Food Storage for the Insanely Busy

(especially those working 9 to 5)

One common complaint about traditional food storage foods is "They take so long to cook!" Everyone's busy, and sometimes it's hard to find time to cook from scratch -- especially if you're away all day and get home exhausted, in search of a quick, easy dinner. If this sounds like familiar, this newsletter's especially for you. It focuses on

• Foods you can prepare ahead of time
• Foods you can prepare in just a few minutes
• Foods you can prepare from make-ahead mixes

All of these recipes are geared to fit a schedule where you only have a few minutes to cook -- in the evening, the morning, or right before dinner.

The Crockpot is Your Best Friend

 

If you have no time to cook, but you'd like dinner to be ready the moment you walk in the door, the crockpot is your best friend! The crockpot is wonderfully well-suited to preparing whole grains and legumes that require long, slow cooking. It's perfect for dishes like soups and stews, too. These taste great on a cool autumn afternoon! Here are some easy make-ahead meals for the crockpot that you can prepare the night before, let cook on low all day, and have ready for dinner the minute you walk in the door. Notice that all of these recipes follow a common pattern: the night before, you start the ingredient(s) that require long cooking (like beans or tough stew meat). Before you go to bed, you add the other ingredients and turn the crockpot to low. Your dinner cooks all night and the next day, and is ready when you are. Once you understand this pattern, you can adapt similar recipes to the basic method, making it easy to fix dinner ahead, with only minimal effort.

Baked Beans with Ham. About 6 or 7 pm the night before, put ingredients 1 C dry white beans and 3 C water in crockpot and turn to high. Before you go to bed, drain the beans, set to low, and add 3/4 C catsup, 1/4 C molasses, and 1 tsp dry mustard. In the morning, check and add water if necessary. Let cook on low all day.
Chili. About 6 or 7 pm the night before, put ingredients 1 C dry pinto or kidney beans and 3 C water in crockpot and turn to high. Before you go to bed, drain the beans, set to low, and add 1 large can stewed tomatoes, 1 lb cooked, crumbled hamburger, and chili powder, cumin, and garlic to taste.
Beef Barley Stew. The night before you want to serve the stew, put 1-2 lbs stew meat,1 can mixed vegetables,1/3 C dry barley, beef bouillon to taste, and 1 quart water in the crockpot on low. In the morning, add 1/2 T cornstarch that's been mixed with a little water. Let cook on low all day.

"Dumping" Dinner

This section offers recipes for dinners you can prepare in minutes, using canned, frozen, and dried foods that are easy to keep in your food storage. You just "dump" in the ingredients, then let them marinate or cook in the same pot, making for fast, easy cleanup. (All canned goods are drained before use.)

Colorful Summer Bean Salad

1/2 C sugar

1/2 C oil

1/2 C vinegar

1/2 C water

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp salt

1 Tbsp Worcestershire

3 cans beans, your choice (try garbanzo, kidney, & black)

1 can green beans

1 can corn

1/2 of a chopped onion

Combine ingredients and marinate.

Minestrone Soup (makes lots!)

1 can green beans

1 can corn

1 can garbanzo beans

1 can kidney beans

1 small pkg macaroni

1 lb hamburger, cooked & drained

handful of chopped carrots (optional)

1 quart water

1 Tbsp dried parsley

1 tsp beef bouillon

1/2 tsp basil

1/2 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp garlic powder

Combine ingredients in large soup pan and cook until macaroni and carrots are done.

Turkey-Noodle Casserole (serves 4)

1 can turkey, drained

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1/2 can peas (save the rest for soup)

1 cup dry noodles (or small shells or macaroni)

1/8 C dried or 1/2 fresh onion, diced

1/8 tsp salt

Combine ingredients in covered casserole and microwave for 25 minutes on high.

Make-Ahead Mixes

Another way to use your food storage is to prepare dry mixes ahead of time, especially for things you like to bake (bread, muffins, cakes, pancakes, etc.). Just combine all of the dry ingredients for a recipe in a Zip-Loc bag. For even more convenience, add a label that tells the remaining ingredients and gives instructions. Here are a few ideas to get you started.

Flatbread

This recipe for Italian flat bread (focaccia) is remarkably versatile and easy to make.

Mix:

1 1/2 C flour

1 Tbsp sugar

1 Tbsp yeast

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp of rosemary, basil, red pepper, or any seasoning you like -- or combine seasonings!

