Food Storage Made Easy » Pasta Recipes

The Potluck Problem

Jodi and Julie — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 06:02:28 +0000

We had a fun pot luck in my neighborhood today, and of course, I forgot it was even going to happen. About 25 minutes before it was going to start, my friend called me up and asked if I was coming. FOOD STORAGE to the rescue. I decided to do the whole, “sneak” food storage into a dish trick. Remember I did this a long time ago with a dessert? I still feel sneaky about that one.

The theme of the pot luck was salads, so I decided to make a pasta salad. I’ve been using my freeze-dried chicken a lot lately. I admit, it’s a little bit due to how busy I’ve been. Having chicken cooked, and cut all ready to go, has saved my eating out budget a few times lately. Isn’t summer supposed to be less busy? Anyways, I made this pasta salad with chicken in it, and it was ready in the 25 (actually 24) minutes from start to finish. I love not having to thaw, cut, and cook chicken, when I’m making a quick summer dish. I’ll share the recipe with you, but you have to remember, I’m not the measuring type- so bear with me- and excuse the dark, after the fact iphone picture.

Julie’s “Healthier” Pasta Salad

Box of whole wheat noodles (can be macaroni, or any kind – my fav is bowtie multi-grain)
1.5 cups of freeze dried chicken (before it reconstitutes)
Chopped celery (you could probably use freeze dried, I just always have fresh on hand)
Light mayo made with olive oil (you can use regular mayo)
Couple of squirts of lemon juice
1 teaspoon or 2 of dill (this gives it a nice flavor)
Salt to taste

Directions:
Cover freeze dried chicken in water to reconstitute. While the chicken is reconstituting boil the noodles. If you’re in a hurry like me, put a metal bowl in the freezer to get it cold (you’ll understand this in a minute). While the noodles are cooking, chop celery and get the rest of the ingredients out. Drain noodles and chicken, paper towel dry and throw it in the cold bowl and put all of that in the freezer for 5 mins to cool everything down. The freezer step is only necessary if you’re working on a fast timeline… But of course you probably all plan ahead better than me? Right? Add mayo to taste- some like it creamier than others. Add the rest of the ingredients, and cool until you have to leave.

So no one even knew I snuck that chicken in there and we made it on time. Success. Remember if you’re looking for ways to sneak food storage into your families foods, or tips on how to substitute out regular ingredients in recipes for food storage ingredients, read these posts.

Shelf Stable Recipes: Tarragon Chicken Casserole

Jodi and Julie — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 08:05:24 +0000

Submitted by: Vie K
From: Texas

TARRAGON CHICKEN CASSEROLE

Ingredients:
2 cans low fat cream of chicken soup
Undiluted 2 cups evaporated skim milk
4 teaspoons tarragon
Pepper to taste
1 13 oz box bowtie pasta, cooked*
2 10 oz cans chicken, drained
1 14 oz can peas, drained**
Paprika
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese*** (Optional)

Directions:
Mix soups and milk together. Add tarragon and pepper to taste. Mix pasta with chicken and peas. Pour soup mixture over pasta mixture. Mix well. Place in casserole dish. Sprinkle paprika over top. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until heated through.
*Or any pasta shape you have on hand
**You can use any vegetable you have on hand that your family likes.
***If you have access to cheese, add on top of casserole before sprinkling the paprika.

Special Notes:
Special Notes: I have made this for years and for something so simple it tastes great and everyone loves it. It is very versatile as you can use whatever pasta and vegetable you have on hand. If we are going strictly shelf stable I would substitute dry bread crumbs for the cheese for some crunch on top.

Shelf Stable Recipes: Chicken Tortellini Soup

Jodi — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 08:48:30 +0000

Today is our first post as part of our new and exciting series:

We are still accepting submissions through the end of this month, so if you want YOUR recipe to be featured, click here to find out more about how to join in the fun. We are still processing all of the amazing recipes from you guys so today you get to sample one of my own favorite recipes.

My mom (Grandma Lori) makes the BEST Chicken Tortellini Soup ever. I started making it but I hated having to have celery on hand for it, so I started using my dehydrated celery (LOVE LOVE LOVE). Over time I started shifting more and more of the ingredients to shelf stable items purely because of the convenience of it. But the other day at the grocery store I stumbled upon SHELF STABLE TORTELLINI PASTA and I knew this would change my life forever, ok my tortellini soup life at least

Picture on the left is using traditional ingredients, on the right is all shelf stable!

