Tuna Casserole and Dreaming of the End

LAWKI Day 24
September 12, 2010

Breakfast: Pancakes
Lunch: After church grazing, including pancakes, pasta salad, sandwiches
Dinner: Shepherd’s Pie, canned pears, peaches

I love Shepherd’s Pie. I hardly ever made it until I started using the cannery potato pearls with it. That makes it so easy to get in the oven quick. My family likes it most with creamy gravy, but sometimes I crave the tomato one so I will make that too. The best part of that is that there are more leftovers that way. They don’t like that much.

This is one of my big food storage meals. Of course, there is the issue of the ground beef, which I skirted using my frozen stuff. I really did not want to try another TVP today. Otherwise, it is an open cans, insert dinner sort of meal.

We had to beg milk jugs off of neighbors today. Though we have plenty of pitchers, there is nothing like a milk jug. It is easier, less messy, and adds to the appearance of milk. We are now back to using almost a gallon of milk a day, as the kids are eating cereal and having it with dinner and Michael is drinking it like normal milk. The chocolate is still popular with the kids. To me, the chocolate tastes an awful lot like Chocolate Quick. It has that mix sort-of flavor that Quick has mixed into regular milk. I predict the kids will miss it after we are done with LAWKI month.

Garden Watermelon

LAWKI Day 25
September 13, 2010

Breakfast: toast, kids ate cold cereal
Lunch: kids-school, S-leftover beans M-I don’t remember-maybe Nutella tortillas?
Dinner: Tuna casserole, watermelon from the garden, bread, frozen broccoli
Dessert: Almond Poppy Seed Bundt Cake

I made the dreaded Tuna Casserole. The kids kept asking what was for dinner and all I would say was noodle casserole. When James saw it out of the oven, he said, “Tell me that is canned chicken.” So I did. After all, he asked me to. He proceeded to bet Katie $10 that it was chicken and not tuna. While it would have been amusing to watch that play out, I confessed and ended the bet.

The reactions were so much better than I expected. James hated it, but I expected that as he does not like tuna in any form. John had issues with the celery (from Katie’s garden as the stuff in the fridge was moldy) so he had plenty of reservations trying it and did not like it. That is the one who most surprised me---he eats a tuna sandwich almost every day, and will only get tuna at Subway. Katie could not eat more that a bite without gagging. Ben was the only hold out who not only liked it, but took seconds. Sorry Michael, but it is 4-2, and we will not ever have tuna casserole again. And no one will fight you for the leftovers.

I asked Katie to pick a fruit to have with dinner. She wanted to try the watermelon. I have been worried about it because I thought it was supposed to be one of the giant, 20 pounders and it is far closer to the little personal size ones at the store. I figured that as it was a runt, it would not be ripe. To our surprise and delight, it was delicious in flavor. The texture was only so-so, but it was such a treat. We only ate half and are saving the other for tomorrow.

I really needed something to look forward to with dinner, so while the casserole was baking, I decided to make a lemon bundt cake. I searched the internet until I found a yummy looking, highly rated recipe. I used 4 of our precious eggs and a pound of our last butters, and creamed them with the sugar. And then I found that we did not have any lemon extract. After searching Maretta’s cabinets as well, I finally gave up that dream. It was back to Google to find another recipe that used 4 eggs and 2 cups of sugar. I finally found the almond poppy seed one. It was really yummy. John, Katie and I licked the bowl clean and everyone took a turn scraping the pan of all the stuck on parts (stupid bundt cake pan). James called it a Costco muffin on steroids. The best part was, I could make this again completely with food storage. It called for oil originally, and might not be quite as rich as this one made with butter, but I think we would all eat it again. I wonder if that pan would fit in the sun oven…

The kids are already discussing what we will do to celebrate the end of LAWKI month. They are voting for going out to eat while I am voting for hamburgers on the BBQ, assuming I can fix it. Michael is really sad that he will be at work that day. I felt sorry for him, thinking he would get stuck taking one more pathetic lunch to work until I found that he had thought ahead. He arraigned for a drug rep to bring in lunch next Monday. I alternate between admiring how clever he is to being jealous. Oh well, I plan to do shopping that day and think I just might have to hit the Costco food court.

