Basic Prepping

28 Survival Spices & Oils, or How to Avoid Tastebud Fatigue

May 29, 2020 / 55 Comments

Whenever one of the kids is sick, I prepare the blandest possible food for them — something like unflavored oatmeal. They eat it because they’re hungry but they certainly don’t enjoy it! What would it be like to eat bland food every day? It wouldn’t be fun, and it sure wouldn’t be enjoyable! But eating bland food for a while could happen to those ill-prepared for a disaster, especially if supplies were difficult to find. And, because naturally bland foods …

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Rice and Beans With a Bam!

May 29, 2020 / 15 Comments

I have discovered a recipe that takes simple black beans and rice so far beyond boring that you might actually look forward to the day when it’s all you have left in the pantry!

Make a Garbage Bag Shelter Part of Your Survival Kit

May 29, 2020 / 4 Comments

I’m not sure how the early settlers along the Oregon Trail or the western frontier got along without duct tape, WD-40 or trash bags, but life surely would have been easier with them! Trash  bags, in particular, are included in all my survival kits. They have a multitude of uses, including being containers for picking up trash! But in an emergency, when correctly used, trash bags can prove a quick, temporary shelter from the elements. I first noticed this trash bag shelter …

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10 Forever Lasting Foods for your Food Storage Pantry

May 27, 2020 / 34 Comments

They say nothing lasts forever, but I beg to differ. These foods are commonly listed as being necessary components of a balanced food storage pantry, and they all have one thing in common. They last virtually forever — truly, forever foods! This list was originally compiled by Laura Moss in this article, but I’ve added my own commentary for application to long-term food storage. Sugar “Regardless of whether your sugar is white, brown or powdered, it will never spoil because …

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The Dutch Oven Survival Kit

May 29, 2020 / 17 Comments

If you’re one of those folks without power, heat, or warmth because of the recent snowstorms, you probably know that you need a cooking tool that can bake, boil, fry, and saute. And it should be able to function with a variety of heat sources since you don’t know when the electricity might come back on. My nomination for this wonder implement has been around for hundreds of years. It’s easy to find, cheap, and effective.  Go get a cast …

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My Top 9 Reasons for Dehydrating Food

May 28, 2020 / 50 Comments

My food dehydrator has been working up a storm this past week as I’ve been transforming pounds and pounds of tomatoes and jars of applesauce into very, very dry versions of their former selves.  I love dehydrating foods, and here are just a few of the reasons why. Dehydrated fruits and veggies have intense, INTENSE! flavors!  Each thin slice of dehydrated tomato packs a wallop of flavor that you don’t find in a fresh slice.  Something amazing happens to the flavor …

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image by WindRanch

Two Things My Kids Know About Guns

May 29, 2020 / 33 Comments

We took the kids to the shooting range again yesterday, along with a reporter and photographer from the Arizona Republic, and once more I felt so grateful that my kids are confident, yet cautious, around guns.  From the beginning, my husband and I wanted our kids to know two very important things about guns. #1   A gun is no big deal. Remember the scene in, “The Sixth Sense”, when a boy says to the main character, “Wanna see my dad’s gun?”  …

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45 Recipes For the Potato Lover in You!

May 29, 2020 / 8 Comments

I adore potatoes. Grew up with baked potatoes served at every Sunday-after-church lunch and mashed potatoes in the school cafeteria (back in the days when cafeteria food was awesome!) To celebrate cooler weather, but, heck!, potatoes can be enjoyed year-round, I tracked down 45 different potato recipes for you. Food-Storage Friendly Potato Recipes When you purchased dehydrated and freeze-dried food, you can count on it to last for many years and be available when you need that ingredient. These 2 …

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5 Reasons I Attend Gun Shows

February 29, 2012 / 6 Comments

I went to a gun show this morning with the Paranoid Dad.  It’s the fourth one I’ve attended in the past eight months or so.  In case you’re wondering why a perfectly sane, suburban SurvivalMom might show her face at one of these events, I really do have some perfectly rational reasons. First, personal protection, and no, I don’t mean maxi-pads.  As people lose jobs and, coming soon, benefit checks from bankrupt government agencies, there will be an increase in crime.  As Gerald Celente says, …

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