# Sticky  Small apartment cooking / Food prep



## NaeKid

After reading some of MaryV's statements about living in an apartment, I had a couple of ideas that I thought I would share. I am sure that other's will be able to add to the information and will be able to fine-tune it as well.

There is nothing like cooking your own food. While it is nice to eat out at a nice restaurant, most people cannot afford to eat out all the time. I am the cook in the house. I have years of professional cooking experience - restaurants, bakeries, cafeterias, etc. I do lots of "scratch" cooking due to my allergies (and my little woman's allergies).

Some things that can be done is prepare meals that are ready to eat with zero prep-time - just warm up and go. A small apartment without power or water might have some problems with their electric stove working or water flowing up the pipes.

Visiting the nearest camping supply store will get you containers for your food and water. The camping store will also have cookware for preparing food on your portable propane powered BBQ or stove. The camping store will have a propane powered coffee maker to help you get going in the morning. The camping store will have sleeping bags to keep you warm inside your apartment when the temperature drops with night-fall.

I find that Coleman products will work very well to keep you going when the utilities quit going. For camping, they take up very little room in storage and are very useful. My understanding is that the little 2 pounder Coleman propane bottles are safe to store inside any building - apartments included. That is why you can buy a dozen of the bottles from "Walmart" at a time - they are allowed to store them inside the building.

Some apartment buildings have troubles allowing tenants to bring the big white re-fillable bottles through the lobby. A leaky propane bottle can cause a lot of troubles (explosion) and they won't allow that risk.

I would like to setup this thread as a "camp food for apartment living" thread with easy to prepare recipes and instructions on how to cook with propane powered appliances. To make it work in the thread, when you reply, please put the name of the recipe into the "Title box" and the ingredients and instructions on cooking into the main message body. If possible, include storage ideas for that particular recipe.


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## NaeKid

*NaeKid's CampCakes*

In a large ZipLock or Glad container designed for food:

1 1/2cups White Flour
1/2 cup mix of brown flower, 1 tbsp bran, 1 tbsp coconut and ground flax seed
5 tsp baking powder
3 tbsp suger
2/3 cup milk powder

Close up container and shake to mix. Place into cupboard if not planning to eat right away.

In a large ZipLock "double seal" freezer bag pour in 1 3/4 cup of water, 5 tbsp liquid canola oil and two eggs. Seal and shake till the liquid becomes a nice "white" frothy mixture.

Keep the two containers separated till you are ready to start cooking. The two containers will keep for a couple of weeks with proper refrigeration for the egg mixture.

*Note:* _There is no salt in my campcake mixture. I do not believe in cooking with salt as virtually all food that is "pre-packaged" has enough salt in it to meet or exceed daily requirements._

When ready to cook:

Pour the package of egg-mixture into the large ZipLock container and stir with a fork till there is no visible dry mixture left. Warm pan till "droplets of water dance" across the lightly oiled surface (Pam or a little bit of butter or canola oil works great).

Using a large spoon, pour batter onto warm pan and when the "bubbles" break, flip the pancake and tan the other side. Serve with your favorite toppings including:

Butter-n-suger
Butter-n-cinnamon/suger
Syrup
Canned fruit in syrup (I love peaches warmed on the stove with a hint of corn-starch to thicken the sauce)
Jam

I like to cook with cast-iron (see other thread about it). For camp-cooking I will place a cast-iron pan into the BBQ or on a propane stove and warm it up. If cooking in a BBQ, I will set the heat to low and cook bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, etc with the pancakes and serve.


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## NaeKid

*Biscuit based pizza*

Pizza crust / Biscuit Base

2 cups white flour
2 tbsp sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
(Optional: 1 tsp salt)

1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup milk

Mix up dry ingredients in bowl, cut in butter till crumbly. Pour in milk and stir / mix till moistened.

Spread out into large cast-iron pan.

Spoon pizza-sauce onto crust (pizza sauce recipe will be shared later).

Top with favorite toppings - meat, vegies, fruits, cheezes.

Bake in BBQ with lid closed on "medium" heat till crust is brown and cheezes melted. Usually 10 - 15 min. Serve hot!


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## NaeKid

*NaeKid's homemade pizza sauce*

Brown 1/2 pound lean ground beef in cast-iron pan.

Leaving the "juices" in the pan, mix in:

1 can tomato sauce
1 can tomato paste
1 tbsp oregano
1 tbsp basil
a couple pinches garlic powder
... and if you like hot-stuff
a couple pinches of dried / crushed habanero pepper

If you are making the pizza right away, spread sauce over crust and prepare to bake.

