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.