Safely Gathered In

Motivational Monday

2012-01-30T10:00:00.000-05:00

“I should like to address a few remarks to those who ask, ‘Do I share with my neighbors who have not followed the counsel? And what about the nonmembers who do not have a year’s supply? Do we have to share with them?’ No, we don’t have to share—we get to share! Let us not be concerned about silly thoughts of whether we would share or not. Of course we would share! What would Jesus do? I could not possibly eat food and see my neighbors starving. And if you starve after sharing, ‘greater love hath no man than this …’ (John 15:13.)

Vaughn J. Featherstone, “I Have a Question,” Ensign, Oct. 1976, 31–32

Food Storage Friday: Almond Butter

2012-01-27T10:00:00.000-05:00

Almond butter! No more will I have to beg my mother-in-law to bring jars of you from Costco to me in her suitcase! You are simple and quick to make! Ahh, self-reliance, how good you taste.

Ingredients: almonds

Yep that's it. Although you will need a food processor or a heavy duty blender.

I'm using roasted and salted almonds. But you can use raw, some people prefer the taste of raw. I just happened to have the roasted kind because it's good for snacking.

Put the almonds in the processor, with the knife blade attachment.

Turn the processor on. It helps if you have an overeager 4 year old to help with this step.

Let the processor run. You can already see that there is a layer at the bottom which has already passed the crumb stage and the oils from the almonds are being released.

A few more minutes and it's clumping into a ball of almond dough.

Just a brief note about my processor in case you're interested. This is the only one I've ever had, so I can't compare it to others, but it made quick work of the almond butter.

I've seen around the web, this taking about 15-17 minutes to process so I guess it depends on your machine. Also, raw almonds will take a bit longer to process than roasted ones.

If you prefer the taste of roasted and you already have raw, just pop them in the oven or on the stove top to roast them for a bit (at a low temperature, stirring frequently).

After only 3 minutes, at this point I stopped the processor and scraped down the sides.

After 6 minutes: my white balance is off on the camera so the almond butter didn't actually get yellower, but check out how smooth that is.

Put it in a container and refrigerate. After testing it of course.

Almond Butter

2 cups of almonds

Process in food processor until smooth, pausing every few minutes to scrape down the sides with a spatula. Store in the fridge.

*********************************************
If you're feeling wild and crazy try this recipe:

4 Ingredient Dark Chocolate Almond Butter

Or if you prefer peanuts:

Classic Crunchy Peanut Butter

Have any of you made your own nut butter before?
It was so simple I'm kicking myself for not doing it sooner!

Food Storage Tuesday

2012-01-24T21:33:00.000-05:00

We are still working on food for our 72-hour kits - this is the final week I'll be working on food. Next week, we'll move on to something else (we are almost done and will be moving on to emergency car kits!). You can read more about the 72-hour kits here. How are your kits coming along? If you are done with your food, go back and make sure you have everything we've collected so far (you can see our list in the middle column of our blog page, under "Current Ongoing Project").

How's your three-month supply coming along? Make a food storage meal plan for those three months, then make your master shopping list.

We are still gathering oats for our longer-term storage.

Motivational Monday

2012-01-23T11:00:00.000-05:00

"Those who structure their standard of living to allow a little surplus, control their circumstances. Those who spend a little more than they earn are controlled by their circumstances. They are in bondage”

President N. Eldon Tanner "Constancy Amid Change," Ensign, Nov. 1979, 81

FSF from the Archives: Chicken Tortilla Soup

2012-01-20T10:00:00.000-05:00

Here's a great soup from our archives. Perfect for that chilly winter night. Mountain Man made this for me for my birthday last weekend. It's my favorite!

Originally posted March 20, 2009
Also of possible interest:
How To...Make Tortilla Crisps

We're nearing the end of 'soup season' which is a real bummer because of how easy soup is to whip up for dinner.

Today's meal, Chicken Tortilla Soup, is merely a drop in the pot and cook. Love those.

Ingredients: Tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes, corn, green chilies, canned chicken, garlic salt, oregano, sugar and chili powder (and water, not pictured)

Open and dump all your canned items into the pot.

Add the water

and sugar and spices

Open the canned chicken, drain and then shred with two forks. Add to pot.

Bring the soup to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 20 minutes or so.

Top with crispy tortilla strips (coming Wednesday) and serve. Delicious!

Chicken Tortilla Soup
adapted from Favorites

1-28oz can crushed tomatoes
2-8oz cans tomato sauce
1/2 tsp garlic salt
4 cups water
2 Tbsp sugar
3 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp oregano
1-4oz can diced green chilies
1-13oz can chicken

Combine in a large pot. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Stuff your face.

Okay okay, here's a peek at the dang tortilla crisps

Great, now what am I going to post on Wednesday?

Blog Tour - welcome to our blog!

2012-01-19T10:00:00.000-05:00

We've been mentioned on some other blogs and websites recently and have some new readers (welcome!!). So, Abs and I thought this would be a good time to do a little "blog tour" and show you around our site and everything we have to offer. I hope it's helpful as you cruise our site and try to find good ideas for your food storage and emergency preparedness.

Here's our home page, obviously. :) You can get to our home page by clicking "Home Page" in the top left corner, or by clicking on our "Safely Gathered In" title bar.

Next, we have an "About" button. If you click directly on "About", you can read a bit about Abs and myself, and a little background about how and why we started this blog. If you hover your mouse over the "About" button, more options also come up. You can click on the "contact" link, which will bring you to our contact page, or if you click on "Columnists", you can read bios about some of our guest posters. There is also an "Advertise" link there, but for some reason it's not working... I'll have to get on that! (please just email us if you are interested in advertising at this time).

Next to the "About" button is our "Food Storage" tab. If you hover your mouse over this tab, four options will come up. You can go to our food storage recipes page (we have LOTS of food storage recipes, and all our recipes use 100% non-perishables only). You can also click on "Three Month Supply", "Longer-term Storage", or "Water Storage" to read more information about any of those topics. Those pages have links to dozens of articles that we have written about the various subjects.

Next, the "Emergency Preparedness" tab. You have two choices here: you can read about 72-hour kits, or emergency car kits.

Our final tab on top is the "Resources" tab. You can click on "Tutorials", which will take you to a page of all our great step-by-step tutorials, you can see our free printables, or you can click on "e-book" to read about our food storage e-book that we have compiled.

Now let's talk about the sidebars. First, near the top of the page on the far right, we have a search bar where you can search for keywords on topics you might be looking for.

A little further down, you can grab our button to share on your own blogs/websites. Next to that you can input your email address to subscribe to our blog. This way, all our posts can be emailed to you directly every time we update the blog.

If you scroll down a bit more, you'll see our ongoing projects. We are always working on something, and we welcome you to join with us! For our longer-term storage, we rotate what we are focused on gathering each month, so you can see what the current food is. We are also constantly gathering either 72-hour kits or car kits, and every week we "assign" you something to gather for your own kit. Right now we are gathering 72-hour kits, and we will be done pretty soon! When we get to the end of the list, we'll start gathering emergency car kits week by week. Then, back to the 72-hour kits, etc. One step at a time!

Finally, three more sidebar items: we have an e-book tab for quick and easy access to our e-book. Underneath that you can see our blog archives and search by date. Finally, on the far right, you can search for blog posts by topic.

We hope you will take some time to check out our food storage blog and we hope that you find some information that will be valuable as you plan your food storage and emergency preparedness!

How To....Make Creamy Oatmeal

2012-01-18T16:36:00.001-05:00

Oatmeal is the perfect breakfast. It's inexpensive, filling and delicious. Here's an easy way to cook oatmeal that your family will love.

