Food Storage Recipe - Coffee Cake

This is an easy recipe and taste VERY good with a cup of coffee in the morning. 

 
Coffee Cake

The Cake -

2 cups Bisquick Baking Mix

2 tablespoon sugar

2/3 cup milk

1 egg

The Topping -

1/2 cup of baking mix

1/3 cup of brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

2 tablespoon margarine

Preheat you oven and grease a 9 inch round pan.

Mix all of the ingredients for the Cake , beat it well and spread into cake pan. Mix the topping items with the margarine until crumbly and sprinkle this over the cake.

Bake this for about 20 - 25 minutes.

Disaster Kit For Babies!

72 Hour Kits and Disaster Kits For Babies

If you have an infant or a toddler at home, consider including these items as you put together your disaster and 72 hour kits for your family:

Instant formula. Make sure to buy the kind you do not need to mix with water. Also, track expiration dates and rotate through them frequently.

5 small bottles for the formula. You can fill them with purified water to provide extra drinking water in your kit.

Refrigerated bottle bag. This is helpful in case you get the chance to warm up or cool down the formula you can keep it at that temperature for around 4 hours.

Plenty of diapers. The exact number needed depends on the age of your child. I recommend including about 20 disposables and also 3 cloth ones that can be washed, dried and reused in case you run out.

A travel package of wipes. These are great for washing as well. If you have space I'd recommend just storing a full box of wet wipes.

Pacifiers. Put in two just in case. If you're stressed the baby will probably be stressed and it's a comfort for them.

3 cotton/flannel wraps, and 2 muslin wraps.

Baby food. Depending on the age of your child you will probably want to include some jars of baby food. Once your baby can eat mostly regular foods just pop these out of your kit.

Washcloths. Stored around 10 small ones, it's an eventuality, you'll require them at some point.

Small comfort toy/s. If you child has a specific toy or blanket that he/she really loves, try to grab that in an emergency. But if you can't, then try to have a usable substitute that will help comfort the child in lieu of their favorite item.

Clothes - and plenty of them! This is a tough one as babies grow so fast. One trick I recommend is that as you swap out their closets to put in the next size of clothes to remember to do that in the disaster kit at the same time. Make sure to include clothes for all types of weather and include lots of spares.

Ziplock bags. These work great for storing used diapers or anything else that is dirty, or clean for that matter.

Bulb nose syringe and saline. Saline loosens mucous and syringe sucks water/mucous/misc out of ears, nose, mouth etc. You never know if you'll need one so it's great to keep in your kit.

Infant tylenol/motrin. It never fails that kids get sick as soon as you are somewhere WITHOUT your medicine. So this is a definite requirement for any child disaster kit.

Desatin or other diaper rash cream and travel-sized baby powder. The last thing you'd want in an emergency situation is a sore bum and nothing to treat it with. This will be especially useful if you have to resort to using cloth diapers.

The most important thing to remember is to always be thinking about what is appropriate for your child's age and stage of development. For example, if your child is no longer drinking bottles then there is no reason to keep formula in your disaster kit.

Food Storage Recipe - Rocky Road Fudge

You have to have snacks and feel-good food factored into your food storage! Things would get pretty bad if you could not have a treat every once in a while.

Rocky Road Fudge

In a saucepan combine:

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate morsels
1 cup of butterscotch morsels
a half a cup of peanut butter

Place this over low heat and melt it until it is well blended and smooth.

Add to it:

3 cups of miniature marshmallows
1 cup of salted peanuts

Mix this well and spread it into a foil lined 8 inch square pan. Chill in the fridge until firm.

YUMMY!!

Ways To Make or Find Extra Money

1. Get a second job - There are companies looking for part-time help all the time and this can be a great way to earn more cash. Just remember to consider the extra expenses you might incur while working a second job; If you're eating out every night because you're working 14 hours a day and no longer have time to cook for yourself, or incurring additional expenses for clothing, or transportation because the new job is across town, or the extra income has bumped you up into a much higher tax bracket… you get the point.

