Pn: you assume I am willing to take a very large financial risk ffrom wich I could never recover if it went south :) Your idea has crossed my mind though; maybe, if my banker and I could agree on a piece of land he wouldn't mind owning if I couldn't sell it we'd be able to deal. I already live in the middle of commercial ag but in a very small town, there is an elevator 2 blocks away and a spray service 2 blocks away also. Right now there are combines, grain carts and semi trailers hauling grain parked in town and going to and through it. My neighbor is a custom harvester. The mad dash is on to get all the corn, soybeans and milo harvested as well as the winter wheat planted. Yep, anhydrous is used here on corn, it is knifed in under ground. Being a gas at atmospheric pressure, it wouldn't do any good to try and pour it anywhere, knives work very well if the soil has the right amount of moisture in it. Nacyjane: there isn't really any empty land around here unless you count the creek bottoms, everything is in crop production in this county and every county around it and more. Happyday: good point, I suspect there are no zoning restrictions on subdividing within the county. On a less serious note, I don't think there are any laws in the county at all, 1 sheriff and 3 deputies to cover 24/7/365. what do you think? You can not pay your property taxes for in excess of 5 years and not have to worry about the county auctioning off your property.

Here ya go Florey! It was on page 4 I believe. While I'm at it I'll post my vegetarian recipe for chili. It's easily made with meat by starting with browning ground meat or other meat then going from there with this recipe. Saute about 3 cups each of onion, celery and peppers of your choice and two Tablespoons or more of garlic[ I use about 3 or 4 for this amount, smiles]. When these are sauteed a bit, add two cups of carrots and 2 large cans of small diced tomatoes [with their juice]. I don't like to use crushed or sauce in my chili. I think it overwhelms the veggies. A bay leaf and couple tablespoons each of cumin, chili powder, and salt. Add water or veggie stock, if needed, to bring level up to slightly above veggies. As hard veggies begin to soften, add 2 cups each of eggplant[cubed], zucchini and/or yellow squash. Cook another ten minutes and add 2 cups each mushrooms, canned or frozen corn and canned or frozen green beans. Taste now for salt and seasonings and adjust. Next add as many beans as you like. I use the liquid in the beans too. At least 1 lrg can of dark and 1 lrg can of light kidney beans. Also, black beans and cannellini beans are good. Pintos are great too, naturally. As soon as beans are heated through the chili is done. Taste once more for seasoning. Like all chili this is best if made the day before. Does great frozen. I usually make about 3 gallons of this at a time and freeze in 4 or 5 containers.

