Solar Panels .......

This week we are going to get out all of the solar panels that my dad had and figure out how to use them. Have a perfect place to put them. South facing and on top of a hill. I cannot wait to get them installed and get off the grid. This homestead has been so nice and calming. I sleep so great here. To get off grid would be perfection.

Food Storage Recipe - Ham with Potato au Gratin (crock pot)

NEED:

Nonstick cooking spray

2 cups of cubed cooked ham (about 10-ounces)

2 packages (4.9-ounces) dry au gratin potato mix

1/4 cup roasted red sweet pepper, chopped and drained 3 cups water

1 can (10-3/4-ounces) condensed cheddar cheese soup

Take the nonstick cooking spray and lightly coat the inside of a 3-1/2 or 4-quart slow cooker.

Combine the cubed cooked ham, packages of dry au gratin potato mix and the roasted red sweet pepper in the prepared cooker.

In a medium sized bowl, gradually stir the water into the cheddar cheese soup then pour over the mixture in the slow cooker.

Cover and cook on LOW for 7 to 8 hours or on HIGH for 3-1/2 to 4 hours.

Aluminum Pan Grill

Here’s an easy and low cost way to grill while camping even if there is no grill available. Disposable aluminum lasagna pan or roasting pan Self-starting charcoal Directions: Take a large aluminum lasagna pan and line the bottom with charcoal. Light the charcoal then place a metal rack such as a cooling rack or small grilling rack on top of the pan. Once the charcoal is ready, add the meats and vegetables on the rack. Be sure to place the pan on concrete, sand or stones because the pan will get extremely hot.

Start A Campfire Using Chips!

Start a Campfire using Cheetos (or any other chips) Short on kindling? All variety of chips can be readily ignited and used to start a campfire - Fritos, Cheetos, Flavored Doritos and potato chips all work well. 

They work as well as birch bark for starting a fire in a hurry.

Chips work better than actual “firestarters” and are cheaper too.

I used Baked Cheetos last time we went camping and even the baked chips have enough oil and grease in them to easily start a fire.

So in case all the natural kindling happens to be wet, grab a bag of Fritos next time you go camping or hiking to use as a campfire starter.

Clean Water

There may be an occasion when you don’t have access to a ready supply of fresh water. This is when you need to be really creative. The obvious method of getting a supply of fresh drinkable water is to capture rain water to drink. Plastic sheeting is ideal for this job. The bigger the better, lay out the sheeting in such a manner that the rain water runs down into some form of receptacle. Trees are a good source of water if times are hard. By tying a plastic bag tightly around a branch with leaves overnight it should produce you a quantity of water by morning. It won’t be a lot, but it will keep you alive till you find an alternative source.