Corn Bread Recipe

For Whipped Honey Butter, omit the raspberry preserves from the The Inn’s Raspberry Honey Butter.

So Delicious!

Family Finances

Spending less money than you make is essential to your financial security.

“We encourage you wherever you may live in the world to prepare for adversity by looking to the condition of your finances. We urge you to be modest in your expenditures; discipline yourselves in your purchases to avoid debt. … If you have paid your debts and have a financial reserve, even though it be small, you and your family will feel more secure and enjoy greater peace in your hearts” (All Is Safely Gathered In: Family Finances).

Every family has the responsibility to provide for its own needs to the extent possible. The responsibility to manage family finances should be shared between husband and wife with an attitude of trust and openness. Wise financial management can provide security and promote family well-being. Members may experience financial troubles due to unemployment, overspending, unexpected emergencies, or mismanagement of finances. Paying an honest tithing, living within your means, saving for unexpected expenses, and avoiding debt are essential parts of financial stability.

How can my family manage our finances?

Keep a record of your expenditures. Record and review monthly income and expenses. Determine how to reduce what you spend for nonessentials.

Use this information to establish a family budget. Plan what you will give as Church donations, how much you will save, and what you will spend for food, housing, utilities, transportation, and clothing.

How can my family avoid debt?

Spending less money than you make is essential to your financial security. Avoid debt, with the exception of buying a modest home or paying for education or other vital needs. If you are in debt, pay it off as quickly as possible.

How can paying tithing and fast offerings help me manage my finances?

Successful family finances begin with the payment of an honest tithe and the giving of a generous fast offering. The Lord has promised to open the windows of heaven and pour out great blessings upon those who pay tithes and offerings faithfully (see Isaiah 58:6-12; Malachi 3:10).

If our tithing and offerings are the first obligations met, our commitment to this important gospel principle will be strengthened and the likelihood of financial mismanagement will be reduced.

How can I teach my family about good financial practices?

Teach family members the principles of financial management. Involve them in creating a budget and setting family financial goals. Teach the principles of hard work, frugality, and saving. Stress the importance of obtaining as much education as possible.

Reposted from lds.org

The Best Salsa

Crock Pot Refried Beans

Stock Your Pantry!

Here is a list of pantry basics. Adapt the list to suit the needs of your family.

Tomato sauce
Tomato paste
Chicken, vegetable and beef broth
Canned veggies (corn, green beans, peas, tomatoes) and beans (black, kidney, pinto, white)
Dried beans (black, white, kidney, pinto) and rice
Canned soups: cream of chicken, mushroom, celery
Ready to eat canned soups: chicken noodle, tomato, vegetable beef, chicken and rice, etc.
Bouillon: chicken, beef
Canned meats: tuna, beef stew
Dry ingredients, flour (wheat and white), sugar, yeast, baking soda, baking powder, *spices, brown and powdered sugars, cooking spray, cocoa, chocolate chips, cornmeal, cornstarch, bread crumbs, powdered milk
Cooking oil
Evaporated milk
Sweetened condensed milk
Cereal
Crackers
Jams and jellies
Extracts: vanilla, lemon, almond, orange, peppermint
Dried fruits
Jell-o
Nuts: walnuts, pecans, almonds, peanuts
Dried pasta: spaghetti, linguini, fettuccine, penne, egg noodles
Peanut butter
Condiments: bbq sauce, ketchup, mustard, mayo/miracle whip, honey, syrup, molasses, olives, pickles, salsa, soy sauce, vinegar, worcestershire sauce

*Spices: allspice, basil, bay leaves, chili powder, cinnamon, cloves, cream of tartar, cumin, garlic, ginger, Italian seasoning, dry mustard, nutmeg, onion powder, oregano, paprika, black pepper, cayenne pepper, sage, salt, seasoned salt, thyme, vanilla

Sample Three-Month Food Supply

This worksheet was originally posted on preparedldsfamily.blogspot.com. Thanks to Valerie for all her hard work. It is appreciated!

Visit http://preparedldsfamily.blogspot.com/2013/01/create-3-month-food-storage-supply-plan.html to download a pdf file of this worksheet.

Three Month Food Supply – What is it?

What am I supposed to have in my food storage?

There are three main components of food storage:
1. Food supply (three-month and long-term)
2. Water supply
3. Financial reserve
Store foods that are a part of your normal diet in your three-month supply. As you develop a longer-term storage, focus on food staples such as wheat, rice, pasta, oats, beans, and potatoes that can last 30 years or more.

How much food storage do I need?

