I meant for this to be a Sunday night treat for the family but the night got too busy and I ended up cooking it at midnight after the kids were in bed and my hubby was off to work an overnight shift. Needless to say I’m not TOO sad that I get to sit and enjoy eating it myself while I type up this post So here is the infamous Honey Granola recipe I got from Cox Honeyland with my personal modifications included.
 

Sorry for the poor quality picture, I couldn’t find the computer cord for my good camera!
 

Yummy Honey Granola

Ingredients:
4 c. oats
1 c. craisins
2 c. chopped peanuts
1/2 c. butter
3/4 c. Pomegranate flavored honey (mmmm)
1 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. cinnamon
dash of salt

Directions:
Mix together the oats, craisins and peanuts and set aside. In a small pot combine butter, honey, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt. Bring to a boil for 1 minute. Pour the liquid mixture over the oat mixture and stir it in really well. Spread onto a cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring every 5 minutes or so. Let the granola cool, crumble it up and store in an airtight container at room temperature to keep it delicious.

p.s. Fellow honey-lovers please feel free to leave a comment if you try this recipe!

After the fair I was inspired to learn more about honey, to try the amazing honey granola recipe I picked up, and to start using it more in my cooking. Today I am going to share some honey info with you, and later on I will post the results of the recipe!

How much honey should I store

According to most food storage calculators it is recommended to store 60 pounds total of sugars/sweeteners per year per adult. Our calculator uses the common recommendation of just 3 pounds of honey per person. However, we both use honey in our basic bread recipes so we have chosen to store a little bit more than that. Some people feel that for health reasons they would rather store more honey than refined white sugar so obviously they would also up their honey storage amount. As you start using your food storage more and baking a lot from scratch you may find that you prefer to cook with honey and thus want to up your own storage amount as well.

What are the different types of honey*

Raw – Unheated honey that has been removed from the comb. It may contain bits of wax, insect parts and other small debris. Raw honey contains small amounts of vitamins and minerals that are not in white sugar.

Filtered – Raw honey that has been warmed slightly to make it easier to filter out small particles and impurities. Filtered honey is almost the same as raw, just a little cleaner. Most of the small amounts of nutrients remain.

Liquid – Honey that has been heated to higher temperatures to allow for easier filtering and to kill any microorganisms. Usually lighter in color, this form is milder in flavor, resists crystallization and is generally clearer than raw honey. Much of the trace amounts of vitamins are lost in this processing.

Crystallized or Spun – This honey has had some of its moisture content removed to make a creamy, spread. It is the most processed form of honey.

*Info found at food storage faq

How do I replace honey for sugar in a recipe?*

To bake with Honey:
Use pure raw honey for up to half of the sugar in the recipe
For each cup of honey used: reduce the liquid by 1/2 cup
Add 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Reduce oven temperature by 25 degrees

To cook with honey:
For sauces, marinades, and salad dressings substitute pure honey for up to half the sugar in the recipe.
1 cup of sugar =1/3 to 1/2 cup honey. (If it is a stronger honey you would use 1/3 cup. If it is milder use 1/2 cup)

*Info found at Cox Honeyland website

What are some good food storage recipes using honey?

• Ezekiel Bread
• Honey Whole Wheat Bread
• Blender Wheat Pancakes
• Granola Bars
• Honey Granola – COMING SOON!

Where can I get honey in bulk?

• Emergency Essentials sells honey in a #10 can size for $32.95 which is about 9 pounds of honey.
• Honeyville Grain sells a 5-gallon bucket for $133.99 which is 60 pounds.
• Walton Feed has grade A honey in 45 lb buckets for $92.80.
• My best friends at Cox Honeyland sell pure raw honey in lots of different sizes. A 12 lb bucket is $35.20 and a 48 lb bucket is $131.80 for example.

Tell me more about Cox Honeyland

Besides having great quality honey, at reasonable prices (especially if you contact them about doing group orders) … Cox Honeyland also offers tons of fun and delicious honey products. They have flavored honeys in cute little bears (I bought the pomegranate flavor and it is divine) and creamed honeys which make great gifts. They even sell really yummy honey popcorn that I bought as well. Ok I am a honey addict I admit it. And the coolest thing is, if you go to their store in Logan, Utah, you can bring your own jars/containers and they will fill them with honey for you at a much cheaper price than buying it in the containers. How cool is that?

