Four New Convenience Meals in A Jar!

We had a class Thursday night and I added 5 new recipes to the seven meals that I have already shared for the  convenience meals  in a jar that are "just add water". The blessed part of these new additions is that they are still the same homestyle food that my husband calls "normal people food". I think it's a cut above normal...but not so gourmet that it will intimidate my in-laws who prefer mild food.  I don't use a lot of sodium or go too crazy on the seasoning here, so adjust as you need for your family. I like to add more to my personal jars.  
 The best part of adding the new meals is that now we have enough to do a 2 week menu plan instead of just one week. So one can do 24 jars of each meal and have dinners for a "years supply" of dinners...give or take. I know a lot of folks try to keep at least a year's worth of grain and personal supplies on hand for things like unemployment, family tragedy or natural disaster.  It's their own insurance against hard times. As for these jar recipes, when you plan, if you keep it in denomination of 12 it's simple... because canning quart jars come in 12 jar cases! One can be certain it's easy to organize.  Last Monday I added the first of the five new recipes. 
It was 

Creamy Chicken Veggie Casserole in a Jar

 The next four are here today.

Side note...have you ever used freeze dried cheese? It's amazing! It's crazy stuff...and totally real cheese...just freeze dried to preserve it's freshness.  

Meal 1: Saucy Baked Ziti with Sausage and Mushrooms

Saucy “Baked” Ziti with Sausage and MushroomsIn a quart jar:
2/3 cup tomato powder
1/3 cup dehydrated onion
1T Chef Tess Italian Seasoning
1/3 cup freeze dried sausage or sausage TVP
2/3 cup Freeze dried Hamburger or beef TVP
1 cup Ziti (3 ounces)
1/3 cup freeze dried mushrooms
2/3 cup freeze dried Mozzarella cheese (in a snack baggie)
Directions: Place contents of jar (except for cheese) in a covered skillet or pot with 4 ½ cups water. Simmer 15-20 minutes until pasta is tender and sauce is thick. (Solar oven 30-40 minutes covered). Place contents of cheese bag in a bowl and spray lightly with water. Sit for 5 minutes. Uncover cooked pasta mixture. Top with cheese. Cover again and allow cheese to melt, about 5 minutes.Serve hot.

Meal 2: Beefy Spanish Rice

Beefy Spanish Rice

 In Quart jar with oxygen eater:
1 ½ cup freeze dried hamburger
1 ½ cup long grain rice
½ cup Honeyville freeze dried bell pepper trio
½ cup dehydrated onion
1 ½ tsp Chef Tess All Purpose seasoning, 1 tsp dehydrated minced garlic
1 T dehydrated minced ancho chilies
1 ½ tsp salt
½ tsp smoked paprika
¼ cup tomato powder
1 bay leaf
Directions: Add contents of jar to 5 ½ cups boiling water. Cover and simmer low 25-30 minutes until tender. Top with cheese or sour cream if desired.

Meal 3: Been and Rice Fajita Casserole

  

Bean and Rice Fajita Casserole

                                                                                                                 

2 cups THRIVE instant red or black beans
1 cup long grain rice
½ cup Honeyville bell pepper trio
½ cup honeyville dehydrated onion
1T Chef Tess All Purpose Seasoning blend
½ tsp cumin seed
½ tsp oregano leaves (or 1 drop oil of oregano)
1 tsp minced garlic
1 bay leaf
½ cup Honeyville cheese sauce powder
¼ cup powdered tomato
Place contents of jar in a deep covered casserole and add 6 cups of very hot water. Place covered in a solar oven or conventional oven 30-35 minutes.

Meal 4: Golden Cheese and Sausage Potato Casserole 

Golden Potato, cheese and Sausage Casserole

In a quart jar:

1 cup Honeyville  cheese sauce mix
½ cup dehydrated sour cream
1/3 cup dehydrated onion, 1 ½ tsp dehydrated minced garlic
1 cup freeze dried sausage (or ham)
2 cups (4 ounces) dehydrated hash brown potatoes
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
½ tsp cracked fresh pepper
1 bay leaf

Combine contents in a deep casserole with 5 ½ cups hot water. Cover 10 minutes. Bake in solar oven 1 hour covered or in the microwave 15 minutes uncovered. May top with additional cheese, crushed corn flakes or crushed crackers if desired.

printable version of all 12 recipes for convenience meals in a jar are Here.

Homemade Gravy Mix (gluten free)

It's mix making Monday and I have a sneaking suspicion this is one that can really save a lot of people some hard earned cash. How much do you pay for gravy mix? It's so easy to make and so painfully cheap that once you see it, you will be shocked! It only takes a few minutes to make several of these gravy mixes and from all the sauce and soup classes I have had, this is the one mix that people say they use the most. Home basic gravy is a great skill to have. I've seen a lot of money go down the drain for those store bought convenience foods like gravy mix. Why? Most of them have flat flavor, no frills. If you look at the ingredients list, it seems like it could be much shorter. Am I right? This mix I make is still loaded with good complex flavors, but it's also quick. It's a good marrying of basic meets a bit of gourmet. My gravy isn't super thick like pudding. It's thick enough to coat the back of a spoon nicely. If you want thicker gravy, you will need to double the flour. For the best complex flavor I add my all purpose seasoning in place of the pepper, thyme, and celery seed (there's a lot more spices and herbs in mine). I always use the bay leaf. It not only adds great flavor, but is a natural deterrent for bugs. Not that it will be sitting on the shelf that long. If you prefer to use prepared stock in place of the bullion, it will be awesome! I use ultra gel because it is a sauce I can freeze well in casseroles. 

