PUTTING FOOD BY - Crackers

We are almost through the first full week of Fall. Temperatures are finally beginning to feel like Autumn and the desire for comfort foods is building. Foods such as Chili, soups, casseroles, etc. Dishes that are best with crackers included in the recipe or as an addition to the bowl. 

One product we use a lot of is TownHouse crackers. I can't sneak an off-brand by Bob (but I have a plan). If you've ever opened up a package and gotten that waxy plastic taste, you know that their packaging is NOT the best option for longterm storage.

I was able to get a package and a half in a 1quart jar with my Foodsaver.

Now, there are a couple of gals on YouTube who get fancy by stacking them. I didn't stack and got the same amount in each jar.

I also bought three boxes of the TownHouse Italian Flatbread Crackers and got the same amount in the jars.

The plain buttery crackers will be great for adding to casseroles. I can mix those with the Italian Flatbread crackers for Chicken Parmesan. 

Because I've heard mixed stories about using the FoodSaver for 'crumb' type items, I chose to put the full crackers in the jar and will crush them as needed. 

Since these pictures were taken I've also purchest Mini Saltines (I prefer saltines in my soup and these are 1/4th the size of a saltine square and Oyster Crackers (which Bob prefers in his chilli).  As soon as I've finished moving craft pattern books up to the studio, I'll have a full 5-shelf book case for these dry goods. The jars are lighter weight than regular canned goods so the cheaper partical board shelves will withhold these jars nicely. 

ROAD TRIP - Ozark Sustainable Living Festival

Last Saturday I braved what I thought was going to be a pleasant weather day to attend the Ozarks Sustainable Living Festival at the Next Step Seventh Day Adventist Church in West Plains MO.

The church hosted a similar festival two years ago with what I believe was a much better organized, attended event (both by vendors and those interested in 'sustainable' living. First, I'm going to show you what I saw then give a this year verses two years ago critique.

These first pictures were taken from three different vantage points around the field/ track of the church yard.

as I approached from the parking area

to the left facing the church

from the back side of the track

I was disappointed in the number of vendors. I realize the weather was questionable, after having survived three days of heavy rain. Two years ago, we had an organic beef meat processor educating as well as offering burgers for sale from their food trailer. There were also a lot more educational booths on sustainability and prepping-type information.

I understand the lack of food availability on the track may have been due to the church offering a vegan burger plate inside the church. (Though I can NOT be sure that was the reason for lack of other options.. just an observation.)

Booths on the lawn included:

Blacksminth Matthias Pen from Ava MO

Garden of Hope (Killian) from Doniphan MO

Garden Nursery, Air Plants, Succulents

Activities for kids such as Balloons

I did not get this gentleman's name but he appeared as if this was the last place he wanted to be.

 Very unapproachable. Notice Tupperware in the background. 

While Tupperware has been around for generations, any prepper knows that plastic is NOT the best way to store long-term. 

There were1 -hr  time slots for seminars in the Main Hall:

Sustainability - The Big Picture Overview  /w Larry Sweet

Food - Our Unsustainable Food System -- help change it  /w Dan Leary

Energy - Everything Needs Power /w Craig Wiles 

Community - We're All Part of This  /w Galen Chadwick

Shelter - Earthships for Sustainable Living /w Allen & Mary Severin 

Panel of 'Experts' - Bring Your Questions

Economics - Prosperity without 'growth' /w Mike Luster

I missed the first seminar, got in on the tail end of the second and sat through part of the third. What I did hear was a lot of 'background' information but no how to put the information into practice. They did offer a sign-up to get an MP3 disk of all the seminars for $5. I signed up for one to hear the ones I missed. 

I couldn't sit through the rest of Energy and rain moved in so I headed out for lunch and to pick up a few things at the box store. Before I'd finished lunch, the sky opened up and began flooding the streets so I bypassed the box store and headed home. I later heard on the news that had I not left when I did, I might have been camping out at the local Comfort Inn for the night due to impassable roads.  

Sustaining Sponsors (contributing $1000 or more to support the event):

Next Step Seventh-day Adventist Church

Beard Law Firm

Maranatha Farms

Professional Resume Writers (Mick Slack)

Aside from vendors and children's activities, there was to be music. There wasn't anyone there while I was there.

In comparison to the festival of two years ago, I was disappointed in this festival and would have accomplished more staying home. 

PUTTING FOOD BY - Turkey and Noodles

I love this picture. While the storage itself is not practical for home-use, can you imagine having that kind of a stock-up and never having to worry about any of it going bad? Yeah.. not going to happen.

I am learning to keep 'freezer' stuff to a minimum. I mean, if the power were to go out for any length of time, I would be cooking like a mad woman - then trying to figure out how to preserve what I'd cooked, or feeding the neighbors. 

In the grand scheme of preservation, the freezer is not our optimal food storage. So explain to me why I have an entire hog in my freezer downstairs LOL. Some of that will convert to canning jars this winter.

In the mean time, I've also learned how to best freeze foods for long-term storage and avoiding freezer burn. My foodsaver is my best friend - both for freezing and for dry jar storage.

Thanksgiving leftovers are a cook's nightmare. Not mine. I learned many things at an early age and one of those was how to convert leftovers into amazing meals. One of which is Turkey and Noodles.

I started by removing the meat from the carcass. First I sliced off all that I could for hot turkey sandwiches. This is usually good for a couple of meals.  The rest became shredded pieces. This is about 1/3 of a 6 quart metal mixing bowl.

I made a batch of egg noodles using 1 dozen large eggs, 1 Tablespoon of Salt and enough flour to make a workable dough.

I like noodles with some texture so I only roll my dough to about 1/4" thick. My mom always rolled her dough into a cylinder as if she were cutting cinnamon rolls and sliced her noodles off in 1/2" strips. I just take a pizza wheel to my flattened dough. they are 'home style'.

The noodles are placed into a bowl and tossed with a bit of flour to keep them from sticking to one another.

Bring a large 6 qt. pan of chicken stock to a boil. Once the broth is at a rolling boil, drop the egg noodles a few at a time into the broth and stir to keep them from sticking together. Continue to boil until they are no longer doughy. I usually do not add the meat until the noodles are almost done. This gives me more room in the pan for stirring the noodles. 

Once the turkey and noodles were done, I divided them into 8" round cake pans (you can use square or even a 9x13 if you are feeding a family of 4 or larger). An 8" cake pan is the perfect meal size for two people. Place them in the freezer uncovered, to freeze.

Once the pans are frozen solid, they will pack nicely into Foodsaver bags without worrying about juice squeezing out the top and the bags will conform to the shape. 

Nothing says comfort on a cold winter afternoon then a bowl of homemade turkey and noodles. You can do this same process with chicken or beef, too. If you want to add the vegetables in, like peas or carrots, at the time of cooking that will save you a step in heating up a vegetable side when you serve  up a bowl. Since my husband does not like vegies, I bypass these ingredients and heat up our individual favorites (he'll eat mushy canned peas or green beans) when I fix the meal. 

Now... I did mention the disadvantage to freezer usage at the beginning of this article. One of the things I'll be trying this fall is Pressure Canning. I've never used one before but I do know that when it comes to meat/ broths, pressure canning will expand my preservation options and keep me from relying on the freezer quite as much. I'm off to buy one tomorrow and will let you know how that part of this prepper journey goes.