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"In Vitro" Chicken....Yummy!

Posted on Friday, April 25, 2008 at 9:05 AM

If you haven't heard the news, PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) is offering a $1 million reward to the first scientist to create and bring to market "in vitro" meat.  What is "in vitro" meat, you ask?  It is meat grown in a laboratory from animal stem cells.  The contest stipulates that the product marketed must look and taste like chicken, and be safe for human consumption.

The motivation for PETA is that, despite their big push in recent years to convert the world to vegetarianism, they have seen little progress.  (Supposedly the ad series of scantily-clad actresses promoting vegetarianism didn't work)  Frustrated by their failure in getting Americans to kick the "meat addiction", they have come up with this idea.  If meat can be grown in a lab, with no need for the animals to suffer, then it could be a viable solution.  They seek to put an end to several practices, such as (according to their website):

• Chickens drugged to grow so large they often become crippled (That is false.  Chickens are given no drugs, other than anti-biotics.  They become crippled because of their fast growth rate, but this is due to selective breeding, not genetic manipulation or drugs)
• Mother pigs are confined to metal cages so small they can't move (Likewise, untrue.  Yes, they are put in very small cages, but they can move.  Usually they choose not to because they're so large and lazy.)
• Fish are hacked apart while still conscious (This is true.)

Don't get me wrong, I don't promote making animals suffer.  I think it's cruel and you should not prolong pain or death beyond what you can control.  I recognize there are unfortunate aspects of mass production of meat.  That's part of the reason we grow our own meat right here.  But I also think animals are for food, and have no problem eating them.  I'm not going to give up meat, so I'll at least improve the lives of my animals while they're alive.  My cows get good grazing and don't have massive amounts of grain fed to them.  My pigs have a 2500 sq ft pen to play in, lots of yummy scraps, and affectionate attention from us.  My chickens are free-range and can scratch and hunt for bugs all day to their hearts content.  But in the end, they're food, and they're being grown for a reason.  We do it as naturally as possible because it's good for them, which is in turn good for us.

I'm just curious how receptive the American public is going to be to laboratory-grown meat.  The majority could care less about the suffering of chickens and could only be convinced to eat it if it was A LOT better for you than real chicken, or cheaper.  That's the problem.  It's liable to be no better for you, and more expensive. 

Sorry PETA.  I think you've got a flop here.

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Rice Lasagna

Recipe Name: Rice Lasagna

Picture:
Get original file (19KB)

Description:

Browned ground beef mixed with spaghetti sauce and freshly cooked rice, layered with cottage cheese and topped with cheddar before baking

Yield: 6-8 servings

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups (uncooked) rice
1 pound ground beef
1/2 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon sugar
3 cups spaghetti sauce
2 cups cottage cheese
8 ounces (2 cups) shredded cheddar or mozzarella cheese*

Instructions:

1. Cook rice according to package instructions.

2. Brown ground beef with onion and garlic in a large skillet. Drain excess grease. Add salt, pepper, sugar, spaghetti sauce, and cooked rice. Stir well to combine.

3. In a medium-large casserole dish (can use a 9x13-inch dish or a casserole dish of equivalent size), put a layer of the rice mixture. Top with a layer of cottage cheese. Continue layering until dish is full. Top with shredded cheese.

4. Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour (baking time depends on depth of dish used), until hot and bubbly.

Additional Notes:

This recipe and photo were submitted by guest chef Emily K. She calls this "Lazy man's lasagna" and says she loves it because "It's easy, cheap, and very yummy!"

*Emily notes, "I have used both mozzarella and cheddar, but you could use anything. I must say though, that I prefer cheddar. It gives an extra zing!"

Preparation Time: 30 minutes

Cooking Time: 60 minutes

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When I was 12 years old Grandpa would let me help him pluck whole chickens after we had dipped them in scalding hot water in a washtub. That was the way he sold whole chickens to stores with his family business.

Figure 1. With a trash bag properly fitted around the chicken, clean up will be easy.

One day I asked Grandpa, “Isn’t there an easier way to dress out a chicken?” He showed me a method with no need to pluck feathers and no smelly stench from a wet chicken. It’s just a fast, easy way to put meat on the table.

Things you will need

1. A sharp knife, axe, meat cleaver, or machete for cutting off the head.
2. Rope. Cut 3 or 4 pieces of ¼-inch rope 12 to 18 inches long. One is to tie the chicken’s legs together tightly before you cut the head off; otherwise you will have a headless chicken running about the yard. The other is to tie the chicken’s legs onto your hook on a tree or cart.
3. A bowl. I use a stainless steel one but any large bowl or panwill do. Put your chicken in it once you cut it away from the carcass.



