Quick and Easy Taco Casserole

Quick and Easy Taco Casserole

Ingredients
2 Cup Freeze Dried Ground Beef*
1 Cup Salsa
1/2 Cup Mayonnaise
2 Teaspoon Chili Powder
1 Cup Crushed Tortilla Chips
1 Cup Freeze Dried Shredded Colby Cheese*
1 Cup Freeze Dried Shredded Monterey Jack Cheese*
3/4 Cup Freeze Dried Tomato Chunks*
2 Cup Shredded Lettuce

*Reconstitute before using

Preparation
1. Reconstitute ground beef in a large saucepan. Drain well.

2. Add salsa, mayonnaise, and chili powder; Mix well.

3. In an ungreased 2-quart baking dish, layer 1/2 of the meat mixture., chips and cheeses.

4. Repeat layer.

5. Bake uncovered 350°F for 20-25 minutes or until heated through.

6. Just before serving, top with tomatoes and lettuce.

December orders

Merry Christmas! Here are the items to order for December:

#10 can of tomato chunks -- $15.00
18 hour body warmers -- $.60

Money is due to me by December 31. Turn it in early so it doesn' t get lost in the holiday shuffle! :)

Tip

Set aside a small amount of money each week to buy staples such as pasta, baking ingredients, and paper products. You may be surprised at how quickly you can build up a supply of these staples for only a few dollars a week.

Tomato Soup

Tomato Soup

Ingredients
2 Cup Dehydrated Fat-Free Milk*
2 Cup Freeze Dried Tomato Chunks*
2 Tablespoon Flour
1 Tablespoon Sugar
1 Teaspoon Salt
1 Tablespoon Butter
1 Teaspoon Freeze Dried Onion*
Dash Pepper
Dash Garlic Salt
*Reconstitute before using

Preparation
1. Heat milk.

2. Put tomatoes in blender and add enough water to make 2 cups.

3. Let this reconstitute for 5 minutes.

4. Add remaining ingredients and blend until smooth.

5. Add hot milk and blend.

November's Order

This month's special are onion flakes and emergency candles.

#10 can Freeze-Dried White Onion Flakes -- $14
100-Hour Plus Emergency Candle -- $3 (this is a great deal! I spent almost $5 on mine!)

Money is due to our stake rep by Sunday, November 30th, so please turn it in to me before then.

October Order

I am really slacking lately! Here's the order for October. Money is due by October 30th.

#10 can of banana slices - $18.00
#10 can of peanut butter powder - $13.00

September's order

Hey, those few people who read this blog. I'm sorry, but I forgot to put up September's order, and it's already in.

That being said, I've been doing a lot of food storage shopping lately, and have found that Costco is an excellent place to buy your food storage. Today we used the last of our government stimulus money to flesh out our food storage. For $280, here's what we got:

10 buckets with gamma lids (purchased at Macey's)
150 pounds white flour
75 pounds sugar
50 pounds rice
50 pounds pinto beans
15 boxes Mac & Cheese
2 jars peanut butter

We're going to go to the Lindon Cannery to get some oxygen packets to throw in our buckets, and then store away! As a reminder, the rising cost of fuel and everything else means basics are going to get more expensive this fall! Stock up on your food storage while it's still "cheap." You may need this food with the coming economic recession.

Food storage calculator

While at our stake Provident Living fair this past weekend, a member of our stake provided me with a food storage calculator. By inputing the number of people in your family, you can see how much food you should store for a year's supply (you can even change the number of years, if you want to store more than 1 year). By inputing how much you currently have, you can also see what percent of the recommended total you have so you know where you need to keep storing. I'm going to try to put the file on the right-hand side of this blog for download. If I can't figure out how to do that, you can email me or leave a comment, and I'll send it to you.

Thanks to Bro. Barnes for sending me this file, and thanks to whoever created it.

Food storage saves lives!

"Faithful compliance with these revealed welfare principles and practices have preserved lives in times of crises. An example is found in the response of Church members to the 1985 earthquake that devastated parts of Mexico City. Church members and leaders rose to the occasion, drawing on their own prepardness efforts to help themselves and others around them."

President Thomas S. Monson, Ensign, Sept. 1986

Broccoli Rice Casserole

10 oz (3 packets) frozen broccoli
10 oz (2 cans) cream of chicken soup
8 oz (1 jar) Cheese Whiz
3 c. cooked rice
3 tbsp butter
1 large onion, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sauté the onion in butter until it turns transparent. Add the frozen broccoli, cooking over a low heat until the broccoli is tender. Add chicken soup, Cheese Whiz, and cooked rice. Pour into a three-quart casserole dish. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until bubbly.

