Saturday, November 8, 2008

Garlic Cheese Biscuits

We have used a similar recipe several times, and I prefer this one, because the other recipe uses real butter and you have to cut it in with a pastry blender. Boring! This mixes together very fast and pleases everyone, including the fussy teenager and the fussier husband.

1 3/4 cups white flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
5 tablespoons butter powder
1/4 cup powdered milk
1 cup water
1 cup shredded cheese

1/4 cup butter
1 clove garlic

1. preheat oven to 450 degrees.

2. In a large bowl sift together flour, salt, baking powder,butter powder and powdered milk. Make a well in the middle and add in the water and cheese. Stir to combine. Drop by spoonfulls onto an ungreased baking sheet.

3. Bake in preheated oven for 12 to 15 minutes, until browned lightly. While the biscuits are baking, saute butter and garlic in a saucepan. As soon as the biscuits are done, spoon garlic butter over each one. Yummy!

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Italian Zucchini Wheels

We let the zucchini go a few days too long. Someone had given me a recipe similar to this and I modified it to use the tomato powder and Monterey Jack cheese that I had on hand. It turned out great. It tasted like pizza crossed with the zucchini lasagna I make. I loved it, and half of my kids really loved it. It was a fabulous way to use up the gigantor squash from the garden. It also cooked quite quickly – pretty fast meal. This will become a staple in late summer at our house.

The tomato powder tastes great when reconstituted, but we have been adding a little sugar and salt, especially when making Italian dishes, and have found we really like the outcome.

2 very large zucchini – 15” long, 6” diameter was the size I used

Monterey Jack cheese

Olives

½ c butter

1 tsp minced garlic or garlic powder

2 cups water

¾ cup tomato powder

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1 T Italian seasoning

Saute garlic in butter. Combine tomato powder, water, salt, sugar and Italian seasoning in a bowl. Slice the zucchini 1” thick. Dip zucchini in garlic butter mix, lay on cookie sheet or jelly roll pan. Spoon on Italian sauce, put on olives and sprinkle on cheese. Grill on BBQ on low for about 15 minutes. (Be careful with cheese on grill – so you don’t have a mess).

Friday, August 15, 2008

Bean Sandwich Spread

You have to try this to believe it. Our kids liked it and it is a basic recipe that lends itself to self expression for sure. We are listing the basic ingredients we use. But you can experiment. Serve it on nice whole wheat bread and you have a complete protein for pennies.


2 cups cooked pinto beans, mashed
Mayonaisse
Bread for sandwiches, toasted if desired
Salt and pepper to taste
Other seasonings to taste including Onion Powder Season Salt Garlic Powder Celery Salt
Alfalfa sprouts

Mix mashed beans with mayonnaise to desired consistency. Add seasonings. Spread on bread and top with sprouts. Put on sandwich top and serve.

Dilled Pasta Salad


This is a good basic pasta salad. Feel free to experiment with different vegetables and possibly protein sources to come up with your favorite mixture. It is important to chill it for the recommended time before using.


2 Cups uncooked pasta, egg noodles work best, but we have also used Farfalle and Penne pasta

1/3 cup dehydrated onion, reconstituted½ cup freeze dried celery, reconstituted

½ cup dried peas, reconstituted or 1 cup frozen peas1

½ T Vinegar

3/ 4 cup mayonnaise

1 ½ t Dill weed, or more, adjust to taste

¼ t garlic salt

¼ t onion salt

Cook your pasta until tender. Drain and rinse under cool water until pasta is chilled. Drain completely when finished rinsing. Put into your mixing bowl and add hydrated vegetables. Mix vinegar, mayonnaise, dill weed, garlic salt and onion salt together and gently mix into the pasta. Chill for at least one hour before serving to give the flavors a chance to blend.

Spinach Salad with Bacon Bits

When our spinach finally is ready to harvest in early summer we are all excited to get our first taste of fresh garden produce. But, we have also found that this recipe works well with store bought spinach as well.

Serving bowl full of washed spinach
Your choice Italian or Vinaigrette Dressing, we love Brianna's
3-4 T Bacon TVP

Toss spinach with dressing. Add bacon TVP and continue to toss until all is coated. You can add sliced hard boiled egg on top for a garnish.

Cinnamon Apple Crisp

We really like this served warm with ice cream!


6 cups dehydrated apple slices or dices, reconstituted
3 t cinnamon
½ - ¾ cup sugar – depending on your taste
½ cup dehydrated margarine or butter powder
3 cup oats, old fashioned or quick work well
1 cup brown sugar

Hydrate apples and drain well when done. Put the apples in a bowl. Stir in cinnamon and sugar until well coated. Put mixture into 9x13 pan. Mix butter powder, oats and brown sugar. Sprinkle over apples in pan. Bake at 350⁰F for 45 minutes to an hour.

Our Mom's Granola

Some of us grew up eating this. It is the best granola on the planet and it's easy to make. Our family of "tasters" prefer it to any store bought granola we have come across.


