THRIVE Beef BBQ

 

Celebrate this Memorial Day with a THRIVE barbecue!  Whip up scrumptious barbecued beef sliders with THRIVE Roast Beef, Bouillon, and Chopped Onions, and cool off with one of our six refreshing fruit drink mixes. Order today to save up to 15% and make your picnic a hit with THRIVE! Check out our THRIVE BBQ Beef recipe by Chef Todd Leonard!

Seasoned Greens

 I for one do not eat greens so you will have to take my husbands word that he loved the greens I cooked last night!  You can use this recipe for any type of greens, in this case I cooked Rape.  We had a few plants that volunteered from last years food plot that we planted for the deer.

Ingredients:

1 bunch of greens (Collards, Turnips, Rape etc)

2-3 cups of water depending on amount of greens

1 Tbs THRIVE Red & Green Bell Peppers

2 tsp THRIVE Freeze Dried Onions

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 tsp worcestershire 

1 tsp soy sauce

sea salt to taste

1 tsp Texas Pete

Thoroughly wash greens removing any dirt or unwelcome critters! Bring greens and seasonings to a boil, cover and simmer until greens are dark green and tender.

I'm linking to Six Sisters Stuff

What a beautiful day

The other evening we took a walk to the pond to feed the fish and check on our second garden.  We decided to plant a squash and cucumber garden away from our tomatoes and other veggies in hopes of evading the dreaded squash bugs.  I will post an update on how well we fare.

Hopefully we will continue to get a good bit of rain.  

I don't think I want to carry water this far!

Thanks to all of the rain we have had the pond is nice and full 

and it looks like it is about time to cut hay!  

I wish everyday could be this nice!

Shelf Reliance Camping Supplies Sale For Q Club Members

 

THRIVE Express Review: Broccoli Cheese Soup

 Last night we tried out our THRIVE Express Broccoli Cheese Soup.  It took less than 15 minutes to cook and tasted great.  The soup tastes great and has a nice rich and creamy texture!  We made a yummy batch of corn bread to go along with it.  I though about taking this to work and pouring boiling water over the soup mixture.  Not sure if this would work but since the broccoli re-hydrates quickly I figured that it shouldn't be a problem.  I will give it a try and update this post!

Glass Gem Corn

 I came across a picture of the most beautifully colored corn today and  just had to share it.  The company that sells these seeds has sold out, hopefully I can get my hands on some for next year's garden!  Below is a post from the Seeds Trust site.

The story of glass gem corn.  Seedsman Greg Schoen got the seed from Carl Barnes, a part-Cherokee man, now in his 80's, in Oklahoma.  He was Greg's "corn-teacher".   Greg was in the process of moving last year and wanted someone else to store and protect some of his seeds.  He left samples of several corn varieties, including glass gem.  I  grew out a small handful this past summer just to see.  The rest, as they say is history.  

Spinach & Feta Twice Baked Potato Made With THRIVE Freeze Dried Foods

THRIVE freeze dried chicken dices are one of my most favorite items in the Shelf Reliance line.  They re-hydrate quickly and taste just like fresh cooked chicken.  This is a nice twist on the traditional twice baked potato made with cheddar cheese.  The feta and spinach have such a wonderful flavor together.  I can't wait to make this recipe again!

My chicken and spinach before re-hydrating along with a

generous portion of feta cheese!!!

 
1/4 Cup Shelf Reliance Freeze Dried Chicken Dices*
2 Tbs Shelf Reliance Freeze Dried Spinach*
2 Tbs Feta Cheese
2 Tbs Sour Cream
1 Medium/Large Baking Potato

Wash one large baking potato and wrap in aluminum foil.  Bake for 30 minutes on 475.  Remove from oven and cut the top of the potato off.  Hull out the potato with a spoon leaving the skin in tack.  In a bowl combine remaining ingredients until blended. Stuff mixture back into the potato skin and bake for an additional 25-30 minutes.  