Chef Tess Basic Gravy Mix (gluten free)¼ cup Ultra gel
3T beef or chicken stock granules, MSG free low sodium
2T onion powder
2T garlic powder
1/2 tsp ground celery seed
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp ground thyme
1 bay leafMix Directions: Place all ingredients in a half pint seal able jar. Repeat as needed however many mixes you want to make. Please note, this mix makes 8 cups of gravy.
To prepare:
Whisk mix with 2 cups milk or water (broth or stock if you omit the bullion), when smooth add 6 more cups of milk, water or stock. Simmer over medium heat stir occasionally 10-15 minutes.

Individual smaller gravy:
1T ultra gel
2 tsp bullion (MSG free)
1T onion powder
1/8 tsp ground celery seed
1/4 tsp ground thyme
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
1 bay leaf
To prepare small batches:
Whisk mix with 2 cups stock or milk in a medium sauce pan with a heavy bottom. Simmer over medium heat 5 minutes.

Get the printable pdf version of this recipe here.

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!

Chef Tess' Taco Soup Mix using NEW Instant Beans! And Product Review!

 We got something new in the store! Ooo-Laaa-Laaa!  Super cool INSTANT beans. What's the difference? Well...Our THRIVE Instant Red Beans will help you spend less time in the kitchen. Boiling dried beans can sometimes take hours, but with THRIVE Instant Beans you can prepare great meals in no time at all. Whether you use our instant beans for homemade refried beans, Boston Baked Beans, or bean soup, you will know that you are using a quality, long-lasting product that is an excellent source of protein and fiber. That's a mouth-full huh?! In a nut shell... They taste like regular red beans but they cook up super quick! I'm totally in love with them...for a bean anyway. So here's a Chef Tess moment of glory...a dancing in the hallway-jumping for joy-food-storage-moment of glory...ready?


You want to know the other cool thing? It just got a whole lot easier to make soup mixes for food storage! In fact when I saw the instant beans I almost started squealing. I know you're thinking, "Geeeek alert!" Oh my gosh!!


 I think I may be one of the only people on earth who gets this excited about food storage technology. Well...Troy does too.  However, that being said, I had to share this great new recipe I've developed from an old favorite. 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:

 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


                    So, here's  a picture of my new boyfriend red bean. I love him them.

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, 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 Homemade Gourmet Chocolate Cake Mix

It's Mix Monday! Oh I love exploding myths and making convenience foods from scratch. Why is it? Why do I love it? Well...perhaps it's the sweet stream of email flowing to my heart thanking me for saving family budgets around the world. Literally. It's so highly motivating to get a thank you note. It warms the coggles of my heart. If you come down to the store, we will have copies of this week's recipe handy for you to take with you all week long. Isn't that cool? We'll trying to offer you a new food storage recipe every week. Speaking of recipes...

How many recipes call for a box of cake mix? Well in America anyway I've seen whole books written on the subject. They're books that doctor a cake mix into a lot of other stuff. However...what if the person making the cake or doctored mix had some crazy stipulations? I do. I want the mix being made with all natural ingredients, from scratch and things most people have access to. I want it made to taste wonderful without adding a lot of chemicals to my diet. Yikes...did I just say "diet" in blog entry about chocolate cake? Oh the irony of my existence is sometimes scary.

You will need some very high quality vanilla. It will still make a very impressive cake. If this recipe looks familiar, It is in fact an adaptation of the Chocolate Toffee Buttermilk Cake Mix. A simple form of that cake with some subtle changes.
The texture is still perfect. You will need a digital scale to make this mix or to be very accurate in your measurements.

Chef Tess' Homemade Gourmet Chocolate Cake Mix

yield 18 cups mix (4 1/2 mixes total)

2 cup  Powdered Butter butter
6 cups (1 lb 11 oz) all purpose White Flour 
3 cups (11.5 oz) baking cocoa (Hershey's available at the Preparing Wisely store)
1 cup ( 4.5 oz) non-fat milk powder Soy Milk 
5 cups(2 lb) granulated sugar
4 tsp Real Salt  
1/3 cup (2 oz) baking powder Baking Powder (Aluminum Free)  
1T double strength vanilla ( or vanilla bean paste)
1 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp cayenne pepper

To prepare mix: In a large 3 gallon or larger bowl, combine the powdered butter,  flour, cocoa, dry milk
sugar, baking powder and salt, cardamom and cayenne very well.  (My Yellow Homemade Cake Mix) Divide into quart size bags. 2o oz of mix equals one cake mix.


This is almost exactly 4 cups of measured mix.
To bake:
Combine with 3 eggs
1/3 cup oil
1 cup water
200 strokes by hand or 3 minutes medium speed.

Bake time 350 degrees:
Pan size: 2 8 inch 33-35 minutes
2 9 inch 28-31 minutes
13 by 9 inch 32-35 minutes
bunt 38-43 minutes
24 cupcakes 18-21 minutes
High altitude: stir 1/4 cup all purpose flour into mix. Mix as directed.


Ganache Glaze:
1 cup cream
1 lb chopped high quality chocolate (we used Guitard)
1/4 tsp hazelnut oil
1/4 tsp fresh ground cinnamon

Boil one cup of cream in a sauce pan and pour over the chocolate. I added 1/4 tsp hazelnut oil, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/8th tsp ancho chile powder...and blended until smooth. When chocolate is melted completely and the glaze is smooth, drizzle over one inch squares of baked cake.
These where double layers of cake with peanut butter filling...

There you go. Chocolate Cake mix. All natural.  My Yellow Homemade Cake Mix is another very good one to make.