How do you use your food storage?

SPECIAL Night on learning how to use your Food Storage Daily

On Wednesday, November 6th, at the Ucon Stake Center (2967 E 105 N.) from 7:00 to 8:30 pm, we have a special guest speaker Janet Huff who will be teaching a class called“Utilizing Food Storage in Daily Meals.”  Janet is a skilled and knowledgeable teacher having taught different aspects of food storage for 40-years, many of which were taught at BYU-I (Ricks College) education weeks, Continuing Education classes, Mother's Week, and Home and Family Seminar's. 

 

Janet has also taught classes in LDS wards and stakes, and for other denominations in: California, Nevada, Utah, Idaho, and Montana; and Janet also taught for Eastern Idaho State Fair.

 

Her main focus is teaching people how to make delicious, healthful, inexpensive meals using food storage.  Janet Huff is a cookbook author, and instructor, teaching others for over 40-years how to create meals with basic foods, whole grains, and food storage. Her focus is on making basic food taste good. She believes eating well is not meant to be expensive. Janet has won local and national awards for her recipes. 

Ucon Stake Fall Preparedness Fair

The Ucon Stake is having a Fall Preparedness Fair on Saturday, October 19th, from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm, held at the Ucon Stake Center (2967 E 105 N.). The theme is: "The Gift of Independence."   We are offering some preparedness kits, which include: Breakfast Specialty Pack, Lunch/Dinner Specialty Pack, Preparedness Handbook, Cookin' with Home Storage Cookbook, GRAVITY feed Water Filtration System (extra filter's are available), First-Aid Kit, and 6-gallon buckets of (Triple Cleaned) Hard White Wheat.    When you open the order form you will see a couple of pictures of the Water Filtration System, please note the buckets we order will be white and food grade.

 

There will also be a display of preparedness gift giving ideas for the upcoming Christmas Holiday. This order, will also be handled through Linda Knudsen who is our Stake Preparedness Specialist. Order forms will also be available at the fair. 

 

Also, bring your pressure cooker this Saturday and have it checked for free from Rocknack's hardware at the fair.

31 THINGS YOU CAN FREEZE TO SAVE TIME AND MONEY!

What would we find in your freezer?

CHEESE: You can freeze blocks of cheese without it becoming crumbly if you let it thaw completely before putting it in the fridge. If you prefer to shred your cheese first, add a tablespoon or so of cornstarch or flour to the bag and shake it to prevent clumping when it thaws.

Another great idea…buy a big piece of Parmigiano Reggiano (the good stuff!!), grate in the food processor and put in a freezer bag. It keeps for months and all you have to do is open the bag and scoop out a couple of tablespoons when you need it.

HOMEMADE PANCAKES, WAFFLES, FRENCH TOAST: Make up a few batches over the weekend for quick “defrost and go” breakfasts during the week. Freeze on a cookie sheet, then toss them in a freezer bag. Reheat in microwave, toaster, or toaster oven. WAY better then frozen ones you buy in store!

FRUIT: When freezing fruit, it’s best to first freeze spread out on freezer or parchment paper on a cookie sheet, and then place in bags. Individual frozen pieces let you pull out just how much you need. Try keeping a “Smoothie Bag” in the freezer. Toss in extra apple wedges, peaches, pears, bananas, chunks of melon…any kind of fruit…and use in smoothies.

If you don’t like handling mushy bananas, just throw the bananas into the freezer with the skin on. Then when you need them for a recipe (banana bread anyone?), pull out what you need, microwave for a few seconds, then cut off the top and squeeze the insides into your mixing bowl!

RICE: Cook a big batch of rice, spread it on a cookie sheet on parchment paper and freeze. When the rice is frozen, just put in a freezer bag or containers and you have rice in a pinch! Great for BROWN rice which takes so long to cook! Use in casseroles, soups or fried rice.

PIES: Make apple pies in the fall to enjoy throughout the year. Bake them, freeze them in freezer bags wrapped in freezer paper then when you have a hankering for pie, take out of the freezer, remove wrapping, and place in oven for 2 hours at 200 degrees. You can also freeze SLICES after baking a whole pie.

CORN: An EASY way to freeze corn on the cob is to put the ears of corn, WITHOUT removing ANY silk or husk, straight into freezer. When you want to eat it, put it in microwave just the way you put it in the freezer and cook for 5 minutes on high for two ears or 4 minutes for one ear. The silk insulates and protects the corn while it cooks. Tastes like fresh-picked corn!

