Prepare Today Homemade-Candy Corn Crackers

I found a really fun recipe that doesn't use sugar and it is still a really great Halloween treat.  This recipe is from one of my favorite bento lunch blogs called Lunches Fit For A Kid.  Bento lunches are an Asian inspired lunch where the food is placed into compartments and usually has a theme.  

My kids have a kind of a bento lunch for school lunch everyday and I was looking for ways to add Halloween fun without it being sugary.  So when I saw the "Candy Corn Cracker" recipe, I was really excited to try it!!

Start off by making the dough from a recipe by King Arthur's Flour. (I followed it just as written) Click HERE to see that recipe.  The recipe calls for Vermont powdered cheese, but cheddar cheese powder (that's what I used) works just fine.  (Click HERE to see the recipe I found for the crackers) When your dough has come together you will need to divide it into thirds.  Spread out a piece of plastic wrap and place one third of the dough in a small rectangle in the middle of the plastic wrap.  With the other 2 pieces of dough you will need to color one third yellow, and one third orange.  I used regular old food coloring drops from the grocery store.  Layer the orange layer on top of the plain dough and the yellow on top.  Wrap up the dough and let it cool in the fridge for a half hour. 

Layered dough ready to go into the fridge.

After chilling in the fridge for a half hour, slice the dough very thin, about 1/16" and cut into candy corn shapes.  I didn't think that the small rectangle dough would make very many crackers, but it did!  It made a whole tray and about another half of a cookie sheets worth.  Place the crackers on a greased cookie sheet.

Ready to into the oven!!

Bake the crackers at 400 degrees for 6-8 minutes.  They will puff up slightly but not really spread out.  

 My crackers came out light and puffy, but I think they were suppose to be kind of crunchy.  It was hard to slice them thin enough, but I still think they are really yummy!!  Happy Halloween!!

Gimme Somethin' Good To Eat!!

I don't know about you, but chocolate has a place in my home food storage.  We have been counseled to store familiar food, comfort food, food that will keep us sane in an emergency.  So maybe I took that literally :) and I found a great way to store chocolate and candy for long term storage!!

There are only a few things that you will need to be able to store candy on your pantry shelf long term.  I have talked about using a FoodSaver before and it is essential to long term candy storage.  You will also need mason jars, lids, and of course candy.  This time of year is a great time to find candy on sale.  Look for sales after Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, and stock up for a great price.

The process is simple:  buy candy, place in a mason jar, and seal with your FoodSaver.  Easy, almost too easy to have candy preserved!!

I keep my FoodSaver plugged in so it's ready to use.

 There are two ways to seal your jars with the FoodSaver. The first way, and the way I like to do it, is to use a FoodSaver canister (I got mine on Amazon.com). I place the lid and ring on my jar and set it in the FoodSaver canister and put the lid on the canister and plug in the hose.  

If you use the FoodSaver canister you have to put a ring on the jar first or it won't seal.

 Then I press the button and the FoodSaver  does all the work.  The machine will stop on its own and you will need to hit cancel, release the air with the button on top of the canister, and then check to see if your lid sealed.  You can take the ring off and if it sealed, place on your pantry shelf!  I do this with all kinds of candy;  chocolate bars, suckers, M&M's, candy canes, candy corn (leave in bag and seal the bag in the jar), Werther's, Tootsie Pops, etc. 

Another way to seal is to use the FoodSaver jar attachments to seal your jar.  In the picture of my FoodSaver above you can see one leaning against the canister.  They are a lid that fits over the mason jar (don't put a ring on your mason jar, only the lid) and you attach the hose to the top of it.  I haven't had consistent luck in sealing jars with the attachments, but sealing with the canister I rarely have a jar not seal.  And if it doesn't seal it is usually because I need a new jar lid, not because of the canister. 

What a lovely picture :)

Just at note though ***Don't store chocolate with any other kind of candy.  The chocolate will absorb the taste of other items. ***   You don't want fruity tasting Butterfinger bars, at least I don't.  This goes for chocolate chips as well.  I put my chocolate chips in mason jars and seal them up.  Ace Hardware sells the 2 gallon jars and they hold A LOT of chocolate chips!!

The 2 gallon mason jar from Ace Hardware.

