Marti’s Corner 103

Thank you to Barbara for sending us this link.  

*** Charging your phone with no power. You need a car adapter, a 9 Volt battery, a small spring (from a ballpoint pen) and a small piece of tape to hold everything in place.  https://youtube.com/shorts/GM3QQw0N9Bc

After watching this video, we looked him up on YouTube:  Wranglerstar —- and started watching all his other videos…  How to store and waterproof matches with turpentine, How to make a taut line knot, 15 Essentials for a Car Emergency Kit, Top 10 Truck Tools every man needs.  You know, cool stuff like that.  We like that the videos are short – 3-4 minutes.  

GARDEN HAPPENINGS:

** We found another good companion planting chart and the pdf is attached below.   We also read a discussion about whether marigolds really do help prevent pests.  One person declared that they deter rabbits.  Another said the rabbits came and ate all the marigolds first!  

According to Berns Landscaping, “Marigolds actually attract beneficial insects such as ladybugs, parasitic wasps, and lacewings which all prey on harmful garden insects.  In addition, they eliminate nematodes with toxins found with plants.  Nematodes are small microscopic worms that damage the roots of a vegetable.”

** We’re going to plant our cauliflower outside tomorrow.  (They are not killed by a mild frost, so out they go.)  We’re hoping Spring is on the way as the 10-day forecast shows overnight lows in the 50’s starting this weekend.  This weekend—it’s all going outside!!!

THIS WEEK’S PURCHASE- canned meat – 10 cans!

With all the scare talk about killing hundreds of thousands of chickens, and slaughtering herds of cattle, we have not seen a drastic rise in meat prices.  That’s not to say it’s not coming.  If you can, get some cans of chicken, or cans of beef (Spam was on sale under $3 and we haven’t seen it that cheap for a long time).  You can get 85% lean ground beef for under $4 at Winco if you buy 10 pounds — which is exactly what we did just a few weeks ago.  Then we canned it up.  Boneless, the skinless chicken was under $2.  Find someone who can help you “can” it.  There are plenty of YouTube videos that you can watch, but a lot of people are a little scared of pressure canners and would feel better getting help in person.  OR you can pay for freeze-dried meat which is more expensive, but someone else does all the work for you.

MISC PURCHASE:

You should have a water bottle that filters water.  

There are different brands, of course.  You can get this one here: Philips Water GoZero Everyday Filter Water Bottle with Philips Everyday Tap Water Filter.  We have a Seychelle brand.  In fact, we have a few of them….one in each 72 hour kit.  If we have to forage for water, we can fill the bottle with whatever water we can find and know it will be filtered and clean to drink.

FOOD STORAGE RECIPES:

Chicken Stuffing Casserole

(We’re actually making this for dinner this week)

• 4 c. stuffing
• 1 c. melted butter

     (Since it’s just two people at my house, I usually cut this in 1/2)

     Press 1/2 of the stuffing into a 13 X 9 casserole dish.  

     (Again, I use something MUCH smaller now)

In a small pan, heat

• 1 1/2 c. peas
• 1 c. milk
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1 can cream of celery soup
• 3 c. canned chicken or shredded rotisserie chicken.

     (So, it’s hard to cut this part in 1/2 because then you end up with 1/2 can of soup.  Ugh.  So what I usually do, is make the whole thing, and then put 1/2 of the mix in a freezer bag and save it until the next time I want to make it)

     Pour the mix over the stuffing.

     Top with the remaining stuffing.

     Bake 375˚ for 30 min.

Note:  We’ve been making our own stuffing by cutting up dried bread into little cubes and dehydrating it until it’s totally dry.  Now we don’t have to store those huge boxes!

Poppy Seed Chicken

Here is another one that we really like.  Craig……not so much (which was really disappointing when we made it the first time)  The only thing you need fresh is sour cream.

• 4 rolls of crushed Ritz crackers
• 2 sticks melted butter
• 2 TB poppy seeds

     Mix together

     In a separate bowl:

• 2 c. diced cooked chicken
• 2 cans Cream of Chicken soup
• 2 c. sour cream

     Add 1/2 of the cracker mix to the chicken mix.  Put this in a 13 X 9 pan.  Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cracker mix on top.  Bake 350˚ for 30 min.

Scones

There is nothing so delicious as hot scones, fried, with butter, and/or cinnamon, and/or frosting, and/or jam.  EVERYTHING tastes good on scones.

• 2 c. buttermilk – warm up to lukewarm.  When you put a small drop on the inside of your arm (like you do when you test for baby bath water), it should feel barely warm.  
• 1 TB yeast
• 1/4 c. warm water (same testing)
• 1 TB sugar
• 1 beaten egg
• 3 TB oil
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 4 c. flour

     Mix together and knead till smooth.  Let rest a few minutes.  Then break off pieces, flatten in your hands, and fry in hot oil.  

    If you don’t have buttermilk, just add 2 TB vinegar to 2 c. milk and let it sit for a minute.  

Reference:

Marti Shelley