Category: Recipe of the Week

Chris P.’s Ranch Stew This is a family recipe I wanted to share. This stuff is great, especially in the colder months. Enjoy!   1 lb. ground beef, browned and drained 1 med./large green bell pepper, diced 1 sm./med. white onion, diced 1 can corn, drained 1 can (plain) diced tomatoes 1 can (plain) Ranch Style beans 1 can Rotel 1 can water (for additional soupiness) Chili powder, salt, and pepper to taste   Combine ingredients in large pot, simmer with pot covered, stirring and tasting occasionally, until peppers and onions cook down and flavors have mixed well. Chef’s Notes: …

Mama June’s Amish Brown Sugar Pie I have been making this pie for holidays since I was 14 years old. It’s inexpensive. easy and tasty. It’s from an old Amish recipe, brown sugar pie, and sets up rather like a caramel custard. The bonus here is the pie crust recipe, which is flaky and delicious and eliminates rolling! the Amish cookbook called it a “pat-in-pan” crust. Add a little garlic salt and flax or wheat germ and it’s the perfect crust for quiche! (My preferred way to use up our eggs.) 2 cups flour, white or wheat, more as needed …

Katy’s Kentucky Chili 1 lb ground or finely diced meat Chili Powder to taste (I tend to use a lot – 1 small jar or equivalent) 3 8 oz cans tomato sauce 1 8 oz can diced tomatoes (optional) 24 oz water (3 tomato sauce cans measure) 3 15 oz cans Ranch Style Beans 1 cup macaroni or broken spaghetti pieces In a dutch oven (or similar sized pot) brown meat until done, drain the excess fat & return to pot. Add chili powder, stir into meat until fully dispersed.  Add tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, water and Ranch Style Beans.  …

S.A.’s Killer Potato Soup I was given this hand-written, hearty recipe 20 years ago by an Air Force wife. It’s super nutritious including several vegetables, potatoes for carbs, and bacon for protein. When planning meals, I like to think of how to incorporate small amounts of protein (a la Dan Fong in Patriots) for nutrition and flavoring from stored foods such as canned meats and either commercial dehydrated foods or my own stores. This soup features root vegetables and is a great starter or can be the meal along with some good bread. It’s easy to make as nothing needs …

Mike W.’s Stir Crazy Cake I have seldom found a cake recipe this easy not to mention tasty as well. This is called Stir Crazy Cake and I found it in a small book sponsored by a cigarette company that purported it to be “Chuck Wagon” cooking. I will pass it along as it stands for all to enjoy. For the cake itself– 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour 1 1/2 cups sugar 1/2 cup cocoa 2 teaspoons baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 2/3 cup cooking oil 2 tablespoons vinegar 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 2 cups cold coffee (or cold …

Cobalt’s Cabbage Stew Ingredients: 1 ½ lbs. lean ground meat ½ bell pepper, chopped 1 large onion, chopped 2 ribs celery, chopped ½ average size head of cabbage, rough sliced (thinner than ¼ head) 1 can Ranch-style beans 1 can Ro-Tel tomatoes (or comparable diced tomatoes with chilies) 1 can crushed or stewed tomatoes 1 tbl spoon chili powder Salt and pepper to taste Brown ground meat with bell pepper, onion, and celery. Drain. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Drop temperature and simmer covered for 1 ½ hours. Chef’s Notes: Serve with cornbread or french bread. I …

N.G in Minnesota’s Rye and Cranberry Stuffing This recipe started off as an “oops” and turned into a great side dish. I was making a Rye Batter Bread, but hadn’t greased the pan well enough. When I went to remove the bread, it came out of the pan in chunks. The taste was great, so I didn’t want to waste it, but it wasn’t going to work for sandwiches. We’ll start with the Batter Bread: 1 ¼ cups warm water (100-110F) 2 ½ t dry active or instant yeast 2 T honey 2 T oil or softened butter 1 c …