Figure 2. Front view showing where the cuts are made and how the skin is peeled away

4. A large bowl of water. Again I use a stainless steel one. It’s to keep my hands and knife clean while skinning the chickens.
5. I use two sawhorses for a table base, over which I placed a sheet of ¾-inch plywood 24 x 48 inches. If you have a small folding table you could use it.
6. A clean sheet of plastic or butcher’s paper big enough to cover your work table top. Tape it on or tuck it under the table top.
7. I use my trusty cart, setting it up on end. The handle bar is just the right height for me to hang the chickens from and skin. I put a concrete block in it while I’m pulling the skin downward so the cart will not fall on me.
8. A garden hose is handy to clean your knives and to pre-clean the chicken of any dirt or feathers before they are taken into the house for final cleaning and freezing preparation.
9. A large black garbage bag with two twist ties that hold the garbage bag on the cart. Cut the garbage bag two-thirds of the way down so that anything you cut off while skinning, such as the feathers and carcass, goes into the bag (Figure 1).

Figure 3. A view showing how to cut away the mini-wing drumstick

The process

Now you are ready to butcher and skin the chicken.

Tie the chicken’s legs together and cut off its head. Then hang the chicken up by its legs (see Figure 2) with the breast of the chicken facing you. Make the first cut around the yellow part of the leg joint only deep enough to separate the skin, but not deep enough to cut the leg tendon.

Cut and pull down the skin from the leg, cutting just deep enough that the skin will come loose from around the meat. Pull the skin of the chicken down laterally to each side, all the time cutting away the other skin to reveal the leg meat that you will cut off later.

Figure 4. The skinned carcass, ready for you to take the meat

Continue to cut and pull the skin all the way down and backwards around the upper thigh. Continue to cut and pull the skin down around the breast and cut the wing loose at the first joint of the wing (Figure 3). Some people may want to continue to clean and cut around the feathers of the wing for the small tip of the wing bones, but for me there is so little meat it is not worth it.

It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3

Now we are ready to strip the skinned carcass (Figure 4).

First, cut the wings, or mini-drumsticks, off at the joint near the breast. By forcing them backwards and cutting as close to the breast and joint as possible, you will expose the wing joint and you can cut through and around it.

Next, cut the breast out. Lay your knife at an angle, starting the cut as close to the breastbone as possible. Take your knife and stay close to the rib cage while cutting downward and backward in an arcing direction as shown in Figure 5. Repeat the process on the other breast.

Figure 5. Side view showing where to cut the meat

You are ready to claim the legs and thighs all in one piece. If you want to separate them later you can do so. Go up to the ankle joint at about ¾ to 1 inch above the “leggin’s” (that’s what I call the scaly yellow part above the feet on the chicken), and cut through and around the joint so that each leggin’ and foot falls free. While holding the drumstick and thigh in the left hand, take your right hand and hold the carcass while at the same time pushing the thigh and drumstick backwards. This is like opening a set of French doors. You will both see and hear the thigh joint pop loose from the hip joint. Cut as close to the round point as possible (Figure 5).

To separate the thigh from the carcass, make the next and final cut at the back upper part of the thigh, just about 1½ to 2 inches next to the anus. You now have a complete thigh and drumstick.

Some folks might say that you are not getting all the meat, that you are leaving the two small bony pieces on the wing tip, the two little scraps of meat on the backbone, the liver, and the neck. I say if you like those parts, go for it.

Figure 6. The results of a freshly skinned and butchered chicken.

100+ years in our family

With this method, I have butchered chickens for more than 40 years, just like my grandfather did for 60 years before me. I can remember that Grandma’s chicken fried in a cast iron skillet beat Col. Sanders by a mile.

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Tastes Just Like Chicken By Allen Easterly

So you want to raise some critters that taste just like chicken? There’s no better critter than the chicken itself. Chicken has become the most sought after meat in the marketplace. Raising your own birds can save you a few bucks at the grocery store. Even more satisfying is the great sense of accomplishment that comes with raising your own food from egg to dinner table and providing this healthy meal to your family.

Raising a small flock of chicken tenders is relatively inexpensive, their care is not complex, and they don’t take up much space. The birds are easy enough to rear that every member of the family can participate, from feeding to plucking to cooking, and of course eating. The birds you raise will taste better than store-bought, contain little or no chemicals or hormones, and live happier lives.