Ingredients: regular oats, water and milk

Measure out your oats. I plan for 1/2 cup of oats per person. You could do 1/3 cup per person if you want. Just depends on how big you want your portions. At this time, I'm making oatmeal for 4 people, so I measured in 2 cups of regular rolled oats.

Add the same amount of milk and water as you did oats. So 2 cups of oats equals 2 cups of milk...

and 2 cups of water.

So if you're making a single serving of oats, you would add 1/2 cup of oats, 1/2 cup of milk and 1/2 cup of water and so on.

Stir them all together and turn the stove on medium heat.

Let it cook. Cooking it on medium takes a bit of time, but it produces really creamy oats. I just stir every time I walk by the stove while I'm making lunches, setting the table, stuff like that.

The longer it cooks, the thicker it gets. And you will have to stir more frequently. You don't want to leave the room while this is cooking because it can burn if you're not watching it. But at the same time, it isn't a 'sit and stare' kind of dish.

Keep stirring until your oatmeal is nice and thick and softly bubbling. It may look a bit wet, but as it sits off the heat it will thicken up.

This is what your pot should look like when you're done. The milk has made the oatmeal really creamy, almost as if it was cooked in cream. You should be able to scrape it off without much resistance though.

Portion it off into 4 bowls, or however servings you made. If you notice I have one big oatmeal eater (the 4 year old, she can never get enough) a baby (small bowl on the right), and two normal size bowls.

Now comes the fun part: toppings! Seriously you can put almost anything on oatmeal. My 7 year old even likes a bit of cocoa powder in her oatmeal sometimes. The sky's the limit here folks!

Enjoy!

Easy Creamy Oatmeal

2 cups regular rolled oats

2 cups milk (can use powdered)

2 cups water

Combine all ingredients in a pot and cook over medium heat stirring occasionally and more frequently as it gets thicker.

When the oatmeal is nice and thick, take off the heat and portion into 4 bowls. As the oatmeal sits, it will get thicker. Top with your favorite toppings!

What is your favorite food to put on oatmeal?

I love pumpkin seeds, almond butter, coconut flakes and bananas, yum!

Food Storage Tuesday

2012-01-17T16:20:00.001-05:00

We are still working on food for our 72-hour kits. You can read more about the 72-hour kits here. How are your kits coming along?

Like I said last week, I'm taking a break from gathering my three-month supply while I'm gathering food for my 72-hour kit. But if you are not working on your 72-hour kit right now, keep gathering your three-month supply of food! You can read more about the three month supply of food here. Make sure your recipes use non-perishable food only, in case you don't have access to fresh food/refrigeration. Not sure what kinds of meals to plan? Check out our extensive list of food storage recipes here.

This month for our longer-term storage, we're gathering oats. You can read more about longer-term food storage here.

Motivational Monday

2012-01-16T10:00:00.000-05:00

“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”

~Martin Luther King, Jr.

Food Storage Friday: King Arthur Life Skills Bread

2012-01-14T09:08:00.000-05:00

We've made a lot of whole wheat bread on this blog in the last 3.5 years. We've made quick wheat bread, half whole wheat bread, oatmeal wheat bread, oatmeal whole wheat quick bread, whole wheat french bread, whole wheat bread (the big daddy version in a mixer), another whole wheat bread made in a mixer, whole wheat bread by hand, and whole wheat bread in a bread machine. And that's just the whole wheat bread, we have loads of other recipes for white flour bread.

So why another one? Not every family is going to like the same bread recipe, the more options we have, the better. This recipe is the King Arthur Life Skills Bread Baking program recipe and I'm quite fond of it.

Some of the reasons I love this recipe:

simple ingredient list--after making it a few times, you will have the recipe memorized
1/3 ratio of whole wheat to all purpose flour making it a great choice for introducing wheat bread to your family, or compromising how much wheat bread your family eats--I love hearty whole wheat bread but my kids prefer white bread, this is our compromise. Plus it works really well as sandwich bread for lunches
this recipe is made by hand, no heavy duty mixer required--sometimes it's nice to not have to clean the mixer
Umm, it's delicious!

Let's get started!

Ingredients: yeast, sugar, salt, oil

Whole wheat flour

all-purpose flour

and water.

To the warm water, add the sugar

yeast

and two cups of flour.

The original recipe says to add the 2 cups of whole wheat flour at this step. Since I usually use the whole wheat flour in my freezer, I add 2 cups of all purpose flour at this step instead. I don't want my cold wheat flour to interfere with the yeast. If you had just ground wheat flour, or you were using store bought wheat flour that was at room temperature, you could put the whole wheat flour in at this step.

Mix all together and let it sit for ten minutes while the yeast grows.

Bubbly yeast!

Next add the oil

and the salt

and mix.

Now add two more cups of flour. If you added whole wheat flour to the yeast mixture, you would use all purpose flour here. Since I did all purpose flour at the first step, this is when I add my 2 cups of whole wheat flour. Confusing?

Mix!

Now add another cup or so of all purpose flour. Be careful! You don't want to add too much. It depends on the humidity in the air, but for this batch I only added 1 cup of all purpose flour, stirring with a wooden spoon.

Dump the bread onto a lightly floured surface. It will be sticky, and that's good.

Now it's time to use those muscles and knead the bread. I wish I could take pictures with my nose, but I'm not that talented. Basically I use the palms of my hands to push the bread away from me, then pull it towards me with my fingers, repeat repeat repeat. Maybe I'll make a video if anyone's interested. It's kind of hard to describe kneading.

As you are kneading the dough, you will want to add flour so it doesn't stick to your hands. Use your fingers to sprinkle flour on top of the dough. Just a little at a time. If you add too much flour, your bread will be dense and heavy, we want light and fluffy.

Keep kneading until you have a smooth ball. Let it rest on the counter for about five minutes. Then knead a little bit more, adding a dusting of flour as necessary.

Pop the dough ball back in your mixing bowl

Cover with a sheet of plastic wrap

And a dish towel. Or just a dish towel...

Let it rise for an hour and a half

Gently deflate the dough by pushing down on it.

Dump it out on your counter top---I leave mine floury (no cleaning between). The dough should be light and soft.

Separate the dough into two sections using a serrated knife, and shape into two loaves.

Put your loaves into greased bread pans. I just use my misto (cooking spray) to grease the pans.

Cover with the plastic wrap and the towel, and leave on your counter for another 30 minutes.

All ready to bake!

Bake in the oven--the original recipe says 30 minutes, but my bread is always done after 25 minutes.

Look at how beautiful the bread crust is! Let the bread cool in the pans for a few minutes, then turn out onto a wire cooling rack.

You don't want to leave the bread in the pans because the heat of the pans will make the bottom of the loaf soggy.

Cool and eat! I like to freeze one loaf right away (otherwise we'll eat both loaves same day). I freeze the loaf when it's still warm, but not super warm. It just barely fogs up the bag when you put it in. Then when you defrost the loaf, it really tastes fresh.

Yum.

Double yum!

King Arthur Life Skills Bread
original recipe here

2 cups warm water
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon yeast
2 cups whole wheat flour

Mix together and let sit for ten minutes.

Add:
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 Tablespoon salt

Mix, then add:
up to 4 cups of all purpose flour. Depending on how much the dough needs--which could vary from day to day.

When it gets too hard to stir with the spoon, dump out onto a lightly flour surface and knead. Add dusting of flour as necessary. Knead into a smooth ball. Let rest for five minutes. Knead for a few minutes more, then place back into the mixing bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and a clean towel, let rise for 1.5 hours.