Shambo- If you like, and normally use, Condensed Canned Soup, you should include them in your food storage rather than trying to replicate it. Condensed soups are common food storage items and used in lots of food storage recipes. However, if you are trying to avoid the high-sodium content and "odd-ball" ingredients found in most commercial canned soup, or want a reasonable substitute from storage ingredients, then there are recipes you may want to try - just don't expect the same thing (taste-wise) as Campbell's Soup. There is a number of Cream of _______ Soup base mixes to choose from if you are trying to avoid canned soups (see the link below). Augason Farms even has a #10 can of soup base, which is probably similar to what we make in our mixes. Creamed soups are really nothing more than white sauce plus added ingredients like chicken and bouillon, cheese, mushrooms, tomatoes, celery, etc. - just like we learned to make in Home Economics all those years ago. We've just gotten out of the habit of making it from scratch and reach for a can of soup instead. I like to use "Magic Mix" (a mix developed by the Utah State Extension Service), and I use the gluten-free version that uses cornstarch instead of all-purpose flour. I use cornstarch because I don't store all-purpose flour, but I DO store cornstarch - which has a long shelf-life. I also use coconut oil instead of butter called for in the recipe so it's shelf-stable and doesn't require any refrigeration. MAGIC MIX 2-1/3 c. dry NON-instant powdererd milk* (I use Morning Moo's Whey-based Milk Substitute) 1 c. all-purpose flour, OR 1/2 c. cornstarch 1 c. butter, at room temperature (I use LouAna Coconut Oil) Combine dry milk, flour or cornstarch, and butter into a large bowl. Mix with electric hand mixer until it looks like cornmeal. Keep mix tightly covered in the refrigerator for up to 8-months. Yield: 5-cups. *If all you have available to you is INSTANT non-fat dry milk, you can blend the dry milk powder until it's a fine powder, and then it will measure the same as NON-instant dry milk powder. To make Condensed Cream of Tomato Soup: 1 c. Magic Mix 1 15-oz. can diced tomatoes 1 t. dried parsley flakes (optional) salt and pepper to taste Combine Magic Mix and diced tomatoes. Stir constantly over medium-high heat until mixture thickens. Add parsley, salt and pepper. Blend in blender until smooth. Serve immediately, or use in any recipe calling for canned cream of tomato soup. Cream of Mushroom Soup - using Magic Mix 1 c. Magic Mix 1 can (4-5 oz.) can mushroom pieces and stems, undrained (you can also use rehydrated freeze-dried or dehydrated mushrooms + the water used to rehydrate them 1/4 c. water 2 drops Kitchen Bouquet (optional, for color only) dash onion salt dash pepper Combine Magic Mix, mushrooms and liquid, and water. Stir constantly over medium-high heat until mixture thickens. Add Kitchen Bouquet, onion salt, and pepper. Use in any recipe calling for canned cream of mushroom soup. Other recipes using Magic Mix found in the book - "I Can't Believe It's Food Storage" by Crystal Godfrey... -Pesto Alfredo Sauce -Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup -Condensed Cream of Broccoli Soup -Condensed Cream of Celery Soup -Magic Mix Gravy -Magic Mix Fudgsicles -Magic Mix Pudding -Magic Mix White Sauce Recipe found on\-line. Tomato Soup Mix \- Single Serving by: Budget101 4 T. Non\-fat dry milk 2 T. Powdered dry tomatoes (you may want to start with 1 T. and add more if needed) 1/8 t. Basil Salt , Dash Pepper, Dash Measure all into jar or ziploc bag, shake to combine. Add mix to 1 Mug of Hot water, stir, let set 2 minutes, enjoy. TOMATO BASIL SOUP (source: Jan's Fabulous Food Storage Recipes - Converting Stored Foods into Useable Meals - by Jan LeBaron) 3 T. dehydrated chopped onions 1 t. dried garlic granules 1 t. dried basil 1 c. tomato powder 4 c. water 1 c. diced freeze-dried tomatoes (optional) In a large pan add 4 c. water, bring water to boil, lower heat and then add garlic granules, basil, whisk in tomato powder until smooth, if you are adding tomatoes dices add last 5-6 minutes. LOW\-FAT CREAM SOUP MIX (source: "Use It or Lose It" (food storage cooking school) \- by Rebecca Low and Deloy Hendricks \- Utah State University Extension) http://extension.usu.edu/files/publications/publication/FN_503.pdf 2 c. INSTANT dry milk (or 1\-1/4 c. NON\-instant) 3/4 c. cornstarch 1/4 c. chicken bouillon granules 2 T. onion flakes (dried) 1 t. basil (dried) 1 t. thyme (dried) 1/2 t. pepper Combine all ingredients and mix. Store in air tight container until ready to use. Equivalent to 9 cans of cream soup. To substitute for 1 can condensed soup: Combine 1/3 c. dry mix (use 1/4 c. if made with NON\-instant dry milk) and 1\-1/4 c. cool water or liquid from vegetables. Cook over medium heat, stirring until thickened. Add thickened mixture to casseroles as you would a can of soup. Do a search and you will find many more recipes on\-line for creamed soup substitute mixes to try. Powered butter can be reconstituted to make a spread, and I add a little coconut oil to it to add back some fat. When used in baking it is not necessary to reconstitute. Simply add it to your dry ingredients and increase the liquid the amount it would take to reconstitute. For home food storage I prefer coconut oil for cooking and baking to powdered butter, and that's the main source of fat I store. I store some powdered butter, but I only occasionally rotate it into the pantry and use it mostly for homemade mixes and baking. I also store grass-fed organic ghee (mostly for it's nutrition) and commercially canned butter (Red Feather Pure Canned Butter). --------------------------------------------------- Sweet Dairy Whey- I worked with Sweet Dairy Whey years ago as a substitute for some of the sugar in recipes. I've never used it since..... I do, however, store and use whey protein powder (and as you suspected, they are not the same thing). I often increase the protein profile of baked goods and snacks by adding protein powder - especially when we have a vegetarian day. I also use a whey-based milk substitute (Morning Moo's) which has a shortening-like effect on baked goods, so you can often use less fat in a recipe. I've made low-carb cream cheese frosting using Morning Moo's powder instead of powdered sugar and sweetened it with a little agave nectar or stevia. -Grainlady Here is a link that might be useful: Making Magic Mixes

I've been using it for several months. I get mine from Honeyville Grain, and have been very pleased with the product. I add it to all baked goods for a portion of the flour used, pasta/noodles, and add it to our morning smoothie. Still experimenting with it. I made a small batch of crackers with it plus freeze-dried corn and freeze-dried shredded cheddar cheese and spices (altering a recipe found in "Cookin' with Home Storage" by Peggy Layton). They were similar in taste to Cheez-Its. I recently posted this recipe in response to altering a recipe: (Hi-Maize) Cappuccino Muffins 1 c. whole wheat flour (pastry if available - spelt flour will also work) 3/4 c. Hi-Maize 1/4 c. flaxmeal 1/4 c. agave nectar 2-1/2 t. baking powder 1 t. cinnamon 1/2 t. salt 1 c. milk 2 T. instant coffee granules 2 T. coconut oil (melted) 1 egg (room temperature) 1 t. vanilla 1/4-1/2 c. mini chocolate chips Mix dry ingredients together. Mix wet ingredients together. Add liquid ingredients to dry ingredients, mixing (by hand) only until ingredients are incorporated. Add chocolate chips. Fill a 24-muffin mini-muffin pan, sprinkle lightly with cinnamon-sugar. Bake in a preheated 350°F oven for 11-13-minutes. If you don't use cinnamon sugar on the top, they can be dusted with powdered sugar (or cinnamon- powdered sugar) after they are baked. ----------------------------------------------------- I'm all about glycemic index and glycemic load in foods, so this ingredient works very well in that division. Great for satiety - no more "munchies". There's all kinds of science on the subject you might be interested in. Just Google - Science - hi-maize resistant starch. I've also found other recipes using hi-maize on-line, besides King Arthur. -Grainlady