To make the flatbread:

Combine the mix with 1/2 C water & 1/8 C oil. Mix til it forms a ball. Pat it out on a small cookie sheet or pizza pan and let rise 1/2 hr. Bake in 425 oven for 15 minutes.

Variations: This is good with parmesan or grated cheddar cheese on top. Try tomato sauce and cheese, and you've got pizza. You can try other toppings, too.

Add an additional 3 T sugar (1/4 C total) & omit savory spices for sweet bread. Sprinkle with cinnamon, raisins, dates, icing, anything you like.

Basic Muffins (1 dozen)

Mix:

1 1/2 C flour (preferably whole wheat)

1/4 C sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon (optional)

2 Tbsp powdered milk

To make the muffins:

Combine the mix with 1/4 C oil, 1 egg, and 3/4 C water. Bake at 375 for 10-14 minutes, til done.

Variations: The variations are infinite. Try about 1/2 C of almost any fruit; 1/2 C nuts; and/or abt 1 tsp of any sweet spices you like.

BBQ Beans, Sourdough, and Food Substitutes from Food Storage

expanded food storage

Really Easy Barbeque Beans

These beans take maybe 5 minutes of hands-on time, and taste really good on a chilly day. They're also very inexpensive. Good with hot cornbread!

• The night before you want to serve the beans, put 2 C of small white beans in a crockpot, then add enough water to cover the beans by about 3 inches. Cook on low all night.
• The next morning, drain the beans and rinse. Using a 1-cup measuring cup, measure 3/4 C barbeque sauce, then fill to the top with molasses for 1/4 C molasses. (This way, the molasses won't stick to the measuring cup, making for easy cleanup.) Dump the mixture into the crockpot and stir.
•  Let the beans cook in the sauce all day on low, and they'll be ready for supper.

Yummy Sourdough Bread

 

Sourdough bread is easy and inexpensive to make (cost ranges from about 20 to 30 cents for a big round crusty loaf). Although the time from start to finish is long, the hands-on time is minimal.

1. First make a starter. Mix 2 C flour with 2 C water and 2 T yeast. Let the starter sit for two days, stirring occasionally.
2. Dissolve 1 T salt in 1 C water. Add 2 C starter and 5½ C flour. Stir and knead into a ball.
3. Let rise overnight at room temperature.
4. The next morning, punch dough down and form into two round loaves.
5. Let the loaves rise for about 4 hrs. (Sourdough takes a long time to rise but it isn't fussy.)
6. Put a pan of water in the oven and preheat to 400. Bake bread for 35 minutes.
7. Replenish the starter by adding 1 3/4 C water and 1 3/4 C flour.

Low-cost Substitutes from Food Storage

You can use standard food storage items to make some useful, low-cost substitutes.

Note: the following ideas come from the Tightwad Gazette, a series of books by Amy Dacyczyn.

A Dozen Eggs for Twenty Cents

Did you know there's a whole-grain egg substitute you can use in baking that has no cholesterol and costs about twenty cents for a dozen "eggs"? It's soybean flour!

1 egg = 1 heaping T soy flour + 1 T water

 

I tried this in muffins, and it worked! A pound of soybean flour costs sixty cents out at Good Earth Natural foods, and 12 heaping tablespoons of soy flour measured 5 oz, so a dozen soybean "eggs" costs just under twenty cents. Plus, the soy flour has no cholesterol, and it provides high-quality, complete protein.

Taking Stock

"Too often we bask in our comfortable complacency and rationalize that the ravages of war, economic disaster, famine and earthquake cannot happen here... Those who smugly think these calamities will not happen, that they somehow will be set aside because of the righteousness of the Saints, are deceived and will rue the day they harbored such a delusion. The Lord has warned and forewarned us against a day of great tribulation, and has given us counsel, through His servants, on how we can be prepared for these difficult times. Have we heeded His counsel?"
- President Ezra Taft Benson, October 1980 Conference

The prophets have told us repeatedly to store a year's supply of food and other essentials. Some of these warnings, like the one above, are worded quite strongly. It's time to take stock, commit to follow the counsel of the Prophets, and acquire a year's supply. Doing so is not an easy task. But many, many Saints can testify that blessings follow commitment.  

Commit to get your year's supply, and begin working on it today.

