Many people panic during emergencies and hard times. They wonder how they’re going to feed their family. Food storage allows you to feel secure that your family can not only eat during these times, but you can eat healthy. Freeze dried foods are great as food storage goods because they have very long shelf lives. Most of these foods can last for years and still have the same quality and nutritional value they did before being freeze dried and stored.

Something to Cook Using Freeze Dried Food

But, what can you cook with freeze dried food? That’s what many people ask themselves when it comes to preparing their food storage programs. You’d be amazed. These foods allow you to cook some of the same dishes you prepare for your family using refrigerated, frozen and raw foods. You’d also be shocked to know that you use many freeze dried foods regularly without even knowing. Some of these foods include: soup packets, instant coffee and pre-packaged box meals.

When you’re ready to start making your grocery list for your food storage, a great way to start is to plan your menu. That way, you can base your shopping list of items needed to prepare meals during your emergency. And, remember, freeze dried food is not just for emergencies. They’re very convenient for camping trips as well. Here’s one tasty recipe using freeze dried foods that you can prepare at home, or while out camping.

Spaghetti Recipe Using Freeze Dried Foods

In order for your spaghetti sauce to last longer, it needs to be freeze dried before storing. This is very important if you’re taking it camping. That way, it doesn’t need refrigerating while you’re on your trip.

The following recipe includes ingredients count to make enough spaghetti for two people. If you need more, just adjust the ingredients accordingly.

Ingredients Needed

• 1 jar or can of your favorite spaghetti sauce (26 ounces)
• Angel-hair pasta – whole wheat is most nutritious (4 ounces)
• Freeze dried Parmesan cheese (¼ cup)
• Water (2 ½ cups)
• Olive oil (2 Tablespoons)

Spaghetti Recipes Instructions

• Crumble up your freeze dried spaghetti sauce into the water.
• Mix them together and heat until boiling.
• Add the olive oil and your pasta to the sauce mixture.
• Continue stirring at boiling point for a few minutes or so.
• Allow the spaghetti to simmer if your stove has this setting. If not, remove it from the heat every minute or so to keep it hot without boiling. This will help the pasta to soak up your liquid sauce.
• Once the spaghetti is at the desired consistency, add your Parmesan cheese while stirring.
• Serve hot.

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It may be new to you that apple cider vinegar has many benefits for your health, such as increased energy and weight loss. It can be given to pets as a daily health elixir, and used as a cleaning solution for your home. The following recipes all feature apple cider vinegar.

Delicious Swiss Apple Salad

Put six cups of mixed salad greens in a large bowl. In a small bowl, mix together one tablespoon of lemon juice and slices from one Golden Delicious apple, and then drain. Put these apples in with the salad greens. Add in one half cup of sliced red onion, and 4 oz. Of 1/2 inch Swiss cheese cubes. Combine four teaspoons Dijon mustard, six tablespoons apple cider vinegar, 1/2 cup of oil, and two tablespoons of sugar, shaking to blend them. Pour this dressing over the salad, and toss it. Put walnut pieces on for optional garnish, and you have six to eight salad servings.

Wilted Kale with Apple Cider Vinegar

This may not sound appealing, but this healthy recipe is tasty and satisfying. Take eight cups of chopped kale, and place in a pan with one teaspoon of red pepper flakes. If this is too dry, add a tablespoon of water. Cover them, and cook until the kale is wilted. Stir in one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, and you have four servings of this salad. Check out http://www.foodinsurance.com for valuable tips on emergency preparedness.

Apple Cider Vinegar Tea

This tea is easy to prepare, and it only takes a total of five minutes. Combine one tablespoon of Bragg’s apple cider vinegar with eight ounces of water, 1/2 cinnamon stick, and a one inch slice of ginger root. Place them in a saucepan and heat the contents until they are boiling. Then, drain your tea through a small filter type drainer so that you remove the solid pieces. Add honey to taste, if you desire. This recipe makes one cup of tea.

Mashed Potatoes & Apples with Bacon and Onions

Peel and dice one pound of potatoes, and one pound of granny smith or other tart variety of apples. Place them in a pot with cold water and 1/2 teaspoon of salt, turning the stove to high heat. Reduce the heat to medium after it has begun to boil, and let it cook for 15 minutes, or until the contents are tender.

Cook two sliced of bacon until they are crispy, and place on a towel to drain, keeping one teaspoon of fat. Add a large sliced onion, cooking until it is caramelized. Drain the potatoes, putting them into the cooking pot over medium low heat. Mash the contents and stir with a wooden spoon.

