Homesteading updates

As we begin to approach our two-year mark living in the country, I wanted to evaluate our progress in the homesteading goals we wrote when we first moved to the country. Here is the four-year plan we made, along with our progress report:

Year One-

-Move onto our new property. CHECK

-Give birth to our new little boy. CHECK (I didn't plan on postpartum depression, extreme sleep-deprivation, and exhaustion with this one....so I went into 'survival mode' and ignored our homestead plans for almost a year. Now that I'm out of the "new baby" phase, I'm quickly catching up with our plans for the property. I'm on fire with progress this month!)

-Repair the house and make the necessary improvements. CHECK, CHECK, CHECK, and still more to do. (Finish remodeling the garage into two additional rooms, demolish the badly-done extension that is literally rotting away and falling off the rest of the house. Oy.)

-Start our large chicken flock, including guineas and roosters this time. CHECK and CHECK (FYI- guineas are pretty annoying. And our guinea likes to scratch off the gravel on our composition shingle roof. I'm not sure they're keepers. We are slaughtering our last guinea during our next butchering day.)

-Incubate eggs so we can perpetuate the flock sustainably, without buying chicks online. CHECK,  CHECK and CHECK.  (We prefer letting a hen hatch the eggs rather than incubating them indoors. The hens take such good care of the chicks, and greatly reduce our workload regarding chick brooding/care.)

-Begin the compost pile so we will have soil amendments for our veggie garden. CHECK (We have several piles going. It's so nice to use rich homemade compost this year in our orchard and veggie garden!)

-Fence in the garden plot. CHECK

-Plant our herb garden this year. -we're working on this one now-

-Begin vermicomposting with kitchen scraps. CHECK (Sarah LOVES searching for worms in the pasture and relocating them to our compost bin. She'll spend hours at a time happily digging in the dirt hunting for worms and carefully cradling them in her hands as she carries them to their new home.)

-Raise enough meat birds to produce the meat our family will eat this year. CHECK and CHECK

-Slaughter the birds and preserve the meat in one long weekend. CHECK (One long weekend didn't work- we do several smaller batches instead. It's much easier to process the meat on a smaller scale.)

-Participate in 4-H so our children can learn how to work with livestock. -NOPE, the meetings in our area are only on Sundays, so we won't be participating in 4-H. Boo hoo.-

-Continue studying permaculture techniques to implement in our farm design. CHECK



Year Two-

Amend the soil for garden beds. CHECK (Double digging a garden is back-breaking work, just to warn ya. But you'll LOVE the results! I love our garden bed!)

Plant one vegetable garden bed this year, 100 feet long and 4 feet wide. CHECK (I even edged our garden with large limestone blocks this year- it's lookin' good! It finally looks like a real garden instead of a random patch of pasture.)

Begin planting fruit trees for our orchard. CHECK (2 figs, 2 pomegranates, and 2 peaches are planted. We're still looking for 2 persimmons and 2 jujubes.)

Expand poultry flock to include ducks and geese, which will live in pools made in the fruit orchard area.     -Our goslings will arrive in April!-

Expand herb garden to include medicinal plants. -working on this one-

Improve the barn so it's ready for livestock.-working on this one-

Reseed the pasture so it has a healthy ecosystem of grasses. -working on this one-

Build a beehive and begin beekeeping in the pasture. NOPE (Maybe we'll get to this next year after we help friends with their bees to gain hands-on experience. And after I conquer my huge fear of flying, stinging insects. Maybe.)

Raise meat goats to keep brush and weeds under control in the pasture. (We are hoping to buy three goats this spring after we repair the pasture fences and install gates.)

And looking ahead to the next couple of years:

Year Three-
Add another vegetable garden bed, 100 feet long and 4 feet wide. 
Add domesticated grape vines to the property 
Plant native berry bushes, including blackberries and blueberries.  
Add some dairy goats or a Jersey cow so we have our own milk supply, then we can produce home made butter, cheese, cream, yogurts, kefir, etc. with farm-fresh milk. 

Year Four-
Add another vegetable garden bed, 100 feet long and 4 feet wide. 
By now I'm hoping our food production will be largely self-reliant. Unless calamities occur to set us back, we'll be using plenty of veggies from our three large garden beds, fruit from our bushes, vines and trees, eggs and meat from our chickens, milk from our large livestock (either cow or goats), and sweetener from our beehive. It is presumed that we will preserve the harvest each year with canning, dehydrating, and freezing so we won't have to buy much produce during the extremely hot or cold months of the year.

72 hour kit for a toddler

I updated our family 72-hour kits this month. 

What foods did I find to pack for a toddler?

He wouldn't be able to handle most of the foods we packed into the adult bags. 

MREs would surely overload his little digestive system with food that is too rich and high in calories.

This is what I came up with:

One day of emergency food for a toddler 72-hour kit

Clockwise from the top:

                       Instant oatmeal is baby-friendly and easy for him to eat at breakfast.

Cheerios are for snacking between meals. I placed them in a re-used plastic container to prevent them from becoming a mountain of crumbs in the pack.

Next are organic wheat crackers. We really love the Annie's brand bunny crackers from Costco. They are healthy and perfect for snacking. Each day has a different variety of flavors.

Freeze-dried fruit is perfect for emergency kits. It's healthy, delicious, compact, and has a long shelf life.

Squeezable applesauce is portable and mess-free. We really like the GoGo Squeeze brand, also purchased from Costco. We stocked a few different flavors each day for variety.

HappyTot brand makes great squeezable baby foods. Here is where I incorporated servings of vegetables and meats. 

Last is a meal-replacement shake. I was thinking this could make up for any nutritionally deficient areas in the daily diet. My plan is to pour it into a sippy cup or bottle (which is packed into his kit already) to reduce spills. 

I packed more food than I thought he could eat each day so there was a large variety of foods for him to choose from. 

Toddlers get so distressed easily so I wanted to have plenty of foods to tempt his appetite. 

The meal-replacement shake was really my insurance that he would get some vitamins if he refused other foods. He loves almost anything we serve in a bottle or sippy cup, so I tried to pack in as much nutrition as possible there.

I really love the concept of squeezable food for emergencies.

I think it would be hugely stressful to try to spoon-feed a baby while evacuating by car or staying in a crowded shelter. 

Hopefully this gives you an idea of how you can tailor your kit to match your family needs. 

Happy prepping!

Our Anti-Black Friday tradition

(Editor's note- This was a post I wanted to write a couple weeks ago. How lame is that? Tough luck. I've been too busy with my family. Now you're thinking sarcastically: "Great! A post about old news!" That's okay, I'm not at all offended if you skip this one. In fact, I won't even know.)

