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.