Freeze Dried Stroganoff Review

Calling all food storage and emergency preparedness fanatics.

Before

  After

I am so excited to review one of the products I recieved from The Ready Store. I am really excited about this site I recently discovered online. I called and asked if I could review some of their product for this blog and you would not believe the haul of stuff they sent me. I will be doing more than one review of their products in the next couple weeks. The online store has everything from MREs to freeze dried meals in bulk to emergency kits. I am so loving them. In their freeze dried food, they carry two well-known brands Saratoga Farms and Mountain House. Occasionally, I want to stock up on some freeze dried food. Yes, it is expensive but it so much tastier than the plain old dehydrated stuff (which they also carry). I love that I don't have to go scouring the shelves of my limited store sources in town to find what I need.

So on to the first review. We are big lovers of stroganoff in this family. And so when The Ready Store sent me a can of their Mountain House Freeze Dried Stroganoff to try, I thought to myself, "We shall see." Now I am not saying this stroganoff turned out as delicious as my homemade stroganoff. It did not. But it was good! And we gobbled it up. It was a little reminiscent of hamburger helper (although this stuff includes the meat) but my girls don't like hamburger helper and they liked this. There is also no MSG in the ingredients.

It was ridiculously simple to make. Add boiling water and let set. The simplicity and the taste lends itself to many uses. It comes in both #10 cans, four-serving packs and single-serving packs (there are lots of other main dishes available). I will say that once it the #10 is open it suggests using within a week. Which can be tricky if you only need 5 servings at once. (#10 can has 10 servings) however if you need to feed a crowd, the #10 can is perfect and I will be purchasing a couple of these (despite the price tag) for my food storage. See #4 tip for a way to use leftover servings within a week.

5 Ways to use Freeze Dried Stroganoff
1. Camping. This is a perfect meal for a camping trip. Boil the necessary amount of water and then soak the mix. Done and hearty, tasty and low maintenance.

2. College Students - When my brother was in college he literally ate the same thing every day. It was ridiculous. But give a college boy a #10 can of this stuff and he has a week of meals for $26.49. What a perfect care package gift.

3. Food Storage - Freeze dried food is always expensive. But if you are stocking your food storage it is a good idea to have a few simple meals that require nothing more than water to prepare.

4. Hot Lunches - One serving requires 1 Cup mix and 3/4 Cup water. Use any leftovers from the #10 cans for lunches. Prepare and place in an insulated soup tin. With 11 grams of protein it packs a good energy punch.


5. 72 hour Kits - Buy the individual packs or four-serving pack for your 72 Hour kits. They come in waterproof space saving bags that make them perfect for emergency meals.

Next week I will review one of their other products. You can also check out their store by clicking on the badge on the side of this blog.

All Powdered Milks Are Not Created Equal. Morning Moos Review

I just got back from a week of camping and playing in the outdoors. I was out of milk and a busy couple of days has made it impossible to get to the grocery store and so I have been relying on my new favorite food storage staple, Morning Moos Low Fat Dry Milk Alternative. Normally I do not like reconstituted powdered milk. But I love Morning Moos. In fact the first time I gave it to my children (without telling them it was powdered milk) I asked them what they thought of some new milk I was trying. My son's response. "I like this better than our regular stuff." It was shocking -- he asked for a second glass. I actually like it a little better myself. I am not really a big milk drinker. But I actually like a cold glass of this stuff. And I mean it must be cold before you drink it.

The bonus of this brand of powdered milk is it is not a total dairy product. It does contain some soy and is a little easier on those who have difficulty eating or drinking dairy products. It does contain dairy but it also contains soy and whey. It is not nonfat with 2 grams of fat per serving but I promise you it is tasty and a good investment, especially for those days when you can't seem to get to the grocery store. I bought mine at my grocery store. Look for it in the bulk food items aisle or check out the Morning Moos website for more info. Costco also carries it in large buckets.

Food Storage Review: White Bread and Roll Mix

No exciting recipes today, but I am excited about this food storage product I recently tried. As part of my journey into cooking with more of my food storage I occasionally try a new product. This Harvest of the West, Honey White Bread and Roll Mix practically jumped off the shelf and into my cart. I am not really a bread and roll baker (I am working on it). I live for Rhodes frozen bread rolls. I wanted to give this mix a test drive and see if it was Rachelle proof.

The Verdict:
It was simple (dissolve yeast in water, add to mix and mix with mixer. Rise and make into rolls) and delicious and gobbled up. I would not say it is as amazing as certain family members' famous roll recipes but it was tasty, especially with the homemade butter I got from the Farmer's market and some freezer strawberry jam. I will be adding a couple cans to my pantry.

Found at Wal-Mart in their food storage section.

MMM MMM Tip/ bulk seasoning resource

I just wanted to share this fantastic resource with my readers. As I have been cooking more regularly with my food storage I have discovered many things. One of those things is that yes, I do actually use that much salt and honey and if I want a good food storage I need to stock up on the basics. I have also discovered that I like to have seasonings and spices on hand. I recently stocked up on things like dried orange zest, coconut milk powder, cinnamon, dehydrated green peppers and banana chips all at an amazing price. I think $2.75 for a pound of banana chips is a great price. I use these guys a lot in my granola or as healthy snacks.

Here is my source: San Francisco Herb Co. They have every dried seasoning, or herb you could think of and some you probably have not thought of. They also carry baking products and potpourri products.

Sorry no pic.