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Dear Friend,

Missing Christmas dinner really kills morale. That’s why it’s important

to get creative and enjoy yourself - even when resources are weak, using

these fun festive tricks.

After all, we’ve been celebrating Christmas for hundreds of years. So

don’t let a lack of modern gadgets spoil the fun. Celebrate Christmas

the traditional way with these old-school recipes, treasured and valued

by generations.

Because Christmas could be the only time you have the whole family

round the table - even if that table’s off grid. Meaning you should still

be able to count on that mouthwatering, home-cooked taste, just like

Mom used to make.

And the best way to do that, is to follow the advice in today’s exclusive

report.

Merry Christmas,

P.S.: Remember that sharing is caring, so share this info with your friends

that might benefit from this experience!

Alec Deacon Survivopedia.com

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Table of Contents

DISCLAIMER .............................................................................................. 4

About Cooking ............................................................................................ 6

Hot Plate or Camp Stove .................................................................................................. 6

Campfire Cooking, No Dutch Oven ................................................................................. 7

Camp Fire with a Dutch Oven ......................................................................................... 8

Solar Cookers ................................................................................................................... 9

Meats ........................................................................................................ 10

Canned Christmas Ham .................................................................................................. 11

Traditional Christmas Turkey ....................................................................................... 13

A Few Tips to Get the Tastiest Turkey ....................................................................... 14

Brining the Bird .......................................................................................................... 15

Cooking the Bird ......................................................................................................... 16

Side Dishes ............................................................................................... 19

Stuffing ........................................................................................................................... 19

Making Bread Cubes ...................................................................................................... 20

Green Bean Casserole .................................................................................................... 22

Sweet Potato Casserole .................................................................................................. 24

Candied Yams ................................................................................................................ 25

Gravy .............................................................................................................................. 26

Homemade Bread ..................................................................................... 28

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Ingredients ..................................................................................................................... 28

Directions ....................................................................................................................... 29

Baking ............................................................................................................................ 29

Deserts ..................................................................................................... 31

Cinnamon Rolls.............................................................................................................. 31

Pie Crust ......................................................................................................................... 32

Pumpkin Pie ................................................................................................................... 33

Dutch Apple Pie ............................................................................................................. 35

Peach Cobbler ................................................................................................................ 36

Final Words and a Christmas Wish ........................................................... 38

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DISCLAIMER

THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN “CHRISTMAS SURVIVAL RECIPES: FESTIVE FOOD

FOR ALL THE FAMILY” IS MEANT TO SERVE AS A COMPREHENSIVE COLLECTION OF

STRATEGIES THAT ARE ONLY RECOMMENDATIONS BY THE AUTHORS, AND READING THIS

EBOOK DOES NOT GUARANTEE THAT ONE’S RESULTS WILL EXACTLY MIRROR OUR OWN

RESULTS.

THE AUTHOR OF “CHRISTMAS SURVIVAL RECIPES: FESTIVE FOOD FOR ALL THE

FAMILY” HAS MADE ALL REASONABLE EFFORTS TO PROVIDE CURRENT AND ACCURATE

INFORMATION FOR THE READERS OF THIS COURSE. THE AUTHOR WILL NOT BE HELD LIABLE

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PARTY MATERIALS COMPRISE OF THE PRODUCTS AND OPINIONS EXPRESSED BY THEIR

OWNERS. AS SUCH, THE AUTHORS OF THIS GUIDE DO NOT ASSUME RESPONSIBILITY OR

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COPYRIGHT 2015 SURVIVOPEDIA™, “CHRISTMAS SURVIVAL RECIPES: FESTIVE FOOD

FOR ALL THE FAMILY”

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Enjoy the Best Survival Recipes for

Christmas!

Just because you may be stuck in less-than-ideal conditions for Christmas doesn’t mean

that you can’t still have a great meal. So you may not be able to use your oven or your

fancy thermometers or gadgets. Big deal. Christmas dinner has been being cooked for

centuries, eons even, without the use of the fancy stuff. If they can do it, why can’t you?

Just because you don’t have your modern oven doesn’t mean that you can’t bake. And

you most certainly CAN have that pumpkin pie, especially if you stockpiled pumpkin pie

filling, either from the store or from your garden. The thing about Christmas is that

people put too much stock into stuff and have forgotten what the true spirit of Christmas

is.

Even if you’re cooking over an open fire, fret not. Christmas dinner will be served, and it

will be delicious. I do recommend, however, that you learn to use all of these cooking

methods BEFORE you try to make Christmas dinner with them. Of course, if emergency

strikes before you have a chance to do so, the holidays just wouldn’t be right if at least

one thing isn’t burned just a little.

