The final BY: #53

My BY for the day: Can of evaporated milk

If I were adding anything to go along with this, it would be: This one has been visited again and again, but I would say that adding water would make it stretch for your cooking/drinking purposes...

Happy New Year, everyone! Wishing you all the best for 2013!

Buying ahead, blogging ahead: BY #52 for Dec. 30

My BY for the day: Can of chili

If I were adding anything to go along with this, it would be: For fun, I would say corn chips. Don't think I have mentioned that yet--hard to say without going back through 51 other BY posts. 51! Hard to believe that we are almost there... I personally like chili because it's filling and goes with a lot of other things like the previously mentioned (or not :) tamales, tortillas, hot dogs, and the like. I do think I have mentioned all of the above, except maybe the corn chips, but sometimes repetition is good, right? :)


Hope you are having a great weekend!

BY #51: More soup...

My BY for the day: Salisbury steak with mushrooms and onions soup (ready-to-eat)

If I were adding anything to go along with this, it would be: I would probably put it over potatoes, as previously mentioned on another similar BY, but I did want to mention that if you have similar-but-not-same soups, they can go well together. Ever open a can of chicken and rice soup, and a can of chicken noodle soup, when you meant to open two of the same kind of soup? This, or something similar has happened around here, and it has turned out ok. I would mix beef based soups together, or chicken based soups together, but I would hesitate to mix totally different soups together. They might turn out, but they might not. Haven't tried any weird combinations, but if I were hungry enough, I'm sure in an emergency I would eat them anyway...

Wow, only 2 BYs left! Anyone care to share something they added that wasn't a can? Or something that I haven't thought of that was? 

A miscalculation--and an opportunity

When I started the BY series, I said that if you did it daily, you would end up with 53 cans. Yesterday was BY #50, so with today, tomorrow, Sunday and Monday, you would end up with 54 cans if you are adding a can daily until the 31st (or enough for one daily). I could skip a day. I could have waited until Monday to say, "Oops--my mistaken math skills mean that I now have a day off! Woohoo!"  But no--I chose today, because tomorrow is Saturday, and if you have added a can today, it means you can add anything you want to tomorrow to your food storage, and it doesn't have to be a can.

Naturally, that is and has been and will always be true, since there is nothing binding you to the BY series. However, I think that tomorrow, when I am adding another can to my storage, it might be a good day for other people to get, may I suggest, water? Or oatmeal? Or wheat? Or beans? Or salt? Or oil? Or yeast? Or meat? Or powdered milk? (If you haven't heard about potentially rising milk prices, you might want to look at this article for an idea of what might be coming.) I'm thinking about adding more stuff to my food storage outside the BY series as well...

Or, you could take a day off. But may I suggest, perhaps, getting more water in your storage? Yeah, I would definitely suggest water.

Have a good Saturday!

BY #50: And more of the same...

My BY for the day: Campbell's chicken noodle soup (add water)

If I were adding anything to go along with this, it would be: Have I mentioned frozen pizza? I'm pretty sure I've mentioned a lot of other things to go with soup....

I find that as I see this series ending, that I am leaning more towards getting more "meal-in-a-can" cans--something that would be considered the main dish for a meal, and would be pretty satisfying if that was all there was to eat for that meal. As I know that I've mentioned before, this kind of soup is a particular favorite around here...

Hope your BYs are still going strong!

BY #49: Hopefully just an addition...

My BY for the day: Can of Great Northern beans

If I were adding anything to go along with this, it would be: Broth, soup, casserole, noodles--like the post title says, hopefully this would be an addition to something else, but if not, at least it would be good fiber and not too bad cold... (I think... :)

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! 

Blogging ahead: BY #48 for Christmas

My BY for the day: Canned pasta

If I were adding anything to go along with this, it would be: Maybe some of those Vienna sausages, or some fruit to up my number of food groups included in the meal...

Have a Merry Christmas! All the best to you and yours!

BY #47: Getting closer to the end of the series...

