Mix it up!

June already!  How are your garden's coming?  It is still not too late to plant.  Just think of a short row of beans for summer stir-fry, or tomatoes to make delicious homemade salsa, and let your children help you plant pumpkins for halloween.  If you are new to gardening, planting just a few things and watching them grow will get you excited and not feel so overwhelming.  

The monthly challenge for June is to try one or both of the mixes below.  These are staples in anyone's pantry. They take just minutes to make, and are a fraction of the cost of buying them at the store.  
Note: I buy my spices in bulk at Winco.  So much more economical than the little jars down the spice aisle.  

Taco Seasoning Mix                      Printable Recipe

3/4 cup dried minced onion
1/4 cup salt
1/4 cup chili powder
1 Tbsp. dried oregano
2 Tbsp. each cornstarch, crushed dried red pepper,
dried minced garlic, ground cumin

Combine all ingredients and store in a jar.

To Use: 2 T Mix, 1/2 c. water & 1 lb ground beef, simmer altogether.
Add 2 Tbsp. dry mix to 1 lb. ground beef and 1/2 cup water.
Heat through.



Ranch Dressing & Dip Mix                  Printable Recipe 

2 cups dry parsley flakes, minced
1/2 cup instant minced onion
2 tablespoons dry dill weed
1/4 cup onion salt
1/4 cup garlic salt
1/4 cup onion powder
1/4 cup garlic powder 
Combine all ingredients and store in a jar.  
For dressing: combine 1 Tbsp. dry mix, 1 cup of regular plain mayo & 1 cup of buttermilk.
For dip: mix 1 Tbsp dry mix with 1 cup sour cream.

                                                   Image above is from storytimehandouts.blogspot.com
As you are aware, Self-reliance involves several facets of a balanced life, including  (1) education, (2) emergency preparedness, (3) employment, (4) finances (5) food storage (6) spiritual strength and (7) physical health.

Under direction from the Brethren, these areas are all encompassed in the provident living guidelines. Our church leaders have asked us to improve ourselves so we can be self-reliant and help others as well.  I would like your input on any of these areas you would like more information about for you and your families. Please leave comments and questions below so I can gear my posts towards your needs.

I think we can all agree that our lives are filled with family, church and work, yet somehow we have to find time improve our self-reliance skills.  
If we are diligently consistent, we can improve little by little.
We don't have to cook everything from scratch, grow all our own food, sew all our clothes and run 5 miles a day.  However, if we try to improve our skills and at least try to learn how to do as much as we can, we will feel better about our abilities to take care our our families and serve others.

Have a great month, and if you have something to share, please do! If you are the first to comment, just click on 
"No comments" at the bottom of the post, and it will bring up a comment window.  Also, if you scroll all the way to the bottom of the blog, you will see a gray box to follow by email, and you will be notified when I make a new post.  

Shanna