 |
nw_arizona_granny |
Discussions and Informational Posts on: Growing Food Preserving the Harvest Food Preparation Recipes Survival Skills Necessary and Fun Crafts Old Time Living Hints Preparing for the Worst National and World Events Plus Many, Many More Topics & some Humor |
| 7 Year FReeper-Ageless Wisdom |
You are invited to participate! |
All thread contents are archived see links - below. |
|
Some of our Favorite Links:
Thread II (1-10000) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/2181392/posts?q=1&;page=1 Archive Files http://www.pixiesites.com/Granny/thread1pt1.zip Thread 1 pt 2 (21.3 MB) http://www.pixiesites.com/Granny/thread2pt1.zip Thread 2 Part 2 : (5.5 MB) Special Historical Documents
A wealth of information by Jackie Clay from Backwoods Home. Survival Supplies www.healthyharvest.com http://www.Radiation-Pills.com Links for Canning
|
A few samples:
Survivalist in the Neighborhood I have a neighbor who recently converted his entire side yard into a vegetable garden. I don’t know his motivation, but I couldn’t help but wonder if he was a sort of “urban survivalist,” planning to grow his own food to live off in an emergency. Maybe he is simply hedging against higher food prices. Either way, he is growing an impressive amount of food. We recently upsized our square foot garden into an in-ground garden in our backyard. By no means could we live off the harvest at this point, but we may have a few veggies to supplement summer salads. Perhaps I need to follow my neighbor’s trend, and borrow his tiller! Having a few basic necessities on hand makes a lot of sense, not only in the face of recession, but as a practical homeowner who at times may face natural disasters, power outages, etc. Within this post, I’m going to start a list of items to have on hand in the event of an emergency - sort of a home emergency kit. Over time, the list will grow much larger as I remember new items, or as readers share their lists with me. We keep our home emergency kit in an old school backpack (the contents are stored in gallon-sized Ziploc bags to make them waterproof) and stored high in a closet. In the event of an emergency we could easily grab it and have all the smaller contents close by. 1. Gallon of water per person, per day of required survival. A general rule I’ve read from others is to keep about three gallons of water on hand per person. Hopefully, in a small scale disaster water treatment facilities could make necessary repairs of diversions to get water back online within a few days. 2. Water purification tablets. Pickup a few of these at a camping supply store. In the event you can’t generate heat and boil water these tablets may provide the only way to make drinking water safe. 3. Can opener. I sort of chuckled as I wrote this, because we always hear jokes of people being stranded with canned goods and no can opener. Think of all the things in your pantry - how would you open them without a can opener? I guess you could resort to smashing them against a sharp object, but save yourself some time and effort by picking up an inexpensive, manual can opener. 4. Weather radio. Just a couple weeks ago tornadoes ripped through the town just to our north, knocking out power, and taking several radio stations down. Without a battery-operated weather radio tuned to the NOAA emergency station you would have no way of knowing what was going on outside your home. 5. Spare container of propane for gas grills. Grilling out is kind of a luxury now, but in the event of losing power for several days it may be the only way to heat food. 6. Ramen noodles. A cheap way to store several days worth of carbs and necessary fats. Add a little water and you have a meal in a real crunch. Hey, if college kids can live off these things, you could in a pinch. 7. Gatorade. In a hot summer I can go through gallons of Gatorade when working outdoors. In an emergency situation, Gatorade can be a great way to replenish salts and electrolytes robbed by dehydration. 8. Waterproof matches. Along with a torch lighter or two, waterproof matches may be your best bet for lighting candles, fires or the grill mentioned above. 9. Whistle. Whistles are great to carry along on hikes because they can make a lot of noise without wasting a lot of energy. They are also good to keep at home in case of a structural collapse as a way of communicating with rescuers. 10. Swiss army knife. Many of these have multiple tools such as screw drivers, corkscrews and bottle opener, in addition to a variety of cutting tools. 11. Flashlights. Every home should have a few flashlights and spare batteries. 12. Gun and backup ammunition. Gun-control advocates won’t like this one, but I believe in our right to bear arms. Make them safe and out of reach of kids if you have them. In the event of a disaster you may be forced to defend your food and other supplies from those who failed to prepare wisely. It is a scary proposition, but unfortunately it is human nature - survival of the fittest. 