Hefty breeds

Some of the largest growing meat chicken breeds are Austrolorp, Buckeye, Cornish, Dorking, Java, Rhode Island Reds, Rocks, and Jersey Giants. These birds put on the most muscle and some do it faster than other breeds. The Jersey Giant is aptly named since this monster cockerel (male under 1 year old) reaches 11 pounds in less than a year and tops out at 13 pounds when he comes of age as a rooster. His sister, the pullet (female under 1 year old), is quite a big girl at 8 pounds growing to 10 pounds when she becomes a full-fledged hen. Next in line is the Cornish cockerel weighing in at 8½ pounds with a plump pullet reaching 6½ pounds. The Jersey Giants and the Cornish are slower growers so expect to put out more in feed costs for these two biggest varieties. These chickens tend to grow their bony frame first and tend not to put on significant muscle growth until about 6 months old.

Leg Quarters: If you prefer leg quarters, use strong kitchen shears to remove the tail (photo 1) and split the backbone lengthwise from tail up to the center of the back (photo 2). Slit the skin between each leg and the body (photo 3). Break each leg quarter from the bird at the end of the backbone cut (photo 4).

The Buckeye, Dorking, Java, and Rock cockerels are all about the same size maturing at 8 pounds; however, the females tend to vary. The Java pullet is 6½ pounds, the Dorkings and Rocks fall in the middle at 6 pounds, and the most petite of the big girls is the Buckeye pullet at 5½ pounds.

While these are some of the biggest chickens you’ll ever meet, they are not always easy to find. The most common meat chickens are the Austrolorp and the Rhode Island Red. The cockerel of both breeds top out at a hefty 8½ pounds. The pullets reach a plump 6½ pounds making these two breeds a fine choice that are not too hard to round up. These weights are at full adulthood but can help you determine speed of growth and resulting feed requirements. To get the best bang for your buck you might consider selecting a cross-breed. They usually convert food to meat more efficiently. Cross-breeds also tend to grow faster than purebred birds. A Rock-Cornish cross is an excellent example.

Flock management

You have several options to obtain your meat chicken flock. You can buy the eggs from a hatchery, incubate them, and begin your flock with your own hatchlings. The only drawback to this method is the incubation equipment needed and daily monitoring of humidity and temperature for a successful hatch. There is a certain level of satisfaction though in hatching the eggs yourself and there is less stress on the young birds. The other option is to buy live chicks. Often, local farm stores carry a limited variety of chicks for sale in early spring. Check with the stores in late winter to see what varieties they plan to carry. If they aren’t going to have the breed you want, try ordering from a hatchery or a local breeder. Hatchery chicks are shipped live without food or water in cardboard boxes so have an area ready with food, water, and heat prior to their arrival.

Legs: If you want just the leg and not the leg quarters, slit the skin between each leg and the body. Bend each leg back until the hip joint pops out (photo 5). Remove the leg by cutting from the back of the bird toward the front keeping your knife blade as close to the backbone as possible (photo 6).

Before a chick hatches it absorbs the egg yolk. This provides them with all the liquids and food they need for the first three days of life. After that the cost is on your tab. For best meat production, feed your chickens starter mash or pellets with 20-23% protein content for their entire lives. Most farm or feed stores keep ample supplies of this feed. If you want organic chicken meat be sure to buy feed that is certified organic and range them on grasses that have not been chemically treated with fertilizers, herbicides, or insecticides.

If you are growing roaster chickens you can replace 10% of the starter with corn after six weeks and another 10% after ten weeks. Each chick will eat about 10 pounds of feed in their first 10 weeks (if they don’t end up on your dinner table first). Allow 3 inches of feeder space per bird placing the feeder at mid-back level. To prevent wasted food, fill feeders only half full. Most birds like to eat as though they’re in a food fight with their neighbor, tossing their food about as they dig for the tastiest morsels. As chickens age, the conversion of feed to meat is less efficient. Generally, it takes about two pounds of food to produce one pound of live chicken.

Drumsticks and Thigh: To separate the drumstick from the thigh, cut through the joint connecting the two pieces (photo 7).

As with any critters, always supply ample fresh water daily. About six gallons for 100 birds with one inch of water surface per bird should keep them sipping happily all day. Placing the water at mid back level will reduce spoilage from droppings. These birds just don’t have good toilet manners.

