Hillbilly Housewife
Frugal Food
Storage
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& Turkey
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& Sweets
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& Barley
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& Sausage
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& Sprouts
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& Tofu
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Welcome to Frugal Food Storage with the Hillbilly Housewife. This website contains recipes and information about foods that are inexpensive, store well, and can be turned into healthy, family-friendly meals, under almost any conditions.
I've tried to use foods which
are readily available at most grocery
stores, warehouse stores and natural foods co-ops. A few items
though, like dried eggs, must be ordered online or from mail
order sources. Links to several reputable dealers can be found
on the Link Page. Since most of the
recipes here are made with supermarket foods, many of them call for
canned and dried goods. These don't taste the same as fresh
foods. They still taste good though, and are quite nutritious too.
There are lots of different circumstances that require the use of easily stored foods. Big Snows, Natural Disasters, Civil Unrest, Job Loss, Camping, Boating, and Living in the Last Days are just a few of them. Under these circumstances, fuel and cooking supplies are often limited. I have kept this in mind with my recipes.
Three non-electric cooking
sources are addressed on this website: 
Stove-Top,
over an Open Fire or wood stove, & in a Camp Oven.
Stove-top recipes are all tested on a standard 2-burner Coleman
propane stove. These are available inexpensively at Kmart and
Walmart, and are easy to use. Be sure to have a good supply of
fuel on hand. I have found that I use about 3 pounds of fuel a
week when I do all of our cooking and baking on a camp stove.
This type of stove is excellent for dishes which require less than
half an hour of cooking. Any longer than that can be a drain on
your fuel supply.
For foods like
dried beans and whole grains, which need long slow cooking, a wood
stove, an open-fire or fire-place is a better use of resources.
Steamed breads or puddings usually need to simmer for 3 to 4
hours. Wood stoves and camp fires are the perfect heat
source for long-cooking items like this. Dried foods, like
dehydrated vegetables, beans, peas and whole grains, are custom made
for the long, slow cooking a fire provides. If you don't have a
source of long slow cooking available to you, then there are some
recipes which you will want to avoid, like those including dried
beans and some grains. Read a recipe first to make sure you
have enough fuel to prepare it before you begin.
Whenever
possible I have tested the recipes in both a regular oven and a Coleman
Oven. This is a box which fits over top of an eye in a
camp stove. It has a temperature gauge, to tell you how hot it
is inside. The temperature is regulated by adjusting the flame
underneath, like for regular cooking. You have to babysit the
oven while things are baking in it. Frequent checking is
required to keep the temperature where you want it. Not
all of my baking recipes are appropriate for a camp oven. I
have gone to great lengths, however, to customize as many baking
recipes for camp ovens as I can. So you should find more
recipes that will work in a camp oven than won't.
I have security knowing my
family's needs are met, whatever the circumstances 
may
be. I believe it is my obligation to prepare for things beyond
my control. I can't make life maintain a steady course, to suit
my plans. I can make plans to maintain a steady course, no
matter what life brings though. One of the ways I do this is by
creating and maintaining a well stocked pantry which ensures my
family's well being and contentment, irregardless of the
circumstances we encounter.
--Maggie
With special thanks to a dear internet friend Linda, whose generosity has touched my heart, filled my mind with inspiration and who selflessly taught me the value of casting my bread upon the waters.