And remember – even the humblest of meals can be festive if it’s cooked with love, eaten

with gratitude, and shared with the people you care about.

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About Cooking

Before we get into the actual recipes, you need to know a bit about different cooking

methods. Each recipe is going to be adapted to each of these cooking methods so that

you can have a delicious holiday meal no matter what your situation.

Hot Plate or Camp Stove

This is just a little electric or gas contraption that allows you to cook one or two dishes at

a time. If you’re cooking Christmas dinner with just a hot plate, you may want to limit

the number of dishes that you make to 4 or 5 so that everything stays hot.

Cooking with iron skillets can help you here because iron retains heat for a long time

after it’s taken off the burner.

Since iron skillets come in a variety of sizes, you can cook everything from a can of green

beans to your main meat course in them. Still, even 4 or 5 dishes are a lot, plus you can

always make dessert first, so there will be plenty of food. Be sure to take the size of your

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skillets into consideration if you’re cooking on a two-burner stove because you want to

have enough space for both skillets.

Campfire Cooking, No Dutch Oven

This method of cooking actually imparts a nice smoky flavor to your foods and gives you

some options, such as cooking potatoes or ears of corn in the coals.

You wouldn’t have these options if you were cooking on a hot plate, so if you can

combine the two methods, you could really do some power cooking.

If you’re cooking over an open fire, you need a grate to set the skillets and pots on over

the fire. You’ve probably cooked like this before, but if you haven’t, it’s best to build the

fire in a bit of a pit so that the heat is more concentrated.

This will also help you conserve wood because the wind won’t be blowing through it,

dispersing the heat and making the wood burn faster. Slow, medium hot, and efficient is

the way to go when you’re cooking over an open fire.

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Camp Fire with a Dutch Oven

If you’re fortunate enough to have a Dutch oven, you can cook pretty much whatever

you want from pies to turkeys. Three methods that I’m going to use throughout this

guide involve using a Dutch oven.

There’s a reason that this cumbersome, space-eating device was carted all the way across

an ocean, then clear across Pioneer America in a covered wagon: it’s awesome!

A good Dutch oven can be used to bake, steam, or stew food, and can actually be used as

an oven. That is, you can sit another dish, such as a pie plate, down inside of it and use it

just like you would an oven. It’s all a matter of how you distribute the heat.

Here’s how you can use a Dutch oven:

Deep Frying – all heat should come from the bottom. Place it directly on the

coals, or on top of the rack. Be careful using a Dutch oven to deep fry anything

over an open fire because the risk of starting a grease fire is high.

Pan Frying – all heat comes from the bottom. You can use your Dutch oven like a

skillet to fry chicken, turkey, or steak.

Roasting – heat should come equally from both the bottom and the tip. Layer the

coals under it and on top of it in equal amounts. You can also bury the oven in the

coals, so that the heat is all around. Remember that if you do this, the food is

going to cook much faster than if you were roasting it in your oven. It typically

cooks in about half the time.

Baking – more heat should come from the top. Use a 1:3 ratio; for example, 1 inch

of coals beneath it, 3 inches of coals on top of it.

Boiling – All heat comes from the bottom.

Simmering and Stewing – nearly all heat comes from the bottom. The ratio here

should be about 4:1 – 4 inches under it, 1 inch on top.

Note that all of these methods except deep frying and pan frying involve the

Dutch oven being at least partially submerged in the coals.

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Temperature control tips for certain foods:

Soups, stews, and other liquid-based dishes – More heat (2/3 coals) on bottom,

and less (1/3 coals) on top

Poultry, meat, veggies, cobblers, potatoes – equal distribution

Breads, cakes, biscuits, cookies – more (2/3 coals) on top, less (1/3 coals) on

bottom

These are truly amazing pieces of equipment to have and you can often find

them in yard sales or estate sales with ridiculously low prices on them because

people don’t understand what they’re worth. Like many of the things that we

collect for the coming days, most people just don’t see the worth in it. In this

case, their loss is definitely your gain! If you have three or four of them, you

can cook an entire holiday meal in just a couple of hours.

Solar Cookers

Solar ovens are a horse of a different color and if you’re using one to cook your meal, you

need to plan carefully. If you’re using it as your primary source of cooking, you won’t be

able to cook a whole turkey or ham in it. You could definitely do a canned ham, though.

Plan for items that require about the same cooking times to be done in the solar oven

and do dishes that don’t take long on an open fire or on a hotplate, camp stove, or rocket

stove.