Chicks need to be raised indoors or in a well-ventilated draft-protected area. Heat can be provided with a light bulb of sufficient wattage to maintain the temperature at 95° F for the first week. Reduce the temperature five degrees each week until it is equal to room temperature or equal to the outdoor temperature if the birds will be raised outdoors. Your chicks should have adequate feathers to keep themselves warm by six weeks of age. Even though heat is no longer a factor, meat birds like to burn the midnight oil and still need about 23 hours of light each day. A 25 watt bulb for every 100 square feet provides enough light and reduces the heat.

Allow enough space for your chicks to mature in a healthy environment and they’ll provide you with a healthy meal down the road. Newborn chicks need about a ½ square foot of floor space per bird until four weeks old. Double the floor space every four weeks until the birds are 12 weeks old. At 12 weeks of age each meat bird will need 3½ square feet of floor space. You can continue to raise your birds indoors or move them outdoors to a portable coop or allow them free range. Both portable coops and free-range habitats help reduce feed costs. Portable coops need to be large enough to provide adequate ground space for each bird. The coop needs to be moved once or twice daily to provide fresh greens for birds. Free-range birds help reduce your labor by not having to move a coop, but at their own peril. Free-range birds are open to every predator that likes a nice chicken dinner as much as you do. Even when free-ranging, it’s a good idea to bring your birds into a safe coop at night and provide the extra light they need for quick growth.

Wings: Stretch the wing out and cut the wing from body at the joint (photo 8). The wing can be cut down further at each joint providing a wingette and drummette, discarding the tip (photo 9).

From Flock to Freezer

When to butcher your birds varies on the variety of bird you have, the feed, light, and amount of exercise the bird has had. At 4-6 weeks of age you should have raised a meat bird weighing 1-1½ pounds. These make excellent “game” hens if you are raising a Cornish variety or crossbreed. Broilers and fryers are ready anywhere from 5-13 weeks as they reach a weight of 4-4½ pounds. As chickens near adulthood they are best used as roasters. At this stage you have been feeding them three to five months and the birds have reached a fat, juicy 6-8 pounds. Butcher your birds when they reach the preferred weight range rather than age. Approximately 62% of a chicken’s live weight remains after cleaning. Add another 10% if you are saving the giblets (neck, heart, liver, gizzard.)

Never pleasant but always necessary, killing your hard-earned flock has got to be the most difficult part of raising any food animal. But it is a must unless you own a chicken food factory. The best method for this unpleasant task is bleeding out. Devise or buy a holding cone especially designed for this purpose. The large end of the cone is slipped over the chicken until its head protrudes from the small end. Pick up the chicken holding it in the cone and turn it upside down. Cut the chicken’s throat from jaw hinge to jaw hinge without severing the spinal cord. Severing the spinal cord reduces bleeding leaving blood in the meat. The chicken will quickly bleed out while the cone prevents the bird from flopping about as a nerve reaction.

Once your bird has bled out and while it is still warm the feathers can be dry-picked. Once the bird begins to cool off the feathers become harder to remove. A bird that has cooled off can be dipped in 128-130° (F) scalding water to loosen the feathers. Plucking a bird by hand should take anywhere from 5-15 minutes. Once plucked and dried, pass the bird over an open flame to remove any hairy feathers. Another option is to skin birds. For those that prefer eating skinless chicken this is the quickest and easiest method to clean the birds.

Once your bird gets naked, you can remove the feet, head, and wing tips, if desired. Slit the skin on the back of the neck lengthwise; cut through the neck meat at the base and remove it. Remove the windpipe and the crop (a small sac containing food.) Remove the oil gland on the top side of the tail or remove the tail completely. Make an incision from the anus to the tip of the breastbone being careful not to puncture the intestines. Remove all internal organs from this opening. From the pile of organs remove the giblets if desired. The gizzard needs to be cleaned by slicing into the large end until you reach the center. Rinse the grit from inside the gizzard and peel away the tough inside liner.

Breast: Stand the bird on its neck end and cut the ribs from each side from the breast tip to neck end (photo 10). Bend the back until it snaps (photo 11) and cut to separate from the breast side of the bird. To split the breast, lay it skin side down and cut lengthwise through the “v” (photo 12). For boneless breasts, after removing the wings lay the bird on its back and split the breast meat lengthwise to the breastbone and fillet each breast from the bone keeping the knife tight against the bone during the cut (photo 13).

