Recipes for Food Storage Casseroles

There were a couple of requests for the recipes I used at the presentation we gave to the High Priest/Elders last Sunday so here ya go!

All three recipes, Turkey A La King, Tuna Casserole & Chicken Shepard's Pie use a white or cream type sauce. I find that they're interchangeable in many recipes.

1. When using food storage a white sauce can be made using butter powder, flour & milk. I just combine the flour & butter powder, add a little cold milk (reconstitute powdered milk, morning moo, whey etc.) & whisk until mixed, then put on heat and continue to whisk remaining liquids in until desired consistency is achieved.

2. Also another thing I've done is just use milk, (again whatever kind of reconstituted milk product you've stored), put 2 c in the blender then add 2 - 3 rounded tablespoons of instant clear jel or ultimate gel (these are modified corn starch products that thicken in cold liquid) and blend until "sauce" is desired consistency. I've also cheated when I've run out of sour cream for my Beef Stroganoff and added 1T of vinegar to this concoction and have been satisfied with the results. I don't know that I'd put it on my baked potato tho!

3. When I'm looking for a sauce that I'll be using with chicken and I want to accentuate the "chickeny" flavor, I use the amount of milk/liquid required in the recipe and then add prepared gravy mix such as McCormick's Poultry Gravy Mix (I get this at Costco), or Chef Bonneau's White Gravy (available at Highland Health, Andy's) along w/ 1 t. chicken bouillon until I get the thickness/consistency I desire. Because I have a tendency to do this rather frequently I finally broke down & bought a couple of #10 cans of chicken gravy from Blue Chip/Augason Farms when they were having their fall sale. A more economical solution for my "lazy" sauce days!

4. Jean Harris, who owned the Bosch Kitchen Store, used to teach a class on soups and also included her recipes for cream soups in the stake cookbook that was published several years ago.  This can be used in place of condensed soups you may include in your recipes (Campbell's Cream of Mushroom, Cream of Chicken etc.) The base recipe is:

Jean's Cream Soup Mix
2 cups instant nonfat dry milk
1 c cornstarch
3 T low-sodium instant chicken bouillon granules
2 T instant minced onion
1/2 t thyme leaves, crushed
1/4 t pepper
Mix together and store in an airtight container. Keep on hand for convenience.

To reconstitute the mix to equal one can of condensed cream soup use:
1/3 c dry Cream Soup Mix
1 1/4 c water or skim milk
Combine soup mix and water or milk in small pan. Bring to boil and stir until thick. This equals 1 can condensed soup. Add mushrooms etc. to make whatever Cream of ---- soup you desire.

Cream soup mix can be added to casseroles or soup and it will thicken as it cooks.

5. There are many prepared, dry, soup mixes available today. Costco has some yummy Bear Creek Potato/Broccoli type soups but my new "favorite" is the #10 can of Cream of Mushroom Soup Mix I picked up at Blue Chip/Augason Farms this fall. I've mentioned I've become a lazy cook, yes? Anyway this rehydrates at a rate of 1/3c mix to 1 1/8 c water. I'm using that now instead of Campbell's Condensed Cream of Mushroom. The #10 can has a 10 year shelf life (sealed) and 1 year shelf life once opened.

That being said, in the following recipe from Betty Crocker's Cookbook. I used sauce #1 instead of what the recipe calls for and you can add either the canned mushrooms or 1/2c f.d./dehydrated mushrooms, 1/2 c frozen chopped green peppers or f.d./dehydrated green peppers, and canned or f.d. turkey. In this recipe I used one 12.5 can of turkey. And yes, I do keep 4 oz. jars of chopped pimento in my food storage!

Turkey A La King

1 can (4 oz.) mushroom pcs. (reserve liquid)
1 sm. green pepper, chopped ~ 1/2 c
1/2 c marg. or butter
1/2 c flour
1 t salt
1 t pepper
1 1/2 t instant chicken bouillon
1 1/2 c milk
1 1/2 c hot water
2 c cut-up cooked turkey (or chicken)
1 jar (4 oz.) chopped pimiento, drain
Toast, hot mashed potatoes, cooked rice or noodles

Cook & stir mushrooms and green pepper in margarine over medium heat 5 minutes, remove from heat. Blend in flour, salt & pepper. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is bubbly; remove from heat. Stir in instant bouillon, milk, water and reserved mushroom liquid. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil & stir 1 minute. Stir in turkey and pimiento; heat through. Serve over rice, toast etc.

In my version of this, I make the sauce first (#1), add the bouillon, mushrooms & green peppers, & seasonings then bring to a back to a boil, stir in turkey & pimiento until heated and serve over rice.

When a Sister asked for my tuna casserole recipe I just kinda cringed because I do that thing my grandmother used to do...a dash of this and that...so the following amounts are estimates, adjust to taste! (I use only frozen or freeze dried peas as I have a real problem w/the taste of store bought canned peas and don't even put them in my rotation. Also, originally I used canned cream of mushroom soup but I switched to the milk/clear jel sauce as Will usually eats all the Campbell's soups in the house before I can get to them!

