Emergency Car Kits (one for every car you own/drive)

-Box to hold everything
-Water (at least 1 bottle per seat belt in the car, preferably more during the summer or if you live in a hot climate)
-High-energy snacks
-Flashlight
-Batteries (store outside flashlight for longer shelf life)
-Wet wipes
-Toilet paper roll (store easily by rolling off the roll onto your hand and place in a ziplock bag)
-Basic first aid kit
-Blanket/towels
-Change of clothes for children (or yourself if you want)
-Diapers (if you have children)
-Umbrella and/or rain poncho
-Scriptures (or a classic book for reading)
-Jumper cables
-Hand sanitizer
-Pen & Paper
-Pocket knife
-$5-$20 cash (and change)

I got this list off of one of my favorite blogs on food storage. It was on their cold weather preparedness post. Click here to read the complete post.

Banana Nut Muffins

1 cup sugar
2 1/2 cups flour
3 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp salt
3 TBS oil
3/4 cup milk
1 egg
1 cup mashed ripe bananas
1 cup finely chopped nuts, if desired

Mix first 4 ingredients in a bowl and then add remaining ingredients. Place in muffin tins lined with cupcake holders and bake at 400 degrees for 18-20 min.


I’m posting this recipe because I got an email from my friend, Rhonda. She is now living in Kentucky. Below is a cut and paste of Rhonda’s email.

“I am getting ready to go visit a few sisters this morning from my ward and I thought I would give them a thank you note (for "rising" to the occasion) and make them some banana bread.

The recipe that I now ALWAYS use is the one that I got at my first ever RS Enrichment night... Our lesson was on focusing on the new school year: 'School Days'; I remember as if it were yesterday.

Anyway, now more than 7 years later, I am pulling out that original yellow peace of paper, happily making the banana bread that I never knew how to make before I was a member of this AMAZING church.”

Demon Eyes Deviled Eggs

Hard-boil 12 eggs. Remove shells, rinse and dry. Slice in half lengthwise. 

Remove yolks and place in medium bowl. Use a fork to mash yolks well. Add mustard and Miracle Whip in a 2-1 ratio to create a paste. Add pickle juice if mixture is too dry.  Add a little green food coloring.  

Fill egg white halves with yolk mixture, rounding and smoothing top of each.  Use black olive slices to create the eyeball effect.  (Optional: use pimiento-stuffed olives...the pimientos look like the pupils). Use a toothpick dipped into red food coloring to draw tiny wiggly red lines on whites, to simulate capillaries.

Yay for the internet!  I made these for a work Halloween potluck.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

2 cups pumpkin seeds

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

3 TBS butter or margarine, melted

1 tsp salt

Rinse pumpkin seeds until pulp and strings are washed off.

Boil seeds in salt water for 10 minutes.  Dry seeds on a paper towel.

In a bowl, combine Worcestershire sauce, melted butter/margarine and salt.  

Add seeds and mix until seeds are coated with mixture.  Spread on a baking sheet.

Bake 1-2 hours at 225*.  Stir occasionally and watch for burning.  Seeds should be crisp.

It was an assignment in my 1st grade class to copy this recipe off the chalkboard.  Ma still has the original recipe written in my very best 6 year-old print.

Frightening Witch's Finger Cookies

My neighbor dropped this plate off on my front porch on my birthday. For the spider, she took a chocolate cupcake with chocolate frosting, added chocolate sprinkles, m&m eyes, and black licorice legs. She couldn't find little rope licorice, she took a regular piece of licorice and cut it half and then took the half piece and cut that into four skinny pieces lengthwise. I found this recipe for fingers cookies on kraft.com

1-1/4 cups PLANTERS Sliced Almonds, divided

4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp. almond extract

1/4 tsp. salt

1-1/2 cups flour

HEAT oven to 325ºF.

RESERVE 60 nuts for later use; process remaining nuts in food processor until finely ground. Beat cream cheese, butter, sugar, extract and salt in large bowl with mixer until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in flour. Stir in ground nuts. (Dough will be stiff.)

