Thursday, December 18, 2014

Self-Reliance Tip Of The Week - Beauty and The Beast


How do I know if I stepped on her toes? 

One of my favorite fairy tales of all time is Beauty and the Beast. The way Disney portrays it is that Belle softens the heart of the Beast and he becomes kind, and that beauty is only skin deep. Ahhh....to blave...and when the beast is changed into a man at the end...wow, what a looker!

There is a Beast prophesied in the last days. The Beast might symbolize a person, a group of people, or countries (or all three, symbolism is funny that way). This particular beast will not however become kind. There are certain things we need to watch out for when it comes to the "sign of the beast" because it can affect every aspect of our own lives and the lives of our family. 

What I am about to say might sound a little Sci-Fi'ish (is that even a word?) because frankly...40 years ago you might have been laughed out of a room for what I am about to say; however, how can we avoid something if we don't see it coming (kind of like a smart-car)?  Let's do a little background check on this humdinger of a "fella" . We find a lot of our information from Revelation's 13.

Elder John Patmos ( The Apostle John who was sent to remote desert peninsula of Patmos as a prisoner) around the age of 92 had this crazy vision about all kinds of things that would take place in the last days. Daniel had the same vision. This vision is loaded with literal and symbolic things. Sometimes the symbolism can throw any reader for a loop...unless you know what certain symbols mean. Then, like a parable, it can open up and be as easy to understand as your favorite movie. 

The heading to chapter 13 in the Bible says, "John sees fierce-looking beasts that represent degenerate earthly kingdoms controlled by Satan—The devil works miracles and deceives men. "

 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.
Symbol meanings: 

  • seven - is the Hebrew symbol (throughout scripture) meaning "whole or complete" 
  • head - your head is who you are - who you choose to be. 
  • ten - a whole part (part of something else, but is also complete by itself)...an example could be a child, the child is complete by itself, but is part of something else - the parents
  • crowns - their authority, royalty, kingdoms

Here are some other juicy tidbits about the second less powerful beast: 

 13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
 14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
So, these beast...things... are pretty ugly, but he/they appear(s) to do miracles and deceive those that dwell on earth. It sounds like our favorite felted strawberry (the anti-christ) is a part of the whole process. If I were a betting woman, I'd say that is the "blasphemy" written on the heads of the beasts. This "beast" also has a financial system:

 17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
 18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.
Six - means incomplete (because 7 is whole and complete) so triple six is complete incompleteness (how does that sucker compute?) 
Here is where I apply this to our day. Picture this...a world in economic upheaval, a great need to become "unified", a financial system in need of "rescuing"...

What if all your financial, personal, and health information were located in one convenient place? A little microchip smaller than the size of a grain of rice literally in your hand? Below are two real commercials trying to sell this very idea. If I were trying to sell someone on an idea that they weren't on board with, I would use these marketing strategies to sell it (see if you see any of these in the commercials):

  • Convenience - why carry a wallet or keys? Your money, ID and electronic key are with you all the time. 
  • Safety - Do you have a family member with a memory illness that you want to know where they are? Or a wayward teenager? Problem solved. Just track them.
  •  Everybody is doing it - that one speaks for itself. 
  •  Freebies! - How would you like your credit score cleared? What would you say to free fuel or groceries for a year? Healthcare? Would you do it then?
  • We will get you a job!
  •  It is for your own good - We really do care about you *wink wink*    and a   * tooth sparkle*

This is an IBM commercial: 

This is a verichip commercial: 


How can families avoid being a part of this? 
  • Get and stay out of debt 
  • Be self-reliant
  • Be aware
  • Refuse to be a part of it
The funny thing about symbols in scripture is that often times, it happens more than once. The things prophesied also happened in the days of Nero, but know...the latter-day story of Beauty and the Beast also has a happy ending (minus the mushy kiss). Good will triumph. That is Heavenly Father's plan. 

If you would like to learn more about some of the questions Joseph Smith had in regards to John's "Revelations", read D&C 77 : https://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/77?lang=eng

Thursday, December 11, 2014

Self-Reliance Tip of the Week - Yes Officer...I Killed My Garden

"We've got a live one here...."


"Ma'am, do you know why I pulled you over?"

My futile search for a peace offering pastry ends quickly. "Yes," I say. "I killed my garden. IT WAS MEEEHEEEHEEE!!"

