Food Storage Recipe ~ Soup In A Hurry

This is a quick soup that you can make in a hurry. Serve it with cornbread.

Soup In A Hurry

1 pound ground beef that you have browned and drained well

2 cans minestrone soup

2 cans chili beans ...Not Drained

a  can of stewed tomatoes ...any kind will work,but the mexican are real good

half  cup of mild salsa..the mild from dollar tree is pretty good

Combine all of this in a large saucepan and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for about twenty minutes.

Food Storage Recipe - Frugal & Easy Homemade French Fries

Want to save some money?? Make your own french fries!!

It is super easy, healthier, and frugal!!

They are my families favorite. I found out a while ago that a famous brand of fries is a GMO Monsanto company owned brand and I stopped right there buying them. I started buying potatoes from the local farmer's market. Cheap - 25 pounds of potatoes for $7.00!!! You can do so much with potatoes. Our favorite thing is to make fries.

Easy ---

Just julienne the fries and deep fry them until they are golden brown!

That is it - I put them in a bowl with a coffee filter to get all of the grease off of them.

Yummy with sea salt!

Another frugal idea from Prepared For Survival!!

Prepared For Survival - Frugal Food Storage Recipes

I put all of my recipes from this blog into a Kindle ebook - Prepared For Survival - Frugal Food Storage Recipes- it is only 99 cents and you can have all of the recipes in a convenient place. Frugal food storage recipes that will use your food storage in a way that will give your family variety without costing a lot. Food storage does not have to break your bank. You can do it frugally and eat well. I have added some recipes to the blog since I posted that book to Kindle , but I will update it soon with the new recipes.

Emergency Food Storage Buyer's Guide - FREE

This Food Storage Buyer's Guide  is a highly attractive and non-biased view on the different types of food storage. This guide is free for you to download.  The guide will educate you about each type of food storage, their benefits and drawbacks and what roles they can play in your own storage plans.  The guide also covers other various topics associated with food storage such as buying tips, storage, and packaging. This makes an outstanding beginning guide for someone just starting their food storage plan, or for someone that would like to expand what they already have.

The goal of this guide is to provide you with real, beneficial information and allow them to make informed decisions on what to include in your own personal food storage plan and what works best for you.  

Staying Cool When Off The Grid or Without Power

Nothing is worse than having the power go out when it is hot. Can't seem to cool off and get comfortable. I happened to go to the thrift store last night. I was bored and out anyway. Had to run to pharmacy. So run in there and just looking up and down the aisles. I love doing this and just seeing what I can find to add to preps. Like kitchen tools etc. Well, I wasn't finding anything and was going to leave when I seen something sitting in a basket - a hand fan! A light bulb went up over my head and I was like yes, this is something to add to my preps that I had never even thought of before. 50 cents later I have the first hand fan in my preps. Fanning yourself could keep you cooled off , especially if you're under a nice, big shade tree!

Make Your Own Pocket Cloth Diapers!

I found that this Link is a great tutorial for making a great looking pocket cloth diaper. It is very easy and the instructions on the page are very straight forward. I love this pocket and that is all that I have been making for my son the last few times.



Save yourself a ton of money!  Pockets dry very quick also!!!



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The Family Camping Handbook: Real Food in the Big Woods

The Family Camping Handbook: Real Food in the Big Woods was a free kindle book when I wrote this post. Camping is a frugal family vacation and a wonderful tradition for many, but it's not as easy as making a reservation at a hotel. Here's your basic guidebook to a successful trip to the woods and back, nourishing your family with real food all the way.

The Family Camping Handbook will:
* Help families with little ones survive and even thrive out in the woods.
* Share basic steps to preparing for and enjoying time in the back woods - tent camping strategies for rookies.
* Provide recipes and campfire techniques to conquer the temptation to buy a few packages of hot dogs and white bread buns and call it "food."

If you're a camping rookie and interested in tent camping, this book is for you.