Now, let’s get to the recipes! I’ve tried to tailor each recipe so that it feeds a family of

four, so adapt accordingly.

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Meats

Most of us are used to having turkey or ham for Christmas dinner, or maybe duck or

goose. That’s still entirely possible, at least to a certain extent.

Since we’re talking about meals made under less-than-ideal circumstances, you may be

eating canned ham, or maybe you’re fortunate enough to be able to bag a turkey to cook

on an open campfire. It’s during times like these that you’re going to be thankful that

you stockpiled your spices and condiments.

It’s an excellent idea to stockpile a meat thermometer or two, and not just for the

holidays. Foodborne pathogens can be lethal, so it’s important to cook meat, especially

fowl, all the way through. Food poisoning is never pleasant, but if you don’t have access

to medical attention, it can be fatal. So, stockpile meat thermometers. Preferably a pair

and a spare.

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If you don’t have a ham or a traditional whole chicken or turkey, then don’t get so

wrapped up in the idea that you MUST have a certain meat. If you’re lucky enough to be

able to hunt, but can only get a deer or a couple of rabbits instead of a turkey, that’s still

fantastic. For that matter, a pot of beans is wonderful as long as you and yours are safe

and healthy.

Let go of your pre-conceived notions of what Christmas dinner is supposed to be, and

embrace what you’re fortunate enough to have!

Canned Christmas Ham

If you have to cook inside and have only a canned ham, it can actually be quite delicious

if you just spruce it up a bit. This recipe is for a one-pound canned ham, but you can also

buy five-pound ones, so just triple the ingredients since this is to cover the surface of the

ham.

This recipe works great for a standard ham, too.

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Ingredients

1 16oz. canned ham

1can pineapple slices (if you don’t have slices, cubes or crushed will do just fine)

1 tbsp. whole cloves (or 1/8 tsp ground cloves)

1/2 cup water

1 tbsp. yellow mustard

1 tbsp. honey

1/4 cup brown sugar or maple syrup (regular will work – add 1/2 tsp. molasses if

substituting)

Directions

Drain the juice off the pineapples into a small bowl. If you’re using crushed pineapple,

add it in, too. Add all other ingredients except the whole cloves. Stir to combine.

Remove ham from the can and place in baking dish or small Dutch oven. Prick the ham

with a fork numerous times. Stick the cloves into holes every couple of inches. Lay the

ham slices over the top of the ham and drizzle the glaze over the ham and pineapples.

Remember that this ham is already pre-cooked so all you have to do is heat it up so that

it’s hot and the glaze flavors the ham. This recipe also works for a standard ham up to 5

pounds but you would, of course, have to cook it longer

Oven: Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

Dutch oven in a pit: Bury in the coals, covering the top, and cook for 30 minutes.

Hot Plate Alternative: If you only have a hot plate or a skillet in a bunker or over an

open fire, you can always slice the ham, layer the slices in a skillet, pour the sauce and

pineapples over them, then cook them on medium-low for 15 minutes, covered. If you’d

like to sear the glaze a bit, remove the lid, increase heat to medium, and brown the slices

before serving.

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Traditional Christmas Turkey

Whether you have the real thing, are using a fresh chicken from your farmyard in lieu of

a turkey, or are using canned bits and pieces, the secret to tradition is keeping it simple.

Most people aren’t just cooking a turkey; they’re making the drippings for their gravy,

too.

That means that you want to keep the seasonings relatively simple so that your gravy is

as delicious as your turkey. That doesn’t mean, however, that you don’t want to season it

well so that you develop full, rich flavors. There’s another reason to keep things simple:

you’re essentially only seasoning the skin of the bird.

I’d like to bust a myth here. Basting a turkey doesn’t make it juicier. The skin on top of

the bird continues to do exactly what it did when the turkey or chicken was alive – it

protects the flesh beneath it. That’s also why the seasonings are primarily for the skin.

Basting a few times towards the end will help the skin brown up nicely, though.

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The key to making a delicious turkey doesn’t involve a ton of steps or fancy equipment,

though it is nice to have a turkey thermometer so that you can tell exactly when the bird

is cooked all the way through, but doesn’t overcook and dry out the meat.

As we’ve already discussed, fancy seasonings and basting aren’t necessary. Any pan will

do as long as it keeps the juices from running out. If that happens, you lose your gravy

base and you make a mess in the oven.

A Few Tips to Get the Tastiest Turkey

Finally, before we get to the recipes, since we’ve already debunked the myth that basting

makes the meat moister, let’s talk about how to keep the meat juicy.