How do you spend Black Friday?

I have a confession: I have never attended a Black Friday sale. Ever. My friends know that I am very anti-Black Friday.

Why? There are a few reasons.

1. They never have sales on the type of toys or things I would buy anyway. I don't care how cheap the sale is; if I don't need it, I'm not buying it. I also don't 'do' electronic toys that flash, beep, play music, whatever. If it requires batteries, it's not welcome in my house (with the notable exception of the Wii). Have you ever noticed there is NEVER a great sale on classic toys, like...say, wooden blocks? Legos? Magic sets? Chemistry sets? The loss leader toys are always either A- electronic in nature or B- stupid name brands that I refuse to support (Barbie, anyone? How about Elmo? Or even better, Bratz brand. Ug, I cringe.)

2. Even IF there is a sale that interests me (everyone could use new clothes, right? Especially at the rate my kids wear theirs out!) I still don't go. The entire spirit of the thing bothers me. I am a competitive person, but I try very hard to keep that competitiveness friendly and under control. Black Friday is competitive by its very nature, and I don't want to be around people acting competitive, frantic and greedy.....those feelings are all too contagious.  I don't want to feel greedy or care so much about 'stuff', so I avoid stores like the plague on Black Friday. I don't like any of that bad karma saturating the stores to touch me.

Usually we just stay at home on Black Friday, enjoying games and puzzles while enjoying Thanksgiving left-overs (I feel terrible referring to Nate's cooking as 'left-overs' because the very word inspires images of gross food past its prime.....his cooking is too good for that and needs a new name.... perhaps Thanksgiving abundances? Nah.) It's usually a quiet day to rest (and recover from hosting the large group we invite every year for the Thanksgiving feast.)

We found a new family tradition to celebrate Black Friday this year. We attended a Homesteading Fair and celebrated the 'Simple Life' of self-sustainability. I can't tell you enough how much FUN we had! I was actually shocked....it was more fulfilling than I expected. It was so...what's the word?.....REFRESHING and INVIGORATING to be so removed from the rampant materialism in my world. It felt a lot like a state fair, except without sponsors/advertising/sales pitch guys.It felt like a good, old-fashioned idyllic state fair full of good food, handmade crafts, and a deeply agrarian base to everything.

This fair is hosted by a religious community who operates a self-sustaining village. They don't buy anything....it's all made at home. It's very similar to the Amish, but it is a different group. I was so impressed with the entire village.

There are residential master craftsmen who create the necessary supplies for EVERYTHING a family needs: farmers provide food, blacksmiths make all the tools needed for a home/garden, women spin wool and weave their own fabric for all the clothing, potters make all the kitchenware, leather shops even make all the shoes for the village, etc. Isn't this so fun?! I ADORE visiting Amish shops, so this was even more fun.

There were educational demonstrations all day. Our favorite demo was watching the sheepdogs herd the sheep through an obstacle course. Other highlights included casting aluminum in the blacksmith shop (Nate has been wanting to build a blacksmith shop in one of our barns, so this was a great class to attend), shearing sheep, milking goats, building brooms, making soap, distilling essential oils, and weaving fabric. Of course our kids adored all the livestock, poultry, and petting zoo. We spent a LOT of time playing with animals. (You'd think we didn't already have several dozen animals of our own.)

Our children made several souvenirs to remember the day. Daniel learned how to make a leather bookmark punched with his name.

Matthew made scented soap balls and used a printing press to make his name on a bookmark. Sarah stitched a purse and made soap. Their favorite activity was hammering brass spoons and punching their initials into the handles. At each of these activities, village members (I guess I should say church members) taught the children how to create the project themselves, so it was very hands-on.

We brought a picnic for our lunch. Can I just say this was the BEST picnic I've ever had? Thanksgiving leftovers (er..."abundances") worked so well as a picnic- the boys each had turkey legs (isn't that a staple in state fairs?), and we all feasted on rolls, turkey breast meat, fresh veggies, fruits, sweet potato ambrosia, and strawberry/rhubarb pie with whipped cream. Oh, it makes me salivate just to remember it.

Nathan and I were surprised to discover we kind of wished we could move to this village. I always thought the perfect place to live would be next to Amish neighbors, and this place was so similar in principle. I learned so much and felt so empowered to go home and get to work on our own property.  Luckily we have several friends from church and work who are gung-ho on self-sustainability the way I am, so there are lots of resources for us to learn from.

Just tonight we went to a Christmas party at one of these homes. The owners built their own house (even down to extruding their own electrical wiring- just to see if they could do it) and cleared some of the forest to plant a large vineyard. Now they make their own wine and beer (sweetened with honey from their own beehives). The vineyards are watered from rain water collected from their home and barn. They make their own cheeses (amazing kinds we've never tried before, like smoked gouda and Shropshire) and process their own deer that are shot on his property. Actually, the way they harvest deer is interesting. He sets up a night vision camera at his deer-feeder so he can monitor which animals are patronizing his property. He simply picks out what animals he wants to 'harvest' whenever he wants to stock up on more venison.

Doesn't this all sound so amazing? Who wouldn't want to be friends with people like this? I feel so blessed to be surrounded by interesting people.

Canadians sound like what?

We recently purchased "Homesteading for Beginners". It's a 3-DVD set teaching homesteading skills.

The DVDs are so interesting! They are made by a homesteading family that live near an Amish community. Read how they became started in homesteading here.The family learns and shares a lot of 'common sense' treasures from their Amish friends. Isn't that SO NEAT? I always wished I had Amish neighbors! (That's the one thing Texas lacks- no Amish communities!) They even sell clothing from their Amish friends and old fashioned kitchen tools for a farm kitchen. You can see their website here. 

The videos teach things like:

-how to butcher a pig or cow and preserve the entire thing in ONE DAY (remember, the Amish have no refrigerators so they HAVE to do it quickly.)

-how to make a variety of breads without yeast or sugar (How cool is that for food-storage freaks like me?!)

-how to home-can almost everything (even bacon and sausage- YUM!)

-how to milk a cow (which I've never seen done before, this was so valuable to learn!)

-lots of ways to garden and preserve your harvest for later (right up my lane!)

-how to make maple syrup (this made me wish we actually lived up north, where is actually snows and sugar maples grow!)

-how to make your own daily multivitamins from powdered plants(okay, this clip is seriously funny. It looks like she is making a witches brew, with green and red smoke raising out of the pot! We couldn't stop laughing!)

My kids have really loved watching these videos with me, and we have learned so much! Now we are so excited to begin experimenting with some new ideas (This is where I became convinced that I wanted to own a Jersey cow instead of goats.)

