We love it when Chef Tess shares her recipes and wisdom with us! She's been making food storage magic using the Freeze Dried Ground Beef and Tomato Powder. Take it away Chef Tess...Hello my darlings! It's always a giant treat to come and
play work with the Cousins! Being the chef for Honeyville is such a fun job and I can't believe how many adventures I am having writing the cookbook and preparing new and delicious meals using their foods!
Today I want to share a simple and easy dinner that is ready in 30 minutes or less using just food storage. Freeze Dried Ground Beef is interesting stuff isn't it? The
Benefits of Freeze Dried Meat are pretty amazing and the shelf life is 10-15 years if kept in a cool dry place. I cook with it a lot more than I ever thought I would just because it is so convenient and I love developing recipes that people can really use. I had a gal ask me what I do with the ground beef if I wanted to make meatballs or a meatloaf and I wanted to share my simple method for that. I've also got some great tips on
How to Use Tomato Powder to make an Instant Marinara sauce with excellent flavor and a 10-15 years shelf life! That's awesome right?! Usually a good marinara takes a long time to develop that flavor. It's especially amazing if you can a make it so delicious your family won't mind eating it any night of the week.
Chef Tess Bakeresse™ Instant Marinara and Meatballs from Food StorageIngredients:Meatballs:2 cup Honeyville Freeze Dried Ground Beef
1 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
1/4 cup Honeyville Freeze Dried Onions
1/2 cup Honeyville Whole Egg Powder
1 tsp Chef Tess Romantic Italian Seasoning
1 tsp garlic powder
Sauce:1/2 cup Honeyville tomato powder
1/4 cup Honeyville freeze dried onions
1/4 cup Honeyville freeze dried bell peppers
1/4 cup Honeyville freeze dried mushrooms
2T Honeyville dehydrated honey
2tsp Chef Tess Romantic Italian Seasoning
1/4 cup Ultra Gel (modified corn starch) available in Honeyville retail stores
To make the meatballs, combine the meatball dry ingredients in a quart size bowl mixing well. Add 1 1 1/3 cup hot water (not boiling but very hot). Stir the water into the beef mixture and then allow the mixture to sit 10 minutes to fully hydrate and becomes a workable mass. Mmm. Meat moosh.
Form into 18 small meatballs and place on a lightly oiled baking sheet about a half an inch apart.
Now...bake them 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees until firm to the touch.
I like to lightly tent aluminum foil over the sheet pan, as this helps the meatballs to steam and keeps them tender. Remove from the oven and serve hot or cool and place in a fridge (covered) for later use.
To prepare the instant sauce:
Combine the dry ingredients in a half gallon size pot.
Add 3 1/2 -4 cups warm water (depending on how thick you want your sauce) and stir well. Stir over low heat. Cooking the sauce is optional, by the way. If you are just wanting a fast pizza sauce or bread stick dipping medium this stuff will make you happy! I usually do the sauce heating while the meatballs bake. This is also the time I start the water boiling if I'm serving the sauce and meatballs with pasta. Usually I just hide somewhere with a steaming pot of liquid happiness and a spoon and hide. Try not to think about how weird I am. Weirdness is a gift that I will always claim...(
said as I strap on my moon-boots and rick-rac embellished pocket protector).
Stir sauce until heated through and vegetables are tender. Add the meatballs to the sauce and serve over steaming hot pasta.
You know what else? This magical marinara sauce is great for long-term food storage, unlike canned sauces. Plus you control all the ingredients! Combine the dry ingredients in a half pint jar with a tightly fitting lid and an oxygen absorber and it is good 5-10 years if kept in a cool dry place. Now that is amazing!
There you go. Make some beautiful meatballs and marinara with your food storage. It's sure to impress your mother-in-law.
Always My Very Best,
Your Friend Chef Tess
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