We are always talking about food and food storage. When I stop and look at everything we have I often find myself wondering, “what I am going to make with this food?” Sometimes I think it won’t matter because we will be hungry and thankful for anything but then I realize that it in fact will matter. It will matter in regards to making sure there is enough to go around, making sure that I can make the most out of everything we have, and making sure I can keep those around me feeling positive in the event of SHTF situation. With this in mind and fall being upon us, I remembered a family recipe made out of necessity because almost half of my family has Celiac Disease. This recipe is not only gluten free but it is something that everyone can enjoy and could be made in large quantities for when we had family events.
I also like the diversity that this rice offers. You can use the basic rice recipe and add whatever works for you and your families. It works well with any canned good and can be made right on the grill as I did.
I used a Lodge Logic dutch oven from Amazon. So
ZOMBIE RICE
4 cups of water
2 cups rice (not instant)
1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup soy sauce
Stir these ingredients in the dutch oven until the sugar is dissolved.
Next, add any frozen veggies or frozen (cooked) meats that you want to add now.
If adding canned veggies wait until a little more than half cooked so you don’t end up with mushy veggies.
For this SHTF recipe, I added about a 1/2 cup of chopped onions, one can of chicken, 1/2 can of peans and carrots, 1/2 can of corn, and 1/2 can of green beans. I usually make it with a bag of frozen veggies. Either way, it turns out great.
I preheated the grill to 350 degrees and then placed the dutch oven inside and let it cook covered for 40 minutes and then uncovered for about another 30 minutes. If adding canned goods I would add them after the first forty minutes.
This rice dish is so versatile. You can add whatever you want to this base rice recipe or just eat it plain. It is very tasty.
Having recipes and the ingredients to make those recipes will be a huge relief if in uncertain times. It’ll give you one less thing to have to think about and peace of mind knowing you have a plan.
Happy Prepping and Be Safe,
Maine Prepper Girl
With a grid down situation, I shy away from the things that need to be cooked for an hour or more. Burns up a lot of my emergency fuel. Frozen foods will be the first thing I cook up. The recipe sounds great and I may give it a shot under normal circumstances, but not without power.
I think cooking it over a fire or just cooking half that time and leaving the cover on longer with the gas off would do the trick as well to decrease the amount of gas being used as the such oven would continue to cook land the grill would remain warm as well. I’ll have to try that next time! Thanks!
I try to store a lot of canned meals and food that requires minimum water. You are right about the method you just described. I may try that out. I also store a lot of foods that require no cooking. Eating canned spaghetio o’s is not high on my list of normal meals, but they can get you by and be eaten cold in a pinch. When the SHTF, just staying alive is going to be the issue.
You are right! Staying alive is the issue and it will be difficult at best. However, having
hot food is a great morale booster and a positive mental attitude is another force
multiplayer.
Unless you are an apartment dweller I would suggest that you get a Eco-Zoom rocket
stove. They will cook anything quickly and will burn any dry wood product even twigs
and pine cones. All rocket stoves must be tended constantly and they do smoke.
All traditional fuels will run out eventually so it’s time to get alternatives in place.
It’s very disturbing when I think of eating cold SpaghettiOs.
Exactly. I am laying in a few building blocks to build my own “rocket” stove. I don’t have trees on my property, just sage, bitter brush and some ornamental shrubs. I keep the limbs I trim in a separate pile for cooking if I need to.
True…not a good use of limited propane resources, however, wood fire would work well. A solar oven would also do well for this meal. I’ve cook an entire chicken with mine.
Wood is almost impossible to get close to me. I’m 65 and my wood splitting days are gone. I would have to buy it (expensive here now), have it cut and delivered.
I have been toying with the solar oven for a couple of years now. There are times in the Winter, I go without seeing the Sun for weeks. I have propane stoves, butane stove, sterno stoves, and esbit cubes. Portable propane grill, and I could burn thes age and bitter brush, but the smell would really carry. I have 50 gallons of gas and two generators. One of them is solar. Heat is the one thing I don’t have a good handle on. I am all electric with no other options. I am expanding my solar system, but again, there are times I don’t see the Sun for extended periods of time.
Forgot, I have two Buddy Heaters too.
I hope that some good hearted person would bring you some fire wood and split into
kindling size. Scrap lumber would be fine. The pieces need to be thin.( pencil size)
Most construction sites are happy for you to take what they are going to throw away.
The cinder block rocket stoves work well,unless you need to move it.