The family has such a cute Canadian accent. After watching these videos for a while, Matthew said, "These people talk so weird....oh I know what it is! They sound LIKE MUPPETS!"

Bwahahaha! 

Why Homestead?

(This is part of a two-part post. Read HOW I am making a difference in our family's food here.)

Am I crazy?

Some people have asked if I'm crazy in my desires for self-reliance. It's so much work. It can be tedious or boring. Don't I have loftier goals for myself?

It's hard to explain all the reason's why I feel so strongly about the food we eat and where it comes from. There is so much to say. There are entire books on this topic alone. Here are the summarized points I want you to consider (there are a lot of links so you can explore the topics more in depth):

1- What are the ethics behind your food? Did you know America's sugar is almost exclusively made by slaves?  The sugar for your candy is made by modern slaves in the Caribbean, and they are owned by AMERICAN companies. Try finding an ethical source of sugar- I tried and had a very hard time finding it. Learn about the corporate practices behind your food labels. So many of them are ravishing the environments or spewing poisons. Animal products are processed in the most disgusting ways. I don't like the idea of supporting meat companies that are so cruel to animals. Simply put, I don't want my consumer dollar to support any corrupt companies. 

2- What is the health cost behind your food? Many foods are contaminated with harmful or deadly bacteria due to the unclean practices used on the corporate farm. What are you ingesting along with your salad? What pesticides are on it? Did you know the fertilizers are often sewage sludge? (Doesn't that explain why there are so many food recalls from contaminated produce?)What about E coli? Salmonella? Read more about food safety issues from the Union of Concerned Scientists. What is in your milk? Did you know that milk is tainted with steroids, harmful hormones, and antibiotics? (Lactating mothers know they can't breastfeed their babies while on antibiotics because the medicine crosses into the breast milk.....so why are people okay with giving antibiotics and other drugs to dairy cows?) You can find good food in your area by clicking here or here. See why Jersey cow milk is healthier than the store-bought Holstein cow milk here.

3- What do you spend on food? As fuel prices increase, so does the food price. Remember all the oil used to grow the food? Farmers have to increase their produce price to compensate for their increased fuel costs. In the next year alone, the grocery prices will almost double, according to Marjory Wildcraft. Watch her lecture here to see why.

4- Food politics are a nasty thing. I feel like it's SO IMPORTANT to grow my own food or support local farms and avoid inadvertently giving money to Cargill and Monsanto (read or watch just about ANY food documentary and you'll learn about these corporations. It's too corrupt and too in-depth for me to try to share any of the issues here about those companies. You'd probably never come back after reading one of my lengthy tirades against bad food politics...politics like this.)

5- Why are you eating GMOs? Genetically Modified Food, aka Frankenfood. These have so many problems! In America these products aren't labeled, so you don't realize that the Kraft mac and cheese on your table contains GMO ingredients. These foods have been proven to cause health problems, and GMO foods are banned in most developed countries of the world. Japan's stance regarding GMOs is essentially "we'll watch what happens to America's children after eating GMOs for several years before we allow it in our own country. America can be the world's guinea pig". Aren't these red flags to you?

6- Do you realize what would happen if there was an oil embargo or trucking strike?  America would starve. Our food is produced almost exclusively with fossil fuels. Tractors are used to plant, fertilize, pesticide, and harvest the food. Tractors require a LOT of fuel. Then consider all the shipping fuel required to transport the food from the farm to your grocery store. What would happen with a trucking strike? Grocery stores would have empty shelves in less than 2 days. What would you do for your children? Do you really want to leave your food security in the hands of others?

I didn't used to think about my food, beyond the decision of what to make for dinner. I was first exposed to the concept of food origin (and it's accompanying politics, ethics, and health issues) in a book club. Then I learned some more in my own library digging.

In every book club I join I now recommend "Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan. He was several books published about food, but this is a good one to start with.

I opened my mind to moving on a farm only after I read "Animal, Vegetable Miracle" by Barbara Kingsolver. (It's the second book I recommend to friends.) Her family ate only what they could produce for themselves (or buy from a farm within a 5 mile radius) for an entire year, just to see if it was too difficult to be a lifestyle choice. It's a fascinating (and entertaining) read. Nathan and I enjoyed reading it aloud together in the evenings. She's a great writer. Her bibliography at the end lists a comprehensive list of books to read regarding the differing aspects of food safety, sustainability, and politics. There are too many for me to list here. Visit her website here.

"Fast Food Nation" is a great one to read particularly regarding meat-processing plants. I thought  most things had changed since the writing of Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle". I'm not as correct as I had thought. There are still so many glaring problems with just the food safety issues at these plants, let alone employee treatment.

I highly recommend you check those books out from your library and peruse them. It's so important to at least be educated about food issues so you can make your choices without ignorance. As the parents of our homes, we are the ones selecting the menus for our children. They trust us to do what's best for them. How can I encourage my loved ones to eat contaminated food?

If we don't know how to produce our own food, we are irretrievably chained to corporations. We lose freedoms. How? We depend on these companies for our own lives, literally our daily bread. Get to know your food. I'm a fiercely independent person and I refuse to be enslaved to company greed. I am not just a number in a statistic for their marketing teams to analyze. I am a free person, and I refuse to partake in the mass consumerism gripping our nation.


The answer for me was to be as self-reliant as possible. Not everyone can do that, but You CAN make a difference.  Learn how here. Learn more about food safety here. Those of you who prefer visual documentaries should watch "Food, Inc." to learn more about food issues.

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.     ~Margaret Mead

If you have learned something new here, share this post online with others. Facebook. Twitter. It's so important that we know where our food comes from!

Homesteading for Beginners

(This is part of a two-part post. Read WHY I chose to move onto a farm here..)

We dabbled in urban homesteading when we lived in the city. Our teeny yard was filled with raised garden beds, a small flock of chickens, and a couple of peach trees. In that house I taught beginner gardening classes several times and we helped other families build gardens in their own backyards.

Our interests grew to include beekeeping and a desire to expand our collection of fruit trees.

We had a couple minor problems:

1- We couldn't keep a rooster (Well, LEGALLY we could keep one, but we didn't want to be bad neighbors....I'm sure no one would thank us for the ruckus a rooster makes at 5:00am)
2- There wasn't an isolated corner for a beehive (where it would be safe from the ravaging appetites of our chickens)
3- We couldn't fit any more fruit trees on the property (and we REALLY wanted to plan some pomegranates, pears, and plums.)
4- We couldn't fit a dairy goat on our property (even though I was so excited when I discovered a legal loophole in Round Rock's city laws that actually would allow us to keep a goat, sheep, or even a pig on our property. Cool, eh what?)