Pumpkin Soup, by Mama in Texas Pumpkin Soup Serves 6 (Adapted from a recipe in the classic “More With Less” cookbook) Melt in a large heavy kettle:                 2 T. Butter Add:                 ¼ cup chopped green pepper                 1 small onion, finely chopped Saute until veggies are soft, but not brown. Blend in:                 2 T. flour                 1 t. salt Add:                 2 cups chicken broth                 2 cups pumpkin puree (1 15-oz. can)                 2 cups milk                 1/8 t. thyme                 ¼ t. nutmeg                 1 t. chopped parsley   Cook, stirring constantly, until slightly thickened. …

N.G. in Minnesota’s One Pan Wild Rice Hotdish This is a very simple recipe that allows for a lot of flexibility. There are five basic components, and the combinations are endless. This is a great thing when you cant just run down to the corner market to shop. Wild rice is plentiful in my area. I can buy a 12 oz bag for $2.99. If wild rice is expensive, or not common in your neck of the woods, substitute white or brown rice, and adjust accordingly. Instead of 2 cups wild rice and 6 cups water, use 3 cups white …

Steve in Rhode Island’s Dish With No Name Here’s a recipe I’d like to share that’s both inexpensive and nutritious. It’s been around for years and I’m sure it goes by lots of different names. It was passed down to my Mom from my Grandmother and she fed four of us kids back in the day when prepping and just getting by was a way of life and had no name. I raised my two daughters on it and now that they are grown and it’s just the youngest and myself I still make it.   The great thing about this …

Ray T.’s Baked Rice Pudding Ingredients: 1/2 cup – cooked rice 2/3 cup – Molasses or cane syrup 1 teaspoon – Salt 1 Tablespoon – Butter 1 teaspoon – Cinnamon 4 cups – Milk Stir together all of the ingredients except the milk. Once they are thoroughly mixed, then add in milk. Stir well. Pre-heat oven to 350 F. Bake for the first hour stirring occasionally. Then finish baking without stirring until it is firm, which is usually about 2 hours. Useful Recipe and Cooking Links: 19th Century Recipes Colonial American Recipes Currently Available as Free Kindle e-Books: 35 Slow …

Enola Gay‘s Survival Bars (aka Filled Oatmeal Cookies) My Survival Bars are “Filled Oatmeal Cookies”. They are wonderful “stored foods” cookies, full of fiber and packed with nutrients. They are our cookie of choice for a quick breakfast. They are great if you are out hunting or hiking. They require no fresh ingredients! They are also good! Our neighbor girl says they are the best cookies that I have ever made (and I make a lot of cookies!) I got the recipe from my dear friend “Lady Day”. Here is the recipe. 1 1/2 C. Shortening (or lard or butter) …

Jan C.’s Buckwheat Shortcake This came from an early 1900s recipes book: Take three or four teacupfuls of nice sour milk, one teaspoonful of soda dissolved in milk; if the milk is very sour, you must use soda in proportion with a little salt. Mix up a dough with buckwheat flour thicker than you would mix the same for griddle cakes, say quite stiff. Pour it into a buttered tin and put directly into the stove oven and bake for thirty minutes, or as you would a shortcake from common flour. It takes the place of the griddle cake, also …

Judy N.’s Only Whole Wheat Bread Preppers are always looking for a way to use their Wheat Berries.  Here is a recipe that does not require you to grind your wheat more than once.  Step 1:  Mix together the following: 1 package Dry Yeast                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 1 ½ cups Warm Water                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   1 Cup Warm Milk                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      1 Tablespoon Honey                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          1 Tablespoon Brown Sugar                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  1 Tablespoon  Molasses                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                1Tablespoon butter                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Allow  the yeast mixture to sit for 5 minutes Step 2: Mix in a separate bowl:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          4 Cups coarsely ground wheat flour   (plus extra for Kneading) 1 …

G.R’s Beer Bread Here is a very quick beer bread recipe that is great when you don’t have time to make a normal loaf of bread.   Ingredients: 3 cups sifted flour (sift through sifting screen to avoid making the bread hard) 3 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon salt 1/4 cup sugar 1 12 oz can or bottle of beer 1/4 cup melted butter   Directions: 1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 2. Mix dry ingredients and beer in a large bowl. Mix thoroughly to avoid dry spots. Mixture will be stiff. 3. Pour into greased loaf pan. 4. Pour melted butter …