Gardens are still growing!

I am so excited with our little garden. It just goes to show that you can grow something without a yard. One of my favorite things to make from my garden is a wrap. Yum!

Emergency Preparedness Family Home Evening

Scripture: D&C 38:30 If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear.

Activity: Pretend that you only have 10 minutes to leave your house before a fire or flood is going to occur. Have everyone in your household gather items they might need to survive for the next 3 days. Set a kitchen timer for 10 minutes and then get back together. Review the items that have been gathered. What other items would you need to survive? Did you remember food, water, first aid kit, clothing, light, medication, important documents, medications, scriptures, coloring books, diapers, etc? Compare what you gathered to the list at http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/getting-started/disasters-kit/

Using the list, have a scavenger hunt to find the remaining items you need for your kits. Make a list of the items that you don't have around the house. Make it a goal to purchase those items this week to complete your kits.

If you already have kits put together, use this as a chance to check and update your kits. Each family member can check to make sure that food and medications have not expired and that clothing and diapers are the right sizes.

Use the information at http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/getting-started/ to help you pull together your family plan and disaster kits.

Safety Family Home Evening Suggestion

At conference time, we try to review safety information with our children. Here's a suggested activity for your next family home evening.

Cut out each of the items below and put them in a bucket or hat. Take turns drawing out the items and reviewing the safety information. Feel free to add to this list based on the ages of your children. Older children should know a phone number of an out of state relative as well as what to do if they are somewhere else when an emergency occurs.

When you are done with the activity, check all the fire alarms in your house and have a fire drill from various rooms in your house.

What's your full Name?

What's your address?

What's your phone number?

What are your Parents' names?

If you're in your bedroom and hear the fire alarm, what would you do?

• Stay low and Go!
• Never go back in.
• Once outside, where will your family meet?

Using a pretend phone, practice dialing 911.

Review water safety.

Show the universal sign for choking. Review the heimlich manuever.

Review CPR for ifants, children and adults.

Discuss poisonous plants and items in your house that are poisonous. Know how to call poison control.

Fire Safety

Here's a great resource for educating kids about fire safety: http://www.firesafety.gov/kids/flash.shtm Be sure to have a fire drill at your house every 6 months. Kids need to know what to do if the fire alarm goes off and where to meet family members after leaving the house.

FEMA for kids!

FEMA has some great games and information to help you introduce emergency preparedness to children. Here's the link http://www.ready.gov/kids/home.html

Gardens are growing!

We planted our container garden about 2 weeks ago and look at what's already sprouted! I'm going to need to do some thinning, but isn't it fun?

Mexican Casserole

I love this recipe. It is yummy and easy.

Mexican Casserole

2 cans of chili (I use one can of hot and one can of regular chili with beans)

1/2 tub of sour cream (or however much you want)

can of corn (drained), this is optional, but a great way to get veggies in

tortilla chips or Doritos crumbs that are in the bottom of the bag that you don't want to waste

shredded cheese

Combine 2 cans of chili, sour cream and corn in an oven safe dish (I use a 9x9 usually). Heat it in the oven at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until bubbly. You can also heat them in the microwave if you want to speed things up. Crush the chips and spread the shredded cheese on top. Put it back in the oven for 5 more minutes to melt the cheese (Don't do this part in the microwave or it'll be mushy). Enjoy!

Cooking Dried Beans

Quick Soaking - For each pound of beans, add 10 cups hot water; heat to boiling and let boil 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat, cover and set aside for at least 1 hour.
Overnight Soak - For each pound (2 cups) dry-packaged beans, add 10 cups cold water, then let soak overnight, or at least 8 hours.

Cooking Beans - Once your beans have soaked and tripled in size, it’s time to cook them. The most important step in this process is to drain off the soaking water and rinse the beans before cooking to help decrease the gas side effect. Depending on the bean variety, it will take 30 minutes to 2 hours to cook. Make sure and check the package for more specific directions. You’ll know the beans are done when they are tender, but not overcooked. If your beans have been sitting in your food storage for a long time you will need to cook them for a longer period of time. Cool the beans in their cooking liquid if you are not adding them to another liquid, like a soup, when they are done cooking.