My BY for the day: Sirloin burger with country vegetables soup (ready-to-eat)

If I were adding anything to go along with this, it would be: A drink of water. (A not-so-subtle reminder that I hope you are storing water, water, water, along with your BYs... :)

Going with the easy again--and hoping that in an emergency, there is heat to warm the soup...

Buying ahead, blogging ahead: BY #46 for Dec. 23

My BY for the day: Can of mixed vegetables

If I were adding anything to go along with this, it would be: Oh, definitely Ramen noodles, but I think I have mentioned this before, as well as soups or casseroles. The bad news is I am running out of ideas, but the good news is if you are doing a can a day (or more) in this series, you already have quite a collection of cans for an emergency... :)

I usually think in terms of main dishes, but if you add vegetables to a main dish, you are likely to have more food groups on your plate--gotta love that.... :)

BY #45: No surprise--a repeat

My BY for the day: Baked potato soup (ready-to-eat)

If I were adding anything to go along with this, it would be: Enough cans so that I would only have to use and heat one pan for the entire group, if I were lucky enough to have a means to heat it in an emergency...

There's something to be said for being able to sit down with your group and eat one thing together, plus, fewer dishes to clean if you have the option of using a pan to heat it. But really, it's great to just have enough for everyone to eat, even if you have a number of different foods to choose from...

Hope you are enjoying your weekend!

BY #44: Better with a sandwich...

My BY for the day: Can of tomato soup (add water)

If I were adding anything to go along with this, it would be: Toasted cheese sandwiches...hence the post title. :)

Yeah, I almost didn't get this posted today. Almost doesn't count too often, as they say... :) And I have nothing more to say at this point.... :)

BY #43: Serving of fruit

My BY for the day: Can of pineapple

If I were adding anything to go along with this, it would be: I happen to like pineapple all by itself, and figure a can would be good for breakfast. For those who like it with ham, or Spam, you might want to change things up with the addition of a few chunks of pineapple. Not my preference, but hey, it's not all about me... :)

Yeah, not much more to add about that. Just again that you need to think about what you would need to store that would help fill you up and give you enough energy to deal with whatever you have to deal with in an emergency situation...

BY #42: Again with a possible main dish

My BY for the day: Can of chili

If I were adding anything to go along with this, it would be: Well, if I weren't planning on using this as a main dish, it sure would be nice to put it over some hot dogs that I was storing in the freezer...along with the buns in the freezer...and drinking the frozen juice from the freezer. Ah, one can dream, can't one?

If you are new to the BY series, or just starting, I would suggest cans that would possibly serve as a main dish, and if I were super-motivated and had the means to do so, I would also choose to get enough of the cans to feed everyone in the group I would be responsible for in an emergency situation. If you get a meal's worth of cans a day, starting today, you will still have enough for 11 days' worth of one good meal a day, or most likely be in a good situation for a 3-5 day emergency situation...

Hope everyone's BYs are going well!

BY #41: In unexpected places....

My BY for the day: Dinty Moore stew (15 oz.)

If I were adding anything to go along with this, it would be: Mashed potatoes so that I could make shepherd's pie--think I may have mentioned this before in this series, but this is our stew of choice when it comes to shepherd's pie. I remember pretty early on in my marriage when I tried another type of stew over potatoes, and the results, shall we say, were less than encouraging. Yeah, we abandoned that idea pretty quickly, but when I saw the recipe for shepherd's pie on the back of the Dinty Moore stew, I tried it, and the type of stew made all the difference. Can't imagine that just having the potatoes over the stew instead of under it made all that much of a difference, but  I guess one never knows... :)

As for the title, I got this can for $1.50 in a store where I had gone Christmas shopping. You know, one of those stores that is basically for clothes, accessories, toys, etc., but also manages to put aside a couple of shelves of food that almost seem like an afterthought. The Dinty Moore stew was on sale for 2/$3.00, where it apparently is usually $2.19/can, if memory serves. Just for kicks I had looked at the limited food shelves at a similar store, and they had "cream of" soups for $.59/can, and the cheapest I have seen them recently where I usually grocery shop was $.75/can. So if you need a can of something for your BY series or otherwise, you might want to check out the cans available where you are doing other shopping--you might be pleasantly surprised...

