One of these meals would have been handy last week when we came home from vacation and hadn't made it to the store, and since I stored the ingredients in individual bags, I could also drop them off at a neighbor's or friend's home if they needed something like this!

Dinty Moore beef stew over instant mashed potatoes is always a winner. A can of chicken, a jar of Alfredo sauce and some pasta is a makeshift chicken Alfredo. Canned roast beef, canned mushrooms, cream of mushroom soup and egg noodles is a mean beef stroganoff (we make it camping) canned tuna, canned peas and a box of Mac and cheese is an easy tuna casserole (my son loved it as a little kid, we made it for lunch a lot) canned chili with Mac and cheese instant chili Mac.

I make a “meal” called sick noodles. Whenever anyone is sick, we make these noodles. But, my daughter requests them all them time. 1 can cream of chicken 1 can water 1 chicken bullion cube Just enough egg noodles to be at the same level as the liquid. Bring to a boil. Put a lid on it to simmer. Once almost all the liquid is gone, turn off the heat and let it set about 5-10 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste after it cooks. All pantry staples. And makes a good side dish or meal if you need it to be.

I actually think this is amazing for FOOD BANKS!!! Having kids volunteer to put these together could be so so so valuable

One of my favorite “college meals” was the Knorr Spanish rice packet. Add in some black beans and garbanzo beans. Add in canned corn (bonus points if it is fire roasted). Add in canned green chilies or jarred jalapeños to taste.

I definitely see a series in the making! This is such a great idea!! Not everyone has the space for an 'emergency storage' but this is attainable for everyone. Thank you for always having such valuable content!

I like celery in my chicken noodle soup. So Instead of table cream I would have added cream of celery soup. Yum!

This is such a great idea ( series?) to have these on hand! When we had a freak storm of 31 inches of snow and -16 last winter with outages off and on for a week, we lived off our pantry and our grill. We were able to feed many of our elderly neighbors as well until the roads were cleared so we had no waste. Thank you for these awesome ideas!

Making these meal kits is a great idea especially to take to a neighbor or friend in need. Thanks for sharing!

I love this video so much! What a smart idea, Mindy!

I love the shelf-stable bag idea. We also experienced that winter storm (in N. Texas), but our power was out more than it was on for at least 4 days. With summer heat and an iffy Texas power grid I'm definitely going to put together 4 or 5 bags to set aside. I think I'll put the earliest expiration date on the outside of the bag, too, so I know when I need to cycle through some bags (if we don't have cause to use them before then). Great tip!

This is a great video for budget friendly emergency meal kits to keep in your pantry! A few other ideas for pantry meals: One Pot Chicken & Rice Meal White rice, chicken bouillon cube, canned chicken, mixed vegetables (DO NOT drain the chicken or vegetables, add the liquid to the pot you are cooking this in) In a large pot mix together 1 1/2 cups water, the bouillon cube, 1 cup white rice, a can of chicken broken up withstand fork and the can of mixed vegetables. Stir well to combine, bring to a boil, cover the pot, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes or until the rice is done. Southwestern Chicken or Beef & Rice: White rice, taco seasoning, canned chicken or ground beef, a can of pinto or red beans, a can of diced tomatoes with chilies. Mix everything together in to a large pot (including the liquid in the cans) and add enough water to cook the quantity of rice you are using. (If using 1 cup of rice then use 1 and 1/2 cups water.) Bring to a simmer, cover the pot, reduce the heat and cook 20 minutes on low or until the rice is cooked. Fluff with a fork and serve. Creamy Tuna Casserole: A box or packet of macaroni and cheese, a can of tuna, a can of cream of mushroom soup for a creamy tuna casserole plus add a can of mixed vegetables for a complete meal. Can be made in 1 pot or baked in a casserole dish. Cook pasta according to directions, drain and add the cream of mushroom soup, cheese sauce packet and enough water to make a creamy sauce. Stir in the pasta and transfer to greased casserole if making the baked version. If you have some crackers or potato chips you can crush some and sprinkle over the casserole or pot. You can heat the vegetables up separately or add them to the casserole. Bake at 350*F until heated through or warm up the mixture on the stove minus the crackers or potato chips for the stove top method. When heated through you can sprinkle the crackers or chips on each dish if it was cooked on the stove. Chicken Ála King: A can of cream of mushroom soup, a jar of pimentos, a couple cans of chicken for a quick Chicken Ála King. Mix together the soup and the pimentos. Into the pot add the chicken and broth breaking up the chicken lumps with a fork. Heat thoroughly to combine and serve over toast, rice or pasta. Creamy Beef Enchiladas: A can of chili without bean, a package of corn or flour tortillas, a can of cheddar cheese soup and a jar of salsa. Combine the soup mix with the chili and thin with a bit of water. Add about a cup of salsa. Stir well to combine. Spread some salsa in the bottom of a baking dish, the fill some of the chili mixture into the tortillas and roll them for enchiladas. Spoon any remaining filling over the top of the tortillas and top with more salsa if desired. Bake at 350*F until heated through. You can top with shredded cheese if you have some in the refrigerator.

