Dehydrated or Fresh?

That seems like such a silly question.

Fresh, of course!

Fresh is always my first choice.

Fresh tastes... better!

Now it's time for true confession... sometimes I don't use fresh.

Yikes! I can't believe I said that.

But I did, and it's true.

There are two dehydrated products that have become absolute staples in my Pantry.

Dehydrated Onions and Dehydrated Cross Cut Celery.

Of course, these items are part of my food storage, but they are often part of my everyday cooking.

Another true confession:

Sometimes life is so crazy that I don't follow a menu plan but just fly by the seat of my pants... 

which is actually crazy mother talk for 

sometimes I have to pull a rabbit out of a hat and fix a delicious, nutritious meal in a hurry. 

And that's when dehydrated steps up to the plate... or pot.  Use the onions in gravies, salad dressings, sauces, soups and stews. You can reconstitute them if you like, but I never do, unless I'm adding them to meats I'm browning, then I just add a little cold water to the chopped onions. Don't like too much juice in your homemade salsa? Add a little dehydrated onion and they will make the consistency just right, as well as add  flavor. 

Celery adds a delicious flavor to broth. Toss them in your soup recipe for a 'good for you'  flavor that you'll love without spending time chopping.  You can also use celery in stews, casseroles and meats for flavoring.

And here's the money saving tip of the day...

Why purchase your dehydrated onions in the small size found on your grocer's shelf for around 3 dollars, when you can buy a gallon size for a fraction of the cost per serving? (I've never seen celery in a smaller size, only the gallon size.)

I purchase the gallon can of onions for around 7 or 8 dollars. Then I fill empty small size containers to keep in my kitchen pantry. The gallon goes in my food storage room. (The shelf life is 10 to 15 years).



Dehydrated onions and celery...
always a great idea to have on your Pantry shelf!