13. First aid kit. Every home should have a well-stocked first aid kit. Most of the larger retail stores sell pre-packaged first aid kits, but you may find you can stock your own cheaper. I like to add to ours occasionally by picking up trial-size items at Wal-Mart or Target. It’s nice to toss a small bottle of aspirin or acetaminophen in the kit without having to buy 100 tablets in larger packaging. 14. Dust masks. I have a box of these on hand anyway to help fight allergies while mowing our lawn. They also offer protection from dust and debris in the event of a structural collapse. We all remember the images of 9/11 when the towers collapsed, spreading toxic dust hundreds of feet. 15. Prescriptions. It’s a good idea to never let everyday prescription supplies run low. Those taking medicines such as insulin or blood pressure medication should always keep a fresh supply on hand in the event they are unable to venture out for refills. 16. Hand sanitizer. Sanitizing wipes or squirt bottles are an effective way to clean hands before eating without using up precious drinking water. Again, keep out of the reach of children as sanitizers are toxic if ingested. 17. Vitamins. Vitamins may help supplement important nutrients missing from an emergency food diet, such as iron and potassium. For purposes of an emergency kit I recommend a bottle of generic Sam’s Club vitamins or similar because a large quantity can be purchased dirt cheap. Look for vitamins that can be halved and given to children making it unnecessary to purchase separate bottles. 18. Protein bars. Inexpensive way to store individually wrapped servings of protein. 19. Antibiotic cream. To ward off infection to cuts and scrapes. 20. Gallon Ziploc bags. We store the contents of our emergency kit in Ziploc bags, but we also store a few extras in case we need to separate things during an emergency, or to store opened food, etc. 21. Duct tape. Can be used to seal off windows and doors in the event of a biological attack. (submitted by Gretchen) 22. Surgical mask. Offers some protection against the spread of airborne biological agents. (submitted by Gretchen) 23. Books to read, a deck of cards, a travel game, and note book and pen. All good ways to pass the time if forced to “wait it out.” (submitted by Greg) 24. A wad of small bills, mostly ones and fives. Stores would soon run out of change and most vending machines only take small bills. (submitted by Greg) 25. Waterproof copies of legal documents. Keep copies of birth certificates and other personal papers in a Ziploc bag. (submitted by Jenni) 26. Include a book about edible plants. This is a great idea, and a topic I took great interest in when I first read the SAS Survival Handbook - in fact, I may just pick up a new copy of this excellent book and toss it in the pack. (submitted by lootsdw) 27. Stockpile seeds for your garden. (submitted by lootsdw) 28. Don’t forget pet food. I try to have an extra bag on hand for the dogs and when I’ve used up the current bag I rotate and go buy a new backup. Doggies need to eat too! (submitted by castocreations) Be sure to rotate your stock of food, water, vitamins and prescriptions so that they are fresh and effective. Most canned goods can easily be stored up to one year, and most dried goods may be consumed up to six months from their purchase date. If no expiration date is present on items, label the date you added them to the emergency kit with a marker so you’ll know when it is time to replace them. I’m not advocating you rush out and buy all these things today (unless you are ready to make a significant investment), simply add a few items from the list to your grocery budget over the next few weeks and begin to build your own family emergency kit.
http://askville.amazon.com/bacon-jerky-recipe/AnswerViewer.do?requestId=34208031 “Most people think that you can’t use bacon to make jerky....” That’s because of the fat content in regular bacon; however, if you use canadian bacon which is from the back or shoulder and not the belly you can make Bacon Jerky and it is even has a better texture than beef jerky does because it contains a little fat so it won’t be as dried and stringy as beef jerky can be. 2 1/4 lbs of back or shoulder bacon (canadian bacon) For the marinade: 4 Tbsp honey Peel garlic then bruise and set aside. Mix all marinade ingredients and heat utill sugar is melted. Put in the garlic and leave mixture to cool. Marinade bacon in an airtight container in the fridge. Leave to marinade for at least 2 days before drying (bacon should be submerged in the marinade) Place individual pieces of meat on rack in oven at 140 to 160 degrees for seven to 12 hours, or until meat is dry throughout. Leave oven door ajar (slightly open) during the drying process. Sources: Allrecipes.com “Bacon or beef jerky” VENISON OR BEEF OVEN - DRIED JERKY 1 1/2 to 2 lbs. lean boneless meat, partially frozen Trim and discard all fat from meat (it becomes rancid quickly). Cut meat into 1/2 or 1/4 inch slices (with or across grain as you wish). If necessary, cut large slices to make strips about 1 1/2 inches wide as long as possible. In a bowl combine all other ingredients, stir until seasonings are dissolved. Add meat strips and mix to thoroughly coat all surfaces. (The meat will absorb most of the liquid.) Set for 1 hour or cover and refrigerate all night. Shake off any excess liquid. Arrange strips of meat close together, but not overlapping directly on oven rack or on cake racks set in shallow rimmed baking pans, bake until done in 250 degree oven (4 to 6 hours). This web site has 6 pages of recipes for beef jerky!!!! Sources: http://www.cooks.com/rec/search/0,1-0,oven_beef_jerky,FF.html The survivor’s pantry: Riding out the Recession and whatever else is thrown your way
