No-Bake Cookies

I love cookies and treats. This cookbook, No-bake Cookies: More Than 150 Fun, Easy & Delicious Recipes for Cookies, Bars, And Other Cool Treats Made Without Baking is awesome for making cookies without an oven and they are great. It is so fun to be able to make a treat when it is hot or we have no power. I can boil things on my camp stove if I have to and then we have a special snack.




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Homemade Granola

Homemade Granola
4 c Rolled oats
1/4 c Sesame Seeds
2 T Light Sesame oil
1 t Ground Cinnamon
1/2 c Wheat Germ
1/4 c Shelled Peanuts (or soybeans
1/4 c Honey
1/2 t Grated Nutmeg or Cardamon
Raisins,grated coconut,
-nuts, or dried fruit (op
Preheat the oven to 350 deg F. Toast the oats, wheat germ, seeds,
and legumes lightly on a baking sheet for 5-10 minutes, until slightly
browned. Remove and cool. Heat the honey and oil together in a small
pan; drizzle it over the dry mixture. Sprinkle with cinnamon
or cardomon. Return the mixture to the baking sheet and heat in the
oven for 5 minutes. Stir or turn. Bake for a few minutes more, until
crispy but not too browned. Remove and cool. Add raisins, nuts, or
dried fruit if desired.


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On The Search For A Grain Mill

Me and my husband have already decided that when his taxes come back and all of our bills are paid up , that we are going to buy a cheap grain mill. I am finding though that there are so many out there to choose from. What do I get?? I would like to have one that is hand operated. In case we have a time with no power. What is the best one to get?


HELP!

Any advice will be greatly appreciated. This is the one thing that we do not have and it is really the last thing that we need to get to have all of our gear that we will need.


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Coffee Can Meal

Coffee Can Cookery
2 Strips bacon
1 Med. potato,sliced
1 Med. onion,sliced
1 Med. tomato,sliced
2 Stalks celery
1/3 lb Ground beef
1 Carrot
Salt and pepper to taste
Coffee can and lid
Cut carrot in half lengthwise. Cut celery and carrot into 2" lengths.
Cut bacon in half. Mold 2 meat patties. Place 2 pieces of bacon on
bottom of can. Place layers of all ingredients. Repeat. Place
closed coffee can on top of glowing coals for 25 min. Open lid and
check after 10 minutes, if browning too rapidly, pour 2 Tb. of water in
can.

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Box Oven

Box Oven
1 Brick (or flat rock)

1 pk Aluminum foil,heavy-duty

1 Corrugated cardboard box

1 Metal pie pan,old

3 Coat hangers

4 Charcoal briquets,lit

1. Cover the inside and outside of the box completely with 3 or 4
layers of aluminum foil, including the flaps. Lay box on level ground so
that the opening opens oven-style (front-door style is OK, too).

2. Straighten the coat hangers, then run them through the sides of
the box about 2/3 of the way up from the bottom to form a rack.

3. Set brick in bottom. Place live coals into pie pan/pie plate. Put
pan on brick (don't forget, the PIE PAN IS HOT! Use an oven mitt or
hot pad).

4. Place food to be cooked onto coat-hanger rack and close oven door.
Watch carefully, checking often. Each live coal makes about 80
degrees Fahrenheit.





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Neighbors Helping Neighbors

Working with neighbors can save lives and property. Meet with your neighbors
to plan how the neighborhood could work together after a disaster until help
arrives. If you're a member of a neighborhood organization, such as a home
association or crime watch group, introduce disaster preparedness as a new
activity. Know your neighbors' special skills (e.g., medical, technical) and
consider how you could help neighbors who have special needs, such as disabled
and elderly persons. Make plans for child care in case parents can't get home.



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Make A Braided Rug !

This is a great craft that will use up your fabric scraps and keep your floor warm.
Use old clothes and scrap fabric to make these.

1. Cut strips of cloth approx. 3 inches wide. Sew three strips together at one end to start. Braid these together. t helps to anchor your braid on a chair or something.

2.Keep braiding. As you get to the end of the strips sew on a new one.

3.To make your rug coil one end of the braid into a tight circle. Sew the edges together with strong thread.

4. Keep coiling and adding on to your strips till you get the size braid you want. When you are all done sew the end down.

Here are some great links on making braided rugs:
Make a braided area rug

Make a braided rug

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Make Your Own Heating Pad

Rice Bags are cloth bags filled with raw rice and heated in a microwave. You can use them
just as you would a heating pad. They have the advantage of being able to be made in any
size such as long and narrow for wrapping around a sore neck. Being that they cool down
on their own you need not worry about dropping off to sleep while using one of these bags.

I have given the basic instructions for a square rice bag, but as you will see it will be very
easy to make one in any size or shape that you choose to make.



Inner Bag



Cut a rectangle 9" x 18" out of 100% cotton muslin
(poly blends could melt in microwave)


Fold in half and sew a 1/2" seam as shown at left. Be sure
to leave opening in top for filling. Fill bag 2/3 full of rice
(must be raw rice not instant) Stitch opening closed.


Bag Cover



Out of 100% cotton decorative fabric cut one, 9" square and 2
pieces 6" x 9". Turn under one edge of each of the 6" x 9" pieces
as shown.


With right sides together place the 2 6" x 9" pieces on top of the
9" square. The two smaller pieces will overlap a bit. Sew all the
way around as shown.
Turn right side out and place rice bag inside of cover.


Using your Rice Bag


Place your rice bag (without cover) into microwave and heat 2-3 minutes.
The time will vary depending on the microwave. Start at 2 minutes and if
its not hot enough increase by 30 seconds till you get the desired warmth.
The rice bag should stay warm for about 15 to 20 minutes which is the
recommended amount of time for heat therapy. Place the cover on your
bag and apply to where it hurts. You can wash your cover but NOT the
rice bag itself.

TIP: Use a little dried potpourri in the bag with the rice to give off a
pleasant aroma while you warm away those sore muscles.


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Oil Lamps Are Great!

Have an oil lamp in every room! They are great for light. We use them all of the time, even though we have electric. Put them in safe places and to where they cannot be knocked over. I also have to keep them up to where my toddler cannot get to them or knock them over when he is throwing toys!
Oil lamps are pretty bright and not hard to use. You can get them pretty much anywhere. Most of mine I have gotten at yard sales and thrift stores. I keep a box of wicks on hand and oil lamp fuel! Now we are never in the dark!


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Stockpile Money Too!

This is one thing that we are finding out while my husband is laid off - WE NEED TO STOCKPILE MONEY TOO! We have tons of food and other stuff , but the money is slowly dwindling away. His unemployment is taking so long to start getting and we are just living off of savings! Which we are finding out was not a lot. It seemed like a lot when we had money coming in , but with no income it is not a lot. This will be my first thing to work on when we start working again and have money coming in. At least we have food and all of our needs.



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When to start planting your garden

I have been getting all of my catalogs and ordering seeds for my garden. Next I needed to figure out when to plant the darn things. I found this LINK that was very helpful. Shows all of the seeds that I am going to be planting. I think sometime next week though I am going to start some of them indoors. Just a little experiment I want to do to see how well ones I start early do compared to ones that I just plant straight into the ground. I also want to grow some inside in containers and find out how hard it would be to have an indoor "garden". If I can get good with an indoor "garden" than we could have herbs and veggies all year around.

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Wordless Wednesday!

This is an almost Wordless Wednesday!

I cannot remember where I saw this , but I think that it is awesome. I would love to make one for us. It is a solar shower.


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