Food Storage Recipe - Fried Apple Pies

Simple little treat!

NEED:

1 package piecrust mix for 2 crust pie (Jiffy)

1 21 oz. can of Apple Pie Filling

1 teapoon ground cinnamon

Cooking Oil

Powdered Sugar

Prepare the piecrust mix as the box states. On a lightly floured surface roll the dough out to about 1/8 inch thick. Cut it into 6 inch circles. Re-roll remaining dough and cut it into 6 inch circles.

In a bowl combine the pie filling and the cinnamon. Place about 1/4 a cup on half of each circle. Fold empty side over the filling and seal the edges with fingers or a fork.

In a heavy skillet heat the oil and fry the pies in it for a few minutes. Until golden brown.

Sprinkle them with powdered sugar after you remove from the oil.

YUMMY

No-Cost Ways To Reduce Your Energy Bills

There are small ways around the home that can be done to help you reduce energy costs. They are easy to do

• You can save quite a bit each year just by washing your laundry in cold water. You can buy special detergents for cold water washing if you want to. I very rarely use hot water to wash any of my laundry anymore. 
•  
• Make sure when you do laundry it is a full load. 
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• Air-dry clothes when you can and air-dry dishes.
•  
• If you must use the dryer , always clean out the lint filter. Clean it out after every use. This also helps reduce the risk of fire.
•  
• Dry heavy items separately from lighter-weight items. This helps with efficiency of the dryer.
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• Take a shower instead of taking a bath. Uses a lot less water. Get a Low flow shower head to help even more.
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• Fix any leaky faucets or pipes. Even a little drip can waste a lot of water.
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• Insulate all of your pipes and water heater. This will really conserve energy and make the water heater work better. It won't have to heat up the water so often because the heat is staying in it better
•  
• Turn off anything when not in use and unplug them if you can.
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• Use natural light as often as you can and get used to sitting in the dark. Sometimes you do not need lights on. 
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• Change the filters in your a/c and heater as often as you can. I was very surprised at how much better our a/c worked this past summer when I changed the filter once a month. 
•  
• Keep the freezer full. It won't work so hard when it is totally full. 

Lots of simple ways to save money!! 

 

DIY Milk Jug Seed Starters

This is a great way to make a low cost, actually free,  cold frame for your  outdoor seeds that winter outside or to do seed starting inside for starting seeds indoors for the spring. We are doing this one. Getting our seeds started very soon indoors so they will be ready for planting outdoors. Or planting indoors in 5 gallon buckets. I have a few items that I want to do indoors. Will be easier for when we get our land to be able to take the plants with us.

But this simple and free milk jug seed starter is a great way to start...

• Cut a gallon milk jug in half horizontally. Leave one edge intact so that it will act like a hinge. 
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• You can throw away the cap. But, my creative son is wanting to save them to somehow make an outdoor "rug" with. Have them bottom up so that you can use it to scrape mud off shoes.
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• Punch several drainage holes into the bottom of the jug.
  
  
  
• Fill the bottom with a few inches of potting soil.
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• Moisten it well and plant the seeds.
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• Close the top cover and secure with some duct tape.
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• Place the jug inside a clear plastic bag and twist tie closed. Since it is in a clear plastic bag it is like its own greenhouse. 
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• Place in a sunny spot outside out of the way , so it will not be bothered or have to be moved.
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• Before transplanting , harden off the seedlings by taking the jug out of the bag and propping it open.

This is a frugal way to start your own garden or to garden indoors. Easy and fun to watch them grow.

Protect Your Money

This time of year there are many ways that you might lose money or be conned. A lot of bad people take advantage of others during the holidays. Here are some ways to easily safe-guard yourself and your money.

• Ignore any junk mail that comes to your home. Just trash it. 
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• Buy a shredder. Shred any paper that you plan on throwing out. Shred it before you throw it out so no one can get into your trash and find personal information or anything else they could use to steal your identity.
•  
• Don't have checks mailed to your home. Have them directly deposited to your checking account. 
•  
• Get referrals before you have any home repairs. You should be the one looking for a repairman, not them just randomly knocking on your door. This is something that happens a lot when there is a disaster. Con artist repairmen know that people are needy when something bad happens and take advantage. 
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• The government, IRS, or utilities will not call your home randomly wanting money. This is a tricky scam. There have been some here lately in our town where the local power company calling people and saying that the person has to pay a huge amount of money to keep their power on. A couple of people have fallen for it and not long after phone call their bank accounts were empty. Sad! So watch out for any phone calls from someone saying you owe a bill. Even when a actual bill collector calls say that you will wait on the paper bill and then pay it that way.
•  
• Stop and think before you act. Never give out credit card info or write a check until you are absolutely sure that it is for the right thing. 

Check out scams on http://www.snopes.com.