TOMATOES: Roast roma tomatoes in oven at a low temp (225 degrees) with garlic, fresh herbs, and a drizzle of olive oil for 4 to 5 hours. When cooled, transfer to freezer bags. Use them in chili or in your own tomato-based sauces.

PASTA: Whenever you make pasta, cook whole package. and freeze leftovers for later to add to soups and casseroles. Or freeze individual size portions in a baggie, making sure to squeeze out the air; get the bag as flat as possible. Reheat by running hot water over bag for a few minutes!

FLOUR AND OTHER GRAINS: Freezing flour and other types of grain for at least 3 days discourages uninvited “guests” from hatching. You can also store it in the freezer, just make sure to double wrap to avoid condensation and to keep it from picking up other freezer smells.

PESTO: Make (or buy) and freeze pesto in ice cube trays. Once frozen, pop it out and put in a freezer bag. Nice to have pesto whenever you want it.

MASHED POTATOES: Using an ice cream scoop, put even portions of mashed potatoes onto parchment-lined cookie sheet. Freeze until hard then transfer into a freezer bag. These will keep in the freezer for at least 2 months.

COOKIE DOUGH: Make a batch of cookie dough, scoop onto cookie sheets and freeze. When they are frozen solid. put them in freezer bags. When you NEED cookies, bake as few or as many as you NEED without lots of waste or guilt. Just add 1 to 2 minutes to the cook time. You can also make “slice-and-bake” cookie dough by shaping it into a cylinder, and freezing it wrapped in foil.

SOUPS AND CHILI: Cool leftover soup completely and transfer to a freezer-friendly container, leaving about 1 cup of empty space for expansion during freezing. The night before eating, move the container to the fridge to thaw safely and then reheat and serve.

BROTH AND STOCK: Keep a gallon bag in freezer and add any leftover veggie pieces, including onion peels, celery stalks, potato peels, etc. When you have enough, make vegetable stock. Keep another bag for pan drippings or sauces that are left after cooking chicken. This can be used to flavor soups.

SANDWICHES: When packing lunches for school/work, it’s a time-saver to pull a sandwich straight from the freezer. Just throw it into your lunch box/bag in the morning; it’s thawed by lunch time. It also helps keep meat cold. Peanut butter and jelly or honey, or deli meat and a slice of cheese work well. You can freeze butter or mustard but not mayo, lettuce, or tomato. Pack these separately or add in the morning.

You can also freeze breakfast sandwiches. Cook scrambled eggs and sausage/bacon in bulk, pile them onto biscuits or English muffins, wrap them individually and freeze. In the morning, grab out of the freezer, microwave, and enjoy.

POTATO CHIPS, CRACKERS, & PRETZELS: Stock up on chips, crackers, and pretzels when they're on sale and throw them in the freezer. FROZEN chips actually taste BETTER. Eat them straight from freezer; they are crisper and the flavors pop.

MILK: Ever wonder why plastic milk jugs have those circle indents on the side?? They are there to allow milk to expand while freezing! To use frozen milk, let thaw, and then SHAKE WELL before opening, to make sure any solids are remixed.
You can also freeze buttermilk. No more tossing out half a quart because you only needed a cup.

JUICE: Like milk, the only concern about freezing juice is leaving room for expansion. A good rule of thumb is to take out 8 ounces for every half gallon of juice. Stock up when it goes on sale or at a discount warehouse.

BREAD & BAKED GOODS: When your favorite bread is on sale, stock up; freeze it. Or when in a baking mood, make extras of your favorite baked goods and freeze them for later.

Tip for defrosting baked goods or breads: place them in your microwave overnight. It keeps them from drying out like they do on the counter.

BUTTER CREAM FROSTING: Freeze leftover frosting. When when you need to frost something, let it thaw in the fridge, then whip it up, and color/decorate as if it were just made.

TOMATO PASTE: Most recipes using tomato paste only call for one tablespoon out of the whole can. Then you’re left with an almost full OPEN can. What to do!? Put the rest in a sandwich bag, flatten it out in freezer, and when you need a tablespoon, just break off a piece and throw it into whatever you are cooking.

DICED VEGGIES: Dice onions, chili's, or bell peppers, then freeze flat in gallon freezer bags. As they are freezing, press “score lines” into the bags so you can break off as much or as little as you wish for recipes.

HOMEMADE & STORE_BOUGHT DOUGH: You can freeze all kinds of homemade dough – pizza dough, focaccia dough, pie crust – shaped in a ball and wrapped in Saran Wrap.
Or you can also freeze canned biscuits, crescent rolls, pizza dough, etc. right in the tube.

EGGS: Crack the eggs in a freezer bag, and freeze. Or crack eggs into an ice cube tray for cakes and cookies. Thaw out in refrigerator and use as you normally would.