We already made our own bread, jams, yogurts, kefirs, and the occasional cheese. We wanted to dabble in more. We didn't have the land to do so.

Fast forward a couple years. Now we have plenty of land to do all of our experiments. Here is our four-year plan for this place:

Year One-
Move onto our new property. Give birth to our new little boy. Repair the house and make the necessary improvements. Start our large chicken flock, including guineas  and roosters this time. Incubate eggs so we can perpetuate the flock sustainably, without buying chicks online. Begin the compost pile so we will have soil amendments for our veggie garden. Start fencing in the garden plot. Plant our herb garden this year. (Seriously, have you seen how ridiculously expensive fresh mint and tarragon are? Yikees!) Begin vermicomposting with kitchen scraps. Raise enough meat birds to produce the meat our family will eat this year. Slaughter the birds and preserve the meat in one long weekend. Participate in 4-H so our children can learn how to work with livestock. Continue studying permaculture techniques to implement in our farm design.

Year Two-
Prepare the soil for garden beds (this one will be a doozy of a chore). Plant one vegetable garden bed this year, 100 feet long and 4 feet wide. Begin planting fruit trees for our orchard. Expand poultry flock to include ducks and geese, which will live in pools made in the fruit orchard area (the geese eat grass, so they'll keep the orchard area mowed and fertilized on their own, isn't that neat?) Expand herb garden to include medicinal plants. Improve the barn so it's ready for livestock. Reseed the pasture so it has a healthy ecosystem of grasses. Build a beehive and begin beekeeping in the pasture.

Year Three-
Add another vegetable garden bed, 100 feet long and 4 feet wide. Add grape vines to the property (not the wild Mustang grapes that already grow here, just to clarify. Those are mostly used to make wine....not helpful to sober Mormons!). Plant native berry bushes. Add some dairy goats or a Jersey cow so we have our own milk supply, then we can produce home made butter, cheese, cream, yogurts, kefir, etc. with farm-fresh milk. Yum! (I'm really looking forward to this particular goal! Milk is SO much healthier when it's not from a dairy plant. There's no pharmaceuticals in the milk.)

Year Four-
Add another vegetable garden bed, 100 feet long and 4 feet wide. By now I'm hoping our food production will be largely self-reliant. Unless calamities occur to set us back, we'll be using plenty of veggies from our three garden beds, fruit from our bushes, vines and trees, eggs and meat from our chickens, milk from our large livestock (either cow or goats), and sweetener from our beehive. It is presumed that we will preserve the harvest each year with canning, dehydrating, and freezing so we won't have to buy much produce during the extremely hot or cold months of the year.


My aim is to be as self-reliant as  possible.

Toasty Texas

This year is the worst year in recorded United States history for wild fires. Texas has had fires raging for over 250 consecutive days and over 1400 homes have been destroyed.

Smoke fills the air around our home often. I watch fire trucks rush past our house and I feel nervous. The horizon shows a wall of smoke, but I can't gauge how far away the source is. We know several families from our congregation who have lost their homes to these wild fires. These fires have spread faster than 20 miles per hour, so evacuations are very hasty. Most people have been allowed less than 5 minutes warning to leave their homes as the fire line approaches.

I'm so thankful to have our 72-hour kits already assembled and waiting. Sarah and I have moved the kits near our front door, so we can be more efficient with our evacuation time. I figured there's be some time lost in trying to catch the cat and dog.

I've been thinking about some things in the wake of this local tragedy. It reinforces to me that 'stuff' is just 'stuff'. Yes, it would be sad to lose our possessions, but it would be a worse tragedy to lose our family pictures and the associated memories that go along with them. Thankfully Nathan backed up all our pictures (ten years of marriage= thousands of pictures) on DVDs so I could put them in our emergency kits.

I've also had this scripture running through my mind: If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear.

Whatever happens to our home, will happen. I can't control the weather or where the next fire will strike.  I can only control my action. In the midst of this area's worry and danger, I still feel peace. I've done what I can to prepare and protect my family.

 If it is the Lord's will, He will help us escape harm. If not, then we have a trial ahead, which still has its blessings. It would help us grow spiritually in ways that wouldn't have happened otherwise. So you see, either outcome brings something positive.

Millions of Peaches, Peaches for Me

Millions of Peaches, Peaches for Free. 

Our backyard peach tree has a bumper crop of large, delicious peaches! I absolutely love harvesting nature's bounty and preserving it in jams, bottled preserves, and freezer bags. This is the first real crop we've collected from our peach tree. The branches are heavy with fruit, and the peaches are growing in clusters of up to 6 peaches!

Rachael, Nathan, and I picked bowls full of fruit. Rachael was kind enough to begin washing the fruit in the kitchen while Nathan and I worked on collecting more.

Actually, Nathan did the picking while perched on the top of a precarious ladder, and I held the bowl up within his reach. It sounds terribly lazy of me, but in my defense I spent an hour picking fruit yesterday without him. Our bowls were quickly filled to capacity, so we'd pass them through the music room window to Rachael, who slipped up empty and clean bowls from the kitchen. Matthew was very eager to climb the tree and reach for fruit.

After picking everything we could reach, we worked together to pit and slice the fruit. I was very delighted to discover that this peach tree is a Freestone variety- which means the pits literally fall out of the fruit instead of clinging to the juicy flesh. Sarah and Matthew really enjoyed joining the assembly line. Rachael washed, Nathan did a long circumventing slice, Sarah and Matthew twisted the halves open and removed pits, and I sliced them and covered them with a sugar syrup.

I originally made a few batches of peach jam. The best one is Blueberry Peach Jam....oh it's like candy! After pouring the cooked jam into jars, the children and I gathered around the pot and collected the remnants of sticky jam with pieces of bread. Then we popped it into our mouths. It was SO good! 

We ran out of pectin, and TIME, so we just sliced and froze the remaining gallons of peaches so we can make cobblers, pies, fruit smoothies, and more jams later in the year.

It's hard work, and we're very tired, but there is something so deeply satisfying in harvesting food yourself and preserving it for later. Perhaps it's the pleasure that comes form good old-fashioned work.

I feel so happy and fulfilled with my work. And then there's the benefit of the food itself: there's no pesticides, and the flavor of tree-ripe peaches is unbeatable. 

Evacuation List- Take Two

Okay, my camera battery died this morning when I posted the last post, so there wasn't a picture of my actual list. If you click on it, you can see it bigger if you care to read the actual type.  Here you go:

Have a great day! Love life and laugh today!

