Have the Ingredients for Extra Meals on Hand for Emergencies

In Arizona we don't have to deal with emergencies too often...well never since I have lived here.  But I was surprised on a trip to NC to see billboards urgeing residents to have emergency supplies on hand.  One of these supplies should be food.

At first we stored items that would keep for a long time, but during a time when my husband was looking for work after graduating, we had to live on this food storage and it was not fun eating only tuna, rice, pasta,

oatmeal and wheat for 1 month.  Since that experience over 27 years ago, I have tried to keep food we normally eat on hand, in case of emergencies. I still have a hard time with tuna in anything but a sandwich to this day! This is how I have organized it in my home.

We spent one evening as a family and listed all of our favorite dinner meals.  I tried to have at least 30 different meals for variety.  For breakfast we just planned on cereals, (boxed or like cracked wheat, and oatmeal), and lunches were peanut butter and jam or tuna sandwiches.  I have enough flour and wheat on hand to make bread if I really need to.

After coming up with everyones favorite meals, we picked the ones that had ingredients that could be stored on a shelf for at least 2-3 years, and we ended up with a list of about 20 dinner meals. I took this list and broke down how many of each ingrdient we needed for each recipe.  I then figured how many weeks worth of meals we wanted or had room to store(we have food under beds, in closets, etc.), and multiplied the list of ingridients by how many weeks we wanted to have stored.  If you don't like to cook, there are plenty of healthy soups available that you could just store enough of the ones you like for your emergencies. 

This gave me a list of what I needed and I  slowly watched the grocery ads and bought the ingredients as the came on sale and as many as the budget would allow.  I also learned how to can meat so we have a variety instead of just tuna.  It took several months but we eventually built up what we needed. 

I try to plan at least 1 "storage" meal a week.  This way, all the grocery items get rotated within 2 years and not much is wasted due to spoilage. 

I recommend everyone put some food away for emergencies, whether they be natural disasters, loss of employment, or whatever.  Here are the recipes for a couple of our storage meals. 

Meal:

Spaghetti, veges, homemade bread (if you want)

Spaghetti ingredients
2 pint jars of Spaghetti sauce (my homemade recipe is on a post dated 9/14/09)
Pasta (this stores great in air tight containers but freeze for 2 days after buying it to kill any bugs that are in them from the stores.)
Parmesean cheese- if desired (not the fresh stuff this time)
Some kind of canned or frozen vegetable to go with the meal.

 Meal: Chicken with Black Beans and Corn
 1 16 oz can black beans
1 16 oz can great northern beans
1 jar salsa- divided in half
1 16 oz can of corn- drained
1-1 1/2 lbs chicken (frozen or canned)
 Combine both cans of beans, corn and ½ of a jar of salsa in the bottom of a crock pot. Place chicken on top of mixture and cover with remainder of salsa. Cook on high for 3 hours. Shred chicken with a fork, and stir. Serve with tortillas or over rice.
*note-if using canned chicken, you won't need to cook it as long.  Rice stores well in air-tight containers but again, freeze for 2 days to kill any bugs that come home in it from the store.  If you want to use tortillas, you have 2 options, 1-have a recipe and ingredients for homemade tortillas, or have fresh tortillas stored in your freezer to thaw, cook and eat when having this recipe. 
This is a complete meal all by itself!
I will occasionally add other storage meals and recipes to the blog.  If you have any recipes that may work, email them to me and I will post them also (lrtpearson@hotmail.com). 

You will feel so secure if you try to be self-reliant.  You shouldn't rely on anyone else to take care of your family!

Where were you 943 years ago on this impotant day in history?

Yes, it was 943 years ago today that the Battle of Hastings took place in England and William the Conqueror defeated Harold Godwinson to become the new King of England.  He claims he was the rightful heir to the throne upon the death of Edward the Confessor through his mother's line and that Edward had promised him the crown when he died.  Now, whether this was true or not, his winning at the Battle of Hastings on October 14th 1066, changed the course of history. 

