Organization

It seems that I can never quite escape the feeling that I need to do more in preparing my family against emergencies. Its on the back burner of my mind consistently bubbling and never running out of steam. Within the last few weeks I have begun to percolate much more forcefully. Will we be able to survive a dramatic rise in taxes? Will we be able to eat well during a time of dramatic economic downturn? As these things are coming to the forefront of my consciousness I am highly motivated to get my kitchen in order. I cleaned out an entire cabinet last night. Labeled everything and made places for things. It seems that one of the reasons that we have not been utilizing our space or our food very effectively is because my system is all out of whack. I don't have the brain space to have to think and dig all the time through what we have. Hopefully, this will help us to be more efficient. Also, labels help those (like husbands) to find what they are looking for.

Crock Pot Oatmeal

So, I'm in grad school. That should be enough to let you know why I haven't posted :) I had a request to post the recipe for the oatmeal. Here's what I do:

I fill a 1 quart glass measuring cup with water and add 1 cup of steel cut oats (this is important, quick oats don't work at all and old fashioned are just ok, not super). I put that glass cup in my crock pot and then surround it with water. I basically make a water bath in my crock pot. Then I leave it overnight. When I get up in the am its hot and ready to add whatever you want to it :) Easy Peasy.

Breakfast for a Month

Crock Pot Oatmeal(x4)
French Toast (x4)
Cinnamon Rolls and Sausage(x4)
Omelettes (x2)
Crock Pot Rice Pudding (x2)
Breakfast Tart (x4)
Waffles or Pancakes (x4)
8 boxes of cereal
Homemade McMuffins (x4)

Supply List:

3 lbs. Steel Cut Oats
5 lbs. bacon
4 dozen eggs
8 boxes of Cereal
4 English Muffins
1 box of Bisquick
Raisins
Syrup

This wasn't so hard to plan. I definitely have more breakfast food on hand than I give myself credit for. I didn't include like flour, sugar, salt etc in my list things because I have those things in my long term storage. Several of these items can be made up ahead of time and stored for the month. I plan to make a large batch of cinnamon rolls this next week to freeze. The english muffins and cinnamon bread I use for french toast I buy at the bread store. I freeze those items already. If anyone has any more suggestions, this is a great list to expand.

Great Tip

"Also another important thing is to think in meals. If your family likes tuna sandwiches, make sure to have the mayo along with the tuna (a mistake I almost made!)" Ratliffs

I loved this idea. I'm totally using it. Thanks for your comment.

It's a miracle

I'm back! Well, sort of. I'm in denial that I have finals in two weeks. My brain has already shifted gears and I'm thinking and planning and dreaming of summer already. I'm not sure where I'm going to start. I haven't thought of food storage much in the last year or so. My stores are pretty depleted. With the recent developments in Mexico and other places I want to maximize my summer to prepare my family. Any suggestions on how to begin again? Where you do start when you've kinda already started. For a three month supply (which I've never really had) what do you buy? What do you store? I have water and I have the basics, grains, oats, etc. But I'm limited on space. Do you store canned goods? Help me decide where to concentrate my efforts and get back in the game.