If you plan on making the pizza later, this can be frozen in a double-seal ZipLock freezer baggie after it has cooled to room temperature. If you wish to "can" it, use a recycled canning jar (jam, salsa, spaghetti sauce, Cheeze Whiz, etc), place the very hot sauce into the warmed jar, close up the lid and allow to cool. When the jar "pops", it is fully sealed and it should keep for a few months. If the sauce "turns color" it has gone bad and would be best to throw away. As long as the sauce has a nice "fresh" red color, it is good in the canning jar.


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## NaeKid

*Powder milk*

To make powder milk for drinking, mix 2/3(-) cup of milk powder to 1 3/4(+) cup of water to make 2 cups of drinkable milk.

For the biscuit recipe above, for the 3/4 cup of milk, you will want 1/4(-) cup of milk powder and 3/4(-) cup of water.

If you would like to have 4 cups of milk (drinking, cooking, etc) you will require 1 1/4 cup of milk powder and 3 3/4 cups of water.

Where the mix states amount (-) use just under the listed amount. Where the mix states amount (+) use just over the listed amount. Adjust to taste and adjust the recipe as required.

I prefer to use "fridge cooled" water to make the milk instead of using "tap cool" water. Water from a cooler that is filter'd is great for making milk as well.


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## C.Winslow

Wow, Naekid! Thanks for posting these recipes! I am going to try making the pizza this weekend and see how it turns out! I always have to do a run through when cooking things for the first time, you know, to get the feel for it. 

You are a great man for taking your time to help us and others! I really appreciate it, as do the other members, I'm sure. Thanks again.


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## Canadian

If you need an emergency stove for home use only I recommend an Iwatani catering burner. It runs off of butane cans and is meant for catering use. Much easier to use in a kitchen than a camp stove. They are also much safer to use indoors than white gas or other camping type stoves.


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## 91G-Dub

Very good post, thanks for taking the time to include all of the recipies.

As for you comments on:
"Visiting the nearest camping supply store will get you containers for your food and water. The camping store will also have cookware for preparing food on your *portable propane powered BBQ or stove*. The camping store will have a *propane powered coffee maker *to help you get going in the morning. The camping store will have sleeping bags to keep you warm inside your apartment when the temperature drops with night-fall.

I find that Coleman products will work very well to keep you going when the utilities quit going. For camping, they take up very little room in storage and are very useful. My understanding is that the little 2 pounder Coleman propane bottles are safe to store inside any building - apartments included."

I use all of those Coleman products and a few others while I'm camping. As for use indoors during an emergency make sure to be safe. Crack a window to provide some fresh air.


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## MaryV

thanks for this info and the recipes, I will save them. I havent ever used a coleman stove or a bbq, but the lady downstairs has a bbq outside. I am on the second floor so i cant have one on my balcony. oh I did have a small "bbq" stove i took camping, it was really just a place to put briquettes which you could light and then cook over. its illlegal i am sure to use one on my balcony, but in a time of crisis I guess i could, no one would likely see me...


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## MaryV

as for sleeping bags, the really good ones that keep you warm like -30, well, I cant find any that I fit into, I am short and round, 250 lbs, I just cant find one big enough...did you read in the paper that old man in Michigan I think, in his 90s, froze to death in his home cause he couldnt pay the power and they cut it off in that freezing cold we had a few weeks ago. how sad...


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## MaryV

oh canadian, where would you buy that iwatani catering burner? would i be able to figure out how to use it? lol
never mind I googled it...


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## NaeKid

91G-Dub said:


> I use all of those Coleman products and a few others while I'm camping. As for use indoors during an emergency make sure to be safe. Crack a window to provide some fresh air.


With an apartment w/ balcony as MaryV has, she would be allowed to run the small propane-powered stoves and BBQs on the balcony. It will help to keep her fed, not warm. The Coleman catalytic heaters designed for warming a tent would be alright to use as a space-heater inside the apartment as long as a window could be cracked open a little bit.

Propane is legal to use everywhere for cooking - even during times of the summer when campfires are not allowed due to extreme-fire-hazzard.



MaryV said:


> thanks for this info and the recipes, I will save them. I havent ever used a coleman stove or a bbq, but the lady downstairs has a bbq outside. I am on the second floor so i cant have one on my balcony. oh I did have a small "bbq" stove i took camping, it was really just a place to put briquettes which you could light and then cook over. its illlegal i am sure to use one on my balcony, but in a time of crisis I guess i could, no one would likely see me...


You can see all the stoves that would be fine-for-usage on your balcony on the Coleman site:

Coleman Canada

I have a two-burner stove (Model No. 5430E700C) that can sit on a table-top, a single-burner stove (Model No. 5412A700C) that screws to the propane-bottle directly and has a base that slips over the bottom of the bottle to keep it from tipping over. I have been droolin' over their combo grill / stove (Model No. 9922-708C) as well.