2. Cut back on spending - This is usually the easiest and quickest way to create more cash, and it's something everyone can do. If you’ve already sized down and cut back as far as you can, I challenge you to look further. Write down all of your spending for a few weeks and undoubtedly you’ll find something else that can be cut. No matter how small the savings may be, every penny counts. Example-- Take your own coffee instead of buying at coffee shop.

3. Cancel subscriptions - If you have several magazines you're subscribed to, keep your favorite one and cancel the rest. Daily newspaper subscriptions can be very costly, consider going to a weekend only delivery (to get the coupons of course!), or cancel your subscription altogether and pick up the Sunday paper at a local store each week as needed. And if any of your subscriptions have time left, you should be able to get a refund for the difference.

4. Stop buying new books - Find something good to read at the library instead, for free! Many libraries will even order new books for you to read if it's in their budget, all you have to do is ask. Depending on how serious your bookstore habit is you could save a lot of money here. There are even a lot of free kindle books.

5. Use those coupons! - When you toss those weekly coupons out with the trash it's almost like throwing away CASH. Take a few moments each week to cut out just the coupons you can really use, then look through the grocery store advertisements and match your coupons to the sales, saving double! And if your grocery store doesn’t offer a double coupon deal, try to find one that does.

6. Forget your loyalty to name brands - You can save a fortune buying store brand foods, which are almost always just as good. Especially when using the item in a recipe with other ingredients – no one will notice the difference. You don't have to commit to buying them for the rest of your life, just try them!

7. Combine errands into one trip - I've used this little trick for years. The more errands you can combine into one weekly trip, the more gas money you will save, therefore creating more cash. You can also carpool or walk to your job and local stores if possible. When carpooling with a friend, either take turns driving your own car each week or split the gas money.

8. Stop buying expensive gifts - When you need to create more cash, spending money on expensive store-bought gifts for your family and friends, or even yourself, doesn’t make much sense. Your homemade gifts from the kitchen etc are a great idea.

9. Cancel memberships to health clubs - Walking is one of the best exercises for you anyways, and it’s free! If you don’t have an area near your home that is good for walking, many shopping malls open up early so people can walk safely and comfortably (no bad weather conditions to worry about). And, at that hour the stores will still be closed so there won’t be any temptation to spend money!

10. Create cash by selling your unused items online - Selling items on eBay can be a little time consuming, but I've sold alot of items we no longer use and are in great condition and the bonus of making extra money is the decluttering!

11. Have a garage sale or work with consignment stores - When dealing with consignment stores, make sure they are reputable and have been in business for a while. Otherwise you could give them a carload of items to sell, only to have them close up shop the following month. You could even start your own business by helping other people sell their stuff - if this is something you enjoy doing.

12. Sell your handcrafted products for a profit - The list of items you can make to sell is endless – dog houses, book cases, bird houses, painted mailboxes, plants, quilts, crocheted baby blankets, cloth diapers, pillows, baked goods, homemade bread, jelly, Christmas ornaments, toys, picture frames… you name it! If it’s something people want or need to buy, you can make it and earn a nice profit!

13. Offer services or start a home business - If you have the ability or qualifications you can offer several services from your own home - such as childcare, senior care, tutoring, music lessons, sewing, typing, lawn care, housecleaning, pet sitting and even personal shopping. Have some inexpensive business cards printed announcing your services and hand them out to everyone

14. Have a bake sale with lemonade while you are having a yardsale.

15. Give with a pure heart - When giving, do not give to make money or earn favor… “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Luke 6:38 (NIV) And that could be more important than anything else you do, not just for creating more cash, but also for living a better life!

501 Easy Ways To Make Money At Home


Savings Challenge

Unclaimed Money - I Actually Found Some!!

