Food Storage Recipe ~ Homemade Jam

Making homemade jam is really not too hard. Here is my favorite recipe for making it.

YUMMY and everyone in the family loves it. It does not last very long in our house.

NEED :

3 pounds of fruit - I use 1 pound each of berries to make a mixed berry jam. Raspberries, Blackberries, and Strawberries.

3 1/3 cup of sugar

1/4 teaspoon of coarse salt

2 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice

Stir the ingredients together in a large heavy bottomed pot.

 Bring to a boil. Stir it until the sugar is dissolved and mash the fruit with a potato masher.

Add the lemon juice and continue to boil.

Stir it frequently until the bubbles slow, chunks of fruit show at the top , and the mixture clings to a spoon , but falls off in clumps. About 10 to 12 minutes.

Skim any foam from the top.

Ladle the jam into clean, glass jars . Leave a 3/4 inch of headroom from the top of the jam to the top of the jar.

Let them cool completely.

Cover with tight lid, label, and refrigerate for up to a month. You can also freeze for up to a year.

Food Storage Recipe ~ Chicken Fajitas

Got out the old crock pot !

Chicken Fajitas

NEED:

Boneless chicken strips - I was lucky enough the other day to get about 5 pounds on meat markdown and for this I used about 1 pound. Just enough for sons.

About half a bag of 3 pepper stir fry mix - get in frozen section of Savalot

1 package of fajita seasoning mix.

1/4 cup of water.

Pour everything in the crock pot and turn on. I put mine on high for about 30 minutes to get it started and then turned it to low. It is slow cook all afternoon and be done just in time for supper. Serving with tortillas, spanish rice, and refried beans.

Refreshing Freedom: Showering Off the Grid

 

 

Refreshing Freedom: Showering Off the Grid - Off-Grid Rebel

 

Being able to keep clean in an off-grid situation would be the best!! To be able to shower will make you feel so much better. Find ways to keep yourself, your clothing, and your home clean in off-grid ways to be able to just continue on as you do now.

 

 

10 Must Have Items For Your Bug Out Bag

Depending on your location and the time of year will determine what exactly you will have in your bug out bag. Despite this there is some items  that are essential and should be in everyone's kit.

Here are 10 items every bug out bag should include.

1. First aid kit ~ Adventure Medical Kits Adventure First Aid 2.0

2. Flashlight ~ Secur Waterproof Hand crank or built in Solar powered 3 LED Flashlight, High power 3 functions LED, Dynamo powered no batteries needed, waterproof up to 45 feet

3. Radio ~ Safe-T-Proof Solar, Hand-Crank Emergency Radio, Flashlight, Beacon, Cell Phone Charger

4. Multi-tool knife ~ Gerber 22-41545 Black Diesel Multi-Plier with Sheath

5. Firestarter ~ Gerber 31-000699 Bear Grylls Survival Series Fire Starter

6. Water Purification ~ LifeStraw Personal Water Filter

7. Rope ~ Koch 5170625 Diamond Braid Polypropylene Rope, 3/16 by 100 Feet, Assorted Colors

8. Shelter ~ Ultimate Survival Technologies Base All Weather Tent Tarp

9. Compass ~ Military Prismatic Sighting Compass w/ Pouch

10. Food ~ S.O.S. Rations Emergency 3600 Calorie Food Bar - 3 Day / 72 Hour Package with 5 Year Shelf Life

DIY Solar Oven

A solar oven is a great to cook off the grid and are easy to make on your own. Not difficult to make and your family will enjoy the fresh and hot meal. It takes about 30 minutes for a solar oven to preheat.

TO MAKE YOU NEED:

 · two cardboard boxes (one large and one smaller)

· black construction paper

· scissors

· aluminum foil

· glue and tape

· staplers

· old newspapers

· a pencil (or a marker)

·  plastic wrap.



- First, line the bottom of the large box with well crumbled newspaper. Then, insert the smaller box into the larger one, and fill in the empty side spaces between the boxes with newspaper crumbles.

- Make sure to cover the inside walls of the small box with aluminum foil. You can use invisible tape to glue the edges of the aluminum foil to the edges of the cardboard box.

- Glue the black construction paper onto the bottom of the small box. This will help absorb the heat much better, and your homemade solar oven will be more efficient.

- Next, on top of the large box, you need to lay a large piece of cardboard. Now trace the shape of the box on the board nicely, using a marker. Allow around 2-3 inches on each side around the trace line, and cut the cardboard.

- Now use aluminum foil in order to cover the cardboard. The aluminum foil that is placed over the cardboard must be extremely smooth and without any wrinkles so that it will reflect the light properly. Use invisible tape or glue in order to secure the aluminum foil onto the cardboard. The reflector that you obtained this way should be stapled or glued to the back of the large box.

Now your homemade solar oven is ready, and you need to make sure to place it so that the reflective part is facing the sun directly, for maximum efficiency. You can place just about any type of pot with a glass top that fits into your oven, and start making food using solar energy. You need to be patient however, because it might take even up to 3 or 4 hours until your meal is ready, so make sure to start cooking earlier than usual. If you want to make your cooker even more efficient, place a plastic wrap on top of your oven. Keeps the heat in a lot better with the plastic wrap over it.