Taco Soup (jar mix)

I'm so excited to share with you a different style of pantry-friendly, shelf stable meals and goodies for the next several months!  These are commonly known as jar meals or meals in a jar.

From now through December, my monthly blog post will follow this same great theme:  jar mixes!  If you've never heard of jar mixes, they are both tasty and fun.  Dry ingredients are layered in a quart jar and then mixed with wet ingredients and cooked.  There are jar mixes for bread, soup, meals, cookie mixes, and more.  

There are two big reasons I love jar mixes.

First, you can create them similar to the "cook once a month" method of meal planning and freezing meals.  The idea there is to dedicate one whole day to assembling many meals, then freezing them for use all month long.  The idea here with jar meals is to spend a little time assembling several jars that you can just keep on hand for months, using them whenever you're in a pinch.  

Second, these make the best gifts!  I love giving these out at Christmastime when people are often inundated with treats.  For soups and meals, it provides a ready-made meal at a busy time of year.  For something like cookie mixes, it provides a treat that doesn't have to be eaten right away--the recipient can whip it up at the end of January or the middle of March instead.

IMPORTANT NOTES ABOUT THIS JAR MIX:  

• Jar mixes should be used within about a year unless you seal them (like with a FoodSaver and the jar attachment) or use oxygen absorbers.  
• You can purchase many of the ingredients in this Taco Soup at your local grocery store.  
• You can purchase the dehydrated (or freeze-dried) ingredients at Thrive Life (where I get a little discount if you do), or you can dry them yourself using a food dehydrator (which is what I did for this recipe).  That link is to the dehydrator I use--I love it, but I know there are fancier ones out there, too.  Be aware that the beans in this recipe must be cooked first and then dehydrated; do not use uncooked beans.  Thrive Life calls these "quick beans."  I just cooked and then dehydrated the beans myself, but you could drain and rinse a can of beans, then dehydrate them.  To dehydrate the corn myself, I literally just drained a can of corn then put it in the Food Saver dehydrator.  Soooo easy.
• If you decide to gift this the way I have pictured, use a piece of fabric about 6"x6".
• Last note:  You  may notice that the order in which I originally layered this Taco Soup jar mix as shown in the photo differs from the directions shown below.  That's because the tomato powder hardens like nobody's business when it's all together like that.  (I had to use a sharp knife to cut it in pieces and get it out--and it had only been in the jar a few days.)  So definitely follow the directions for jar mix assembly, not the photo.

TACO SOUP

PREP TIME (making the jar mix):  10 minutes
COOK TIME:  25 minutes

JAR MIX INGREDIENTS

In a wide-mouth quart jar, layer in order, tamping down to help the ingredients settle (as needed):

• 1/2 c. rice
• 1 c. dehydrated corn
• 1/2 c. dried onion 
• 1  1/2 c. quick beans (meaning: cooked then dehydrated or freeze-dried), either black or pinto or half & half (see notes above)
• 1/2 c. tomato powder (available here and here)
• 1 Tbsp. taco seasoning
• 1 Tbsp. dried cilantro
• 2 tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• 1 tsp salt

note: directions shown here are incorrect; consult the directions below

COOKING DIRECTIONS

Attach to the jar using a sticker or tag:

Place contents of jar in a large soup pot with 12 c. water.  Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium.  Cover and simmer 20 minutes or until beans, corn, and rice are tender.

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Quick Cakes Recipes - makes a great gift!

Most of the recipes I post here are for meals, but you've probably noticed I sprinkle in a few sweet treats now and then, too.  I've got another idea that makes not only a yummy little individual dessert that's made in a minute or two in the microwave, but a great gift idea as well!  It's called:

Quick Cakes!

All the ingredients are pantry-friendly (shelf-stable), of course!

These make great little birthday, Mother's Day, Father's Day, graduation, and Christmas holiday gifts.  I gave these away at Christmastime (as you can see by the poinsettia bow), and they were a HUGE hit!

