Pantry Meals: Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

Pantry Meals: Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

In the box:

1 12 oz can evaporated milk (un-diluted)

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1 can green chilies

2 tsp dried onions

1 or 2 cans (10-13 oz) chicken (or 1 1/2 to 3 cups diced  cooked chicken or turkey)

20 corn tortillas or 12 flour tortillas

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350º.  Mix evaporated milk, soup, onions and chilies in a saucepan. Heat through.  Spray (or grease) a 9x13  or 10 x 15 pan.

Spread sauce on each tortilla, then top with some of the canned chicken. Roll up tortilla and put in pan. When all tortillas are full, spread remaining sauce on top of all. Bake until heated through, about 20-30 minutes.

In times of plenty you can top with cheese before baking.

Pantry Meals: Spanish Rice

Spanish Rice

Ingredients:
1 tsp dried onion
2 ¼ c. rice   
3 cubes chicken bouillon
1 can diced tomatoes   
1 tsp chili powder   
1 tsp cumin


Directions:
Mix the bouillon cubes with 4.5 cups of water.  Stir to dissolve.  Add the remaining ingredients, stir, cover and cook until the rice is cooked.  About 20 minutes.

UPDATE: Okay, this made WAY too much.  It was a lot of rice.  We had left overs for 4 days, and that's saying a lot with the amount that my teenaged boys eat!  So let's half it for one meal.  That would make the recipe this:

1/2 tsp. dried onion

1 c. rice

2 cubes chicken bouillon

1 can diced tomatoes

1/2 tsp. chili powder

1/2 tsp. cumin

2 c. water

Follow the directions above.

I know what you are thinking.  "That's not exactly half of everything".  I know.  But it's really good this way!

Pantry Meals: Green Chili Burritos

Green Chili Burritos
   
In the bag:
1 pint hamburger (or 1 lb. cooked)
1 can green chilies
3 c. dehydrated refried beans
1 lg. can refried beans
1/4 c. flour

Also needed:
Ingredients to make 1 batch of tortillas

Directions:
Brown the hamburger.  Add the flour and mix in.  Whisk in 4 c. water to make a gravy-like sauce.  Add the green chilies.  Boil to thicken and then set aside.  Make the tortillas according to directions.  Reconstitute the dehydrated refried beans with 2 cups of boiling water.  Stir in the can of refried beans and heat through.  Use beans and tortillas to make burritos and top with hamburger/green chili sauce.  Serve with Spanish rice.

In times of plenty serve burritos topped with cheese, chopped tomatoes and sour cream.


**Note: "Why," you ask, "do you mix the canned refried beans with the dehydrated?"  The answer is simple.  My kids won't eat the dehydrated refried beans.  They have too much...flavor?...seasoning?... and by mixing with the canned beans, it tones down the taste.  Even better than that is to mix them with home canned beans which contain no salt or seasonings of any kind.  Then they are flavored just right.

Pantry Meals: Green Chili Beans

Green Chili Beans

In the bag:
1 pint hamburger (or 1 lb. cooked)
3 cans pinto beans, drained
1 can black beans, drained
1 can green chilies
10 cubes beef bouillon   

Directions:
Mix the bouillon cubes with 10 cups of water.  Stir to dissolve.  Add the hamburger, beans and chilies.  Bring to a boil and heat through.  You can add additional water if you like it "soupier". 
Season to taste with salt, pepper and cumin. 

In times of plenty serve topped with cheese & sour cream.

Pantry Meals: Shepherd's Pie

Shepherd's Pie

In the bag:
1 pint hamburger (or 1 lb. cooked)
2.5 c. potato pearls
3 pkts. beef gravy mix
1 can carrots, drained
1 can green beans, drained
1 can corn, drained
1 can cream of mushroom soup  

***instead of the separate cans of carrots, green beans and corn; you can just get 3 cans of "mixed vegetables".  I choose to have them separate because I have issues with mixed veggies... and Lima beans and peas.  I won't buy them or eat them.  So I buy the vegetables that I like separate and mix them myself instead!

Directions:
Reconstitute potato pearls according to directions to make mashed potatoes.  Set aside.  Mix and cook the beef gravy according to package directions.  Stir in the soup.  Mix gravy mixture with the carrots, green beans, corn and cooked hamburger.  Pour into a casserole dish.  Top with mashed potatoes.  Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until heated through. 

