Survival Recipe: Storage Food Rice Pudding

A great way to use up leftover rice.

One of the longest-lasting storage foods is rice. Properly packed  and stored, rice can safely be stored to last for 25 years without the taste being affected.

But no matter how much you like rice, a steady diet of any food  can lead to diet monotony.

This recipe, from “Jan’s Fabulous Food Storage Recipes,” by Jan LeBaron” lends some variety to a food storage staple, and is an easy way to use up some extra, leftover  rice! Click here to read the recipe.

Quick, Easy Method to Make Jerky in Your Oven

Finished jerky

Maybe you had a successful hunting season, and ended up with lots of meat to experiment on. Or possibly, the idea is to learn another do-it-yourself skill, so you can make a healthy snack for the kids’ lunches.
Regardless of your motivation, preppers, survivalists and folks looking for a way to preserve meat for long term storage should learn how to make jerky. Like any survival technique, it may be one of those skills that could prove to be vital sometime down the road.
This recipe can be done in your kitchen in about two hours. Click here to read how!

Blake Miller's "Best Jerky in Central Oregon" Recipe

Blake's recipe is great!

Those of us who are getting ready for hunting season know that energy in the field is a vital part of the whole experience. Healthy snacks keep you from getting hungry. Prolonged calorie deficit means you’ll start to get weak. That can affect your ability to maintain your body heat and keep moving.
Besides, who wants to go outdoors and be miserable! Here is GPS and land navigation expert Blake Miller’s jerky recipe. The meat should be completely covered by the mixture, so I’m not sure just how many pounds this recipe might be good for!
Click here to read the entire recipe!

Chili Mix

Chili con carne (often known simply as chili) is a spicy stew.  The name of the dish derives from the Spanish chile con carne, “chili pepper with meat”. Traditional versions are made, minimally, from chili peppers, garlic, onions and cumin along with chopped or ground beef. Beans and tomatoes are frequently included.
Variations, both geographic and personal, may involve different types of meat as well as a variety of other ingredients.
In a survival situation, chili is a great choice for using up some of the less-choice cuts of meat. The dish can help stretch limited supplies of meat to feed more people.
To read the recipe, click here.

Survival Recipe: Zucchini Gratin

Here is a suggestion for using up some of the tail-end vegetables from the garden! Click here to read this zucchini recipe!

Creamed Chipped Beef on Toast

I know, I know, this food has various names that aren't very complementary. Don't let that stop you from enjoying a fast, filling & cheap meal direct from your pantry.

Basically, all you have to do is make a nice cream sauce and add a couple packages of Dried Beef. Make up some toast to pour it over and you have a meal.

First slice up 2 Jars of dried beef (I've used Armour brand 2.25 oz jar) into strips, rinse it off with cool water in a colander. Set aside. I do this to get rid of some of the extra salt.

White sauce.
Make a roux. 3 TBSP Butter or oil + 3 TBSP Flour. Couple dashes of pepper if desired. Combine in a saucepan (I use a cast iron skillet) Cook over medium heat: stirring constantly with a whisk until the butter melts, the flour bubbles up and gets frothy. You want to cook the raw taste out of the flour. Don't let this brown!

Add 1 can evaporated milk (such as PET or Carnation) and 1 can water (or 2 1/2 cups fresh Milk)
Stir constantly, with a whisk, until thickened and bubbly. If sauce is too thick, add a couple tablespoons of milk or water. Add the meat and heat through. Serve ladled over hot toast.

Camp Chef Cast Iron Conditioner a Review

This rusty cast iron oven can restored to former usefulness!

Disclaimer: I have not been paid for this review.
I have castironitis and don't want to be cured!
I love my cast iron collection...Griswold, Lodge, Wagner and Camp Chef are all well-represented in it.
Over the past 30+ years I've tried all kinds of techniques & oils for seasoning my pans. Shortening to coat the surfaces, and then baking it to a nice black patina on the gas grill outside is my method of choice.
Well, until another cast iron collector sent me a tube of Cast Iron Conditioner by Camp Chef to try out. I had just picked up a couple of sorry- looking chicken fryers at an auction for next to nothing. All they needed was some TLC. 
After trying this product out, I hate to admit it, but it does a wonderful job! Much better than my stand-by shortening! It only took two coats to bring back a shiny, black patina to those pans. I believe it smokes less than other oils, too. I didn't have any problem with sticky spots or uneven coating.
Using this product is simple. Scrub and dry the pan thoroughly. Coat all surfaces with a thin layer of Cast Iron Conditioner. Place the pan, upside down, in an oven set at 400ºF. Bake for one hour. If the pan isn't a deep dark black color, repeat this step as many times as necessary. I prefer to do this outside on our gas grill. The pan will smoke a little, but not as bad as it did when I used shortening.
I would highly recommend this product for those cast iron enthusiasts who want to keep their pans in top condition.