After Halloween this year save some of the kiddies candy and store it for a later date.  It would be a great way to make the candy stretch so your children don't eat it all at once.  You may wonder how long the candy will last, and I know it's at least a year.  I just used some M&M's to make cookies and they tasted as fresh at when we got them on Halloween in 2010.  

"Be faithful.
Unecomber your life.
Lay up in store."  Keith B. McMullin

Grocery Deals 10/26-11/1

It's Wednesday and time for the grocery deals!  I apologize if this post is short and sweet because I was literally up all night with a sick 3 year old.  I got an hour nap at 9am but I am running on fumes right now :)  There are a few good deals but hopefully the really good baking deals will start popping up. I noticed that Smiths has their store brand of chocolate chips on sale for $1.67 for 12oz., and they are suppose to be on sale until Jan. 17th!  (that is what the tag said under the price)  Chocolate is one item that is suppose to skyrocket in price, along with peanut butter and pumpkin, so I would stock up when you find a good deal!!


These are the deals I feel are stock up prices (better than the big box and membership stores) and you should buy what YOUR family needs and buy as many as your BUDGET allows!  I only list Smiths and The Sunflower Market because they are the stores in my area.

{I use the Grocery Smarts lists to find all my deals.  You can see them all if you click HERE}

** Remember we are shopping for items in our 3-month supply along with the longer-term items listed in our monthly goals. This month our long-term focus will be CASE LOT SALES (which are over now,if you missed them check for great shopping deals to get your 3-month items)!

How to Get A 3- Month Supply   

*Decide on a monthly food storage budget!  Knowing you have that money set aside will eliminate the excuse of having no money for food storage!

1.  Collect RECIPES that include the foods your family usually eats, comfort foods!
2.  Make an INGREDIENT list from the recipes.
3.  Buy those INGREDIENTS when they are on SALE! (and buy as many as your budget allows)
4.  ROTATE! Use your storage in your daily meals!
5.  Include NON-FOOD items as well:  batteries, all toiletries, baby supplies, sanitation supplies, paper goods,cleaning supplies, clothing, etc.
**I am going to start adding some coupon deals to the lists.  They will be in red so you know to only stock up on that item if you are using coupons.  SS=SMART SOURCE INSERT, RP=RED PLUM INSERT.  The inserts come in the Sunday paper and the weekly grocery ads. Please contact me for further info. on using coupons.** 

• GALA APPLES 5LB BAG $3.99
• APPLES .99LB
• PEARS .99LB
• PUMPKINS .12LB
• PETITE SIRLOIN STEAK SUPER VALUE PACK $2.99LB
• BONELESS, SKINLESS, CHICKEN BREASTS $1.79LB
• KROGER CHOCOLATE CHIPS 12OZ $1.67
• KROGER CREAM CHEESE .99
• KROGER SOUR CREAM $1.00
• POWERADE .69
• DON JULIO TORTILLA CHIPS $1.00
• KROGER SALTINE CRACKERS $1.00
• MILK $2.39 (USE .75/1 FROM COUPONS.COM=$1.64)
• SUNNY D $1.00 (.25/1 SS 8/14=.75)
• PROGRESSO SOUPS $1.25 ($1/4 GM 9/11 & PILLSBURY 10/2 & SS 10/23=$1.00)
• CREST TOOTHPASTE $1.00 (.75/1 PG 10/16=.25)
• SCHICK SLIM TRIM OR XTREME DISPOSABLE RAZORS 4-12CT  $3.33 ($2/1 SS 10/9=$1.33)

• SEEDLESS RED GRAPES .77LB!!
• GRAPEFRUIT .25EA
• RADISHES, CILANTRO, GREEN ONIONS, PARSLEY .50EA
• CAULIFLOWER OR BROCCOLI .88LB 
• CARROTS 1LB .50EA
• APPLES .99LB
• GROUND BEEF, GROUND TURKEY BREAST, GROUND CHICKEN, GROUND CHICKEN BREAST 40% OFF
• KIWI .50EA

REMEMBER THAT WEDNESDAY IS DOUBLE AD DAY AND BOTH LAST WEEKS' AND THIS WEEKS' ADS ARE GOOD ON WEDNESDAY'S. THESE ARE THE DEALS FROM LAST WEEK:
 
 

• HASS AVOCADOS .33EA
• HARD SHELL WINTER SQUASH .88LB
• ORGANIC SWEET POTATOES OR YAMS .88LB
• GREEN BELL PEPPERS OR CUCUMBERS .50EA
• LIMES .10EA
• KIWI FRUIT .33EA

• ROMA TOMATOES .99LB

"Be faithful." 
"Unencumber your life."
"Lay up in store."

