Where to begin

Many times people see Food Storage as this HUGE weight on their backs. They ask me (because of my calling) why they need it. If they are people I know well, I tell them , "So you won't come running to me wanting MY food, when you have nothing" (I do have a sense of humor). I tell others, #1 It has not just been advised, but we have been admonished and commanded by our church leaders to have SOME food storage, #2 If you like food and certain kinds of foods, you need to have them on hand. #3 Why not?

Was it raining when Noah was commanded to build an ark? Nope.
Did people think he was crazy for building this massive ship? YEP.

I have spent many hours discussing foodstorage with people, trying to make a difference in someone's life and yet they still don't GET IT (food storage that is).
Let's break down food storage to simpler terms: FOOD that is STORED in your basement, pantry, freezer, fridge. How many times in the middle of making something, do you realize you are out of some random ingredient? I can try my neighbors (and they always try me), but they could be out also. And usually you don't have time to run to the store.
When there is a great sale (who can resist a great sale?) on Cold cereal, why not buy and extra box or 2? I have found other things to do with cold cereal, than just eat it cold. What about canned goods- Oh the things you can make with a can of soup! Or Beans! And you know someone will need cupcakes or a birthday cake soon, so when you see a sale for cake mixes for .75, buy more than 1.
If your family likes canned veggies- like corn or green beans, buy a few extra. If you have a freezer and space, stock up on those frozen food sales (not just ice cream, but real foods). If you have a garden, learn to freeze your own produce!
Food Storage is not hard. Maybe figuring out what to do with all the random ingredients is a bit intimidating, but start slow, stock up on things you use a lot, and NOT just food, but paper products like Toilet paper! Watch for sales and use coupons if you can. I have learned about printing off coupons from online sources. That's fun to save money and get something for almost nothing.
Sit down and think up a couple weeks of meals for your family, all meals and snacks. Write them down and then write down ingredients that you would need. This would be your shopping list. Don't forget seasonings, condiments, marinades, dry mixes, dressings, etc.
Obviously (well, for me), I always need to have eggs, milk, butter or a substitute, oil, salt, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda - just with those few ingredients I could make scrambled eggs, crepes, pancakes, cookies (because cookies are important part of survival, right?), and other simple dishes.
The other day I was cleaning out my fridge and I found bacon (a rarity it wasn't gone, with my bacon loving family) and I was trying to think of something to make with the bacon, using a vegetable. I had some fresh green beans too. I cooked 8 slices of bacon until crisp (you can use precooked bacon and there is less grease) and then tossed in the green beans, added a bit of pepper and some garlic salt and a little bit of water to steam the beans. This is now a favorite dish with my kids. The problem is I need to have bacon in my freezer or fridge. I might try some bacon bits to see if they can taste the difference. Since then, I have used frozen green beans and they perfect.
Look for simple meals you can make from simple ingredients. Experiment with flavors. Try new recipes or adapt them or old ones to your tastes. I made shrimp linguine last week- butter, frozen shrimp, garlic, parmeasan cheese and whole wheat pasta. It was so good. I had never tried it before and I was just cooking for my husband- so I thought I would try it.
I try to get a couple of meals out of a roast. So one night we had roast with potatoes and then the next night I made stroganoff with the leftover roast. I have also made shredded beef chimis that my kids love.
I hope that gives you some ideas on starting or building your food storage. Try cooking all your meals at home for one week and following your meal plan. You will save money and eat healthier, plus build that food storage!
Once you have some food storage built up, like a 3 month supply, you will feel peace of mind and blessings will come.

DEAR READERS, FRIENDS, ETC

I have been having some issues with my blog comments. Aparently I am quite popular with the Japanese , because all the comments I get are IN JAPANESE. All my blogger friends have no clue why Japanese is such a popular language for my blog comments. I do not speak Japanese and my sister in law that does lives too far away to help me. All the emails I send to my followers, who are sending me Japanese comments, in English are not being returned. It is quite frustrating, because if someone has a legitimate question or comment, I would love to respond. I do not want this blog to go private.
Please comment in ENGLISH.
Thank you for your support!

A CURE for Morning Sickness or Nausea?

Who'd have thunk it, I would come up with a "cure" for MORNING SICKNESS!? It hasn't been proven on too many people yet, but My whole wheat flax seed bread has been helping people for awhile. I have changed the names a little, with my twisted sense of humor...
case #1: We'll call him Mitt. He moved into my neighborhood with a brain tumor. I took them a loaf of bread. It seemed to help him not be so nausious after chemo treatments. I would always try to make sure he had a loaf when he had chemo...something to look forward to. Now 3 years later at his last check up, tumor had shrunk to a very small dot and they were moving out. I miss taking Mitt my loaf of bread but atleast no chemo for awhile. YIPEEE.
case#2: We'll call her Tess. She was so sick with morning sickness she felt yucky all the time...I gave her a loaf of bread. She loved it and felt better every time she ate it.
case #3 Sauren, she was so ill with morning sickness. She couldn't keep anything down . I finally took her a loaf of bread. She had a piece at night before bed, the next day...no sickness. She had a piece in the morning...no sickness all day. Hmmm I might be onto something.
I am contacting my OB/GYN to let him in on the recipe (He already calls me "Bread Lady") and see what happens.
If you want to try out the recipe and let me know what your experience is, I will post your story too. I may not have the cure to cancer, but could be for morning sickness.
You can email me at lilsuzihomemaker@gmail.com. The recipe is located on my blog, a bit farther down.
Special notes for the recipe: Lecithin granules can be found at health food stores or Kitchen Kneads and other baking supply stores. Sometimes you can find it in bulk.
Refer your pregnant friends to the recipe too.

