Well, as promised, we purchased some Keystone meat products to try.  I have been doing a little research on them and like what I see.  Here is a little breakdown on the five we got.

Beef - 14.5oz, Ingredients: Beef, Sea Salt.  0 trans fats. Sodium 120mg. 0 Carbs. 0 sugar.  11g protein.

Ground beef - 14.5oz. Ingredients:  Same as the Beef.

Chicken - Ingredients: Chicken, Sea Salt.  The rest is the same as the beef but sodium is 100mg.

Pork -  Ingredients:  Pork, Salt.  Sodium 180mg, the rest the same as the beef, sodium 180mg.

Turkey - Ingredients: Turkey, Salt. Sodium 180mg, the rest the same as the beef, sodium 180mg.

All five of the meats we purchased have "0" trans fats which are the "bad" fats.  That's a good thing.

They must sell quickly because all the manufacture dates were in the last 90 days of this year.  The way you can tell the manufacture date is on the bottom of the can.  There are two lines of numbers, one of them has a letter in front of it, the other doesn't  For instance, on the can of Turkey, the numbers are T3258 with the number 15828 under that.  The top number is coded this way:
T = Turkey,
3 is the last number of the year it was made (2013)
258, the last three numbers are the day of the year it was made, in my case, the 258th day of the year.  The other number with out the letter in front of it is their USDA establishment number.

Now lets talk about shelf life.  Here is what the company has to say.

Thank you for purchasing our Keystone Heat and Serve Meats.



Shelf Life and Production Code



The USDA recommends a shelf life of 5 years, provided the integrity of the can is not compromised in any way. Once opened, the meat should be treated the same as any other fresh meat. The USDA does not require a use by date on the can due to the extended shelf life. The numbers you need are on the bottom of each can.

15826 is our USDA establishment number and the other set of numbers is the date of production.

For instance, if your production code was B9174, it would be:

B = beef

9 = 2009 (the first number after the letter is the last number of the production year) (0 = 2010, 1 = 2011)

174 = the 174th day of the year according to the Julian calendar. These 3 numbers are always the day of the year. All of our Keystone Heat and Serve canned meats can be read in this manner.
Read more at http://www.survivalistboards.com/showthread.php?t=179799#vwtHcjcHheemiQGY.99

 "Thank you for purchasing our Heat and Serve Meats.  The USDA recommends a shelf life of 5 years, provided the integrity of the can is not compromised in any way.  Once opened, the meat should be treated the same way as any fresh meat.  The USDA does not require a use by date on the can due to the extended shelf life."

We will open a couple of them this coming week and give you a report back.

Have fun with your food storage.
Bob and LouAnn Singer



1/2/2014

We had a question on the Keystone products so I sent an Email off to them to find out if the livestock that the products are made from were hormone free and grain fed.  Here is their response.

"Joanie Tharp <contact@keystonemeats.com>	7:31 AM (2 hours ago)
to me

Hello Bob,

Thank you for considering Keystone Heat and Serve Meats.  All natural meats there is meat and 1 tablet of sea salt with no additives of any kind including flavoring and coloring.  We do not guarantee whether or not the animals are grain fed or grass fed as we do not raise them ourselves.  We also do not import any meat and use only federally inspected meat.  Any animal in the United States must be hormone and residue free at the time of slaughter. The USDA oversees this and tests for these things at every federal facility in the country.

Thank you,
Joanie Tharp
Keystone Meats
419-225-9600 ext. 105
contact@keystonemeats.com"

Hope this helps.

Have fun with your food storage.
Bob and LouAnn Singer


UPDATE 1/12/2014

We have tried all of the Keystone meats now and they are, as Tony the Tiger would say, GRRRRRRREAT!  5 Stars on these products.  We will be buying more now for our long term food storage.

Bob and LouAnn Singer

Thank you for purchasing our Keystone Heat and Serve Meats.



Shelf Life and Production Code



The USDA recommends a shelf life of 5 years, provided the integrity of the can is not compromised in any way. Once opened, the meat should be treated the same as any other fresh meat. The USDA does not require a use by date on the can due to the extended shelf life. The numbers you need are on the bottom of each can.

15826 is our USDA establishment number and the other set of numbers is the date of production.

For instance, if your production code was B9174, it would be:

B = beef

9 = 2009 (the first number after the letter is the last number of the production year) (0 = 2010, 1 = 2011)

174 = the 174th day of the year according to the Julian calendar. These 3 numbers are always the day of the year. All of our Keystone Heat and Serve canned meats can be read in this manner.



Thank you,

Joanie Tharp

Keystone Meats

419-225-9600 #105
Read more at http://www.survivalistboards.com/showthread.php?t=179799#vwtHcjcHheemiQGY.99

Thank you for purchasing our Keystone Heat and Serve Meats.



Shelf Life and Production Code



The USDA recommends a shelf life of 5 years, provided the integrity of the can is not compromised in any way. Once opened, the meat should be treated the same as any other fresh meat. The USDA does not require a use by date on the can due to the extended shelf life. The numbers you need are on the bottom of each can.

15826 is our USDA establishment number and the other set of numbers is the date of production.

For instance, if your production code was B9174, it would be:

B = beef

9 = 2009 (the first number after the letter is the last number of the production year) (0 = 2010, 1 = 2011)

174 = the 174th day of the year according to the Julian calendar. These 3 numbers are always the day of the year. All of our Keystone Heat and Serve canned meats can be read in this manner.