Homemade Yogurt

4 c. very warm water (not over 120 degrees)
1 3/4 c. regular nonfat dry milk (3 c. instant)
1/3 c. plain yogurt with active cultures and no additives (if bought from the store to use as a starter), OR 1 packet of yogurt starter (available at Good Earth or Wild Oats stores)

Mix well with hand mixer or in blender at the lowest speed. Pour into a ceramic or glass dish with a lid. Put a heating pad on your counter and turn it on low. Cover it with a kitchen towel; put the yogurt mixture on the towel and cover the entire thing with a large bath towel to retain the heat. (Do this just before bed and it is perfect in the morning.) Do not disturb the incubation. During the incubation period, the cultures multiply and thicken the milk.

After incubating, refrigerate the mixture for 2-3 hours until completely cooled and cold throughout. Set aside 1/3 c. as a starter for your next batch. Divide the remaining in half, or as you wish, and flavor using cannery jams. Mix the yogurt and jam together with a hand mixer until well blended. You can add chunks of fruit if you wish.

August Order

This month you can prepare by buying rice, oats, and a can opener (most food storage cans require one of these - it's good to have one with your food storage, in case your can opener is electric or goes dull before you need it).

# 10 can of white rice: $9.22
# 10 can of quick oats: $6.95
Can opener: $7.45

Money is due August 30th!

Water barrels

We got a great deal on some storage barrels, so I bought a few extra. We have 55 gallon barrels for $17, and 5 gallon barrels for $3. If you are interested, please leave a comment or contact me ASAP. No delivery charge for places near our condo, but delivery may apply for those outside The Ranches.

**Update: I am currently out of 55 gallon barrels, but can order more 5 gallon barrels. If you are interested in 55 gallon barrels, please let me know. If I can get a large enough order together, I can order more at a good rate; otherwise, the price will be at least $20.

Hand mills

The hand grain mills (part of May's order) are back-ordered. They will be in hopefully sometime during the first week in August. If you bought one and are moving or something, please let me know and we can make arrangements (getting your money back, having it delivered elsewhere, etc.).

Food storage website

A coworker of mine found this website: http://www.alpinefoodstorage.com/. You can bulk order items, similar to what we do in the stake. There is an order form on the site. Prices are pretty decent and include shipping to her home in Alpine (you'll need to pick it up there). Check it out.

Good food storage cookbook

A coworker of mine let me look at her food storage cookbook, and it's awesome! It's not only a cookbook--it also gives tips for slowly building your food storage, what to buy, how to store it, how to rotate it, using food storage in "normal" recipes, etc. You can buy it from Deseret Book by clicking here, or from Emergency Essentials by clicking here. If, for whatever reason, the links change, just Google the book's name (Emergency Food in a Nutshell, by Leslie D. Probert and Lisa L. Harkness).

More What Deals

I heard from a co-worker that Sam's Club is selling 45 pound buckets of red wheat for $18. Great price! Go check it out.

Extra mills

The stake rep ordered extra hand mills. If you would like one, please let me know ASAP. The first 20 people to turn in money will get the mill. They are $57. Checks need to be made out to Chris and turned in to me.

Good deal

The Costco in American Fork is selling 45 pound buckets of white wheat for $23.89. This is a pretty decent price for wheat in today's market.

Ward order

In addition to our stake order, the Willow Springs Ward will also be ordering some additional supplies. These are:
55 Gallon [Water] Storage Barrel - $25.00
Emergency Siphon - $11.67
Storage Bucket/Water Barrel Wrench - $4.27
[the links are to similar items, and not necessarily the exact same items]

Since this is through the ward, please make checks out to me. Money is due by July 15th.

Notes about the 55 gallon storage barrels

*Most people use these barrels for water, though they can be used to store many other items (flour, sugar, etc.

*Barrels are food grade and have only been used once. They have contained mineral water, or liquid sugar; they have never contained soap, chemicals, pickles, cooking oil, or anything else hard to clean.

*Food storage specialists recommend at least 1 gallon of water per person per day. Water is the most essential item in your food storage! Without water, your dehydrated food is worthless.

How to clean new and used barrels

Note: new and used barrels MUST be cleaned out before use!!

1.) Rinse out barrel.

2.) Pour ½ c. bleach and some water into barrel.

3.) If there is a strong flavor concentrate odor, add 10 tsp. baking soda to bleach and water. Vinegar can also be used.

4.) Recap barrel and roll around, getting solution everywhere. You may want to leave the solution in overnight.

5.) Dump out solution and rinse again with plain water.

6.) Fill barrel, leaving 6” gap for freeze expansion.

