Prepping Smarter: Butter Storage, Brownies, and 72-Hour Kits

by City Prepping

Hi Everyone

NOTES:

As promised, I made the brownies from last week’s email.  

Now, I’ve made A LOT of brownies looking for the perfect recipe.  These were delicious!!!  I had to bake them longer.  I waited until I got a clean knife.  They were rich and fudgy!  So good.  I might just have to make up a few batches of dry ingredients and keep them in jars, ready for making.  Of course, you will need butter and eggs, so not “completely” food storage, but they were soooo good.  Actually I think it is better than even the Ghirardelli mix from Costco.  

I attended a Riverside County VOAD (Volunteer Organizations Active in Disasters) meeting yesterday.  Our speaker was from an organization of volunteer pilots who fly supplies and/or people in and out of disaster areas.  He commented that ALL government and volunteer organizations will take about 3 days to give help in emergencies.  Therefore, government, counties, cities, and volunteer organizations ALL recommend that you have adequate supplies to provide for your families for at minimum 3 days.  One week is better.  Three months is better still.

LONG TERM STORAGE: Tin foil, plastic wrap

I feel like it doesn’t matter how much you have stored, you’ll wish you had more.  

Thirty Unusual Uses for Aluminum Foil : 6 Steps (with Pictures) – Instructables

SHORT TERM STORAGE:  butter

There are a few ways to store butter.

1.  Canned butter is available on Amazon, but it’s outrageously expensive — about $10 per can.  

2.  Butter powder is also available online. A #10 can is about $25.  I used my powdered butter to make cookies.  Package says 1 c. powdered butter + 3 TB water = 1 c. butter.  But it wasn’t 1 full cup.  Only about 1/2 c. actually.  So I added real butter to make the difference.  However, according to what I read online, you don’t need to do that.  Just mix dry butter with dry ingredients and water with the wet.  If the consistency is too thick, add a splash more water.

There are pro’s and con’s to powdered butter.  How to Use Butter Powder — Practical Self Reliance

3.  Store butter.  I try to keep 4-6 lbs of butter in the outside fridge.  It won’t be enough to last for years, but several weeks hopefully.  

4.  Can your own butter.  I had great results doing this.  My canned butter is about 7-8 years old at this point and still good.  Total cost is the price of the butter and the jars.  Jars are about $12 a dozen no matter what size you buy.

72 HOUR KITS: feminine needs

Much like the great toilet paper scare of COVID, you do NOT want to be without these items.  You can store what you need in the garage, but you NEED to rotate.  These products WILL lose their absorbency over time.  Try to build up to a year’s worth, starting small with 3-4 months.  In fact, I keep a few sanitary napkins in the first aid kit.  They are great at soaking up blood from an injury.

FOOD STORAGE RECIPES

Pancake Batter using powdered butter

From Self Reliance

2 c. flour

1/2 c. milk powder

1/3 c. malted milk powder

1/3 c. powdered buttermilk

1/4 c. whole egg powder

2 TB sugar

1 TB baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

(Okay, I think this is good and all, and it DOES include butter and egg powders, but frankly, I just buy Krusteaz “just add water” and it’s so much simpler.)

Apple Crumb Cake

This recipe is on the Augason Farms butter can

Cake:

3 c. flour

2 TB baking powder

1/3 c.  whole egg powder

1 3/4 c. water

1 1/2 c. sugar

1/2 c. shortening

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 c. dehydrated apple slices, chopped and rehydrated

In a large bowl, blend all ingredients and mix well.  Pour in a greased 9 X 13 baking dish.

Crumb Topping:

2/3 c. brown sugar

3/4 c. butter powder

2 TB water

1/2 c. flour

1 tsp cinnamon

    Mix with a fork and sprinkle on the cake.

Bake at 375 for 25-30 min.

Since I’ve been needing to use up my expired cans of butter and eggs, maybe I’ll try baking this using whole apples and see how it turns out.

Meat Pot Pie

From the Shelf-Stable Recipe Book, available online at 

Shelf Stable Recipes: Perfect for Food Storage – Food Storage Made Easy

Crust: 

2 c. flour

2 tsp salt

1 c. shortening

1/2 c. water

  Mix flour and salt.  Cut in shortening.  Stir in water until dough forms a ball.  Divide dough in half.  Shape into balls and wrap in plastic.  Put in the fridge overnight.  Next day, roll out dough on a floured board, slightly bigger than the pie pan you are using.  Place in a greased and floured pie pan.

Prepare the filling:

2-3 c. canned meat (chicken or cubed beef works best)

2 cans cream of …. soup (used cream of chicken with chicken and cream of mushroom with beef)

1 can mixed vegetables

1 can new potatoes, diced

Stir together and pour into pie pan.  Top with second rolled out dough circle.  Pinch seams together around the rim of the pan.  Cut 2-3 slots to vent.  Bake 350˚ for 45-50 min

Marti Shelley

Written by Kris a.k.a. City Prepping

Kris created The City Prepping Community to foster a tight-knit community of people that are inspired to become more self-sufficient, safe and secure. His Youtube channel has 142M views and counting and has been involved with emergency preparedness for nearly 30 years, including humanitarian work in impoverished areas of Mexico and Afghanistan. 

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