Deflate dough gently and turn out onto the counter top. Gently separate into two sections using a serrated knife. Shape into two loaves and place into greased bread pans. Let rise 30 minutes covered, then bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Food Storage Goals 2012 (Hannah)

2012-01-12T20:26:00.001-05:00

Yesterday Abs shared her food storage goals for 2012, so today it's my turn!

But first, let's review my goals from last year. My first goal was to work on depleting my food storage for the first half of the year, in anticipation of our move to Florida. (Abs had a similar goal because she moved halfway through the year, too).

I succeeded with this pretty well. It actually wasn't too hard because we only spent one year in Virginia, and I had pretty well depleted our food storage before we moved there. So, I spent the year in Virginia with not much food storage, so we didn't have much to really eat through. We ended up moving about 2-3 boxes of food, not too bad.

Part of this goal was also to save up money to re-stock our food storage upon moving here to Florida. I have been able to get a good bit of longer-term food storage (it's under our bed in the master bedroom), so that has been pretty successful. I have not been able to do much with my 3-month supply, though.

My second goal was to figure out a good rotation system and storage solution here in our new house. Like I said above, we've had great success with storing our longer-term food storage under our bed. And as I showed you in my house tour a few months ago, there are some great potential food storage places in my house that I would like to start using. As for a good rotation system... I am still working on that. But there are definitely places to put things! I am so thankful for extra space here and there.

My final goal was the get a water storage system in place. I have not done anything with this!! :(

But let's move on to this year's goals.

This year, I would like to build (or have my husband build) these canned goods shelves on wheels to go in my laundry room. I could easily fit two of these in there, so my goal is to start with that. Two shelves!

My second goal is to finally, finally finish our 72-hour kits. Even my husband is pushing for me to do this, so it will get done!! We have gathered 72-hour kits about 4-5 times here on the blog, so it's pretty embarrassing that ours aren't done. But I am following along on this rotation, so this should be done soon.

My third goal is to figure out how to store water here, and get started with that. Ideally, I'd like to get a 55-gallon barrel for water, and go from there!

My fourth goal is to plan out our 3-month supply, make my master shopping list, and buy it ALL!! Abs has this goal too.... I guess I have some competition to see who can get it done!

What are your food storage goals for this year?

Food Storage Goals 2012

2012-01-11T22:03:00.000-05:00

It's that time again. Time to go through last years goals and ~~kick ourselves for not doing them~~ evaluate how we did, and make some new goals for the next year.

Last year my food storage/emergency preparedness goals were:

1. Go through and "revitalize" the following:

~~Car kit~~ Car Kit Revamped! Check out the post here.
72 hour kits Not even close...although I did "go through" them and used all the cash for my kid's school lunches when money was tight this fall. I guess we can count that as rotating?
3 month supply menu plan Yep, this didn't happen either.

2. Eat up current food storage

~~Make bread often (eat only homemade bread)~~ Well, I wouldn't say we ate only homemade bread, but we eat mostly homemade bread. It just tastes better. I even have a new favorite bread recipe that I'm sharing this week for our Food Storage Friday recipe. It's delicious.
~~Keep ground wheat flour in freezer for any cooking/baking~~ Check! It's definitely easier to make the choice to have whole wheat pancakes, or healthy up a recipe when I have whole wheat flour already ground and ready to use.
~~Eat the pantry and freezers clean~~ I did a great job of this! I think we only moved one box of "pantry food" (maybe it was two) but it was mostly spices and things like that. Moving is good for cleaning out cupboards. Not great for much else.
Make a 3 Month Supply Menu plan and grocery list (catered to our family) so that when we move into our new home I'll know exactly what to buy This didn't happen, I have definitely not been on top of this.
Buy as much of our food storage as budget allows when we move into our new home Due to some financial strains this fall, the budget didn't allow ANY food storage to be purchased. But luckily, things are looking up and we should be back on the bandwagon soon.

Considering all that happened in 2011, I'm pretty pleased with my little attempts at my food storage goals. 2011 was a tough year for me, but 2012 is already looking great. I'm very excited to get going and get my family prepared.

Here are my

2012 Food Storage/Emergency Preparedness Goals

1. Write out a 3-Month supply Menu plan and grocery list and BUY IT! No more excuses, just get 'er done.

2. Redo the 72 hour kits, adding the baby items, and replacing the money.

Rotate the food in the 72 hour kits/batteries etc, every six months (or 2 times this year)

3. Buy more candles/matches/flashlights/batteries and stock them where I can find them easily.

4. Make a family emergency plan and practice it with my family.

5. Can triple or quadruple the amount of salsa I made in 2011. Because I only have 3 jars left and it's only January.

What are your food storage and emergency preparedness goals for 2012?

Food Storage Tuesday

2012-01-10T20:07:00.003-05:00

We are still working on food for our 72-hour kits. I talked a bit about this last week, so check it out. It can feel overwhelming at first, but make a list. You need three breakfasts, three lunches, three dinners, and some snacks.

Like I said last week, I'm taking a break from gathering my three-month supply while I'm gathering food for my 72-hour kit.

This month for our longer-term storage, we're gathering oats.

Motivational Monday

2012-01-09T13:43:00.000-05:00

We have placed considerable emphasis on personal and family preparedness. I hope that each member of the Church is responding appropriately to this direction. I also hope that we are understanding and accentuating the positive and not the negative. I like the way the Relief Society teaches personal and family preparedness as “provident living.” This implies the husbanding [prudent managing] of our resources, the wise planning of financial matters, full provision for personal health, and adequate preparation for education and career development, giving appropriate attention to home [food] production and storage as well as the development of emotional resiliency.

“Chapter 11: Provident Living: Applying Principles of Self-Reliance and Preparedness,” Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball, (2006),114–23

Food Storage Friday: Healthy Recipes Roundup

2012-01-06T16:37:00.001-05:00

2012 is here and I am ready for this new year. For today's Food Storage Friday post, I'm sharing a couple of recipes from the web that I've had my eye on. Both can be made with just non-perishable items and look amazing

I've tried making my own crackers before, but this tutorial for Matt's Crackers from Kath Eats looks like a real winner, I mean, he's a baker in real life, for pete's sake.

Ingredients: whole wheat flour, regular flour, yeast, water, kosher salt, olive oil, and cheese (optional)

These No-Bake Energy Bites from Smashed Peas and Carrots are food storage friendly and look delicious!

Ingredients: oatmeal, peanut butter, honey, coconut flakes, ground flax seed, chocolate chips, vanilla

And on the home front, I made Baked Oatmeal for breakfast this morning (so delicious!) and only used half milk replacing the rest with water and you couldn't tell a different at all. Give it a try, it's a delicious breakfast recipe.

Seen any good recipes floating around the web?

Let me know if you make these recipes and what you think?

Food Storage Tuesday

2012-01-03T21:17:00.003-05:00

The food you keep in your 72-hour kits is very important! I would probably be very unhappy if I was stuck for three days eating nothing but beef jerky and water.... and my kids would probably be even more unhappy!

The first thing you will want to do is make a meal list. You need 3 breakfasts, 3 lunches, 3 dinners for each person. Keep in mind how you will cook your items if they require cooking, and plan accordingly. You will probably want some snacks, too. Don't forget your pets as well!

One thing to consider is dehydrated meals. They can be really tasty, but remember that you will need to use water to prepare them, so they may not be ideal. On the other hand, canned foods like soup will be heavier in your pack. If your 72-hour kits are in wheeled suitcases, that might not be an issue, though.

Abs wrote a post a while back about food she packs in her 72-hour kits, so check that out for some ideas. Be sure to read the comments too so you can get some other ideas and suggestions.

Good luck with the food part of the 72-hour kits. It takes some planning and costs a bit more than our usual "assignment", which is why I'm giving us all three weeks to do it!

