Please note: This is part of a series of reviews we are doing on food storage, emergency prep, and self-reliance type books. For more reviews click here.

Dinner Is In The Jar Quick, Easy Dinner Mixes in Mason Jars or Mylar Bags by Kathy Clark

Background: If you know Jodi and me, you would be surprised at how much we differ, while being very similar at the same time.  When my husband and I met, he told Jodi (his sister) – “I met a girl I know you’re going to like- she’s just like YOU!” When it comes to cooking, meal planning and recipes however; the only thing we have in common is our deep and abiding love for Cadbury mini-eggs- which you would know about if you were a Facebook Fan.  Anyways, I’m SO not into recipes. I wing meal planning, make things up, and barely measure stuff.   Since incorporating food storage into my daily cooking however, I have found myself using more recipes and was even EXCITED to review this book.   “Dinner Is In The Jar” is filled with meal mix recipes that can be easily stored in mason jars or mylar bags.  By following the instructions, recipes, and guides you can create a suppy of easily prepared dinners using food storage ingredients for emergencies and convenience.  A lot of the recipes have add-ons like meat, or cheese for when you are actually making them, but most of the ingredients are in fact “In The Jar”.

What I Liked: What I liked most about this book is the simplicity and instructions.  Each recipe has a list of ingredients to put in your mason jar or mylar bag.  With each recipes comes a page with labels you can photocopy that have the instructions for actually cooking the meal when the time comes.  I also liked a lot of the meal ideas.  They were meals that you would like eating and that sounded N-O-R-M-A-L.  I’m not into fancy hard recipes.

Favorite Tip: My favorite tip is the step-by-step instructions on how to use mylar bags instead of mason jars.  Mason jars can be expensive and using mylar bags is a great alternative.  Kathy even suggests giving these as gifts and I could totally see myself decorating the labels, tying ribbons around them and using them as neighbor gifts come Christmas.

Feedback: If I had one suggestion for getting the most out of this book, I would plan on preparing the mixes in a group with friends, family members or neighbors. Some mixes require a lot of different spices or ingredients and I imagine buying the stuff in bulk would make it more cost effective.  If you don’t plan on making these in a group setting, then probably plan on making large quantity of a few recipes, rather then a few of each kind of recipe – did that makes sense?

Summary: For someone looking to make pre-made mixes and have easy to use instructions, recipes, and labels “Dinner In A Jar” is AWESOME!

-Jodi Weiss Schroeder
http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net