Raspberry Honey Butter/Frosting/Cream Cheese

I am looking for alternatives in my food storage that I can use to spread on bread. This was instigated by the amounts of fresh butter we use and how I do not have the freezer space to store that much butter for my family.

I am storing butter powder. I have used butter powder for cooking applications but not so much for spreading on toast.  I am one of those people who eats bread so I can eat, taste, savor the butter on top. I consulted with my good friend Heather who is also amazing with food storage, check her blog out, to get some advise on the butter powder. I have a play-by-play with photos to show you what I came up with in implementing Heather’s advice.

Chocolate. Store Chocolate!!

chocolate chipsI am not a chocoholic. I enjoy chocolate and sweets. I don’t have to have dessert after every meal or even something sweet. But lately I have been dying for some chocolate. Not brownies, but solid milk or dark chocolate. You can imagine how happy and grateful I was to find some “emergency chocolate” bars in my Shelf Reliance party supplies. Not some but one XL Symphony bar with almonds and toffee chips. I am so happy to have it! I am breaking off a square or two and savoring them. I have shared it with Mr. Incredible but no one else knows about the candy bar, even he doesn’t know where I am hiding it.

Mr. Incredible’s Favorite Lentil Soup

I just found this recipe today. I made it tonight for dinner using Thrive instead and it was amazing! I love it and Mr. Incredible said it’s his favorite lentil soup now. All my kiddos ate it cheerfully. This is yummy. And oh so easy. It does take time to simmer to get the lentils soft. Just throw it in a pot and forget about it for a while. This soup was so good and easy I wanted to do a price break down on cost per serving. I am basing my ingredients off of my recipe using Thrive freeze dried food.

French Toast, California Casserole, Chicken and Rice

I did not pressure can black beans today. But after our meals I realized we need to eat more beans because they stick to a person better than white rice.

I baked a loaf of french bread yesterday intending it for french toast this morning. And it worked. I used 2 fresh eggs and 1 scrambled egg mix egg plus our Rosehill Dairy milk. Sprinkled some cinnamon and vanilla into the mix. I cooked the slices of dipped toast on an extra oily pan so we wouldn’t spread butter on the slices after they were done. I am becoming a nazi about our butter. I should lay off. I really want the butter to last. I will whip up some of my powder butter and see how that is received. IMG_0932

Week Two’s Food Totals

This is tougher than I thought, keeping track of the food we eat through out the week.

Flour/Grains

Rolled Oats 1.5 cups

Steel cut oats 2 cups

popcorn 1/4 cup

rice flour 3 cups

wheat flour 11 cups

rice 4.5 cups

pasta 3 pounds

Oil  2 cups oil of corn or olive oil not including the butter

Beans 1 can of black

Vegetables 1 can of corn, 1 can of green beans, 2 cups of freeze dried onions, 1 cup of mushrooms, 1 can diced tomatos, a large #10 can of crushed tomatoes, 1 small can of tomato sauce, lots of freeze dried  vegetables.

Monday: Steel Cut Oats & Smoothie, Pasta Salad, Chicken Dumplings

This morning I made steel cut oats. To mix it up a bit I added freeze dried blueberries just before serving the hot mess. It was good after adding the brown sugar, maple syrup and cinnamon. I also made a smoothie with the kefir that was really ready to be used. Kefir is a probiotic. Similar to yogurt. When you buy these little kefir grains you can use them indefinitely as long as they are taken care of. I asked Julie the owner at Cultures for Health how kefir grains do with powder milk (reconstituted of course). Julie said the kefir grain disintegrate in powdered milk and disappear. I was sad to hear this.  I am currently feeding my kefir grains the milk delivered by our milk man.IMG_0924IMG_0922

Sunday: Pancakes, Chicken Curry and Brownies

Pancakes for breakfast. Used my Thrive whole egg powder and instant milk in the batter. My brother-in-law found these outdoor grills that use propane. Anything and everything we cook on it tastes excellent! I am so glad we bought the grill. We will cook breakfast outside in 18 degree temps. We can make like 14 pancakes at a time! When its Sunday and you want to get to church on time that is a very handy thing. No one has to yell, “I get the first one!”. They still do yell it but everyone gets the first one.

IMG_0909

FAIL German pancake, Scrambled Eggs, Beef Stroganoff

German pancake, FAIL. My sister in Seattle loves German Pancakes. I thought I would give it a try. I used the scrambled egg mix in this recipe. It never really puffed up and was burnt around the edges  I am not sure where I went wrong.IMG_1890

It was very dense. The good news was, since I have never made a German Pancake before my kiddos didn’t know what to expect. Pagey called it a “pancake pie”. I had a piece too. It tasted good, the result just wasn’t what I knew it could be. We all ate it with syrup and butter. Nothing went to waste.

Scrambled Egg Skillet and Spaghetti

I made an egg scramble this morning. I had 4 potatoes left and shredded two of them for breakfast. I mixed up the equivalent of 5 eggs using the scrambled egg mix. I chose to add mixed bell peppers. I have fallen in love again with Thrive’s mixed bell peppers. They are so good. And a #10 can lasts forever! I also added freeze dried onions, and freeze dried sausage and some freeze dried green chilis. All Thrive of course.