Dear Sisters...: Provident Living...Tips and Ideas!

Provident Living...

This page is for archiving Provident Living posts from Dear Sisters Blog for quick reference.

Crisis Crisco?

I would love to find this can...lol!

I have a whole network of blogs that I enjoy reading every day. A few of them are LDS ladies who have many of the same interests that I do. One of my favorite LDS bloggers is a sweet California lady named Maryjane who blogs at The Beehive Cottage. Maryjane's darling blog is a shabby lover's dream. She makes the prettiest pink laundry soap as well as wonderful vintage-inspired crafts for her Etsy shop. Maryjane graciously allowed me to share a tutorial she taught her Relief Society sisters.

Emergency Candle...From Crisco!

I gave a class for the women of my church in my home on ideas for
Emergency Preparedness.
One of the ideas I shared was this candle made out of vegetable shortening
I have seen on Pinterest over and over again.

It is awesome and works for hours on end!

I bought the wicks on eBay and
the vegetable shortening at Walmart.
The vegetable shortening can I bought is a medium size and
should burn for 40+++ hours.

~INSTRUCTIONS

1. Open can of vegetable shortening. The bigger the can, the longer it will last.

2. Insert candle wick with a dowel or scissors into the center of the can.

(I pinched the bottom of wick with scissors and pushed the wick to the bottom of can).

If the can has a large diameter, multiple wicks can be inserted.

(I used 2 wicks as shown). Leave quarter of an inch of wick showing above the can

to make sure the flame is a manageable size.

3. Even out the top of the vegetable shortening so the candle is smooth.

4. Light wick and enjoy the candle!

I had it burning the whole class time.
After the class, I blew out the candle
and
replaced the lid on it that it came with.

Ready to use now in an emergency!

GREAT Christmas gift idea!

I will be making them!

Have a wonderful day and be prepared!

Thank you so much, Maryjane for letting me share this fun preparedness tip with my Highland 12th Ward sisters. There's no reason for Provident Living to be boring...not with Pinterest around...lol! Sisters, I am going to put some links on the side bar of my favorite LDS bloggers...one even lives in Alpine and is an amazingly creative person!

Make Your Own Ketchup!

I "Heart" Heinz!

Happy Monday, Sisters! I love ketchup. I don't care if you call it ketchup or catsup...you can call it whatever you want as long as it's Heinz. Store brand ketchup and other major brands just don't cut the mustard. =D They are just too sweet. Heinz has the perfect salty to spicy ratio that makes it the ideal accompaniment to french fries. I found a blogspot that tells you everything you would ever want to know about ketchup: nowthatsnifty.blogspot.com I am going to share with you a few of the facts I learned.

Some Random Facts About Ketchup

97% of American homes keep ketchup in their kitchens.

Each person consumes about 3 bottles per year.

A Tablespoon of ketchup has about 16 calories and no fat.

4 Tablespoons have the nutritional value of a ripe medium tomato.

Like fine wines there can be good and bad ketchup years depending on the quality of the harvest.

Heinz ketchup was introduced in 1876 as a "blessed relief for Mother..."

Heinz sells more than 50% of the ketchup sold in the U.S.

The "catsup" spelling went out of popularity in 1981 after the Reagan Administration declared "Ketchup" to be a vegetable that could be used in school lunches.

Public outcry caused a reversal of that ruling, so now ketchup is back as a condiment

Disclaimer: Heinz does not pay me to "love" their ketchup. =D

Homemade Tomato Ketchup

By now your gardens are probably starting to produce a good crop of tomatoes. Mine are a bit slow to come on this year. I still have a lot of salsa and chili sauce left from last fall, so I wanted to try something new. My good friend, Lynette Chidester graciously allowed me to publish her tried and true recipe for ketchup. She says she likes it better than store-bought. I think it would be fun to try this out. Grandma Zetta used to make a lot of her own condiments.

Lynette's Ketchup

Ingredients:

3 gallons plus 1 quart tomato juice

4 cups white sugar

3 cups white vinegar (could use part cider)

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1/3 cup salt

1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper or 1 teaspoon dried mustard

1/2 tsp. allspice

1/2 tsp. dried cloves

1 and 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Carefully boil the juice, stirring frequently, until juice is reduced to about half. Add 1/2 of the vinegar and all of the sugar and salt. Cook an additional 30 minutes, stirring frequently, then add the rest of the vinegar. Just before ladling it into the jars, add spices and mix well. Until recently Lynette processed it in a boiling water bath. But she warns that because of the lower acidity of today's tomatoes, it would probably be prudent to pressure process pints at 15 pounds (Highland, Utah altitude) for 15 minutes.

