Food Storage Holiday Gift Ideas

I found this column in the Deseret News last week (Wed, Dec 15). It was called, "Treat neighbors to cheap gifts this Christmas."

I think the person who wrote that title should be fired...

...but the ideas are fun.

Here's the Food Storage gift ideas.

• Canned soups: Stack them pyramid-style into a Christmas tree. "Have a souper holiday!"
• Dried pasta: "Have a pasta-tively happy holiday!"
• Box of powdered milk: "This gift isn't fancy with satins and silk; But in times of need, you'll always have milk!"
• Jar of honey: "For yours of love and friendship, and the fact that you're so sweet, We remember you with honey; it's a Merry Christmas treat."
• Package of gelatin: "If times get hard, you'll never have to cry; If you have some Jell-O in your year's supply."

Kind of silly, kind of cheesy, but good ideas if you want to give food storage this Christmas.

Book Review: Not Your Mother's Food Storage

This book, Not Your Mother's Food Storage, is by no means life changing, eye opening, or...whatever, but it takes what is written in the Church's Family Home Storage pamphlet...

Namely,

"Build a small supply of food that is part of your normal, daily diet. One way to do this is to purchase a few extra items each week to build a one-week supply of food. Then you can gradually increase your supply until it is sufficient for three months. These items should be rotated regularly to avoid spoilage."

...and walks you step by step (using examples) on how you'd actually put the Church issued suggestion into practice.

The book prompts you to list the meals you eat on a regular basis for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Then it shows you through worksheets how to figure out what food you'd need in your food storage and how to calculate how much of that food you need to buy. Once you make a list of what to buy, the book gives suggestions on how to efficiently and frugally purchase the food for your storage. As a result, you'll have a food storage of meals and snacks you and your family actually eat.

Other topics included are Storing Staples and Condiments, Storing Nonfood Items, Adapting Your Favorite Recipes, How to Store It Now That You Have It, and Where to Store It Now That You Have It. Plus, it provides over 80 recipes easily adaptable to food storage.

Yes, this blog post sounds like a commercial for the book, but I must warn you that the book provides not a lot of new information or information that can't be found on the Internet.

However, if you want a concise source of information about starting/improving your food storage, this is a good book. I just recommend borrowing a copy from someone (like me) or buying one the next time you get a huge discount for Deseret Book or similar retailer.

Anyway, it's worth the read, but not necessarily worth the listed price.

Take a look at http://www.notyourmothersfoodstorage.com/

The 12 days of Christmas Food Storage

I know a lot of you already know what you're going to get everyone and/or might be to late to prepare the gift(s) I'm suggesting, but I thought this was a fun idea that my mom got last year in her ward.

The 12 days of Christmas Food Storage

On the first day of Christmas,
Because your are so sweet,
I hope this can of HONEY
Makes your day complete.

On the second day of Christmas,
Because you are so neat,
Santa's elves have brought you
Two large bags of WHEAT.

On the third day of Christmas,
If you're baking the kids a treat,
You'll need this bag of SUGAR
To make it oh-so-sweet.

Popcorn, chips, and french fries,
Would quickly have to halt,
For they would lose their savor,
Unless they had some SALT.

On the fifth day of Christmas,
According to Hoyle,
Everything you cook will stick,
If your pantry's out of OIL.

On the sixth day of Christmas,
This variety of MILK,
Will make your cooking easier,
With sauces smooth as silk.

Cooking, washing, brushing teeth,
Would certainly be awful,
If fresh pure WATER wasn't there.
Make sure you have a shelf full.

They have improved the quality,
Of T.P. through the ages--
But gosh, in time of crisis
This beats the Yellow Pages.

On the ninth day of Christmas,
Warm things will soothe the tummy,
This VEGETABLE SOUP mix,
Will sure taste quite yummy.

On the tenth day of Christmas,
Make your cooking turn out nice
A little shake, a little pinch
Of your favorite can of SPICE.

On the eleventh day of Christmas,
Getting anxious, I am sure,
With your year's supply of IVORY
You're 99-44/100% Pure.

Now Christmastime is finally here,
Hope you've enjoyed the treats.
Your year's supply's in better shape
Make sure you don't deplete.

Have a Merry Christmas
And a Happy New Year!
I hope this plate of GOODIES
Brings you lots of joy and cheer!

Frozen Fruit Order

Hello Sisters,

It's that time of year for Frozen Fruit Orders.

We order from sellers who sell fruit in bulk. I know not everyone is able to buy and use a 30lb box of blueberries, but if you're interested in buying a portion of a box of fruit, please let me know how much of what fruit you'd like to order and I'll coordinate your order with everyone else's to make it work.



The price per pound is really for your information only. Orders can only be made in 5 lb increments. If you'd like me to email you a list that's easier to read, let me know. I'd be happy to do so.

We're not doing a sign up sheet this year. Everything is going to be done by email or over the phone. You can send me your order by email or call me. My number in the stake directory and the ward website is correct.

