Meals in a Jar (40 page)
Authors: Julie Languille
Tags: #Cookbooks; Food & Wine, #Canning & Preserving, #Quick & Easy
• 1 cup pecan halves
• 1 cup walnuts
• 1 cup cashews
For sugar and spice mix: In each of 6 vacuum bags, Mylar bags, or jars add and then seal:
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon powdered vanilla
For eggs: In each of 6 vacuum bags, add and then seal:
• 2 tablespoons powdered egg whites
For shortening: In each of 6 vacuum bags, add and then seal:
• 1/3 cup shortening (cubes are easiest to measure and package) or ghee
Ready-Made Meal Assembly
In a Mylar bag, tote bag, or vacuum bag, store:
• 1 packet shortening or ghee
• 1 packet egg whites
• 1 packet sugar and spice mix
• 1 packet nuts
Label each bag:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Melt the ghee or shortening. In a large bowl, combine the powdered egg whites with 2 tablespoons of water and whisk until very foamy. Whisk in the sugar and spice packet. Whisk in the melted shortening or ghee and then add the nuts, stirring to coat thoroughly. Spread the nuts out on a rimmed baking sheet lined with foil or greased. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden, stirring periodically. Makes about 3 cups
.
Storage Bags
Reusable tote bags are a great way to package your ready-made meals. Send a family member into the pantry to choose the meal of their choice and then prepare the meal as part of your family meal rotation and then use the bag again when you package up more meals. Alternatively, you can store your meal kits in Mylar bags. Mylar is very tough, lightweight, and flexible.
How to Stock Your Pantry
A good place to start is with sidekits. Plan to package large volumes of Rice (
page 120
), Mashed Potatoes (
page 122
), Polenta (
page 121
), and Buttered Noodles (
page 120
), because these sidekits will go with many recipes. Then when you package the beef or chicken with vegetables, you’ll have a selection of sidekits ready to go.
After you’ve got a supply of sidekits, the next step is to stock your pantry with ready-made meals by focusing on one protein at a time—chicken, for example—and make several varieties of meals for that protein, and then move on to beef or pork. A good strategy is to go to a club or warehouse store and buy large quantities of what’s on sale and make meals for that item.
It is also a good idea to schedule a day to make just breakfasts to store and a day to make lunches or desserts, etc.
Plan to invite a group of friends and divvy up the work while enjoying each other’s company. Ask everyone to bring their pressure canners and vacuum-sealers. Organize the group into stations, each making a recipe or set of recipes, or have one team do all the vacuum-sealing, one group all the labeling, etc.
Buying in Bulk
Amazon.com
has a feature called “Subscribe and Save,” which allows you to buy items at a discount and is really good for items that are not carried at your local grocery store. For example, my local grocery store doesn’t carry butter-flavored shortening in cubes, which are SO easy to cut into measured chunks and vacuum-seal. With Subscribe and Save, you sign up to receive something on a specific interval of your choosing, and then you get a discount on the item. I also use this for pint-size cans of spaghetti sauce, which is more economical in my area than buying tomatoes.
Another great idea is to go to your local agricultural area in the summer and buy large quantities of fruit from the farmers to can and dehydrate, giving you more ingredients to add to your shelf-stable pantry.
Bug-Out Bins
A bug-out bin is a container that holds enough supplies for your family to survive for several days away from home in an emergency. They’re popular because many people who choose to store shelf-stable food also envision scenarios in which they might have to leave their house quickly, such as due to a flood or fire. For such situations, it’s a great idea to package meals into plastic bins each containing a week or 10 days’ worth of food. Plan to include breakfasts, lunches, dinners, snacks, treats, and beverages, and make sure you also have a box of portable cooking equipment, including:
Checklist of Portable Kitchen Equipment
Skillet
