The Rally Point: Bugging Home - Review

I started this e-book on my Kindle yesterday morning and I couldn't put it down. The Rally point: Bugging Home was written in a way that really gave me a lot of ideas and tips. I REALLY want to buy some land now. I loved this book and it is one that I am keeping on my Kindle just for the ideas and things that happen. The family in this book has everything planned before hand and when something does happen they all know what to do and goes into action fast.

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

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Food Storage Recipe - Slow Cooker Broccoli Soup

This is so yummy! Great with a sandwich or bread sticks.

Slow Cooker Broccoli Soup

1 10 ounce package of frozen chopped broccoli or use freeze dried broccoli.

3 cups of milk

2 cans of condensed cheddar cheese soup

1 cup of loosely packed frozen shredded hashed brown potatoes or freeze dried

1 small onion or equivalent of dehydrated or freeze dried onions

Break up the broccoli and combine with the milk , soup, potatoes, and onion in your slow cooker. Stir it up too mix it together good. Cover this and cook on low for a few hours. SERVE!!

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

Tips on Surviving the Mayan 2012 End of the World (And Natural Disasters)

Will the world really come to an end on December 21, 2012? The Mayan were noted for their astronomical and mathematical systems and used several different calendars. Their "Long Count" Calendar stops on December 21, 2012 and that has caused many to speculate that the Mayans had determined that the world as we know it will come to an end on that date and consequently felt that there was no need to continue their "Long Count" Calendar after that date. However, no one really knows for sure! The discussion and speculation on what will or will not happen in December 2012 will almost certainly increase as we draw closer to that date. However, I think it is safe to say that natural disasters (hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, tsunamis, etc) will always be with us, and a prudent person would at least be prepared for them.

Fortunately, whether you are preparing for the December 2012 Mayan End of the World or the natural disasters that might/will occur where you live, the four basic steps for being ready are the same. Additionally, preparing for either crisis will help you be prepared for the other. The four main steps to getting ready are: Psyche, Plan, Prepare, and Practice.

1. Psyche - This is an extremely important step that is often overlooked in "how to be ready" disaster guides. Everything that you will do in a disaster/end of the world situation starts there. You need to prepare yourself mentally for the surprise, confusion, danger, and sometimes difficult decisions that come with a severe crisis. Take some time to think through the possible scenarios of what might or might not happen and what decisions you would make. I personally think of this as practicing "What If?". This will help prepare you and your "psyche" for the real thing. Being in the right frame of mind during a crisis will help you make the right decisions and perhaps even ensure you and your family's survival!

2. Plan - Planning is the step that we are all most comfortable with. We each perform this step multiple times each day. What makes this step difficult in planning for a disaster situation is that most of us have never been in each of the crises that we will need to plan for. So what we have to rely on in our planning is what we have read about or heard from others. Take the time to do this research as you prepare your "crisis plan". With the internet, you are now able to quickly access a great deal of information on most types of crises that might confront you.

3. Prepare - This step is too often postponed after we have thought through and completed our planning. Often because it requires a financial commitment as most of us have some but not all of the survival items that will be needed. Once you have completed the planning step, you should have a pretty good idea of what "survival gear" you will need. Don't be surprised if you have overlooked several items that you will need - - we all do! Next, knowing what items you already have, start purchasing/obtaining and storing the items you do not already have. I keep all of my survival supplies in one area of my garage so I'll know exactly where they are when/if I need them.

4. Practice - This is the last step and is another step that is too often overlooked. Practice using those items of survival gear that you think you will need to use in a crisis situation. For example: If you believe you will need to use a firestarter to start your fires, practice making a fire with it until you feel comfortable using the firestarter. Or if your plan includes driving to a secluded piece of property that you own and staying there until the crisis is over, take the time to figure out the best route to take (assuming clogged roads and stalled vehicles) and then drive your planned route to see if you have overlooked something. Don't wait until you are in the midst of the crisis/disaster!

I hope these four important survival steps will assist you in preparing for future crises and disasters. To see what survival gear is recommended that you have in these situations, you will want to check out this survival supplies checklist.

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

Ultimate Family Preparedness Pak

120 Serving Breakfast Only @ $198 (120 Servings breakfast assortment. No entrees) - Order Now!

Food Storage Recipe - Vegetable Pizza

I was really surprised at how good this turned out to be. Turned out to be a very yummy pizza. Very easy to make and used items that are in my freezer and fridge all of the time.

