. If we all work together to help those around us who have less than we do, we can make a difference. Situations like this make you appreciate so much more all of the blessings we have been given.

Delicious version of a family favorite...Taco Soup!

2010-01-17T09:50:00.001-07:00

There are nearly 100 ways you can make taco soup, but this version is definitely my favorite! I like the ground beef taco soup okay, but this chicken chili is not only healthier, but I believe tastes even better. The other aspect of this soup that makes it different than other recipes is the vegetables in this soup. During the summer I throw any vegetable I can find into this soup--zucchini from the garden, yellow squash, fresh tomatoes, peppers, onions, etc. Garden vegetables make this soup even better, but ones from the store also do the trick. My favorite vegetables to add are bell peppers (any color works great), zucchini (and yellow squash if you can find it), onions, and green chiles. I also play around with this recipe and add some more seasoning, double to beans (I like more beans in my soup--plus, it makes the recipe stretch further), and as many canned/diced tomatoes as you would like. This recipe is very flexible and can be adapted to any families needs (vegetarian also works great). Top this soup with fat free sour cream, juice of a lime, a little cheese, and you have a healthy and delicious meal. (For those familiar with Weight Watchers, this recipe is VERY low in fat and high in fiber-only 3-4 points for an entire bowl!) It is the New Year right...we have to worry about things like that-ugh!

Summer Chicken Chili
*This recipes works GREAT as a freezer meal. Double or triple the recipe and put the extra in Ziploc freezer bags for later
1 medium zucchini, chopped
1 medium white onion
1 bell pepper, chopped fine (any color)
2 cans pinto beans, drained
2 cans black beans, drained
2 cans kidney beans, drained
2 cans corn, drained
16 oz. thick and chunky mild salsa
3 chicken breasts (uncooked)
1/2 -2 T. chili powder
14 oz. cans chicken broth (or 2 c. water and 2 T. chicken base/bouillon)
1 can diced tomatoes
8 oz. tomato sauce
1 garlic, pressed
1t. ground cumin
2 T. lime juice (fresh or from a bottle)

Sauté onion, zucchini, pepper, chili powder and garlic until onions are tender. Add other seasonings and lime juice. Add chicken breasts (cut in half or quarters) and the remaining ingredients. Simmer for 30 minutes after coming to a boil, or until chicken is tender and begins to fall apart. Take out large pieces of chicken and shred. Return shredded chicken to soup. Simmer until ready to serve. Top with chips, cheese, sour cream, extra lime juice, cilantro, etc.

Delightful Homemade Custard Cups and Boston Cream Pie

2010-01-16T10:09:00.008-07:00

I am a pudding lover! I love homemade pudding, Jell-o pudding, and everything in between. The smooth texture, refreshing coolness, and the fact it is a 'somewhat' low fat treat, makes pudding one of my favorite treats! The other day we were having family over and I wanted a different dessert for a change. I decided to make a pudding parfait with all sorts of different puddings and toppings. It was delicious!

Yes, you could make instant pudding, but these recipes were SUPER easy and SO much better than a boxed pudding. Not only is this pudding delicious, but it uses basic food storage ingredients. These puddings are a great way to use up the dry powdered milk in your storage. (ALL of the ingredients can be stored long term except for the egg. Powdered eggs will not work, you can just leave the eggs out and simmer for an extra minute or so until thick. These recipes thicken up really quickly, so you don't really even need the egg yolk :)
*I adapted the recipes from the cookbook What's for Dinner?

Here are the three puddings I tried and LOVED:

French Vanilla Pudding
2/3 c. sugar
1/4 t. salt
2 T. flour
2 T. cornstarch
1 can evaporated milk
1 1/3 c. water
4 T. powdered milk
1 egg yolk
1 t. vanilla

Combine dry ingredients in a saucepan. Gradually stir in evaporated milk and water. Over medium heat, bring to boil, stirring constantly. Let boil one minute. Beat egg yolk in a small bowl and stir in a small amount of hot mixture. Pour into pan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Let cool, stirring often. Serve warm or chilled.

Butterscotch Pudding
1/2 c. butter
4 T. cornstarch
1 c. brown sugar
1 can evaporated milk
1 c. water
3 T. powdered milk
2 egg yolks
1/2 t. vanilla

Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir together , dry milk, and sugar. Stir in water and evaporated milk. Whisk until smooth. Cook and stir over medium heat until thick and bubbly. Beat egg yolks slightly and add a little hot mixture stirring until blended. Add to saucepan and bring to a boil again. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Serve warm or chilled.

Dark Chocolate Pudding
1 egg
2/3 c. cocoa powder
3 T. cornstarch
1 can evaporated milk
1 1/3 c. warm water
4 T. powdered milk
3/4 c. sugar
1/4 t. salt
1 t. vanilla

In a small bowl, beat egg and set aside. Combine cocoa, powdered milk, and cornstarch in a separate bowl. Whisk 1 c. evaporated milk into cocoa mixture until completely smooth. In a large saucepan, combine remaining milk, sugar, water, and salt. Mix well. Bring to a boil over medium high heat, whisking constantly. REmove pan from heat. Whisk cocoa mixture into hot milk mixture. Bring to a boil over medium heat; boil for 2 minutes, whisking constantly. Remove pan from heat. Gradually whisk 1 c. of hot cocoa mixture into the egg. Pour mixture back into pan. Cook over low heat for 2 minutes, whisking constantly. Do not boil. Remove pan from heat. Add vanilla; blend well. Pour mousse into serving dishes. Cover and chill for 1 hour.

*In all of the above recipes 1 c. of milk was substituted for 1 c. of warm water and 3 T. dry powdered milk. This is a GREAT trick to using up your powdered milk. With the sugar and vanilla in the pudding you can't tell you used powdered milk. It makes for inexpensive AND delicious pudding!

A couple days later we still had leftover pudding (I doubled each of the recipes), so I decided to make a Boston Cream Pie. This is a SIMPLE cake recipe (I don't know why it is called a 'pie'??) All you do is make a regular Butter Yellow Cake mix, making as directed PLUS one small package of instant vanilla pudding. Put the cake into two round pans. Take out the cakes from the pans and cut the cakes in half (giving you four thin layers of cake). Put a layer of vanilla pudding in between each layer (you can also add a chocolate layer of pudding if you would like). Top the cake with a thick chocolate glaze (recipe below). Put the cake into the fridge until ready to serve. YUM!

Chocolate Glaze
2 T. butter
3 T. cocoa
2 T. hot water
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
1 t. vanilla

Melt butter. Stir in cocoa and hot water and stir until smooth. Add powdered sugar and vanilla and stir until smooth.

Weevil Trouble?

2010-01-04T20:46:00.005-07:00

I receive several emails each year regarding weevil, so I thought I would share a couple of tips I have found over the years to help protect your food from weevil. Now, before I share a few of my tips, I do have to say I am NOT an expert on weevil. Although I ate my fair share of it growing up (ugh!), I have NEVER seen a weevil in my storage the past 11 years (thank my lucky stars!). However, I talk to people all of the time who are dealing with weevil trouble, so I thought I would share their tips and tricks with you :) If you have had trouble with weevil and found better solutions, or have tips to share, feel free to leave a comment for others to benefit.

Here are a few tips:

*To kill weevil, freeze your flour, sugar, wheat, cornmeal, etc. for 72 hours or longer. You can then sift the weevil out or just pick out the few dead weevils you see remaining. They are perfectly fine to eat (sounds gross, but you really wouldn’t taste them), and once you kill them through freezing, they should be pretty much dissolved or gone. If you do not have freezer space you can just try to sift them out with a fine cloth or colander. They are so small, this can be tricky, but may be worth a try.

*To prevent weevil from appearing in your food later as you store it, you can freeze all of your items BEFORE you put it in your long term storage for the same 72 hours. This should prevent weevil from hatching or spreading as you store the items long term.

*Put dried bay leaves (a few leaves) in the bottom and top of the container you are storing your grains in. This seems to be the most popular method. Many people put bay leaves in their pantry, food storage room, and closets. Costco sells Bay Leaves in a large container for fairly inexpensive.

*Dry Ice Method: Put a pound of dry ice (per 50lbs. of wheat) in the bottom of a plastic bucket. Leave the lid on loosly until the dry ice vaperizes. Then seal the bucket. Be careful not to seal the bucket lid too soon or it could crack or explode :)

*Microwave your wheat (dried) for 5 minutes to kill the weevil and their eggs.

*Place your wheat in a glass of water. Those wheat berries that float to the top are most likely infested with weevil eggs or bugs. You can remove them and use the other berries as normal.

*What do you do if you have seen weevil in your storage room? Take all foodstuffs out of your cabinets or off of your shelves. Wash the cabinets down thoroughly in case there are eggs remaining on the surface. Then wash/wipe down all items you are putting back into the cabinet with a warm/hot rag. You will be after any visible living organism; but, you are really after eggs which may be on the outside of these food bags as a result of infestations in stores and warehouses. Once you have sufficiently cleaned the surface and the food bags (if necessary) you can return the food to your shelves.

*Find the infected food source to try and locate the problem. Many times weevil or insects are coming from one main food source and spreading. This is common in a long term food storage room. If one item is infected, most likely others will be as well. When you find and get rid of the main problem/source, it should help your weevil troubles subside.

*Empty out your food items into clean buckets or keep them in plastic containers to help keep bugs out of your food. Sealed buckets are best, but any container will help protect agains these critters.

*TIP: Buy your wheat, rice, and sugar from Costco because if you ever find weevil in their food, they will return the product for a refund or exchange. It is like a food insurance policy :)

*This may seem crazy to many of you, but I actually pray for my food storage. Not on a daily, or even monthly basis, but I thank God for the blessing of having food to eat and ask Him to watch over our food and protect it. The scripture that says 'to God ALL things are spiritual', I figure my food storage can be as well :) This isn't to say I will never see weevil, but so far (11 years later), my prayers have been answered :)

Case Lot Time!

2010-01-04T11:58:00.003-07:00

Yeah! Case lot time is here again (at least in Utah and surrounding states)! Case lot sales keep getting earlier and earlier. I think the stores' are trying to take advantage of our 'new years resolutions' to get food storage. Either way, I am excited! I have had several people tell me they are feeling anxious lately to get their food storage in order, and this is the PERFECT time to do that! Take inventory of what you have, (our FREE Food Storage Inventory Sheet is AWESOME and can be printed from our website www.dealstomeals.com to help with this), and then stock up on those RED deals (those who are members to Deals to Meals will be told which items in the case lot sales are the best deals--meaning LESS than Walmart, the LDS Cannery, and Costco). Some deals are FABULOUS and others are not so great. To save you the most money, try to only stock up on those items that can not be bought for less elsewhere.

I was hoping sugar would go on sale for less during case lot, and so far, we are in luck! Harmons has their sugar (25lb. bag) on sale for $10.99. This is less than Walmart, Costco, and the Cannery. Smith's grocery store will be having their case lot this week as well, so we will see if their prices are low as well :)

Have fun shopping!

Sugar Shortage?

2009-12-31T13:33:00.003-07:00

On the news last night was a story about the price of sugar dramatically increasing over the next year. This caught my attention and so I had to do a little research :) I have read several articles on the rising price in sugar and there seems to be a mixed reaction the sugar increase. Some say the increase will be dramatic, while others think it will only be a small increase. Either way, I have concluded that I will be stocking up my sugar supply, just in case! This does remind me a little of the rice scare last year, but either way, if the prices even go up a few dollars, I would rather prepare now and save later :) Perhaps these increases are the reason we didn't see sugar on sale this past holiday season. I guess the $10 for a 25lb. bag is as good as we are going to get :(

This morning I have called around the four lowest price leaders to see what their prices are on sugar and I have proof of the rising costs! Just last month I price checked Costco & Sam's Club and their 25lb. bag of sugar was just over $10/25lb. bag. Now it is $14.72 and $14.79--ugh! So, for those of you here in the Utah valley, the Riverton Walmart has their 25lb. bags for $11.72--the NEW lowest price. The LDS Dry Pack Cannery has their 25lb. bags for $13.22 (going up January 16th). I hope this helps in your shopping trip for sugar. Good luck!

Here are a few quotes and links so you can see what information is out there about the rising cost of sugar:
Sugar Prices Double in 2009:

http://in.reuters.com/article/economicNews/idINIndia-45085020091231

Los Angeles Times said,
"The futures price of sugar traded on world markets closed at 22.2 cents a pound Thursday, down about a penny from the previous day but still up 72% in six months. Weather problems in the sugar-producing regions of India, the diversion of Brazilian sugar cane to produce ethanol, and a growing global sweet tooth are behind the increase, according to analysts.

In a recent letter to Agriculture Secretary Thomas Vilsack, the group warned of "unprecedented shortages." Without higher quotas on sugar imports, "consumers will pay higher prices, food manufacturing jobs will be at risk and trading patterns will be distorted," the food companies said.

There is considerable debate about whether the run-up in sugar prices is a sign of a looming crisis. Just a fraction of global sugar supplies is traded on international markets. And according to the USDA, the wholesale price of sugar in the United States has risen by just 15% from a year ago to a little under 35 cents a pound."

LDS Dry Pack Cannery Pricing Changes

2009-12-21T12:55:00.006-07:00

For those of you who live near an LDS Dry Pack Cannery, their prices will be going up as of January 16th. Check with your local Dry Pack Cannery to see when they are open, so you can go and take advantage of the lower prices before they go up! Most canneries are closed until January 5th, but check your local store and see if their times/openings are different.

The items that will be increasing in price are the following:

*Dry Powdered Milk 25lb. $35.40 (up $10 from before--stock up NOW before the 16th to get the AMAZINGLY low price of $24.80!!)

*Hard Red Wheat 25lb. $6.35 (up .45--not too bad, but why not save a few pennies)

Other items that will be higher from .45-$2.35 higher: pinto peans, sugar, oats, hot cocoa, fruit drink mix, and pancake mix. Stock up while prices are low!

Some good news..a few items will be going DOWN in price, they are the following:
black and white dried beans, rice (by $1.90--this is a GREAT deal!), macaroni, potato flakes (by $8--WOW, GREAT price!!!), and flour (flour still less expensive at Sam's Club and Costco).

Hope this update helps you get motivated to go and stock up before prices rise. OR..for those items that are less, wait and stock up when prices will be even lower--FUN!