Emergency preparedness! I love the fact that you bagged everything- sometimes you need to bug out and time is limited to get things together. I’m glad you didn’t forget the can opener!!!

It's so important for us all to think about the "what if" scenarios. What if the primary chef is out of commission for a week? What if the car breaks down and we can't get to the store? What if we lose a paycheck and can't buy groceries? What if civil unrest prevents an easy run-to-the-store option? What if. the supply chain is compromised by a pandemic (again)? My daughter was in college when the cities were disrupted last summer, and I made sure she had a few meals worth of shelf stable ingredients in a bin just like the one you have. ETA - I have my hubby and son take some of these meals camping to practice/sample them!

I would love to see meal ideas from other stores. We are working on our church food pantry and these ideas are perfect for that.

I've never seen table cream before, it's going on my next Walmart list. Just remember, if you lose power due to cold, you can always put your perishables in totes and set outside to keep(out of the sun and with heavy objects on top so animals can't get into them). I've had to do this many times over the years for the Indiana winters.

This is not only helpful for an emergency situation but also helpful for people who have depression or a physical disability and are unable to cook from scratch, for people who may not have a full kitchen in their current living situation, and for those folks who live in a food desert. Very thoughtful and delicious looking meals! I would love to see a Dollar Tree/Dollar General version for those folks who do not have access to a large grocery store. Thank you for doing this!

Great ideas. We live in Florida in hurricane country. We always need to be prepared for the worst (we have 6 cases of bottled water). I will definitely be putting some of these meals together). Thank you. I would love some Aldi or DT ideas too.

Please do expand on this with more shelf stable items and possibly different stores. It would be most helpful to so many. Thanks

Something I have done is add water bottles to my emergency meals just in case the water is out also.

“Country Ham” is sold in little vacuum paks and is shelf stable. I use it for split pea soup. Look for “Refrigerate after opening” on the package = doesn’t need to be refrigerated before opening it. Sometimes it is in the refrigerated sections in the store. Don’t be fooled. It doesn’t need it. It would be good to season any beans.

These would be good to have on hand for when the main meal preparer is incapacitated or not at home. With written instructions, an older child or anyone not used to cooking could throw together some filling and healthier meals than ordering takeout. Love this! xo I also think these would make WONDERFUL gift basket ideas. Someone with a new baby, someone just home from the hospital, sudden job loss, so many reasons these would be good to assemble.

We were locked in for 5 days during an ice storm several years back (maybe 2011?) And I cooked a leftover Thanksgiving Turkey and that fed 5 of us for 4 or 5 days. We ate a few leftovers from the fridge first, and some pantry items while the Turkey defrosted (took maybe 30 hours?) Ever since then, I just keep a turkey on hand. Worst case scenario, even the pets can eat it if we run out of kibble.

As you mentioned, this is an excellent video for the college student. I'd consider changing up the heading or search key words to reach this out to an even broader audience, especially right now with fall semester starting. I definitely would have made meals like this with my limited dorm options in college. Great video as always, Mindy.

Living in Louisiana, I have found stocking our pantry with a few of these type meals invaluable. Some of the meals include chili Mac (2 boxes of Mac and cheese, a large can of chili no beans and a large can of diced tomatoes), Buffalo chicken pasta( 1 can of diced chicken,Sams club is the best, a box of pasta and dollar tree Buffalo sauce, ranch is optional), and a version of chicken bog(canned chicken, 2 cans of mixed veggies, cream of chicken soup and minute rice or egg noodles, add broth or bullion to get the consistency you prefer).