If you are an experienced camper but new to real food living, or you just wish you had more ideas for whole foods camping fare, this book is for you.

If you camped before having children and have always wanted to try camping as a frugal family vacation but are nervous because you have little ones, whether they’re babies, toddlers, or preschoolers, this book is for you.

You CAN take your babes and your real food to the woods and truly enjoy it, and The Family Camping Handbook will show you how.

With over 35 whole foods camping recipes plus techniques for campfire cooking, menu plans, grocery shopping lists, and ideas to "healthify" many standard camping foods, you won't go hungry out in that big, wide wilderness. You may never want to come home to your regular kitchen!

You're not just buying a book of packing lists, tips for campsite management or recipes...you're buying confidence, and The Family Camping Handbook will have you feeling ready to hit the woods in no time.

Recipes include:
* Sausage and Farmer's Market Veggie Foil Packet Dinner
* Whole Wheat (soaked) Camping Pancakes
* Garlic Veggie Dip
* Campfire Chicken Fajita Skillet Meal
* Homemade Beef Jerky
* Granola Bars
* Cold Spelt Salad
* and lots more!

Gluten free? Each purchase comes with 3 free printable gluten-free camping menu plans and new recipes from the author.

Food Storage Recipe - Easy Homemade Salsa

Great homemade Salsa:

* 2 cans of diced tomatoes

 * 1 little can of diced green chiles

 * 1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped

* 1 clove of garlic, minced, or garlic powder

* 3-4 whole green onions (stem included) chopped up

* Couple shakes of red pepper flakes

* 1 tsp of salt

 Blend it all together minus the tomatoes, then add the tomatoes and blend a little to mince the tomatoes. Delicious!

Confessions Of A Prepper: How To Plan And Protect Your Family And Friends During Any Disaster

Confessions Of A Prepper: How To Plan And Protect Your Family And Friends During Any Disaster was a free Kindle book when I wrote this.

This Book Will Teach You:

• How to prepare for any disaster ranging from "common" to "worst case scenario"
• The principals each prepper should understand and follow
• How to prepare your home for disaster scenarios
• How to power, heat, and cook in your home during a disaster
• How to create and maintain a disaster food supply
• How to stockpile and filter water
• Proper disaster sanitation techniques
• How to decide whether you should evacuate
• How to create a bug out bag and a bug out kit

  The world as we know it is constantly changing and becoming more volatile each and every day.  From natural disasters, war, terrorism and even violence from our own citizens. We need to prepare for these disastrous scenarios.  This book is aimed at preparing you and your loved ones for any disastrous situation.  We will teach you how to survive common natural disasters and also prepare you for the unlikely worst case scenarios such as terrorism and even economic collapse.  This book contains easy to understand information that will guide you through the beginning preparation process.  If you're already an experienced prepper, this book will contain information to supplement your supplies and may even have tips and tricks that you haven't yet thought off.  Whether you're a new prepper or an experienced prepper this book contains valuable insight for how to handle a disaster should it occur.  Download today and learn how to protect your family and loved ones!

Frugal Organizing - Kid's Room

I have been using rubber made totes in my Little Man's room for all of his toys, but I always noticed that he never really got down into the box and was having trouble finding certain toys. The totes were really just too deep. So I went to the local grocery store and got about 15 good boxes. None used for meat!! They were FREE!! I then went to Dollar Tree and got 3 rolls of this cute wrapping paper to cover them with. Cute and only cost me $3.00 for everything that I needed. Next - We had to get to work.

So we dumped out the 4 rubber made totes! Little Man had fun with that. I ended up doing all of the sorting - he had too much fun playing with toys "that he hadn't seen in a million years!". Took me a while, but I eventually got everything sorted and only used 6 boxes. Now he has a box for each thing that he plays with the most - anything else was left in the rubber made totes and put out in the shed. So now he has a box for his : Army men

Cars

Dinosaurs

Animals

Balls

Anything Else

His room has never been this clean. Now when he gets done with the toys that he is playing with it much easier for him to pick them up. He actually is having fun making sure that everything gets put in the right box.