This month for our longer-term storage, we're gathering BEANS! I LOVE beans! I really like cooking up dried beans (black, pinto, etc), but keep in mind that water is required to cook beans. What if you don't have access to water in an emergency? Some people I know store canned beans only, for that reason. Which do you store?

Motivational Monday: Happy New Year!

2012-01-02T11:00:00.000-05:00

New Year's Morning

 Only a night from old to new!
Only a night, and so much wrought!
The Old Year's heart all weary grew,
But said: "The New Year rest has brought."
The Old Year's hopes its heart laid down,
As in a grave; but, trusting, said:
"The blossoms of the New Year's crown
Bloom from the ashes of the dead."
The Old Year's heart was full of greed;
With selfishness it longed and ached,
And cried: "I have not half I need.
My thirst is bitter and unslaked.
But to the New Year's generous hand
All gifts in plenty shall return;
True love it shall understand;
By all my failures it shall learn.
I have been reckless; it shall be
Quiet and calm and pure of life.
I was a slave; it shall go free,
And find sweet peace where I leave strife."
Only a night from old to new!
Never a night such changes brought.
The Old Year had its work to do;
No New Year miracles are wrought.

Always a night from old to new!
Night and the healing balm of sleep!
Each morn is New Year's morn come true,
Morn of a festival to keep.
All nights are sacred nights to make
Confession and resolve and prayer;
All days are sacred days to wake
New gladness in the sunny air.
Only a night from old to new;
Only a sleep from night to morn.
The new is but the old come true;
Each sunrise sees a new year born.

 ~Helen Hunt Jackson

Food Storage Friday: Cracked Wheat Cereal

2011-12-23T22:31:00.000-05:00

The holiday busy-iness is catching up to me so I'm late with my Food Storage Friday post. Before I get started on this delicious recipe, Hannah and I would like to wish you all a very

Merry Christmas!

Thanks for being such wonderful readers and we'll see you all after the New Year!

A while ago, I discovered a great new blog Word of Wisdom Living. The author, Skip Hellewell, writes about the importance of healthy living and shares a few great recipes. For those of you not of Mormon faith, this blog would be a great resource to help you understand what that Word of Wisdom thing is all about.

The recipe, Breakfast Compote, is basically a cracked wheat (hot) cereal, and let me tell you, it's delicious and easy to make.

Start the night before by putting hot water and the cracked wheat in a pot.

I bought my cracked wheat from a specialty baking store, but I know you can get it at natural food stores and in some grocery stores. If you have an old school wheat grinder, you can adjust the stones (that grind the wheat) to grind it only slightly, making cracked wheat.

Cover your pot and leave it to soak overnight.

This cereal can be eaten very simply with just brown sugar, which is how my kids eat it, or you can gussy it up.

Turn the stove on high heat and bring the wheat/water mixture to a boil.

And add the oatmeal,

Stir and turn off heat, and let it sit for 5 minutes. That's it! You're done cooking. Even faster than oatmeal (not instant oatmeal of course!).

Nuts (pecans are delicious, these are walnuts), ground flax, apples, orange juice

If your kids are like mine, they like simple simple, without a lot of mix-ins. And so they eat their cereal with just brown sugar, like they eat their oatmeal. But I love the add-ins that Skip suggests in his recipe.

Toast the nuts by putting them in a pan and having the heat on low, shaking every so often. It doesn't take too long, but toasting the nuts pulls the bitterness out of them, which (I think) is very important for walnuts.

Add the flax to a bowl

And the brown sugar (I only need a teaspoon for this cereal)

And spoon the hot cereal on top

Add your toppings: chopped apples and toasted walnuts, divine!

Squeeze a little orange juice for the top, this is a great use for the tangerines you bought that you thought were seedless clementines.

Pour a little juice over top and mix it all together.

What you have is a delicious and healthy breakfast alternative to oatmeal. Absolutely yummy.

Be sure to make this after the holidays when you have eaten too much sugar and just want something healthy in your tummy.

Cracked Wheat Cereal
Word of Wisdom Living

2 1/2 cups hot water
1/2 cup cracked wheat
1/2 cup oats

optional toppings: brown sugar, ground flax seed, toasted nuts, chopped fruit, freshly squeezed orange juice

The night before, put hot water and cracked wheat cereal in a pot and cover. In the morning, bring the mixture to a boil and add the oats. Turn off the heat and let sit for five minutes. Divide cereal into four bowls and add the toppings and sweeteners you wish. ENJOY!

Motivational Monday

2011-12-19T22:54:00.003-05:00

“All too often a family's spending is governed more by their yearning than by their earning. They somehow believe that their life will be better if they surround themselves with an abundance of things. All too often all they are left with is avoidable anxiety and distress”

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin "Earthly Debts, Heavenly Debts," Ensign, May 2004, 42

Holiday Gift Giving from Food Storage

2011-12-15T16:00:00.000-05:00

It's time for neighbor and friend gift giving, and what is better than giving what you already have (and rotating your food storage to boot)? Here's a quick idea you can use with your wheat.

I picked up this glass/jar from Goodwill for 99 cents, but you could easily use jam jars or whatever you had on hand. I simply filled it with wheat (about 1 cup and a half), printed the recipe on some festive paper and tied it around the jar using some fabric scraps.

The recipe I used is the blender whole wheat pancake recipe, and I like it because you don't need a wheat grinder in order to make the pancakes, all you need is a working blender. It's a great introduction to whole wheat. But you could use any wheat based recipe that you love and would like to share the recipe with your friends.

Check out our past holiday gift giving ideas (from food storage) for more ideas.

Food Storage Tuesday

2011-12-13T19:23:00.002-05:00

We are gathering oats this month for our longer-term storage.

Motivational Monday

2011-12-12T16:00:00.000-05:00

"We are all self-reliant in some areas and dependent in others. Therefore, each of us should strive to help others in areas where we have strengths. At the same time, pride should not prevent us from graciously accepting the helping hand of another when we have a real need. To do so denies another person the opportunity to participate in a sanctifying experience."

Marion G. Romney, “The Celestial Nature of Self-Reliance,” Ensign, Mar 2009, 61–65

FSF from the archives: Fudge

2011-12-09T15:00:00.000-05:00

In light of our conversation last week about storing canned milk, here's a great recipe from the archives that uses sweetened condensed milk. It's delicious!

My mother-in-law has a secret fudge recipe that is simply amazing. I’m drooling over the keyboard just thinking about it. It contains about a pound of butter and could quite possibly kill you if consumed in mass quantities.

This is not that fudge. But, for food storage, it's pretty darn good.

Ingredients: Sweetened condensed milk, semi-sweet chocolate chips, vanilla and unsweetened baking chocolate.

Find a pan to hold your fudge and grease the bottom and sides with shortening. I would have used my 8x8 pan if it hadn’t broken last week. I’m a clutz so Pyrex doesn’t last long around here.

No matter what your feelings for shortening, you ought to keep a tub just for greasing purposes. It is certainly less expensive than cooking spray.

When my college roommate, Squirtney (she’ll be thrilled with the nickname), would make fudge and she would line her pan with foil. When the fudge had set up, she just dumped it upside down and peeled off the foil. That works too.

When your pan is greased, or lined, add your sweetened condensed milk to a saucepan over low heat.

Add your chocolate chips.

Add your baking chocolate. The baking chocolate is optional. It makes for more chocolatey fudge—obviously. (You know, those who state the obvious are seldom wrong.) Anyway, if you crave darker chocolate fudge, go ahead and add a square of baking chocolate.

Stir it constantly over low-medium heat so the chocolate can melt.

