Food Storage Recipe - Black Bean Chicken Stew

 It is cooling down some and perfect soup and stew weather. This makes 2 servings. Easy to double.

Black Bean Chicken Stew

NEED

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 can of Chicken

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/4 cup frozen corn

1/4 cup water

1 can of black beans 

1 can of diced tomatoes

1/2 jalapeno , chopped

1/2 teaspoon cumin

Pinch of salt

Heat the oil in a pot and saute the onion and the chicken for a few minutes.

Add all of the ingredients into that same pot.

Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat and let simmer for about 20 minutes. 

Serve. Top with cilantro, sour cream, and /or  shredded cheese , if you want.

 

 

 

Where To Put Your Food Storage

When people decide to begin a food storage program in order to be prepared for emergencies, they may find that actually finding a place to store the food can be problematic. Some people are fortunate to have extra storage space in basement storage areas or spare rooms. It may take some rearranging and planning to facilitate a food storage program.

Some of the places where people store food are:

• Basement storage rooms (which are ideal if available)
• Garage cabinets (which are good but not too great in extremely hot weather)
• Shelves built for the purpose in any spare area of the house
• Cabinets in a spare or little used room
• Pantries (which are used for regular usage items and may not be large enough)
• Closets (which are workable when extra closets are available)
• Plastic storage bins under the beds
• Round barrels covered with a cloth and used as an end table
• Any unused space which is available

If extra space such as basement storage or a spare room are not available in the living quarters, it may require some inventiveness to find a place to keep the stored food intended for emergency use. People living in small apartments are able to find places for food storage if the incentive is there. Some of the more unusual places mentioned above can be fit into regular living areas if necessary.

It is also wise to rotate the food storage which means having it accessible enough to get to once in a while. Some experts in the business suggest using the products once a week so that the family will become used to eating the food. Since much of the food may be dehydrated or freeze-dried with processes which enable longer periods of storage than normal readily consumable food, the taste may be different. If the family is used to eating the food, they should have no problems using it if a serious need arises. The foods prepared are generally tasty and nutritious, but sometimes children need to get accustomed to eating them to enjoy them.

When people want to start a food storage program in order to feel more secure and ready for emergencies, finding space is likely the least of their problems. Finding a program to start with food storage is easy these days with companies offering special plans for any budget. Getting involved before an emergency strikes is sound advice. A monthly plan which includes adding some items on a regular basis makes it easy. There are even companies with a home business component for people who want to get going with food storage and earn some money along the way. 

An Organized Food Storage Pantry

There is nothing worse then trying to find something in a pantry and not being able to find what you need or because the Pantry is so disorganized you don't even know what you do have. You have got to have a plan and an ongoing shopping list so that your food storage is well-stocked and organized. In a pinch you will have what you need to make your family a great meal.

Know what you use the most of and what your family likes. Don't fill your pantry with foods that you do not use often. That is just a waste of space and money. For example: If your family doesn't like rice, then don't rush out and get a 50 pound bag of it.

Only buy in bulk the stuff that you use the most often. You do not want a lot of bulk items in your pantry that will not be used and end up going bad.

Stock up on canned items as often as you can. Canned tomatoes, beans, veggies, etc are a great thing to have a lot of on hand. They can spruce up a soup or any meal in a pinch. Especially when you do not have fresh items on hand. In an emergency you will have canned items on hand to be able to make great food.

Sometimes unwrapping items will make them fit better in your pantry and make room for more of that item. I have to do this a lot since I have such a small place to put food and paper items.

Keep your Pantry cool. Don't store long term food storage next to any appliance that might give off heat. This can greatly reduce the shelf life of your food storage.

Manage your pantry by keeping an ongoing inventory. I have a notebook right with my stockpile where I keep track of what is used and what is added. That way I know exactly what is needed. Also this helps remind me to rotate the food storage! The new goes into the back and older in the front so that it gets used first. No risk of wasting food with this set up. Saves us money and keeps up stocked up. Right now I am pretty confident that we have about 6 months worth of food storage. Slowly building up to a year. Now that I have a bit of extra money each week it will be built on a bit quicker.

The Prepper's Pocket Guide: 101 Easy Things You Can Do to Ready Your Home for a Disaster

Painless Ways To Save Money

There are many ways to save money that will not cause anyone in your family any pain. You can still have a life.

1. This is a great time of year for this tip - go to yard sales! Yeah, you can save a ton of money buying your families clothing at yard sales. I always find name-brand clothing for my kids and spend next to nothing in it. No one knows that you got them at a yard sale. Yard sales are also a great way to get new furniture and household items. Books are my number one thing to get at yard sales. 25 cents for an 8.00 book!! YEP that is for me. Toys are a great thing to buy at yard sales. My little man has all of that Little Tykes stuff , tractor, turtle with lid he uses for a pool, a huge boat that has to be used as a sand box because the other owners for some reason cut a small hole in the bottom to drain the water out even though there is a plug, he has the picnic table , and more Little Tykes stuff that I bet I haven't paid more than $10.00 for all of it. The boat and tractor were free!! You can also get a lot of home schooling items at yard sales. Plus going to yard sales can be a lot of fun.

