Andrea

Sprouted Wheat Crackers

recipe comes from the Dead Sea Scrolls

2 cups sprouted wheat (about 1/4 inch long sprouts)

Grind with meat grinder or food chopper; liquefy in blender or pound with tamper on hollowed out log or rock.

The mashed wheat can be flavored to make a sweet cracker by adding honey, brown sugar, or any sweetener then sprinkled with cinnamon.

A savory cracker can be made by adding onion, garlic, or other herb salts.

Spread mashed mixture about 1/8 inch thick on well greased Teflon cookie sheet and bake in 300 degree oven for about 2 hours or spread out on rock or flat wood surface in the hot sun until crunchy, about 2 to 3 hours.

(My note: I bet you could make these in a dehydrator as well)

From The Amazing Wheat Book by LeArta Moulton

How to make Bulghur

Cracked dried cooked wheat, or bulghur, rehydrates and cooks quickly when added to casseroles.

Ingredients:

2 cups slow-cooked wheat

Prepare cooked wheat. Preheat oven to 150F. Spread wheat in a 13" x 9" baking pan. Bake 2 hours or longer with oven door ajar until wheat is dried. Process dried cooked wheat in a blender or food processor until wheat is cracked. When added to casseroles or dishes having excess moisture, 1/2 cup bulghur will absorb 1/2 cup liquid. Bulghur can also be boiled 5 to 10 minutes with an equal amount of water. Bulghur doubles in volume when rehydrated with an equal amount of water. Makes about 1 cup.

(My note - I don't see why you couldn't use a dehydrator instead of the oven)

from Cooking with Stored Foods

Hamburger and Wheat Casserole

1 lb. lean ground beef

1/2 cup hot water

2 tablespoons dried chopped onion

1 tablespoon dried chopped green peppers

2 tablespoons dried chopped mixed vegetables

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon ground marjoram

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 to 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning

3/4 cup bulghur

2 cups boiling water

1 cup tomato juice

1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce

In a large skillet, lightly brown ground beef*. Add 1/2 cup hot water, onion, peppers, vegetable flakes, salt, cumin, marjoram, black pepper, and poultry seasoning. Simmer over medium heat 5 minutes. Preheat oven to 325F. In a 3-quart casserole, combine meat mixture, bulghur, 2 cups boiling water, tomato juice, and tomato sauce. Bake uncovered about 1- 1 1/2 hours until bulghur is tender. If casserole has absorbed most of liquid after 1 hour, cover for final 30 minutes. Makes about 6 servings.

from Cooking with Stored Foods

* I've made something similar using a pint of seasoned ground beef or turkey from the Ball Recipe Book. I've also done something similar using black beans instead of the beef or adding it to the beef. I usually ditch the poultry seasoning, add a lot more cumin and some chili powder, and instead of tomato juice and sauce, I'll use two pints of home-canned salsa. If I made my own bulghur and used my home canned foods, this would be an ultimate stored foods recipe.

(Sorry for the double post - it's also in the wheat thread. I occasionally use a modified version of this recipe and I'd like to be able to locate it easily)

How to make Bulghur

Cracked dried cooked wheat, or bulghur, rehydrates and cooks quickly when added to casseroles.

Ingredients:

2 cups slow-cooked wheat

Prepare cooked wheat. Preheat oven to 150F. Spread wheat in a 13" x 9" baking pan. Bake 2 hours or longer with oven door ajar until wheat is dried. Process dried cooked wheat in a blender or food processor until wheat is cracked. When added to casseroles or dishes having excess moisture, 1/2 cup bulghur will absorb 1/2 cup liquid. Bulghur can also be boiled 5 to 10 minutes with an equal amount of water. Bulghur doubles in volume when rehydrated with an equal amount of water. Makes about 1 cup.

