72 hour kits, things each of us should know how to do.

Hey If anyone would like to scan the three sheets of paper and then post it that would be great. I would love to have that information. :)

Thank you Dawn for the classes. They are awesome!

Laundry Detergent

Make your own! Heres to all those who missed out this past tuesday on the AMAZING class that Dawn Houston has put together.

Finely grate 1 bar of Ivory Soap
Mix in : 1 cup Borax
1 cup arm and hammer washing powder
Use about 2 TBS for 1 load

Creamy Potato Soup

You can layer the ingredients in a pint jar for a great gift idea, you just have to mash the potatoes down really well. This soup mix can also be premixed so it can make just one serving at a time. Just remix ingredients before you make one serving because the powered creamer tends to settle to the bottom.

1 1/2 cups potato flakes

1 cup powdered coffee creamer (you can use powdered milk)

4 tsp chicken bouillon (you can use chicken gravy mix in the envelopes and it tastes the same)

1 Tlb dry parsley flakes

2 Tlbs dried, grated parmesan cheese

1/2 tsp Mrs. Dash

1/2 tsp dried minced onion

1/2 tsp salt

Cooking directions for whole jar(5 servings):

Dump soup mix in pan with 5 scant cups of water and cook till hot, stirring occasionally.

Cooking directions for one serving:

Use 1/2 cup plus 1 Tlbs of soup mix to a microwavable cup. Add 1 scant cup of water and cook on high for for 1 1/2 minutes. Stir well and cover. Let sit for 3 minutes.

You can also add any vegetables you would like,  i.e.chopped broccoli, corn, mixed veggies, and also top with bacon bits and/or grated cheese.

THANKS SO MUCH!!

This blog is GREAT! Thanks to all who have had a part in putting it together!!

Re: Food Storage Thoughts and Questions

I have some thoughts on the first two points:

• I have always thought that 72-hour kits should be all in one place, so that you can grab it in an emergency. That is how they can best help you. For a real life example--a lot of the people in New Orleans who had to evacuate their homes because of Hurricane Katrina were without food & water and other things for a while before people like the Red Cross could get to them, but many (mabye most) of them were reached by help within 72 hours. So if they had been able to grab a 72-hour kit on the way out the door, things would have been much better for them. But they might not have had time to gather up all their stuff from different places (or to remember which things to grab) if they had it all but didn't have it in one place.

• As far as storing food in bulk, I think you are right that it is just going to be lost if you can't use it quick enough after opening it. So if it is something like that jar of spaghetti sauce, just store it in the smaller jars that you can use.

If you look on the Church's Provident Living web site (http://www.providentliving.org/channel/0,11677,1706-1,00.html) they talk about having a 3-month supply: "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." I think of the 3-month supply as being extra of what you normally use, in the same size of containers as what you normally use.

Food Storage Thoughts and Questions

Okay, so I'm really trying to do better about getting our family's food storage together. As a result I have some thoughts and questions I thought I'd share. Maybe some of you have the same questions. I'd love any feedback!

• Do you think that everything in your 72 hour/month supply needs to be stored together in one place? Or is it perfectly appropriate to have the extra toilet paper in one place, the extra diapers in another place, and the food in yet another place? Do you think that whenever we need to use this stuff that we'll still be in our homes, or will we need to gather our things quickly and leave?
  
• A lot of people seem to do their food storage in bulk. I'm wondering if that's really a good idea for everyone. I don't buy our normal groceries in bulk because we rarely go through, say a jar of spaghetti sauce, before it goes bad. When I think of food storage it needs to be things that don't need to be refrigerated. So if I have a huge jar of spaghetti sauce stored and then we open it, but can't refrigerate it, then a lot is lost. What do you think?
• Are there any good ways to store things like sugar and rice besides canning? Is seems that canning is tricky to come by here.

I'm sure there are more thoughts to come. . . just thought I'd share. Thanks to all the people in the ward that are giving us a push and lots of good advice to get us going! :)

Whole Wheat Pizza Crust

1 cup warm water
1 Tbs. honey
¼ cup wheat germ (or more wheat flour)
2 ¼ tsp. yeast (1 packet)
1 Tbs. olive or vegetable oil
2 ¼ cups whole wheat flour
¾ tsp. salt

Mix all ingredients and knead well for about 5–8 minutes until smooth an elastic. (Tips: Slap/throw on the counter a few times during kneading process. If the dough is sticky, oil your hands and the board to avoid using too much flour.) Cover in a bowl and let rise 1 to 1 ½ hours or until dough has doubled in size. Heat oven to 400. Punch down and pat dough into a greased 13x9 pan, a 12-inch pizza pan, or a cookie sheet. (Tips: Brush dough with olive oil for better flavor and looks. Put cornmeal under the dough to help lift it off the pan once cooked.) Cover and let rest 10 minutes in a warm, draft-free place. Cook at 400 for about 8–10 minutes, then add sauce and toppings and cook another 8–10 minutes until cheese is well melted.

Pizza Sauce

Pizza Sauce from Tomato Sauce
2 8-oz. can tomato sauce (or 1 15-oz. can)
1 Tbs. Italian seasoning
1 tsp. sugar
½ to 1 tsp. garlic powder
½ to 1 tsp. onion powder
¼ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. oregano

Mix all ingredients together and simmer 10–15 minutes. Place on partially cooked pizza dough.

Very Basic Pizza Sauce
1 15-oz. can crushed tomatoes (or use 28-oz. and double ingredients)
1 large garlic clove, minced or pressed through garlic press
1 Tbs. olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Process tomatoes in a food processor or blender until very smooth. Heat garlic and oil in a small pan over medium heat until garlic is sizzling, about 40 seconds. Stir in tomatoes; bring to a simmer and cook, uncovered, until sauce thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon, 15–20 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.