Today I am making an awesome strawberry lime slush for Torani Friday! Super easy to make and super delicious! I have use Torani strawberry syrup and Torani lime syrup along with fresh strawberries and fresh lime. In this case I put an entire lime wedge in, peel and all, to really get that lime flavor in the slush.
My goal here is to mimick the strawberry and lime slushy at Sonic and I came so close that I made it better! The secret is the fresh fruit. Instead of ice cream topping, the fresh berries and the fresh lime really take this to the next level as far as flavor goes.
I have used my Nutri Ninja blender to make this but you can use any drink blender or a regular blender, I will say though, if you are using regular ice cubes, you should crush them first to make the process of the "slushing" easier. If your fridge has a crushed ice option, then use that. If not, simply crush your ice first.
Add the syrups to the crushed ice as well as the fresh fruit then top it all of with club soda or sparkling water or lemon lime soda. Whatever is your choice, just make sure to pour enough water to come to the same level as the amount of crushed ice you have.
Blend until everything is nice and slushy, this will only take a few seconds. Then pour into a serving glass or just pop a straw in the blender cup and enjoy! I like to add more sliced lime and a fresh strawberry garnish if I am feeling fancy!
Don't limit yourself to strawberry and lime! You can make slushes of any flavor you like! You can even use whipping cream and vanilla and caramel syrup to make a creamy version of this slush. Let your imagination be your guide and your collection of Torani is your only limitation!
I hope you give this strawberry lime slush a try and I hope you love it!
You can find Torani syrups on their website!
http://bit.ly/ToraniHome
You can see how I made this in my YouTube Video!
Happy sipping! Business Inquiries can be sent to: info@noreenskitchen.com Sign up for my weekly newsletter and get exclusive recipes, video tutorials and articles! http://eepurl.com/TZCV5 Don't forget to subscribe! New videos Every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday! http://bit.ly/17JVMTP Subscribe to Rick's Tips Channel for Home Improvement and DIY Tips! New videos every Saturday! http://bit.ly/1ixCK8W Check me out on social media! Facebook: http://on.fb.me/12bdibt Twitter: @noreenskitchen Instagram: http://bit.ly/12bdqrp Google + http://bit.ly/1o5GMYy Read my Blog: http://bit.ly/15R5GvV ***MAILING ADDRESS**** Noreen's Kitchen PO Box 14173 New Bern, NC 28561 Have a question for me? Send me an email: info@noreenskitchen.com Noreen's Kitchen Community Guidelines (The Rules) http://bit.ly/1gZcwJF
This quick creamy chicken and rice is a recipe I developed to come right off your pantry or food storage shelf. Using home canned or regular canned chicken, homemade cream of celery soup, some canned mushrooms from your pantry and a bit of seasoning and oil. This is made even faster by cooking it in the pressure cooker!
I thought it would be awesome to make a fast recipe even faster by employing my trusty pressure cooker and I did just that! The rice comes out so creamy using this method I think you will love it!
I have used one recipe or 4 cups of my homemade cream of celery soup along with 2 pints of my home canned chicken breast with the liquid, but you can use two large cans chunk white chicken from the store. You can sub out two cans of condensed cream of celery soup if that is what you have and two cans of milk or water. I prefer the milk here to give this a really creamy texture and flavor. I also added two small cans of sliced mushrooms along with their liquid and about a tablespoon of poultry seasoning and some oil.
It is very important to remember the oil when cooking rice in the pressure cooker because skipping that step could lead to your pressure cooker pit cock/vent becoming clogged and ruined forever. Best to err on the side of caution and toss in the oil. I also use oil when cooking plain rice as well as dry beans in the pressure cooker for this same reason.
I used the default "Rice" setting on my Elite 10 quart pressure cooker and set my creamy chicken and rice to cook for 12 minutes. I allowed the unit to rest after it had cooked for the complete amount of time and released the remaining pressure after about five minutes.
The resulting creamy chicken and rice is amazing and delicious and the perfect meal to serve on a night when you are haggard and hungry. This comes together super fast for nights when you either forgot to thaw out some meat, are too tired to cook or are at a loss for what to make or all of the above. This one hits home in a big way! Make some steamed veggies and/or a salad to serve along with this and dinner is done. You will even have a few moments to decompress while this cooks.
