Monday, February 27, 2012

Stroganoni

As promised, here is a recipe using the FD Ground Beef that is on sale. I've been wanting to experiment with making Beef Stroganoff from THRIVE foods for some time now. I had an Open House at my home a few weeks back and did a cooking demo, and it was a complete experiment I whipped up on the spot. Thankfully, my husband and my guests agreed that it was good enough to put on the blog, so now you get the recipe!

It doesn't taste quite as stroganoff-y as I would like. A little more beef flavor, perhaps some Worcestershire sauce... I think those would enhance the flavor. But it was still pretty darn tasty, and oh so easy. I started cooking it when the guests came in, and when I handed them the bowl to sample, they couldn't believe it was already ready.


In a large pot, cook your choice of pasta. I used some THRIVE Macaroni, because it's what I had open. And because then I could call this recipe Stroganoni instead of just plain Stroganoff. But Thrive Egg Noodles would be great with this as well. How much to cook depends on your preference of sauce - noodles. I always cook extra because my hubby will eat plain noodles with butter and salt any day. I'm guessing you'll want appx 3 cups cooked noodles. 

While your noodles cook, in a separate saucepan, combine the following:
1/2 cup THRIVE FD Cooked Ground Beef
1/2 cup THRIVE FD Mushroom Pieces
2 Tbsp THRIVE FD Celery
2 1/2 cups water

Bring to a boil, cover and let boil for 5-10 minutes or until beef is tender. There should be about 1 cup of liquid remaining. 

In a separate bowl, combine:
1/2 cup magic mix (See the link for recipe)
3 Tbsp THRIVE Sour Cream Powder
2 tsp THRIVE Beef Bouillon

When Beef and veggies are done cooking, dump in your powdered ingredients all at once and stir. Reduce heat and stir for 1-2 minutes, or until sauce is fully thickened. You may want to add more water to thin sauce out if its too thick for your taste. 

It makes for a tasty meal, and the whole thing is done as soon as your noodles are. No thawing, no chopping, just measuring and dumping. What could be easier? So if it's 5:00 and you don't know what's for dinner, now you do. If you don't have a home store built up with these ingredients, talk to me and I will get you set up on a monthly budget so you can build up a home store of healthy meats, fruits, and vegetables that won't spoil in your fridge or take up space in your freezer, and that will help you be sitting around the dinner table as a family in 20 minutes or less. 

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Meat and Cheese Sale and why I am better than Costco!

*IMPORTANT UPDATE (3/6/12): Due to the overwhelming response to the sale on the meat and cheese packs, Shelf Reliance currently has these packages on back order and will be ending the sale early to ensure that all back-ordered items can be filled and shipped in a timely manner. To ensure that you can get in on this awesome deal, you must place your order by Thursday March 8th at 10am MST.* 


Hooray for Presidents' Day Sales! And just in time for tax return season too! From  February 20th - March 18th 2012, Shelf Reliance will be having some great sales on two packages: The Freeze Dried Cheese 6 Pack and the Freeze Dried Chicken and Beef 6 pack. Here's the package information:


Chicken and Beef 6 Pack
On Sale for $144.60


Contains: 3 #10 cans of Chopped Chicken (FD)  and 3 #10 cans of Ground Beef (FD). Total servings: 288.


A #10 can of FD Chicken is normally $33.79 and the FD Ground Beef is $40.29 (Q Club price). This would cost $222.24 if you bought the cans individual. So $77.64 in savings. Not too shabby!



Freeze Dried Shredded Cheese 6 Pack
On Sale for $154.65


Contains: 2  #10 cans of Cheddar Cheese (FD), 2 #10 cans of Monterey Jack Cheese (FD), 1 #10 can of  Mozzarella Cheese (FD), and 1 #10 can of Colby Cheese (FD).


To buy the cheeses individually at the Q club price would cost you $238.84. So it's $84.19 in savings over the regular discount price. 


Now, some of you may notice that Costco is advertising the same packages on sale right now. At least, I noticed when their last coupon book came through the mail. Even after you factor in shipping costs, our prices are still lower than theirs, but I just wanted to take a moment to let you know that if you ever find a Shelf Reliance item on sale cheaper somewhere else, let me know, and I can match the price for you. If price matching wasn't enough to sell you on why it's better to buy from me than from Costco or other places, keep this in mind as well:

  • You are supporting a self employed mother, not a corporation. :-)
  • It doesn't require a membership card, putting kids in a cart, or waiting in line. 
  • No gas money. It ships right to your door. 
  • No coupons to bring or rebates to mail in. 
  • You can earn 10% back in FREE PRODUCT on any order you place through me and have the potential to earn more product at half off. 

