Soup in a Bag Reviews

As I mentioned in my previous post, my friend Megan's blog has a review going with three women who are each trying three of my soups.  Here is the first review found today on her site:  myfoodstoragecookbook/

Please be sure to visit the above site, as well as Julene's! http://preparetodaywardnewsletter.blogspot.com/

REVIEW:


Being the mother of 5 I am always on the lookout for quick new ways to serve warm meals to my family. I am also a preparedness junkie and when the book “Soup In A Bag” was offered to me to sample, I was ecstatic! This book is not just for preparedness minded folks, it is a concept that will save so many families time and money in the kitchen. In a day and age where fast food is mainstream this book will help those who want good, hearty, and healthy fast food for their families.

While looking through the book I noticed right away were the colored photos. I learn so much more when I have a photo to compare to. The section on dehydrating was especially loaded with pictures that I knew exactly how my results should look. The instructions for each recipe were in a simple step-by-step form and were easy to follow. And the ingredients listed were common pantry items that I had already stored, so making these recipes required little to no extra shopping for me. After choosing the recipes that I wanted to make I found it so easy to tailor each recipe to my family’s tastes. I swapped out ham for bacon tvp in the Potato Cheese soup mix and I also used tvp in place of real meat to meat the needs of a vegetarian in the family.

The section that really impressed me was the dehydrating section at the front of the book. Even though the author recommended purchasing a separate book on dehydrating, I found the instructions and images provided enough details for even a beginner to follow. I referred to this section quite a bit when I was dehydrating my ingredients. For me personally, I felt that some of the dehydrating wasn’t necessary if I were to store the mixes for use as a dinner in my home. Dehydrating canned goods, such as rice and tomatoes, are a great way to have a complete meal when camping, traveling, or in 72-hour kits, but for making a quick meal at home I will store the mix without the dehydrated rice and tomatoes. Opening a can and adding it to the soup while it’s cooking will save me the step of dehydrating them.

My family and I cooked up four soups from the book. And before I review them I must state that the taste of the final product will vary greatly depending on what company you purchase certain canned items from. Powdered cheese and milks will taste very different from different retailers and I don’t want someone to shy away from these recipes just because they have tried a powdered cheese and it wasn’t very good. I would suggest trying several different retailers until you find a quality product that you enjoy. I also sealed my soups in canning jars instead of mylar bags because that is what I had on hand. I sealed the jars using my foodsaver.

Potato Cheese Soup pg. 43 (rated #1 in my family)

Out of the four soups that we tried, this one was our favorite. My daughter said it tasted just like the soup at our favorite restaurant! The recipe called for ham tvp but my family doesn’t care for the taste of ham and I substituted bacon tvp. This is a thick and hearty soup and I found I needed to add about 1 C extra water while I was cooking. But again, this soup was easy to prepare and so thick and creamy. I also noticed in step number 4 the water amount is missing from the directions. I figured it out by doing some simple math with the amount of water in the ingredient list, but it would be helpful to know how much water to add with baggie #2 into the pot.

Potato Cheese Soup

In Mylar bag:
1 oxygen absorber packet
1 1/2 cup dried potato chunks and/or slices
2 TBS dried onion

In baggie #1 inside Mylar bag:

1/2 cup nonfat dry milk

Add-in:

6 cups water (2 boiling)

In baggie #2 inside Mylar bag:
1 1/2 cup potato flakes
1/4 cup ham TVP, ground fine
1 1/2 tsp. seasoned salt
1/4 tsp. coarse ground pepper
2 TBS butter powder
1/2 cup + 1 TBS dehydrated cheese powder
1/4 tsp. garlic powder

To make:

Open Mylar bag. Discard oxygen absorber packet. Pour potatoes and onions from Mylar bag into a medium sized bowl. Add 2 cups boiling water. Allow to sit for 30 minutes to allow water to be completely absorbed, stirring mid-way if necessary. Pour nonfat dry milk from baggie #1 into a bowl. Using a whisk, combine with 1 cup water until smooth. Set aside.

Open baggie #2. Pour dry seasoning mixture into a cooking pot. Bring to a boil for 3 minutes on medium heat, stirring constantly to avoid the cheese sticking to the bottom of the pot. Turn off the heat and add in the rehydrated potatoes/onions, stirring to combine. Cover. Let sit for 30 minutes to 1 hour, until potatoes are tender.

Add dry milk mixture. Bring soup to a low boil, stirring constantly. Turn off the heat and check seasoning, adding more salt or pepper if necessary. Serve hot.
***
Broccoli Cheddar Cream Soup pg. 113 (rated #2 in my family)

This was the only soup that I didn’t make up in a jar before cooking. I needed a quick soup as a side dish for dinner one night and I had all the ingredients to make it and it ended up on the table that night. This soup was very simple to make and took very little prep work. I pureed the soup for a creamier finish and we all thought it was a keeper. I used freeze-dried broccoli and it didn’t need to reconstitute as long as the dehydrated broccoli, so this soup came together quite quick. This is a recipe where the cheese powder will make or break the end results. I used Honeyville Grain’s cheese powder and we were very pleased with the soup.

***

Spanish Rice Soup pg. 72 (rated #3 in my family)

This soup is perfect for those spring days when the weather is in between warm and cold. It isn’t as thick and creamy as the other two soups that I made but it had plenty of rice and beef tvp to satisfy the kids, and it went really well with rolls. I substituted the ground beef for beef tvp and it worked really well. The flavors blended nicely and I really appreciated the flavor combination in a dried soup mix. This soup tastes like you made it from scratch with fresh ingredients. I found the information on dehydrating the rice and canned tomatoes in the front of the book very helpful for this recipe, but I will use the canned version the next I prepare this soup. If I were to store this soup for our 72-hour kits I would dehydrate them and add them to the mix. We rated this as our third favorite soup.

