English Muffins - Food Storage Recipe

One of my all time favorite go to books when it comes to cooking with food storage and making things from scratch is Marlene's Magic with Food Storage, and you can find it here on Amazon, or click on the picture and it will take you there if you are interested.

She has some really great recipes one of which I have found is this one below.  I really love an English Muffin toasted with lots of butter melted on it.  It is one of my favorite breakfast things, and her recipe makes them really nice.  It isn't even that difficult!  Give it a whirl.

English Muffins 
4 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp dry yeast
1/2 c warm milk, powdered milk reconstituted can be use just as well
1 cu warm water
3 tbsp sugar
1/4 c butter, softened
corn meal

Sift flour and salt together (I never sift anything, just mix it).  Combine yeast with warm milk and set aside for 5 minutes.  Mix in water and sugar.  Work in 2 cups flour mixture and let stand 1 1/2 hours. 

Beat in softened butter and remaining flour.  Place dough on a board which has been covered lightly with cornmeal.  Cover and let rise.  

Roll out dough 1/2 inch thick on the cornmeal covered board.  Cut in 4 1/2 inch circles (tuna can size).  let stand for 20 minutes.

This is what an English Muffin looks like.  Delicious

Heat a lightly oiled fry pan or hot griddle.  Place muffins in fry pan and cover with lid.  Fry for 5 - 7 minutes.  Turn and fry second side for another 5 - 7 minutes.  

Easy peasy right???  Give it a whirl.  It costs pennies to make these compared to purchasing them in the store.

Seriously if you are looking for ways to use your food storage, her book is a good one.  It is not new and exciting, but old, tried, and true.

Using Food Storage for Cooking Vegetarian

It is easy to use the same grains and legumes - with a variety of  vegetables and spices, and make yourself hundreds of different versions of meals.  

There are two charts here, showing the basic ingredients in vegetarian cooking with food storage, and a list of different spices to offer different tastes.

Grains should equal 40 - 50% of your meal, with vegetables 30 - 50% and legumes the remaining 10 - 20%.  Eating this way will offer a complete protein always, with high vitamin and mineral content. Extras you could add to this might include cheese or dairy products, salad dressings, and other things like lettuce and fresh vegetables. 

Grains 40 - 50%	Vegetables 30 - 50%	Legumes 10 - 20%
Rice – all variations bread and bread products oatmeal, oats barley hot grain cereals quinoa bulghur pasta	Onions and garlic carrots – chopped or grated celery cabbage canned tomatoes peppers potatoes corn zucchini peas green beans etc	Lentils – red or green Beans – black, red, brown, pinto, white, garbanzo, kidney, etc split peas

Choose your grains you want to cook.  Rice is a staple in my home, at least four times a week we eat it.  Then choose your veggies, depending on what you have on hand or in the garden.  Choose your legumes, depending on what is available or ready in your fridge, freezer, or pantry.

Spices

Basic	Indian	Warming	Mediterranean	Savory	Oriental	Mexican
Salt pepper garlic ginger onion lemon juice dill	Turmeric cumin coriander bay leaf mustard seed fennel chilies	Allspice cinnamon cloves nutmeg pepper cardamom	Basil oregano marjoram thyme bay leaf mint lemon juice red wine vinegar balsamic	Rosemary sage parsley thyme pepper nutmeg marjoram basil bay leaf	Soy sauce rice or wine vinegar basil chilies sugar miso garlic black bean garlic sauce	Chilies cumin oregano garlic chipotle taco seasonings

Decide on what flavor choices you want to use for your meal.  Decide if you want soup, stir fries, casserole, crockpot, salad, or something else, and go to work making it.  I know it is hard for some people to cook if they don't have a recipe to follow, but practice will make it easier.  And remember, I always say, "Google is my best friend, and the library is my university!"  If you want to find recipes, look them up and experiment.  Soon you will be a pro at it.

Beans for Fat substitutions

Beans are so versatile, you can actually use them to replace some of the fat, to almost all of it, in your baking recipes.  My rule is I usually will replace about half of my oil or fat in any given recipe.  I have tried to replace it all, and sometimes I end up with dry - whatever - I am making.  But half beans and half butter or oil is a good bet.

Make sure your beans are cooked to soft and then puree them well in a blender.  If they are too dry, add a bit of water to your puree.

Take notice of the color of the item you are baking.  If the overall color is white, you will want to use white beans.  If you are making something chocolate, you can get away with brown or black beans pureed.  White mashed beans, however, can be used in pretty much anything, as they will blend right in and hide well.

If your recipe calls for oil, then use the equivalent of half your oil and substituted it for your pureed beans.  Same goes for butter or margarine, puree the beans or mash them well, and switch half your butter for beans.

