Kathy Rowe and I were chatting about emergency stockpiles yesterday off the air, we both thought the idea of having emergency food was a great idea and I found a kit for a family of 4 for a month (http://www.walmart.com/ip/Augason-Farms-1-Month-Emergency-Food-Pack/20532426) for $175, it's got over 500 servings and the reviews are good.  I discussed this with my husband last night, he would rather buy a generator than worry about perishable food.  But he got excited at that price!  So we're going to try that kit and eat it for a month... if nothing else we'll save a TON of money on groceries that month!  

Then I thought there must be ways to make shelf stable meals on my own, so we cuold make what we know we like... and I came across a few fantastic blogs for just that!  Instructions and recipes are all easy and they look great!  These use freeze dried foods, so they could last for up to 20 years!!!  Of course you can't just go to Tops or Wegmans to buy these freeze dried foods... but amazon.com and walmart.com have a ton.  It's going to be a minor investment, but I can't wait to get started!  A can of freeze dried beef stew with 45 servings was about $10, freeze dried scrambled eggs with 96 servings was about $25.  They have freeze dried veggies (all you can imagine), meats, cheeses, milks, fruits, yogurt... the crazy shopper in me wants them all!  My 2 favorite blogs for making these meals are  

 http://rainydayfoodstorage.blogspot.com/p/meals-in-jar-recipes.html and  http://cheftessbakeresse.blogspot.com/search/label/52%20jar%20method 

I'll let you know once we get our month kit and once I start putting our own meals together!  If you're into this please share!  shannonthannhauser@clearchannel.com