Top 10 Storage Foods That Last (Almost) Forever

Rice can last a long, long time if stored correctly!

Here is a post from Lisa Bedford "The Survival Mom" about 10 foods that will last a long, long time. It is worth reading to see what you already have, and what you need to stock up on!

To read the story, click here.

Survival Food Recipes and Off-Grid Cooking: Healthy Spinach Pasta With Fresh and Storage Foods...

Survival Food Recipes and Off-Grid Cooking: Healthy Spinach Pasta With Fresh and Storage Foods...: Use fresh produce when available to save storage foods!
One way to stretch your storage food and prepper dollars is by taking advant...




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Survival Food Recipes and Off-Grid Cooking: Camp Chef Remote Meat Thermometer

Survival Food Recipes and Off-Grid Cooking: Camp Chef Remote Meat Thermometer: "This remote thermometer works great - but do you need one?
Dutch oven cooks tend to fall into two schools of thought: There are the..."




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Garlic Asparagus With Pasta and Lemon Cream Sauce

Combine storage food with seasonally-available produce!

It's a good idea to practice with and use your storage food whenever possible to become a good cook with the foods.

But this recipe from “Jan’s Fabulous Food Storage Recipes" pushed beyond “tasty” into  “gourmet”!

Since there are a lot of fresh vegetables around right now, you can obviously substitute fresh veggies for the dehydrated or freeze dried selections.

Try this recipe and you’ll realize the potential for how good storage food can taste!

Bacon Corn Chowder

Ok, here's the deal. My husband planted sweetcorn at different dates in order to stagger the production. Well, with all this hot & extremely humid weather we've been having, the corn decided to get ready all at once. So, we have some corn that is nearing the point of being too mature to eat off the cob. What's a girl to do? A bunch of it is being processed in my dehydrator for later use. The rest was made into a big batch of Bacon Corn Chowder. I just threw this recipe together with ingredients I had on hand. One of the benefits of having a well-stocked pantry. Add some fresh whole wheat bread and you have a meal. Enjoy!

Bacon Corn Chowder ala Karla
2 heaping cups Sweet corn ~ scrape the cobs to get all the good stuff off it
8 strips Bacon~ diced (I used really nice lean bacon for this)
2 double handfuls of baby potatoes ~ cut in half if need be
6-8 green onions~ diced, green part & all (again out of our garden)
48 oz. container of Chicken Broth or equivalent made out of broth base.
1 can condensed Milk
1/4 cup slivered blanched Almonds
1 tsp. dried Thyme
1/2 tsp. Garlic Powder
Black Pepper to taste
1 tsp. Mrs. Dash
Pinch of brushed Sage
1 TBSP. Olive oil if bacon is really lean

In a small skillet over medium flame, toast the slivered almonds until fragrant and light brown.. Watch these close because they are easy to burn. I usually cook , tossing frequently, until I can just start to smell them. Take off the heat and set aside.

In a large kettle add the olive oil and swirl around to coat the bottom. Saute' the bacon & onions until the bacon is cooked. Add the potatoes and cook for a little while to develop the flavor, about 2-3 minutes. Pour in the Chicken broth & seasonings. Simmer until the potatoes are almost soft. Add the corn & condensed milk. Simmer for about 5-7 minutes until vegetables are done and soup thickens.

Serve topped with the slivered almonds as a garnish.

"Northern Buttermilk Cornbread" with Fresh Green beans

I call this Northern Cornbread because it's a little sweet, just the way I like it! I have family down in the Southern States that will argue with me...but that doesn't bother me a bit. After all, this is MY blog!

This time of year our garden is producing an over abundance of food. A lot of it will be canned or frozen, but some of it demands to be eaten when it's at the peak of freshness. One of those things is green beans. I absolutely love fresh green beans with bacon & onion, slathered with butter, salt & pepper. What better accompaniment than a big cast iron pan of Cornbread?

