New Year's Resoulutions Part 2

I know New Year's day has come and gone but I am still working on completing some of the projects that I like to get done as my New Year's resolutions.  This year I am focusing on emergency preparedness. So here is what we are working on today
1.  Organizing Financial Paperwork Binder

--after hurricane Katrina the extension service interview victims of the flood asking a variety of questions. One of the question was concerning what items they wished they had saved from the devastation.  The interviewers were thinking people would say things like, family photos, wedding dresses, grandma's quilt. But overwhelmingly people said they wished that they had saved their financial paperwork. You can not do anything to rebuild your life unless you have your social security card, the address to your 401k, the password to your bank account, and your insurance policy.  But usually these things are filed in separate files and are hard to track down.  So the extension (the version I use was developed by extension agent Adrie Robers of Cache County) developed a binder system to organize all financial paper work for a family.
My family has been using this system for a couple of years now and we love it. Today I will go though it an update any new information. We/I always know where everything is, and if there is ever an emergency we can grab the binder as we run out of the house and know we have all of the information that we need. The other wonderful thing about is it by some freak chance my husband and I were both killed, those family members sorting through our affairs would easily be able to find all of our important information.
If  you live in Cache County UT you can buy a binder from the extension. If no you can create your own using the extension template.  Found here .  That document will walk you through each item you will want to have in your notebook.
I know this task sounds overwhelming, but it really only takes an hour or two to locate and record all your vital information.
It goes without saying that once you have all of this info together in one place you will want to keep it in a fire safe in a secure location of you house.

2. 72 Hour Kit Update

I like to go though my 72 hour kit every year and update water, food, clothes and toiletries.  There are many choices out there Shelf Reliance offers some excelled food options. For a detailed list click here.
This year we are adding a few items:

The wing stove. I have been looking at this for a long time and I don't know why I haven't done it yet. But I am doing it now.

The wing stove is one of the lightest and most compact fuel tablet holders on the market. This lightweight stove can fit into the palm of a hand, yet it can hold up to a gallon size pot. The fold out wings improve heat output by directing the flame upward.  Now includes six fuel tablets
* Lightweight and extremely compact
* Can hold up to a gallon size pot
* Fold out wings improve heat output
* Includes six fuel tablets
One of the lightest, most compact stoves on the market.
* Tablets can be easily lights with ordinary wooden matches, and can be extinguished and saved for reuse
And the best part is it is only $7.91. (If you to want one let me know heather@teamshelfreliance.com.  I'll put an order in later this week)


The Kitchen Sink

At last, a portable camp sink that really works! Great for collection and carrying of water for purification, cooking, washing dishes or personal bathing.

• Unique design with stainless steel stiffening ring that prevents the sink from collapsing when full
• Base is broader than top so it won’t tip over in use
• Fine to use with hot water and detergent
• Fully taped seams
• Wide webbing carry handles
• Comes with its own handy storage pouch
• Price $22.72  (If you to want one let me know heather@teamshelfreliance.com.  I'll put an order in later this week)

Sparkie Fire Starter
Sparkie is a compact, one-handed fire starter that can light a fire even in the pouring rain! It weighs only an 0.8 of an ounce and is easily operated. The striker is set at the perfect angle to achieve maximum sparks making it a simple, but life-saving, aspect in case of an emergency.
$14.95

Gas Shut Off Tool**
This easy to use gas shut-off tool is a must have for every home and business. Fits a 1/2" valve as well a 3/4" valve.  In an emergency, you don't have time to go find a wrench in the garage.  Zip tie this tool to your gas meter in the event of fire, or when you smell gas in your home.  This gas shut-off tool can be the difference between life and death.
* Zinc-plated steel
* Light Reflective
* Easy to use
$6.43

** Gas meters generally have a ball valve.  You only turn the valve 90 degrees to shut off the gas flow (but it will continue to spin).  If you continue spinning, you will turn the gas back on (and off and on and off and on......).  To turn off the gas, make sure that the rectangular bolt is going across the pipe.  Before turning the gas back on, it is recommended that you contact a professional to ensure all pilot lights are lit properly and verify there are no gas leaks.  Here is a great page with some more information

Brownie and Cookie Mix Made with Powdered Shortening

I find one of the hardest things to store in my food storage is fat.  Most options go rancid and some needs refrigeration, which really does not work for long term food storage.  Shelf Reliance offers both butter powder and shortening powder  which are great long term storage options.  But they are both just a little bit tricky to use, but I must say worth it. Powdered shorting (and butter) allow you to make your own mixes with your food storage so that you can have the ease of a packaged mix, and the long term storage.
This recipe makes a huge amount, but lets just be honest we all love dessert, so a huge amount is a good thing. Just make sure you are using a really big bowl to make the mix.

Brownie and Cookie Mix

9 cups all purpose flour

3 cups nonfat dry milk

3 TBSP baking powder

1 TBSP salt

4 cups shortening powder

4 cups sugar

Whisk all ingredients together.  Store in an airtight container. **Cookie mix will keep for several weeks

Brownies using brownie and cookies mix

We like these brownies in an 8 by 8 pan because it makes thick brownies, if you prefer thinner brownies use a larger pan.  These brownies have a crackly top just like boxed brownies.