This may well become one of your "go to" dinner choices. It's so easy to just pull the items from your pantry shelf that you will want to have the ingredients on hand. If you are making this using homemade cream of celery soup, then you can always plan ahead and make this on the weekend and stow it in the fridge for the night you know you will make this and it's ready to go. In a pinch the canned condensed soup will work, but give the homemade version a try at least one time so you can see how amazing the flavor is!
Busy families can never have to many new and different ideas for dinner. This is one that I am certain you will love. I mean whats not to love? chicken, rice, creamy sauce and you can even stir those veggies in at the end if you want a one dish meal! Simple and quick. I understand how tough some nights can be! This makes it easy and keeps you from spending precious dollars and time going out to eat or bringing home take out.
I hope you will give this quick and easy pressure cooker creamy chicken and rice a try and I hope you love it! If you do try this, please let me know! Be sure to snap a picture and share with me on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram! I love to see what you are doing in your kitchen!
Today I want to share another "cream of" soup in an effort to get all of us away from the highly processed, sodium filled, chemical laden offerings on the grocery story shelf. In recent years, I have developed a serious aversion to these products. They are often a go to item and many of us have memories of the myriad of casseroles, sauces and other recipes that included this ingredient.
I don't really know when it became easier to grab a can of cream of mushroom, celery, chicken or onion soup and pop it open and shake it's jiggly blob like form into a bowl to construct our chicken, tuna or green bean casseroles. I mean, there are seriously very few ingredients involved in this deal that we have gobbled up by the gallon for years. The problem is now, we are all a little older and a little wiser. In my case, I want to teach my girls that making things from scratch is better. It may take a few minutes longer, but with proper planning you get a much better, much healthier, much tastier end result. Yes, it is convenient, but at what cost?
So today I am planning on making a chicken and rice casserole in my pressure cooker so I need some cream of celery soup. I happily share this with you today in hopes that you will also enjoy the simple, task of making this from scratch with simple ingredients that you may already have on hand.
Celery soup is amazing on it's own. Paired with a simple salad and a biscuit, some crackers or even some toasted garlic bread, you would feel sated and satisfied with a bowl for lunch or supper. This is also an elegant option for serving to guests as a first course. Imagine how impressed your friends or family would be to have this placed in front of them to begin their evening meal at your table! I guarantee they will talk about it for a long time and even ask you for the recipe! This is also an awesome way to start many a casserole, dinner bake or side dish. I would use this in my homemade tuna casserole, chicken and stuffing bake and the chicken and rice pressure cooker meal I am using it in tonight.
This recipe used the beurre manie' thickener that I shared in a recent video and blog entry. you can find that video here: http://bit.ly/BeurreManie and the blog entry here: http://bit.ly/NoreensKitchenBlog. Beurre Manie' is a great cold, thickener that is sort of a reverse roux and can be added to hot simmering liquids to thicken them. This is a great thing to have on hand if you thicken a lot of sauces and
you can just drop it in and whisk until the dish reaches the desired thickness. I make only what I need, but you can make it and store it in the fridge.
I sauteed some celery onion and garlic in a bit of butter, added some chicken stock and water and a handful of spices, salt, pepper and celery seed. I allowed this to simmer for five minutes and then thickened with the beurre manie'. I removed the soup from the heat and added the cream and a couple grates of fresh nutmeg.
Now don't get freaked out about the nutmeg. This spice has a very citrusy, lemony edge to it. Your soup will not taste like a cookie, I promise you. It will however, leave a lovely floral, lemon note on the palate when you eat it and it will add just enough of that extra something special to your dish.
I would be done there. If you are going to use this in a casserole, it's great or you can blend it smooth before serving. Your choice!
I hope that you will give this a try and see how awesome and easy it is to make your own homemade cream of celery soup! You won't go back to the can after this!
This is a very classic French technique that is super applicable in the home kitchen. You may have been doing this because your mom or your grandmother did it and not even known that they teach this at the Cordon Bleu or that Julia Child was a fan of this type of thickener!
The internet created a monster and it is called Mississippi Roast! I have seen this done hither and yon a thousand different ways. While I am sure it is delicious, I have issues with the original recipe. Firstly, let's talk about the elephant in the pot that is the ENTIRE stick of butter placed on top of an already fatty piece of chuck roast! Then let's talk about the over the top sodium content of using a packet of either dry ranch or Italian dressing mix as well as a packet of beef au jus mix. I can't even begin to fathom the amount of salt in that recipe. Not to mention the fat on fat of butter and beef. There are few times you will see me be concerned with a recipe, but with this one I have issues.
