Friday, October 3, 2008

Food Storage Friday!



I found this on a great food storage blog, (safelygatheredin.blogspot.com) her blog entry had more extensive pictures of the process, but I think you can get the gist from this entry:



Did you know that you can make a cardboard box into an oven that works just as well as your oven at home? You can! And with this type of oven, you never have to worry about what to eat when the electricity goes out.

You need:
1 cardboard box (for this method, it needs to have a slide-on top, like a box that holds reams of paper. See pictures)
charcoal
matches (or a lighter)
aluminum foil
1 round aluminum pie plate (or anything to place your charcoals in)
3 wire hangers
scissors or a knife
pliers
tongs
whatever food you want to bake

Line the inside of your box and lid with aluminum foil. If you'd like, use a sponge and dab some Elmer's glue around the inside and cover to hold the foil in place (this is especially useful if you plan to keep your box oven, and not just make a new one in an emergency)

Once that's done, use some scissors or a knife to poke three holes in a straight line on each end of the box, about halfway down from the top. You'll see what these are for in just a minute.

Meanwhile, straighten out your three hangers.
Put the three straightened hangers through the holes. These will act as a shelf to place your food on.
Next, bend your wires so that they will remain taut inside the oven. We don't want heavy food bending the wires and sitting directly on the charcoals.



This step might be kind of difficult, so you may want an extra pair of hands and some pliers.
It doesn't have to look pretty, it just has to work! Next, poke some other holes in your box so that oxygen can get in and gases can get out. Now, we actually did NOT poke extra holes in this particular oven, because by the time we finished making our wires taut, our three holes we poked in each side had become fairly large, so we figured they were enough. If your holes on the side remain small, use your knife or scissors and poke a few holes on the top of the box, and maybe one or two on each side.
Place some charcoals in your round aluminum plate. Each charcoal briquette supplies 40 degrees of heat, so 9 briquettes will give us a 360 degree oven.
Light your briquettes with the matches or a lighter (it will probably take a few matches. Be sure that each briquette burns)
Let the briquettes burn for a while...Until they look like this! Then you're ready to go.



With your tongs, pick up the hot plate of charcoal and slide it carefully between your wire shelf onto the bottom of your box.
Place your food on the wire racks and cover with your oven top.
Now just set the timer like normal, or watch the clock. Note: If your recipe calls for a longer baking time (more than 45 minutes to an hour), you will probably have to switch out your charcoals around the 45-minute mark)
**Do not use your oven on a wooden deck or on grass, or anything flammable. We are cooking in a concrete deck. Never use this oven indoors.**


Wise counsel that the whole country should obey....

Avoid debt. … Today everything is seemingly geared toward debt. “Get your cards, and buy everything on time”: you’re encouraged to do it. But the truth is that we don’t need to do it to live. We wonder what our people will do who have been spending their all and more. If employment and income should reduce, what then? Are you living beyond your means? Do you owe what you cannot pay if times became perilous? Are your shock absorbers in condition to take a shock? Plan and work in a way that will permit you to be happy even as you do without certain things that in times of affluence may have been available to you. Live within your means and not beyond them. … Purchase your essentials wisely and carefully. Strive to save a portion of that which you earn. Do not mistake many wants for basic needs.

“Chapter 11: Provident Living: Applying Principles of Self-Reliance and Preparedness,” Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball, (2006),114–23

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Another Michael's Coupon


I know I posted one for 50% the other day, but since that has expired, they have another one...but only 20% :(....I didn't have a chance to use the 50% one. Oh well, 20% is better than 0%.
Trying to look at the glass half full these days....its not easy!
click HERE for the website

Monday, September 29, 2008

Projects I dream about....

Jocelyn makes tutu's....and they are so cute, but she sews---and I have never touched a sewing machine in my life! (although i want to learn.....) no-sew projects are more up my alley for the time being. after seeing her tutu's i searched online for "no sew" options, and came across this book:

She has a no sew 10 minute tutu, a no sew fleece mohawk hat (that i must make for brigham!) and lots of other really cute and simple projects for babies and toddlers!

I also came across these beauties on http://livinlifepatinostyle.blogspot.com
She is awesome! Mormon women have the best blogs...they are all chocked full of so many fun ideas!

