Taco Seasoning

I must admit that just out of convenience I do buy the bulk Taco seasoning at Costco or Winco but I have in the past made my own before. It actually does have a better flavor than the bulk varieties, but I suppose my laziness wins out. I thought I would post the recipe. This originally came from Allrecipes, posted by Bill Echols here:


Taco Seasoning

1 tablespoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon cornstarch (My addition)

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

Easy peasy - mix together and store in an airtight container. When using, use approx. 3 Tbs for each pound of beef. Also, you should add about 1/2 cup water or so to the seasonings create more of a sauce for the meat.

Cheesy Broccoli Potatoes au Gratin

I have a favorite recipe for a tater tot casserole that I wanted to try and adapt for storage cooking. The past few weeks I've gotten a lot of my purchases in including freeze dried veggies, cheese, and also have got lots of other miscellaneous items from my local Winco store like powdered cheese sauce, dry potatoes (hashbrowns, sliced and instant mashed), even instant refried beans.

Tonight I decided to make an adaptation of my tater tot casserole. It turned out really well, though I'll make a few tweaks next time but my husband said he liked it better than the original :)

Cheesy Broccoli Potatoes au Gratin (this is the tweaked version that I'm pretty sure will be excellent next time)

3 cups freeze-dried broccoli
2 small cans cream of mushroom soup
1 pint canned ground beef (or 2/3 cups hamburger rocks plus about 1 cup more of water)
1 1/5 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
2 Tbs onion flakes
1 Tbs garlic flakes
4 cups warm water
7 cups dry sliced (au gratin) potatoes
1 cup dry cheese sauce mix
1 2/3 cups warm water or milk
2 cups freeze-dried cheddar cheese shreds

Oven 375*

This actually comes together quite quickly. Mix the broccoli, mushroom soup, beef, and seasonings in a large bowl. Add the 4 cups water, mix thoroughly and let it set for 5 minutes or so to hydrate the broccoli.

In a 9x13 pan, place the dry potatoes in the bottom. Mix the cheese sauce with the 1 2/3 cups milk/water and pour it over the potatoes. Over that, pour the broccoli mixture.

Top with freeze dried cheese shreds. There is enough liquid in the casserole at this point to hydrate the cheese but some of the shreds did not get fully hydrated so I would advise spritzing it with water after the cheese is on top just to ensure it gets hydrated (and then can therefore melt).

Cover with foil and bake in a 375* oven for 1 hour. Remove foil, then back for 20-30 more minutes until the cheese on top is bubbly and melted.

All the ingredients in this are something I can stick together in a big ziplock back and store in a bucket in the basement. And again, my point of pride is that my hubby said he liked this better than the original :) The original is similar except using tater tots instead of the au gratin potatoes, frozen broccoli instead of freeze-dried, and no cheese sauce mix.

This was also my first time cooking with freeze-dried veggies and also home-canned beef and I must say I am pleased with the result. You could barely tell the beef was canned (in fact I bet if I had not already known I wouldn't have picked up on that slight "canned" flavor) and the broccoli was pretty good. I bought it at Emergency Essentials but I think I will shop around a bit, it was mostly small bits and broccoli "dust" which was OK but not what I prefer. The taste, though, was very similar to frozen. Not quite the same, but close enough.

The freeze-dried cheese blew me away completely. I would have had no idea it was freeze-dried if I had not already known. The parts (most of it) that got fully hydrated melted beautifully just like fresh shredded cheese, and the flavor was outstanding. This is definitely something I will stock up on - it was so easy! My husband remarked after dinner that if we ever needed to subsist on our stored food, he'd be eating like a king as long as I make food like this :)

Staple Ingredient - Hamburger Rocks

Dehydrated hamburger is quite simple to make. The key is to get the leanest beef available. Now, for normal cooking, I buy whatever is the cheapest but for making hamburger rocks I wait until the super-lean beef is on sale and then buy a considerable amount of it. Beef rocks are nearly indistiguishable when cooked in casseroles and soups. I love them because they store so well and are easy to use. Simply rehydrate by soaking 1 cup of rocks in 2 cups of boiling water for about an hour.

Step 1 - Brown the beef thoroughly and drain the fat, if any.
Step 2 - Rinse well in a colander with hot water until you are reasonably sure there is no more fat on the beef. Any additional fat can cause the beef to go rancid in storage.
Step 3 - Return the beef to the a clean pan, and continue to cook until you don't see any more steam. We are now driving off the extra water that was added during the rinse.
Step 4 - place the beef into the bottom section of a broiler pan or 9x13 pan. I prefer a pan that has higher sides for ease in stirring.
Step 5 - Place into the oven at the lowest setting available, about 175 or 200 in a pinch.
Step 6 - Cook at the low heat for 10-24 hours (depending on how much beef you have), stirring occasionally until the beef is completely dried. If you need to dry it overnight you can just turn the oven off and leave the light on, that will create a bit of heat that will continue the dehydration process until you can turn the oven back on in the morning.

Cool the rocks and store in a bag away from light and heat. The beef rocks will keep for two years if stored properly.

How I store my food

Something I feel worth mentioning as I'm posting today... Many people store their individual ingredients separately in buckets and containers. Kellene at Preparedness Pro posted a while ago how she stores all ingredients necessary for an entire meal in a bag and then the bags in their own bucket. As a working mother of two young boys I find it very convenient to follow her style and would definitely recomment reading her post about storing in buckets.