LAWKI Fast Food, Meal Planning

LAWKI Day 22
September 10, 2010

Breakfast: Biscuits and Gravy
Lunch: Kids-school, M&S- leftovers
Dinner: Tater tots, Little Smokies, other junk food

I tried another kind of TVP today. I used a package mix for the sausage gravy and then used the sausage TVP. This one was pretty good. Michael and James like it, Ben and Katie preferred the gravy without the sausage. I would make that again, and maybe even use the TVP instead of cooking real sausage. Everyone likes the biscuits, and they are about the quickest baked thing to make in the morning. All told, this was less than 20 minutes start to finish. Not a bad breakfast.

I took James to the football game tonight and drove by about 250 fast food restaurants there and back. By the time I got home, I did not want a boring meal. We dug into the freezer and came up with Tater tots and Little Smokies. Not the healthiest meal, but boy was it nice to have some “fast” food for a change.


LAWKI Day 23
September 11, 2010

Breakfast: Hashbrowns, sausage, eggs
Lunch: Angel Hair Pasta and sauce
Dinner: M&S-Church Adult BBQ

Our family got to put up flags this morning. After the exercise in frustration that that was, and knowing we were facing a good day of housecleaning, we went to the freezer again and got the last bags of hashbrowns and a thing of sausage. We cooked that up and everyone got 1 fried egg with it. The eggs are past the use by date, but I assure you, they will not go in the garbage. We have about a dozen left and we are all dreaming of eating them.

I spent about 4 hours cleaning in the food storage room today. It has been about 6 months since I last went through it. After buying some things at the Smith’s case lot sale and Macey’s bulk food sale, I needed to get it all in and rotated. John was my helper, vacuuming out the spider’s webs and loading up cases of spaghetti sauce. It was satisfying work, and it helped me to check up on our stock of things.

About a year ago I made a spread sheet that listed all of the things I could think of that I would ever want to store. The list was based off of one that I had seen about 10 years ago. It has food, spices, baking supplies, cleaners, paper products, first aid, etc. I have columns for how much food I think we need, what we have, what we still need to get, and notes on it. More than being a 100% up to date catalog of what we have, it was the process of creating it that was most useful. It forced me to plan out how I would use the food we have.

I have modified an idea that I saw presented at a food storage something that was called the 19x19 plan. It suggested you plan 19 different daily menus, make sure you have enough food to make those meals 19 times, and you have a year’s supply of food. That idea made a lot of sense, and broke down the mystery of how much to store and then how do you use it. For me, I know there are really only about 7 breakfasts I can think of in terms of food storage and traditional breakfast foods: pancakes, waffles, oatmeal, cream of wheat cereal, cracked wheat cereal, muffins and biscuits. If I plan to make those 52 times, that is a year of breakfasts. After watching my general laziness in the morning, even this month when there is not a constant supply of easy breakfasts for the kids, I should probably include toast and fruit as breakfast options. That has been a staple.

I plan for lunch to be one of three things: leftovers, bread/tortillas/pita for sandwiches, and/or beans. That means at least a loaf of bread a day, maybe 2, depending on what other bread like foods we have around. One thing I have considered this month is whether I would need to move lunch and dinner around. Part of that is wondering if the “big” meal should be at lunch and part is thinking in terms of alternate energy sources. Using the sun oven means focusing on the part of the day with the strongest sun. Using any other source means trying to do all of your cooking at the same time, or at least one right after another in the case of charcoal.

That leaves dinner. I planned a list of 24 main dishes I thought I could make from food storage. Some are just soups, some are pasta or rice with sauce, and some are more meal-like. If I plan to do each one 12-13 times, that is my year’s supply. I also plan so that I can have a can of vegetables and a can of fruit at least once a day. That is pretty slim pickings for 6 adults, but that is what seems reasonable to me in terms of storage room and all.

