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Here are some ideas that maybe you can use to take a small gift to a friend, family member or a neighbor.  Kendra and I took eight pint jars and decided to make some smoothies in a jar that don’t need to be refrigerated until you add water and ice.  Which in our families they wouldn’t last long enough to make it to the frig as leftovers ….we will finish the whole blender!  We wanted to make all of them with YES our freeze dried  fruits and veggies!  Even in hard times you can still enjoy yummy food!! We made some with lemonade drink powder,  orange drink powder, peach drink powder, powdered honey, instant milk and powdered Coffee Mate French Vanilla Creamer, etc.  We made some with dry instant pudding and mini chocolate chips.

We “dressed” them up so they are ready to take to someone special in our lives.  We attached the recipe to each “Smoothie in a Jar”.  We will post the recipes so you can try them and maybe make up some recipes yourself using your own freeze dried fruits and veggies!  We hope you enjoy making these as much as we did!  Enjoy!

Click below for a PDF of the Smoothies we made

Smoothies in a Jar

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I did a post a few weeks ago on the Saratoga Jack’s Thermal Cooker and how I had just received it in the mail and I was anxious to try it. Well I actually purchased a second one (the 5.5 liter size) because I wanted two of them one for hot foods and one for cold foods. I decided I wanted to cook a roast in it.

I braised the roast in a little oil.

I cooked this roast with potatoes, carrots, onions, water, dry onion soup, and 2 cans of mushroom soup . I filled the pan with water (I would only fill to about 2 inches down from the top of the pot). It boiled for 4 mins.  And then I put it in the Thermal Cooker.

 It was done after 8 hours for sure.I would buy a pot roast next time….it’s more the shape of a steak and this was roast was a “rump” roast.  I like the roasts that just fall apart so to speak.  This roast was fine….just not as tender as I had hoped for. I think its all about the cut of meat we buy…I’m not a butcher or anything…anyway my husband still loved it!

The reason I decided to buy a second thermal cooker is so I can take both a hot dish and cold dish to the park, up the canyon, on a boat, or to a family reunion.  Here’s the deal, I talked to Amy who is “Jack’s” wife (who is just darling by the way) and she explained to me if we make our salads the night before and place one salad in the large pot and another salad in the small pot, then put the covered pots in the frig over night to get really cold. Then the next morning when you are ready to take off to your destination….your salads will stay cold in the Thermal Cooker.  Love this!!!

The Saratoga Jack’s Thermal Cookers are a great deal and you can buy them on Amazon…

If you get one I would love to know what you make in it!!

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Kendra and I decided we wanted to make 100% whole wheat flour tortillas for our families for dinner one night.  Kendra has made them before but I had not so she came over to my house and showed me how she makes them.  I mixed up the recipe ahead of time by hand with a spoon  (no mixer needed) and rolled the dough into balls and covered with plastic wrap.  Here is the recipe I came up with:

100% Whole wheat Flour Tortillas

• 6 cups freshly ground whole wheat
• 2 tsp. sugar
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• Mix altogether and then slowly add 2 cups warm water and 2/3 cups olive oil

Begin kneading for about 5-6 minutes. Immediately form into balls. Cover with greased plastic wrap. Let dough rest 30 minutes.

This recipe makes between 18-24 tortillas (depending on the ball size).

You can roll them out by hand or use a tortilla press.

I am using a CucinaPro 1443 Flatbread and Tortilla Maker I purchased mine through Amazon, but you can also just roll them out and use a frying pan or griddle.  I love the tortilla maker though,  because it is fast and makes a perfect circle, and can also make a lot of other fun breads!   I hope you will try these…they are so soft and moist and EASY to make. Enjoy!

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One of the most important things we will need besides water and food storage is a cooking device and  fuel of some sort.  If we were to have some sort of disaster or loss of power and gas for our homes for an extended period of time I want to have more than one way to cook our meals. What will I do if  I run out of propane or butane ( I don’t store wood  because of the termites where I live).

I have a Sun Oven which is awesome but I still want another way to cook my food storage.  The Sun Oven uses the Sun….which is great. It might take longer to cook if we were to have an ash eruption of some sort. This  means we might not have a full SUN in a full day….that’s okay it will just take longer to cook. Yes, it will still cook.

I have a Camp Chef Oven with Stove which uses only propane…..I like that I can bake my bread in it if I remove one of the oven racks. It really bakes the same as my conventional house oven, but I worry what will I do if  I run out of propane….

The Volcano II Stove  gives me yet another option for cooking and baking. This stove uses wood, propane and coal. When I started researching the different types of charcoal I was literally amazed at the chemicals in regular charcoal. Remember I am not a Scientist…I am a Mom, and a Grandma looking for safe ways to cook for my family. I discovered Ozark Oak Lump Charcoal…

When I bought this charcoal I found it at Grill Stuff they had the cheapest price…it has less chemicals…Remember always do your own research and do what is right for you and your family. Here’s to cooking in an emergency!

P.S. I store my Ozark Oak Lump Charcoal in 6 gallon buckets with airtight Gamma Lids. This stuff lasts indefinitely if kept airtight.

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Remember when we did a post last week about the Sun Oven?  This thing is amazing!  And guess what…Paul, from Sun Oven has offered to GIVEAWAY a sun oven to one of our lucky readers!!

The GLOBAL SUN OVEN® comes with a:

• Built in thermometer
• Attached one piece collapsible reflectors
• Spill-proof levelator
• Self-contained leveling leg
• A computer CD with over 80 SUN OVEN recipes, cooking tips, FAQs, written & video operating instructions, a video on how the SUN OVEN works and emergency preparedness tips.

Global Sun Ovens are sold through Sun Oven International and on Amazon…so if you want to buy one there you can….but guess what….get excited because starting next Monday, June 4th, 2012  we will have a deal where we can get you the Sun Oven for $95 dollars off using our discount code!!

So go enter the giveaway now.  We will pick a winner next Thursday May 31st, 2012 at Midnight. Then Monday, June 4th  our Sponsor Sun Oven will give our readers the opportunity to purchase one at a great price using Food Storage Moms SPECIAL Discount Code when you checkout!! (And it comes with the Dehydrating & Preparedness Accessory Package)!!!!!

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