Beans are cheaper than oils, and especially butter, it is much healthier, and it adds a great taste to your baking.  Try it!  You may even start to like it.

Be brave.....  I dare you!

Bean Flour

Bean flour can be made from most kinds of beans, except soy beans.  Soy beans have a high oil content, so do not make flour easily at home.  Garbanzo beans, black, pinto, mung, navy, lentils, are all good choices to make a flour with.  Most wheat grinders can easily grind up beans into a nice fine flour.  If you have a really  strong blender, you may be able to use it as well.  Never put soy beans through your wheat grinder.  Their oil content will gum up your grinder.

What would you ever use bean flour in?  You can substitute it for regular flour in pretty much any recipe.  It may change the color a bit, especially if you use black bean flour, and it may make for a denser loaf or cake.  My kind of standard rule of thumb, is I will only substitute about 1/3 of the flour for bean flour.  I may also add a bit of extra leavening agent, whether it is yeast, baking powder, soda, etc.

Bean flour can also be reconstituted with hot water, and used as a fat replacement in your baking.  You can easily substitute it for 1/2 of your oil content, and though your loaf may be a bit more dense, or cookies or whatever you are making, it will turn out good. 

It can also be used to thicken soups and stews, or in cream soups or casseroles to thicken the sauce.  As well, it can be reconstituted and become a delicious dip for crackers or chips.  With a variety of seasonings the possibilities are many.

It is a great way to add extra protein, iron and vitamins into your family's diet, without them even knowing it.

To make a soup base, or a cream soup, stir in about 1/3 cup of bean flour to about 2 cups hot liquid.  A little more or less depending on how thick you want it, and add it to your soup.

For a quick refried bean dip, use pinto bean flour and taco seasonings.

Bean flour is easy to make and nutritious to use.  After experimenting a little bit, you will find things your family really likes, so keep track of your recipes you try so you can come back to them often.

Bean Burgers

I really, really do love bean burgers.  I love any kind of veggie burgers.  I have experimented with many different recipes, and have found some basics I want to share with you.

Pick your bean variety you would like to use:
2 cups of black, pinto, white, lentils, chick peas, etc.  Cooked soft and mashed beans
1 cup of rice - white or brown, quinoa, or other grain
Mix and mash these well together.

Add in:
1/2 cup chopped onion - doesn't matter which kind
2 cloves garlic minced
2 tbsp ketchup, bbq sauce or other sauce
1 or 2 eggs - can substitute mashed potatoes or vegetables if you don't use eggs
1/2 cup vegetables like corn, shredded carrots, peas, etc
2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 cup rolled oats - quick oats -  if you used regular oats, just add a bit more liquid
1/2 cup of one of these: flour, bread crumbs, crackers smashed, bean flour, oat flour, rice flour, etc
Mix all of these together well and form into patties.  Fry in oil, or on a small grill.

Variations of things you could also add:  parmesan cheese, grated cheddar cheese, taco seasoning, other seasonings, any other vegetables you might like.

It can also be fried and crumbled as a veggie hamburger mix.  Or serve your patties as you would a burger on a bun.

With all of the varieties of beans, grains, veggies and spices you can have an endless variety of veggie burgers.  Get creative and see what you come up with.

Beans - The Magical Food in so Many Ways

I did a vegetarian cooking information class today, and for those of you who attended it and want more information on cooking with beans instead of meat, I decided to repost here a more consolidated version of some of my other posts here on this site, and in one of my books.

I have been a vegetarian for pretty close to 27 years.  In that time, I have learned a few things....

Beans / legumes are way cheaper than meat - for example, let me do a little bit of math for you.
The average cost of feeding a family of 4 - 6 people, just in buying hamburger (cheap meat) is probably about $7 ish per meal.  Roast, steak, chops, chicken, etc. are all more expensive than that.  Let's say you only use $7 per meal and you only eat one meal with meat per day, that totals up to $2555 spent each year just eating one meal per day of cheaper meat, and totally not healthy.

I can purchase a 25 lb bag of beans for around $20.  I guess that I can easily get 70 meals at least, out of this bag of beans.  Because I use beans in baking and other things too, I figure I could use about 6 bags of beans per year.  Which total will come to about $120.

Difference of $2435 just because you used beans for one meal a day instead of hamburger.  Now I know it will be different for each of you and what you are used to eating.  Maybe you only want to replace meat for one or two meals a week.  Maybe you want to get rid of it all together.  It's up to you and what your family will tolerate.  But.....if you are looking for ways to save money on your groceries, this is definitely a way to make that happen.

Cooking with beans is actually quite satisfying as well.  It just takes a little bit more prep time, or being a little bit more organized in the kitchen.  There are several ways you can cook beans.

