October Food storage Challenge

The challenge for October is to buy (3 months worth if possible) sugar or flour. My family uses a variety, white sugar, brown sugar, powdered sugar. I know lots of people who buy two kids of flours as well. Whatever your family uses buy. Don't store something that you don't use. Good luck. Post a comment if you find any good deals.

Ward Food Storage Fair

November 21, 9am-12pm

We are going to hold a food storage fair that will have different booths. It will be kind of like a job fair. You can come when you like and leave when you like. You can go to what ever booths interest you. Some booths will be a continuous video that will teach you something. Others will be demenstrations on how to prepare your use something. Please let mandi Allen or Whitney Wertz know if you are willing to help run a booth. Even if you don't know anything before we will educate you so that you know and can teach and assist others. You can also just leave a comment with this post if you are interested in helping out. It will be a ward event so you could have a husband wife team or do a booth with another sister. For this to be a success we really need volunteers to help us out.

Food Storage Challenge

Sister I just was wanting some feedback about the monthly food storage challenge. If you are would like me to continue doing it, or change it up or try something completly new. Please leave your comments.

Be Prepared

The following is a letter that was given to sisters in another ward.

As I’m sure you have heard on recent news reports, those in the health and medical community are anticipating a very bad year for the flu virus. It has been estimated that at any given time during this flu season, 40% to 60% of the workforce in this country may be absent from their employment. That, of course, would include medical facilities, grocery stores and trucking companies. Our ability to obtain goods and services that we need to maintain daily living could be negatively impacted for an extended period of time. Hopefully, we have followed the admonition of the prophets and have established a preparedness plan for their families. If they have not, the task may seem overwhelming and with other economic and personal issues, they may have set this important and necessary project aside waiting for better times. In those situations, we have some suggestions that may help.1. Make a list of the food and hygiene items currently in your homes. When you know what is available to you, make a menu to establish how long you could survive if you could not get items from the store. Monitor to see how quickly your family uses soaps, shampoos, dish and laundry soaps, etc. to establish how much of a supply of those items you currently have in your homes. Include hygiene, paper supplies and medications on your list. Don’t forget diapers, wipes and basic first aid supplies.2. Establish what items would be necessary to be completely self sufficient for a 1 month period of time if a situation arose where you were unable to get any replacement supplies in your home. Again, in addition to food, remember hygiene and paper products as well as medications. Water storage also needs to be maintained.3. Review the family budget to see if there are any areas where expenditures could be reduced to provide means to purchase the items on that list. Pay attention to the items that you are using daily and adjust your list accordingly so that those items are replaced. Try to obtain and then maintain a 1 month supply of food and other items needed by your family. Once that is done, work on a second month supply.4. Check on your water storage. See if it needs to be treated or replaced and verify that you have at least a 2 week supply for every member of your family. The recommended amount is 2 gallons per person per day.Please have the sisters remind their children to wash their hands with soap and water several times a day while at school to avoid becoming ill. If they suspect that a member of their family may be ill with the flu, keep them home to avoid spreading it to other families. We are aware that many families are unable to take on any additional expenses at this time and are already in great need. However, we have seen great miracles take place when families live the gospel and work to follow the commandments of the Lord. The last sentence in the Visiting Teaching Message for September is a statement by Elder Hales, it says, “The reason we pray, study the scriptures, have good friends, and live the gospel through obedience to the commandments is so that when-not if, but when- the trials come, we are ready”.

Canned Chicken

Chris and I will be canning some whole chickens on Saturday September 19th. If you would like to watch or can some yourself please come on over. We will start canning at 9am.

Share your knowledge

Sisters,

Please feel free to post any knowledge or tips dealing with food storage like buying it, storing it, preparing it, ect. If we put all our knowledge together we will be great. Send me an email or comment and I will get it posted. Thanks

September Food Storage Challenge

Sorry for the delay, I have been out of town without the internet. I would love to here how people did on their August food storage challenge. My family did Macaroni, and with a little patience and prayer I was able to get them .25 cents a box. I was very pleased. Alright so on to this month. The challenge for you this month is to get a three months ( or as much as your budgeted amount allows) of a canned good. You may choose canned fruits, soups, tomato sauce (maybe it goes with your last months) soups whatever you might need and use in a can. If you do not purchase items from the store in a can, pick something from the cannery that you use. Here are the instructions in case you forgot.

-First decide how much you can spend out of your budget.
-Second I will help direct you with. This month you will work to increase a canned good. If your budget is a little larger and you think you can get 3 months worth of more than one thing go for it.
-Third Pray for help. Ask Heavenly Father to help you be able to increase your storage, maybe where to shop, or the right timing, or ask for a sale on a specific item. Ask him to have someone let you know of a sale, or help you find some coupons.
-Fourth Before the end of the month make your purchase.

Food Storage Helps

Whitney Wertz came across this website and has found it very helpful in organizing, gathering and using food storage. Go explore it at http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/

If you find something specific that you think it good or has worked for you remember to make a comment or email me so I can post it for all the sisters to read.

