Recipes for Survival quick, easy and tasty too!!

Survival Soups For Hard Times

June 24, 2013 by Peggy Layton 

PHOTOS.COM

People are going hungry in America right now. More than 50 million people are on food stamps. If we do not stock up on food for our families, we will be standing in food-stamp lines and waiting for food banks to distribute food to us.

When hard times get even worse than they are now, I believe that we can survive on soup. Soups were one of the most typical mainstays of the early pioneers who settled my community. Because supplies were scarce, the pioneers were very frugal. Any soup bones, leftover scraps of meat and vegetables were used to make soup. When the farmers came in from the fields for lunch or dinner, their wives had soup on the stove. It was always served with homemade bread, butter and canned fruit or jam. It was hearty and the pioneers survived very well on it, thus “survival soup” was invented.

If we have dried survival foods on hand, we can make our own soups today using dehydrated foods such as powdered milk, powdered butter, dried tomato powder, freeze-dried meats, vegetables, bouillons, pastas and simple pantry items such as flour, salt and pepper.

The following simple soup recipes came from the cookbook Cookin’ With Home Storage. The soups are made with dried or dehydrated ingredients that can be stored for 15 years and used, if needed, in an emergency situation. I use dried vegetables for everyday cooking because the food doesn’t go to waste like fresh produce. You can use small amounts and store the rest.

Dried foods are the next best thing to fresh and are highly nutritious. They come in 1-gallon sized cans that take up one-third the space of wet-packed food. They have a long shelf life, and all you do to reconstitute them is just add water. I suggest you purchase a variety of all these items for soup making.

Basic Dried Soup Ingredients

• Bouillon: beef and chicken
• Tomato powder
• Dried vegetables: such as broccoli, bell peppers, green beans, corn, carrots, celery, mushrooms, potatoes, cabbage, peas and onions.
• Grains and legumes: barley, rice and beans
• TVP (textured vegetable protein): chicken- flavored and beef-flavored.
• Pasta
• Spices: salt, pepper, parsley, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder and others.
• Dairy: butter powder, powdered milk, cheddar cheese powder.

Dried Onion Soup Mix

2/3 cup dried minced onion
½ cup beef bouillon granules
½ cup dried butter powder
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons onion powder
2 teaspoons parsley flakes

1). Mix all ingredients together and store in a jar with a tight-fitting lid.
2). Use this mix as a soup base or as a coating on meat. Use in any recipe calling for onion soup mix.

Creamy Potato Soup

4 cups water
1 cup dried cubed potatoes
1 tablespoon dried onions
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules or 1 chicken bouillon cube
2 tablespoons salad oil or olive oil
2 tablespoons butter powder
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
¾ cup powdered milk

1). Put 3½ cups water into a pot with the potatoes, onions and salt until the potatoes are tender.
2). Mix together the oil, butter powder and flour, and stir into the hot potato and water mixture. Stir constantly while cooking on medium heat.
3). When the mixture thickens, add the milk and cook until desired consistency.
4). If the soup is too thick, add a little water to thin it down.

This soup can be a base for other soups, Add vegetables to make a great sauce over pasta. Add dried cheese to make a cheesy soup.

Sweet Corn Chowder

This recipe makes six 1-cup servings.

6 cups water
1 tablespoon dried onion*
¾ cup dried diced or cubed potatoes*
1 cup dried sweet corn*
⅔ cup powdered milk
2 tablespoons dried butter powder
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon chicken-flavored bouillon granules or 1 bouillon cube
¼ teaspoon each of salt and pepper to taste

1). Boil the 6 cups of water and dried vegetables for 10 minutes to rehydrate them.
2). Reduce the heat to medium. Add the powdered milk, butter powder, all-purpose flour, bouillon, salt and pepper. Continue simmering for 20 minutes until the vegetables are tender.

*Canned corn and fresh onions and potatoes can also be used to replace the dried vegetables.

Tomato Soup

½ cup powdered milk
¼ cup tomato powder or blend dried tomatoes into powder
4 cups water
2 teaspoons honey or sweetener
2½ tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons butter powder
¼ teaspoon granulated garlic or a dash of garlic salt
Salt and pepper to taste

1). Mix all ingredients together and bring to a boil.
2). Reduce the heat and simmer until the soup thickens.
3). This soup can be used as a sauce over pasta and vegetables or eaten plain with bread or crackers.

Old-Fashioned Vegetable And Pasta Soup

6-8 cups water
2 teaspoons beef bouillon or 2 beef bouillon cubes
¼ cup dried onions
¼ cup dried celery
¼ cup dried green beans or canned green beans
¼ cup dried broccoli
½ cup dried carrots
1 cup dried tomato powder
¼ cup dried sweet corn
½ cup dried diced potatoes
¼ cup elbow macaroni
½ cup freeze-dried beef or beef crumbles (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

1). Using a medium stockpot, add 6 cups of water to the bouillon and dried vegetables.
2). Bring to a boil and cook for 10 minutes
3). Add the elbow macaroni and beef. Simmer for another 20-30 minutes until the vegetables and pasta are tender. Season to taste. More bouillon can be added for more flavor.
4). If the soup is too thick, add two cups of water to thin it.

Many of the dried ingredients in these recipes can be found here.

Emergency Soups: Just Add Water And Cook

The company that I purchase my food storage meals and soups from is called GoFoods. They sell a variety of premade soups that you just add water and cook for 20 minutes.

If you can boil water you can cook these delicious soups. This food is highly nutritious, with no genetically modified food (GMOs), no MSG and no trans fats. Packaged in a Mylar® bag, it’s compact and lightweight, too, making it easy to store. And it will retain its flavor and nutrition for a minimum of 15 to 25 years. The company will let you try the food before you buy it. You just pay the $9.95 shipping charge, and you will receive three free meals that serve four people each. That is a total of 12 servings for free.