Two Recipes Using Evaporated Milk

Evaporated Milk is on sale at Costco this month.  The numbers I remember in my head are that it was once 13-something and it is now 9-something for a 12-pack.  That is a great price!  When you think of how often you need 1-2 cups of milk for a recipe, you can see how useful this stuff is.  No need to dig into your powdered milk supply, yet.

Here are two recipes I use monthly to rotate my supply of evaporated milk.

First is this Skillet Creamy Macaroni and Cheese from Mel's Kitchen Cafe.  I only use one kind of cheese, though.  I usually serve this with broccoli and applesauce.  This is a meal I could have a year's supply of if I could figure out the cheese...  though the cheese and butter aren't absolutely necessary, I suppose.

Skillet Creamy Macaroni and Cheese

INGREDIENTS

• 3 1/2 cups water, plus extra if needed
• 1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk
• 12 ounces (about 3 cups) elbow macaroni
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon hot sauce
• 6 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded (1 1/2 cups)
• 6 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, shredded (1 1/2 cups)
• 2 tablespoons butter, cut into small chunks
• Ground black pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Bring 3 1/2 cups water, 1 cup of the evaporated milk, the macaroni, and 1/2 teaspoon salt to a simmer in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over high heat. Cook at a vigorous simmer, stirring often, until the macaroni is tender and the liquid has thickened, 9 to 12 minutes.
2. Whisk the remaining 1/2 cup evaporated milk, the cornstarch, mustard and hot sauce together in a small bowl, then stir into the skillet. Continue to simmer slightly thickened, about 1 minute.
3. Off the heat, stir in the cheddar and Monterey Jack, one handful at a time, adding water as needed to adjust the consistency of the sauce (I didn’t need any additional water when I made it). Stir in the butter and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

The second recipe is this Roasted Chicken Noodle Soup from Recipe Girl.  This is a great recipe to use up 1 or 2 cans of chicken.  (I buy kirkland.)  We talked about the difference between freeze dried and dehydrated vegetables.  For onions, carrots and celery, I'm going to say to go with the cheapest because they are in so many recipes and they aren't really the "stars of the show".  The cannery sells bulk-dried carrots and onions.  Fresh carrots, onions, and celery also last pretty long so they could be counted on for your three month supply.  I buy the big bag of homestyle noodles at Costco so I can make this lots and lots of times.

roasted chicken noodle soup

Yield: 10 servings (serving size 1 cup)

Prep Time: 20 min

Cook Time: 50 min

Absolutely my favorite chicken soup recipe, ever.

ingredients:

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup diced or thinly sliced carrots
1 cup thinly sliced celery
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon poultry seasoning
6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups diced leftover roasted chicken
1 cup evaporated milk
4 ounces (2 cups) uncooked wide egg noodles
fresh thyme (optional)

directions:

Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-heat. Add onion, carrots, celery and garlic clove; sauté 5 minutes. Sprinkle flour, oregano, thyme and poultry seasoning over vegetables, and cook 1 minute. Stir in broth and salt. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer, partially covered, for 25 minutes. Add roasted chicken, milk and noodles, and cook 10 minutes or until noodles are tender. Garnish with fresh thyme, if desired.

For this recipe, I use the whole can of evaporated milk and add a bit more broth.  My favorite broth is this base from Costco for around $6. There is both chicken and beef.  It makes the equivalent of 38 cans of broth, or 19 quarts.  It is the ultimate space saver for food storage.  And it's organic and reduced sodium and all that exciting stuff.  It is only shelf stable until you open it, though.  There are other Better than Bouillon options in powder form that remain shelf stable even after opening.