Storing

As with most meats, chicken should be aged for a couple days in the refrigerator before storing. Chemical changes in the meat during aging provides a more tender and tasty chicken. The refrigerator temperature needs to stay below 40° for the entire aging period to prevent spoilage. Freezing is a good method of storing raw chicken if you plan to use the giblets in less than three months, cut up chicken in less than nine months, or whole birds within a year. You can also cook the birds and freeze them but they won’t keep as long. Cut-up cooked chicken will keep in the freezer for a month. Pack it in gravy, broth, or prepared as a casserole dish before freezing and it’ll keep six months. Fried chicken will keep in the freezer for about four months. These storage times are good as long as your freezer maintains a frosty 10° F below zero or colder. If your freezer isn’t that cold, reduce the storage time. Since freezing doesn’t stop bacterial growth completely, the meat will begin to deteriorate in quality when frozen too long. Since fat deteriorates first, it’s a good idea to remove as much of it as possible before freezing. When wrapping your bird for the freezer, get as much air out of the package as possible. Meat exposed to freezer air will dehydrate. This is known as freezer burn and it’s not very tasty.

If you have a pressure canner and know how to use it, you can store your chicken indefinitely. To make sure your canned chicken meat remains safe to eat, be sure to follow standard canner processing guidelines and processing times for your altitude. If at some time you end up with a bulging or leaky canning jar lid, off colors or odors from your canned bird, it’s best to be safe and toss the contents in the trash. The meat may be infested with deadly botulism bacteria. Any canned meat can still contain some botulism bacteria even if it appears and smells good. The best way to prevent botulism poisoning is to boil the contents of the canning jar for at least 20 minutes before tasting or adding it to recipes.

Nutrition

Chicken is a very healthy meat. It has considerably less fat and calories than other commercial meats. The white breast meat contains even fewer calories than the dark leg and wing meat and almost half the fat. White chicken meat is nearly twice as high in niacin as dark chicken meat but the dark meat offers almost three times as much zinc and iron. You can cut the fat from chicken even further by removing the skin where much of the saturated fat is located.

So if you want to become more self-sufficient and put healthy meat on your dinner table, raising chickens is a great way to start.

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EMERGENCY PHONE NUMBERS 

When in sorrow, ................call John 14. 
When men fail you, .............call Psalm 27. 
If you want to be fruitful,.....call John 15. 
When you have sinned, ..........call Psalm 51. 
When you worry, ................call Matthew 6:19-34. 
When you are in danger, ........call Psalm 91. 
When God seems far away, .......call Psalm 139. 
When your faith needs stirring, call Hebrews 11. 
When you are lonely and fearful,call Psalm 23. 
When you grow bitter and critical,call I Corinthians
13. 
For Paul's secret to happiness,.call Colossians
3:12-17. 
For understanding of Christianity,call II Corinthians
5:15-19. 
When you feel down and out, ......call Romans 8:31. 
When you want peace and rest, ....call Matthew
11:25-30. 
When the world seems bigger than God, call Psalm 90. 
When you want Christian assurance, call Romans 8:1-30.

When you leave home for labor or travel, call Psalm
121. 
When your prayers grow narrow or selfish, call Psalm
67. 
For a great invention/opportunity, call Isaiah 55. 
When you want courage for a task, call Joshua 1. 
For how to get along with fellow men, call Romans 12. 
When you think of investments and returns, call Mark
10. 
If you are depressed, .........call Psalm 27. 
If your pocketbook is empty, ..call Psalm 37. 
If you are losing confidence in people, call I
Corinthians 13. 
If people seem unkind, ........call John 15. 
If discouraged about your work, call Psalm 126. 
If you find the world growing small and yourself
great, call Psalm 19. 

Alternate numbers: 
For dealing with fear, .....call Psalm 34:7. 
For security, ..............call Psalm 121:3. 
For assurance, .............call Mark 8:35. 
For reassurance, ...........call Psalm 145:18. 

Emergency numbers may be dialed direct. No operator
assistance is necessary. All lines to Heaven are open
24 hours a day!

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Not ashamed
     "Tomorrow morning," the surgeon began, "I'll open up your heart..."

     "You'll find Jesus there," the boy interrupted.

     The surgeon looked up, annoyed. "I'll cut your heart open," he continued, "to see how much damage has been  done..."
     "But when you open up my heart, you'll find Jesus in there."