Bean Puree

Who knew chocolate cake could be so delicious, low-fat, and full of fiber and protein! The great thing about substituting bean puree for oil in cake mixes is that there is NO texture difference like with the brownies (since brownies are supposed to be chewy and cake is supposed to be…well…cake like). The other bonus to using beans is that the cake doesn’t go stale as quickly because there is no oil (and oil is what makes it stale). So, with cake make sure you substitute ALL the oil with bean puree…there is NO adverse effect on taste or texture plus you get all the benefits of fiber and protein to your diet, meaning you won’t eat as big of a piece! You can use this idea with any boxed cake just make sure you match the color of beans with the color of cake i.e. White Beans-Vanilla or Yellow Cake, Pinto Beans-Spice Cake, Black Beans-Chocolate or Devil’s Food Cake. So now you can make a cake from all food storage ingredients…powdered eggs for eggs and bean puree for oil. YEAH FOR FOOD STORAGE!!
Extra Tip: This also works with your favorite boxed brownies and makes them a lot healthier because it increases the protein and decreases the fat content of the brownie.

Bean Puree
This is really easy to make.

Home Cooked Beans: Take cooked beans (reserve the cooking water) and blend in your blender with enough water to create a thick paste. (Basically enough water to make all the beans turn into a puree. If you need to see how to cook beans, read below.

Canned Beans: Dump entire contents of can (beans and water) into a blender and blend until it is a thick paste.

Bean Facts

1. Beans, peas and lentils are the richest source of vegetable protein and are a good source of both soluble and insoluble dietary fiber.
2. Utilizing dried beans and soaking them overnight is the best way to get the true bean flavor and a smooth texture
3. When legumes are eaten with grains, nuts or seeds, a complete protein can be formed which can suitably replace meat, fish, poultry, eggs or dairy.
4. Legumes aren’t just used for soups. Some other uses are:
5. Grind into bean flour for white sauces
6. Mash up cooked beans to replace butter/oil in recipes
7. Grow into sprouts for a fresh “vegetable”
8. One easy way to start using dried beans is to use them in place of canned beans in your normal recipes (see conversion chart)
9. Generally, legumes will keep indefinitely when stored in a cool, dry place.

BEAN DO’S:
1. Store dry beans in a cool, dry place.
2. Lightly rinse packaged dry beans; sort through them and remove any pebbles, seed pods, leaves or twigs.
3. Soak your beans! It reduces cooking time by about one half, and saves vitamins, minerals and proteins which can be lost during prolonged heating — exceptions are lentils, split peas and black-eyed peas which may be cooked from their dry state.
4. Soak beans in plenty of water. Use a 3:1 or 4:1 ratio of water to beans (see chart for soaking times).
5. Place presoaked beans in a pot and cover with fresh, cold water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, partially cover and simmer them for the indicated length of time until they are soft and tender.

BEAN DON’TS:
1. Store dry beans in the refrigerator.
2. Add baking soda to hasten soaking or cooking time as it will decrease the nutritional content of the beans.
3. Add salt or any product high in calcium, magnesium or acid to the soaking or cooking water or beans will not soften (products with these elements should be added to cooking water or any recipe calling for partially cooked beans only after beans have reached desired tenderness).
4. Use microwave to cook dry beans - microwaving is fine for reheating beans that are already cooked, but dry beans need to be simmered slowly in lots of water to soften, tenderize and rehydrate properly.

Lentils:
1. Lentils have a high nutritional value, second only to soy beans in protein content.
2. The lentil is a cousin of the bean and is used as an additive in soups and chili.
3. There is no need to soak lentils.

Dry Soy Beans:
1. Dry soy beans provide an excellent source of protein.
2. They are light tan or yellow in color.
3. Standard soaking methods apply.

Dry Split Peas:
1. Types include yellow and green. Yellow split peas have a milder flavor and are good to use in dishes where you want to hide the richer, green pea flavor.
2. Dry split peas are most commonly used in thick soups and stews.
3. There is no need to soak split peas.

Dry Beans:
1. There are a large variety of dry beans, some include black, red, pinto, kidney, garbanzo
2. Dry beans are very versatile, we will be posting lots of recipes which you can use them in. Store the varieties that your family normally eats.
3. In general the larger the bean the longer they need to soak; and the longer you soak beans, the faster they cook.

Dry Lima Beans:
1. The lima bean, also known as the chad bean or butter bean, is a large disk-shaped bean. Lima beans originated in Peru and have been grown there since 6000 B.C. The name comes from the capital city of Peru, Lima.
2. Lima beans make a great side dish flavored with butter and salt.
3. Standard soaking methods apply.