Brownies

2 cups cookie mix

2 eggs 2 squares unsweetened chocolate, melted  (or 1/2 cup chocolate chips melted)

½ cup brown sugar

3/4 cup water

2 teaspoons vanilla

½ cup walnuts chopped (optional)

Melt chocolate; blend all ingredients thoroughly adding nuts last. Spread in greased and floured 9” square pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Cool and cut into bars.

Fast and Easy Breadsticks and Vegetable Risotto

Years ago my friend Ann told me she had a recipe to make homemade bread sticks in about 1/2 an hour. So when you were making something fast you can still make bread sticks. Well I thought "this I have got to try" and I have been making them ever since.

Ann's Fabulous Breadsticks
from Ann Frederickson (with my comments)

Printable Recipe

1 ½ c water
1 TBS yeast

2 Tbsp sugar
½ t salt
3-4 cups flour
2 TBSP Garlic powder with parsley
½ cup Parmesan cheese shredded (or cheddar, or both)
Melted butter

Dissolve yeast in water. Mix in the rest of the ingredients using the dough hook attachment to your mixer. Let raise in the bowl of your mixer for 10 min. Roll out on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. (When I say roll out what I really mean it place the dough in the middle of the cookie sheet and with clean floured hands spread it out. These are free form bread sticks so go for even thickness, filling up most of the pan) on the pan. Let sit 10 min. Spread softened (or melted) butter over the top of the bread stick and sprinkle with garlic powder. Bake 350 for 20 min. Remove from oven and top with cheese. Return to oven until cheese is melted. Slice into bread sticks. Enjoy!

My family really loves to eat this risotto (creamy rice). Tonight when I made it my husband said "This is really good we should put it on the menu every month"  You can substitute any vegetables that you want, but we really like the freeze dried broccoli in it.

Freeze Dried Vegetable Risotto

1 Tbsp Olive oil

1 Tbsp. FD onion re-hydrated in 1 1/2 T hot water

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup rice

3 cup water(use this water to rehydrate the vegetables and to cook the rice)

1tsp instant chicken bouillon

2 cup Freeze Dried broccoli flowerets

1/4 cup dry carrots
1/2 cup Freeze Dried Spinach

¾ cup shredded cheese (I use cheddar)

3 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

1 tbsp basil or parsley

Rehydrate broccoli, carrots, and spinach in 3 cups hot water.  This should take about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in large saucepan cook the onion and garlic in oil until tender.  Drain the water from re-hydrating the vegetables and add to the pan. Add bouillon and stir to dissolve.  Add rice and cook covered for 15 minutes (depending on your rice).  Stir in cheese and basil/parsley.  Serve immediately.  Makes 4 main dish servings.

Freeze Dried vs Dehydrated Bananas

There are several products that Shelf Reliance sells more then one option. I often get questions about how they are different.  One of the things I get asked a lot is bananas. SR sells banana chips (which are dehydrated) and freeze dried sliced bananas.  Here is how they match up. Interested in ordering some? Send me an e-mail at heather@teamshelfreliance.com

Freeze Dried vs. Dehydrated Bananas

	Dehydrated Banana Chips	Freeze Dried Sliced Banana
Ingredients	Bananas, coconut oil, sugar, banana flavoring. *Shelf Reliance Banana chips are fried (as are most all other banana chips) in coconut oil and then dehydrated.	Bananas
Shelf  Life	Sealed Shelf Life 7 years* Opened Shelf Life 1 year* *Shelf life based on optimal storage conditions.	Sealed Shelf Life    25 years* Opened Shelf Life 2 year* *Shelf life based on optimal storage conditions.
Texture	Crunchy, hard	Crunches when you bite it but not hard, dissolves a little as you eat it.
Size	1/8 inch thick	1/4 inch thick
Taste	faintly banana	Sweet banana
Re-hydration	Does not rehydrate	soften in hot water for 1 minuet drain and use as fresh
Use	Trail Mix, Snack, in baking to boast banana flavor,	Muffins, oatmeal, smoothies
My Family's Vote	okay for snacking 2 stars our of 5	“when the world ends I want to be eating this”  "like a banana explosion in my mouth" 5 stars out of 5

6 Grain Apple Pancake Bars

We have really been loving the THRIVE 6 grain pancake mix. They make great pancakes and we just discovered that they make great pancake bars.  These bars are great eaten hot out of the oven or freeze some for a quick breakfast. We serve them with maple syrup, but you could try lemon curd, or apple butter. 

Yields: 20 Bars
6 Grain Apple Pancake Bars
3 cups THRIVE 6 Grain pancake Mix
2 large eggs, lightly beaten (2 Tablespoon powdered whole eggs, plus 1/4 cup water)

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 dehydrated apple slices, diced into 1/2" pieces
2 cups Granola 

For Topping:
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1. Grease and Parchment a 9 by 13 inch rectangular cake pan. Set aside. 

2. Mix dry ingredients and stir with a wire whisk. Add wet ingredients and stir until just barely combined. Add in Granola and apples, stirring just until coated. You want your batter to be lumpy with out any dry spots.