1.  Quick soak method.  Cover your beans with about three times as much water, bring them to a boil, and boil them for five minutes.  Remove them from the heat and let them stand, covered or not, as long as you need until you are ready to start cooking your meal.  I leave mine from morning until later in the day.  Drain the cooking water off and rinse them well.  Cover once again with water and bring to a boil again until they are soft and ready to use in your recipe.  Drain, rinse and use.

2.  Soak overnight method.  Cover them in 3 times as much water, soak them overnight or all day.  Drain and rinse well.  Cover with water again and bring to a boil and cook until soft.  Drain, rinse, and use in your recipe.

3.  Crockpot.  Cover with about 4 times as much water and turn on low for 4 - 6 hours until beans are tender.  Drain, rinse and use in recipe.

Once your beans are cooked, or pre soaked, either way, you can easily put some of them into containers or ziplocs and freeze them for other meals.  They will last in the fridge for several days as well to use in other meals.

I will post more on bean recipes, using bean flours, and other ways to cook with beans, here in the next several days.  I have lots to share, so keep watching.

I will share with you how to make and use bean flour, how to cook several kinds of beans at the same time, to get a variety in your meal, how to hide them in recipes like baking, and how to substitute some of the fat in your baking by using mashed beans.  Sounds delicious right?  Keep posted.

Wheat Burgers

Well a couple of days ago I made some awesome wheat burgers and they actually turned out pretty good. I took pictures this time, so I will go through with you what I did. I also will make some suggestions on what I think I will try different next time.

First I sprouted some wheat. Sprouting makes the wheat so much more nutritional and so good for you. It also makes it easier for those who have a hard time with gluten.

So here is my sprouted wheat. I used 3 cups dry wheat berries, put them into my 2 quart jar, and covered them with water. It took about 36 hours (ish) to get the sprouts like this. You can use the wheat sooner than this doing the same process, but I like it to be a little bit sprouted, especially for the burgers. But if you soak it for only 24 hours then you can do the same process as below, but the gluten won't be quite as developed and it won't be as sticky, but it fries up better like a ground beef. For sprouting it, I just soaked it in water for the first 24 hours, rinsing it twice. Then for the next 12 hours or so, I laid the jar on it's side with my screen on top, water all drained out and let it sprout. I rinsed it a couple of times in that period of time as well.

Once it was sprouted, I ran it through my hand crank wheat grinder. If you don't have one of these you can pick them up for fairly inexpensive. I paid $50 for mine. I actually found mine at Canadian Tire in the hunting section.

When I finished the grinding process, I put it into a bowl and added about 1/4 cup water and 1/4 cup oil and some spices. The spices were 3 tbsp beef bouillon (with no msg), and some garlic seasonings and salt and pepper. The wheat actually absorbs the spices really well, so don't go too crazy on the spices because it will be pretty powerful if you do. I also cut up an onion into small pieces and added it. Now I think what I will do next time is add some or all of the following, some cooked rice, shredded cheese, cooked black beans, maybe some egg and crushed cracker. The reason I would experiment with adding some of these, is because even though the burgers I cooked tasted really great, the texture wasn't one that all of my family loved. When you fry them up, some of the wheat kernels that were not completely ground tend to be a bit crunchy and if the gluten isn't cooked all the way through, it will be a bit gummy.

Once in the bowl with all of the stuff added, (you could use your bosch if you have one, but I don't), use your beaters to beat the mixture until the gluten really forms well. It only takes a couple of minutes at the most and will be sticky and gooey feeling.

Next, spray your fry pan, or your griddle and form into nice thin patties. I think my patties were a bit too thick because in some spots the gluten is still a bit mushy. If they are thin enough they should cook all the way through quite quickly. They only need to cook for a few minutes on each side until they are cooked through.

They actually were pretty tasty and I have eaten them plain, on a toasted sandwich with tomato, lettuce and cheese, and in a wrap with tomato, lettuce, cheese, and salsa. In total I got 13 patties, but probably could have made a few more, because next time I will make them thinner, and add a few other things like I mentioned above. But all in all, they were a great burger and tasted really good.

I love to learn new ways to use my wheat. I figure if we are going to store it, then we better know what to do with it.

I also will add that I sprouted two gallon jars full of wheat, 6 cups dried wheat berries in each gallon and went through the sprouting process. Once they were sprouted so that they looked like the sprouts in the jars above here, I spread them out onto my dehydrator trays lined with parchment paper, and dried them. Now I am going to experiment this week with grinding them in my wheat grinder into sprouted wheat flour and making some things with it. It is a process to use the wheat like this, and is easier to just grind it up, but so much more nutritious to sprout it first. Yummm! I will take some pictures when I do it and post my results. So for now, go experiment and enjoy!