Prepare Today Homemade- Cheese Puffs

This is a recipe from my binder that I found when I was making all of our food from scratch.  I didn't want to feed my family processed food and so I had to come up with snacks for my children.  The Cheese Puff has a flavor kind of like a cheddar Goldfish cracker, but they are lighter and fluffier.  If you want a stronger cheese flavor I would suggest using a sharp cheddar or even have fun with it and make it with pepper jack cheese. 

You are going to need 1/2 C cheddar cheese (I doubled the recipe so there is about 1 C cheese) , 3/4 C water, and 2 eggs.  

 
Melt 4 T butter with the 3/4 C water and bring to a boil.  Then you will mix in 3/4 C flour and stir the mixture until it forms a ball.

 At this point you will need to beat in the eggs, 1 at a time until the dough looks glossy and well blended.  Beat in the cheese, salt, and a dash of cayenne.  

 Now this is where you will need to do as I say and not as I did.  I thought it would look so pretty to roll the dough into uniform, little balls.  Well, the recipe says to drop by spoonfuls onto the tray and that is what I should have done.  Rolling them into balls makes the dough kind of dense and you want a light, fluffy puff.  So OCD aside, just plop the dough onto the cookie sheet!!

 Bake them for about 25-30 minutes at 375 degrees.  They are light, puffy and have an interesting taste.  They make a wonderful after school snack and I really like that there is no sugar and you could use whole wheat flour.

Cheese Puffs
4 T butter
3/4 C water
3/4 C flour
2 eggs (2 T egg powder + 1/4 C water)
1/2 C cheddar cheese (1/2 C freeze-dried cheese)
1 t salt
dash of cayenne pepper


Bring the butter and water to a boil.  Mix in the flour and stir until dough forms a solid ball.  Remove from heat and beat in the eggs, one at a time, until the dough is glossy and well blended.  Beat in the cheese, salt, and dash of cayenne.  Drop by spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Shelf-Stable & Edible

I know many people think of food storage as food they would only eat if they had too.  Well, it's 2011 and food storage has come a loooong way since the days of mysterious #10 cans in the basement.  When I talk to people I almost cringe when I say the word food storage because of their most likely expression, ewww.  So I like to use the words "home store" or "filled pantry" because that just sounds like you have lots of yummy food in your house.  :)  One of the goals this month is to have at least 5 shelf-stable recipes that your family will eat.  This may seem difficult, but it is actually easy to create a meal without refrigeration. It's also easy to convert almost any recipe to a shelf-stable version...AND it is yummy!

Powdered Sour Cream, Canned Chicken, & Butter Powder

One of the ingredients that a lot of people shy away from is canned meats.  Don't be scared!! (if I can do it you ALL can do it!!)  Canned meat makes cooking so easy, just open and add to any meal you are making. You can throw together a soup or casserole in minutes.  There are many varieties available and this is one area of food storage that you must purchase and sample for yourself to see what you prefer.  I personally don't eat meat (fish only) so I can't tell you what to buy, but I do know that many people prefer the canned meats from Costco (chicken and roast beef).  I like to can my own chicken because my kids think store canned chicken tastes like tuna.  Which is fine, but when it is suppose to taste like chicken a tuna flavor really doesn't cut it.  Check around and see what brand you like. {Click HERE & HERE to view previous posts on canning chicken}  Another great option is to have freeze-dried chicken on hand.  When it is re-hydrated it looks EXACTLY like cubed chicken!! I know Honeyville sells it and if you go into their store they will let you sample it!!  That is a great way to see if you will like it!

There are other ingredients that make food taste so good, like cheese, sour cream, butter, and eggs.  These are all foods that must be refrigerated, so how do you make shelf-stable recipes without them?  I have been using powdered eggs, sour cream, and butter, and they honestly work just like the real thing.  I have added powdered sour cream to enchiladas and white chicken chili and not one person said it tasted funny.  Powdered eggs work so well in all my baking that I rarely have real eggs on hand.  I will buy real eggs when they are on sale for hard boiled eggs, but other than that we use powdered eggs.  Honeyville Grain has a really cool product called Ova Eggs and they are fabulous for making scrambled eggs.