What You Need

"We have never laid down an exact formula for what anybody should store...Perhaps if we think less in terms of ... what we ordinarily would use, and think more in terms of what it would take to keep us alive in case we didn't have anything else to eat, that last would be very easy to put in storage for a year."
- Harold B. Lee, October 1966 Welfare Conf.
The Church has never told us precisely what we should store. But they have given recommendations for basic, life-sustaining food storage, as mentioned by President Lee above. These recommendations have recently been modified somewhat. The basic recommended one-year food supply for an adult is now as follows (approximate costs for  Provo, Utah - are in the last column):

Item	Amount	Approximate cost (in bulk)
Wheat/Whole Grains	400 lbs	$120.00
Oil/Fats	4 gallons	$25.00
Beans/legumes	60 lbs	$25.00
Powdered Milk	16 lbs	$25.00
Honey/Sugar	60 lbs	$25.00 (sugar) $60.00 (honey)
Salt	10 lbs	$2.50
Water (2-week supply)	14 gallons	cost of containers
Garden seeds (non-hybrid)	variety	varies
		$222.50 to $257.50

Based on these figures, a year's supply of basic food storage for a family of four adults would cost just about $1000. This may sound prohibitive. But doing something is better than doing nothing. And remember, blessings follow commitment. 

Make a plan based on your circumstances and needs, then determine to follow it. Remember, the brethren have warned us not to go into debt to purchase food storage. Most of us won't be able to get it all at once; but little things really add up. No matter how slowly you have to go, you'll get there if you just keep going. Here are some thoughts and ideas to help you along the way.

Small Sacrifices

Acquired over the course of a year, one year's worth of basic food storage for one adult would cost approximately $20 a month. What would free up $20 a month?

• Skipping 2 movie tickets, popcorn, and soda
• Substituting cooked cereal for 6 boxes of cold
• Skipping one $10/person restaurant meal for two
• Choosing not to buy a pair of inexpensive shoes
• Fixing sack lunches instead of eating out

Family Commitment, Family Sacrifices

If the entire family is committed to getting their food storage, another idea might be to forego things like vacations, birthday and Christmas presents, etc. Then put the cost towards food storage until you've acquired a year's supply.

A Bite at a Time

If the idea of acquiring a full year's supply of even basic foods is too daunting to face all at once, you may wish to think in terms of acquiring three or six months' worth of food. Here are some tables to help you plan.

3-month Supply of Basic Foods for One Adult
Item	Amount	Approximate cost (in bulk)
Wheat/Whole Grains	133 lbs	$40.00
Oil/Fats	1.3 gallons	$6.00
Beans/legumes	15 lbs	$6.00
Powdered Milk	5 lbs	$6.00
Honey/Sugar	15 lbs	$6.00 (sugar) $15.00 (honey)
Salt	2.5 lbs	$0.60
Water (2-week supply)	4 gallons	cost of containers
Garden seeds (non-hybrid)	variety	varies
		$65 - $75

6-month Supply of Basic Foods for One Adult
Item	Amount	Approximate cost (in bulk)
Wheat/Whole Grains	200 lbs	$60.00
Oil/Fats	2 gallons	$12.50
Beans/legumes	30 lbs	$12.50
Powdered Milk	8 lbs	$12.50
Honey/Sugar	30 lbs	$12.50 (sugar) $30.00 (honey)
Salt	5 lbs	$1.20
Water (2-week supply)	8 gallons	cost of containers
Garden seeds (non-hybrid)	variety	varies
		$112 - $130

Perhaps we can't do everything, especially not all at once. But certainly we can do something, and we can do it right now. Small actions and small sacrifices can really add up. Perhaps most important, as we give our very best effort, we prepare the way for the Lord to see that effort and bless us -- sometimes far beyond our own natural ability.

Eat What You Store, Store What You Eat

"Eat what you store, store what you eat," goes the old saying. But for many of us, this is easier said than done. If we buy a year's supply of traditional, basic food storage, it may go to waste because we don't like it or know how to use it. But acquiring a year's supply of regular groceries is a daunting, if not impossible, task.
What to do? One idea is to approach food storage from both directions: have some storage that consists of the traditional whole grains, powdered milk, honey, and salt. And have some storage that consists of the foods your family enjoys and uses every day.
This newsletter approaches food storage from the second direction, storing what you eat. Here are two ways to identify your own personal food storage staples.

Make a List of Favorite Dishes

Most people have 12 to 20 favorite dishes that they eat often. These are the old standbys that you fix all the time. They're what you eat when there's "nothing to eat," when you're in a hurry, or when you just want a dinner no one will complain about.
You may not be able to identify these favorite dishes off the top of your head, but if you think about it, you know what they are. (Our family's favorites include things like beef stew, chicken soup, and spaghetti.)
To identify your favorite dishes, get a stack of index cards and keep it handy in the kitchen. Over the next few weeks or a month, note what you're fixing for dinner, one dish to a card. Also jot down the ingredients for each dish (and the recipe, if there is one). These ingredients are your family's staple foods. If you keep all or most of them in your food storage, you'll always have something you can fix for dinner. Here is a form to help you identify you personal food storage staples.

