Freezing Corn on the cob

Local, home grown corn-40 Servings for.....$4

Step 1

Husk Corn and try and get all the silk off

Step 2

Bring large stock pot of water to a rapid boil...Have a large bowl of ice bath set next to stock pot...have another empty bowl next to ice bath..you need tongs also

Step 3

Add about 5 ears of corn at a time to the boiling water. Boil about 5-6 min. Remove and place immediately into ice bath. Let sit for an equal amount of time, 5-6 min. Then place in empty bowl to dry off

Step 4

Once you have blanched all your corn, you can either cut it off the cob and freeze this way, or cut cobs in half and freeze. Get all air out of the freezer bag. Having a food saver is ideal. I however, am not the ideal anything so I use freezer bags!

Step 5

Place in the freezer and enjoy all year, fresh corn on the cob!!

Windowpain Test

How to test your dough to see if gluten has developed.

I thought I had done this already, but here is what your dough should look like when you have kneaded it and your gluten is developed.

You cut a piece of dough, (ton't tear a piece) off and stretch it between your hands. It will be tight and if you hold it up to light you will see light shine through. Like a window pain!

Don't Tear the Gluten

One of the things I learned at baking school was the in's and outs of bread making. I am in no way an expert, I still learn things, however I will not forget learning about gluten! My chef actually yelled at me one time for being "too mean to the bread". Yeah.

The picture below is what a tear in the gluten looks like- you might have to click on it to get a bigger view.

Tearing will happen in the kneading process. Basically, Gluten is what gives the bread structure, how it will hold shape. It's texture, so it wont be a crumbly mess, and it's strength. Your flour type is what will determine your gluten development potential. Rice, potato, and oat flour don't have enough proteins to develop into gluten. (hence the gluten free bread section )

So when your flour meets liquid, it absorbs and then as you knead, it begins to stretch and pull in to long strands. Like rubber bands if you will. The tighter those rubber bands the better the bread.

Now when you are to rough with your bread during the kneading process, or don't knead properly, you can tear that very gluten you are trying to develop! your goal is a smooth round ball of dough at the end of the kneading. Make sense?

Hopefully it does and hopefully you can now tell others to "Stop tearing your gluten!"

What a year!

Well with the year wrapping up I have to say I am glad it will be over! It's been a trying one. But much to learn and being that this is the learn it love it live it page, I thought I'd just get personal and share what I have learned.

I find it interesting that when I thought about what to call this particular page, this name just popped into my head. I have to say that it is so true, for me at least, the order of this phrase. This year has been full of learning. Learning through trial seems to be the theme this year! I tend to analyze perhaps to much while going through a particular trial/hard time. I want to know not so much why, but what do I need to learn from it, how can I be better, or what is the Lord trying to teach me? It leads to much reading and praying. Like I said I probably over do it but boy do I learn a lot about myself and how the Lord works with me.

Then I realized that the more I learned the more I loved, what ever it was that I needed to Love more, I did. At times, I know this may sound nuts, but I loved the trial. I was loving that I felt the spirit more, I was loving that I appreciated my family more, I loved myself more. Love is truly the underlying answer. Love is also serving, Charity IS the pure love of Christ. So learning to serve no matter in trial or not is HUGE. I tend to get so wrapped up in my wo that I shut out the world. I cant think about others, i have to focus on me, right? So wrong. When I did crawl out of my hole and thought about others or gave service, I felt lighter and for that brief moment I forgot about my hardship. President Monson's talk this last conference was so perfect for me. I really have to work on this one.

Then there is Live it. After trying to learn all I did, and trying to love more fully, I soon found it hard to actually LIVE it. I mean, you know how you can go through a trial and then feel the relief, or feel free from it? Do we continue to learn and love like we did? How easy is it to enjoy the free feeling that we just start coasting through life again? I realized that the true test is, do I LIVE what I LEARNED?

I stopped looking at life as just getting through the trials the best I can. One to the next. Taking a deep breath when all is well and then holding it when life feels like, well you know. I look at it like no matter what may come my way, if I continue to learn all I can about the Savior and His teachings, if I continue to increase my love in all things, then I am living life. What comes my way, either bad or good, it is just another opportunity to grow. I don't mean to make it sound simple or la de da. I know that many suffer more than I ever have. But I do feel that the Lord has stretched me more this year than ever before. I have felt more pain than ever before and i have felt more alone than ever before. I know it's not easy, I will never claim it to be. I can say however, that I am just beginning to fell some gratitude for what I have been allowed to go through and hope that I can just live life the way I know I should.

