Pantry Can Storage Idea

Okay, so you might laugh at this, but I will do almost ANYTHING to keep my pantry organized. I keep all my #10 cans OUT in our garage, but have been using the pantry cans IN my house since they fit a lot easier than a bunch of gallon sized cans. Whenever one of my pantry cans gets empty, I take it out to the garage & refill it from my #10 cans. That way I'm not CONSTANTLY opening those #10 cans, & I'm saving space inside.

Well, I was carrying around a pantry can of freeze dried pineapple (snacking on it of course) & I happened to be in my closet organizing my shoes in my shoe organizer when I had an "A-Ha" moment. I took a shoe out & tried putting my pantry can in. IT FIT. I couldn't drive to Target fast enough. 30 minutes later I was organizing

ALL MY PANTRY CANS

in 2 organizers over my 2 pantry doors.

Some of the cans are a little snug (since these organizers are really cheap, some pockets are bigger than others), but I can see them all & they aren't taking up any shelf space anymore. I LOVE IT. In one organizer I have all my fruits & veggies & in the other I've got my basics (baking powder, soda, salt, butter, shortening, drink mixes, etc.), my yogurts, & my Taco TVP (another favorite in our house).

I just thought I'd share my "A-Ha" moment with all of you in case you're trying to figure out ways to save on space in your houses. Enjoy!

Whole Wheat Tortillas

We eat a LOT of Mexican food in our house, so I'm always looking for a new fun recipe for SOMETHING! The other night I was making one of my MANY enchilada recipes & I pulled the tortillas out of the fridge & they were GREEN. I about DIED. They weren't even a week old either. I looked at the package & realized how many terrible ingredients are in store bought tortillas. It's disgusting! I don't even know what half of that stuff is. Well, I had everything else made for the enchilada's so I had to think of

SOMETHING FAST.

I remembered seeing a tortilla recipe in the THRIVE cookbook so I whipped it out & went to work. I added a little more salt than they called for to flavor it a bit more, but overall, it was a good recipe. I have never made tortillas before so don't mind my "mess" in the pictures & the "blob-like shape" of my tortillas. My kids thought they were funny. Next time I'll definitely use a plate as a stencil to make them round before I cook them. ha ha ha.

Whole Wheat Tortillas:

1/2 cup THRIVE White Flour

2 cups THRIVE Whole Wheat Flour

1/4 cup THRIVE Shortening prepared (1 cup shortening powder + 1/4 cup water)

1 1/2 teaspoons THRIVE Iodized Salt

1 1/8 cup BOILING Water

Sift together the flours & salt.

Add the prepared shortening & mix until the mixture is nice & crumbly.

Make a well in the center of the mixture & then pour the boiling hot water into the well. Mix with a fork (be careful NOT to burn yourself) until all the water is mixed into the batter. The dough should be soft & NOT STICKY.

If your dough is too flaky, add more water a spoonful at a time until the dough comes together. I had to add about 2 spoonfuls of water to my dough before it all came together.

Sprinkle with a little flour so it doesn't stick to your hands & knead the dough until it doesn't stick to your fingers. It took me about 5 minutes of kneading, but you'll feel a difference. Make balls the size of golf balls (for salad plate sized tortillas, bigger if you want burrito sized) & place them on a cookie sheet. Cover the dough with a cloth & let sit for an HOUR.

Head a griddle or frying pan over high heat. On a lightly floured surface, roll out a tortilla as thinly as you prefer. I like mine pretty thin. However, I will say they're a lot more bendable (& don't break as easily) if you leave them a little on the thicker side. Also, if you want a ROUND tortilla, use a plate as a stencil & cut the outside edges to form a circle, otherwise you get a big BLOB TORTILLA like mine. ha ha ha. Cook on each side for about 30 seconds. They will brown nicely on each side just like a store bought tortilla.

I made about 13 tortillas with this recipe which was perfect for my enchilada. Plus we had a few left over for dessert.

I think next time I might get adventurous & try adding either a little spinach to my mixture to make spinach tortillas, or maybe some of the tomato powder to make tomato tortillas. We'll see.