Tuna Noodle Casserole

~ 1 lb. rotini pasta noodles cooked & drained
2 - 5 oz. cans of tuna, drained
~ 3/4 c. f.d. mushrooms, may also use canned
1 to 2 c. frozen peas
~ 3 c. #2 sauce (above)
1 t. chicken bouillon
1 T instant minced onion
~ 1/2 c. Parmesan cheese
salt & pepper to taste

Combine tuna, mushrooms, peas, sauce, bouillon, & onion together. Mix w/drained noodles. Adjust seasoning. Turn into 9x13 pan, top w/ Parmesan cheese and bake in oven at 350 until hot thru, about 30 minutes.

Finally, Shepard's Pie. One of the things I have trouble keeping fresh in my frig. is celery. I always buy it, use a piece or two, then forget about it and by the time I think about using it next the stalk needs to be thrown away. For many of my soups and casseroles I have just taken to substituting 1 t of celery seed. I still get the nice celery taste but don't have to deal w/limp celery stalks and the celery seed works great for food storage. I used the gravy sauce #3 for this. Also, last Sunday the "meat" was chicken TVP but any other kind, canned/frozen will do as long as it is cooked and cut into bite size pieces.

Shepard's Pie

1 1/2 c chicken TVP bits
 (reconstitute w/ chicken broth)
2 c mixed vegetables frozen or canned
1/2 c mushrooms, canned or freeze dried
1/2 c dehydrated onion pcs.
1 t celery seed
1 t thyme
salt & pepper to taste
2-3 c potato pearls
paprika

Pour chicken broth over TVP bits until they are covered. Set aside for ~ 20 minutes. (Bouillon that is not absorbed may go into your gravy.) Make potato pearls by adding 1:2 ratio of potatoes to water. Stir & set aside. Meanwhile make ~ 3 c chicken gravy sauce. It needs to have enough body to hold vegetables and chicken together without being a stiff, yucky paste. Add drained TVP, mixed vegetables, mushrooms, onions, celery seed & thyme to gravy. Season. Turn into 9x13 pan.  Top with potatoes, spread gently with back of spoon to cover meat/vegetable mixture. Sprinkle small amount of paprika over top. Bake in 350 oven until bubbling around edges ~30 minutes.

Seven Major Mistakes in Food Storage

We were at my favorite "emergency preparedness" store. I clutched the #10 can of Brownie Mix to my chest. The husband grinned - he likes brownies.

Do I need a couple of 'spendy' cans of brownie mix. Not realllly. I have the ingredients to make them from scratch. But I keep the cans on hand so that if there is an emergency, the electricity goes off, or there is an ice storm and we can't get to the store and just want to grab some quick comfort food to make - it's there.

The husband can be as happy as he wants to see them in the cart but the reality is he's probably not going to have these particular brownies for 5 - 10 years. If we're lucky he'll only eat them when I have to rotate them.

I like to keep a variety of food stuffs on hand. That way I have to learn to cook with them and have recipes that I know work. Plus if we do find ourselves in a situation where we have to use our year's supply on a regular basis no one will suffer from the appetite fatigue that can set in from having too little variety.

I found a good article about things to think about while you're building your food storage at USA Emergency Supply. If you click on the following link you can read about Seven Major Mistakes in Food Storage .

Hope it gives you some good ideas.

Where To Begin

We should begin by following the Prophet's counsel. We only need to read the news to be aware that many unplanned interruptions of life can occur such as:

- natural disasters
- terrorism
- labor strikes
- economic depression
- drought
- crop failure
- personal tragedy
- civil unrest
- layoffs/unemployment
- electrical outages
- snow storms

The list goes on. There is no need to be an alarmist but we have been told that we need to be prepared in case difficulties arise in our lives, and even if we only have to cope with a two day electrical outage, wouldn't it be nice to know that we're ready to handle it?

If you research how to go about being prepared there are so many ideas on where to go and what to do. I think the first thing we have to acknowledge is that everyone has different needs. Everyone is at different stages - not only on food storage and what we and our families like to eat but on personal preparedness in general. There is not a one size fits all plan. This is certainly not the only blog or information source on the subject! My hope is that we'll be able to give you some ideas on where to go, what to do and as opportunities arise for group purchases or we're made aware of good deals to be had, that they can be shared here, and you'll utilize what works best for you and your family.

That being said I feel it's most important to make sure that we follow the counsel of our church leaders:

For those in the early stages of food storage preparations, the first thing they are asking us to do now is start modestly and begin a 3 month supply of food. They suggest this be items that you normally eat and currently have in your cupboards. They suggest buying a few extra cans or boxes of food each week, or time you shop, until you have your 3 month supply. (Then start rotating them and keep rotating them!) 

Also store water that is safe to drink and save some money, "if only a few coins each week" and expand these initial efforts - as individual circumstances allow and where permitted, then begin storing a longer term supply of basics such as grains, beans, and other staples.

They stress that it is not prudent to go to extremes or go into debt to establish your home storage all at once. Gradually build reserves over time as financial resources and space permit. You might also want to assess your current supplies of warm clothing, fuel, hygiene & medical items.
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