So CONTACT ME to order these great meat and cheese deals and get all the benefits listed above. In honor of this sale, I will be posting some recipes this week using the FD meats and cheeses. Stay tuned.

Thursday, February 16, 2012

February Specials and Quinoa the Superfood


The new catalogs are out, and I have updated the links on the side of the blog with the new digital catalog link as well as the February specials. Mixed Bell Peppers, Taco TVP, Blueberries, and all the Freeze Dried Yogurts are on sale this month, along with a few other items. Check it out and let me know if you want to order anything.

Alright. Now that I've gotten some business taken care of, I'm going to talk a little bit about quinoa, in preparation of some quinoa recipes I have coming up. 

When it comes to food storage staples, your big contenders are wheat, rice and beans, but I've never been a huge fan of stocking up on them, personally. Wheat, because I don't want to have to grind it. Beans, because I don't want to have to soak them and cook for hours. (THRIVE Instant Beans have saved me there. 20 minutes and they're done. Woohoo!) And then rice, because it is so nutritionally void.

So I have been searching for a grain that I don't have to grind, that cooks up quickly, and that packs a big nutritional punch. And the name that kept popping up was Quinoa (pronounced keen-wah). If you listen to Dr. Oz or Jillian Michaels, you've probably heard of it too. This rising star of the "superfood" world is actually not technically a grain, but a small grain-like seed that is related more to beets and spinach than any traditional grain. It originates in the Andes Mountain region of South America. It is gluten free, will last 20 years in the can, cooks in 20 minutes like rice, but unlike white rice is a nutritional powerhouse! I know that brown rice is much healthier than its white counterpart, but the parts that make it healthier, also make it less shelf stable, and thus not a good option for long term food storage.
Thrive quinoa, with my finger for size comparison 

To show you what I mean by nutritional powerhouse, here is a break down of the nutritional info of quinoa vs. white rice (medium grain, unenriched). All the data was taken from the USDA National Nutrient Database.

Per 100 g, uncooked Quinoa White Rice 
Energy (kcal) 368 360
Carbs (g) 64 79
Fat (g) 6 0.58
Protein (g) 14 6.6
Fiber (g) 7 0
Calcium (mg) 47 9
Iron (mg) 4.57 0.8
Magnesium (mg) 197 35
Potassium (mg) 563 86
Sodium (mg) 5 1
Zinc (mg) 3.1 1.16
Thiamin (mg) 0.36 0.07
Riboflavin (mg) 0.318 0.048
Niacin (mg) 1.52 1.6
vitamin B-6 (mg) 0.487 0.145
Folate (mcg_DFE) 184 9
Vitamin A, RAE (mcg_RAE) 1 0
Vitamin A, IU (IU) 14 0
Vitamin E (mg) 2.44 0
Cholesterol (mg) 0 0

Did you notice the protein and fiber? Incredible, huh? And for all you dieters out there, don't turn your nose up at the presence of fat. Keep in mind that our bodies do need some fat, and since oil doesn't store very well, having some fat in your shelf stable grains is a major advantage.

So how do you cook quinoa? Just like rice. 1 part quinoa + 2 parts water. Combine in a saucepan, bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Note that quinoa will float if you pour it into the water, so just stir it up a little before you turn on the heat.

Quinoa floating on top of the water
 
 Just like rice, you can cook it to your preference too. Some people prefer theirs a little more dry, some people add a touch more water and cook it longer, having a much mushier texture. 

Cooked THRIVE Quinoa. This is a mushier batch, as you can see by how much it sticks to the spoon.


How does it taste? Well, it isn't something I would cook to eat plain. I tried some cooked, unsalted, and it wasn't  my favorite. I wouldn't be able to get my family to eat it that way. But I've also cooked it with some bouillon and veggies, and it was pretty good.

Quinoa cooked with THRIVE Corn, mixed bell peppers, carrots, and chicken bouillon.


I also took the boring plain stuff, seasoned it after the fact, and made some cheesy quinoa bites out of it that went over pretty well at a party I did recently. So with the right add ins, it can be quite tasty stuff. 

I went to my local Wal-mart and Fry's to see how much their quinoa costs, and they both only sold it in 12 oz packages for $5.99. That's $7.98 a pound. And it is not packaged in an oxygen free environment (which you want if you're planning on storing long term). THRIVE, on the other hand, sells a #10 can for $19.39, which gives you 4.3 pounds. So that is $4.50 a pound, in an oxygen- free, sealed can.  If you would like to order some, just contact me and I will make that happen.

And more quinoa recipes will come, so stay tuned! Also, if you have your own favorite quinoa recipes, please share. I am eager to incorporate this super food into our diet as much as possible!