* Re-hydrated

Shelf Reliance Harvest Giveaway

Shelf Reliance is giving away a Harvest 72" Food Rotation System.  See their blog post below on how to enter.  Good luck!

Hey there, social media fans! We’ve given you chances to win free THRIVE products from our THRIVE Live broadcasts—now how about something a little bigger? That’s right, we’re giving away a Harvest 72” Food Rotation System to one of our lucky social media followers!

Six feet tall, three feet wide, and two feet deep, food storage has met its match in our largest and most popular freestanding Food Rotation System. The simple but genius front-loading rotation technology of the Harvest allows it to hold up to 460 cans and ensures that the first cans you store are the first ones you use, reducing spoilage and waste. And like all FRS units, it’s customizable, allowing you to decide what size you want each of the can tracks to be.  With the Harvest, gone are the days of having to pull all the cans off the shelf to find the one hiding at the back—you can see at a glance what foods you have and how many cans you have of them, making for both easy everyday access and organized long-term storage.

To be entered into the drawing for the Harvest FRS, just follow these three steps:

1. Like our Facebook page or follow us on Twitter (@ShelfReliance)
2. Subscribe to our newsletter (at the top of our home page)
3. Put a link to our blog on your Facebook page or your own blog

Once you’ve done all three things, leave a comment HERE telling us what media you use most to see what’s going on at Shelf Reliance, and we’ll enter you in the drawing. This contest ends May 31st, so get your social media on for a chance to win!

Survival Food Pyramid

 I found this great visual aid that shows a quick list of what you would need for several types of emergency situations.

Filet Mignon with Couscous Salad

I love the ease and savings of cooking with my food storage,  I also love a great filet on the grill and fresh veggies in the summer!  I picked up a few filets from Earth Fare and headed home for a nice evening outside.  Below is my recipe for an awesome summer side dish, Couscous Salad.  This recipe makes a large amount and is a great leftover.

Veggies are prepped and ready!

After cooking the couscous I fluff it in a bowl then stick it 

in the freezer for a few minutes to cool off. 

After the couscous is cooled I drizzle the olive oil and lime

and mix in the veggies and cheese.

There is nothing better than a thick filet with salt pepper and garlic!

So delicious!

Recipe adapted from Paula Deen
Ingredients:
1 Package of Near East Parmesan Couscous
2 Cups Diced Tomatoes
2 Cups Peeled & Diced English Cucumber
1/3 Cup Finely Chopped Red Onion
1/2 Cup Feta Cheese (or more if you are a cheese lover)
1 Tbs Olive Oil mixed with 1/2 Tbs Lime Juice

Cook couscous according to the package.  Once couscous is cooked, fluff with a fork and transfer to a large mixing bowl.  Place bowl in the freezer to cool.  Meanwhile prep other ingredients.  Once couscous is cool, mix in the remaining ingredients and enjoy.

Carolina Food Storage ~ Shelf Reliance

Food Storage Tips From Shelf Reliance

 •Be Practical. Store the food you eat and eat the food you store. It doesn’t make sense to buy food storage that your family isn’t accustomed to eating. Many items, such as wheat, flour, oats, anddried milk are needed to sustain life and are already included in many of the foods that we enjoy each day. Become familiar with recipes that include ingredients contained within your food storage. This will not only enable you to become familiar with the preparation of foods within your food storage, it will also allow you to rotate your food in a timely manner.

• Store Foods Properly. Quality is best maintained by minimum exposure to light, heat, moisture, and air. Items stored in a basement will last much longer than in a pantry or garage. Store food on shelves or on a raised platform rather than directly in contact with concrete floors or walls. Avoid storing items next to certain products such as soaps or fuels; this will prevent the spread of odor and other possible contaminants.

• Temperature. Where possible, always store your food indoors. Temperature has the largest affect on food storage. Canned goods will store 2 to 3 times longer at 70°F than they will at 90°F. Most dry goods store indefinitely below 70°F. Temperature affects nutrition, texture, and taste.

