Perfect Quinoa Cookery!

Hello darlings! This is Chef Tess!  The good folks at Preparing Wisely have asked me to start adding my thoughts and recipes to their blog and I'm excited to be back to my roots.  This is where I got started teaching classes, and yes, I will be back in the store soon for more cooking with food storage adventures.  This week I thought I'd share my thoughts on one of my favorite super-grains and give you the basics on how to cook with it.

What in the world is quinoa anyway? 2013 was declared the The International Year of Quinoa. Did you miss the memo? Are you three years late?  If you haven't yet tried this remarkable super-grain you're going to be in for a few surprises.  I hear a lot of questions about how to cook it and what to do with it.  Here's what you should know about the nutrition of Quinoa.

It is a complete protein and a wonderful source of fiber.

How do you cook it?

 You will always need to rinse and drain quinoa thoroughly in cold water before cooking, unless it is in a package that says, "pre-rinsed". I made the mistake of thinking that the rinsing was optional, and boy was it a mistake! The grain tasted bitter an horrid.  Come to find out, that it was a natural part of quinoa.  It is easiest rinsed in in a  finer meshed colander. This is a smaller grain and it will easily slip through the cracks. 

Rinsing is not an optional step. Why?

 In its natural state quinoa has a coating of saponins, which gives it a bitter taste. This bitterness can have beneficial effects in terms of cultivation, as it is a crop that is relatively untouched by birds and thus requires minimal protection. The presence of saponin is obvious by the production of a soapy looking "suds". This also represents the major antinutritional factor found in the grain. Fortunately, most of these saponins are concentrated in the outer layers of the grain (seed coat, and a cuticle-like layer) which facilitates their removal industrially by washing the grains with water. (See more here)

Basic Quinoa

2 cups red or white quinoa, rinsed well

4 cups water or chicken broth
salt to taste

Directions: 

Pressure Cooker: In a 2 1/2 liter pressure cooker add the Basic Quinoa ingredients. Bring to a boil. Seal lid and pressure at high for 5 minutes. Allow pressure to drop on its own. Store cooled quinoa in the fridge for up to a week. 

Conventional:  In a 1 and a half quart (6 cups) capacity heavy pot with a tight fitting lid, boil the water and the salt, that is when the bubbles don't stop even when you stir it. Add the grain, cover the pot, and turn the burner to the lowest setting. Set your timer for 15 minutes. Don't stir it. Just let it simmer. This will produce perfect grain every time if you follow the instructions.

Now, if you feel pretty crazy and confident, try using chicken or vegetable broth in place of the water. It will add a lot of flavor. Some people don't like a flavor to their grain, beside the grain. We also like using coconut milk in place of the water in Hawaiian dinners, along with 1/4 cup minced onion. Garlic adds a nice touch too, even just one or two cloves pressed into the broth as you add the grain.

One final note. You can use quinoa anywhere you use rice. It is also remarkable added to your baked goods in small amounts. Keep it to about 1/2 cup of cooked grain to every dozen muffins or pan of quick bread.  

See you soon at one of our Preparing Wisely Classes! Most of them are free and always very informative!

144 S. Mesa Drive Suite G, Mesa AZ 85210     (480) 964-3077

Food Storage for a Year using 7 recipes and a bunch of jars...

Chef Stephanie Petersen's Convenience Dinners in a Jar Using Food Storage

Recipes and Instructions

Recently someone asked me to write down a few of my recipes for long term storage and what I do. I have a method that I like to use that isn't new, but it's was a little bit exciting when I heard it. I planned 7 meals, one for each night of the week and then figured getting 52 jars of each meal in my food storage to have on hand. In this way I would easily be able to have a year's supply of food that my family would eat should I need it. It sounds "simple stupid"...but sometimes that's how I roll.  I've heard it done with jars of spaghetti sauce and pounds of noodle in a similar fashion. It's a good simple way to calculate a family's needs. It's also a good way to get back to the basics of what a normal family will eat. Without getting into a lot of canning details and crazy stuff here, I do want to say that I don't want to have to worry about canning meat or rotating cans of beans and vegetables. I've found that buying freeze dried vegetables and meats has been a much better approach for our family.  The new technology available has even made it possible for beans to be "instant" cook! That being said, here are 7 of my favorite quart size jar recipes that are easily used for everyday or for long term emergency food storage. Enjoy. Share these recipes with your friend! Get the word out that they are here!  PLEASE...make sure my name stays with the recipes. Thanks.