So if you are dreaming of honey now, I hope that helps a bit. Just wait until we post about the honey granola. YUMMY!!!!

p.s. We have no affiliation or advertising relationship with Cox Honeyland besides Jodi being slightly obsessed with their honey.

Powdered Milk FAQ

Why should I store powdered milk?
Food storage calculators generally recommend storing either 16 pounds or powdered milk per person or 75 pounds per person. The 16 pound recommendation accounts for one glass of milk per day. However, if you were to be living off of food storage and wanted to cook a variety of foods, you would definitely want to have more milk for baking, etc. Also if you have small children or a nursing mother it is important to have even more powdered milk. Because of the high nutrient levels in powdered milk, if you were unable to find ways to cook your food, you can actually sustain life by ONLY drinking powdered milk for quite some time. So storing more is never a bad thing!

What is the difference between instant and non-instant powdered milk?
Instant powdered milk is similar to instant rice in that it is faster and easier to reconstitute than non-instant formulas. Typically instant powdered milk takes about twice as much powder per gallon as non-instant, but it depends on which brand you are purchasing.

What is a milk alternative?
A milk alternative is NOT 100% milk. It contains a lot of ingredients to make it taste better including whey, partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, and high fructose corn syrup. As a result, it taste yummier, but has way less protein and includes some ingredients which are NOT great for you. If you want to use your stored milk in recipes or to make cheese, etc., they would turn out differently than if you used 100% milk. If you just want to drink the milk alternative as a milk flavored yummy drink, it’s ok. However you will be missing out on important nutrients which are even more critical in a time of emergency.

Which brand of powdered milk tastes the best?
The Utah Preppers blog posted an in depth taste test on the most common brands of powdered milk out there. We are so glad they did this because we’ve only personally tried a few brands ourselves. According to their study, the best-tasting milks were:

• Milk alternative: Morning Moos
• Instant powdered milk: Provident Pantry
• Non-instant powdered milk: Rainy Day

Are there any options besides “nonfat” powdered milk?
Yes! Dry whole milk is available although it’s much more difficult to find, especially in bulk. If you just cannot stomach nonfat milk (like Jodi’s dear sweet husband) there is still hope. One brand that we have heard about a lot but haven’t tried yet is Nido. You can often find it in the Hispanic foods section at your local grocery store. Or I found it available online at Amazon.com (don’t you just love Amazon?) It’s pricier than nonfat milk and the storage life will be much shorter due to the fat content of the milk so make sure to watch out for that.

How can I improve the taste of powdered milk?
One trick we learned from Crystal at Everyday Food Storage is to mix a little bit of sugar and vanilla in to your powdered milk and then make sure to serve it cold. This will significantly improve the taste of your milk!

Where can I purchase powdered milk for the best price?
The LDS cannery is the least expensive place to get powdered milk. To find a cannery (home storage center) in your area click here. (Please note that a lot of canneries do not require you to be a member of the LDS church to purchase from them, so contact your local cannery and find out their policies). However, since milk from the cannery is not the best tasting powdered milk, here are some other options. Provident Pantry instant milk is available at Emergency Essentials stores or online. Rainy Day non-instant milk (made by Walton Wheat) is available from Alison’s Pantry online or via a local rep.

What is the shelf life of powdered milk?
While different sources claim the shelf life on powdered milk can be up to 20-25 years, we have also read that the nutrient level significantly drops within that time. So we would definitely recommend incorporating a habit of rotating your powdered milk to keep your supplies as fresh as possible.

What’s the best way to rotate my powdered milk?
Since most people don’t particularly enjoy drinking powdered milk as a replacement to regular milk, we highly recommend using it in RECIPES where it won’t be as noticeable. You can view our food storage recipes to see where we have substituted powdered milk successfully. Or you can also check out our sister site Everyday Food Storage for more great ideas on cooking with your food storage!

p.s. Check back on Wednesday for a recap of our fun at the Utah Valley Women’s Expo and a preview of the event we will be speaking at in Ogden this Saturday!

IMAGINE – you have to make a wedding cake and you only have food storage items as ingredients – well YOU CAN! Last summer I forced myself to try fondant icing after wasting hours upon hours watching the cake decorating shows thinking it looked so totally cool.

Well it turns out I found this great recipe with really great instructions and it uses SHELF STABLE (that’s how I am making this post relevant) ingredients. The only 3 ingredients are marshmallows, powdered sugar, and shortening.

So I tried a little for fun cake and then my sister got engaged and she thought I should make her wedding cake -my very first wedding cake -. HELLO SCARY! Well it actually turned out and I had a blast doing it.

