Freezer Finds

What can you do with bratwurst?  I mean other than boiling it in beer and grilling it?  I found at least 3 packages deep within the freezer.  All were bought on sale at one time or another this past year. While we are waiting for the trailer to sell we are trying to use up what we can.  The freezer is still half full so there's a chance that I may have to bring the canner back from storage.

We had a huge pork loin in there that Mars smoked on the pit a few days ago.  It came out sooo nice!  Needless to say we have been eating pork dishes for a few days. Of course, we have had sliced pork loin with a variety of vegetables.  Chopped pork and egg tacos too.  It's made a few really good sandwiches as well.  Tomorrow I plan on using the last of it for Carne Guisada .(with pork of course)
 
Now back to the question.  What can you actually DO with bratwurst?  I love www.allrecipes.com. They have a cool ingredient search engine.  Put in some of the ingredients you want and/or the ones you don't.  I came up with a Bratwurst soup that sounded ok and had some good reviews. I thought I would share it as it turned out really good.  Mind you I almost always just wing following a recipe depending on what I have on hand.

                 Bratwurst, Potato, Cabbage Soup

• 16 ounces bratwurst, casings removed
• 2 potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cups water
• 1 medium head cabbage, chopped
• 3 cups milk, divided
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 4 ounces Swiss cheese, diced

Directions

1. In a large skillet over medium high heat, saute the sausage for 10 minutes, or until browned and crumbled. Drain well and discard the fat.
2. In a large pot over high heat, combine the browned sausage, potatoes, onion and water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the cabbage, return to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for another 20 minutes. Add 2 1/2 cups of the milk and heat slowly to just under a boil. (Note: Don't try to do this too fast, or the milk will burn on the bottom of the pot.)
3. In a separate small bowl, mix the flour with the remaining milk, and add to the pot slowly, stirring constantly, so that the flour does not clump. (Note: Make sure you get out all the lumps because they will not cook out on their own.)
4. When the mixture in the pot thickens, add the cheese and stir off and on until the cheese has melted.

 After reading some of the reviews, I added some garlic, Tonys,  fresh cracked black pepper.  I didn't have swiss cheese so I used cheddar instead. I also was out of onions and so I used some of my dried ones.  I have to say it turned out really good.  I will definitely make this one again!

I have been trying to pull out all the stuff that wasn't sealed with the FoodSaver first.

I wonder what else is down at the bottom of that freezer?  I found two packages of venison I didn't realize we still had. There's some fake crab meat in there too.  I found that we have way more blackeyed peas than I first thought.  It's almost like a treasure hunt!!

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Cop calls 911 After Eating Brownies

I find this to funny for words... Am I warped or what?

DIY Powdered Egg Update

    The American Preppers Network has launched a brand new look and a brand new forum.  The forum has really taken off and is a wonderful source for preparedness information.  Check them out if you get the chance!  The following is a post I did over there.  It is also an update on my Powdered Egg experiment.
    I was checking out powdered egg prices from places like Honeyville a few months ago, and thought they seemed a little pricey. I'm "Frugal" remember! Eggs are a great source of protein. As we don't have the capability to raise chickens where we are (no room) I got to thinking about how much I would miss them in a SHTF situation.
    I have read about different ways to dehydrate them at home. Most all of them tell you to make scrambled eggs and then dry the cooked eggs and store. I am sure there must be a reason for cooking them first but I don't know why.    So I figured what the heck. I will do some experimenting myself.
     So I beat up a dozen eggs and poured them into my fruit roll-up trays. I found with my dryer the trays will hold 6 beaten eggs. Trial and error told me to set the temperature at 165 degrees. (That is as high as my dehydrator goes) Let them dry until they are brittle. It takes about 24 hours in my machine.    When they are done they will be hard and just a little oily to the touch. I then put them in the blender and turned them into powder. Then I put them in a jar ,vacuum sealed them, and stored them in a cool dark place. The first batch I did was in the second week of September of this year. I have checked them each month since then. They are still holding up great!
    The first thing I had to try was rehydrating them for making scrambled eggs. I placed one teaspoon of powdered egg and 2 teaspoons warm water in a bowl and let them sit for about half an hour. One teaspoon is about the same as one egg. Stirred them up really good, ( they will be just a little "grainy") put some butter in a pan and cooked them up. Tasted great! Nothing like the powdered eggs I have tried in the past.
    The next month I broke out the jar and used them to make pancakes. They still smelled good and tasted fine.
    In November I used them to dredge my chicken in before frying. Again, everything looked, smelled, and tasted fine.
   A few days ago I had my heart set on breakfast tacos. Of course I was out of eggs. So I pulled out that jar of powdered eggs and used them. They turned out excellent!
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    I do want to make one thing clear. I CHOSE to do this experiment. You might not want to try this at home kids! I can't tell you how safe the process is but I have personally had great results. It has been four months since the first batch was done. They still look, smell, and taste fine. I have about 3 more eggs in that batch and so I will check them again for the next two months. That would be six months storage time for a dozen eggs. Not bad if I say so myself!!
I have put up a few  dozen more  since then and we shall see how it all works out.