When you make this, go ahead and chop up your baking chocolate a little before you dump it in. Then, you won’t be waiting for the one square of chocolate to melt, like me.

When it is melted and all smooth, take it off the heat.

Quickly add the vanilla and nuts, if you want, and stir until well combined.

Pour into your prepared dish and refrigerate for a couple of hours until it’s set.

When the fudge has chilled and you’ve sampled it, of course, cut it up.

I like to cut it into large squares and wrap them in saran wrap. I used to cut fudge into small pieces, but I could never get them uniform and it bothered me. I too, have OCD tendencies. Especially when it comes to fudge.

Try using this tutorial to make a paper box out of cardstock and deliver to your neighbors and friends with the fudge inside.

Save some for you!

Fudge
(From Betty Crocker)

1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
1 bag semisweet chocolate chips (2 cups)
1 oz (1 square) unsweetened baking chocolate
1 tsp vanilla
1-1/2 cup chopped nuts, optional

Grease bottom and sides of 8x8 pan (or smaller) with shortening or line with aluminum foil. Heat milk and chocolate in saucepan over low-medium heat, stirring constantly until chocolate is melted and smooth. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and nuts if using. Refrigerate about 1.5-2 hours until firm.

Originally posted December 11, 2008

Day 3 Winner!

2011-12-09T14:05:00.000-05:00

As always, we used Random.org to find our lucky winner. Thanks everyone for the great Christmas wish ideas! Sounds like Santa has a lot on his plate this year!

Congratulations to our winner, Jenny and Jake, who are asking Santa for.....

"A baby."

Please email us at safelygatheredin (at) gmail.com to claim your prize!

Thanks again to everyone for participating this week! Come back soon for our regularly scheduled Food Storage Friday post!

Christmas Giveaways - Day 3 (Plus a guest post!)

2011-12-08T14:20:00.000-05:00

Today's the last day of our Christmas giveaway week - thanks to everyone who has been participating! I've just loved reading all the comments about Christmas.

Today's giveaway is from Heather from Shelf Reliance. She is giving away a can of freeze-dried chicken! Heather also has a food storage blog that you can check out here.

Not really sure how to use freeze dried chicken? Well, that's not really a problem because Heather has written an awesome article all about it, including some recipes! I've posted the article below, so please take some time to look it over. I'll admit, I've never considered adding freeze-dried meat to my food storage but it sure sounds intriguing now......

To enter this giveaway, please comment on this post and answer the following question:

If you could ask Santa for any item, what would it be?

This giveaway is open for 24 hours, so until tomorrow (Friday) at 3pm. One comment per person, please!

Be sure to read Heather's guest post below:
********************************

Hi—I’m Heather, I write the blog Cooking With My Food Storage, where I talk a lot about adding freeze dried foods to your food storage and how to cook with them. Abby and Hannah asked to tell you a little about Freeze Dried Chicken.

Why Freeze Dried Chicken?

Adding high quality protein to you food storage is sometimes a tricky thing. Most of us have traditionally stored dried beans, canned chicken, and frozen beef or chicken. But none of these are ideal for emergency preparedness.

Dried Beans are fussy and take a LOT of time and fuel to cook. Beans are an inexpensive source of protein and if you love beans you might want to think about storing Instant Beans which take only 7-10 minutes to cook with no soaking.

Canned meats such as canned chicken or tuna have a short shelf life and must be rotated often

source: jules:stonesoup

Meats stored in the freezer can be ruined when the power goes out for an extended time.

source: sporkist

Freeze Dried Meats to the Rescue

· Freeze Dried meats rehydrate is about 7 minutes in hot simmering water or about 15 minutes in cold water.

· Freeze Dried meats have a shelf life of 25 years.

· Freeze Dried meats require no refrigeration until they are reconstituted.

· But how is the taste and texture? I know you ask because you have tried TVP that people said was wonderful and then was not. But freeze dried chicken is chicken so it tastes and feels like chicken.

Problem solved.

How to Rehydrate Freeze Dried Chicken

Place chicken in a small sauce pan cover generously with water. Simmer uncovered for 7 minutes until chicken is soft. Drain. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

The Cost of Freeze Dried Chicken

Freeze Dried meats are expensive. Anyone who has purchased meat in the grocery store recently knows that all meat has become expensive (What is up with hamburger for $3.50 a pound? Insane) A number 10 can of freeze dried chicken is regularly about $38. But for a high quality protein source that has a shelf life of 25 years, that my family will be happy to eat, I’m in.

Freeze Dried Meats seldom go on sale but during DECEMBER Shelf Reliance has Freeze Dried Chicken and Roast Beef on sale.

Chicken for $34.99 for a number 10 can a savings of $5.60 per can or $148.39 a case (6 cans)

Roast Beef for $45.26 for a #10 can a savings of $8.00 per can or $181.29 a case. Shelf Reliance is also offering Free Shipping to Platinum Q customers.

4 Easy and Delicious Ways

to Use Freeze Dried Chicken

1. Chicken Noodle Soup

At my house this is the go to dinner. My kids love Chicken Noodle Soup and on a busy day it takes me about 7 minutes to get dinner ready. Love it. Feel free to add or subtract any veggies to make it how your family likes.
1 cup Freeze Dried Chicken
1/4 cup Freeze Dried Celery
1/4 cup Freeze Dried Onion
1/4 cup dehydrated Carrots
¼ cup Freeze Dried Peas
1 large handful egg noodles (or in this case Gnochi)
4 cups Chicken Broth (or 4 cups water a 4 teaspoons chicken bouillon)
Add all to soup pot. Heat over medium heat for 7 minutes, until veggies are tender and noodles are cooked. Season with salt and pepper.

2. Lime Chicken Tacos

1 1/2 cups FD Chicken rehydrate and drained
3 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 cup frozen corn
1 cup chunky salsa
Place chicken in large sauce pan. Combine lime juice and chili powder; pour over chicken. Cover and   cook until hot. Stir in corn and salsa. This freezes great. If you are going to freeze place in containers, label and freeze.
To serve:
12 6-inch flour tortillas
Sour cream
Shredded cheddar cheese
Shredded lettuce
Chopped tomatoes
Serve warm on tortillas with sour cream, cheese, lettuce and chopped tomatoes.

3. Chicken and Spinach Taquitos

Based on a recipe by Amber Pearce

6 oz. reduced-fat cream cheese

1 can diced green chilies

1 tbs. fresh lime juice

½ tsp. cumin

1 tsp. chili powder

¼ tsp. garlic powder

¼ c. Freeze Dried Onions

½ c. Freeze Dried Spinach (You can use cooked fresh or frozen, make sure you squeeze out any extra moisture)

1 ¾ c. Freeze Dried Chicken

Salt and pepper to taste

Uncooked flour tortillas

To reconstitute the dry foods place the onions, spinach chicken in a medium sized bowl and cover generously with hot water. Let sit 7 minutes until soft, strain.

Meanwhile cream together cream cheese, green chilies, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, and garlic powder. Stir cream cheese mixture and the strained chicken mixture together and add salt and pepper to taste.

Warm uncooked tortilla on an electric griddle at 350 Degrees. When warm remove from the griddle and place 2-3 tbs. of chicken mixture on the lower third of a tortilla, keeping it about ½ inch from the edges. Roll up as tight as you can. Repeat with all the tortillas. Than place taquitos seam side down on the griddle very close together. Cook until the bottom side is brown. Roll all the taquitos over and brown the next side repeat until all the sides are brown. Serve immediately.