Tami's Taco Soup

1 lb hamburger
1 green pepper
1 small onion
1 lg can kidney beans
1 lg can great northern beans
1 can black beans
1 can diced tomatoes
1 small can diced olives
1 pkg taco seasoning
1 lg can tomato juice
sour cream
cheese

Brown hamburger, drain, add onion and pepper and cook. Add beans and cook. Add olives, tomatoes, seasoning and juice. Cook until good and hot. Serve with cheese, sour cream, and tortilla chips on top.

Patti's Black Bean Hummus

1 (16 oz) can black beans, drained
1 tbsp tahini, optional (sesame seed paste)
3 tbsp pure spanish olive oil
1 lime, juiced
2 cloves garlic, crushed in a mortar
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 tsp ground cumin

In a food processor fitted with a steel blade, combine all the ingredients and process until smooth. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use. Bring to room temperature before serving. It will keep in the refrigerator for one week. Serves/makes 1.5 cups.

Tortilla Soup

2 tbsp chicken base
4 cups diced canned tomatoes
1/4 lb butter
1 cup canned diced green chilies
3 cups diced onions
10 cups water
5 cups dried refried beans (from the cannery)
2 cups crushed heavy corn tortilla chips
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
2/3 cup diced green onion
2/3 cup fresh cilantro
tortilla chips
sour cream

In a large soup pot, add chicken base, tomatoes, butter, green chilies, and onions. Cook until onions are translucent. Add water, dried beans, chips, and seasonings. Heat until thickened and beans are soft. Add green onions and cilantro about 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with crisp tortilla chips and sour cream. Yields 1 gallon, or 8-10 servings.

Southwestern White Chili

1 c chopped onion (1/4 C dehydrated onions)
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano, crushed
1/4 tsp ground red pepper
3, 15.5 oz cans great northern (white) beans, drained and rinsed (1 lb or 2.5 c dried white beans, cooked and rinsed)
2, 4 oz cans diced green chili peppers
4 C chicken broth
3 C chopped cooked chicken (3, 10 oz cans of chicken)
2 C shredded Monterey Jack cheese (8 oz)
Sour Cream
In a 3 1/2 to 6 quart slow cooker place the onion, garlic, cumin, oregano, red pepper, beans, chili peppers, broth and cooked chicken. Stir to combine. Cover and Cook on low heat setting for 7 to 8 hours or on high setting for 3.5-4 hours. Stir in the cheese until melted. Ladle chili into 8 bowls. If desired, top with sour cream and sprinkle additional chili peppers or chives.

Black Bean Soup

1 1/2 c onion, chopped (or 1/3 cup dehydrated onion)
1 T olive oil
1 c red bell pepper, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 4 oz can green chilies
3/4 c dehydrated carrots
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
3 C chicken broth
6 C cooked black beans, drained (or 4 15 oz cans, drained and rinsed)
1/4 C red Wine vinegar

Heat oil in large, deep saucepan. Saute onion (if using fresh), bell pepper, and garlic until tender. Add remaining ingredients (including dehydrated onion) and simmer for 10 minutes. Serve garnished with sour cream and tortilla chips or corn chips.

Nine Bean Soup

Bean mixture: 1 lb of each
Pearl barley, black beans, red beans, pinto beans, navy beans, great northern lentils, split peas, and black eyed peas

1 lb ham diced
1 large onion
1 clove garlic
16 oz tomatoes- quarters or whole
1/2-3/4 tsp salt
1 small can green chilies

Soak 2 cups of bean mixture in 2 quarts of water for 10-12 hours. Drain. Then add 2 quarts fresh water and remaining ingredients and simmer or put in crockpot.

Chili

1 or 1 1/2 lb hamburger
1 onion chopped
2 8 oz cans tomato sauce
1 qt of whole tomatoes
1 to 1 1/2 tsp chili powder
1 to 1 1/2 tsp cumin
1-2 cloves of garlic minced
2-3 cups pinto or pink beans cooked
salt and pepper to taste
Tabasco sauce
1 to 1 1/2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
Brown hamburger and halfway through cooking add the onion. When meat is cooked through, drain and return to skillet. Add remaining ingredients and simmer 20-30 min.