Coleman also has appliances that will make your time in an un-heated / unlit apartment that much better ..

Coleman Canada

You gotta see the Coffee maker and the hotwater-on-demand goodies ...

All the products that you see on the Coleman site can be purchased through Canadian Tire. CT also has "_6 hamburger patty_" sized BBQs that run on the same 2lb Coleman propane bottles. Again, this kind of product is completely legal to use "everywhere" - even on your little apartment's balcony.

For the problem with sleeping bags - my little lady and I zip a pair of matched sleeping bags together - and we keep very warm having bag both under and over us. We have found that using an air-mattress does not create the proper insulation between the ground and our body - we seem to be colder in that situation. MEC has "ultra-thin" ground-foam that insulates your body from the ground.


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## ke4sky

*Check local fire codes on balcony cooking*

Here a gas grill is legal, but charcoal is not. Good safety tips.

http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/fr/educate/grilling2006.pdf

Fire Code Section F-320.0, specifies that "No charcoal cooker, brazier, hibachi or
grill or any gasoline or other flammable liquid or liquefied petroleum gas-fired
stove or similar device shall be ignited or used on the balconies or within 15 feet of
any apartment building or other structure with similar occupancy."

*The only cooking device permitted to be used on a balcony of an apartment
or condominium is one "using either electric or natural gas as a fuel source
and listed by a recognized testing authority." Additionally, "the device
must be designed or approved for the use of lava rock or permanent briquette only."*

Use of any other type of grill is allowed if it is located at least 15 feet from any building or structure. So when the urge strikes to enjoy a freshly grilled meal, remember to follow these guidelines for safe and legal outdoor cooking:

Gas and charcoal grills must only be used outdoors. If used indoors, or in enclosed spaces, such as tents, they pose both a fire hazard and risks of exposing occupants to toxic gases and
potential asphyxiation.

Position the grill well away from siding, deck railings and out from under eaves
and overhanging branches.


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## Canadian

Mary V- You can probably safely use a gas-BBQ on your balcony if you live on the top floor with no other units above you. The main problem with a BBQ on a lower balcony is the smoke goes up. The person in the unit above you sees all this smoke coming up around their window and they freak out and call 911. 

Next thing you know the fire department is there. In my old apartment building there was a guy who used to do this and the fire department came twice because of his BBQ. After that they never came back. I guess they gave him crap after the second time and he wised up. The firemen were pretty pissed off on both occasions.

Just be careful not to scare the people living upstairs if any.


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## NaeKid

Has anyone tried any of my recipes ... should I put more online? Does anyone have more to share?


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## TechAdmin

Yes put more recipes online Vance.

Does anyone here cook with an Egg? The grill.


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## NaeKid

*Brazilian BBQ Sauce*

3 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup crushed red chiles
1 cup onion
2 tbsp parsley
2 tbsp garlic
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp dried basil
1 tbsp dried marjoram
1 tbsp rosemary
1 tbsp dried thyme

Alt: 1 tbsp salt

combine ingredients-mix well and cover and chill for up to 4 weeks

use as a basting or dipping sauce

You can spice this one up with Jalapeño or Habañero peppers (cut back equal amount on the crushed chillies). You can also cut the vinegar with cola (upto 1/2 cup) for a different flavour.

This will be great on many meats or on a vegi-skewer


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## NaeKid

*Marinade's*

Instead of typing out all the different marinades that I have tried from this website, I will just say that there are some really good ones on it. It is hosted at About.com ... reply back with some of the marinades you try out ..

Marinade Recipes - Marinades make meats better. Here are recipes for marinades for any meat.


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## NaeKid

*NaeKid's potatoe casserole*

Bake-n-mash (or boil-n-mash) up 1 large potatoe per person per meal

Spread out approx. half the potatoe in the bottom of a large dutch oven

Take a can of mushrooms and a can of cream of mushroom soup and spread half the amount over the potatoes.

Spread approx. 1/2 pound of cooked ground beef over mushroom layer

Take half the remaining amount of potatoe and spread over ground beef

Shread cheddar cheeze over potatoe.

Spread frozen mixed vegies over cheeze

Sprinkle with favorite spices / seasonings. I like Chipotle, chives, basil, red-pepper.

Finally - top with the rest of the mushrooms, meat and potatoe. Cover with shreaded cheeze (cheddar or mozza or monteray jack or other favorite cheezes) and sprinkle a little more of your favorite spices / seasonings.

Cover the dutch oven with its lid.