Plus, they make a fun option for individual cakes at a birthday party!  Just imagine everyone getting to mix up their own.

2023 NOTE:  I made these cute Quick Cakes recipe cards a few years ago with a company that has changed its platform and no longer facilitates this kind of flexible creativity.  So you can either just write the recipes I'll share here on a little index card for gifting, or order the new set I've made using my favorite digital scrapbooking program at this link for professional printing! 

My new set is on a thick, glossy 8.5x11 scrap page, 
so you'll just cut them apart like this.  Punch holes
in the corners, then put a clasp right through them all.

If you're going to gift them, gifting with a cake mix is perfect!

All right, now we're ready to have a look at these easy recipes!

First, the Helpful Hints:

• Use Betty Crocker cake mixes for best results.
• Stir batter for 1 minute until smooth.
• All recipes can be made in cereal-size bowls.  20-oz. plastic, paper, and foam bowls are great for easy clean-up.   They can also be made in large (microwaveable) mugs.
• Microwave cooking times can vary.  Adjust time 5-10 seconds if necessary.

M&M FROSTED CAKE

Mix together in a cereal-size bowl 1/2 c. white cake mix, 1/3 c. water, 1/2 tsp. powdered sugar.  Stir for 1 minute.  Microwave about 90 seconds.  Top with prepared chocolate or vanilla frosting and M&Ms.

CARAMEL TURTLE CAKE

Mix together in a cereal-size bowl 1/2 c. yellow cake mix, 1/3 c. water, 1/2 tsp. powdered sugar.  Stir for 1 minute.  Microwave about 90 seconds.  Top with chopped pecans, chocolate chips, and warmed caramel topping.

ROCKY ROAD CAKE

Mix together in a cereal-size bowl 1/2 c. chocolate cake mix and 1/3 c. water.  Stir for 1 minute.  Microwave about 90 seconds.  Top with marshmallows, chocolate chips, and chopped almonds.  Microwave an additional 10 seconds to soften the chocolate chips.

STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE

Mix together in a cereal-size bowl 1/2 c. white or yellow cake mix, 1/3 c. water, 1/2 tsp. powdered sugar.  Stir for 1 minute.  Microwave about 95 seconds.  Top with strawberry jam (or fresh sliced strawberries).

GERMAN CHOCOLATE CAKE

Mix together in a cereal-size bowl 1/2 c. chocolate cake mix and 1/3 c. water.  Stir for 1 minute.  Microwave about 90 seconds.  Top with coconut, chocolate chips, and chopped pecans.  Microwave an additional 10 seconds to soften the chocolate chips.

MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP CAKE

Mix together in a cereal-size bowl 1/2 c. chocolate cake mix and 1/3 c. water.  Stir for 1 minute.  Microwave about 90 seconds.  Top with mint chocolate chips.

CARROT CAKE

Mix together in a cereal-size bowl 1/2 c. carrot cake mix and 1/3 c. water.  Stir for 1 minute.  Microwave about 90 seconds.  Cool slightly, then frost with prepared cream cheese frosting.

MOLTEN LAVA CAKE

Mix together in a cereal-size bowl 1/2 c. chocolate cake mix and 1/3 c. water.  Stir for 1 minute. Place 5 generous teaspoons of hot fudge topping on top.  Microwave about 90 seconds.  Increase cooking time if fudge topping is cold.

OREO COOKIE CAKE

Mix together in a cereal-size bowl 1/2 c. white cake mix and 1/3 c. water, and 1 crushed Oreo cookie.  Stir for 1 minute.  Microwave about 95 seconds.  Sprinkle with another crushed Oreo and prepared whipped topping (or prepared Dream Whip for pantry-friendly version).

LEMON CAKE

Mix together in a cereal-size bowl 1/2 c. lemon cake mix and 1/3 c. water.  Stir for 1 minute.  Microwave about 90 seconds.  Dust warm cake with powdered sugar.

These little recipes are great for parties, too, where everyone makes their own individual cakes.  