7.) If you stack your barrels, put plywood between each barrel. You may also want to put a pallet or 2x4s between barrels and the ground. Note: Barrels, when filled, weigh 440 pounds! Put a rope or strap across the lip of the barrel and secure to wall.

How to purify the water

1.) If your tap water has chlorine, your water SHOULD be sterile.

2.) You may wish to add chlorine crystals (see instructions on package—can be found in spa/pool section of home improvement stores), liquid chlorine bleach, or iodine, just in case.

3.) If you use chlorine bleach, use approx 10 tbsp. per 55 gallons.

4.) If you iodine, use 1 small bottle per 55 gallons.

5.) You can also use a water filtration system (such as the one being ordered through the stake in June 2008).

How long can water be stored? The American Red Cross recommends rotating your water every 6 months.

Lindon Cannery Assignment

Our stake has a cannery assignment in July, on Thursday, July 10th. There are only 60 shifts available. To sign up, call Sis. Chris Juvenal from the Eagle's Gate ward. If you need her phone number, please call me.

June's Order

This month, you can order the following for your food storage:

100+ Hour Candle - $4.79
25 Gallon Boxed Water Kit - $35.11
Aquagear Water Filter Kit - $10.66

All money must be turned in by June 29th to get these deals!

May's order

This month, you can help your family prepare for an emergency by buying a hand grain mill and food storage cookbook.

Hand grain mill: $57.00
Cookbook: $3.30

The hand grain mill is the same as or similar to the one sold by Emergency Essentials for $75.00. The cookbook is a cookbook released by the Lindon Cannery - they have given us permission to photocopy their cookbook and sell it, as they no longer sell these cookbooks.

These are two essential food storage items. A mill will allow you to use the wheat you store (to turn the wheat into flour), or to grind other items (flaxseed, oatmeal, etc.). The cookbook will help you answer one of the commonly asked food storage questions, "I have it - now what?"

To order one or both of these items, either leave a comment, contact Sandy White, or sign up on the sign up sheets that are passed around every Sunday in Relief Society, Priesthood, Primary, and Young Womens.

All orders, including money, are due by May 28th!!!

Be wise

"We encourage Church members worldwide to prepare for adversity in life by having a basic supply of food and water and some money in savings.

We ask that you be wise as you store food and water and build your savings. Do not go to extremes; it is not prudent, for example, to go into debt to establish your food storage all at once. With careful planning, you can, over time, establish a home storage supply and a financial reserve."

The First Presidency (source)

Recipes: pancakes, cooked wheat berries, and fettuccine primavera

Pancake Mix
8 c. white or wheat flour
3/4 c. dehydrated shortening powder
3/4 c. dehydrated milk
3/4 c. brown sugar and white sugar
2/3 c. dehydrated whole egg or dehydrated scrambled egg mix
1/3 c. baking powder
2 1/2 tsp. salt

Mix all ingredients well and place in a storage container until ready to use. To prepare mix, add equal amount of water to dry ingredients or to your preference.


Basic Cooked Wheat Berries
2 c. wheat (dry)
4 c. water
Dehydrated berries

Bring water to a boil and add wheat. Turn temp. down to simmer. Let berries simmer until water is absorbed (watch closely to make sure the wheat doesn't burn). Cooking can take 1-2 hours. You can also cook these in a crock pot. Once berries have absorbed the water, put mixture in freezer bags and freeze. Add 1 c. for a meat extender and extra nutrition.

Fettuccine Primavera
12 oz. fettucine noodles
1/2 c. Creamy Italian dressing
1 c. freeze-dried broccoli*
1 c. freeze-dried zucchini slices*
1/2 c. diced freeze-dried green peppers*
1/2 c. diced freeze-dried onion*
1/2 tsp. basil
3/4 c. butter
1 c. freeze-dried tomato chunks*
1/2 c. freeze-dried mushrooms
Grated Parmesan cheese

Reconstitute * items. Cook noodles; drain. In a skillet, cook broccoli, zucchini, peppers, onion, and basil in butter over medium heat until tender. Stir in tomatoes and mushrooms. Toss vegetable mixture with hot fettuccine. Sprinkle grated Parmesan cheese on top.

Welcome!

Welcome to the new blog for the Eagle Mountain East Stake food storage. Here we will discuss everything related to food storage, and try to provide you with as much information as possible to help you build up and use your food storage. On the right, you can quickly find posts for recipes using food storage, or review previous months' orders. On order posts, you can order by adding a comment. Feel free to post comments if you have any questions or ideas for improving this blog. We hope this will be a valuable resource for you as we all try to live the counsel given to us by our prophets to prepare ourselves for times of need!

Please note that this site is NOT an official site for the LDS Church, the Eagle Mountain East Stake, or the Willow Springs Ward.