Be Ye Separate

Preparing a 30 Day Menu Using No Electricity

Good afternoon Family & Friends! I have been doing a lot of reading over at An Intentional Peasant's blog. She has been letting others know of ways to store food for future emergencies. Stockpiling your pantry is the name of the game. I myself have been wondering how to store food that can be used without using electricity.

 Being in a hurricane prone area,(and knowing that its been a long time coming for another major storm) I wanted to come up with a menu for at least 30 days that would allow me to feed my family.

Now, I have been able (most of the time) to do once a month shopping and get all of my needs. So, I have been able to keep at least a months supply of food on hand. It all requires using electricity to cook with as well as refridgeration/freezing. That's a good thing, but again I am looking to be able to prepare food for my family for at least 30 days electric free. I really pray that this will never happen though. I just want to be prepared.

During one of the last major hurricanes we had (which was about 10 years ago) we were without electricity for over a week. It was NO fun at all. I prepared poorly and needless to say, we ate junk food for over a week! Can you say YUCK! I never want to do that again. I couldn't wait to get some electricity just so we could have a HOT nutritious meal again.

So here I am now wanting to get started on this menu and what it will take to prepare at least one hot meal for my family if we get a hurricane this year.

If any of you have any ideas, PLEASE let me know. Maybe you could come up with your own menu using no electricity for 30 days. I'll post what I come up with once I get a plan set on paper. This is also going to help me, because I will need to start shopping for these supplies before the first threat of a hurricane comes to out area.

Have a blessed day in The Lord!

Amanda <><
II Corinthians 5:7

Simple Budgeting

Simple Journey Ministries Presents

Simply Frugal

The Simple Way to Maintain Your Budget

In the last two years it has been noted that Americans use their debit and credit cards more than their checkbooks. In fact, their usage has more than doubled! This is great in some ways, but it can be a nightmare for the budget conscious. When I left the envelope system of budgeting, in lieu of my debit card, something amazing happened. My expenses went up. In short, it is so much easier to spend one or two dollars here and there when the actual paper cash isn't coming out of your hand. It's like we aren't really spending that money or something.

However, you CAN have a debit card AND stay within your budget. Actually, you can do this for all your budgeting needs for the household. The best part, this is a simple process.

Use a separate bank account and debit card for all your household purchases. For the most ease, you and your husband might want to look into opening an other account at your current bank of choice if you are pleased with their services and they offer no fee banking. You will likely ahve to place a minimum of $25-50 dollars in the account when you open it. This is a good thing, because it will enable you to use all of your budget without penalty. Confused? Read On.

One good reason for this set up is that your husband can transfer money weekly or monthly, in an amount that totals your family's total budget for the month. When you go to the grocery you will know exactly how much you have to spend and not a penny more. A way to provide accountability for yourself is to agree that if you go over your budget by $2, then that amount will be deducted from the next month's stipend. In this way, you will have not only an incentive to stay within your budget, but a method of discipline for your budgeting. One extra bonus with this method, is that it is much more simple to track your household expenses.

The beauty of this process is that you will do nothing differently than you do now. You will simply have a separate account with which to do it. Simply Frugal!

These are my thoughts. 

Darn good chicken fajita's

This is how we make chicken fajita's.

I like to boil or grill 3 boneless chicken breasts until almost done (they will finish cooking in the stirfry) because I think cooking them solely during the frying time is too much frying the peppers. Cool and slice into strips.

We make up our seasoning mix (for heaven's sake, make your own as the store bought kind is yucky and expensive, click here for the best mix that I use) and set it aside.

First we chop strips from 1 red bell pepper and 1 yellow bell pepper and 1 purple onion.

Cover the bottom of your heavy frying pan with olive oil and then add a teaspoon of your garlic paste or fresh garlic, minced.

Add the peppers and onions, chicken, and seasoning and cook 5 or 10 minutes until your desired taste is met (some like fajita's almost black)

Pour it into a platter and serve with Jill's salsa and sour cream on fresh flour tortillas and don't write to me and complain that you over ate because you WILL over eat on these every time!

Basic Taco/Fajita Seasoning

Combine all ingredients.

Getting Old

Two elderly gentlemen from a retirement center were sitting on a bench under a tree when one turns to the other and says: 'Slim, I'm 83 years old now and I'm just full of aches and pains. I know you're about my age. How do you feel?'
Slim says, 'I feel just like a newborn baby.'
'Really!? Like a newborn baby!?'
'Yep. No hair, no teeth, and I think I just wet myself.'

*****

Hospital regulations require a wheel chair for patients being discharged. However, a student nurse found one elderly gentleman already dressed and sitting on the bed with a suitcase at his feet, who insisted he! Didn't need her help to leave the hospital.
After a chat about rules being rules, he reluctantly let the nurse wheel him to the elevator.
On the way down she asked him if his wife was meeting him.
'I don't know,' he said. 'She's still upstairs in the bathroom changing out of her hospital gown.'

*****

Couple in their nineties are both having problems remembering things. During a checkup, the doctor tells them that they're physically okay, but they might want to start writing things down to help them remember.
Later that night, while watching TV, the old man gets up from his chair. 'Want anything while I'm in the kitchen?' he asks.
'Will you get me a bowl of ice cream?'
'Sure.'
'Don't you think you should write it down so you can remember it?' she asks.
'No, I can remember it.'
'Well, I'd like some strawberries on top, too. Maybe you should write it down, so's not to forget it?'
He says, 'I can remember that. You want a bowl of ice cream with strawberries.'
'I'd also like whipped cream. I'm certain you'll forget that, write it down?' she asks..
Irritated, he says, 'I don't need to write it down, I can remember it! Ice cream with strawberries and whipped cream - I got it, for goodness sake!'
Then he toddles into the kitchen. After about 20 minutes,
The old man returns from the kitchen and hands his wife a plate of bacon and eggs. She stares at the plate for a moment.
'Where's my toast ?'

*****

A senior citizen said to his eighty-year old buddy:
'So I hear you're getting married?'
'Yep!'
'Do I know her?'
'Nope!'
'This woman, is she good looking?'
'Not really.'
'Is she a good cook?'
'Naw, she can't cook too well.'
'Does she have lots of money?'
'Nope! Poor as a church mouse.'
'Well, then, is she a good lover?'
'I don't know.'
'Why in the world do you want to marry her then?'
'Because she can still drive!'

*****

Morris, an 82 year-old man, went to the doctor to get a physical.
A few days later, the doctor saw Morris walking down the street with a gorgeous middle-aged woman on his arm.
A couple of days later, the doctor spoke to Morris and said, 'You're really doing great, aren't you?'
Morris replied, 'Just doing what you said, Doc: 'Get a hot mamma and be cheerful.''
The doctor said, 'I didn't say that. I said, 'You've got a heart murmur; be careful.' 

*****