**Just a reminder, most canneries do NOT mandate that you are LDS to purchase items at the cannery. Call your local dry pack cannery and find out what their policies are :)

Last minute Christmas gift ideas

2009-12-19T00:00:00.002-07:00

Many of us are looking for those last minute gift ideas to give family and friends. Why not give them a gift that will be practical and useful for the upcoming year. Here are a few gift ideas that are UNDER $20 that make great gifts or stocking stuffers:

Under $10
**Gift certificate to Deals to Meals! As low as $4.95..give your friends and family the gift of saving time and money!
*25lb. bag of wheat, beans, flour, sugar, or powdered milk
*Batteries and flashlights
*First aid items
*Backpacks (for 72 hour kits or car kits--fill them with a few basics and this makes a great gift!
*Basic food storage items (canned or boxed goods)
*Non-electric can opener
*Food storage cookbook or book on emergency preparedness
*Fire extinguisher
*Pocket knife
*Compass or small camping gear
*Mess kits

Under $20
*Small first aid kits
*Flashlights for the whole family
*Jumper cables
*Camping stoves or gear
*Fuel for your camp stoves or grills
*Water storage containers
*Spices and herbs
*Seeds for the garden
*Good quality blankets or sleeping bags
*Car kits
*Bottles/jars for canning
*Ammunition (for hunting or home safety)
*#10 cans of freeze dried foods that can be put in 72 hour kits or in your food storage

These are just a few of the MANY gift ideas that can help your family prepare for a 'rainy day'. There is nothing better than giving the gift of peace of mind. When our houses are in order and our families are taken care of..there is no greater feeling or gift in the world!

Baking Specials

2009-12-18T10:00:00.009-07:00

I am sorry I have not posted for nearly two weeks! Ah! This time of year is such a FUN and busy time. I love the holiday parties, family events, delicious food, and service opportunities all around us--but, it sure makes it hard to find time to blog. I hope all of you are enjoying this Christmas season and create lasting memories with family and friends.

One disappointment of this season has been the baking sales at the grocery stores (at least in Utah). For as long as I remember, I have always stocked up my flour and sugar supply at Thanksgiving/Christmas time. This year however, none of our local grocery stores have had sales that beat Costco, Walmart, Sams Club or the LDS Cannery. The lowest amount I have seen flour go for this season was $3.25 for a 10 lb.--not great! I think gone are the days of $1.99/25lb. bag of flour :( So..for those of you who are still in need of these two essential baking items, Sam's Club (or Costco) is the place to stock up!

FLOUR:
Sams Club
25lb. bag of flour just under $6 (prices are a little different at all stores) Costco is just a few pennies more
Year Supply Amount Recommended: 75lbs. per person

SUGAR:
Sam's Club
25lb. bag of sugar around $10 (Costco again is a just a few pennies more than Sam's Club)
Year Supply Amount Recommended: 40+ lbs. per person

Have fun baking!!

*Thankfully there were several items on sale this week for GREAT deals: powdered/brown sugar, canned pineapple, olives, crackers, pickles, juices, snack items (chips, dips, cookies), etc. For a complete list, visit Deals to Meals and see what ALL of the great deals are this week!

Christmas Give-Away!

2009-12-09T11:57:00.005-07:00

Would you like to win a ONE YEAR membership to Deals to Meals? We are hoping to brighten someones Christmas with this FREE membership.

How to enter? Visit the website www.crazibeautiful.com, click on the CBW GiveAway and then post your name and email address in the comment field. You can enter up to three times by following the instructions.

Good luck and happy holidays!

*They also have a delicious recipe for a Cranberry Salad on their site that looks amazing! I am making it tonight :)

Oat FUN!!

2009-12-07T14:18:00.012-07:00

Today, being the snowy & cold day that it is, I decided that I wanted to spend the day in the kitchen. This is a surprise to many who know me lately..I am three months pregnant and SICK, SICK, SICK, so for me to be back in the kitchen is not my normal self. Who would have thought I would hate to be in the kitchen?? This baby number 5 has thrown me for a loop! (This is also the reason for my lack of posting lately, sorry!!)

Anyway, since I was feeling okay today, I decided to try some new food storage recipes I have had in my recipe pile for over a year now. I am going to put even more great recipes in the newsletter for Dec. & Jan., so watch for that (www.dealstomeals.com to sign up) All three of these recipes using OATS were SO fun to make and DELICIOUS!!

The idea behind these three recipes is that making items from scratch (from items in your food storage) can save you SO much money at the grocery store. Not only will it save you money, but these three recipes were actually SUPER fun to make. Even the kids liked to help and didn't make too big of a mess :)

This recipe for homemade instant granola tasted EXACTLY like Quaker's Instant Oatmeal. I have a friend who's children will not eat the 'old fashion' kind of oatmeal, and will ONLY eat Quaker Instant. I can guarantee, with this recipe they will not be able to tell the difference! Not only will this homemade instant oatmeal cost PENNIES compared to the $3 for 10 packets, but this is a MUCH healthier version too! Those packets are filled with so much extra sugar and salt, and who knows what else. With this recipe, your children will be getting whole grains and their dairy (powdered milk has many vitamins and minerals). Give it a try!

Here is this delicious recipe. It was so good I made me a bowl for lunch!

Homemade Instant Oatmeal
1 Packet:
1/4 c. quick oats
1/4 c. powdered oats (put 1/4 c. of regular oats into a blender or food processor until they are blended into a powder--not as fine as flour, but just enough to break down the oats)
1 t. powdered milk (dry)
1 t. sugar or honey powder (you could omit this if you want to just season the oatmeal yourself)
1/8 t. salt

Mix all together and then pour into a microwaveable bowl. Add 2/3 c. milk or water to the oatmeal. Microwave for 1 1/2 minutes and then serve with dried or fresh fruit, brown sugar or honey, and a little extra milk.

Amounts to make a container full of oatmeal mixture are below. I am going to keep a #10 can of this mixture in my pantry so the kids before school can scoop out a heaping 1/2 c., put into their bowl, add the milk, microwave, and breakfast will be served. Every few times you use this mixture, you will want to stir what is on the bottom to the top to make sure all of the powder, milk, salt, and sugar gets evenly distributed. I think this will be easier than making several bags of the 1 packet amounts. But, either way will work.

Large Batch of Instant Oatmeal:
5 c. quick oats
5 c. powdered oats
1/3 c. powdered dry milk
1/3 c. sugar or honey powder
2 1/2 t. salt

Mix all together and put in a Tupperware or #10 can for later use.

**For different variations, add cinnamon and dehydrated apples (I used my apples from the LDS Cannery and it was AWESOME!), or you can add dried fruit or other flavorings to make different types of oatmeal.

Another recipe I made today was homemade granola bars. I have seen this recipe on several blogs, but I wanted to try it before I recommend you making them. If this recipe was judged on how easy they were to make, this would be a winner. I made my homemade instant oatmeal, granola, and granola bars in only about 1 1/2 hours.

Here is the original recipe for the Regular Granola Bars and below is the recipe I came up with for Peanut Butter Granola Bars (I couldn't bare to add 1 c. of butter. For some reason the 1/2 c. butter and 1/2 c. peanut butter sat better with me).

Regular Granola Bars
5 c. quick oats
1 c. krispy rice cereal
1/2 c. coconut
2 T. dry powdered milk
1 c. brown sugar (I cut back a little and they still worked fine)
1/2 c. mini chocolate chips, raisins, or dried fruit (craisins, blueberries, etc.)
1 t. salt
1 c. melted butter
1/2 c. honey
1 t. vanilla

Mix all of the above ingredients together until all of the oats are coated in the honey and butter. Spray a 9x13 or 11x14 pan and put mixture into the bottom of the pan. Spread the oat mixture into the bottom of the pan until flattened. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes and cut into desired shape (rectangle).

*One trick with these granola bars is to make sure they are sticky before you bake them. If you think they need more butter, peanut butter, or honey to make sure they stick together, do it! They will be crumbly if they are not sticky enough.
Peanut Butter Granola Bars
5 c. oats
1 c. krispy rice cereal
1/2 c. coconut
1/4. c. chocolate chips
1/4 c. peanut butter chips
2/3 c. brown sugar (I used even less)
1 t. salt
1/2 c. butter, melted
1/2 c. (plus another 2 T. or so) peanut butter, melted (just put the butter and peanut butter in the microwave for a few seconds until soft)
2 T. corn syrup
1/2 c. honey
1 t. vanilla

Mix together and bake same as above.

Alright, my third oat recipe for the day, Homemade Granola. I have posted this recipe before, but I LOVE it! The reason I made this again this week is because Sunflower Market has their fresh blackberries on sale for .67 (6 oz. container). This is an AWESOME price, so stock up! This sale continues through Wednesday, so get some and freeze them for later. The blackberries have been good in desserts, over yogurt (with the granola), in cereal, and in smoothies. Any time fresh fruit is on sale for great deals like this, that is the time to add them to your freezer and stock up! I just rinse the fresh fruit and then put it in a large freezer Ziploc bag. If you have time and room in your freezer, you can put the fruit on a piece of wax paper over a large, flat, cookie sheet. Freeze them until each piece of fruit is frozen and then put the fruit into the Ziploc bag. This will make it so they don't get frozen in one large clump.

Is your food storage running low on oats? The LDS Dry Pack Cannery sells their oats for the lowest price. (If you are not LDS, check with the cannery nearest you, most will allow ANYONE to come and purchase items in bulk). Their website is www.providentliving.org (then go to Home Storage and then location link up at the top). Good luck!

Gift Certificates- The Perfect Gift

2009-12-07T12:15:00.001-07:00

This year give the gift that's not only FUN and unique, but also one that is practical and will save the person receiving the gift TIME and MONEY.
You can buy a gift certificate in any length of time ($4.95 for 1-month, $9.90 for 2-months, etc) but you can buy a 6-month for $28 and a 12-month for $55 (a month free).
You can buy certificates two different ways:
1-Send money via PayPal: With this option you can log-in to your PayPal account and click on the blue "Send Money" tab at the top of the page. On the next page enter payment@dealstomeals.com as the email, enter the dollar amount based on how long the certificate will be good for, and mark the "Goods" option and click "Continue"
2- Send a check: Make a check payable to "Deals to Meals" for the correct amount based on the length of the certificate you wish to purchase. Then mail the check to
Deals to Meals
5526 West 13400 South #502
Herriman, UT 84096
Once a payment has been sent, please send us the the name and email address for the individual(s) you purchased the gift certificate(s) for. We will use that information to create an account for them and will email you the gift certificate that will have their log-in information. Unless specified, the account will activate within 24 hours of the date payment is received.

2009-12-01T17:51:00.002-07:00

Delicious recipe for homemade toffee and sugar cookies on our blog www.dealstomeals.blogspot.com

Perfectly Pumpkin

2009-11-24T21:13:00.007-07:00

What is a more traditional Thanksgiving than pumpkin? If you have not stocked up on your cans of pumpkin yet this year, you only have a couple more days! For a 29oz. can of pumpkin, anything from $1-$1.67 is a GREAT deal, so stock up before prices go up.

So, now that you have your year supply of pumpkin, what do you do with it? Here are four of my FAVORITE recipes that call for canned pumpkin:

These are GREAT as a Thanksgiving breakfast, or even make a easy week night dinner. Have them with real whipping cream and you will be in heaven!

Pumpkin Waffles
3 eggs
1 pound can of pumpkin
¾ c. vegetable oil
½ c. water/beat together then add:
2 ½ c. flour
1 2/3 c. sugar
1 ½ t. baking soda
1 ¼ t. salt
¾ t. nutmeg
¾ t. cinnamon

Beat all ingredients together. Spray waffle iron heavily with oil. Pour scoopfuls into waffle maker. Serve with whipping cream & cinnamon.

This is a delicious dessert that is MUCH easier than making homemade pumpkin pie. Again, serve with whipping cream and you will have a perfect EASY Thanksgiving dessert.

Pumpkin Pie Dessert
1 yellow cake mix
Remove 1 ½ c. of dry mix-set aside
1 stick margarine or butter, melted
Add one egg to melted margarine, stir into large volume of cake mix. Spread this into a 9x13 pan. To one
Large Libby’s Pumpkin Pie mix, add 2 ½ t. pumpkin spice, 2/3 c. milk, 1 c. sugar and 2 eggs. Pour onto cake mixture
Spread in the bottom of pan.
To reserved cake mix add:
1 ½ t. cinnamon
3 T. margarine
¼ c. sugar
Sprinkle dry ingredients on top of pumpkin mix. Bake at 350 for one hour. Top with whipping cream.

I don't think there is an easier cookie recipe, than this one! This cookie makes the perfect treat for the holiday season. These cookies are a GREAT food storage recipe--all of the items can be stored in your storage long term.

Spiced Pumpkin Cookies
1 spice cake mix
1 can (15 oz) pumpkin
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)
1 cup milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. With a spoon, mix cake mix and pumpkin together in a large bowl. Stir in nuts and if desired, chocolate chips. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto a lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes. Cool 2-3 minutes on cookie sheet before removing to a nonstick rack to cool completely.

I found this recipe on a great food blog, and have loved it ever since! If you don't have time to make the apple cider syrup, they are great with regular maple syrup as well. Yum!!

My Favorite Pumpkin Pancake Recipe
2 cups flour (I use at least 1/2 freshly ground white wheat flour)
3 Tb brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground all spice
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup buttermilk (I do an overflowing 1/2 cup)
1 cup pumpkin puree
2 eggs
2 Tb canola oil
2 Tb vinegar

In one bowl mix together the buttermilk, pumpkin, eggs, oil and vinegar. Combine dry ingredients separately and them stir into pumpkin mixture just until combined. Heat your pan or griddle (lightly butter or oil if it is not seasoned), using about 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot with apple cider syrup.

Apple Cider Syrup
www.sisterscafe.blogspot.com
3/4 Cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 TBs cornstarch
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
2 cups fresh apple cider (or juice would work)
1 Tbs fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup butter

Mix sugars, cornstarch, cinnamon and nutmeg well. Add apple cider and lemon juice. Bring to a boil and continue boiling for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in butter. Store leftovers in the refrigerator, use within a week or two.

Christmas Tradition

2009-11-16T21:44:00.008-07:00

How many of you get overwhelmed by the daunting task of doing neighborhood Christmas gifts? I remember a few years back needing to put together over 30 gifts for neighbors. Keeping track of who brought what, and what I brought people, became a time consuming part of the holiday season. Four years ago a few of my friends got together and we decided to put the money we used on neighborhood gifts towards a good cause. We wanted to come up with a way to cut down on the time and money spent on these neighborhood gifts. Although they are a wonderful way to show your neighbors you care, it can create a headache and unnecessary expense for many families (especially in today's economy!) So..if your neighborhood needs a new tradition, give our 'Christmas Neighborhood Drive' a try. All it takes is someone to make copies of the flier, and a few people to hand the fliers out (we use the scouts or young girls in the neighborhood to do the passing out--a great service project)!