This is a great meal made completely out of food storage. It's amazing for camping or dinner any night of the week. It's perfect for giving to a sick neighbor or to someone you actually...like. I think my family likes it because the folks I cook for are down-home-raised-on-the-farm kind of people. They don't like a lot of green herbs and junk in their food (ironic isn't it?). Now and then I get "froofie" chef on them and roast some garlic or chop some tarragon, but for the most part it's "regular people" food.  As for this meal, the crazy cool part is that it fits in a convenient size quart jar for easy food storage space and planning! 

Chef Tess Country Style 

Hamburger Stew

yield 12 one cup servings

in a quart jar:

1 cup THRIVE instant red beans

1 cup Honeyville freeze dried mixed vegetables

1 cup Honeyville freeze dried hamburger (or TVP beef)

1 Cup Honeyville dehydrated diced potatoes

¼ cup Honeyville dehydrated onions

Seasonings I shake down into the jar: ½ cup tomato powder,

1 tsp thyme, 1 tsp garlic, ¼ cup flour, and 1 T beef bullion.

It will fit if you shake it really well.

To prepare Country Style Hamburger Stew:

In a gallon pot, combine stew mix with 6 cups water and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and simmer 20-30 minutes.

Works great in a solar oven. Bake one hour.

Chef Tess Taco Soup

  This is a recipe I made from an old classic for Taco soup. It's adapted using instant beans. Instead of taking hours to cook in a crock pot, it takes just about 20 minutes! I'm super excited about it! Can you tell?! It can fit conveniently in a quart size jar so it's perfect for food storage! Put a funnel on the mouth of a quart jar and measure as follows into the jar:
Chef Tess Taco Soup Mix

2 cups THRIVE instant Red Beans
1 cup Taco TVP
1/2 cup Dehydrated Onion  
1/3 cup Freeze Dried Mixed Peppers  
3/4 cup Freeze Dried Corn  
1/2 cup Tomato Powder  
1T homemade taco seasoning
When you get to the tomato powder, just shake the jar so it works its way into the cracks.

Add an oxygen packet. Seal. Good on the shelf in a cool place up to 5-7 years.  

To prepare,Taco Soup: place contents of jar in a gallon pot in a solar oven or on the stove. Add 2 quarts of water and simmer 20-30 minutes until veggies are tender. Serve with nacho chips, sour cream and salsa if desired.

Chef Tess' Cheeseburger Skillet

 Meal In A Jar Mix

Tess' Double Cheeseburger Sauce Mix Hamburger 

yield: 10, 1 oz sauce mixes

2 1/2 cups Honeyville cheese sauce powder

1 1/2 tsp granulated garlic

1T granulated onion

2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

Bag Mix Directions:

Combine all ingredients well. Use 1 oz (1/4 cup mix) to 3 oz of macaroni noodles (about 2 cups).

I put the dry powder with the noodles in quart size storage bags with the label "cheeseburger helper".

Conventional Bag Mix preparation Directions: Brown one pound of hamburger in a large skillet. When hamburger is browned, I add 1 cup hot water and 1 1/2 cup milk or soy milk. Bring to a boil and cover. Simmer 8-10 minutes until noodles are tender. Sauce will thicken a little more as it cools.

In a quart jar:

2 cups elbow macaroni (7 oz)

¼ cup mix

(in a separate baggie in the jar)

1 ½ cups freeze dried hamburger or Beef TVP

Jar directions To prepare Cheeseburger Skillet Meal: Rehydrate meat with 1 ½ cups hot water, drain. Place in hot skillet. When hamburger is browned, I add 1 cup hot water and 1 1/2 cup milk or soy milk. Bring to a boil and cover. Simmer 8-10 minutes until noodles are tender. Sauce will thicken a little more as it cools.

