The Food Storage Blog

I saw this post referenced at The Simple Dollar and it brought back fond memories.  The first time our wife and I went without grocery shopping last year, we went a little over 7 weeks without buying anything.  At that time, we were actually using powdered milk for drinking, so didn’t even need anything as far as perishables were concerned.  We did it again late last year and lasted about a month, though there was a little more cheating involved as my wife was diagnosed with a gluten allergy and requires more fresh foods.

Due to some upcoming concerns about our budget, we have decided to give it another shot.  Our pantry is packed full, we have a freezer that has a hundred pounds of meat and chicken in it, and a cooler stocked with water and Gatorade.  The only thing I usually find myself wanting and running out of is chocolate.  However, I think the wife has some cake mix and I stashed a box of Chips Deluxe last week after a buy-one-get-one event at Publix, so I hope I’ll be ok for sweets.  I mentioned that we had so much, we could probably go more than a month, but she’s drawing the line right now, so we’ll see!

For a more thorough example of one families adventure in non-shopping, see this series of posts!  Wish us luck!

I am at the limit for the number of items I can have in our current store. So, pending upgrade (next week I hope), and because I’m interested in testing Paypal buttons anyway for some other products, I officially offer here at Advice and Beans the ‘Awesome Bucket Combo’:

Awesome Bucket

It includes 9 Awesome 1-Gallon buckets, 10 – 1-Gallon Mylar Bags to put in the buckets, and 20 – 300cc Oxygen Absorbers to go in the bags.

When I got a look at the buckets for the first time last week, I was very impressed, and not just because I am selling them. At our house, my wife has already said we will use them for any number of things, including storing tools or knick-knacks as well as for smaller quantities of flour or sugar. They are solid, have read plastic and metal handles, and come with gasket seal lids.

You may purchase the combo for $51.99 by clicking the Paypal Button immediatley below ! Let me know if you have any questions at public@adviceandbeans.com.

The AdviceWife is right, this meal was excellent. Considering she tells me that I will starve at the end of the world for lack of Pop-Tarts and Grilled Cheese, that’s saying something. I’m definitely the pickiest person in the house, but I do love pasta and chicken, so the Chicken Tetrazzini was a good first choice food storage meal.

Specifically, the pasta was a touch too al dente for me, but that is more likely my wife’s taste than any fault of the dish. I warmed up 2 servings of leftover’s on Saturday and Sunday, added a touch of olive oil and chedder cheese, and it softened up to exactly the consistency I like. I wouldn’t have known it was rice pasta unless it was mentioned in the original post. Any time we can eat a great meal and avoid my wife’s gluten allergy, that’s a signficant bonus.

The meal tasted excellent, and did include two servings of vegetables from our food storage as well (green beans and corn, both $.35/can at HG Hills!) and one not-quite-home-made item in a perfect serving of garlic bread.

Chef T rates this 4 stars!

I made our first completely food storage meal tonight:  Chicken Tetrazzini.  I was a little unsure about making a meal from only dry and canned goods.  Including meat!  Overall it was pretty good.  My parents and my father-in-law all tried our first experiment. Everyone at the table had at least two helpings, which must say something!  I had never made Chicken Tetrazzini before, so I really didn’t know what to expect.

It has a yummy creamy sauce with chicken and mushrooms over pasta.  I mostly followed the recipe but I did alter it for my gluten allergy.  I used rice noodles and gluten free all-purpose flour.  Gluten free or regular, it was a great and easy meal.  Once upon a time I might have thought my husband a little kooky, but it is SOOO unbelievably nice to walk in to our food storage and have everything for a meal without having to go to the store.

Chicken Tetrazzini from It’s in the Bag by Michelle and Brent Snow

6 cups water

8 Tbsp. canned butter

½ cup flour

1tsp salt

½ tsp. garlic powder

½ tsp. black pepper

2 chicken bouillon cubes

1 (12oz) can evaporated milk (I made my own with powdered milk)

½ cup Parmesan Cheese

1 (4oz) canned mushrooms, drained

2 (13oz) cans Chicken meat, drained

Bring 4 cups water to a boil. Add pasta to boiling water and stir gently. Boil for 6-7 minutes or according to desired tenderness. Remove from heat and drain.

In a medium sauce pan over medium heat, melt butter and add spices, milk remaining water and parmesan cheese.  Cook, stirring frequently, until sauce thickens. Stir in mushrooms and chicken meat. To serve, place pasta on plate and top with Tetrazzini sauce.

Try it even the picky people in my house ate it!

Credit To:

The AdviceWife made our first ‘food storage book recipe’ tonight!  Pics, recipe and a little review to come this weekend.