Semi homemade Chicken Alfredo

On the way home from my son's orthodontist appointment, I was trying to think of a soft food for him to eat. He had some wires tightened on his braces (can't wait for those puppies to come off...soon, very soon), and his teeth hurt. One of his favorites is chicken alfredo. I bought a Stouffer's frozen chicken Alfredo one time (okay, a few times) and wanted to see if my family liked it. I, of course have a "wheat pasta nazi" for a husband, so I needed to make HOME MADE chicken alfredo using whole wheat pasta...
ANYWAY...
This is what I did:
I had 1/2 pkg of whole wheat spirals and 1/2 pkg of penne' pasta so I combined and cooked until tender. Drain in a colander and rinse with cool water, let drain.
6 chicken tenders cooked in olive oil and 2 cloves of garlic (you don't want the garlic to burn or get brown, so put it in last), with a little garlic salt (cook in a skillet).
Once the chicken tenders were done, I removed them from the pan, including the garlic, I made a cheese sauce, using milk, corn starch and a little butter. I added a jar of Alfredo sauce and then about 1 cup of Italian grated cheeses and stirred into the sauce. Let it cook and bubble a little, stirring constantly.
Cut up the chicken into bite size pieces, add pasta to the skillet with the sauce in it and add chicken. Toss to cover with sauce. You could probably serve right now, but I placed the pasta and sauce in a casserole dish and baked in the oven (350) for 15 mins.

My family loved this. I hope you will see what's in your pantry or freezer and just because you don't have exactly what is called for in a recipe, don't let that stop you from TRYING... and to take a phrase from one of my favorite tv shows..."MAKE IT WORK".

Wheat feast 2010

I taught another wheat class this last Saturday. I think it was better than last year's and I am getting to know Wheat better. Wheat and I are becoming good friends. Wheat is versitile...I like friends that are versitile. I can sprout Wheat and make a vegetable. I can grind it and make a meat alternative...meat from wheat, I can grind it and bake something savory or something sweet. I can make a hot or cold cereal with it.

Can you say that about very many other food items? Not too many.
For my Wheat feast 2010, I made Granola, a cold cereal, tortillas, graham crackers, bean patties,( gluten) wheat sweet and sour balls, chocolate chip cookies, pizza dough, cinnamon rolls, banana bars, brownies, french bread, 2 kinds of whole wheat bread (one using red wheat and one using white wheat), and a cinnamon raisin loaf. I sure learned a lot and what not to do. I am always learning and trying new things. I spend hours looking for new recipes and trying them out. I brought leftovers home (and then took various things to 2 different families) and my son said, "Mom I like it when you teach your wheat classes, because of all the good stuff".
He knows how to make me feel good.

Bread problems?

I was "talking" to some people online the other day and someone had mentioned they had issues with their bread. People always ask ME about their bread issues (like I am some type of expert, guess I have you all bamboozeled). It's okay, I always try and find a reason for their mishaps with bread. My bread recipe came to me by another "online" friend (really I do have friends IRL) over 9 years ago and it didn't work out for the first , oh, 10-15 times, maybe more. It's a tweaking here and there and a bit of this and that...I guess that's why my bread always turns out good.
Anyway, in my research I found the greatest website that I bookmarked. It has tips for bread machine users too!
So here is my gift to you...
http://www.baking911.com/bread/problems.htm

I hope it is helpful. If you keep trying, you should see success. I love it when my recipe works perfect for others...My flax seed bread recipe is listed on this blog.

Bob's Hot Fudge Sauce

Another dessert! I promise that isn't all I make!
I got this recipe from Angel Shannon's "Stick of Butter" cookbook. It should come with a WARNING! It is highly addictive.
12 oz. semi sweet chocolate chips
2 sticks of butter
2 2/3 c evaporated milk (I made mine with non fat dried milk- FOODSTORAGE)
4 c powdered sugar
2 t vanilla
Melt choc. chips and butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Gradually stir in evaporated milk and powdered sugar: bring to a boil. Boil and stir constantly for 8 mins. (or a little longer if your arm can take it). Remove from heat and add vanilla. Stir well. Poor into clean canning jars. makes about 3 pints and some leftover for licking!
I have no idea who Bob is, but THANK YOU!