And, because it is me after all, I have planned out what desserts I could make from food storage. I think that is almost as important as everything else. It’s back to the idea that a cookie with beans and bread is exponentially better than just beans and bread. I figure I can make cookies, cake, cobbler, crisp, brownies, pie, pudding, Jell-o and sweet quick breads. There are probably more, but these would give a great variety. One thing I have found I am lacking is in the whipped cream department. I remember using powdered whip cream when we lived in Saudi Arabia but I don’t think I have used it much since. That is one thing I would like to have a small bit of.

I am not exactly sure why I started rambling about this meal plan, but I have been checking things off of the list of meals as we use them. Because it is not soup weather, I have not done much in that department. And so far, I have put off making the tuna casserole. I have never in my life made that, and honestly, I am not happy thinking about it. It has much to do with eating it a lot as a kid, and the texture issues I have with other similar things, such as the canned chicken. The last time I ate it was when someone brought me a meal when I was on bed rest with the triplets. I remember liking it for the first few bites and then not being able to eat much more. I have a husband who love tuna casserole and 3 kids who love tuna, so I predict it will be a hit. In fact, I am slightly worried that they will like it enough to want it again and then where will I be? Ick. Anyway, I will be happy to be able to check that meal idea off of the list.

I have crossed a few things off the list, so I am hunting for ideas again. If you have a great “food storage meal” or can suggest something that can be modified to use easy-to-store foods, please share!

Canned Chicken

LAWKI Day 21
September 9, 2010

Today I caught a friend ‘anonymously’ dumping fruit and vegetables on the front porch. I have 2 bags of squash, a bucket of tomatoes, and a bag of apples. Michael took the last apple in his lunch today so those came just in time. I think it was just an overabundance of stuff and neighborly generosity vs. feeling sorry for us. Either way, thanks Rachael.


I cannot explain it, but I have a fear of canned chicken. I have a whole case that my grandparents gave me from when they worked in the church cannery, and I have some that I have bought from Costco and other stores on sale. The thought of using it has always turned my stomach so it sits in my storeroom and waits for me. I conquered my fears today, with mixed results.

I gathered one of each type we had (minus the really daunting case that I could not bring myself to open). We had a Kroger brand, a Sam’s Club one and a Valley Fresh can from Smiths. Only the Sam’s was white meat, the other two were white and dark. I made Katie and Ben come try them all with me. I did not like the Valley Fresh much at all. The Kroger was actually tolerable and I did not mind the dark or white meat. The Sam’s one was the superior choice of all and looked the best as well. Ben thought they were “not bad” while Katie could not get over the fact that it was not canned tuna.

I felt dumb for my previous bias and fear and then proceeded to make chicken enchiladas with them. They were not the best in the world. They were mushy and tasted off. I was using the tortillas that I made on Monday, so I cannot be sure that it was just the chicken. The same could be said for the powdered milk. In the end, I have mixed feelings about planning for this meal in a food storage situation. It would be calories and especially good protein ones, but I just did not like the combo. I think I would rather eat the chicken plain. I might try later making the sauce for the Café Rio chicken and then soak the canned chicken in it and try that with tortillas as a chicken taco thing. I still like the idea of the canned chicken in storage, but want someway to use it that doesn’t make me cringe.

Breakfast: Kids-cereal, toast, apples; S- Tuna sandwich (I was making Michael one and it looked so good!)
Lunch: Kids-school, M-tuna sandwiches, S-Bookclub lunch, yummy salad, muffins, pie
Dinner: Chicken Enchiladas, zucchini, green beans, carrots, tomatoes, peaches

I have the back of my car filled with food I bought at the Smiths case lot sale yesterday. My kids are dying for the instant oatmeal and the “little shrimpies” in the Cup of Soup. 11 more days.