This could easily be done for any room of the house. Being organized doesn't have to cost a fortune. Get some free boxes and wrapping paper and that is it. 

Dollar Tree Always Has Something Useful!

Went to Dollar Tree yesterday and they had these cute little solar powered lamps. Unfortunately they only got one case in to our store , not getting anymore. I was able to get 4 of them. They are as bright as the other solar powered lights that I have gotten from there. But, these are cuter - look like little lamps! The shade comes off.

Grandma's herbal and homemade remedies

When I wrote this post , Grandma's herbal and homemade remedies (Grandma's Series), was a free book for your Kindle! A very useful book to have in your survival e-book library! My Kindle is full to the brim.

From the Description: This book is a tilt of the hat to my Grandma's Herbal and Home remedies which were a big influence in my youth. She had a the theory that mother nature had a cure for every ailment and disease. The book informs you how within your garden and pantry, you have an easy pratical and natural first aid box (with no chemicals or sell by dates). I also look at the origins of the herbs, who first used them and how to actually grow the herbs and spices yourself. Also we look at how to prepare the remedies to treat ailments for use at home. 

The herbs in this book treat all the following ailments:- Acne, blood pressure, skin health, morning sickness, IBS, kidney damage, headaches, liver damage, digestion, infections, cramps, colic, alleviate insomia, slows cancer grwoth, treat colds / flu. helps stamina, sexual stimulants, rheumatoid arthritis and inflammation, and treating digestive disorders, coughs, stomach ailments, measles, diphtheria, typhoid fever, arthritis, scabies, and bruises. dry skin and dandruff, lessen anxiety, clean infections of the mouth, sooth aching feet, ease ear infections, relieve nausea, heal kidney bladder infections, migraines, colic, vertigo, ailments, bug bites, burns, canker sores, treat scabies, head lice, psoriasis, burns, scars, skin infections, high blood sugar, diarrhoea, exhaustion, spasms, indigestion, menstrual cramps, and tooth and muscle pain, treating worms, cramps, heartburn, bloating and gas, high blood pressure, stop heart attacks and internal and external bleeding, insomnia, anxiety, depression, insomnia, female disorders, stomach ulcers, and bladder and ear infections, weight loss, e-coli, natural food preservative, warts, blisters, constipation, digestive aid, treatment of menopause symptoms, UTIs, yeast and blood infection, and strep. treating sexually transmitted diseases, reducing inflammation, bronchitis, impaired lung function, foetal growth,birth defects, energy levels, depression, anxiety, creation of red blood cells, cholesterol, strokes, motion sickness, improve memory, antioxidant,fight cancer, heart disease, burn fat, lower cholesterol, aide in the prevention of diabetes, reduce the risk of strokes and dementia, stimulate hair growth, neutralises poison and snake bites, and much much more.

What Do I Do When I Have A Bad Cold....

I grab a good book and just lay around reading. The book I grabbed off of Amazon wasAshes The Ashes Trilogy Book 1. It is starting out pretty good. As any reader of my blog knows by now, these are my favorite type of books.

It could happen tomorrow . . .

An electromagnetic pulse flashes across the sky, destroying every electronic device, wiping out every computerized system, and killing billions.
Alex hiked into the woods to say good-bye to her dead parents and her personal demons. Now desperate to find out what happened after the pulse crushes her to the ground, Alex meets up with Tom—a young soldier—and Ellie, a girl whose grandfather was killed by the EMP.

For this improvised family and the others who are spared, it’s now a question of who can be trusted and who is no longer human.

Author Ilsa J. Bick crafts a terrifying and thrilling novel about a world that could be ours at any moment, where those left standing must learn what it means not just to survive, but to live amidst the devastation.