After you tell me how much of what fruit you'd like, I'll let you know how much you officially owe. I need the money absolutely to be turned in to me by Saturday, October 9. That's just two weeks away! I cannot place any orders for which payment has not been received by October 9. I suggest dropping payments off at my home or mailing it. Please, let me know what you're planning to do. Again, my contact info and address is correct in the stake directory and the ward website.

I don't know when the fruit order will get here, but I should know about a week in advance. When the fruit comes, everyone who ordered needs to come and measure out their order and take it home within minutes of when the fruit arrives so it doesn't thaw out (sorry, the freezer space just isn't there). Again, I'll let you know when and where that will be, but we do need everyone's help.

If you don't think you'll be able to help, I think the best thing to do is to order with a friend that can be there and is happy to help you. If you can't find anyone, let me know, and I'll help you.

If you have any questions, please, let me know. I'd be happy to help.

Emergency Essentials

Emergency Essentials sells everything you can think of when it comes to food storage and emergency preparedness. It's the same company we bought the freeze dried strawberries from a couple months ago.

Every month they have different sells going on.

So...check them out.

They have everything from loaded 72 hr kits to dehydrated spaghetti with meat sauce and chicken ala king to wheat grinders.

Their website is http://beprepared.com/.

Happy Perusing!

Oatmeal Recipes

My mother's stake food storage specialist in Ohio sends out a newsletter ever so often. This time, my mother forwarded me the newsletter. The stake specialist had a segment dedicated to Oatmeal recipes. Here are the recipes. I recommend reading through them. I think they're pretty interesting, especially the last two.

Oatmeal Raisin Muffins

• 1 egg


• 3/4 cup milk


• 1 cup raisins


• 1/2 cup vegetable oil


• 1 cup whole wheat or white flour


• 1/3 cup sugar


• 3 tsp baking powder


• 1/2 tsp salt


• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg


• 1/4 tsp cinnamon


• 1 cup rolled oats.

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare muffin tin. Beat egg, stir in milk, raisins, and oil. Stir in remaining ingredients all at once just until flour is moistened (batter will be lumpy). Fill
muffin cups about 3/4 full. Bake in preheated oven until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Remove from pan immediately.

Overnight Oatmeal

In a microwaveable bowl mix 1 cup oatmeal, 1 1/2 cups milk, 1/2 cup
apple juice, apple pieces (optional), raisins, nuts, etc. Let sit overnight in the refrigerator.
The next morning warm the oatmeal in the microwave.

Crockpot Oatmeal

• 2 cup milk
  
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
  
• 1 T. Butter, melted


• 1/4 tsp salt


• 1/2 tsp cinnamon


• 1 cup oats
  
• 1 cup finely chopped apple


• 1/2 cup raisins or dates


• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, or almonds.

Spray inside crockpot. Put ingredients inside and mix well. Cover
& cook on low overnight (8-9hrs). Makes four cups.

The only recipe I tried was the last one, the crockpot one. Except, I did it without the nuts. I loved the taste that the chopped apples gave the oatmeal, but I wasn't a fan of the mushy texture.

I know...I know...Oatmeal's supposed to be mushy, but the overnight cooking made the oatmeal much more mushy than it's usual mushiness...which lead me to believe...the nuts shouldn't be optional in this recipe...at least the almonds anyway. The almonds would have given the oatmeal that crunch that my tongue, teeth, taste puds, stomach...heck, my whole being wished the dish had had.

I was also thinking maybe I'll try only putting half of the chopped apples and raisins the night before and add the rest in the morning before serving. What do you think?

Another thing in the recipe directions that I didn't do that would have saved me from intensive crockpot scrubbing...I didn't use Pam (or my Kroger spray equivalent). I will NOT miss that step again.

Anyway...

Do you have any food storage oatmeal recipes you wish to share? I'd love to hear them.

Canning Dates for the Rest of the Year

Below are the Canning Dates at the Church Regional Cannery for our stake and a reminder about the cannery guidelines.

For more information about Canning at the Cannery, see the How do you get your food storage? post and Policy Change at the Cannery Post.

Canning Dates:

Sep 11, 9 am - 2 pm
Oct 9, 9 am - 2 pm
Nov 6, 9 am - 2 pm
Dec 4, 9 am - 2 pm

Basic Rules:

1. All orders must be received one month before the canning date. Orders should be on the form provided on providentliving.org and e-mailed to the Peacocks at rpeacock8123@yahoo.com
2. Bulk supplies may not be brought in from outside sources for canning in the cannery.
3. Those operating machinery must be at least 16 yrs old.
4. Those receiving canned food must attend the canning session or be babysitting for someone who is canning. You can't can the food for others who are not participating.
5. Children can not be accommodated. There is no place for them to play.
6. Everyone participates on canning everyone else's orders and helps cleanup. Therefore, a person is there for the full canning session.
7. Payment is preferred by check or it must be exact change. Prices may change slightly from what is on providentliving.org and the prices at the cannery due to price changes.
8. Bulk supply orders may be picked up at any time during the session. Note: As soon as the orders are filled and cleanup is done we leave and the cannery is closed. This has been as early as 10:30am.