No one warned me how sad I would be when the bride and groom took the knife to my very first wedding cake masterpiece and RUINED IT!

Print it out and put it in your Food Storage Made Easy Ebook Binder (we’ll be including this handout in our next free binder email updates – just in case you were wondering).

Extra Container of Salt

Salt is one of those things that you run out of, and don’t necessarily think of storing. Find or buy a container of salt and make it cute with ribbons, or put it in a gift bag, and remind them Food Storage isn’t just grains and legumes.

A #10 Can of Powdered Milk

Powdered Milk can be one of those things that are hard to find, or hard to remember to use. Give someone a nice #10 can, or box and challenge them to try it out the next time they are cooking with milk.

A #10 Can of Powdered Eggs

Another item that is hard to find, and can be pricey if you don’t live where they sell it locally is powdered eggs. Try giving someone a #10 can of powdered eggs to help them try out a new thing they may not have thought of.

Back to the 12 Days List

Worms and Dirt Recipe

1 box of chocolate pudding
Make with Powdered Milk!
Top with Gummy Worms

And my husband didn’t even complain that it was made ONLY with powdered milk! So at least I have one way to sneak it into foods that I know works now

p.s. What other sneaky tips do you have for using powdered milk?

Food Storage Substitutions:

Brown Sugar = 1 c. white sugar + 1-2 T. molasses
White sugar and molasses are already on our list of storage items, so if you plan to store brown sugar as well, just store a little extra of these items. Molasses has a longer shelf life than brown sugar, and you don’t have the problem of it getting clumpy and hardened since you will be making it fresh.

Buttermilk = 1 c. milk or powdered milk + 1 T. vinegar
This is so much easier than having to keep buttermilk or powdered buttermilk on hand when you need it for a particular recipe. Vinegar can also be used in baking recipes, to improve your bread recipes, as well as for homemade cleaning supplies. So these two items should definitely be part of your food storage already!

Baking Powder = 1 tsp. baking soda + 2 tsp. cream of tartar
While you may not think of storing cream of tartar, this actually makes a lot of sense. Both baking soda and cream of tartar can have an indefinite shelf life if stored in airtight containers at room temperature. Baking powder, however has a short shelf life of 6-12 months. To test if your baking powder is still active, stir 1 teaspoon into ½ a cup of hot water. If it doesn’t bubble, it will need to be replaced.

Since it’s not my birthday, I don’t have a batch to take a picture of but I’ll update the blog with one soon! Just imagine this lemon bar picture with a brown sugar filling instead!

Julie’s Birthday Bars Recipe

Crust-
1 c butter
½ c powdered sugar
½ tsp salt
2 c flour

Filling Sugar-
2 eggs (can use 2 T. dry egg powder + 1/4 C. water)
2 c brown sugar (can make your own brown sugar)
2 T vinegar
½ c melted butter

Directions:
Spread crust in two 9 x 13 pans.
Mix filling and place on top of crust.
Bake at 350 for 30 to 40 minutes.

Enjoy a delicious treat for your birthday or any other time!

For other food storage recipes check out:

Our Food Storage Recipes Page
Our Food Storage Made Easy eBook Binder
Our sister site EverydayFoodStorage.NET
I Can’t Believe It’s Food Storage book by Crystal Godfrey
Country Beans book by Rita Bingham

What are Powdered Eggs:

Powdered eggs are eggs that have been dehydrated and made into a simple powder, with a texture similar to that of powdered milk. While some brands of powdered eggs utilize the whole egg, others will only include the yolks or the whites, and may add other ingredients to enhance the flavor or the texture of the reconstituted eggs. Generally, it is possible to purchase powdered eggs in bulk, making them ideal for use in food storage programs.

Advantages of Powdered Eggs:

Dehydrated eggs have several advantages over fresh eggs.

First, powdered eggs have a longer shelf life. With proper storage, dried eggs can easily last for the better part of a decade. It is not necessary to store the eggs in a refrigerated area; all that is required is a cool to moderate temperature and a dark cabinet or cupboard.

Eggs that have been dried require much less storage space. This means substantial supplies of eggs can be kept on hand in a relatively small space. Re-hydrating the eggs for use in omelets and to make scrambled eggs require nothing other than the addition of a liquid, usually water or milk. In powdered form, the eggs can be added to baked recipes without the need to mix them with a liquid ahead of time.

