This TINY tool changes EVERYTHING about Dehydrating Meals in Jars | Slow Cook Instant Pot Dump Meals

there is something utterly satisfying about preparing a meal ahead of time placing it on the shelf and then knowing that at some point maybe tomorrow or next month dinner is already done and I'm talking about meals with minimal demands as in Step One open a mason jar step two pour the contents into an instant or crock pot step three walk away and return to whatever it is you were doing before you realize that you needed to feed yourself or the other humans in your house step four walk back and behold your breakfast lunch or dinner is already done in this video I'm sharing a breakfast lunch and dinner ideas that you can dump and go or fix and freeze that as you prep your kitchen and sink will stay super clean now these recipes may be a change of pace from what you normally do because while working only with fresh ingredients is great it's not always 100 practical food does go bad and beans take hours to soak your energy level is depleted after a day full of errands so nope not making that for dinner or your appetite changes that's where meals and jars comes to the rescue the shelf life is months not days and you don't need multiple freezers to stockpile and with an instant pot pressure cooker your meal is ready in minutes here are several ideas you're going to want to try for dinner tonight chicken tortilla soup takes just five minutes to make in your instapot or 10 minutes on your stovetop remove the lid pour ingredients that include freeze-dried chicken dehydrated corn onion seasonings and tortilla strips and before you know it you'll be lately listen to a bowl optional toppings include sour cream tortilla chips and fresh cilantro I saved the leftovers in a mason jar for lunch the next day anyway you serve this you can't go wrong now let me show you how easily it comes together so that you can have this on your shelf I'm going to show you a recipe card like this for each of the eight recipes that I'm sharing pause the video if you need a longer look but I'll also tuck directions in the description box one thing that's great about soups and jars is that you get to control what ingredients you put in or leave out so you don't worry about preservatives and sodium like you do in store-bought convenience soups dried soups allow you to enjoy from scratch cooking even when you have a limited time because all you have to do is add water including dehydrated and freeze-dried foods as just a small part of your pantry means that you have options to create dozens of meals using Staples already assembled so you don't have to run to the store for that one forgotten ingredient I'll show and share how to dehydrate your own ingredients and a clever way to get started with freeze-dried foods on a budget in just a bit are you ready for a feast in a jar I'm not exaggerating this is truly a holiday meal that can send your Shelf ready to impress for a special occasion or Sunday dinner the only special ingredient this recipe uses is dehydrated Cube butter while you'll see me use a jar of home canned turkey breast you could easily substitute any fresh or frozen meat you have on hand such as chicken or beef in fact keep that in mind as you watch all of these recipes because my emphasis is more on the creative assembly of meals and jars how to safely do it and convince you to start if you haven't dipped your toe in yet many of these recipes can and should we tweaked to your family's taste preference which is the real win Darla wants the sage and Thyme dried herb starts to marinate with the cranberry goodness of chicken bouillon stock the smells in your home will have everyone convinced that you're making a multi-course meal lucky for you all you had to do was dump an assembled jar and meat into your crock pot and pour into a soup bowl this slow cooker meal comes together in a hurry all you do is measure out and store your dried cranberries dehydrated butternut squash dried onion and wild rice in one jar or bag while portioning the chicken bouillon and herbs in another this recipe will last a good five to six months on your shelf cook on high heat in your slow cooker for four to five hours or on low for seven to eight hours these next meals are crowd and Company Pleasers too you must make this flavorful appetizer in a jar that will keep you calm and collected when you have unexpected company better yet this recipe uses ingredients you probably have in your pantry and fridge right now we're gonna make cheesy bean dip y'all this meal uses a can of refried beans and jalapenos that I dehydrated from home add dried onions and a fruit seasonings and cheese and your guests will never suspect that this has been sitting on your shelf for weeks or months the key to this recipe is to use an oven safe Bowl then add boiling water to the dehydrated bee mixture after adding water you'll let things sit and rehydrate for about five minutes then stir again and place in the fridge for 15 minutes preheat the oven to 350 degrees and sprinkle shredded cheese on top and bake for 15 minutes remove and serve hot with tortilla chips [Music] this is a super economical and straightforward recipe to make I already had a can of dehydrated refried beans which straight off the drying rack look like this I just used a mortar and pestle to crumble it transfer your beans to a blender where you'll add your taco seasoning sun-dried tomatoes which are ones that I dried from a diced can of store-bought Tomatoes a pinch of dried onion and dehydrated jalapenos and then you're going to give this a thorough pulse until things are well integrated and extremely fragrant and looks of it like this to vacuum seal I use a FoodSaver mason jar sealer placed over a jar lid then push down to evenly seat things insert the conical tip of the vacuum pump and then squeeze until you have at least 20 psi that's it