Videos of making wheat gluten

Now the lady in these videos is making her gluten a bit different than what I described below, but if you watch these videos you will get the general idea of what I am talking about. In a couple of these videos the sound is really yucky, but follow along. I hope this helps.

Some of My Favorite Food Storage Mixes

Waffle / Pancake Mix

1 ½ cups white sugar

1 ½ cups ground white beans

1 cup powdered eggs

1 tbsp salt

1 tbsp baking soda

3 tbsp baking powder

1 2/3 cups non instant powder milk

10 cups freshly ground whole wheat flour or mix part white flour

All you need to do to this mix is add water until it is the consistency of pancakes, or whatever you want to make! It will make waffles, pancakes, crepes, fritters, and more.

Muffin Mix

8 cups flour

3 cups sugar

3 tbsp baking powder

2 tsp salt

2 tsp ground cinnamon

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Mix well, put into a large airtight container. Label with date and contents. Store in a cool, dry place. Use within 6 - 8 months. Makes about 11 cups.

Muffins

This is so quick and easy, I use it for breakfast alot.

2 ¾ cup muffin mix (above)

1 egg beaten

1 cup milk

½ c butter melted or ½ c veg oil

Preheat oven to 400. Spray muffin pans with cooking spray, or line with muffin cups. Put muffin mix in bowl and combine egg, milk, and butter in small bowl. Add all at once to muffin mix. Stir until mix is just moistened. Batter should be lumpy. Fill muffin pans ¾ full. Bake 18 - 20 min. Add fruit, nuts, choc chips, for a variety of flavors.

Chili Dry Mix

Use to season chili, refried beans, taco meat, or spanish rice. Multiply by 4 and store in gallon container. I love this recipe and use it for so many things. It really is good. For the tomato powder, I made my own simply by using my dehydrated tomato chunks and chopping them up in my blender.

1 cup tomato powder

1 ½ c dried veggies (dehydrated onion, celery, and peppers, in equal portions, mixed and chopped in the blender and then add some garlic powder or dried garlic, yummy)

½ cup chili powder

3 tbsp cumin

1 tbsp salt

Chili Beans: Add ½ c mix to a quart jar of cooked beans topped up with water and ¼ cup beef tvp or taco tvp or hamburger

Taco Meat: Add ¼ c mix to burger or veggie meat and saute loosely in oil until brown.

Rice: Add ¼ c mix to cooked rice with ½ c water

Refried Beans: add ¼ c mix to 3 cups mashed beans

Salsa: Add ¼ c mix to 2 c homemade salsa

Cornmeal Mix Recipe

5 cups whole wheat flour

5 cups corn meal

1 1/3 c powdered margarine - or you can leave this out and add oil with your wet ingredients

¼ c powdered milk non instant

2 ½ tsp salt

½ c dehydrate egg whites

3 1/3 c white sugar

2 ½ tsp soda

1 ½ tsp baking powder

If you grind your own cornmeal (by grinding popcorn), grind a small bit of wheat after to clean your stones. This recipe will make about 15 cups. To use: 3 cups mix to 1 cup water and if you have to add oil, then add about 1/3 cup. Bake an 8 inch square greased, for 40 minutes or 10 muffins for 20 minutes at 350.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Master Mix (enough for eight batches) I totally love this one and use it all the time!!!

18 Cups flour - mix part whole wheat and part white

8 tsp. baking powder

4 tsp baking soda

8 tsp. salt

6 Cups granulated sugar

6 Cups packed brown sugar

14 Cups chocolate chips

8 Cups nuts - optional

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar and mix well. Stir in brown sugar until evenly combined. Add chocolate chips and nuts and toss until uniformly combined. Place in airtight container and store in cool, dark location. There is no need to refrigerate.

To prepare cookies:

Beat 1 cup butter with 2 large eggs and 1 tsp. vanilla. Add butter and egg mixture to 6 cups of dry mix with and beat until well blended. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto ungreased baking sheets.

Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. Awesome!!

Cinnamon and Honey

Some interesting facts about cinnamon and honey.  I am not sure where this information originated, but was handed to me from someone, who got it from someone,.....well you all know how that goes.  But I figured that I totally understand the healing properties of honey and cinnamon on their own, but never realized how effective they could be when combined together.  It is worth the try, because they certainly won't do any harm.  And so my recommendation............store lots of honey and cinnamon in your food storage!

The article.........