In times of plenty top with cheese before baking.

Pantry Meals: Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

In the bag:
1 pint chicken
1 can carrots, drained and chopped up
1 lb. egg noodles
1 lg. can cream of chicken soup
12 cubes chicken bouillon   

Directions:
Mix the bouillon cubes with 12 c. of water.  Stir to dissolve.  Add everything else to the pot except the noodles.  Bring to a boil and add the noodles.  Cook until the noodles are done.  About 10 minutes.

In times of plenty stir in more veggies (celery, broccoli, etc) with the carrots or a handful of fresh spinach right before serving.

Pantry Meals: Hawaiian Haystacks

Hawaiian Haystacks
In the bag:
1 pint chicken   
3 c. rice   
3 cubes chicken bouillon
1 lg. can cream of chicken soup
1 c. coconut   
1 can olives   
1 can pineapple    
1 bag Chinese noodles   

Directions:
Cook the rice with 6 cups of water.  Make the sauce in a pot by  mixing the bouillon cubes with 3 cups of water and stirring in the soup and chicken.  Heat through.  Serve sauce over cooked rice and top with the other toppings.

In times of plenty also top with diced tomatoes, chopped walnuts and cheese.

Pantry Meals: Tamale Pie

Tamale Pie

In the bag:

2 cans corn, drained
2 cans tomato soup
2 Tbsp chili powder
1 quart jar of ground beef (or 2 lbs)
2 cans green beans, heated through and served on the side

In addition:

Ingredients to make 1 batch of cornbread

Directions:

Brown ground beef and drain.  Add chili powder, corn and tomato soup and bring to a simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes.  Mix up the corn bread according to directions and set  aside.  Put the meat mixture in a casserole dish and spread 1/2 of the cornbread mixture on top.  Cook for 35 minutes at 350.  Check the cornbread with a toothpick for doneness.  (LOL, is that even a word???)  Bake the rest of the cornbread in as 8x8 pan at the same time as the tamale pie.

Pantry Meals: Corn bread

We love cornbread at our house.  But we love it even more for pantry meals because it is quick!  Sometimes we don't have 2-3 hours to make bread.  Cornbread takes less than half an hour.

Corn bread recipe:

3 c. flour
1.5 c. corn meal
1/4 c. sugar
4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs (or the equivalent of powdered eggs and water)
1/2 c. powdered milk (reconstituted with 2 c. water to make 2 c. milk)

1/2 c. oil

Combine the first 5 ingredients.  Add the milk, eggs and oil and mix until moistened.   Pour batter into a greased 9x13 pan and bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

I will be honest.  I haven't made it yet with powdered eggs.  I hope to try it out soon and I am crossing my fingers that it works!

We like white flour for our cornbread.  We have tried it with wheat and no one (including me!) will eat it.  Sorry, there are just some things that you have to have white flour for!  And instead of storing corn meal, we store popcorn which can be quickly and easily ground into corn meal in our wheat grinder.

***UPDATE: My friend, Andrea, made this tonight and used powdered eggs, powdered milk, and powdered shortening instead of oil (I didn't even know there was such a thing!).  She combined all of the dry ingredients (flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, salt, powdered egg, powdered milk and the powdered shortening) and then added the water need to reconstitute the powdered things.  She said it turned out GREAT! 

***From my Aunt Karen: (I can't wait to try this!!!)  "Jen, I saw an awesome idea for cooking cornbread in a hurry and it works really well. Heat up your waffle iron and pour some batter on it. In the recipe I saw they then layered beans, hamburger, lettuce, cheese, sour cream and salsa kind of like a Navajo Taco.  We have used this method several times when we didn't want to heat up the house or just wanted it quick."  --Aunt Karen

To make cornbread for our 3 months of meals we need:

Cornbread  (9x13 pan)  (4x/wk)				X48	containers
	Flour		3 c.	144 c.	12 - #10 cans
	Cornmeal		1.5 c.	72 c. (3.25 c./lb)	23 lb.
	Sugar		1/4 c.	12 c.	1 - #10 can
	Baking powder		4 tsp.	192 tsp. = 64 Tbsp.	4 lbs.
	Salt		1/2 tsp.	24 tsp. = 8 Tbsp.	1 lb. (30 Tbsp./lb.)
	Powdered milk		1/2 c.	24 c.	2 - #10 cans
	Eggs		2	96 (Honeyville #10 can = 80 eggs)	2 cans
	Oil		1/2 c.	24 c.	6 qts.

