Who Doesn't Love Rice?

February Preparedness Challenge:

"Our Heavenly Father created this beautiful earth, with all its abundance, for our benefit and use. His purpose is to provide for our needs as we walk in faith and obedience. He has lovingly commanded us to ‘prepare every needful thing’ (see D&C 109:8) so that, should adversity come, we may care for ourselves and our neighbors..."  (See All Is Safely Gathered In)

One of the items offered at the Home Storage Center is rice.  The following recipe is one of my favorite ways to use rice, and it is so versatile.  :)  Click HERE for a printable recipe.

Easy Mexican Rice

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

1 cup white rice

Approximately 1 cup chicken broth or stock        

  Approximately 1 cup tomato sauce

  1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

  1. In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, melt together olive oil and butter. Add rice and stir to coat with oil/butter. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 2 to 3 minutes, until rice is toasted.

 2. Stir in chicken broth, tomato sauce, chili powder, cumin, garlic salt, and oregano.  Increase heat to high and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Stir well, reduce heat to low, place lid on pot, and cook at a gentle simmer for 20 minutes. If rice is not quite tender or liquid is not absorbed after 20 minutes, replace lid and cook for 2 to 4 minutes longer. Remove from heat, leave covered, and allow to rest for a few minutes. Fluff rice with a fork and serve.

Serving suggestions:

1.  Serve as a side dish

2.  Serve inside a burrito with hamburger and refried beans

     and cheese, topped with sour cream and or salsa. 

3.  Serve in a burrito bowl with black beans, lettuce, cheese,   

     tomatoes, corn,  and ground beef or chicken over rice.   

     (So good, and top it off with ranch dressing, salsa ranch,   

     or even, creamy tomatillo ranch. (Cafe Rio style!)

To see what is available at the Home Storage Center and an order form, click HERE

Let's Make Bread! :)

There are lots of things you can do with your wheat from the Home Storage Center, but bread is by far my most favorite. Nothing is more satisfying to than pulling hot homemade bread from the oven. 

I have been working on this recipe for a long time and finally came up with this version that really truly is so light and delicious you won't believe it is 100% whole wheat and best of all, it is easy to make.

If you want to make great lasagna, you learn to keep all the ingredients to make it on hand.  The same applies to bread.  Mashed potato flakes are easy to find, (any grocery store or the Home Storage Center) and vital wheat gluten is in the bulk section of Winco.  

 

 Fluffy 100% Whole Wheat Bread

6 c liquid.  Begin with 1 can evaporated milk and add enough warm water to make 6 cups.

1/3 c coconut oil 

3/4 c honey 

¼ c white vinegar

½ c instant mashed potato flakes (cheap brand works)

3/4 c vital wheat gluten

4 T instant yeast

2 T salt

14 C whole wheat flour

Combine 13 cups of the flour and the remaining ingredients.  Mix just enough to combine and moisten all ingredients.  Let sit 20-25 minutes.  After resting mixture, begin kneading and add the last cup of flour if needed.  Knead 15 minutes.  Cover and let rise until fluffy, about 10 minutes.  Divide dough into 6 well-greased bread pans.  (My pans measure 4.5x8x3.  They are for 1.5 lb loaves  you will need to adjust cooking times according to the size of your loaves)

Let raise 25-30 minutes until ready for baking. (A colder kitchen will require a longer rise time) Dough will have risen above pan as shown in picture below.

While bread is rising, preheat oven to 400 degrees.  When ready, place bread in oven, turning down temperature to 350 degrees and bake 25-35 minutes (each oven varies).  I like to check bread with a thermometer and cook it to 200 degrees, but you can tell doneness if it sounds hollow when you tap it on top (after removing from the pan).   

Remove bread from pans placing on cooling racks.  Brush with melted butter.  Cool, then wrap in plastic bags to freeze.

Recently I found this honey buttermilk white bread recipe that really is so good,  if you prefer a white bread you won't be disappointed with this one.  It is an easy recipe as well. I did not add pictures, just refer to the ones above. 

Honey Buttermilk White Bread

1 ½ T yeast

a pinch of powdered ginger (helps with the rise and crumb)

1 t sugar

¼ c lukewarm water

2 c lukewarm buttermilk (or 2 T vinegar or lemon juice and enough milk to make 2 cups, let sit for at least 15 minutes)

1/3 c honey

1 ½ t salt

3/4 t baking powder

6 c white bread flour

¼ c butter melted and cooled

In a medium sized bowl or bread mixer, combine all ingredients minus 1 cup flour, and mix just until everything is moist.  Let sit and sponge for 20 minutes. 

