Alexia Fries and The Battle of The Fry Sauces.

What? You haven't heard of fry sauce?

Well neither had I when I hauled my college aged self across the country from Pennsylvania to Idaho 20 years ago.

I discovered that every fast food restaurant -- every one -- had fry sauce available for their patrons. An orange dipping sauce that I thought was weird. But then I am not really a mayo fan.

Legend has it that Fry sauce, which happens to be a blend of mayo and catsup flavors, was first commercialized by Some Dude.  Arctic Circle claims to have invented it in 1948.  They do claim to have the original fry sauce on all their little fry sauce packets.

So, maybe the fry sauce craze has spread beyond the Western United States. You tell me. But here in Utah it is still going strong. Every one has their own version and now you can even buy it by the bottle from Arctic Circle at their burger joint and from the grocery stores from brands like Famous Daves. (see you may be able to find it in your grocery aisle next to the catsup even if you live in PA.)

So, when I was offered a chance to sample Alexia products through my foodbuzz publisher affiliation I thought what better way to sample some Alexia Seasoned Waffle Fries than with a fry sauce showdown with my family. After all, my children are Utah natives they have a pretty good handle on the fry sauce culture.

First, I just have to say this. Sometimes my extremely clever 13 year old boy can revert to sheer naivete. He took one look at the waffle fries and said. "Did you make these in the waffle maker or something." So funny. As if waffle fries are easy to make, that is why I love to buy them at the fast food joint or try fozen versions like Alexia for my homemade hamburger nights.

First: our review of the waffle fries. Obviously my kids liked them. I thought they crisped up beautifully, although I was expecting them to have a little more spice kick. The spices were relatively mild. Which is probably why the kids loved them.

One of their biggest benefits in my book is their ingredient list: All natural ingredients win no trans fat.

Next benefit: perfect for dipping into fry sauce. All those little indentations perfect for holding this pink sauce.

We tried 3 fry sauces.

The original from Arctic Circle

                                 
 Famous Dave's Fry Sauce
                                   

Some Dude's

We tallied our really scientific results and this is what we decided.
Arctic Circle got 3 out of 5 votes for the best and the other two voters said they were all equal.
I personally liked Arctic Circle the best. It's got a zing. I am sorry those of you who don't have Arctic Circle near you. You will have to settle.

I did like Famous Dave's second best. It had more catsup flavor than mayo. My son's second choice was some Dude's and it leaned towards more mayo flavor. So, I guess the question is, do you prefer mayo or catsup better?

If all else fails do what my kids do sometimes. Make your own by mixing mayo and catsup together in a bowl. Experiment. Find your fry sauce nirvana.

Easy Coconut Rice

Sometimes I steal borrow things from my Sister -in-law. Last week it was a book. She had it -- I needed to read it. This time I may have "borrowed" her coconut rice recipe and adapted it. You can find her original at eathehughesfoodblogspot.com I try to always keep a can of coconut milk in my pantry. It's one of those things I restock as soon as I use it. Now I am not saying you need to bulk up on coconut milk unless you use it alot. But is an amazing thing to have in your pantry.

So this recipe combines this handy pantry extra and a pantry staple. Rice.  As a foodbuzz publisher sometimes I get the opportunity to taste test new food products. ( this is totally my favorite part of being a food blogger). I was recently sent the new Uncle Ben's whole grain white rice.

Yes I was intrigued. My main issue with rice is that the good stuff takes a really long time to cook. I rarely have the time for more than instant and I am a big fan of instant brown rice. But my family likes the white stuff and I love a long grain rice. So I was pretty excited to give this new rice a try. It is not instant but it cooks pretty quickly and it is a long grain rice. So while it does not have that nutty flavor I love in a brown rice, it has some definite good qualities.

I decided to give the rice a try with my SIL's coconut rice recipe. I really liked it. My family was a little put off by the coconut creaminess in their rice. But hey they have coconut issues. So I don't think their opinion really counts here. If you like a coconut rice this is a quick and easy version that makes a nice side dish to a Mexican, Carribean or Thai meal.


For 4 Servings


1 4.4 oz box of whole grain white rice

2/3 Cup of coconut milk

2/3 cup of water

1 tsp sugar

pinch salt

Directions.

2. Put the coconut milk, water sugar and salt in saucepan, stir until the sugar is dissolved and the liquid is well blended.

3. Add the rice and bring to a boil. Cover tightly and reduce the heat to its lowest setting. Simmer for 10-12 minutes.

4. The rice is done when the grains are soft enough to crush between your thumb and forefinger. 5. Turn off the heat and let stand covered for 5 minutes or until most of the water is absorbed. Stir and serve

Tomato Powder --My New Pantry BFF

A Quick Reminder: Don't forget to enter the giveaway for $50 in Thrive food products. Enter HERE

Who knew tomato powder was so awesome? I am pretty sold on the Thrive tomato powder I received to review from Your Own Home Store. I am a hoarder of tomato products. I store tomato sauce, paste, pizza sauce, stewed tomatoes and now tomato powder.

