Hi Everyone,
NOTES:
* I dehydrated another 20 pounds of carrots. It seems that 10 pounds fits nicely into a quart jar.
* I tried the “Best Chili” recipe from my 1/27 email. Not only did Craig love it, he actually requested it the next day for lunch! It really WAS good!
GARDEN HAPPENINGS:
* My tomatoes sprouted! They are under the grow lights with broccoli and butternut squash. No sign of sprouting from the peppers. Better replant. In my neck of the woods, I’m about 6 weeks out from our last frost date.
* I have a few carrots still growing from fall, and four celery plants. I’ve been watching night temps because they’ll need to be covered if it freezes–those and the geraniums. Meanwhile, there is plantain growing like crazy in the backyard. As soon as the rain stops, I’ve got to get out there and pick some before the lawn gets mowed.
* If you are looking for a natural solution to pests, you might look into the JADAM method. Never heard of it? Yeah, neither had I, but I’m impressed. Watch this. I think I might try it . JADAM pesticide – Google Search
THIS WEEK’S PURCHASE: sauces (spaghetti, pizza, alfredo)
If you are cooking for two, just use 1/2 of the jar of sauce and freeze the rest in a baggie.
I usually make my own spaghetti sauce. But this week I wanted to make some lasagna, and didn’t feel like making the sauce too. So I grabbed a can of Hunt’s spaghetti sauce I bought in April 2023, and it was fine! The lasagna was delicious!
When my kids were little, I used to make spaghetti with chicken. I’d grill chicken and use fresh veggies: zucchini, carrots, mushrooms, and add it all to the spaghetti sauce and serve over pasta. They loved it! What’s not to love?
Get at least 5 jars or cans—–10 is better. Remember one jar = 1 meal.
MISC. PURCHASE: baking soda; baking powder
Start the new year off with a fresh container of each. Both baking powder and baking soda lose their effectiveness after a year or so. Even if you haven’t used it all, get new. Date the box. Then in 6 months, get another box and put it on the shelf. If you suddenly have to start making your own biscuits or pancakes, you’ll have at least a six-month supply of leavenings!
FOOD STORAGE RECIPES:
Beef Minestrone Soup from The Prepper’s Cookbook by Tess Pennington
1 jar spaghetti Meat Sauce
4 c. vegetable broth
1 can red kidney beans undrained
1 can small white or Great Northern beans undrained
1/3 c. green beans, fresh or dehydrated
1/4 c. chopped zucchini, fresh or dehydrated
1/2 c. sliced carrots, fresh or dehydrated
1 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1 1/2 c. water
Bring to a boil and reduce to simmer for 20 minutes
1/3 c. small shell pasta
Cook for an additional 20 minutes or until the soup has the desired consistency. Ladle into bowls
3 c. fresh baby spinach – add in (hmmm? I think I might put this in earlier and let it reduce some, but do what you prefer)
Top with grated Parmesan cheese
NOTE: I actually have all these dehydrated veggies and think I’ll try this soup this week. Sounds yummy!!
Dottie’s Easy Chicken Pot Pie from The Prepper’s Cookbook by Tess Pennington
1 basic pie crust recipe
1 stick butter, softened (I usually use Crisco or lard)
1 1/2 c. flour
1/8 tsp salt
Cut the butter into the flour with a fork)
4-5 TB cold water. Just add 1 TB at a time until the dough holds together when you squeeze it. Shape the dough into a disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 30 minutes. Roll out. If you have NEVER made a pie crust, watch a YouTube video! Award Winning Pie Crust, The Most Buttery Flaky Crust You’ll Ever Make. Easy Comprehensive Guide – YouTube (he uses butter, and a food processor)
Filling:
1 can chunk white chicken
1 can mixed vegetables drained
1 can cream of mushroom soup
salt and pepper to taste
Mix in a large bowl and add to the pie shell.
Top with a second pie crust. Crimp the edges together.
Slit the top for steam vents
Bake 350˚ for 40-45 minutes.
Baked Potato Meal
Cook some large baking potatoes. I like to scrub them well and wrap in tin foil. Then pierce with a knife in several places. Bake 350˚. The last potatoes I cooked took 2 hours, so give yourself plenty of time.