After sponging, knead bread and add last cup of flour if needed.   Dough will pull from the sides of the bowl.

Knead until elastic and smooth, about 10 minutes.

Form into two large or 3 small loaves. Place in greased loaf pans and grease tops.

Cover, and allow to rise for 45 minutes, or until it rises about an inch above  the tops of the bread pans.

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Place in oven and bake for 25-30 minutes or until internal temperatur reaches 199 degrees. You can cover the tops with foil if they brown too fast.

Remove loaves from oven and brush with melted butter.

Jolin Shaw made this bread one day, and something unexpected came up while she was making it, so she left her 12 year old in charge to finish up.  He finished mixing, put it in the pans and baked it.....it turned out great!  

You have to try this. :)

I can almost guarantee you will be extremely pleased with the results of these recipes.  Try them and see!  Send me pictures and comments via email, or post your thoughts below. I would LOVE to hear how it goes for you!  If you have questions, please call.

Happy baking!

Shanna 

December Already!

I LOVE the month of December but it can get so busy. :)
I have a few ideas to make life a tiny bit easier.  Hopefully you have been able to make it in to the Home Storage Center and look around. This month lets talk about the canned oats and the potato flakes.  It is fun to realize that we can do so MUCH with the very basic storage items.  They are really economical too.

It is so easy to make it nutritious breakfast. One idea... overnight oats. You throw a few ingredients together before heading to bed, and in the morning you have a delicious breakfast ready to go. There are a TON of recipes online for every flavor you can think of. Here are a few, each name is a link to the recipe:
Maple, Brown Sugar & Cinnamon Oats, 
Blueberry Banana Oats, 
Overnight Oatmeal 8 Ways,      

Potato flakes make a really good instant potato soup for a quick supper, and with a few add-ins, can be very hardy.  Instant Potato Soup mix makes a fun gift as well.  For a great recipe click HERE.

Basic food storage items from the Home Storage Center make a wonderful gift for friends and loved ones.
Check them out on their Facebook page.  Click Here to be directed there.

Small steps bring you closer and closer to living a prepared life.
I hope you enjoy the Christmas season,  and make time to Light the World. 

Merry Christmas!

Shanna

Home Storage Center hours:

Wed 11am-7pm

Sat 9am-12pm

Phone # 208-352-7626

Twin Falls Home Storage Center

Our brand new Home Storage Center is now open in Twin Falls.  If you haven't been in, I urge you to go and see what it is all about.  

Our First Presidency has said,

"We encourage members worldwide to prepare for adversity in life by having a basic supply of food and water and some money in savings. We ask that you be wise, and do not go to extremes. With careful planning, you can, over time, establish a home storage supply and a financial reserve." (See All Is Safely Gathered In.)

This is nothing new, we have heard it all before so many times, but it is more important now than ever.  Please watch the 3 minute video below.  

Something she said that really hit home for me was that  Heavenly Father really cares for us and he prepares a way for us to survive and make it through hard times. One thing Heavenly Father has done for us specifically in this area is to provide us with the beautiful new Home Storage Center.  

Heavenly Father expects us to do our part, and he has made it very convenient for us to purchase our long-term food storage items.

What is available?  Click HERE to open the link to the order form for the Home Storage Center  This is the form you fill out when you go in to shop.  (After opening the link, scroll down the page a bit to find the link)

As we add the storable water and food we typically eat to our food storage, then over time we expand by storing grains, beans and other staples.  As noted, it is not prudent to go to extremes or go into debt to establish long-term storage all at once.  We gradually build reserves over time as financial resources and space permit. Little by little, one can or bag at a time it really does add up.

I love that the food comes all ready for storage in #10 cans, and selected bulk items come in 25 pound bags. Makes it so easy. :)

So the challenge: visit the home storage center and add to your long-term storage once or twice a month.  

Home Storage Center Hours:

Wed 11am-7pm

Sat 9am-12pm

Phone # 208-352-7626

Great promises will be ours if we follow the counsel of our leaders by preparing our food stores and live providently.

Happy storing!

