CHICKEN A LA KING

Using only food storage items

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup reconstituted butter powder or Ghee
• 8 ounces reconstituted freeze dried or dehydrated mushrooms
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups canned chicken broth or 3 tablespoons of powdered chicken bouillon mixed into 2 cups water.
• 1 1/2 cups reconstituted powder milk or evaporated milk
• 1 cup freeze dried peas
• 1 cup chopped pimentos, or chopped freeze dried red/green bell peppers
• 4 cups chopped freeze dried chicken or drained canned chicken 

Directions

1. Melt butter/ghee in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add drained mushrooms and saute till soft.
2. Add flour and stir until there are no more specks of flour left.  Stir and cook for about 2 minutes to brown the flour.  Pour in chicken broth and milk and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low and simmer until sauce is thickened.
3. Stir in freeze dried peas, drained pimentos/peppers, and chicken.  Simmer for about 3 minutes until everything is heated through.
4. Serve hot over cooked rice, pasta, toast or biscuits.

I served it over toasted homemade wheat bread

If your power goes off and you don't want to be opening your fridge or freezer..  Here's a delicious meal that can be on the table in 30 minutes or less, using ingredients that are in your pantry or long term food storage.

I used a small can of store bought chicken, my own dehydrated mushrooms, small jar of pimentos and a can of evaporated milk.

Bon Appetit

Impossible Buttermilk Pie

• 1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup buttermilk 
• 1/2 cup biscuit mix such as Bisquick
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 3 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• pinch nutmeg  

Preheat oven to 350 and spray a 9' pie pan with none stick spray such as Pam

Beat together egg, buttermilk, melted butter, vanilla and sugar till smooth, add the biscuit mix and nutmeg,  beat till smooth and lump free.

Pour into prepared pie pan and bake for 30 to 40 minutes or till brown.

Cool for 10 minutes before slicing.. 

ONE POT OVEN BAKED CORN BEEF

6 hours cooking time

It sounds like a long time but slow cooking makes the brisket tender

• Preheat oven to 275 degrees
• Open meat package and toss the seasoning package.. you won't be needing it
• Rinse the meat under running water to remove excess salt and blood
• Pat meat dry and place fat side up in a cast iron skillet that has a lid. (or use foil)
• Cover and bake for 4 hours
• While the meat is baking slice several Brussels sprouts in half, place them into a bowl and add either fingerling potatoes or cubed red potatoes, a few sprigs of thyme, garlic powder, salt and pepper.. drizzle olive oil over all and toss.
• At the end of 4 hours remove meat from oven and place veggie mix around the meat, cover and return to oven for an additional 2 hours.

I like serving it in the skillet and adding corn on the cob as a second side.

Raisin Bran Bread for Bread Machine

RAISIN BRAN BREAD

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup plus 1 tablespoon water

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons butter, softened

1 1/2 cups raisin bran cereal

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

2-1/4 cups all purpose flour

2-1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

1 teaspoon gluten

1/2 cup rasins

DIRECTIONS:

Place first 9 ingredients in bread machine pan in order suggested by manufacturer.. Select basic bread setting, choose crust color and 1.5 pound loaf size.

Check dough after 5 minutes of mixing, add 1-2 tablespoons water or flour if needed.

When machine beeps for fruit and nuts, add the raisins.

Yields 1 loaf (1-1/2 pounds, 16 slices)

Bread Machine Sweet Potato Bread

To make a one pound loaf you will need:

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup cooked and mashed sweet potato
1/4 cup oil of your choice.. I used peanut oil
1 egg
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 cup chopped nuts
1/2 cup raisins, chopped dates or dried cranberries or a mix of all three.
2 tablespoons water

Mix all ingredients in a bowl, remove the paddle from the baking pan, pour batter into pan and set machine to bake only.. my machine bakes for 1 hour.. at that time using a toothpick or a knife check to see if the center is done, if not then reset machine to bake again and check every few minutes.. My loaf took 1 hour and 20 minutes.. 
When bread is done in center, press stop on the machine and dump the bread out onto a wire rack to cool.

You can also make this using the quick bread setting on your machine.. 
Leave the paddle in the machine, add all ingredients and set machine to quick bake, it will both mix and bake the bread.. 
at the end of the baking cycle, check the center of the bread and if its not done yet then set the machine to the bake setting and let it continue baking, checking ever so often till the inside of the bread is no longer sticky.

Before baking I sprinkled pumpkin seeds on top, you could sprinkle on chopped nuts or nothing at all.. you're choice.

Bread Machine Cinnamon Raisin Bread

Cinnamon Raisin Bread

I converted this recipe from a very old 1963 Better Homes & Gardens bread book that I bought years ago at a book sale..  I made a few changes to the recipe but basically its pretty much identical to the original recipe.. I did  cut the recipe in half to make a one pound loaf.. I also added a cinnamon sugar swirl to the middle and I soaked the raisins in boiling water to soften them, plus added nuts.

RECIPE:

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons of milk

1 egg

2 tablespoons butter cut into small slivers

2 tablespoons sugar

3/4 teaspoons salt

1 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour

1 1/4 teaspoons active dry years

ADD IN'S

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1 tablespoon of cinnamon mixed into 1 tablespoon white sugar.

If you want soft raisins, pour hot water over them and let sit till ready to use then drain well.

DIRECTIONS:

Place all ingredients (except raisins, nuts and cinnamon sugar) into bread machine starting with liquid first, ending with yeast last..  

Set the machine on dough cycle and let it knead for 10 to 15 minutes then add in the drained raisins and nuts and let it finish..

When the dough cycle is finished, remove the dough and place on a board or the counter.. using either your hands or a rolling pin smooth the dough out till its about 1 inch thick and rectangular in shape ..

sprinkle water over the dough and using your hand spread it around so all the top of the dough is damp, then sprinkle on the cinnamon sugar.. 

Starting on the narrow end, roll the dough into a log, tucking in the ends if its longer then the bread machine baking pan.. 

Remove the paddle from the bread machine and place the dough into the pan, close the lid and let the bread rise till its double in size..

When risen enough, set the machine to bake only and press start.. it should take about one hour to finish baking.

When the machine beeps, remove the bread to a wire rack and let cool..  

After its cool you can add a glaze if you wish:

1 cup confectioner sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons milk

blend well and drizzle over loaf

ENJOY

CONTAINER GARDEN JUNE UPDATE

Just a few of the plants that I planted a month ago.. the above is a yellow squash that my daughter paid 25 cents for 4.. they were half dead but look how well this one had done in only a month.


This one even has a baby squash on it and I have lots of herbs growing which I've already been eating and drying for this winter..

Several pots of basil

This pot has oregano, basil and parsley

more basil, rosemary, chives and green onion

Today a local store had all their pots on clearance
$6 for these large ones

$2 for this green pot

and potting soil $1 a bag
I bought 10 bags

In my kitchen window I've got cucumbers seeds
they will be planted in one of the large pots and green beans in the rest of the pots.