I think that everyone should do a search for any unclaimed money!! I had a banner ad on my email page for Indiana Unclaimed Money. So out of curiosity I went to it and did a search for hubby, my kids, etc. Then did my name and I actually found that I had $50.00 of unclaimed money from a utility deposit from where I lived about 6 years ago!! Pretty cool Now I am on NAUPA website , which can do all states. It is recommended that you search in every state that you have ever lived in. It is easy and free to do. I did my search for Indiana and found my unclaimed money, had to fill out a form and they are sending me a form to fill out to send back to the state to verify who I am and I will get my money. Cool!!

5 Things That Should Be in a Survival Kit

There are certain situations that require a person to have the tools needed to survive. It does not necessarily have to be an outlandish scenario such as the collapse of the federal government either. A person may simply be put in a difficult situation due to being stranded, lost, or confronted with harsh geography or weather. In such a situation, it is very important to have the proper field equipment and survival gear. Below is a top five list of items that may come in very handy.

1. A First Aid Kit

One obvious thing that should be in a person's survival gear is first aid. Certain things should be included in a first aid kit. This includes bandages, wraps, and disinfectant. However, it should include other items for situations you may have not have thought of. For example, a quality first aid kit should also include a snake bite kit and insect sting and bite treatment scrub.

2. A Forever Flashlight

If you are stranded in the wilderness, having the ability to see in the dark may help you survive. This is why a flashlight should always be part of any survival kit. Unfortunately, the lifespan of the batteries of most flashlights is rather short. One solution is to purchase a Forever Flashlight instead. Such a flashlight only needs to be shaken to be charged. Half a minute of shaking will provide exactly 5 minutes of light.

3. A Emergency Fire Starter

Unfortunately, starting a fire in the wild is not as simple as it is portrayed in cartoons. Rubbing two sticks together is unlikely to do the job. For this reason, it is also a smart idea to keep some kind of fire starter in your survival gear. There are thankfully many great choices that work much better than simple match sticks. This can include tinder quick fire tabs, a tindercard, or firelighting flint.

4. A Emergency Rain Poncho

Dealing with the elements is one of the most important steps to surviving the wild. At some point, it is going to rain. If you don't have proper protection, you could get soaked and suffer from hypothermia. One way to stop this from happening is to have a nylon poncho in your survival kit. Such ponchos are easy to fold and store in small spaces.

5. A Survival Hatchet

Having the proper tools is also important. At some point, it is likely you'll need something a little stronger than a Swiss arm knife. One such tool is a survival hatchet. This will come in handy if you need to chop anything. This kind of hatchet is also multi-purposed. It is designed to also be used as a hammer, nail puller, and a crowbar.

Be Prepared For A Nuclear Radiation Accident

We all should learn as much as we can about how to survive a nuclear power plant accident. There have been way too many of them this past week.

Here are some books to add to your survival library:

U.S. Armed Forces Nuclear, Biological And Chemical Survival Manual

Idaho Falls: The Untold Story of America's First Nuclear Accident

Nuclear War Survival Skills, Updated and Expanded Edition

2011 Complete Guide to Nuclear Power Plant Accidents, Meltdowns, and Radiation Emergencies: Practical, Authoritative Information on Health Effects and Treatment, Radioactive Decontamination

Radiation

Handbook of Radiation Effects



Some other items to get:

Radiation Alert MONITOR4 Analog-Based Ionizing Radiation Detector

NukAlert™ nuclear radiation detector / monitor (keychain attachable) alarm

iOSAT Potassium Iodide Tablets, 130 mg (14 Tablets)

Radiation Alert INSPECTOR Microprocessor-Based Ionizing Radiation Detector

You should already have a safe room set up with food and supplies in it. Have plenty of duct tape, gas mask, and more. Have a room that can be sealed up good. Hopefully you have one that has no windows so that all you have to seal up is the door and any vents. Also make sure you have boredom busters in the room. My grandparents had a HUGE basement in their house and half of it was underground and not under the house. So my grandpa put up a thick wall that he built! Put up paneling and hid a door into that with the paneling over it. No one even knew it was there. I did not even find out about it until I had lived with them for a few weeks one summer. He had it equipped with EVERYTHING. Even had a ping pong table in there. But , it was a great place to have been shut up in for any length of time.