William landing in England on September 27th 1066

William, Duke of Normandy was officially crowned king of England, and became William the I on Christmas day 1066 in Westminster Abbey.  He ruled for almost 20 years, dying in France on September 9th 1087. 

Bayeux Tapestry showing the death of Harold Godwinson

Although William spent a lot of his time in France, he established many reforms and built many castles, keeps and mottes throughout England including the White Tower at the Tower of London.  He also commisioned a census to be taken of all of England's productive capacity that was similar to a modern-day census.  The "Doomsday Book" was published in 1086.  He eventually replaced all Anglo-Saxon nobles with Norman nobles that supported him. 

Whether you are for, or against William the I, and his claim to the throne, it was a day that really changed the history of England up to this day. 

Have your Family Prepared for any Disaster!

Preparing your children and family for emergencies is very important. We see on the news every week about how children have called 911 and saved lives. They can handle these emergencies if they know what to do. The same is true with preparing for natural disasters. If you as a family have an emergency plan for different situations, depending on where you live, your children will not be as afraid when situations arise.

Three great web-sites to check out are:

http://www.sesamestreet.org/ready
http://www.redcross.org/domore
http://www.ready.gov/
The Sesame Street site has activities, videos, and games to help take the scariness out of it but still teaches important preparedness lessons. The “ready.gov” site is divided into 3 sections on explaining readiness and the kids section is really good. It also has a section for how to prepare your business also, and the last section is full of information on preparing for emergencies for all areas of our lives. This is my favorite preparedness site.

The last website is the Red Cross site. They have a great campaign going called “do more than cross your fingers”. It has directions for getting an emergency kit ready in case you need to evacuate your home quickly, and what you should take.

Check out these 3 sites and if you have kids, start having drills, let them get involved in making the kits and making a family emergency plan, then if the worst happens, it will take some of the fear out if the experience because they will be prepared.

One of my favorite scriptures from the Doctrine and Covenants is: “If ye are prepared ye shall not fear”. (D&C 38:30-If you are not LDS, look up the verse in the “Scripture” section on www.lds.org )


If you know of other sites, leave a comment and let us know about them.

Really…Are You Serious????

I just heard the funniest thing on the radio. It was a news story about a skit that was on Saturday Night Live last week (Oct. 3rd). The opening skit was Fred Armisen portraying Pres. Obama where he was giving a report on what he had accomplished so far in his Presidency. Well, apparently CNN doesn’t know how laugh at “their guy”. Wolf Blitzer, in the “Situation Room”, had a team of reporters doing a fact finding report on the things mentioned in the skit.

YES! A fact finding report on a SKIT!!! I couldn’t believe it. Then I started to wonder… did they send out a team of reporters to check on the “facts” when Sarah Palin skits were performed on the show??? What about Pres. Bush skits???? Or Vice President Cheney skits???? I don’t know because I refuse to watch CNN unless it is forced upon me in airports YUCK! It is just another example of how in the tank the mainstream media is for this President. I don’t blame Pres. Obama at all but I would think he would tell them to calm it down some because they (the media outlets) are losing all credibility when it comes to reporting the truth.

Watch the skit, it is a good laugh no matter what side you are on…just as the Sarah Palin, and most of the Pres. Bush skits were funny.



CNN, maybe you should send some investigative reports to try to find your funny bone!

No Electricity? Make this Box Oven for Use in Emergencies ...

Make a Cardboard Box Oven for Baking without Electricity or Gas

This box oven is great to have on hand for emergencies.  I have a large bin that is filled with charcoal briquettes to use in case we are ever without power and I need to make a meal.  This is a very inexpensive and easy way to have an alternative fuel source for your self-reliance. 