"You'll have to come with me." 

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Many of you know that I have struggled for a long time getting a productive garden to grow where we live. I have tried for many years to get tomatoes to do more than stare at me and make me GUESS what I'm doing wrong. The plants look fine, they just don't give any fruit! I've heard advice much like, "Have you given it enough water?" Yep. "Have you given it fertilizer?" Yep. "Have you prepped the soil with mulch." YESSS! Etc...etc...etc. It is a good thing that they can't put you away for killing...plants. Because I'd be on death row right now. As I look at the jury, "I really didn't mean to...it was an accident!" Mmmhmmm!...TO THE GALLEYS!!! 

Some of my problem is the bermudagrass fairy, some of it is the clay, or some of it might even be chemicals added to the water (when it rains, my plants sometimes come back from the dead... zombie plants? Maybe). Even though I seem to be full of excuses, I really have tried. When we lived in the junk yard (you might think I'm kidding) we had a little garden, and even with all the ground squirrels, our garden did way better. So, I know it isn't me...per say. When we lived there, the dirt was more loose and sandy. That might have something to do with it. 

I recently came across a gardening system that I can digest (step by step with promised yields) - but you have to follow the instructions. You can pay for CD's to teach you how to do it, orrrrrr.... you can watch how Youtube channel LDSPrepper does it. He and "Mrs. LDSPrepper" take it step by step and show you where to download the guides, fertilizer recipes and all the juicy details. You should see their tomatoes (...suppressing the jealousy....and....ok its gone)! You can't get this kind of juice reading tabloids at any supermarket!

Here is a playlist of several videos. There are many hours of watching enjoyment. 


Already I have learned some tricks that I am going to implement in my winter garden. 

#1 - Clay doesn't work to grow anything productive. Equal parts sand and pine shavings are a great medium that leaves a nice loose place for roots to flourish. This is done in a "grow box".

#2 - If you fertilize once a week, the plants will have enough energy to not only produce, but to GO NUTS!!!!

#3 - If your fertilizer has all 16 nutrients that plants need (actually only 13, because they get 3 from the air) - they have enough to do their job.

#4 - Vertical gardening can save you TONS of space. 

#5 - Much much more!

This video shows his harvest of potatoes when he used 3 sweet potatoes he harvested 139 pounds of them! CRAZEE!!


Why would I care so much that I have a producing garden? President Spencer W. Kimball said this:

We encourage you to grow all the food that you feasibly can on your own property. Berry bushes, grapevines, fruit trees—plant them if your climate is right for their growth. Grow vegetables and eat them from your own yard. Even those residing in apartments or condominiums can generally grow a little food in pots and planters. Study the best methods of providing your own foods. Make your garden as neat and attractive as well as productive. If there are children in your home, involve them in the process with assigned responsibilities.10
I hope that we understand that, while having a garden … is often useful in reducing food costs and making available delicious fresh fruits and vegetables, it does much more than this. Who can gauge the value of that special chat between daughter and Dad as they weed or water the garden? How do we evaluate the good that comes from the obvious lessons of planting, cultivating, and the eternal law of the harvest? And how do we measure the family togetherness and cooperating that must accompany successful canning? Yes, we are laying up resources in store, but perhaps the greater good is contained in the lessons of life we learn as we live providently. 11
So, planting and harvesting food is only half of the reason we've been asked to have a garden. It is about teaching these valuable skills to our children. What better way to teach "you reap what you sow" than for them to actually do it!

I am very lucky that I can't be sent to jail for killing my garden plants...( I think it is in the 3rd degree for negligence or indifference). I'm not even going to address how many pets have lost their lives in the cause of teaching my kids responsibility though... The good thing is, I can keep trying. If all I have to do with this system is feed and water (with the right medium for the roots to grow), I hope to have more success. I will let you know how my experimenting goes. 


Thursday, December 4, 2014

Self-Reliance Tip of the Week - When "Wonder" Becomes "BAM-azing"!




Most of you know how much I LOVE my Wonder Oven. I love it so much that I almost had it sit next to me during our family pictures this year. I love it so much, sometimes I sit and talk to it. It is a GREAT listener and gives "Wonderful" advice. The only problem is...I've found another. 

