Low Country Cookies

We're planning on visiting Greg tomorrow after church at his potluck party. I completely forgot about making something until this morning (good thing I remembered before the grocery store trip!) I was watching my girl, Paula Deen the other day and she had this recipe on the show....they looked reallllly yummy. So, this is what I finally decided to make. Can't wait to eat one :)

Low Country Cookies





Filling:
1 (16 oz) box graham crackers
1 1/2 sticks of butter (you know paula!)
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 milk
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup shredded coconut

Topping:
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 stick of butter
3 tbsp. milk

For filling: line a 13x9 pan with whole graham crackers. Melt the butter in a saucepan and add sugar. Beat egg and milk together; add to butter mixture. Bring to boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add the nuts, coconut, and 1 cup of graham cracker crumbs. Pour over the crackers in the pan. Cover with another layer of whole graham crackers.
For the topping: Beat all the ingredients together and spread over top layer of crackers.
Chill. Cut into squares.

I love how Paula always seems to manage incorporating at least two sticks of butter in almost all her recipes. a girl after my own heart!

Food Storage Friday!

Water Storage



If you wish to store water as part of three month supply, you’ll need at least one gallon of water per person, per day for drinking and hygiene purposes. A normally active person needs at least ½ gallon of water per day, just for drinking. To store the safest and most reliable form of water, FEMA recommends that you purchase & store commercially bottled water. Keep bottled water in its original container and do not open until you need it and observe the expiration date. You can prepare your own water storage by using food grade water storage containers of reuse 2-liter plastic soft drink bottles. If you choose this method, you’ll need to thoroughly clean the containers with dishwashing soap and water and rinse completely so there is no residual soap. Additionally, for soft drink bottles, sanitize the bottles by adding one teaspoon of non-scented liquid chlorine bleach to a quart of water, and swish the sanitizing solution so that it touches all inside surfaces and rinse thoroughly with clean water. Then, fill the bottle with regular tap water from a city water supply (pre-treated with chlorine). If your tap water is not chlorinated, treat it yourself with two drops of non-scented liquid chorine bleach per gallon of water. Tightly seal the container using the original cap making sure that you do not contaminate the cap by touching the inside of it. Write the date on the outside of the cap so that you know when you filled it and store in a cool dark place.


Purifying Contaminated Water

The best way to avoid the problems associated with contaminated water is to have your own water storage before a disaster happens. Generally speaking, you can base your storage water needs on one gallon (roughly 4 liters) of water per person per day for drinking and hygiene use. If you should find that your water supply is non-existent, you should consider emergency methods to purify the existing sources of water you do find. If the power is out, it’s possible that your city water is not being purified. If you have a well on your property, with no electricity, the pump won’t work. If this happens, you’ll need to find city water, or another source of water, and purify it. Boiling water is one way of purifying it. The method below uses the boiling technique as well as chorine bleach to purify it after boiling.

A. Filter water using a piece of cloth or a coffee filter to remove solid particles.

B. Bring water to a rolling boil and maintain for a minimum of 10 minutes. For every 1000 feet above sea level, add one minute of boiling to the initial 10 minutes. If the water pot is covered, it will shorten the time to reach a boil.

C. Let it cool at least 30 minutes. Water must be cool for next step (chlorine treatment) or it will be useless.

D. Treat the water: You can use Liquid Chlorine Bleach to purify water. This method must be 5.25% or 6% Sodium Hypochlorite (like Clorox Regular Bleach) and contain NO soap, fragrance or phosphates. Measuring by drops is more accurate and the preferred method. If want to purify 1 GALLON / 4 LITERS of water, add 16 drops (1/4 tsp. / 1.25ml) chlorine. If you want to purify 5 GALLONS / 19 LITERS WATER, Add 80 drops (1 tsp. / 5ml) chlorine. When in doubt GET A CHLORINE TEST KIT.

E. Let it stand for 30 minutes.

F. If it smells of chlorine, use it. If it does not have a chlorine scent, add 16 more drops of chlorine bleach per gallon of water (or 8 drops per 2-liter bottle of water), let stand 30 minutes, and smell it again. If it smells of chlorine, use it. If it does not, discard it and find another source of water.