• Moisture. Dry goods should contain less than 10% moisture. The more a container is opened, the more moisture is introduced. The humidity in the air the day food is dry packed or home canned can also affect storage life. Weevil cannot grow in grain with less than 10% moisture. For a maximum shelf life,non-fat dry milk should have no more than 2.8% moisture.

• Light. Store foods in opaque containers or dark cupboards. Light fades colors, destroys vitamins, and speeds the rancidity of fats.

• Air. Containers should have airtight seams and lids. If in doubt, use duct tape as an additional seal. Plastic buckets with rubber gaskets are airtight if the gasket has not been damaged.

• Use Variety. Use a variety of fruits, vegetables, grains, protein sources, anddairy products to obtain balanced nutrition. This will provide greater flexibility in cooking.

• Use Labels. Label your containers with the date of purchase.

• Rotate Your Storage. Rotate as many items as you can by using food storage at least twice a week. This will allow for a complete rotation of a year’s food supply every three years. It will also help your family become accustomed to the items you have stored.

• Store Water. Be sure to store a large amount of water (at least 14 gallons per person for a two week supply). Soda and juice bottles will work for water storage as will larger food-grade plastic containers. For larger quantities, 5, 15, 30, and 55 gallon storage drums can be used. Water will need to be treated before storage. FEMA recommends treatment with 4 drops of bleach per quart of water. Water supplies should be replenished yearly.

• Store Non-Food Items. Food storage is only part of emergency preparedness. Don’t forget to store non-food items such as medicines, toiletries, soap, cleaning supplies, paper products, laundry detergent, and clothing.

• Grow a Garden. For easy access to fresh produce, grow a garden. Also, store and rotate seeds. If you don’t have garden space, try using pots to grow vegetables.

Shelf Reliance offers a wealth of information on food storage, food rotation and emergency supplies.  They have tons of articles and videos.....the article above is from the Shelf Reliance University.

THRIVE Express Review: Garden Fresh Vegetable Pasta

THRIVE Express Review #1: Garden Fresh Vegetable Pasta

THRIVE Express is Shelf Reliance's new line of entrees, soups and sides that are easy to make and taste great!  Tonight we sampled the Garden Fresh Vegetable Pasta.  I decided to add some of my Freeze Dried Chicken Slices to kick it up a notch.  The serving size per pouch is 2.5 and with the added chicken we had three healthy adult size servings.  The pasta had a great taste and the sauce thickened up nice.  I have tried meals before that were a runny mess and was left with the feeling that I needed to add a cheese sauce.  This was not the case with the Garden Fresh Vegetable Pasta. It has a nice creamy sauce and the green beans, yellow and red bell pepper added a nice flavor to the pasta.  I for one am not a fan of mushrooms but my husband loved that they were in the pasta.  This is definitely a keeper!

This is a 1 1/2 quart sauce dish to give you an idea of how much

one pouch of THRIVE Express makes. 

Shelf Reliance Cheese Blend Fiesta Dip

Just in time for Cinco de Mayo!  I have been playing around with my Shelf Reliance Cheese Blend looking for the perfect dip and I think I have finally found it!  This dip has a very similar taste to Velveeta but cost a lot less!  If you want to make a spicier dish add extra Rotel.  It only takes a few minutes to make this dip and is a great leftover.

A quick note about Shelf Reliance Cheese Blend.......the package directions say to add equal parts of water to cheese powder and I have found that this only works if you are mixing the cheese blend with a thickener a roux or in this case cream cheese.  I have tried mixing only water and the cheese blend and it makes a super cheese flavored soup!

I hope you try this recipe.  It was absolutely delicious!

 

Ingredients:
1/3 Cup Shelf Reliance Cheese Blend
1 Cup THRIVE Freeze Dried Ground Beef*
8 Oz Softened Cream Cheese
1/3 Cup Rotel Fiesta Tomatoes
1/3 Cup Water

Bring 1/3 cup of water to a boil and add cheese blend.  Remove from heat and
mix in remaining ingredients.  Return to low heat for a few minutes to warm the
dip.  Serve with corn chips.

* Rehydrated per package instructions