Don’t overcook it! This is the main reason why turkey or chicken dries out. The

internal temperature should be 165 degrees F. It’s best to use a meat thermometer, but if

you don’t have one, the turkey is done when you prick the leg joint with a fork and the

juices run clear or just slightly pink.

If you’re using a traditional oven, it takes about 15 minutes per pound of turkey. If

you’re using a Dutch oven or covered roasting pan, the bird will be done much faster.

Figure about 10 minutes per pound. This is also dependent on the cooking temperature.

Cook the turkey breast side down for at least part of the time. Yes, I realize

that it looks weird that way, but let gravity work in your favor. The juices run down, so if

you want really juicy breast meat, this is a good method to try. You can always flip the

bird back over an hour or so before it’s done cooking to make it look traditional.

Slide some butter or olive oil between the skin and the meat on top over the

breasts as described below, and rub some inside the neck and abdominal cavities, too.

Let the turkey rest for at least 30 minutes after you remove it from the heat.

This allows the juices to redistribute through the meat so that it doesn’t run out of the

bird. Once meat reaches a temperature of about 120 degrees, the proteins begin to

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contract and squeeze out the water. Allowing the meat to rest partially reverses this by

letting the meat reabsorb the juice.

Consider brining. It modifies the proteins in the meat and makes them hold more

water. You can either soak the turkey in salt water overnight or inject it directly into the

meat.

OK, now that you know a little more about how a turkey cooks so that you can have

moist, juicy, flavorful meat without the risk of dying, let’s get to the recipes, and a few

more tips and directions.

Brining the Bird

This works for all birds – chicken, goose, duck, etc. – not just turkeys. This method

requires refrigeration, either in a fridge or outside if it’s cold enough. If you put it

outside, make sure that it’s covered and away from animals.

Place your bird in a container that’s big enough to hold it, but is as close to the

size of the turkey, at least in circumference, as possible. You don’t want to have a

ton of extra room because you’re using what may be extremely valuable water

and quite a bit of salt. Skip this step if either is at a premium.

Cover with water a gallon at a time until the turkey is covered. Keep track of how

many gallons you use.

Remove the turkey.

Add 1 cup of salt for each gallon of water and stir until the salt is dissolved.

Put the turkey back in the brine, cover, and refrigerate for 24 hours.

Ingredients

1/4 cup salt if unbrined, 1/8 cup salt if brined

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 tsp. paprika

1 stick butter, soft, or 1/4 cup olive oil

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2 tsp. Italian seasoning

1/2 tsp. onion powder

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

Directions for Preparing

Combine all of the dry spices except for the salt and set aside. Combine the

butter/olive oil with the salt.

Now you need to loosen the skin over the breast from the meat. Just slide your

hand under the edge of the skin toward the rear and gently work your hand

between the skin and meat. Try not to puncture the skin because it helps hold in

moisture. Once you’ve finished, rub or pour about half of the salt/fat combination

between the skin and meat.

Rub a tablespoon or so into the neck cavity, then rub or pour the rest of the

fat/salt over the top and legs/thighs of the bird, taking care to get in the

“armpits.” If you need to use a bit more to cover it well, then do so.

Rub the dry ingredients over the top of the bird, including legs and thighs. This

may be the breast side or the underside, depending on whether or not you’re

cooking the bird upside down in an oven or Dutch oven.

Truss the bird using baking twine. Just about any thin cord will work for this. Tie

the tips of the legs snugly together back by the rear cavity.

Cooking the Bird

Oven baking: Preheat your oven to 450 degrees and put your turkey on the center rack

so that the center of the turkey is in the center of the oven. Make sure that there’s at

least 2 inches of space all around the turkey between the pan and the oven walls.

Reduce heat to 425 after the first hour.

Total cooking time: 15 minutes per pound of bird. If you’re baking the bird in a

covered roaster, cooking times will decrease considerably, so check it after about 10

minutes per pound.

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Dutch oven in a pit: Dig a hole and surround the oven with coals, including on top,

according to the Dutch oven guide above. Cook for about 15 minutes per pound of

turkey. Keep the coals hot ter else your turkey won’t cook!

Spit roasting: You can successfully roast a turkey on a spit, but it gets floppy if it’s

more than ten pounds or so and the meat may start to fall off. Spit roasting also takes

quite a bit of fuel. Still, it gives the turkey a delicious flavor. Just make sure that it’s

trussed well and the spit forks run through the legs if possible. Roast it 2-3 feet from a

medium-heat fire and make sure that it turns constantly for even cooking. A ten pound

turkey will take about 2 1/2 hours. This does, of course, depend on the temperature

outside and how hot the fire is.