Add in two teaspoons of apple cider vinegar and two tablespoons of butter, along with 1/8 teaspoon of sugar. Use pepper and salt as desired, and transfer it to a serving dish. Top the dish with the onions and bacon bits. This recipe makes six servings and takes forty minutes to cook.

Most parents would agree that it can be tough to get your kids to try healthy foods, let alone enjoy them. As you won’t find many kids who will turn down a cupcake, why not transform
this typical dessert food into something that’s actually good for them? Cupcakes are one of the easiest foods to transform because you can use all-natural foods rich in vitamins and fiber without them even knowing. Here are just some ways you can make healthy cupcakes your children are sure to enjoy.

Pumpkin Cupcakes

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Pumpkin recipes are a great way to enjoy fall and these cupcakes are both healthy and fun to make. These mini cupcakes use a basic cake mix with fresh pumpkin, which is an excellent source of vitamin A for eye health, protein, fiber, beta-carotene and potassium. To make delicious, healthy pumpkin cupcakes, whisk together 1 cup pure pumpkin puree, half a cup of coconut, almond or soy milk, two egg whites, half a cup of oil, half a cup of honey and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. In a separate bowl, combine 2 cups of flour (whole wheat is best), a pinch of salt, 1 teaspoon baking soda, between 1 and 2 teaspoons of cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ginger and 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves. Whisk the flour mixture into the pumpkin and pour into cupcake tins. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes at 350.

To make the frosting, whisk together 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce, 1/4 cup honey, 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder and 1/2 cup pumpkin puree. Spread frosting on cupcakes when they’re completely cool. This is the step most kids enjoy the most!

Pink Raspberry Swirl Cupcakes

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The raspberry in these cupcakes combined with the lemon cake perfectly mask the taste of the whole wheat — a perfect way to introduce healthy foods to your kids. It also uses artificial sugar so your kids aren’t getting too many empty calories and a sugar buzz afterwards. To make them, start by pureeing 2 cups of raspberries with 1 teaspoon of sugar in a blender. Strain into a bowl and press down with a spatula to extract, discarding any seeds.

Whisk together 2/3 cup flour (whole-wheat flour, found in the bulk section), 2/3 cup cake flour, 1 and a half teaspoons of baking powder, 1/2 baking soda and a pinch of salt in a bowl. In a large bowl, beat together 3/4 cup Splenda and 1/4 cup oil. Stir in 2 eggs, 1 to 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract and 1 teaspoon of grated lemon zest. As you mix the ingredients on low, slowly add the flour mixture and 1/2 cup non-fat buttermilk slowly.

Half fill the cupcake tins, add a small spoonful of raspberry puree and top with more batter. Use a toothpick to swirl the raspberry into the batter. Bake for approximately 23 minutes at 350 degrees F.

About the Author: This guest post is presented by New You Boot Camp.

Chocolate chip cookies are sinful. love or hate them.

At 5’5.5″ with a 76.5 kilos weight, I am in deep shit.

So I am supposed to be on a diet but as a baker, I have once-in-a-blue-moon urges to bake something sinful, something like — chocolate chip cookies. I know they’re no-brainer, but I am too tired to bake something complex.

But since I am on a diet, I added something to at least lessen my guilt over this diet and weight thingies: C-LIUM FIBRE.

I got loads of C-Lium from my recent battle with my cholesterol levels and triglycerides so from time to time I use it on other food, not just on my drinks and smoothies.

So here’s the recipe to make this chewy, and {ehem!} healthy chocolate chip cookies:

C-Lium Fiber-infused Chocolate Chip Cookies
{makes 2 dozens}

Pre-heat oven to 350°F or 180°C

1/2 c unsalted butter
1/2 c washed brown sugar
1 egg
3/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/8 c all purpose flour
1/2 baking soda
1/8 c C-Lium Fibre
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 c dark chocolate chips

• Beat butter until soft and creamy
• Add sugar and beat for about 2 minutes until fluffy
• Beat in the egg
• Add vanilla
• In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, C-Lium Fibre and salt then add to the sugar and butter mixture
• Add chocolate chip cookies
• Bake for about 10 minutes or until the edges has turned golden brown

Notes:

• Use the best kind of butter, it affects the taste, promise.
• Washed brown sugar has a lighter color
• Eliminate salt if you’re using salted butter

There’s nothing like the taste of homemade vegetable stock, but that’s not the only reason you should consider making it yourself. Vegetable stock is simple to make, it’s much cheaper than canned broth from your local supermarket, and you can control the amount of salt in it if you’re trying to cut down on your sodium intake. It’s the perfect base for many of your favorite soups and casseroles–and it has plenty of other cooking uses so it’s a great stock to have on standby.

