http://www.facebook.com/debbieerey1

http://lifeasmom.com/2012/09/emergency-meals-ultimate-recipe-swap.html

Emergency Meals (Ultimate Recipe Swap)

SEPTEMBER 26, 2012

No one expects an emergency situation to happen to them. But, discomfort and anxiety can be controlled a little if we plan for one and have some emergency foods stored.

There are emergency meals and there are emergency meals. The former occurs when your meal plan collapses and you’re not sure what to fix for supper. The latter happens when the power’s out, severe weather is threatening, or you otherwise experience some type of physical catastrophe, a real emergency, that keeps you from business as usual.

Physical circumstances or simply stress levels during a natural disaster dictate ready to eat meals and some pantry-stable foods.

I know. Last year during our power outage, I ate through an entire bag of BBQ potato chips on my own. (They are, by the way, a fantastic pantry-stable food.)

Earlier this week, I showed you our 3-day emergency supply. Foodie that I am, it was actually kind of hard to decide on what foods to stock. I didn’t want to buy things that we wouldn’t use anyway. But, practically, I couldn’t envision doing a whole of cooking during a “real emergency”, either. I must confess, I did examine the Cup O’ Noodles in the grocery store, something I haven’t bought since college!

While ready-to-eat kinda goes against my “real food” grain, I think there are ways to keep shelf-safe staples on hand to help you out in an emergency. Without throwing money at things you would never eat during normal times.

My mom insisted that I have a plan for the food I was storing. So….

Here are my five Real Life Emergency Meals:

(which could double for any old day emergency meals, too.)

1. Crackers, Nut/Seed Butter, Individual Applesauce and Other Canned Fruit

My kids have sunbutter crackers at least once a week for a snack or lunch. I have no qualms at stocking this as a true emergency meal. It’s easy to prepare; even my four-year old can do it. And it’s a comfort food of sorts. Unsweetened applesauce cups and cans of pineapple chunks can be the side dishes.

2. Taco Soup or Chili

Taco Soup is one of my easiest meals to make. My husband says I can’t call it a soup, though; he says it’s chili. Either way, beans, either canned or dry, are very shelf-stable. The cans would be easier to deal with in an emergency and so that’s what I stocked.

3. Pasta and Red Sauce

Homemade red sauce is my standard. While slow cooked is nice, quick-to-fix is better in an emergency. A few tomato products, some onion flakes, garlic powder and other dried spices and herbs make a quick marinara to serve over noodles.

4. Noodle Soup

I was raised on canned chicken noodle soup. That’s what I bought for our emergency kit. But, I’m guessing that egg noodles cooked in chicken broth would be an easy and more “real food” alternative. Throw in a can of chicken and some spices and you’ve got chicken noodle soup in a flash.

5. Beans and Rice

Ah, our old stand by. We ate beans and rice in some form about three times a week when we were battling down debt. While we love to dress it up with fresh salsa, sour cream, and shredded cheese, the dressed down version is just as filling. Stock extra beans, a bag of rice, and taco sauce for a filling, emergency meal.

Ma Ingalls lived and thrived without refrigeration. Much of the world still does today. While it’s definitely out of my norm, I know that if push came to shove, we’d be okay. And while I’m a little skeptical (and hopeful) that we’ll never need our emergency storage, I’m glad to have a plan — just in case.

http://www.littlehouseliving.com/olive-oil-candles.html

Olive Oil Candles

by MERISSA on JANUARY 17, 2012

It's a good idea to be able to know how to create your own light sources in case you ever need them. This is a simple candle that you can put together with things that you already have laying around the kitchen (besides the wick, but I'd recommend keeping that as a regular stockpiled item anyways!)

What you need:

• Jar
• Olive Oil
• Wire or Paper Clip
• Wick

Depending on how long you want your candle to burn you can pick different thicknesses of wick. The one I used here is the one I had on hand but I think for next time I will get some thicker wick or even lantern wick so it provides for light and burns longer.

Cut the wick a couple inches long. Wrap part of the wire or paper clip wire around one end of the wick. Wrap it tight enough that the wick can't fall down but no so tight that you can't move the wick up when you need to.

Bend the wire so it hooks onto the side of the jar.

Here's a close up of the wick in the middle. You don't want too much sticking above the oil because it needs to be able to soak the oil all the way up the wick to burn.

Add your olive oil and that's it! To save money on olive oil you could buy the expired oils from surplus stores.

The awesome thing about this candle/lantern is that olive oil burns clean and doesn't smoke. You can make these lanterns in any size of jar that you have on hand (the one I used here is a half pint). You may want to stick with a wide mouth jar though to make it easier to fix the wick when you need to. Also, if you want them to be scented you could just add essential oils (or even dried or fresh herbs!) right to the oil.

Great Idea 

Eco~Friendly & $$$ Saving Tip of the week. Instead of going out and buying multiple muffin pans that are made in China. Simply use old Mason or Kerr Canning Jar lids. You can bake more cupcakes at one time. This way you can save time on cooking and use less energy.

 R & W Online Garage Sale'sphoto.

Antique Grater

The top picture is of an Antique grater that I use to cut up potatoes and eggs when I need then cut in small pieces.  

When I use it for Potato Salad I boil the potatoes with peal on then peal the skins off with a spoon then just push the potatoes and boiled eggs through the grater sitting on top of a bowl.   

Easy Chicken Salad

Pull the meat from the bone of one Broasted Chicken (tear in bite sized pieces)

6 boiled eggs diced.

1/2 very small diced onion

1/2 teaspoon of celery salt

2 teaspoons of seasoning salt

1 1/2 cups of Miracle Whip

Mix well and serve on soft bun of choice with a leaf of lettuce.  

Giant Orb

Today my husband was walking through our timber and came to get me to show me our collection of Giant Orb's Mother Nature had left us.  We picked one for my son to take to Biology class tomorrow.  

It is a type of fungi that grows in rare circumstances with just the right climate.  This year of extreme drought, followed by unbelievable heat and then 5 inches of rain, must be the right circumstances.  

They are edible, but I don't believe we will be eating this one.  

Per Tom Volk a scientist from the University of Wisconsin, "It is a giant puffball, Calvatia gigantea, known (as you might guess from the specific epithet) for its large size. Plus when you find an immature specimen that is pure white inside you've found a delicious edible mushroom! It can grow to be quite large."

Meat Balls

Mix 2 lbs of good quality ground beef

1 lb of loose Italian sausage

2 eggs

1 cup Panco bread crumbs

1 small can tomato paste

1 envelope of French onion soup mix

Make 25 golf ball size meatballs

Brown in cast iron skillet (Do not cook through)

Put in crock pot 

Mix 3 cans tomato sauce

1/2 cup Spaghetti seasoning

1/4 garlic flakes

1/4 onion flakes

Pour over meatballs in crock pot and cook about 3 hours.

Serve over warm pasta or on a fresh roll with provolone cheese. 

Cookie Monster Cake

Cute and very simple.  

Vegetable Flowers 

Fill the cups with celery 

Stick the veggies on the celery with toothpicks

Use a  cookie cutter to cute out cucumber flower 

Stick carrot center on with cream cheese

From Amy Locurto @ Living Locurto 

Fall Popcorn - put two bags of popped popcorn and a bag of candy corn in a bowl, drizzle 1 package (16 ounces) of white almond bark over the popcorn and candy corn, then spread out on to wax paper. Sprinkle with halloween sprinkles and let cool 15-30 minutes. Then break it up and enjoy!!

Repinned from Autumn🎃Thanksgiving by Robin Neer