The only way to deal is to make your own recipe. So I set forth to make my version of the Mississippi Roast. I thought it would be a nice recipe to make in the pressure cooker. I also thought that since they were using dressing mix as a seasoning base, why not just use dressing. Since Ranch was not going to work in it's liquid form, I have opted to use my homemade Italian dressing http://bit.ly/ItalianDressing that I made with my Homemade Italian seasoning blend http://bit.ly/Italianseasoning. I added some beef stock and an onion and some chopped garlic along with a jar of pepperoncinis that I popped the seeds and stems out of. I also used a bit of the vinegary juice from the peppers as well.
I pressure cooked this for a total of one hour. In the video I mentioned that I started at 40 minutes, but I ended up needing to add a bit more time. If you do this, start yours for an hour and save yourself the headache. Slow cooking is an option and if you don't have a pressure cooker, you could easily do this in your slow cooker by cooking for at least 6 to 8 hours on low or 4 to 6 hours on high. The result will be similar. Pressure cooking is the pe
In the end this was a delicious roast. You can serve it like I did with egg noodles and a veggie or you can shred this in the pot in it's juices along with those mild peppers and serve this piled into some soft Italian rolls. Add some Giardinera and you are on your way to a Carolina Chicago beef fusion the likes of which you have never seen.
This delicious, briney, perfectly seasoned beef roast was delicious and we will make this again. You could also do this with a pork loin if you like, but adjust the time to suit the size of your roast. Dare I say, this Carolina Roast also has a bit of a tang to it, just like Carolina BBQ, so this fits right in down my way!
I hope you give this Carolina Roast a try and I hope you love it!
Easter is quickly approaching and if you haven't started to think about what you will be serving for your holiday meal, I have a great suggestion that turns away from the usual glazed ham.
Not that there is anything wrong with glazed ham! Spring lends itself to fresh ingredients and while a ham is always a delicious option, fresh veggies and chicken are something to consider. Even though it may seem mundane and hum drum, they need not be! Chicken and vegetables can be whatever you want them to be. Fancy or plain, complex or simple. Today I am sharing with you a delicious recipe that is company worthy. Cheesy chicken Florentine roll ups. These are easy to make and they are beautiful as well as delicious!
Here is a run down of how I made these beautiful chicken rolls! I butterflied and pounded six chicken breasts in preparation for this dish. I then sauteed a filling/topping of spinach, mushrooms, chopped water chestnuts, garlic an onion.
I topped each chicken breast with some of the spinach filling and topped that with some finely shredded Monterey Jack cheese. Rolled up the chicken and placed it seam side down in a baking dish.
I placed the remaining spinach mixture on top of the chicken and placed the casserole in the oven to bake. When the chicken was done and no longer pink, I topped everything with the remaining cheese and placed it back in the warm oven to melt.
I served this by slicing and fanning out on a serving plate. We paired this delicious chicken dish with some blended rice that was cooked with walnuts and cranberries as well as some onion and garlic. This was a delicious fresh dish and will be the perfect departure from a traditional Easter ham should you be looking for a change!
You can see how I made these in my YouTube video.
I hope you give these cheesy chicken Florentine roll ups a try and I hope you love them! You can find the recipe on my website here: http://bit.ly/22I7wPn Happy Eating and Happy Easter!
Today I am sharing a southwestern Tex Mex classic! King Ranch Casserole! There is some question as to where this
recipe actually comes from. The
original inclination is to associate it with the King Ranch in Texas. The largest cattle ranch in all the world. However, this casserole contains chicken and
there is some idea that the only think "King Ranch" about this
casserole is the name. Probably not too
many yard birds running around there!
Some speculate that this was some concoction by the ladies of the Junior
League of their day or even some southwestern spin on Chicken A'la King. No matter where the provenance of the recipe
hails from, this casserole is a keeper.
This recipe, in all it's goodness, was originally laden with
condensed cream of chicken and cream of mushroom soups. While I grew up with those, I prefer not to
use them anymore and opt for a more delicious homemade version. It does not take that much longer to create
your own cream base and it is ever so much more delicious! It is very simple and will render an amazing result that will make you forsake the canned "cream of" soups for eternity!
Layers of corn tortillas, shredded cooked chicken, cheddar
and Monterrey Jack cheese, all married together with the comforting blanket of
creamy sauce made with chicken stock, cream, bell peppers, onions and the only
commercially canned item on the list, Ro-Tel, tomatoes and green chilies. Those are a must for any self respecting
King Ranch casserole! What you have in
the end, is a plate full of comfort food love.