2. Hang your clothes out to dry. Or at least most of them. My oldest son has to have his t-shirts done in the dryer, but since I am hanging everything else, it is still saving me a ton of money. His t-shirts only take a few minutes to get wrinkle free, then I take them out and dry them the rest of the way outside. He never has complained.

3. Take your lunch to work and make your own coffee to take with you in the morning. You will save so much money if you don't eat out at lunch and don't stop to get that expensive fancy coffee.

4. Make pizza, cookies, bread, etc at home by hand. It is fun doing this and it saves money. I can make my own pizza at home for a fraction of what it cost to order from a pizza place. Also it is better for your family than a frozen pizza. You can bake your own cookies and breads for pennies on the dollar.

5. This one took my family a while to do - STOP DRINKING SODA! The reason we really stopped was for health issues. Never even thought of money. It took about 3 months to totally get it out of the house, but now that it is totally gone and we don't drink it anymore, I realized we saved a ton of money. We now drink a lot of water, homemade juice, and sun tea. None of us miss the soda and it has saved our health and our bank account.

6. If you have to have a birthday party for your little one or any type of party - make your own decorations and food for it. Fun and does not cost a lot. My daughter is already starting on some stuff for her wedding stuff. It really does save a lot of money to make your own decorations.

7. This one needs no explanation and benefits your health and your pocket book - GIVE UP SMOKING.

8. It actually saves a bit to substitute dry milk in your cooking. Just buy a bit of milk for cereal and use dry milk in your cooking. With how much milk is anymore this can really save you a lot of money.

9. Block the hot summer sun out of your house. This is one that we have to do anyway because we do not have one tree in our yard. I hate that so much. Next house is going to nothing but trees. I wouldn't even hate living in a tree house after living in this house. LOL.

10. Plant a garden. No matter how small it is or if you just have room for one thing, like tomatoes, DO IT!! Not too much work and you do save some money.

11. Have a STAYCATION. Do a search on this blog and you will find a whole blog posts on ideas for a staycation. Fun and low cost.

12. Just starting out with food storage, start small. Maybe each week when something is on sale that your family uses , like cans of beef stew, buy 3 cans instead of 1 and stick the 2 extra back. You will be surprised at how fast your stockpile will grow if you do this every week. It does not have to take a lot of money to get a food storage. I have had to do it this way. I do not have the money to go and buy 100 cans of tuna or whatever. I have had to do it small.

These are just a few ideas. I am sure that you can think of more to do to save money at home. 

 

 

Add Variety To Your Food Storage

There are many ways to add variety to your food storage. Ways to make it more lively and not boring at all. Ways that do not have to cost a lot of money. It does not have to be too expensive to even have a stockpile of food and items!

Have plenty of seasonings and spices. They are a must have when it comes to cooking really good food and ways to liven up things. Having the right seasoning on hand could be all of the difference between eating good meals and boring meals. Chili powder and taco seasoning are 2 things that I try to add to my food storage every week. I use a lot of it. A good idea is to go through the recipes that you use a lot or think of meals that your family loves and then stock up on those seasonings and spices that you need to make that. Also stockpile the other items.

Keep a huge supply of different flavors of bouillon. You can get them in beef, chicken, ham, and other flavors. Great to cook rice and noodles in and also great addition to soups.

Keep an assortment of condiments in your stockpile also. Soy sauce, ketchup, A-1, mustard, BBQ sauce, and the list goes on. Having these items in your food storage could be a life saver.

Have sweet items in your stockpile. Sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, chocolate chips, etc. Anything you might need to make some cookies or sweets. I always have on hand lots of cinnamon-sugar that I get at the Dollar Tree. My kids love cinnamon toast. They will eat that for a snack and when I am out of the cinnamon sugar they let me know! LOL So, that is one thing that I buy even when we don't need it.

My daughter made me think of this one. She will drink hot chocolate all year around. 110 degrees outside and she will have a mug of hot chocolate in her hand. Have tons of cocoa, breakfast drink mixes, vanilla, syrup, and other items like that. Breakfast drink mixes add well to powdered milk. They make it much more enjoyable to drink. Plus it is very healthy.

Adding variety to your food storage does not have to cost a lot of money and it could be a life saver. Having good tasting food in an emergency will be a great moral booster. Giving your family a satisfying meal in lean times will make everyone feel so much better and make it easier to deal with other things that are going on. Having comfort food will have a calming effect on everyone I would think. Make it easier to sleep knowing that your family is well fed.