Toppings can include:
1. canned chili and cheese
2. condensed cheese soup with ham, Spam, or bacon
3. salsa
4. Powdered and prepared sour cream
5. Homemade plain yogurt, garlic powder, and season salt
6. Baked beans and sausage crumbles
7. leftover spaghetti sauce with meat
8. leftover meat and gravy
9. refried beans and salsa
10. leftover chopped roasted veggies
11. fajita filling
12. ground beef, mushrooms, and condensed cream of mushroom soup
When my kids were little, we put baked potatoes under a big green salad. I was skeptical at first because of the hot potato under a cold salad. But it was delicious and the dressing on the salad provided all we needed for the potato, so it eliminated butter and sour cream. My kids really liked it! We called it Potato Surprise!
Marti
APPLE BUTTER
Peel, core, and chop the apples into small pieces. The variety of apples you use can influence the flavor of your apple butter. I like to use a mix of apples to get a complex flavor. If you have a tree or your area is known for a particular variety, I think you can make an apple butter subtly unique to your area.
have given you the general spice breakdown in the ingredients. I have dabbled with this over the years and now use a powdered blend of generic mulling spices, cloves, nutmeg, and allspice and cook it all with three cinnamon sticks. My family likes it spicier, so I use two tablespoons of powdered spices.
Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently to prevent sticking.
brown color. This process can take several hours. I find that it will take at least 4-6 hours. Be patient and continue stirring to prevent burning or crusting on the top. To check the consistency, it should stick nicely to the spoon once you stir it.
Ingredients:
the seeds to release the juice. Strain the juice to remove any pulp or seeds, and measure about 4-5 cups of pomegranate juice. Each large pomegranate has about ½ cup of juice in it. If you have a pomegranate tree, obtaining the number of pomegranates needed is easy. Getting it all extracted is the hard part. If you don’t want to go through the effort, you can always use store-bought 100% pure pomegranate juice. Here, I will juice four pomegranates and use two cups of store-bought juice to give me four full cups.
stirring frequently to prevent sticking, scorching, or boiling over. When the mixture reaches a rolling boil, add the homemade apple pectin, stirring continuously to ensure even distribution. Bring the mix back to a gentle boil, like a bubbling simmer, and cook for up to 30 minutes.
Fill Jars: Remove the pot from the heat once the jelly reaches the desired consistency. Pour the hot jelly into the sterilized and warmed jelly jars, leaving about 1/4-inch headspace. Process the jars in a water bath canner for 5-10 minutes. Pomegranate jelly made with proper canning techniques and sealed jars can last for up to a year or even longer. Refrigerate after opening.
You don’t need to boil pasta, but you do need boiling water. For boiling water, we can use something like a simple camp stove with a propane tank or an induction plate connected to either a gas or solar generator. It’s important to understand that pasta does not cook because of the boiling water. It cooks because of the temperature of the boiling water. So, if you bring your water to a boil, add a pinch of salt to help maintain temperature, add your pasta, stir it, and put your lid on the pot. You can now turn off your heat source, thus conserving the fuel. The pasta will be softened and ready to eat in about 12-14 minutes. This is valuable information if you are trying to conserve cooking fuel or minimize outdoor open fires. Also, when cooking pasta, scoop the pasta out but don’t dump the water. The water can be used as a thickener for cooking because of its flour content. Wheat flour is 70-75% starch, so some of that separates
out into the water. You can reuse all the pasta water as a base for soup or stew. Simply drop a bouillon cube in the water for a rich broth to sip throughout the day and night. Once cooled, you can drink it as a carbohydrate-rich energy drink. Mixing in the appropriate amount of powdered milk or drink mix will give back a richness that is sometimes lost in the dehydration, powdering, and packaging process. 