And I love having them on hand just in case anyone I know needs a little treat.  :) 

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My Canned Food Rotation System

Canned food is a great thing to have on hand for everyday situations as well as emergency ones.  After learning that canned goods last about 3-6 years beyond the date stamp on the can, you're probably realizing--like I have--that keeping as many extras on hand as possible is a pretty wise thing to do.

From impassable snow-packed roads to pre-hurricane panic buying and even a worldwide pandemic, you just never know when having some ready-to-prepare meals stored might come in pretty handy.

It's important, though, to keep track of what you have and by when it should be used.  I started doing this years ago by first buying a separate storage cabinet and then filling it with canned goods.  I had dry soup mixes and cans of tomatoes, beans, corn, peaches, pears, soup, tuna, chicken, etc.  (This certainly doesn't have to be stored in a special cabinet like mine, especially if you have a large pantry.  However, this is what works for me.  I've heard of boxfuls under beds, so do whatever works for you.)

MY CANNED FOOD ROTATION SYSTEM
If you search "food storage system" on Pinterest, there are a lot of cool things you can build (or buy) that will automatically rotate your canned goods.  There isn't one "right way," so just be sure you find something that works for you.  My method is just the one that works for me without a lot of effort.

First of all, I rotate all my canned food every two years.  So everything I buy in 2020 will be used in 2022.  Everything I'm using in 2020 was purchased in 2018.  To keep track of all this, I put stickers on the cans.  Like this.

Each sticker is for a different year.  You can see 3 here--one I'll be using this year (2020), one I'll be using next year (2021), and one I'll be using in 2022.  I've used star and heart stickers before, too.  :)  And I even have a master sheet letting me know which stickers I used for which year so I don't forget.  My brain has a lot of things in it, so sometimes the small ones fall out.

I keep the different years on different shelves.  I use that year's cans throughout the year, restocking my regular pantry with them until they're gone.  (Then I have room on the shelf to buy this year's food.)  Buying a few extra cans each shopping trip just about does it.

I definitely recommend some longer-term canned goods, too, that you don't have to rotate as often.  Dry canned goods in bigger #10 cans like oatmeal and rice and dried apples can stay in a dark, cool place for 20 years or more!  I just write the purchase dates on the labels on these.  I only use the sticker method for the ones I'm rotating every few years.  I really like having a few things I can buy and just forget about for a decade or two.

ONE BIG THING I LEARNED
I learned a few things about my canned food storage during COVID-19 isolation.  The pandemic (and questioning whether I really wanted to go out to go to the store or not) made me consider my stored food for actual daily use instead of just in theory.  I discovered that my method could use a little bit of improvement.  It was pretty good, and I'd been doing this for 15 or 20 years, but one thing I could do a little better would be to have a solid plan.

I'd heard the advice "store what you eat," which is great advice, and that's what I'd been doing.  But I realized I didn't have an end goal.  So we have extra peanut butter and jam, but do I have a plan to be able to make bread?  I have tomatoes and pasta sauce, but is it in the right ratio to the noodles?  What would I do with a can of evaporated milk?  I've heard it's a good substitution for milk, but have I tried it in a recipe?

So I have made some notes about how to improve what I store.  I started experimenting with recipe substitutions, as you know from reading this blog.  :)  But I also realized what I could use more of or didn't need as much of.

I have decided that to make my canned food storage more efficient, I would make a meal plan with enough meals for 3 weeks--all made just from my canned food storage.  I can do that from a lot of the recipes I have here, in fact.  (And canned soup does the trick, too.  So does a bowl of oatmeal.)  And that's how my 21-Day Meal Plan was born.  You can head over to that link for a (free) printable, too.

Having an actual plan means that when I buy those extra canned goods for my storage cabinet, I will be making sure I'm not left with a cake mix and a can of pinto beans at the end of the day.

Have you found a good method for rotating your canned goods?  Do you have a good plan for using them?  I'd love to hear about them--let me know in the comments below.  