Bake around 350°F in BBQ (med-low) for approx. 1 hour (or till the whole pot is equal temperature through-out the middle. Keep the temperature at the lower end of the spectrum - its better to warm slowly.

The dutch-oven is a very easy to use cooking pot that can be used inside a regular oven, on stove-top, in a BBQ, over a fire, in a fire ... anywhere.

If you don't have a dutch-oven to make this, a standard casserole dish could be used. Take care not to have "hot-spots" from the BBQ fire lickin' the bottom of the dish - it can cause the dish to "expode" ruining a good dish and the food in it. An insulating layer between the fire and dish could help disperse the heat. You can use a cookie sheet, a piece of sheet-metal or sheet-aluminum (aim for 1/8" thick plate) as insulation from direct flame.


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## NaeKid

*Q-n-F Pizza*

Quick-n-Fast Pizza

Warm up the BBQ (toaster oven works well too)

Using a bun (sub-bun, hotdog bun, roll), spread spagetti sauce (listed above or use your favorite homemade or store-bought option), some sandwich meats, random veggies and some cheeze over and toss into BBQ to warm up.

Once cheeze is melted, close up the bun and enjoy.

*Side note:* This is also known as the BostonBrute. I've made thousands of these at work ..


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## Coals

On a side note I use a Thermos Nissan Cook N' Carry:










You just pre-cook you beans/meat in the inner pot, take off the heat and place in the outer pot. Its main advantage is that it saves on butane or fuel.

I cooked a pot pinto beans last week. After the usual pre-soak for 8 hours I boiled them for 15 minutes and then added them to the outerpot for about 3 hours - cooked to perfection, without any risk of burning them! I would have used 2 hours of gas otherwise.

Its not cheap but it well worth it. Here's the amazon link



Code:


http://tinyurl.com/bnzws2


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## NaeKid

Some more info about that pot would be great. Would you consider it similar to a crock-pot - but - the outter pot is just a great insulator - or - is the outter pot heated in some way to work like a regular crock-pot?

Is it designed more towards the back-country camper or is it designed more towards home-use?


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## Coals

Hi



> Would you consider it similar to a crock-pot - but - the outter pot is just a great insulator


Crockpots use low temperature cooking for prolonged periods, which requires fuel. The Thermos doesn't because as you say because the outer pot is vaccuum insulated. The heat from the initial cooking is retained for a very long time. My beans were still steaming hot when I removed them after 3 hours.
Its the same concept as the haybox that were common early last century. Usually consisting of an old box You precooked the meal, put the pot in the box, and then you padded around the pot with sawdust/rags/insulting material.

On the website "In the wake" you can download a pdf book that covers a lot of everything concerned with how to live when society collapses. He does devote a good few pages to cooking. Here is his table for cooking times using the haybox - which I used for reference.










You can download it here:



Code:


http://www.inthewake.org/downloads.html

Its sometime not available - if not I'll upload it - its free.

So you could make one for the price of an old box if you wanted to. The Thermos is the modern version.



> Is it designed more towards the back-country camper or is it designed more towards home-use?


A Thermos is like a very large very well insulated coffee flask - So I would imagine if you dropped it or gave it any hard knocks it might break. So unless your transporting it from house to house via a car, mine will be staying for home use only 

I have the British version called the "Shuttle chef", which is almost identical. I have photgraphed the instruction booklet for you. Sorry for the naff pictures, I don't have a scanner, and my photoshop skills are limited  The paper in real like is glossy white!

They are clear though. They might be of some help:

Sorry, for some reason the forum software thinks I have six images on this post, so my pics are wrapped in code.



Code:


http://www.imagebam.com/image/33110729039707

http://www.imagebam.com/image/d66e0e29039711

Cheers


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## dukman

I wanted to chime in on the cooking with propane... Cracking a window, while helping to ventilate, won't necessarily get rid of the carbon monoxide. It normally stays low to the floor. Crack a patio door if you have one instead of a window.

I noticed the other day that the local truck stop has 12v appliances... anyone know how much run time you would get on one if you took your car battery inside your apartment?


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## NaeKid

dukman said:


> I wanted to chime in on the cooking with propane... Cracking a window, while helping to ventilate, won't necessarily get rid of the carbon monoxide. It normally stays low to the floor. Crack a patio door if you have one instead of a window.
> 
> I noticed the other day that the local truck stop has 12v appliances... anyone know how much run time you would get on one if you took your car battery inside your apartment?


It would be better to use "indoor-use" batteries, like the batteries used on electric-scooters and have them connected to solar-panels. We have another section here on PS that has more solar / battery system information if you would like to discuss it more in there.