     The surgeon looked to the parents, who sat quietly. "When I see how much
damage has been done, I'll sew your heart and chest back up and I'll plan what to do next."
     "But you'll find Jesus in my heart. The Bible says He lives there. The hymns all say He lives there. You'll find Him in my heart."
     The surgeon had had enough. "I'll tell you what I'll find in your heart. I'll find damaged muscle, low blood supply, and weakened vessels. And I'll find out if I can make you well."
     "You'll find Jesus there too. He lives there."
     The surgeon left. The surgeon sat in his office, recording his notes from the surgery, "...damaged aorta, damaged pulmonary vein widespread muscle degeneration. No hope for transplant, no hope for a cure. Therapy: painkillers and bed rest. Prognosis:, " here he paused, "death within one year."

     He stopped the recorder, but there was more to be said.
     "Why?" he asked aloud. "Why did you do this? You've put him here; You've put him in this pain; and You've cursed him to an early death. Why?"
     The Lord answered and said, "The boy, My lamb, was not meant for your
flock for long, for he is a part of My flock,
and will forever be. Here, in My flock, he will feel no pain, and will be comforted as you cannot imagine. His parents will one day join him here, and they will now peace, and My flock will continue to grow."
     The surgeon's tears were hot, but his anger was hotter. "You created that boy, and You created that heart. He'll be dead in months. Why?"
     The Lord answered, "The boy, My lamb, shall return to My flock, for he has
done his duty: I did not put My lamb with your flock to lose him, but to retrieve another lost lamb."
     The surgeon wept.
     The surgeon sat beside the boy's bed; the boy's parents sat across from
him.
     The boy awoke and whispered, "Did you cut open my heart?"

     "Yes," said the surgeon.
     "What did you find?" asked the boy.
     "I found Jesus there," said the surgeon.

- Author Unknown

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Here is another one: I think that it would be more like $8 a week now because EVERYTHING is going up, but these are still great ideas!!!!!!

A Complete Year’s Supply

purchased within one year

on Five Dollars a Week

Week 1: 6 lbs. salt

Week 2: 5 cans cream of chicken soup

Week 3: 20 lbs. of sugar

Week 4: 8 cans tomato soup

Week 5: 50 lbs. wheat

Week 6: 6 lbs. macaroni

Week 7: 20 lbs. sugar

Week 8: 8 cans tuna

Week 9: 6 lbs. yeast

Week 10: 50 lbs. wheat

Week 11: 8 cans tomato soup

Week 12: 20 lbs. sugar

Week 13: 10 lbs. powdered milk

Week 14: 7 boxes macaroni and cheese

Week 15: 50 lbs. wheat

Week 16: 5 cans cream of chicken soup

Week 17: 1 bottle 500 multi-vitamins

Week 18: 10 lbs. powdered milk

Week 19: 5 cans cream mushroom soup

Week 20: 50 lbs. wheat

Week 21: 8 cans tomato soup

Week 22: 20 lbs. sugar

Week 23: 8 cans tuna

Week 24: 6 lbs. shortening

Week 25: 50 lbs. wheat

Week 26: 5 lbs. honey

Week 27: 10 lbs. powdered milk

Week 28: 20 lbs. sugar

Week 29: 5 lbs. peanut butter

Week 30: 50 lbs. wheat

Week 31: 7 boxes macaroni and cheese

Week 32: 10 lbs. powdered milk

Week 33: 1 bottle 500 aspirin

Week 34: 5 cans cream of chicken soup

Week 35: 50 lbs. wheat

Week 36: 7 boxes macaroni and cheese

Week 37: 6 lbs. salt

Week 38: 20 lbs. sugar

Week 39: 8 cans tomato soup

Week 40: 50 lbs. wheat

Week 41: 5 cans cream chicken soup

Week 42: 20 lbs. sugar

Week 43: 1 bottle 500 multi-vitamins

Week 44: 8 cans tuna

Week 45: 50 lbs. wheat

Week 46: 6 lbs. macaroni

Week 47: 20 lbs. sugar

Week 48: 5 cans cream mushroom soup

Week 49: 5 lbs. honey

Week 50: 20 lbs. sugar

Week 51: 8 cans tomato soup

Week 52: 50 lbs. wheat

Some weeks you will have leftover change. Save the change each week in a kitty to be used for the weeks you may exceed $5.00 (for example, as when purchasing wheat or milk).

You will end up with:

500 pounds of wheat

180 pounds of sugar

40 pounds of powdered milk

12 pounds of salt

10 pounds of honey

5 pounds peanut butter

45 cans of tomato soup

15 cans of cream of mushroom soup

15 cans of cream of chicken soup

24 cans of tuna

21 boxes of macaroni and cheese

500 aspirin

1000 multi-vitamins

6 pounds of yeast

6 pounds of shortening

12 pounds of macaroni

This should be enough to sustain two people for one year. For every two people in your family, add $5.00 more and double or triple the amount of the item you are buying for that week.