If you time this right, you will add the pasta to your mix, or you can scoop the pasta out and gently stir in a tablespoon of oil to keep it from sticking together. In a separate pan, warm 4 cups of water. You can use the already-warmed pasta water if your pasta is done cooking. With the water warm, turn up the heat source on the pan and slowly mix in your bowl of drier ingredients. Stir to prevent lumping. When smooth and slightly steaming, add seasoning to taste and any herbs, dried or foraged. The best herbs for this meal are basil, dill, or parsley. The herbs will freshen up the taste. 
continually cooking. Your ancient ancestors survived on this. Pasteurization occurs if you keep the temperature above 145 degrees with the lid on for 30 minutes or more. If you use a can cooker or Dutch oven and keep that wrapped in blankets or a Wonderbag to slow the heat loss, you can easily store the food overnight and heat it up again in the morning with no health risks, so long as it stays above or relatively near while sealed that temperature point. If you have a campfire, you can simply set the pot in the proximity of the radiant heat of the fire in an area where you can hold your hand comfortably for around 10 seconds. Generally, when you can only hold your hand for a count of 6 to 8 seconds, the temperature is between 250 and 300 degrees. 
oven or pot to a near boil and add it to something like a Wonderbag to trap the heat and allow it to continue cooking. Or there are options on the market, such as the can cooker, which would allow you to get it up to a boiling temperature, then turn off the heat source and let it retain heat and cook. This minimizes fuel use and the scent of cooking food, attracting unwanted guests. You can transfer the entire contents of the pot to a thermal cooking container once it has been brought to a cooking temperature and allow it to cook for 4 or 5 hours slowly. Again, the advantage here is that we save fuel in the process. I cover 12 ways to safely cook after a disaster which explores all of these devices and methods in another video. I will link to that in the comments below.
Canned beans are the easiest to work with because they are presoftened. The canning process pasteurizes and pre-cooks them. Don’t throw out the liquid. It contains salt and carbohydrates that your body will need in a post-disaster environment. Consider diluting it in water and adding some powdered drink mix. That will give you the salts, electrolytes, and carbs to keep you going. If you start with dry beans, you must soak them in water with a pinch of salt or a tablespoon of vinegar for at least 12 hours. You can skip this and just boil them until soft, but that will take more water and cooking time, and you will lose the shape of some of the beans. Since you can just boil these to make them edible and add seasoning, we will take this a step further and use bean flour.
the equivalent of 3 eggs in rehydrated whole egg powder. If you have no eggs, there are many egg substitutes, but many will give you a different texture in your brownie. For instance, you could use 1 tablespoon of ground flax seed, and 2 1/2 tablespoons of water. To this, you can add just a pinch of powdered milk to give it a little more richness. I’m going to use rehydrated whole egg powder because that’s what is in my prepper pantry for after a disaster.
Rice has been found in archaeological sites dating to 8000 BC, so humans have some experience cooking and eating it. Rice is a grain belonging to the grass family and is consumed by nearly one-half of the entire world’s population. You may only be familiar with boiled rice. You may also only be aware of white and brown rice, though there are different varieties. White rice is preferred for long-term storage because it lacks the husk, which contains natural oils that can oxidize and cause spoilage.
the ingredients for two eggs, triple them for three, and so on. Take 1 1/2 cups rice and give it a few chops on a cutting board. You don’t want to reduce it to a paste, but it will come together and cook better if the grains are at least halved in size. Add 1/2 cup chopped allium or other green. Add 1/4 teaspoon of pepper or chili flakes. Add a pinch of salt. Add one egg or the equivalent egg substitute. When mixed, scoop about 1/4 cup onto a hot skillet with about a tablespoon of cooking oil on it and mash the mix down to a level 1/4 inch thickness. 
Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add a teaspoon of salt or one 3-finger pinch. Add 2 ounces of dry pasta per planned plate served. Stir pasta with a few swirls. Turn off the heat source and place the lid securely on top. It will be done in about 12-14 minutes.
Hi Everyone,
** Last week I talked about using a 
A few weeks ago I opened a vacuum-sealed package of flour that was about 8 years old. It just was not good. I used it a few times but ended up throwing it all away. I “knew” that flour did not store for a long time. It goes rancid and gets a “smell.” THAT is why we are encouraged to store wheat. I like having flour on hand and usually keep 4-5 bags of flour in the closet. But evidently, I am not rotating it often enough. Lesson learned. Remember, the flour will get weevils, so you MUST package it with oxygen absorbers, or vacuum seal it. 
you are good to go. My favorite is Krusteaz. I mentioned last year that we used to live by a professional chef. He used a mix to make pancakes, but he added a little powdered sugar and a little vanilla. YUM!
