Canned vegies, and a recipe to go with, anyone?

The Kroger/Fry's chain has a special on canned vegies. When you buy at least 10 participation items, the selected Del Monte vegies are 49 cents a can. I can't remember them all, but choices include both regular and reduced salt versions of green peas, green beans and corn (including regular and creamed style). There are a few other deals in the 10 for 10, including some Hunt's tomato products and some Kraft brands as well. Most of the canned vegetables have 'best by' dates in 2013, so are suitable for short-term food storage.

I use some of the canned vegies, especially the sweet corn, in a baked dish I call 'Prepper's pie." It is like shepherd's pie, but may or may not have meat in it. It starts with about hald a cup each of reyhdrated onion and carrot dices (fresh works too!), sauted until the onions are transparent and starting to turn golden. Toss into a shallow baking dish (needs to hold 6 to 8 cups) with the drained corn (reserve the liquid as well as any that is squeezed out of the rehydrating of the onion and carrots), 1 can of rinsed canned or 1.5 cups of prepared pinto or black beans (green peas would work in a pinch) and the optional 1 cup of shredded or ground beef . The 12 ounce can of hormel roast beef with gravy works well. It is about 8 ounces of meat and 4 ounces of gravy. Mix half the corn water with the gravy and/or rehydration water and/or broth. You need about a cup of liquid in the dish. (I rinse the canned beans and do not use the 'water' because the sludge in canned beans tastes like cans to me)

If you do not have prepared beans, you can make a thickened gravy using dehydrated refried beans. Bake the mix for about 20 minutes at about 300 degrees. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed. Make up about 4 cups of mashed potatoes (I use the Excel potato pearls) with hot water and the other half of the corn water. Should take about 1.5 cups of the pearls and 3+ cups of liquid. They should be thick but not dry when you put them on top of the mix. Bake for about 15 minutes at 350 degrees.

Cost for this runs about $5, less if you do not use the canned meat. With no side dish except bread, it feeds 8 meals (6 adults, a teen and a child). It is low fat (about 2 grams a serving) if you want -- just a little oil to brown the onions and carrots. If you need the extra fat, put some butter in the mashed potatoes or use a less lean meat, like a fattier hamburger meat. Leftovers should keep for about 3 days in the fridge.

This is a good 'rotation' meal to use some canned items before they expire or to help rotate dehydrated or freeze dried products that need to be moved out of storage. It should work well in a Dutch oven. There are some great websites on how to use Dutch Ovens. My favorite is:

http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles/beattie47.html