Gripped me from beginning to end – dark, creepy and suspenseful.  James Dashner,
New York Times Best-Selling author of The Maze Runner and The Scorch Trials       
             
A haunting and epic story of survival in a shattered world, ASHES is a must read.  
Michael Grant, New York Times Best-Selling author of Gone

Awesome Yard Sales!

Had another great day this past weekend going to yard sales. This time my hubby went with us and he must have been good luck...everything I have been wanting ,even some from my wish list on Amazon, I found. And for cheap!!

Rundown of treasures:

Brand new fishing rod and reel - $12.00

Treadmill - an older one,  but for $5.00 I couldn't pass it up!

Cast Iron double sided grill - Like this one - Double Reversible Grill/Griddle that I have had in my wishlist for a few months.  $0.50

A water cooler for my 5 gallon water bottles!! Great thing is that it works at giving out water without being plugged in. Makes it so much easier to use the huge bottles. $1.00

Oil lamp - $1.00

Stack of Cookbooks - $2.00

Coffee Pot For Hubbies Big rig - $0.75

and some other stuff too, but this "prepper" stuff was the best!!  Can't wait til this weekend to go on the yard sale hunt again!!

Anytime that you can get to yard sales, you have got to go. You can always find ton of "prepper" items at them. Plus it is fun!!

Food Storage Recipe - Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

I love easy and cheap cooking more and more. I have gotten so busy that half the time I don't even feel like cooking. This is a quick soup to make and good.  

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup


1 package of chicken flavored ramen noodles - you will need the seasoning packet

1 can of cream of chicken soup - a staple in any food storage!!

Diced onion - I use my freeze-dried ones in most recipes.

 sliced carrots - freeze-fried again. I love that stuff! The Ready Store is where I get most of my freeze-dried items from.

sliced celery

Cook up the noodles and drain. Prepare the soup in a saucepan as it states too on the can. Then add the seasoning packet and all of the vegetables. Cook for about 10 minutes or until vegetables are done.Add the noodles and simmer a couple more minutes. This only makes a couple of servings, but you could easily double it or whatever. 

TIP GARDEN: Make Your Own Sweetened Condensed Milk

TIP GARDEN: Make Your Own Sweetened Condensed Milk

Having this recipe on hand can really come in handy. 

The Tomato Cookbook: Tomato Recipes From Soup to Grilled

The Tomato Cookbook: Tomato Recipes From Soup to Grilled - The Ultimate Resource for Cooking and Preserving a Bountiful Tomato Harvest (Hillbilly Housewife Cookbooks) was a free Kindle book when I wrote this blog post.

A collection of 28 tried and true family recipes for using up and preserving fresh tomatoes.  A great way to use up the tomatoes that you have growing in your garden.

When you have too many tomatoes that you don't know what to do with them , this book will help.

4 Ways to Involve Your Kids in Food Storage

Starting up a collection of food for storing can be difficult when you are a mother during the summer. When the kids are home from school, your role tends to be more of an entertainer than food storage extraordinaire. Do not fear- there is a way to stay on track with your goals for this project without shipping your kids off to your parents’ for the summer. Here are a few ideas…