By George Potts Thompson Tuesday, July 7, 2009 One of the arguments against stockpiling food. First off.... why bother? The supermarkets are always full, aren’t they? Why spend the extra money? If you are reading CFP, you must have some sense that the world has changed—and not for the better. Even the Government is encouraging us to have “Three Days” supply until you can be “Relocated.” Maybe I’d rather not sleep at a stadium and stand in line for a bowl of soup with my 20,000 new “best friends?” Another reason in one word? KATRINA? The US Government couldn’t handle ONE large population center being hit by a hurricaine. Strange events like the weird, sudden collapse of the economy, and the real or conjured up “Swine Flu” have the possibility of causing people to lose their jobs & income. According to the Globe and Mail, in the UK, they are contemplating forcing people to self quarantine at home BY THE END OF AUGUST if they develop symptoms. It was just reported that one of the Harry Potter cast members has been diagnosed. From the BBC yesterday: “WHO Warns Swine Flu Unstoppable.” Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Medical School last week said that the H1N1 is a combination of the 1918 Spanish Flu & the 1977 Swine Flu. Gee how’d THAT happen? Full report to be in New England Journal of Medicine. If Israel and Iran have at it the price of oil will skyrocket. What do you think that will do to the price of everything else? Having only a week’s worth of food at home is simply irresponsible at this point. The supermarkets turn over their stock every week. IF there is a disruption they’ll be cleaned out. What if a disruption occurs? HHS and DHS could follow the UK model and order a quaranteen in the US and the Canadian Govt. could follow suit ? You are going to eat the food anyway. Why not buy it while it’s more available and affordable.? THINK OF THIS AS “INSURANCE” AGAINST NEEDING THEIR “HELP.” Their “HELP” has way too many strings attached. As my DI told me in Boot Camp: “SAM Don’t GIVE you Nuthin’, Boy!” Should ideally be three sides of a rectangle so you can walk in, easily get items and keep an inventory. It should be well lit, and in a cool area if possible. Older things in the front, newer in the rear. Store what you like to eat, but also store what has a long shelf life. The SAS Survival Guide says canned goods keep a minimun of TEN years, less sofor acid items (Tomato Sauce). in 1972, I was eating C-RATIONS made in 1952. TWENTY years! Beans, Beef stew, Beef / Chicken Broth, canned fruits & vegetables, tuna, condiments like mayonaise, soups, yams, canned milk, Powered milk , LOTS of canned potatoes ( 100 Lbs. in large cans ) should all be on the list. Cake mixes, Pancake Mix, Instant Potatoes, and Cookie dough to freeze. LOTS of Pasta, Macaroni, and LARGE bags of Rice all have a long shelf life. Cereals like oatmeal. Place in large Tupperware containers to prevent predation from insects and rodents. Products like Hamburger Helper are “Force Multipiers.” Buy lots of it ( 50 - 100 Lbs. ) along with plenty of Instant Dried Yeast. Learn to make bread. Buy a breadmaker if you are lazy or convinced you don’t know how. What about freeze dried food like “Mountainhouse?’ Fine. It is not cheap, but should be part of the supplies. It also doesn’t have the shelf life. The expiration dates are largely BS. Most things keep far longer than advertised. The manufacturers WANT you to throw out the expired stuff and buy more and also fear lawsuits. However: NEVER open a bulged can. Botulism is an awful toxin. Take care as to not rupture such a can. Put in a used coffee can and bury it. Deep sub-zero freezers can be found on Craigslist cheap. Buy TWO. Buy all types of meat on sale. A “Side of Beef” costs about $600.00. A Lot of money? Add up your food budget for a month. It’s not like you will not use it I used a food processor last year and pureed up all the Zucchini & Tomatoes that I grew, and froze them in freezer bags. We’re STILL eating them, in sauce, and in Zucchini bread. Great idea for fruits, and the stuff keeps for a decade. Consider a “Shrink Wrap” machine also. Did this last year with a ratty old prickly bush out back which just happened to be full of Black Raspberries. Made ten jars of Jam. Costco, Sam’s Club, Walmart, Aldi’s all have the large quantities of food. Watch the Supermarket ads for “Buy One, get One Free.” Watch for Sales. I bought coffee for $ 5. 