Chef Tess Bakeresse™ Instant Marinara and Meatballs from Food Storage

 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 Storage
Ingredients:
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 10-15 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

All Purpose Meatballs

Just take a look at this gorgeous new little man and his mama. Christine. I mentioned that I spent a couple hours with Super CC yesterday making a few new freezer meals for her family. It was actually a grand celebration in honor of her new baby. What could be better than having a blow-out cooking party for a new mom? I haven't laughed as hard as we did in a long time. One of the things I have to emphasize, is that most of the mental hang up I had with freezer meals went away when another friend (who vaguely claims to cook) taught a freezer meal class at our church for the ladies. It really rocked my paradigm. I thought (sarcastic goof-ball...there it is...I thought once)...hey why is she teaching this? Seems like Chef Tess should have a grip on how to cook freezer dinners. Especially since I was a busy mom just like my friend. 6 years later and a whole lot more excited about freezer dinners, I too can tell others how to make meatballs.

In all reality, freezer meals have come to be a great blessing for me many times. A few unexpected trips to the hospital ago, I almost had to hold back the tears when I came home to a freezer full of dinners I knew my family would eat. It was a great feeling of self reliance. Not that I don't also think others should be given the opportunity to help us...the amazing Relief Society ladies from church did come over and wash laundry, do dishes, and general stuff. I did have my own meatballs though...and it saved our budget! No eating out every night until mom got better.

All Purpose Meatballs
1 lb lean ground beef or turkey sausage (99% fat free)
2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup gluten flour (by the specialty flours in most grocery stores...or check the link to Honeyville grains.)
1/2 cup dry onion flakes
2 eggs
1 T each, vinegar, soy sauce, garlic and Chef Tess All purpose seasoning blend
1 tsp liquid smoke (optional, but adds a lot of flavor).

Get the meat and spices together. Super CC had all the stuff in a well organized container. I loved it.

Combine ingredients and form into 60 one inch balls using small scoop. Place on foil lined baking sheet and then cover with foil so they steam a little when you bake 350 degrees 20 minutes. Yield 4 meals, 15 meatballs each frozen in 1 Quart freezer bags.
To each bag at time of service add one of the following:
2 cups prepared spaghetti sauce--place in microwave safe bowl and heat 5-7 minutes
1 cup sweet and sour sauce, 1 cup pineapple cubes, 1/2 cup bell pepper and onion--
heat 5-7 minutes in microwave safe dish-- serve over hot rice.

2 cups prepared white sauce--5-7 minutes in microwave safe dish. Serve over hot buttered egg noodles.

1 cup prepared BBQ sauce--5-7 minutes in microwave safe dish. Serve in fluffy hoagie buns.

There you go.
Nutritional information:

4 meatballs:

9 carbohydrates

92 calories

1 gram fat

10 grams protein

2 grams fiber

each meatball:

2.36 carbohydrates

23 calories

.25 grams fat

2.5 gram protein

.5 gram fiber