Make it From Scratch

One of the Relief Society’s monthly groups is called: Make it From Scratch in which some simple meals or foods are shown how they can be made at home from scratch instead of buying them. 

The March class showed us how to make hot fudge sauce, chocolate syrup (like Hershey’s), ice cream and homemade rice-a-roni.

Hot Fudge Sauce

1 cup butter

2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

3 cups sugar

1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk

Dash salt

1 tsp. vanilla

Combine butter, cocoa powder, sugar, milk and salt in a large saucepan.  Place over medium heat and bring to a boil.  Boil for 7 minutes.  Remove from heat.  Stir in vanilla.  Carefully poor hot mixture into a blender and blend for 2-4 minutes.  Serve immediately or store in refrigerator and reheat as needed.  Best if used quickly as it can tend to go grainy with time.

Chocolate Syrup (like Hershey’s)

1 cup water

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 cups sugar

Dash salt

1/4 tsp. vanilla

Whisk water and cocoa powder in large saucepan until smooth.  Add sugar and cook over medium heat until it boils.  Boil for 3 minutes.  Remove from heat and add salt and vanilla.  This will thicken as it cools.  Store in refrigerator

*Make sure you use a large enough pot as this tends to boil over in a smaller pot.             

Rich Vanilla Ice Cream

**Also known as French Vanilla**

3 cups half and half

1 cup sugar

4 egg yolks, beaten

1 cup whipping cream

1 tbl vanilla extract

In a heavy medium saucepan, combine half and half, sugar and beaten egg yolks.  Cook and stir over low heat until mixture coats a spoon and is slightly thickened.  Cool to room temperature.  Stir in whipping cream and vanilla.  Pour into ice cream canister.  Freeze in ice cream maker.  Makes 2 quarts.

Homemade Rice-a-roni

1 1/2 cup long grain rice (prefer jasmine)

1/2 cup vermicelli or spaghetti noodles broken into approximately 1/2" pieces

3/4 cube of butter, margarine, or 5 tbls olive oil

2-3 cloves of garlic, minced

2 tsp. Dehydrated minced onion

4 cups boiling water with 4 chicken or beef
bouillon cubes

4 tbs. Fresh parsley, or fresh cilantro, or 2 tsp dry Italian seasoning, or other seasonings compatible with Mexican, or oriental cuisine

OPTIONAL: red, green, or yellow bell pepper, chopped
olives, sliced or whole

Water chestnuts for oriental cuisine
chili beans for Mexican cuisine
chopped ham, chicken, turkey, or beef

In heavy skillet (that has a lid to cover tightly), melt butter or heat oil on medium high heat. When hot, add the rice, the pasta, and the garlic, stirring to prevent burning, but allowing it to brown nicely. Have hot water with melted bouillon ready to pour into the pan. Stir it into the rice and pasta. Add the dehydrated onion, the fresh herbs or veggies, or any dry seasonings, and any chopped meat, mixing well. Bring the mixture to a boil, then put on the tight lid, and turn off the burner. Let it set on the burner for 35-40 minutes before removing lid. You may stir in olives or water chestnuts before serving and garnish with any additional fresh herbs. Stir with a fork to break it up as you put it in a bowl. If you want it moister, just add a little more water the next time you prepare it. If less moist, use a little less water. 

I can’t wait to try out the Homemade rice-a-roni.  This will be a real treat. 

I wonder what awesome goodies our Relief Society sister’s have to share with us next time.

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September’s Food Storage Class

Last night’s food Storage class ended up being a  really nice cozy affair with a few in attendance but ate an amazing treat made for us by the Blazzard family in their Dutch oven.

Thank you Blazard family for the wonderful peach cobbler.

First I’ll give you a little Dutch oven history.  In my research I have found several different histories of the Dutch oven so you can decide which one you want to go by but I will give you a little of what I have found.

According to the to book you get when you first buy your Dutch oven from Lodge the “cast iron camp ovens cooked the food that kept America going.”  “The first iron kettles and pots date back to the 7th and 8th centuries, but by 16th century Europe, the art of casting iron was widespread and cast iron cookware had become a valued commodity.”

Paul Revere, a blacksmith and silversmith by profession, is credited with the flanged lid of the camp Dutch oven.  The flanged lid and bottom legs allow for a fire source to be under the pot and on the lid, making it an actual baking oven at the hearth of campfire.