Milk, Medicine and Garbage

LAWKI Day 20

Breakfast: Toast, John had cereal with powdered milk, applesauce
Lunch: kids-school, M – left over enchiladas, S-leftover beans
Dinner: Macaroni and Cheese, Ben soup and sandwiches on hike, M –work, packed dinner

Michael took the powdered Milk today with his lunch, and John is back to his regularly scheduled bowls of cereal in the morning. I guess the Morning Moo brand milk is passing the cooking and drinking tests.

I spent a couple hours at the dentist today. When I am lying there, trying hard to think about anything else but what is going on in my mouth, I often think about strange things. I spent this time wondering what would happen in an emergency if I was left with a huge hole in my teeth. I only hope they would fill the hole with their emergency power before they closed the office and rushed home to check on things. I think anyone who has seen the movie with Tom Hanks where he is stranded on an island in the pacific with a tooth that needs a root canal has shared that thought before.

Michael and I often talk about what might happen to him at work in an emergency. He has talked to his bosses about what he could expect from an earthquake emergency and was very disappointed that there seemed to be no plans. They just said, "Take care of your family first." Nice sentiments, but not very wise or helpful. He spoke to the Utah Pharmacy Association as well, trying to find out if there are guidelines in place for how to dispense in an emergency where computers are off line and people need both regular, life maintaining medications and emergency pain relief. Do you go with your regular customers first, the ones you know by site and know they have standing prescriptions or do you give it to the new prescriptions that can't be verified or billed or even paid for? Is there any hope that it will be done in order or do they just expect looters to take everything? Then we get into the scenarios of pandemic influenza. You would think that after the mess with the swine flu last year that new procedures would be in place. It is frustrating to him and to me. Maybe in such a populated area this kind of planning is done at the warehouse level, not each individual store. Even still, it is disappointing that this element of the medical system is going to be left hanging and unused, and that people will suffer so much because of it.

With that, we have tried to be as prepared as we can for medicine in an emergency. One insider trick that Michael shares with anyone who is interested is how to create an emergency buffer with your prescriptions. If you have a regular medicine (not a narcotic) that you always get a monthly supply of, the he recommends you should get it refilled every 24-25 days. Insurances will let you refill when you have used 80% of the medicine. If you do this consistently, by the end of the year, you should have at least a 2-month supply of your medicine. Be smart in doing this and make sure you are using your oldest medicine first, and make sure you are keeping the extras in a secure, child resistant way. Of courses, some medicines do not have a shelf life that can support building up a year’s supply of medicine, such as insulin. But when it is such a necessity of life, it is critical to have enough to see you through the crazy days that would follow an earthquake or other major emergency.

We also have a supply of over-the-counter meds, such as Tylenol, Advil, antihistamines, cold medicine, anti-diarrheal, etc. I must admit that I am loath to throw out the few narcotics that we have left over from a couple of prescriptions. It is absolutely against the law to use another person’s medicine and I do not suggest you do. However, with my pharmacist around and dispensing information at all hours for me, I do keep them in the event of an emergency. I keep them locked in the safe, because I also have kids in the house and I don’t want to be a supplier for a pharm-party. (Not that I am overly worried about my kids---then again, who is?---, but they have friends who have friends, and if word got around, like some idiot posting this information on a blog on the internet, I would not want to be the target of unscrupulous people.) Gee, have I said too much or would my warnings and bold writing hold up in court? One more then…My husband, an honest and law-abiding pharmacist, knows nothing about any of this. Better? Good.

One more complexly not related observation from LAWKI month is our kitchen garbage is not as full as usual. John came in from taking the cans to the curb happy that there was only one. I think we are generating less garbage from food than usual. Of course, there are a lot more empty cans and boxes in the recycling than usual, so maybe it is a wash. I know that I have been much better about scraping the bottoms of the cans this month. I am certain that if food was low, I would be drinking the liquid from every can and licking the inside as far as I could. Nothing would go to waste.