Chef Tess Stroganoff 

Skillet Meal

Chef Tess' Stroganoff Skillet Meal Gravy Mix

yield 7 mixes (with 1/3 cup gravy/seasoning mix)

1/2 cup powdered buttermilk

½ cup powdered sour cream

1 cup flour

1/2 cup dry minced onions

1T onion powder 1 T granulated garlic (or garlic powder) 1T dry parsley 1 tsp dry thyme 2 tsp black pepper 2T salt 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

Combine all dry ingredients well.

In a quart Jar

2 cups egg noodles

1/3 cup gravy mix

1/2 cup freeze dried mushrooms

In a separate bag in the jar,

1 ½ cup freeze dried Honeyville hamburger or beef TVP

To prepare Beef Stroganoff Skillet Meal:

1 cup water

2 cups milk (powdered is okay if you reconstitute it)

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

In a bowl Rehydrate hamburger in 1 ½ cup hot water. Drain. Place in a skillet. Cook over high, and add gravy mix, noodles, water and milk. Simmer 8-10 minutes, stirring once or twice, but covering each time. When noodles are tender season with additional salt and pepper if needed.

Chef Tess' Cheese Turkey 

Noodle Casserole

In a quart jar place 2 cups radiator noodles.

In a separate bag in the top of the jar put:

¼ cup freeze dried broccoli

½ cup freeze dried mixed vegetable mix

1 cup THRIVE freeze dried turkey

½ cup Honeyville cheese sauce powder

¼ cup freeze dried diced celery

1T freeze dried onion and 1 ½ tsp Chef Tess All Purpose seasoning

Put an oxygen packet in jar and seal.

Directions for Turkey Noodle Casserole: Carefully remove bag. Put contents of bag in a 2 quart sauce pan and bring to a boil. Boil 5 minutes. Cover and turn off heat. While sauce is cooking bring a gallon of water to a boil, cook pasta 10-12 minutes. When tender, drain. Stir into sauce mixture. Pour into casserole dish and top with additional cheese if desired.

Chef Tess Broccoli Cheese 

and Rice Casserole in a Jar

In a Quart Jar fitted with a funnel:

2 cups long grain rice, ¼ cup dehydrated butter, 1 tsp salt (stir)

In a separate bag on top of rice:

¼ cup freeze dried celery

¼ cup freeze dried onion

1 cup freeze dried broccoli

1 tsp Chef Tess All Purpose Seasonings

½ cup Honeyville Cheese Sauce Powder

¼ cup dehydrated butter powder

Seal bag. Top with an oxygen absorber packet. Good for 10—12 years shelf life.

To Prepare Broccoli Cheese Rice Casserole:

Remove oxygen packet and discard. Open bag, carefully ease contents into a quart sauce pan and add 2 cups water. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Simmer 5-6 minutes. Turn off heat and let sit 5-6 minutes. While sauce is cooking, place rice in a quart size pot with a tight fitting lid. Add 4 cups boiling water or chicken stock. Cook on lowest heat 17-20 minutes covered until rice is tender. Spoon broccoli cheese sauce over rice and enjoy.

Chef Tess Turkey Noodle

 Skillet Meal 

In a quart Jar fit with a funnel:

2 cups egg noodles

½ cup Honeyville freeze dried vegetable mix

1/3 cup cheese sauce powder

1/3 cup powdered milk

¼ cup dehydrated butter

1 cup freeze dried Turkey chunks

½ cup freeze dried mushroom slices

1 T dehydrated onions

1 tsp Chef Tess Romantic Italian Seasonings

To Prepare Turkey Noodle Skillet Meal:

In a large skillet, combine contents of jar with 3 ½ cups hot water over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10-12 minutes stir every few minutes. Turn off heat and let sit 3-5 minutes 


 Would you like the online printable pdf version of this class? Go Here.

Chef Tess Country Style Thick Hamburger Stew in a Jar

 This is a great meal made completely out of food storage. It's amazing for camping or dinner any night of the week. It's perfect for giving to a sick neighbor or to someone you actually...like. I think my family likes it because the folks I cook for are down-home-raised-on-the-farm kind of people. They don't like a lot of green herbs and junk in their food (ironic isn't it?). Now and then I get "froofie" chef on them and roast some garlic or chop some tarragon, but for the most part it's "regular people" food.  As for this meal, the crazy cool part is that it fits in a convenient size quart jar for easy food storage space and planning! 