Northern Cornbread
Preheat Oven to 400ºF

1 cup Flour
1 cup Cornmeal (I like hand ground or stone ground)
1/2 cup sugar
1 TBSP. Baking Powder
1/2 tsp. Salt
Combine the dry ingredients until well mixed. Set aside.

Use the following fresh ingredients if you have them on hand.
2 eggs
1 cup Buttermilk
4 TBSP. Butter~melted

If you don't have fresh, use your dried storage goods.
2 TBSP. Whole Egg Powder
1/3 cup Buttermilk Powder
4 TBSP Butter or Oil
1 cup + 4 TBSP. Water
Combine and mix well to dissolve the powders

While mixing up the batter, preheat a cast iron skillet until it's almost smoking hot. Right before adding the batter to the skillet add a couple TBSP of oil and swirl it around.

For the batter. Combine the wet & dry ingredients, blend quickly just until the dry ingredients are moistened. There may be some lumps, this is normal. Don't over mix or the cornbread will turn out tough.
Pour the batter into the prepared skillet. Bake until it turns golden brown around the edges and a cake tester comes out clean. Serve piping hot with butter and honey...

Iowa Green Beans
Snap the stems off the fresh green beans and cut or break into pieces. Or, do as I do and just leave them whole.
In a big kettle brown 4-6 strips of bacon cut into bit sized pieces, along with a diced medium onion. Saute' until the bacon is crisp and the onions translucent. Pour off all but about 2 TBSP. of fat. Add the cleaned green beans and toss them around to combine with the other ingredients. Add enough water to cover, then bring to a boil. Boil until tender. About 20-25 minutes depending on how big your batch is. Drain well and serve with butter, salt & pepper.

I don't measure when I'm making beans, just eyeball it. If you want more bacon or onion, throw it in!

Marionberry or Raspberry Breakfast/Energy Bars

Freeze dried fruit can also make a tasty breakfast bar!

These breakfast bars, from “Jan’s Fabulous Food Storage Recipes,” can easily double as energy bars for a quick snack on a hike or any kind of outing.  Just make the night before, place in plastic sandwich bags, and eat one whenever you find your energy dropping!
The freeze dried fruits could also be substituted with fresh berries if such were available. In fact, this would make a great outing: Go pick some wild blueberries or raspberries, or whatever is in season, and include them in a batch of breakfast bars! (Or, you try some of the dried fruit blend on special this week!)
Click here to read the recipe!

Jan's Fabulous Food Storage Recipes: Mushroom Barley Soup

Jan's Fabulous Food Storage Recipes: Mushroom Barley Soup: "Dehydrated mushrooms There are many storage food items that are handy to have around the kitchen, even if there is no emergency! Dehydr..."

Chicken Fajitas

Chicken fajitas are tasty and quick to make!

This week’s survival recipe features Dried Chicken Dices.

These  chicken dices can be substituted in virtually any dish that uses fresh chicken. The chicken dices are great in Chicken Noodle soup, Sweet and Sour Chicken, Fajitas, Casseroles, Chicken Pot Pies, just to name a few.

To read the recipe for a storage food chicken fajita recipe, click here!

Survival Food Recipes and Off-Grid Cooking: Rice and Raisins Breakfast

Survival Food Recipes and Off-Grid Cooking: Rice and Raisins Breakfast: "Start the day right! Everybody knows breakfast is the most important meal of the day. But it is also the easiest to skip! Breakfast re..."

Homemade Noodles

I've been under the weather a bit this past week to the point where nothing sounded good to eat. If you've ever seen me...you'd wonder if that ever happened at all!

But, I digress. When in doubt, go to Grandma's Special Cure-All. Chicken noodle soup! This weeks recipe is for making homemade noodles using your dried , dehydrated and canned products.

As a rule of thumb for noodles, I use 1 large egg per cup of flour, plus added water as needed to make a dough.
So, you ask, what happens if I don't have any fresh eggs? Use DRIED.

Homemade Noodles ala Karla
This is a basic recipe. Feel free to sub different flours, liquid etc.

2 cups all-purpose Flour (or whole wheat etc)
2 large Eggs or 4 TBSP. dried Egg Powder + 8 TBSP. Water to rehydrate.
Additional 1/4 to 1/2 cup water as needed to form dough.
1 tsp. Salt

If using powdered eggs, you may mix the egg powder in with the flour & salt, but I find that you'll get a better dough by first re-hydrating the egg.