Needed to Make a Simple Box Oven:

• One cardboard box with fitted lid (such as a standard “file” or citrus box)
• Heavy duty aluminum foil
• Hanger wire or metal cookie rack (a cookie rack can be more stable)
• Duct tape
• Optional: small cans (e.g., tomato paste cans) holding up a cookie rack

Begin by completely lining the inside of the box and top of lid with foil. Secure the foil to the outside of the box with duct tape. To allow air circulation, cut 4, 1 inch holes on sides of the box (at the base of the box and through the foil). If using hanger wire for the baking shelf, follow diagram below (however, it is much easier to get a metal cookie sheet and place it on empty cans above the charcoal).

Diagram if using hanger wires for the oven rack:

To Use the Box Oven (Use Outdoors Only!):

In an empty #10 can or in a fire pit, light your charcoal briquettes (use lighter fluid).

1. When charcoal turns gray and is ready, move it with long handled tongs into the bottom of the box oven, spaced evenly.
2. Place rack (or hanger wires) into the box.
3. Cover with the foil-coated lid to pre-heat the oven for 5 minutes.
4. To make a 350 degree oven you will need approximately 7-8 briquettes. To make oven hotter, add additional briquettes. The temperature will not be exact; experiment with it.
5. I usually only need 8-9 briquettes when I bake cookies (6), muffins (6), cupcakes (6), or 9” square or round cakes, etc. I have also made mini pizzas using dough from refrigerator biscuits and a frozen lasagna.
6. Empty box when cool, store for re-use later. 

Try to find this Treasure!

I am going to let you know about a movie that you have probably never heard of, or seen, but it is one of my favorites. It was originally run as a "Hallmark Hall of Fame" movie in 1997 and entitled, "What the Deaf Man Heard". It takes place in the South and Sammy is a young boy going on a bus trip with his mother. Somewhere along the way, they get separated (a mystery)and Sammy is left alone on the bus to the end of the line where he is discovered sleeping.

He doesn't know what has happened to his mother, but is taken in by the Sheriff and looked after by the local cafe owner. He pretends (to hard to explain why, but you will understand when you see it) to be deaf, deciding that silence offered some power and protection, and realizes that he can learn a lot by continuing to be "deaf". He continues this way into his 20"s and along the way he is learning many things and secrets about the towns people. One day when the local "spoiled bad-boy" is on trial, what a shock to the whole town when Sammy goes on the stand and tells all that he knows, which is quite a bit since everyone talked to him, thinking he couldn't hear or understand. Matthew Modine is really good and the older Sammy, and James Earl Jones is, as always, terrific as the man who also has a secret that he wants to keep to himself.

This movie is worth trying to find it. As with most Hallmark movies it is very entertaining.

What Are Little Girls Made Of???? And Boys???

I had the grandkids over yesterday for Grandma Day, to play for a few hours and in cleaning up the playroom, I was again amazed at the inherent differences between boys and girls and how they play.
Miss E’s new favorite toys are my (like how I say “my”) Narnia action figures. She had moved them out of the White Witches palace into Captain Hook’s pirate ship and set up house with them. The White Witch was the Mom because, according to Miss E, she is good now. Lucy was making a bit of trouble for her though.

She also built a train with the Duplo blocks and it was to take Reepicheep (the warrior mouse from “Prince Caspian, and “Voyage of the Dawn Treader” ) around to the various Narnia sites. Can you imagine how Reepicheep really would have felt at the indignity of such transportation!!! And then there is Mr. S. He is constantly building. He built a train track and several homemade types of trains mainly one consisting of all the large trucks tied together with a jump rope and proceeded to take it on a very extensive trip around the room and into the hallway.

Toddler “C” was happy playing the whole 3 hours with cars, cars, and more cars! For some reason he is afraid of the ones that make the revving noise. He likes to make the noise on his own. And my sweet dainty Miss “S” who only weighs 17 pounds at 14 months old, loved to just sit and observe all that was going on around her. Every once and a while, Miss E would try to interest her is playing together and would hand her a toy to use but she would just smile and hold it, watching, until Miss E would take it back.

They are all so different and come with their own personalities and as they grow it is fun to see these little personalities develop.