If you’d like to make your own vegetable stock, follow the step-by-step instructions that are featured for you here.

Select Ingredients

One of the best things about making your own vegetable stock is that you can choose the vegetables you want to flavor it. Before you run out to the store to buy fresh vegetables, take a look in your refrigerator to see what you already have. You can use leftover vegetables or vegetable parts to make stock, so as long as they haven’t gone bad they’re fair game. Some recommended veggies great for making stock are carrots, celery, onions, peppers, mushrooms, zucchini, potatoes, and broccoli–but you certainly aren’t limited to this list. You can use whole vegetables if you have them, or just use parts or trimmings left over from something else you made. Select the vegetables you want to use to make your stock, along with a few seasonings.
Bay leaf, garlic, peppercorn, thyme, salt, and black pepper are some of the more commonly used seasonings for vegetable stock.

Prepare Veggies

After you’ve decided on which veggies to use in your vegetable stock, wash them if they haven’t been washed already, and cut them up into large pieces. You don’t have to be too concerned with chopping them up perfectly–they’re only being used to flavor the stock so your chopping work doesn’t have to be too meticulous.

Get Cooking

Now that the vegetables are washed and cut, you can make your stock. In a large stock pot combine approximately six cups of any combination of cut vegetables or vegetables parts, your choice and desired amounts of seasonings, and then fill the pot with cool water until it covers the vegetables by at least an inch. Bring the water to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium and allow the stock to simmer for about an hour. Once the cooking time is up, remove the stock pot from heat and let it cool a bit. Line a colander with a layer of cheesecloth and set it inside a large bowl. Pour the contents of your stock pot into the colander to separate the vegetables from the broth. You now have your very own homemade vegetable stock.

Store or Use

If you don’t plan on using your vegetable stock right away, pour it into properly cleaned and sterilized canning jars so that you can freeze it for use later. Be sure to leave some head space at the top of the jar–approximately 1/2″ is ideal. Homemade vegetable stock can be kept in the freezer for up to three months, so you don’t have to use it right away if you don’t want to.
Vegetable stock used right away or stored in the refrigerator will keep for just under a week on the average. Regardless of whether you freeze your stock or refrigerate it, label and date your storage containers so that you don’t lose track of how old it is.

As you can see, all that’s needed to make a delicious vegetable stock are a few vegetables and seasonings–and the process itself couldn’t be any easier. Your homemade vegetable stock will cost less than its brand name supermarket competitors, and it’ll taste better, too.

Cooking for your kids (and yourself) isn’t always easy, especially when your kids are at that exciting, but difficult, age where they want to help or be involved in everything you’re doing.

It can be hard to do that when you’re looking to make a quick dinner, but there are certain recipes that can make it possible to have your kids help out with the cooking and not just hinder your efforts.

Desserts
Desserts are a great place to have the kids help out. They don’t need to be finished until after everything else, so it’s okay if the process is slower. Here’s a recipe that the kids can do pretty much on their own, although it does need at least 2 hours in the fridge to set:

No-Bake Sweet Potato Pudding

All you need is a can of sweet potato casserole (if you don’t know where to get that, I know that Glory Foods has some), vanilla instant pudding mix, a cup of milk and some vanilla wafer cookies.

Use the cookies to create a layer on the bottom of a baking dish. Crumble a few more and put them aside. (This is a great step for the really young kids to do).
Pour the milk into a bowl and whisk in the pudding mix. Continue to stir it for 1 minute. Pour into the casserole. Whisk for another minute. Fold in the crumbled cookies. (The only potential downside to these steps are that kids tend to get tired of whisking and stirring pretty quickly.)

Pour the mixture over the vanilla wafers. Smooth the top. Place more cookies on top of the pudding. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least two hours.

Side Dishes
Sides are another great place for the kids to work together (and with you). Vegetable dishes and salads are a great way to get them involved without having to take up any space on your stove or get them close to the heat of the oven.

Here’s another easy recipe that the kids can do with minimal supervision:

String Bean and Tomato Salad
2 large (27 oz) cans of string beans, drain one can and put the liquid aside
¾ cup vegetable oil
1/3 white vinegar
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp black pepper
½ tsp salt
3 tomatoes, cut into wedges (you can do this before if the kids aren’t quite old enough for a knife)
Put the reserved liquid from the green beans, oil, vinegar and the sugar, salt and pepper into a blender. Blend to create a dressing.
Put the tomatoes, drained string beans and the entire can of string beans (including the liquid) into a bowl. Pour in the dressing, making sure the vegetables are totally submerged in the dressing.
Marinate in the refrigerator.