Check out businesses on https://www.bbb.org/.

 

Bake A Cake In A Jar

This is such a cool idea. Bake the cake in the canning jar and then you can store it. You can use box cake mix or make your own cake.

• Always use the wide mouth straight sided glass canning jars.
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• Lightly coat the inside with vegetable oil or cooking spray.
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• Fill the jars only about half way to give the cake room to rise.
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•  Keep the mouth clean to ensure a good seal.
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• Be careful when removing the jars from the oven.  
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• Store in the fridge or the freezer for up to 6 months.

Let The Sun Do The Cooking!

Use the free heat of the sun to cook your food. It is easy and energy efficient. It saves on fuel cost and  in the summer helps to keep you cool by not having to heat up the house with your stove. With solar cooking it is cooked with lower temperatures that will not burn the food and makes it easy to just let it cook away without stirring or checking all of the time. Set it in the heat of the sun and come back after a few hours to a well- cooked meal.

A great idea is to set it up on a table that can spin so that you can make it follow the sun during the day. Makes it easy for us with bad backs, also. Don't have to pick up the whole cooker, just spin the table the bit that it needs turned.You can easily cook all year long with a All Season Solar Cooker.  You can bake bread, cookies, and cakes in a solar cooker. The best thing to make , since it is set and cooking all day, is stews, beans, soups, and casseroles.

You can easily make one. The links below have plans for making them and recipes.

• http://www.solarcooking.org
• http://cookwiththesun.com

Having a solar cooker is great for kids , also. They can learn to use one easily and be cooking in one in no time. My son was 7 years old when he made one out of a pizza box. It worked pretty good. He baked cookies in it and did some hot dogs. It was fun for him and he learned a lot about the sun and how it works.
Get the whole family involved.

COMMENT BELOW WITH YOUR FAVORITE THING TO COOK IN A SOLAR COOKER>>>

Flu Fighting Tea

 Mix this up and drink it while it is still warm.

NEED:

3 cups of water

Juice of half a lemon

1 cinnamon stick

1/4 inch of fresh ginger

1/4 teaspoon of cloves

1 teaspoon tumeric

a pinch of cayenne 

Add everything to a pot and bring to a boil.

Then reduce the heat and let it simmer for about 10 minutes.

Pour the tea through a strainer and add 1 tablespoon of honey.

DRINK THIS WHILE IT IS STILL VERY WARM.

Have A Sore Throat? Have A Hot Toddy.

I have been suffering with a cough and sore throat for a week now and it is worse at night. This is what I made the other night so that I could sleep. It worked.

NEED:

1 1/4 cup of orange juice

2 teaspoons of lemon juice

2 teaspoons of honey

1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

1 shot of rum

Mix the first 4 ingredients in a saucepan and bring it ALMOST to a boil. Just let it get hot.

Turn off the heat and add the rum.

Pour into a large mug and drink it while it is still hot.

Tips For Winter Camping

You have got to take extra precautions if you are planning to camp in the winter.

1. Keep track of the weather forecast before you go camp. The weather can change on a dime in the winter.

2. Take more than enough food and preps. You never know what could happen and you might be stuck for a few days because of a snow storm.

3. Have several ways to keep warm. They have foldable wood burning stoves now that would help. Plus have sleeping bags that are graded for below zero weather. Have layers on with thermal underwear. Gloves are a must.

4. Navigation tools for getting anywhere safely in a winter storm. If you have to get anywhere to safety , you need to be able to navigate. Know you surroundings.

5. The right boot could save your life. It can get very slippery in the winter and you have to have traction. My son also has a great Folding Collapsible Travel Hiking Walking Stick Trekking Pole , that he takes with him every time he hikes and camps.

6. Only camp in places that are frequented by other campers and are known camping sites. You will be easily found and you can easily find your way out if the winter weather gets to bothering you.

7. It gets darker earlier in the winter than it does in the summer so have plenty of lighting and batteries.

If you prepare for everything - you can camp in the winter!

Yummy Cake Mix Cookies!!

 Some cake mixes you can use, or try your favorite out.  - 

Betty Crocker Delights Super Moist Triple Chocolate Fudge Cake Mix

 

Betty Crocker Delights Super Moist Strawberry Cake Mix

 

Duncan Hines Signature Perfectly Moist Carrot Cake Mix

 

 

Easy enough your kids could make them!

I stock up on cake mixes everytime they are on sale.

NEED:

1 package cake mix

2 eggs

1/4 cup oil

Mix all together.

It will be a thick dough.

Roll into small balls and flatten onto a cookie sheet.

Bake for about 8 minutes at 350 degrees.

Tons of styles of cookies to make with any of the different types of cake mixes. One of my favorites uses carrot cake mix and are iced with white icing!

