Cooking with your Food Storage: Use It or Lose It!

This is an article by Kim Grant for the Deseret News on March 3, 2011. Great article and I just had to share.

By following prophetic counsel to store food for years, there is shelf after shelf of No. 10 cans to show for it. But one of the toughest hurdles of all for food storage may be knowing how to actually use it when the time comes. It won't help to wait until that first emergency, either, so learn how to use it now so you won't be "losing" it later.

The most important rule is to make sure that there aren't just basics. Don't rely on being able to eat 40 pounds of what. Most stomachs can't tolerate a diet of only one main staple. So even though it's temping to create a food storage supply one item at a time, it's better to keep a balance. For instance, supplement your storage with spices and sweeteners like honey so your taste buds won't get food "fatigue." Also, stock commercial canned items your family already eats.

Creating a cache of food is only the first step--the second is learning how to use it. A few fun ideas include having a "food storage" night once a month to practice cooking and train your family for the unique tastes and textures that cooking with food storage can entail. Another idea is to make it a game. Just type up the names of basic items, cut them up and put them in a bag and let someone choose one. Then go online or reference a food storage cookbook to decide what they can make out of it.

With that in ind, here's a quick and tasty recipe to get you thinking about your food storage in a different, more positive way.

Food Storage Shepherd's Pie

2 cups canned beef chunks
1 can green beans
1 can corn
1 can cream mushroom soup
3 tbsp dried onion flakes
salt and pepper to taste
Potato flakes mixed to consistency with evaporated milk or water

Mix the first five ingredients and place in dutch oven or casserole dish. Top with reconstituted potatoes. Bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes of until heated throughout.