One of my favorite things from my childhood was homemade tortillas, warmed with butter & honey.

Simple, easy, fun, & not TOO sugary.

My kids LOVE them.

If you would like to purchase any of the ingredients used in this recipe, comment below or visit my website:

dani.shelfreliance.com

Sleeping Bag Fun

Being a consultant for Shelf Reliance, I've purchased (& eaten) just about all their wonderful food. I'm just now starting to venture into their emergency preparedness supplies. I just got 2 HUGE 55 gallon barrels for storing water for emergencies. The kits are AWESOME because they have the barrels, a siphon & pump, water treatment, & a wrench. The whole kit was under $100. I LOVE THEM. Now my family has 2 weeks worth of water stored in case we need it. The barrel alone (without all the extras) is $70. I recommend buying one full kit to start with, & then just buying the barrels alone after that.

We also just bought 3 of the River Jr. Zero Degree Sleeping Bags for our 3 girls. We go camping A TON in our family & we've been trucking piles of blankets with us every time because we only had 3 sleeping bags. (My husband & I have 5 kids!) Now the girls each have their own sleeping bags. Hooray!

I love these sleeping bags because they're kid sized so they don't drown the kids. I would say they'd fit any kid up to their late teen years. My husband & I actually zipped each other up in them just to test them out for size & we both fit, but we are on the smaller side (as in VERY SHORT & small) I was somewhat claustrophobic once I was completely zipped inside. My husband used it as an opportunity to tickle me until I couldn't breath because I literally couldn't move. (I love my sweetie.) But though it was snug for us adults, my girls fit PERFECTLY inside. These sleeping bags are waterproof, VERY warm, & quite soft & comfortable.

My girls are ages 8, 6, & 3 so you can kind of see from the pictures how they all fit inside. We let the kids have a "camp night" inside the house because it was foggy, wet, & cold outside (the joys of Monterey, CA) so our real camping trip got cancelled. They thought that was the "coolest" thing EVER.

We only bought the girls sleeping bags because we already had 3 others for my husband & I (& our oldest son). But Bladen wanted in on the sleeping bag fun too so we let him sleep downstairs with his sisters as well.

He had a BLAST.

Overall, I'm very pleased with the River Jr. Zero Degree Sleeping Bags. They are probably too small for most adults, but if you're looking to buy something sturdy, waterproof & warm for your kids, this is the way to go. Especially if you go camping a lot. I know WE DO!

If you are interested in learning more about Shelf Reliance's emergency preparedness (& camping) supplies or would like to purchase some sleeping bags for your kiddos, leave a comment below or check out my website:

dani.shelfreliance.com

Potato Salad (with dehydrated potato chunks)

Seriously, who DOESN'T love a good POTATO SALAD. My family LOVES potato salad, but I despise making it. Why?

Because I HATE PEELING POTATOES!!!

My kids were begging for a fresh bowl the other day & I cringed thinking about peeling all those potatoes when I had an "A-HA" moment. The potato chunks are

ALREADY PEELED & SLICED!

Whoa! I almost fell over I was SO excited. I didn't know how it would turn out, but I didn't care because I DIDN'T have to PEEL POTATOES.

So I grabbed my classic potato salad ingredients & went to work. Here's my recipe for yummy potato salad:

3 cups THRIVE Potato Chunks

1/2 cup THRIVE Freeze Dried Onions

1 1/2 cups Diced Dill Pickles (the BEST part in my opinion)

Pickle Juice (from the jar)

7 Hard Boiled Eggs

1/2 cup Mayo

1/4 cup Ranch Dressing

1/8 cup Mustard

1 teaspoon THRIVE Iodized Salt

1 teaspoon Black Pepper

The first thing you're going to do is boil the potatoes for about 20 minutes just like you would for fresh potatoes. You just don't have to peel or dice them yourself. (aka HEAVEN)

Drain them & put them in a BIG BOWL (this makes a HUGE batch for potlucks & things like that so get a BIG bowl). Then open your pickle jar & dump the juice INTO the potatoes. You want just enough to cover them, (see picture below) then refrigerate them for about an hour to an hour & a half.