When you take your first bite you will be in casserole heaven and I
promise this will be going to your next pot luck or church supper with you
because it is THAT good! This reheats
like a dream and holds together beautifully.
I also would add this to my freezer banking list of make
ahead bulk dishes that "freeze beautifully" as Annelle would say in Steel
Magnolias. I would simply construct the
casserole in a heavy duty foil pan, I like the deeper pans that are
approximately 9 x 13 in size. Then cover tightly with parchment paper first, then
a double layer of regular foil (I like non stick) or a single layer of heavy
duty foil, then I like to put the whole pan inside of a two gallon plastic zip
top bag. This will help the casserole
stay fresh and avoid the foil popping off while in your freezer(face it, you know it happens!). Make sure you write the reheating
instructions on the bag so everyone knows what to do!
I hope you give this classic Tex Mex casserole a try the
next time you want some delicious, southwestern comfort food and I hope you
love it! How can you not love this?!
Watch how I put this delicious King Ranch Casserole together!
Here is the recipe! You can get a printable version on my website: http://bit.ly/1Px0iJS
King Ranch Casserole:
6 tablespoons butter, divided
1/4 cup all purpose flour
3 1/2 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup heavy cream
1, 10 ounce can Ro-Tel
tomatoes &
green chilies
1 cup diced red and yellow bell pepper
1 cup onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 pounds chicken cooked and shredded*
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups shredded Monterrey Jack cheese
15
corn tortillas, cut in half
Mix the two cheeses together and set aside.
Melt 4 tablespoons of butter in a large, heavy bottomed
stock pot over medium high heat.
Add flour and whisk to combine. Continue to cook for just a minute or two until the flour is
absorbed by the butter and the mixture gets a bit bubbly and foamy and releases
a bit of a nutty aroma.
Add half of the chicken stock to the pot and whisk briskly
to combine. Continue to stir until the
mixture thickens. This will take a
couple of minutes.
When the mixture has become thick, add the remaining chicken
stock to the pot and whisk well to combine.
Set this aside.
In a skillet, melt 2 remaining tablespoons of butter and
saute' peppers, onions and garlic, for three to five minutes until you can
smell their aroma.
Cover the bottom of a 9 x 13 casserole or foil baking pan
with corn tortillas. I like to cut them
in half and put the flat part against the edges of the casserole dish/pan. This gives more complete coverage.
Top with half of the shredded chicken, then layer on 1/3 of
the shredded cheese.
Evenly spread half of the sauce mixture over the cheese.
Repeat layers of tortilla, chicken, cheese and sauce. You should have 1/3 of the cheese and some
of the tortillas left for the top.
Cover the top with the remaining tortilla halves and
sprinkle over the remaining cheese.
Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes until the
cheese is browned and the casserole is slightly bubbly.
The top will be cheesy and crispy and delicious.
Allow the casserole to sit for 10 minutes before slicing and
serving.
To Freezer bank this casserole:
Build your casserole but do not bake it. Lay a piece of parchment just big enough to
cover the top but not hang over the sides of the pan. Cover this with two layers of regular foil or one layer of heavy
duty foil and seal all edges tightly.
Place the casserole into a 2 gallon zip top bag and remember
to write reheating instructions.
To reheat casserole from frozen, preheat oven to 400
degrees. Remove casserole from plastic
bag and place on a baking sheet.
Bake covered for 1 hour then remove foil and parchment and
continue baking 15 to 30 minutes until casserole is cooked through, the cheese
is melted and the casserole is somewhat bubbly.
Allow to sit for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
This casserole can be made in advance and freezer banked for
up to six months.
Today I am sharing with you a product that can change the way you do laundry, save you money and take care of your family better, by getting rid of harsh chemicals, colorants, thickeners and foaming agents. Laundry made simple, like our grandmother's used to do, only even better!
MyGreenFills wants to show you how you can change your laundry habits and make life better for you, your family and the environment at the same time. Did you know that over 6 billion, yes that billion, with a "b", jugs of laundry soap are used every year? That would wrap around the earth SIX times! Where do you think those jugs end up? Most likely in a landfill where they have a half life of 30 to 40 years. Many of them potentially end up in the ocean polluting our waterways and in time our water tables and drinking water and killing wildlife and effecting human health. Those are some compelling reasons to give something new a try!
