Food Storage Recipe - Crockpot Brown Beans

Pinto beans are the most common bean in the USA and are often eaten whole or refried which makes them a great filling for burritos. Eating beans is a good source of fiber and protein and doesn't contain fat, sodium, or cholesterol. A half of a cup of beans is about 120 calories. They are filling and a great alternative to eating meat.

Dry beans will keep indefinitely as long as you store them in a cool dry place. The longer you keep them their nutritive value and flavor will decrease over time. It takes a long time to cook beans, and you should soak the beans first to shorten the cooking time.

NEED:

1 lb bag of pinto beans

6 cups chicken broth (water)

1 ham hock

1 onion

4 garlic cloves

Salt and pepper to taste

Beans out of a bag need sorting through for rocks or other debris that could come up. Basically, you look through the beans and pick out anything that doesn't look like a bean. Then you wash them well.

 If you want them to cook fast, pre-soak them first. I cook my beans in a Crockpot, so I never use the pre-soak method.

 Once sorted and cleaned I put in 6 cups of water or chicken broth in the Crockpot. 

Put in the beans then cut up the onion and mince the garlic and add to the Crockpot. 

Add in the ham hock or whatever meat you season the beans with. I sometimes use smoked turkey as a healthier alternative. 

Season the beans with salt and pepper. 

I let the beans cook several hours on low inside the Crockpot; about 4 to 6 hours since I like the meat to fall apart. 

While the beans are cooking, you can make some hot buttered cornbread to serve alongside the beans.

 The great thing about Crockpot's is you don't have to constantly watch your food. You add the ingredients and go watch TV, read or write a book. When the beans are ready grab a bowl full and enjoy the warm cornbread.

Food Storage Recipe _ Cheesy Bean Quesadillas

This is something quick to make and could be great for snacking while watching a movie on Netflix. Look for instant refried beans the next time that you are needing them. They are easy to store and last for a long time. They reconstitute easy by adding water. You can also make your own - http://preparedforsurvival.blogspot.com/2013/03/instant-refried-beans-diy.html

For this recipe you will NEED:

4 flour tortillas

1 can refried beans

1 cup of shredded monterey jack cheese

salsa for topping.

Place 1 tortilla in a skillet and cover it with 1/4 of the refried beans and 1/4 of the cheese. Heat it over a medium heat until the cheese has melted. Fold the tortilla over.

Repeat this with the other 3 tortillas.

Serve hot with the salsa.

Signs In The Sky

If you are caught out in bad weather it could be fatal to your survival. There are times to move on and times to make shelter. There are certain things that you can watch for in the sky to predict short-term weather conditions.

" Red sky at night , shepherd's delight, red sky in the morning, shepherd's warning. " is a very old weather saying. A red sky at night indicates that the atmosphere holds very little moisture. Meaning that there will be no rain or snow with in a couple of hours. A red sky in the morning is a warning that storms are approaching.

A grey morning is usually a sign that the day ahead will be dry. A grey sky in the evening indicates rain.

A clear sky at night is usually an indication that the night weather will be good. Towards the end of summer it can be an indication of frost.

If you have a very clear sky one night followed by a night with very few stars visible , it could mean that the weather is going to be changing.

An enlarging corona around the sun or moon can be a sign of good weather and a shrinking corona around them can be a sign of rain.

Learn the signs in the sky and you can increase your chances of survival. You will know when to hunker down in a shelter and when you can move on.

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.