While they get cold in the fridge, cut up your pickles & boil your eggs etc. However,

I DO NOT RECOMMEND DROPPING YOUR PICKLE JAR

on the floor when you're trying to put it away.

Have you ever tried sweeping/mopping/picking up pickles & glass

ALL AT THE SAME TIME?

Again, I DO NOT recommend it.

After your potatoes are cool (& your pickle mess is cleaned up) go ahead & drain the pickle juice & add the rest of the ingredients. Mix it well & you're ready to eat some of the best potato salad you've ever had. And the best part? You DIDN'T HAVE TO PEEL POTATOES.

Enjoy!

If you're interested in purchasing some of these AWESOME

pre-peeled & pre-diced

potatoes, leave a comment below or visit my website:

dani.shelfreliance.com

Banana Bread

There's nothing that makes me feel as warm inside as a hot loaf of yummy

BANANA BREAD.

I've been making the same recipe of banana bread my entire life. This recipe belonged to my great-great grandmother & was passed down through the generations to me. I was 5 years old when my great-great grandmother passed away & I still remember this bread being baked in her house. My grandmother taught it to me when I was 10 or 11 & the rest is history. (My poor mother is allergic to bananas so she never got the chance to make or eat this recipe.) This time, I made it with THRIVE ingredients to see how well it would work & it tasted great. I was surprised at how well the freeze dried bananas baked in this. YUM!

So here's the our family's famous Banana Bread:

(You can make this with non-THRIVE food too. The measurements are all the same & I use 3 brown, squishy bananas)

1/2 cup THRIVE Shortening Powder, prepared (1/8 cup water with 1/2 cup powder)

1 cup THRIVE White Sugar

2 THRIVE Eggs, prepared (2 Tablespoons egg powder with 4 Tablespoons water)

2 cups THRIVE White Flour

1 pinch of THRIVE Iodized Salt

1 teaspoon THRIVE Baking Soda

3 cups THRIVE Freeze Dried Bananas

1/2 cup of nuts (optional)

Rehydrate the bananas by soaking in hot water for 10 minutes. Drain well. Cream the prepared shortening & white sugar. Add eggs & beat until the mixture is smooth.

Add the rehydrated bananas & mash into the mixture. (I like to mash them up with my hands before I put them into the batter. I like pulpy bananas for this.)

Sift the flour, salt, & soda together & add it to the batter. Beat until smooth & creamy looking. Add nuts if desired.

Bake in a loaf pan at 350 degrees for 1 hour. It should be a beautiful brownish yellow color when it's all done.

I hope you enjoy it as much as our family has enjoyed it. And a special thank you to my Grandma Cherry, my Great-Grandma Lottie, & my Great-Great-Grandma Maudie! They were the masterminds that made me the cook I am today.

If you are interested in purchasing any of these ingredients, comment below or visit my website:

dani.shelfreliance.com

Trail Mix

We went camping last weekend which included some awesome hiking! (Our family LOVES to hike. . . . even my 5 little kiddos enjoy it.) I like to bring

"ENERGY FOOD"

along with us to keep the kids happy & energized. And nothing does this better than a good TRAIL MIX. Well, I started making my "usual" trail mix when a thought popped into my head:

"Use THRIVE to make it even better!"

Yup, it was MUCH better than any other trail mix I've ever made. It was DELICIOUS!

So here's the run down of our perfect TRAIL MIX:

16 oz. peanuts

8 oz. cashews

8 oz. almonds

8 oz. macadamia nuts

6 oz. craisins

8 oz. chocolate chips

8 oz. M&M's

8 oz. peanut butter M&M's

1/2 cup THRIVE Freeze Dried Raspberries

1/2 cup THRIVE Freeze Dried Blueberries

1/2 cup THRIVE Freeze Dried Mangoes

1/2 cup THRIVE Freeze Dried Strawberry Yogurt

1/2 cup THRIVE Freeze Dried Passion Fruit Yogurt

You can add or subtract anything to this really to your liking. This makes almost a full gallon of trail mix (we'll eat it all within a week. . . my family LOVES trail mix.) I just wanted to share that any old recipe that you make all the time can always taste fabulous with some THRIVE food.