 

 

Preparing Your Home for Wind Damage Before A Storm

Back in 2008 we had a major wind storm here in Indiana, really the whole east did, because of a hurricane that then brought the wind to us. We lost our roof, a few outdoor toys, and our power ( for 3 days)  because of it. There are things that you can do to keep the damage down to a minimum.


How to Avoid Wind Damage

• Know your risks. Do you know the hazards in your community? How often do floods or wind storms occur?When there is a wind storm in your area will power go out?
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• Ensure that your roof sheathing is properly installed. The roof sheathing is the boards or plywood nailed to your roof rafters or trusses. During a heavy windstorm, wind forces flow from the roof down to the exterior walls and then the foundation. Homes are damaged when wind is not properly transferred to the ground in a storm. Properly installed sheathing helps to ensure wind is transferred correctly. Make sure the sheathing nails haven't missed the rafters. If they have you'll need to redo them.
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• Make sure end gables are secured to the roof. 'In a hurricane or other wind storm, the side walls of the roof (end gables) take a real beating and can collapse. Gable bracing often consists of 2"x4"s placed in an "X" pattern at both ends of the attic: from the top center of the end gable to the bottom of the brace of the fourth truss, and from the bottom center of the end gable to the peak of the roof,' Federal Emergency Management Agency.
•  
• Check that your garage door is properly secured. In a windstorm the garage door can be easily ripped off allowing wind to enter your home and blow out doors, windows, walls and even the roof.

• Protect your windows with storm shutters. Installing storm shutters is one of the best ways you can protect your home from high winds. You can purchase these in wood, aluminum or steel.

If you take the measures to secure your home, than you should be able to weather any storm.

Food Storage Recipe - Spinach & Mushroom Soup

Quick and easy soup to make.

NEED:

1 1/2 cup of milk

3 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped

1 box of frozen chopped spinach

1 can of Cream of Mushroom Soup

In a large saucepan , heat the milk and potatoes on medium heat for about 10 minutes.

Add the spinach and the can of soup.

Cook until the soup is bubbly and the potatoes are tender.

Stir it frequently while it is cooking.

11 Homemade DIY Wood Stove Plans To Make At Home

 

 

 

                                    11 Homemade DIY Wood Stove Plans To Make At Home

 

                                                              Cool ideas to keeping warm! 

How to Grow Bell Peppers Indoors: Easy Tips for Thriving Plants

 

How to Grow Bell Peppers Indoors: Easy Tips for Thriving Plants – Earthsoulorganics

 

Having fresh green peppers is a must for me. I love them and use them a lot.  They are so good in recipes and even just eating them raw. You can easily grow them for your family.

Food Storage Recipe - Lentil & Sausage Stew

YUMMY! I cooked this up yesterday and it was so good that there was nothing left at the end of the day. The pot was empty!

NEED:

2 tablespoons of olive oil

half a pound of italian sausage - you could try spicy here too.

2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped

1 small onion , chopped

a couple of cloves of garlic

salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons of tomato paste

3 cups of chicken broth

3 cups of water

1 cup of brown lentils

Heat the olive oil in a pan and add the sausage, carrots, onion, and garlic. Season it with salt and pepper. Fry it up , breaking it up as you fry it. Break it up into tiny pieces.

When the meat is no longer pink , stir in the tomato paste. Cook this while stirring.

Add the chicken broth, water, and the lentils. Bring it to a boil. Turn down the heat to a simmer and cover.

Cook until everything is tender. About an 30 minutes to an hour. 

 

 

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.

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.

Ways To Cook With Your Fireplace

The open fire of your fireplace is a very versatile way to cook. There are many ways to cook with your fireplace and can be a great way to have a heated home and a hot meal when power is out. That one fire can not only give you heat, but you can bake, boil, roast, simmer a stew, and more. Pretty much like a campfire, but this is in your home.

One way to cook is by using a Cast-Iron Trivet. Remove some of the coals from the fire and place over to one side in your fireplace, place the trivet on top of that, and place your pot on top of that. Let it cook! You can boil water and make soups and stews this way. It is also a easy way to use your Cast-Iron Dutch Oven .


An easy way to roast some meat over the fire is by using a spit. Just impale the meat with the spit and place the meat over the fire to seal in the juices. Then move it further away from the fire and let it slow cook . Make sure that you have a big roasting pan under the meat to catch the dripping juices. Makes it safer and plus you can baste the meat with its juices while it is cooking.

A Reflector Oven is an awesome way to be able to bake and cook with a fireplace. Pretty simple way to cook. Place in front of fire and the heat reflects to the food. Kind of like the solar oven.

Some other tools to have for fireplace cooking are a hanging griddle, Pie Iron Sandwich Cooker, and a Heavy Duty Grill.

With all or any of these tools for cooking, you will be able to make great family meals for your family. No worries if a winter storm comes through and wipes out your power.