I burned wood as an only source of heat for more years than I can count. I live in a single wide trailer. No open flames! I will be fine. I really do not want to burn wood. I worked at a Hardware store for 20 years. I know how to find wood if it came to that, just don’t want to. Besides, do you realize how far the smell of smoke travels? Everyone and their third cousin would know I have heat or the ability to cook. Might as well put up a Neon sign. Stealth is going to be the operative word.
Just about everything we store can be mixed or matched for variety. We avoid recipes that need milk.. until we add cows, or milk goats anyway 🙂 . We like animals that turn grass, and scraps, into meat .. If you keep alive until you need to process it and use it .. you don’t need refrigeration.. that’s the idea anyway.
One thing I do, is hit sales at dollar stores, Costco, etc.. and get lots of spices. Low storage space, good trade, and keeps food interesting. Same with yeast (it goes bad eventually).
One product recommendation “Krusteaz”… pancakes and baking mix.. all you need to add is water.. no eggs, no milk .. as good a Bisquick.
Next steps for me are a “smoke house” .. Might be worth and article if nayone has made a successful one and basic design .. and use ..
hang in there
GG58
Thanks GG58. Maine Prepper Girl might comment on seasonings as well. I’ve been stocking up on seasonings and spices for the exact reasons you gave. Great minds think alike!!
I do the same on spices! Have a big cupboard full. I use the Jiffy brand baking mix, it’s cheaper. I also get the small boxes of Jiffy cakes and muffins. the muffin mix makes just 6. Perfect size. Another thing I have been doing for a couple of years, is free samples by mail. I must have enough shampoo and conditioner in travel size to last me a long time. There is also a company I order from, Minimus.biz. They carry small containers of just about everything you can think of. I buy a lot of the small or individual packs of their over the counter medicines. They have all sorts of personal hygiene products too.
https://www.minimus.biz/
Sounds like your mind is made up,so it will be shivering and cold food. Of course the neighbors can smell and see. You realize that you may have to defend what you have.
If you don’t already have a mutual assistance group it is really important to be part of one.
If you continue with the “I don’t have this” or “I can’t do that” mind set then your
survival will be short lived.
I’m a Veteran, and never said I didn’t have group. I won’t be cold and I have multiple ways to prepare hot food. I am 65 years old and some things I just can’t do physically. I also know how to take care of myself, if you know what I mean. I have hunted since I was 10 and can harvest it, skin it, gut it and butcher it. There isn’t much I don’t have and if I want something, I will buy it. I have chosen my way to survive and we all must do the same. Good luck to you and your’s.
There’s no shortage of wood to salvage and use here in the Midwest following the Hurricane in the Heartland/Derecho. There’s also no shortage of humble pie and revisions to disaster preparations of food, water and SEVERAL approaches to heating it up… EASILY!
The heat, exhaustion and mental/emotional toll sustained by everyone was not accounted for on ANY plan. So much so that being gifted sack lunches was a huge moral booster…though knowing the end of the day would be punctuated by a shower was more important than we would have imagined.
We had been informed the power lines would be two to three weeks getting repaired. But we knew it would EVENTUALLY come back. (What happens when we DON’T know this?) The daily area paper WAS delivered daily starting with the Wednesday after the Monday storm, keeping us informed on the unprecedented situation. Homes, trees and miles of power poles/lines needed taken care of and everyone worked hard to secure damaged homes and businesses. Opening up roads from debris and downed trees was the second task after checking the welfare of family, friends and neighbors.
That all being said, I will applaud anyone actually “practicing” their plan, (especially the food,) for three or more days without the luxury of normal power usage. Our forced “practice” of our plan was eye opening to say the least.
P.S. i think the Zombie Rice would have been wonderful to have for a hot meal!
It definitely shows you where you need to shore up your preps when something like this happens. I had a wildfire go past me less than a mile away at 50mph. I was on Level 2 evacuation notice so everything was packed in my pick up. Lots of friends lost just about everything they own. We lost power for 5 days. I did pretty good, didn’t lose any food in the freezers, had plenty of food and water. It did show me a few weak spots that I am correcting now. Really glad you are ok and everyone pitched in. A group of us had devised a plan to evacuate everyones pets and Livestock if the need came up. Now we are working at rebuilding our friend ranches.
V+T…good to hear you are OK and have a good community you are a part of. So much loss and rebuilding…
Be sure to take care of yourselves in this ongoing situation. (You are in our prayers.)
Thank you. Same to you. I have lived here in this community since 1987. The way they rally around their neighbors is nothing short of amazing. I have had the pleasure of joining a Harvest Bee for a Farmer with Cancer. 20 Combines, 30 grain trucks, and meals cooked by Farmer’s wives. What an experience. In this time of turmoil in our Country, it is nice to know really good people do exist.