We ended up camping (SUPER FUN) & did a 2 mile hike to some beautiful caves at Pinnacles National Monument here in Central Cali. The kids loved going through the caves with their flashlights. It was a ton of fun!

If you would like to order any of our

FABULOUS THRIVE fruits or yogurts,

leave a comment below or go to my website:

dani.shelfreliance.com

Strawberry (or ANY berry) Syrup

Okay, so we ate our toast & homemade jam for breakfast, but then the kiddos wanted pancakes for dinner! I had a few more strawberries in my #10 can so I thought,

"Let's make some SYRUP!"

That's something I LOVE about Shelf Reliance! I love how creative it makes me feel when I start "playing" with my food. I feel like I can make ANYTHING & I love that feeling.

The syrup recipe was very similar to my preserves recipe, but more of a syrup consistency rather than a solid jam. And just like the jam, you can make this with ANY of the THRIVE fruits. I think it's time to order me some BLUEBERRIES!!!

1 1/2 cups THRIVE (FD) Strawberries (or any THRIVE fruit)

1 1/4 cups water

3/4 cup THRIVE Sugar

Mix all 3 ingredient in a saucepan & bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes & then turn heat down to simmer & let cook for 7-8 more minutes.

I would recommend putting the syrup mixture into a food processor or blender to chop the strawberries even smaller (unless you enjoy chunkilicious syrup) before pouring it's deliciousness on your pancakes.

(I wasn't able to do this because my sweet little six year old accidentally tipped over my blender this weekend & sent it to blender heaven. I just bought a new blender today.)

Chunky or Syrupy, your family is going to love dressing up breakfast with this homemade delight. Enjoy!

If you would like to order any of the ingredients listed in this recipe, comment below or visit my website:

dani.shelfreliance.com

Cheese Crackers

I'm always looking for healthy snack ideas for my kids. They are addicted to Cheese-its (which I HATE) so I've been looking for a good recipe for homemade cheese crackers WITHOUT all the sodium, sugar, & preservatives. The THRIVE Cookbook had a recipe for Cheese Crackers in it so I thought I'd try it out. It was good, but my taste buds craved a little more flavor, so I took their recipe & tweaked it to my liking. So here is MY version of cheese crackers;

I hope you like it!

1 1/4 cups THRIVE Whole Wheat Flour

1/2 teaspoon THRIVE Iodized Salt

1/8 teaspoon THRIVE Baking Powder

1/8 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper (to add just a little kick of flavor)

1/2 cup THRIVE Cheese Blend

1/4 cup THRIVE (FD) Cheddar Cheese, prepared

3 tablespoons THRIVE Butter Powder, prepared

water (a little less than 1/2 cup)

#1: Sift together the flour, salt, baking powder, cayenne pepper, & cheese blend.

#2: Prepare the cheddar cheese by mixing the FD cheese with a little water & soak for 10 minutes. Drain & pat dry. (It's alright to leave it a little squishy for this recipe).

#3: Prepare the butter by mixing the butter powder with little bits of water until you reach the consistency of fresh butter. (you want 3 tablespoons prepared).

#4: Add the cheese & butter to the sifted dry ingredients & mix until the batter is crumbly.

#5: Add water one tablespoon at a time until a ball of dough forms. Roll dough on a floured piece of parchment paper until 1/8 inch thick. Flip the rolled dough & PARCHMENT paper onto a greased cookie sheet. Remove the Parchment paper & you have your perfectly rolled dough on your pan.

#6: Cut with a pizza cutter into little squares. My kids made triangles, squares, hearts, etc. My oldest even put some SpongeBob faces on some of her squares. Poke a hold with a toothpick in each piece (to make it look like a cheese-it), & sprinkle with a little salt.