BY #40: Enough to go around...

My BY for the day: Campbell's chicken noodle soup (add water)

If I were adding anything to go along with this, it would be: The standard crackers, but if I wanted more options I would throw in some peanut butter to go along with them. That jar (or jars) of peanut butter would probably additionally come in handy to go on apples, the defrosted bread, or by the spoonful...

With the group I would probably be planning to feed, I would need more than one can of soup to feed them,  and even with a small group, seconds are nice, right? Whether you're adding more sides, or more soup, make sure that there will be enough to go around...

Buying ahead, blogging ahead: BY #39 for Dec. 16

My BY for the day: Canned chicken

If I were adding anything to go along with this, it would be: Homemade bread for a sandwich, maybe? I think I've already mentioned casseroles and soups, and cracker sandwiches. In any case, it's a good protein.

Noticed when I picked this up that there are actually cans of canned chicken that are already flavored. Since I don't usually use canned chicken, and the cans I have are really for storage, I don't think I'm brave enough to stick a flavored (one example was lemon chicken, if memory serves) can that I've never tried before into my storage for the BY series. Maybe another time...

But I am curious--have you tried the flavored canned chicken? Did you like it? Would love to hear...

BY #38: Just peachy...

My BY for the day: Can of sliced peaches

If I were adding anything to go along with this, it would be: I think I have already mentioned cold cereal, oatmeal, granola bars--anything that would reasonably go along with it, and add some calories as well, since a serving doesn't have that many. The can I have says that there are 80 calories per 1/2 cup serving, with about 3 1/2 servings per can. Eating a whole can might be somewhat filling, but you can s-t-r-e-t-c-h your cans by dividing the servings and adding them to something else.

If I ever repeat myself on these posts, please forgive the repetition--can you believe we're already on day 38? This is the most consecutive blogging I've done in a long time, if not ever. I realize that it is really basic, but what I want from it is for people to either bulk up the food they have in storage with some easy-to-fix, everyday type, easy-to-eat items, or to just start some storage. Long time readers may recall that dairy products have long given me sticker shock in terms of prices--and not so long ago I saw a 2 lb. block of cheese for $9.99. It was, thankfully, not the only cheese available, and there were some 2 lb. blocks for closer to $7.00, but to me that is still really high, and this is at the store that I consider to have the best dairy prices in my area. The way prices are going up, and the drought, and other factors combined make me worry about other items giving me sticker shock sometime in the not-so-distant future. Just hoping that I (and everyone else) will be able to have some storage that will help fill in the financial gaps if the prices do go up...

I don't know what to say about what happened yesterday, except that my heart and prayers go out to everyone affected in Connecticut.

BY #37: Again with the easy...

My BY for the day: Can of sirloin burger with country vegetables soup

If I were adding anything to go along with this, it would be: You could put this over any kind of potatoes, I would think--baked, mashed, boiled. Or noodles or rice, but personally my first thought would be potatoes...sounds familiar, huh? :)

Yeah, another soup. Just pick up a couple of extra cans of the kind you like next time you go shopping, and put them on the storage shelf. Just don't forget to rotate them every once in a while--newest cans go in the back... (this from a person who is not the best at rotating the storage, but who can always get better... :)

BY #36: Sometimes it's all about easy...

My BY for the day: Can of potato soup (ready-to-eat)

If I were adding anything to go along with this, it would be: The usual--crackers, cheese, bread--in other words, anything else that I could get my hands on in my pantry/hopefully still working refrigerator that could feasibly go with soup in a semi-normal situation.

You can buy a bunch of things that you could put together in a soup, as mentioned in earlier BYs, or you can have cans of soup on hand that are ready to eat, and there are advantages to each. If you have three different items that could be combined to make soup, and you just didn't happen to be ready for an emergency when an emergency struck, you could s-t-r-e-t-c-h out those ingredients to cover more than one meal/snack. Combining them in any situation would be more work. If, however, you have a can of soup ready to eat, you eliminate the work aspect, but when that can is gone, it is gone--no saving of other cans for another snack/meal.