What does our neighborhood do? We have put together several different drives, but the most popular drive has been the food drive. Most everyone has food in their pantries and food storage (another great reason to have food storage!), so it is easy to put together bags of food and donate them to the neighborhood food drive (or cash). We put together a small flier that explains where to drop off the food and encourages the neighbors to put the flier in their window so people know they donated to the food drive in lieu of doing neighborhood gifts. (If you would like a copy of the flier to hand out in your neighborhood, email me and I can send it to you Shandra@dealstomeals.com)

Save money, do something for someone else, and make your holiday season a little less stressful!

**Another added bonus to this service project--LESS treats brought to the door, meaning a few LESS pounds gained each holiday season :)

A taste of Pandemic and Panic

2009-11-14T15:46:00.007-07:00

This past month has taught me many lessons. First, I cannot imagine how awful a nationwide pandemic would be, and second, 'if ye are prepared, ye shall not fear'.

ALL six of us in our family were hit by the horrible H1N1 Virus. Thankfully it is not a 'pandemic' yet (actually...a reader corrected me, it was declared a pandemic on June 11, 2009), but when you have this sickness you feel like you have the 'plague'. Kids can't go to school, you don't want to leave the house and contaminate others, and you feel plain miserable to do anything but stay inside and...moan! Can I tell you how wonderful it was to have food storage for those three weeks we were sick. The LAST thing I wanted to do was go grocery shopping (I still have only been once in the last month and a half--I sure hope my love for shopping comes back!). Food storage is great for many things, but one of them is for situations like being sick, or in the case of a pandemic, that you don't need to leave your house unless you need to. It was so nice to have food we could just quickly grab and throw together for dinner and food for the other meals of the day. It sure made the three weeks more bearable.

I also re-learned the importance of having a well stocked car kit. During our sickness we were on 'vacation' to St. George for eight days--not that you could call it a vacation being sick in bed. Of course the day we chose to drive home from St. George it was an absolute blizzard. Instead of taking 4 hours to get home, it took us over 7 hours! We were stuck at the top of the mountain (around Filmore I think) and we were in wall to wall traffic. There were cars sliding off the side of the road, people trying to dig out their cars, diesel trucks that slid off the road and other semi's that had slid and covered the entire road so no one could drive past. There was an hour where we did not move an inch. We wondered just how long we would be stuck in this traffic and began thinking of the 'what-if's' of this situation. It made me realize how important the car kit in the back of our car would have been if things continued to get worse. Did we have a way to stay warm? If we had to dig our car out of the snow, would we have the equipment to do it (I personally didn't--I was wearing flip flops--brr!)? What would we eat if we were stranded for a long period of time? Did we have water?

So many things to think about, especially here in Utah, now that snow season is upon us. There are many important items to have in a car kit, but some of the basics are the following:

*A backpack (buy them for cheap at the D.I) Something easy to carry if you needed to take it with you.
*Food & WATER (quick snacks--granola bars, fruit leather, high protein items if possible. They have high calorie bars that are great for emergencies sold at Emergency Essentials)
*Light Source-flashlight and batteries, flares
*Warm clothing--old coats, jackets, rain gear, gloves, hat. The survival blankets are also a good idea to have in your car kits to stay warm.
*Shoes or boots (if you are going to or from work and wear dress shoes, this is very important) Put your old sneakers or boots in your trunk.

There are MANY more items you could store in a car kit, but these basics would go along way if you were stranded some where.

Here is a link to a site that has an even more detailed list of items to have in your car kits: http://www.edmunds.com/ownership/howto/articles/43798/article.html

2009-11-11T21:36:00.005-07:00

A friend of my sister's just started a food blog and when I saw this recipe, I KNEW I had to make it. Yes, I love carbs, it is one of my downfalls! I remember as a child my dad buying store bought raisin bread and out of each loaf we would only get ONE small slice. All four of us kids would drool over my dad's loaf of raisin bread and dream of our next slice. He used to toast his slice, put a generous amount of butter on the bread, and then sprinkle a little cinnamon and sugar on top---yum!! This was truly a treat to us as children (we must not of had many sweets back then!). I have tried making raisin bread before, but haven't been able to find a recipe that I loved. This recipe off of her blog, was VERY good! I only made a couple of changes. First, I put more like a 1/4 c. of powdered milk (why not, I have TONS of it!) and then I also added a 1/3 c. of vital wheat gluten (my bread secret weapon!). The vital wheat gluten gave the bread that soft and pliable texture which I love, and will help the bread stay soft and fresh for a couple of days (that is..if it lasts that long). Here is the great recipe...I might add, it is an awesome food storage recipe at that!

Raisin Bread
* 4 C hot water
* 4 t salt
* 6 T butter
* 3/4 C sugar
* 2 T dry milk (I used 1/4 c)
* 4 t cinnamon
* 2 C raisins (tip for hard raisins that have been stored too long--put them in a bowl with a little water and microwave them for a minute or so. They plump up just like they were brand new and have a softer texture in the bread)
* 10-12 C flour (I found it was about 10 1/2 c.)--you could use all wheat flour or even 1/2 white and 1/2 wheat. The cinnamon gives the bread a brown color anyway, so why not add some wheat to make it healthier
* 2 1/2 T yeast
(1/3 c. vital wheat gluten--optional) Add during the first step with the water, butter, sugar, etc.

1. Put the water, salt, butter, sugar, dry milk, cinnamon and 4 C of the flour in the mixer, mix for 1 minute.

2. Add the yeast.
3. Keep adding the flour one cup at a time until the dough scrapes the side of your mixer clean.

4. Mix for 8 minutes.

5. Add the raisins and mix just until incorporated.

6. Let the dough sit for 5 minutes.

7. Divide the dough into 4 pieces and place each piece in a loaf pan sprayed with cooking spray. Pick each piece up, holding it in one hand, smack it repeatedly to get the air bubbles out. Shape it into a ball and place it back in the pan. Repeat with each section of dough.

8. Put the pans into a warm 170 degree oven and let rise for about 20 minutes, or until the dough has risen 1 inch above the rim of the pan.

9. Turn the oven up to 350 and bake for 25 minutes. (The 25 minutes includes the time it takes for the oven to increase in temperature)

Rustic Baguette Bread...the BEST yet!

2009-11-04T20:55:00.000-07:00

Have you ever opened a cook book and had a desire to try something new? Well, since I do enjoy baking I have a tendency to try a few new recipes in high hopes that I will love them even more than my standard ones. Well, I must admit that we have found a winner. If you are familiar with the recipe book, America's Test Kitchen then you will know that they have great recipes. One thing about them is they walk you step by step through an entire recipe and they give the reasons why they do each step. It is very helpful when trying a new recipe. However the recipes do require lots of reading, but I must admit that the success of this new "baguette" bread recipe is WELL WORTH the reading!

Baguettes

(aka a great Rustic French Bread Recipe)

Recipe adapted from America’s Test Kitchen Family Baking Book

Sponge:

½ c. bread flour or all purpose flour

½ c. warm water

½ tsp. instant or rapid-rise yeast

Dough:

3-3 ½ c. bread flour or all purpose flour

¾ tsp. instant or rapid-rise yeast

1 ½ c. warm water

1 ½ tsp. salt

Glaze:

1 large egg beaten with 2 Tablespoons water

For the Sponge: Stir all the ingredients together in a medium bowl until combined. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature until the sponge has risen and fallen. At least 6 hours or up to 24 hours.

For the Dough: Combine 3 cups of the flour and the yeast in a standing mixer fitted with the dough hook. With the mixer on low speed, add the water and mix until the dough comes together, about 2 minutes. Stop the mixer; cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 20 minutes.

Remove the plastic wrap, add the sponge and salt, and knead the dough on medium-low speed until it is smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. If after 4 minutes more flour is needed, add the remaining ½ cup flour, 2 tablespoons at a time, until the dough clears the sides of the bowl, but sticks to the bottom.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter and knead by hand to form a smooth round ball. Place the dough in a large, lightly oiled bowl and cover tightly with greased plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Turn the dough in the bowl with a dough scraper or large rubber spatula. Cover, let rise for 30 more minutes, and then repeat the turning process. Cover and let rise until the dough has doubled in size, about 30 minutes longer. (**If using all purpose flour repeat this process 6 times total. If using bread flour repeat a total of 2 times.)

Place parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter and divide it into 2 equal pieces. Shape each piece of dough into a baguette and lay it seam side down on the prepared baking sheet, spaced about 5 inches apart. Mist the baguettes with vegetable oil spray, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place until nearly doubled in size and the dough barely springs back when poked with knuckle, 1 to 1 ½ hours.

Meanwhile, adjust an oven rack to the lower middle position, place a baking stone on the rack, and heat the oven to 500 degrees. Let the baking stone heat for at least 30 minutes.
For the Glaze and to Bake: Score the top of the breads with a sharp knife. Brush the breads with the egg mixture, then spray lightly with water. Carefully slide the breads and parchment onto the hot baking stone. Immediately reduce the oven temperature to 425 degrees and bake until the crust is deep golden brown. About 25 minutes, rotating the loaves halfway through baking.

VARIATION- Slow-Rise Baguettes

While it is convenient to be able to make a baguette in one day, if you have time, a long, slow overnight rising produces a more impressive loaf, richer in color with dramatic blistering and complex nutty flavors. Make sure that the plastic wrap covers the loaves completely but is loose enough to allow the baguettes to rise upward.

In step 6, do not let the baguettes rise, but refrigerate them overnight or up to 12 hours. Let the baguettes sit at room temperature, covered, for 30 to 60 minutes while heating the baking stone, then bake as directed.

MY FIRST ATTEMPT: I did the slow rise method one day and then the quick rise method the next to test the recipe to see the differences. The slow rise really was SLOW...I allowed the sponge to sit for 24 hours, then it sat in the fridge formed like the baguette for another 24 hours. This is what I found...The slow rise method did EXACTLY like the recipe said it would, the outer crust was VERY crusty and chewy. I also did use bread flour with the slow rise method, so it made the bread extra chewy on the inside and crusty on the outside. It was perfect for dipping in olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

MY SECOND ATTEMPT: When I tried the quick rise method I allowed the sponge to rest for about 6 hours. Then I followed the directions as instructed. This time I used regular all-purpose flour (since that is what the majority of my flour is from my food storage) and allowed it to rise and then turn down a few extra times. In the end the crust was still crunchy and the center was soft and chewy. The quick rise had more texture as regular french bread would, small air pockets, very bread like. The slow rise was FULL of tons of air pockets, flavor, taking on a more distinct rustic bread texture.

So in the end both were wonderful and VERY tasty. Depending on what the purpose and my ability to remember to get started TWO days in advance before I would even need to make this bread, would determine which method I would choose. I give my approval on both!

This was a quick picture of personal size hoagie buns I tried. I used them for French Dip Sandwiches, which I personally think were the BEST I have ever had! I didn't have the chance to run to the store and purchase hoagie buns so I thought...I should try the fast version and make small individual size hoagie buns with this same recipe...YES it worked so well!!!

Do you need a little bran in your diet?

2009-11-02T15:05:00.004-07:00

I don't know about your children, but my kids only like Raisin Bran with LOTS of raisins. I bought Post Raisin Bran the other day and found there were VERY few raisins. The kids would poor their bowls of cereal and get frustrated that their were so little raisins. It was then that I realized my boxes of Post Raisin Bran would now be sent to my 'muffin' cereal stash. Raisin Bran makes the PERFECT Bran Muffins. It is a great way to use up those left over small bran crumbs in the bottom of the cereal bag (I just keep a baggie full of the crumbs in my pantry until I have enough to make muffins). These muffins can be made COMPLETELY out of items in your food storage (you would need to use powdered eggs and dried carrots-or just leave the carrots out). This recipe is a great way to practice using and eating those whole grains--bran, whole wheat flour, etc.

These muffins are GREAT the way they are (and extremely healthy), but if your children need a little more sweetness to eat these healthy muffins, you can add a simple struesel to the top to make them even better (butter, cinnamon, flour, sugar).

These muffins are great for breakfast, or as an after school snack. The muffin mix will also stay good in the fridge for a couple of weeks if you want to make fresh muffins each day.

Bran Muffins
1 c. whole wheat flour
1 c. bran (if using bran flakes from cereal, just let them soak in the wet ingredients for a few minutes to help them become soft so you can mix them together)
1 ¼ t. baking powder
1 ¼ t. baking soda
¾ t. nutmeg
½ t. salt
5 whole carrots, grated (about 1/2 c. grated mini carrots if you use those instead)
10 oz. raisins
2/3 c. applesauce
2/3 c. honey
5 eggs, beaten
1 t. vanilla

Combine dry ingredients. Add carrots, raisins, applesauce, honey, eggs and vanilla. Stir everything together and cook in muffin tin for 15-17 minutes at 375. Icing for top of muffins is 2 T. lemon juice, 1 c. powder sugar-stir until smooth and drizzle on muffins.

My favorite cinnamon roll recipe!

2009-10-22T21:16:00.003-06:00

I am a BIG fan of cinnamon rolls and can not count the number of different recipes I have tried over the years. Some are too gooey, some too dry, some too thick, some that don't raise, etc. I have a friend Camille that is famous for her AMAZING cinnamon rolls. They are always the perfect texture, the frosting is PERFECT, and they are light and airy. So..I finally got the recipe from her and WOW, they are delicious! I don't think I will try another cinnamon roll recipe again. My only alteration would be that I would maybe 1 1/2 times the frosting recipe..I like a lot of frosting!

Now, my picture does NOT do these cinnamon rolls justice. I had to make FOUR pans of cinnamon rolls (64 rolls) for a church activity and when I got home there were only four cinnamon rolls left. After the children got to them for breakfast, there was ONE lone cinnamon roll left :( So, here is the day-old LAST cinnamon roll left on my pile of four cookie sheets...to show you just how GOOD they are and how fast they go!

Perfect Cinnamon Rolls
1 c. warm milk
1/3 c. melted butter
2 eggs
1/2 c. sugar
1 t. salt
4 c. flour
1 T. yeast

Put warm milk, sugar and yeast into your mixer and mix for a minute until combined. Let the yeast grow until foamy and bubbly (about 5-10 minutes). Then add the eggs, butter, flour, and salt and combine until smooth and mixted together. Let dough sit in the bowl until it has doubled in size (about 1 1/2 hours). When it has doubled, put a small amount of flour on the counter and pour the dough onto the counter. Roll dough out until it measures 16 inches x 21 inches.