Vegetable Pizza

Pizza Crust Dough Recipe

1 package of dry yeast

3/4 cup of warm water

2 cups of all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon cornmeal

In a measuring cup mix the yeast and warm water. Make sure the yeast is dissolved well. In a large bowl mix the flour, salt, and yeast mixture until well blended.

Cover the bowl and place in a warm place and let set to rise for about 10 minutes.

Oil your pizza pan and sprinkle the bottom with the cornmeal. Put the dough into the middle of the pan and with oily fingers spread the dough out to the edges. Make a ridge around the outside of the dough. Now put your items from the rest of the recipe below.

2 - 3 cups of bird's eye frozen boccoli, red peppers, onions, and mushrooms

1 - 1 1/2 cup of shredded mozzerella cheese

Preheat the oven. Rinse the vegetables in a colander nder warm water and drain very well. pat them dry. Spread the vegetables and cheese over the crust that you made and put some italian seasoning on top of that. Bake until hot and bubbly.



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

Ultimate Family Preparedness Pak

120 Serving Breakfast Only @ $198 (120 Servings breakfast assortment. No entrees) - Order Now!

You Have Got to Have Great Scissors!

Please do not hold it against me that I had to use my son's video camera for the photo for this post! LOL I had no idea how to use it and couldn't find my camera. Not sure what happened to it. But, anyway , I had to do this review of these scissors and this was the only way to take a shot of them. I have had a hard time figuring out which ones are my favorite though.

I do a lot of sewing and the Westcott Titanium Bonded8" Non-Stick Straight Scissors are perfect for that. The perfect size and cut without catching onto anything. I love them so much. I won't use anything else. These will last a long time since they are Titanium. Great way to get your money's worth. Strong and sharp. A great pair of scissors in the house is a must-have and these are the pair to get.

Being a homeschooling family, we do a lot of crafts and projects at home where my Little Man has to have scissors of his own for. I really like these Westcott Kids Scissors With Microban Protection. He really likes them. They are easy for him to hold and cut so great that he has no trouble at all. The only trouble he is having now is that we don't have a lot for him to cut out. LOL All that he wants to do now is cut! The plus for me is that the Handles are infused with Microban antimicrobial product protection to inhibit the growth of bacterial odors. Really cool. They have stainless steel safety blades on them also. These will last a long time and are safe for him to use.

This last item is a great thing to have if you're an extreme couponer! It is the Westcott Scissor Mouse Paper Trimmer. It looks and feels just like a computer mouse, but has a blade in the bottom that cuts. It is very sharp and cuts just through the paper. I did have a hard time with it when I first opened it, but I realized that I was taking too much time trying to line the paper into the paper guard thing on the bottom of it. When I realized that you just have to place this mouse on the paper and very lightly push down I had no problem at all. I was cutting coupons out easily and very fast. I have also wrapped a couple of Christmas presents. Cool little gadget and it would be a great gift for a scrapbooking friend! Easy to use on any flat surface and cuts long straight lines in a flash.

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

Ultimate Family Preparedness Pak

120 Serving Breakfast Only @ $198 (120 Servings breakfast assortment. No entrees) - Order Now!

Food Storage Recipe - Pinto Bean Fudge

I just now heard of doing this and think that it sounds very interesting and good for you. I have 25 pounds of Pinto beans in my food storage. This would be a great new way to use them.

Pinto Bean Fudge

1 cup of cooked pinto beans, mashed

1/4 to 1/2 cup of milk

3/4 cup of melted butter

1 Tbsp vanilla

3/4 cup of baking cocoa

2 pounds of powdered sugar

Put your soft pinto beans in a food processor and mash them until they are real smooth. Add the mashed beans with the melted butter, vanilla, and cocoa. After that’s all combined, add the powdered sugar. You can also add about a 1/2 cup of chopped nuts or so. Combine everything together really good until it is all blended. Spread the fudge mixture into a well buttered 9x13 pan. Then put it in your refrigerator. That’s where you’ll have to store this fudge or it will get too soft. Cut it into pieces and eat.

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

Ultimate Family Preparedness Pak

120 Serving Breakfast Only @ $198 (120 Servings breakfast assortment. No entrees) - Order Now!

High Heels & Grills: 8 Can Taco Soup

High Heels & Grills: 8 Can Taco Soup

AWESOME!! Just had to share!!



