It’s seems appropriate to be entering into the month filled with love and sweets by adding the worlds sweeteners to our food storage!!

This week is all about the sugars!!
White
Brown
Powdered
Raw
Splenda
Stevia
Agave
… any sweetener that you use in baking, cooking, etc.

A woman who is a food storage goddess in my eyes recommends a great way to store sugars.

“Keep them in their original bag and place those bags in a Rubbermaid type bin.”

~This storage method is great because keeping the sugars in their market packaging helps keep their ultimate freshness… putting them in the plastic container keeps them pest free!!

Here’s a great tip for your sugars… Make your OWN brown sugar!

Mix 1 cup of granulated sugar and 1 1/2 Tablespoons of molasses. Stir together with a fork until there are no clumps. It’s the BEST brown sugar you have ever tasted!!

Can you believe that the first month of 2010 is almost over?! It’s Nuts!!!

But unlike our fast moving month this week is NOT about nuts… it’s about randomness.

Now you may be asking… what does randomness have to do with food storage? Well this week we are being a bit random in our stocking up items. Most weeks have a common theme… grains, dairy, $$$, etc… but this week!

So to get to the items for this weeks food storage!

Dry soup mixes

Crackers

Cookies

Granola bars

All four of these items are not only food storage necessities but are important parts of your 72 hour kits. I take gallon food storage bags with each family members name on it. Then I fill each bag with granola bars, individual packages of cookies, envelopes of soup mix and packets of bullion from broth. I put one “tube” each of Ritz and saltine crackers to top them off.

These bags are put in my 72 hour kits and are changed out every August. We take the bags with us on our annual camping trip for snacks, etc.

So there you go… go out and buy your randomness!!

Always remember to have fun with this and stick to you rules! I would love to hear how you are doing with these challenges and what your purchasing!! The more ideas we share with each other the easier things get for all of us!

Happy Preparation!

As always, purchase meats that your family will eat.

My suggestions:

Tuna

Chicken

Beef

Turkey

Salmon

…. while spam and vienna sausages aren’t the most healthy but they will work as well!

Here’s a fun recipe with SPAM: (if you dare to try it… go on… I DARE YA!)

3 tbsp butter

7-oz can SPAM, cubed 1/4″
1/2 cup chopped onion

10 pitted black olives, chopped
1/2 cup chopped green pepper

6 eggs
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed 1/4 “
2 tbsp water
1/4 tsp pepper

In 10-inch omelet pan or skilet melt 2 tbsp butter over medium heat. Add onion, green pepper and potatoes; cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are crisply tender (5 to 7 minutes). Add SPAM and olives; continue cooking until SPAM is heated through.
Loosen sauteed ingredients from bottom of pan; add remaining 1 tbsp butter. Tilt pan to cover bottom with butter. In small bowl mix eggs, water, and pepper; pour over SPAM mixture. Cover; cook over low heat 12 to 15 minutes or until egg mixture is set on top. With pancake turner, loosen edges and bottom; invert onto serving platter. Yield: 6 servings

Now New Year is a time for starting over, getting things set right, make goals and challenges and re-committing to your weekly food storage plan!

So let’s get this year start off right!! If you haven’t jumped on our food storage journey now would be a great time to hop on the wagon!

January week #1 is all about: $$$$$$$$$$$ Money$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Having a cash supply on hand is EXTREMELY important in an emergency.

Your cash supply should have the following in it:

* Coins for telephone (quarters and dimes)

* No bills larger than $20.00

* keep a MINIMUM of $100.00 in cash storage. (or as much as your budget allows)

We keep our cash storage in a plastic bank bag in our fire safe. That way we always know where it is and if there is an emergency the fire safe with all our docs, etc would be one of the first things we would grab.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

May your new year be filled with love, safety and blessings!!

Baby…. it’s cold outside!!

So let’s stock up on HOT CEREALS!!

My favorites are oatmeal and cream of rice! But choose cereals that your family will eat!!

Suggestions:

Oats

Instant Oatmeal

Corn meal

Grits

Cream of Wheat

Cream of Rice

Malt O Meal

and many others…

Hot cereals are a great source of vitamins and nutrients and can be used for more than a cereal! It’s important to keep both regular cooking AND instant varieties in your storage. We keep instant oatmeal in our 72 hour kits and regular cereals in our main food storage.

~ TIP! Hot cereals are a great item to buy in bulk and split between friends and neighbors. My friends and I buy 50lb bags and then split them up into Gallon storage jars. The jars are a safer way to store them and keep then pest free!

There is only one item for this week!

That’s right food storage Friday followers! (Try to say that 5 times fast!)

Rice is what you need to add to your food storage this week. Make sure to stock up on rice that is full of nutrients and your family will eat!

Suggestions:

* Brown Rice

* Wild Rice

* Jasmine Rice

* Instant Rice

* LONG grain white rice

* Pilaf mixes

Rice is a great grain to have and can be stored for a long time! It can be added to soups, meats, as a dish or even for a main part of a meal!