I want to say again that I know there are those who suffer more than I think I could ever bare. I know the Lord only allows us to experience what he KNOWS we can overcome. And even though my trails might seem lighter than others, I have been stretched and molded just a little more.

May this year of learning, Loving, and Living continue!

~Amie

Stock and Broths

It's super easy to make a stock yourself and save money. This is a great time of year to do it, using those bones from your turkey!

This is how Alton Brown suggests to do it- It's a good one, very traditional.

Ingredients
4 pounds chicken carcasses, including necks and backs- Just use as much chicken parts as you can gather up, skin included
1 large onion, quartered
4 carrots, peeled and cut in 1/2
4 ribs celery, cut in 1/2
1 leek, white part only, cut in 1/2 lengthwise
10 sprigs fresh thyme
10 sprigs fresh parsley with stems
2 bay leaves
8 to 10 peppercorns
2 whole cloves garlic, peeled
2 gallons cold water
Directions
Place chicken, vegetables, and herbs and spices in 12-quart stockpot. Set opened steamer basket directly on ingredients in pot and pour over water. Cook on high heat until you begin to see bubbles break through the surface of the liquid. Turn heat down to medium low so that stock maintains low, gentle simmer. Skim the scum from the stock with a spoon or fine mesh strainer every 10 to 15 minutes for the first hour of cooking and twice each hour for the next 2 hours. Add hot water as needed to keep bones and vegetables submerged. Simmer uncovered for 6 to 8 hours.

Strain stock through a fine mesh strainer into another large stockpot or heatproof container discarding the solids. Cool immediately in large cooler of ice or a sink full of ice water to below 40 degrees.
Place in refrigerator overnight. Remove solidified fat from surface of liquid and store in container with lid in refrigerator for 2 to 3 days or in freezer for up to 3 months. Prior to use, bring to boil for 2 minutes. Use as a base for soups and sauces.

Back to School Food Menu

*This years update- I am still a fan of pre-making as much as I can like on a Saturday, and freezing it. I love taking out mini homemade muffins, sandwich and cookies from the freezer and packing it right into the lunch box. It became habit to pre- make and really saved time and money by making as much as I can from scratch, and it's healthier :) I know, I know, blah blah, blah.

Thinking about school lunch makes me sick- I definitely opt for making them. I am a big believer that food effects a child's behavior, and I want to control that as much as I can, while I can! But that is going to mean time and planning. It's a little work in the beginning of the week-but pay off during and of course the health benefits!

Treating this the same way we would the dinner menu- Make a two week lunch menu. (or a month if you wish)

I actually started by making a master list of all the different things I would put in their lunch.

Here is what I came up with to start:

Lunch Ideas
My kids have all approved these ideas by the way! Ages 11-9-5


Sandwich/main meal

Sandwich roll (they love sandwiched on my homemade rolls)

PB&J

Turkey/Ham

Mini Wraps

Pizza Bagel

Egg Salad

Chicken Salad

Green Salad

Homemade lunchable

Rice cake with peanut butter jelly on top (seriously they love it)

Spaghetti O’s

Soups

Chicken noodle

Beef stew

Tomato



Fruit/Vegetable

Grapes

Strawberries

Dried apples

Carrot & Celery sticks w/ dip

Celery and peanut butter dip

Cheese Squares

String Cheese

Diced peaches and pears

Applesauce Cups

Hard Boiled Egg

Orange slices (I peel and separate for them)

Banana (I’ll just cut in half)

Grapes and square cheese on a toothpick

(Mellon's need to be kept cool for food safety reasons)



Snacks

Popcorn

Mini rice cakes

Gram crackers, plain or w/ peanut butter

Granola bars- homemade J

Mini Muffins

Blueberry

Poppy seed

Apple

Bran

Banana Bread

Zucchini Bread

Oatmeal Bars

Oatmeal-cran scones

Cereal snack mix

Trail mix

Mini bagels and cream cheese

Chips and salsa (I put salsa in a little round tubaware)

PB&J on Ritz crackers





Treat

Cookies

Chocolate

Oatmeal

Chocolate chip

Peanut butter

Chocolate Zucchini

Brownie bites (just cut brownies in circles)

Rice Krispie Treat

Mini Marshmallows

Oatmeal Bar

Crispix bars


That for me is half the battle, then you can simply plug in the food items on your menu.