In and article found in the New Era in 1974 “Dutch Oven Cooking” Sister Thomas says, “Dutch ovens are heavy, cast iron pots that pioneer families used for all types of cooking. Today they are still used by ranchers, prospectors, hunters, fishermen, smart New Era readers, and others who need simple but versatile outdoor cooking equipment.

The outdoor or open-fire Dutch oven has three legs to hold the oven above hot coals for cooking, and a flat lid with turned up edges that will hold coals on the lid for baking. The lid has a handle in the center that allows it to be lifted with a hook, claw hammer, pliers, or forked stick when it is hot or loaded with coals.

There is another type of Dutch oven known as the indoor Dutch oven. It is flat-bottomed with no legs and has a dome-shaped lid adapted for cooking on a stove or in the oven of a stove.”

Now that you have read a little history about the Dutch ovens lets talk about their importance with your food storage and how to use them. 

I have said many times before that your food storage is only as good as what you put into it and that you know how to use it.  Remember if you can’t cook your food storage why bother storing it.

Now with that said you can use your Dutch oven in four different ways: roasting, frying & boiling, baking, simmering & stewing.   All you need to do is check out the oodles of recipes out there or use some of your favorites from your own kitchen.

If you click here you will see a great Chart for Baking with your Dutch Oven by Lodge.

Now a quick little personal story for you all.  My family and I went to Yosemite last weekend in our new trailer but our trailer doesn’t have an oven so we decided instead to just buy Dutch ovens and get by that way.  So while we were in Yosemite we decided it was a great time to try out our new Dutch oven.  We pulled it out and dropped some food in and off the cooking started.  I’d say within half an hour give or take we had a great pork chop dinner with all of the fixin’s.

So here’s the food we put into the Dutch oven: pork chops, cut up potatoes, carrots, chopped celery, chopped onions, 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup and Worcestershire sauce.  This is a great example of how you can put together your own meal.

At our Food Storage class on last night two different handouts were given out to the class.  If you would like your own click here and here.

And if you haven’t already you should really go and check out the great article by Sister Thomas in the New Era about “Dutch Oven Cooking.”

I put together a book of several different pdfs that I found on the internet (with the help of Brother Bowman) and I had this with me in class as well.  If you too would like to see them here is a list that you can look at yourself:

Dutch Oven Cooking by Larry Hoffman

Dutch Ovens for Backpacking by John W. Russo & Dennis Schmitt

The Dutch Oven Cookbook by Mike Audleman

Ol’ Buffalo Camp Cook by Blaine S Nay

Dutch Oven Dinners by Troop 288

Dutch Oven Desserts by Troop 288

A Scout’s Guide to Dutch Oven Cooking by Roger Tipley

Dutch Oven Cooking by Ray Stern

Dutch Oven Cooking by Utah State University Extension Office

Dutch Oven Cooking

Now then here’s the great recipe Sister Blazzard used to make us the great Peach Cobbler for our treat at the end of class:

Blazzard Family Sundown Cobbler

1 cup flour

1 cup sugar

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 egg (if desired)

½ cup melted butter

1 quart fruit (2 cans)

Put butter into pan and let it melt in oven. Pour batter into pan after first mixing it in order given above. Use fruit or berries, canned, or fresh and sweetened. Pour this fruit over batter. Bake in a moderate oven (about 375°) until it is nicely browned and batter is done, about 30-45 minutes.

Serve plain or with cream or ice cream.  This cobbler works real well in a Dutch oven over the campfire too.

From the Kitchen of Silvia Farr Blazzard

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March Food Storage Class

In the month of March we talked about building your 3 month food supply using coupons to achieve this goal. 

The main reason I started this class off talking about coupons first is because you aren’t supposed to go into debt building your food storage so why not learn to build it up while saving money at the same time. 
For example there was a big sale on Instant Oatmeal at so we decided that this was a deal.  We were able to buy several boxes for $1.99 a box instead of the regular price of $4.99 a box.  That was just smart shopping and watch the sales ads but you can do the same or better with coupons.  I found a January grocery receipt a little while back that said we saved $72.00 of that almost $10.00 was just with coupons.  That may not seem like a lot but after a while it all adds up.

Here are some great coupon websites:
www.allyou.com
www.theobsessiveshopper.net
www.couponmom.com
**www.smartsource.com**
www.savvyshopperdeals.com
www.coupons.com
www.hotcouponworld.com
*www.shortcuts.com*
*www.pgesaver.com*
www.pgeverdaysolutions.com
www.couponmaster.com
www.pinchingyourpennies.com
www.couponsurfer.com
www.momsneedtoknow.com
**This is the same website as one of the coupon inserts in your weekly newspaper.**
*These coupons can be automatically added to your Safeway card for you. You just have to register and give your card number.*

This is just a small smidgen of what is out there.