(My note - I don't see why you couldn't use a dehydrator instead of the oven)

from Cooking with Stored Foods

Hamburger and Wheat Casserole

1 lb. lean ground beef

1/2 cup hot water

2 tablespoons dried chopped onion

1 tablespoon dried chopped green peppers

2 tablespoons dried chopped mixed vegetables

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon ground marjoram

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 to 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning

3/4 cup bulghur

2 cups boiling water

1 cup tomato juice

1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce

In a large skillet, lightly brown ground beef*. Add 1/2 cup hot water, onion, peppers, vegetable flakes, salt, cumin, marjoram, black pepper, and poultry seasoning. Simmer over medium heat 5 minutes. Preheat oven to 325F. In a 3-quart casserole, combine meat mixture, bulghur, 2 cups boiling water, tomato juice, and tomato sauce. Bake uncovered about 1- 1 1/2 hours until bulghur is tender. If casserole has absorbed most of liquid after 1 hour, cover for final 30 minutes. Makes about 6 servings.

from Cooking with Stored Foods

* I've made something similar using a pint of seasoned ground beef or turkey from the Ball Recipe Book. I've also done something similar using black beans instead of the beef or adding it to the beef. I usually ditch the poultry seasoning, add a lot more cumin and some chili powder, and instead of tomato juice and sauce, I'll use two pints of home-canned salsa. If I made my own bulghur and used my home canned foods, this would be an ultimate stored foods recipe. (In fact, I think I'll add this post to that thread)

I'm trying to keep our food storage rotated but it's not always easy to keep things rotated and keep my family happy! Last night I improvised a food storage turkey pot pie. It turned out pretty good and I was able to throw it together in about 20 minutes.

Food Storage Turkey Pot Pie

Crust:
Combine
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
4 Tablespoons shortening or margarine (I only used 2)
1 cup sour cream or yogurt (increase flour by 2 T if using yogurt) (I used reconstituted powdered sour cream)
2 egg, beaten (I used dehydrated & reconstituted)

Stir together. May be slightly lumpy. Spread thinly with back of spoon on bottom and sides of shallow greased 12'x9' casserole dish. Reserve a bit to put "dollops" on top. (Crust may be stirred together in advance. Refrigerate until ready to use) Also, don't worry about the crust sliding down the sides of the pan, when you put the filling in, it forces the "crust" back up the sides of the pan! (This crust recipe is from the More with Less Cookbook - I simply doubled it and used food storage items for the dairy)

Filling:

1/2 cup butter, shortening, lard

1 cup reconstituted, well-drained onion or fresh chopped onion

3/4 cup flour

salt & pepper to taste

2 cups milk (I used powdered milk)

broth from 1 quart of turkey canned in broth (maybe 1 1/2 - 2 cups? proportions don't need to be exact)

turkey from quart, diced

2 cans of mixed vegetables, rinsed and drained (and a significant portion of the gross carrots picked out and composted!)

Any other leftovers - I used an additional cup of leftover peas from the fridge.

Dash of tobasco

Melt butter on low in large saucepan. Stir in onion and cook until opaque. Stir in flour and salt & pepper. Stir constantly until mixture is blended and pasty. Add broth from canned turkey, raise heat and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Mixture should be quite thick. Remove from heat, stir in milk, place back on burner and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add additional salt if needed and the tobasco to taste. Stir in turkey and vegetables. Pour into casserole slowly so the crust will creep back up the sides of the pan. By teaspoon, drop dollops of leftover crust mix haphazardly over the casserole. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes, until crust is a golden brown and pie filling is hot and bubbly.

Bump - we're having rice & bean burritos on Sunday. Going to try these!

I sprout my wheat berries, dehydrate them, and then grind them into flour for bread. They are pretty crunchy straight out of the dehydrator and I'm not sure my body would digest them very easily. I've attempted to throw them into soups and chili but my family didn't care for them that way. The best way I've found to sneak them into our diet is to mix cooked wheat berries into a cold corn salad. I also make a black bean and bulgar dish that my husband loves, but again, bulgar is easier to digest than whole berries.

I've been watching this thread with interest - I have a LOT of hard red wheat berries in storage and we're not using them nearly fast enough. (Good thing they store forever!)

WELCOME! What a wonderful introduction!I look forward to getting to know you and your daughter and listening to your fowl stories!

Thanks for the idea, Suzyq322 - I'm passing this one on to my daughter!

Welcome Mr. Annarchy! (I think?)

I've been getting the virus pop-up for the past several months. I stayed away for several weeks and finally decided to just ignore it.

My fingers are crossed for you, I hope you get it!

A few weeks ago I was really sick with the flu, couldn't hold anything down, all I wanted was a bowl of plain pinto beans and cornbread!