The experiment continues!!

You Don't Have Beans?

  Well, things are moving right along here.  We're making forward progress, which is always a good thing.  It seems like it took forever to get to this point.
   You just don't realize how much "crap" you can acquire in 9 years.  What's even more amazing is the amount you can accumulate in  a 40' RV!  But the trailer is now listed as FOR SALE.  It's taken a month to do, but the trailer is finally ready.  Most everything is in storage except for basics we need to hang out until we sell the place.  We could be out of here in a day's notice! We have been going through everything we own with a "new eye" as it were.  Gleaning.  If it doesn't have a purpose for the direction we are headed  or a sentimental value - its out of here.  Craigslist is my new best friend! 




  One thing that has kind of been strange for me though is not working on our food storage. I hadn't realized how much I would miss it.  Prepping I mean.  Most everyone knows what a nerd I am about snagging good deals.  You can imagine how I must have felt when I saw that potato's were on sale this week @ $.069 for 5 lbs!!
And all my handy dandy kitchen "tools" now reside in storage. The one that I made absolutely sure I kept where I can get to it is the pressure canner , lids, canning tools and jars.  We still have a fair amount of meat in the freezer and I sure don't wanna lose it. 
  I have to confess a serious prepper error.  When putting all the food preps in storage... I did not think far enough out.  I should have been thinking 6-8 weeks here and really didn't think ahead.  Case in point, Mars and I were talking last nite about dinner.  We both thought some beans and rice would be good.  Well I went to look in the pantry and we had rice....but no beans!   I thought Mars was gonna dies laughing at me.  I've probably got a hundred and fifty pounds of beans put up and not a single one in the house!  I had to run to the store today as we were out of bread (STOP LAUGHING AT ME) so while I there I picked up another 5 lbs of beans.  Now I realize we didn't NEED 5 lbs.... but I got me a little "prepper fix" and I feel better now!  


Don't tell anyone ok?

New Year New Start

What a year 2009 has been. I have made some amazing new friends this year and in doing so  I've learned a whole new set of skills.  For that I am grateful.
We grew a great garden.  I learned to can this year.  It's cool that I can do more than just put up tomato's!  I became a dehydrating fool. (thanks for the Nesco Mom) I made my first jellies and apple butter too. I put up some really good Bread n Butter pickles.  Pickled okra and pickled peppers too!  Oh and I started making my own laundry soap. I started making my own bread.
  The point is that I learned skills I didn't have before.  Now I know that I'm not a pro or anything, but its good to work on skills that will be useful in the future. Anything I can learn to become more self-reliant is what I strive for.


Who knows what 2010 will bring?  For just this once I won't say a word about the country going down the crapper. LOL I just found myself having to delete a good paragraph rant!! I figure I can leave that for the new year.


Mars and I will be starting on a new journey this year.  We have decided to start over again.  Pretty much like we did when we made the decision to move into the RV.  Only this time, it is all about finding a place to lay down roots.  It's time for us to move on.  Why not?  We aren't getting any younger and we sure aren't getting anywhere here.  We are going to sell our version of the "McMansion" and buy a small trailer and hit the road.  Find some land and just DO it. We have been busy with getting things packed, sold, sorted out and culled. I am excited!  I don't know were this will end up but it ought to interesting!
  So stay tuned,  there are bound to be at least some good stories to come out of all this!


HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!