99 for a 3 Lb can. I bought 20 Cans. When you go to the store just buy TWO of everything. Don’t forget your domestic animals. Get what Prescriptions you need filled now, and any over the counter things like cold medicines, aspirin, NSAIS, antiseptics and lots of bandages. Two gallons a day per person to wash & drink. Your water heater holds 40 Gallons of “Potable” drinking water. I went to a food processing plant and they gave me two food grade barrels. Cleaned them with NON SCENTED Clorox, then Baking Soda and water. Whitetail Deer are tasty & I have lots of recipes for Venison. 80 cents ( Yeah, the cost went up due to Obamanitis ) for a ..30.30 or 308 Cal. Cartridge and a few hours work and you have lots of good meat with no chemicals or drugs in it. I also rigged a system from my gutter and filled two, 55-gallon Blue drums in a heavy rain in ten minutes. That’s 100 gallons of water to wash with and boil and filter to drink should it come to that. Buy TWO Pure Waterfilters. I also bought a new Blue food 55-gallon drum ( $ 69.00 ), put it in the basement, and filled it. This is just a start. Go to the numerous websites devoted to this in more detail. This is how our ancestors lived. We have all allowed ourselves to become made way too dependant. This is all part of taking your self reliance back. You will be amazed at how secure this makes you feel. You’ll also bond as a family. A Blessing. http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/12669
National Trust urges city dwellers to grow vegetables on window sills By Matthew Moore The dream of self-sufficiency popularised in the 1970s comedy is not beyond the reach of people living in Britain’s five million flats, the organisation says. Lettuce, tomatoes, beetroot and a variety of herbs can all thrive on windox sills – allowing those without gardens and allotments to join the “grow your own” trend. Kingston Lacy, a country mansion in Dorset, is one of the Trust properties where window boxes have been installed. At other properties, hanging baskets have been converted to grow vegetables. The National Trust has calculated that the nation’s windowsills could provide the equivalent of 600 acres of farming land, producing tonnes of cheap, locally-sourced food a year. The “vertical vegetable garden”campaign is part of the trust’s drive to encourage more people to get involved with the growing and preparation of food. It has already given over land on its properties across the country to be create 1,000 allotments. “If we can share our expertise from our farms and our kitchen gardens and make that available to people who only have a couple of feet on a windowsill, that’s a really good start,” said Lucy Bendon of the National Trust. SHEEP AND GOAT PRODUCTION TOPIC OF FREE WEBINAR ON JULY 29 Register now (http://www.attra.ncat.org/webinars2009/sheepandgoat) More than 2.5 million sheep were raised and sold for meat in the United States in 2008. Along with goats, the domestic sheep industry is growing rapidly, in part because of the meat preferences of an increasing diverse ethnic population in the United States. In addition, consumer demand is high for sheep and goat products, including meat, milk and wool. This July 29, ATTRA — National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service will host a FREE webinar all about this expanding enterprise. Get the most current information on the sheep and goat industry, learn about producing and marketing sheep and goats and hear tips on entering and profiting in this growing livestock area. In the webinar, experts in sheep and goat production will cover the following topic areas: There will also be time to ask and get answers to your questions about sheep and goat production. NCAT program specialists Linda Coffey and Margo Hale will present the webinar. Coffey’s experience includes working at the United States Sheep Experiment Station near Dubois, Idaho. She also has a Master’s degree in animal science from the University of Missouri. Hale received a Bachelor’s degree in animal science and is finishing her Master’s degree in agricultural and extension education, both at the University of Arkansas. Coffey and Hale have lectured and written extensively on sheep and goat production issues in the United States. This free webinar will be held Wednesday, July 29 at 11 a.m. Mountain Daylight Time (MDT). Please register in advance at http://www.attra.ncat.org/webinars2009/sheepandgoat. TITLE: Sheep and Goat Production ATTRA — National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service (http://www.attra.ncat.org) is one of the nation’s oldest and most respected sources for sustainable agriculture information. Resources include hundreds of expert publications and worksheets, as well as sustainable agriculture specialists who provide personalized technical assistance on sustainable agriculture topics. ATTRA is funded under a grant from the United States Department of Agriculture’s Rural Business-Cooperative Service (http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/rbs/index.html) and managed by the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) (http://www.ncat.org), a nonprofit organization focusing on sustainable agriculture, energy and communities.