the jar is sealed just know that this method is only appropriate to prolong the shelf life of dry goods to be stored at room temperature [Music] if this is our first time meeting hi I'm Christina from the blog becoming a farmgirl.com I'm here to help you start canning and preserving your own delicious ingredients right at home and sure ways to use your home Camp pantry and meals your family will love so click the link to start getting delicious recipes straight to your inbox each time I post a video now you might take your Sandra I don't have a freeze dryer and that's okay because I don't either now ultimately IC is making the investment into a freeze dryer but that is still further down the road so for now I am purchasing freeze-dried foods as a way to number one ensure that I even enjoy cooking with freeze-dried foods and two I want to make sure that I already have a collection of meals and inventory rotation that I've kind of fixed or thought about all the Kinks so that when I get a freeze dryer girl I can just rock and roll Thrive life freestride food is a trusted brand for Quality taste and value among the food preservation community and I do enjoy the quality of their food to be fully transparent you can make it a business thing with a team and all but I ain't doing that I'm a customer so if you use my links and I certainly do appreciate it it's like an affiliate and anyone from the very beginning can do that but I became a consult content because if you do you get access to the quarterly sales one to two days before anyone else and since there aren't any fees or a markup to do so I figured why not so I could just beat the rush inventory and stocking is tricky for any business these days so I figured why not plus it has been super easy to start and suspend my subscription which I do since I only purchase around the sales if you want to eat clean and healthy without additives preservatives spoilage or waste having a portion of your pantry Diversified with freeze-dried foods is an option to consider there's nothing quite as comforting as a steaming bowl of chili on a cold fall or winter day so why not take a few minutes to prep a few jars of home style beef chili and jars ready and waiting for that snowy day or stay at home weekend meal and this recipe can be kept vegetarian if that's your thing while I wait on purchasing a freeze dryer I appreciate the quality alternative I get from Thrive freeze-dried foods do you see how this meat doesn't have fillers and how tender it is on the days where my husband beats me home or I'm under the the weather these are the meals that he or anyone really can assemble if you have mason jars on hand dried Staples like beans a simple dehydrator and even just a few cans of freeze-dried Meats these are meals that can easily be on your shelf too [Music] you're gonna have to let me know if you're the kind of person that on road trips or if you're spending a few vacation days at a place that has a kitchen we'll pack food for several meals to offset eating out that is so me and there have been times when it's felt like I have packed half of my kitchen with coolers and Equipment but let me tell you I have found that having assembled meals like this in which I'll either grab a few jars or use food safety hydrating bags it's definitely way more ideal one because it's super lightweight and two because it's easy to cook in a single pot or a crock this means that I can get a break from cooking and I don't spend any time planning a menu because I've already got completed meals with meats and veggies oh and cleanup is super easy too hey I wanted to jump in with a few recipe tips and address some of the things that you may see me doing all right here's the first tip so if you are storing these jars Beyond five days and you're using freeze-dried meat with your meals it can be done but the meat must be placed in a separate jar or bag at the present moment I am smack dab in between Thanksgiving and Christmas and so I'm going to be relying on these meals almost consecutively so that I can prep for those holiday meals and not be completely stressed out so that's why you see me combining everything together but again if this is not your case and you want to store it for you know days weeks or months into the future always separate your Meats they cannot be stored with the other ingredients for long term all right so this next tip is about shelf life and the shelf life of each jar is roughly the length of the shortest ingredient that's stored in them and I usually go between three to six months but as a general rule of thumb here's what you need to look out for condensation on the inside of the jar or mold growth this is especially true if your home runs humid also shelf stable doesn't mean indefinite shelf life so you've got to Be watchful with ingredients that retain some moisture specifically figs apricots and tomatoes so most also the meals that I've shared are plant-based and as such they are super shelf stable you might ask me what the right dehydrator is for you and to that I say yep that one because after dehydrating from a thrifted five dollar entry level one and then eventually getting a fancier one here's what I can tell you for sure they both give quality results sweetheart here's what you've really got to consider the footprint that you want your dehydrator to take up on your counter space and then how much interaction with your dehydrator you really want to have when I was in an apartment my cheap five dollar one worked great and it was small and convenient to both use on my countertop space and to store now that we're in a townhouse I mostly keep the larger kasori dehydrator in our basement as I mentioned earlier the second difference is how much you want to fuss with your dehydrator now with your entry level ones you'll need to remember to rotate the racks to ensure sufficient air circulation and you'll