Meals in a Jar...Using Your Food Storage

Pinterest has many Meals in a Jar recipes

For the last while I have seen a lot of meals in jars on Pinterest. It really piqued my interest, because I am having a hard time visualizing how to use all those cans of dehydrated and freeze dried foods in my store room. If you are anything like me you would rather give your first born to the Gypsies than open one of those cans! Last Thursday night, the Highland Stake sponsored a class on Meals in the Bag and Meals in the Jar. It was held at the home of Leslie Heath. Lisa Barker from Honeyville Farms taught the class. While we were waiting to begin, she quickly put together a wonderful Pasta E Fagioli Soup in a countertop pressure cooker that takes only about 10 minutes to cook. I will include the recipe later. The following information is from Sister Barker's handout. The handout will be sent to you in an email...it will include some recipes that I won't publish here.

I've stored it...now how do I use it?

Meals in a jar have been around for quite awhile. We put together soup and cookie mixes for gifts for our neighbors and friends. This takes it to a new level. Many of the ingredient will come from those special cans we just can't bring ourselves to open...because...once they are opened they aren't good for 25 years any more! Relax...once the cans are opened, the remainder can be resealed in canning jars using your Food Saver. The Food Saver can also be used to seal the meal...or you can use oxygen absorbers. Mylar bags are also used for this...but I like the pretty layers. If you are worried about impending earthquakes...use the mylar.

Two books available...

"Dinner is in the Jar" and "It's in the Bag."

Both are available from Amazon.

Sample...Meal in a Jar

What to store...the basics

This is helpful...I've wondered about this.

Meals in a Bag...

Sample Meal in a Bag.

Everything...including water...is included in the bag.

A "Meal in a Bag" is everything needed to make a meal packed inside a color-coded shopping bag. Breakfasts, dinners and desserts will each be a different color. I like this idea because it uses the shelf-stable pantry foods that our families will eat. It can be mixed with some long-term items such as freeze dried fruits and vegetables, as well as meats. Fresh meats, vegetables and condiments can be added as desired. Colors can also be used to determine if a meal is a chicken dish or a beef dish. Sister Barker said that her children are allowed to go down and pick a meal from the shelf...that way they feel involved and that they have a choice. The meal bags can be put together one at a time until you have the number that you want. Once the meals have been put together they should be rotated. Use them everyweek.

Recipes and instructions are included on the front of each meal bag.

Using a counter top electric pressure cooker...makes meals super fast!

Pasta e Fagioli Soup

1 c. FD sausage or ground beef

1 c. dehydrated onions

1 c. dehydrated shoestring carrots

1 c. FD celery

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 14.5 oz. cans diced tomatoes

2 15 oz. can red kidney beans, rinsed

1 15 oz. can great northern beans, rinsed

1 15 oz. can tomato sauce

28 oz. V-8 juice

4 c. water

2 T. rice vinegar (it's what makes all the difference)

3 t. Wayzata Tuscan Spice Blend

1 1/2 t. salt

1 t. oregano

1 t. basil

1/2 t. pepper

1/2 t. thyme

1 1/2 c. ditali pasta

Put everything in electric pressure cooker and cook on HIGH for 9 minutes

with a natural release. Delicious!

This recipe is a perfect Meal in a Bag...it just won't fit in a jar. You could do it half and half with the FD veggies, spices and pasta in a jar. Add the jar to the bag...easy peasy! More recipes and information is on the way...check your email.

Homemade Chili Sauce...

Yummy...better than store-bought!

George's Chili Sauce Recipe

Yield: about six pint jars.

4 quarts peeled, cored, chopped tomatoes ( about 24 large)

2 cups chopped onions

2 cups chopped sweet red peppers (about 4 medium)

1 hot red pepper (we use the dried pepper flakes)

1 cup sugar

3 Tablespoons salt

3 Tablespoons mixed pickling spices

1 Tablespoon celery seed

1 Tablespoon mustard seed

2 1/2 cups vinegar

Combine tomatoes, onions, peppers, sugar and salt. Simmer 45 minutes. Tie spices in a cheesecloth bag; add to tomato mixture; cook until very thick, about 45 minutes, stirring frequently

Prepare home canning jars and lids according to manufacturers instructions.

Add vinegar to tomato mixture; cook to desired thickness. Remove spice bag. Carefully pour hot sauce into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch head space. Adjust caps.

Process 15 minutes in boiling water bath canner.