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## Adelle

Canadian said:


> If you need an emergency stove for home use only I recommend an Iwatani catering burner. It runs off of butane cans and is meant for catering use. Much easier to use in a kitchen than a camp stove. They are also much safer to use indoors than white gas or other camping type stoves.


Where can I get me one of those for a good price?


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## Canadian

Any local restaurant supply store should have them and the BU-6 cans that go with them.

Iwatani_Top

Tell them you have an out of home catering business and open a business account with the restaurant supply store. The should sell it to you for the restaurant rate which should be at least 20% off retail.


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## NaeKid

*BBQ Brocoli*

Well folks, I just created a new dish - it worked out very well on the first round, made it a second and third time - and - every time it tasted amazing.

A single "mini-loaf" tin per person (disposable or re-usable are both fine)
Tin-foil to cover.

I use frozen broccoli and fill the mini-loaf pans to near the top. Then I spoon some sour-cream and cheeze-whiz over the top (about a table-spoon of each). Then I spread some "three-cheese" shredded cheese (TexMex mix) and then I hand crush "Vegi-Thins" crackers over the container. The tin-foil will then go over the whole setup (the crackers create a barrier between the cheese and tin-foil).

I place into a "full-hot" BBQ on the top-rack for about 15 minutes prior to putting my meat onto the lower rack for cooking. Tastes very good with chicken breast wrapped in sauteed onions with homemade honey/garlic/mustard sauce.


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## NaeKid

*Salsa Chicken of the sea*

I came up with an amazing tasting salad the other day.

Hand-shred lettuce and place in a bowl.

Dice cucumber, fresh onion and spread over the lettuce.

Open can of tuna, drain very well. Flake-out the tuna and spread approx. 1/2 can over salad.

I like using medium-hot salsa and spoon over the tuna - spread completely and evenly over. The "spice level" is lowered due to the other ingredients - it is not overpowering.

Sprinkle cheddar and parmesan cheese over and serve.


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## NaeKid

Dean said:


> Yes put more recipes online Vance.
> 
> Does anyone here cook with an Egg? The grill.


My step-brother bought himself one of those Egg-Grills and he loves it. He does alot of experimenting with different woods, foods, heats, etc and he always comments about it. He is even worse than I am about outdoor cooking food - he has enough outdoor cooking appliances to feed a small army! :2thumb:


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## NaeKid

*Breakfast omelette*

*ZIPLOC OMELETTE*

This works great !!! Good for when all your family is together. The best part is that no one has to wait for their special omelette!!!

Have guests write their name on a quart-size Ziploc freezer bag with permanent marker. Crack 2 eggs (large or extra-large) into the bag (not more than 2) shake to combine them.

Put out a variety of ingredients such as: cheeses, ham, onion, green pepper, tomato, hash browns, salsa, spices, etc. Each guest adds prepared ingredients of choice to their bag and shake. Make sure to get the air out of the bag and zip it up.

Place the bags into rolling, boiling water for exactly 13 minutes. You can usually cook 6-8 omelettes in a large pot. For more, make another pot of boiling water.

Open the bags and the omelet will roll out easily. Be prepared for everyone to be amazed.

Nice to serve with fresh fruit and coffee cake; everyone gets involved in the process and a great conversation piece.


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## Canadian

Nice. I'd do the same with restaurant supply boilable bags. Depending on how you tie the bags you can make all kinds of shapes.


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## Canadian

I don't have many dishes written down. Here's a link to my youtube channel. It shows a few ways on how to prepare ingredients for other dishes.

YouTube - updowngroupfood's Channel

My egg white video is one of the most popular on youtube. Who knew?


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## lanahi

*Wheat Sausage*

I'm definitely going to try those omelets!

WHEAT SAUSAGE
* 2 cups ground cooked wheat - not packed. (Grind with fine blade of a food chopper).
* 1 egg
* 1 T. oil
* 1 T. brown sugar
* 1 1/2 t. ground sage
* 1 t. sausage seasoning
* 1/4 t. each onion and garlic salt
* 1 t. beef soup base or bouillon
* 1 t. worcestershire sauce

Mix all ingredients together except wheat. Gently fold in wheat. Drop from a spoon into a frying pan of hot oil, 325º - 350º. Flatten slightly and fry about 6-7 minutes on each side. Freezes well after cooking. Good on pizza. Very mild.

"MAPLE" SYRUP:
* water
* brown sugar (regular sugar can be used)
* a few drops of Maple Extract
Add enough water to the brown sugar to just get it liquified...about half the water as sugar. Cook over stove top while stirring until syrup is the right consistency. Pull off heat and pour a bit of maple extract into it. It's ready for use. It also stores well in the cupboard. Don't put it in the refrigerator or it will start to re-crystalize. Tastes good!

