Italian White Beans with Rosemary

Ingredients

1 pound dried white cannellini beans
4 cups sliced yellow onions (3 onions)
1/4 cup good olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 large branch fresh rosemary (6 to 7 inches)
2 quarts chicken stock
1 bay leaf
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

In a medium bowl, cover the beans with water by at least 1-inch and leave them in the refrigerator for 6 hours or overnight. Drain.

In a large stockpot over low to medium heat, saute the onions with the olive oil until the onions are translucent, 10 to 15 minutes. Add the garlic and cook over low heat for 3 more minutes. Add the drained white beans, rosemary, chicken stock, and bay leaf. Cover, bring to a boil, and simmer for 30 to 40 minutes, until the beans are very soft. Remove the rosemary branch and the bay leaf. Pass the soup through the coarsest blade of a food mill, or place in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse until coarsely pureed. Return the soup to the pot to reheat and add salt and pepper, to taste. Serve hot.

Submitted by January Stephens

Cheesy Mushroom Soup

1 can of light cream of mushroom soup

1 cup powdered milk

3 cups hot water

1/2 cup finely diced onions

1 russet potato peeled and cubed

2 cups finely chopped celery

1/2 cup sliced mushrooms

1 t. Worcestershire sauce

2 T. chopped parsley

1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese

salt/pepper to taste

-Spray slow cooker with cooking spray. In a bowl combine mushroom soup, dry milk powder, and water. Whisk to combine.

- Add onion, celery, potato, mushrooms to the mixture and stir to combine.

Stir in Worcestershire sauce.

- Pour into crock pot and cook on low for 4 - 6 hours or until vegetables are tender.

- Add cheese and blend until smooth.

- Add parsley right before serving.

Makes 4 cups

Prepper’s Pie

Here’s a great rotation recipe that can be made with either ‘grocery’ canned, dehydrated and/or freeze-dried food. It is a slightly more nutritious version of Shepherd’s pie. I always use dehydrated or freeze-dried onions and carrots because it takes a lot of cooking to use up a #10 can for rotation.

Ingredients (see preparation notes):

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• ½ cup onion
• ½ cup chopped carrots
• 1½ cup sweet corn
• 1 cup black or pinto beans (already rehydrated and cooked until soft enough to eat)
• 1½ cup diced or ground beef
• 4 cups mashed potatoes (add another cup if you use a 9 X 13 pan. I use the potato pearls and wait to rehydrate until right before they go on the top)
• 1 to 1½ cup of liquid/gravy (combination of rehydration liquid, beef broth, gravy and/or refried beans)

Preparation notes:

1. All ingredients are measured as the rehydrated amounts if you are using freeze-dried or dehydrated foods

2. SAVE all the excess liquid from everything you rehydrate to use as the liquid in the pie.

3. If you do not have left over beans, use about half a cup of rehydrated refried beans in your gravy to boost the protein and vitamins provided by the beans.

Directions:

Saute the onions in the oil until golden and clear or slightly browned. Then add everything but the mashed potatoes in a rectangular shallow glass pan . Mix by hand so the distribution of items is somewhat even. Bake (covered if possible) at 300 degrees for about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and spread the potatoes evenly over the top and return to bake uncovered for about 20 minutes. If the potatoes are not golden on the peaks, top broil for a minute or two.

Serve and enjoy.