4. Barbeque Chicken Pizza ~ adapted from www.sisterscafe.blogspot.com

1 prepared pizza crust
1/2 c Famous Dave’s Barbeque Sauce, divided
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1 cup FD Chicken, rehydrated
1 1/2-2 c mozzarella cheese
1/4 c fresh cilantro, chopped
Preheat oven to 400. If you have a pizza stone (they make the best pizzas), put it in the oven to preheat as well. Toss shredded chicken with 1/4 c barbeque sauce. Remove hot pizza stone from oven and sprinkle with corn meal. Roll or toss dough and place on stone. Spread remaining 1/4 c barbeque sauce over dough. Arrange onion slices over sauce. Spread chicken over onions then top with cheese. Bake 20-25 minutes or until crust is golden brown. (That time is for a pizza stone - if you are using a cookie sheet, it may be a shorter time) Sprinkle with fresh cilantro and slice into 8 wedges.

Day 2 Giveaway winner!

2011-12-08T14:00:00.000-05:00

Thanks for your comments! We used Random.org to find a winner, and the lucky person is.....

Mary, who said,

I have a recipe for cookie dough truffles, need I say more?

That sounds delicious, I love cookie dough!

Congratulations, Mary! Please email us at safelygatheredin (at) gmail.com to claim your prize.

Christmas Giveaways - Day 2

2011-12-07T13:40:00.001-05:00

Today's giveaway comes from Abs and me! We are offering up an Eton American Red Cross self-powered weather radio with flashlight, solar power, and cell phone charger! You can check it out here on Amazon to read what it's all about - it is perfect for emergencies. You could keep it in your car kit, or in your 72-hour kits.

To enter the giveaway, please comment on this post telling us,

What is your favorite thing about Christmastime?

Giveaway ends tomorrow (Thursday) at noon, and we'll announce the winner soon after that. One comment per person, please. Good luck!

Day 1 Winner!

2011-12-07T12:59:00.001-05:00

Thanks to everyone who entered our giveaway! We used Random.org to find a winner.

And the winner is.......

Shreela, who said,

Round trip to visit brother is 21 miles of mostly country roads.

Shreela, please email us at safelygatheredin (at) gmail.com to claim your prize.

Sounds like many of you are traveling far for Christmas, and many are also staying home. We hope you all have a wonderful holiday no matter where you spend it!

Stay tuned for our next giveaway, which will be posted shortly!

Christmas Giveaways - Day 1

2011-12-06T12:35:00.001-05:00

You probably know this by now, but we love doing giveaways, and what better time do to giveaways than Christmas?! We will be doing three giveaways this week, and we hope you will get some good last-minute ideas for Christmas gifts, in case you still have some shopping to do. (You may also want to buy some gifts for yourself ;)

Today's giveaway comes from Fran from Shelf Reliance. Fran is offering a #10 can of 6-grain pancake mix and a pouch of dried strawberries! (Now, doesn't that make you hungry?)

To enter this giveaway, please leave a comment on this post (if you receive our posts via email, please click on this link and post a comment at the bottom of the page where it says "Comments"). Tell us,

How many miles are you traveling for Christmas this year, or are you staying home?

This giveaway closes in just under 24 hours - Wednesday at noon! About an hour after it closes, a new giveaway will open. One comment per person, please.

Thanks, Fran, for the giveaway!

Motivational Monday

2011-12-05T11:30:00.000-05:00

"Work is an antidote for anxiety,

an ointment for sorrow,

and a doorway to possibility."

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf "Two Principles for any Economy"

Food Storage Friday - Mac and Cheese

2011-12-02T20:52:00.001-05:00

I feel kind of silly sharing this no-brainer recipe with you all, but it was just introduced to me and I thought it was great! It's so easy, so simple, so.... good! My kids loved it! And isn't that what a food storage recipe is supposed to be like?

There are only two ingredients: 1 lb pasta, and a can of cheddar cheese soup:

Cook your pasta, drain it, and pour in the soup. I didn't even have to heat the soup since it heated up so much on contact with the pasta. I didn't add water or anything, but I think it would be better (and a bit creamier) if I had added half a cup or so of the hot pasta water. I'll do that next time.

This recipe makes SO MUCH pasta... it was easily about three meals for my 2 little kids. It's also a great "base recipe". You could add canned tomatoes, spices, meat, spices, or any other veggies.

Enjoy!

Reader Question: Evaporated Milk

2011-12-01T11:30:00.000-05:00

One of the items I am considering leaving out of my food storage is evaporated milk. It has such a short shelf life. I don't mind using it up in quiches, but I don't want to eat that much quiche.
It's okay in yogurt, but not great.

The powdered milk is not a problem. We use it for everything except straight up drinking, so we don't buy as much fresh milk when it comes time to rotate.

Do you store evaporated milk? If you do, how do you keep it rotated?

- dogear6

I will be curious to hear everyone's answers to this, because I used to store a lot of evaporated and sweetened condensed milk and ended up throwing them away because they expired before I used them. Now I just keep 3-4 cans of each on hand and most of my milk storage is powdered.

I have a crepe recipe that uses evaporated milk and there are loads of dessert recipes (think fudge) which use sweetened condensed milk. Other than that, I'm out of ideas.

Do you store evaporated milk or sweetened condensed milk? How do you rotate it?

Food Storage Tuesday... er, Wednesday!

2011-11-30T21:45:00.001-05:00

We are a day late with our normally scheduled Tuesday post - I hope it doesn't mess up anyone's schedule! :)

This week for your 72-hour kits, add any pet food that you will need. Also consider adding anything else your pet may need, such as any medications, an extra leash, some treats, etc.

Also this week, add some candles and waterproof matches. Don't forget to include candle holders as well! You will want to use these as light sources, so you don't have to use up battery power if you don't need to.

How's your three-month supply coming along? Once you buy items for your three-month food storage supply, don't put them away in a closet and forget about them. Use them, and practice making some of the food storage meals that you have planned! Make sure your family likes them! Just keep good track of what you are using so that you can replace the items next time you are at the grocery store. I try to fix one food storage meal every week or two - both to rotate my items, and also to make sure my family enjoys them and that the recipe makes enough food for one complete meal.

This month for our longer-term storage, we're still gathering wheat! We'll be moving on to oats in December.

Motivational Monday

2011-11-28T11:30:00.000-05:00

Avoid debt. … Today everything is seemingly geared toward debt. “Get your cards, and buy everything on time”: you’re encouraged to do it. But the truth is that we don’t need to do it to live. We wonder what our people will do who have been spending their all and more. If employment and income should reduce, what then? Are you living beyond your means? Do you owe what you cannot pay if times became perilous? Are your shock absorbers in condition to take a shock? Plan and work in a way that will permit you to be happy even as you do without certain things that in times of affluence may have been available to you. Live within your means and not beyond them. … Purchase your essentials wisely and carefully. Strive to save a portion of that which you earn. Do not mistake many wants for basic needs.

“Chapter 11: Provident Living: Applying Principles of Self-Reliance and Preparedness,” Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball, (2006),114–23

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-21T11:30:00.000-05:00

"Come, ye thankful people, come; Raise the song of harvest home.
All is safely gathered in Ere the winter storms begin.
God, our Maker, doth provide For our wants to be supplied.
Come to God's own temple, come; Raise the song of harvest home."

Come, Ye Thankful People
a harvest hymn written by: Henry Alford, 1810-1871

Food Storage Friday: Garlic Black Beans

2011-11-18T11:30:00.000-05:00

I'm fudging the rules of food storage Friday a bit to share this recipe with you, because it's a real winner. I think a lot of problem with storing beans is realizing you're going to have to eat them! A lot of bean recipes can be super bland, and you may have people in your family (kids, spouse) who don't like beans at all. It's important to eat the food storage before you NEED to eat the food storage so your family is used to it. Especially foods like beans and wheat.