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There are many ways to build up your food storage without putting yourself in debt. This is one idea of how to buy one or two items a week for your family!!!

"A Year's Supply In A Year"

Special Notes:
1.  Remember: do not store items that you or your family do not like.
2.  If you think your budget cannot afford to do this you are wrong. Stop impulse buying. Make shoppping lists and stick to it. Cut out junk food and expensive processed foods. Buy smart. Remember, sacrifice brings forth the blessings of Heaven.
3.  "A Year Supply" is from the Lord. He will help you to acomplish this. I Nephi 3:7
4.  Be sure to buy your wheat and other grains and beans first, as they store well and you can survive off of them if you had to.  Start learning to cook with these items right away.

The plan

1. Each week by the item(s) listed and store it away.
2. With a marker, mark the date purchased to aid in rotation.
3. Buy the largest amount you can afford.
4. Replace items as you use them.
5. Remember, grocery stores do not always have the best buys.  Shop around.
6. If you miss a week, skip to the next week. Do not get behind.
7. Share your "hot" buys with other sisters.
8. Buy your wheat first -- Pres. Kimbell has said that you can survive on this if necessary.
9.  This plan starts about the end of December/the first week of January, so find the approximate week of the year you are currently in and begin from there.

Week1 Drug store have Christmas sales - Get Nuts. Dry roasted ones store the best. Freeze bagged ones.

Week 2 Detergent, Bleach, Cleanser.

Week 3 Medicine Chest - Feminine Products, Pepto Bismol, Vicks, Cough Drops, etc.

Week 4 First Aid Supplies: Bandaids, neosporin,Calamine, etc.

Week 5 Personal Products: Soap, Deodorant, toilet paper, Shampoo, lotion etc.

Week 6 Peanut butter ( stores for a year or so)

Week 7 Solid Shortening - less expensive than oil, buy oil if you prefer. Be sure and rotate. Will last several years.

Week 8 Juices: Avoid watered products. Get 100% lemon,orange,pineapple, etc.

Week 9 Toothpaste, floss, razors, shaving cream. Consider your family needs.

Week 10 Mixes: Cake, pancake muffin, Bisquick. Bisquick stores best in the freezer or it gets bugs. Purchase or make your own.

Week 11 Spices and herbs you use most often: Salt (Not "plain", you need the idozided kind) pepper, cinnamon, bay leaves, oregano, etc.

Week 12 Rice:  Buy 10, 15, 20 lbs.or even more.  White stores best but is not as nutrticious.

Week 13 First Aid: Gauze patches, swabs, cotton balls, first aid tape, etc.

Week 14 Pasta: 5 lbs.

Week 15 Dry Milk - 40 oz. will make 5 gallons . Get what you family needs.  Stores well.

Week 16 Assemble an Emergency Sewing Kit: Thread, pins, needles, buttons(cut off of old clothes) snaps, zippers, tape measure, scissors.

Week 17 Ready Dinners: Ravoli, Pasta, Oriental, Boxed, Frozen. Buy what your family will eat. Remember buy and rotate.

Week 18 10 lbs. flour - 25 lbs. for bigger family (put in freezer to avoid getting bugs) Be sure and rotate.

Week 19 Dry Soups and a box of crackers.

Week 20 Jell-O gelatin and Pudding Mixes

Week 21 Garden Seeds - Consider contacting seed companies for free seed catalogs. There are several sites listed on the web, such as Burpee.

Week 22 Safety Week: A length of cord or twine. Flashlight and bateries (dated).

Week 23 Cheese:  Freeze a whole 5lbs, or grate and freeze for casseroles or soup.

Week 24 Paper towels, Aluminum foil, garbage bags, freezer bags, etc.

Week 25 Condiments: Mustard, catsup, mayo, relish, Worchestershire.

Week 26 White Sales: Buy a new thermo blanket.

Week 27 Sure-Jell, Certo, Parafin, etc. Or buy the jams and jellies. Be sure you have supply of canning jars. Not large mouth, and lids and seals.

Week 28 Fill jugs or 2-liter bottles with water.  Add a drop or two of bleach.

Week 29 Canned Milk:  Look in Dec. 1989 Ensign for ideas for use.

Week 30 Canned goods: Be sure and rotate.

Week 31 Back to School Sales: Paper , pencils, journals, envelopes, postage stamps, etc.

Week 32 Baking powder, soda, corn starch, . Be sure and check dates, as they do expire.