Solar oven: You can cook breasts in your solar oven in a couple of hours. Just rub the

spices onto the breasts and cook according to your oven directions. Good to cook with

the stuffing and mashed potatoes.

Hot plate or skillet fried bird, canned or fresh: If you don’t have anything big

enough to cook a whole turkey in, or you’re using meat that you’ve canned, then you can

fry it right up and it will be delicious. Just rub or sprinkle the seasonings on the meat

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and fry in a couple of tablespoons of butter or olive oil. If you’re using meat that you’ve

canned, be careful adding extra salt.

Note that I didn’t recommend stuffing the bird. That’s because it’s not particularly safe

because the bird is so thick that it’s hard to get the stuffing up to the safe temperature of

160 degrees F when it’s inside the bird. Also, the cavity is small so the proportion of

meat to stuffing is poor. Just bake it separately.

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Side Dishes

Most holiday-related side dishes can be cooked easily even if you only have a hotplate.

The only real challenge is that it will be tough to keep everything warm, but you can

always reheat in individual servings if you need to.

After all, it only takes a few minutes to heat something back up, and luke-warm green

bean casserole is still delicious.

Stuffing

If you’ve stockpiled well, then hopefully you’ve got several boxes of stuffing put back.

You can buy boxed stuffing for practically nothing if you watch sales and use coupons,

though it only goes on sale a few times a year.

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Still, even if you pay full price, you can get it at Walmart for less than a couple of bucks

per box. You can also stockpile bread cubes. So, stockpile!

If you don’t have any boxed stuffing on hand, no worries. You can make it yourself with

dried bread cubes and seasonings. I’m intentionally assuming that you have no fresh

veggies with this recipe, so if you have fresh onions, celery, apples and/or herbs, even

better.

Even some dried cranberries add a nice flavor and texture. If you don’t have any of this,

the stuffing will still be delicious. The upside is that you don’t have to bake it so you can

make it using any cooking method.

If you’re making it from scratch, you want to dry your bread cubes at least overnight. It’s

good to do this in the oven, but you don’t have to. You can let them air-dry.

Making Bread Cubes

Start with any kind of bread. Hearty breads such as sourdough, Italian, or French breads

work wonderfully, but you can use any type you want. Some people even like to use

cornbread.

To make the bread cubes, simply cut them into 1/2-inch cubes until you have 5 cups

(they shrink a bit when they dry), then spread them on a baking sheet in a single layer.

Bake at 300 degrees for 20 minutes or until they’re crisp.

Alternatively, you can leave them out, covered, overnight or place them in the sun for

several hours so that the natural heat dries them. Some people don’t even dry the cubes,

but it gives the stuffing better texture if you do.

Ingredients

4 cups dried bread crumbs (use all that you dried)

1 tsp. celery salt, celery seeds, or 2 stalks fresh celery, diced

1 tsp onion powder or 1/4 cup fresh onion, diced

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1/3 cup butter

1/4 cup water or chicken broth

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp dried sage

Pinch dried thyme

1/8 tsp black pepper

1 tsp. poultry seasoning (optional but nice)

1/4 cup dried cranberries (optional)

1/2 cup crumbled breakfast sausage (optional but delicious)

Directions

Melt butter in a 2-quart Dutch oven or saucepan.

If you have fresh celery, onions, and/or sausage, sauté them with the butter until

the veggie are translucent or the meat is cooked. If not, just add seasonings.

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Remove from heat.

Add breadcrumbs and toss gently to coat evenly.

Cover for 10 minutes to allow the breadcrumbs to soften.

Spoon into a baking dish or Dutch oven.

Technically, the stuffing is done after the bread has softened and absorbed all of the

yumminess, but it’s nice to bake it if you have the means.

Oven: cover with foil or a lid and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 15 minutes

longer to crisp.

Dutch oven: 20 minutes, with 2/3 coals on top and 1/3 on bottom.

Solar oven: 2 hours or so. Cook with meat.

Skillet: It will be crumbly, but you can actually brown your stuffing and get it a bit

crispy in a skillet. You can either spread it in the skillet sort of like you would in a cake

pan so that you get chunks, or you can fry it in crumbles.

To cook it in large chunks, spread it in the skillet in a 2-inch or so layer, then cook it

over med heat for 5 minutes or so until it’s brown on the bottom (just check with a

spatula), then turn it in large chunksand fry the other side. For crumbles, toss it in and

stir it around until it’s brown.

Green Bean Casserole

This is a holiday classic and isn’t that hard to adapt if you stockpiled cream of

mushroom soup and green beans. The fried onions that go on top would be nice, but you

can make those in a pinch if you have fresh onions.