Take the amount of food you would need to purchase to feed your family for a day and multiply that by 7. That is how much food you would need for a one-week supply. Once you have a week’s supply, you can gradually expand it to a month, and eventually three months. When calculating how much you might need for your family in long-term food storage, multiply the number of people in your family by 2. That is an estimate of how many cases you will need of each of the main food staples (wheat, rice, etc.). Then double the number of cases of either wheat or rice, depending on your preference, to complete your long-term storage.

Where should I store my food storage?

Make sure your food storage is properly packaged and stored in a cool, dry place. If water comes directly from a good, pretreated source, then no additional purification is needed; otherwise, pretreat water before use. Store water in sturdy, leak-proof, breakage-resistant containers. Consider using plastic bottles commonly used for juices or soda. Keep water containers away from heat sources and direct sunlight.

How much does it cost?

Costs may vary depending on where and how you purchase your food storage. It is important to remember that you should not go to extremes; for instance, it is not prudent to go into debt to establish your food storage all at once. Develop it gradually to diffuse the overall cost over time so that it will not become a financial burden.

(Originally posted on lds.org)

Crazy Cake

Recipes taken and adapted from sweetlittlebluebird.com.

How to Begin a 3-12 Month Supply of Food

Re-posted from the Mormon Channel. Click HERE to be taken to the original post.

Details

Is one of your New Year’s goals to get more on top of your food storage situation? Every Saturday this month we will be sharing tips and tricks with you on how to do this. This week, we’ve consulted food storage blogger, Valerie Albrechtsen, for some of her expert tips on getting started with a 3-12 month food supply. First, watch this helpful video to get started.

Gathering food storage and emergency supplies can be simplified by using 12 monthly emergency prep lists (see below for an example). With different monthly goals, these lists can put you on autopilot and help you establish a habit of gathering year-round while you regularly shop.

Although these lists are based on seasonal sales in Utah, anyone with a desire to become self-reliant can use them. Each list suggests monthly goals for one adult, but you can multiply food and water amounts by family members, increase or decrease amounts, modify food choices, and create a list that’s perfect for you.

These lists incorporate the four steps found in “All is Safely Gathered In: Home Storage” a pamphlet prepared by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and additional home storage goals, emergency equipment goals, and preparedness goals you can work on as a family.

Instead of burying food in your basement to use only during emergencies, learn to “store what you eat, and eat what you store” so when emergencies come your children can actually eat food they are accustomed to. (There will be another post on this next Saturday on the Mormon Channel Blog).

Work on the first three steps: gather a three-month supply of food, emergency drinking water, and a financial reserve (see the post from last Saturday on short-term food storage). Then gather long-term foods, home storage supplies, and emergency equipment.

So, how do you begin?

1. Take an inventory of all the canned, bagged, boxed, and packaged foods your family regularly eats. Check out this suggested three-month food storage list for a little inspiration. You may already be further along than you think! If you are a fresh or frozen food person, remember: the shelves in your favorite store will be empty during a disaster. You must figure out something to store.

2. Take an inventory of your long-term foods with a 20–30 year shelf life, such as wheat, rice, and beans.

3. Decide on a food storage budget, such as 20–30 dollars a month per person. If you live in a small apartment or are on a limited budget, start with a one-month supply of food. You CAN do this too! If you are single or a student, here is a helpful list to get you started.

Learn to gather patiently. Don’t panic and rush to the store. Just gather monthly as this will help with rotation of food and your budget. Keep an inventory sheet on a cupboard door to track how much you want to store and what you use. Hang your grocery list next to it and write down what to buy next time you shop.

Anything you do to help yourself become self-reliant is a step in the right direction. I know this to be true, because I live this way every day. And you can too, one can or bag of food at a time.

12 Monthly Emergency Prep Lists

January: Water, Beverages, and Water Storage

(more on this later this month on the Mormon Channel Blog)

February: Breakfast Foods and Communication

March: Tomatoes, Pasta, and First Aid

April: Soup, Fish, Beans, and Sanitation

May: Condiments, Spices, and Emergency Cooking

June: Grains, Vitamins, and Bread Making

July: Summer Foods, Emergency Drills, and Canning

August: Fruits, Vegetables, Shelter, and Bedding

September: Meat, Potatoes, and Earthquake Prep

October: Oils, Fats, and Fire Safety

November: Holiday Baking, Emergency Heat, and Clothing

December: Baking Basics, Power and Light Sources

It’s January! It’s time to get started!

First of all . . . Welcome!

Here we are, January 2015. Did you set some New Year resolutions? Did you include some preparedness goals? Well, no matter. Hopefully we are here to inspire and encourage you to begin again, to start from where you are, to get going! That’s what we are going to do!

So let’s GO!

This month, we’d like to start by focusing on one of the most important preparedness items around, WATER.

Check out this article to learn more about how much water to storage and how to store it.