Evacuation list

My sister asked me to post our evacuation list so she could get an idea of how we organize the family for emergencies. I have our 72-hour kits in a closet under the stairs, and this chart is taped on the wall inside the closet so everyone knows what they are responsible for in an evacuation. It's really been nice to have it. When we do our mock evacuations, the family is completely packed and loaded in the car in 10 minutes. That quick escape is vital in a large-scale evacuation so you can avoid the traffic getting out of the city. I have friends who evacuated from Houston when hurricanes came a couple years ago. The families that were prepared and ready to leave had virtually no traffic problems and arrived to Austin in 3 hours. The families that needed to pack and left 60 minutes later were stuck in traffic and took NINE HOURS to make the same trip. Which scenario would you pick? You really have control over it. Watch this video to see two families try to evacuate in 10 minutes. Which family are you? In a hazardous waste emergency, you won't have more than 10 minutes to get out, so being prepared brings me so much peace of mind. I know we'll be fine and we won't have to panic at all. (the pictures have nothing to do with the post...I just wanted to share them)

  Here is a great layout for the list from another LDS mom. There are a few things I changed on my own list top make things easier and more organized.

My own chart has 3 columns:
1- The name of the item to be collected
2- the location (upstairs, Master bedroom, garage, etc)
3- The person responsible for retrieving the item

It's important to start thinking about your list now. As time goes by, I often think of things that I would like to add or delete on the list. I separate the list into chunks. The first chunk of items are the basic necessities that we'd take if we only had 10 minutes to get out. The next chunk of items are things I'd like to take if we had another 5-10 minutes to leave, like the tent, camping stove, propane tank, another 7-day supply of food, etc. The last chunk is what I'd like to take for purely sentimental reasons if we had another 5-10 minutes, but it's not essential for survival, like my original paintings. They could be quickly wrapped in a blanket and stored under the back bench of the van.


 Each family is different, so each list needs to be tailored to you.

Sarah and Matthew are old enough to read the chart and carry out the instructions. Daniel's only job in to gather pillows form each bed, then buckle up in the van so he's not in the way. I like having each person in charge of specific items because everything runs smoothly and there's not a feeling of chaos. Everyone runs to their places of the house and brings them to the car. It's also nice to know Nathan will take care of all the heaviest items, like the cases of water bottles.

In order to pack the car in an orderly way and fit  everything compactly, we have the kids deliver the items to the driveway next to the trunk of the van. Nathan stands there and loads everything (after fetching the items that he's responsible for)  so we can fit things tightly and orderly. 

Being prepared does take work, but I think it's worth it. The scriptures say, "If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear." It's so true. I love having peace in my heart knowing that I can take care of my children no matter what unexpected events come our way.

For spiritual nourishment, click here.

For more great information on emergency preparedness, this fantastic site. It has SO much information about food storage, 72-hour kits, first aid, etc.

Family Emergency Prep- 72 hour kits

It's time to rotate the food and update the contents of our 72-hour kits. There were a lot of changes I made this year regarding the bag contents that made it much more organized. For example, think about the food. Last year our packs were well-stocked with adequate food, but it was just packed into all the nooks and crannies of the container without any order. We didn't know what food items were meant for each day. The only way to know what you had to eat that day would be to unload ALL the food, take an inventory, and divide by three. That's simply too much work to do with 5 separate 72-hour kits. I saw an idea of packaging the food items for each day in a labeled gallon ziploc bag. Fantastic! It's so orderly now!

 I had an idea of how to do it in a way to engage the children more than last year. Last year I did all the packing by myself. This year we arranged all the food items on the side table and all the children packed their own bags for each day. Here is the table set up with the snacks and meal choices.

 We'd all start with our 'Day #1' bag, then we'd walk around the table with everyone packing hte same items at the same time. They'd all put in 2 granola bars, 2 oatmeal packets, etc... until the day's-worth of food was all packed. Then I'd ask them to check their bags and raise their hand if they could see 2 granola bars, then 2 oatmeal packets, etc until we covered everything they should have for the day. That ensured a fast quality-check to make sure no one missed an item. This was so fast the the kids loved being able to choose their own items.

 I had a few varieties of flavors for each time, so they could use their own discretion in selecting food. The activity was a hit, and we had everyone's food packed in less that an hour. Here is the finished table with 3 days of food for a family of 5.

I was asked by some friends what exactly we pack into our meals, so I took pictures of the adult meals for each day. The kids meals were identical except they had the smaller bowls of spaghettios and pasta instead of a regular-sized can like we did. There are a few things to note-
1- I added bags of extra plain oats with each day, since A- the little prepared packets don't hold much food, B- there's always too much sugar, so the prepared oatmeal is too sweet, so this will dilute the proportion of sugar, and C- we like having 'real' oats that aren't the instant kind, the instant kind are too powdery and have no texture.
2- The granola bars and fruit snacks had a wide variety of choices, but these pictures show the same thing in all of them, since I let the kids pick theirs all first and I took the left-over choices. There is more variety of flavor in their bags. The same applies to the cans of fruit. I had a few kinds of fruit for them to choose.
3- The same applies to the dinners- they had canned Mac and cheese for one day, spagettios, ravioli, and tuna salad to pick from.
4- I packed the utensils for the day in each bag, and a few napkins as well. Everyone's bag should have everything they need, so they aren't clambering for me to help them find a utensil or something.
5- The only thing I wanted to pack and didn't was Travel size wet wipes for their hands. I couldn't find any in the store. If you were making this, I would put 2-3 in each bag, so they can clean up after the meal.
6- Don't pack nuts or tail mix (goes rancid in a few months), jerky (makes you too thirsty, not fun to eat for kids), chocolate-coated anything (melts).
7- The water bottles aren't packed in the daily bag, they are separate in the family packs. We have several cases of bottled water that get loaded separately in an evacuation. Don't forget that clean water is THE most important commodity in an emergency!

Okay, here's the food pictures-

Day One

Breakfast- oatmeal, fruit, trail mix bar. 

Snack- raisins, gum, fruit snacks

Lunch- Meal replacement bar, fruit. drink power (add to water bottle)

Dinner- Tuna salad, Meal replacement shake, raisins, granola bar

Day Two

Breakfast- oatmeal, fruit
Snack- fruit snacks, gum, granola bar
Lunch- Protein bar, raisins, meal replacement shake
 Dinner- Canned pasta, fruit, drink powder, granola bar
Day Three

Breakfast- oatmeal, fruit, granola bar
Snack- fruit snacks,  raisins, gum
Lunch- meal replacement bar, Ramen (eat dry or cook), drink poweder
Dinner- Canned soup, fruit, granola bar

I had been worried that the food wouldn't pack as tightly into the backpacks if they were compartmentalized like this, but they packed just a well as they did before. Just be sure to squeeze excess air out of the bag.