MyGreenFills offers you the last laundry jug you will ever need. Simply use one packet of the concentrated soap formula and mix with warm water. Each bottle offers you 5 loads of clean, fresh, chemical free laundry. Want to boost your cleaning power? Add some of the Oxygen based laundry brightener and for tough stains, add a teeny, tiny scoop of their fantastic enzyme stain treatment. They also offer a fantastic fabric softener that really gets your clothes static free and soft!
This is concentrated soap, softener and brightener are just that "concentrated". You seriously only need 1 ounce per load, that is 2 tablespoons! It is certified for use in HE or high efficiency machines and is cruelty free and vegan. If that weren't enough, this company is built from the ground up by people who have backgrounds in business, herbology and homeopathy. They care about the environment and they care about people. That means they care about you. Their creed is incredible and you can find it on their website. I suggest you go and have a look at what they have put forth as their mission statement. I love it and know you will too!
MyGreenFills offers you the opportunity to give this soap a try for free! If you love it you can order more when you need it or you can choose one of their subscriptions for super money saving opportunities. The more you purchase the cheaper it is for you and shipping is always free. I have a family of four, including two teenagers and a scad of pets. We do at least one load of laundry daily. I would select a subscription package to suit my needs and it will come to my door once a month. All I have to do is mix it up!
I have had the opportunity to speak with Stephen Ezell the CEO of MyGreenFills and Selestial Soap company and he was a blessing to me. His passion for his work as well as the passion of his co workers is apparent and it is contagious! So do yourself a favor and give this soap a try! What do you have to lose? You get a free jug just pay the shipping and if you love it, you are helping out a small business owner here in the USA. If you find that this soap is not your cup of tea, all they ask is that you ship the bottle back to them so they can share the love with someone else and the jug won't end up in the trash.
I hope you give MyGreenFills a try. I hope you love it and I hope your laundry is never the same again!
Yesterday I posted a blog that talked about basic food
storage. I had a number of
questions. Many times I get people
asking me how to amass a food storage without going broke. The answer is simple. Food storage is not something you do out of
fear. It is a way of life. Our grandparents put food up for the winter
because fields and gardens were not producing.
They had root cellars to keep produce like apple, onions, carrots,
potatoes etc., cool and fresh. They
kept chickens for fresh eggs and meat.
As a society, we have drifted away from the agrarian lifestyle to the
point where many do not know how to subsist without going to the drive through
or throwing a frozen pizza in the oven.
I say that everyone should have a food storage, not matter how large or
how small. It is important to shop
sales and only buy things your family will eat.
Shopping from paycheck to paycheck can be tricky when trying
to start a food storage but it is not impossible. You need to learn how to shop properly before you can have what
you need for a rainy day. There are
many ways of doing this, but I say just do it.
Start small. Make your weekly or
bi-weekly grocery list and set your budget.
Then add these things to each grocery trip.
1 pound of dried beans
1 pound of long grain rice
1 canister of salt
2 cans of tuna or chicken
2 cans of vegetables
2 cans of soup
1 canister of old fashioned oats
1 jar of peanut butter
1 jar of jam or honey
OPTIONAL
5 pounds of flour
1 bag of sugar
1 box pancake mix (the add water and stir kind)
1 bag or box of raisins or dried fruit
1 package of instant milk or 2 quarts of shelf stable milk
or nut or soy milk
2 packages of pasta
2 jars of pasta sauce
1 flat of bottled water
These things can get you started with a food storage. You can adjust to your family's taste and
you can add or subtract or multiply the amounts you choose to add.
I also have a number of people asking me where can they
store the food. A lot of people live in
small apartments but still want to be prepared. The answer is simple. The
unused spaces in your residence can yield great storage space for your food
supply. You can reorganize your closet
and make room on a high shelf. You can
dedicate a portion of a pantry closet for nothing but preparedness. My personal favorite is under the
bed(s). There is untold storage
opportunity under a queen sized bed.
You can purchase flat under bed boxes from the big box store. I have three queen sized beds in my
house. None of them have
"stuff" under them, they all have food and preparedness items under
them. Yes, my girls complain from time
to time, but they understand. Under one
of the beds we use the boxes. I can get
12 of these boxes, stacked by 2 under the bed.