I always watch to see if the people who bought that house after my granpa died and my grandma got put into a nursing home ever put it up for sale. They have not yet. :( But, I keep watching.

Alternate Forms Of Lighting

I really do not like that idea of sitting in the dark if we lose power. So I am trying to come up with other ways to get light. Some of them are obvious, Candles and oil lamps
. But I also want some other ways to get some light too, that might not be so dangerous in a kids room. I already use some solar lights. I put them out on my back porch during the day in a flower pot to charge up. Then at night I bring them in. They work as great night lights in a kids room. I got some at Dollar Tree a while ago and wish now that I had bought every single one that they had. I had only bought 3 of them to see how well they work, found out they work great and 2 days later went back and they were sold out. :(
I am thinking of getting one of these, Designers Edge L-949 10 LED Rechargeable Solar Panel Shed Light. I could put it in our southern facing kitchen window with the panel outside the window to charge it up. That would work great. I just wonder how much light it puts out.
We also will be doing a lot more things that do not require a lot of lighting. My son bought me one of these for Christmas, Ritelite LPL792XLB 5-LED Computer and Book Light, Metal and it surprisingly works great. So I can sit and read at night and not have to turn on a bright light. It helps too, when others are watching TV or playing the Wii and do not want the lights on. I can read in peace.
I am still trying to think of ways to get alternate forms of lighting. I have a pretty good night light in the bathroom, that already keeps us from having to turn that light on too often. So I am always thinking. Those CFL bulbs are dangerous and are bad for you. I have had 2 of them given to me over the last few months and both of them lasted about a week, blowing up! Which cannot be safe plus have they have mercury in them.

An Idea For Those Empty #10 Cans!!

I have a #10 can that is almost empty so I was trying to come up with an idea of what to do with it. I had read some where that you can make survival kits with them. Great for putting in your vehicle. Especially for winter. We live in a pretty rural area and if we go 1 mile out of our town than we are in the "boondocks". We are at least 30 miles from any other town, so if anything happened we would be stuck for a while. When the winter weather gets really bad, like last winter, we were stuck. Our small town was at a stand still. It only has one truck that can do the roads and they ONLY do the "highway" that goes through our town. That is it.

Some things to put in the can:

A candle or one of those heat cell fuel cans so that, if you have to, you can use the can for a small stove. Put the heat under it to melt snow.

Emergency Thermal Blanket

Water Proof Matches

A multiblade folding knife

a small roll of tape

granola bars, peanuts, or a couple of those Millennium bars.

Emergency Whistle

First Aid Kit

Glow Stick

A couple of Hand Warmers

A couple of Aqua Blox

Emergency Light And Tool

Some small packages of tissue paper.

This is just an idea of what to keep in your car survival kit. This is a great way to use your empty #10 cans. Does not take up a lot of room in your vehicle.

You should also always have a fully charged cell phone if you are planning any winter driving. A small tool kit is good to have in your car too. Jumper cables. anything that you can think of.

Food Storage Recipe - Cheesy Chicken Wraps

These are so easy to make and taste so good. Made a enough to have leftovers for tomorrow. 

NEED:

2 12.5 ounce cans of chicken, drained

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 a pack of cream cheese 

2 cloves of minced garlic

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

Salt and pepper to taste

Tortillas - I used small ones that are for soft tacos

Fresh spinach

Olive oil to cook the wraps in.

In a large bowl prepare the filling. Mix the chicken, cheese, cream cheese, garlic, and seasonings.

Lay a tortilla out and put a spoonful of the mixture in it adding some of the fresh spinach.

 Fold up the tortilla and repeat until the mixture is used up.

Fry in a skillet that you had heated up with olive oil.

Serve with some pizza sauce to dip them in if you want to.

 

Dinner On The Fire Pit

 

 

It is getting cooler and I decided to cook our supper outside. Used the fire pit. I decided at the last minute to use the iron skillets. It is easy and taste great. We had chicken and butter beans. Added a bit of bbq sauce to the chicken and made sandwiches.  