The main thing to keep in mind when trying to let your kids help with cooking is “it’s okay.”
Mistakes will be made. Mess will be made. But it’s not the end of the world. Cooking with your kids is a great way to bond and make memories so try not to get so caught up in the making of dinner that you don’t miss out on the making of memories.

About the author
Gina Vasselli is a professional writer on a number of topics, including travel, golf and southern food.

Cooking for the kids is one thing, but if you’re trying to make a meal for yourself too, it can be tough to find the time to rustle something different up for everyone at different times, especially if you have different tastes. To avoid this problem, you might consider making a meal for the whole family, but it can be tough to make something that everyone will enjoy. However, long after the pains of pregnancy have ended, you’ll learn that it’s possible to make a family meal that’s fun for you and the kids, such as this recipe:

Turkey Hedgehogs with homemade fries

Ingredients needed for Turkey Hedgehogs:

450g/1lb of turkey mince
50g/2ox blanched almonds
1 medium-sized onion, chopped
2 tbsp. tomato puree
Salt and freshly-ground black pepper to season
18 currants/raisins

Preheat the oven to 190C 10 minutes before cooking, chop the almonds into thin slivers and set aside. Place the mince in a bowl with the onion and tomato puree, mix together and shape into six hedgehog-shaped bodies. Then, place the almond slices on top so that it resembles the spikes on a hedgehog, and use three currants for each hedgehog for the eyes and nose. Then, bake for 20-25 minutes until the almonds are golden in colour, remove from the oven and serve.

Homemade fries ingredients:

Potatoes (typically one per person)
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to season (optional)
Any spices like chili, paprika, basil (optional)

Chop the potatoes into thick strips, no matter if you’ve peeled them or not, place in a large pan of salted cold water and bring to the boil. Once they’ve reached that stage, drain and then tip into a large bowl. Then, mix them in with some olive oil and any seasonings you want to use, ensuring that the potato is coated evenly. After that, put them on a baking tray spread evenly and cook for 20 minutes in a pre-heated oven at 200C, turning once halfway through cooking. Serve hot alongside the hedgehogs for a tasty meal for the whole family!

The kitchen is a great place to bond with your children. Most children love to create things, but especially to experiment in the kitchen. Kids get so excited about the cooking experience and letting them to help prepare easy meals in the kitchen, is a great way to make precious memories. Not only does it cut down on the parents chores list, but also helps the kids to learn the basics of nutrition and cooking. Parents should consider cooking and baking with their children as a way of spending quality time with them.

Cooking is a valuable life skill that helps kids to develop their freedom even as they grow older.

But, as much as cooking can be a fun activity for the kids, it is not always easy and sometimes it can be a whole lot of mess. However, parents can encourage their kids by allowing them to help bake cakes and other simple cooking. For instance, you can pick out a simple recipe to get them started. It is important to keep an eye on them since children nowadays have a short attention span.

When kids get involved in the kitchen, they develop confidence and realize that they can also contribute to something the whole family can enjoy. This is a great way to bring the whole family closer together and spend quality time. Also, cooking is an educational experience for children.
Kids get to learn about measurements while the parents show them how to cook and bake. They also learn to be organized and practice patience until a task is completed.

As mentioned earlier, it’s important to start small when cooking with kids. Kids love to help make cakes, cookies and easy meals so these are good choices to start with. However, it’s dangerous to expose the children to the open fire so parents should opt for something that does not require fire at all, but fun to do just the same. Here’s a simple no bake recipe to get the kids started on the road to opening their own bakery.

No-Bake Peanut Butter, Chocolate and Oatmeal Cookies

Preparation Time: 10 minutes
 Cool Time: 30 minutes
 Ready time: 40 minutes
 Servings: 2 to 3 dozen cookies

Ingredients
 1/2 cup butter
 1/2 cup peanut butter
 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
 1/2 cup milk
 4 tablespoons cocoa powder
 2 cups granulated sugar
 3 cups quick cooking oats

Directions
 1. Add butter, sugar, milk and cocoa powder to a 4 quart saucepan.
 2. Bring the mixture to a steady boil and heat for about 1 minute.
 3. Remove from heat.
 4. Mix in peanut butter and vanilla until smooth, and then mix in the oats.
 5. Drop by mounding tablespoons onto the wax paper lined baking sheets.
 6. Let cool until set. Serve.

Aside from being fast, easy, safe and fun to make, this recipe is also healthy for kids.

