This idea came to me in the grocery store while I was shopping for some wrapping supplies. Can you believe the cost of fancy gift bags and ribbons? Yikes. Completely put off, I headed home, determined to find something that would work just as well.

In the spirit of “brown paper packages tied up with string” I settled on using up a little hem tape, ric-rac, and bias tape to trim this box.

Then I remembered my stash of old buttons. I’m keeping them because “I might really need them later” but really, I’m just keeping them.

These seemed like a close enough match and I found random little felt guys to coordinate. Wrapping angels!

Now, a normal person would KNOW where their 3 glue guns were stored, but I actually had to get out a needle and thread.

Totally insecure about my crafting abilities, the compliments from friends at the baby shower were greatly appreciated.

The dressing is so simple and yet I get asked for the recipe every time it’s served:)

I think Sarah found the recipe for the salad dressing somewhere on Pinterest. I found the ingredients in my food storage.

Basic Balsamic Salad Dressing

Storage Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons honey

1-2 tablespoons water

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Blueberries and Pears Spinach Salad

Fresh Ingredients

baby spinach leaves

Gorgonzola cheese crumbles

toasted pine nuts

blueberries

pears, thinly sliced

Then, I told her I would ask YOU.

1 small onion, finely diced

2 tablespoons butter

Storage Ingredients

1 can cream of mushroom soup (10 3/4 oz.)

1 can whole kernel corn with liquid (15 oz.)

3 cups water

1 cup dry powdered milk

1 cup instant potato flakes

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Saute onion in butter until soft. Combine all ingredients and heat through. Serve garnished with grated cheese and a pinch of paprika, if you like.

My dear friend, Martha, shared this easy, yummy, soup recipe. It’s another one that was served to all the women in the stake prior to the Relief Society broadcast. Again, the goal was to give sisters the opportunity to sample a simple pantry meal, one that could be ready in a flash and shared with someone in need. Basic but wholesome recipes like this can help us use our food storage and save money in the monthly grocery bill.

My daughter, Hailey, just dropped by and needed some dinner. Living with roommates, I KNOW that she’s not eating enough vegetables, so I decided to throw in about 2 cups of steamed broccoli. (Not one word about the powdered milk.)

Her exact words were, “Ooooo this is GOOD!”

Try this recipe and see if you agree with Hays

Fresh Ingredients

cilantro, chopped (optional)

Storage Ingredients

1 can beef chunks (12 oz.)

1 can coconut milk (13.5 oz.)

1 can sliced, or diced, potatoes (15 oz.)

1 can sliced carrots (15 oz.)

1 can peas (15 oz.)

2 tablespoons flour

1 tablespoon curry powder

1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper

1 envelope Lipton Onion Soup mix

In a medium-sized pot combine beef chunks with broth, coconut milk, drained vegetables, flour, and spices. Simmer for 10 minutes and serve over hot rice, garnished with fresh chopped cilantro.

Prior to the General Relief Society broadcast a couple of weeks ago, my previous stake served this and two other recipes. I’ll share those next but can you believe it? (gasp!) CANNED VEGETABLES AND EVEN POWDERED MILK AT A STAKE EVENT!!!

With the Utah Food Bank begging for donations, our focus was on rescueing and goods from our food storage were the tools. Besides encouraging the women to participate in a mass food collection, we served them a simple ‘pantry meal’, and shared one woman’s personal testimony of being rescued.

What I learned, again, was that it truly doesn’t matter what we bring to a friend in need. If we don’t have time to make our mother’s famous lasagna, with homemade noodles (oh please) we can still help! We can quickly reach out, show up, share what we have, and try to lift one another. Having a few extra cans in the cupboard will help us to be ready to respond.

And if our budgets happen to be hurting, simple pantry meals can be just the help we need. A yummy curry dinner made with these basic ingredients costs less than $10.00.

One recipe makes enough to feed a family of six!

And, my favorite part is that this recipe can be ready in 10 minutes! Who doesn’t need THAT kind of help?

My mother never cooked with canned vegetables so I grew up thinking they were BAD. But because I want to have some amount of canned vegetables in my food storage, I want viable recipes for disguising using canned vegetables. Let me tell you, the sisters at this last stake event had no idea that I had contributed one of the recipes, but I heard comment after comment about the tasty curry dish. So…

If you’ve never cooked with canned vegetables, I suggest you give this a try. Don’t tell your family. Just surprise them with an interesting Indian stew, for an international treat! Marketing is everything.

First, dice 3-4 peppers, in any combination of colors. I usually go for 1 green, 1 yellow, 1 orange, and 1 red. Then add maybe a quarter, more or less, of a purple onion. This picture shows sliced green onion but the purple or red onion is better. The pepper and onion mixture can be stored in the fridge for days, which saves a ton of time. Next, shred or chop about a cup of purple cabbage.

Mix about 1 cup of cabbage with 1/2 cup of the pepper/onion mix in a small mixing bowl, or simply layer on a plate if you’re in a hurry. Doesn’t that look pretty? I love all the colors in fresh vegetables!

Next step, select a protein option from your pantry storage. Some days I go for a half can of tuna and other days I go for beans. Sometimes you feel like a nut. Sometimes you don’t.

Add 2 tablespoons of your favorite salad dressing and toss.

I figure that this nutritious lunch has only about 5 or 6 Weight Watchers points. (Notice the variety of light dressing options?) This chopped salad is both filling and fun. I KNOW food is not supposed to be a reward, but this one is. Hope you like it!

(hmmmm)

I cook my wheat in the crock pot and then freeze smaller portions in sandwich baggies for later use.

A few almonds add additional nutrition and crunch.