***

Carrot Yam Soup pg. 40 (rated #4 in my family)


This is the very first soup in the book and is was also the first recipe I wanted to try. Don’t let the rating of 4th place sway you from cooking this soup. I really enjoyed it, but I feel it was too sophisticated for my 5 children. They ate it but it didn’t fill them up as a dinner soup. This would be a great soup for lunch or a light dinner. The flavors were interesting in a good way and it was exciting to me that I could have such a fun soup in my food storage.

The options are limitless that you could put together with this concept. Each and every family could individualize the recipe to fit to their tastes. The directions and pictures make this book stand out from others, but for the price of $28 I would like to see a spiral bound book, for ease in the kitchen while cooking, and not a paper back book. The price seems quite high for a paper back book. But for the information and the idea of having meals ready to go for busy nights, new moms, shower gifts, college students, etc. I feel this is a smart purchase to make.

Pillowsoft Hamburger Buns

These hamburger buns are truly the best we've ever tasted.  They are from my Bread in a Bag book (first one), page 53.  Yum!

The Soup in a Bag Experiment

Here is Julene's point of view on my book Soup in a Bag!

HERE

My friend Megan has graciously chosen to put my book Soup in a Bag into a contest she is having on her blog!

http://myfoodstoragecookbook.com/2013/04/01/soup-in-a-bag-book-give-away/

Check it out and let me know what you think! :)

pam

SOUP IN A BAG - ALPHABET SOUP

Here is my recipe for Alphabet Soup from "Soup in a Bag":

In Mylar Bag ABS 1 cups dried mixed vegetables (carrots, peas,     green beans) 2 Tbsp. tomato powder 1  Tbsp. dried onion flakes 1 1/2 Tbsp. beef or vegetable bouillon 1/8 tsp. sage 2 bay leaves	In baggie inside Mylar bag ½ cup alphabet pasta (look in the Hispanic section of the supermarket) Add-in 7 cups boiling water Garlic powder and pepper to taste
To Make: To Make: 1.     Open Mylar bag.  Discard ABS.  2.    Open baggie.  Pour alphabet pasta into a small bowl.  Add 1 cup boiling water.  Stir.  Let sit for 30 minutes, covered. 3.    In a medium-size cooking pot, bring 6 cups of water to a boil.  Add in Mylar bag ingredients.  Stir well.   Turn off heat.  4.    Cover.  Let soup rest for 30 minutes.   5.    Add in the softened alphabet pasta.  Stir well.  Bring soup to a boil, then turn down heat to low, and simmer, covered, for 5 to 10 minutes, or until all ingredients are soft. 6. Remove bay leaves.  Stir and serve.
The perfect crackers to serve with this soup: Pie Crust Crackers Bread in a Bag Book Two

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[1] You can buy this in the Hispanic food section of many supermarkets

BREAD IN A BAG AND SOUP IN A BAG

I was asked to put a recipe from Bread in a Bag and Soup in a Bag here so you can try a sample recipe!

Unfortunately, the format for the book doesn't come across very well, but I hope you will try the recipe anyway.  If you have any questions or concerns, as always, please comment and let me know, or you can also reach me at pemick2@ comcast.net.

-pam

BREAD IN A BAG SAMPLE RECIPE

OLIVE BREAD FROM "BREAD IN A BAG"

Makes two 12 inch long loaves

An inviting bread with the great taste of olives and garlic. 

In a Mylar Bag: Oxygen absorber packet 2 cups flour 2 Tbsp. sugar 2 tsp. yeast 1 tsp. salt 4 shakes coarse ground pepper In Baggie inside Mylar bag: 1¾  cups flour	Add-in: Three (3) tablespoons chopped  Italian antipasti mixture   as shown (a combination  of pepperoncini, olive oil,  garlic, red sweet peppers  and green olives),  or any similar antipasti. AND ·        1¼ cup warm water ·        1 well-drained can      (2.25 oz.) sliced black olives ·        3 Tbsp. olive oil
To Make: 1.     Open Mylar bag. Discard oxygen absorber packet and set aside baggie. 2.    In a medium size work bowl, pour in the loose, dry contents from the Mylar bag.  Whisk.  Add 1¼ cup water; the antipasti; the small drained can of sliced black olives; and the olive oil.
3.    Open baggie and measure out 1 cup flour and add to the dough in the bowl a little at a time, scraping the sides as you stir.  Add another ½ cup flour, a little at a time, until well  mixed.  Use your hands to mix the dough inside the bowl if you wish, but do not knead. If additional flour is needed use a little bench flour.  4.    When all flour is incorporated, cover the bowl with a towel.  Let dough rise 90 minutes.
5.    Punch down dough inside the bowl.  Plop onto the work surface in which a couple tablespoons of flour have been scattered.  Shape into a round. 6.    Return to the work bowl and let rise for 1 hour again, covered with a towel.    7.  Preheat oven to 450°F.  Plop dough onto working surface again with a little flour scattered across it.  Flatten dough.  Let rest for five minutes.
8.    Cut dough in half and shape into two 12-inch oblong loaves.  Place each on a baking sheet sprayed with Pam®. 9.    Score shallow 1/8” inch cuts across the tops a few times to allow dough to expand.  Spray dough tops lightly with water, and sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper.
Bake bread loaves for about 20 to 25 minutes, spraying with water every 5 minutes to acquire a crispy crust.  When done, bread will be dark golden brown all over and measure 195°F internally.   Let cool. Cut slices diagonally with a serrated knife.