July and August Upcoming Classes!

The Simple Basics of Turning Wheat Into Bread

Tuesday July 31st, 6:30 PM

Can you start with wheat and turn it into bread simply? This is an amazing skill to have! This is the bare-bones basics for beginners who want to know how to make bread from wheat without a lot of fuss and fancy techniques. In fact, this is the latest sensation... Whole Wheat 4 Ingredient Bread No knead bread! This bread is exploding in popularity around the country! Is it even possible that bread be simple? No mixer needed. It can be made with 4 ingredients by virtually anyone anywhere! Seems almost too good to be true right? You’ll be surprised how easy bread making can be using the no-knead method and how wonderful your bread will taste! I'll show how to grind wheat into flour as well as include my simple method for making “everlasting yeast” that isn’t a sourdough! It’s an outstanding skill to have for everyday bread and for emergency preparedness long-term food storage. We’ll cover baking it in a solar oven as well as some tips and techniques for forming great sandwich loaves.
Breakfast meals in a Jar/Mylar Bag for Camping and More!

Tuesday August 21st, 6:30 PM

Are you planning a camping trip, hiking adventure or simply planning your week's groceries? Chef Tess is here! This is a wonderful class on the basics of making meals in a jar for breakfast meals like carrot cake six grain pudding, savory sausage quiche, delicious omlets in a bag, country breakfast skillets and more! You'll find out the secrets to making your own meals and saving money on those convenient meals that make camping and hiking so much fun! Join me for some new skills and some new ideas! These are all new recipes to add to your food storage and emergency preparedness menu as well! You won't want to miss it!

Preparing Wisely

144 S Mesa Drive Suite G

Mesa, AZ 85210

(480) 964-3077

 

Creamy Chicken Veggie Casserole in a Jar

I will be teaching a FREE class at  Preparing Wisely on Thursday night at 6:30 in Mesa  on  these Convenience Meals in a Jar.   This class is  always well attended and in high demand, especially  in  light of recent emergency events that have happened around the world and the demand people have for good quality homemade meals.  People prepare for family emergencies in different ways. Some prepare for an earthquake, fire or natural disaster.  Some prepare for financially difficult times and unemployment.  Some just prepare meals in advance so that mom or dad are not too entirely stressed out at the end of a hard work day. Whatever your reason for preparing convenience meals, this is a simple method of keeping track of what you have on hand and keeping it an organized location.  This method is one anybody can use. I don't claim the method of planning a menu this way to be mine, I do however claim these recipes as ones I have developed through personal trial and error. We've heard it called a "year's supply" of food. Insuring that should anything catastrophic happen, your family will be fed.

Recently someone asked me to write down a few of my recipes for long term storage and what I recommended. I have a method that I like to recommended to  those starting out on food storage use that isn't new, but it was a little bit exciting when I heard it. One plans 7 meals, one for each night of the week and then figured getting 52 of each meal.  My method of containing each meal entirely in ONE  jar is different than others who have planned the meal in a 52 week method, but didn't keep it this simple or concise. I wanted it all in one spot. In this way one would easily be able to have a year's supply of food that a family of four would eat should they need it. One wouldn't  have to search through things to find the corresponding can of meat or sauce to go with the starch.   It sounds "simple stupid"...but sometimes that's how I roll. 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 anyone to have to worry about canning meat or rotating cans of beans and vegetables. This gets into methods of pressure canning that some may not be prepared to practice proper rotation or sanitation while home canning. No they are not safe on the shelf longer than one year.  PERIOD. (Please see Home Canning Safety 101 for specific details in this matter) If you would like the original 7 recipes I used, see this post:  here .

  Today I'm adding another casserole that has become a fast favorite here.  I already posted one that's a cheesy turkey noodle casserole. While this one is similar, I realize that sometimes it's the comfort food we serve during times of distress...and I'm planning accordingly.  That being said, this one is different in it's composition and flavor.  It's a lot more creamy and has more vegetables. 

In a quart Jar fit with a funnel:

1 3/4  cups wide egg noodles

½ cup Honeyville freeze dried vegetable mix

1 cup freeze dried chicken chunks

1/2 cup freeze dried peas

1/4 cup freeze dried mushroom slices

2 T dehydrated onions

1 tsp of my Romantic Italian Seasoning 

1/2 cup Honeyville  cheese sauce powder OR my homemade condensed soup mix  

1/3 cup powdered milk

1/3 cup powdered sour cream

¼ cup dehydrated butter

For long term 8-10 year storage, combine all ingredients in a sealed mason jar with an oxygen absorber packet.  These will cause a vacuum seal.  Note...it is important if you are doing these jars to open the freeze dried meat and bottle it again within a few hours. If you're worried about it or want a vegetarian alternative, you may use 1 1/2 cup Freeze Dried Zucchini instead of the chicken. You'll need to add 1 tsp no msg chicken bullion to the mix as well.