Filling:
1 c. brown sugar
1 1/2 T. cinnamon
1/3 c. melted butter
Melt butter and spread on dough rectangle. Mix brown sugar and cinnamon together and sprinkle all over buttered dough. Roll up and cut into 16 equal rolls.

Place rolls on greased cookie sheet 4 across and 4 down. Cover w/ greased plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled in size (about 1 hour). Bake at 400 for 10-12 minutes.

Frosting:
1/2 c. butter, softened
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
1/4 c. cream cheese
1/2 t. vanilla
1/8 t. salt

Frost 1-2 minutes after finished baking.

Freezer Frenzie!

2009-10-15T20:52:00.006-06:00

Most of you won't think it is hard to believe that I have three freezers. You know, the crazy food storage lady and all..why wouldn't I have three freezers :) Yes, two of them are fridge/freezers and one is a chest freezer. Before you think I am crazy and that my food will just go bad if the power goes out..I do have a generator and gasoline :)

Freezers however, are a secret to saving you $100's on your monthly grocery bill! To be able to stock up your freezer when prices are low on meat, cheese, dairy products, bread/tortillas, vegetables, fruit, etc., it can save you a lot of money on your food bill. I don't know what I would do without my freezers, especially the deep freeze. Here are a few pictures of my messy freezers (unorganized and all)..but, boy do they make me happy!!

Many people ask me what I think about Walmart meat. Well, I don't love it, that is for sure! I have had a few bad steaks and hamburger, so I have kind of sworn off Walmart meat (unless it is Tyson Chicken). I am sure all of their meat is not bad, but I have found a new favorite place to buy meat. First, Harmon's meat is always excellent quality, however it RARELY goes on sale for a great price. When it does though, I stock up my freezer--I LOVE their hand trimmed chicken breasts.

My other favorite place is Sunflower Market over by Fashion Place Mall in Murray, Utah. They have Sunflower Market's all over Arizona, Nevada, Texas, etc. Visit their website for store locations www.sfmarkets.com

Not only do they have high quality meat, it is also all natural, hormone free, no preservatives, as well. I feel better about that, whether it really matters or not. I just went to Sunflower yesterday and bought about 15 pork roasts ($1.77/lb.) and 10 packages of chicken breasts ($1.67/lb.). I spent under $90 and saved $166! My freezer is PACKED with pork and chicken!

They also have amazing sales on their produce and it is all really good quality. If you shop there on Wednesday's they honor their LAST weeks ad as well as THIS WEEKS ad prices--so, double the savings. Beware though, the store is packed on Wednesdays! I had to wait in line for the butcher to bring out more meat..it was crazy, but fun!!

An apple a day, keeps the doctor away!

2009-10-12T17:38:00.008-06:00

One of my favorite things about fall are sweet, crisp, apples. My all time favorite apple is the Jonathan Apple. It is crisp, a little tart, and has the perfect texture for pies, cobblers, and for eating plain. We planted a jonathan apple tree four years ago, but for some reason only get about 5-10 apples per year. In the mean time my grandma has a tree that is producing like crazy and so she gave me four big bags full of apples. Yippee!

So, what do I do with my apples, besides eat them?? Apple Pie Filling! YUM! If you have one of the fancy-dancy apple corer-peeler's from Pampered Chef (or wherever else they sell them), you will LOVE making pie filling. In about 4-5 hours I was able to bottle and can over 30 jars of apple pie filling. This pie filling is perfect for apple pie (Thanksgiving here we come!), apple cobbler, over pancakes (this is awesome with German Pancakes or w/ our Apple Wheat Pancake recipe), or inside of crepes. There are so many uses for pie filling, once you can them and have them on your shelf, the possibilities will be endless!

Here is my Grandma's Apple Pie Filling Recipe:

Jonathan Apples (or whatever kind you have on hand)
10 c. water
1 c. cornstarch
4 1/2 c. white sugar
2 T. cinnamon (or more if you like cinnamon)
2 t. nutmeg
1 cap full Almond Extract
2 T. lemon juice
2 t. salt

Mix the 10 c. of water, sugar, spices, and 1 c. of cornstarch together in a large sauce pan. When stirred together turn the heat to medium/high and bring the mixture to a boil. Boil for just a couple of minutes, or until the mixture becomes thick. When sauce is thick, take off the heat and add the lemon juice and Almond Extract. Set mixture aside until apples are in their jars and ready to be filled.

For apples:

Peel, core, and slice the apples (with the Peeler/Corer/Slicer, or by hand). Remove any blemishes from the apples, and then put the apples inside the cleaned jars. Fill the apple jars with the cinnamon/sugar mixture until 1 inch from the top of the jars. Wipe the top of the lids with a clean and damp rag and put the lid and band on the jar. Place in a wet bath filled with water, and bring water to a boil (with jars inside). When boil comes to a rolling boil, set the timer for 40 minutes.

**Check the comment section of this post that will give you guidelines and rules for 'approved' bottling recipes and processing times. I am not claiming to be a canning expert, so check the link NCHFP: http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/how/can_02/can_pie/apple_filling.html if you would like an 'official' and approved recipe. I just know what I have done for 10 years, that has worked so far :)

Jonathan Apple

Homemade Salsa & Canned Chili

2009-10-02T12:18:00.001-06:00

This is one of my favorite fall activities..to make homemade salsa and chili with all of the tomatoes from our garden. The great thing about making salsa and chili at the same time is that they are made with pretty close to the same ingredients, so you save steps my doing them together. The base of salsa and chili is pureed tomatoes (keep the skins ON and just puree them until smooth in a food processor), chopped peppers, onions, garlic, and jalapenos (chop those in your food processor as well). There are two MUST haves when making large batches of chili and salsa..a large roaster pan (I use this for everything, it holds a lot and can cook up to 500 degrees if needed) and a food processor. These two items simplify the process and make cooking time MUCH easier.

For the homemade chili, I don't have an exact recipe (sorry!), I just dump in a bunch of ingredeints, taste it and play around with several different spices. Here is the steps though to making homemade chili (from DRY beans..a GREAT way to use those dried beans in your storage).

First, I cook about 12-15 c. of DRIED pinto beans in my roaster pan with twice as much water as beans. I pour about 1/4 c. of baking soda in with the beans and water (this is supposed to help the beans cook faster and cut down on the 'gasiness' of the beans--or, is that just rumor??) I then boil the beans until they are soft which takes about 4-6 hours (or longer if your beans are older).

(cooking the dried beans)
Once the beans are soft I try to take out as much of the 'bean water' as I can (it gets dark and gray). I then puree about 4 processor containers full of garden tomatoes (rinsed and pureed--with skins on). This is probably about 30-40 tomatoes.

I then puree about 3-4 bell peppers, 3 large onions, 5 cloves of garlic all together in the processor. I then pour the tomatoes and pepper/onion mixture into the beans and let it simmer another couple of hours until the chili begins to get thick (with the lid off). I then saute about 4-5lbs. of sausage and 1-2 lbs. of hamburger (you can use all one or the other, or use turkey burger to make it even healthier...or, omit the meat all together and have a meatless chili).

I then add the seasonings and meat into the chili--thyme, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, chili powder, salt & pepper, etc. I then add about 6 cans of tomato sauce and a little water if the chili is too thick. Let it simmer until ready to serve and you are set!

Now..what do we do with all of this chili you ask? Well, my husband has a yearly 'fall kick-off' party at our house where we serve navajo tacos to all of our friends and family, watch a scary movie, and eat lots of 'fall' desserts--pumpkin rolls, cinnamon rolls, and pumpkin cookies...yum! With the chili that is left (there is always still LOTS left), I freeze in gallon freezer bags for later freezer meals. I love having chili in the freezer for quick meal ideas (chili dogs, chili & cornbread, navajo tacos, etc.). Chili freezes great and even gets better and more flavorful the longer it sits. YUM, YUM, YUM!!

If you would like my favorite recipe for bottled and fresh salsa, visit our blog www.dealstomeals.blogspot.com :)

Fall is in the air!

2009-10-01T20:44:00.000-06:00

There is nothing I love more than being in the kitchen on a cold and cloudy day. The kids have been out of school for a couple of days and with cold weather outside (even snow) there was not much else to do this week, but be in the kitchen and cook (well..there is always cleaning to do, but who wants to do that!)

I am not sure where my love for cooking came from, but I do know my mom had a great deal of influence on me. She was always cooking in the kitchen (especially around the holidays) and to me, there was no other place I wanted to be, than right by her side (mostly for the taste testing!) She would turn on some pretty music, put her apron on, and have fun in the kitchen. Those are some of my fondest memories with my mom!

Even at a young age my sisters and I were assigned a day each week to be in charge of dinner. We would have to choose the meal, make sure we had the ingredients to make the meal, and do the dreaded dishes after we made the meal (that sure helped us to be clean and use the least dishes). I can't say I always enjoyed my day to cook, but I think it was GREAT practice for me to learn to cook and be comfortable in the kitchen.

Having four small children, it sometimes takes patience, but I have really enjoyed teaching my children how to cook. My 9 year old daughter made her first batch of bread (with a little help) the other day. She couldn't have been more proud! Even my 8 year old son loves to spend time in the kitchen and even made the whole family oatmeal/mush this morning. It was adorable! Yes, it does take a little more patience though..my 2 year old spilled a canister of wheat kernels all over the floor thinking he would help me grind the wheat. Overall though, it is a joy to have beautiful children under my feet learning (and hopefully savoring) the memories they have with their mother in the kitchen.

Happy cooking and happy beginning to the holiday cooking season!!

Case lot time for our Idaho friends!

2009-09-29T15:36:00.001-06:00

If you live in Idaho and happen to live near a Ridley's or Broulim's grocery store, they are having a HUGE case lot sale this week!! Now is the time to stock up your food storage on many of the GREAT deals this week--rice, beans, vegetables, fruit, tomatoes, chili, sugar, brown sugar, etc. To get all of the great deals this week in Idaho, visit www.dealstomeals.com

Pretzel Maker here we come!!

2009-09-23T00:41:00.000-06:00

These homemade pretzels were absolutely amazing! Dip them in mustard and you will feel you are the mall at the Pretzel Maker (only BETTER!!). I am going to make these again and play around with different flavors--Parmesan, cinnamon & sugar, etc. They were not hard to make either, so give them a try! They made the perfect after school snack.

*Wrapping the pretzels took a little practice. Don't give up, just keep twisting and you will get it.

*Boiling the raw dough pretzels was an unusual step, but made the pretzels have that perfect chewy texture. Don't over boil them though, or they get soggy and too mushy.

Homemade Soft Pretzels
Recipe courtesy Alton Brown, 2007
Makes 8 pretzels
1 1/2 cups warm (110 to 115 degrees F) water
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 package active dry yeast
22 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 4 1/2 cups
2 ounces unsalted butter, melted
Vegetable oil, for pan
10 cups water
2/3 cup baking soda
1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water
Pretzel salt

Combine the water, sugar and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture begins to foam. Add the flour and butter and, using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed until well combined. Change to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl, clean the bowl and then oil it well with vegetable oil. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and sit in a warm place for approximately 50 to 55 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line 2 half-sheet pans with parchment paper and lightly brush with the vegetable oil. Set aside. Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in an 8-quart saucepan or roasting pan.

In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a slightly oiled work surface and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a 24-inch rope. Make a U-shape with the rope, holding the ends of the rope, cross them over each other and press onto the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of a pretzel. Place onto the parchment-lined half sheet pan.

Place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 by 1, for 30 seconds. Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula. Return to the half sheet pan, brush the top of each pretzel with the beaten egg yolk and water mixture and sprinkle with the pretzel salt. Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.

Last chance to win!!

2009-09-21T21:39:00.000-06:00

The contest for two SIX MONTH MEMBERSHIPS to Deals to Meals is going to end Wednesday night! If you have not entered to win this contest (whether you are a member already or not), you are welcome to visit the website www.crazibeautiful.com and click on the Business Savvy link. Once you click on this link you will see our logo on the left hand side. Scroll down and leave a comment with your email and name and they will enter you into the contest. We were excited to be featured on their website and are excited to give away two memberships for FREE!

Good luck to everyone!

How about a Pizza Party?

2009-09-19T16:41:00.001-06:00

Around our house we LOVE making a quick tasty pizza on Saturdays. This is one simple and fairly fast homemade pizza. Start to finish about 1.5 hours. So forget delivery pizza and make your own. You can use this dough for any type of toppings, be we personally LOVE this tomato sauce because we make it with tomatoes from our garden.

Pizza Margherita...Here is the recipe:

Dough: 2 3/4c. All-purpose flour

2 T. cornstarch

2 tsp. sugar

1 1/2 tsp. table salt

1 1/4 tsp. instant dry yeast

1 cup warm water

Pizza Sauce:
2 T. Olive Oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 can crushed tomatoes
Salt & Pepper

Directions for dough:
Combine flour, cornstarch, sugar, salt and yeast together. Mix until blended. Add warm water while mixer is on low. Combine for 2 minutes or until all dough is thoroughly combined and pulled away from edges of bowl. Allow to sit for 2 minutes and then mix once more for 30 seconds. Remove from bowl and place in lightly greased bowl and cover with greased plastic wrap. Allow to rise in warm area for 1 to 1 ½ hours. Until the dough has doubled in size.

**Preheat your oven with your baking stone in it to 500 degrees for 30 minutes.**This is the key to making a GREAT pizza at home!

Directions for sauce:
Cook the oil and garlic together in a pan over medium heat until sizzling and fragrant. About 1 ½ minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and simmer until the sauce is thickened, about 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Once finished add ¼ c. fresh basil, gently stir until combined.

Directions for pizza:
Remove dough from bowl onto a lightly floured surface and divide into two balls. While working with one dough ball place the other in greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Using a rolling pin roll dough out until it is very thin about 14” pizza. Once the dough is to the desired size place on a clean parchment paper on a backing sheet. Then begin by placing the red sauce on the pizza until 1” from the edge. Place olive oil around the crust of the pizza. Remove from baking sheet sliding the pizza and the parchment paper onto the baking stone that is HOT in the oven. Cook for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and place 1 c. of sliced fresh mozzarella cheese on top. Return to oven for another 4-5 minutes until cheese is slightly cooked but warm through. Remove from heat and place on baking sheet and add tsp. Olive oil, ¼ c. fresh basil and coarse salt. Serve hot. Repeat process for the other pizza dough. ENJOY!!!

