Preparing for Success

Christmas of 2012 taught me a lesson.  About 2:00 am just hours before the children would wake to open their gifts,  I woke my husband  "It is time to put the little kitchen together, this is a 'Daddy' job."  For the next three hours both of us laboriously inserted one screw at a time to complete the project, I felt grateful that my husband can follow directions.  I knew I had been taken through an exercise that stretched me and taught me that SUCCESS IS DELIBERATE.  This method is often counter to the way I like to approach life, especially cooking.  I like to wing it, throw it all in,  go for adventure, be flexible and follow my best sense.  There was nothing intuitive in that little kitchen set.  The only way through the maze of parts was a step by step  disciplined approach.

I learned success at any task takes following a plan.  When feeding a family these are tools to use: recipes, menues, budgets, and a plan for acquiring and using basic shelf stable items and long term food storage items. We will create happy memories, feed our our families and protect our homes.  it will take careful PLANNING to be SUCCESSFUL.  Lets do it!

Back to Biscuits:


This week I cleaned the fridge freezer and made a list of everything. Our breakfasts, lunches and dinners have included these items.  Stress has decreased considerably because the menu possibilities are in front of me and we can use what I have.  The freezer is organized and it is like giving myself a hug every time I open the door.


One item I found was a gallon size bag of biscuit mix.  This homemade mix is all the dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking powder, sugar and the butter) in my Grandma's biscuit recipe.  I assembled 3-4 mixes at a time, froze them, and now we get to enjoy them. 

"Could you help us with food"

Last week I had the privilege of putting some food on our friends shelves.  The mother and I shopped together to find foods that would ensure that the children would not ever have to be hungry because there was no food in the house when food stamps would not come for 2 more weeks.  Rice, pinto beans, spices, a pork loin, and 5 pounds of cheese were the staples we chose.  Mom cut the pork loin into individual 1/2 cup servings of tid bit pieces, the cheese was re-sacked into 1-1/2 cup portions then refrozen.  The meat and cheese will provide flavor and variety for months if used wisely.  We augmented the shopping list with foods from our own shelves - white flour, and honey.  The 25# of rice and 20 pounds of beans are easily a six month supply for a family of 6.  The peace of mind for this mother is worth the sacrifice of fast food or other prepackaged foods for a month to allow this family to be prepared.