More food storage

I have recently been experimenting with putting back dry mixes. My thinking is that in an emergency situation (such as our frequent power outages), these mixes would be simple to prepare and would be a good meal. I also love the convenience of having them and knowing that they are not packed with questionable ingredients or preservatives. So far most of the recipes we've tried have been very good, and worth putting up several batches. I use my Food Saver and bag them for the most part, but today I decided to put some in jars (I can vac seal the jars with the food saver).

Today I did the Jambalaya Mix, this is one of our favorites...

In each jar place:

1 cup raw long-grain rice

1 T dried minced onion

1 T dried green pepper flakes

1 T parsley flakes

1 bay leaf

2 teaspoons beef bouillon granules

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp thyme

1/4 to 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper

Place an instruction tag inside the jar and then seal.

Tag instructions:

1 jar Jambalya mix

3 cups water

1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce

1/2 cup cooked ham or smoked sausage

1/2 cup cooked shrimp

Combine first 3 ingredients and bring to a boil in a 6-qt pot. Reduce heat to simmer and add ham or sausage and cook 20 mins. Add shrimp and cook 5 minutes more. Remove and discard bay leaf.

Makes about 8 cups

Be sure each jar has sealed well by using either a vac sealer or oxygen absorbers. Label and date each jar.We can easily whip up this meal using our home canned sausages and tomato sauce. These could also be prepared as gifts for Christmas baskets.