Buttermilk Biscuit Mistake

2009-09-14T21:01:00.000-06:00

Ahhh!! I am sorry to anyone who followed the recipe below for the Buttermilk Biscuit recipe. We were on vacation when I made that post and the scratch piece of paper we had the recipe on had one of the ingredients down wrong. The buttermilk should be 3/4 c. instead of 1/4 c. If any of you tried to make them and they didn't turn out right, this would be why--sorry! Try them again, they really are worth trying and are a great food storage recipe (now that it is corrected!). Good luck :)

Deals to Meals Give-Away!

2009-09-14T14:34:00.001-06:00

I would like to thank Julie from the website www.CraziBeautiful.com for featuring our business on their website. Their website is DARLING and is filled with great, inspirational information on honoring women. Their website is done so well, so if you have a minute, check them out.

They have featured our business under the "Business Savvy" section. We are giving away TWO 6 month membership for FREE, so enter a post/comment under the Business Savvy section and you will be entered to win!!

Shelving facts...

2009-09-08T14:50:00.000-06:00

Here are some quick facts about the food storage shelves my fabulous hubby built in our basement. Our storage room is not very big, but thanks to his great shelves, it actually fits a lot! Having a 'food storage room' really helps makes rotating and using your food storage MUCH easier. Try to organize your food storage room like a grocery store. Keeping it organized will help you be able to store more food, but also make it easier to use and rotate through.

For those of you who have asked for more details on our shelves, here it is:

Todd's Shelving Facts: The dimensions of our cold storage room is about 15ft. x 5ft. I used 16” deep shelves that are around 12” apart. This holds almost every case of food that you can buy. Since the shelving sheets I purchased were 4’x8’ that also meant that I could cut exactly three 16”x8’ shelves out of each sheet without any waste. I also made my first shelf 24” off the ground for any of the larger cases, buckets, or tubs that we use. We have a “cold-storage” room that is all cement built directly below our front porch, so it is a great climate control for our stored food. As far as the material goes you can use the ½” thick shelving sheets and then brace them underneath with a 2x2 or 2x4, or you can use a ¾” sheet and support the shelf every 3-4 feet with a vertical brace.

I hope that helps :)

Commonly Asked Question

2009-09-07T09:29:00.000-06:00

Commonly asked question:
QUESTION:
You say that you use tupperware tubs to store your long term stuff (beans, rice, wheat, pasta etc) I love this idea. Do you dump the contents straight into the tub or do you store the bags in the tubs? It seems that it would save a lot of space in the tub to just dump out the beans (for example) into the tubs, but is that okay? What about sugar and oats? I see that you have them in the bags in your drums, but what about 5 gallon bukets or tupperware tubs with good lids?
~Kristin

ANSWER:
That is a great question! sorry if it was not clear on the blog postings. If you have a food safe 5 gallon tub (which the ones sold at Maceys, Harmons this week, and Walmart are), then you can dump the items straight into the bucket and not have to store it in it's original container. However, if you are storing your food in a Rubbermaid tote (like the ones on my blog) then you will need to keep the items in their ORIGINAL wrapping or buy a food safe grade plastic liner that you can put in the bottom of the tub. IF you have the food safe liner (you can buy them online) inside the tote then you can dump the items straight into the tub. In my storage I just keep the items in their original packaging because it is easier to rotate through and know which items are older and which ones are newer (I put the date on the box of any long-term storage items: rice, oats, pasta, etc.). The plastic garbage cans work really well for those items that you will have a large amount of (wheat, flour, sugar, oats, etc.). For a family of 4 you will need 400lbs. of wheat, 80lbs. of oats, etc. You would need a lot of storage tubs to store these amounts of food. It is easier (and more cost effective) to put these items in a large garbage can (in their original container).

On a serious note...not like me, I know!

2009-09-02T22:26:00.000-06:00

Okay, so this is probably not the blog or the place to talk about politics, but I have had a lot on my mind lately that I would love to share with the web world (so, those who are not into politics, skip this post..or, bear with me). First, on a light note, I found a YouTube video that was SO funny, I thought all of you would get a kick out of it. It was done by a comedian Tim Hawkins and it is called The Government Can. It is sad, but true--and funny all at the same time! Check it out if you need a laugh :)

www.timhawkins.net (Scroll down until you find the YouTube box titled THE GOVERNMENT CAN)

On a serious note: I have never really discussed politics on my blogs, and I won't get in the habit of talking about it, but...I just want to vent for a minute if you don't mind! Up until a couple of years ago when I started Deals to Meals I had only experienced paying taxes on my HUSBANDS hard earned money. Now that I work my 'behind' off earning money from my own business I can't tell you how much more frustrated I am with our government and their high taxes, and OVER spending. For all of us who try to live a conservative, under-control budget, it is infuriating to me that the government can be irresponsible in their spending and have no consequences. For all of us who prepare, save, work hard, and sacrifice for our family's well being and think our government should do the same--it is time to speak up (do I sound like a political looney-bin?? I think I am becoming one!!) Many of you have probably heard of the 9-12 project (www.the912project.com), if not, check it out. If you would like VERY interesting details on what our government is doing, watch the video selections on the 9-12 website--scary! ($26,000,000,000 in interest we are paying EVERY month in this nation on debt---insane!)

I really think that if enough of us stand up for the constitution and for our freedom, we will be heard--I think this is a crucial time in our countries history.

This isn't about Republican's or Democrat's (personally I think they both have their issues!), it is about standing up for the constitution and creating a better future for our children. Join with me and millions of other Americans on September 12th in your local areas (the Salt Lake Capitol will be hosting the event on Saturday 9/12)--it will be a great time to show our patriotism and our love of this blessed country!

If I totally offended you, I apologize! Politics can be a tricky topic, so I am sorry. It is just that I have been doing research on different aspects of what is going on in our government and I couldn't help but share with all of my 'web-friends' my thoughts! Thanks for the listening ear....and now we can go back to food storage :) Which, actually comes in handy when we are unsure about the future of our country, our economy, and the value of the American dollar. Food storage seems to be the BEST insurance around lately!!

An English philosopher Edmund Burke said, ‘The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.’

Another GREAT food storage recipe--Homemade Biscuits

2009-08-27T10:11:00.000-06:00

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!

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

2009-08-26T11:50:00.000-06:00

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!

2009-08-21T23:24:00.000-06:00

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

'Ideal' and NOT so ideal food storage tips

2009-08-21T22:35:00.000-06:00

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!!

Healthy after school snack

2009-08-11T12:12:00.000-06:00

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 :)

Storing the 'Extras"

2009-08-08T22:02:00.000-06:00

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 :)

Watch us on Studio 5!

2009-08-08T22:00:00.000-06:00

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!!

Would you like some chocolate with your zucchini?

2009-07-29T22:23:00.000-06:00

I LOVE summer for the fresh vegetables grown in your garden. My garden is nothing to write home about, but every year we seem to be able to grow an adequate amount of zucchini and tomatoes (my two favorite garden veggies). After making stir fry, zucchini & eggs (a family favorite--try it, you will be amazed at how good it is), putting zucchini in soups and pastas, etc...I was ready for something sweet. I love the traditional zucchini bread with cinnamon, but last night wanted something chocolatey. This bread hit the spot (although I would put even more chocolate chips in it next time :)

Here is a great, moist chocolate zucchini bread recipe:

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)
3 cups all-purpose flour (I used 1 c. wheat flour)
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups white sugar
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil (I used 1/2 oil and 1/2 applesauce)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups shredded zucchini
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (or more)

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease two 9x5 inch loaf pans.
In large bowl, combine flour, cocoa, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt, mix well. In separate bowl, combine sugar and eggs, beat until well blended. Add oil and vanilla; beat until combined. Stir in zucchini. Add flour mixture; stir just until moistened. Stir in nuts and chocolate chips. Spoon evenly into loaf pans.
Bake in preheated oven for 55 to 60 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove bread from pans; cool completely on wire rack.

Running Low? The joys of shopping the sales!

2009-07-29T22:07:00.001-06:00

Do you ever go down to your storage room and realize that you are running low on a few items? I went down to my storage room and found that I only have TWO jars of salsa left! How is this possible? I bought several cases only a short time ago--my husband and kids are salsa and chip lovers and I was shocked that it is nearly gone! (Everyone send out good karma into the universe so salsa can go on sale :)

The kids then needed paper towel for cleaning the bathrooms and AGAIN..NO paper towels. I think I have been slacking in my motherly duties lately! Sure enough, I looked through the ads and paper towel was on sale! This made my day :) The bathrooms can now be cleaned again to the children's dismay.

I then needed to restock my pantry sugar bucket and found that my sugar bin was nearly half gone--aahh!! I don't know about you, but this started to give me anxiety! haha! You can imagine my relief when last week at Albertsons they had their C&H sugar on sale so I could restock my sugar supply. We can all breathe a sigh of relief...awww. All those people who think I live on the moon will think I FOR SURE DO after looking at my sugar tower the kids and I built after our shopping trip :) I just LOVE when items go on sale right at the right time, don't you?!

P.S.--Thanks to everyone who commented on my last post. Who knew that would have sparked such conversation! I had a great time reading through everyone's comments. Thanks for your thoughts, support, and input. I am glad to know I am not the only 'crazy' one :)

Need a good laugh?

2009-07-23T21:24:00.000-06:00

A friend of mine sent me a link to a bulletin board discussion on Americas Test Kitchen's website where several ladies were discussing MY food storage room. I was practically rolling on the floor I thought their commentary was so funny! I never realized how strange food storage would be to someone who was not used to seeing our 'bizzare' way of life :) Isn't the internet amazing? People across the U.S. are discussing my basement--wierd!

Here is some of the highlights of this MULTIPLE page dialogue--just in case you need a laugh!

Lady 1: It's always nice to know there are crazier people out there than me! Take a look at this ladies pantry (and then it linked the readers to our blog)

Lady 2: Youch! There's some serious food down there. I could store toilet paper like that,but I don't know about food! The idea is enticing, but all that sodium makes me nervous.

Lady 3: Where do those people live, the moon! I'd rather let the grocer store it for me.

Lady 1: Yeah, that's in the GOOD GRIEF category. Yowza!

Lady 2: Whoa! It is very tidy though, but very wierd. I think this lady was toilet trained with a cattle prod. I bet she has a freezer for an end table (funny enough I did at one time!!)

Lady 3: I am all about hoarding, but when your hoarding is symmetric, there is a problem.

Lady 4: I bet it's tied to religious beliefs. I bet she's LDS. What else would you expect from a group that was persecuted and trekked across the country? You've got to plan pretty well about what to put in the wagons going at walking speed!

Lady 1: Well, that makes sense--a lot of crazy behavior can be chalked up to religion--it's nothing wierder than forgoing pork, lent, or eating fish for 40 days out of the year.

Lady 2: I do wonder about her food choices though (Stove TOp Stuffing), I'd love to see the lard of a Mormon woman who does this blog!

It goes on for even longer, but I thought that would make you laugh--it did me! Hey, I may be a 'lard of a woman' and 'come from the moon' but when times get tough, they may rethink who the 'crazy' one is :) Haha!!

Using up those delicious garden vegetables!

2009-07-18T22:17:00.000-06:00

This recipe has been around the block on many food blogs lately, but I had to give it a try to use up those garden tomatoes! I loved the freshness of the tomato and the savory garlic and cheese flavor...delightful! We dipped this bread in an olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and Parmesan cheese mixture. We felt like we were at Macaroni Grill. (Yes, I tripled the batch--I can't do anything in small quantities!)

Herbed Tomato Focaccia
1 ¼ c. warm water
1 T. yeast
2 T. honey
1 t. salt
3 ½ c. flour
¼ c. olive oil
2 T. fresh or dried rosemary—chopped
2 large tomatoes—sliced thin
½ c. asiago or Parmesan cheese--shredded
Kosher salt (opt.)
Olive oil to brush the top of bread

Combine water, yeast, salt, oil and honey in a large bowl and let sit until foamy. Add the flour and knead well. Place in an oiled bowl and let rise to double. Punch down and roll out to 1/4” thickness. Place on an oiled pan and lightly brush the top of the bread with olive oil. Sprinkle with cheese and rosemary and top with tomato slices. Let rise to double again. Bake in a pre-heated 375 degree oven for about 25 minutes.

QUICK GARDEN VEGETABLE SIDE DISH
One of my other favorite ways to use the vegetables from my garden (or ones you buy at the store) is this quick and healthy vegetable side dish. There isn't a fancy name for this recipe, it's just something I throw together for a quick side dish and a way to get my kids to eat their vegetables. I just coarsely chop up any vegetables I have on hand in the fridge (zucchinis (there's always tons of those going around!), onions, mushrooms, bell peppers, etc.) and toss them in a drizzle of olive oil (or you can use butter for more flavor). I sprinkle the veggies with Montreal Steak Seasoning (my ALL time favorite seasoning!) and Johnny's Garlic Spread (my second favorite seasoning--both you can get at Costco in BULK!!) and put it in the oven on a cooking stone. I broil this at 450 degrees until the vegetables are slightly soft and have a few crispy edges (like they were grilled on the barbie). Put your pan down on the lowest rack to prevent burning. You can also just bake these vegetables, but I like the crispiness of the veggies verses the soggy-overcooked flavor baking gives. This is just a quick option to skewered vegetables without all of the skewering! I served these tonight with the Teriyaki Pork from this weeks menu planner and it was AWESOME!!

We have expanded!

2009-07-16T21:56:00.000-06:00

WE ARE EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE THAT IDAHO IS UP AND RUNNING, AND ARIZONA WILL BE READY NEXT WEEK!!

If you would like to recieve this weeks DEALS and MEAL PLANNER for Idaho, email me at Idaho@dealstomeals.com and I will email them to you. Next week you will be able to download the deals and meals off of our website for Idaho and Arizona.

If you live in this area and would like to try our service for a week FREE, email us at Idaho@dealstomeals.com or Arizona@dealstomeals.com

We would love it if you could help us spread the word to your friends and family in Idaho, Arizona, California, and Nevada. We are excited to be able to get more people excited about food storage and save them money on their groceries!

Thank you everyone--you are awesome!!

The BEST crescent recipe around!

2009-07-15T16:24:00.000-06:00

My sister made these for a family dinner last week and we haven't been able to think about anything else! Our family has made several batches of them this week and they are AWESOME! Eat them with homemade strawberry jam and you will be in heaven!

Crescent Rolls – (The Food Nanny – Liz Edmunds)
(makes 2 cookie sheets, 48 rolls, 24 on each pan)

4 T. yeast
½ c. + 2 T. warm Water

Mix together and allow sitting for 10 minutes.

Mix together very well in separate bowl:

6 eggs
1 c. oil
1 c. sugar

Warm milk in the microwave only until warm NOT scalding.
2 c. warm milk

Add egg mixture and warm milk to the yeast mixture. Mix all together until combined.