Whole Wheat Crackers
1-1/2 c whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp oil
4 tbsp water
Combine dry and wet ingredients separately, then mix togehter thoroughly. Roll out on an oiled cookie sheet and score. Bake at 325 degrees 20-30 min.


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## lanahi

*Mock Sausage*

MOCK SAUSAGE (really tastes like sausage!)

3 c. cooked beans
1/2 c bread crumbs
3 eggs, fresh or reconstituted
2 tbsp fat
1/2 tsp sage
Salt and pepper

Add ingredients together, form into sausages. Roll in crumbs, egg, and crumbs again. Saute until brown. Makes 6-8.


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## mdprepper

I will be trying the Ziploc Omelette this week. I don't know how I missed this thread before, thanks for reviving it.


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## thepantryshelf

THRIVE freeze dried foods require no cooking and can be revived with cold or hot water so they are great in an emergency situation.


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## NaeKid

*Cooking the dogs*

A quick-n-easy way to have hotdogs for lunch is actually easier than you think. Take a "large-mouth" Thermos like the kind that you would put soup into and toss in a few hotdogs. Boil up a pot full of water and pour the water over the hotdogs, seal it up.

Inside the lid area, put ketchup-packets (mustard, mayo, relish, etc) for fresh condiments on the trail. The only thing you need to worry about are the buns being crush'd, so, place them in a "hard" plastic case.

*Note:* I didn't come up with this idea, it came from someone else who does it during motorcycle riding.


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## BillS

You could also buy kerosene cooking stoves from this place:

http://www.stpaulmercantile.com/

You can buy kerosene for somewhere around $40 for 5 gallons. Where I live you can buy it at the pump at tractor supply stores for about $4.30 a gallon although then you need a place to store it. I like kerosene because you can use it for cooking or for heating in a kerosene heater. I think propane is too dangerous to store a large number of tanks indoors.


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## CrackbottomLouis

Coals said:


> On a side note I use a Thermos Nissan Cook N' Carry:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> You just pre-cook you beans/meat in the inner pot, take off the heat and place in the outer pot. Its main advantage is that it saves on butane or fuel.
> 
> I cooked a pot pinto beans last week. After the usual pre-soak for 8 hours I boiled them for 15 minutes and then added them to the outerpot for about 3 hours - cooked to perfection, without any risk of burning them! I would have used 2 hours of gas otherwise.
> 
> Its not cheap but it well worth it. Here's the amazon link
> 
> 
> 
> Code:
> 
> 
> http://tinyurl.com/bnzws2


That thing looks great. I will have one. Have you ever tried to do meat, rice and beans at the same time in it?


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## kappydell

im still a buddy burner kind of gal ever since i learned to use one for cooking in girl scouts. easy to make, easy to store, burn several hours, and can be used as a source of heat if you crack a window. just close doors or hang quilts across halls or other doors so you only have to heat one room and it is much easier. i also have a pocket cooker, a folding stove that burns what-have-you (twigs, paper, etc) safely and will hold a relatively large single pot. Folds up into a belt-carried case about 6 x 8 inches. No batteries, fuel, etc needed. coupled with a wrap cooker for thermal cooking i can cook discreetly and quickly with very little fuel. If your apt has a balcony, you can cook out there, but remember, it is also a fairly large, easily breached entry that is hard to insulate for warmth. so it is a trade off. most of my apts had a large glass sliding door, which were leaking cold in the winter, and heat in the summer. 
just remember, in a time of crisis, the patio police wont be caring whether you are cooking or not, as long as you don't wreck anything or harm your neighbors' property. they will be busy elsewhere.


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## MaryV

amazon.ca has the shuttlechef thermos cooker, I am thinking of getting this, i have a one burner butane stove that uses the butane canisters, and if I have this thermal cooker, I can start the rice on the stove and then use the thermos to finish it, saving my butane fuel...great idea! I am wondering will this shuttlechef also cook pasta? I eat a lot of pasta.


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## NaeKid

*NaeKid's Crabby Patties*

I just created a new recipe in the kitchen this afternoon for a nice little snack or as a small side-dish. I served these with Chicken-Ala-King soup, but, they would probably be great served many other ways.

Made a video:





*NaeKid's Crabby Patties*

_Basic Ingredients_
1 small can of canned crab-meat, drained (about 120grams weight)
1 freshly cracked egg
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp basil flakes
6 Breton Basil and OliveOil crackers
Cheddar cheese / Mozza cheese / MontereyJack cheese / Any other hard-cheese that you have laying around

_Directions_
Place crab meat into small cereal bowl, crack egg over crab meat. Sprinkle approximate amounts of garlic and onion powder and basil flakes - a little more or a little less is alright.