Since the beans and soup are pretty common stockpile items, we’re going to assume you

have them.

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Ingredients

2 cans French-cut green beans

(regular ones will do), drained well

1 10.5oz. can cream of mushroom

soup

1 medium onion, sliced thinly

1/2 cup flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

2 tbsp. olive oil or butter

1/4 cup milk

Directions

To make the fried onions:

Mix the flour, salt and pepper together in a small bowl.

Toss the onion slices in the milk to coat them so that the flour mixture will stick,

then drain.

Sprinkle the flour mixture over the onions and toss to coat evenly.

Heat the olive oil or butter in a skillet and sauté the onions until crispy.

To make the casserole:

On a camp stove or hotplate: Mix the green beans and the cream of mushroom soup in a

saucepan and cook on medium/high heat until the soup has thickened a bit, about 10

minutes. Top with fried onions.

Oven: Pour green beans and soup into a small baking dish. Stir together and top with

onions. Bake for 30 minutes or until soup has thickened and onions are crispy.

Dutch oven: Follow same directions as above, except cook in the coals.

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Sweet Potato Casserole

Sweet potatoes in some form hold a place on most family holiday tables. This is a super-

simple dish to make because it only uses a few ingredients.

Ingredients

You can go the easy route here and use the sweet potato pie filling, or you can use

pureed sweet potatoes for a less-sweet flavor. It’s up to you.

1 29oz can sweet potato pie filling, or 2 10-15oz. cans yams

1 cup mini marshmallows or marshmallow fluff

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup chopped pecans, optional

Directions

If you’re using canned sweet potatoes/yams, you need to puree them with a fork or

potato masher first.

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Oven: Spread pie filling or puree over the bottom of a 9x15 pan, then tops with the

cinnamon, pecans, and marshmallows/fluff. The fluff will be a bit challenging, so it may

be easier to just drop teaspoon-sized dollops every few inches over the top. Bake for 20

minutes at 350 degrees or until marshmallow browns.

Skillet: Layer in a skillet as described above, then place on medium-low heat with a lid

and cook for 10 minutes or so or until the marshmallows melt.

Candied Yams

This is a bit different in flavor and texture to the casserole, and you can use fresh sweet

potatoes or yams if you have them in your cellar. These take a long time to bake. If you

don’t have fresh, cans are fine and they cook much faster.

Fun fact: yams are much more nutritious than sweet potatoes.

Ingredients

2 15-oz. cans yams or 4 medium fresh yams/sweet potatoes

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. allspice (optional)

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup mini marshmallows or fluff

1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)

1 cup water (if using fresh potatoes)

Directions

If you’re using fresh potatoes, clean them and quarter them lengthways, then cut the

quarters in halves or thirds. Otherwise, you’re ready to cook.

Methods are the same for all cooking methods, place fresh potatoes and water, or

canned potatoes undrained in a dish that suits your backing method. Sprinkle with

brown sugar, cinnamon, allspice, and pecans. Top with marshmallow.

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Oven: Fresh – bake 1 hour to 1.5 hours at 400 degrees or until potatoes are soft. Canned

– bake 25 minutes at 400 degrees.

Dutch oven: Bake with the coals equally distributed for 1 hour for fresh potatoes and

20 minutes for canned potatoes

Pan over open fire or hotplate: Covered, boil fresh for 30 minutes or canned for 15

minutes over medium heat. Stir frequently.

Solar Oven: Bake for 60-90 minutes.

Gravy

You can really cheat here because there are cans, jars, and packs of gravy that are all

pretty darned good if you find the right ones.

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For the sake of your sanity in a crisis, you may want to consider stockpiling gravy. The

packs, especially, because they take up very little space and can make a so-so dish or cut

of meat taste good. It will serve you especially well during the holidays when time,

inventory, cooking space, and fuel may be at a premium.

If you still want to make your own gravy, it’s easy to do.

3 cups chicken stock or pan drippings from the turkey (or a little of each)

1/4 cup flour or 3 tbsp. corn starch

1/2 tsp. salt (taste the broth or drippings before you add salt to the gravy mix)

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1/4 cup milk or broth (or drippings)

Directions

Making cornstarch gravy and flour gravy is a bit different. Cornstarch thickens as it

cools, gravy thickens as it cooks. Also, corn starch is easy to dissolve in the bit of milk,

and it takes less product. You need to add the milk gradually to the flour to avoid lumps.

Combine the flour or cornstarch with the milk or stock. If you’re using stock, it

needs to be cool to keep from making mini-dumplings in your flour.

Pour stock or drippings into a 1-qt saucepan along with the seasoning, being light

with the salt. You can always add more, but you can’t take it out.