This tutu is exactly what I want to make for my niece, Addison...have the onesie with the A and the attached tutu...I have to figure this one out (jocelyn, any ideas?) and how cute is this camo-crayon belt!!!
I have been dreaming of these projects all week and just thought i'd share! I'm gonna go to the bookstore and see if I can get my hands on that book....


Sunday, September 28, 2008

September Visiting Teaching



I know, its the last day of the month, but I thought I'd post it anyway!
For this month's "kit" its back to school! All the goodies are in a brown paper lunch sack-- I typed the message on notebook paper and folded it as if it were a note being passed in class! There is a bookmark with this scripture: Be of good cheer, for I will lead you along. The kingdom is yours and the blessings thereof are yours, and the riches of eternity are yours. (Doctrine and Covenants 78:18)
I was also able to include a left over candy apple from the shower for one of my ladies who was not able to attend
There is also a cozy soup recipe typed on flashcard paper! Can't wait to make this one...

Cream of Butternut Squash and Apple Soup


1 butternut squash (1 lb)
3 tart green apples, peeled, cored and chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 tsp dried rosemary
1/4 tsp dried marjoram
3 (14.5 oz) cans of chicken broth
3 1/2 cups water
2 slices white bread
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 cup heavy cream
chopped fresh parsley

cut the butternut squash in half and scoop out the seeds. In a large saucepan combine all ingredients, except for cream and parsley. Bring to a boil, simmer, uncovered for 45 minutes. Remove butternut squash and scoop out pulp. Discard the peel and add the pulp to the soup. Puree with a blender until mixture is homogenous and smooth. (if you do not have a hand blender, you can do this in a regular blender in several batches) return soup to saucepan and bring to a boil. Just before serving, stir in cream. serve hot and garnish each serving with chopped parsley.

Here's the September Message!


The Gospel of Jesus Christ Teaches the Eternal Potential of the Children of God

What Is My Eternal Potential?

Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles: "A woman's richest rewards will come as she rises to fulfill her destiny as a devoted daughter of God. To all faithful Saints He has promised thrones, kingdoms, principalities, glory, immortality, and eternal lives. (See Rom. 2:7; D&C 75:5; 128:12, 23; 132:19.) That is the potential for women in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is exalting, everlasting, and divine" ("Woman—Of Infinite Worth," Ensign, Nov. 1989, 22).

Julie B. Beck, Relief Society general president: "Oh, that every girl and woman would have a testimony of her potential for eternal motherhood. . . . Female roles did not begin on earth, and they do not end here. A woman who treasures motherhood on earth will treasure motherhood in the world to come, and 'where [her] treasure is, there will [her] heart be also' (Matthew 6:21). By developing a mother heart, each girl and woman prepares for her divine, eternal mission of motherhood" ("A 'Mother Heart,' " Liahona and Ensign, May 2004, 76).


What Can Help Me Reach My Eternal Potential?

Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles: "God expresses his love for us by providing the guidance we need to progress and reach our potential. . . . He who knows most about us, our potential, and our eternal possibilities has given us divine counsel and commandments in his instruction manuals—the holy scriptures" ("God's Love for His Children," Ensign, May 1988, 59).

President Henry B. Eyring, First Counselor in the First Presidency: "The purpose of God's creations and of His giving us life is to allow us to have the learning experience necessary for us to come back to Him, to live with Him in eternal life. That is only possible if we have our natures changed through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, true repentance, and making and keeping the covenants He offers all of His Father's children through His Church" ("Education for Real Life," Ensign, Oct. 2002, 16).

President John Taylor (1808–87): "Our main object is eternal lives and exaltations; our main object is to prepare ourselves, our posterity and our progenitors for thrones, principalities and powers in the eternal worlds . . . ; that . . . they and we might be prepared, having fulfilled the measure of our creation on the earth, to associate with the intelligences that exist in the eternal worlds; be admitted again to the presence of our Father, whence we came, and participate in those eternal realities which mankind, without revelation, know nothing about. We are here for that purpose; . . . we are building temples for that purpose; we are receiving endowments for that purpose" (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: John Taylor [Melchizedek Priesthood and Relief Society course of study, 2001], 8–9).

D&C 78:18: "Be of good cheer, for I will lead you along. The kingdom is yours and the blessings thereof are yours, and the riches of eternity are yours."