I mainly state this to address because I do buy quite a few commercial packets of seasoning such as ranch mix and whatnot. I also do make my own sometimes and then make packets from freezer paper stapled together. Making or buying individual packets instead of keeping all the spices on hand to make your own is much more simple. If you prefer to not to use commercial seasoning mixes, might I recommend at the very least for storage purposes, making large amounts of your own mix and then dividing it up into homemade packets. I prefer using paper packets rather than plastic baggies because they are more easily labeled (and readable) and do not transmit light.

Staple Ingredients - Ranch Dressing Mix

Homemade Ranch Dressing Mix

1 teaspoon dried chives
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon dried dill weed
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients. This is equivalent to 1 packet of the commercial stuff. Like many other mixes, I like the convenience of the commercial packets when they are cheap but I keep the ingredients to make things on hand, and this is a quite simple and tasty recipe.

Staple Sides - Homemade Corn Tortillas

Homemade corn tortillas are very simple to make. I first decided to try just because we eat a lot of mexican and I needed to know how to make them so I could justify storing large quantities of Masa.

Masa is the "flour" that you use to make them. It's actually made from field corn that is first dried, then treated with lime, soaked & ground into a dough. That dough is then dried and powdered to form what we know as Masa. Mix it with water and salt and it makes beautiful tortillas!

You can buy Masa in your ethnic foods aisle at the grocery store. I have a big bag that I got at Winco, and I've also seen it at some Costco stores and restaurant supply stores.

1 cup Masa
2/3 cup water
1/8 tsp salt

Mix well until it forms a dough. Divide into 16 pieces and roll out until approx. 1/4-1/8 inch thick. Cook on a dry skillet (I always use my cast iron skillet for this) at medium heat until browned, flipping once. Keep the cooked tortillas on a plate with a towel covering them to keep them warm - these do not store and taste best while still warm.

Forming the tortillas is the biggest challenge with this recipe. My first batch was pretty ugly since I rolled them out by hand, but subsequent batches became better and more circular. The taste is undeniable, though. I always make a 16 tortilla batch even though there's only my husband and I with our two small children... the leftovers I pan fry in some oil until they are crisp and they make fantastic tortilla chips that have an authentic flavor.

You can also get a tortilla press for relatively cheap (or DIY your own), but I haven't gotten around to that yet.

Dinner Recipes - Some favorites

Here around our house there are two recipes especially used often. They are quite simple, and easily adapted to cooking entirely from storage foods.

Taco Soup
This is a popular recipe and super simple. It involves simply opening cans and packets, but is absolutely delicious. We love to eat it topped with sour cream and cheese, and with taco chips for dipping. In a survival situation, you might not have tortilla chips available but you should have some Masa so you can make homemade tortillas.

3/4 cup Hamburger Rocks, 1 pint canned beef, or 1 lb worth TVP granules.
2 Large onions (fresh chopped or 1/3 Cup dried onion flakes)
2 cloves minced garlic (or 1 tsp garlic powder)
2 cans chopped tomatoes (undrained)
2 cans seasoned black beans (undrained)
1 15oz can refried beans
2 can sweet corn (undrained)
2 small cans chopped or sliced black olives
1 1oz pkg ranch dressing mix
2 1.25 pkg taco seasoning mix
1 can water

Combine all ingredients in a large pot and let it simmer for 30 minutes. You can add water as needed to obtain consistency of your preference. We like the soup to be a bit thicker. You can use the draining water from the hamburger rocks if you like, or even throw it all in at once.

The biggest storage obstacle in this case would be the beef. Normally I use fresh, of course. Assuming a freezer is not available, we would have to use canned, re-hydrated ground beef granules or TVP bits. If none is available, you can just add extra beans and have it be a vegetarian entree. Combined with homemade tortillas, you've got a complete protein right there.

This recipe can easily be complete adapted to use home-canned sizes such as pints or quarts... simply adjust the seasonings and beef accordingly.

Chowdah
My chowder is an evolving thing that is one of our absolute favorite meals. It can be customized in many different ways. Here's the basis for it:

2 Tbs butter or oil or fat
4 cups cubed raw potatoes (or 2 quarts canned)
1 cup rehydrated chopped celery
1 cup rehydrated chopped onion
3 cloves garlic (or 1 1/2 tsp granulated)
1 15oz can sweet corn
3 cups chicken broth (or water + chicken bullion)
1 2.5oz pkg country gravy mix*
salt and pepper to taste
1 pinch cumin
1 can evaporated milk (or 1 recipe homemade evap milk)
1/2 cup of flavorful cheese (if available, or you can use powdered/freeze dried)**

Cook the potatoes, celery, onion and garlic in the butter/oil until softened a bit. Add the corn and the chicken broth. Bring to boiling and reduce heat to simmer for 20-25 minutes or until potatoes are soft (will happen much quicker with canned potatoes). Stir in the gravy mix, seasonings, evaporated milk, and cheese if available. Stir until all is combined, then serve. We serve this with fresh homemade bread and butter.

This recipe can be modified endless ways. You can quite easily add any meat for a delicious satisfying chowder. We've added chorizo and green chiles, italian sausage with parmesan cheese, and bacon. Just remember to adjust the seasonings accordingly. I keep canned meat, and also thoise packages of bacon bits on hand for thise chowder.

*The gravy mix serves to thicken the chowder and add seasonings and flavor. I have, actually been successful in making some real country gravy and adding it, though it is quite a bit more work and I can't count on fresh meat being available in a survival situation.

** You can keep hard cheeses such as parmesan or asiago on hand quite easily. You can even buy them already waxed or wax them yourself with a good cheese wax. The longer they age, the more flavor they add. You can also use powdered cheese or even freeze-dried, although I haven't tried those options.