Tomato powder is cool because it has a ridiculously long shelf life and I don't have to worry about cans with puffy tops that have gone bad. Oh I am keeping my cans too but now I know I have something in my food storage that lasts longer and stays safe longer than canned liquids.

Plus -- So easy to use. Add water to achieve the desired consistency and spices to taste and voila a lovely paste, sauce or marinara. You can also use the powder in other ways but I was challenged to recreate my saucy egg recipe and so I did. I also got some freeze dried mozzarella to try with this recipe. That stuff is pretty cool melted too. I am not sure I am all for eating it just straight rehydrated. But it is awesome melted. I couldn't even tell the difference between my normal melted mozzarella and the freeze dried rehydrated in this recipe.

So here is how easy it is to use.

2 cups water
1/2 cup tomato powder.
Spices to taste.
I used basil, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, salt, pepper. Sorry, I didn't measure I just kind of seasoned by eye and taste. That is pretty much how I roll with homemade marinara.
Still, here is a good recipe for marinara from tomato powder

Saucy Eggs Recipe

Mix powder, water and spices in large saute pan. Heat until  sauce starts to bubble around edges. Add eggs on top of tomato sauce. Add 1/2 cup freeze dried mozzarella on top of eggs and sauce.

Cover and cook until eggs are desired doneness. Do not overcook or your sauce will get to thick.
This tasted really good and the eggs were beautifully poached and saucy as always. I love that this is an easy and affordable meal I can make straight from the food storage. Add some waffles and you have a filling meal.

Mango Paco Challenge & Giveaway Announcement

I do so love a challenge. So when Your Own Home Store contacted me and challenged me to recreate my saucy egg and paco dinner (see here for the original recipe) with their Thrive food storage items, I was so excited to see if I could recreate these meals with freeze dried and food storage foods. After all, Pacos (pancake tacos) are a new favorite dinner in our house. It would be good to know I could whip up a unique breakfast completely out of my food storage.  Along with this challenge they are offering my readers a giveaway for a $50 in product of their choice from their Thrive products. More on the giveaway tomorrow.  Sorry for the teaser but I need a separate post just for the awesome giveaway.

So, I got an amazing care package on my doorstep full of these awesome foods to try from Thrive (A Shelf Reliance Product). Along with this remake of Pacos I will be reviewing all the following products over the next couple weeks, just so you can get an opinion on this product line. There are so many bulk food storage products out there. It is nice to get a chance to have a test run before you invest in them. A little note on price. All freeze dried items from any supplier are pricey. Thrive's prices seem to be in the same range as other freeze dried foods.

• Freeze dried yogurt bites (didn't even know you could store yogurt like this. I am the most excited for this product and will be buying some more for my own shelves)
• Freeze dried shredded mozzarella cheese. (will be reviewing next week)
• Freeze Dried Mangos (used in Pacos)
• Tomato powder (review coming next week)
• Instant Milk powder (review coming next week)
• 6 Grain pancake mix (used for Pacos)

Wouldn't you do a little dance of joy if you got a package like that to try? Well I certainly did. So we got busy doing some testing. We found that the freeze dried yogurt nuggets are tasty to eat straight from the can. My kids like them for a snack along with the freeze dried mangos. But we also wanted to see how they did once we reconstituted them with water.

Time to make Pacos.
Prepare your filling ingredients first since they require some soaking time.

The yogurt takes a little experimenting and here is what I suggest.
Measure out 1/2 cup of yogurt nuggets. Add water gradually by about 2 TB at at time and wisk until smooth and desired thickness.

Chill for 10 to 20 minutes. It will thicken a little more when chilled.

My kids loved the vanilla yogurt. It was super sweet. But it was nice to see how much they liked it. So far this is our favorite item.

For the mangos: The mangos really need to soak for at least 15 minutes to lose their crunchiness. Measure out a cup of mangos and soak in a cup of water.

There really is no way I can say these tasted like fresh mangos. They don't. But top them on a pancake slathered with the yogurt and some of your favorite jam and they really are pretty tasty and tangy. I actually really like them as a sweet tangy crunchy handful in their original freeze dried stage.

For the pancakes (which turned out light and fluffy) we simply added water to the pancake mix.
Umm so easy. I threw in a pinch of cinnamon. Taking this on the next camping trip.

We flapjacked those pancakes and then filled them with the paco filling.
Yogurt first, some of our homemade jam (we like pear pineapple or strawberry) and then top with mangos and a pinch of cinnamon.

Despite the fact that this meal came from cans, the kids still loved these pacos.

Now come back tomorrow to enter the giveaway for the $50 in Thrive products.

Chicken Noodle Soup on Pantry Shelf - -A Review

We are soup people in the fall and winter and my family especially loves chicken noodle soup. I have a great homemade recipe they love but while it is soup season, it is also cold season. Sometimes we are too tired, too sick and too busy to do a full blown homemade soup. Now my kids and husband love Campbells chicken noodle soup. I am not a fan, unless you count how easy it is.