It has been known by many names...Wonder Bag, New Cooking Bag, Cute Cooker...but the job it does is the same. It is self-reliant and frugal in the fact that it does not waste a joule of heat to keep food not only hot, but cooking. BAM-azing!!

Don't get me wrong, I still love my Wonder Oven. I still use it often. Picture it as a faithful dog that is 75 (in dog years), and I just got a new puppy. They still serve the same purpose, but I just don't have the heart to put the old one down yet. :)

There are a couple of reasons I like the "Cute Cooker" more than the traditional "Wonder Oven":
  • It is more compact
  • You don't have to hide your oven under inside an 18 gallon bucket (it fits perfectly on a counter)
  • It uses less insulation to retain the heat than the "old faithful" Wonder Oven
  • They're just down right fun!
Here's how it works: 

Bring your food to a boil over a heat source ( stove, rocket-stove, volcano stove, etc. ) - what your cooking depends on the length of the boil. 

As a general guide things need to be cooked according to hardness (except bread...I'll splain' later):

Food
Boil Time 
(over some type of fire)
Oven Time
Pasta
Just heat water to make the lid hot
15 minutes
Rice
5 minutes
30 minutes
Potatoes
5 minutes
30 minutes
Raw meat pieces (chicken or beef)
10 minutes
20 minutes
Beans (soaked over night)
15 minutes
3 hours
Whole chicken
25 minutes
3 hours (until center reads 180 degrees)
Small misbehaving children
You can’t eat those…
… they’re gamey…

When I first started cooking with a Wonder Oven, I was actually a little scared. It was new and I didn't want to mess up. Consider this...is it better to practice now and get the quirks figured out, or waste ingredients when you REALLY need them? I'll hold your hand...we'll do this together :). 

Here are some recipes from "My Food Storage Cook Book" website. SHE IS AMAZING!! I love it when people find a hobby that benefits not only themselves and their family, but unknown numbers of people who read their blogs or other media outlet. That is a HUGE key to self-reliance! And a bonus?...all of the ingredients are FSF!!! (food storage friendly!)

Wonder Oven Lasagna

Potato Stroganoff

Cajun Read Beans and Rice

Overnight Oatmeal

Cheesy Italian Shells

Mexican Tortilla Lasagna

AND MUCH MORE!!!

A variation of cooking meat pieces without actually "boiling" the meat:

Bread is a bit of a different beast. Here are some great step by step instructions - bread needs a separate container (you'll see with the link), but here are
detailed bread instructions - best part...NO CRUST! (boil 10 minutes cook:


Muffin instructions (boil 10 minutes - oven time is 3 to 4 hours):

If you would like to make your own cooking bag or wonder oven, let me know. I can make them for around $50. If you have one and you need motivation to get started (or re-started) using it, let me know. I will get the information to you. It really is an excellent source (with a bit of a learning curve) and can be one of the greatest tools you'll ever own!

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Self-Reliance Tip of the Week - One More Day

 
... every needful thing...


I am doing this a day early because this homey won't be typing on
Thanksgiving Day :)  -

I LOVE the group Diamond Rio. One of my favorite songs is "One More Day".
If you aren't familiar with it, the song is about spending JUST ONE more
day with someone you love that is gone. I would love to have just one more
day with my Oma. She is my father's mother and she was AMAZING! If I could
spend just 24 hours with her, what would I ask her? Maybe...


   - Do naughty kids skip a generation - because I so wasn't like this?
   - How did you live in the same small house for 60+ years?
   - When my dad was driving you crazy, how did you keep from killing him?
   - Did he REALLY have to walk up-hill both ways in two feet of snow to
   get to school?
   - How did you live on a shoestring budget?


My grandmother spent her adolescent and teenage years during the Great
Depression. I know the general history of what happened and what people had
to do to survive, but I don't know many specific stories of how they had to
live. Her family was never wealthy - did their finances change when the
Depression hit and drug on?