I am far from an authority on this practice. I almost never try anything different but earlier, on this thread, I believe, there was much discussion about planting potatoes in straw, old tires and all manner of things and gradually building up the surrounding structure to encourage the potatoes to continually put out roots (and more potatoes) as the potato plant grows taller and taller. As I had previously discontinued planting potatoes because of the Colorado Beetle, I decided to give it a go. So far, I have been pleased with the progress. The proof of the pudding will be when I lift the buckets and see the harvest. Of course, this method eliminates the tedious job of digging (I have to admit though that I love digging those gems out of the ground.) Also, I have my buckets lined up along the edge of the garden so they are on top of the grass and not suffering from all this rain (although I’m sure that at this point, they would benefit greatly from some good, hot sun.) Another advantage, as I see it, is that should they ever need watering, I can just aim the hose in each bucket and give them a good soaking. As I said, this is a first for me, but so far, I am more than pleased and will be experimenting another year with other items (tomatoes, cukes and squash) if I’m still able to garden. (oh how upset that phrase makes my children) A neighbor who had to give up gardening because of cancer gave me all his buckets with the bottoms already cut out so I have many many buckets to play with.
Mother's Dumpling Recipe
Sift flour, salt, and baking powder together. Add shortening, then milk until thick batter is obtained. Drop by teaspoonfuls in boiling broth cover and cook covered 10 minutes. {Broth should be boiling slow all the time while cooking} do not lift the lid while cooking.
Combine hominy, shortening, eggs, and milk. Add cornmeal, salt and baking powder. Let stand 5 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon more of milk if desired. Pour into large well oiled pan and bake at 425/o for 35 minutes or until a deep golden brown.
Combine flour, fruit, oats, sugar, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Make well in the center, in a small bowl, beat together egg, butter, and buttermilk. Add to well and stir just until dry ingredients are moistened. Do not over stir. Mixture should be lumpy. Turn dough into greased 2-quart oval baking dish. Bake 400/o in oven for 30 minutes or until golden brown and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped with finger. Serve immediately or cool completely. Store at room temperature in a tightly sealed container until ready to serve. Can be stored up to 1 week  Square Foot Gardening http://frugaldad.com/2008/03/03/how-to-build-a-square-foot-garden/ I recently stumbled upon an interesting gardening method called square foot gardening and decided we would give it a try. I’ve always thought the idea of having a vegetable garden would be a lot of fun. Walking out to your garden and picking a fresh tomato for tonight’s dinner appeals to the self-sufficient nature of most frugal individuals. I know just enough about gardening to know that I am not very good at it, and that it is a lot of work. My kids have always been fascinated with the idea of growing things, but our soil and our dog make planting anything in the yard impossible. Enter the square foot garden. The idea behind square foot gardening is that you can plant fruits, vegetables and flowers in raised beds, above infertile soil and even out of the reach of pets. Seeds are planted in 1X1 square foot plots, and when harvested a new plant is installed in the square. Raised beds can sit directly on the ground, or include a bottom layer and be placed on patios, decks or porches. Because of a bad back, and a dog with a propensity to dig up our new plants, we decided to build a 4×2 foot table-top design. Material costs are variable, depending on the size of garden you plan to build. I personally opted for a 4 by 2 configuration because it fit the table we were planning to use. Most people typically start with a 4 by 4 design for their first square foot garden. I’ll share with you what materials I used, but keep in mind the pricing could be higher or lower depending on your local costs of lumber, soil, etc. (1) Sheet untreated plywood - $0.00 (leftover scrap from a previous project) (2) 2×6x8 pieces of untreated lumber - $7.38 (8) #8 x 3 Wood Screws (or deck screws) - $2.94 (8) #6 x 1 Wood Screws - $0.98 (1) Pack of Twisted Nylon Line - $4.43 (2) 2cu ft. bags of Miracle Grow Garden Soil (for flowers and vegetables) - $13.54 (10-pack) Strawberry plants - $3.98 *These last two were just for fun - I don’t expect much yield on these, but I thought it would be fun to try Find vegetable seeds and seed starters at Park Seed. Total Start-up Cost: $42.02 Square Foot Garden It was my daughter’s idea to use popsicle sticks to mark the type of fruit or veggie planted. We will fill in the remaining squares after we eat another round of popsicles! Since we decided to go with raised beds on a table top I checked the dimensions of the table and came up with a suitable size for our square foot gardening container. Four feet by two feet would allow for eight square foot plots for planting. First, cut the 8ft. long 2×6s down to size. Next, position the 2×6s