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No-Yeast Sourdough Bread with Starter

For a while now, I've been on the hunt for a bread recipe that doesn't require yeast.  Yeast is the easiest way to make bread dough rise, of course, but when COVID-19 began, I couldn't find it for months.  So I decided that part of my pantry-friendly, in-an-emergency, shelf-stable recipes really needed to include a bread that didn't rely on yeast.  

This is the third recipe I tried.  Sourdough can be finicky, and I really wanted one that would just WORK without being crazy complicated and over-sensitive.  This one was my winner!  And I definitely want to acknowledge Michelle at Souly Rested for this excellent recipe!  I've simplified it a little here, but it's all thanks to Michelle.  And if you missed my post where I mentioned the health benefits of sourdough, check them out here.  I've also posted a lot of tips and information about sourdough for beginners there.

This bread has more of a sourdough taste than the Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread (with starter) recipe I posted last year, and I think it would be ideal with soup.  Mmm!  One of the other things I love about this recipe is that there isn't any discard.  Usually, when you make a sourdough starter, you have to throw some of it away so that you don't end up with SO. MUCH. starter.  This one is a much smarter recipe, I think, because it's less wasteful.  That's a big deal to me, actually--especially in an emergency.

And if you love this recipe, go thank Michelle by commenting.  I happen to know that bloggers appreciate comments!  :) 

NO-YEAST SOURDOUGH BREAD WITH STARTER

PREP TIME:  10-12 days for the first starter, then roughly 24 hours for the bread dough
COOK TIME:  20-30 minutes

INGREDIENTS for the NO-YEAST SOURDOUGH STARTER

• wheat flour
• white flour (optional)
• water

DIRECTIONS for the NO-YEAST SOURDOUGH STARTER

In a quart glass jar, mix together 1/2 c. wheat flour and 1/2 c. warm water.  Use wheat flour because it ferments and bubbles better.  Leave it on the counter with a lid sitting on top on but not screwed on.  For the next 5 or 6 days, add about 1/4 c. flour and 1/4 c. warm water.  You can use all wheat flour if you want, but I like adding white flour most of the time, with the wheat flour used maybe every third "feeding" of the starter.  Stir well each time you feed the starter.  After about 5 or 6 days, feed your starter with 2 Tbsp. flour and 2 Tbsp. warm water and stir well, feeding this amount each day until your starter is about 10-12 days old.  

Michelle says to err on the side of too much flour, not too much water, because a starter that's too thin won't rise.  She also advises not worrying too much if you miss feeding the starter one day.  Also, don't worry if your starter gets a clear or light-brown liquid on top.  That's normal.  Just stir it back in every time you feed it. 

INGREDIENTS for the NO-YEAST SOURDOUGH BREAD

• 1  1/2 c. warm water
• 1 c. sourdough starter
• 3 c. flour, half white & half whole wheat
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 2  1/2 tsp. salt
• 1  1/2 - 3 c. flour (either white or whole wheat)

DIRECTIONS for the NO-YEAST SOURDOUGH BREAD

In the evening, mix together with a wooden spoon the warm water, sourdough starter, and 3 c. flour in a non-metallic bowl.  Cover with plastic wrap.  The next morning or afternoon, place the mixture in a mixing bowl and mix in the sugar, salt, and 1 1/2 c. flour, using a dough hook if possible.  Add more flour as needed to make a soft dough that pulls away from the edges of the bowl.  Move the dough to a non-metallic bowl sprayed with cooking spray.  Cover with plastic wrap sprayed with cooking spray. Let rise until double in size, about 2 hours.  

Place two glass loaf pans in the oven and preheat to 425 degrees.  Place dough on a rolling mat and divide in half.  Flatten one half with your hands.  Stretch it out to a rectangle.  Fold in each corner to the middle, then fold in corners again, a little like an envelope.  Shape into a loaf.  Repeat with the other dough half.  Cover with a towel for a 10-minute "bench rest."  Once the oven is preheated and the dough has rested at least 10 minutes, remove the hot pans and spray them with cooking spray.  Place the dough loaves in hot pans.  Cover with a towel and let rise another 30 minutes.  Score (cut) the dough along the top to let the air escape during baking.  Bake at 425 degrees for 20-30 minutes.  Wait at least 20 minutes to slice the bread so it won't be gummy.