On a pastry board, make a mound out of the flour & salt. In the middle of the mound make a well. Pour the re-hydrated egg into this. Take a fork and start stirring the dry ingredients into the center until it pulls together to make a dough. If the dough is shaggy and too dry, sprinkle with water.
On a floured board knead the dough until firm and no longer sticky. I've found that if the dough sort of "squeeks", it's ready. Cover the dough with some plastic wrap, set aside and let rest for half an hour.

Divide the dough in half. On a lightly floured board roll it out until thin, sprinkle flour if sticky. Roll the dough up jelly-roll style, start at one end and cut into noodles. I like thick noodles so I cut mine about 1/4 inch wide. Shake out the noodles and lay on clean dishcloths to dry.
I remember mom making noodles when I was a little kid. She would cover the backs of the dining room chairs with a dishtowel and then drape the noodles over them to dry. I got my fanny swatted more than once for stealing a taste before they were fully dry!

When noodles are dry, drop into boiling water or broth and cook until just firm to the bite, 8-10 minutes. If in a hurry, I use canned chicken broth. Or, if in a real pinch, use water and whatever broth base you have on hand. Reconstitute according to the directions on the jar.

My favorite way to use these is Chicken and noodles, served over mashed potatoes....(must be a Mid-West thing) or Beef and noodles using home canned beef....mmmmmmm

Damper: Australia's Survival Bread

Damper is a quick and easy-to-make survival bread.

Every prepper, survivalist or emergency preparedness enthusiast should have a variety of these simple, tasty recipes as part of their survival kit! Food is a basic survival requirement, but sometimes, even hunger can’t overcome  monotony. Eat the same thing, day after day, and some people might just quit eating.
So survival cooking, of necessity, must be simple and tasty! It makes sense that every region has an emergency-type  ration based on simple ingredients such as flour or meal.
Bannock, that staple among trappers and traders in the Northwest in the early to late 1800s,  probably originated in Scotland. “Ramrod rolls” were common in the Confederate Army because of  a lack of  options. In this recipe, a cornmeal dough was wrapped around a stick or ramrod, and toasted over a campfire.
Fry bread became a favorite among some Native American tribes after they were forced onto reservations and issued flour and salt for rations. Hardtack was a standard American military ration for over 200 years.
Since Australia was colonized by Great Britain, I’d guess Damper is a variation of a popular English bread.
To read the complete story, click here.

Off-Grid Cooking Gear Review: The Wondermill Wonder Junior

The Wondermill Wonder Junior sets us easily, and works well .

Does a survival-type need a grainmill? Is the bulky, heavy item practical for a bug-out situation?  Would a grainmill be worth the weight and space it takes up in a survival situation?

Those were the first questions I came up with, when asked to review the hand-powered Wondermill Wonder Junior. But since that question has come up from readers before, it seemed like a good time to address the issue!

So, with some help from the local Dutch oven club, we created a survival scenario and tried out the Wondermill. 

Here is what we found!

Cheeseburger Patties Made from Dried Milk

A cheeseburger may be a fond memory...

Meat could be scarce and hard to come by during a long term emergency. So any recipe that approaches the taste and texture of a meat product will go over well with many survivalists!

Here is a way to make cheeseburger patties out of dried milk. And, the reports are that it is delicious! Prepper/survivalist vegetarians will like this dish, because it doesn’t have any meat in it!

Click here to read the recipe and learn how to make it!

Survival Recipe: Chocolate Pudding (?)

This week’s survival recipe is definately comfort food, and it certainly could provide a much-needed morale boost under survival circumstances! 

And do you want to show off around the campfire?

Then just whip up this delicious chocolate pudding from survival or storage foods! In an instant, this flavor could transport you back to a happy time!
To read the recipe, click here!

Asparagus Bacon Pizza on the Grill

Survival food is sustenance that can be made easily during a survival or emergency situation using mainly simple, long-term storage food items, cooked outdoors, using off-the-grid methods.

Asparagus and Bacon Pizza on the Grill

By Karla Moore

When it comes to comfort food, pizza ranks at the top of the list for a lot of people, my family included. When you are in a survival situation, you have to use what is easily accessible and whatever food is on hand in your pantry to work with.

Pizza is serious comfort food!

Since it’s spring here on the farm, we have an abundance of fresh asparagus to work with. So, while thinking about what to make for this week’s survival recipe, I was thumbing through my well worn copy of Jan’s Fabulous Food Storage Recipes by Jan LeBaron.