on the table in a rectangular pattern, alternating corners to make the “inside box” dimensions four feet by two feet (I chose not to alternate corners because the table I was working with was only 45 inches wide, so I needed it to be a little narrower). Fasten the sides using the #8 wood screws. If you have trouble with the wood trying to split you may want to first drill pilot holes. With the sides now fastened it is time to attach a bottom to the container, unless you are planning to put the raised bed directly on the ground. If this is the case, use some cardboard or weed blocking fabric to discourage grass and weeds from coming up through the soil. In my case, the container will be placed on a table top so I needed to attach a bottom to hold the soil in place. Fortunately, I had some untreated plywood I ripped to size. The bottom doesn’t have to be thick, so 1/4 , 3/8 or 1/2 plywood would do just fine. Fasten the bottom to the container using the #6×1 wood screws (assuming you didn’t use 1 plywood). Plan for drainage by raising the box up a couple inches. I ripped a couple scraps from the remaining 2×6s and used them to attach four 2 feet for each corner of the box. I also drilled a few 1/8 thick drainage holes in the bottom of the box to allow standing water to flow out the bottom. Create a grid system on top of the square foot gardening container using nylon line and #6×1 ; screws, spaced a foot apart across the width and length of the container. Drill the screws about half way into the top of the 2×6s, leaving enough room to tie a knot of nylon line around the screw. If the end of the nylon line frays after cutting (as mine did), use a lighter to gently melt the ends to prevent further fraying. Watering the Garden Unless you already have a drip line and timer prepared for your garden, you’ll have to water manually early on to improve seed germination. If the air is particularly dry, or hot, you will need to constantly keep the soil moist until seeds have sprouted and taken root. One economical way to do this is to fill used water bottles and poke a small hole or two in one side of the bottle using a safety pin. Use your finger to dig a 1/2 deep trench the length of the bottle and lay the bottle on its side, pin-prick side down, over the trench. The water will slowly drip into the trench, keeping the soil moist for several hours. Obviously when sprouts begin to appear above the surface you want to be sure not to position a bottle directly on top of the struggling plant. Perform this routine first thing in the morning so soil gradually soaks and then dries throughout the day, and is driest overnight. This reduces the chance of fungus or diseases developing. This is even more important when the plants begin to develop leaves - avoid wetting leaves at all costs as it encourages disease. I’m not sure what to expect from this effort in terms of food yields, but just the process of building the box, filling it with dirt and planting seeds with my kids was worth the $40. If the small garden yields a few fruits and veggies during the spring and summer then all the better. Who knows, if we can cultivate a good crop we may build more boxes next summer and section off an area of the yard so the dog does not eat our produce. I think over time it will help my kids understand the true value of things. Those strawberries don’t just wind up in the produce section of our local grocery stores. As I pointed out to my daughter today someone has to plant the seeds, water the plants, harvest the crops, clean the strawberries, package them, and transport them to a distributor. http://coveredbaptists.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=recipes&action=display&thread=1436 Frugile ‘’cost cutting’’ Meals and Tips! Several Cheap Meals..I will post a few... Sister Glenda can add some she makes too. :) Creamed Chipped Beef on Toast pkg sliced beef .39 Fried Rice 6 slices bacon .50 Meatloaf 1 lb ground beef $1.30 Breakfast 8 eggs .80 Breakfast #2 pancakes .60 Ok ladies, what are some of your favorites. Were needing more money to build and were cutting our food bill, we will need some thrifty, good meals to make. I read that when you eat corn bread with beans it is almost as healthy as meat. Also we have changed over to turkey instead of Beef. It doesnt shrink like beef and we eat 1 lb instead of 1 1/4 lb and its so much cheeper and we like it. Any other advice or frugile meals? How do we make meals without using cheese? We eat alot of cheese, sour cream, cottage cheese, cream of chicken, mushroom, etc. This is costly! Help...I need help! I’ve cooked this way for so long I do not know how to do any differant! Love, ~ sister Darlene ~ Your cry for help is my cry for help. I am the same way. We love cheese and I don’t know what we would do if we had to do without. I know we would live, but it wouldn’t be pleasant. Heather With the price of gas going through the roof, I’m sure we are all looking for ways to cut back. I’ll start by listing 10 things that I do. 1. Put oil in a cheap spray bottle instead of buying Pam Oil Spray. 2. Make my own Bisquick. 3. Buy ground turkey (1.83 a pound) instead of ground beef (1.98 a pound for the 70/30 stuff.) 4. Buy turkey bacon (1.75) instead of regular bacon (2.25). 