CINNAMON AND HONEY

Honey is the only food on the planet that will not spoil or rot.  It will do what some call turning to sugar.  In reality honey is always honey.  However, when left in a cool dark place for a long time it will do what I rather call "crystallizing".  when this happens you loosen the lid, boil some water, and sit the honey container in the hot water, turn off the heat and let it liquefy.  It is then as good as it ever was.  Never boil honey or put it in a microwave.  To do so will kill the enzymes in the honey.  Bet the drug companies won't like this one getting around:  It is found that a mixture of honey and cinnamon cures most diseases.  Honey is produced in most of the countries of the world.  Scientists of today also accept honey as a "ram ban" (very effective) medicine for all kinds of diseases. 

Honey can be used without any side effects for any kind of diseases.  Science says that even though honey is sweet, if taken in the right dosage as a medicine, it does not harm diabetic patients.  Weekly World News, in its issue dated 17 January, 1995 has given the following list of diseases that can be cured by honey and cinnamon as researched by western scientists:

ARTHRITIS:  Arthritis patients may take daily, morning and night, one cup of hot water with two spoons of honey and one small teaspoon of cinnamon powder.  If taken regularly even chronic arthritis can be cured.  In a recent research conducted at the Copenhagen University, it was found that when the doctors treated their patients with a mixture of one tablespoon of Honey and half teaspoon Cinnamon powder before breakfast, they found that within a week, out of the 200 people so treated, practically 73 patients were totally relieved of pain, and within a month, mostly all the patients who could not walk or move around because of arthritis started walking without pain.

BAD BREATH:  People of South America, first thing in the morning, gargle with one teaspoon of honey and cinnamon powder mixed in hot water, so their breath stays fresh throughout the day.

BLADDER INFECTIONS:  Take two tablespoons of cinnamon powder and one teaspoon of honey in a glass of lukewarm water and drink it.  It destroys the germs in the bladder.

CANCER:  Recent research in Japan and Australia has revealed that advanced cancer of the stomach and bones have been cured successfully.  Patients suffering from these kinds of cancer should daily take one tablespoon of honey with one teaspoon of cinnamon powder for one month three times a day.

CHOLESTEROL:  Two tablespoons of honey and three teaspoons of Cinnamon Powder mixed in 16 ounces of tea water, given to a cholesterol patient has been found to reduce the level of cholesterol in the blood by 10 percent within two hours.  As mentioned for arthritic patients, if taken three times a day, any chronic cholesterol is cured.  According to information received in the said Journal, pure honey taken with food daily relieves complaints of cholesterol.

COLDS:  Those suffering from common or severe colds should take one tablespoon lukewarm honey with 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon powder daily for three days.  This process will cure most chronic cough, cold, and clear the sinuses.

DIABETES:  Cinnamon has been shown to reduce blood sugar and stabilize A1C in diabetics.  Blood sugar can go from 'pre-diabetic' to normal in six months of adding cinnamon to your morning oatmeal.

FATIGUE:  Recent studies have shown that the sugar content of honey is more helpful rather than being detrimental to the strength of the body.  Senior citizens, who take honey and cinnamon powder in equal parts, are more alert and flexible.  Dr. Milton, who has done research, says that a half tablespoon of honey taken in a glass of water and sprinkled with cinnamon powder, taken daily after brushing your teeth and in the afternoon at about 3:00 pm when the vitality of the body starts to decrease, increases the vitality of the body within a week.

GAS:  According to the studies done in India and Japan, it is revealed that if honey is taken with cinnamon powder the stomach is relieved of gas.

HEARING LOSS:  Daily morning and night honey and cinnamon powder, taken in equal parts restores hearing. 

HEART DISEASES:  Make a paste of honey and cinnamon powder, apply on bread, instead of jelly and jam, and eat it regularly for breakfast.  It reduces the cholesterol in the arteries and saves the patient from heart attack.  Do this process daily and you will be kept miles away from the next heart attack.  Regular use of the above process relieves loss of breath and strengthens the heart beat.  In America and Canada, various nursing homes have treated patients sucessfully and have found that as you age, the arteries and veins lose their flexibility and get clogged;  honey and cinnamon revitalize the arteries and veins.

IMMUNE SYSTEM:  Daily use of honey and cinnamon powder strengthens the immune system and protects the body from bacteria and viral attacks.  Scientists have found that honey has various vitamins and iron in large amounts.  Constant use of honey strengthens the white blood corpuscles to fight bacterial and viral diseases.