Pantry Meals: Wheat Bread

I often make my own bread.   Bread will be an important part of my short term and long term food storage.  With teenage boys that are trying their hardest to eat us out of house and home, we have to have SOMETHING to fill them up!  I have planned on having either wheat bread or corn bread with each of our pantry meals.  I plan to make bread every 4 days.  My recipe makes 4 loaves.  And I plan to make a 9x13 pan of cornbread 4 times a week.  (I know that equals 8, but you never know when some extra bread will come in handy!)

I think that I will keep everything to make bread (except the wheat, that is in large buckets or cans under my bed) in a Rubbermaid tote, so that it is all together. 

Here is what we have to have to make bread:

Bread	4 loaves			X 23	containers
		instant yeast	3 Tb.	69 Tb. (1 oz = 2 tbsp.)	3 lbs.
		wheat (then ground into flour)	9 c.	207 c.	18-#10 cans
		apple cider vinegar	2 Tb.	46 Tb. (1 qt. = 64 Tb.)	1 qt.
		salt	1 Tb.	23 Tb. (1.88 c./lb. & 16 Tb. in a cup)	1 lb.
		gluten	1/2 c.	11.5 c. (5 c. / 27 oz. can)	3 cans
		sugar	3/4 c.	17.25 c.	2 - #10 can
		oil	1/2 c.	11.5 c. (1 qt = 4 c)	3 qts.

Pantry Meals: Taco Soup

TACO SOUP

In the box:

2 cans pinto beans

2 cans black beans

1 can green chili's

1 can corn

1 qt. jar tomatoes

1.5 Tbsp. taco seasoning (1/2 packet)

3 Tbsp. dry Ranch seasoning (1 packet)

6 chicken bouillon cubes

Add:

1 pint canned hamburger (or 1 lb. cooked)

Unwrap the bouillon cubes.  Mix them with 6 cups of water in a pot.  Drain the beans, and corn.  Add beans, corn, chilies, tomatoes, seasonings and hamburger to the pot.  Cook on low until heated through.  Add more water as needed for the consistency that you like.

In times of plenty, serve with tortilla chips, sour cream and cheese.

I could always buy canned tomatoes, but I get so many out of my garden each year that I bottle them.  I have TONS of bottles of tomatoes in my pantry.  That is why I use them. 

Right now I don't have any bottled hamburger.  Once I get some done, I will add jars of that into each box.

Pantry Meals: Chicken & Rice Bake

CHICKEN & RICE BAKE

In the box:

1.5 c. uncooked rice

2 cans Cream of Chicken soup

3 chicken bouillon cubes

1 tsp. onion powder

1/2 tsp. pepper

1 pint canned chicken (shredded)

Unwrap the bouillon cubes.  Mix them with 2 2/3 cups of water in a bowl.  Add the soup, onion powder, pepper, rice and chicken.  Mix together well and transfer to a 9x13 baking dish.  Cover and bake for 1.5 hours at 375 degrees.

Optional: top with French Fried Onions at the end of the baking time and cook uncovered for 5-10 minutes.

2 meals worth fit in one box.   The jars are my canned chicken.  And the rice and spices are in the bags.

Pantry Meals: Beef Barley Soup

This is one of my favorite pantry meals.  It is so simple yet tastes SO GOOD!

BEEF BARLEY SOUP

In the jar (or bag):

1 c. pearl barley

3/4 c. dry lentils

2 tsp. parsley flakes

1/2 tsp. thyme

1/4 c. minced onions

2 tsp. dried celery flakes

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1/4 tsp. garlic salt

2 bay leaves

10 beef bouillon cubes

Add:

1 pint jar (or 1 lb. cooked) hamburger

Unwrap the bouillon cubes.  Mix the contents of the jar with 12 cups of water.  Cook for 40 minutes.  Add cooked meat and simmer 5 minutes more.
 

I put this recipe in jars this time because I ran out of zip lock bags.  I put 2 jars in each box and a label on the front of the box so that I know what is in it.

The red things in the jars are the bouillon cubes.  You could also use bouillon granules if you wanted to.