5. Make my own fabric softner sheets. (Half softner, half water into spray bottle. Spray onto rag and place in dryer.) 6. Make my own laundry detergent. 7. Make my own general cleaner. (32 oz water, 1/2 tablespoon of bleach. Needs to be made daily.) 8. Buy CHEAP cuts of meat and crock pot the heck out of them. 9. Rubber chicken once a month. ( the recipe is posted on the board somewhere!) 10. Place two blanks on my grocery shopping list. I can only add 2 unplanned items into my cart. Anything else would have to wait! 11. Take clothes we’ve outgrown (still in great condition) to the Clothing Exchange at church. Then we’ll select clothes that fit and we like and bring home. It’s FREE! 12. Turn off the lights when not in the room! 13. Make soup at least 2X/week from leftover veggies and leftover bits of meat and add noodles or rice. 14. Drive and do all errands on one day or afternoon. Don’t go out more than 1X/week. 15. Read books, stoke up the fire in the woodstove, and sew those quilts to wrap in! 16. Shop at Salvation Army to find blaze orange clothing for ds to go hunting with dh. 17. Look for a grain grinder to reduce cost of natural foods by making own flours! Any ideas where to look? 18. Dehydrate venison to make jerky (hopefully dh and ds will get a deer)! 19. Drink lots of herbal tea and cocoa to keep warm this winter! 20. Reduce medical bills any way possible by staying as healthy as possible. Take vitamins now can save money later (no time off work for dh, medicines, etc.) Definitely baking from scratch...savings in not only health benefits of non-packaged and preserved items, but in food costs as well. If you don’t have a well-thought out pantry already, it might seem more costly to get it up and running, but once you have it, you’ll save plenty! Buy in bulk as much as you can...pastas (unless you make your own!) flour (unless you grind fresh) sugar, powdered milk, etc. Buy it in the largest quantity you can get, re-bag into usable amounts and store. Flour in bulk is a bit nutrient deprived, but if you go that route, be sure to store it in the freezer for at least 3 days, them repack into whatever containers you wish. We buy Prairie Gold 100# at a time, freeze it to kill the possible flour bugs (I know...EEEWWW!) and then pack it into 5 gallon buckets from the local grocery bakery (I’ve used good quality bags to line the clean non-food buckets in a pinch). My flour keeps very nicely this way...as does my sugar and pastas. Grain mill...Back to Basics is a good, dutiful hand crank one that is inexpensive. I traded mine up to a Family Grain Mill (friend traded with me). On the high end, Whisper Mills are not as good and are being phased out, so replacement parts are difficult to come by now, so steer clear of them. I do hear great things on the NutriMill, though. Me, I prefer hand-cranked and would love to find a good one with the larger fly-wheel myself ) Cut up every piece of clothing you are not donating or swaping...6 inch squares are perfect, working down to 4 in and 2 in to use up all you can in the clothing item. Save buttons, too. The squares are now ready for those cozy quilts Sister Darlene mentioned or the children can create all manner of gifts and toys with them. Blankets that are a bit worn, perhaps frayed on ends, etc can be used as batting for the new homemade quilts as well. Long items, such as sheets, make great strips for braiding into hotpads, chair pads, etc. Old denims cut into 6 in squares and stitched together make great outdoor blankets to keep in the car for picnics, etc (try sewing them with the seam side on the right sides and allow them to fray as they would naturally with washing and use...very country-looking) On a work note...carpooling seems to be coming back in ‘vogue’ again. Sharing the expense of gasoline, meeting at a general location, etc. helps out everyone involved. For the wilder bunch...Sister Glenda has made great strides in the art of hand-washing Even if you don’t go full-bore as she did, washing the linens and underthings by hand make for wonderful whites and softly draping bed linens on the line Nothing like fresh from the line autumn scented sheets! Sister Deanna Wow! Thank you for such good tips...I have been also looking for a grain mill, as I so well, stupidly donated mine to Goodwill when I lived in Oregon, thinking I would NEVER mill grain and bake that way again..oh how smart I am now..hindsight I have heard the hand mills are fine, but it takes quite a bit of effort to grind that grain, I am going to end up getting an attachment to my Kitchen Aid, I hear those work pretty good..now to locate a source of whole grain, probably the local “liberal” health food store has it...and it gives me time to reconnect with the owner as he wants so add soap to his store.. I am a garage sale person, sometimes, I know my husband loves checking those out and flea markets, we did get 25lbs of sweet onions for only $4.00 not long ago, and now that fishing season is here for Salmon..he wants to get more fish..we have decided to not purchase any meat but clean out the freezer, as deer season is Nov 15th. We use ground turkey here, I get mine for $1.00 a lb or less, it is just the frozen tube type. Cooking and baking from scratch is the only way if you can..You can rework about any box mix..for a quick lunch..just make up some macaroni and cheese, and toss in a can of