I guess it's just more convenient to be prepared, so that you can choose between the easy and the not-so-easy... :) Gotta love options.

BY #35: Separate or together...

My BY for the day: Chicken Vienna sausages

If I were adding anything to go along with this, it would be: Oh, maybe that bean/broth soup I wrote about in the last post... :) I haven't tried a soup like that, but it sounds pretty good to me. And, as the post title indicates, any of the three cans mentioned (beans/broth/sausages) could be eaten together or apart. But let's say you can't buy a can a day, or want to reduce the number of cans you would use per day--if you combine some of your cans to make a soup or casserole, it might work to feed more than one person, and you can make your cans last longer, depending on the size of the group you are responsible for.

Well, I hope people are still participating in the BY series. Better yet, maybe they were able to get all 53 items at once, so now they don't have to worry about it anymore, and are now adding to the cans at their leisure. Or maybe they will wait until Dec. 31st to get the last cans into storage. Or maybe they were prepared before I started this series. So many possibilities... :) Just hope that there will be more people prepared for emergencies than not...

BY #34: Putting it all together

My BY for the day: Can of navy beans

If I were adding anything to go along with this, it would be: One of the cans of chicken broth that I have, if I can spare it for a meal, and if there's hopefully a heat source to improve the meal overall. I actually thought I would do this before I ever saw the recipe for soup on the side of this particular can of beans, but that recipe asks for a lot more ingredients than just broth and beans. I do think that it is fitting to mention that the recipe there calls for 3 cans of beans/2 cans of chicken broth...I wouldn't hesitate to just use what I had available, no matter what the ratio was, in an emergency.

Do you have any food storage-friendly recipes that requires all cans? One I think that could be useful, though I have not had this in mind, is this one for taco soup. I've never used it with canned chicken, but I would use canned chicken in place of the beef in a can-only situation. Other meals that I might make that have very few/no ingredients other than cans are:

---Soup --you could get enough soup for lunches and dinners (and, let's face it, even breakfast if you wanted) for three days and call it good, but it might get a little monotonous.

---Shepherd's pie made by your favorite stew covered by some mashed potatoes would be good--two ingredients, if you get mashed potatoes that are of the "just add water" variety.

---Canned tamales covered with chili sounds like it would work out in a pinch, and as mentioned in an earlier post,  I think it could be heated in aluminum foil in an alternative heating source if necessary. Haven't tried it, but I wouldn't hesitate to try...

---You can always eat cold cereal dry, but it might not be the meal of choice. No refrigeration needed for canned milk--but you do have to have the cereal stored also. Two ingredients isn't so bad...

---There are "just add water" pancake mixes, and if you have a heating source and cookware that can be used on a grill, etc., you can have a "typical" breakfast food with two ingredients, if you call water an ingredient. I would call it that if it helps you to put more in storage... :)

How about you? What do you have planned in case you have to use your cans in a 3-day (ish) emergency? 

BY #33: Going tropical...

My BY for the day: Can of pineapple

If I were adding anything to go along with this, it would be: Well, kind of drawing a blank after the other things I have mentioned, but I sure do like pineapple juice. I might add some dried fruit for variety to my storage, but when you add dried fruit, don't forget to add more water....

How are your BYs coming along?

Buying ahead, blogging ahead: BY #32 for Dec. 9

My BY for the day: Canned chicken

If I were adding anything to go along with this, it would be: The ingredients to make this dough so I could put the meat and whatever little things I could think of to make it taste better (olives, perhaps? :) into some kind of "chicken bomb" meatpie kind of thing.

No time like the present to say that if you like tuna, it would be a great thing to add to your BY list. I probably won't since I don't like tuna, but who knows--it may show up sometime anyway... :)

BY #31: Got milk...again

My BY for the day: Evaporated milk

If I were adding anything to this, it would be: If I weren't going to use the milk for, say, breakfast--over cereal, oatmeal, etc., I would probably use it with macaroni and cheese or the like.