A friend of mine posted this link on facebook and it has some great ideas
on how people during this economic toilet flush made everything streeetch.
Many of these ideas can also relate to 1800's and early 1900's living.

http://melissaknorris.com/2014/11/podcast-44-depression-era-tips-stretch-food-budget/?utm_content=bufferf9be7&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Some of these insanely simple ideas are :


   - Cornmeal was a staple - make cornmeal mush (2 C water to 1 C cornmeal
   - boil until oatmeal consistency = done)
   - Make cream of wheat - ( same as cornmeal mush, but substitute water
   for milk)
   - Use wild game and foraging to supplement the menu (the author has a
   mushroom field guide you might want to check out)
   - Soups are a great way to make food stretch (Wonder Ovens/ Cooking Bags
   are a great way to save fuel and make broth at the same time)
   - Biscuits and gravy are an inexpensive breakfast or dinner
   - Make your own condensed soups with few ingredients (and none are
   questionable like the store bought ones)

These are only a *few* of the ways people made the hard times work. They
had to know how to harvest their own animals if they needed to. Part of the
problem with living in our convenience age, is that we are disconnected
with our food. As a generation we lack the knowledge to care for and
harvest animals. I believe it is part of our responsibility as being
stewards of the Earth to have a connection with the food we eat.
Slaughterhouses do not encourage eating meat sparingly.

I am sure everyone has heard those stories (or experienced personally)
about butchering a chicken with parents or grandparents. The head is
removed with an axe and the remainder of the body runs around trying to
figure out where it's head went (you know, kind of like me on Sunday
mornings). It is messy and in effect, not very pretty, or appetizing. It
can also be traumatic for small children (or adults not used to anything of
the sort) if it is done this way.

I learned a more respectful and gentle way by watching this video. It makes
more sense to me to do it this way (do not watch this just before your
Thanksgiving dinner...let it settle first :) ).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_S3P0eU0lE

One of my favorite parts about learning to become more self-reliant is to
learn from those who have "been there". If you still have a family member
who is old enough to remember the Great Depression, sit down with them and
ask them what it was like. Ask them what they did to live more frugally to
make that dollar streeeetch just a little more. My sweet Oma taught me some
of what I know about spinning wool, making soap, sewing, loving music and
making what you have work after you've spruced it up a bit. She had the
funniest little laugh. If I had "One More Day" my questions would not cease
similar to a 6 year old. But, that's what I'd do if I had one...more...day.

Thursday, November 20, 2014

Self-Reliance Tip of the Week - So, What's It Worth To Ya?

Is there any way this trash can could ever be priceless to you?

There are many things in my life that are invaluable to me that no one else could ever imagine it would have ANY value at all to anyone. There are times I love to go on a sentimental journey (some might think "mental" is the key word on that) and hold stuffed animals that used to be mine. I remember where they came from, and how old I was when I got it. Who cares if an eye is dangling? Or, the stuffing might be thin in spots and seeping out of others. What things are priceless to you?

Many people find that pictures and videos of their families are irreplaceable. That would be true for me as well. My sister says I'm a "shutter bug" and take WAY too many pictures. I...can't...help...it,...just...one...more...shot! I love to see how my kids have grown, and have "bragging" folders on my computer, as well as, "blackmail" folders - you know, for the dating years. Let's not forget pictures of ancestors and extended family...priceless.

How many of us have these priceless things on our computers all tucked safely away? They might not be as safe as you think. What if a virus comes through and clean's your hard-drive's clock? Do you have a back up?

Several months ago I did a highlight on what an EMP was, and that it is a real threat. My goal is to educate, and make the reader aware what precautions can be done to protect your special electrical memories, family history, and what ever electrical priceless things you might own.

To review, in a nutshell an EMP (electromagnetic pulse) is a surge from the effects of a nuclear weapon launched high in the atmosphere. If this sounds a little too sci-fi for you, I encourage you to do a little research. This is what happened during the Cuban missile crisis on October 22, 1962. The then USSR had already sent one above their own people in Kazakhstan, and it wiped out telephone for over 350 miles and electricity for 600 miles. 

I went to a class once where the instructor had been a part of the testing done by the US in the 60's. After the planned EMP surged, it wiped out 300 street lamps 800 miles away, across an ocean. So, it is possible - what do we do to plan ahead?  The instructor (I will call him Dr. Oz) then told us how we can make an effective "Faraday Cage" that is inexpensive yet effective to protect sensitive electrical equipment: 

  • digital photos, videos, etc.
  • communications (like HAM radios)
  • any device with transistors and/ or semiconductors (solar panels, cell phones, power grid equipment, vehicles with electronic ignition [mid to late 70's and newer])
  • and the like...

