This is the first of many video blogs. Here I tell you a little bit about myself and what inspired me to really get my food storage plan in order.
Intro to my actual Food Storage Cookbook. I briefly give an overview of the system I use to organize my recipes.
To see a pdf showing the back of three of my recipe cards look under “Create Your Own Book” and go to the drop down menu “planning pages”. Click on “ingredient summary — Chicken 1 2 3” to take a closer look!
In this video blog I introduce Pantry Meals. These meals are a great concept to include in your system as convenient “fast food” approach to food storage meals.
In this video blog I talk about my Food Storage Planning Binder which I use to plan out my meals in a 3 month calendar and an extended 12 month calendar.
In this video I show the system I use to keep track of my inventory. This system works for me because it’s so simple and easy to use!
[…] I decide to “keep” a recipe it goes right into one of our family’s cookbooks (video #2 shows you our family’s food storage cookbook, our family’s regular cookbook is simply a book where I keep copies and favorite recipes from […]
[…] see all I’ve posted on these by visiting the recipe archive here. Or, for a quick intro, visit here and see my intro video #3 where the basic concept is demonstrated. Bottom line: some built in convenience is absolutely […]
I am unable to click on to sections 4-7. I am really enjoying your book so far and would like to make my own book but can go no farther than section 3. Please advise. Thanks, Judy
I’m curious, are you referring to the videos? The bulk of my information is actually found within the recipes themselves, so I’d suggest going to the recipe index or the archives to dig in. As far as the videos go, you may be able to watch them on youtube by searching myfoodstoragecookbook instead.
[…] starting anything you need to have a PLAN! She discussed the elements of her plan which consist […]
Hi,
I really appreciate that you’re using the thing that you call a “wonder oven.” It is obviously a low-tech way to save (potentially) a lot of energy. However, I wasn’t able to find anything on the site about how to build a wornder oven – I imagine that anybody can do it, but I’d like you to tell me how it is done.
There’s a post I did on how to make bread in a wonderoven (here’s the link for you), and in that post I talk a bit about where to look to buy styrene pellets and also purchasing one or making one. There’s a link on the post to a pattern you can use if you want to make your own but unless you know what you’re doing it can be tricky. The best place I’ve found for explanation and details on how to make one is on a site called iwillprepare.com. Here’s a link to some information there that might be helpful. I myself am not a seamstress but I did sew my own using old tablecloths thanks to the help of some friends who knew what they were doing — so you definitely can do it yourself. The hardest part is finding the styrene pellets to buy in the first place. I’m a big believer that those pellets are the best way to go however there are many people I’ve heard of who have used all sorts of other things to fill their wonder ovens from newspaper to twigs (true story) to grated up styrofoam. You have to just keep in mind that the pillows are going to get moist from the steam that escapes from the food you cook –that would be my biggest concern in using something else outside of pellets– I wouldn’t want to mess with mold. The pioneers used hay in a similar type of cooking retention oven (google “hay box” to find out more) so other things can be used, but for me I want my wonder ovens to last and I just don’t trust using anything that might retain moisture. The pellets, though hard to find, are so small that it’s not a concern. Hope that helps — good luck in making your wonder oven!
You are a sweetheart for sharing all of this. Thank you for your hard work! Your family is lucky to have you.
Awe, thank you. I hope it helps others in getting their plans together too.
i was wondering if you wouldn’t mind posting or emailing me a close up of the backside of one of your recipe cards…i love the idea of being able to glance and see what you need…but i don’t want to “re-invent the wheel” so to speak…I am thinking of combining this with recipes i’ve gotten elsewhere….like foodstoragemadeeasy.net…i ended up redoing the size they gave us….putting them in a 5×7 format…one other thing…i am very knew to all of this…if you can use your regular oven …can you use the sun oven in a recipe? This is truly an exciting journey for me…thanks so much for all your hard work in sharing with us your knowledge and wisdom….
Oh sure! If you look under the “create your own book” tab at the top there is a drop down menu for my planning pages. There you’ll find what I’ve named my ingredient summaries. There’s an example of one there named “ingredient summary — chicken 1-2-3”. There’s also my basic spreadsheet for you to use if you like. And yes, the whole idea is to use whatever recipes work for you — I’m hoping to just get more recipe ideas out there by sharing mine.
About the sun oven — YES! — it’s so exciting to me too–any recipe you bake in the oven can be made in a sun oven so long as you have a sunny day. In addition to that there are a couple of other things you need to do in using one: #1 You have to continually “follow the sun” moving your sun oven as the sun moves. You do this by watching and centering the sun oven with it’s shadow. #2 sometimes your cooking times are extended because the temp is less than what your recipe asks for (so long as you’re in the 200-300 range the food still cooks but it just takes longer). #3 You have to be sure you’re using the right cookware (thin metal & black works the best — mine came with my sun oven when I bought it). As long as you do those things it totally works! My other cooking option (incase of no sun) that requires very little fuel is my wonder oven but I’m limited to meals that can be made in a pot for that. Thanks — let me know if there are any other questions!
Love the idea of the pantry meals. I noticed that in one of them you had what looked like a Dixie cup with shortening. Have you tried dehydrated shortening? I use the book Mix a Meal to create biscuit and roll mixes. I seal them in Mylar bags with oxygen absorbers. Usually the only thing I need to add is water. Thanks for the great cookbook idea.
Oh, you’re welcome. I haven’t tried dehydrated shortening but that’s a good idea –thanks!