We have all of our beds raised up on cinder blocks to give us an extra
foot of storage space. The boxes hold
everything from home canned items (I can fit pints and half pints in these
jars) as well as dry goods like baking supplies, rice, dry beans and even
commercially canned foods such as veggies and fruits and even canned milk. Where there is a will there is a way and
this is the way that works for us. The
bonus is that my children can no longer shove massive amounts of flotsam and jetsam
under their beds to forget about and later be toted to the dump.
I was inspired in my journey to food storage by Wendy
DeWitt. She has several videos on
YouTube that you can find. They are all
basically the same presentation but she will update them every couple of
years. Her food storage plan is geared
toward the LDS community. I am not a
member of the LDS church, however she gives a lot of good advice and even
though I may not subscribe to her particular religious doctrine, I do enjoy the
advice she has shared with regard to taming the food storage beast.
Here
is her most recent updated presentation.
I hope this helps many of you who may think that food storage is just
too big and too scary to even approach.
I hope that this gives you inspiration and encouragement to start today,
even if it is just a box of macaroni and cheese and a can of tuna. Do what you can with what you have and you
will be doing good for tomorrow!
Remember, that in the event of an emergency, the time to prepare has passed. In my case I am a Christian who has been called to help others. We must always put back, not only for ourselves, but for our neighbor. Jesus teaches us in Matthew 25:40 "And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." So you see having a food storage is not just about taking care of yourself, however this is something we must all do. In the end, we pray that we never need to have it, however if we find that we have extra we are able to bless someone else with it if they are in a time of need.
I recently shared a video about the current food shortages brought about by economic collapse in Venezuela. A friend of mine for many years asked me what I thought were my top 10 items to have on hand with regard to food storage. This is what I shared with her. While I went over ten items, I still think these are important things to consider. I also advise that people do not begin a food storage out of fear. Only out of love for yourself and your family. Being prepared is a virtue. Hard times fall upon all of us at different places in our life. So it is best to have a little more than we need to make sure that in a time of want we are ready to face what is important. Here is the video that I posted:
There are many ways one should be prepared. Since I live in a hurricane area, we have taken that mindset. We have been through one major hurricane and learned a lot. But for now, let's just focus on food.
When I started my food storage (taking a lesson from the nice LDS people I know) I took from them and then I took from other sources that said I should live by this manta: "Store what you eat and eat what you store". This means, if your family does not like oatmeal than it is pointless to purchase 300 pounds of oats for your food storage! Yes that may sound a bit exaggerated, but many people have done just that. Storing food just for the sake of having food in the event of a crisis/emergency or economic collapse is not the smartest thing to do. You must love what you are storing otherwise you are going to open yourself and your family up to what is commonly called "appetite fatigue". Even if you think you will eat anything if you are starving, thing again! You won't!
Here are some things that I think everyone should have on hand. You can figure out how much you want to store based on the number of people you plan on feeding. I like to tell people to start off small. It can be as simple as adding only a few things to your cart when you go shopping. It does not have to bust your budget and don't feel like you have to go and bulk up on emergency supplies for long term food storage from the LDS cannery or online purveyors. While I do have those things, they came later.
#1 WATER: You should have at least 72 hours worth of clean drinking water. The recommended amount is 1 gallon per person per day, however this is only for consumption and cooking. Not for bathing and washing up dishes etc. So with that in mind, I have a 3 month supply of water that is stored in our shed. We have re-purposed juice bottles, washed them, filled them up and put a teaspoon of bleach in them. The bleach will dissipate and the water will be fine for drinking. We rotate these out once a year.
#2 WATER FILTER. We live near a creek so in the event that our water supply is exhausted, we can use the creek or we also have rain barrels. We would need to filter that water before drinking. We have a Berkey water filter that will actually filter river water and make it drinkable and safe.
#3 FOOD: This list is enough food for a family of four for three months. It could last longer if rationed.
20 pounds of Rice. Rice is one of the backbones of every food storage plan. It is filling, nutritious and with the use of varied seasonings and condiments, highly adaptable in a variety of tasty meals. The choice of white, brown or a combination of the two is up to you. White rice has a longer shelf life but brown rice has more nutritional benefits.
20 pounds of Pinto Beans. Like rice, beans are the backbone to every food storage plan. You may substitute white, kidney or other types of dried beans but honestly, pintos are one of the least expensive dried beans.
20 cans of Vegetables. Green beans, peas, corn and canned tomatoes are good choices. Let your taste and budget guide you. Buy what you currently eat and enjoy.