I could share with you all the math and electrical mumbo jumbo like kilowatts, gigahertz and grapefruit squirts... to make you think I'm smart...but I'm not AT ALL when it comes to stuff like this. The bottom line is, that metal  breaks up the surge. Copper and aluminum specifically have shown to be effective for this kind of blessed interruption. Dr. Oz then demonstrated that if a simple am/fm radio can receive a signal ( because [ in total layman's terms] it is the same type of wave which an EMP would travel, just at a MUCH higher concentration), then the electronics are not in a protected space.

Enter the aluminum trashcan. 

If you cover the electronic device in aluminum foil (remember, we're not making alien hats with it) and then place it in an aluminum trash can with a lid, a radio cannot receive a signal in there. The gadget is then safe from an EMP. That's it. I have a removeable hard drive that I periodically update with our latest pictures and typed histories and other important digital documents in a Faraday Cage such as this. 

As nice as it would be to put your washer in a HUGE aluminum trash can, it still will not work without the power grid working. Save a Faraday Cage for the truly important things. 

For an example, this is what I would put in my ideal cage. 

  • a washed up ipod for music and pics that wouldn't require extra speakers or equipment to get working
  • a small solar panel to recharge devices
  • flashlights ( the batteries would be fine outside the Faraday Cage, but the inside of the flashlight would probably be damaged)
  • a battery powered fan
  • a removeable hard drive for precious digital information
  • etc.

This link will take you to preparation ideas posted by the National Geographic website: 


Hopefully I've given you a few ideas to think about. Maybe an aluminum trashcan made it a little higher on your priority list - because it just became priceless. 

Thursday, November 13, 2014

Self-Reliance Tip of the Week - Garlic Can Ward Off More Than Vampires


(I hope..) We all know that vampires don't exist. But, they make for a great story...if you are into that kind of thing. So, according to legend, you can kill a vampire with a with a wooden stake, silver, sunlight, or to remove its head (gross! What the?), but you are supposed to be able to ward them off by sprinkling mustard seeds on the roof of a house, or hanging garlic around your neck.

Garlic has way more properties than making you so stinky a vampire will find someone else, but it is a great immune booster and antibacterial wonder. I recently found an article addressing a Super Garlic Immune Formula. I would like to share some of it here. As an introduction, I would like to explain who Dr. Christopher is. Dr. Christopher is a botanical doctor who in between helping people, he gave many, many lectures on empowering yourself with the use of herbs. These are his own words:

“While lecturing in Snowflake, Arizona one night, one of the students asked if we had an Super Garlic Immune formula, and after saying a quick prayer I was prompted to give them a certain combination of herbs to use.

“The people there were very impressed to go right to work and prepare this liquid, having it ready for use. We had told them that plagues come at unexpected times and it could be tomorrow or maybe even years away, but expect the unexpected and be ready now.

“These good people made it up in gallon lots and had it on hand. Months later while speaking in Tucson, Arizona, someone asked for the ‘Super Garlic Immune remedy.’ I was surprised and asked where they had heard of it as we had only given it out once. We were informed that a plague-like condition or flu had hit the Snowflake area and when other aids failed, this combination of herbs in liquid form performed its job with amazing speed.

“At our next series of lectures in Snowflake, sometime later, we heard one testimony after another about the many different types of ailments that were given quick relief by using this formula. The formula has now spread in many areas from coast to coast and is being used with good results. A man picked us up at an airport on the west coast a short time ago, and on the floor of his car was a bottle with liquid in it. When asked what it was he said, ‘Oh, that’s your Super Garlic Immune remedy.We never travel without it as it works good on about any sickness that comes up while we are traveling. We are also never without a bottle of it at home."

Source: http://www.herballegacy.com/Garlic_page2.html

This formula can be purchased online or locally at Indigo Mountain and is easily found online. But, if you want to make it yourself like the people of Snowflake did, here is the recipe and instructions. 