Cheese is probably the one food that I don't want to be out of.  My kids will eat cheese with everything and it really makes a casserole edible :)  Being able to make a cheese sauce,  pizza, or even a topping for a baked potato in an emergency, would make my kids feel there was some sense of normalcy.  Having foods that we are comfortable with will help a bad situation not seem as bad.  I also think about food prices going higher and higher, and just knowing that I have some alternate ways of making the food we love is so comforting.  There are several ways to store cheese.  One way is to purchase freeze-dried cheese in #10 cans.  When re-hydrated, with cool water, it looks, tastes, and bakes just like real cheese....I promise!!!!  You can also store Tillamook cheese (the orange shrink wrapped blocks) on a shelf in a dark, cool place for about 7 months.  It gets sharper with time so start with a mild cheese. There is also a canned cheese from New Zealand, but it's pricey.  It does have a place though because you can slice it, spread it and it melts really good.  I like to store cheese in several different ways so I have options.  (Emergency Essentials sells the canned cheese.)

Red Feather Canned Butter

Butter can also be found in a powder form and in a can.  The powder form is cheaper than the canned version, so start with that if you want to experiment.  I use it a lot in baking because you can't tell the difference!  Butter is also getting so expensive, so I like to save my real butter for important baking and cooking, and use the powdered form in everything else.  The one con in using powdered butter is that it really can't be used for spreading on toast, or in a cube-of-butter kind of way, but it's great for baking!!  The canned version, which you can spread, can be bought at Emergency Essentials or online.  It is upwards of $7 for 12oz., but you can spread it and it tastes really good. 

Gossners Milk

We are really lucky here in Utah because we have a great company called Gossners up in Logan.  They make shelf-stable milk and whipping cream (and lots of cheese, not shelf-stable, but so good).  We are also lucky because we can purchase the milk at the Dollar Store!!  I buy a few every time I go to the Dollar Store. The whipping cream is available from Gossners or Honeyville Grain, and I love to have a few of them on hand to add to soups.  The Hershey's brand of milk and the Horizon brand also make shelf stable milk in juice box form.  You can find those at the grocery store.  And if you think boxed milk tastes gross, ask my kids, they all drink it and eat it on cereal.  It is actually very good milk!!

If you haven't read through "It's in the Bag" by Michelle and Trent snow, you need to!!   Every recipe is shelf-stable and really good.  Their system of food storage is quite clever.  You store every item needed to make an entire meal and store it in a bag.  This is great for food storage, but also for an easy way for kids or even your husband to make dinner.  I have made several of the recipes from their book and they have all been delicious, but we really enjoyed the White Chicken Chili.


White Chicken Chili
2 (13 oz)cans chicken, drained, or 1 quart home-canned chicken
4 C water
2 cans Great Northern Beans, drained
1 (4oz) can diced green chilies
1 (12oz) can evaporated milk
4 chicken bouillon cubes
1/3 C dried onions
1 1/2 t garlic powder
1 t salt
1 t cumin
1 t oregano
1/2 t black pepper
1/4 t cayenne pepper
**If available add 1 C sour cream and 1 pint whipping cream (I used 1/2 C sour cream powder 1/2 C water and 1 small box of Gossner's whipping cream)
Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan and simmer over medium heat until hot.  Serve hot. 

Grocery Deals 10/19-10/25

It's Wednesday and time for the grocery deals.  There are only a few deals this week.  October is generally a slow deal month and then in November the baking sales hit.  That is when I stock up sugar, flour, chocolate chips, etc.  So maybe save your grocery money this month for the better deals next month.

These are the deals I feel are stock up prices (better than the big box and membership stores) and you should buy what YOUR family needs and buy as many as your BUDGET allows!  I only list Smiths and The Sunflower Market because they are the stores in my area.

{I use the Grocery Smarts lists to find all my deals.  You can see them all if you click HERE}

** Remember we are shopping for items in our 3-month supply along with the longer-term items listed in our monthly goals. This month our long-term focus will be CASE LOT SALES (which are over now,if you missed them check for great shopping deals to get your 3-month items)!