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

Ultimate Family Preparedness Pak

120 Serving Breakfast Only @ $198 (120 Servings breakfast assortment. No entrees) - Order Now!

Homemade Gift-in-a-Jar Recipes Are a Thoughtful, Tasty and Economical Twist to Holiday Gift-Giving

You can also find a ton of other Gift In A Jar recipes online. For Thousands of different ideas for everyone in the family and all of your friends. Print the recipes out on cute paper and attach to the jars. Tip Junkie has a ton of great recipes. Great way to give gifts this year without spending a lot of money.

Homemade jar recipes with beautifully layered ingredients topped with a flourish are a thoughtful and economical way to treat friends, coworkers, neighbors or teachers to the flavors of the season. And making them is easy and fun - especially if you get the kids involved.

Jar recipes for everything from cookies to soups to hot drink mixes can be found on the internet and even in some cookbooks. In most jar recipes, you'll simply measure dry ingredients into a standard one-quart canning jar, and then tie a card with the cooking instructions to the lid. You can also adapt some of your own recipe favorites, but try a few jar recipes first to get the hang of the proportions.

Here are three classic Recipe Gifts-in-a-Jar to get you started. Build your layers in a 1-qt canning jar in the order written. For the prettiest finish, pack each layer flat before adding the next - a small ladle or meat hammer works well - then secure the lid, add a decorative ribbon and attach the cooking instructions. A link to printable instructions/gift tag for these recipes is included below.

Oatmeal Chippers Cookies Jar Mix Recipe

1-1/3 C old-fashioned oats or quick-oats

1/2 C granulated sugar

3/4 C semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 C brown sugar

1/3 C chopped pecans

1-1/3 C all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

variations: substitute chocolate chips for mini M&M's, or cut pecans and add more chips

Confetti Soup Jar Mix Recipe

1/3 C beef bullion granules

1/4 C dried minced onion

1/2 C dried split peas

1/4 C barley

1/2 C dried lentils

1 tsp. dried thyme

1/2 tsp. garlic salt

1 tsp. dried basil

1 dried bay leaf

1/3 C long-grain white rice

1-1/2 C Tri-color spiral pasta (rotini)

Cocoa Steamer Instant Hot Cocoa Jar Mix Recipe

Note: this recipe yields about 5 quarts of mix. It's a way to make bulk gifts for teachers, neighbors and co-workers, and you can package it in just about anything, from canning jars, to clean recycled food jars, to food gift bags.

1 Box Nonfat Instant Milk (8-qt yield size)

1 1-lb. jug of dry nonfat dairy creamer

1 large jar Nestle Quick, Ovaltine or another chocolate milk mix

1 1-lb. box powdered sugar

1 container Hershey's Powdered Cocoa (Dutch Processed is best)

variations: add 1 jar instant coffee for Mocha Steamer mix

Blend first 3 ingredients together in 1-2 large mixing bowls. Add powdered sugar and cocoa powder, sifting if lumpy. Blend mix thoroughly and spoon into jars, bags or store in airtight container. Tie on instructions together with a candy cane or a small bag of mini-marshmallows for a holiday treat.

Print cooking instructions and gift tags to include with your Recipe-in-a-Jar Gifts.

Krista Fabregas founded Kid Smart Living in 1999 to help parents combine safety, livability and style in a home that's welcoming to family members of all ages. Find more KidSmart child safety, home decorating and living ideas at KidSmartLiving.com and on the KidSmartLiving @ Home Blog

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

Ultimate Family Preparedness Pak

120 Serving Breakfast Only @ $198 (120 Servings breakfast assortment. No entrees) - Order Now!

Learn To Change The Oil In Your Car

In this economy we are all having to learn to do a lot of things on our own to save money. My daughter and me have already taught ourselves how to flush a radiator and are now going to be doing oil changes this weekend on our cars. Great way to save money and keep our cars healthy so we don't have a huge mechanics bill. I unfortunately had to have a mechanic do the motor mount on our car, but none of us had the way to do that. 60 bucks was worth it. But anyway there are a lot of things that you can do yourself on your car for a lot less money than having someone do it for you and changing the oil is one of those things. My husband wants to do it for us, but we think that we should learn to do things like this JUST IN CASE. You never know what might happen.



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

Ultimate Family Preparedness Pak

120 Serving Breakfast Only @ $198 (120 Servings breakfast assortment. No entrees) - Order Now!

What we need to do to be prepared...

I am sitting here watching my son play on the indoor playground at McDonalds and thinking about everythhing that we still need to do to get prepared. Sure, we have a lot of food etc, but we need to get around like minded people and get some land in a safe place. Our goal is to get totally off grid. Hopefully it happens soon. We have been looking hard. There are few other things that we need to do that deal with security.