 Well, when I walked into the store this week, there on the shelf was yet another cool new thing that Troy had picked up...
Honeyville has this great freeze dried vegetable mix!
 It has corn and peas, peppers and carrots. It's great for adding a lot of flavor in one grab. 19.50$ for th#10 can. I thought to myself, "self...I bet I can make a recipe with *that* in it!" Yes...I'm a food storage dork-fest-in-action. You know you like it. (Secretly.)

 Honeyville Freeze Dried Ground Beef is probably one of th most interesting things I've ever used as a chef. It has quite literally changed my convenience food world when it comes to having to make dinner. No longer having to cook meat?! Yah. It's shelf stable and totally crazy cool stuff. I love technology...always and forever. (Quick...name that movie.)

So...Here's the next convenience dinner in a jar meal...

I promise they won't all be soup or stew.

Chef Tess Country Style Hamburger Stew

yield 12 one cup servings

in a quart jar:

1 cup THRIVE instant red beans

1 cup Honeyville freeze dried mixed vegetables

1 cup Honeyville freeze dried hamburger (or TVP beef)

1 Cup Honeyville dehydrated diced potatoes

¼ cup Honeyville dehydrated onions

Seasonings I shake down into the jar: ½ cup tomato powder,

1 tsp thyme, 1 tsp garlic, ¼ cup flour, and 1 T beef bullion.

It will fit if you shake it really well.

To prepare Country Style Hamburger Stew:

In a gallon pot, combine stew mix with 6 cups water and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and simmer 20-30 minutes.

Works great in a solar oven. Bake one hour.

Put an oxygen absorber in the top of the jar. Seal. Good on your shelf in a cool dark place up to 10 years.


Now, I actually tape the directions onto the jar...(not pictured) or write the cooking directions on the top of the lid in permanent black ink.


Remember that tomorrow night I will be teaching a convenience meals in a jar class here at the store starting at 6:30! You won't want to miss out on some great recipes and samples! It's going to be informative and crazy fun! See you then!

How to Make Delicious homemade instant oatmeal packets (Gluten Free Oats Available)

Sugar and spice and everything...amazing! You won't, however, find these flavors in the pre-made packets from the store. Greetings from Chef Tess. Troy and Tracey have asked me to contribute to their blog here at Preparing Wisely and I am so excited to be part of what they have here.  

I try to do a post once a week on how to cook with food storage and or whole grain, and turn those foods into convenient foods we can use everyday. My husband Ace has been on an instant oatmeal kick for the last few weeks. My dear sister in law gave us a variety pack of 50 from a local Costco and ironically, we blew threw it in about a week and a half. Ace would eat 3 at a time. In an effort to not have all that extra stuff in the packets and to save money, I wanted to make some at home. These homemade packets we do are about double the size of the packets from the store...since that's about the portion Ace needs. Using the rolled oats, quick oats, sugar or powdered honey, and freeze dried fruits we had on hand, we made 20 double sized packets in about 20 minutes. The kids like to make the packets almost as much as they like to eat the contents! You can make the regular sized ones by simply cutting the recipes in half per packet. I use the regular zip sandwich bags for our double size packets. Snack size bags would work wonderfully for the regular single serving packets. Or...if you don't want to use baggies...you can use whatever recycle-style containment system you want. I'm not checking any cupboards.

This is a spiced peaches and cream cobbler oatmeal mix...homemade. Doesn't it look awesome? Well...the taste is exactly like a warm peach cobbler.

I start by making 3 different varieties of flavored sugars since I do a variety of oatmeal flavors. I used vanilla bean paste, but you can also use any of the flavored oils or bakers emulsions. I prefer LorAnn. That being said, the flavor concentrates will work, but you will need to use more...and let the sugar dry completely before making your oatmeal packets.
For Spiced-Vanilla Sugar you will need:

1 1/2 cup sugar, 2 tsp vanilla bean paste, and 1 T Chef Tess Wise Woman of the East Spice Blend, and 1/2 tsp dry lemon or orange zest.