Fried Rice Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 cups cooked, chilled white or brown rice

• 1 cup chopped yellow onion

• 1/3 cup thinly sliced scallions

• 1 1/2 cups peas and carrots

• 1 large egg, beaten

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

• 2 teaspoons rice wine (also called mirin)

• 1 tablespoon water

• 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce

• 1/8 teaspoon pepper

Directions

Stir together the rice wine, water, soy sauce, pepper and egg. Set aside.
Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet or wok on medium high heat. Add the onions and scallions to the oil and saute until the onions are translucent.
Add chilled rice, peas and carrots. Stir until just warmed.
Drizzle the egg/soy sauce mixture over the fried rice, stirring constantly. Continue stirring until egg is cooked and the rice is completely heated. This should take approximately 6 to 8 minutes. Serve immediately.

Yesterday was a normal day… a Monday. My kids only go to school Tuesday-Friday so it was a crazy, be around the house in the crummy weather kind of day. We got up, made breakfast. The girls were playing in their room and my son was playing video games. The phone rang about 8am… which is fairly normal in our crazy household and I raced my kids to answer it.

It was my doctor. With test results. She needed to see me.

You see, last week I went to get some things checked out. A long chat, lots of blood draws and some more tests later I was sent home and told it would take about a week to get results.

I explained to my long time doctor that I had all 3 kids home and as much as I would love to bundle them all up and drag them to her office… I would rather just discuss whatever she needed on the phone.

The next 3 words made my day turn from crazy to CRAZY…. “YOU. HAVE. CANCER.”

WOW!!! was all I could think.

Those 3 words turned into a 2 hour conversation about what type I had, treatment options, a few more tests that she wants to run, prognosis, etc. It was A LOT of information to take in, but I was feeling better, more educated and empowered… but scared none the less.

Now I don’t want to get into all the ins and outs of what I’m facing… rest assured that I will be FINE and everything was caught EARLY!!! The whole point of this story is to inspire you… so here goes:

I was overwhelmed when I heard cancer. I immediately thought about my husband, children, our home, etc. During this thoughts process I happened to glance at my food storage. And I knew we would be OK!!

Not because of the food items (which I am GRATEFUL to have as well!!) But for the non-food items!! The things that my husband would not think to buy or keep on hand should he need to take over the family shopping. Things like extra band-aids, medication, foil, plastic wrap, baggies. Things that are needed regularly but aren’t always thought of at the market or when making the list.

And I am glad that this week I’ll be adding paper products!! So I won’t even have to think about the dishes!!! Just serve and toss!!

So stock up my friends!! Because you NEVER know when you will be excited and blessed to have things on your shelf!!

November Week #4 is for stocking up on some “chewy” items…

JERKY and DRIED FRUIT

These 2 “snacks” are great to have not only in your food storage but also in your 72 hour kits! The jerky is a great source of protein and will help calm hunger pangs because of the need to chew it so much.

Dried fruit is a great source of vitamins and will help qualm a sweet tooth as well!!

You can purchase these products pre-made, in bulk or individual packages or you can make them at home with a food dehydrator.

Here is a recipe I use for making jerky in my oven:

Ingredients:

about 3 pounds of meat sliced VERY thin

Marinade:

2/3 cup Worcestershire sauce

2/3 cup soy sauce

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

Options:

1 teaspoon liquid smoke

2-3 teaspoons Tabasco sauce

2-3 teaspoons crushed red peppers

2-3 teaspoons sesame seeds

Mix all marinade ingredients together in a large (gallon size or larger) plastic zipper bag.

Add sliced meat and refrigerate, turning and mixing every hour or two.

* Hearty meats like beef and venison should be marinated overnight. For turkey, salmon or tuna, 3-4 hours is usually plenty.

When ready to begin drying, place a sheet of aluminum foil on the bottom of the oven to aid in cleanup.

Drain meat in a colander and pat dry with paper towels (the drier the better at this point). Set oven at lowest temperature setting and carefully place meat slices directly onto oven racks. Leave the oven door open a crack to allow moisture to escape.

Drying times vary due to oven differences and meat size. Perfect jerky is firm and dry and not at all spongy. However, if your jerky is so dry it breaks in two easily, it’s probably over-dried.

If case you didn’t get my pun…. this week we are stocking up on sewing supplies!

This is the time of year that I go through my personal sewing supplies and pull out spools of thread that are getting low, random buttons that have no home, loose safety pins, etc.

Remember that emergency preparedness is NOT all about food storage! We need to stock up and keep items that will get us through any emergency we may face. Items may rip or tear while fleeing a natural disaster, clothing may need to be altered or adjusted.

Sewing supplies that are good to have on hand with your food storage:

Thread

Needles

Straight Pins

Safety Pins

Scissors

Buttons

Tape Measure

Rubber bands

I would suggest having AT LEAST 2 needles, a couple spools of thread and some safety pins. That would be the MINIMUM.

While buying better quality thread is a good idea, you can get thread at the dollar store. Check your local craft or hardware store ads to see if they are running specials on any of these items.

STAY IN YOUR BUDGET!! You’ll be amazed at what you can find in your spending limit!!