Finally, it is important to teach the child that cleaning up after cooking is all part of the process.
Regardless of how old the child is, parents should make sure the kids understand how to be safe around the kitchen. This is the only way to create a successful kitchen time for the kids.

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You might have heard of them, Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito — the genius guys behind the book Baked, New Frontiers in Baking and the bakers, as well as owners of Baked in New York City.

I love the book simply because it’s simple to follow and the guys wrote it themselves, based it on their own experiences PLUS it offers a lot of practical baking ideas. I love it, period.

One recipe there caught my attention: The Baked Brownie. — It got a thumbs up from Oprah and America’s Test Kitchens so there must be something special about it. I know that there’s no way I’d get my hands on them so I have to bake it myself.

I came up with these: not too thin or too thick brownies, dense and not too sweet. Perhaps this is the best brownie for me.

The Baked Brownie

Yield: 24 brownies

Prep Time: 30 minutes | Bake Time : 30 minutes

1¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons dark unsweetened cocoa powder
11 ounces dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup (8 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
1½ cups granulated sugar
½ cup packed light brown sugar
5 eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the sides and bottom of a 9×13-inch glass or light-colored baking pan. Line the pan with parchment paper.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, salt, and cocoa powder together.

3. Put the chocolate, butter and instant espresso powder in a large bowl and set it over a saucepan of simmering water, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate and butter are completely melted and smooth. Turn off the heat, but keep the bowl over the water and add the sugars. Whisk until completely combined, then remove the bowl from the pan. The mixture should be room temperature.

4. Add 3 eggs to the chocolate mixture and whisk until combined. Add the remaining eggs and whisk until combined. Add the vanilla and stir until combined. Do not overbeat the batter at this stage or your brownies will be cakey.

5. Sprinkle the flour mixture over the chocolate mixture. Using a rubber spatula (not a whisk), fold the flour mixture into the chocolate until just a bit of the flour mixture is visible.

6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake in the center of the oven for 30 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the brownies comes out with a few moist crumbs sticking to it. Let the brownies cool completely, then lift them out of the pan using the parchment paper. Cut into squares and serve.

7. Store at room temperature in an airtight container or wrap with plastic wrap for up to 3 days.

(Recipe adapted from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking)

It’s not cakey, it’s dense, very perfect with your cup of milk.

And since I mentioned about their easy-to-follow recipes, I will try to bake them and post more about them here.

Kain tayo!

Just got so much cake scraps from yesterday’s orders so I wondered at first what to do with it. People at home are already sick of my scraps as they have to eat it almost every day.

I searched the net and found this cookie recipe from Wrens Cottage:

Cake Scrap Cookies

Yield

8 – 10 dozen cookies

Ingredients

8 cups firmly packed cake scraps
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup solid vegetable shortening
1 cut granulated sugar
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons flavoring

Directions

Preheat oven to 325°F. In large mixing bowl, add cake scraps and mix until it forms a heavy paste. Add shortening. Mix well. Add baking powder, sugar, eggs and flavorings. Beat until well blended and smooth. Blend in nuts, chocolate chips, or coconut by hand as desired. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto lightly greased cookie sheet.

Bake for 13-17 minutes or until edges are a light golden brown. Cool 2 minutes and remove from cookie sheet. Continue to cool on cooling grid.

Variations

• Chocolate cake scraps with 1 cup dark chocolate chips, 1 cup white chocolate chips and 2 cups chopped walnuts, pecans or almonds.

• Chocolate cake scraps with 2 cups peanut butter chips and 2 cups chopped peanuts.

• Substitute 2 cups oatmeal for 2 cups of white or yellow cake scraps. Add 2 cups butterscotch chips and 2 cups walnuts, pecans or almonds.

• Strawberry cake scraps with 2 cups white chocolate chips and 2 cups shredded coconut.

• Lemon cake scraps with 2 cups dried cranberries and 2 cups of chopped almonds.

• Lemon cake scraps swirled with raspberry filling and topped with confectioners‘ sugar glaze.

• Half spice or carrot cake scraps and half white or yellow cake scraps with 1 cup raisins, 1 cup dried fruit pieces and 2 cups hopped walnuts, pecans or almonds.

I tweaked it a bit and added almond flavoring instead of the usual vanilla so the outcome was almond-tasting and a bit on the soft side. It wasn’t the cookie texture that I was expecting. But don’t fret! with a little vanilla buttercream and those wonderful soft cookies, I came up with this. And since I made the cake using dark chocolate powder, it turned out a bit bitter, complementing the sweet taste of the American buttercream filling

Not bad, huh? Best paired with brewed coffee