Combine the vanilla bean paste with the sugar until well incorporated. Add the spices.
The second sugar I make is the base for my fruit and cream oatmeal mixes. I call it Bavarian Cream Sugar. You will need:

1 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tsp princess cake and cookie emulsion, and 1/2 tsp Bavarian cream flavored LorAnn oil.
Combine the flavoring well with the sugar.

The last sugar I make or use is maple sugar. It can either be real maple sugar (available at most maple syrup retailers) or you can make the fake stuff using this...
Use 1 cup sugar, 1/2 tsp maple flavor and 1/2 tsp butter-vanilla baker's emulsion.
Once I had all three sugars made, I allowed them to dry completely for 2-3 hours. Then I made sure they were nice and spoonable for the packets.
Again, I make the larger packets because I have men around here who refer to the paper packets as "shot glass" portions of oatmeal. These make the equivalent of TWO regular instant packets. If you want to make the smaller portions, simple cut divide in half portions, and use half as much fruit, flavors, and liquid to prepare the oatmeal.

To make one plain packet you need:

2/3 cup organic quick oats

2T of oat bran or rolled oats run through a dry meat grinder

To prepare: Add 1 Cup boiling water and allow to sit for 3 minutes. Use more or less water depending on how thick or thin you like you oatmeal. The secret to super thick oatmeal...using the meat grinder "treated" oats.

Oh...and a pinch of salt. I use Redmond Real Salt. It's my favorite.

I usually make about 20 packets of plain oatmeal and then add my different flavor varieties to make it more interesting in the mornings. We keep a large variety of freeze dried fruit on hand in our pantry. It's very convenient...and crazy awesome in oatmeal. I love it a lot more than dehydrated fruit because it is 100% free of moisture, so the packets don't get lumpy and odd. The only thing that should be lumpy and odd...is an old lady's patootie. Did I just type that out loud? Okay...so here's a few of the freeze dried fruits I keep around from Preparing Wisely:

Freeze Dried Blueberries

Freeze Dried Apples

Freeze Dried Peaches

Freeze Dried Raspberries

Freeze Dried Strawberries

Berries and Bavarian-lemon cream oatmeal packets:

add 3T freeze dried berries (I crush them up a bit before I measure them) to a packet along with 2T of the Bavarian Cream sugar and 1T Sour Cream Powder" , and 1/2 tsp dry lemon zest

Don't let the sound of the sour cream freak you out. It's amazing! Now if you don't want to use the powdered sour cream you can use non-dairy coffee creamer (any flavor). It works too...but it's not nearly as natural. Auntie Em used to use flavored instant pudding powder. Just remember that it won't be as sweet as the flavored sugar so you may need to add a little more sweetness.

To prepare the berries and cream oatmeal, add 1 1/3 cup boiling water and allow to sit for 3 minutes.

One of my all time favorite oatmeal packet flavors is my Spiced Peaches and Cream Cobbler. It reminds me so much of those Sunday night peach cobblers my mom would make when I was a kid.

To each plain packet you will need to add:

1/3 cup freeze dried peaches (diced rather than the sliced ones)

2T Bavarian Cream Sugar

2 tsp spiced vanilla sugar

1T Sour Cream Powder"
Just to tease you a little...this is what it looks like before you add the boiling water. I add 1 1/2 cups boiling water and let it sit for 3 minutes.

Maple Pecan Oatmeal Packet:

One plain packet

3T maple sugar

3T chopped toasted pecans

Add 1 cup boiling water and allow to sit 3 minutes.


Cinnamon vanilla-orange roll Oatmeal Packet:

One plain packet

2T spiced vanilla sugar

1 tsp dry orange zest (or 1/4 tsp dry orange crystal light)

Add 1 Cup boiling water and allow to sit 3 minutes
There you go. Make some oatmeal packets.

For those on gluten free diets...We 

carry gluten free Bob's Red Mill Oatmeal! This is purity tested for absolute gluten free integrity.