I also found a great list of what to pack in your personal 72-hour kits. The list is from a fantastic website that I link to on the sidebar of my blog. It's called the 'Prepared LDS Family".  I highly recommend you visit her site for any emergency preparedness, food storage (Why store food? See the answer here), and smart shopping tips. I love her site! It's really changed the way I do food storage and emergency preparedness. It's helped me get much more organized! Here's a copy of her list for PERSONAL supplies:
72-Hour Kit Personal SuppliesBackpack, tote or small suitcase
List of items in kit (put near top)
Important numbers (update every 6 months)
A recent family photo
Map of city and vicinity
Small flashlight like a Maglite
Batteries for flashlight (put in separate baggie with the flashlight near top)
Emergency rain poncho (put near top)
3-N95 Medical mask (put at top) (Can help during a fire)
Mini First Aid Kit (update every 6 months) (put near top)
Light stick on a neck cord
Whistle on a neck cord
Hand warmers
Thermal reflective (space) blanket
3 day supply of food (2000 calories per day per adult)
3 gallons of water (*will be more than you can carry. Only pack what you can carry)
Pencil and small notebook
Cards, crossword puzzles, sudoku, etc.
Paperback book (I put mine in a gallon ziploc bag in case of water leakage)
Scriptures (Military size is good)
Small comb or brush
Small mirror
Antibacterial hand wipes
Pocket tissues
Lip balm
Wash cloth for sponge bath
Travel-sized toothpaste, toothbrush
Travel-sized liquid body soap
Travel-sized shampoo/conditioner
Travel-sized deodorant
Travel-sized lotion
Travel-sized hand sanitizer
Razor (males)
Personal sanitary items
3 large trash bags
Toilet paper roll
Copies of personal papers & documents for this person (put in hidden but accessible location)
Money - $50 per pack, small bills & coins, waterproof bag (put in hidden but accessible location. This is not all the emergency cash you should have. Just an amount that is always stashed away in your 72-hour kit.)
Waterproof matches (not for young children)
Sunglasses
Extra Kit Items for KidsGames, cross-word puzzles, coloring book and crayons, stuffed animal, small toys, infant pacifier 
Comfort foods 
Clothing Ideas 
Complete set clothing: pants, 2 socks, underwear, long-sleeved shirt (can roll up if hot), hat, mittens
Sturdy shoes (Not in pack)
Coat (Not in pack) However, if you can squish a windbreaker in, do it.
Bedding
Sleeping bag or lightweight wool blanket (Not in pack) (in lawn bag or sturdy bag)
Sleeping pad (grab if you have time)


There are different items to store in a communal family bucket, like a large first aid kit, tarp, rope, leather gloves, etc. If anyone wants the info, you can find it on her site, or ask me and I'll send you a copy. 

Blessing in the Garden

(Hmm....this is a re-post from last year. I don't know how the system did this. Skip it if you've read this before) Okay, you know how much I love locally-produced food. I am a big advocate of the local farmer's market and backyard gardening. I especially love pulling up grass and replacing it with beneficial plants. Grass is so expensive to maintain, in terms of water usage, fertilizer, and time spent mowing it. I've been teaching some gardening classes to a variety of home school friends and church friends. I think it SO important to know where your food comes from and have control over what you eat. It gives you independence in a way nothing else can. I love it!

Recently I contacted a local garden center in an effort to buy ripped bags of garden soil for a discount. I was informed that they store policy was to never sell the ripped bags of soil because some customers would intentionally destroy the bags and then ask for sa discount. I couldn't believe that! So this company was throwing away all the perfectly usable garden implements. They wanted to donate it to a non-profit group, but didn'thave time to find one. I explained my gardening classes (which are completely non-compensated) and they agreed to let me come twice a week and collect any broken bags for free! What a huge resource! That represents several hundrede dollars of supplies each day we collect from them. I've arranged several volunteers with trucks or trailers to drive down to the store, then I do all the paperwork for the inventory lists, and we fill an entire truck bed with supplies. We unload everything in my garage as a distribution site for the students of my gardening classes. It's really blessed a lot of families, since Central Texas has to have raised beds for gardening. It's extrememly expensive to build the raised bed...not for the wall materials, but for the dirt itself. When we did our first raised bed last year, it was $100 for one 4 foot square garden. Ouch! It's really difficult for most families in our ward to afford the initial investment of starting a garden. I'm really glad I can help get people started...Ithink it's so important for everyone to have some form of food production on their property, no matter what size it is.

This morning we had no volunteer with a truck, so I went down on my own to fill my van with whatever we could fit. There were 5 full pallets of supplies waiting for me! There was no way I was going to make 10 trips to bring all that home! When I arrive home with my first load of bags, I called all my students from the last gardening class I taught. Within 30 minutes, we had a caravan of 4 vans headed to the store. We all backed up and loaded up, and still only fit half of the pile!

Emergency Evacuation

Our Stake President from church asked all the families to do a special Family Home Evening about our family emergency preparedness. Thanks to a really informative site, www.preparedldsfamily.blogspot.com, I was able to pack our 72-hour kits, medical supplies, camping gear, etc long ago. I highly recommend this site for food storage guidance, emergency plans, what to pack in 72 hour kits, how to organize a first aid kit, etc. It's VERY informative!

We used to have the supplies hidden in different closets, but 6 months ago my sweet husband moved all his electronic components out of the downstairs closet and sacrificed that space for the exclusive use of our emergency supplies (and the vacuum). I loved the idea shared by other LDS moms of writing up a chart to post in the emergency closet. The chart has a list of all the important items to grab, where they are located (things like journals that aren't stored in the closet), and who is responsible for packing that item in the van. It's so organized, I love it!

For FHE I taught the children about the chart and how to read it (different colors for each family member really helps the process run smoothly). We set the timer for 5 minutes and had a staged evacuation. I was thinking that it would take 5-7 minutes for the entire family to be packed and loaded in the car. Everyone was in charge of loading their own 72-hour kit (packed in a backpack) and then they had specialized jobs to do.