On page 162 Jan has a recipe for a Simple Homemade Pizza Sauce made entirely out of dried ingredients. This stuff is so good, and easy to make, that you never have to worry about running out of the canned sauce again!

First, preheat your grill to around 350º

Next, make your pizza dough. Here is a recipe that I’ve used for years. It will make one large-sized pizza.

Pizza Dough

1 pkg. dry Yeast (or 1 Tbs)

1 tsp. Sugar

1 cup Warm Water (105º to 115º F)

2 Tbs. Oil (I use Olive)

1 tsp. Salt

2 ½ cups all purpose flour (or bread flour if you have it)

Extra flour and cornmeal for dusting

In a medium sized bowl: dissolve yeast in warm water, add rest of ingredients. Beat vigorously with a spoon for 30 strokes. Cover and let rest for 5 minutes in a warm place.

Pizza Sauce

¾ cup Water

¼ cup Tomato Powder

2 tsp. Sugar

2 tsp. Basil

1 tsp. Thyme

½ tsp. Garlic granules

1 Tbs. Oregano

Salt & Pepper to taste.

Whisk ingredients together thoroughly. Set aside for 5 minutes to fully rehydrate. The sauce will thicken considerably upon standing.

Topping

Fresh asparagus

1/2 cup bacon-flavored TVP

Mozzarilla cheese, shredded

In a small bowl combine ½ cup bacon-flavored TVP in 1 cup water. Set aside.

If using fresh asparagus, cut into smaller pieces if desired, lightly steam for 5 minutes to partially cook it. I used about ½ pound for this recipe.

Lightly knead the dough. Pat the pizza dough out into a circle on a lightly-floured counter top. Transfer the dough onto a rimless cookie sheet that has been sprinkled with cornmeal.

When the grill is hot, slide the pizza crust directly off the cookie sheet onto the grate. It will puff up and cook quickly. Turn the dough over and cook until lightly brown. Take crust out of the grill.

Working quickly, spread the prepared sauce on top. (You probably won’t use the whole thing!) Drain the bacon TVP before adding to the Pizza. Add the cooked asparagus and sprinkle with cheese. You can use freeze dried, Parmesan, or fresh if you have it. (I used fresh Goat Milk Mozzarella I made earlier in the week.) I also sprinkled on some extra Italian Seasoning.

Bake until the cheese melts and the pizza is bubbly.

How Will You Cook That Storage Food? Try This Cookbook For Ideas!

Bland, tasteless food is not only unnecessary, but in some survival scenarios, dangerous!
It’s one thing to be set up and prepared for off-grid cooking. But what happens when (insert appropriate apocalyptic acronym) happens and all you have to eat is the stored staples in your pantry.
Do you know how to cook those foods?
Small children and elderly folks might just quit eating, and that can put everyone at risk.  When a person is weak from lack of sustenance, they can’t function, and that could affect the larger group.
Luckily, this food monotony issue has been addressed in Jan LeBaron’s latest cookbook: “Jan’s Fabulous Food Storage Recipes: Converting Stored Foods into Usable Meals.”
The book is loaded with recipes that cover the gamete of foods from Breads to Vegetables and Potatoes. To read the review, click here!

How to Cook Morel Mushrooms

Morel mushroom (IowaOutdoorsman photo)

One of my favorite Rites of Spring is hunting those elusive Morel mushrooms. And, before anyone asks…NO, I won’t tell you where I get them!

But, for those who did manage to find a few, you may be wondering what to do with them.
In my humble opinion, the fresh flavor of these tasty little morsels doesn’t need to be covered up with a thick coating of egg, cracker crumbs, corn flake crumbs, what have you.
All you need is flour, salt & pepper, butter (or ghee) and a good seasoned cast iron skillet. (OK, you can use whatever skillet you have!)

To read the recipe, click here!

Hardtack: A Great, Cheap Addition to your Survival Gear!

Looking for a way to use up surplus flour, or make a cheap trail food or durable survival ration? One answer may be hardtack, a baked, unleavened wheat cracker. As a survival food, hardtack has a proven track record.
Hardtack is one of the original trail and emergency foods, and it is worth considering if you are a prepper or are interested in wilderness or urban survival.
The advantage is that hardtack is easy to make, transports easily and will last a reasonably long time if stored in appropriate containers. The disadvantage is the bland taste, and traditional toughness.
Check out the recipes - hardtack might be a good choice for your next campout or to include in your survival gear!