This recipe uses a "fresh" ingredient, garlic, and it is simple and delicious! I found the recipe/guidelines for this recipe from yet another healthy living blog, Fitnessista. I tell ya, they know how to make healthy good.

Ingredients: dry black beans, oregano, cumin, head of garlic, lots of water!

First, rinse your beans. Rinse all the dust/dirt off and sift through for any rocks or nasty looking shriveled beans.

Then dump them in your slow cooker and cover them with water.

Add the cumin, oregano and the WHOLE HEAD OF GARLIC.

Note: I used two heads of garlic because they were itty bitty heads

That's right, you put the whole head of garlic in. I don't know if you need to, but I slice off the tiniest part of the top where the "stock" part is. Don't peel. Don't peel. Don't peel. Just dump.

Put a lid on your slow cooker and cook on high for four hours and on low for four hours. It doesn't take nearly that long for the beans to be done, but the longer the beans are cooking, the better the garlicky flavor.

When you serve the beans, ladle them into a bowl and top with goodies like cheese, sour cream (or plain yogurt) avocado, tomato, chips. Don't serve the garlic, you can fish that out and toss it when dinner's ready.

Or just plain old salsa!

This recipe is so good, that my "picky-eating age kids" will have 2-3 bowls of it for dinner. The garlic flavor is amazing, and it's such a simple yet hearty meal. If you have any leftover beans, you can just measure them into portions and freeze them to use in other recipes as needed.

Even the baby approves!

Garlic Black Beans
Fitnessista

2 lb bag of dried black beans
head of garlic
1 Tbsp cumin
1Tbsp dried oregano
salt to taste
water

Rinse your beans and add to slow cooker, cover with water. Add head of garlic, cumin and oregano. Cook on high for four hours and on low for four hours. Add water as necessary. Add salt to taste before serving.

Top with salsa, sour cream, avocado, cheese, tomatoes, and/or chips.

Preparing for Sick Days

2011-11-17T11:30:00.000-05:00

One of my earliest memories of Hannah is when Mountain Man and I both had food poisoning (ground turkey not cooked all the way?). We had one little baby and we were so sick. I called Hannah and she brought us over some gatorade and crackers. Ever since then I have been a firm believer in having sick foods on hand!

We've talked a little bit about being prepared for "sick days" and including "sick foods" in your three-month supply. I decided this year that I was going to allot some money, and make a list for stocking up my "sick foods" in preparation for winter and the inevitable sicknesses that will come.

On my list:
-saltines
-orange juice concentrate (my favorite juice when I'm sick with a sore throat)
-a few varieties of soup (so I won't have to cook--also easy on the stomach of who is sick)
-7-up (or Sprite) for an upset stomach
-Gatorade! Do you know they make clear gatorade now? Genius! It's still flavored (this one is watermelon-strawberry), but if your kid throws it up, it won't stain!

Something I still need to get is hand sanitizer. I like to keep a large container that I get from Sam's Club around in the winter time for refills of the little bottles I keep in the house and the car. I also really love the chlorox/lysol wipes for wiping down door knobs and faucets and other things so germs don't spread.

After I get my sanitizer, the total for my "sick food prep" will be just under $20. So for twenty bucks I've given myself a little peace of mind. I kind of hide these foods so we won't use them just because they're there, and I'll be sure to restock them as needed.

Don't forget to get extra fever and pain relievers too! You don't want to have to run to the store at 3am if you or your kid develops a fever.

What are some other must-haves for sick days?
Mountain Man's mom always fed him warm jell-o water.

Are you planning on stocking up on sick food for the winter?

Reader Question: Car Kit in Extreme Temperatures

2011-11-16T11:30:00.000-05:00

Karen (Canadian Soldier's Wife) writes in:

Question for you about car kits.

We live in an area with a wide range in temperature... -40C (-40 degrees F) in the winter, up to +40C (104 degrees F) in the summer. This makes it a challenge to keep food/water in the car - which became very evident when the bottled water in the trunk froze into solid bricks! And in the summer, the temperature inside the car gets so high that most energy food will turn into melted goo.

Any recommendations for food/water to keep in the car in an area with these rather extreme temperatures? (We moved here from an area where the temperature from January to August only varied by 10-20 degrees, so this has been an adjustment!

My thought is in the winter to just fill up water bottles as you go places and bring them with you. Or maybe putting the bottled water by someones feet instead of in the trunk where it is by the heater.

About the food, I would look for food that doesn't have chocolate in, or is soft. So think nuts, crunchy granola bars, things like that.

What are your suggestions for Karen? Do any of you live in such extreme temperatures?

More car kit questions and information here.

Food Storage Tuesday

2011-11-15T19:25:00.001-05:00

Every Tuesday, we post specific items you should gather in order to supplement your 72-hour kit, your three-month supply, and your longer term storage. If you are new to our blog, don't worry! You won't be left behind. Just start up where we are and follow along. You will eventually have everything completed. Once the 72-hour kit is complete, we'll be putting together emergency car kits again (week by week). Once those are done, we'll gather the 72-hour kits again. So don't worry, just jump on in and join us where we are today!

This week for your 72-hour kits, add mosquito repellent and sunscreen. Pretty straightforward!

How is your three-month supply coming along? I feel like I am running out of things to say about this! :) I guess all I can really do is just keep reminding you and encouraging you to keep at it. I don't think it ever gets "easy" to do... you just have to make it a habit to keep track of what you eat from your supply, and make sure you replace it as soon as you can. Make a food storage plan, and make your shopping list!

We are gathering wheat this month for our longer-term storage.

Motivational Monday

2011-11-14T11:30:00.000-05:00

"One of the better ways to simplify our lives is to follow the counsel we have so often received to live within our income, stay out of debt, and save for a rainy day. We should practice and increase our habits of thrift, industry, economy, and frugality. Members of a well-managed family do not pay interest; they earn it."

L. Tom Perry, "Let Him Do It In Simplicity" (LDS General Conference, October 2008)

FSF from the Archives: Rosa Pasta

2011-11-11T11:30:00.000-05:00

Here's a super easy dinner idea, a twist on spaghetti, and our very first food storage Friday post.

This is the first in a weekly series where we will share recipes that are only made with nonperishables. As Latter-day Saints we have been asked to store a three-month supply of food, but a food storage isn't only important for members of the Church, it is important for everyone. You never know when the primary breadwinner will lose a job, or another emergency will come up where money will be tight. The last thing you want to worry about is feeding your family. One struggle with food storage is finding recipes that don't use milk, eggs, or other perishable items. These recipes are easy, budget friendly and food storage friendly.

Tonight's dinner is Rosa Pasta with Soda Bread.

The ingredients!

The original recipe for soda bread had to be modified since it called for buttermilk, we are going to use powdered milk and sour it with vinegar. Two tablespoons of vinegar and add enough milk to make two cups.

Make this first so it can sit while you get the rest ready.

The really nice thing about this bread is that it requires no rising, so you can make it right before you start the pasta and it will be done when you're ready for dinner.

The sauce is a mix between equal amounts of Alfredo sauce and marinara sauce. The amount you mix depends upon the size of your family, or how much you like to eat pasta. You can use spaghetti sauce or plain canned tomato sauce. If you use tomato sauce be sure to spice it up a little. I used basil, oregano, pizza seasonings (or parsley would be good) and garlic powder. You can even add a pinch of red pepper flakes to give it a little kick!

Your sauce should be a creamy orange or red color (hence the name "Rosa").