Thank you,

Joanie Tharp

Keystone Meats

419-225-9600 #105
Read more at http://www.survivalistboards.com/showthread.php?t=179799#vwtHcjcHheemiQGY.99

Here it is already the middle of December and I haven't added any food storage recipes yet.  So....here are some recipes for Decembers food storage items, Meat and Vegetables. 

Ok, so there are not a whole lot of veggies that I like but here are several of my favs rolled up into one nice casserole.  BACON, Onions, Bell Peppers and Tater Tots (potatoes are a veggie, right?

Bacon Breakfast Bake
3/4 – 1 bag TATER TOTS
salt and pepper to taste
1 small onion or 1/2 large onion, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
1 lb bacon crisp, crumbled
8 eggs
2 cups milk
3 cups cheddar jack or colby jack cheese, shredded

In a 9×13 casserole dish
add the TATER TOTS, salt and pepper to taste. Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven until TATER TOTS are golden brown.

Remove from oven and set aside.   Lower oven temp to 350.
In a mixing bowl, add 8 eggs, 2 cups milk, and 3 cups shredded cheese.  Mix well and set aside.
In a frying pan, fry bacon until crisp, then crumble.  Discard all bacon grease except 1 tablespoon for sautéing the onion and peppers.  In the same fry pan as the bacon, sauté the diced onion and peppers until soft.  Layer the onions and peppers on top of the pre cooked TATER TOTS.  Layer the bacon crumbles on top of the onions and peppers.  Pour the egg and cheese mixture over the bacon layer.
COVER with aluminum foil and bake in a pre heated  350 oven for 45 minutes. UNCOVER and bake for an additional 30 minutes.
Enjoy!!

Since it is close to Christmas, We have a tradition that we started years ago.  We have Mexican food for our Christmas and what would it be without TAMALES?  I love making tamales.  It took me several years to get it right, at least in my humble opinion, so I thought I would pass along my method of making them.  It qualifies because the Pork is meat and the black olives, onions and garlic are veggies....right?

Bob’s Tamales

1  large pork butt roast

2  28oz cans Las Palmas red chili sauce

¾ cup Valentina sauce

4.4lb package Quaker Masa Harina De Maiz

8 oz Morrell Lard

2 Tbsp minced garlic

1 Tbsp minced dried onion

1 Can whole black olives

Corn husks

Remove the bone from the pork butt roast and cut roast into sections to fit in a crock pot.  Add water to just below the top and add minced garlic and onion.  Turn crock pot on high and let cook approximately 6-8 hours until it shreds easily with a fork. 

Remove roast from the crock saving the water.  Put the water into a separate container and save it for making the Masa. 

Shred roast with a fork and then add one and a half cans of Las Palmas red chili sauce and ¾ cup of Valentina sauce over the shredded pork stirring until all the meat is coated.  Put shredded meat back into the crock pot and turn on warm for 4 hours. 

Mix Masa per instructions on the package using the water (heated) the roast was cooked in, lard and the other half can of chili sauce.  Salt to taste.  Masa should be easily spreadable.

Soak corn husks in hot water until pliable then spread masa on husk (smooth side), add meat, one black olive and roll up.

Steam tamales standing on end for 45 minutes then remove to cool.

Enjoy.

Have fun with your food storage

Bob and LouAnn Singer

Here it is the 1st of December and time for the next month of our Stake Food Storage Plan.  First, I hope everyone had an enjoyable Thanksgiving.  I know that we did as we gathered at my sisters house, enjoyed each others company and the great food.  We have had a lot to be thankful for this year.

I hope everyone is working on each month's food storage in the goal to have a one year supply by next October.  Here is this month's items.

December food storage tips:
Vegetables: the cannery offers dried chopped onions, dried carrots, potato flakes, (also potato pearls: these have a short storage life). Consider other basic vegetables such as canned or bottled green beans, etc. (remember that dried beans and lentils are vegetables, and they store very well).
Meat/ Fish/ Jerky:  good to use sparingly to flavor your supply of grains, dry beans, and lentils. Meats contain essential vitamins and minerals, though lacking in necessary fiber.

The Christmas project.  We would like every family to bake 4 loaves of bread before Christmas to be given to your neighbors on each side of you.  If one of them is an active member, take it to the next house.  Tell them you made it from your food storage and can give them more information if they want it.  A great way to break the ice and do some missionary work and give a great Christmas present.  Recipes are available.  Bob and LouAnn Singer, Ward Welfare Specialists and supported by the Bishop.

I have some great recipes and ideas for this month and going to try a product I just found.  These meat products are manufactured by Keystone Meats out of Ohio.  Here is what they say about the beef:

• Beef and Sea Salt
• Fully cooked--Ready to eat; All Natural--No MSG or other preservatives; No water added; Chunk style--Maintains texture and flavor; Gluten Free; Low in Sodium/Fat; Shelf stable
• Ideal for chefs (home and restaurant), campers, boaters, survivalists, etc.

They make Beef, Pork, Chicken, Turkey, Hash along with broths and soup bases.  They have long shelf lives and have very good ratings.  We are going to get some to try and pass along our review.  The best place I have found to get them is Amazon.com.  Just go to Amazon.com and do a search for Keystone Meat.

Remember, food storage items are still available at the Cannery and now it is already canned for you so you can get in and out quickly.

Have fun with your food storage.

Bob and LouAnn Singer