Refrigerate the starter after this first use.  To make future loaves, take the starter out of the fridge the morning you'll be making the first part of the dough.  Let it come to room temperature at least an hour, then stir in equal amounts flour and warm water (probably about 1/2 c. each).  Leave on the counter all day until you begin making the dough in the evening.

Try this recipe, then comment and let me know how you like it!  And Pin it to Pinterest to save and share using the image below.

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Pantry-Friendly Snacks to Have on Hand

Most snacks are pantry-friendly anyway, it's true, but as I created my 21-Day Pantry Friendly Meal Plan, I allowed for 3 meals a day plus dessert every 3 days.  This is great for me, but as I made the plan I quickly recognized that it doesn't account for all the snacking my sons do, not unlike many teenagers and growing kiddos.

Because the 21-Day Pantry-Friendly Meal Plan is designed to be used either in case of emergency or as easy, last-minute meals, I wanted it to be a healthier version of a freezer full of pizza or a pantry full of mac-n-cheese.  Now that I'm thinking about snacks I'd also like to have on hand, I'd like them to be a healthier step up from Cheez-its.  They are still things my family will eat of course (no dried kale chips or anything), but they have more nutritional value than your average bag of chips.

It's wise to have a 72-hour kit in case of emergency as well, and I keep many of these snacks in my 72-hour kit.  They can serve as small meals if you're desperate (such as if the power goes out for an extended period and you can't cook).  We actually rotate ours every year to keep them fresh.

Here are some ideas for pantry-friendly snacks that have some nutritional value that are great to have on hand in case of emergency.

• granola bars or protein bars
• dried apple slices or pear slices or strawberry slices  (You can get individual packs at Target or Walmart, but if you want apple slices in bulk, you can get them here [my favorite] or here.  I get my apple slices here because the price is good, though they're not as crunchy as the freeze-dried varieties.  They're perfect for my Pantry-Cooked Apple Crisp, though!)
• jerky
• instant nutritional drinks (such as Ensure or Carnation; I also like Ruvi which is just fruits and vegetables; so is V-8)
• trail mix
• freeze-dried cheese (I've seen this as Moon Cheese at Target, but you can also get them as Snackies; Snackies also come in other combinations of freeze-dried fruits and vegetables and nuts and yogurt bites--it may seem funny to see freeze-dried corn as a snack, but it's SO good!)
• fruit leather (Joray have always been my favorite.)
• individual drinkable soups (Campbell's makes easy-to-eat ones.)
• nuts
• tuna salad or chicken salad with crackers (from Bumble Bee)
• individual milk boxes or bottles (From my grocery store I usually just get Nestle chocolate milk bottles or Lala white milk [in the Mexican food section], but the shelf-stable milk from Gossner Foods comes in quite a few flavors, all of which I've tried, so I order those a couple of times a year.  Fair warning:  shipping isn't cheap, but it's good, shelf-stable milk.  You can sometimes find Gossner milk at Dollar Tree, which is awesome.)
• peanut butter and crackers
• popcorn (high in fiber)
• applesauce pouches
• specialty olives and tapas spreads with crackers
• crunchy wheat snacks
• tuna salad and chicken salad (Bumble Bee makes them in snack sizes, pre-made)
• MREs (Meal Ready to Eat--just Google to find availability at food storage companies or even on Amazon)

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What nutritional pantry-friendly snacks do you like to have on hand?  Or do you have great ideas for a 72-hour kit?  Comment below and let me know!  I'll add them to this list.  

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Crunchy Wheat Snacks

My kids like these crunchy wheat snacks.  They assumed they wouldn't because this snack is basically just wheat, but they came back for more.  And more.  And said things to me like, "I can't believe it's just wheat, but it's really good."  And "I can't stop eating this."