Wow, 31 days in. If you were doing a meal's worth of cans a day, rather than a can a day,  you would now have enough food stored to have at least one decent meal a day for a month, and it wouldn't matter which month it was... :) That may not have been the goal--it would obviously be more ideal to have more than one meal a day--but it sure shows how quickly putting aside little food can add up...

BY #30: Favorites mean a lot

My BY for the day: Campbell's chicken noodle soup (add water)

If I were adding anything to go along with this, it would be: Saltines, and oh yes, if it were available, cheese...

You may have noticed that I very rarely mention the brand name of products, but I do so here for a specific reason. One of my children loves, loves, loves, Campbell's chicken noodle soup. We all like it, but this child is my pickiest eater, and yet it seems like there is always a "yes" when this particular brand is an option. Hopefully, there would be a way to heat it in an emergency situation, because we haven't tried it cold...still, having a favorite has to increase the odds for actual food consumption, right? :)

Along with BY #29, where the subject was adding things to improve what you are having (check the great comments there!) storing brands that you know that people you are responsible for will like will make things a lot easier when it comes time to eating them, emergency situation or not.

In our case we won't forget the Campbell's chicken noodle soup--what will you be sure to include?

 

BY #29: On the differing tastes thing...

My BY for the day: Can of black olives

If I were adding anything to go along with this, it would be: Chili, or tamales, maybe. Something that was substantial to eat, because olives aren't much of a meal, truth be told.

Oh, but my children love olives--and if they were tired of everything else, they might be a little more interested in whatever it was with a few olives thrown in. To be honest, I'll have to throw in another can of soup or what have you next time I stock up on more cans to make up for this BY, but I think there is a point to be made. What would cheer you up if you were in the middle of an emergency and living off canned foods? What would make your meal just a little better? What could you open that the people that you are responsible for would like enough that they would eat a can of that even if they were tired of canned food?

According to this series, whatever it is has to be in a can, so here I'm going with black olives. I think the can was $.98, and yeah, I'm thinking that whenever we open it, it will be enjoyed...

What about you? Everyone has their own tastes and preferences. Do you have anything that comes canned that is not really a meal, but is something that would either enhance a meal, or bring a smile to those tired of canned food already? Would love to hear what you would buy for your shelf... :)

BY #28: Short and sweet

My BY for the day: Can of chili

If I were adding anything to go along with this, it would be: Crackers, tamales, baked potatoes? The great thing about chili is that if you store enough for the number of people you are feeding, it is a meal all by itself...

And that's about all I have to say about that... :)

BY #27: Making your cans s-t-r-e-t-c-h

My BY for the day: Can of chicken broth

If I were adding anything to go along with this, it would be: Heat, and the ingredients in the recipe left under BY #25 by Ejemory, who kindly gives a simple recipe for dumplings that is as follows:


"My mom used Bisquick for her dumplings and that's what I used for a while. Then I found a recipe (and I am afraid I don't remember where) and found out I could do it for less money.
3 T shortening
1 1/2 c flour (one of the few times I prefer good old white all purpose flour)
2 t baking powder
3/4 t salt
3/4 c milk

Cut shortening into flour, baking powder, and salt until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Stir in milk. Drop dough by spoonfuls onto hot meat or vegetables in boiling stew. Cook uncovered 10 minutes. Cover and cook 10 minutes longer. Enjoy.

You can substitute oil for the shortening, whole wheat flour for the white, and powdered milk for regular milk. "

Or, the ingredients in the recipe for noodles, also left by Ejemory (have I mentioned that Ejemory's comments are awesome?) also under the post for BY #25 (Have you noticed that BY #25 is on fire when it comes to comments?):

"Chicken and noodles. Homemade noodles aren't difficult, just a little time-consuming.

