Bran Muffins

From Julie L.

These are some of my all-time favorite muffins! I like to double or even triple the batter. It’ll keep for several days in the refrigerator in an airtight container. Don’t stir it after storing –just pour and use. We like them for breakfast with butter and jam or as a side with corn chowder for dinner. The kids also eat them for snacks. Good eats! –Mellyn  Continue reading

Grandma Elva’s Baked Raisin Pudding

Grandma Elva always had a crew to cook for, and she usually had little or no notice about the number of mouths she would be feeding each day. This never stopped her from whipping up delicious desserts to accompany any meal! Her Baked Raisin Pudding is a well-loved dish filled with raisins, sauce, and a whole lot of memories. Continue reading

French Toast a la Food Storage!

French toast is truly one of the most divine foods on earth, and my mom makes the best French toast in the world! I was honestly shocked at how well this recipe converted to food storage ingredients. Made with powdered eggs, wheat flour and powdered milk, we all wolfed it down — just like our usual white toast version. I’m sure the syrup didn’t hurt the taste either! –Mellyn

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Butterhorn Rolls

From Kristie Hansen

Kristie shared her original recipe with our family over 12 years ago, and we’ve been on a “roll” ever since! Light and delicious, these family favorites are a must at Easter, Christmas and every other special occasion during the year. Of course they had to be adapted for our food storage plan! This recipe is the real reason I store powdered eggs…and extra butter in the back of my fridge! –Mellyn  Continue reading

Jam Tarts

These are yummy and relatively easy to make! I’ll be honest — pie crust and I are not the best of friends. On this particular day I ruined my first batch. I thought I’d be clever and combine the shortening and flour in my electric mixer. It was fine until I turned the speed up to get that last little bit of shortening mixed in and melted the shortening. Oops! I just stuck (no pun intended) to the tried and true pastry cutter after that. Out of curiosity, we also tried them using sugar cookie dough instead of pie crust! My kids loved them! -Mellyn  Continue reading

Mini Raspberry Vanilla Cakes

My friend, Jane, made the most delicious cake that she would cut in half and fill with jam. This recipe was inspired by her! To me, the texture (due to the beans) is between regular cake and angel food cake. I think it’s especially delicious topped with a pudding-cream filling and fresh strawberries (in non-emergency times, of course) In emergencies we’ll just have to make due with jam and buttercream frosting! –Mellyn Continue reading

My Favorite Muffins

Jams, jellies and preserves — I like them all! I especially like their versatility. This week I’ll share with you some of our favorite main dishes that sport jam as a main ingredient, along with some of our comfort-food favorites! –Mellyn

From Grace B.

When I was engaged, some friends threw a “Kitchen” Shower for me. Each person who came, brought an item to use in the kitchen, along with a favorite recipe. These recipes have been among my favorites over the years. Tried and true, they helped make my first attempts in the kitchen successful. My family loves Grace’s favorite muffins, and they’re just as good for dinner as they are for breakfast! Grace says you can make these muffins plain or hide jam in the middle for a sweet surprise. I often leave the jam on top because it looks so pretty…and because I’m lazy! Thanks for sharing your favorite muffins, Grace! –Mellyn

Yield: 12 muffins

  • 2 tablespoons egg powder or 1 fresh egg
  • 3 tablespoons water — omit if using fresh eggs
  • 1/2 cup water — If using fresh milk, omit and use 1/2 cup milk instead
  • 1/4 cup oil
  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons nonfat dry milk powder –omit if using fresh milk
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 6-12 teaspoons jelly or jam
  1. Heat oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Prepare 12 medium muffin cups.
  3. Whisk egg powder into water or beat egg; stir in remaining liquid ingredients.
  4. Mix in dry ingredients just until flour is moistened. Batter should be lumpy.
  5. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full.
  6. Bake 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately remove from pan.
  7. For surprise muffins, drop 1 teaspoon of jelly or jam into each one before baking! (I use about 1/2 teaspoon.)

 

 

Peanut Butter Bars

–From Kristen K.

Perfect for picnics and potlucks, these peanut butter bars are sure to please! Kristen used to bring them to all of our big gatherings and whenever our family makes them now, we think of her.
I couldn’t resist playing with the recipe just a little. I had good results cutting back the sugar and replacing some of the butter with (surprise!) beans. With the sweet, creamy frosting on top, my family didn’t even notice! –Mellyn

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Pizza Pockets

For years I used a different dough for my pizza pockets. It called for shortening, eggs and a double rise. When my oldest daughter began cooking, she started substituting this french bread for our usual pizza dough. Not only is it more food storage friendly, but it also takes less time to prepare!

When this was one of my 19 meals, I stored the pepperoni for it in my freezer, along with as much mozzarella cheese as I could manage. Aside from filling my food storage requirement, it meant we were ready for a party at any given moment! Recently, however, I’ve been simplifying my 19. I realized that the pepperoni and cheese don’t add a lot of nutrition, but they sure did add cost and take up a lot of freezer space. Now for my 19, I store breadsticks and sauce –which I’ll post tomorrow! But we still LOVE these pizza pockets!–Mellyn

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Cinnamon Raisin Biscuits

From Julie L.

If you find yourself in the mood for cinnamon rolls, but without the time for a yeast dough, try these baking powder biscuits for a delicious alternative. –MellynYield 18-20 biscuits

Biscuits:

 

  • 4 cups flour
  • 2 Tablespoons sugar
  • 4 teaspoons baking powder
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon soda
  • 2/3 cup shortening
  • 1 1/3 cups milk
  • 1 Tablespoon vinegar
  • ¼ cup butter
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • ¾ cup raisins
  • cinnamon
  1. Mix the dry ingredients together.
  2. Cut the shortening into the dry mixture.
  3. Mix the vinegar and milk.
  4. Pour the milk and vinegar mixture into the dry mixture.
  5. Using a fork, mix until it is all the same consistency.
  6. Let it rest for 5 minutes.
  7. Lightly flour the surface where you are going to roll out the dough.
  8. Grease a jelly roll pan.
  9. Heat your oven to 375 degrees.
  10. On the floured surface, roll the dough into a rectangle about 11 X 14 inches.
  11. On the rectangle, spread butter and sugar. Dust with cinnamon and sprinkle with raisins. The ingredients in this part of the recipe are very forgiving. You can increase or decrease according to your preferences. For instance, Mellyn doesn’t like raisins so I make some of them without raisins for her.
  12. Starting with the long edge of the rectangle, roll it into a log shape.
  13. With a thin bladed knife, cut into about 1 inch rounds and place them on the greased jelly roll pan.
  14. Cook 12-15 minutes.
  15. Drizzle hot biscuits with glaze recipe below and serve warm!
Glaze:
  • 2 c powdered sugar
  • ¼ c water
  • ½ tsp vanilla
  • Dash of salt
  1. Mix all ingredients together.

 

Dad’s Oatmeal Cake

From Julie L.

Oatmeal cake was my dad’s favorite — and after sampling it a few times in preparation for this post, my whole family understands why. You just can’t get a much richer dessert than this one!  Try the frosting as an ice cream topping or just eat it by the spoonful. It’s pretty hard to resist. Talk about decadent! –Mellyn

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Lightning Bread

 One of my college roommates made a tasty bread that didn’t contain yeast. I decided to try and replicate her recipe, using a combination of baking soda and baking powder in place of the yeast in one of my favorite white bread recipes. We proclaimed it a success — especially if you need bread fast. From mixing bowl to table, this recipe takes less than an hour! –Mellyn


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