The Psychological Affect of LAWKI on Children, or How the Kids Surprise Me

LAWKI Day 19
September 7, 2010

Breakfast: Oatmeal, with sugar or jam or both
Lunch: Kids-school, M & S-Sandwiches, brownies
Dinner: Bean dip, chips, peaches, John-soup

I imagine 7 layer bean dip would not always be possible if we still did not have some fresh stuff. As it was, it was a good way to use the Romaine we still have that is old, and we have plenty of tomatoes. We still have sour cream, mostly due to my rationing of it. It will be gone soon, except for my own personal container. I am not sure if I will use that for a certain meal, or if it will be used as dip for my bag of chips. Yum!

Michael actually poured and drank a glass of the Morning Moo powdered milk today. The chocolate has been a big hit, so long as you remember to shake before pouring. Until now, the plain milk was avoided, but Michael said that he had drunk regular milk that tastes worse than this. I even took a sip, and found it to be tolerable. Katie thinks it just tastes like 2% vs the skim we usually have.

Maretta, my 2nd pantry neighbor, called and asked if I had bread, offering to trade peaches for it. They were tasty. While everyone else thinks they are not ripe, I love crunchy peaches with just enough sweetness to off set the tart. It was a nice change to have with dinner. We do still have about 4-5 apples, which I am letting the kids and Michael have. We also have some nectarines, but they are old enough that they ought to be thrown out. I just can’t bring myself to do it. Same with the grapes. There are a few good ones, but the others are so bad that it scares me away from eating them. But I still do not want to throw them out.

It seems that the kids are not missing things as much as Michael and I. They don’t seem to crave things, they just miss the idea of things. For instance, Ben says he misses desserts the most. We have had cake twice, cobbler, chocolate zucchini bread, brownies, cookies, ice cream and cereal bars in the last 19 days. I am sure we do not have that much on the regular days. Maybe it is the same thing that am feeling, more trapped because there are limitation to what we can eat and make, when in reality, we still have so many choices available.

I assumed that another reason they were doing fine is that they have the choices for school lunch. They can take the standard lunch or they can go through the fast food lines and get pizza, hot dogs, hamburgers, or they can go through a salad bar or a sandwich line. I asked what they have been eating and was surprised to find that 3 of the 4 are basically just having a sandwich every day. Amazing. I would be in that pizza line a lot more than that. The roast beef line does have its own appeal right now...

Another thing about the kids. They hang out in the basement a lot, and I still smell microwave popcorn almost daily. They also went through the soda in the mini-fridge down there and the rest of the granola bars and snacks. I think most everything is gone now, except the popcorn. I might have to go and remove the rest of that and see if they switch to the air popper or find another snack.

Family Survey #3, Oil and Why Food Storage

LAWKI Day 18
September 6, 2010

Family Survey #3

Three words to describe LAWKI month:
Tired of bread; not much change; enduring, tedious, interesting; indifferent, uncaring, unchanging; horrible, evil, awful; the surveys suck.

What do you miss the most:
Nothing; nothing; milk, meat, fast food, fresh fruits/vegetables; meat, French fries, the freedom to have whatever whenever, food traditions-especially with friends; desserts.

What lessons are we learning:
We need more oil than I thought, it takes more time to cook meals without convenience foods, learned how to make tortillas; how to be more healthy; what holes are in our plans; nothing, no idea; how to survive, how to make new foods.

How crazy are we for doing this:
8.3

How angry are you to have to participate?
2.8 (our regular 10 went to a 5, but a few others upped their anger)

How much do you think this affects life?
6


I made more bread today and more tortillas, this time saving some for enchiladas in the next day or two. I hope that will make things go faster for dinner.

I made the Roberts BBQ Beans today to take to our Labor Day BBQ with friends. I also brought brownies and a loaf of bread and a box of Girl Scout Cookies, which I guess was enough to once again buy dinner. They spoiled us with yummy food and great company (thanks, Houses!). We talked again about the Bountiful Baskets food co-op. They showed me the ordering process, and after trying the best mango I have ever had, I think I will give it a try in 2 weeks. They also buy beef from a relative’s dairy herd in Idaho and we plan to buy with them next time.

