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Today's challenge is to answer the question - How long could you provide for your family go if you couldn't leave your house for a week?

Do you have a weeks worth of:

Food?

Medicine?

Toilet Paper?

Don't PANIC - JUST PREPARE - one step at a time.

What did you prepare today?

What can your family do the night before to help the morning go SMOOTHLY?

Kids:

• Outfits layed out (including socks, shoes, belts...)
• Backpacks Ready and in "launch pad"
• Lunches Made
• In Bed Early

You: (with help from the family of course)

• Dishwasher Started 
• Laundry Load ready to start in the morning.
• Main Areas of the house "quick tidied" 
• List of To-Do's Made
• In Bed Early

Trading in a bit of my nightly TV time for getting a few things done will be WORTH IT!

Apple Cider Bars

 

Here is what happens when your first photo attempts are blurry and you make a yummy new snack. All that ends up being left is an itty bitty little bite left for a photo op.


This is a food storage blog and this recipe would be a great addition to your food storage recipe arsenal.

I love that I can pull apple chips out of my pantry to make this recipe even when apples are not in season.

The end result: These bars have a mildly spicy tang reminiscent of a warm cup of cider.

The Recipe
1 1/4 Cups sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup softened butter
4 Cups Cheerios (I used Honey Nut Cheerios)
1 Cup Apple Cider
1/2 cup chopped dried apples or 1 cup diced apple
1 egg
1 cup oats
1/2 tsp salt
1 Cup raisins
1 TB vanilla
1 1/2 Cups flour

Heat oven to 350 degrees farenheit. Boil 1 Cup cideer and apples in saucepan until liquid is reduced to 1/4 cup.

Mix sugar, butter, peanut butter, cider, vanilla and egg in a large bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients except for Cheerios.

Gently stir in cereal.

Pour into ungreased 9x13 pan and Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool and cut into bars.

 

Remember it is easier than you think to turn your everyday recipes into food storage recipes- Here is a great example!!

CHICKEN TORTILLINI SOUP

 

     
Picture on the left is using traditional ingredients, on the right is all shelf stable!

Chicken Tortellini Soup Recipe

Ingredients:
1 12.5 oz can of chicken (or 1 pint of home-canned chicken)
1/4 c. dehydrated celery
2 T. dehydrated onions
2 1/2 c. water
8 c. chicken broth (or water mixed with chicken boullion)
1/2 tsp. celery seed
1/2 tsp. basil
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1 tsp. salt
Sprinkle of red pepper flakes (optional)
12 oz package of Barilla Tortellini (yes they are shelf stable!)
Directions:
Bring the water and chicken broth to a boil. Add spices. Add chicken (cut it up small if you like smaller chunks). Add dehydrated celery and onions. Add tortellini after it returns to a boil. Cook according to your package directions (probably about 10-12 minutes). Enjoy!

My Freezer Cookin Weekend!!

Freezer Cooking Session!!

Ok, well I attempted a long weekend of freezer cooking. I am not quite done yet but have realized I need to make sure I am doing this religiously. For our menu for 30 dinners, 15 breakfasts, and baked goods I only spent $88!! Granted, yes I have a pretty good food storage but I got a steal on meat. Turkeys of course on sale we already had one and when I went to walmart the thawed turkeys were only $.50 per pound. That is a steal so I cooked 45 pounds of turkey this weekend ( thanks moms roaster!). I also made 6 packages of homemade hamburger buns and hotdog buns, muffins, and banana bread. I will post more when I finish up.

Freezer Meals

I have found a wonderful blog/site to share that has lots of ideas for make ahead/freezer meals. Freezer cooking is another way to save alot of $ on your grocery budget. We usually can do a month's worth of meals (dinners), 10 desserts, and 15 breakfasts for under $250 a month for our family of 6! I will continue to try to share recipes for other freezer meals that we enjoy as well. Here is the link : http://makeaheadmeals.blogspot.com/

Here is one of Brian's favorite freezer meals:   Chicken Spaghetti

Ingredients

• 2 cups Cooked Chicken
• 3 cups Dry Spaghetti, Broken Into Two Inch Pieces
• 2 cans Cream Of Mushroom Soup
• 2 cups Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese
• ¼ cups Finely Diced Green Pepper
• ¼ cups Finely Diced Onion
• 1 jar (4 Ounce) Diced Pimentos, Drained
• 2 cups Reserved Chicken Broth From Pot
• 1 teaspoon Lawry's Seasoned Salt
• ⅛ teaspoons (to 1/4 Teaspoon) Cayenne Pepper
• Salt And Pepper, to taste
• 1 cup Additional Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese

Preparation Instructions

Cook 1 cut up fryer and pick out the meat to make two cups. Cook spaghetti in same chicken broth until al dente. Do not overcook. When spaghetti is cooked, combine with remaining ingredients except additional 1 cup sharp cheddar.

Place mixture in casserole pan and top with remaining sharp cheddar. Cover and freeze up to six months, cover and refrigerate up to two days, or bake immediately: 350 degrees for 45 minutes until bubbly. (If the cheese on top starts to get too cooked, cover with foil).