So, I found this dehydrated soup mix in a small can -- Not one of those huge #10 cans that feeds an army and needs to be used within a certain amount of time once it is opened. Nope, it was a smaller version of Auguson Farms chicken noodle soup. And it was MSG free. And it had eight servings -- perfect for my family of five.  We take big soup servings. And it only cost $3.50 a can at Fresh Market. Umm that was a review waiting to happen. So, it was soup night and I was busy and tired and a little sick. Perfect.

So here is the verdict. I definitely like it better than Campbells. It is heartier and more filling. It is not as good as the homemade stuff. Of course not. But it is so simple to make and it has some nice thick noodles. It does need a thick slice of bread or a roll to create a meal. It's not that hearty that it can stand on its own. I think it is a good meal for $3.50 and my son said. "Yep it is pretty good." I went out and bought two more cans for my food storage.

Now just for fun I also bought these cute soup bowls for a $1.25 a piece at Fresh Market. We are desperately low on soup bowls in this house and we eat soup every Tuesday. I could not resist.

To make the soup.
Simply whisk soup into 8 1/2 cups of boiling water. Reduce to low and simmer for 12 to 15 minutes.

Peas Please! Pea Salad and a Food Storage Giveaway

This post has so many different purposes. First I want to reveiw the Freeze dried peas I received from The Ready Store. Second, I want to give you a recipe for  a yummy pea salad and Finally, I want to give away some of the amazing bounty from The Ready Store. They gave me so much and I feel the need to share.

I love fresh peas. So much so, that I have issues with canned peas. In fact, I have issues with a lot of canned veggies. I stock up on frozen peas (they are a staple in so many recipes) but I like to have a backup plan for when the power goes out or other emergencies (like I forgot to buy peas on the last shopping trip). This is a pantry/food storage cooking blog after all. And in Southern Utah we have a lot of power outages. I don't know why. We just do. So, I try to keep a couple cans of canned peas in my food storage. But frankly, I just can't bring myself to eat them. Enter the big #10 can of Saratoga Farms freeze dried peas from The Ready Store. Hmmm. Could these be the answer to my pea woes? 

These are the peas straight out of the can. Just add some water to these and let soak for 5 to 10 minutes. Then drain. I prefer a longer soak time. These peas have a little crunchiness to them and a little extra soaking time helps get rid of the freeze dried tastse.

Wow, these look like real peas. And here is my review: They are sweet and flavorful but just a little chewy or crunchy sometimes. I may not eat them plain as a side dish but they are infinitely better than those mushy canned stuff and they are really tasty in the following creamy pea salad. I also think that they would work well in a soup or casserole.  The best part:: There are no additives or preservatives. One ingredient only. Peas

The info: Cost $19.95

Servings per container: 24

Shelf Life 30 years unopened (that is forever) or several weeks once opened.

Now give this tasty creamy pea salad a try with any peas (except canned)

I used the rehydrated freeze dried peas and it turned out pretty tasty.

Adapted from a recipe by Camille Schank

This recipe can easily be halved

20 oz of frozen peas, defrosted  or 3 cups fresh or rehydrated freeze dried peas

1/4 Cup green onions, chopped

8 slices of bacon, chopped

1/4 Cup mayo

1/4 cup Sour Cream or plain yogurt ( I used greek yogurt because that is what I had)

2 TB parsley or 2 Tsp parsley flakes

salt and pepper to taste

dillweed to taste

Mix mayo, yogurt or sour cream, parsley, salt and pepper and dillweed. Combine with remaining ingredients: peas, onions and bacon. Chill for at least 1/2 hour.

The Give-Away 

 The Ready Store sent me a full box of goodies and I want to share some of the goodies with my readers. I am keeping a few of the items including the wind up rechargeable flashlight/FM/Am radio/Siren/cell phone charger. What an awesome idea. This will be perfect for our 72 hour kits.

It is a double whammy prize: 

I already have lots of dried apple chips in my food storage. They are one of my family's favorite snacks. So, I am giving away a #10 can of freeze dried cinnamon apple chips from The Ready Store. I am also giving away one of their emergency kit portable canisters. I already have something similar in each of my cars and I think they are a handy space saving emergency kit that can be tossed in cars or a backpack for a day hike.

Each portable kit includes

1) 32 oz Water Bottle
Warmth & Shelter (4 Pieces):
(1) Emergency Blanket
(1) Emergency Poncho
(2) 8-Hour Handwarmers
Light & Communication (2 Pieces):
(1) 12-Hour Lightstick
(1) Mini LED Flashlight with Batteries
Emergency Tools (2 Pieces):
(1) 5-in-1 Survival Aid with Compass
(1) 12-Function Swiss Style Knife
First Aid (1 Piece):
(1) 12pc First-Aid Kit

Here is how you win. Please make a comment at the bottom of this post on what you want to stock up on in your pantry this month, whether it is Nutella or turkey gravy, I am interested to know what people want in their food storage. Please leave some way to email you either through a link to your contact info or with your email address, The contest starts April 12 and ends on April 19th. Due to shipping costs, I need to limit this contest to residents in the United States. The winner will be randomly chosen on April 19th.

Good Luck!.

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.