Chicken Tortilla Soup

My sister shared this recipe with our Food Storage group and everyone loved the taste and the simplicity. It has become a favorite for our family!

Easy Chicken Tortilla Soup

1 15 oz can Black Beans, undrained
1 15 oz can whole Kernel Corn, undrained
1 12 oz can undrained Chicken
1 cup Salsa (I use Southwest Black Bean and White Corn)
2 cups Chicken Broth (OR 2 cups water, 2 bouillon cubes)
1/2 tsp. Garlic Powder
2 tsp. Cumin
1 tsp. Chili Powder
1 tsp. Onion Flakes
Tortilla Chips

Combine all ingredients, except for chips, and bring to a boil. Add tortilla chips to each bowl and pour soup over the top.

Can Rack

When I really started getting serious about getting a year's supply I was worried about where I would store it all. We have a walk-in pantry with big, deep shelves, so I tried to envision how I would organize things. I went out and started buying canned food. I stacked them in rows on the shelves (two high) by type of food. This looked nice and I thought it would work. Soon, however, I realized that my children were not as good at keeping cans in the right places as I was. Also, when it came to rotating, I couldn't reach to the back of the rows, so I was just putting the cans in front.

Finally, I decided to spend the money on a can rack from Shelf Reliance. The only place I could think to put it was in a bedroom closet. I measured the closet and was happy to discover a rack that fit the dimensions with just a little tweaking of the closet (had to move the middle bar brace over and take out the moulding along the floor).

The can rack took a few hours to assemble and get just right, but I really liked how you could customize each row's can size to fit your needs. Now that my rack is up and full (about 300 cans!) I love it! There is even an area on the top for a shelf that will hold 40-60 more cans (depending on size).

In addition to the racks at Shelf Reliance, here are some other sites that may be of interest to you if you are needing to revamp your can storing system:

Rack N Roll- Our units are custom made to fit your existing shelves and are geared to your food storage-specific needs. http://www.rnrfoodorganizers.com/

• Use Roller Units for canned items, such as vegetables, fruit, olives, pie filling, tuna, tomato sauce, mandarin oranges, evaporated or condensed milk, green chiles, etc.
• Shelf Sliders hold all kinds and sizes of boxes, packages and containers, such as cake mixes, ketchup, gelatin, pickles, cooking oil, dry soup mixes, spices, peanut butter, etc.
• If you have food items such as soup mixes, popcorn, muffin mixes, macaroni & cheese, etc., Drop Units are what you need – load from the top, pull from the bottom

Build Your Own- From the Food Storage Made Easy website, free plans, photos, and video showing the final product

http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/2009/02/16/build-your-own-can-rotating-rack/

Shelf Reliance- Featuring patented front-loading technology that automatically rotates cans on a first in first out basis

http://www.shelfreliance.com/shop/frs

Happy Hunting! Feel free to email me with any questions!

Fire Starters

The issue of having a good method to start fires came up in our meeting about 72 hour kits. Here are a few examples of items you may want to include in your 72-hour kit or camping kits.

(Items are listed for example only. Shop around for best pricing!)

Magnesium Fire Starting Tool with striker (product reviewers said they really liked having the striker included)

http://www.amazon.com/DOAN-MACHINERY-EQUIPMENT-CO-Magnesium/dp/B001R1LXNY/ref=pd_sbs_sg_49

Waterproof Matches
http://www.amazon.com/Waterproof-Matches-2-boxes-50/dp/B001CS7M46/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=sporting-goods&qid=1254776929&sr=1-2


Waterproof Match Container

plastic version http://www.amazon.com/Rothco-Plastic-Matchbox/dp/B000R2GTP6/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=sporting-goods&qid=1255189059&sr=1-3

metal keyring http://www.amazon.com/Keyring-Waterproof-Container-geocaching-survival/dp/B0013JRRXA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=hpc&qid=1255189228&sr=8-1-catcorr


includes signaling mirror http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002AYO7OE

Peach Leather

My 6 year-old and I just mixed up a quick batch of peach leather to put in the food dehydrator. Here is a recipe shared by Dani S. at our last food storage meeting. It can be used with a dehydrator or you can make it by putting it outside in the sun!

Peach Leather

1 Peel and remove seeds from about six peaches.

2. Slice into quarters and put in blender

3. Add 2 TBS honey

4. Blend

5. Cover jelly roll pan with plastic wrap

6. Pour puree onto jelly roll pan

7. Set outside in the sun for approximately 2 days ( I bring mine in at night) until the fruit leather pulls easily away from the plastic wrap

8. Roll like a fruit roll-up. Enjoy!

(Hint: I cover mine with a window screen to help keep pests away. However, pests are not usually an issue.)

Regrowing Green Onions

I haven't tried this, but plan to...

I cut the green tops off just above that first rubberband to help keep them together in the water. I had my green onions just hanging out in a small tupperware container on my kitchen counter in indirect sunlight and they did really well. I really liked the living greenery it’s added to my kitchen! I wonder how many times it will regrow? Indefinitely? Does anyone know? As I figure that out, I’ll be on the look out for a smaller size vase that would work well for my green onions. I think a cute little vase of green onions with instructions for regrowing the tops would make a great gift for any cook, especially one without a garden.

(Found on http://giveldsgifts.com/gift-for-a-cook-and-green-onion-experiment.html)

PINEAPPLE (made from zucchini)

I have not tried this recipe, but after trying the zucchini apple pie, I am convinced that this could be really good. What a great way to use up an overabundance of zucchini and save lots of money on pineapple. Let me know if you try it and how it tastes!

Zucchini Pineapple

• 18 cups ground zucchini
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 3 cups sugar
• 1 (46 ounce) can pineapple juice

1. Bring juices and sugar to a boil.

2. Add squash and simmer 20 minutes.

3. Pack and seal in hot jars and lids. This should be processed using modern canning methods. If you are unfamiliar with these techniques, please go to http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/how/can_home.html for the current information. Similar recipes call for this to be processed in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes.

4. Makes 12 pints of crushed pineapple.

5. May be used as you would regular pineapple.

Found on Recipe Zaar. Submitted by Foxjen www.recipezaar.com/Zucchini-Pineapple-9531

Zucchini "Apple" Pie

In case you are overrun with zucchini from your garden or are lucky enough to be given a quantity by a friend, here is a recipe that received rave reviews from our food storage group--- Try calling it apple pie and see if anyone can tell it is not made with apples!

Zucchini "Apple" Pie
Contributed by Lori P of GJ

12-16 cups zucchini
1 cup lemon juice
2 cups sugar
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp cinnamon

Crumb Topping
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup flour
1/3 cup soft butter
Combine all ingredients and mix with a fork

Peel and seed zucchini. Cut into "apple" slices. In a pot, combine zucchini, lemon juice, and sugar. Cook until zucchini is translucent and tender. Add nutmeg and cinnamon. Add flour to thicken to desired consistency, about 3/4 to 1 cup. Pour into 9X13 pan (for fruit crisp) or 2 9-inch pie crusts. Add crumb topping. Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees.