Is Homemade Bread Cheaper - Well Yeah!!

Here is my take on a loaf of whole wheat bread... I don't know what it costs you at the day old store, but this is what a 2lb loaf made by me costs. 


1 1/2 cup warm water - free
1 tbsp vegetable oil - .04 
3 tbsp sugar - .01
2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour .11
1 1/4 cups white flour .6
1/3 cup vital wheat gluten .10
1/2 tsp salt - $.01 
2 tsp dry yeast .10


total cost for 2lb fresh loaf is about $.43.... And this really surprised me too, since I had never taken the time to figure it out. It would be less for white bread, since you don't need to add the vital wheat gluten or the whole wheat flour, and I usually use less yeast. prices from 2009

Water Storage

Baby Steps:

1. Choose Container & Location for storage
2. Collect or Purchase containers
3. Fill & Date Containers

Why store water?

• Storage of water is one of the simplest but most neglected areas of emergency preparedness. Many people store dried storage foods such as powdered milk, beans, rice, etc. which required water for eating.
• One gallon of water weighs 8 lbs.
• Water is more essential than food in sustaining life.

How much water do I store?
According to the Red Cross and Civil defense, you need a minimum of 14 gallons per person for a 2 week period. That is enough for:
1 gallon per person per day, which is bare minimum survival.
3 gallons needed for enough water for personal hygiene, doing dishes.
4 gallons to have enough for more personal care, to wash clothing and minimal cleaning.
If you have pets you need to remember to include about a gallon a day per dog and a pint per day per cat.

Click here to order these water tanks online. Kind of pricey but worth it!

Shelf life of water?
Water must be stored in clean containers and out of sunlight. If stored properly water should have an indefinite shelf life. It is advised that you trade out your water every 6 to 12 months. (Suggested every Oct. Conference or when you change your clocks.) After sitting for a while water will taste flat. You will need to pour it between containers to aerate.

How can I store water?

• Gallon of filtered water
• 1 or 2 liter pop bottles
• juice bottles
• mouthwash bottles
• V-8
• punch
• Gatorade
• pedialite bottles
• Any bottles that come with food liquid in them (except oil) can be used.
• DO NOT USE Milk and oil containers!
• barrels designated for water 
• coke barrels
• food barrels, as long as the food doesn’t have fat in it
• DO NOT use metal containers!
• 5 gallon plastic water containers are available at army surplus, sporting good stores, discount stores and preparedness stores.
• Dish washing soap bottles, liquid laundry soap bottles & dish washing soap, liquid soap bottles too. After you use it all up, don’t rinse it out. Fill with water and label it soapy water. That way you will have it to use for sanitation and not have to use precious drinking water Cooking, washing dishes, cleaning, personal hygiene, etc.

Where can I store water?
Water is bulky, but in smaller containers you can tuck here and there.

• bathroom cupboards
• in the outer darkness corners of kitchen cupboards
• in the backs of closets
• corners of upper closet shelves
• book shelves
• Behind beds and under beds.
• Food Storage Room
• You can tie a piece of twine or rope around the neck of 2 liter containers, mount a 2×4 along storage walls and hook the liter bottles over nails on those boards. These can be run high next to the ceiling to use otherwise wasted space in storage areas.

Warning: Be sure and keep water out of sunlight, heat and off of concrete floors.

 

How do I treat water? 
It is not necessary to treat water from a public water supply if it is already chlorinated.
Clorox- Amounts according to civil defense guidelines. Double if water is cloudy. After adding proper dosage, stir and allow to stand about 30 minutes.
Quart - 2 drops
½ Gallon - 4 drops
1 Gallon - 16 drops
5 Gallons - 1 tsp
Boiling

 

 Most water can be purified for drinking purposes by boiling it for 5 to 10 minutes.
Purification Tablets

 

Tablets that release iodine may be used safely to purify drinking water.
Essentials of a water treatment kit

 

1 bottle Clorox (Clorox will loose it’s “umph” after about 18 months, so this needs to be rotated.)
1 tsp measure
1 medicine dropper
1 funnel
Coffee filters (these would be for filtering water with debris)

It's a Bucket of Charcoal Briquettes!

You Will Need:

1 or 2 5-Gallon Buckets with Lids

1 to 2 Bags of Charcoal Briquettes

and

I haven't been able to confirm an expiration

date anywhere for the briquettes.

I would recommend using them within 5 years,

but if you have different information than

I was able to find, please let me know!

Did You Know . . .

That 1 Bag of Charcoal Briquettes will make it possible for

 you to cook 1 Meal a Day for a Whole Month?!?

It's a great storage item to have on hand.

Add a couple bottles of starter fluid and you're good to go!

Don't Forget the Matches!

Emergency Light Source

A Jar of Candles with a TWIST!

Today's project will cost about $1.50 to make, but will be a great help in a power outage.

You will need:

1 Quart Canning Jar (Regular or Wide Mouth)

Amazing Goop Craft Contact Adhesive and Sealant

(We used the Clear Transparent Goop)

and

1/2" Plumbers Cap

That's all you need to create this project!

Instructions:

Take off the ring and jar lid.

Flip jar lid so that the seal is facing away from the jar.

Replace the lid with the seal side up.

Apply a pea-sized amount of the glue to the center of the lid, and the bottom end of the plumbers cap.

Let each piece sit for 40 seconds.

Put the glue-side of the cap to the glue-side of the jar lid.

Make sure it's centered on the lid.

Allow to dry over-night with the cap on the outside of the jar.

Fill the jar with 1/2" candles and a small box of matches.

 Reverse lid so that the plumbers cap is now inside the jar.

Tighten the ring.

You now have a waterproof emergency light source!

Wait 24 hours before you use the jar.

Note:

If you are unable to find 1/2" candles, NO PROBLEM!

They have lots of different sized plumbers caps.  Just take a candle with you to the hardware store to make sure you get the right fit.  Make sure you can fit the cap on the lid and that the candle(s) and matches will fit in the jar.  

I decorated my jar to show it as a GIFT IDEA.

You can make a few neighbor gifts for Christmas right now, and if there's an emergency in the meantime,

No worries . . . You're good to go!

Chocolate Seven Layer Bars

1 – Ghirardelli Brownie Mix
½ cup butter
1 cup flaked coconut
1 cup butterscotch chips
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
½  cup walnut or pecan pieces
1 can sweetened condensed milk
Melt butter in bottom of 9 x 13 pan.  Sprinkle entire box of dry brownie mix over butter and spread evenly.  Layer coconut over crust, then layer chips and nuts.  Drizzle sweetened condensed milk evenly over all.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25 – 30 minutes, just until edges are beginning to bubble.
This recipe was on the back of a Ghirardelli Brownie mix.  Oh my, talk about yum!  I love Seven Layer Bars made with graham cracker crumb crust; but these are even yummier.

Bread for a Year

If you only had one food to eat-bread-do you have enough to make a loaf of bread every day to live on in your food storage? Wendy DeWitt figured it all out and here it is:

 

2C white wheat (3C Flour),

1C water,

1 1/2 tsp salt,

2TB melted shortening,

One of the following: ¼ C Applesauce, ¼ C sugar, or ¼ C honey

2tsp yeast.

 

Warm the water and add yeast. Set aside. Mix flour, salt and sugar. Add the yeast water, melted shortening and knead until smooth and elastic. Shape into loaf, place in greased pan, cover and let rise until doubled. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.

 

Total supplies needed for one year:

 

61 #10 cans of white wheat

23 gallons of water

4 2/3 containers of salt

19 pounds of shortening

45 pounds of sugar

5 pounds of yeast

Peanut Butter Candy Bar Squares

1 16-ounce package Nutter Butter cookies, crushed 1/2 cup butter, melted 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 7 & 1/2 ounces peanut butter cups (about 25 miniature cups), coarsely chopped 4 ounces Butterfinger candy bars (about 7 small candy bars), coarsely chopped 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips 1/2 cup honey-roasted peanuts

Preheat oven to 350°. Line a 13″x 9″pan with aluminum foil, allowing it to extend over edges of pan. Grease/spray foil. Combine crushed cookies and butter. Press mixture into bottom of prepared pan. Bake for 6-8 minutes. Combine condensed milk, peanut butter, and vanilla, stirring until smooth. Set aside. Sprinkle chopped candy bars, chocolate morsels, and peanuts over crust. Drizzle condensed milk mixture over toppings. Bake for 25-27 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool in pan on wire rack. Using foil, lift out of pan. Peel foil away, and cut into bars. Makes 28 small or 18 large bars

Cherry Coke Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 jar (10 Oz) Marachino Cherries, Drained, Reserve 1/4 Cup Juice
• 1 box (about 18-20 Oz. Box) Chocolate Cake Mix
• 1 cup Cherry Coke Zero
• ½ cups Olive Oil
• 3 whole Eggs
• 1 container (12 Oz) Whipped Vanilla Frosting
• 1 cup Marshmallow Creme
• 24 whole Maraschino Cherries With Stems, Drained Well, For Topping

Directions:

Chop the jar of cherries to desired size.  If you prefer smaller chunks of cherry as you bite into the cake, you’ll want to dice them.  Set aside. In a large bowl, mix cake mix, Cherry Coke Zero, oil, eggs and reserved 1/4 cup cherry juice. Stir in chopped cherries. Pour batter into a 9×13 cake pan which has been sprayed with cooking spray. Bake at 350F for 35-40 minutes. Cool cake completely for about 1 hour. Mix together frosting and marshmallow creme to frost cake. Top cake with whole maraschino cherries.

Instant Oatmeal Packets

Our household is super busy (like most) in the mornings.  These quick little packets are super inexpensive, really fast, and the kids love them.  They are a great way to get out of the house in a hurry, with a yummy breakfast.  They are a fraction of the cost of store bought.
Instant Oatmeal Packets
Makes 10 packets of instant Oatmeal

To make individual instant packets:
Blend 1 1/4 cups oats until powdery.

Into each of the 10 packets (we use ziplok sandwich bags), combine the following ingredients:

• 1/4 cup unpowdered oats
• 2 TB powdered oats
• 1/3 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar (optional)

Close the top and store in a dry place.

Microwave directions for cooking:
Empty packet into microwavable bowl.  Add 2/3 cup water or milk.  Microwave at HIGH about 1 1/2 minutes; stir.

Conventional directions for cooking:
Empty packet into pan.  Add 1/2 cup boiling water; cook and stir over heat until thickened.

Variations:  Also delicious with dried apple chunks and cinnamon; nuts and raisins; brown sugar..... Use your imagination!

Homemade Chocolate Syrup

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking cocoa
• 2-1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 teaspoons butter
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 quart vanilla ice cream

Direction In a 1 qt. microwave dish, combine the sugar, cocoa, cornstarch and water until smooth. Cover and microwave on high for 3 minutes or until the mixture boils, stirring twice. Stir in butter and vanilla until blended. Serve warm over ice cream. Yield: 6 servings.

Homemade Eco-Friendly Cleaning Products

I was talking to a friend the other day and she was asking me about how I make my household cleaners so I decided to help spread the word.  I purchased all of the bottles at a dollar store and made the labels myself. They honestly work just as good as store bought cleaners if not better. And, there is the added benefit of no toxic chemicals, which is why I make them. Oh, and they are much cheaper than store bought. I spent $30 for all of the materials and ingredients and I have enough to make cleaners for a year or longer! Here are the recipes that I use.

Glass Cleaner
1 cup distilled white vinegar
2 cups water
1/2 tsp dish soap
10-15 drops essential oil
Spray Bottle

All Purpose Cleaner
1/2 tsp washing soda
1/2 tsp liquid Castille soap
2 cups hot water
10-15 drops essential oil
Spray Bottle

Disinfectant
Hydrogen Peroxide
10-15 drops essential oil
Spray Bottle

Hardwood Floor Cleaner
4-5 Tbsp Murphy's Oil Soap
2 Cups Water
Spray Bottle

Furniture Polish and/or Stainless Steel Cleaner
2 cups oil (vegetable or olive)
1 squeezed lemon
15 drops of lemon essential oil

Air Deodorizer
1 tsp baking soda
1tsp vinegar
2 cups water
10 drops essential oil
Spray Bottle

Previous Blog

I am going to be posting all the previous, great items on my old blog ( yes the one that froze up ). So please enjoy and share anything with your friends and family! Thanks and make sure to follow my blog.

Graham Cracker Toffee

3 sticks of butter

3/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup chopped pecans

1 bag chocolate chips

1 - 1 1/2 cups toffee bits

graham crackers

Line a cookie sheet with graham crackers. In a small saucepan combine butter, brown sugar and peans. Bring to a boil. Boil for 3 minutes over medium heat. Pour mixture over graham crackers. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Immediately sprinkle with chocolate chips. When the chocolate starts to melt gently spread with a spatula. Sprinkle with toffee bits. Cool. Cut into squares.

Chase's Corner

Chase my almost nine year old really wants his own blog. He loves to write and draw and use his imagination. I told him that once a week he could have his own little corner on my blog to share his thoughts. Today he wanted to remember when he was little about age 19 mo. old and daddy taught him how to "shave"! It was cute he thought it was really funny! Don't even ask about the black eye, let's just say he was not real graceful.

Energy Bars

Ingredients:

1 cup bran flakes cereal

1/4 cup wheat bran

1/4 cup wheat germ

1 1/2 teaspoons grated orange peel

1/4 cup orange juice

1 cup mixed dried fruit, chopped

1 egg, beaten or 1 tbsp powdered egg

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup applesauce

1/2 cup honey

1/3 cup dry milk powder

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

Directions: Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease a 13 x 9x 2-inch pan.
In medium bowl, combine cereal, bran, wheat germ, orange peel, orange juice, dried fruit, egg, oil, applesauce, honey, and dry milk powder; blend well. Let set 5 minutes.

In large bowl, stir together whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour and soda. Stir in the first mixture and mix until all ingredients are combined.

Spread batter evenly in pan. Bake 15 to 17 minutes or until golden. Cool.

Servings: 20 Bars

Calories/Serving: 117

Nutrition: One serving (bar) provides approximately: 117 calories; 2 g protein; 21 g carbohydrates; 3 g fat (1 g saturated); 11 mg cholesterol; 2 g fiber; 12 mcg folate; 1 mg iron; 32 mg sodium.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

What better way to use up your zucchini than in this rich, moise, super yummy, fantastic cake? We had some friends over this past weekend and they were in charge of the dessert. WOW!! It was sooooo good.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake Recipe

1/2 cup margarine or butter (or 1/2 cup mashed beans)
1/2 cup oil
1 1/3 cup sugar
2 eggs (or 2 Tbsp. powdered eggs)
2 cups grated zucchini (if the zucchini is large, remove seeds first)
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup buttermilk
4 TBS cocoa
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp soda
1 tsp salt

Mix all wet ingredients first, then dry ingredients.
Grease a 9X13" pan (I also tried it in 2 (9 inch) pans- works perfect- keep one and give one away)

Topping
3/4 Cup Pecans-chopped
3/4 Cup Brown Sugar
3/4 Cup Chocolate chips
Mix together and sprinkle on the top. Pat it down just a little.

Bake at 350 for 40-45 min.

Serve warm with vanilla Ice Cream!

Our new favorite cake!!
Enjoy

PETE Jars

Convenient and Air-Tight Food Storage Containers

PETE Jars

Many people have been using PETE Jars for storing food for years.  However, not everyone is familiar with these containers.  Plastic PETE Jars derive their name from the symbol on the botom of the container.  On this particular type of jar, the symbol is 1 with the letter designation of PETE or PET.  This type of plastic is considered BPA Free and air tight.  This type of plastic container is commonly used for juice containers, sports drinks and other liquid and food products.
So, why use PETE Jars?  For us, having our grains, seeds, nuts and legumes in PETE jars encourages us to use and rotate our food storage.  Keep the jars in the pantry, in your cupboards or on a bookcase like we do and have easy access to your for storage.  The PETE jars  are so air tight that you can add an oxygen absorber with a metal lid and it will hold a tight seal and help provide a great long-term food storage option.  Many of them are made in a square design, so they maximize space.  They are clear, which helps you see the contents easily.  However, this also means that for long-term storage they should be stored in a box or kept in a dark place.

Canning grape juice

Grape Juice

1. Pick grapes.
2. Prepare quart bottles. I washed mine in the dishwasher on a sani-rinse.
3. Fill basin of steamer approximately 3/4 full of water.
4. Rinse grapes, picking out leaves or debris. Leave grapes on the stems.



5. Place grapes into steamer. Pack, but don't press.
6. Bring water in basin to a boil. Turn down to medium heat.
7. After about 50 minutes, you will be able to fill one or two still-hot quart bottles.
8. Place flats on full bottles and finger-tighten the rings.
9. Check water in basin. Refill if necessary.



10. After an additional 20 to 40 minutes, you should be able to fill approximately three or four more bottles. Place flats and rings.
11. Process in a water bath for 5 minutes (adjust for elevation). The USDA also adds sugar (which is optional) and an additional step of refrigerating, straining and reheating the grape juice before processing in order to reduce tartaric acid. The tartaric acid crystals don't bother me, so I skip this step. I add my own sugar when using the juice.
Here is a link to official recipes and water bath times: UGA - Grape Juice.

Also:

A. If you aren't going to strain the juice, don't stir or push the grapes or you will get a lot of debris in your bottles.

B. After filling my quarts, I did stir the grapes in the pot and then let it cook a little longer. I saved that juice to strain and serve that day. Approximately two total quarts were taken after the grapes were stirred.

C. I had an apple box and a full shopping bag full of concord grapes. It yielded about 20 total quarts.

D. We reconstitute our juice with a little more than a full additional bottle of water and 1/2 to 1 cup of sugar. Each crop of grapes is different. Adjust to your own taste.

My kids favorite is to reconstitute our juice with a 2 liter of seven up!

Homemade Solar Cooker

This is a picture of my current solar cooker.  It is a hybrid Windshield Shade Solar Cooker based on models developed by Kathy Dalh-Bredine and Sharon Cousins. 

I added the silver bowl after several failed attempts to balance the cooking rack on just the windshield shade.  I also added the black lid after my first failed roll cooking experiment.  I read through a great FAQ on solar cooking and noticed that they mentioned needing to use the black lid.

Materials:
*Reflective Windshield Shade
Mine is oversized.  $5 from Amazon.
*Velcro
To attach the edges of the windshield shade. $3 at Walmart.
*Bucket/Pots/Basket
In which you place the windshield shade.  I used two flower pots stacked.  We were also successful with a five gallon buckets with rocks inside.  A square laundry basket also worked - but I needed the basket.
*Large Silver Bowl
*Square Cooling/Cookie Rack
*Black Pot with Black Lid
Mine is a 12 lb. roaster from Walmart ($11).  It is actually too big but I've been nesting a smaller second pan inside.  I still need to try cooking directly in this pan.
*Cooking Bag
I needed turkey size to accommodate the black pan.  This can be reused.

Optional:
*Internal Cooking Thermometer
  It is fantastic for making perfect steaks and tender chicken.  It has been extremely helpful in our cooking experiments because I am able to track temperature without opening the bag and pan (which usually results in a a 20 degree temperature drop).  It is wireless and I can read the temperature from within my home.

Instructions:
1.  Attach Velcro to the windshield shade as shown here.   I used an oversized windshield shade so it took four two-inch pieces evenly spaced.  It is easier if you make sure that the Velcro is put on the notched long side.

2.  Place the windshield shade funnel into your bucket or pot. 

3.  Place cooling rack into silver bowl.  I used scotch tape at the corners to keep it from slipping.  If your rack is larger than the bowl, you can just have it rest on the edges.

4. Place bowl and cooling rack into funnel.

5. Place food into either the black pot directly or a smaller nesting pan within the black pot. 

6. Place the black pot into the cooking bag.  Fasten tightly.  I like to tightly twist the bag opening and then insert the twist tightly into the pot handles.

7. Place pot and bag onto the cooling rack inside the silver bowl. 

8. Tilt the setup so that the funnel optimizes the sun light.  I can see the best position by looking at the shadow on the ground behind the windshield shade.  Continue to adjust every 30 minutes or so as the sun moves across the sky.

9. Cook until items reach desired temperature or until food is cooked thoroughly.

Hints:
*Cooking will be most successful on a clear day.  Sun rays are most direct and consequently your cooking temperatures will be optimized between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.  Smaller food pieces will cook more quickly.