#7: Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes. Cook less for cookie like crackers & longer for crispy crackers. It's up to you & what your family likes. ENJOY!

I promise your kids will eat them right up & THEY ARE HEALTHY!!!! Hooray for healthy recipes!

If you would like to order any of the ingredients listed in this recipe, comment below or visit my website:

dani.shelfreliance.com

Strawberry Preserves

Everybody loves homemade jam, including me. We wanted toast for breakfast on Sunday & sure enough, we were out of jam. Bummer right? NOT when you have THRIVE

food in your pantry! I just grabbed my can of Freeze Dried Strawberries & went to work. Within 10 minutes I had about 3/4 cup of homemade strawberry preserves for our toast! It was a HUGE hit & none went to waste!

Here's what you need:

1 cup of THRIVE (FD) Strawberries

1/3 cup of THRIVE Sugar

3/4 cup water

Mix it all together in a saucepan until it boils. Let it boil for about 2 minutes, then turn the heat down to low & simmer until the jam is the consistency you enjoy (5-10 minutes). You can smash up the strawberries or leave them whole. I like it chunky!

I like my jam pretty thick & FULL of delicious chunky strawberries!

You can put the jam in the fridge or serve it warm (which is my FAVORITE) on bread or toast. Refrigerate leftovers (IF you actually have any LEFT OVER). Enjoy!

If you'd like to order some delicious THRIVE Freeze Dried strawberries, comment below or visit my website:

dani.shelfreliance.com

Mini Taco Bites

This is the recipe that came with this month's Q-pon & I have to admit . . . it's WONDERFUL. The kids LOVE IT! I think it makes a fun snack or appetizer for any party.

To give credit where credit is due - this recipe was created by the talented people at Shelf Reliance. They do a great job at creating wonderful new recipes for us to enjoy!

Mini Taco Bites:

1 cup THRIVE Taco TVP

1 cup THRIVE Shredded Cheddar Cheese

1 cup THRIVE Sour Cream

1 bag Tostito Scoops

Salsa

Olives for garnish

#1: Place the THRIVE Taco TVP in a saucepan adding 1 1/4 cups hot water. Simmer the taco mixture until the water is absorbed (DO NOT DRAIN because you want to maintain that great taco flavor). Add more water if the mixture becomes too dry.

#2: Add approximately 1/2 cup of water & THRIVE Sour Cream, stir to desired consistency, & then set it aside in the fridge to get it nice & cold. Fill each "scoop" with the taco mixture, a dab of sour cream, & sprinkle with a little THRIVE Shredded Cheddar Cheese. Add salsa & an olive if desired.

Enjoy!

This makes a TON of bites so feel free to cut the recipe in half (or even 4ths) depending on who you are feeding.

If you are interested in purchasing any of these products at a discounted price or would like to host a Shelf Reliance Party to earn some free product, visit my website or leave a comment below.

dani.shelfreliance.com

THRIVE Taco TVP

For the month of July, Shelf Reliance is offering a WONDERFUL Q-pon for their Q Club members. This month only, the THRIVE Taco TVP is on sale for 25% off, making it only $11.89. The Taco TVP retails for $15.89 so this is a GREAT DEAL!

So what is THRIVE Taco TVP?

A perfect blend of seasonings makes THRIVE Taco TVP a great selection for all your Mexican-inspired favorites. Feature it in burritos, quesadillas, or taco salads as a low-fat, protein-rich addition. You can also feature some of the can's 42 servings in a tortilla chip casserole.

With so many possibilities, THRIVE Taco TVP will soon become a family favorite. This soy-based meat replacement has an optimum shelf life of 10 years. Store it away for a rainy day or serve it at your next fiesta in meals that are sure to please.

This Q-pon is only valid for Q Club Members. A Shelf Reliance "Q" is a great way to build your own home store with the products you love with a budget that YOU create yourself. If you're interested in setting up your own "Q" so you can get this great deal, send me an email through my website:

dani.shelfreliance.com

or comment below.