Tuesday's Tip

MAN OH MAN am I frustrated! I just spent about an hour preparing my post and I was almost done and ready to publish - when suddenly the whole post went POOF and disappeared. No auto saved drafted or anything! What's up with that!!!!! I'm ready to scream.

I'm not sure I want to try again. ARRGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!

Today's tip is a follow up to some comments left on my recent post about using the wheat in your food storage. Harmony asked "what do you consider a good wheat grinder." and Sandra asked for the recipes.

To Harmony I say, ANY wheat grinder is better than NO wheat grinder. Last year for my birthday I received a hand mill grinder. It can grind a variety of grains and can adjust from fine flour to a course grind used to crack wheat and will still work if there is no power. It is not super fast, adn your arm gets a work out , but it works. Aaron (almost 9) can grind the flour, it is still a little too hard for Katrina to do alone. I believe mine came from emergency essentials and cost between $60 - $70. If you are on a SUPER tight budget, and want to start even smaller, buy a coffee grinder. You can get these for $30 or less, and while the cheap ones are not going to grind the wheat into flour, they will crack wheat really well. And there is LOTS you can do with cracked wheat.

Once you have a basic hand grinder, then save up and invest in a nice electric grinder. I have the Wondermill and I really like it. (I got it for Christmas last year)
Again you want to look for a grinder that will do a variety of grains and legumes. I like mine because it is fast, it is self contained and not lots of parts and pieces I have to keep track of or put together. I'm not really an expert on wheat grinders, but here is a link that might help you more in making the choice.


Now for Sandra, here are a few of the recipes we shared that night.

Blender {WHEAT} Pancakes

1 Cup Milk ( 3 T. Dry Powdered Milk + 1 C. Water)
1 Cup Wheat Kernels, whole & uncooked
2 Eggs (2 T. powdered eggs 1/4 C. Water)
2 tsp Baking Powder
1 1/2 tsp Salt
2 Tbs. Oil
2 Tbs. Honey or Sugar


Cinnamon Oat Pancake Mix

4 cups quick oats
2 cups white flour
2 cups wheat flour
1 cup powdered milk
2 T cinnamon
3 tsp salt
2T baking powder
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1 cup sugar
***********
2 eggs
1/3 cups oil
1 cup water

Mix dry ingredients together and store in an airtight container in a dry place. When ready to prepare pancake, mix eggs, oil, and water with 2 cups of dry pancake mix.


To prepare cracked wheat:
2/3 cups cracked wheat
1 1/2 cups water

add wheat to cold water. bring to a boil. cover and simmer for 12 - 15 minutes. Let stand, covered, for 5 minutes.

Sweeten to taste and serve as breakfast cereal. (usually with milk) Use the cooked wheat in any meat recipe to help your meat go farther. For example, at the enrichment we served sloppy joes that were made with 1/2 ground beef and 1/2 cracked wheat. We did the same with spaghetti and tuna salad. Some people go vegetarian by substituting all of the meat with wheat, but I'd start small and work up to whatever amount works best for you.

Cracked Wheat Casserole

1 large onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1/2 tsp salt
white pepper for seasoning
2 cups boiling water
3/4 cup cracked wheat (uncooked)
1 can tomato soup
1 tsp poultry seasoning
2 -3 cups (cooked) macaroni

Saute' onions and green pepper. Except macaroni, mix remaining ingredients thoroughly. PLace in a casserole dish and bake 1 hour at 325* or until wheat is done.
Fold in cooked macaroni. if more moisture is desired, add a small amount of bottled tomatoes. Top with grated cheese. Put back in oven to melt cheese.

(** this is the recipe as I found it, and how I prepared it, (as an experiment) for the enrichment meeting. It was okay. but I didn't love it, so next time I make it I will try some changes. I will try Italian seasoning instead of poultry, and I will add a can of Italian diced tomatoes. It was too dry for my liking...)



Last but not least - The Fun with Food Storage Network is a great resource for buying, storing and using your food storage, as well as other emergency preparedness needs. While the site(s) is (are) huge and it can be challenging to find exactly what you are looking for, I recommend it. This page here is from the using food storage section and is all about using wheat.