Does it have to stick together? Can it be sort of a meat salad, like you make with tuna? You don't have to use mayo as a binding ingredient. I've used hummus or fat free sour cream in the past. But as far as creating something bologna or salami like, I'm stumped. You could try making a meatloaf maybe by grinding the meat and then binding it together with eggs and oatmeal (lots of spice too). You wouldn't need or want to cook as long as you would meatloaf made from uncooked meat, but it might work?

I think I'm going to jury rig a bucket/hose system from the upstairs bathroom shower so that we can collect the water that is currently wasted while we wait for it to heat up. It won't look great, but the upstairs bath is only used by family and if water restrictions are tightened here in California, I want to be able to keep my perennial edibles alive at the very least. So, I need a rain barrel or two to collect the water. The bathroom is conveniently located right above my garden, which is in the back yard so I don't have to worry about being noticed, although someone might notice the garden house running down the wall.

I went to price rain barrels and they are stupidly expensive. I think I can make three for the price of purchasing one. Have any of you ever made one? If so, any tips?

I'm thinking about something along these lines:

http://www.bhg.com/gardening/yard/tools/make-a-rain-barrel-save-water/

ROFL!

The last two nights we've had rice crust quiche. For $2.50 I was able to make onion, garlic, and kale quiche thanks to scoring some outdated cheese for $1,49/lb. So, I'm over kappydell's budget. I'm going to have to try harder!

LOL - Yes, I saw that episode! That's where I first learned about tree collards!

Jeepers - yes, that's exactly what I was afraid of!

CGA - THANK YOU. I don't know why I didn't think of that, that could very possibly work!

Philbe - Late Fall, winter, and early spring are the only time I can grow lettuce outdoors here. And this year, with the crazy lows at night and the record breaking heat during the day, my lettuce was confused, as were the snails/slugs. My problem with DE is that it kills the good bugs as well as the bad bugs. I try to use almost no pesticides, including organic controls, like DE. The one exception to this is that when I put out my beans and squash, I will sprinkle some Sluggo around the young seedlings. This is the only control I use. I'd like to say it's because I'm such a strong steward for the Earth, but the reality is that I'm a lazy gardener. I don't have time to fuss daily with all the plants I grow. As a result, only plants that are bug resistant tend to have a place in my yard. This year, my one exception are the two types of potatoes I'm planting - as soon as they're done in June, those 8'x4' beds will become empty. In fact, I may turn one into a compost pile. But this is to accommodate water restrictions due to the drought here in California. I'm hoping the potatoes won't need to be watered more than once or twice a week. While the tomatoes and peppers I usually plant, are water hogs. But I digress . . .

My garden contains plants that are pretty impervious to bugs. I can't grow spinach either because of the bug problem. So, I grow chiogga beets, kale, and New Zealand spinach (the bugs avoid these plants) as my spinach substitutes. The chiogga beet greens are lovely, btw, and not beety tasting at all!

But lettuce is a tricky crop here in Central California, the climate is not really suited for it. And other than the little I manage to scavenge from the slugs, it's the one crop that we would really financially benefit from my being able to produce simply because we eat so much of it. (Produce is cheap here compared to other parts of the country. Or at least it was before the drought ) So, I'm going to try and produce it indoors. I've bought a "grow light" (a clamp on metal work light and a full spectrum bulb) Now I just need to clean off the downstairs porch area and get to work! I love CGA's plastic sheet idea, but because the bathroom is upstairs, I think in the long run if I can set up a place downstairs, my lettuce will stay cooler and be less likely to bolt.

Wish me luck - I think I'm going to go and make some headway now!

 

KING AND DUNGENESS CRAB MEAT

It is recommended that blue crab meat be frozen instead of canned for best quality.

Crab meat canned according to the following procedure may have a distinctly acidic flavor

and freezing is the preferred method of preservation at this time.

http://nchfp.uga.edu/publications/usda/GUIDE%205%20Home%20Can.pdf

Philbe - nice to know that Putting Foods By has been updated! I have an older edition that I stopped using because some of the recipes are no longer considered safe (and I had all 12 jars of the apple pie in a jar ooze all over my pantry because of an unsafe ingredient.) Thanks for the update! I'm going to put it on my wishlist.