Week 33 Tomato Week: Juice, whole, sauce, paste, Salsa.

Week 34 Can some fruit or buy some canned.

Week 35 Buy an extra 25 lbs. of sugar.

Week 36 Can or freeze lots of vegies. Or buy some canned or frozen.

Week 37 Get those dry bean, peas, legumes.

Week 38 Sweetners: Honey, Karo, Molasses, etc.

Week 39 Canned meats: Tuna, Spam, dried beef  -- go for about 10 cans.Be sure and rotate.

Week 40 Iodized Salt -10canisters. It seasons & preserves. In a pinch it can be used as a toothpaste or de-icer.

Week 41  One (or more) gallons of vinegar. It is a great cleaner too, but you must white vinegar.

Week 43 Do something with all those apples. Pie, applesauce, juice, canned apples, etc.

Week 42 Canned soup and box of crackers.

Week 44 Hard candy on sale after Halloween.

Week 45 Vitamins- Get extra C and calcium with Vit. D

Week 46 Treats for baking: Cocoa, coconut, nuts (store in fridge or freezer), chocolate chips.

Week 47 Rolled Oats, Corn Meal (store in fridge), Cream of wheat. Rotate!

Week 48 Sugars: Brown and white, powdered.

Week 49 Vegetable oil. Get a good quality.

Week 50 Candles, matches. Put in a sturdy box you can locate in dark.

Week 51 Popcorn: Good for big twelve pound bags .

Week 52 Merry Christmas! You have given yourself a great gift security.  

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I read this article on another homesteading blog here. Carrie's Country Cottage. It really touched me and I felt like it needed to be repeated!! Thank you Carrie!!!!!! It touched my heart and I hope it touches others.

Carrie said,

"I am reading through "A Woman After God's Own Heart" by Elizabeth George again.  I seem to go through it about every 3-5 years.  Each time I find something to challenge my walk with the Lord.  This time I am feeling a need to renew my committment to my husband.  I would like to use this time to share with you what I have received from just a couple of chapters out of the book.  (I would like to highly recommend that you read the entire book for yourself.)

We should make our husband our #1 human relationship and let him know it!

We should choose our husband over other people, places, and events.

We should ask ourselves:  "Am I spoiling my husband rotten?" (for we should spoil!)

The way in which we do that is:

1.)  PRAY for your husband daily.  James 5:16 states:  "the effective, fervent prayers of a righteous (wo)man avail much."; it is impossible to hate anyone whom you are praying for.

2.)   PLAN for your husband daily:  special deeds of kindness, special dinners (at home), special times alone (dates), early bedtimes for children, same bedtimes for you and hubby.

3.)   PREPARE for you husband daily:  tidy the house before he comes home, tidy your apperance (and the children's), clear out visitors 1/2 hour before he is scheduled to arrive, stay off the phone, greet him with kind and loving words, set the table (even if dinner is not ready it is easy to see that it soon will be!), treat him like a King arriving back to his castle!

4.)   PLEASE your husband.  Pay careful attention to his wants, likes and dislikes.

5.)  PROTECT time with your husband.  If my husband is at home, I should be at home.

6.)  PHYSICALLY love your husband.  Proverbs 5:19 says that our husband should be drunk with our sexual love.  (Quite a word picture!)

7.)  POSITIVELY respond to your husband.  An immediate, gracious answer creates a non-threatening atmosphere for asking questions.  (ie.: "Sure Honey!" . . . . . "How do you think we should approach that / pay for that / find time for that / etc. . . . . . (and then another positive responce to show you are willing to follow his lead.) "Sounds good!"

8.)   PRAISE your husband frequently.  Avoid speaking critically/negatively about him to anyone.  Avoid passing up an opportunity to bless him in public (and certainly to his face as well). 

9.)  PRAY for your husband daily.  Take every opportunity throughout the day to ask God to enable me to be the wife He wants me to be. "

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Amish Biscuits Recipe

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup Amish (Friendship) Starter
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup butter, melted

Directions:
In a large bowl combine flour, baking soda, salt and baking powder. In a separate bowl combine eggs, Amish Starter and oil. Mix well. Add starter to dry ingredients and mix until dough pulls away from sides of bowl. Transfer to a lightly floured surface and roll until1/2 inch thick. Using a 3 inch circle cutter or floured glass cutout biscuits and place on a lightly grease cookie sheet. Brush top of biscuits with melted butter. Cover and let rise 30 minutes. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 15 - 20 minutes.

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