20 cans of Fruit. Peaches, pears, pineapple, fruit cocktail – again, this is your choice. Fruits add a nice sweetness to life and these days we all could use more of that.
20 cans of Meat. Chicken, tuna, shrimp, salmon, Vienna sausages, beef stew and yes, even the ubiquitous Spam will satisfy this requirement. Did you know that you can even purchase canned roast beef? Again, let your taste and budget guide you – there is lots to choose from.
4 pounds Oats. A bowl of oatmeal topped with canned fruit can be enjoyed for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
2 large jars of Peanut Butter. Peanut butter is an excellent source of protein, with plenty of calories for energy and sustenance
5 pounds of Powdered Milk. Milk is a great source of protein and other nutrients. In addition it is filling and can be used to top your oatmeal cereal or stirred into your coffee as a flavor enhancer.
8 pounds of Salt per person per year. Our bodies need salt to survive and maintain electrolytes.
10 pounds of Pancake Mix. An all in one pancake mix (such as Krusteaz) only requires the addition of water to make up a batch of batter. As with oatmeal, a big plate of pancakes, perhaps with some honey or jam, will make a satisfying meal that can be eaten for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
20 pounds all purpose flour for baking. Wheat contains all 9 amino acids necessary to sustain human life. If you plan on baking bread you will also need to store leavener.
10 pounds corn meal. This can be used to make corn bread and even corn meal mush as well as added to thicken soups and stews.
20 pounds sugar. Sugar is necessary in cooking and will boost your calorie intake. If we are in an emergent situation and are unable to get things from the grocery store, sugar may well be used like $$.
2 pounds of Honey and 2 large jars of Jam. This can be included as part of your sugar in your food storage.
10 pounds of Pasta. Pasta is familiar and easy to fix. Pasta is a dense form of wheat but so much easier to deal with when you are first starting out. Besides, it is a fabulous comfort food.
10 cans or jars of Spaghetti Sauce. Quick and easy meal that is filling and satisfying. Box of cooked pasta, heated with a jar of sauce, bam, dinner is served.
20 cans of Soup or Broth. Soup is an easy one pot meal that you just heat and eat. In a pinch it can even be eaten cold right out of the can.
One large jug of Oil. Choose olive oil, coconut oil or some other cooking oil, but definitely get some. Oil is essential for good health, fueling our energy stores and providing support for fat-soluble vitamins and nutrients as they work their way through our system. Remember to rotate the oil in your storage on a regular basis to avoid rancidity.
Spices and Condiments. Adding some spices and condiments to your food storage pantry will allow you to vary the taste of your storage foods, thus mitigating some of the boredom that is likely to occur over time. The exact mix of spices and condiments is up to you but some suggestions include garlic, chili, Tabasco (hot sauce), salsa, oregano, thyme and black pepper.
5 pounds of Coffee or 100 Tea Bags. Caffeine is an appetite suppressant. In an emergent situation this can be a plus. Store whole bean coffee or coffee that is vacuum sealed in blocks or bags for best freshness. Herbal teas can also be used as medicine. Get yourself a book on what does what. 2 large bags of Hard Candies. Hard candy can go a long way toward making an unpleasant situation bearable. Butterscotch drops, peppermints and even lemon drops are good. My husband also likes to keep TicTacs. When eaten and while drinking water they cool your mouth and give you the sensation that the water is cooler than it is.
You will also need a way to cook the food if you don't have power or gas. A camp stove, Gas BBQ or Charcoal BBQ are good options. Make sure to have enough extra fuel. A campfire will also work.
Lastly, you will need a way to protect yourself. This means a weapon. If you are not comfortable handling a weapon, I suggest you get trained in how to use one. The simple truth is, that is this economy collapses there will be roving maurauders who will not think twice about killing you to take what you may have. I am not trying to instill fear, just common sense. This country was built on people who were not afraid to protect what was theirs and we will not keep our freedom if we allow others to take it from us! There it is in a nutshell. Food storage 101. Do it for any reason. Do you live in an area prone to hurricanes or tornadoes, how about flash flooding or snow storms? How lovely would it be the next time you are faced with a situation like that to know you had what you needed and did not have to brave the grocery store to fight for the last loaf of bread or flat of water. Having what you need on hand is also a great hedge against inflation. Buy on sale at today's price and eat it several months or even years later when it may be even more expensive. If you are injured or lose your job, you have a cushion. If a friend falls on hard times, you have the ability to share and be generous. Those are just a few reasons everyone should put something extra back.