Whole wheat berries are a great thing to store (because they can store about 30 years!) and because they're packed with nutrition in their whole-grain state.  (I wrote about that here.)

These simple snacks can be made savory or sweet, and to me the savory ones resemble tiny corn nuts.  Give this a try with different seasonings and see what's your favorite.  My sons like the version with salt and ranch dressing mix, and my daughter and my husband like the plain salt ones.  I'm partial to the cinnamon-sugar ones.

The savory flavors would also make great a salad topping.  Like "think outside the box" croutons.

CRUNCHY WHEAT SNACKS

pictured here:  salt and ranch dressing mix
pictured below:  cinnamon-sugar

PREP TIME:  about 1 hour
COOK TIME:  4-5 minutes (repeated 3 times)

INGREDIENTS

• 1 c. wheat berries (Wheat berries are just wheat in whole grain form.  Find them in the bulk foods section of a health food store, or order online here or here or here.)
• 3 c. water
• 6 Tbsp. oil
• seasonings of your choice, such as salt, dry ranch dressing mix, garlic salt, seasoned salt, or cinnamon-sugar

DIRECTIONS
Place wheat berries and water in a medium pot.  Bring to a boil over high heat.  Boil 5 minutes.  Reduce heat to low, cover the pot with a lid, and simmer for 45-50 minutes.  Drain off excess water.  In a large skillet, heat 2 Tbsp. oil over medium heat for 3 minutes.  Add 1 c. cooked wheat berries to the hot oil.  Cover with a lid and cook for 4-5 minutes, shaking the covered skillet every 30 seconds so the wheat will fry evenly.  Drain on a paper towel to remove excess oil.  Sprinkle with your choice of seasonings.  Repeat twice more (using the remaining 2 cups of cooked wheat berries).  Store in an airtight container.

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Cherry Cordial Cookies

These cookies!  Ah!  I'm in love with this combination of chocolate and cherries.  I also love how simple they are to make while still being elegant enough to give away at Christmastime. 

Add in some pantry-friendly twists and you've got the perfect recipe.

When I think of cherry cordials, I think of a maraschino flavor.  This cherry flavor is different--the cherry here comes from cherry preserves and dried cherries.  So delicious!

See the dried cherries in the cookie itself?  That decadence in the middle is cherry preserves mixed with melted chocolate chips.   By the way, you'll have a little bit of it left over.  I suggest putting it over ice cream, but I'm not saying you can't just eat it with a spoon.

CHERRY CORDIAL COOKIES

PREP TIME:  15-20 minutes
COOK TIME:  10-12 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 1 package (17.5 oz.) sugar cookie mix
• 3/4 c. chopped dried cherries (about 4 oz.)
• 1/2 c. butter flavor shortening (original recipe:  1/2 c. softened butter)
• equivalent of 1 powdered or freeze-dried egg, rehydrated (original recipe:  1 egg)
• 3/4 c. cherry preserves (about 8-9 oz.)
• 1  1/2 c. chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS

Combine in a large mixer bowl the cookie mix, cherries, butter flavor shortening, and egg.  Beat until well-mixed.  Shape into 1-inch balls.  Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.  Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.  While baking, make the cherry chocolate centers by microwaving the preserves in a medium bowl for 1 minute, then stirring the chocolate chips in until melted.  Remove the cookies from the oven when ready, then make an indentation in the center of each warm cookie using the back of a tablespoon.  Fill the indentations with the chocolate-cherry mixture.  Cool completely.  Makes about 2 dozen.

Try this recipe, then comment and let me know how you like it!  And Pin it to Pinterest to save and share using the image below.

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Biscuits and Gravy from the Pantry

I thought everyone had heard of biscuits and gravy until I lived in upstate New York.  Based on my experience there, I would say it's a Southern thing, but I've seen them at hotel breakfasts all across the country.  If you've never tried biscuits and gravy, now's the time!  

This is a simple version of biscuits and gravy, with homemade biscuits and packaged (real!) sausage country gravy--all of which are stored right in your pantry.  As I always say, that's great in a pinch and great in an emergency, too.