10-11 c. flour
2 T. salt

Add 1 cup of flour at a time until combined together. Continue to mix/knead for 5 minutes on med-high speed. Allow to raise 2-3 hours.

Separate dough into 6 even balls. Roll out each ball until the size of a dinner plate on a lightly floured surface. Cut into 8 pizza wedge slices. With each wedge, roll down ward wrapping bottom skinny bottom piece down and around to make pretty crescent shape. Place 3 rolls across and 8 down, 24 on each cookie sheet.

Allow to double in size while covered with clean dish towel (about 15 minutes). While raising on top of oven, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Bake one sheet at a time. Bake 6 minutes on bottom rack and then 5 minutes on middle shelf until light golden brown. (Before you take them out, double check the bottom to make sure they are golden brown, not too light they could be doughy). Once they are perfectly golden brown, brush tops with melted butter once removed.

Happy 4th of July!

2009-07-03T16:26:00.000-06:00

We want to say "Happy 4th of July" by allowing anyone who would like to try our service for FREE for the next week, to try it!

You can login RIGHT NOW on our webste www.dealstomeals.com with the following login information:

Email:
free@dealstomeals.com
Password:
freetrial

Happy Saving!

2009-07-01T00:25:00.000-06:00

So..I had a taste-off contest of strawberry jam. After having my freezer strawberry jam not set up quite as thick as I would have liked, I took everyone's advice and tried making the cooked strawberry jam. It turned out PERFECT and didn't take much longer than the freezer jam. I am now converted to cooked strawberry jam!

(Yes, my mom's 30 year old canner is not the prettiest thing, but it does the trick:)

*Sorry, I can't post the recipe because I threw away my MCP Liquid Pectin box. I have used both liquid and powder and they seem to work the same--liquid was just on sale. I followed the recipe on the box exactly and it worked great!

An easy way to store water

2009-06-24T20:19:00.000-06:00

This is one of the easiest ways to store water in your home. When you are through with your plastic 2 liter pop bottles or juice containers that are CLEAR, rinse them out with water and then fill them up for your emergency water supply. If you have bottles that have colored plastic, use that water for washing and NOT drinking. The die in the bottle can supposedly seep into the water and can be bad for you. I have these stored in my basement, at the bottom of my pantry, under my children's beds, and even in my car. If you live in a place that has treated water (check with your local city), you no longer need to put bleach in your water when you are storing it. If your water is not treated, you can use the measurements below to help ensure your water is safe to drink.

*Boil water vigurously for 3-5 minutes.
*Put 8 drops of Chlorine Bleach (unscented) for every gallon of CLEAR water & wait for 30 minutes before drinking
*Put 24 drops of Chlorine Bleach (unscented) for every gallon of CLOUDY water and wait for 60 minutes before drinking

If when you open the water and it tastes stale, you can flavor the water with Kool Aid, Hot Cocoa Powder, Fruit Drink Mix (you can get from the LDS Cannery for cheap!), etc. These items are good to store to help your children drink the water in an emergency if it didn't taste as fresh as normal. If you are worried about the flavor or purity of the water you can always get a water filter to guarantee the cleanliness of your water (my favorite is the Katadyne Filter). Having a water filter can ease your mind about safe water--many of them can turn muddy water into clean/safe drinking water.

You can't have enough water! Even if you didn't use this water for drinking, it would make good cleaning, washing, and cooking water! Another great tips someone told me that I have now incorporated into our storage is to fill up your empty plastic laundry detergent bottles with water. Don't rinse them out, the left over soap in the container will be great for cleaning or clothes washing in an emergency.

Each of our storage spaces are different, so just store as much water as your home is capable of and you will feel peace knowing you have water in an emergency!

The following are some websites with information on purifying and storing water if you would like more information:

www.providentliving.org
www.redcross.org
www.fema.gov

Strawberry Freezer Jam--does it get any better?

2009-06-04T23:39:00.000-06:00

Is there anything better than homemade strawberry jam? I have been waiting for strawberries to go on sale for a $1 a pound and last night when I was at Walmart they had them all marked down to $1. Yeah!! This is not their normal price, so call your Walmart and see if they have them for this sale price this week (I shop at the Riverton Utah Walmart). Sometimes Walmart strawberries are not the best quality, but the ones I got last night were huge and beautiful!

I don't have a favorite strawberry jam recipe, I just used the freezer jam recipe off of the liquid pectin box. It turned out perfectly and I had it done before the kids went to school this morning. We had whole wheat pancakes, strawberry jam and whipping cream...it was delightful! If you have never made homemade jam before, give it a try. It really is SO simple and is very economical if you buy the fruit on sale.

Here is my favorite whole wheat pancake recipe (this is a GREAT food storage meal, just substitute 2 c. water, 6 T. dry powdered milk and 2 T. lemon juice for the 2 c. buttermilk)

Buttermilk Pancakes
2 c. buttermilk
2 eggs
4 T. oil
2 T. sugar
2 t. baking powder
2 c. whole wheat flour
¾ t. salt
¾ t. soda

Beat until smooth. Pour and wait for bubbles to pop, then turn.

Great food storage recipe for chocolate mousse!

2009-05-28T22:50:00.001-06:00

When I saw this recipe I wondered how good this mousse could be without heavy whipping cream and chocolate chips...but, it was fabulous! I then realized that nearly ever ingredient can be found right in your long term food storage, so I thought I would share this easy homemade mousse recipe with you. It is also a great recipe to help you use up those evaporated milks in your storage.

I had some whole milk I needed to use up, so I used that in the recipe, but I bet you could substitute the 1 1/3 c. milk for 1 1/3 c. water and 4 T. dry powdered milk. Another great way to use your powdered milk. Who could turn down powdered milk in chocolate mousse?

Also, fresh strawberries, blueberries and raspberries are in season and accompanies the mousse perfectly! Enjoy!

Chocolate Mousse
1 egg
2/3 c. cocoa
3 T. cornstarch
1 can evaporated milk
1 1/3 c. milk (or 1 1/3 c. water & 4 T. powdered milk)
3/4 c. sugar
1/4 t. salt
1 t. vanilla

In a small bowl, lightly beat egg and set aside. Combine cocoa and cornstarch in a separate bowl. Whisk the evaporated milk into the cocoa mixture until completely smooth. In a large saucepan, combine milk, sugar, and salt. Mix well. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, whisking constantly. Remove pan from heat. Whisk cocoa mixture into hot milk mixture. Bring to a boil over medium heat; boil for 2 minutes, whisking constantly. Remove pan from heat. Gradually whisk 1 c. of hot cocoa mixture into the egg. Pour mixture back into pan. Cook over low heat for 2 minutes, whisking constantly. Do not boil. Remove pan from heat. Add vanilla; blend well. Pour mousse into serving dishes. Cover and chill for 1 hour.

**When I made this it took a little while to thicken, but once it did, it was done in a few seconds. In fact, it got so thick that I don't think you would even need the eggs at the end to thicken even more.

Baking Supplies..an important part of your food storage

2009-05-23T22:06:00.000-06:00

One part of our food storage that seems to be easily
forgotten is the importance of having a good supply of baking essentials. Many of us focus on storing the long term food storage items, such as legumes, grains, sugar, powdered milk, etc. These items are obviously essential, but baking goods are also an important part of your
storage. If we were to ever need to live solely out of our food storage, it would be crucial that we have a few basic baking items to help our food storage items easier to use and be more versatile. The following are some items to store in your food storage:

*Dry Instant Yeast (have at least 2-3 lbs. per person) To help your yeast last longer, keep it in the freezer in its original package.
*Baking Powder (1-2 lbs. per person)
*Baking Soda (1-2 lbs. per person)
*Vanilla & other extracts (1 lb. per person)
*Salt (8 lbs. per person—an essential spice for cooking/baking)
*Cornstarch (1-2 lbs. per person)
*Spices (have a good variety of spices to make cooking easy and to help season rather boring food storage items such as wheat, dry beans, rice, etc.)
*Powered butter, eggs, milk are all good items to have in your storage to make baking easier if you were unable to purchase fresh milk and eggs.
*Cocoa (1 lb. per person)
*Vinegar (1-2 gallons per person)

Many of the above items are cheapest at Costco or Sam’s Club. :)

2009-05-23T22:03:00.001-06:00

Sam’s Club or Costco..which is cheaper?

This is a question I get asked on a regular basis, and until last month I didn’t know a definitive answer. I figured I might as well take matters into my own hands and find out for
myself. After doing this I realized many people have done this same study and their findings can be found online as well. My findings were the same however, Sam’s Club seems to be the winner! I am personally a Costco shopper (only once a month to keep my food budget down..too many tempting things to buy!) However, I also have a membership to Sam’s Club. I was not surprised to find that Sam’s Clubs prices were less, knowing that they are owned by Walmart—and they seem to have a monopoly on cheap prices!

I thought I would base my findings on long term food storage items, since that is the majority of what I buy at these stores (except for produce). I found that the differences were only a few pennies on most items, but you and I both know the saying “ a penny saved is a penny earned”

So why was Sam’s Club parking lot completely empty and Costco’s was packed? That argument can be left up to your own opinion, but if you are wanting the VERY best deal on many items, it looks like Sam’s Club may be a good option for you.

So, just because items are sold at a warehouse store, does that mean that they are automatically a good deal? NO!! I talk to many people who shop religiously at Costco and assume they have all of the best deals. This is what they want you to think, but that couldn’t be further from the truth! Comparing the weekly grocery store prices to Costco and Sam’s Club you will find that MANY items each week go on sale for LESS than these stores’ prices. If you do not have the time to compare prices each week to these stores, this is what Deals to Meals’ specialty is! We do all of the comparison shopping for you. We will tell you each week which items are LESS per ounce than those items you can buy at these stores. Not buying items in large bulk sizes will also save you money from not having to throw away wasted product, or expired food.

Knowing which items to buy at which stores, and when to stock up, is the secret to saving $100s on your monthly
grocery bill! Let us help make this process FUN & EASY for you! Become a member today www.dealstomeals.com

A great recipe for all of that ketchup in your food storage!

2009-05-23T21:51:00.001-06:00

If you are like me and have a TON of ketchup in your food storage, this is a great recipe to help you use it up! For those who need to bulk up their ketchup supply, this week is the week to do it! Every summer ketchup goes on sale for GREAT prices and is the best time of year to stock up your storage on many of the condiments your family uses on a regular basis...ketchup, mustard, relish, pickles, mayonnaise, olives, pork n' beans, baked beans, etc.

Candied Chicken
4-5 chicken breasts
1 can chunk or tidbit pineapple, reserve juice for later
½ to ¾ cup ketchup
1 ½ cups brown sugar
2 Tbsp. prepared mustard
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup reserved pineapple juice
1 onion chopped
Salt and pepper

Method:
1. Brown chicken (optional).
2. Place in 9x13 glass pan.
3. Pour sauce over top.
4. Bake at 325 degrees, covered, for about 45 minutes.
5. Uncover and bake 20 more minutes.
6. Let sit 5-10 minutes and sauce will thicken.
7. Serve over rice.

Viva Las Vegas!

2009-05-14T20:04:00.000-06:00

This morning my husband and I were invited to be on a morning show in Las Vegas to tell local Nevada residents about our service! What a blast! It was a great opportunity for us and we had a lot of fun. Thank you to each of you for helping us spread the word that our service is now not only for Utah residents, but for NEVADA & CALIFORNIA as well. If you have friends and family that would like to try our service who live in these areas, have them email us at Nevada@dealstomeals.com or California@dealstomeals.com.

Thanks!!

Here is the link..the video should be coming soon! http://www.lasvegasnow.com/Global/story.asp?S=10361682

Super easy and delicious macaroons

2009-04-30T16:37:00.002-06:00

If you love macaroons as much as I do, this recipe couldn't get any easier! After I made them I realized that these cookies are a food storage recipe. Who wouldn't want a year supply of macaroons? I would!

Here is this awesome recipe! You may need to double the recipe if you love them, ours were gone within a few minutes!

Easy Chocolate Dipped Macaroons
8 oz. chocolate chips, melted in microwave until smooth
12 oz. sweetened coconut flakes
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 T. vanilla
¼ t. salt
2 T. flour

Melt the chocolate chips in a double boiler (or in the microwave) until smooth. In a large bowl, combine the remaining ingredients until well mixed. Drop by tablespoons onto a parchment lined sheet pan. Bake in a preheated 325 degree oven for 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool and up half way into chocolate. Let drip on a cooling rack. Makes 18.

Easy Pumpkin Chocolate Cookies

2009-04-09T21:19:00.000-06:00

Here is one of my favorite EASY cookie recipes. These cookies couldn't get easier, they have only THREE ingredients...canned pumpkin, chocolate chips (optional), and 1 spice cake mix. To make these cookies just mix the dry cake mix together with the canned pumpkin (1/2 of a large can of pumpkin), throw in the chocolate chips, put spoonfuls of the dough on a cookie sheet, bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes (or until cake-like texture) and enjoy!

These are also a great 'food storage' treat to have on hand. Comfort foods are important to have in your storage--especially if we had to eat solely out of our food storage for awhile. Each of these ingredients can be stored long term, so stock up when they are on sale! Who doesn't want chocolate in your storage? I have also heard this recipe is a Weight Watchers favorite--without the chocolate chips these cookies are VERY low fat. It helps you feel better about eating cookies :) If you are not worried about calories (I should be!), these are also great with cream cheese frosting. YOu can sandwich the frosting in between two cookies and boy are they good!

Food for thought

2009-04-01T13:34:00.000-06:00

I was sent an email from a friend that showed what a ONE year supply of the basic necessities looked like. They had put this together for an Enrichment night to show how little a one year supply really is. I thought it was worth sharing. As I go around and teach classes on food storage I have found, just as these sisters have found in their wards, that people can come up with ALL sorts of excuses to why they can't get their year supply. In this email they talked about the common reasons why people put off getting their food storage (I taught a class last night and these comments were EXACTLY what the women mentioned!).."I don't have anywhere to store the food. What would I do with ALL that food. I won't store a year supply, I just want to store a few extras and that will do. I don't have extra money to buy food storage. I will do it someday, but not now. I don't have time. I don't like wheat and I wouldn't know what to do with wheat. I will get my food storage when I have the right shelves. And so on, and so on!"

Yes, some of these concerns will need to be dealt with, but I am here to tell you that they can be overcome! Here is the picture that was sent with this email to show just how LITTLE and easy it is to orgaanize and obtain your year supply.