Once the flour/corn starch slurry is mixed well with no lumps, whisk it into the

broth.

Bring to a boil over medium heat

For cornstarch gravy, let it boil for about 30 seconds then remove from heat. It

will thicken as it cools.

For flour gravy, continue cooking, stirring constantly, until it’s almost as thick as

you want and remove from heat. It will thicken slightly as it cools.

Taste and add salt as needed.

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Homemade Bread

Yes, making bread is a challenge if you don’t have either an oven, a Dutch oven, or a

solar oven, but if you have one of those three things, then you can make fresh light

bread, assuming you have the ingredients. Even if you don’t, you can always fry it or

cook it over an open fire.

Homemade bread is comfort food and will lighten just about anybody’s spirit, even

when things get bad.

Ingredients

2 cups warm (not hot!) water

2/3 cup sugar

1 1/2 tbsp. active dry yeast (rapid rise works fine)

1 1/2 tsp. salt

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1/4 cup olive oil or soft/melted butter

6 cups all-purpose or bread flour

Directions

Dissolve the sugar in the warm water in a large bowl, then add the yeast.

Let it proof until it looks like a creamy foam.

Add the salt and butter/oil to the yeast, then start adding the flour one cup or so

at a time, stirring until it gets stiff. It should be just dry enough not to stick to

your hands.

Flour a surface and turn the dough onto it. Roll the dough in the flour, then begin

kneading until the dough is smooth and elastic. This will take several minutes.

Put a teaspoon of olive oil in a bowl and add the dough, rolling it around until the

entire loaf is lightly oiled.

Cover with a warm, damp cloth and let it rise until it doubles in size. The time will

vary depending upon the temperature of the room, but at room temperature, it

should take about an hour.

Punch down the dough and divide in half, or into golf-ball sized rolls. Place in

oiled pans and let it rise again. If doing hot rolls, leave enough space between

them to allow for them to double in size.

Baking

Oven: Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Dutch oven: lightly grease and flour the inside of the pan, then put the loaves inside.

The flour will singe, but that will protect your loaves. Bury with heat distributed evenly

around it and bake for about 35 minutes.

Skillet fried bread: Pour about two inches of oil into your skillet and get it sizzling

hot. Instead of making your rolls to let them rise a second time, make the dough rather

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flat so that they’re only a couple of inches thick. Gently pick up each one and drop it into

the hot grease. Let one side brown, then flip it and brown the other side.

Open-fire cooking: Wrap the dough around a stick and hold close enough to the fire

that it can brown but not so close that it burns. Treat it sort of like a marshmallow that

you’re trying to cook to golden brown.

Solar oven: Place to proofed loaves or rolls in the oven and follow directions. It should

cook in less than an hour if the sun is strong.

Once your bread is baked, you can also eat tit along with some homemade spiced butter.

Here’s an easy recipe you can make this season:

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Deserts

Cinnamon Rolls

The dough recipe above is perfect for cinnamon rolls – a wonderful dessert and comfort

food for any time of the year.

Instead of making a loaf or rolls after the dough rises the first time, roll it out

until it’s only about 1/2-inch thick and rectangular in shape.

Slather with melted butter then sprinkle liberally with cinnamon and sugar. If

you have raisins, feel free to add those, too.

Starting at wide side of the rectangle, begin rolling the dough.

Once you have a rolled log, begin slicing it into one-inch slices across the grain of

the roll.

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Pinch the open tail of the cinnamon roll into the dough where it ends so that it

forms a nice roll.

Place on a cookie sheet, leaving room for them to rise.

Once they’ve doubled in size, bake for 15-20 minutes or until rolls are lightly

browned.

Make a glaze from 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 tbsp. melted butter, 1 tsp. vanilla or

almond extract, and enough milk to make it thick but still drizzly.

Drizzle over the cinnamon rolls and watch them go!

Pie Crust

Just like with bread, you might think that if you don’t have an oven, you can’t bake a pie,

right? Well, you can’t bake a whole pie, but you can certainly make a fried popover pie!

No need to skip dessert because you have no oven as long as you have oil and a skillet.

There are a couple of slight modifications to the crust, but otherwise, you’re good to go.

First, let’s make an all-purpose pie crust. Actually, this recipe will make two crusts. My

grandmother used to swear that vinegar and cold water were the two secrets to a crispy,

flaky crust, and she’s right.

Ingredients

3 cups flour

1 1/3 cups lard (Crisco) (1 cup if making fried crust)

1 tsp. salt

1 egg

6 tsp. cold water (1/3 cup of you’re making fried crust)

1 tsp. vinegar

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Directions

Cut the Crisco into the flour until it’s uniformly shaped like little peas, then add

the egg, water and vinegar.