Sarah was in charge of getting the first aid kit, box of medicenes from the medicene cabinet, and scriptures from the master bedroom. Matthew was in charge of loading hte sleeping bags, Bella's pack (filled with dog food), and getting Bella on a leash and preventing her from running out the open front door. Daniel's job was to collect the pillows off of every bed, then he was to buckle up in his carseat and just stay there, safely out of the way. :)

It was incredible to see how fast everyone worked. It's amazing how much can be done in a short amount of time. We were completely loaded in the car, with everyone buckled and ready to drive away in 4 MINUTES 40 SECONDS! I was so proud of everyone! Then we had the *delightful* task of unloading a full van, putting everything away, and winding down for bedtime. We rewarded everyone with ice cream sundaes. During the refreshments, Nathan asked the children what we should do if we had to evacuate while he was at work. Matthew immediately replied, "First we'll have to go save you!" Nathan asked, "What if I died?" Matthew responded, "Then I guess I'll have to cook my own food." Matthew's always thinking about food. On Mother's Day our ward made little books for all the moms. It had quotes from every child in Primary, and the quotes were the responses offered to the question, "How do I know my mother loves me?" Other kids said things like "She reads to me" or "She helps me feel better when I'm sad" or "She teaches me neat things". Matthew said "She cooks breakfast for me." Nice.

Mexican Chicken and Black Bean Magic!

Okay, here's my all-time favorite freezer recipe. It's my favorite because it's so easy to put together in large batches, it's healthy and full of beans, and it's so delicious. It's a huge bonus that it can be served up in a dozen different ways so the family doesn't get tired of having it. It's so filling and it's relatively frugal to make. You can add whatever seasonings you'd like to modify it. I like to add extra black beans since we love beans so much. On a night when we're short on time/energy, I just heat it up and pour it into a large bowl. We sit around it with a bag of corn chips and eat it like dip. Minimal prep work and almost no cleanup! It's great! Enjoy!

Disclaimer- this recipe and the pictures are taken from this website:
http://stolenmomentscooking.com/mexican-chicken-black-bean-filling

Mexican Chicken & Black Bean Filling

This is one of my very favorite recipes. I make it monthly and have a few bags in the freezer at all times.

I love it because it is so versatile, so frugal, so easy, and so just plain good.

Chicken & Black Bean Taco Filling

• 2 T. Extra-virgin olive oil

• 1 1/2 lb. chicken (boneless or not, whatever you have on hand)

• 1 t. cumin

• 1/2 t. salt

• 1/4 t. pepper

• 1/2 lb. fully cooked black beans

• 1 bag frozen corn

• 1 large jars salsa (or 2 regular sized jars)

• 1/2 c. water

• 2 t. cumin

• 1 t. chili powder

• 1 t. salt

1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Season chicken with 1 t. cumin, 1/2 t. salt & 1/4 t. pepper. Add chicken to skillet. Cook for 5-8 minutes, flip, cover skillet and continue cooking until chicken is fully cooked.
2. Remove chicken from skillet. Shred meat and return to pan. Add all remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes.

*This should make enough for 3 meals, depending on how much you use. It freezes perfectly in a freezer bag and thaws overnight in the refrigerator.

This is great as a taco filling, but there are so many other ways to use it too.

Here are a few of our favorites ways to serve it

Chicken & Black Bean Nachos

Quesadillas

Mexican Lasagna

And…

• Served over rice with shredded cheese on top

• Mexican pizza topping

• Mexican French bread pizzas (So good!!)

• With scrambled eggs for breakfast burritos

• Taco salad

• Thinned with 1 can tomato sauce and 1 1/2 c. chicken stock, plus some extra spices and tortilla strips for a chicken tortilla soup

Oh yeah, we are definitely Hooked On this stuff!

Freezer meal recipes- our favorites

Due to demand in emails and in person, here are our favorite tried-and-true freezer dinner recipes. I prefer to make a huge batch of the same meal (enough for 5-7 dinners) and freeze them all. It's an easy enough project to do once or maybe twice each week, and I get lots of dinners in return. After a couple weeks of making two batches of meals each week, you should have 4-6 fantastic dinners to choose from.

I prefer to freeze mine in gallon ziploc freezer bags. Label the bags with the cooking instructions and date BEFORE you fill the bag, and fine-tip permanent markers work best for labeling things. Liquid foods like soups I double-bag. The easy way to fill the bags is to line up several tall containers that you can slide the bag over. When the meal is prepared (and COOLED!) all I do is go down the line filling each bag, removing air, and sealing them shut. You can also do the disposable foil pans for the lasagna, enchiladas, casseroles, etc. I prefer the plastic bags because I can lay them flat and freeze them, then stack them in tight rows when they are solidly frozen.

On cooking day, take the meal out of the freezer first thing in the morning so it can begin to thaw. Use safe methods for thawing (don't thaw on the countertop all day!). Check your label directions so you know that you have all the additional ingrediants on hand (cheese for toppings, rice to cook for the sweet and sour chicken, etc)

Let me know if you have questions, I can explain things in more detail if you would like to know more.

Here are a few of our favorite recipes. As a disclaimer, I didn't create most of these recipes, these are all available online in various places.

Chicken Pot Pie

I stole this recipe from the back of a Bisquick box and changed it to my liking....

1 cup of chicken (about the size of one large chicken breast)

1 can of veggies (I used mixed or whatever you want)

1 can of cream of chicken soup

1 9 inch Frozen pie shell (1-2 depending on the depth of the shell, i

use the deep dish)

1 top crust, one for each pie (I buy the Pillsbury, it's by the cookie dough at the store)

Lay frozen pie shell on the counter to thaw. If you are making pies to freeze you can skip this.

Boil the chicken with salt and pepper balls in the water (the pepper balls is the key, without them it makes a big difference. Once chicken is fully cooked let it cool a little then shred or cube it.

Mix veggies, chicken, and soup together.Salt and pepper to taste

Pour in pie shell(s).

Put top crust on, cut away excess. Then pinch the dough together all the way around. Cut four vents in the top crust.

Put in a 400 degree preheated oven for 20- 30 min or until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbly. Cover with foil loosely to prevent burning.

****************************************************

To cook a frozen pie lower the temp to 375 degrees and cook for 55-75 min depending on your oven.

To freeze a pie:

assemble the pie, cover with plastic wrap then foil and place in freezer. Do not cook the pie if you are freezing it.

****************************************************

Just so you know, I usually make two pies at a time because the frozen pie shell and top crust come in twos. It's easier that way.


Simply Lasagna

12 lasagna noodles
2 cups cottage cheese
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 T dried chopped parsley
2 T Parmesan cheese
1 cup Mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 1/2 cups Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
3 - 4 cups Spaghetti sauce or Marinara sauce

Do not cook the lasagna noodles. Combine the cottage cheese, slightly beaten egg, parsley and Parmesan cheese. Grease foil baking pan(s). Cover bottom with thin layer of sauce. Layer noodles (do not cook them, break them to fit), sauce, half the Mozzarella and half the Jack cheeses. Top with another layer of noodles, then the cottage cheese mixture. Top with another layer of noodles, then the rest of the Mozzarella and Jack cheeses and cover with a thick layer of spaghetti sauce. Cover with extra heavy foil. Label and freeze. Makes 1 9x13 or 2 8x8 pans.