This is such a great idea. Much more economical that those emergency meal kits you can buy. And you know your family will enjoy these.

This video was brilliant. Year ago I worked with the Home Delivered Meals program for seniors in the area. Self stable meals were delivered at the beginning of the winter season (in Upstate NY). Emergencies can come out of nowhere and it is good to plan ahead and have plenty of food and water ready along with other emergency supplies. Great job!

I really enjoy your channel. I like the fact that you go step by step and show the actual ingredient rather than just say the ingredients. I appreciate you!

Great job! There are so many videos about what shelf stable things people should stock but rarely do they ever have a coherent plan as to what you can actually DO with those items. Even beyond the practicality of it, these meals look great even for just regular days! During an emergency when your likely already having a really bad day the last thing I would want to do is waste a lot of time trying to pull together a meal that I ultimately wouldn't even enjoy. I lost power for two days and everything in my fridge was ruined. Had it been a serious longer term emergency where I had to make meals from my pantry I would have been screwed. Sure I had some canned vegetables, pasta, and random seasonings but what good is all that if you don't have the most important thing of all, a plan! As if things aren't hard enough in a situation like that, I wouldn't have even been able to look to the internet for help! Thanks for sharing your ideas! People who share their knowledge help make the world a better place!

Yes, more videos like this. I pretty much have my preps now, am looking to put together meals in bags to make sure I have enough of everything!

I make three bean salad, use cans of beans drained and rinsed, 1 cup cooked macaroni, minced onion, and Italian salad dressing. Tina

Walmart makes a canned pulled pork in BBQ sauce. Sometimes we eat it on bread and sometimes over rice. I also mix canned chicken with a gravy packet serve over instant mashed potatoes. We lose our power at least once a winter so I would love to see some more shelf stable recipes.

I love this idea for college students/new homeowner's gifts... I think Alaskan Granny has done something similar also! I used to cook from cans all the time, but have gone to fresh these past few years. I would love to see more of these videos.☺️👍

I'd love to see more ideas like this!! I searched high and low for ideas like this when we were moving across the country. I didn't want to have to eat out the first day or two in our new home because I knew we'd be eating out on the drive and ready for a home-cooked meal. Any of these would have travelled beautifully and been quick and easy to put together while unpacking!

I would love to see more of these videos! I shop at Aldi primarily, but I’m more interested in recipe ideas. Shelf stable meals are great for camping or traveling with food for vacation.

I have. Really good potato soup recipe to add, I use home canned potatoes in quarts 3 of them, but you could use canned potatoes. Put into a pot. With all the potato water, add one can cream of chicken soup, one jar of cheese sauce( Aldi's) and a cup of milk. ( Shelf stable or evaporated. Add seasonings, onion powder, garlic powder, dried chives, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper and simmer on low. This cheesy potato soup is delicious!!

With all the weather events we could all use a bunch if these type of recipes. Bring on the shelf stable meals!

Please do this again! We were part of that freak winter storm and weren't at all prepared! This is great!

This is a great idea. Would love to see more quick, easy “emergency” meals!

Great idea. Trader Joe’s has shelf stable whipping cream. I would struggle with making meals small enough for my family to minimize the amount of food being thrown out. No refrigeration would mean no way to store leftovers.

Yes! 👏 We're from Oklahoma, too! Tree limbs were falling and one took out our power line and had to wait a week until the electrician could come fix it. This is an excellent video!!

Thank you for the ideas! I think we all need to be prepared for emergencies like you experienced this past winter. I would love to see a whole series including stores like Aldi and Target. Our regional grocery store is Hyvee, I am guessing that it is not near you.

I also had an emergency Christmas Eve last year. I live in East Tennesee and we get snow but we had a blizzard hit and the power went out. After this event I got a camp stove and started stocking up on foods that I could cook on the stove. I would love to see your ideas from Aldi’s. Thank you for sharing and giving all of us ideas

Fideo is great (and super cheap). Fideo noodles are usually less than 30 cents, a little can of tomato sauce, and a can of chicken stock. It would be helpful to have olive oil (or butter because you can leave that out on the counter if needed). If you have an onion sitting around you can use that, but you can also use dried minced onion and garlic powder, along with mexican oregano and cumin. One of my absolute favorite cheap meals. You can also add in poached chicken if you have it but definitely not necessary!