Cooking Beans in a Pressure Cooker

Look over the beans for rocks or dirt, then wash and rinse them two times. I usually cook 4 cups beans and cover with 3-4 inches of water above beans. (You can soak twice as many beans as you want to cook and when soaked and drained, you freeze 1/2 of the soaked beans for another day.) Put in the pressure cooker and cover with lots of water and let soak for 8-12 hours. When ready to cook, drain the beans and put in fresh water in the pressure cooker about 2-3 inches over the beans and add a pat of butter so they don't foam. Seal pressure cooker and put rocker on top and turn on high; when it rocks, turn it down to medium and cook for 25 minutes. Turn off stove and let it stand until valve goes down.

Still Tasty

Have food storage that you're not sure about? Here's a website to help you know if your food storage is still okay to eat: www.stilltasty.com

Smith's Caselot Sale

If you'd like to stock up on your can goods and other everyday essentials, Smith's semi-annual caselot sale starts Wed, Sept. 9th! They usually have another one in Mar/April.

Gardening Class

Mike is going to repeat the gardening class for all who missed it. It's going to be Saturday, Sept. 12th at 9 a.m. at the Peace Way Chapel. Feel free to bring your friends & neighbors!

Got Worms?

If you have an existing garden or if you're just starting a garden, you may want to add some worms to improve your soil. Christine and I are buying some that should arrive this week. Let us know if you'd like to split the cost. There will be plenty of worms!

What's Growing in the Desert?

Yes, you can grow a garden in the desert! If you missed out on Mike's gardening class, check out his blog at http://agavelandscapes.blogspot.com/ . I've got my containers. I just need to order my worms! Thanks, Mike for all the great tips. Mike's contact info is on his blog. Feel free to contact him with questions.

Oh, Oats!

We had a fun class about using oats in your everyday life. They are great for breakfast, snack, dinner and of course, dessert!

Whole grain oats come in 4 different forms:

• Groats (whole grain)
• Steel Cut (whole grain that has been cut)
• Rolled (whole grain that's been steamed and then flattened)
• Quick Oats (whole grain that been steamed and then flattened even more so it'll cook faster)

I like to use quick oats for oatmeal for my kids. It's very economical (around 5 cents a serving). You can add just about anything to it. My kids like the following combinations:

• Maple syrup and brown sugar
• Fresh fruit or Freeze-dried fruit (strawberries, peaches, blueberries,etc.)
• Rehydrated dried apples with cinnamon and brown sugar

My husband and I like to eat Coach's oats (http://www.coachsoats.com/). They are toasted and cracked groats. You can buy them at Costco for about $6.36 a bag. I think I figured it to be about 11 cents per serving.

You can also use quick oats in your favorite hamburger, meatball or meatloaf recipes. Everydayfoodstorage.net has a great recipe for sweet and sour meatballs.

Patty gave me a bunch of great recipes, even one you can use in your 72 hour kit. I'm trying to figure out how to scan them and put them in my post so I won't have to retype them.

Tami's Granola

I've adapted this recipe from one that my friend Cheryl gave me. This is how my family likes it, but you can play with it. You can add milled flax seed, wheat germ, sesame seeds, etc to the dry ingredients. I have played with the amount of oil and honey. I sometimes use as little as 1/2 c. of oil and 3/4 c. honey. It's up to you! This make about 1.5 plastic cereal containers full.

Combine the following in a large bowl:

10 c. oats (I like rolled, but you can use quick as well)

1 c. sunflower seeds (raw, unsalted is best)

1 1/2 c. nuts, chopped (I use a mixture of walnuts and sliced almonds, but you can use anything)

2 c. coconut (unsweetened, but I've used sweetened as well)

I sometimes add milled flax seed or wheat germ

Heat the following in a pan until hot, not boiling:

3/4 c. oil

1 c. honey

2/3 c. water

2 t. vanilla

Stir in 2/3 of this at a time into the dry ingredients and stir. Put on 3-4 cookie sheets. Bake at 200 degrees for 35-40 minutes. Stir halfway through. Cool completely and store in an airtight container.

Cheryl's Gruffins

I have a dear friend, Cheryl, who taught me so very much about food storage. I wish I still lived next door to her. She is so wonderful. This is her recipe for gruffins. I'll be posting more muffin mixes of hers soon.

Mix and put in ziploc bag and store in the refrigerator:

3/4 c. flour

3/4 c. whole wheat flour

1 c. granola

3 T. powdered milk

1/2 t. salt

4 t. baking powder

1/2 c. brown sugar

To use add:

2 eggs

1/3 c. oil

1 c. water

Grease a muffin pan and fill 2/3 full. I like to sprinkle the muffins with a cinnamon topping (2 T. Brown sugar and 1/2 t. cinnamon mixed together). Bake at 425 for 15-20 minutes. Makes 1 dozen.