Sorry, I never got around to updating this thread! I ended up making three batches of lemon balm tincture (triple distilled), which was far more than I need, LOL. I'm not fond of the the smell of the 100 proof vodka and my end product turned the same unattractive shade of brown as the commercial product, but the stuff works. I usually put it in my chamomile tea at night, especially those nights when my mind is racing with a thousand and one things I need to do. The lemon balm actually helps me to relax and focus. And since lemon balm is a fever reducer, I'll often increase the dose and give it to my daughter mixed with a liberal amount of honey and her favorite lemon tea when she's sick.

A good thing to have on hand. I really need to get started on making an elderberry tincture next. I've heard though that the tiny stems are toxic, so I need to research and see if I need to remove all the stems before starting the tincture. I have several bags of elderberries still in my freezer that I haven't processed yet because of those stupid little stems . . .

Any thoughts?

Yep, 1/2 pints and pints have the same processing time.

FYI - I have a problem with jalapenos and other really hot peppers - the fumes from the fresh peppers make my air passages constrict. So, to avoid death , anytime I have a recipe that calls for fresh peppers, I use whatever mild peppers I have growing in my garden and then I add pepper flakes for heat. Works quite well and it's easy to control the heat in my recipes.

http://www.bhg.com/recipes/healthy/dinner/cheap-heart-healthy-dinner-ideas/

http://www.ehow.com/how_10040837_feed-family-six-35-per-week.html

 

The first night I made liver & onions, baked beans and steamed broccoli.

 

The second day I made salmon patties (from canned sale salmon), fried home potatoes and green beans.

 

Night 3 was chicken legs, dressing, carrots and slaw.

 

Dinner 4 was chicken sloppy joes, leftover slaw and baked apples.

 

Yesterday was creamed tuna over toast, corn on the cob and 3 bean salad.

 

Tonight will be stir fried rice with veggies and chicken and a side salad.

 

(Needless to say everything was purchased on sale and some was from my stockpile of canned goods. I still have cases of canned veggies bought for 29 cents a can. The chicken is chicken dark quarters on sale for 59 cents a pound when you buy 10 pounds. The carrots, potatoes and slaw were all from fresh veggies on sale. I buy the old fashioned produce and peel and cut up by hand. Green peppers and corn are from last years garden )

 

I fear Mountain Man would take over the cooking :-( Neither of us will touch liver (or any organ meats), he won't eat any kind of fish patties, wants his fish so he can see it :-) and lastly (and ghastly) I don't like tuna and barely get it down when I make it into a tuna casserole or tuna salad mixture w/some apples to tone it down. I know, I know...all you others think we're nuts. But, this particular array of meals wouldn't work for us :=(

 

Philbe, come up with your own $3.00 meal plans that fit into your eating style. I think this is a great opportunity for all of us! Come on, I challenge you! (especially if you post your recipes here afterwards -LOL - I'm always on the lookout for ways to feed my family for less)

I find it funny when grocery stores carefully arrange their deli items and then advertise them as "Dinner for only $15.00!" Give me a break - Momo can eat dinner for FIVE days on that amount!

Again, awesome thread/challenge, Momo!

Thanks Momo! I think this is an awesome challenge! Don't forget the stir-fry - this is my go to, super cheap meal! I sprout my own mung beans, sliced celery (it grows all over the yard - almost as prolific as lemon balm at self-seeding!), jerusalem artichokes, cabbage or kale, sliced onions, sliced peppers (rehydrated from last years garden),a can of chicken, and lots of spices. Serve over steamed rice and dinner is done! I'm guessing that it is easily under $3.00:

$1.75 canned chicken (optional - I've been known to use cooked white beans as my protein, you could also use your 59cent/lb chicken legs)

.50 rice

.75 (whatever vegetables I don't grow)

$3.00 max

I'm going to look at my schedule and challenge myself to a week of this after all of our out of town trips are out of the way. I'm pretty good about sticking to this anyway, we eat lots of soups/stews, salad, and homemade bread for dinner which fits nicely into the $3.00 budget.

But, I'm afraid I have to side with Philbe on the liver & onions. I couldn't stomach the idea of eating another animals poison filter even when I wasn't "mostly" vegetarian. Now, it pretty much gags me.

Thanks again for the challenge suggestion! Except for the liver & onions, this is awesome!

Awwww, you have to get well as quickly as possible so you can get back to your little guy! (((Cat)))