Breakfast: toast, fruit, left-overs
Lunch: sandwiches and tortillas
Dinner: with friends

In reference to the oil in lessons learned, I am very surprised how much we are using. Making bread every 3 days or so takes 2/3 cup, pancakes and waffles take ¼ to ½ c, biscuits take 1 c, etc. If we were to use it for frying things, it could take between 2 T and 4 cups, if deep-frying. I think to be safe, I want to plan for a cup of oil every day, which is 23 gallons or 60 48oz bottles. That is a lot of oil, and far too much for a year if you are not using it at the rate we are this month. Of all of the food we store, the oil and other fats have the shortest shelf life.

This is the real quandary we face when planning a year’s worth of food: do we buy things that we will use and eat at a normal, go-to-the-store-anytime rate, or do we buy for the this-is-all-we-have-for-a-year rate? The smartest people would be the ones who can eat the same both ways, and buy accordingly, the “store what you eat and eat what you store” crowd. The path we have chosen is kind of a bridge between the two. If we over buy, and some goes bad before we will use it, then at least we bought peace of mind with the otherwise wasted money. If we buy lots of stuff, and then we discover we can’t use it or don’t like it, there are always food drives to donate it too.

We figure that our food storage serves multiple purposes:

1-It is our food insurance. If we don’t use our life insurance policy this year, (yea!—we are still alive) we don’t consider it a waste to have purchased it. If this year the health insurance company makes money from us, then we have been blessed with good health. (We have lived through a year where the cancer bills would have bankrupted us, and we figure we still have not paid more in insurance than we used in that particular year, let alone the year the triplets were born.) If we never use all of our food insurance, we have lived a blessed life. I am certain that we have never thrown out enough spoiled food from the food storage that adds up to one month’s food budget, especially these days with 4 teenagers.

2-It is our on-site food store. How wonderful it is to not run out of things on a regular basis. Now Maretta may laugh when she sees this, knowing how many times a month I am calling to borrow this and that. However, much of that is the fresh stuff, like eggs, sour cream, green onions, etc. Sometimes it is the novelty items that I thought I still had one more can of, such as coleslaw dressing or cheese wiz. I don’t think I have ever had to borrow sugar or flour or oil or salt or pasta etc. Maybe that is common with everyone, and everyone else has a greater sense of what they have and what they need than I do. Who knows? I do know that I love having my own c-store in the basement.

3- It saves us money. Being able to buy in bulk when there are sales, instead of when we run out, saves considerable amounts of money. This was very apparent during our “crazy shopping day”. The kids were thrilled to find they could get 5 packages Ramen for $1. What they don’t realize is that is expensive for Ramen, which I hope to get during the case lot sale for 10/$1. I even flinched when I had to pay $3.89 for a bag of Lays potato chips that I know sales for $1.88. Buying in bulk in season and/or on sale can save so much.

4-It could save us from a real “crazy shopping day” that might happen. Who really wants to be caught in a food riot, whether it be the grocery store right after an emergency or the relief food truck delivery weeks after? I want that time to have one less worry, when there will be a world full of worries around me.

5- It could make money stretch a whole lot further in the event of a money emergency, such as unemployment or disability or long term health issues or whatever. If all we have to buy are the fresh things, then we can make that food budget cover many more things than it does now.

6-This last one is so hard to put into word, so I am now going to use far more than necessary to explain it. Having a year’s supply of food is believing in the principles of self reliance, provident living and preparedness. It is believing that we can and should be ready for the emergencies that life brings, that we read about everyday in the news. It is about charity, knowing that not everyone in our extended family has enough, that not everyone on our street has enough, and that we may be storing food and water for more than us.

It is believing that God has inspired living prophets to teach, guide and warn us that these principals will benefit our lives and may even save them. It is the faith of the Widow of Zarephath. It is the faith that if we are prepared, we will not fear, even if we might be afraid. It is recognizing how blessed we are in our material things, in our freedoms and our peace and safety, and how little God asks for in return. It is wanting to be one of the wise of the 10 Virgins, to be included in the marriage feast.