Give them a try receipe's

White Bean Frosting- Rachael Smith

Makes enough for double layer round cake, ready in 12 minutes,

• 1 1/2 c. Crisco= 1 1/2 c. cooked, drained & pureed white beans
• 1 t salt
• 1 T vanilla
• 3/4 t butter flavoring
• 1 t almond flavoring ( i just added extra vanilla!)
• 3 T dream whip powder ( 1 pckg)
• 2 pounds powdered sugar
• 1/8-1/2 c water (depending on bean moisture, frosting should be spreadable but not runny)
  

Mix first six ingredients, then add half the powdered sugar. Add the rest of the sugar. Beat for 1 minute then and add water a little at a time until spreadable, but not runny. Beat for 6 more minutes until fluffy. Ready immediately.

Peach Spice Cake (really yummy with the white bean frosting!)
Makes 13 x 9 pan, ready in 2 hours, Rachael Smith

• 1 quart (32 oz) Peaches
• 1 C. sugar
• 1 C. oil
• 2 Eggs.
• 4 C. flour
• 1 t. salt
• 4 t. baking soda
• 1/8 tsp. allspice
• 1/8 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg

Put the peaches, juice and all, into the blender and puree. Add in sugar, oil, and eggs into the blender and mix together.In another bowl, combine flour, salt, baking soda, spices. Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix together.

Bake in a greased 9x13 pan at 350 F. for 35-40 minutes. Cool and frost.

Sweet & Buttery Cornbread

Makes 13 x 9 pan, ready in 45 minutes, Rachael Smith

• 3 C Bisquick
• 3/4 t baking powder
• 3/4 C sugar
• 1 1/2 C milk
• 3 eggs
• 4 T cornmeal
• 3/4-1 C melted butter

Mix all together.

Bake 25-30 min @350 °(or until you push on top & springs back up, sometimes it takes 40 minutes, I use a glass pan)

Super Easy Chili

Serves 8-10 adults, ready in 45 minutes, Rachael Smith

• 1 lb ground beef or sausage or cracked wheat sausage
• 1 onion
• 1/2 t pepper
• 1 can kidney beans
• 2 cans pinto beans
• 2 cans chopped tomatoes
• 1/8-1/4 C chili powder
• 1 t cumin
• 1 can green chili
• 1 T sugar
• 1 T Worcestershire
  Brown meat & onion, combine all & heat through. Serve with sour cream & cheeseserve with Cornbread

Pinto Bean Fudge

Makes 9 inch pan, ready in 3 hours, Cannery

• 1 c. cooked, drained & mashed Pinto Beans
• 1/4 c milk = 1 T milk powder + 1/4 c water
• 1 T vanilla
• 2 pounds powdered sugar (more if you beans are moist)
• 6 oz unsweetened chocolate= 1 c + 2 T cocoa + 6 T shortening
• 6 T butter or margarine

Nuts, chopped (optional) (but a wise choice if there might be beany chunks in your fudge! the lady that made it for our class said if there were chinks, she'd prefer to think it was a nut! not a bean!
In a large bowl, stir beans & milk together to resemble mashed potatoes in consistency. Stir in Vanilla. Melt chocolate & butter and stir into bean mixture. Add nuts. Gradually stir in powdered sugar until well blended.Spread into lightly buttered 8or 9 inch pan. Chill 1-2 hours. Cut into pieces, serve.

Cracked Wheat Sausage

• 2 c cooked cracked wheat (cook wheat like rice, 1c wheat to 2 c water)
• 2 t beef boullion
• 1 t parsley
• ½ t sage
• 1 t salt
• ½ t black pepper
• ½ t thyme
• 1/8- ¼ t crushed red pepper
• opt ¼ t MSG (accent flavor)
• 4-6 drops liquid smoke
• 2 t oil
• 2 eggs

Stir all together. Form into 1 inch balls & flatten into patties. Cook in oil over med/med hi heat until brown (just like sausage!)-you can also just put it in a pan and cook it up like you would hamburger meat, it separates more thatn hamuberger does, but still works! ps, don't tell your husbands if you feed it to them! i put some in spaghetti, and dave was going for his 2nd helping before i told him what it was, then he was all weird about eating it! but it was really good!

A Challenge for your Food Storage

Hello Sisters,

Food storage might not be on your high priority list, or you might be struggling with how and when you should purchase it. So to aid you in starting or adding to your food storage each month I am going to be challenging you to try and get at least 3 months (or as close as you can) worth of one specific food storage item. Here is your challenge.

-First decide how much you can spend out of your budget.
-Second I will help direct you with. This month you will work to increase an ingredient(s) that has to do with pasta. So you could buy noodles of plenty variety, you could buy top-o-ramon, hambuger helpers, macaroni and cheese. Or you could buy spaghetti sauce or stuff to make your own sauce. So decide what it is you want to purchase. If you don't have much to spend, pick only one thing. If your budget is a little larger and you think you can get 3 months worth of more than one thing go for it.
-Third Pray for help. Ask Heavenly Father to help you be able to increase your storage, maybe where to shop, or the right timing, or ask for a sale on a specific item. Ask him to have someone let you know of a sale, or help you find some coupons.
-Fourth Before the end of the month make your purchase.

Sisters I can't promise that you will get 3 months worth, but I know if you are trying and asking in faith for the Lord's help that you will see a definite increase in your storage and you will be blessed. So please accept this challenge and if you have suggestions for next month let me know. Also if you want to share what you bought and how much storage it gives your family that would be great.