Chicken Tortellini Soup Recipe

Ingredients:
1 12.5 oz can of chicken (or 1 pint of home-canned chicken)
1/4 c. dehydrated celery
2 T. dehydrated onions
2 1/2 c. water
8 c. chicken broth (or water mixed with chicken boullion)
1/2 tsp. celery seed
1/2 tsp. basil
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1 tsp. salt
Sprinkle of red pepper flakes (optional)
12 oz package of Barilla Tortellini (yes they are shelf stable!)

Directions:
Bring the water and chicken broth to a boil. Add spices. Add chicken (cut it up small if you like smaller chunks). Add dehydrated celery and onions. Add tortellini after it returns to a boil. Cook according to your package directions (probably about 10-12 minutes). Enjoy!

Jodi’s Notes:
So I have to admit I actually liked this BETTER with the shelf stable tortellinis. They seemed to hold together better and not get as huge and fluffy. And as an added bonus, they are cheaper than the fresh kind. This is such an easy and fast meal when you use all the shelf stable things (no cooking chicken, no chopping veggies, etc.). This would be a great one to add to your three month supply spreadsheet. If you try it and love it let us know in the comments!

RECIPE: Beach Street Lemon Chicken Linguine

Julie — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 06:21:34 +0000

You know that recipe you use, when you want to impress, but don’t feel like going to the store. The fail proof recipe, you forget about, then get a little excited about when you remember it. Well mine is this AMAZING recipe I got from Shandra at Deals to Meals! After the Seven Day Challenge, I went to town on restocking my food storage. It’s amazing, how you can get complacent and put off restocking, but thanks to Deals to Meals, I was able to restock my shelves and get great deals in the process! (to learn more about how we use this system, go to our Deals To Meals page)

Anyways, back to Shandra’s recipe I LOVE. This is copied from her blog, and for more pictures, visit her recipe post here. Let me clue you in on a couple secrets though – I am SO not the marinate ahead of time kind of gal. I have done this on the spot, without marinating and it’s still yummy (mind you marinating does make it taste better). I also swap out the noodles for whole wheat spaghetti noodles sometimes and it works great also! AND I have used lemon juice from a bottle, and dried parsley (again fresh is better, but hey- sometimes you need a meal in a pinch). Anyways, give this recipe a try – You’ll love it!

Beach Street Lemon Chicken Linguine
1 lb. linguine (or fettuccine)
2 T. olive oil
Zest from one lemon
Juice from one lemon
½ c. chopped green onion
¼ c. chopped fresh parsley
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Parmesan cheese

Marinade:
½ c. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, whole
2 T. Cajun seasoning
2 T. lemon juice
2 T. minced parsley
1 T. brown sugar (or more if you like it a little sweeter)
2 T. soy sauce
2 chicken breasts, sliced. (OR 16 extra large shrimp)

Combine the marinade ingredients in a Ziploc bag. Slice thawed chicken (or shrimp). Pat dry and toss in marinade to coat. Refrigerate 1-12 hours. Cook marinated chicken with the marinade sauce in a large saute pan on medium heat until chicken is cooked. If using shrimp, preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Bake for 7-10 minutes. Be sure not to over cook shrimp.

Cook linguini in boiling salted water until done; drain well and rinse noodles. Combine juice of one lemon, zest, olive oil, green onions, and fresh parsley together. Add hot pasta into bowl and toss well. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add chicken (or shrimp) with marinade into the large pasta bowl. Toss in parmesan cheese to taste and serve warm.

Food Storage Recipes: Homemade Macaroni and Cheese

Jodi — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 05:00:29 +0000

Using fresh ground bean flour is one of my FAVORITE ways to eat healthy and save on fat and calories. I’ve always loved my mom’s homemade macaroni and cheese and now I have learned how to tweak this recipe to use different food storage items in two different versions:

Homemade Mac ‘N’ Cheese (w/ grains and powdered milk)

Ingredients:
1 lb macaroni noodles (BabyStep 5 : Grains)
1/4 c. butter
1/4 c. flour (BabyStep 5 : Grains)
1 c. milk (or 1 c. water, 3 T. powdered milk)
1 tsp. seasoned salt
cheese cubes (optional)
ham cubes (optional)

Directions:
Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain and set aside. Melt butter in large saucepan. Whisk in the flour until smooth. Slowly stir in milk until well mixed in. Add seasoned salt. Let cook for a little while until it starts to thicken. Add in the macaroni noodles. Add in a little more milk if it seems too thick. Can add more seasoned salt according to your family’s tastes. Add ham and cheese cubes right before serving.