chili beans and meat...there you have chili mac...my kids loved that one I hope you all have a great day today... Penny it is so funny that you use the mac and cheese and chili. for your kids my husband and children love that one also. another one is mac and cheese and then put tuna fish that is drained into it. Now you have tuna mac. We also do fried potatoes with chopped up onions fried and then [/badd a can of corned beef. Cook for a few minutes and serve this is cheap and well it really fills them up.. One more is we make a white gravy out of flour, butter, milk and then once it is thick we will add a package of dried beef chopped up now we will take this and put it over biscuits, toast, or sometimes I will cook up egg noodles and after they are done and drained I will pour the gravy over them and allow them to sit again will fill up the kids and well it is good.... One last one that we really love is for breakfast. We take egg noodles cook them and drain them. Then take them and place them in a skillet with a little butter saute them for just few minutes. Once they have done that get about 12 eggs beat them up with a little milk add them to the egg noodles and scramble them up.. It is a way to expand eggs for those large families.. One more thing we do is make our own peanut butter. When we have the chance to pick up anyones pecans, black walnuts etc we do and then we can them in jars. As we need them we can open them up and then send them in the blender and we have peanut butter. It is free.. other than our time. Hope these will help someone. I am sure I have more that I could share. glenda another one is mac and cheese and then put tuna fish that is drained into it. Now you have tuna mac. Ahh-ha Glenda!! There’s my dinner for tonight We make mac and cheese from scratch, although I should perfect the homemade cheese sauce recipe as we generally use Velveeta (well, the cheap store brand...spicy one is good) My cheese sauce never quite tastes right...I think I do a touch too much flour in it. It’s not bad, just a bit off. Another tip I’m sure anyone who sews any does is to trace off your pattern in the sizes you need, butcher paper, news roll, even newspapers. This leaves your pattern in fully in tact for swapping with someone else later, or simply when yuo need a different size. Not to mention, the better the paper, the longer you can use the pattern — that pattern tissue just doesn’t stand up to repeated uses and foldings. Now, a friend of mine, cuts hers at the size she wants, and irons it onto a thin interfacing to make it more sturdy and durable...I just prefer the tracing onto other paper. I bought a large roll of banner paper at Staples a couple years back and it’s served me well for the $18 I spent I think Something else we do here is with the vacuum. We have a ridiculously pricey vac (it’s a Kirby Silver) and the bags are pricey...well, they are more than my dependable Kenmore’s bags were) I will often empty them and restaple at least 2 times to stretch the bag (but allergies are not a problem here...you might not want to do this if you have air filter needs, kwim?) We also sprinkle baby powder (scented if you have some...or add a bit of crushed scent yourself...we like lavender) and use your broom on the carpets. This works the scent in as well as cleans a carpet nicely...even better than some vacuums This is fun Any more tips? Have any of you tried sugar scrub? It’s teriffic for dry skin. It can be purchased at places like bath and Body, but it is very inexpensive and easy to make. Mix equal amounts of olive oil and raw sugar. Use instead of soap. Sounds odd but it works. The sugar will not dissolve in the oil but will wash away with water. The sugar helps to remove dirt and dry skin flakes. Then the oil can soak into your skin. It works fairly well for garden soil and other work dirk and also removed latex paint well from my hands. Mostly I use it in the shower. You can feel free to make all kinds of substitutions. I like to use a combination of olive, sunflower, sweet almond and apricot kernal oils. Sometimes I add some brown sugar. I usually add some scented oil, but use caution because some scents can be drying. This is a great topic! I think the tuna with mac and cheese would go over good here...just NO peas..lol that is an inside joke, as anyone who knows me..knows Penny loathes peas with a passion in any form..some weird thing about them I made softshell tacos, using some of my frozen taco meat from the last taco meal I added a lb of ground turkey. I make my own taco mix as well as a few other mixes..I will get those posted in the morning..it sure saves on the money. Sugar Scrubs...I love those too! An easy recipe that makes a nice gift is..1 cup sugar or sea salt (if using salt..make a note to not use on any open area or mucous membranes) 1/8-1/4 cup of soft soap, 2 Tablespoons light oil, Safflower, sunflower, jojoba, Vit E oil..your choice. 2 TB Epsom Salts, 1 tsp of essential oil if desired, we are big on using orange oil here..or a more girly fragrance oil..I mix this up until it is thick slush...I tend to make mine more on the dry side rather than too liquidy..this is great on those rough heels and elbows..and just is wonderful to use in a bath..as the salt softens the water too. God bless
|
Some of our FReeper Posters:
|