I still remember that winter weather last February. Bottled water was in short supply here at my home. I learned my lesson.

We camp at a campground that has year round residents that live in their campers because of cost of housing in our area. We know some struggle to get food so we are going to put together Christmas Boxes for them and these will be perfect to do!!

Great ideas, I could see something similar in a care package for someone in their first apartment, leaving home or moving, so they have a few meals without going shopping.

I know you filmed this several years ago. But I am a native Okie that now lives in Tennessee.I remember one year when I was in junior high there was such a blizzard there in Oklahoma that I fell into a snow drift and had to be rescued. Oklahoma’s weather will keep you on your toes.

In our rough spots, when our kids were little, I used to make macaroni and cheese with a can of tuna and a can of peas. It was very affordable, and it had protein.

Canned ham and green beans would be good. Could serve with one of the flavored rice packs or mashed potatoes for more carbohydrates.

Love using the Knorr Pasta Sides to make one-pot meals-add veggies and TVP or Soy Curls near the end of boiling the pasta, and it’s good to go!

My family was a Parm in the fridge family. My husband was a Parm in the closet family. We haven't died yet with it in the closet. Prep cooking is an important skill! Good content and would make a good series!

I love the idea of using the 2 gallon bags to create meal packets! I’ve gone back to school and working full time so my kids have to some times make dinner when I’m cramming for finals or writing papers!

I forage weeds, fruit and berries. I add nettles to potato soup, add dandelion greens to salads. Right now I'm picking elderberries to make elderberry vodka drink for winter coughs. I live in the UK. There's free food and medicine to harvest.

Love the idea of bagging and storing things together!

Such a great idea! I’m thinking these would be great to make up for blessing boxes.

Yes please! More meals like these!!! ❤

These are all great ideas! How smart of combine the recipe ingredients in a ziploc for easy access!

I never thought about using the different seasoning packets, like the garlic parmesan wing seasoning. This is definitely something I will look into packing for camping trips.

Those 2 gallon bags are the best!!! So useful.

This is a great idea & I would love to see more of them. It is nice to have shelf stable items in case someone drops in unannounced & you feel the need to provide a meal for them or yourself. Thanks! 👍😁

Great idea! I’ve been thinking to prepare for this kind of thing with no idea of what to stock up on other than tuna lol. This helps! Would love to see more of this content.

The most useful video on emergency meal/food prepping I have EVER seen. Thank you!!

Yes, please. More shelf stable meals.

In cases where you want to conserve energy use, like propane or butane in a small burner, smaller and thinner pasta cooks faster. I like the packets of precooked rice for camping.

One meal my man always asks me to make is a chicken and rice with gravy. I usually make it in the crock pot but I'm sure it can be tweaked to an alternative heat source. It's super simple and basic. I use 2 smaller cans each of condensed cream of chicken and cream of mushroom. I use chicken broth to rinse the cans. (I only use 2 full cans of broth with a little extra instead of 4 to make it a gravy consistency instead of a soup). I'll add in my choice of seasonings into the soup mixture. I also use chicken breasts and cook it in that mixture on high for 4 hrs depending on the thickness of the chicken but for shelf stable one u could use the canned chicken just adding it later since it's fully cooked. When there is about 45 minutes to an hr left I will add a cup and a half of any rice and let it finish cooking. It's super yummy and it makes a ton of food. We are usually eating leftovers for about 2 days.

I love these ideas. For me, I always add some sort of pasta to most of my dishes. It really does have stretch the meal and add some bulk.