Using Powdered Eggs:

Today, powdered or dry types of eggs are packaged in several different ways. Whole eggs may be dehydrated and later used in many recipes where whole eggs are needed. It is also possible to purchase powdered egg yolks as well as whole eggs. For use in recipes where the whites are all that is used, such as in meringues, packages of powdered egg whites are available, although there is some difference of opinion as to how well powdered egg whites work and taste when utilized in some recipes.

History Lesson:

The production of powdered eggs is usually traced back to the first half of the 20th century. The eggs were extensively used during World War II, especially in countries where food supplies were airlifted in to feed civilians displaced by occupations and bombings. In the United States, powdered eggs were often used as a substitute for fresh eggs during periods of rationing, allowing fresh eggs to be routed to provide nutrition to people serving in the military. Even with first call on fresh eggs, many branches of the military also utilized the powdered versions as a matter of expediency.

For more information on Cooking and Buying powdered eggs, visit our sisters sites!

We decided it would be good to revise each BabyStep as part of our Summer Crash Course. So jump in and get started … it’s not too late! This week we are covering BabyStep 7: Baking and Misc Ingredients (click here to view the full step)

• Updated key points
• Added instructions for making brown sugar
• Added a dairy section including eggs, butter, sour cream

• Food Storage Shelf Lives
• Holiday Baking + Food Storage
• Cleaning Supplies Using Food Storage Items

p.s. Stay tuned for a more advanced post on this topic coming later this week

Well tonight I hosted a little dinner party at my house and decided I would sneakily use tons of food storage in my dinner and dessert.  I definitely recommend it, it was fun having a little secret… hehe.

Anyways,  I made a great tortilla casserole recipe, (added black beans) and even made the tortillas from scratch using all fresh ground whole wheat! I even replaced the cream of chicken soup with BEAN FLOUR cream of chicken, my favorite!

For dessert I made my EMERGENCY, I don’t feel like baking, icing or dirtying a pan dessert with POWDERED MILK!  Everytime I have to bring a dessert to a dinner and don’t have the time or energy to pick up fresh ingredients,  I make a quick and easy pudding pie.  I always have at least one tub of cool whip in my freezer for this special dessert.

Ingredients

Powdered Milk
Water
Box of Chocolate Pudding
Graham cracker crust
Cool Whip

Prepare pudding according to package directions for pie. Pour into graham cracker crust, chill for an hour or so. Top with Cool Whip. Optional, add strawberries, crushed skor bar or any crushed cookie.

I love this dessert because it is SO easy to bring places. The graham cracker crust container has a lid with it (you don’t have to remember to get your pan when you are going home). You don’t have to dirty dishes except the pudding bowl, but you can lick that. It’s a dessert that uses POWDERED milk and no one knows it. You don’t have to turn your oven on in the hot summer, its great!

Fruit and Yogurt Smoothies

Serving Size: 2 large glasses
Prep Time: 5 minutes (if you make a bunch of baggies ahead of time)

Ingredients (if you skip the sugar, they’re actually REALLY healthy):

• 3/4 cup of frozen strawberries
• 1/2 cup of frozen blueberries
• 1/2 cup of frozen peaches or rasberries
• 1 cup of powdered milk prepared
• 5 ice cubes of fat-free strawberry yogurt (or any other kind)
• Some of sugar if you think it needs it (I try not to)

*instead of water for the liquid part of the milk, you can use juice for the flavor, and the powder to make it creamy!

Directions:

1. Pour milk into blender
2. Add fruit, blend
3. Add yogurt cubes, blend
4. Add sugar, blend
5. Eat with a spoon, or drink with a straw

Directions to prepare a bunch of smoothies for the go ahead of time:

1. Buy a 8-10 ziploc baggies
2. Buy bags of your favorite frozen fruits (I did 2 strawberry, 1 peach, 1 blueberry)
3. Divide up your fruit into the baggies
4. Divide a large container of yogurt into ice cube containers and freeze
5. Once frozen place 5 yogurt cubes into each ziploc bag
6. Put bags into the freezer and use them up as you wish, all you’ll need to add is the milk and sugar.

SO – ASK YOURSELF DO I HAVE DRY MILK IN MY FOOD STORAGE?:

Click here to get your box today – because let’s be honest if you’re anything like me, you’ll forget next time you are at the store. As we discovered when we interviewed Crystal, the author of I Can’t Believe It’s Food Storage … powdered milk is a GREAT food storage item to start using in your everyday cooking.