Place crackers into small blender and blend until very fine powder. Sprinkle over crab-meat. Using a dinner-fork, mix well, very well till you have similar consistancy of hamburger-patties for burgers - not too moist, not too dry.

Place equal amounts of mixture into a 6 muffin-tin tray, no, you will not fill them up, don't try. Place one small 3/4" square of cheese approx. 1/8" thick on the top of each crabby-pattie. You may wish to blend a second cheese, go for it!

Bake at 350°F for approx. 15 minutes. Remove from oven (I use toaster-oven) and carefully remove from muffin-tin after it has cooled slightly and the cheese is no longer bubbling. Serve quite warm, but, not hot enough to burn the roof of your mouth.

*Picture below of the cracker's box in case you are looking for them in a store*


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## Reblazed

Excellent 'crabby' patties ! Only crackers I had were roasted garlic and they worked too. Thanks.


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## fishparts2003

I made these with crab meat a couple weeks ago, and a few adjustments to the recipe. Crab meat is a little pricey to make this a regular thing for me. So I cheaped out the recipe, and have got something pretty good about half the price.

1 can salmon, about 14.5oz [ I removed bones and such ]
pre-seasoned bread crumbs Italian
2 eggs 
approx. 1 tbls oil
a little salt and pepper
cheddar cheese shredded.

about 20 minutes in muffin tin in my oven at 350. Condiments optional

Ain't fancy, but around my place it does have to be. Thanks for sharing this, it was a nice easy snack for my daughter and I to cook together this afternoon.



NaeKid said:


> I just created a new recipe in the kitchen this afternoon for a nice little snack or as a small side-dish.
> 
> *NaeKid's Crabby Patties*
> 
> _Basic Ingredients_
> 1 small can of canned crab-meat, drained (about 120grams weight)
> 1 freshly cracked egg
> 1/2 tsp garlic powder
> 1/2 tsp onion powder
> 1/2 tsp basil flakes
> 6 Breton Basil and OliveOil crackers
> Cheddar cheese / Mozza cheese / MontereyJack cheese / Any other hard-cheese that you have laying around


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## NaeKid

fishparts2003 said:


> I made these with crab meat a couple weeks ago, and a few adjustments to the recipe. Crab meat is a little pricey to make this a regular thing for me. So I cheaped out the recipe, and have got something pretty good about half the price.
> 
> 1 can salmon, about 14.5oz [ I removed bones and such ]
> pre-seasoned bread crumbs Italian
> 2 eggs
> approx. 1 tbls oil
> a little salt and pepper
> cheddar cheese shredded.
> 
> about 20 minutes in muffin tin in my oven at 350. Condiments optional
> 
> Ain't fancy, but around my place it does have to be. Thanks for sharing this, it was a nice easy snack for my daughter and I to cook together this afternoon.


Glad that I inspired you to try something new!

The price-tag for those cans of crab and the price-tag for salmon is about the same around here - within $0.50 of each other - especially for the yellow-cans of crab (as shown in the video). Tuna is a little cheaper than the crab or salmon, by maybe a dollar or so per can.

You might notice that my recipe does not have salt or pepper in it - there is more than enough salt naturally in the sea-food that more does not need to be added, and, with the cracker-crumbs being mixed in, there is salt already there too. I am allergic to pepper, so, you will never find that as an ingredient in any of my cooking.


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## gam46

MaryV said:


> as for sleeping bags,I just cant find one big enough...


Once had two basically the same. They were designed to be fully opened out then could be zipped together. Would form one large bag if needed.


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## NaeKid

Found a recipe that I wanna try - and - thought I would share with you all ...

*Killer Peanutbutter Cake*

http://www.daringgourmet.com/2013/04/19/killer-peanut-butter-cake/

*Ingredients*

* For the Frosting:*

1 cup natural, unsweetened peanut butter
 ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
 3 cups powdered (confectioner's) sugar
 up to ½ cup heavy cream (at room temperature)
* For the Cake:*

1½ cups all-purpose flour
 2 teaspoons baking powder
 ½ teaspoon baking soda
 ½ teaspoon salt
 ⅓ cup coconut or vegetable oil (I use coconut oil)
 ⅓ cup natural, unsweetened peanut butter
 1 cup brown sugar
 2 large eggs
 1 cup buttermilk
 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

