I have come across an amazing find, thanks to a FB friend; I have learned how to add enough food to my storage to feed us (2 adults and two kids) for a year! This is a combination of legumes, grains, beans etc that provides balanced, nutritious meals daily very cheap. The thing I love about this recipe is that it can be changed in many different ways by adding left over meats, vegetables, dry vegetables, TVP, potatoes, etc.
This recipe has been around the internet for years now, but this is the first time I have seen it. I have researched for hours on ways to get a years’ worth of food storage for a reasonable cost and finally found it, so I thought I would share it with all of our APN readers.
I am going to list the things needed and what you are supposed to do so you have an easy list at hand and instructions to add to your buckets.
What you will need:
Food:
4 x 22 pounds of rice. Any kind of rice will do. (Four 20 pound bags + 8 one pound bags) OR two 50lb bags at Sam’s.2 x 11 pounds of Kidney Beans. (22 one pound bags)2 x 11 pounds of barley. (22 one pound bags)2 x 11 pounds of yellow lentils. (22 one pound bags)1 x 5.5 pounds of split green peas. (6 one pound bags)1 x 5.5 chick peas/garbanzo beans. (6 one pound bags)30 pounds beef or chicken bouillon. (or both) It will be added to each batch as you cook it.Hardware:
Four/Five 5 gallon buckets for the rice. (rice usually settles if you shake it down so its give or take here)One 5 gallon bucket for kidney beans.One five gallon bucket for the barley.One 5 gallon bucket for the yellow lentils.One 1 gallon bucket for the split green peas.One 1 gallon bucket for the chick peas/garbanzo.Thirty-two oxygen absorbersTotal of six 10 gallon buckets and two 1 gallon buckets.
Approximate Cost Where I Live:
Rice @ Sam’s: 2 x $16.48 = $32.96 (two 50 lb bags)Kidney Beans /sale: 22 x $0.67 = $14.74Pearl Barley /sale: 22 x $0.59 = $12.98Lentils / sale: 22 x $0.45 = $9.90Green Split Peas / sale: 6 x $0.40 = $2.40Chick peas (garbanzo) / sale: 6 x $0.58 = $3.48Beef Bouillon: $65.49Total Food: $141.95
Ten 5 gallon food grade buckets: $51.10 (free shipping)Ten Gamma lids: $69.70(pick up in store)One Gallon Buckets & lids: $15.25 (have to order a min of five, $15.25 is total cost)Shipping for buckets and lids: $7.90Oxygen Absorbers: Sixty 300CC = $9.97 (3 packs of 20)Total Hardware: $153.92
Total combined cost: $295.87
Note: The reason the title says for $300 is to give some room based on cost of living in your area.
Directions:
Put split green peas and the chick peas in a separate 1 gallon bucket, add 1 OA (Ooxygen Absorber) to the bucket, seal.Put Barley, Kidney beans, and lentils in separate 5 gallon containers adding 5 OA per bucket, seal.Divide rice up in remaining 5 gallon buckets with 5 OA in each bucket, seal.How to make your soup:
8 oz of rice2 oz of red kidney beans2 oz of pearl barley2 oz of lintels1 oz of split green peas1 oz of chick peas/garbanzo’sBouillon to tasteTake the 16 oz dry mixture and add 6-7 quarts of water with a spoon of butter or olive oil (optional) to prevent the water from boiling over. Add 3 tablespoons bouillon or to taste. Then add any other meats, vegetables, potatoes or seasonings you’d like to. I personally love to add garlic and Lima beans. DO NOT add onions. They will spoil the mixture. Bring to a boil and then let simmer for two hours. You should have enough to feed 4 people for two days if rationed correctly.
Note: Onions ferment too quickly and will cut the time you are able to store the already cooked soup mixture. There is always the option of dried onions and you can add it to smaller batches you know will be eaten on the first day.
On the second day you will need to add more water and a tablespoon of bouillon because it will thicken in the refrigerator overnight. Boil for a min of ten minutes to kill off any potential bacteria, especially if you’re not able to store it in the refrigerator because you’re without electricity.
You will be full off of ONE large bowl of this delicious soup. The kids usually eat about a half a bowl with bread. That’s what makes it so great. If able to, bake some bread or corn bread to go with it.
If there is any mixture left on the third day, then just add it to the new mixture you make. (If making a new mixture on the third day) As time goes by you will learn to tell how much of each ingredient you need to fit your family’s needs.
With the exception of dairy and Vitamin B 12, this should take care of your nutritional needs. Maybe not all of your wants, but once you get this out of the way, you can concentrate on adding the stuff you want to your food storage knowing you have enough for a year already if you half to use it.
I hope this helps you all to begin or expand your food storage like it has me!