23 Quart Pressure Canner Cooker for Canning & Cooker with Gauge Steaming Rack Auto Lock Handle for Stewing Pressure Cooking
blocks so that the water will drain. I’m growing bib lettuce, red lettuce, and green lettuce. Do you see the empty container? I planted this container about 2 weeks ago, and the baby plants are just coming up. I try to rotate the containers so that I always have lettuce. You can see the plastic tub in the front on the left is falling apart. I find that each tub only lasts about a year. The sun and elements make the plastic very brittle. 
It will not make scrambled eggs or angel food cake. See the description at the link below. 
Losing electricity is something you CAN prepare for. When it happens is NOT the time to worry about it. If you cannot afford a generator, maybe you can start a “fund” and put a little money aside every week. In the meantime, how about some emergency candles? 
without harming underground water.
both. If the store shelves are suddenly empty (2020), you have what you need for a few weeks and don’t suddenly have to break out the wheat grinder. I think we have all come to realize how “unstable” the marketplace can be. Having a supply of food is NOT hoarding, it is “laying up in store” for hard times to come. It is “providing” for your family.
My husband is NOT a fan or the seeds taking up room on the kitchen counter. But, until they are sprouted, I like to keep them in the warm house. After that, they can go outside during the day to be in the sun. Taking them in and out, in and out is a real pain! But, if left inside, they get spindly and will die. They need several hours of sun and a good breeze to develop strong stems. You CAN do this indoors, in a basement, or spare room, or garage IF you have a nice bright light and a table and a fan. Wouldn’t I LOVE that? But, you make do with what you have, and right now, I have counter space. 
our local Winco. I DO know that the cost of milk IS going up after Jan 1, so plan accordingly.
are about 2 in. tall. After the coming week of clouds and rain, I hope I can get them out in the sun. If you have ever grown celery from seed, you’ll know they are very tiny!!! It takes a LONG time for them to be ready to plant outdoors, which is good. Here is a picture of my tiny celery starts.
I have been prepping for years. The first thing that I found that has helped me is, over the last few years, buying a little bit more food at a time at a much lower price than it is now. I prep, actually, for my neighborhood. I know a lot of people that are not prepping and sometimes, because they can’t afford it and so I buy extra food so that when the food runs low or out, I can serve food to my neighbors and be a blessing to them and show them God’s love.
everything in there that we might need, and I found that almost every trip, we forgot to bring something–sometimes a key ingredient for what we need to do. However, because we already have backup stuff, it doesn’t hinder us at all. Other times the kids are brought out into the woods with only knife matches and water, and they have to survive for 3 days. It brings them to a place of self-sufficiency and great confidence that they’re going to be okay.
I’ve also found that from time to time, our family gets sick all at the same time. And nobody wants to go to the store because we’re not feeling that well. All I have to do is go over to my prep room and get whatever we need. Whether it’s dry goods or canned goods, even toilet paper, and paper towels. It all comes in handy and gives us a sense of security and peace. It also helps us to avoid getting out in public and making others sick, which is very important to us.
I live in a suburb just south of Buffalo, New York. Obviously, we are used to snow. We live in what’s called the lake effect snow belt, and getting 150 inches of snow in a year is not unheard of. 
so thick and heavy. They needed payloaders to come to dig out the streets. The municipal town plows couldn’t overcome it. All in all, since it was mostly focused on the suburbs, nothing unusual happened, people were used to it, and everyone behaved. Some neighbors ignored their snow and let it pile up and needed to be dug out by tractors. Others, like myself, spent a considerable amount of effort to keep up with the snow and keep the driveway clear.
It’s amazing how helpless some people are and oblivious. People in an area known for blizzards, with a blizzard in the forecast, were driving around without winter jackets and survival gear. They didn’t have shovels or blankets in the car. The roads became impassable and gridlocked. People panicked, and some people froze to death. The government essentially told people, “You’re on your own. We can’t help you”. Emergency services couldn’t get through to everyone.