If you prefer the simplicity of biscuits made from Bisquick mix, by all means, do that.  I think the taste of the from-scratch version here is superior, and just about as quick and simple.

BISCUITS AND GRAVY FROM THE PANTRY

PREP TIME (including COOK TIME):  about 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 c. freeze-dried sausage (I really love this stuff.  SO much easier and more convenient than cooking up sausage!)
• 2 c. flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 c. milk (either shelf-stable milk or reconstituted from powdered; see pantry-friendly substitutions and my favorites listed here)
• 1/4 c. mayo
• 2 packages of country gravy mix (1.32 oz. each)
• water 
• 2 Tbsp. powdered creamer, optional

DIRECTIONS
Rehydrate sausage according to package directions.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, milk (reconstituted if needed), and mayo until dough forms.  Spray a 12-cavity muffin tin with cooking spray.  Divide the dough equally among the 12 cavities.  Bake about 15 minutes or until golden.  In a medium saucepan, mix gravy according to package directions, adding powdered creamer if desired.  When gravy is done, stir in rehydrated sausage.  Serve gravy over halved biscuits.

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French Bean Ranch Salad

This cold salad is a great twist on plain old green beans.  The original recipe calls for frozen French-cut green beans, thawed, but swapping out the frozen for canned makes this a pantry-friendly recipe--great in a pinch or an emergency.  Plus, it comes together in about 15 minutes, so it's ridiculously easy and convenient, too.  

FRENCH BEAN RANCH SALAD

PREP TIME:  10-15 minutes

COOK TIME: 0

INGREDIENTS

• 3 cans French-cut green beans
• 1-2 Tbsp. dried minced onion
• 1/4 c. real bacon bits
• 1/4 c. prepared ranch dressing

DIRECTIONS
Drain the beans well.  Stir together with the remaining ingredients.  Chill before serving, if desired.

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Creamy Zucchini Soup

This is a pantry-friendly take on an absolutely delicious soup recipe I got from a fellow blogger a few years ago.  "Creamy" is right--the broth of this soup is divine, using just 1% milk and chicken bouillon.

It's a simple recipe, too.  I had to make quite a few substitutions to make this using pantry-friendly ingredients, but the flavor is incredibly close to the original recipe.  Unfortunately, my picture doesn't do it justice, but you definitely need to try this easy, yummy soup.  

It's also low-calorie, at about 68 calories per cup!

CREAMY ZUCCHINI SOUP

PREP TIME:  10 minutes
COOK TIME:  about 15 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 2 Tbsp. oil (I like avocado oil, but any kind will do)
• 6 Tbsp. dry butter powder (I like this kind; also available here and here.  If using butter flavor shortening as a butter substitute, eliminate the 2 Tbsp. water and the oil.)
• 2 Tbsp. water + 4 c. water
• 6 Tbsp. flour
• 4 tsp. chicken bouillon
• 4 c. (1 quart) shelf-stable milk (I used Gossner milk for this recipe and liked it a lot.  Alternatively, use any of these substitutes listed here.)
• 2  1/2 c. freeze-dried zucchini (I like this kind; also available here and here.)

DIRECTIONS

In a large soup pot, over medium heat, whisk together oil, butter powder, and 2 Tbsp. water.  Whisk in flour.  Pour in a little of the 4 c. water and whisk until smooth, stirring over the heat until the mixture thickens.  Whisk in the bouillon, then slowly whisk in the remainder of the water.  Stir in the milk and the dried zucchini.  Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil.  As soon as the soup boils, lower the heat to low and stir well.  Cover the pot with a lid and let simmer about 15 minutes.

Try this recipe, then comment and let me know how you like it!  And Pin it to Pinterest to save and share using the image below.

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My 21-Day Pantry Meal Plan

It's a great idea to have some meals on-hand that you can make in case of emergency or just in a last-minute hurry, and that's what this blog is dedicated to.  

I'm so excited to share something fantastic with you today!  