Homemade Mac ‘N’ Cheese (w/ legumes and powdered milk)

Ingredients:
3 c. of macaroni noodles
5 T. of lima or other white bean flour (BabyStep 6 : Legumes)
1 c. of water
3/4 c. milk (or 3/4 c. water 2 T. powdered milk)
2 tsp. seasoned salt
cheese cubes (optional)
ham cubes (optional)

Directions:
Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain and set aside. Grind 1/4 c. of white beans in your wheat grinder to make about 5 T. of bean flour. Put 1 c. of water in large saucepan. Slowly whisk in ground bean flour. Continue to whisk frequently until starts to thicken and bubble. Slowly stir in milk until it’s a nice thickish liquid consistency. Add seasoned salt (the bean version tends to need more than the flour/butter version). Add in the macaroni noodles. Add in a little more milk if it seems too thick. Add ham and cheese cubes right before serving.

Confession time … While the bean flour version is still good (and my kids snarfed it up just like usual), I could actually tell a difference in this recipe. I prefer the fattening version, surprise surprise. hehe. But the bean flour version is a very good substitute and can save a TON of calories and fat!

Food Storage Recipes: Homemade Rice-A-Roni

Jodi — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 07:04:25 +0000

If you are anything like me, you may have wondered how come rice and pasta are some of the cheapest foods, and yet those little boxes of Rice-A-Roni or Pasta-Roni are so darn expensive. Now occasionally you may be able to use some creative couponing to get these boxed foods at drop-dead prices, but when your supplies run low, this cheap and easy alternative may be just the trick. As a side benefit, if you store your bulk items like rice and pasta properly, your shelf life on this will be much longer than a box of Rice-A-Roni.

Homemade Rice-A-Roni Recipe

from The Complete Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyczy

Ingredients:
2 c. rice
1 c. angel hair, vermicelli or spaghettini pasta, broken into very small pieces
¼ c. parsley
6 Tbsp. chicken bullion powder
2 tsp. onion powder
½ tsp. garlic powder
¼ tsp. thyme

Directions:
Combine all ingredients and mix well. To prepare: Melt 2 Tbsp. butter in a skillet. Add 1 c. of the mix and stir. Add 2 ¼ c. water. Bring to a boil. Reduce to low, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

For other ideas for homemade mixes check out the AWESOME Make-A-Mix book.

Recipe: Mexican Casserole – Food Storage Style

Julie — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 17:42:31 +0000

This recipe is a family favorite of my husbands- they call it Cowboy Delight. He asked me to make it one day, but I had no Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. A few weeks ago, I had bought some powdered cheese blend in a #10 can to give a try one day and had forgotten about it. Well – I figured this would definitely be a good recipe to try the cheese in since it was mixed with so many other things. It turned out fabulously.

Cowboy Delight – Mexican Casserole

Ingredients:
1 family size package Kraft macaroni and cheese
(I used 3 C macaroni, 1/2 C powdered cheese, 6 tsp butter, 6 tsp of powdered milk)
½ lb. lean hamburger (or turkey), browned (can use canned beef)
½ onion, chopped (can use dehydrated onion flakes)
1 can chili with beans
1 can tomato soup
1 T. chili powder
1 can corn
cheddar cheese, cubed (optional)
fritos (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350º. Cook kraft dinner according to directions in large pot. Meanwhile, brown hamburger with onion. Add to kraft dinner with remaining ingredients. Heat through. Pour into casserole dish and top with fritos. Cover and bake 30 minutes

My husband actually said he thought the noodles done this way was a little yummier. I also didn’t have a can of chili with beans- so I just put in a can of red beans and chili seasoning instead. It worked out just fine. Oh and also, the butter in the macaroni and cheese can be substituted with 1/4 C of butter powder – I just skip the butter altogether, but once I gave Jodi mac and cheese without butter and she spit it out- so in case you wanted to know- you can use powdered butter in mac and cheese too. This meal could also be made without meat and cheese for a “completely” shelf stable ingredients meal.