Emergency Preparedness -- Your Pantry, Part 2

A special thanks to my husband, Art, the hoarder of jars!
                                             
Before I list dinner mix recipes, let's look at general storage time for selected dry foods/ingredients at room temperature (85 degrees max) :

white rice -- 1 year                  pasta -- 2 years
brown rice -- 6 months            whole wheat pasta -- 9 months
                       (whole grain requires longer cooking)
herb/spice mixes -- 1 year       ground spices -- 6 months
dry milk -- 1 year                    cornstarch -- 18 months
soup mixes -- 1 year                boullion -- 1 year

Your dinners will last a minimum of 6 months (ground spices), or longer with some decrease in flavor due to the spices.

Suppose you work through the supply of jars the hoarder has...what to do? Pack dinners in freezer weight baggies and collect in gallon glass jars. Iced tea jars appear in resale shops in the winter for around $2.00 a jar, or you might find some on sale. Deoderize glass pickle jars if available. Ball makes gallon storage jars for $12.99 + shipping. Draw your own conclusions.

Label each jar or bag with the dinner name, date, added ingredients needed, and cooking directions.

Seasoned Rice n' Pasta -- Beef or Chicken

 1--1 1/2 cup jar or sandwich size freezer baggie per recipe 
3/4 c rice                                      
1/4 c. small pasta ( broken vermicelli, estrella, etc.) 
1 TBS beef or chicken boullion
1 tsp mixed herbs                        
3/8 tsp garlic powder
3/8 tsp onion powder
1 tsp dried parsley

Combine rice and pasta into container, add seasonings.
To cook:  pour jar into 1 3/4 c. water, bring to boil, then simmer 10 minutes. May add 2 TBS butter. Makes about 3+ cups.
Add cooked meat and veggies to make a one pot meal.

Chicken/Rabbit Assistant

Combine the following ingredients in a medium bowl:

1-1/2 TBS black or white pepper
2 tsp. mixed herbs
2 TBS dried parsley
1/3 c dried minced onion
3 TBS onion powder
1-2/3 c. dry milk powder
2 TBS coffee creamer powder
4 TBS chicken boullion
( change to Beef/Vennison Assistant by omitting chicken boullion and substituting beef boullion)

Combine ingredients well.  Measure 1/2 cup of seasoning mixture into each of five  3 cup or quart glass jars. Add 1 cup uncooked
macaroni to each jar. Cooking directions follow.

Brown 1# boned chicken or rabbit meat cut into small pieces, or use leftover meat. Add 1 cup water, 16 oz chopped tomatoes, pour in macaroni and seasonings. Bring to a boil, then simmer 20 to 25 minutes (covered, stir occasionally) until pasta is tender.

Variations, add:
1 TBS chili powder, or
3/4 c. chopped celery,
 or 1 c. mushrooms, or
omit tomatoes, increase liquid,stir in cheese 
add a variety of veggies
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Still working on the rice pudding recipe, the texture is about right, but flavor needs improvement.
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Blast it! The hot water pipes froze despite efforts to drip them. Maybe they'll thaw starting on the weekend. Just collected the eggs -- half were frozen! Wed. 3:00 PM