1 c flour (again I like white all purpose flour for this)
1 t salt
1 egg
Mix well together. Add cream or milk (or even water) a tablespoonful at a time until you have a fairly stiff dough. Knead several times till all ingredients are incorporated. Let dough rest for 10 minutes or so. If you plan to leave it for more than just a few minutes, cover with plastic wrap. Roll dough out thin and cut into strips. You can immediately cook them in boiling water or broth or you can thoroughly dry them and use them another time. Ok, I know what I'm making for dinner the next time I cook this week!"

Thanks so much again, Ejemory!

If, in addition to your cans you add some basic ingredients, like flour, salt, baking powder, etc., (and maybe in the case of the noodles, some dried eggs) you can make simple recipes like those above, and have a more filling meal, and really s-t-r-e-t-c-h your cans to last longer. Emergencies do not always include a loss of power, and it is good to have some easy, few ingredient recipes on hand to use when you can. It's also good to have an alternative way to heat food (grill, firepit, etc.) if you can work this into your preparation resources, but it sure is nice when the power stays on...

Hope everyone's BYs are going well! We're about 1/2 way through the series....







 

BY #26: A two-in-a-row (for a reason)

My BY for the day: Canned chicken

If I were adding anything to go along with this, it would be: Oh, anything that was mentioned in the comments on BY #25... :)

Thanks to Ejemory, who may have unknowingly encouraged me to have canned carrots as one of my future BYs by adding this comment:

"Chicken and dumplings! Of course, I would want it hot. I use a can of canned chicken, a can of carrots, a can of potatoes (ah, potatoes again!), a couple of cans of chicken broth and whatever else I feel like adding. I make dumplings and place on top of the boiling soup, 10 minutes uncovered and 10 minutes covered. Yum!"

Sounds good if you have heat to make it with, and if you know how to make dumplings. Looks like I have more to learn... :)

Thanks also to TM Frugal Gourmet, at TM Preparedness, who left this comment:

"Ha ha!! I will hopefully be canning chicken here at home next week! Too funny. As you may rememember, I can a lot of our food to make sure we can eat it with out having things "added".
I can: chicken, turkey, pulled pork, stew meat, hamburger, etc.. that is all pressure canner stuff. I also make my own broths and can those as well.
So what to do with it? EASY!!!
Chicken salad (mayo, mustard, pickles)
Chicken gravy (make a cream of chicken soup basically)
Chicken soup
Chicken pot pie
BBQ Chicken pizza
Noodle casseroles
Baked potatoes topped with ranch, canned chicken and bacon (favorite around here!!)
Pockets (bread dough stuffed with meat, cheese, and sauce, sealed and baked)
Chicken and Dumplings
Quesadillas

Lots of stuff.. :)"

I'm especially intrigued by the chicken on potatoes, since if you didn't have the traditional heating methods you could wrap them in foil and cook them in the coals of a fire and the like. I had thought about doing that with chili, since we have chili on potatoes sometimes anyway, but the combination of chicken, bacon, and ranch sounds good...

Ah, more reasons I say it pays to read the comments...Thanks again to Ejemory and TM Frugal Gourmet!



 

Buying ahead, blogging ahead: BY #25 for Dec. 2

My BY for the day: Canned chicken

If I were adding anything to go along with this, it would be: Perhaps some of that bread that is hopefully stored in the freezer, or some of those crackers that were stored to go along with some of those cans of soup. Mini sandwiches of sorts... Or throw it in with some Ramen noodles if you have heat. Ah, gotta love options... )

What would you eat with your canned chicken? The more ideas the merrier...

BY #24: Something a little different...

My BY for the day: Can of refried beans

If I were adding anything to go along with this, it would be: Corn chips, or taco or tostada shells to spread the beans on. At the moment I don't know what the shelf life on the corn chips, etc., but they would be easy to rotate if you serve tacos or nachos at your house occasionally. Yeah, I think that some kind of corn item would definitely enhance the cold refried bean experience, but even if you don't add anything to this, the beans would be filling just eating them with a spoon.

I have bought another can of soup ahead, but I thought I would wait at least a couple of days to post another one... :) Hope you are enjoying your weekend!