To make the sauce really creamy try this: instead of draining your noodles with a colander, use a slotted spoon and transfer the pasta directly into the serving dish. Add the sauce, and the starchy water that came into the bowl with the pasta will make the dish really creamy.

Any pasta can be used with this dish, that is the beauty of it. Penne is my favorite, but I use whatever I have on hand. Today I had shells and rigatoni!

Add a can (or more) of vegetables for a side and you have a delicious, hearty meal made completely from food storage. Enjoy!

Recipes:
Rosa Pasta (adapted from Hannah's recipe)

1-1/2 cups tomato sauce or spaghetti sauce
1-1/2 cups alfredo sauce
pasta
spices and herbs (if using tomato sauce)

1. Cook pasta according to package directions
2. Mix sauces together and heat
3. Drain water from noodles and add to sauce, mixing until pasta is all covered
4. Serve while hot

Mummy's Brown Soda Bread (adapted from Cooking Light)

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
1-1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
2 cups buttermilk*
cooking spray
*Made from powdered milk and white vinegar

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees
2. Follow instructions on your powdered milk package to make 2 cups of milk. Pour one cup of milk into a measuring cup and add 2 tablespoons of vinegar, then add more milk to equal two cups. Let sit.
3. Lightly spoon flours into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flours, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl; stir with a whisk. Make a well in the center of mixture. Add buttermilk to flour mixture; stir until blended (dough will be sticky). Turn dough out onto a generously floured surface; knead lightly 4 to 5 times. Shape dough into an 8-inch round loaf; place on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Cut a 1/4-inch-deep X in the top of the dough.
4. Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 400 (do not remove bread from oven); bake 15 minutes or until loaf sounds hollow when tapped. Cool on a wire rack.

Originally posted June 6, 2008

Preparedness Gift Guide

2011-11-09T20:19:00.000-05:00

It's time for our annual preparedness gift guide!

Not sure what to give your parents/kids/siblings for Christmas? Well, you've come to the right place! Each year we post a gift guide to (hopefully) give you some great ideas for gifts to give the people you love. I'll admit, it may not be that fun to give or receive food storage or preparedness items for Christmas, but I truly can't think of anything more realistic to spend money on. Plus, giving someone the gift of preparedness is really a thoughtful gift, if you ask me! (And, I'm being totally honest when I say, I do have some food storage items on my Christmas list this year! Sure, it's a little boring and I hope I also get something more "fun", but I just couldn't really, in good conscience, ask for fun things when my food storage is so lacking right now!)

Anyway, some items are listed under two price brackets because they may be different sizes or of a different quality.

*Note: these prices listed below are based on quick online research. Shopping around or buying used will help you find the best deal on any of these items.

Under $20

this awesome food storage e-book :)
Small first aid kits (this is a pack of two... a great deal!)
Crank Flashlights (get ones for the whole family!)
Jumper cables
Fuel for you r camp stoves or grills
water storage containers
spices and herbs

emergency preparedness books (ideas here, here, here)
work gloves
seeds for the garden
bottles/jars for canning

$20 - 60

Water purifiers (or cheaper tablets)
good-quality sleeping bag
jumper cables

Dutch oven
Solar (or crank) powered radio (or solar radio/flashlight combo)
Wheat grinder (very small, hand cranked - useful if you lose electricity!)

small rotating shelf system

food dehydrator

rotating systems from Shelf Reliance

$60-100
Ready-made 72-hour kits (this one's a 4-person kit)
Wheat grinder (small - hand cranked or automatics)
Pressure cooker (small)
Dehydrator (large)
55-gallon drum for water storage

$100-200
Rotating shelf systems (small)
Wheat grinder (small electric)

1200-watt generator
72-hour kit deluxe
Pressure cooker (large)

$200+
Rotating shelf systems (small to large)
Electric wheat grinder (I hear this one is great!)
Pressure cooker (huge)

4,000 watt generator
Good quality, large solar oven

You could also just ask for some actual food storage - #10 cans of wheat, rice, beans, oats, powdered milk, etc. Besides Amazon, there are many companies you can browse through as you make your wish list (or as you make your gift giving list).

Any other gift ideas you can think of?? Share them with us!

Food Storage Tuesday

2011-11-08T17:47:00.002-05:00

Every Tuesday, we post specific items you should gather in order to supplement your 72-hour kit, your three-month supply, and your longer term storage. If you are new to our blog, don't worry! You won't be left behind. Just start up where we are and follow along. You will eventually have everything completed. Once the 72-hour kit is complete, we'll be putting together emergency car kits again (week by week). Once those are done, we'll gather the 72-hour kits again. So don't worry, just jump on in and join us where we are today!

This week for your 72-hour kits, add some silver foil emergency blankets. These here on Amazon come in a 10-pack for a great price, but shop around of course. You should have one emergency blanket per person. It might be a good idea to put any extras in your car kits, especially if you live in colder climates! They don't take up a lot of space but they could save lives. I know it is common in some parts of the country to be stranded in snow drifts during this time of year, so make sure your car kit is stocked up!

How's your three-month supply coming along? I know I mentioned this last month, but just in case you missed it... be sure to stock up on "sick" foods and medicines! Gatorade (powder or bottles), cold/flu medicine (for kids & adults), canned soups, crackers, etc. Stock up on your comfort foods, and maybe some easy frozen dinners in case you are sick and you just want to throw something in the microwave.

How's your longer-term supply coming along? We're gathering wheat this month!

Motivational Monday

2011-11-07T11:30:00.000-05:00

"Though we never know when we will face a challenge that will require us to depend on the resources we have stored, we know that the Lord has said, “If ye are prepared ye shall not fear” (D&C 38:30).

"President Gordon B. Hinckley reminded us in October 2005 general conference of our need to be prepared: 'We can so live that we can call upon the Lord for His protection and guidance. This is a first priority. We cannot expect His help if we are unwilling to keep His commandments. … I have faith … that the Lord will bless us, and watch over us, and assist us if we walk in obedience to His light, His gospel, and His commandments.'

"Let us do all in our power to 'walk in obedience' and be prepared."

“Are You Prepared?,” Ensign, Aug 2007, 30–33

Food Storage Friday: Creamy Tortilla Soup

2011-11-04T11:30:00.000-04:00

Aleasha is here with our Food Storage Friday recipe of the week!

This soup was so fast and amazing! Ready to eat in 10 minutes or less
and my family LOVED it! One of the comments at the table was "I would
even eat this even if I wasn't starving!"

Canned Chicken, 1 Can of Corn, 2 Cans of beans- I had kidney and pinto (I would have loved black
beans in mine, but I was out), 1 can Rotel (tomatoes with peppers), 1 can of Cream of Something Soup (I had mushroom. I am sure any kind would work) Spices-Cumin, Chili powder, Garlic powder, Salt and Pepper-not pictured

Pour olive oil in pan on medium heat. Add spices and saute.

Drain chicken and add to seasonings. Pour all other cans into pot and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. I did not add the whole can of Rotel. My family does not really like things spicy. Adjust for your family.

Serve with tortilla chips. When rotating through your food storage,
serve with sour cream and avocado. YUM!

Creamy Tortilla Soup

Canned Chicken
1 Can of Corn
2 Cans of beans
1 can Rotel (tomatoes with peppers)
1 can of Cream of Something Soup
Spices-Cumin, Chili powder, Garlic powder, Salt and Pepper
olive oil

Pour 2 Tbsp olive oil into pan on medium heat. Add 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp garlic powder and 1/2 tsp chili powder and saute.

Drain chicken and add to seasonings.

Pour all other cans into pot and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Add salt
and pepper to taste.

Serve with Tortilla chips.

Tip:if using black beans, drain and rinse before pouring in soup.