This blog began in March as a quest to find great recipes for meals that didn't require shopping trips for fresh ingredients--because in March (hello, COVID-19) it was pretty hard to get much of anything for a while.  (Remember the creepy feeling of the empty shelves in the grocery stores?  It took me 10 weeks to find yeast and another 8 to find it again!)  

Shortly after starting this blog sharing easy pantry-friendly (shelf-stable) recipes, I decided that my own pantry-friendly meal ideas could use an upgrade.  They could use a plan.  So I decided to put together a 21-Day Pantry Meal Plan based on these pantry-friendly recipes my family likes.  I'm really happy to have put it together this way because now I can store exactly what I'll need.  :)  

The meal plan includes recipes I've posted here at this blog plus a few non-recipe meals (like oatmeal for breakfast), and it's enough for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, plus dessert every 3 days, and will feed 4-6 people for 21 days.  Without any trips to the store!

And I'm going to share my 21-Day Pantry Meal Plan with you!  There's a printable document here with the meal plan which you can use along with all the recipes published here at the blog so far (with a few more coming in upcoming weeks).  Just click here and print.  

Feel free to make notes and adjust this meal plan to your own preferences, too.

I can't tell you how excited I am to have this cookbook--all the recipes from this blog in one place.  These can be go-to recipes in a pinch or in a big emergency.  My next step is to make a big shopping list, then make sure I have all the ingredients on hand.  I'll be set for a whole 21 days!

And stay tuned at the blog, too, for some good snack ideas coming up that can be added to your pantry-friendly meal plan.  These are foods that don't need to be cooked or even heated, so they are certainly good for snacks, but they're also great for a 72-hour emergency kit in case of power outages and such.

I'd love to know what recipes you've tried from the blog so far!  Comment below and tell me what you like.  

Then keep visiting!  I've got 5 more recipes to share in 2020 (wait until you see the elegant cookies coming in December), then in 2021, the recipes will be posted on the first Friday of each month, and will include more recipes, canned food rotation tips, and 8 recipes in a jar!  I love those!  They're SO handy (and they make great gifts, too!)  So keep on visiting Easy Pantry Recipes and find out why.  :)

See you next week!

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Italian Quinoa

This Italian Quinoa is a great dish because it can be served hot or cold, vegetarian or with meat.  Best of all, it's pantry-friendly (shelf-stable), meaning the ingredients can be kept for months in your pantry, just waiting to be used.  I love pantry-friendly recipes like this because they are a great last-minute dish and they can be made even during an emergency.  The flavors in this one are fabulous.

ITALIAN QUINOA

PREP AND COOK TIME:  about 20-25 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 1 c. quinoa
• 1  3/4 c. water
• 1/4 c. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. garlic salt
• 1 tsp. oregano
• 1 Tbsp. parsley
• 1/2 c. freeze-dried spinach (available here and here)
• 1/2 c. freeze-dried sausage (optional; available here -- I use this all the time!  I love not having to cook sausage!)
• 1/4 c. dried onion (I prefer red onion by Litehouse, but regular dried minced onion is fine, too.)
• 1 can petite diced Italian tomatoes, undrained
• 3/4 c. black olives, quartered
• a little Italian salad dressing to drizzle, optional

DIRECTIONS

Place quinoa, water, and lemon juice in a medium pan.  Bring to a boil over high heat, then remove briefly from heat to stir in   garlic salt, oregano, parsley, spinach, sausage (optional), and onion.  Place back on the heat, lower heat to low, and cover the pan with a lid.  Cook 15 minutes on low.  Remove from heat and place in a serving bowl.  Stir in tomatoes and olives.  Drizzle with Italian dressing, if desired.  Serve hot or cold.  

Try this recipe, then comment and let me know how you like it!  And Pin it to Pinterest to save and share using the image below, or the social media share links at the left.

To print this recipe, hit the "print" button below.  If you don't see the print button, scroll back up and click on the title of this blog post, then scroll back down and you'll find the button below.

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