1. Age Appropriate Learning. Depending on what age your child is, think of what they are learning at the time, and use it to help you! If they are learning to read, have them read the recipe card for practice, and then run around the house and storage bringing you all the ingredients. If they are younger, have them dump the ingredients into the mixing bowl, or stack cans in the storage area. If you have older kids, have them write labels or get half of the list at the grocery store for you. You can also test them on their fractions or math when stacking things or doubling a recipe. (One hint that might help to motivate: Kids will do anything if you make it a race or game of some kind!)
2. Cooking Lessons. So much of food storage involves cooking. You’ve got to use the food the food every once in a while and cycle through it in order to get your money’s worth, and you’ve got to know how to cook with the emergency foods that you’re storing. So, instead of plopping the kids in front of the tv and having the kitchen to yourself, make it a family activity! Teaching kids how to find their way around the kitchen and make food early on is an excellent idea. It is a fun learning and memorizing activity for kids, and it makes it less work for you once they can make food on their own.
3. Gardening. Many food storage junkies also like to have their own garden that they can live off of in case of an emergency. This is a great idea for getting your hands on fresh produce when your town or state is in crisis. Your kids can help you out in the garden by weeding, planting, digging holes, watering, or fertilizing. Just give them a lesson on what to do and they will love feeling like an important helper. You can also teach them what ripe fruit or vegetables look like and have them help pick. Not only does this help you, but it is a valuable learning experience for kids to be outside with nature in a world where they are surrounded by technology all the time.
4. Pick their Brains. Many times I have been surprised by an idea that my child had that I would have never thought of. If you have limited space and money, food storage is all about creativity. Kids are in the prime state of life for being imaginative, so have them help you solve problems with your food storage. Teaching problem-solving skills young is important for their overall growth and it will also help you get more ideas for how to store your food. Show your son or daughter the pile of food you need to find a place for, and walk around the house together on a hunt for a new food storage spot. Older kids improve your original organization or build proxy shelves out of plywood and cans.

Whatever you do to get them involved, I can guarantee you and your kids will have a bonding experience and make a new memory. You can get more done this summer if you just set your mind to it! Click here for more tips on food storage.

Author Bio- Dirk Puckett has been in the emergency preparedness industry for more than 20 years and is a proud family man.

Yard Sale Find - Cast Iron Skillets

 I went to a yard sale this past Saturday and found both of these cast iron skillets. I paid only $5.00 for both of them. I am really hoping that I can get the rustiness out of them and get them seasoned up.

I am thinking that all I need to do is scour them real good and get the rust off, then re-season them.

I hope they turn out good, but for only $5.00 it was worth the chance since they are cast iron.

ANY TIPS WILL BE APPRECIATED!

The Free List- Free Homeschool Curriculum, Links and Websites for Kids

The Free List- Free Homeschool Curriculum, Links and Websites for Kids

Great list of free ways to homeschool. 

Start Your Home based Winter Business Now! Or Just Stockpile for self!

Now is the perfect time to start a home based business that will be making you money this winter. You pretty much start it for free - using all of that junk mail, catalogs, and newspapers that you get. Make paper bricks that will be used for fireplaces and wood burning stoves. They can burn up to 2 hours at a time. ( This also would be a good time to stockpile some up for yourself.) This is the perfect home based for a teen. The start-up cost is low. You just need to get one of those Paper Log Makers and the other items that you need are free or you should already have on hand. A 5 gallon bucket, gloves,and bleach.

It is pretty simple to make the bricks: shred or tear the paper, fill a 5 gallon bucket with water, add a tablespoon of bleach, stir and then the paper. There are two ways to proceed, either leave the paper to soak for 10 days, or mulch the paper in the bucket for an hour using something like a toilet plunger or stick.

Once the paper is pulped, fill the Paper Log Maker with the pulp and squeeze the arms together to remove the water. You will be left with just the brick. Carry on this method until all the paper is used. Find a warm and dry area to allow the brick to dry and hey presto - you have free solid fuel to sell.

Make these up all summer, storing them up some place where they will be dry.  As soon as it starts to cool off place an ad in the local paper and start selling them. Great home based business that is almost free to start and would be a great one for a teen to do.

Food Storage Recipe - Quick Creamy Mushroom Soup!

This is what Little Man and I had for lunch yesterday! Yummy and fast!

Creamy Mushroom Soup

1 package of ramen noodles - it doesn't matter the flavor, you do not use the flavor packet.

1 can of condensed cream of mushroom soup

a handful of sliced mushrooms, I used my dehydrated ones this time and it turned out great.

salt and pepper 

Cook the noodles as it says to on the package. drain.

Prepare the soup as directed and then add the noodles and mushrooms to it. Let this simmer for about 5 minutes. Salt and pepper this and eat! Just enough for the 2 of us.