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Easy Summer Cooking: Just Add Water

EASY SUMMER COOKING — Just Add Water
I hate to spend a lot of time in the hot kitchen in the summer so I try to prepare meals that take little heat and little time.  I have found that using dehydrated foods can fill those two requirements as well as save me money.
We also spend a lot of time on the road vacationing and taking our family on day trips and adventures.  So over the years I have streamlined the type of meals I prepare so I can play with the rest of the family and not spend all my time cooking for the crew.

Most of the foods I will recommend can be purchased at your local grocery store and are often on sale or available for pennies on the dollar with coupons.  These dehydrated foods may be purchased in different sections of your grocery store as "convenience foods” or from stores like Food 2 Store that specialize in food storage and sell freeze-dried or dehydrated foods in number 10 cans directly to the public.

Dehydrated foods can be easily substituted in any of your favorite recipes,  To substitute dehydrated foods for whole foods simply follow the directions for reconstitution on the can or package.  Here are a few ideas of items that can be purchased at your local grocery store or food storage providers.  The items underlined can be purchased on our website by clicking on the item.:

BREAKFASTS: Hot cereal Biscuits and instant gravy mix Pancakes    Instant hot cereal Muffins and fruit French toast Cold cereal	LUNCHES: Instant soup    Ramen noodles Cheese spread    Peanut butter spread	DINNERS: Hamburger helper                      Tuna helper Chicken helper Turkey helper            Suddenly salad Macaroni with cheese sauce Rice-a-roni with meat Spaghetti with marinara sauce
BEVERAGES: Sugared drink crystals Cocoa        Milk          Tang        Cider mix    Herbal teas         Instant coffee Gatorade powder Sugar free drink crystals	SIDE DISHES: Mashed potatoes & gravy Refried beans Hash browns    Fried potatoes Stove top stuffing    Rice-a-roni Pastas Pilaf	DESSERTS AND SNACKS: Instant cheese cake Cake mixes Dried fruit    Cookie mixes Reconstituted fruit Instant puddings Instant chocolate mousse Vanilla wafers Dried fruit    Trail mix Brownie mixes
BREADS: Instant bread mixes Instant muffin mixes Instant cornbread mixes Biscuit mix	MISCELLANEOUS: Instant cheese sauce mix Peanut butter powder Shortening powder Salad dressing mix Margarine powder Liquid Butter Buds Butter Bud sprinkles Home made syrups Instant gravy mix Butter powder Tomato powder Cream sauce	Also check out our manual:

I also like to minimize the amount of food that has to be refrigerated when we travel.  To do this I have converted most of my fresh meat, fruits, vegetables and cheese to freeze-dried.  This not only drastically cuts down on needed refrigeration but also storage space and weight from canned goods.  I have found that Food 2 Store.com is a great place to buy these foods.  They are one of the few companies that fill their cans completely, so there is no wasted space and you get more for your money.

There are a few tricks that I’ve learned over time when using dehydrated or freeze-dried foods in place of fresh or frozen.  Register for our upcoming class Just Add Water on Tuesday, April 8th (2014) to learn how to use these products and cut your time in a hot kitchen — or get a copy of our Just Add Water manual for recipes and processes for using either freeze-dried or dehydrated products. Click here to register for the class

Tags: summer cooking  just add water  instant mixes  

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