ONE YEAR SUPPLY OF THE BASICS FOR ONE PERSON

A year supply of food does sound like a lot of food. However, this picture shows how LITTLE you would be able to eat with your 'one year supply' of food. It sure wouldn't hurt to have a little extra :)

**They did figure you would store yeast to use for making bread. Homemade bread uses all of the basic food storage ingredients (oil, flour (wheat), sugar, salt, water). Yeast can be bought at Costco for very inexpensive and if you store it in the freezer it can last over a year. (SAF instant yeast is my favorite brand)

Delicious Indian Naan Bread

2009-03-28T16:59:00.000-06:00

If you have ever been to an Indian resteraunt, the Naan bread they serve is SO delicious! They are light, buttery, garlicy, and YUMMY! We served these with a pasta dish, but would be great with a curry dish. If you get tired of making the same bread recipe, this one is fun for a change.

Naan
2 3/4 cups flour, plus more for dusting
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 egg
1/2 cup plain lowfat yogurt or sour cream
1/2 cup milk

In the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large bowl by hand), stir together the flour, salt, baking powder, sugar, and yeast. In a small bowl, mix together the egg, yogurt, and milk. Pour the egg mixture into the dry ingredients and stir for about 1 minute, until the dry ingredients are completely incorporated into the wet ingredients.

Increase machine speed to 2 (or by hand) and knead the dough until it is smooth and shiny. Remove the bowl from the mixer and cover with a towel. Leave in a warm place to rise until the dough doubles in size, about an hour.

Put a baking stone or heavy baking sheet on the lowest rack of your oven. Preheat the oven to 475 degrees for at least 30 minutes prior to baking.

Divide the dough into eight pieces and form into teardrop (mine were more like oval) shapes with your hands, about 6 to 8 inches across.

Cook two or three pieces at a time. Drop the dough onto the hot stone and shut the oven door, watching until they are just starting to turn brown in places, about 3 to 5 minutes.

Remove the naan and lay on a board. Butter the naan with garlic butter after it comes out of the oven.

Great question..How do you keep your food budget low??

2009-03-23T14:08:00.000-06:00

I just signed up hoping desprately that your site will help me and my family with our goals to spend less, while still eating healthy foods and build our storage up at the same time. So far I really like what I see, however, if I was to budget based off of your weekly menu's (keeping in mind that I'm just starting out) It looks like I'd spend about 200$ a week! Right now I budge 450$ a month.We figured we could bump that up another 100$ for the purchase of storage items, but I still think that after 2 weeks, I'd be out of money. We have a family of 6 (Me, my husband, and 4 little kid) I find that I'm going over budget all the time so I'm hoping your site will help us stay within that range. My question to you is if that is even reasonable. I noticed you mentioned on your blog that you also have 4 kids, how much do you budget? And what should I expect to spend each week at the store while I'm just starting out?
~~Anne

That is a great question! Our family also has 6 people and I spend about $400-$500 a month (depending on how much food storage I am stocking up on). I could definitely spend less if we didn’t cook so much and go through our food so quickly. I am always entertaining, and at least a couple of times a week cooking for over 15people (our family parites a lot!). So..if I can spend that, you should definitely be able to stay within that range.

Now, the fact I have all of my food storage will save me money, but you will be there over time. If I were you I would focus on getting a 3 month supply of food. On the weekly deal sheets, when a food storage item is on sale for a ‘red’ price, divide the year total by four and that will give you the 3 month supply per person. Times this by 6 and you will have a good number to begin stocking up on. If you are trying to get your whole year supply all at once, you will be spending more than the $400 a month. If you have the money however, this is the way to get your year supply in one years time (if not faster).

Another way I keep my food budget down is I DON'T buy ANY item that is not on sale for the ‘red’ prices!! I generally shop at Walmart and price match all of the ‘red’ deals and do one stop shopping to save the most money. (I have tips on my blog if you need help with price matching www.myfoodstoragedeals.blogspot.com).
I also don’t buy hardly any snacks, prepackaged/processed items, chips, cookies, pop, frozen dinners/meat, etc. I cook everything from scratch and stick pretty close to my weekly menu planner. If you were to cook every meal on the menu planner it would cost you around $100 a week. However, for most families the eight meals will last you at least 1-1 ½ weeks. You will most likely have leftovers, eat out, or cook quicker meals on some of the nights. I try to shop only every week and a half (unless there is a screamin’ good food storage deal on an item I am low on). The less I am at the grocery store, the less I spend each month. If you are planning your menu to last you 1 1/2 weeks, you will find you will spend less.

I also shop at Costco only once a month! Costco can eat up my money faster than any other store! I make sure I only go once a month and stock up on the items I will need that month (lettuce, cheeses, butter, spices, condiments, mushrooms (they have the best price!), peppers (usually the least), etc.) Their produce is such great quality, I find that if I buy enough of their produce, it will last me nearly the whole month (I buy 3 packages of their Romaine lettuce. It you keep it in the crisper, it will last for weeks! It is awesome and a great price!).

One other aspect of my food budget is that EVERY year at tax return time we spend close to $500 on beefing up our food storage. We do this every year and just plan on a portion of our return to go to our storage. That month I do spend a lot on food, but that will help me spend less throughout the rest of the year.

Ways to save you at the grocery store is to not go hungry, try to not to bring your children, bring your list, stay focused, and only buy items on sale! If you need your money to stretch even further, incorporate less expensive meals into your weekly meals…grilled cheese & soup, spaghetti, macaroni & cheese, etc. They are not the healthiest meals, but can be inexpensive and quick when you are running low on time & money! That is why having a food storage is so fabulous!! This last week I was running low on groceries, was sick, and didn’t want to cook (You know I am sick when cooking isn't fun!!). I was able to make a big pancake dinner, spaghetti, and had Progresso soup and grilled cheese the next night and it was all out of my food storage (except for the cheese). It was great not to have to run to the store and I could stretch my food budget by three days because I have plenty of food in my storage. Now that I am feeling better I can go shopping again and cook better meals. Yippee!!

Hope that helps! Staying within a food budget can be hard. But if you are disciplined and organized, it can be easy & FUN!! With the help of Deals to Meals you should find that you are eating healthier/homemade meals, saving less at the grocery store, and stocking up on all of the basic food storage items your family needs to be prepared. It is such a GREAT feeling!!

How I store my long term grains

2009-03-21T22:02:00.000-06:00

MY FOOD STORAGE BASICS: FLOUR, WHEAT, RICE, SUGAR, OATS, BEANS

I have still had several questions from people wondering how I store my grains (in my pantry). Well..if you read this post before Wednesday and you live in Utah, Maceys is having a great sale on their 5 gallon food storage buckets. I went and bought six of them (with lids) and have put my long term food storage items in them that I use the most (wheat, rice, flour, sugar, beans, oats). I then keep them in the bottom of my pantry so that I can easily access them when I need to use them in my cooking or fill my canisters on my counter. I have really enjoyed this method! If you have the money to invest in Gamma Lids, they will screw on tightly to your bucket and make for easy access to your food. They are expensive ($5.99 ea. lid) but only need to bought once and will keep your food fresh and sealed for years!

The key to making sure you rotate through your food storage is to make your food storage items accessible. If it requires too much work, you most likely will not use your food storage. You need to get it out of your storage room and into your kitchen. That is where you will use it and rotate through it.

We are EXPANDING to Southern California & Nevada!!

2009-03-19T14:46:00.000-06:00

We are SO excited to announce that Deals to Meals is expanding! If you are a Southern Califonia or Nevada resident, we are expanding our service to you! Our service is currently for Utah residents, and we are excited announce that now MORE of you will be able to take advantage of the weekly deals and meal planner! Before the year is over we are hoping to also be coming to a state near you...Arizona, Idaho, and Northern California!

If you are a California resident and would like to try our service FREE for the next two weeks, email us at California@dealstomeals.com. If you are a Nevada resident and would like to try our service, email us at Nevada@dealstomeals.com

We will then add your email to our list and send you the deals and meals for FREE until our website is finalized.

SPREAD THE WORD!!

Commonly asked question on storing your food storage

2009-03-16T12:39:00.000-06:00

Hi, I have a quick question for you. Your food storage lists says that oats and milk, flour and things will last 20-30 yrs if stored correctly. What exactly does that mean? Do I have to store oats in 10# cans? Can I buy oats and flour from the cannery and then put them in a 5gallon bucket and have them last that long? I am just not sure the best methods. I would appreciate some advice. Also, do you know if the cannery oats are even good? This process can be overwhelming!

Yes! Everything I have tried from the Cannery is excellent quality :) Buy the items at the Cannery in BULK 25lb. bags and you will save! They have awesome prices!!

As far as storing..here are my thoughts:

Don’t be overwhelmed!! Getting started is the hardest part, I promise!! You will find it really is fun and you will get great satisfaction as you see your storage room take shape and shelves stocked.

This is the deal with how long food lasts…I don’t worry about it!!! If you are only stocking up for a one year supply, even if you don’t rotate through the food in over five years, it will still be FINE! People get so worried about having their food ‘go bad’ that they frustrate themselves. The study that was done from the Cannery showed that food stored in #10 cans were PERFECTLY fine after 30 years. They came to the conclusion that many of these long term storage items can last even longer than 30 years, and MUCH longer than they ever thought they would.

I don’t can my food in #10 cans because it almost doubles the price. The only item I have in #10 cans is powdered milk from the Cannery. I don't rotate through this as quickly and I want to make sure it lasts and is fresh. All other items I put in the 5 gallon buckets or plastic containers, and I figure they will last as long as I need them to (5-10 years). If you are not rotating through your items in less than 10 years, you are most likely buying too much, or don’t need to restock as often. I have oats in my pantry that I bought right after I was married (nearly 10 years ago) and they are perfectly fine! I also have powdered milk that is almost that old and is still good.

The only exception is if you live in an area where you have to worry about moisture, mold, flooding, or rodents. If you do have these issues, then it may be wise to can as much of your food as you can in the #10 cans. If not, just rotate your long term food storage items once a year, check to make sure there is no weevil, and you will be set!

Hopefully that helps!

Good Things Utah Link

2009-03-14T22:29:00.002-06:00

What a blast that was! Thank you to all of my friends & family who came to support me. It was a lot of fun and they have asked me back May 28th to cook in the kitchen (my FAVORITE thing!). Personally, I think they invited me back to have our enthusiastic audience back---you guys were great!

Thank you to everyone for your support...there are so many sweet people out there! Thank you for your emails, love, prayers, and kindness. You make this job worth it :)

http://www.abc4.com/content/about_4/gtu/featured_on/default.aspx

My Apologies!

2009-03-14T22:21:00.000-06:00

Wow! I just found out something tonight that shows how incompetent I am with computers!!! For nearly TWO years I have spent HOURS & HOURS answering people's comments on my blogs and my sister told me today that my replys were never recieved!! I was sending them to the noreply@gmail.com. AHHHH!! I can't think of the hundreds of hours I have lost, but more than that, I feel badly that so many of you think I never answered your questions or comments. SORRY!! I have been told that the only way to recieve my comments or answers to your questions is for you to personally check the 'Email Follow-up Comments' box. I can then answer your comments in the comment section.

I am sure many of you already knew that, but this was news to me!

So, I am posting this post a little wiser than I was earlier today. If any of you can remember your questions, feel free to email me with them again :)

Amazing savings!!

2009-03-09T23:25:00.000-06:00

Check out my 'loot' this week! We were on a vacation last week and I came home to an empty fridge. I have to say, I LOVE My Food Storage Deals (soon to be Deals to Meals :)...I know it is my company, but I love it :) I came home from our trip (I acctually price matched at Walmart in St. George and fed our family of 6 for $50 for 4 days!), printed off my grocery list and tips of the week, went to Walmart and got ALL of these groceries for just over $130! My meals were planned for me and the grocery list made shopping easy! (I can add my own testimonial, right??) I saved nearly 50% on many of the items and now have my produce and food for the next 7 meals (about 1 1/2 weeks for me). I also stocked up on food storage items--salsa, soups, and pasta)

Use the coupon on couponsinc.com to save on your progresso soups to make them .60-$1 each (If you can't find the coupons under that address, search in Google 'Progresso Soup Coupon Bricks Coupon' and it will come up (it is for $1 and $2 off). These are great to have in your storage for a quick meal in an emergency, or for your 72 hour kit.

Here is what I got for just over $130:
10 lbs. butter
17 lbs. Tyson All Natural Chicken Breasts
6 lbs. 90% lean hamburger
18 jars of Taco Bell Salsa (from a rain check last month)
12 cans of Progresso Soup
13 lbs. of pasta
2 lbs. Kielbasa/Sausages
2 bags tortilla chips
4 lbs. sour cream
2 lbs. cottage cheese
2 Freschetta Frozen Pizzas (my favorite kind!)
10 pkgs. of Flour Tortillas
Produce for this weeks meals: spinach, apples, tomatoes, 10 lbs. potatoes, bananas, celery, cilantro, fresh parsley, 2 lbs. carrots, green pepper, green onions, zucchini, fresh ginger, and 2 lbs. of strawberries.

What a deal!! Would you like to know how to get all of these deals? Become a member TODAY and see how much YOU can save! Sign up at www.dealstomeals.com for only $4.95 a month!

Deals to Meals Blog

2009-03-09T23:14:00.000-06:00

So, the time has almost come that our name will be changing to Deals to Meals. We will not be changing our focus from food storage, just the name. From now on, all of my 'food storage' blog posts will be done on this blog and all of my recipes, meal tips, money saving tips, etc. will be done on our NEW blog www.dealstomeals.com. Check out our blog for DELICIOUS new recipes such as: Stuffed French Toast, the Ultimate BLT Sandwhich, and my favorite pasta recipe!

www.dealstomeals.blogspot.com

Great Blog!

2009-03-09T15:20:00.000-06:00

If you love getting a good deal like I do, here is a great website for you that gives you the opportunity to win FREE items every day! It seems pretty cool, and features Utah companies. Check it out http://www.giveawaytoday.blogspot.com/

We are changing our name!

2009-03-04T14:30:00.000-07:00

Watch for BIG changes to My Food Storage Deals coming in March! We are excited to introduce our new name and logo! We are excited to share the new details by the end of this month.

Thank you to everyone for your support this last year. We are excited to offer new & improved pricing and features by our ONE YEAR anniversary. What a year this has been!

We would love your help...for those who are willing. We are working on the testimonials page of our new website and I would love to hear your success stories this past year. Have any of you increased your food storage supply while using My Food Storage Deals? Do the recipes help make your life easier? HOw has having your food storage helped you in your life? Do you have pictures of your food storage? We would love to share your experiences and thoughts on our new website. You can send us your pictures or email us your thoughts/stories/testimonials to Shandra@myfoodstoragedeals.com.