Divide in half and turn out onto a floured surface

Roll until 1/8-inch thick.

If you’re making a pie, drape the crust into a pie plate.

If you’re frying it, stuff it with your favorite filling – maybe apple, cherry, or

blueberry pie filling.

Seal the edges well by folding them together or by using an egg wash, then folding

them together.

Heat 2-3 inches of oil in a skillet or pan until it sizzles, then add the pies.

Cook until it’s browned on one side, then flip and brown the other side.

Pumpkin Pie

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The easiest way to make pumpkin pie if you’re in a survival situation is to simply use

pumpkin pie filling from a can, then just add eggs and milk and bake. Of course, if you

want to use your own recipe, that’s fine, too.

A quick secret to a great pumpkin pie? Pumpkin pie seasoning! It has a perfect blend of

all the seasonings you need, without going through your spice cabinet and adding a bit

of this and a tad of that. Pie hack!

Ingredients

1 pie crust from above in a 9-inch deep dish plate

1 15-oz. can pumpkin puree

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 12-oz can evaporated milk

1 tbsp. pumpkin pie spice

Directions

Combine all ingredients (except crust) well. Mix until the eggs are completely

combined and the sugar feels dissolved.

Prick a few holes in your pie crust and brush with a bit of beaten egg.

Pour mix into pie shell until it’s about half full, then place in baking container of

choice.

Once the pie is stable, fill the crust the rest of the way with filling.

Regular ovens: Preheat oven to 425 degrees and bake pie for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to

350 and cook for an addition 40-50 minutes or until a knife inserted into middle comes

out clean.

Dutch ovens: Line with foil to make cleanup easier, then place the pie into the Dutch

oven. Put the lid on and bury, with coals distributed evenly. It’s really important that the

oven is perfectly level so that your pie bakes without spilling all over inside the oven.

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Solar oven: Place pie in oven and bake according to oven directions. It should be done in

less than 2 hours. This is another good dish to cook at the same time that your meat is

cooking.

You could also substitute sweet potato pie filling.

To make apple pie, use your canned apple pie filling and place the second crust over the

top. Slice some vent holes in the top and pinch the pie sealed around the edges so that

the pie filling can’t leak out. You won’t need to cook this longer than 45 minutes, though.

Dutch Apple Pie

If you’d like to make Dutch apple pie, don’t use the second crust; instead make the

following crumble and sprinkle it generously over the top:

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

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1 cup brown sugar, tightly packed

3/4 cup butter

1/2 cup quick oats

Directions

Prepare crust above and place it in a 9-inch pie pan

Add apple pie filling

Combine ingredients listed above and sprinkle over the top of the pie. Bake until

crust and topping are golden brown and filling is bubbly.

Peach Cobbler

This is an awesome Dutch oven recipe, but works well in a regular oven, too. I’ve never

tried it in a solar oven, but I imagine it would be fine.

You can substitute apples or apple pie filling for the peaches.

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1 cup milk

1 cup self-rising flour

1 quart peaches, drained

2 tsp. apple pie seasoning

Directions

Melt butter and pour into your cooking pan or Dutch oven

In a separate bowl, combine milk, flour, and sugar

Add apple pie seasoning to peaches

Pour into pan – do not mix with the butter!

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Gently scatter your peaches over the top of the batter, being careful not to mix.

Just let them relax there.

Oven: Bake at 350 degrees for an hour

Dutch oven: Bake with coals distributed evenly for an hour

Solar oven: Bake for approximately 2 hours. Another great dish to cook right along

with your meat.

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Final Words and a Christmas Wish

The goal of this report was to give you information and recipes that will help you cook a

great holiday meal even if you’re sitting in a bunker. Even if you only have a hotplate or

an open fire to cook over, you can cook a delicious meal for your family and other loved

ones.

For any of the recipe that calls for eggs, milk, or butter, dried is fine. Just reconstitute

according to the directions on the package before using.

As you can see, if you have a few skillets and pans, a solar oven, and a Dutch oven, you

can make just about anything. For that matter, if you have a stick, you can cook meat

and bread over a fire without any type of cooking vessel. All it takes is the desire to do it,

and that pioneer spirit that made this country great to begin with.

Use this as a shopping guide of sorts to make sure that, even in the worst case scenario,

you have what you need to make a nice holiday meal. It’s important, the ingredients are

commonplace and can be used for daily cooking, and – as always – you’ll be prepared.

Merry Christmas!