Food Storage Basics
By Laura Owsley
H
appy New Year! Are you ready to get organized with your food
storage and some emergency supplies? So am I! I’m going to
make things easier this year by using a calendar to keep myself
orgnaized and see just what I need to purchase each month. So let’s
make it easy and doable!! Now that the holidays are over let’s dive in
and focus on two important Home Storage steps. #1 Gather drinking
water and #2 begin a financial reserve or emergency fund.
I don’t want mean to keep harrassing you about this but... Let’s talk
about emergency water. FEMMA recommends you buy 14 gallons/
per person (1 gallon per day for 2 weeks per person) or commercially
prepared bottled water. I know people like to refill 55 gallon water
barrels. Really? Actually people don’t like to empty those barrels, but
we all have good intentions. Personally, I have barrels and bottled
water. I’m not very good about using the barrel, (I haven’t had a
serious emergency) and I don’t like to empty them or purify the water.
I know the barrels seem cheaper and easier than buyiing bottled water
but here’s a quick way to buy your emergency water.
1. Buy 4.4 cases of 16.9 oz drinking water
2. Bring them home and put them under the bed or stack in your
closet (it’s too hot here to use the garage for summer storage).
3. Smile, you’re done!
Sounds simple right? That’s because it is! Now if you have a large
family and space for barrels and can empty them every 6 months or so
and know how to purify them, go for barrels or some other food grade
container lke soda bottles. Just make sure they are squeaky clean
before you fill.
The other thing to work on this month is to begin a financial reserve
by setting aside a little money each week and gradually increasing it to
a reasonable amount. Your fund will grow little by little and you’ll feel
good knowing you have it.
Now for your January food storage—purchase 1 can of
evaporated milk, 24 oz. of hot cocoa mix, 24 oz. of fruit drink mix
(one containing vitamin C if possible), 4 lbs. non-fat dry milk and
3x64 oz. of bottled water. If you already have plenty of these items
purchase something else your family likes and will store well.
26
Here’s a quick and tasty idea for dinner!
January 2015
Tortilla
Casserole
• 1 1/2 cup sour cream
• 2 cans (10 3/4 oz.) cream of chicken soup
• 1 can (7 oz.) diced green chili
• 1 can (10 oz.) mild enchilada sauce
• 3 cups cooked, diced or shredded chicken
• 12 corn tortillas/ torn or cut into bite size pieces
(you can use tortilla chips too)
• 1 1/2 c. grated cheese
Preheat oven to 375.
I put a couple of
spoonfuls of enchilada
sauce on bottom of
pan to prevent sticking.
Layer 1/2 of the tortilla
shells on bottom,
1/2 chicken, 1/2 chilies,
1/2 sauce and 1/2 cheese, top with the rest of the tortillas,
chicken, chilies, sause and top with cheese. This makes a
9x9 pan.
Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes, uncover and bake
an additional 5 minutes. Let rest 15 minutes before
serving. Serve with cilantro/green onions/salsa/sour
cream. You can substiitue cooked hamburger for chicken
and use either green or red sauce (your preference).
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