I come up with different sandwich items, fruit items, snack items and treat. My kids take a water bottle to school and switch from water and lemonade. NO CAPRI SUNS. (they rot their teeth says my grandpa for a dentist!) Plus this saves big time on buying drinks. My friend suggested this, and does it with her kidos- they love it actually because they get more in there than they would out of a juice box!

Alright, so once you have your master list, plug in your menu!

Once we have our menu, we can shop from this- buying only what we NEED, and then back to Saturday baking days. (or whatever day your choose) I will take Saturday to make the different items for the week. For example if I have banana bread, mini muffins and cookies as part of the lunch menu- I will make these, baggie them up and freeze. They are ready to pull out and stick in the lunch box! I will do this with sandwiches too. PB&J freezes great, just put peanut butter on each slice of bread, then jelly in the middle. It wont get soggy this way. And with Turkey sandwiches, use Miracle whip not Mayonnaise. Mayo does not freeze!

But I will make these up as well and pull them out that morning, they are ready to eat by lunch time! My oldest says they are perfect, not soggy!

This really does take the ugg out of making lunches in the morning and I feel better about whats going in their little bodies. For me, again, half the battle is the planning. I promise it's worth it. And for my provident living plug- This really is the smart way to do most everything in our homes, planning, budgeting, and using our resources. It is a lifestyle that creates financial freedom and joy in homemaking. It sometimes does take courage to start! But it's worth it!

Fiber Diet- with food storage recipes!

Loose weight.. on food storage??

My husband and I decided about a year ago to read and implement the "Fiber Diet" from Brenda Watsons Fiber 35. We think its one of the best "secrets" to loosing weight. I had just had my first child and was anxiously looking for a way to get my weight back down, and I just wanted to feel better. We both had amazing success, and have found a new way to keep our weight where we want it, and most importantly to feel great. Others in my family also tryed it and they all had great success.

We both lost 35 pounds in two months. We did this by eating 35 grams of fiber a day, and cutting back on refined sugars, and flour. I recommend getting the book for all the details and great info, but really its just alot of common sense like, eating healthy, and lowering your calories, and eating high fiber. We learned to encorperate beans in just about any meal. And what greater food storage product is there than beans?

We followed her meal plan for about 6 months. Since then, I have had another baby. I am trying to adjust to having two children, being on a tighter budget, and using my food storage regularly for meals. This is where the secret part comes it!! We both have still been able to control our weight, by getting our 35 grams of fiber in a day- EVEN while using our food storage for most meals!

We attribute our success to the habits we picked up and have continued to implement from FIBER 35. - So here's a collection of high fiber recipes specifically for showing that you can eat great healthy food, on a budget, and use your 3 month supply of food storage to do so. These are recipes that we encooperate into our weekly diet. Some of them are from Brenda Watsons book, others I have just learned, modified, and picked up from other sites.
Click Here for high fiber recipes

Canned Potatoes are great!

I was watching Sandra Lee on the food network make a potato salad with canned potatoes, I admit, I thought it was kind of weird at first! But I made it and loved it. Since then, I have always kept canned potatoes in my 3 month supply.

I have several recipes that they taste great in. They are quick and convienient. You can add them to soups and stews in a hurry. Or fry them up with butter and seasonings for an easy side dish. I stock up at walmart. They are anywhere from 44-60cents a can. You can buy diced or sliced.

Click Here for some recipes using canned potatoes.

Also click here for how to make your own canned potatoes

Food Storage Menu Idea

Creating food storage menus is a simple way to help you decide what to store. Consider the counsel to “Gradually build a small supply of food that is part of your normal, daily diet until it is sufficient for three months.” (Family Home Storage: A New Message, Ensign, March 2009.)

Below are 90 Food Storage Menu Ideas. Adjust to suit the needs of your family. The * indicates using a recipe which I am linking so you can print them. The x indicates how many times you serve the menu. These menus use a combination of small canned, packaged and long-term foods. Some bread may be stored in your freezer; however it may also be homemade. Menus have homemade spaghetti sauce, AND spaghetti sauce in a jar for times when you need simple preparation or emergency cooking. You decide. Snacks are included as many of us need to eat something between meals. Many of these meals are simple enough for teens or a spouse to prepare. Include a few freezer foods, but don’t depend on your freezer unless you have a generator. Menus that require freezer foods are italicized. Most menus use shelf-stable products.