The chicken is really cool. 

To Prepare:

In a casserole, combine the entire contents of the jar with 4 cups hot water. Let sit 5 minutes.  Cover and bake in a solar oven at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. OR microwave in covered deep dish casserole for 15 minutes.  

While the casserole is baking, I make bread crumb topping. This is optional but adds a lot of texture and flavor. I prefer, when cooking with the solar oven to do the topping on a separate burner or if microwaving...cooking the topping on the stove to crisp it. This saves a lot of time and with the solar cooker, gets a crispy topping I can't normally get.   I'm using  homemade 9 grain ciabatta (if you missed that post it was freakin' fun!).  Put a few pieces in a food processor or finely grind in a hand-powered  processor.

Add 2 T olive oil 1/2 cup of  the crumbs and 1/2 tsp of my Romantic Italian Seasoning. 

Mmm. Now that's a crumby job right there. 

Put the crumbs in a hot skillet and stir until toasted. How easy is that?! Where you expecting rocket science?!

Remove casserole from the oven or microwave (especially important with microwave to let the casserole sit 10 minutes so it get's thick). Top with 4-5 slices of cheese. I use homemade mozzarella cheese  or you can also use freeze dried mozzarella from your food storage.  Top with crumbs.

Spread out the crumbs.  Cover until cheese is melted. 

Usually while the cheese is melting I saute some fresh green beans to go on the side...

Season them well and drizzle with olive oil...and waaahlaaaa! The casserole is now ready. Brace yourself for the reveal...

The casserole is now ready. Brace yourself for the reveal...

Creamy delicious...not too glue-like and thick...

Are you hungry yet?

Well?

There you go. Make some veggie casserole!

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.

Highlights from the Spice Class

 I have to say, it was such a sweet highlight of my week to have the spice class at Preparing Wisely tonight! So many dear friends came to learn and share. Joy of joys to have my kindred-spirited sisters whom I've loved for so long join me once again! It made me smile. Well...smile more than usual. If that is possible.  There were also new faces. I'm so thankful for each one! Thank you all for being there.

So I thought I'd cover a little 101 for those who didn't make it or who are out of town. The first thing is...What is the difference between a spice and an herb?

 Herbs are the aromatic leaves, flowers and stems of plants. Fresh or dry work. Make sure you smell the jar. If it smells like the herb then the stuff inside is still full of flavor. If they smell like dust...then you are just going to be adding dust to your food. Eeewwww.  My darling friend Tina brought her spice rack and had quite a few jars that were very old and full of dust. So...we had an intervention party. I guess you had to be there, but the whole group was laughing at each new jar of dust as we cheered to see it emptied of the pointless "pretties" (like getting rid of a lame boyfriend who's good for nothing...) It was awesome! Very liberating and freeing.

Spices are seeds and bark. They will need to be ground. If you don't have a spice mill (not many do...then just buy the pre-ground and be sure it's fresh). For long term food storage, I purchase whole seeds and store them in non porous containers stored in colder temperatures (70 degrees or less) and preferably in the dark. 

We covered some of the basic homeopathic uses for culinary herbs. For the most part they ease digestion but there are quite a few very beneficial uses that are amazing!  That will have to be an entirely different post. There's a ton of information. 

The other thing we covered was basic herb combining and which flavors work together best for "ethnic" flavors. We made three identical pasta salads from the basic pasta salad recipe. Then we made three different salad dressings and had totally different and amazing salads! One Greek, one Mexican, and one Asian. This is where we didn't use a recipe. You read that right. No recipe. We're going to shut down our number crunching mind and start to trust our artistic ability. We're going to smell the jars! We're going to start to really get a feel for what's in the kitchen. It starts today. Mind you, I will give you some guidelines of herbs and spices that work together well...so you don't feel all together clueless.

Since we were in the store, we used all our freeze dried products instead of the fresh vegetables. You can't even tell the difference in a pasta salad.  We used Orzo pasta (it looks a lot like rice when cooked) but you can use cooked quinoa, barley, wheat or rice as the base instead. 

Basic Pasta Salad

1 lb pasta of your choice, cooked al dente and seasoned well with salt and pepper. (Lower carb? use of thin sliced cabbage will really improve that carb count.)