To serve: Thaw. Bake covered for 45 to 60 minutes at 375°. Uncover, top with more Mozzarella cheese and bake an additional 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Sweet and Sour Chicken Bowls

2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast
3 Tbl canola oil
1/2 cup onion, chunked
1/2 cup green bell pepper, chunked
1 1/3 cups cold water
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
2/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce

Cut chicken into 1-inch cubes. Brown chicken in hot oil until cooked through. Add onion and green bell pepper. Cook and stir for about 1 minute. In a saucepan, combine water and cornstarch. Stir in sugar, brown sugar, vinegar and soy sauce. Heat to boiling. Cook and stir until thick and glossy. Pour sauce over chicken and stir to coat. Allow to cool completely. Place chicken and sauce in freezer bag or container. For individual servings, place cooked rice in single serving-sized freezer containers. Top with chicken and sauce. Cover, label and freeze.

To serve: Thaw and heat. Serve in bowls over rice.

It's chili by George! (You can really just do your favorite chili recipe and freeze it- they all work well for freezing. I also like to make cornbread in a triple-batch and freeze some for later- it's VERY good!)

• 2 pounds lean ground beef
• 1 (46 fluid ounce) can tomato juice
• 1 (29 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (15 ounce) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 1/2 cups chopped onion
• 1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1/4 cup chili powder

In medium pan brown the beef over medium heat until cooked. In a large pot over high heat combine the ground beef, tomato juice, tomato sauce, kidney beans, pinto beans, onions, bell pepper, cayenne pepper, sugar, oregano, ground black pepper, salt, cumin and chili powder. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Simmer for 1 1/2 hours. (Note: If using a slow cooker, set on low, add ingredients, and cook for 8 to 10 hours.) Let cool and freeze. On cooking day, thaw and reheat, or put in crockpot in the morning over low heat for 4-6 hours.

Amazing Chicken (serves 4-6)
Ingredients:
-2 lbs. chicken (boneless, skinless breasts or cubes)
-1 pkg. onion soup mix
-1 tsp. paprika
-1/4 cup cider vinegar
-1/2 cup ketchup
-1/4 cup honey (or other natural sweetner)
-1 tbsp. lemon juice
-1/4 cup oil
-1/4 cup onion (minced)
-1/2 cup apricot jam
-large ziploc bag
Directions:
-Place chicken equally into ziploc bags.
-Combine remaining ingredients and pour an even amount into each bag of chicken. Remove excess air, seal bags and freeze.
Oven: Bake covered at 350F for 1 hr.
Slow Cooker: High for 4-6 hours or Low for 6-8 hours.

Bombay Chicken (serves 4-6)
Ingredients:
-2 lbs. chicken (boneless, skinless breasts)
-1 tbsp. oil (for cooking)
-1/4 cup mustard (prepared)
-1/4 cup honey (melted)
-2 tsp. seasoned salt
-1/2 tbsp. chili sauce
-1/2 tsp. onion powder
-1/2 tsp. curry powder (or tandori spice)
-1/4 tsp. black pepper
-large ziploc bags
Directions:
-Place chicken equally into ziploc bags.
-Combine remaining ingredients and pour an even amount into each bag of chicken. Remove excess air, seal bags and freeze.
Oven: 375F covered for 1 hour.

Quebecois Chicken (serves 4-6):
Ingredients:
-2 lbs. chicken pieces
-1/2 cup maple syrup
-3 tbsp. cider vinegar
-2 garlic cloves (minced)
-3 tbsp. soy sauce
-1 tbsp. ground ginger
-1 tsp. black pepper
-large ziploc bags
Directions:
-Place chicken equally into ziploc bags.
-Combine remainder of ingredients and pour an even amount of sauce into each bag of chicken. Toss to coat. Remove excess air, seal bags and freeze.
Oven: 350F covered for 1 hour, uncover last 15 mins.
Slow Cooker: 6-8 hours on low or 3-4 hours on high.

These recipes are great because you don’t need to pre-cook your meat. You just need to ziploc them in their sauce to marinate in the freezer, and then thaw, and cook when needed. Most go well with typical side dishes like cooked vegetables, and rice or potatoes.

Shepard's Pie

(This one is our own recipe, I don't mess with other recipes because this version is Nathan's 'comfort food'. It's very simple and easy)

1 pound ground beef
1 cup chopped onion (or rehydrate a 1/2 cup of the church dehydrated onions-it's super fast and easy.)
1 cup cooked beans (we prefer black or small red--pull a pre-cooked bag of beans from your freezer for this!)
2 cups frozen corn (or 2 cans of corn)
2 cans green beans
1 can Campbells tomato soup(don't mess with this one, no generics for this!)

In medium pan brown the beef and cook the onions until the onions are translucent. In a large mixing bowl (or straight in the casserole dish) combine the cooked beef, onion, beans, corn, green beans, and soup. You may add another can of soup if you prefer more of the tomato flavor. I usually do a can and a half- not a problem if you're making a double batch and freezing them. stir until well combined, pour into labeled bags and freeze. Place shredded cheese for cooking day in another freezer bag (quart size) and staple the tops of the bags together.

On cooking day- thaw the casserole filling. Pour into large casserole pan. Make mashed potatoes (I usally do the church potato flakes- it takes 5 minutes) and place potatoes on top of soup mix. Top with cheese and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Some of our other favorite recipes won't copy and paste from online so here's the website to go to:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/2886927/30-day-cooking-freezer-meal-recipes

Most of their recipes are very good, it's my favorite source for new freezer recipes, but I haven't had time to test them all personally. We've liked all of them so far.

Scroll through the recipes and check out the following:
Santa Fe Chicken Tortilla wraps- super easy!
Roasted Red Pepper BBQ Beef sandwiches
Porcupine Meatballs with Cranberry sauce

For another freezer dinner resource:
http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/how/freeze/dont_freeze_foods.html

Things that do NOT freeze well- pastas, rice, POTATOES, milk-based sauces

I cook those things on the day we'll eat the meal. It doesn't really add much time, especially since the majority of the dinenr work has already been done! Just boil up some pasta or rice and viola! Your dinner is complete! I hope you enjoy these recipes, I'll add some of our other favorite after I can hunt them done. I didn't bookmark the pages for most of the recipes I found online, so I need to do some detective work to find our very favorite one. It's the recipe that can be used for breakfast burritos, enchiladas, nachos, Mexican pizza, lasagna, and taco soup. It's REALLY good and SUPER fast to throw together in large batches. I'll post it as soon as I find it.