Thank you and happy shopping!

Pantry Basics

2009-02-18T15:29:00.000-07:00

Having a well stocked pantry helps make meal planning and cooking MUCH easier! One of the most frustrating parts of cooking is not having all of the ingredients you need at your fingertips. Having a well stocked pantry and food storage makes all of this EASY and fun!

I get several questions a week from people wondering how I organize my pantry. Lets just say it is not as organized as my food storage, but it works :)

Here are a few commonly asked questions:

#1--Where do I store the 25lb. bags of wheat, flour, sugar, etc. that I bring up to my pantry from my food storage room?

*I bring the bulk bags upstairs and keep them in the bottom of my pantry in a 5 gallon bucket, or on the bottom shelf. I fill the canisters I have on my counter of sugar, flour, oats, and salt for easy access, and then keep the rest of these items in the bucket in my pantry. Unless your home has a problem with rodents/bugs, this should be fine.

#2--What items do you keep stocked in your pantry?

*Basically I have one or two of everything I keep in my food storage room. The list would be quite lengthy if I were to list everything in my pantry, but here are a few of the basics that I can not do with out:
*Basic grains; wheat, flour, oats, pasta, rice, flax seed (I like to put it in a lot of breads & pancakes), cereal.
*Oils; olive oil, vegetable/canola oil, shortening, and peanut butter.
*Legumes; dried beans, canned beans (kidney, black, great northern, refried beans, etc.)
*Vegetables & Fruit; corn, green beans, mandarin oranges, pineapple, pears, peaches, etc.
*Cooking Basics; white vinegar, apple cider vinegar, rice vinegar ( I use vinegars in TONS of recipes and buy them in the large gallon size), soy sauce (couldn't live without that!), sesame seed oil (I LOVE Thai food!), balsamic vinegar, worcestershire sauce, maple syrup, jam, coconut milk, taco shells, etc.
*Baking goods; coconut, chocolate chips, raisins, craisins, chocolate & almond bark,
*Misc.; croutons, tortilla chips (great to have on hand for soups, dips, salads, hot cocoa, etc. **TIP: If you have leftover USED #10 cans from the Cannery, use them to help organize your pantry. You can also buy them at the cannery for around .15 each**
*Keep a well stocked spice rack/cabinet so you have all of your favorite spices on hand for a variety of meals. Some basic spices to have on hand are: chili powder, taco seasoning, cumin, Montreal Steak Seasoning (my personal favorite!!), garlic powder/salt, parsley, oregano, basil, Italian Seasoning, cajun seasoning, dry mustard, sage, ginger powder, dill weed, rosemary, poppyseeds, vanilla, baking powder & soda, cocoa, cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes, etc. I try to keep a year supply of these spices on hand at all times. Many of them you can buy at Costco in bulk for great prices. **TIP: If you have extra mason jars lying around, use them to store spices, dried goods, or baking goods. They are easy to see what's inside, and help your pantry stay clean**
*My wheat grinder for EASY access..making it so I can pull it out, grind wheat into flour, and have homemade bread in about an hour!

Think of your food storage as an extension of your pantry. When you keep a well stocked food storage, you will have nearly everything you need for meal planning at your finger tips. Cooking is FUN when you have all of the ingredients on hand. Keeping pantry basics on hand will make your life more simple and cooking a breeze!

Freezer Favorites

2009-02-14T14:48:00.000-07:00

So, pretty much I freeze just about anything! If you are like me, I use red, yellow, orange, and green peppers in many of my meals. They are so great for you, but are not always on sale, and the colored peppers are not cheap (reg. price $2.49-$3 each). When they go on sale for $1 or less, stock your freezers! All you need to do is rinse them off, cut out the core and seeds, slice or keep whole, and then put in freezer bags. They will stay good in your freezer for at least 6 months. You wouldn't use these frozen peppers in salads or meals where you want them fresh tasting. They are good however in any meal that is cooked--fajitas, soups, enchiladas, french dips, pasta, on pizza, stirfrys, etc. You can use up the whole bag or just pull out as many slices as you need.

I also freeze several kinds of fruit when they go on sale. Blueberries are one of my favorite! They are a power food and are SO great for your body--filled with antioxidents. Frozen blueberries are one of my favorite snacks! You can also use them in shakes, in pancakes, jell-o's, yogurt, etc. Give them a try, you will love them!

A new & simple approach!

2009-02-12T22:25:00.000-07:00

Some of you may have received the LDS Ensign Magazine in your mail boxes today. I just wanted to make you aware, LDS or not, of a great article in the March issue titled "Family Home Storage: A New Message". This article talks about how home storage/food storage is now taking on a new and simplified approach. Getting a year supply to any family, especially in today's economy, can seem daunting. Many of us get overwhelmed and think it is out of our reach and so we don't start. I am here to help you know this is not true! If you work on your food storage a little each week, or month, depending on your finances, you will find it becomes FUN & easy overtime. Our motto is 'Your year supply, ONE week at a time!". This article teaches you just that.

They give you four easy steps to help simplify your goals of food storage and self reliance, and I thought they were worth sharing with you. As soon as the new link is updated online, I will post a link to the article so you can read it in it's entirety if you would like (it is March's issue and is not on their website yet www.providentliving.org).

1- Gradually build a small supply of food that is part of your NORMAL, daily diet until it is sufficient for three months.
2- Store drinking water (14 gallons per person).
3-Establish a financial reserve by setting aside a little money each week, and gradually increase it to a reasonable amount.
4- Once families have achieved the first three objectives, they are counseled to expand their efforts, as circumstances allow, into a supply of long-term basic foods such as grains, legumes, and other staples.

The article talks more in depth on each of these four guidelines. To me, being self reliant just makes sense! It is such a smart way to live and shop. Blessings have come to our family many times because of the storage we have in our home. In today's economy, it is crucial that we take these four steps and continue to prepare our families for whatever is to come. I promise you will feel peace and comfort knowing you are becoming prepared...even if you are only adding a little each month, you will see the fruits of your efforts shortly!

The article ends with a quote from Dennis LIfferth, the managing director of the Church Welfare Services that I liked. It says, "Perhaps in the past accumulating a year's supply of food may have been a little intimidating. But this new approach asks us to do the best we can, even if all we can do is to set aside a can or two a week. If the prophet asks us to do something, we can find a way to fulfill the commandment and receive the blessings. The new program is within EVERY ONE'S grasp. The first step is to BEGIN. The second step is to continue. It doesn't matter how fast we get there so much as that we begin and continue according to our abilities."

Great advice! We can all do one or two cans :) Good luck in all of your efforts! I would LOVE to hear your success stories. If anyone has pictures of your storage, or stories of how your food storage/preparedness efforts have blessed you and your family, I would love to hear them! If it is okay with you, I would love to share your stories with our readers as well. We can all help inspire each other!

Exciting News!!

2009-02-03T23:09:00.000-07:00

It's almost our ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY!
We will be celebrating with exciting changes to My Food Storage Deals!
Keep tabs on our blog for the exciting news!
We promise you will LOVE the changes…until then, happy shopping!

Deliciously Moist Banana Bread

2009-02-03T22:59:00.001-07:00

If you have ever had dry, flavorless banana bread, you need to give banana bread another try! This recipe is a family favorite and once you try it, you will NEVER go back to your old recipes again! It is fabulous as a bread..or you can put the batter in a 9x13 cake pan and frost with homemade cream cheese frosting! Yum! Give this old time favorite another try :)

Banana Bread

1 ¼ c. sugar
½ c. margarine
1 c. banana pulp (2 bananas)
4 T. sour cream
2 eggs
1 ½ c. flour (wheat flour tastes great in this recipe! You could also do 1/2 white & 1/2 wheat)
1 t. soda
1 t. vanilla
½ t. salt

Cream butter and sugar together. Beat in eggs and add. Dissolve soda in sour cream and add with flour and rest of batter. Grease bread pan and flour. Cook at 350 for 1 hour and 10 minutes (or until toothpick comes out clean). Check at 1 hour.

**Tip: Do you ever have bananas on your counter that are too dark and ripe to eat, and you feel badly throwing them away. These are PERFECT banana bread bananas. If you don't have time to make banana bread right away, peel the banana and put it in a ziploc bag to freeze. I keep a zip loc bag with ripe bananas in my freezer at all times. When you are ready to bake, pull them out, microwave or let them thaw and you will have delicious banana bread in about an hour. You know the saying..waste not, want not :)

My FAVORITE roll recipe!

2009-02-03T22:51:00.001-07:00

This picture doesn't do these rolls justice--but they were gone so fast I couldn't retake my picture :0)

If any of you LOVE the Lion House Rolls as much as I do, here is the recipe so you can make your own fluffy, soft, & delicious rolls in your own home:

Lion House Rolls

Ingredients
2 cups warm water (110 to 115 degrees)
2 tablespoons dry yeast
2 teaspoons salt
1 egg
2/3 cup nonfat dry milk powder (instant or non-instant)
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter or shortening
4-4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour or bread flour
Directions
1-In large bowl of electric mixer, combine water and milk powder, stir until dissolved.
2-Add yeast, then sugar, salt, butter, egg, and 2 cups flour.
3-Mix on low speed of mixer until ingredients are wet, then 2 minutes at medium speed.
4-Add 2 cups more flour; mix on low speed until ingredients are wet, then for 2 minutes as medium speed. (Dough will be getting stiff and remaining flour may need to be mixed in by hand).
5-Add about ½ cup flour and mix again, by hand or mixer.
6-Dough should be soft, not overly sticky, and not stiff.
7-(It is not necessary to use the entire amount of flour.)
8-Scrape dough off sides of bowl and pour about 1 T.vegetable oil all around the sides of the bowl so it is covered with oil.
9-Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise in warm place until double in size.
10-(My note here- I just sprayed a clean large bowl with vegetable spray and put my ball of dough in there, turning to cover the dough with the vegetable spray.).
11-After dough has risen, sprinkle cutting board or counter with flour and place dough on floured surface.
12-Roll out and cut rolls in desired shape and size.
13-Place on greased (or parchment lined) baking pans.
14-Let rise in warm place until rolls are double in size (about 1 to 1 ½ hours).
15-Bake at 375 for 15 to 20 minutes or until browned.
16-Brush with melted butter while hot.

Three Easy Steps to Getting Your Food Storage

2009-01-25T21:04:00.000-07:00

**Clarification: 14 gallons of water for a TWO WEEK supply..NOT 14 gallons per day :) It is recommended to have 28 gallons for two weeks of drinking, washing, & cleaning water per person.

KSL 5 News Tonight at 10:00pm

2009-01-23T15:01:00.001-07:00

My Food Storage Deals is going to be on KSL 5 with Nadine Wimmer tonight at 10pm! Yes, you heard me right! We are being heard. Thank you for all your emails you have sent.

This is how it all happened. I sent an email to KSL last night informing them about our website and what we offer. I recieved a call from them this morning and they told me they would be here in ONE HOUR! So it was crunch time to make sure my food storage room looked great! My stomach was filled with butterflies, but I was ready to tell the state of Utah all about us.

Check out their website http://www.ksl.com/ to watch the live video and read the transcripts!

Grocery Budget

2009-01-21T10:53:00.000-07:00

Frequent question:

"I just have two quick questions for you, how much do you spend on a monthly basis on grocery/household expenses(on average, I know it probably fluctuates) and how big is your family? I just stumbled onto your site and I'm trying to take it all in! I'm getting excited about getting a food storage for my family, I always used expense as an excuse to not have one."

~Kristine

That is a common reason why people put off getting their food storage--they think it is too expensive. The complete opposite is true!! Having your food storage SAVES you money!

I have a family of six--my husband (who is a BIG eater), four children (who have their fathers appetite) and myself (who unfortuatetly LOVES to eat). So...we are not small eaters by any means! We also have close family and have AT LEAST one family 'party' a week where it wouldn't be complete with out LOTS of food for 20+ people. I obviously LOVE to cook and average cooking 6 meals a week--plus, breakfasts, lunches & many snacks, desserts & homemade breads in between! Having said that, we spend an average of $300-$400 a month. The national average for a family of 6 would be $600 or more. This total also includes obtaining my families year supply of food along the way.

There are however, months where I spend MUCH less than the $400. Right now I am (for fun) seeing how long I can go without buying any meat for my family's meals. My freezers (three--scary!) are FULL! I stock up on meat when it goes on sale and have realized that I need to be on strike from buying meat for awhile! I have 100's of pounds of meat in my freezer--chicken, steak, roast, bacon, pork, sausage, turkey, whole chickens, etc. I only buy meat when it goes on sale for GREAT prices, stock up and over time you have a whole freezer filled with meat. It has been over two weeks and all I have bought is produce. I have averaged about $50 a week for produce, so at this rate I will only have spent $200 this month on groceries. That is what is so great about food storage and having your freezer stocked! Over time you find you really don't need anything for your food storage. This Macey's case lot sale all I needed to add to my food storage was 2 cases of applesauce, 2 cases of pasta sauce & 1 case of tomato paste. Once you start buying food storage you may think it will never end, but it does! You will find you are eventually just maintaining and replenishing your food storage instead of buying everything in bulk. When you buy a little food storage each time you go to the grocery store, and buy those items on sale for 'red/great' prices (we tell you which items to add each week) you will find it will not take any extra money, and you will begin to get your year supply, ONE WEEK AT A TIME!

One other tip that may help your family get your food storage is to put away $100-$500 of your tax return to go directly to your food storage. This is when we buy many of our long term items and make sure we are up to our 'year supply' totals. Many of these items we buy at the LDS Cannery (wheat, dried beans, powdered milk, potato pearls, oats, dried onions, hot chocolate, etc. IN BULK!). Other items we stock up on are rice, flour, pasta, etc. at Costco. The rest of the food storage items we buy, we buy throughout the year when they go on sale for great prices. You will be surprised how much food you can buy with $500! Even if you have only $100 available from your tax return, you can stock up on quite a few items.

My only number one rule, is I don't EVER buy groceries that are not on sale (if an item isn't on sale & I need it, I go to Walmart because it will be the next lowest price available)! To keep your grocery bill low, it does take will power! I rarely buy fruit snacks, treats, twinkies, chips, processed foods, etc. If my children want a snack, they get something homemade (cookies, popcorn, homemade granola, fruits, vegetables, etc.) These 'quick' meals and foods are MUCH more expensive than making them homemade. Learning to make many of your breads, snacks, and desserts from scratch will save you SO much money and will be much healthier for you.

With a little planning and dedication, you can get your year supply of food..and you will find it will be FUN & EASY! Begining in a small way as President Hinckley says will give BIG dividends in the future.