I have been thinking all week about what to post today. I have a few thoughts, so we'll see how this goes. There are some recipes at the end of the post today...giving you some enticement to either scroll quickly or read to the end. :D
Starting this blog has been so good for me! I set a goal this year to work on my Emergency Prep Skillz (yes, with a "z"...it's much cooler that way) and I haven't done the best job. It is still 2020, so it's not too late to work on this goal, right? I am now consciously thinking about emergency prep and talking with my husband and kids about what we need to do. This leads me to my thoughts for today . . .
#1 - Make it a family affair!
My husband and I made a choice to have a food storage and learn how to use what we were storing. From the beginning emergency prep has been a team effort. I tend to do more than he does, just because I'm a major planner and he's a more laid back, go-with-the-flow, take it as it comes kind of a guy. Despite my tendency to give in to my control freak personality trait, we have learned, as a team, to adapt to our environment. (We actually talked about this yesterday.) Over the last 14 years, we have had plenty of practice adapting and learning new skills that have blessed our family.
We have involved the kids from the time they could stand on a chair at the kitchen counter. Many moons ago, my, now 12 year old, daughter helped me can dill pickles. She stood on a chair at the counter and dropped garlic and peppers into quart jars while I added quartered cucumbers and brine. She was the cutest little helper! Both of the kids LOVE harvesting veggies from the garden. They're also learning how to cook and bake. We desperately need to update our 72 hour kits, and I think we're going to let the kids lead the initiative to get that done.
As you work as a family it does a lot of different things. It teaches kids important life skills - gardening, cooking, planning, financial management, basic sewing, etc. Working as a family is good for family bonding. In this crazy, unpredictable world, that family bond is so crucial. When my not-so-littles fly off on their own in the near-ish future, I want my kids to want to call home and come visit often. While I'm looking forward to seeing if I have done a good job raising my little humans, I am absolutely dreading the day when they go off to conquer the world on their own.
#2 - You can totally do this!!!
When you think about all of the things involved in emergency preparation it is overwhelming. Incredibly overwhelming!!! However, it's 100% doable on any budget with not a lot of effort. When we started our food storage and savings, we had next to nothing and it took awhile. It was well worth the sacrifice and effort as it has saved us many times.
Over the next few weeks I will share some tips on how to get started with your own home storage. A note of caution - the tips I share are really just things we have done and have found that work for our family. I am not a professional in emergency prep. Every family will have different needs, so do what works for your family. As you determine your needs and start making goals, you will be able to get a solid plan in place.
One of my friends does a fabulous job with food storage and has some great tips. I'm going to invite her to write a post or two and share some things that have worked for her family. Having ideas from multiple sources will help you find ideas to help your family.
#3 - Play with fire! Or at least learn how to cook with it...
The hubby and I just got home from a short getaway to celebrate our 14th wedding anniversary. We stayed in a cabin off of Highway 50 in Bainbridge, Ohio. It was so fun! We decided to take advantage of not having kids with us and experimented with some different techniques cooking over a fire and on a grill. Believe it or not, but cooking without electricity is an emergency preparation skill. I realized this as it was our only source of cooking for two days. We made some tasty food!
On Friday, we grilled burgers and asparagus. I even got brave and cooked some bacon...on the grill!!! I put down some aluminum foil and threw some bacon strips on it. Not gonna lie, I was shocked that it worked. After the bacon was done cooking, I cooked the asparagus on the bacon greased foil.
Saturday morning I made a quick breakfast hash with potatoes, sausage, jalapeños, cheese, and eggs. I cooked it up in a cast iron skillet on the propane camp stove. It was quick and easy...and quickly turned into breakfast burritos because we had some tortillas left over from the night before.
For dinner we got a little crazy. Have you ever made pigs in a blanket over a campfire? Until Saturday I would have answered "no" as well, but, we were being crazy and gave it a try. We partially cooked brats over the fire and then wrapped refrigerator crescent dough around the brats before placing them back over the coals. The hubby tried it with a slice of cheese between the dough and brat...it turned out pretty well. One tip...part way through cooking the dough, turn the brats on the roaster so that you evenly cook the dough. They were pretty good. I can't wait to do this with the kids!
I also made some Brussels Sprouts to go with our brats. I lightly buttered a piece of aluminum foil, piled on some halved sprouts, sprinkled on some seasonings (salt, pepper, and onion powder), and added some chopped up bacon. Then I made a foil packet by bringing opposite sides of the foil together and rolling the foil towards the sprouts and then rolling the two open ends closed. I repeated this with another sheet of foil (so that I had a double layer) and popped the packet on top of one of the logs in the fire that hadn't quite lit yet (it was wet, hardwood and took awhile to catch fire...totally worked out to my benefit). I did flip the packet over a couple of times so that I didn't burn the sprouts. These were the best sprouts I've eaten in awhile...they were so good!!!
Friday night for dessert we made S'mores Burritos. We make these frequently at home. They cook well in the oven or on a grill. Spread some creamy peanut butter on a burrito size tortilla; I spread it thin, I can still see the tortilla through the peanut butter. Sprinkle on mini marshmallows and chocolate chips. Fold up as a burrito and then wrap in foil. Cook in the oven at 350* F for 15-20 minutes or on the grill for about 15-20 minutes, turning every 5-ish minutes. They're done when the chocolate and marshmallows are melted.
I have been getting messages all week with questions about canning and other food storage related questions. It has been so awesome!!! Keep the questions coming! They are sparking ideas for what to write posts about in the future.
This week, I want you to think about your family.
- If you don't have a place to store food now, could you make a place, even if it's just for a shelf to put food on?
- What does your budget look like? Could you spare $1-5 or $20 a week to start a food store or rainy day fund?
- What are your food storage / emergency preparation goals?
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