Safe Multipurpose Cleaning Recipe

A great recipe for cleaning.  Thanks Judy.  Save money, your health, and your environment too! 
Safe Cleanser Recipe

Mix together 1 tbsp of Borax powder (find it in the laundry aisle of your supermarket)
3 tbsp of white vinegar
2 cups of water
1 tablespoon of dish soap
1 drop of essential oil such as peppermint for fragrance (optional)
Pour it into a spray bottle you bought at the hardware store, give it a shake, and you are ready to clean. For windows, use white vinegar wiped down with newspapers, and to disinfect toys and other kids' products fill a spray bottle with non-chlorine bleach (3% hydrogen peroxide) and wipe with a paper towel.
Bonus: Cleaning out harsh chemicals is not only better for your health, it's good for the environment, because you drastically cut back on your plastic use by eliminating all those bottles of mildew cleaner, window washer, bathtub scrub, and more.

Laundry Soap Recipe

I have had a few requests for this recipe, so here it is.

Home made laundry soap

Here is what you need:

• 1 bar of soap - Whatever kind you like; I used Sunlight bar soap and it is found in the laundry aisle.
• 1 box of washing soda - Look for it in the laundry detergent aisle at your local department store - it comes in an Arm & Hammer box and will contain enough for six batches of this stuff.
• 1 box of Borax - This is not necessary, but I've found it really kicks the cleaning up a notch - one box of borax will contain more than enough for tons of batches of this homemade detergent.

• A five gallon bucket with a lid or a bucket that will hold more than 15 liters - ask around - these aren't too tough to acquire.
• Three gallons of hot tap water.
• A big spoon to stir the mixture with.
• A measuring cup.
• A knife.

Put about four cups of water into a pan on your stove and turn the heat up on high until it's almost boiling. While you're waiting, whip out a knife and start shaving strips off of the bar of soap into the water, or grate it with a grater. Keep the heat below a boil and keep shaving the soap. Eventually, you'll shave up the whole bar, then stir the hot water until the soap is dissolved and you have some highly soapy water.

Put three gallons of hot tap water into the five gallon bucket - the easiest way is to fill up three 1-gallon milk jugs. Then mix in the hot soapy water from step one, stir it for a while, then add a cup of the washing soda. Keep stirring it for another minute or two, then add a half cup of borax if you are using borax. Stir for another couple of minutes, then let the stuff sit overnight to cool.  You could also add some essential oils at this time if you want to have a nice scent - like lemon, orange, peppermint, or your favorite

You're done! It will go kind of slimy, or gel a bit, that is normal and good.  You just scoop out about 1 cup of the gel and use it in your wash.   I figured that you will get about 48 loads out of three gallons, and if you do up six batches of this, you will do about 288 loads of laundry and you will save about $60+ dollars from buying other laundry soap.  It just makes sense $$$. 

Have fun!

52 Weeks, Week 44

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52 Weeks to Family Preparedness for Two

Week 44

"The greatest events that have been spoken of by all of the Holy Prophets will come along so naturally as the consequence of certain causes, that unless our eyes are enlightened by the spirit of God, and the spirit of revelation rests upon us, we will fail to see that these are the events predicted by the Holy Prophets." George Q Cannon (Journal of Discourses; vol. 21, pg. 264)

Food Storage and Preparedness Challenge Of The Week:

Food Storage Purchase 8 Cans of soup

Extra Item Purchase 8 Rolls of Toilet Paper

Family Prep: Go through your calendar now, and put a reminder on it – every six months – to review your emergency plans, update numbers, check supplies to be sure nothing has expired, spoiled, or changed. Also remember to practice your tornado, fire escape and other plans.

Spiritual Preparedness: President Benson "When obedience ceases to be an irritant and becomes our quest, in that moment God will endow us with power." Do an obedience check in your life. Are there areas where you can improve?

Mashed Potato Fudge

½ C unseasoned, well-mashed cooked

potato (about 1 medium potato)

3 C powdered sugar

1 C flaked or shredded coconut

1 tsp vanilla

2 squares semisweet chocolate

While the potato is hot, beat in the sugar and coconut, then the vanilla. Press into a lightly greased 8-inch square pan. Melt chocolate and pour over top. Chill and cut into squares. Keeps indefinitely in airtight container in refrigerator. Makes 64 1-inch pieces.

Variations:

Tennessee Christmas Mints: Substitute a few drops of oil of peppermint for the vanilla. Tint fondant pink and flatten balls to approx 1/2-inch thickness

Chocolate-Dipped: Melt ¼ cake paraffin wax with 6 oz chocolate chips and 2 squares unsweetened chocolate. Dip refrigerator-hardened balls or squares of candy in chocolate and place on wax paper to dry. If desired, press an almond into the top.

Peanut butter: Roll potato mixture on wax paper sprinkled with powdered sugar until very thin. Spread with creamy peanut butter and then roll into a long log. Roll in a little more powdered sugar and refrigerate. Slice to serve.

Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball

1 pkg cream cheese, softened (8 oz.)