Your Personal Food Storage Staples (worksheet)
Favorite dish	Ingredients	Number of times served	Quantity to buy
(example) Spaghetti	1 large can spaghetti sauce 1 lb hamburger 4 oz dry spaghetti	12 (once a month for a year)	12 cans spaghetti sauce 12 lbs hamburger 3 lbs dry spaghetti

To make things even easier, you may wish to keep recipes for your standbys in a recipe file or book (you can use one of the small 4 x 6 photo albums that holds 100 photos, or those "sticky" magnetic albums we're not supposed to keep pictures in). When you're stumped for dinner, you can just take a quick look through your recipes, then take a trip to the food storage room. You'll never be stuck with nothing to fix for dinner, and you'll rotate your food storage automatically.

Make a Price Book

 

(note: Portions of this idea come from Amy Dacyczyn's "The Tightwad Gazette" book I.)
This second method of identifying personal food storage staples kills two birds with one stone: first, you get a comprehensive list of what your family needs and uses, and second, you get all of these items at the lowest possible price. What is this method? It's a price book. Here's how it works.
Get a looseleaf binder, small or large, whatever works for you. Then, every week when the grocery sale flyers come with the newspaper, take about 15 minutes to scan through them. When you see something that you use, note the item at the top right-hand corner of a page, one item to a page, and arrange items alphabetically. Then note the date, the store, the brand, and the price.
After about 3 months, your price book will show you what you use and should therefore store. Before long, you'll know the best prices for the things you use. Over time, you'll even be able to track the price cycles, so you'll also know the best time to buy.
When prices are low, buy in bulk. Note your purchase in the price book, including the date and the quantity purchased. This will help you to track how much you use of any given item, and identify how much you should store.
A price book takes some time to compile initially, but only a little time after that. Considering that it can save you hundreds of dollars, and help you identify your family's needs precisely, the time is well-spent. Here is an example page.
Canned Corn
4/14 Savemart Green Giant 14 oz .69
6/17 Winco Del Monte 14 oz .59
7/1 Raleys Generic 14 oz .25
7/1 Bought 1 case

Water, an Essential Food Storage Item

You can live a lot longer without food than you can without water. So water is perhaps the most essential item in your food storage.

Store at Least 14 Gallons Per Person (a 2-Week Supply)

The recommended amount of water storage is a two- week supply, which is a minimum of 14 gallons per person. Seven gallons is for drinking (the average person needs at least 2 quarts of water per day), and seven gallons is for sanitary purposes. If you have dehydrated items in your food storage, you may wish to store additional water.

Water Containers

DO use

• Containers that are thoroughly cleaned and rinsed, non-toxic, non-corrodible, and tightly-sealed.
• Ideally, use a size container that you can carry when it's full of water.
• Good containers are 2-liter pop bottles, food-grade plastic buckets or drums (available at many emergency-supply stores).

DO NOT use

• Containers that are not intended for food -- they'll leach chemicals into your water.
• Plastic milk jugs (they will eventually leak).

LABEL containers clearly: WATER + the date

Sterilizing Water

You can store hard water straight from the tap (the Utah State Extension Service says Provo water contains adequate chlorine for storage and can be used as is without adding additional Chlorox or Purex). Water stored this way should be rotated every 6 months.

For long-term storage, you can sterilize water as follows.

• Use clean, well-rinsed canning jars.
• Fill jars with room-temperature hard water, leaving 1" headspace at the top of the jar.
• Place new, hot, clean sterilized lids on the jar and screw on tightly.
• Place jars into canner in hot water (do not place in boiling water or jars will break). Hot water should cover the jars an inch or two.
• Cover canner and bring water to a rolling boil.
• Allow water to boil gently but steadily for 20 minutes.

Where to Store Water

• Store water out of direct sunlight.
• Store in a cool, dark, dry area
• Do not store directly on concrete floors

• Do not store near gasoline, kerosene, pesticides, etc. These substances emit vapors that can permeate plastic and affect water.

Maintaining & Rotating Stored Water

• Check containers every few months for leakage or other problems.

• Rotate unsterilized water every 6 months.