Shanna

SaveSave

Free Home Canning Class Webinar

Ok, so I know I already posted a blog for the month, but right after I did I found out about this free webinar and wanted to pass it on in case anyone is interested.   It is a little late in the season, but I would bet this will be a very informative class and great for those who have been afraid to jump into canning with a pressure cooker.  The link to register is below, and don't forget to check out the October Preparedness challenge in the post below this one.  :)

In this free class with Pioneer Living's Melissa K. Norris, you'll learn how to make sure you're staying safe with canning recipes and how to confidently and safely operate your pressure canner. You'll be able to ask questions and, learn from others

WEBINAR DATE: Wednesday, October 12

TIME; 7 p.m. Pacific, 8 Mountain, 9 Central, 10 Eastern

LINK: http://bit.ly/2dBGwT4

​​​​​​​Register to save your spot.

72 Hour Kit... Step 3

So much to talk about this month!  Let's start off with our 72 hour kits.  Now you have your backpacks and your water... a lot of water!  Yes I really did say 1 gallon per person per day, but how do you carry that much?  Let's back up.  Optimally we would have that much on hand, but at the very least, you need to carry enough in your bags to keep hydrated.  We don't know what circumstances we will find ourselves when we need to use our 72 hour kits, (summer, winter, driving, walking etc) so store some in your bags, and the rest on a shelf.  A good rule of thumb to remember is take the weight of the person the kit is for, divide it in half, and convert to ounces and carry at LEAST that much.  Example:

If your husband weighs: 225 lbs divided by 2 =112.5.  He needs to carry at least 112.5 ounces of water for each day.

Next, what food should we store?  This really is the fun part, and you can feel free to tweak it to meet the needs of your family.  I have links below to 4 different ideas for the food portion of the 72 hour kits.  Take the one you like best and run with it, making it fit the needs of your family.

Kit 1
Kit 2
Kit 3
Kit 4

Next, remember this is Honey month.  It comes in 12 lb buckets--
(1 gallon) for $35 per bucket. This honey is raised here in Idaho, and is quality raw honey. There are other sources around, and varying prices, however if you are interested, place your order and payment with me by October 20 and I will pick it up the last week of October.  Please make checks payable to K&L Honey.  

Lastly, as we work on being prepared, we have been so blessed to receive such a wonderful spiritual boost from conference last week.  Reviewing those messages will help us go a long way to becoming spiritually prepared.  The messages always mean different things to each individual, and I would love to hear what quote, thought or talk meant the most to you.   If you feel inclined, comment below.   Here is one of my favorite quotes from conference, it was by Pres. Uchtdorf.  He said, "...The purpose of faith is not to change God's will but to empower us to act on God's will.  Faith is trust--that God sees what we cannot and that He knows what we do not."

Almost forgot. For those interested, Giles are harvesting potatoes on 3500 East behind the shop.  You can go out and pick potatoes, they just asked that you stay away from where they are harvesting. :)  

Have a great month, please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.  329-3791  :)

Shanna

72-hour kits....step 2

Were definitely feeling fall in the air!  This is a wonderful time of year.  Another month has gone by and we are looking forward to another preparedness challenge.  Last month the challenge was to find or purchase backpacks for each member of your family in preparation for gathering our 72 hour kits.  This month purchase bottled water, and get enough so you have one gallon of water per person per day.  Consider the size you purchase carefully.  A large container may be less expensive, but you will have to carry it wherever you go even if it has only a little bit still in it.  Smaller bottles may be easier, depending on the needs you may have. 

A 72-hour emergency survival kit is just that – a kit with a 3-day supply of food, water (and other useful items).

The reasoning for 72-hours (why not just 24 or 48, etc?) is the likelihood that 3 

days is generally enough time under the circumstances to get from point-A to point-B. It’s an interim solution to the problem of survival.

Think about where you may want to store them in the event of an emergency.  Some may want to keep them in the car, a great idea should you have delays of any kind on the road.  

Looking ahead:

1. October will be honey month.  It comes in 12 lb. buckets (1 gallon) for $35 per bucket. If you would like some, place your order with me along with payment by October 20.  I will pick it up the last week of October.  
2. October and November will also be the food portion of our 72-hour kits.  I will post optional food lists for you to use, taking into account the individual needs of your family members.

As members of the Church, we know that it is our responsibility to provide for ourselves and our families both in good times and in bad. Part of fulfilling that obligation is making preparations now to face whatever challenges may come our way.  We have been taught for many years to be prepared for adversity (see D&C 38:30).

“We do live in turbulent times. Often the future is unknown; therefore, it behooves us to prepare for uncertainties.”

Pres Monson (“If Ye Are Prepared Ye Shall Not Fear,” Oct. 2004)

Shanna