How to Get A 3- Month Supply   

*Decide on a monthly food storage budget!  Knowing you have that money set aside will eliminate the excuse of having no money for food storage!

1.  Collect RECIPES that include the foods your family usually eats, comfort foods!
2.  Make an INGREDIENT list from the recipes.
3.  Buy those INGREDIENTS when they are on SALE! (and buy as many as your budget allows)
4.  ROTATE! Use your storage in your daily meals!
5.  Include NON-FOOD items as well:  batteries, all toiletries, baby supplies, sanitation supplies, paper goods,cleaning supplies, clothing, etc.

**I am going to start adding some coupon deals to the lists.  They will be in red so you know to only stock up on that item if you are using coupons.  SS=SMART SOURCE INSERT, RP=RED PLUM INSERT.  The inserts come in the Sunday paper and the weekly grocery ads. Please contact me for further info. on using coupons.** 

•  5LB BAG GALA APPLES $3.99
• RE GRAPES .99LB
• PUMPKINS .25LB DOUBLE REWARD POINTS
• ROMA TOMATOES .99LB
• NY STRIP STEAK SUPER VALUE PACK $4.99LB
• KROGER YOGURT 6OZ .33
• BIG K SODA .67
• COKE 12 PACKS 3/$13 PLUS GET 2 FREE BOXES CHEEZ IT CRACKERS
• KROGER 5LB FLOUR $1.67
• KROGER BROWN OR POWDERED SUGAR 2LB $1.25
• KROGER PAIN RELIEVER 500CT $5.99
• NATURE MADE VITAMINS 50% OFF
• YOPLAIT 32OZ YOGURT $2.00 (.50/1 GM 9/11=$1.50)
• SUNNY D 64OZ $1.00 (.25/1 SS 8/14=.75EA)
• PEPSI 2 LITER $1.11 (.55/1 MOMENTS TO SAVE 10/2=.56)
• SOBE LIFEWATER .89 ($1/5 MOMENTS TO SAVE 10/2=.69)
• NESTLE TOLLHOUSE DARK MORSELS $2.00 (.50/1 SS 8/21=$1.50)
• PROGRESSO SOUP $1.25 ($1/4 GM 9/11 & PILLSBURY 10/2=$1.03EA)
• GREEN GIANT VALLEY FRESH STEAMERS $1.67 (.50/1 GM 9/11=$1.17)
• GILETTE BODY WASH $2.99 ($2/1 PG 10/2=.99)
• PANTENE HAIR CAIR $3.49 ($3/2 RP 9/25=$1.99)
• SCHICK SLIM TRIM OR XTREME DISPOSABLE RAZORS 4-12CT  $3.33 ($2/1 SS 10/9=$1.33)
• TRESSEME HAIR CARE $3.33 (BUY 1 GET 1 FREE RP 10/2=$1.67 EA)

• HASS AVOCADOS .33EA
• HARD SHELL WINTER SQUASH .88LB
• ORGANIC SWEET POTATOES OR YAMS .88LB
• GREEN BELL PEPPERS OR CUCUMBERS .50EA
• LIMES .10EA
• KIWI FRUIT .33EA
• ROMA TOMATOES .99LB

 Click HERE to view the goals for October.

"Be faithful." 
"Unencumber your life."
"Lay up in store." 

Prepare Today Homemade- Peanut Butter Dip

My kids come home from school everyday proclaiming that they are starving.  To combat this I try to have some sort of snack ready or else they will open every cupboard and the fridge whining there is no food in the house.  (yeah right, like there is no food in my house ;)  I found a great blog about healthy food and kids,  blog.superhealthykids.com, and this is where I found this yummy peanut butter dip.  It is good on apples, bread, or even topped on brownies! I actually tripled the recipe because the amount in the recipe is for 2 servings.

 Peanut Butter Dip
1/3 C peanut butter (I used creamy)
2 T brown sugar
2 T milk

In a small saucepan mix the peanut butter and sugar until slightly warm.  Add the milk a little at a time until it reaches a stirring consistency.  Serve with fruit.  

Easy, simple, and so delicious!!  My kids went through a ton of apples when I served this.  Celery would be yummy too!  Enjoy!