Thank you for making this. we lost power during that ice storm for 2 weeks

Would love to see a video like this made from Aldi-purchased items! 😊 I was telling my niece MiRanda, from "Running on Plants", that living in Socal earthquake country, I have to think about keeping enough shelf-stable items in my pantry to last several days. Also, about not using lots of glass storage containers. That could be a huge mess in an earthquake! Great video, Mindy! 😊 👍

Love this idea. We just moved to north TN from Florida, and my in laws assure me that sometimes the power goes off in the winter. I am getting on this now so I don't regret it later. We have a wood burning fireplace at our home and a gas grill outside. This definitely makes it less scary🙂

Great ideas! Don’t forget to date things and maybe think about ideas for if your gas goes out, it can happen, keep up the great work! ❤

Love this! These are great ideas for camping meals too!

Thank you so much for this! We live in Galveston and I try to have shelf stable food on hand in case we lose power during hurricane season, and I’m so glad to get some new ideas!

Yes. I enjoyed this video. Please do more.

I’d love to see a whole series of these videos! This was a fantastic boost for as I look into building up long term food storage and thinking about what is good to keep on hand.

I live in NC where we typically have Hurricanes and some risk of power loss. These are great ideas for hurricane prep!

I would love to see no cook meal options/or microwave only! Love your videos! 🖤🖤

I definitely need more videos like this. I will be going back over this and writing down all of the great ideas. My husband and I have to be careful to spend very little right now and these ideas may just be lifesavers for us. Thank you 🙏

Definitely helpful. It is hurricane season here in the Caribbean and I was wondering what to stock up plus than tuna, so wonderful ideas. Thanks for sharing.

You are an amazing woman and I love watching your videos! You have given me so many ideas, and I just love your down to earth personality! Thank you!!

Yes please do more of these videos!

To keep breakfast even more simple, keep non-fat powdered instant milk on hand. We get ours in the bulk section at Winco. Also you can eat Old Fashioned Rolled Oats like muesli. No need to cook, just pour milk on and add a sweetener. I eat it all the time because I find it more filling than cooked oats, and I'm lazy, lol. Add a little seeds and dried fruit to make it even more like muesli, and more nutrients and calories.

Yes, more with shelf stable foods!! Love this!😊🥰🙏

This is a great idea! My husband and I have just started an emergency food pantry, just in case we lose power or the stores are out of food. so this will come in handy!

Would love to see more shelf stable recipes from Aldi and Dollar Tree. Thanks for all your work.

I live in East Texas and goodness that winter storm we had was rough, but… I had started building an emergency supply and the only thing we ran out of was bread and half and half. We were so thankful to have what we needed. I wrote down each of these and I only need about 4 ingredients to be able to make all of these

Love the ideas Mindy. After our snow apocalypse I bought a small camp stove. Never again will I be without hot coffee and food! 😃

Love this! Those winter storms are what woke me up to building a better emergency pantry. Keep them coming!

Such great ideas, I'm in Scotland, and although Glasgow is a big city, there are times when I can't get out of the house. Something like this would be so good for me. Thank you Mindy xx

This video was a big hit with me. I would love to see more!!

Would love to see some ideas from Aldies or Target. Love your ideas very helpful. Thank You

I absolutely am in love with your channel. I started watching you about a week ago and have been binge watching you. I truly appreciate how personal you are and how you give us very usable ideas and solutions. Kuddos to you and your family and God bless you

These meals are so smart! I love these! Thank you so much, Mindy, for sharing these with us!

Yes please do Dollar Tree ideas!! In the unstable world we are living in now I am trying to prepare so this is excellent ideas!

I would love to see more videos where you use your shelf pantry and also items you already have in your freezer for another video

Love how you are meal prepping them! Please more in the series!

In Florida, we are in the middle of hurricane season, so I always have no perishable food on hand. After Hurricane Wilma in 2005, we didn’t have power for about 10 days. Luckily, we were able to stay with relatives who had power, but that’s not an option anymore.

Walmarts best for me, I'm disabled and have to order online. Thank you for all your tips❤️

Yes I would love to see more videos like this. A cost breakdown might be fun and informative as well. A Peanut better sauce made with peanut butter and a bit of soy sauce mixed in with Ramen is very good. Now you got me looking in my pantry like....🤔

We just had an issue with our power line where we were without for almost a week! I love the idea of soup and ramen. My husband only eats half a can with a sandwich 🤨 The other half goes in the fridge and usually goes bad. Why didn't I think of that 😉 You are always so creative! Thank you for great ideas and I'd love to see more like this