Watching these kids play really makes me want to get prepared even more. I don't want to see any kid hurt or have to go through anything bad. I want everyone to be safe and prepared and hope that even if everyone who reads this blog will do just one thing it will be something. Be Safe.

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

Ultimate Family Preparedness Pak

120 Serving Breakfast Only @ $198 (120 Servings breakfast assortment. No entrees) - Order Now!

Food Storage Recipe - Baked Chicken & Rice

This is a great recipe that you could even use your left-over turkey from Thanksgiving in. Yummy way to use all of it up. It also uses the canned soups and mix that you should have plenty of in your food storage.

Baked Chicken & Rice

1 Box of long grain and wild rice mix

1 14 pound of chicken or left-over turkey - can also use canned chicken , like Keystone. etc.

1 can of Progresso vegetable classics creamy mushroom soup

1/3 cup of water

Heat your oven to 350. Lightly oil a casserole pan or use cooking spray. Evenly spread the rice in the bottom of the pan and sprinkle about half of the seasoning mix onto that. Arrange the chicken , turkey, or whatever over the rice and then sprinkle the rest of the seasoning over that. Pour the can of soup over this and the water . Cover tightly with foil and put in oven . Cook until rice is tender.

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

Ultimate Family Preparedness Pak

120 Serving Breakfast Only @ $198 (120 Servings breakfast assortment. No entrees) - Order Now!

Learn How To Barter

One of the most important things to learn how to do , especially in this economy - is how to barter. Someone has a skill or something that you need and you have a skill or something that they need! Trade for things. Great when you have no cash, but have something that needs done. I seen an awesome case of bartering last week at my son's homeschool academy - a mom has a cow that they are going to butcher , another mom wants some ,but doesn't have the 400.00 for it, so she found out that the woman needs some trees done on her farm. Awesome - her husband owns a tree service - so they are bothe happy. One mom is getting her trees done and the other is getting a third of a cow butchered!! There has to be something that you can do or trade for something that you need done. Just find out around you if someone has a skill that you need and find out if there is something that you can do. Bartering is fun and easy. It is also a skill that we should all know how to do!

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

Ultimate Family Preparedness Pak

120 Serving Breakfast Only @ $198 (120 Servings breakfast assortment. No entrees) - Order Now!

Food Storage Recipes - 2 Easy Ground Beef Casserole Recipes

These call for ground beef, but you could use the freeze dried ground beef TVP if that is all that you have on hand.

Some of my most favorite easy dinner recipes are easy ground beef casserole recipes. Easy casseroles have several things going for them. They can be made a head. They are comforting. Most people love them. And they bake away by themselves, giving you time to attend to other more important things.

Easy Mexican Tortilla Casserole

This is one of those easy fast dinner recipes that has become very popular the past few years and with good reason. It's simple, easy and delicious and is made from ingredients many people keep stocked in their kitchen.

Ingredients

1 pound lean ground beef

1 jar (12 ounces) chunky salsa

6 corn tortillas (10 inches each)

1 can refried beans

1 cup reduced fat sour cream

2 cups grated Monterey Jack or Mexican style cheese blend

Chopped fresh tomato and chopped fresh green onions for garnish, if desired

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F.

2. Mist a large skillet with nonstick cooking spray and place it over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and then break it up and stir around until the beef in brown all over and is cooked through, about 5 minutes. Stir in 1/2 cup of the salsa and then set the mixture aside.

3. Spread the remaining salsa in the bottom of a 10-inch glass pie dish. Top it with 3 of the tortillas. Spread half of the refried beans over the tortillas. Top with half of the ground beef mixture and then 1/2 cup of the sour cream and then 1 cup of the cheese. Top with the remaining 3 tortillas, then the remaining beans, remaining beef mixture, remaining 1/2 cup of sour cream and all except 1/4 cup of the remaining cheese. Cover the dish loosely with aluminum foil.

4. Bake until the tortilla casserole is hot throughout and the cheese has melted, about 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and let the casserole rest for 5 minutes.

5. Cut into wedges or spoon into serving plates. Garnish with the remaining 1/4 cup of cheese and the chopped tomatoes and scallions, if desired.

Easy Hamburger Pot Pie

I've loved pot pie since I was a kid and am always on the lookout for easy variations of this easy dinner classic.

Ingredients

1 pound lean ground beef

1 1/2 teaspoons onion powder

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

3/4 teaspoon pepper

1 bag (12 ounces frozen mixed vegetables, thawed, drained

1 can (10 3/4 oz) condensed tomato soup

1 cup beef broth

1 cup Bisquick baking mix

1/2 cup milk

1 egg

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Heat oven to 375°F.