Super Garlic Immune Formula

8 oz juiced garlic (about 1 lb of garlic bulbs)
32 oz Organic apple cider vinegar
20 oz vegetable glycerin
20 oz raw honey (unpasteurized - NCE Security or Lee's locally)
8 oz comfrey root concentrate
4 oz wormwood concentrate
4 oz lobelia leaf concentrate
4 oz marshmallow root concentrate
4 oz oak bark concentrate
4 oz black walnut hull concentrate
4 oz mullein leaf concentrate
4 oz skullcap leaf concentrate
4 oz uva ursi, hydrangea or gravel root concentrate

How to make a concentrate for this recipe:
  • Take your 4 oz (by weight) of each single herb and add just enough water to cover the herb.  You will do this 9 times for each individual herb. Some herbs are more thirsty than others, so the amount of may vary slightly. Remember Comfrey is double 8 oz herb.
  • Let it soak over night
  • In the morning, add enough water to make the "sludge" 16 oz (you can check this by pouring it in a glass measuring cup about the 2 cup line - 32 oz for comfrey)
  • Bring to a gentle boil 
  • Continue boiling covered for 30 minutes
  • Strain the liquid using cheese cloth or clean towel into a clean pan
  • Simmer again until the liquid is 4 oz (liquid measuring)
  • Set aside in a jar until all are ready
  • This process can take about 2 days to complete...depending on how many pans you have :) 

After all the concentrates are ready, add all of your ingredients in a pan and warm it gently until all the honey is melted and everything is liquid. DO NOT BOIL because this will kill all the good in the honey. Pour into dark jars and keep in the fridge. This will last for many years in a cold environment, but if it is not refrigerated, it will last about one year.
Where to get the ingredients:
  • The herbs alone will run you about $50 and up (unless you can find some of them on our mountain *wink wink*)
  • Mountain Rose Herbs has everything but oak bark - but I easily found that on Amazon. https://www.mountainroseherbs.com/catalog/herbs
  • This site has all of them ready for you to buy in a kit, but it will run you about $100...twice the price, but convenience sometimes is worth it. http://herbsfirst.com/mixformula.html

Some might be thinking "That is really expensive and time consuming!" Yes, and no. If you think about it, where else can you get around a gallon of something that can kick just about any flu bug etc that comes into town for $50? I think that is a great value.

The vinegar, honey and glycerin, will be easy to get here, all of them can be found at Lee's Riteway Market. Indigo Mountain carries some of the dried herbs. You wouldn't have to pay shipping for them. 

If more than one family in our ward makes it, we will have more to share, like they did in Snowflake. "When other aids failed, this combination of herbs in liquid performed its job with amazing speed." - I think that says a lot. What's the double benefit? If there are any vampires, they will steer CLEAR of our ward and pass us by.  

Thursday, November 6, 2014

Self-Reliance Tip of the Week - Partyin' with the Meal Plan

Inline image 1

Yep, we're havin' a party! Arrrrrribbba!


What are we celebrating? Our food storage meal plan. We are gonna make it so easy, you can't believe its not butter!
First you have to ask yourself a few questions? What meals do you like to eat? What meals will your kids NOT touch? I once jokingly suggested that a friend have enough spaghetti ingredients to have it every night for three months. Her husband said, he'd rather die. Okay...neggie on the spaghetti! This is because you can get food fatigue by eating the same thing over and over and over, where you just don't want to eat and that can be a bad thing.

So, we're gonna break this puppy down and get this party started. Dinners seem to take the most ingredients to make (in my life anyway) - so, I will tackle this first.

#1 Choose 14 of your favorite dinners.

These are simple dinner meals my family eats on a regular basis:
  • Tacos (Arrrrrriba!)
  • Taco salad with beans (we call them Pepper Bellies - I dunno...its a tradition)
  • Spaghetti (yes, we do spaghetti - my #2 son chooses it EVERY time it is his turn to make dinner :) )
  • Chicken Enchiladas (Arrrriba!)
  • Chicken Ala King
  • Chinese Fried Rice (with Egg Drop Soup - yummo)
  • Nauvoo Potatoes (aka Funeral Potatoes)
  • Quinoa and Black Beans (sounds weird...but think of Taco Bell's Black Bean Salad - a brand new favorite)
  • Chicken Pasta Salad
  • Chicken Casserole
  • Ham and Potato Casserole
  • Lasagna
  • Mozzarella Pasta
  • Black Bean and Corn Salsa
Some of these aren't FSR meals (food storage ready) - but there is nothin' too crazy that I can't tweak just a little to easily make it that way. For instance, if I need chicken for Chicken Pasta Salad, I substitute a pint of chicken I've canned for the fresh chicken I might normally use. Things like lettuce for the Taco Salad would need to be either grown by me, or traded out for kale (also would need to be grown by me). If it just isn't something you can easily store or grow, it might be best to find a different recipe. After all, we are ALL about making this easy. Try to keep chicken meals or potato meals evenly spaced to avoid food fatigue - 'cause fatigue is NOT welcome at this party!