A dash or two of cinnamon, some frozen blueberries, and 1% milk give plenty of flavor without extra sugar.

A quick spin in the microwave and this lovely little breakfast is warm and ready to go.

Mmmmmm. Health and beauty tips from ”The Greatest Generation.” Someone with real knowledge is welcome to speak to the specifics on nutritional benefits. I’m hoping it’s magic.

Fresh Ingredients

8 oz. fat free cream cheese

1 lb. mild Italian sausage

Storage Ingredients

4 cups dry macaroni

1 can cream of mushroom soup (10 3/4 oz.)

1 cup dry powdered milk

1/4 cup dry minced onion

1 cup water (Plus another cup of water reserved from the cooked pasta.)

2 cans white beans (15 oz. each)

1 large can marinara/pasta sauce (32 oz.)

1 cup cooked whole wheat berries

Start by heating a large pot of salted water. Boil macaroni for 7 minutes.

In another pot, heat the cream of mushroom soup, powdered milk, dry minced onion, cream cheese, and 1 cup of water.

Brown the sausage (remove casings first), drain fat, and add the cooked whole wheat berries and pasta sauce.

The macaroni should be ready by now but reserve 1 cup of the salted cooking water before draining the pasta. Add this cup of hot water to the cream of mushroom cheese sauce so that it’s not too thick.

Drain beans and combine with the drained macaroni and mushroom cheese sauce.

Lightly butter a large dripper pan and layer both mixtures just as you would for lazagna. Using half of the pasta and bean mixture, begin with a layer of white. Then add half of the sausage wheat marinara for a layer of red.

Repeat.

“Card, party of 50? Your table is ready.”

Today was a doozy so I prepared this casserole in the morning, covered it with foil and refrigerated until later. Finally returning home, I heated it, still covered, for 2 hours at 350 degrees. Of course you normally wouldn’t need to heat it so long. I’m sure it would even microwave well if layered in 2 or 3 glass pie pans.

I served it with pan seared carrots and zucchini and a real simple spinach salad. Everyone said it was great and enjoyed two big servings. SIL Chas (served his mission in Italy) helped himself to three servings. Guess it hit the spot on this cold soggy day. The big girls couldn’t believe it was so creamy-cheesy with only 1 cup of fat free cream cheese, and no other added cream, butter, or cheese. Samantha said the white beans were yummy. Everyone agreed that the wheat virtually disappeared into the sausage mixture. Hearty, healthy and happy. That’s my story, and I’m stickin’ to it.

If you need to feed the Young Men or the Young Women or just the neighborhood this one might do the trick. Lots of yummy food for very little money. Using pasta, beans, wheat, soup, sauce, powdered milk, and dehydrated onions from my food storage. No biggie.

Last night’s dinner…

with Sam and Chas…

was a food storage success!

From our long term supply, I cooked piles and piles of hot white rice.

Tada!

From my three month supply I used a box of orange jello, rice vinegar, red pepper flakes, and a few other ingredients to create an amazing orange glaze for the chicken.

I know what you’re thinking. Orange jello chicken? That’s what my SIL said. And we Mormons have that caaa-razy reputation for doing all sorts of wacky things with the orange, or is it green, jello. I forget. So many caaa-razy things to keep straight. But! The thing I can tell you about THIS orange chicken is that it does not taste like candy. In fact it actually tastes really lite, and fresh, and delicate, while still being rich, with a bit of heat from the red pepper flakes. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, THIS is the perfect orange chicken recipe. It’s everything orange chicken should be! At least that’s what our family thinks. My husband and kids have enjoyed meals at some nice Asian restaurants over the years, and they all agreed that this is the best they’ve every enjoyed. Am I repeating myself? Probably. It’s that good. If I could give you the recipe I would.

With green beans and mushrooms on hand I whipped up this fun side dish.

The salad was just chopped Romaine with sliced cucumbers, carrots, red grapes and Kraft’s coleslaw dressing. Close enough.

This is my husband, Mike. He loves a frosty mug of Hershey’s chocolate milk with dinner. Go figure.

Then I told him he had to look normal.

K. Something to work on. And what is the deal with his HAND???

3 cups chunky salsa

6 cups beef broth (or bouillon cubes and water)

1/2 cup long-grain white rice, uncooked

2 cans black beans, drained

Combine everything in a slow cooker. Cover and cook on low heat for 4 to 5 hours or until done. Be careful to not over cook or rice will be mushy.

My ever wonderful and so helpful friend, Kris, shared this easy-yummy recipe. Thanks Kris!

With only a few optional additions, I served this soup to company that was staying with our family last week. Still simple to prepare, my good-enough-for-guests was a slightly richer and heartier version. Think ultimate Mexican slant on the classic bistro French onion soup. Got it? Good. I didn’t take pictures but I’ll try to explain.

My additions began with 2 cans of  roast beef chunks from Costco. Yeah for more short-term storage ingredients! Yeah that Costco has brought back this product. Really missed these babies. Feel like I need to stockpile. Know that I could make my own, but THEY’RE JUST SOOOOOOO EASY!

Next, I prepared and grilled CORN tortilla quesadillas filled with shredded Mexi-blend cheese I found on sale.  One per customer, I cut the whole quesadillas into bite sized squares and placed them in the bottom of each serving bowl. With the hot soup ladled on top it reminded me of croutes or baguette toasts.

To finish, I garnished the top of each soup bowl with diced avocado and sour cream. Completely forgot that I had fresh cilantro and even a couple of limes in the fridge. Oh well, there’s always next time.

A few fresh ingredients help people want to eat meals made from food storage, on a daily basis. If I couldn’t go to the store, for ANY reason, this recipe for Salsa Fever Soup would be served just as Kris suggested, and it would be great!