Emergency Sources of Water

• Hot water tank, pipes, ice cubes, waterbeds
• Rainwater, streams, rivers, ponds, lakes
• Do not drink flood water or water that is dark or has an odor
• As a last resort, you can use water in the reservoir tank of the toilet (not the bowl)
• To minimize the amount of water your body needs, reduce activity and stay cool

Purifying Water

The safest way to purify water is to boil it for 3-5 minutes. You can also disinfect it with regular household bleach, but use only clear water. Use 16 drops of bleach (1/4 tsp) per gallon. Stir and let stand for 30 minutes. Water should have a slight bleach odor. If not, repeat dosage and let stand another 15 minutes. Because bleach does lose strength over time, bleach used to purify water should be less than two years old.

"The Prophet Said to Plant a Garden"

"We encourage you to grow all the food that you feasibly can on your own property. . . Grow vegetables and eat them from your own yard. Even those residing in apartments or condominiums can generally grow a little food in pots or planters. Study the best methods of producing your own foods." - President Spencer W. Kimball

Springtime is time to think about gardening! Whether you love to garden, feel guilty about not gardening, or have just never thought about it, being able to grow some of your own food is an important part of emergency preparedness and provident living.
You don't have to have a large garden and spend your life canning to enjoy the benefits of growing some of your own food. Everyone has different needs and lifestyles, and gardening can fit them all.

Container Gardening

Perhaps your time is limited, your health is failing, or you plan to travel extensively over the summer. In this case, a container garden might be a good option. Why not plant your food in pots? For example, you could have one zucchini, one tomato, and one cucumber plant. Set up on a drip watering system with an automatic timer, this arrangement would require minimal care, but could still provide a lot of fresh food.

Small Gardens

Even a garden as small as 2' by 3' can provide a family with lots of fresh food. Sample plans for relatively small gardens are given on page 3 of the Essentials of Home Production and Storage booklet.

Sneaking Gardens In

If you don't want to have a garden per se, how about "sneaking" a couple of vegetable plants into the landscaping? There's always the zucchini, of course. And there are other bush-type plants that yield a lot of vegetables, like yellow squash, tomatoes and cucumbers in wire cages. A row of radishes or lettuce could be planted early on; they'll be gone by the time the regular plantings begin to bush out.

Free Resources

Many books on gardening are available at the library. They cover everything you could ever want to know, from container gardening to organic gardening to gardening for complete self-sufficiency. All sorts free of information is also available on the Internet. You might want to start with some of the major seed companies' sites, such as PARKSEED.COM or BURPEE.COM. Free information brochures are also available at many garden centers.

Powdered Milk

http://www.hashworks.com 


Powdered milk is a basic food storage item. 
But what do you do with all that powdered milk in your food storage, especially if your family won't drink mixed milk? 

Lots of things -- read on! (Note: recipes in this newsletter use non-instant powdered milk.)

Reconstituting Powdered Milk

To reconstitute powdered milk, follow the instructions for the milk you have. Usually, the proportions are 1/4 to 1/3 C powdered milk to 1 C of water. My family can't tell the difference between regular milk and milk mixed ½ and ½ with reconstituted powdered milk. Sometimes you can minimize the powdered milk taste by making the powdered milk mix a little weaker - for example, mix 3/4 C powdered milk with 1 quart water.

Baking with Powdered Milk

Use powdered milk whenever you bake. You can't tell the difference, and it's usually cheaper than regular milk: A cup of milk made from powdered milk costs about 7½ cents (dry milk at $1.20 /lb); a cup of regular milk costs about 12½ cents (at a cost of $2/gallon).

When you bake with powdered milk, use the same amounts you'd use if you were reconstituting it for drinking (1/4 to 1/3 cup of powdered milk to a cup of water -- for example, if a recipe calls for a cup of milk, you would use a cup of water and 1/4 to 1/3 cup of dry milk powder).
One advantage of baking with powdered milk is that you can include milk in dry mixes. For example, say you want to make bread in your bread machine using the timer, and the recipe calls for milk. If you use powdered milk instead of fresh, the bread mix can sit without spoiling.

Evaporated Milk

To make evaporated milk, mix 1 C water with 2/3 C powdered milk.

Sweetened Condensed Milk

To make sweetened condensed milk, mix

½ C very hot water

1 C powdered milk

1 C sugar

1 T butter

Bring to a boil and stir to dissolve sugar & powdered milk.