ROLL dough into 60 (3-inch) "fingers," using 1 Tbsp. dough for each. Place, 2 inches apart, on baking sheets sprayed with cooking spray. Press 1 of the reserved nuts into dough in 1 end of each finger for the fingernail. Use sharp knife to make 3 crosswise slits in top of each finger for the knuckles.

BAKE 15 to 20 min. or until lightly browned. Cool 3 min. on baking sheet; carefully transfer to wire racks. Cool completely.

Another Good Recipe Blog

I added another great recipe blog link to the list of other recipe blogs.

The Jones girls recipe blog. Click here to visit it now.

Debbie is a very good cook, as are her girls and daughter-in-laws.

Enjoy!

Cream of Broccoli Soup

3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup flour
2 cups (1 pt) half and half
2 cups milk
1 1/2 teas. salt
1/2 teas. sugar
1 bunch broccoli
2 chicken bullion cubes.

Chop broccoli up into bite size chunks. place in pan and fill with enough water to cover broccoli. Cook covered until tender.

In meantime, melt butter, add flour, blend and cook for one minute on low to medium heat, stirring constantly. (Don't let butter brown.)

Add half and half and milk and stir with a wire wish until smooth and thick.

Add half of broccoli chunks to cream sauce. Ostracize the other half with a little liquid from pan and pour into soup mixture

Add 2 bullion cubes to soup mixture and cook on low heat. Add water from broccoli to soup to make soup desired consistency.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

I got this recipe from my sister-in-law, Christy. It is delicious. I don't like to use the chicken bullion cubes because it has MSG in it. (Sometimes people are allergic to msg) Instead of using the chicken bullion cubes, I'll us Swanson's chicken broth and cook the broccoli in the broth. I'll get the chicken flavor from the Swanson's broth.

Fixed link

My friend, Rebecca, let me know that the link to the macaroni and cheese recipe didn't work. Ooops. It is fixed now. And you can also get to it here.

Please pass the mac and cheese!

Yakima Fruit Paste (Home remedy for constipation)

Home remedy for constipation
DOSE: 1 – 2 tablespoons per day

1 lb raisins
1 lb prunes
1 lb figs
4 ounces Senna tea (herbal tea – caffeine free - look for it in your health food store)
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup lemon juice

1. Prepare tea – use about 2 ½ cup boiled water added to tea and steep 5 minutes

2. Strain tea to remove tea leave and add only 1 pint tea to a large pot, then add fruit

3. Boil fruit and tea for 5 minutes

4. Remove from heat and add sugar & lemon juice. Allow to cool.

5. Use hand mixer or food processor to blend fruit mixture into smooth paste

6. Place in plastic container and place in freezer (paste will not freeze but will keep forever in freezer.)

7. Spoon out what you require each day

Enjoy eating it straight off the spoon.
Spread it on toast or add hot water and make a drink.

If the fruit paste is not working (you are not having bowel movements), then you need to increase the amount of fruit paste you are taking.

If the fruit paste makes you have very loose stools, then you need to cut down on the amount of fruit paste you are taking. Perhaps even taking it every other day in some cases.

I ran across this recipe from my past. I made this recipe a lot when I was serving as Relief Society president and was helping the older sisters in our ward. I think the best way to eat is is as a spread on their toast. Anyway, it's one of those recipies that is nice to have on hand.

Macaroni and Cheese

Click here for a great recipe for homemade macaroni and cheese. The author of the blog "Safely Gathered In" does a great job giving you play-by-play directions on how to make homemade mac and cheese.  And I'll have to say, "amen" to what Abs says about serving this meal:

"Macaroni and Cheese is one of those fall-back meals. Got a babysitter coming in thirty minutes? Mac and cheese it is! Had a bad day? Bring on the mac and cheese! But you don't have to eat those box mixes to get a quick, easy and delicious comfort food. Homemade it is!"

Don't forget to check out the recipe on the link above.

I made up my own recipe for macaroni and cheese.  You can see it by clicking here.