10 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup wheat germ
3 cups chopped nuts, walnuts or almonds or whatever nut your family likes
½ lb shredded coconut
1 cup sesame seeds
1 ½ cups brown sugar
1 ½ cups oil
½ c molasses
2 tsp cinnamon (optional)
1 ½ cups water
½ cup honey
1 ½ t salt
3 t vanilla

Raisins or other dried fruit if desired.Preheat oven to 300⁰F. Mix dry ingredients in a big bowl. Set aside. Combine sugar, oil, molasses, cinnamon, water, honey, salt and vanilla in a heavy pot on the stove. Turn heat on low and stir until everything is melted and warm. Do not boil. Remove from heat and pour the syrup mixture over the dry ingredients. Stir gently until everything is covered. Spread wet mixture into 9x13 pans or onto jelly roll pans. Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes. Stir the pans periodically to ensure even drying. This recipes makes enough granola for 5, 9x13 pans or 3 large jelly roll pans.

EZ Dinner Roll

This is a great budget stretcher. One of our staffers feeds 5 children. She doubles the recipe of dough and makes pizza and cheeseburger fillings. She adds a vegetable or fruit side and no one leaves hungry. You can use any combination of fillings you can think of - bacon & egg, ham and cheese, chicken etc.


3 c white or whole wheat flour
3 t baking powder
½ t salt
½ c oil
1 C milk

Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Mix in oil and milk. Use a wooden spoon or big spoon to stir mixture into soft ball. Put ball on floured board and roll into a rectangle shape. Spread with filing of choice. Roll up like you would a cinnamon roll. Seal the ends and place onto your baking sheet. Shape the sealed rolls into a half circle shape. Take a knife or kitchen scissors and slash, but don’t cut all the way through the roll 5 or 6 times evenly along the length of the roll. It will look like you have partially cut 5-6 servings. Bake 450⁰F for 20 minutes.

Simple Bran Muffins

We really like these. They make ahead well and freeze fine. They serve as a quick breakfast or good morning snack. They are a family friendly way to get fiber into everyone's diet.


1 cup Milk1 T vinegar
¼ c sugar
1 t vanilla
2 t baking powder
1 cup wheat or oat bran, also may use 1 cup All Bran
1 T whole egg powder, reconstituted to make 1 egg
2 T oil
1 ¼ c flour, preferably whole wheat
½ c raisins

Mix milk with vinegar. Allow it to sit for a few minutes. It will begin to curdle. This makes a buttermilk substitute that works well in cooking. When it is done, soak the bran in the milk mixture for 5-10 minutes. Stir in beaten eggs, sugar, oil and vanilla. Mix well. Sift flour, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl. Gently stir flour this flour mixture and raisins into bran mixture. Batter will be lumpy. Pour into well greased muffin tins, paper cups are not recommended. Bake at 375⁰F for 20-25 minutes.

Simple Homemade Bread

This is the easiest way to make bread. Homemade bread creates a "comfort" feel to any meal. Plus we have found it is more filling than store bought bread. You can use leftovers the next day for breakfast. Break it up into a bowl, put a little sugar on it and add milk.


2 ½ T Yeast
1 T Sugar
4 cups Water
1/2 cup sugar or honey
1/4 cup butter, or the equivalent reconstituted from butter powder
4 tsp salt
2 T dehydrated whole eggs , reconstituted to make the equivalent of 2 eggs
5 cups white flour
5 cups wheat flour

Dissolve yeast and sugar in lukewarm water. Add sugar, butter, salt and eggs. Mix well. Add flour. Knead into a soft dough. Cover & raise for ½ hour. Form into loaves and put into lightly greased pans. Put in non-heated oven. Turn on oven to 350⁰F for one hour.

EZ iest Spaghetti

We were experimenting with our tomato powder and changed the way we make spaghetti. No more will you need to buy jarred spaghetti sauce with all those added preservatives.


1 lb ground beef
½ cup dehydrated onions
Minced garlic or garlic powder
Italian seasoning, or a mixture of seasoning tailored to your individual preferences
1 c tomato powder

Brown the ground beef. Add a little water and the dehydrated onions. Cook for a few minutes until onions are soft. Add the seasonings. Add the tomato powder and enough water to make it the desired consistency. (Start with the reconstituting instructions on the can and go from there. We discovered we used a little more water than called for .) Simmer for 5-10 minutes. Serve over cooked noodles or with toasted bread for dipping.

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Skillet Shepherd's Pie

One of our staffers discovered this on a summer Sunday night when she was in a pinch for dinner. A hot, filling dinner that doesn't need the oven.