If and when our “oil” does run out, I want to know that I gave it my best effort. Last fall as I surveyed our storage room after cleaning and restocking, I stood overwhelmed with it all. I cried silently in prayer, thanking God for His Bounteous Mercy. I remember asking Him to guide me to see the weaknesses in our preparations so that we could fix them. I begged Him to protect my family from want and need, promising to use the food and knowledge and experience I had gained for the good of our family and others. It was a very moving experience for me, as I felt the feeling of peace and calm and of the Spirit, and a confirming that my efforts would be enough, if I would be constant in it.

While I think of this at times when I am putting things away in the food room, I don’t think I have contemplated this in terms of LAWKI month before. Maybe my faith in that “confirmation” was not great enough and so I am artificially reaching for that assurance that we are prepared enough. Maybe this is the right way to find the holes in our preparation. Maybe this is my time to inspire other to be more prepared. Maybe it is all just my insanity. All I can say is that going into this month, we were excited about it, felt good about doing it, and did not think it would hurt anything. Whether or not it would do any good is still debatable.


Sorry for the rambling today, hope it wasn't too preachy. I am long winded, even in my “journal”. If you are interested, I recommend poking around www.providentliving.org for self-reliance and preparedness and food storage information. It is run by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, www.lds.org or www.mormon.com.

Bribes and TVP

LAWKI Day17

September 5, 2010

On the way into the Chapel for Sacrament Meeting, James pulled me aside saying he now had "bribe stuff". When I asked for clarification, he said that he had scammed the fluffy white bread that was leftover from filling the Sacrament Trays and then asked what he could get from me for it. (Obnoxious child, who raised you? Oh, wait, that was me.) After being rejected, he brought it home and made peanut butter jelly sandwiches and gave out slices to his siblings who were in his good graces. He swears it has nothing to do with him missing things due to LAWKI month, so I guess he thinks I am missing things more. Maybe he just read my earlier post on white bread.

I found my tortilla recipe! After church, I watched a YouTube video on making tortillas and tried the recipe she used. They worked very well, have a great taste and got approval from the family. I used them to make dinner, a version of my Beef Topped Bean Enchiladas. I put Taco TVP in the salsa sauce with mixed results. While it did not make a taste difference, the texture was weird. I think I would rather just try it without. I am now much more hesitant to try the other TVP recipes I have. Otherwise, it is a recipe I could keep in the food storage rotation, so long as we had grated cheese.

Here is the tortilla recipe:

3 ½ c flour

1 t. salt

½ t baking powder

½ c shortening, or 7-8 T oil (used shortening, but want to try oil sometime)

1 c hot water

Cut the shortening into the flour mixture, add hot water, and then knead for 3 minutes. Let the dough rest for 15 minutes. Divide into 16 balls, about golf ball size. Flatten into disk, dip in flour, and roll. Bake in a medium hot pan on stove, about one minute on each side. (With two pans cooking, you can roll one and put it to cook, roll another one and as you put it in, flip the other. When the next one is rolled, take the first one off.)

Now, does anyone have a good refried beans recipe? What about just baked beans… I have a good BBQ style beans recipe, but how do you make good black beans to just eat as a side dish? I can eat kidney beans just plain, but what else do you do with them? Anything kids might eventually get used to eating?

Breakfast: Fasting

Lunch: Fasting, some ate sandwiches, tortillas

Dinner: Bean Enchiladas, green beans, honeydew, tomato mozzarella cheese salad, squash

It was very sad to have the honeydew that we have saved until now be crunchy and not very good. It was also obnoxious how long it took to make the enchiladas when I had to make the tortillas first. Usually I can get this in the oven in about 20 minutes if I have cooked and frozen ground beef. This batch took about an hour and a half to get into the oven, even with both James and Katie's help.

We went to Michael’s brother’s house for games and fun after dinner. We took left over cake from Friday and ate plenty of yummy cereal bars and snacks there.