Week Seventeen

I am so sorry to have missed last week but my daughter had her baby and I was very busy being a new grandma! That said I was sure glad I had a few things that the kids could put together to eat. Now I have to replenish but it sure came in handy for them. I had purchased some boxed dinners that were on sale. Not my first choice for a good home cooked meal but for them it was perfect! That is something that we should consider when adding to our basic food storage. Some of the "prepared" boxed things will sound pretty good after eating wheat and beans for a couple of weeks:) Watch the sales and you can add things at a pretty good price. Which brings me to my next point. There will be good sales around the holidays on things like instant potatoes, olives, and some other canned goods. Take advantage of those sales. Don't think you have to keep to this schedule. This is only a suggestion. You can always pick up whatever is for this or that week. Use your $$ wisely and buy what is on sale. That goes for anytime of the year. Sometimes I do that. I just add what I was supposed to get to my next weeks list and get those sale items.

WEEK SEVENTEEN: 2 cans of tuna, 4 cans tomato soup

Week Sixteen

I love the holidays! So much of our family time together at this time of year centers around food. We have our family favorites that seem to only get baked or cooked at this time of year. Maybe that is because with the change of season we stay indoors more and I love cooking more around this time. When I say cooking for me it is baking. I love baking and finding ways to use the foods of the season. So many shared from their gardens this year and lot got frozen to be used for the fall season of baking. Do you have a favorite recipe for some fun kind of bread or goodie? Please share with us. For now I am sharing our favorite pumpkin dessert.

AUNT BARB'S PUMPKIN BAKE

4 eggs 1 tsp. soda 1 C oil 1/2 tsp. salt
1 (15oz.) can Pumpkin 2 C flour 2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. ginger 1/2 tsp. cloves 1/2 tsp. nutmeg

Mix eggs, oil, and pumpkin in a large bowl. Add dry ingredients and mix well. Bake at 305 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Frosting: 1 6oz. cream cheese 6 Tbls butter 1 Tbls milk 1 tsp vanilla
4 C powdered sugar Mix all ingredients together and frost top of pumpkin bake after cooled.



WEEK SIXTEEN: 5 lbs. of Honey

Week Fifteen

This last weekend I was at conference. I thought with the troubling times we are in now I would here once more about being prepared. I don't think I heard one specific talk about that but I did hear more than once that we need to be obedient to the commandments and counsel we have already been given. I think that we already know what we should be doing - now is the time to just DO IT! Now with regards to food storage now is the time to begin. How much more peace we will have when we have to face whatever it is we have to face if we are prepared. That said this week we are adding mac and cheese to our shelves. What are some interesting things to do with this staple? Sometimes we add hot dogs, hamburger, chicken. But Paige shared with us a recipe she had learned on trek and that was adding tuna! It was delicious and tuna is much easier to store that the other things. I had never thought of adding that before so I was a bit sceptical but it turned out we liked it. What do you add to spice it up? Please share with us!

WEEK FIFTEEN: 1 box mac and cheese, 1 lb. yeast. ( I usually buy at least four boxes at a time, so feel free to add more to your list and remember the yeast will freeze)

Week Fourteen

My husband came home last night and wanted to know how much more we needed for our storage. I thought maybe he was wanting to talk about it during FHE. But the truth was he has been really worried because of the economic situation in our country right now. These are the last days - not that we are predicting anything - but it did give a great opportunity to discuss with the children once again the importance of following the prophet. Following a prophet even when we don't see the importance or value of it. We are not near our goal of a years supply but we are closer than we have been in a long time. We were able to show the kids that even though we are very active in the church we as adults need to be listening just as much as they are. Knowing we are obeying gives us peace. Peace in a time when there is so much unrest going on in the world around us. I think it is a very valuable lesson for our children to have.

