The Food Storage Blog

(Sorry about the lack of photos, I didn’t think about writing it up until I was putting it in the freeze dryer)

This weekend, I decided to dig into a food storage project and test out a recipe I’ve been working on for my updated one-year supply plan: a Spicy Turkey Sausage Chili with Rice. I’m trying to modernize the traditional LDS food storage recommendations, focusing on shelf-stable ingredients that the average American family would enjoy, with less reliance on a more particularly LDS bent (Their recommendations are good if you’re a homesteader, but out of place in the average American neighborhood). This chili seemed like a perfect candidate—packed with stuff from my food storage: canned chili beans, dried onions, rice, plus a hefty dose of spices that would keep things interesting during a long-term emergency. But man, while this dish was a winner in terms of flavor, it was HOT! Turns out when I wrote the recipe out I had used ‘tsp’ correctly, when I actually started adding the spices, I added 2 Tablespoons of cayenne instead of 2 Teaspoons. I did the same with the garlic. Doh!

Anyway, I started with one of those massive 110 oz can of Bush’s chili beans I keep on hand (This one with a best by date of 2021!)—perfect for a big batch—and paired it with turkey sausage and rice. Overall, I’m trying to find a rice and beans recipe that uses both staples and tastes good with a minimum amount of ingredients. Because I wanted to get a full freeze dry load (15lbs for me, 5 trays), I actually used 2 10-quart crock pots and did 2 full batches.

Each used 2.75 cups of uncooked rice (about 10 years old in my food storage!), which I cooked separately as the rest was simmering, and I went for more spices than I ever have (I had AI pick me out some spices that might help give it a Cajun flair): cayenne, paprika, oregano, black pepper, thyme, and garlic. These spices align with the top 10 most commonly used ones (as I learned during another AI search recently), making them a practical choice for a food storage meal. Dried onions kept things simple, though you could easily use fresh onion. And the whole dish (all 19lbs worth!) came together in a bit over an hour.

I always check older cans prior to opening. The chili ones are showing some wear on the tops, but overall they looked good, though I did discard one with a bad dent. After opening the can (reminder: I need a new can opener) I could immediately tell they were still good, with no off smells, just chili beans in sauce.

The aroma as it simmered was great—rich, smoky, and savory, with the Thyme maybe being the odd note out, as its something I never use (I’m very plain Jane when it comes to spices). When I added the rice to the chili, it looked hearty and comforting, something I could easily eat after a hard day in any kind of survival scenario. I could very easily make this in a dutch oven over a fire or a big pot over one of my propane mini-stoves.

The first bite was a flavor (nuclear) explosion: I couldn’t tell whether it was the Thyme that seemed a bit overpowering, even over the cayenne. The turkey sausage added a bit of protein (more on that later), the beans were fine even 4 years out of date, and the spices were…spicy! Except for the Turkey Sausage which I bought this morning, it was made entirely from shelf-stable ingredients I already have in my food storage.

But: it was hot. Like, really hot. I know it wouldn’t be for many of you, but you have to remember that my idea of spicy is adding garlic pepper to my macaroni and cheese. And the 2nd bowl I had for dinner was even HOTTER. I don’t know if it setting for a few hours made it spicier or what, but it was like Mount Vesuvius and I burned the roof of my mouth. This was after I ended up adding a half cup of water to each Crock Pot while it was cooking; that helped, but I think next time I’ll dial the cayenne back to 1 tablespoon. I also think I need a bit more liquid; I’m going to try maybe a cup of chicken broth to give it a nice touch of oil on top.

Overall, this Spicy Turkey Sausage Chili with Rice is a win for my updated food storage plan. 15 of the 19 pounds made it into the freeze dryer, with one leftover tray in the freezer, and one pound in my belly.

It’s easy to make, uses ingredients that store well for years, and delivers on taste (if you can handle the heat). I’ll definitely tweak the spice level for my family’s palate, but it fits into my goal of creating a more diverse, practical one-year supply—less reliance on wheat-heavy recipes and more on comforting, familiar dishes like this. If you like a good plate of rice and beans, give this a whirl. If you have better spice substitutions than what I have, please let me know. Again, I was hoping to lean more to the Cajun side and while it was delicious I don’t know if I really succeeded at that.

One thing to remember: I’m not a cook, and I don’t even play one on TV. I’m a prepper just trying to be a bit more prepared and learn a bit more about flavors, spices, and what things go well together.

Ingredients:

2.75 cups uncooked rice

1 can (110 oz) chili beans

1 cup dried onion

4 tbsp garlic (minced or powder) (Should be 4 tsp or to taste, I’m just recreating what I did)

2 tbsp cayenne pepper (Should be 2 tsp or to taste)

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 tsp thyme

13oz pack of turkey sausage (I used the Kroger brand)

Instructions

1. Add Chili Beans to Crock Pot, putting it on high heat.
2. If you like your Turkey Sausage crispier, brown on the stove, keeping the pieces 1/4″ thick or smaller (for freeze drying), as well as halving or quartering if desired. If the texture doesn’t matter, you can cut and add to the Crock Pot and have it cook with the beans.
3. Add 1 cup dried onion and 4 tbsp garlic to the pot with the sausage. Stir for 2-3 minutes until fragrant. (If using dried garlic, you can add it with the spices in the next step.) These chili bean cans are big, so mixing thoroughly is important.
4. Add Spices: Stir in 2 tbsp cayenne pepper, 1 tsp paprika, 1 tsp oregano, 1/2 tsp black pepper, and 1 tsp thyme. Mix thoroughly.
5. Leave Crock Pot on high for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes or so, then turn to low.
6. In a separate pan (I did it in a Aroma Rice Cooker) Prepare the Rice:
   • Cook 2.75 cups of uncooked rice according to package instructions (typically 1:2 ratio of rice to water, so 5.5 cups water). The instructions for the Aroma cooker were odd…it suggested 1.3 cups of water to rice. This had the entire batch of rice end up pretty dry as well, which didn’t help the consistency of the whole dish. While the cooker wouldn’t hold a full 1:2, I will up the water to 1.5 cups/cup of rice the next time I try this to see if I can get a bit stickier rice.
7. Combine:
   • Add the finished rice to the Crock Pot, stir thoroughly. Turn to warm and serve.
8. Finished each Crock Pot ended up with 9.5lbs of food!

Notes

• Servings: A 110 oz can of chili beans is big (about 12 cups), so this recipe serves 12-15 people a pretty hearty portion. I ate mine with Scoops. Part of this experiment for me is figuring out what I would actually do at the end of the world with these giant cans of Bush’s beans. Most likely I wouldn’t be the one cooking, but it never hurts to learn something.
• Shelf-Stable: This recipe uses mostly pantry staples (dried onions, spices, canned beans, rice), making it ideal for food storage. I could just as easily freeze dry the turkey sausage as well (I think I have some tucked away in one of my totes) to have the complete recipe. However, if you don’t have a freeze dryer this recipe can get away without the turkey sausage. Honestly, 13oz wasn’t enough sausage for a recipe this big; I will double it next time (and end up with over 10lbs per crock pot!)
• Adjusting Heat: The 2 tbsp cayenne makes this very spicy. I’ll reduce this to 1 tbsp next time, plus lower the garlic and see how that does.
• It should be a little thinner, so next time I’m going to add at least a cup of chicken broth as it cooks, maybe 2. That should also give it a nice savory shine.