#2 - Take those dinners and place them in a table similar to this.

Week 1
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
B







L







D
Chicken Enchiladas
Quinoa and Black Beans
Spaghetti
Tacos
Chicken Ala King
Nauvoo Potatoes
Lasagna
Week 2
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
B







L







D
Chinese Fried Rice
Chicken Pasta Salad
Taco Salad
Mozzarella Pasta
Ham and Potato Casserole
Black Bean and Corn Salsa
Chicken Casserole

#3 - Next fill in lunches (my hubby does NOT do soup, so I have to dust off my creativity hat, because most lunch suggestions are...soup) I am just fine with eating the same lunch every week - so I'll just make lunch for week 1 and 2 the same. While we are all about variety, keeping it simple, makes it easy.

Week 1
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
B







L
Ham and Beans
Real Macaroni and cheese
PB& J or grilled cheese Sandwiches
Macaroni salad
Scones
Chili Macaroni
Chicken Salad with crackers
D
Chicken Enchiladas
Quinoa and Black Beans
Spaghetti
Tacos
Chicken Ala King
Nauvoo Potatoes
Lasagna
Week 2
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
B







L
Ham and Beans
Real Macaroni and cheese
PB&J or Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
Macaroni salad
Scones
Chili Macaroni
Chicken Salad with Crackers
D
Chinese Fried Rice
Chicken Pasta Salad
Taco Salad
Mozzarella Pasta
Ham and Potato Casserole
Black Bean and Corn Salsa
Chicken Casserole

#4 - Plan your breakfasts ( What about elevensies? ) Hang in there! You're almost done! I will do the same thing for breakfast that I did for lunch and have 7 choices that I rotate through.

Week 1
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
B
Biscuits and Gravy
Pancakes
Applesauce breakfast cake
Oatmeal and fruit
Strawberry Crepes
Cracked Wheat
Breakfast Burritos
L
Ham and Beans
Real Macaroni and cheese
PB& J or grilled cheese Sandwiches
Macaroni salad
Scones
Chili Macaroni
Chicken Salad with crackers
D
Chicken Enchiladas
Quinoa and Black Beans
Spaghetti
Tacos
Chicken Ala King
Nauvoo Potatoes
Lasagna
Week 2
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
B
Biscuits and Gravy
Pancakes
Applesauce breakfast cake
Oatmeal and fruit
Strawberry Crepes
Cracked Wheat
Breakfast Burritos
L
Ham and Beans
Real Macaroni and cheese
PB&J or Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
Macaroni salad
Scones
Chili Macaroni
Chicken Salad with Crackers
D
Chinese Fried Rice
Chicken Pasta Salad
Taco Salad
Mozzarella Pasta
Ham and Potato Casserole
Black Bean and Corn Salsa
Chicken Casserole

#5 - Go through your recipes and make a list of ingredients for one month. After you purchase these items, then acquire that list again, and one more time you have a 90 supply in no time. Food is expensive, so where you can buy stuff in bulk, "can" it yourself, or grow it. Where a recipe calls for "cream of chicken soup", you can also cut costs if you learn to make it yourself. It is better for you (especially if you save your own broth from a chicken you cooked), and it won't have all the hidden chemicals the store bought brands do.

CHALLENGE


For those in the Safford 1st Ward, if you make a menu and a list of ingredients, a bar of hand-made soap is waiting for you. I currently have Lemon scented and Peppermint and Lavender (all natural - even the colorants), so what are you waiting for? Get crackin'!
Even though it takes time to make a menu and then the list your ingredients for your trip to the store, it helps to ensure that you will be putting your money where it counts, which is a big deal. It might seem tedious, but it is so worth it. After you get a 90 day supply, keep going! Then it will be a real reason to PARTAY - because the stress of gathering necessary food will be taken in baby steps and oh so easy!