½ cup butter (no substitutes), softened

¼ tsp vanilla extract ¾ cup confectioners' sugar

2 tablespoons brown sugar ¾ cup miniature chocolate chips

¾ cup finely chopped pecans ( w/ macadamia's)

Graham crackers

In a mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla until fluffy. Gradually add sugars; beat just until combined. Stir in chocolate

chips. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours. Place cream cheese mixture on a large piece of plastic wrap; shape into a ball. Refrigerate for at least 1

hour. Just before serving, roll cheese ball in pecans. Serve with graham crackers. Yield: 1 cheese ball (about 2 cups)

52 Weeks, Week 41

 

52 Weeks to Family Preparedness for Two

Week 41

President Kimball: Let's do these things because they are right; because they are satisfying; and because we are obedient to the counsels of the Lord. In this spirit, we will be prepared for most eventualities, and the Lord will prosper and comfort us.

Food Storage and Preparedness Challenge Of The Week:

Food Storage Purchase 20 lbs. of Sugar

Extra Item Purchase 3 months of Dish Soap

Family Prep: You should continue to add items as you see fit or continue to add items you skipped to your various emergency kits.

Spiritual Preparedness: Obtain the manual, "Preach My Gospel" if you don't already have one. Choose one Christ-like attribute in chapter 6 to work on in your own life.

Substitute for Lily White Corn Syrup

2 cups white sugar

¾ cup water

¼ tsp cream of tartar

1 pinch salt

Combine all ingredients in large saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to a simmer and cover for 3 minutes to get sugar crystals off the sides of the pan. Uncover and simmer, stirring often, until it reaches the soft ball stage. Cook and store in covered container at room temperature. This should keep for about 2 months. Makes about 2 cups.

Home Made Marshmallow

2 tbsp gelatin

8 tbsp cold water

2 cups white sugar

½ cup cold water

¼ tsp salt

2 tsp vanilla

Dust an 8 or 9 inch square pan with icing sugar. Set aside. In small bowl, soak gelatin in 8 tbsp cold water. Set aside. Combine sugar and ½ cup water in large sauce pan. Cook and stir over medium heat until dissolved. Add gelatin and bring to boil. Remove from heat. Pour into large mixing bowl and let stand until partially cool. Add salt and vanilla. Beat with beater until soft and double in volume. About 10 minutes. Pour into prepared pan to about ½ inch thick. Set to cool until it will not stick to your finger. Cut into 1.5 inch pieces and roll in icing sugar. You can also roll in toasted coconut, or add other flavorings instead of vanilla.

52 Weeks, Week 38

52 Weeks to Family Preparedness for Two

Week 38

Bishop Vaughn J. Featherstone: Decide as a family this year that 25 or 50 % of your Christmas will be spent on a year's supply..... Half or part of these Christmas monies will go a long way to purchasing the basics.......Brethren, give your wife a year's supply of wheat for Christmas, and she'll know your heart is in the right place.

Food Storage and Preparedness Challenge Of The Week:

Food Storage Purchase 30 lbs. of Wheat or Flour

Extra Item Purchase 11 lbs. Macaroni or Spaghetti

Family Prep: Ask "What would the Lord have me do today about obtaining essentials for food storage?" Really try to find out this week, what extras you need or what it is that the Lord would have you prepare. Be specific and you get specifics.

Spiritual Preparedness: Read 2 Nephi 9: 50-52. Reevaluate your priorities and place those things that matter most at the top of your list.

Rice

Along with wheat, rice is one of the staples of long term food storage. Most of the white rice varieties store well and can be stored for upwards of 30 years of kept dry and clean. Rice is the most eaten food in the world. It is the staple diet in many countries. It can be eaten so many ways, and it is so healthy too!

Fried Rice: The variations of fried rice are infinite depending on the added ingredients. Try any of your favorite vegetables, different types of meats, seafood, your favorite or new seasonings, and you will open up a world of fried rice you haven't yet experienced.

Spanish Rice

1 ½ cups rice 2 ½ cups chicken broth

1 cup plain tomato sauce

3 cloves finely chopped garlic

¼ of a medium onion chopped

2 tbsp oil

Other spices as you like, eg: taco seasonings, cumin, etc.

Heat oil in medium fry pan. Add garlic and onion and saute for 2 minutes. Add in dry rice. Stir for about 5 minutes until it becomes golden brown in color. Add in broth and tomato sauce. Add all other spices. Stir and bring to a boil. Cover, and let simmer on low for 20 minutes. Fluff and serve.

Basic Fried Rice

This is a basic recipe that you can add anything to that you desire. If you add other ingredients you can increase the number of eggs to 3.