3.  Pour into prepared pans. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Allow batter to rest in pans while oven is coming to temperature. 

4. Mix streusel topping ingredients in a small bowl. Crumble over pancake mixture 

5. Bake for 12-15 minutes, when touched, it should spring back gently. Remove from oven and remove from pan (thanks parchment paper!) and place on wire rack to cool slightly.

New Years Resolutions

Every year on New Years day I like to make resolutions, okay not resolutions in the traditional sense of the word, but I like to get things done that need doing that will help us be ready for the new year. Here is what we are doing today.

1. Emergency Plan-putting together an emergency plan doesn’t have to take a long time. I am using this checklist. Two years ago our house flooded unexpectedly from the canal behind our house overflowing. One minuet we were watching the rainstorm out the window and the next we had a waterfall in our basement that left feet of water and thousands of dollars of damage. This experience really helped me understand that an emergency can happen anytime to anyone. Take a few minutes and get your family a little more prepared this year.
   
   Emergency Plan Checklist
   
2. Water Storage-We have 72 hours worth of water stored in the basement. At least that is the plan. When we moved into our new house we emptied the containers so that we did not move the water, and well we never filled them up again. So today we are going to. Not sure what to do? Click to see many water storage and purification options.
   
   • Store at least one gallon of water per person, per day in a cool, dark place.Additional water should be reserved for personal hygiene and food preparation.
   • Choose Appropriate Containers Clean, sanitize, and thoroughly rinse all containers prior to use. A sanitizing solution can be prepared by adding 1 teaspoon (5 ml) of liquid household chlorine bleach (5 to 6% sodium hypochlorite) to one quart (1 liter) of water. Only household bleach without thickeners, scents, or additives should be used.
   • Do not use plastic milk jugs, because they do not seal well and tend to become brittle over time.
   • Do not use containers previously used to store non-food products.
   • Choose appropriate containers for water storage; disinfect before use. Use only food-grade containers. Smaller containers made of PETE plastic or heavier plastic buckets or drums work well.
   • If necessary, treat water with a chlorine bleach solution prior to storage to prevent buildup of harmful bacteria or pathogens. Replace water every six months.
   • If your water is treated commercially by a water utility, it is not necessary to treat water before storing it. The American Red Cross and the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency recommend the following procedure for treating water for storage:
     
     • Add six drops (1/8 teaspoon) of unscented bleach per gallon of water.
     • Stir and let stand for 30 minutes.
     • If the water does not taste and smell of chlorine after 30 minutes, add another dose of 1/8 teaspoon and let stand another 15 minutes.
     • Seal the containers and label with contents and date of preparation.
3. Q-Update-The Thrive Q is a easy and affordable way to build your food storage. It works like a Netflix. you make a long list of what items you want to add to your food storage and set a budget of how much you want to spend. Then each month you are sent products from your list upto the budget that you set. It is totally customizable and as a customer you are totally in control of it. I set my THRIVE Q up last march and I love it. I am building my food storage and don't have to clip coupons or watch sales because with Shelf Reliance you know you are always getting a great price. So today I am going to add some items to my Q I was not sure about when I set it up. Here is my list:
   1. Freeze Dried Bananas-when my husband tried these he said "in an emergency I want to be eating these!" my brother in law said "it is like a bananna explosion in your mouth"
   2. Freeze Dried Apricots-I love apricots, and after trying the freeze dried apricots, I am sold.
   3. TVP-we have been eating the taco TVP for a while now and really like it. My sister in law Christi and her family have been telling me how much they like all the flavors so we are going to start adding the others into our diet and food storage.
   
   If you are thinking about setting up a Q January is the best time. The Q-Club promotion gets you Platinum membership for free if you sign up in January. Check it out.
   
   ** Be sure you talk to me if you are intersted. If you set your Q up on your own, you do not get the promotion. **
   

I hope you have a great new year, and accomplish some of your goals today.

French Bread

We love French Bread. Every time I make it my husband swoons.  It is the one recipe that I have posted in my kitchen, it is well loved with flour streaks, and water spots.  The ingredient list is simple and is easy to make.
A few notes:
French bread is really meant to be eaten the day it is baked. It is great the first day, okay the second day, and not good the third day.  But it is fabulous the 2nd or 3rd day as french toast, bread pudding of stuffing.

French Bread

Printable Recipe

2 Tablespoons yeast
2 1/2 cup warm water
7 cups flour
2 T sugar
1 T salt


Dissolve yeast in water. Add sugar, salt and 2 cups flour. Mix to combine. Add the rest of the flour and knead in stand mixer about 5 minutes.  If you have time let rise 30 minutes until double. It tastes best if you let it rise.  If not let rest 5 minutes. Divide into 4 equal pieces. Roll each piece into ropes as long as the cookies sheet. Place on cookies sheet with AMPLE room between loafs (2 per sheet). make several evenly spaced shallow crust diagonally on the top of each loaf; brush or mist with water.  Let raise until double (about 30 minutes on the counter or 20 minutes in a warm but turned off oven) Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes, until bread is nicely brown, and gives a hollow sound when tapped.