Also, if you use too much water for hygiene, you’ll have less to drink. So, you might consider storing some sanitizing gel to wash your hands with. We also suggest that you keep storage of disposable plates, cups, forks and knives. The less water is used to wash dishes, the more that will be available for more important needs. How much is needed for Sanitation? In a short term emergency, the biggest concern is how to flush toilets. That’s why we suggest that you fill you bath tubs with water immediately following a power outage and keep them full and use this water to flush toilets. Pool water can also be used. Remember this water should be considered non-drinkable, but serves its purpose for flushing toilets in the short term. If you use this method, you’ll need a bucket to move the water from the bath tub to the toilet


And just for fun....

Food Storage Frosty!



1 1/2 - 2 cups ICE water- really, really cold.
1 1/2 cups non-fat dry milk powder
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
2-3 cups ice cubes
2 Tbsp vegetable oil (yes, really- it’s an emulsifier)
Place ALL the ingredients in the blender, including the oil. Use less water for a thicker milkshake or more for a shake that’s easier on your blender motor. With lid on, process for two minutes. Makes about 4 shakes.

August Visiting Teaching

This month the visiting message focused on the realization and remembrance that we are BELOVED daughters of Heavenly Parents. As Sister Beck mentions, we ARE spirital daughters of Deity! Thats pretty impressive, dontcha think? We need to remember how SPECIAL we are...how great ALL of us are. We need to hold ourselves and others with the greatest respect and love. We are not here on earth by chance, we are here on a mission: to prove to our Heavenly Parents that we love them enough to honor them with our lives, and that we will glorify them in what we do and say, always. How blessed are we as Latter Day Saint women to know of our Heavenly Parents love and the Great Plan that they have set forth for us. Let us embrace our unique heavenly traits and use them to better the lives of our neighbors!

Brianne and I were able to visit the Smith's today and I had this to share with them:
a basket full of "mini" blueberry muffins, a copy of the message (which is posted below) and a recipe. Making these little VT packages are fun and easy, something your sisters will enjoy! My mother-in-law makes the messages into magnets, which is a great idea....if you have a sister that prefers a letter instead of a visit, or an inactive sister on your list, im sure she would greatly appreciate something like this in the mail! A little thought and a little prettying goes a long way!



Visiting Teaching Message: August 2008

Each Sister Is a Beloved Daughter of Heavenly Parents and Has a Divine Destiny

What Does It Mean to Be a Beloved Daughter of Heavenly Parents?

Julie B. Beck, Relief Society general president: "You are literally spirit daughters of Deity, 'offspring of exalted parents' with a divine nature and an eternal destiny. You received your first lessons in the world of spirits from your heavenly parents. You have been sent to earth to 'prove' yourselves. . . .

"You are treasured children of the promise. If you will keep the Lord's statutes and commandments and hearken to His voice, He has promised that He will make you high above the nations in name and honor and praise" ("You Have a Noble Birthright," Liahona and Ensign, May 2006, 106, 108).

President James E. Faust (1920–2007), Second Counselor in the First Presidency: "A conviction that you are a daughter of God gives you a feeling of comfort in your self-worth. It means that you can find strength in the balm of Christ. It will help you meet the heartaches and challenges with faith and serenity" ("What It Means to Be a Daughter of God," Liahona, Jan. 2000, 123; Ensign, Nov. 1999, 102).

President Lorenzo Snow (1814–1901): "We believe that we are the offspring of our Father in heaven, and that we possess in our spiritual organizations the same capabilities, powers and faculties that our Father possesses, although in an infantile state, requiring to pass through a certain course or ordeal by which they will be developed and improved according to the heed we give to the principles we have received" ("Discourse," Deseret News, Jan. 24, 1872, 597).

How Can I Understand and Attain My Divine Destiny?

President Spencer W. Kimball (1895–1985): "All of you need to drink in deeply the gospel truths about the eternal nature of your individual identity and the uniqueness of your personality. You need, more and more, to feel the perfect love which our Father in Heaven has for you and to sense the value he places upon you as an individual. Ponder upon these great truths, especially in those moments when (in the stillness of such anxiety as you may experience as an individual) you might otherwise wonder and be perplexed" (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball [2006], 222).

Romans 8:16–17: "The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together."

Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles: "We are to be creators in our own right—builders of an individual faith in God, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and faith in His Church. We are to build families and be sealed in holy temples. We are to build the Church and kingdom of God upon the earth. We are to prepare for our own divine destiny—glory, immortality, and eternal lives. These supernal blessings can all be ours, through our faithfulness" ("The Creation," Liahona, July 2000, 104–5; Ensign, May 2000, 86).

I love Sunflowers!

I am a Sunflower What Flower Are You?