This is a FABULOUS meal that my Sister-in-law shared with me YEARS ago when she was making once a month cooking meals. I've made a few of my own changes to it to make it fit me and what I usually have on hand. And this recipe became even more awesome when I was able to really knock out a lot of time I spent preping by using THRIVE foods.
Chicken Packets
2 cups of Thrive Chopped Chicken rehydrated
3-8oz of Cream Cheese Softened (whatever amount you have on hand will work)
2 containers of Cresent Rolls
Mix all items together, put a small Tablespoon amount on each unrolled cresent piece. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until golden brown
Now for the variations I make:
1/3-1/2 cup of Ranch Dressing (also used for dipping later)
I added a 1/4 cup of Thrive Carrots rehydrated
1/4-1/3 cup of celery rehydrated
you can also add mixed bell peppers, and onions to taste if you like. Since I'm preggers at the moment, that was not on my list this go round.
Mix all items together and follow directions above
I have always spooned the mixture on the rolls when they are still warm, it usually a messy processed to roll the cresents closed and pinch the seams closed. However, this time I ran out of cresent rolls so I ended up freezing the mixture until I had more rolls. After I defrosted the mixture, it was so much easier to spoon and close up the seams. So if you have the time I recommend stuffing them when they are cooled off totally.
The historic drought baking the nation's breadbasket is about to hit American
consumers where it hurts most -- the supermarket checkout.
"Prices are going to go up," Justin Gardner,
assistant professor of agribusiness at Middle Tennessee State University, told the
Christian Science Monitor. "The only
question is when."
Everything from breakfast cereal to roast beef will cost more as a result of
the worst drought in 24 years, which has already prompted authorities to declare
more than 1,000 counties in 26 states -- nearly two-thirds of land in the lower
48 states, stretching from Nevada to South Carolina -- natural disaster
areas.
Only in the 1930s and the 1950s has a drought covered more land, according to
federal figures released Monday. So far, officials say there's little risk of a
Dust Bowl-type catastrophe, but crop losses could mount if rain doesn't come
soon -- and that means across-the-board higher food prices.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has lowered its crop projections for corn
by 12 percent, prompting a 34 percent hike in prices in recent weeks. Since corn
goes into so many food products for both humans and livestock, its effect on
overall food prices is massive.
The rising prices of livestock feed are already impacting some
businesses.
Jack Sabolik, a butcher in Ohio, said customers are
cutting back at his store as the rising cost of feed has brought corresponding
increases in the price of meat, Fox 8
Cleveland reports.
"A lot of people aren't buying as many steaks as they would in the summer
time, buying more hamburger and stuff like that to make it go by further with
the families and stuff," he said.
Jeff Born, a Northeastern University finance professor and director of the
executive MBA program, told the Christian Science Monitor it will only get
worse.
"If you like bacon [and] pork, you should buy it now, because by the fall you
are going to be stunned at what it will cost," he wrote in an email.
In Illinois, the drought has already taken a heavy toll, with more than 80
percent of corn, soybean and other crops considered to be in fair condition or
worse. Less than 10 percent of farm fields have adequate topsoil moisture.
Farmer Kenny Brummer has lost 800 acres of corn that he grows to feed his 400
head of cattle and 30,000 hogs. Now he's scrambling to find hundreds of
thousands of bushels of replacement feed.
"Where am I going to get that from? You have concerns about it every morning
when you wake up," said Brummer, who farms near Waltonville. "The drought is
bad, but that's just half of the problem on this farm."
In Ohio, produce vendor Mike Shull told Fox 8 Cleveland that the lack of
water may drive corn prices up.
"It's hard to get the stuff in if it ain't growing," Shull, an Ohio vendor
selling produce, told Fox 8 Cleveland.
But USDA officials are predicting less of an impact on prices, the Christian
Science Monitor reports. The agency estimates that only 15 cents of each dollar
spent on groceries goes to farmers. Labor and processing make up the bulk of
food costs, and that won't be impacted much by the drought, Gardner said.
The federal government is already moving to help farmers and ranchers.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack last week announced plans for streamlining the
aid process. A major goal is to cut the time it takes to declare an agricultural
disaster area. He also reduced interest rates for emergency loans and made it
cheaper for farmers to graze livestock or cut hay on lands otherwise locked up
in a conservation program.
Some state governments are stepping in, too. In Wisconsin, Gov. Scott Walker
declared a state of emergency in 42 counties last week to speed up the issuance
of permits for temporarily using stream or lake water for irrigation.
During a visit Monday to a southern Illinois corn and soybean farm, Illinois
Gov. Pat Quinn announced that drought-affected farmers would be eligible for
state debt restructuring and loan programs in addition to the aid the USDA
announced last week
I LOVE these cookies, I had them at the recent Shelf Reliance Boot Camp I attended. I went back for 2nd's, and there were only 2 left. The proper thing to do would have been to take 1 and leave the last one for someone else. I didn't do that. They were SO good I took them both!!
I added Mint Chips in my recipe, if you wonder what the green is.
1 Cup Butter, softened 1 Cup THRIVE Brown Sugar 1 1/2 Cup THRIVE White Sugar 1 Tbl Milk 1 1/2 tsp Vanilla 2 THRIVEEgg Powder (2 Tbl egg powder+ 4 Tbl Water) 1 C Corn Flakes (crumbled) 3 C THRIVE Quick Oats 1 1/2 Cup THRIVE White Flour 1 1/4 tsp THRIVE Baking Soda 1 tsp THRIVE Salt 1 1/2 tsp Cinnamon 4 oz Sweetened Coconut 2 Cups Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips 1 Cup Nuts Preheat oven to 350 degrees Cream butter & sugars until smooth Add Milk & Vanilla Beat and add eggs Stir in Corn Flakes & Oats Sift together Flour, baking soda, salt & Cinnamon. Add to wet ingredients, mixing thoroughly Stir in Coconut, chocolate chips and nuts. Drop batter by well rounded teaspoon onto greased cookie sheet.
I had my first radio interview for Shelf Reliance. I think I did pretty well, I was cut short because the gal before me went over 7 minutes. =(
There was of course so much more I wish I could have got in. So far nothing has come to fruition by it. But it was great experience. I hope this was just one of many opportunities I have to share about the blessings of Shelf Reliance.
1 1/2 Cups THRIVE diced chicken, (reconstituted) 1 Cup THRIVE Instant Black Beans, cooked and drained 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 1 Cup Water 1/2 C Taco Sauce, medium 1/2 Cup THRIVE Chopped Onions (reconstituted) 1(6oz) can sliced ripe olives, drained 1 package of Taco Seasoning 1/8 Cup THRIVE Green Chili Peppers (reconstituted) 2 Cups THRIVE Monterrey Jack Cheese (reconstituted) Tortilla Chips, crushed to taste and desire
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Grease 12x8 baking dish. Combine the first 9 ingredients in sauce pan over low heat until heated.
Layer half the broken tortilla chips in bottom of pan. Cover with half of the meat sauce, sprinkle 1 C of Cheese. Repeat with remaining sauce mixture, (If it looks too dry I cover the top with an additional cup of taco sauce) remaining crushed chips and cheese.
Bake 20-25 minutes or until bubbly and cheese is melted.
. "The only
question is when."