1 – 2 green onions chopped 2 large eggs

1 tsp salt and pepper to taste

4 tbsp oil for frying 4 cups cold cooked rice.

1 – 2 tbsp soy sauce

Lightly beat eggs with salt and pepper. Heat oil in fry pan. Add rice and stir fry for a few minutes. Pour and mix in the scrambled eggs and onions, and stir to cook and scramble eggs in mixture. Serve hot. Add any other vegetables to oil before adding rice, to make sure they are cooked.

52 Weeks, Week 37

 

52 Weeks to Family Preparedness for Two

Week 37

Brigham Young: "We all believe that the Lord will fight our battles; but how? Will he do it while we are unconcerned and make no effort whatever for our own safety when an enemy is upon us?....it would be quite as reasonable to expect remission of sins without baptism, as to expect the Lord to fight our battles without our taking every precaution to be prepared to defend ourselves. The Lord requires us to be quite as willing to fight our own battles as to have him fight them for us. If we are not ready for an enemy when he comes upon us, we have not lived up to the requirements of him who guides the ship of Zion, or who dictates the affairs of His Kingdom."

Food Storage and Preparedness Challenge Of The Week:

Food Storage Purchase Fruit Drink to make 8 quarts

Extra Item Purchase Shampoo, soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, to last 6 months

Family Prep: Extras you may want to have in your car kit are: jumper cables, a fold up shovel, an electric blanket that plugs into the lighter, flares, compass, road maps, knife, first aid kits, chains, fire extinguisher

Spiritual Preparedness: This is the time of the year when we spend some extra time pondering what we are thankful for. Be thankful for your freedom of religion. Take time to discuss just what this means to you and your family.

Honey & Sugar

Honey can be substituted for sugar:

¾ cup honey to 1 cup sugar and reduce total liquid by 25% or ¼ cup of liquid for each cup of sugar.

Honey Butter

½ cup butter

1 cup honey

Combine ingredients and beat until creamy and smooth. Store in fridge.

Basic Honey Custard

2 eggs

½ cup honey

2 cups milk

tsp salt

Beat eggs slightly. Add milk, honey and salt. Pour into individual molds and set in pan of water. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Allow to cool and chill in fridge.

Honey can be used to heal wounds, as it has been pro ven to be an effective disinfectant.

Honey is a natural wonder. One of my favorites is to butter a piece of toast and add honey.

Look for my email which will tell you all the wonders and uses of this great gift called......honey!

52 Weeks, Week 36

 

52 Weeks to Family Preparedness for Two

Week 36

President J. Ruben Clark, Jr. 1946 – May God give us the strength to stand in these times of stress and trial and crisis. May he give us the wisdom and the inspiration to put hate out of our hearts, a hate that is consuming us. May he give us the power as a people so to bring our influence to bear that men, mankind, may be saved, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Food Storage and Preparedness Challenge Of The Week:

Food Storage Purchase 8 Cans of Soup

Extra Item Purchase 2 Months of Laundry Soap

Family Prep: Make sure you keep enough food and water in you car for 72 hours. The food should be something that won't spoil with heat or cold, such as emergency food bars. Keep enough for the amount of people who normally travel in your vehicle.

Spiritual Preparedness: Take time to really review to you what it means to keep the Sabbath Day Holy. Put some serious study, prayer, and thought into this. Discuss with your family and be willing to make the changes where needed.

Buttermilk Pancakes

2 cups whole wheat flour

2 cups buttermilk ¼ cup oil

4 eggs ¼ tsp. salt

2 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. baking powder

Buttermilk Waffles

2 cups whole wheat flour

2 tsp. baking powder ½ tsp. baking soda

2 eggs, separated 2 Tbs. honey

¼ cup melted butter or oil

2 cups buttermilk

Sift together dry ingredients. Combine egg yolks, honey, butter

or oil, and buttermilk in another bowl. Add to dry ingredients

and mix well. Beat egg whites until stiff, but not dry, and then

fold into batter. Cook on waffle iron. Makes 4 to 6 waffles.

SOFT COTTAGE CHEESE

2 c. hot water 1 ½ c. dry milk powder

3 T. fresh lemon juice or white vinegar

Blend water and dry milk and pour into saucepan (foam and

all). Sprinkle lemon juice or vinegar slowly around edges and

gently stir over medium heat just until milk begins to curdle,

separating into curds and whey.

Remove from heat and let rest 1 minute. Pour into a strainer or

colander, rinse with hot then cold water. Press out water with

back of spoon. Makes about 1 ½ c. curds. If desired, moisten

rinsed curds with a little buttermilk before serving and add salt

to taste. Refrigerate if not used immediately. Whey from fresh

milk powder can be used in place of water in breads and soups.