2. Place a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the beef, onion powder, salt and pepper. Break up the beef and stir it around in the pan until it is browned and cooked through, heat 5 to 7 minutes.

3. Stir vegetables, tomato soup and beef broth into beef and heat until it is bubbling. Spoon the mixture into an ungreased 2-quart casserole dish.

4. In small bowl, stir Bisquick mix, milk, and egg together with a wire whisk or fork until it is blended. Pour over hot beef mixture.

5. Bake uncovered 25 to 30 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Top with cheese. Bake 3 to 5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.

Martha is a healthy weight loss coach, cooking coach and cookie lover, who loves to share ways to make cooking and eating simple, easy and delicious and help you stop dieting and instead discover the pleasure of happy healthy balanced eating, cooking and living. Her websites include Simple Nourished Living and Best Easy Cookie Recipes. Visit today to Get your FREE copy of her Homemade Granola Bars e-cookbooklet.

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

Ultimate Family Preparedness Pak

120 Serving Breakfast Only @ $198 (120 Servings breakfast assortment. No entrees) - Order Now!

Honeyville Strawberry Milk Alternative!

We received our order of Strawberry Milk Alternative from Honeyville over a week ago. We tried it this morning and I have to say that it was yummy. I am so glad that I had gotten 2 of them.

FROM THE Honeyville SITE:

Honeyville's Strawberry Milk Alternative is a whey based beverage formulated to provide all the nutritional qualities of delicious strawberry milk with added calcium and vitamins. Honeyville Strawberry Milk Alternative tastes just like regular strawberry milk. Kids love the natural milk flavor of this delicious drink, which has been custom formulated and blended with vitamins A and D and real dry milk solids. One 8 oz. glass of our Strawberry Milk Alternative contains 30% of the recommended daily allowance for vitamins A and D, and 10% of the recommended daily allowance for calcium. Honeyville Strawberry Milk Alternative is an ideal product for long term food storage and emergency preparedness.

Shelf-Life: Strawberry Milk Alternative will store for 5 to 10 years in a sealed #10 can (oxygen absorber included) under ideal storage conditions (cool, dry place). Once opened, it has an average shelf life of 6 to 12 months.

Instructions: Combine powder with warm water and mix for about 30 seconds. Chill, serve, and enjoy.

Uses: Strawberry Milk Alternative can be used to make delicious strawberry milk, or in combination with shakes as a milk replacement.

Packaging: Strawberry Milk Alternative is sealed air tight in a #10 can and weighs approximately 3.5 pounds. A case contains 6 #10 cans and weighs 21 pounds. Each can contains 47 servings. One serving size is 2 tablespoons.

Ingredients: Whey, Nonfat Milk, Non Dairy Creamer (coconut oil, corn syrup solids, sodium caseinate(a milk derivative), dipotassium phosphate, mono and diglycerides, sodium silicoaluminate), Calcium Sulfate, Natural Strawberry Flavor, Vitamins A/D blend (vitamin A palmitate, maltodextrin, vitamin D3), Splenda (sucralose), Red Lake #40.

If you have kids and want an alternative for them that is healthy and will be a great addition to your emergency food storage, than you have got to try this from Honeyville. It is a great way to get vitamins into your diet during an emergency.

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

Ultimate Family Preparedness Pak

120 Serving Breakfast Only @ $198 (120 Servings breakfast assortment. No entrees) - Order Now!

1000 Blog Posts!

I really cannot believe that I have had this blog this long. I really want to write more on it , but now I am without a computer again and having to use my son's. I can sometimes use my Kindle to write , but not often. I have learned a lot while writing on this blog. Some things I thought that I knew and had all wrong. Other things that I really thought were things that I could never learn or do are things that I am actually good at. I have realized a few things also. We need to have some more like-minded people around us. I do not think that we can survive for long with just US! I hope that others have found my blog to be full of good information and hope to have more food storage recipes soon. I have some more ideas in my head to share and things that will be done soon. ENJOY!

While I am getting more things wrote up you can check out my archives. Tons of great information and food storage recipes.

Catching Up!

I am going to spend the afternoon catching up on Doomsday Preppers.

Haven't seen the first 2 episodes yet. How is everyone liking them so far?? Learning anything new?? Well, I will see later on today.

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

Ultimate Family Preparedness Pak

120 Serving Breakfast Only @ $198 (120 Servings breakfast assortment. No entrees) - Order Now!