I have taken done a lot of research on the best ways to store my coupons and trail and error to find the way that I really like best.  I will now share those ways with you but ultimately you will have to try this for yourself as well.

When I first started I used to cut out every coupon that came out in the mail and several off the internet.  Let’s just say that became very time consuming and tiresome.  Next I cut out just the coupons that I would use.  But there was no way of knowing what coupons I had or when they expired and I would usually forget.  Then one day while I was online checking out the girls from Food Storage Made Easy I came across a sister web site called The Obsessive Shopper.  A few tricks when it comes to using coupons: (according to Shauntell on Obsessive Shopper.net is 1. buy in bulk, 2. maximize your coupons, and 3. have multiple coupons.)  She tells you to have enough coupons for each person living in your home.  Think about it when you buy something for a recipe in your house how many items do you buy at a time?


The next thing that Shauntell tells you to do is to start the System.  The System has four parts 1. Organize you coupons (get coupons, file coupons and index coupons) 2. PreShop (what’s on sale, make your shopping list, 3. Shopping Day and 4. Tracking.  Shauntell has an excel spreadsheet that works with you to help you with these four steps.  Shauntell also talks about the Lists on her website; the Lists are a free service that helps you to see all that is on sale and what coupons are out there that can be used.  The Northern California List which shows the stores Wal-Mart, Safeway, Target, CVS Pharmacy, and Rite Aid from our area.  You just go to the list select that store and it will show you the sales for that store.  Go there and check this out for yourself.
The next part of class I talked about using coupons to start building your 3 month supply food storage.  But first I will ask you the question: what do you think is your 3 month supply for food storage is?

Here it is in a nutshell:
Three-Month Supply:
Build a small supply of food that is part of your normal, daily diet. Gradually increase your supply until it is sufficient for three months. These items should be rotated regularly to avoid spoilage. We consider foods stored in a freezer to count for your 3 month food supply.

Long Term Food Storage:
For longer-term needs, and where permitted, gradually build a supply of food that will last a long time and that you can use to stay alive, such as wheat, white rice, and beans. These items can last 30 years or more when properly packaged and stored in a cool, dry place. A portion of these items may be rotated in your three-month supply.

On the website Food Storage Made Easy they have a spreadsheet for you to start your 3 Month Food Supply so you can start to track the meals you eat the most often and your know what to store for those meals.

For example the picture below is a small snippet of my 3 Month Food Supply:

Now I will show you an example of three of our favorite meals:
Fajita Skillet
2-3 chicken breasts
Spanish rice a roni
16 oz jar salsa
1/2 a salsa jar of water
2 tablespoon margarine
tortillas
cheese
avocado
Cut up and cook the chicken breasts, then set aside.  Cook the rice with the margarine until golden brown.  After the rice is browned add the seasoning, a jar of salsa, half a jar of water and the chicken.  Reduce the temp. and boil covered for 15 minutes.  Once done put into tortillas and top with cheese and avocado.  Enjoy!!!

Chicken Pesto Pasta
2-3 chicken breasts
a box of pasta
1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup milk
1 pkg. Knorr creamy pesto
Cut up and cook chicken.  In a sauce pan put the milk, olive oil and creamy pesto sauce in a pot.  Cook with the directions.  Cook the pasta.  When everything is done combine them all together and top with parmesan cheese if you wish.  Enjoy!!!

Beef Enchiladas

enchilada seasoning (I prefer the Lawry’s)
a can tomato paste
water
1 lb. ground beef
cheese
tortillas
The recipe usually depends on how many people are eating it and how much leftovers I want to have.  This is a huge family favorite.  For the most part you can follow the directions on the seasoning pouch.  Enjoy!!!

These three are just a small sampling of the meals I have stored up for.  After you fill out your 3 Month Food Supply you will too know how much you need to store of you favorites.

Building your food storage is not just for environmental disaster but also for economic and conveyance.  If you or your spouse lose your job and money is then tight you won’t have to worry about feeding yourself right away because you will have food stored up for 3 months.  Also, if you forget to plan for dinner and you notice that it is time to cook and don’t know what to start you will know that you have food stored up and can start right away.  This last one also works with unexpected company.

The Homework for this class was to fill out your own 3 Month Food Supply Spreadsheets.

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