have to set a timer so that you know when to turn the machine off with the kasori it has a built-in timer and the air movement design is much better so you don't have to rotate your racks so just pick the one that makes the most sense for your budget and your space now I'm always going to recommend something that you can have and hold in your hands the book dehydrated meals in a bag by Tammy gangloff is a winner if you're looking for a recipe book to add to your kitchen Library definitely grab this one getting started is actually pretty easy because it only requires the use of your already dehydrated foods but if you have yet to dehydrate anything consider watching my video on the best foods to dehydrate now let's talk about the gadgets that I use to seal my jars now could you go with a fancy electric jar sealer yes and if you have that of course that's what you'll use but if you don't I don't recommend getting one instead get yourself this inexpensive Gadget a brake bleeder if you don't want to Shell out 100 or more for one of the commercial vacuum sealer machines or just want a non-electric super simple option it's also safe and easy to use a brake bleeder vacuum that you can pick up at AutoZone or any hardware store and even online for around 20 to 30 bucks a mason jar sealer comes in two sizes to fit regular and wide moth jars so be sure to know which one you want or both to start to use place the FoodSaver mason jar sealer over the top of the jar and canning lid and then push down to make sure it's completely and evenly seated then place the vacuum tip into the adapter next pump the brake bleeder and watch the gauge pump until you have at least 20 psi in the vacuum the higher the reading the higher the vacuum I usually pump until I'm closer to 25 then between 20 and 25 pull the vacuum tip out of the hole then remove the jar sealer attachment from the jar that's it your jar is sealed I'm going to leave Miss Heidi from the channel rain country's video below she's how I found out about this method alright those are all the recipe tips that I have for now let's get back to making some meals this hamburger noodle pasta is an easy one Skillet meal you can have on the table in just 20 minutes dump the contents into a pan add water then simmer into the noodles or Tender you can leave it as is or add a few handfuls of cheese to take things over the top I tucked some away for my lunch the following day but y'all coming home after a busy day of work to this dump and go meal was a lifesaver and yeah as this meal totally tastes as good as it looks assembly of this one Skillet meal is a cinch while I'm using diced beef you can also use fresh or canned chicken fish or whatever meat or vegetables you have on hand when I see jars of prepared meals on my shelf it just makes me feel more secure knowing that I can cook healthy meals no matter what the situation and having meals in jars shouldn't be limited to your home kitchen assembled meals work especially well for camping you can easily fill a thermos full of hot water before you leave then toss in your dried ingredients to reconstitute a delicious healthy meal even on the go you can take the stress out of weekday or weekend breakfast prep with these recipes could you imagine having a breakfast bake in a jar where all you had to do was just add water to get a morning casserole your family would love well believe it because this breakfast bake is perfect for road trips camping or busy weekend mornings at home when mama needs a break you've got healthy onions bell peppers spinach powdered cheese and shredded potatoes that make the meal flavorful and hearty [Music] the end result is pretty stunning right don't worry your secret is safe with me [Music] this recipe is one that I hope that you'll truly customize and use whatever you've got dehydrated or freeze-dried on hand I love layering an assortment of dried greens like kale or other veggies like diced zucchini or celery the possibilities are truly endless [Music] oatmeal is a weekday breakfast staple in my home because it's the only thing that truly Keeps Us full and when you get creative with the toppings it's easy to keep oatmeal from feeling boring I love prepping my oatmeal in advance so that either my husband or I can get breakfast going without fussing through cabinets for ingredients in the morning and two sometimes he or I will take a jar into work if it's that kind of morning and we're just on The Struggle Bus hey it happens to the best of a ride through window blueberry taste that didn't take my freezer space in the middle of winter is such a treat to assemble you'll layer the dry ingredients into a jar and vacuum seal [Music] who says a weekday breakfast meal can't be decadent if that's you you've got to try this brown sugar dates and pecan steel cut oats breakfast in a jar this also makes the perfect gift during the holiday season on this particular morning I packed it in a thermos to go the assembly is quick and I've also enjoyed using freeze-dried strawberries pineapples for a bit of sweetness and mango I've included the link below to check out the website if you're interested in keeping up with their sales and oh if you prefer a sugar-free option you can simply omit the sugar or replace it with a non-nutritive sweetener such as Stevia you will absolutely enjoy this one [Music] don't forget to click the link to start getting food preservation recipes delivered straight to your inbox I'll see you in my kitchen or garden soon take care friends [Music]

Channel: Becoming a Farm Girl

Views: 62,025

Keywords: meals in a jar, dehydrating food, the purposeful pantry, soup in a jar, how to use dehydrated food, the purposeful pantry dehydrated, dehydrating food in instant pot, dehydrating food for hiking, dehydrating food recipes, dehydrated meals for backpacking

Id: jSIUztpU2cQ

Length: 16min 22sec (982 seconds)

Published: Wed Jan 04 2023