 Cooking on a fire pit is a natural way to prepare food that's been practiced for thousands of years. Here are some tips and methods for cooking on a fire pit: 

• Use natural fuel

  The type of fuel you use can affect the taste of your food. Charcoal is best for large, bowl-shaped fire pits with vents, and wood can give food a smokier flavor. Avoid using lighter fluid.

• Add a grill

  Place a grill on top of your fire pit to turn it into a barbecue. 
• 
  
• Cook directly on the coals

  This traditional method uses white-hot charcoal to sear meat and create a crust. 
• 
  
Cook corn on the cob
You can cook corn directly on the coals, or wrap it in foil to prevent burning. You can also soak the corn in cool water for 30–60 minutes to keep the husk from burning. 


Cook burgers
Burgers are a versatile option that can be customized in many ways. 


Make campfire nachos
Layer tortilla chips, cheese, and your choice of toppings in a pan with a domed lid. 


Try other cooking methods
Other ways to cook on a fire pit include skewering, pot cooking, frying, and spit roasting. 


Cook red meat
Well-seasoned cuts of red meat like rump steak or lamb chop can create a delicious caramelized crust and smoky flavor. 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Food Storage Recipe - Chicken & Zucchini Casserole

 One dish meal .

NEED

1 small rotisserie chicken, pulled and shredded

a couple of zucchini , diced

1 box chicken flavored stuffing

1/2 cup of butter, melted

1 can cream of chicken

1/2 cup sour cream

Preheat your oven to 350. In a large bowl, melt the butter and then mix with the box of DRY stuffing mix; set aside HALF of the mixture for topping the casserole later. Add the pulled chicken, diced zucchini, cream of chicken soup and sour cream to the stuffing and mix well. Spread the mixture into a greased baking dish and then evenly sprinkle the top with your reserved stuffing mixture.  Bake, uncovered, for 35-45 minute.    

Food Storage Recipe - Simple Pasta With Peas

 Quick recipe! 

NEED 

1 box of Linguine pasta 

1 cup frozen peas

1/2 cup of the pasta water 

4 - 5 tablespoons of pesto sauce

Parmesan

Basil 

Pepper

Cook the pasta according to the directions and when it is almost done and the frozen peas.

Reserve 1/2 cup of the water that you cooked the pasta in.

Drain the pasta and peas.

Add the pasta , peas, pesto and water together back in pot.

Serve and top with Parmesan. 

Food Storage Recipe - Chicken & Noodles

 Simple recipe that the whole family will love.

NEED

1 can chicken broth ( 14.5 oz)

1/2 teaspoon dried basil 

pepper

2 cups frozen California blend vegetables

2 cups of uncooked medium egg noodles

2 cups cubed cooked chicken or a can of chicken

In a medium pan mix the broth, basil, pepper, and vegetables together.

Heat this to a boil and then reduce the heat.

Cover and cook for a few minutes.

Stir in the noodles. 

Cover and cook another few minutes, stir often.

Add the chicken and heat through.

Food Storage Recipe - Quick Chicken Parmigiana

 Get a little fancy with this yummy recipe. Serve with some garlic bread.

NEED:

1 package of frozen fully cooked breaded chicken patties ( you can also use chicken nuggets if you have them!!)

1 jar of traditional pasta sauce

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1 box (8 oz) spaghetti

In a 2 quart baking dish arrange the chicken.

Top each one with pasta sauce and sprinkle with the cheeses. 

Bake at 400 degrees until the chicken is done and cheese is melted.

Heat the remaining sauce.

Boil water in a large pot and cook the spaghetti as the package instructs you to while the chicken is cooking.

Serve the chicken over the spaghetti! 

 

I make our garlic bread from those little breads that come in a loaf for a dollar at walmart. Just put butter on them and some garlic salt. Bake until slightly toasted. They can over cook fast. Watch them.