These are so filling!! My family LOVES them! You can even use any granola that gets too brown because you forgot it was in the oven-- ask me how I know! :-)

Oatmeal on the Go Bars

This recipe is from everydayfoodstorage.net. My kids love these! I use cut up dehydrated apples that I've rehydrated instead of raisins. Also, I mixed all the dry ingredients together the night before, put it in a ziploc bag and then just add the wet ingredients in the morning. It was a huge time saver!

These are just that-- a way to take oatmeal on the go. If you don't have asandwich maker, you can make these as muffins and freeze them.

1-3/4 c. Quick Mix (or Bisquick)

3/4 c. Quick oats

1/4 c. Sugar

1/4 c. Brown Sugar

1 egg (or 2 T Dehydrated Egg + 1/4 c. Water)

3 T. Powdered Milk + 1 C. water

1 C. Raisins (or other dehydrated fruit, I let mine rehydrate in the water I need for the powdered milk)

2 t. Cinnamon

Mix ingredients together until moist. Fill sandwich make or muffin pans 2/3 full and bake for 2 minutes in a sandwich maker or 15-20 minutes in a 350 degree oven for regular muffins.

Peanut Butter Granola Bars

Heat the following in a pan until combined:

1 c. Peanut Butter

3/4 c. honey

1/2 t. vanilla

Stir in the following:

3 c. oats

1/2 c. raisins or mini chocolate chips

Press the mixture into a 9x13 pan and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Cut and cool. Store in an airtight container.

(I think these taste as good as the ones you get at the store. I also like that I can decide how big to cut them. My kids rarely finish an entire store bought granola bar.)

Michelle's No Bake Cookies

2 cups of sugar
1/2 cup of peanut butter
1/2 cup of milk
3 cups of quick oats
3 T. cocoa
1/4 lb. of butter (1 cube)
1 tsp. vanilla

Combine sugar, cocoa, milk, and butter in a sauce pan. Boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and add vanilla, oats, and peanut butter. Mix well and drop on waxed paper and chill.

(These are a family favorite! They are so good and will not last long at your house!)

Christine's Oatmeal Cookies

1 c shortening
1 c brown sugar
1 c white sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1.5 c flour (whole wheat)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp soda
3 c oats
2 tsp cinnamon
2 c raisins (soak raisins in warm water and vanilla to sweeten)

Bake 375 for 8-10 min.

(These are so yummy and the whole wheat flour, oats and raisins make them healthy!)

Kim's Oatmeal Lace Cookies

This recipe has been handed down in Kim's mother's family for generations. The earliest memory (about 5) she has of it is visiting her great-grandmother in SLC and her serving this cookie with milk.

OATMEAL LACE COOKIES

1/2 c. flour
Pinch of salt
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. old fashioned oats
2 tbsp. cream
2 tbsp. light corn syrup
1/3 c. melted butter
1 tbsp. vanilla

Sift into bowl flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar. Add the oats, cream, corn syrup, butter and vanilla. Mix together until well blended. Drop onto ungreased baking sheet 4 inches apart, using a small teaspoon. Bake at 375 degrees for 6-8 minutes (lightly browned).

Theresa's Caramel Oatmeal Squares

1 1/2 c. flour

1/2 c. brown sugar

1 1/2 c. quick oats

1/2 t. soda

1/4 t. salt

1 1/8 c. butter

small jar of caramel ice cream topping

12 oz. Chocolate chips

Mix all ingredients except caramel and chocolate chips. Take 1/2 of the mix and press into a 9x13 ungreased pan. Bake 15 min at 350 degrees. Sprinkle chocolate chips over crust then drizzle caramel over chocolate chips. Crumble remaining mix over top and bake 15 min. Let cool before cutting.

(Theresa brought these to enrichment and they were spectacular!!!)

Apple Streusal

1. Pour 1 can apple pie filling into a pie pan

2. Melt 1/2 c. margarine and combine with the following dry ingredients:

• 1/2 c. oats
• 3/4 c. brown sugar
• 3/4 c. flour
• 1 T. cinnamon

3. Sprinkle dry mixture on top of the pie filling.

4. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

5. Drizzle with caramel topping or icing and serve with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream (or both!).