Healthy Bannock: A Quick, Easy Multi-Grain Survival Food

It only took a little recipe tweaking to make this Bannock recipe healthier!

Bannock is the traditional bread of Canada and the Northwest. Native people had no access to wheat flour prior to the arrival of European traders, although some flour substitutes existed, like wild turnips or corn, dried and ground to a powder.

Bannock actually originated in Scotland. Because bannock could be quickly prepared from readily-available ingredients, and because these ingredients lasted a long time without spoiling, bannock became a staple of European fur traders and subsequently, the native people also.

But the original recipe is nothing but flour and water, and traditional bannock is essentially frontier junk food.

Here’s how to add a few ingredients to make flour-based survival foods more nutritious.

Survival Recipe: Honey Lemon/Limeade

Maybe all you'll have to drink is water...

The old saying goes:  “When life throws you lemons, make lemonade”.  In a survival situation, it’s best to take this in its literal sense! 
Suppose all that you have to drink is stored water.  Well, water is fine. But, if you’re used to drinking something other than plain water, such as a can of soda, a flavored beverage is better than nothing.
Or maybe the storage water is thoroughly purified, but just tastes unpleasant  for a variety of reasons. There could be minerals in the water, or the purification method may have left an aftertaste.
Here is a simple recipe for a delicious drink that uses storage food items!

Survival Food: Healthy, Homemade Energy Bars

This natural beauty must be earned!

When it comes to stocking up on survival food, the best, most inexpensive and tastiest option may be to make your own. And while the idea behind an energy bar is to provide a quick dose of get-up-and-go, some of the commercial products can taste downright institutional!

But who says an energy bar has to be bland and yucky tasting? Try this Recipe!

Survival Food: Apricot Energy bar

Food is the fuel that keeps you warm!

Your stored food is an investment. But it’s always a good idea to rotate the stock.

Another thought is to make full use of those stores. Rather than spending upward of a dollar or so for a commercial energy bar, try making your own! Here's a good recipe for an apricot energy bar.

Survival Food: Cowboy Spaghetti

Survival food is sustenance that can be made easily during a survival or emergency situation with simple, long-term storage food items, cooked outdoors, using off-the-grid methods.
But if it doesn't taste good, or you cook the same recipe day after day, food monotony may set in, and that can be dangerous! 
This week' s recipe "Cowboy Spaghetti" comes from Jan LaBaron's latest cookbook: “Jan’s Fabulous Food Storage Recipes: Converting Stored Foods Into Usable Meals.”
In this recipe, Jan shows you how to make a simple spaghetti dish in one pot. This can all be done over a campfire, or by using lighted charcoal. It is also a good meal to prepare using a propane or turkey cooker outside.
To listen to Jan's interview on the Feb. 18, 2011 SurvivalCommonSense.com Radio show click here.
To read the recipe click here 

Survival Recipe: Santa Fe Chicken Casserole

This well-pitched tarp allows cooking over the campfire, even if it rains.

While many, if not all, Survival Recipes can easily be adapted to cooking inside, please practice cooking outside using off-grid methods.
This could become a weekly survival/preparedness training session for the entire family as you learn and practice how to use your stored foods and your outdoor cooking tools.
This recipe for Santa Fe Chicken Casserole used stored foods, one pot and off-grid cooking techniques!

Here is the recipe! 

Try This Tasty Hardtack Recipe

This hardtack actually tastes good!

I'm heading out this weekend for a camping trip with Boy Scout Troop 18. The theme is survival cooking, so we'll be working on the requirements for the cooking merit badge, and having fun out in the desert.
I started out making a batch of hardtack to take along, and had to substitute a bunch of ingredients. (Plus, I like to experiment and use up items that have been sitting on the shelf for awhile!)
So, I used peanuts and almonds for the nuts, one percent milk instead of buttermilk, and the only dried fruit I had was mango!
So, this recipe probably doesn't resemble anything a Civil War soldier would recognize, but on the other hand, this hardtack tastes great! Here is the recipe!

Survival Food: Popped Wheat

Make great, tasty whole wheat snack!

Suppose you have a lot of wheat berries stored for whatever disaster might happen. At some point, you might be wondering: What are some of the options for using this resource?

This is a great recipe to use whole wheat. It stores very well, and and this makes a fun snack. It is also great sprinkled on salads or as a topping for baked potatoes.