1 lb ground beef
½ c tomato powder
¼ c dehydrated onions, rehydrated
1 tsp salt
1 bag frozen vegetable blend
6 cups reconstituted potato pearls
Grated cheese

Brown the ground beef in an electric skillet with the salt and the rehydrated onions. Add the tomato powder and water needed to constitute it into the skillet. Once it is bubbling, add the vegetables and cook until all ingredients are warmed. Spread the potatoes over the top of the mixture, sprinkle the cheese on top and cover the electric skillet. Keep on medium low heat for 10-15 minutes until the cheese is melted.

Hot Chicken Salad

This was one of our favorite dehydrated food recipes. It was great on bread served as a sandwich or just plain, eaten with a spoon.


2 c. Chicken , you can use Freeze Dried Chicken as well, if you have it on hand
2 c. Dehydrated Celery
½ c. Almonds (Toasted 15 minutes)
½ t salt
½ c. Sweet Pickle Relish
1 c. Mayonnaise
Dehydrated onion to
c shredded cheese
1 c. crushed potato or tortilla chips

Mix all ingredients together except cheese and chips. Spread mixture into baking pan. Sprinkle cheese and crushed chips over the top. Bake at 400⁰F for 15 minutes.

Tuna/Salmon Patties

These are actually quite tasty and can be served as a main dish or as a sandwich. Make up some homemade tartar sauce by mixing mayonaisse and chopped pickle. This recipe is very versatile and forgiving and also works well made with salmon. Experiment with different seasonings to suit your individual tastes. Crushed saltine crackers also work in place of bread crumbs. Just keep in mind that you may need to adjust the quantity of egg to match your dry ingredients. You want the patties to hold together loosely on the grill while cooking.


2 c canned tuna, drained
1 c bread crumbs
¼ c dehydrated onion, rehydrated – or you can use onion powder
3 dehydrated whole eggs, reconstituted
½ t lemon pepper (optional)

Mix all the ingredients. Form into patties and cook on medium heat in a frying pan on the stove or on an electric griddle. Turn over half way through cooking.

French Onion Soup

We loved this recipe. It got great reviews when we made it for our families. It is great on its own or we found it served as a great base for other soups. We added celery and potatoes to great "taster" reviews.


½ C dried chopped onions, reconstituted
4 T dehydrated butter powder, reconstituted (we have found it is best to use a blender when reconstituting butter powder)
4 c. hot water
2 T beef bouillon
½ bay leaf
¼ t black pepper

Saute onions in butter, but do not let them brown. Add hot water, beef bouillon, bay leaf and pepper. Simmer this all together for 30 minutes. Serve with grated Parmesan Cheese and croutons on top. Or try serving with day old bread.

Pumpkin Pancakes

We love pumpkin year round. These are nice "special" breakfast for Saturday mornings. We equally enjoy them for weekend dinners as well. Try serving with a dusting or powdered sugar. Yum!


4 c powdered milk or milk substitute reconstituted
4 c flour
6 eggs, or the equivalent in reconstituted dehydrated whole egg powder
1 c pumpkin
½ c oil
¾ c sugar
1 T pumpkin pie spice
2 T baking powder
½ t salt

Combine wet ingredients in one bowl including the pumpkin. In a separate bowl combine the dry ingredients. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients mixing well. Do not over beat, but be sure to get all the dry ingredients moistened. Spray your grill with pan spray or grease with butter. Pour batter onto grill and cook as you would other pancakes.

Turn of the Century Cheese Soup

This was the first recipe we tried on our families. It went over really well. Easy and fast to make. We served it with a green salad and rolls with jam.


½ Cup Freeze Dried Potato Slices or Dices
½ Cup Dehydrated Carrots, or 1 cup Fresh Carrots Diced
¼ Cup Dehydrated Celery
1/8 c. Dehydrated Onions
½ Tablespoon Butter
¼ Cup Flour
2 Cups Dehydrated milk
1 ½ C Chicken Broth, can also use Chicken Bouillon, reconstituted
1/8 c Powdered Cheese

Reconstitute dehydrated vegetables. We have found the best way to do this is to bring some water to boil, remove the water from the heat and pour the water over the vegetables, covering them completely. Let them soak until soft. When the vegetables are ready, cook them in a frying pan in butter until tender. Pour flour into vegetable and butter mixture and stir. Cook this until thick and bubbly. Add the cheese powder and remove from heat.

Welcome to our Recipe Blog

Hello all,

We here at EZ Pantry don't believe in selling a product that we don't use or haven't even tried. We have been working with our own "taste testers - a.k.a - our own families" to come up with some recipes that really work. We would love for our customers to try them and respond with variations or improvements. All the recipes are really an ongoing work in process. Also, please feel free to add any of the recipes you come up with.

A neighbor of one of our staffers recently said, "Oh, I have some food put away, but we will probably starve if we ever have to rely on it. I have no idea how to cook with it." We are here to tell you that a food supply makes sense now! Use it in your daily meal preparations to help cut costs immediately. Plus, by using your food now, you ensure your supply stays as fresh as possible through constant rotation.

Best wishes to all of you,

The staff at EZ Pantry