*Instructions*


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
 In a medium bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
 In a large mixing bowl, add the peanut butter, oil, and brown sugar. Beat until combined and creamy. Add the eggs and vanilla extract and beat just until combined.
 Alternately add the flour and buttermilk to the wet mixture, beating just until combined. Be careful not to over-beat or the cake will be dense and dry. A few small lumps of flour is fine.
 Grease a 9X3 inch round baking pan (I use Magic Line pans)
 Pour the batter into the pan.
 Bake for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out moist (not wet with batter but moist. If the toothpick is dry, the cake is over-baked and will be dry).
 Let the cake sit in the pan for 5 minutes, then invert the cake onto a wire rack to cool completely.
 In the meantime, to make the frosting, place the peanut butter and butter in a large mixing bowl. Beat until smooth and creamy. Add the powdered sugar one cup at a time, continuing to beat. Add the heavy cream until you reach a spreadable consistency. (Note: This is a fairly stiff frosting)
 Cut the cooled cake in half horizontally. Frost the bottom half of the cake and down the sides. Place the top layer of the cake, upside down, on top of the bottom layer. Frost the top layer and down the sides.

*Notes*
To cut back on calories (and save yourself some work), bake the cake in a 9X13 square cake pan as a sheet cake and make half the amount of frosting to go on top. Also, for a more moist and goopey version, prepare the sheet cake. In a small saucepan bring ¼ cup honey, ¼ cup brown sugar and 2 tablespoons of butter to a boil. Remove from heat. Poke some holes throughout the sheet cake and drizzle the honey glaze evenly over it. Allow to cool completely and then frost (remember, half the recipe amount for the frosting). Note, I haven't actually tried this version, merely conceptualized it in my mind, but I think it would work  Note: For chocolate frosting, add a couple of tablespoons of good quality cocoa powder.

*Variation: Add Nutella to the frosting
*Another variation: Pour some chocolate ganache over it for ultra decadence!


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## NaeKid

Found an amazing recipe at: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/life/B...ted+than+they+making+them/11236696/story.html

*BLUEBERRY CRUMB BARS*

Deb Perelman from Smitten Kitchen adapted these from a recipe on Allrecipes.com, adding in lemon zest and juice and omitting the cinnamon - both changes I approve of. This is mildly adapted from her version.

3 cups (750 mL) all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups (375 mL) granulated sugar, divided
1 tsp (5 mL) baking powder
1/4 tsp (1 mL) salt
zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 cup/1/2 lb (250 mL/8 oz) cold butter
2 eggs
4 cups (1 L) fresh blueberries
4 tsp (20 mL) cornstarch


Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Grease a 9×13-inch (23×33-cm) pan and line with parchment paper with a slight overhang like a sling.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, 1 cup (250 mL) sugar, baking powder and salt. Add the lemon zest and whisk again. Using a fork, two knives or a pastry cutter, blend in the cold butter until the mixture resembles coarse oatmeal. Some of the pieces of butter will be bigger than others, which is fine. Lightly beat the two eggs and then pour over the flour mixture. Using a spatula, fold the egg and flour until it starts to come together and form clumps. Dough will still be quite crumbly, but squishing it together, it will hold. Add half of the dough to the pan and pat into a level layer.
In another medium bowl, add the blueberries, the remaining 1/2 cup (125 mL) sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice. Gently mix until combined. Drizzle over the dough, making an even layer.
Lightly squish the rest of the dough to form clumps of various sizes and then scatter over the blueberries.
Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the top is slightly brown. Cool completely before cutting into squares or rectangles. Makes 24 to 36 bars, depending on their size


Looks yummy!!!


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## jimLE

most of these items i've gotton since early 2013.i figure their not only great for camping.but,also great for power outages as well..


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## readytogo

1 jar of canned chicken
1 jar of taco sauce 
and flour tortillas 
for a chicken taco dinner.
Also stove top bbq`s for any occasion.
https://www.google.com/search?q=sto...oTCMm6prSz4cgCFQMqiAodoPsBxg&biw=1366&bih=651


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## jimLE

here's a idea to storing the dry foods,that are pre-mixed.the jars that peanuts,miracle whip,and other large jars can be used to store them in.it's just a matter of removing the original labels,cleaning them..letting them dry plenty good.then just a matter of placing whats needed into them.i have sugar in one now..


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## jimLE

The camping store will have sleeping bags to keep you warm inside your apartment when the temperature drops with night-fall.

good idea there,in which another idea comes to mind.a tent for winter camping.and a lil buddy propane heater..or some other heater,that'll work with any propane bottle..


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## readytogo

Quick and easy especially if you have your own canned meats. Jar of Sloppy Joes Sauce, jar of canned meat or a pack of frozen meat (needs to be cooked) and a bag of rolls, just heat and served .


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## mark3343403

welcome


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