90 BREAKFAST MENUS
3 x Oatmeal Chocolate Chip muffins*, water
3 x Pumpkin chocolate chip muffins*, water
6 x Apple Muffins*, water
12 x Wheat Waffles*, water
12 x Pancakes with pancake mix, butter/syrup milk
24 x Oatmeal w/raisins, water
30 x Cold cereal, powdered milk, water

90 LUNCH MENUS
12 x PB & J sandwich, fruit cup, boxed drink or Tang
12 x PB & J sandwich, pears or mandarin oranges, water
12 x Chicken salad sandwich, applesauce cup, water or Gatorade
12 x Tuna sandwich, baked beans or applesauce cup, apple juice or water
6 x Chili w/beans, saltine crackers, water
6 x Tomato soup, saltine crackers, water
6 x Ravioli's, banana chips, water
6 x Spaghettios, saltine crackers, Gatorade
6 x Canned Stew, Ritz crackers, applesauce, milk
6 x Cup o’noodle soup, V8 juice
6 x Macaroni & cheese, fruit cocktail, Gatorade

90 DINNER MENUS
6 x Clam Chowder 19 oz., bread/butter
6 x Chicken Noodle soup 19 oz., bread/butter
6 x Vegetable Soup 19 oz., bread/butter
6 x Chicken, Vegetable, Pasta Soup 19 oz., saltine crackers
6 x Spaghetti w/jar sauce, canned corn, milk
6 x Spaghetti w/homemade sauce, canned green beans, milk
6 x Quick Chili w/corn*, Biscuits
3 x Pineapple Chicken*, rice
3 x Italian Pasta Salad*, Biscuits
3 x Chicken & Rice Casserole*, Biscuits
3 x Chicken w/ Egg Noodles and DH peas*, canned corn, milk
3 x Chicken w/ Egg Noodles and DH broccoli*, canned corn, milk
3 x Chicken a la King*, rice, canned green beans
3 x Creamy Chicken*, mashed potatoes
3 x Chicken, Noodles and peas*, canned pears
3 x Teriyaki Pineapple Beef*, rice w/broth
3 x Bisquick Vegetable pot pie*, canned peaches, milk
3 x BBQ Beef Casserole*, canned peaches
3 x BBQ chicken on hamburger buns, canned peaches milk
3 x Sloppy Joe's with canned meat* on hamburger buns, applesauce
3 x Enchilada Casserole w/corn*, canned peaches
3 x Beef Nacho Casserole*, Spanish rice*
3 x Roast gravy w/mashed potatoes, canned green beans, milk

90 SNACK MENUS
18 x Food bar
3 x Pretzels
6 X Fruit snack
6 X Graham crackers
6 X M & M's or taffy
6 X Hot cocoa drink(has milk)
3 X Corn Chips w/homemade salsa
3 X Chips w/refried beans & homemade salsa
12 X Homemade popcorn
3 X Simple Scones*
3 X Caramel Popcorn*
3 X Cake w/frosting
3 X Brownies*
3 X Snicker doodles*
3 X Chocolate Chip Cookies*
3 X Chewy Oatmeal Cookies*
3 X Apple Crisp* w/shelf whip topping
3 X Easy Peach Cobbler*

PDF COPY from origional author

Tips for using your wheat

*Just getting our wheat up and out of the buckets from the basement is the first step!
*Find a container that fits in your pantry or cupboard to store some wheat. Commit to use this wheat in one months time.
*If you know that you will more likely use your wheat if it’s already ground up than DO IT! Just take a little time to grind it all up, put in a container and use it up!
*Use your wheat in recipes that your family is already eating.
*First try starting with desserts, they will most likely eat the cookies no matter what kind of flour is used!
*Stop feeling like you have to make everything 100% whole wheat every time you use your wheat. You don’t! Just add a cup here and there in your normal recipes.

A few things to know:

*Whole wheat flour has more substance that regular flour- this is why 100% WW breads are heavier/heartier. Try using a little more yeast or letting your bread rise a little longer to get a fluffier texture.

*Your other recipes where you will substitute WW flour, will need a little extra leavening.
This just means you will add an extra teaspoon of baking powder for every 3 cups of WW flour you use in a recipe.

*If you choose to grind up your wheat for the month, you can preserve the nutrients in your wheat by placing it in a plastic bag and storing it in the fridge or freezer.