Keepin It Spicy,
Jalapeno Gal
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Old Fashioned Kitchen Gadgets That Will Come in Handy
Posted: 09 Aug 2012 02:00 PM PDT
You know some of those old hand-powered gadgets of grandma’s you sold in the yard sale several years back? That’s the stuff I am talking about. Most of us have replaced and upgraded this equipment and either gotten rid of the old stuff or put it in storage long ago. Take some time to go through your kitchen this weekend, and make a list of some things you might want to acquire in the near future. You don’t have to get these items new, they can be purchased used from yard or estate sales.
Think about how you would cook and handle food if the grid was down. What if it was down for a long time and your little battery operated appliances were dead? What if we were hit with a strong solar flare or EMP, and those little gadgets just stopped working? Or maybe you just don’t want to be dependent upon going to a store or having to plug some appliance in to be able to cook to further your level of preparedness. I took a look around my kitchen the other weekend, and found the following things - do you know of something else that should be added to the list? Leave a comment below!
Percolator: Remember these beauties? If not, perhaps you are familiar with a french press? Both are excellent ways of preparing coffee without electricity. I highly recommend that you practice making coffee, with whatever method you choose, before you need a pot of coffee from it. There is an art to each method.
Thermometers: Get some old fashioned ones that do NOT require batteries. You’ll want a “meat thermometer” that lists right on it your target temps – no one wants to get food poisoning in the middle of an emergency and taking short cuts like just cutting into the meat and looking at it will get you just that. You’ll also want a candy thermometer as it reads higher temperatures than meat thermometers. The one pictured in the middle has a handy clip on it which you can use to clip on a pot. You might also want to pick up an oven thermometer. These are handy not only for checking the temperature on your current oven, but also in wood burning ovens and checking the temperatures of dutch ovens.
Manual Scale: Measuring and weighing ingredients will still be important and most people now only have digital scales which can break, be rendered inoperable by EMP or solar flare, or just run their batteries dead. Having one of these around is not only decorative but useful.
Pepper Grinder: Peppercorns last far longer than the ground up version you buy for your table shaker, as long as they are kept dry and out of the sunlight they can last years. That’s one of many reasons why “pepper” was one of the spices Columbus was hoping to find. You can get a fairly nice set of salt and pepper grinders at Target for under $12. This will allow to purchase and stock up on peppercorns, and pepper tastes better when it is freshly ground anyways!
Cast Iron: Ever wonder why everyone recommends cast iron for people getting into emergency preparedness and self sufficiency? Because you can cook with it over an open fire. Aluminum and Teflon pots and pans should be avoided over and open flame over high temperature heat sources, cast iron however, was made for that kind of cooking! Also a set of cast iron cookware will last for several generations if cared for properly.
Manual Timer: Egg timers work, there are also others on the market – I believe you can still get sand timers. They aren’t digital and do NOT require batteries. Today you can get them for under $6. Someday in the future, they may be priceless.
Egg Beaters: Try to find a nice set that doesn’t have plastic gearing. These are NOT going to replace your mixer but they will help you mix up eggs, whip cream, and light liquids. They will be handy and save you time. Best of all? No electricity required.
Manual Grater: For cheese, for carrots, for anything that needs to be grated. Might seem obvious but just was over at my friends house, and found out than they got rid of their manual grater since they use an electric one, or their food processor now.
Manual Coffee Grinder: Handy to have if the electricity is shut off. They are efficient, adjustable and allow you to store coffee beans which will inevitably last longer than ground coffee. Having coffee may not be important to some people but to others it may be a big morale booster or even a sanity saver!
Manual Food Grinder: Grind up fruits, veggies, and even meat to some extent without the aid of electricity. One of these will help you get food ready for storage during times when you really need it. I have an older one, I have heard the older ones are way better than the brand new ones. Keep an eye out in thrift stores and at yard sales. These won’t grind up grain – for that you will need a grain mill, which you might also want to add to your list.
Collapsible Steamer: These are handy little gadgets that not only work with your existing pots and pans, but will also work with a cast iron dutch oven, or even your pressure canner. It’s one more item that will expand your cooking and food storage capabilities, even if the power is out.
Grill Toaster: The little accessories are small, collapsible, light weight, and inexpensive – look for them in the camping section of department stores. They serve their purpose and routinely make several pieces of toast without hogging up the whole pan. If you are gluten intolerant, like me, these are especially handy as most gluten free breads are significantly improved by being toasted or heated.
Cone Colander Food Mill: You can use this model or the hand crank version. Personally, I like this old fashioned version better but many other people do not. Either way, I would recommend stainless steel only because aluminum tends to discolor your food. These work great in conjunction with a jelly strainer bag and rack as this offers another layer of filtration for whatever you are making.
Manual Can Opener: Last, but certainly not least, is the lowly manual can opener. Many people don’t even own one of these anymore. We have two or three of these where ever we have food stored, and so should you.
Aside from being prepared for a grid down situation, owning this equipment makes you more self-reliant and less dependent on others. If you don’t want to run into town to get new batteries for your digital scale, you don’t have to. If the grid goes down you won’t have to go anywhere in search of food because you can’t prepare the food you have – you will be cooking your food safely and efficiently while others will be looking to the government for help
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