This weeks food is wheat. If you have your wheat then I suggest maybe replenishing some petty cash for yourself. I know of a sister that always has hidden away in a couple of places $100. I know that that is a lot of money but if you add some every week it could add up. This is not cash that is to be used for any other purpose than during a crisis situation. And no it is not a crisis when shoes go on sale for half off and you need one of every color:) What is a crisis? Well that is for you to decided for your family but it is something I would make a matter of prayer. The Lord will bless you as long as you are obeying and what you might think is a crisis just might be one of the blessings. So don't get discouraged or overwhelmed. The Lord knows your heart and will open doors!

WEEK FOURTEEN: 100 lbs. of wheat

Week Thirteen

Now that school has started it seems I have a little more time to organize things. So I have been putting things on my shelf in date order. Making new lists of things I want to add to my storage and deciding how to fit more into what space I have. It seems that a lot of people have made the comment to me that they really want to start their storage or add to what they already have. Please do not put it off anymore. If you are only just buying the few items a week you are doing something. I think sometimes we think we have to have it all - I promise it will come and the Lord will provide a way for those who are earnestly seeking to obey. Since I have started this there have been two times that some extra money has just fallen into our lap. I used that money to purchase food because I felt that is what the Lord intended it for. He knows our hearts and our situations - don't give up. Keep taking it a little at a time. I just want to encourage everyone to keep going and going and going. Just like that commercial for the bunny and the batteries don't run out. One week at a time, one purchase at a time and you are obeying the counsel from our prophet. You can become perfect in this.

WEEK THIRTEEN: 1 bottle of multiple vitamins

Week Twelve

I am sorry to be late in my post this week. I had some computer problems and could not post! Boy am I glad for good neighbors and friends who are smarter than me at this computer stuff.

I heard back from Lynne Jensen and she shared this awesome recipe to use with the soup mix from the storehouse. It was so good! Thank you so much. I really appreciate the feedback. I am going to be posting more recipes that we can use with our food from the storehouse. If you have some things you have tried please share! If you don't want to leave a comment just email me @ motherofeleven@msn.com. Thanks so much for your support!

Deseret Soup Mix Soup

8-9 cups water
1-1/2 cup soup mix
1 pound hamburger
1/2 chopped onion (or dehydrated equivalent)
4-5 beef bullion cubes
optional add ins (we usually use all of them):
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
1 cup chopped celery

Brown hamburger and drain off fat. Add all ingredients to a large pot and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer 1-1/2 to 2 hours.Serves 6-8

WEEK TWELVE: 4 cans mushroom soup, 2 lbs shortening

Week Eleven

I have been finding new recipes to use with our wheat. I came across this "No-knead raisin bread" that I thought looked really good. So I will share with you -

1/2 C sugar 1 pkg. dry yeast
1/3 C soft margarine 1/4 C warm water
1 tsp. salt 2 eggs, beaten
1/3 C boiling water 4-41/2 C sifted whole wheat flour
1 C seedless raisins
1 C canned milk

The topping: 1 tbsp. granulated sugar, 1 tsp. cinnamon

Mix sugar, margarine, and salt in large bowl. Add boiling water and stir until margarine is melted. Add milk. Dissolve yeast in warm water and add to first mixture. Stir in eggs and raisins. Add flour, one cup at a time, beating until smooth after each addition. Cover and let rise until double in bulk. Beat down batter, then beat for 2 minutes. Turn into well greased 10-inch tube pan, smoothing evenly with spoon. Let rise until double in bulk, about 45 minutes. Sprinkle top with sugar and cinnamon, and bake at 350 degrees for 55 minutes.

I am so excited to try this out. I was amazed at how many things you can use your wheat flour for. Cookies, cakes, breads, rolls, pie crust, seasoned flour for meats, stew, casseroles, soups, pancakes, etc. I don't know why in my mind I limited our wheat use to cracked hot cereal and bread. If anyone has recipes to share please do - I really want this to be interactive - and have not had much success with that - Thanks!

WEEK ELEVEN: 10 lbs. sugar, 1 box salt