SHREDDED CHICKEN: Cook a big batch and shred or when you get a rotisserie from the grocery store, shred the leftovers and put it in a bag.

LEMON/LIME JUICE & ZEST: Squeeze lemons and limes into ice cube trays, then pop them out after they have frozen and store in freezer bags. Now you have “fresh” lemon and lime juice whenever you need it. Don’t forget to ZEST the lemons/limes first and keep that in the freezer as well.

HERBS: Freeze fresh herbs in ice-cube trays with a little water or leftover stock to use for soups, stews, and casseroles later in the year.

MARINATED MEAT: Place meat in a freezer bag, pour in marinade and freeze. When you defrost it, it will be fully-marinated and ready to cook.

HOMEMADE CASSEROLES: When you are cooking a casseroles (lasagna, mac and cheese, enchiladas, etc), why not make 2 and FREEZE one for when unexpected company drops by or to use during a busy school/work week.
You can do this a couple of ways.
1. Freeze entire casserole by lining base of dish with freezer paper, add ingredients, then freeze it in the dish. When it’s frozen solid, remove from dish (easy to do thanks to the freezer paper), rewrap the food, and put back in the freezer. When you want the item for a meal, unwrap and place in the original dish to defrost and cook.
2. Bake casserole, let cool, and then cut into individual servings and freeze. Reheat in microwave!

FISH STICKS: Forget those tasteless sticks in the blue box. Buy fresh fish in quantity, cut it crosswise into fish ‘fingers,’ dip in egg, and dredge in flour and bread crumbs, then freeze laid out on a tray before transferring to freezer bags.

HAMBURGER: Pre-cook ground hamburger and portion it out for meals. When you need hamburger for shepherd’s pie, sloppy joes, tacos, or whatever, just pull it out of the freezer, add the seasoning, and microwave. Three minutes, or 1 minute and 30 seconds if it’s going to be baked and doesn’t need to be thawed all the way. For crock pot meals, like chili, just throw it in frozen.

SEPTEMBER PREPAREDNESS NEWSLETTER

POWDERED MILK ORDER FORM

DRIED FOOD ORDER

GLUTEN FREE FOOD STORAGE ORDER FORM

A new order is now available with lots of NEW items - you will find on this months Food Storage Order Form, #10 can items that are Gluten Free, Freeze Dried Yogurts, Gourmet Meals and Soups with real meat and several other misc. items.  These items are from the same company where I order the Country Cream Powdered Milk.  I am also making available the Country Cream powdered milk regular and chocolate; something new on the Country Cream powdered milk Order - you can order the Chocolate in a 25 lb. box, instead of just 50 lbs.   See attachments for order form, due date for these two orders is Monday, September 30th.    An ingredients list is available upon request for the Gluten Free items, just email me and I will send it to you.

The order for FREEZE DRIED - Whole Blueberries, Tomato Cubes, Sweet Corn, and Garden Peas  has been extended to Monday, September 9th. and should be here towards the end of September.  FYI - The next Freeze Dried order will not be until January. 

UPCOMING ORDERS

Currently - Freeze Dried Items - Tomatoes, Blueberries, Sweet Corn, and Peas

September - Gluten Free, variety of meals and soups, along with Country Cream Powdered Milk

October - Walton Order

November - Dehydrated Legumes, Popcorn, and Brown Rice

December - Christmas

January - Freeze dried Items - Chicken, Beef, Pineapple Dices 

  

A reminder for everyone who lives in Utah, please feel free to continue to order if you wish to do so, we will continue to try and accommodate everyone who lives between Ucon, Idaho and the route to West Jordan, Utah. Please feel free to continue to order if you wish to do so. Give me a call or send an email and I will work with you on the delivery's, like we have done in the past.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact me by email or phone. 

Best Wishes,

Maria Jensen

 208-524-0954

SUN OVEN ORDER FORM

If you were unable to make our most recent additional Relief Society meeting, we learned a lot about alternative forms of cooking.  One of those demonstrations was on a Sun Oven.  The sister who did the demonstrations gave us this order form if we are interested in ordering one.  They are $260 plus shipping - a savings of $89 if you purchase somewhere else.  This is good until the end of August and an order of five or more needs to be made from the group to get the discounted price.  Her contact information is on the bottom of the picture.  

August Prepardeness Newsletter....

CLICK HERE...

Blueberries, Tomatoes, Sweet Corn and Peas - dried food order...

If you would like to purchase any of these items, please click on the link for the order form!

ORDER FORM

Preparedness Newsletters

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