Truffles

For a decadent treat, make sweetened condensed milk (above) and stir in a 12 oz. bag of chocolate chips. Chill, then shape into balls (a melon baller works nicely).

Cream Soup Mix

(from Heloise column)

Mix together

1 C powdered milk

1 T dried onion flakes

2 T cornstarch

2 T chicken bouillon powder

½ t dried basil

½ t dried thyme

½ t black pepper

To make soup, mix the above with 2 C water in a large saucepan; stir constantly until thick.

To make different flavors, add another ingredient - such as mushrooms, celery, potatoes, bacon, etc.

Kid Pleasers

My kids won't drink mixed milk plain, but they love chocolate milk, a "purple cow," and peanut butter balls.

Chocolate Milk (1/2 gallon):

Mix together

8 C water

2½ C powdered milk

1/8 C cocoa

1/4 to ½ C sugar

pinch of salt (optional)

a few drops of vanilla (optional)

I like to mix this in a half-gallon jug, which is small enough for kids to handle. If you want, you can mix together just the dry ingredients and use as hot chocolate mix (about 1/3 C mix to 1 C water).

Purple Cow

Mix reconstituted powdered milk and grape juice half and half. A good way to give kids grape juice, since when it's mixed with the milk, it doesn't stain like regular grape juice does.

Peanut Butter Balls (from the TightWad Gazette)

Mix together

½ C honey

½ C peanut butter

1 C powdered milk

Form into balls (a melon baller works well).

Home-made Yogurt

One of the very best ways to use powdered milk is to make yogurt. This is fast, easy, and inexpensive. (It takes 5-10 minutes to start a batch of yogurt. A pint of plain yogurt runs about $1.39; a pint of homemade yogurt costs about 30 cents). There are lots of ways to make yogurt. Here is one basic method (makes one quart). You'll need some plain yogurt with active cultures for the "starter;" a thermometer; and a way to incubate the yogurt.

• Mix together 4 C water and 2 C powdered milk.
• Heat in the microwave about 2 minutes. Take out and let sit until the temperature reaches about 120 degrees. Mix in 1 heaping T of plain yogurt (mix thoroughly). Pour into a container and cover.
• Now let the yogurt incubate until it sets up. You can use a commercial yogurt maker; a heating pad set to low, with a large pot inverted over top your yogurt; or even the pilot light on an oven. The important thing is to keep the yogurt at a constant temperature of 100-120 degrees for from 4-8 hrs.
• When you use the yogurt, reserve a little to start the next batch.

Note: You can freeze yogurt starter. Just spoon into ice-cube trays, then store the yogurt ice-cubes in the freezer. Thaw 1 cube (don't microwave) for a batch of yogurt, and use as usual.

What to Do With Yogurt

Substitute yogurt for sour cream (1 C yogurt = 1 C sour cream) in dips, dressings, and sauces.
Fruit Smoothies. In the blender, liquify 1 pint yogurt, 2-3 frozen bananas, cut in chunks, 2 C frozen fruit (peaches, strawberries, pineapple etc.) You can vary the proportions as you wish; more yogurt makes it more like a drink, more fruit makes it more like soft-serve ice cream.

• Holiday Fruit Salad. Mix together 1 quart yogurt, 1/4 - 1/3 C frozen orange juice concentrate and your choice of fruits: mandarin oranges, pineapple, grapes, bananas, apples, etc. (vary proportions to suit your taste)Top with a thick layer of coconut. Then garnish the top according to the holiday:
• Valentines - dried cranberries, maraschino cherries, bright red apple slices
• St Patrick's - kiwi, sliced green grapes
• Easter - robin's egg candies, jelly beans
• 4^th of July - blueberries & sliced strawberries
• Halloween - mandarin oranges, choc. sprinkles
• Christmas - kiwi, dried cranberries

Creamy Salad Dressing

1 C yogurt + 2 T dry milk powder

1 t onion or garlic powder (or to taste)

1 t salt (or to taste)

1/4 t pepper (or to taste)

Additional seasonings as desired (parsley, dill, blue cheese, etc.)

Combine & let sit to blend flavors.

Cream Cheese Substitute. Put a coffee filter in a strainer placed over a bowl. Put 1 pint yogurt in the coffee filter and let sit overnight. You'll end up with about 1 C of thick, non-fat yogurt "cream cheese." Use as you would cream cheese, in dips, spreads, cheesecakes, etc.
Buttermilk Substitute. Mix plain yogurt with an equal amount of water (for example, to make 2 C buttermilk, blend 1 C plain yogurt with 1 C water).