1 cup chopped bell pepper (1/2 cup dehyrated THRIVE mixed bell pepper hydrated with warm water 10 minutes)

1 cup carrots, shredded or chopped (1/2 cup freeze dried carrots, hydrated with 1/2 cup water)

1 stalk celery, sliced thin (1/2 cup freeze dried celery, hydrated with 1/2 cup water)

1/2 medium red onion, sliced thin or chopped fine (1/2 cup freeze dried onion, hydrated with 1/2 cup water)

Basic Vinaigrette (for pennies a jar...) (FAT free coming up in a few lines)

3/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil Organic 

1/4 cup red wine vinegar or cider vinegar

1 tsp fresh pressed garlic

Herbs and spices

salt

pepper

Want fat free salad dressing? Did you know it's almost free to make if you have cornstarch and juice already in your cupboard? Use 3/4 cup vegetable broth or juice and 1/4 cup vinegar. In a cold sauce pan combine the vegetable broth with 1 T cornstarch. Add the liquid slowly and then when combined, cook on medium heat, boiling until thick, about 5-7 minutes. Allow to cool slightly and then add the vinegar and remaining herbs and spices. Use immediately. Keep refrigerated. If dressing gets thick simply add a little more vegetable broth to thin.

Flavors That Work Together Well

(Not a complete list of spices...just a guide) 

Italian:

Herbs: Basil, Rosemary, Thyme, flat leaf parsley, marjoram,

Spices: Fennel, caraway, crushed red pepper, celery seed.

Flavor Agents: hard cheeses like Parmesan, asiago. Olives, roasted peppers, citrus zest, capers.

Greek:

Herbs: Dill, Oregano, Rosemary, Mint, parsley,

Spices: Fennel, anise, black pepper, dill seed

Flavor agents: Feta cheese, olives, pickled peppers.

Asian:

Herbs: cilantro, mint, lemon grass, sesame oil (use 2 tsp in place of some of the oil)

Spices: Cumin, Chile paste, curry paste, fennel, ginger,

Flavor agents: lime zest, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, citrus zest, peanuts or cashews

Mexican:

Herbs: Cilantro, Oregano, thyme

spice: Cumin, coriander, Chile pods, black pepper, allspice

Flavor agents: lime zest, Roasted corn, green onions, radish, black olives.

Toss the herbs and spices in the dressing. The flavor agents can be added directly to the

basic pasta salad recipe. Mix and match fresh veggies as they are in season. Add fruit if

you like. For hearty dinners, add some roasted chicken or beef. Marinate meat in the

vinaigrette and save a lot of money on those fancy bottles of pre-made stuff. You can

do it. Start to feel yourself free up in the kitchen. It is very liberating. Enjoy.

Now for you folks who just want a grab and go dressing fix, you can just use the pre-made spice blends. You

know...fajita seasoning, Italian seasoning, Greek Seasoning... Don't hurt yourself if you don't feel able to do the artsy stuff yet. I'm patient... and it's a process. Feel the Love babe.  

Upcoming this next week will be herb and spice week! I will have highlights on specific herbs and spices, their homeopathic uses and what to do with them in your foodie food! It will be so fun! Plus...Troy has ordered into the store a lot of bulk organic spices at very very reasonable prices! So you can add these to your food storage without killing your budget. Come back again this upcoming week. It will be full of surprises!

Upcoming Cooking Class! Wow We're Excited!

Spice Rack Demystification and  Herb Alchemy Salad Dressing Class  April 14th at 6:30 PM is  A Beginners' Journey on How to Use All Those Little Spice Jars in that Rack on Your Kitchen Counter... Come and explore the wonder of spice and herb combining  with a seasoned chef and instructor. Why have spices and herbs in your food storage? Because they can change a plain noodle into a salad! They can turn a boring bowl of oats into an amazing spice sensation.  In this Class we will: Find out which spice and herb flavors work best together.  Do you know the difference between a spice and an herb?  Do you know when to use a dry herb compared to using a fresh herb?  Do you know when to use whole spices or ground spices?  Do you know how to store your spices in your food storage and how to rotate them?  Do you? Learn a little about the natural medicinal uses of some of your favorite culinary herbs and spices. They're amazing for solving some of your most common ailments! You will enjoy the magic of seeing three identical salads transformed into three separate and very distinct flavor combinations. Chef Tess (AKA Chef Stephanie Petersen) will be our instructor. You won't want to miss it. Bring your own spice rack because we're really going to learn with what we have! Class starts at 6:30. Arrive a little early.

Here's Chef Tess on Fox 10 making Homemade Salad Dressings!

Make Your Own Dressing: MyFoxPHOENIX.com