And perhaps best of all, this simple recipe can be cooked over a campfire in a cast iron skillet or Dutch oven. Click on this link to read the recipe

How to Cook Trout in Foil Over a Campfire

Here's the start of a great, simple and tasty survival food meal!

Foil wrapped trout are easy to cook and enjoy!

Does your area have stocked fishing ponds for kids? Here is a great fishing and cooking method to “hook” the youngsters!
While catch-and-release is a good philosophy and sound resource management, some areas are stocked specifically so anglers can keep and eat some. 
With the right recipe, cooking trout or various panfish can produce delectable, simple meals loved by kids and adults!  To see the recipe, click here.     

Survival Recipe: Basic Red Enchilada Sauce From Storage Foods

Enchiladas can be comfort food!

During an emergency, you can’t guarantee exactly what form of protein you might need to convert into a familiar flavor! You could use pre-cooked and canned chicken if you do not have the fresh ones. Or, you could use virtually any small game animal.
See the recipe here

SurvivalCommonSense.com Weekly Email Update

Looking for a simple, easy TWO INGREDIENT soap recipe?

Here is the SurvivalCommonSense.com weekly update - please take a look. There is a great survival soup/gravy recipe! And here is a simple two ingredient soap recipe! To read more about the recipes, and for some tips about getting through a flood disaster, view the email update by clicking here.

Survival Recipe: Blackberry Buttermilk Breakfast Cake

I can hear the groans and complaints from the hardcore preppers and survivalists already: “A CAKE? That’s supposed to be a SURVIVAL RECIPE?”
Yep. It is. And here’s why.

Survival Recipe: Hummus With a Kick

Whenever I get a question about off-grid or survival cooking, one of my most-trusted sources is Karla Moore, of Gilbert, Iowa. In addition to owning and operating “Heart of Iowa Soapworks,” Karla is also a farm wife, avid Dutch oven and off-grid cooking expert and a long-time prepper. She cans the produce from her garden, dries many of her own herbs and loves cooking for her extended family. Karla and her husband, Warren, have made many off-grid modifications to their farmhouse to help them get through the Iowa winters!
Subsequently, I value Karla’s opinion on Jan LaBaron’s latest cookbook “Jan’s Fabulous Food Storage Recipes: Converting Stored Foods Into Usable Meals.” She got the cookbook with no instructions, other than to try it. See what recipe Karla chose!

Make a Dutch Oven Part of Your Preparedness Survival Kit

These cast iron implements can be priceless!

During virtually any emergency, you will need a cooking tool that can bake, boil, fry and saute. And it should be able to function  with a variety of  heat sources, since electricity might be a variable!
My nomination for this wonder implement has been around for hundreds of years. It’s easy to find, cheap and effective.  Get a cast iron or aluminum Dutch oven. This cooking tool has a proven track record, and it can use virtually any heat source.
But you also need a bare bones list of implements to go with that Dutch oven. The most common questions asked by beginner Dutch oven users are: "What things do I need to actually use the oven?"
And then: "What items should I pack with the Dutch oven if I want to make it part of my car evacuation kit?" Here is what you need!

The familiar Sloppy Joe flavor can disguise unfamiliar ground meat.

The real value of a Sloppy Joe mix like this is how it can transform tough, tasteless, (or bad-tasting) meat of dubious origin into a familiar flavor.
Imagine that the only meat available after the Sewage Hits The Fan is from a tough bull or rank-smelling boar. Or suppose all you could come up with was meat from some old, gamy-tasting, tough big game animal. Or what about if the only meat came from something exotic, such as possum, horse, mule, armadillo, raccoon or snake?
This mix can transform such meat into a familiar flavor!

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Survival Recipe: Soup/Gravy Mix From Storage Staples

A good soup or gravy recipe mix can do a lot to stave off diet monotony!

When the big earthquake hits the Oregon coast, or there is a quake along the New Madrid Fault, or the water keeps rising and shuts off the roads you’ll still have to keep eating. That’s why we’re preppers, and why we prepare for emergencies and disasters!
And while you may be feeling pretty good that you have a stock of rice, beans and other staples, there must be provisions to make different-tasting meals. Otherwise, at some point, diet monotony will set in. Being able to introduce different, familiar tastes into the equation, while using what is on hand, will be important!
Here is an easy recipe to make gravy or a soup base, using storage foods.