a little peace of mind

Since I have been married, I am proud to say that I have always had some sort of food storage.  I have always been a believer in food storage and being prepared.  I always try to follow the council that we are given from our General Authorities and how could I ignore this one especially since we hear it over and over again.

Our first home in Midvale I stuffed my cupboards to the brim of canned goods and the staples that Eric and I ate on a regular basis and called it food storage.  We probably could have gone 3 months on what we had on hand with being just the two of us.

Our second home in Cleveland while we were in Dental School consisted of a metal shelf in our dungeon basement that was chuck full of canned goods and lying on the floor next to the shelf were a few cases of water, bags of snacks, chips, and other comfort foods that my family liked.  Can't forget to mention that those years I did go to the cannery and canned a bunch of goods (wheat, oats, rice, apple slices).  I thought I was so prepared- little did I know.  I maybe could have fed my family of four for a month on what I had.

Our third home (for a short year) in Holiday, Utah was small and had NO storage space.  Our garage became our storage and the metal shelving unit we moved from Cleveland stood in our garage with most of the same items that we had in Cleveland.  Yes, we moved a bunch of food with us and it was a pain.  Needless to say Eric wasn't too thrilled.  However, it was comforting to know I had some sort of food storage for my family and didn't have to go out and spend a fortune on it.

I wasn't that great at rotating this food storage.  We ate off of it and when it was getting bare, I would take a trip to Walmart and Costco and stock up again.  Not a very great method if you want to be prepared at all times.

Moving to New Jersey almost 3 years ago (can't believe it) has really opened my eyes.  We have an incredible  food storage/emergency prepardness specialist gal in our Stake (she just happens to be a friend of mine here) that is totally awesome.  Wow- I have learned so much from her.  I never could have fed my family for even a month on what I had in the previous years.  It takes much time and effort in preparing your food storage for your family- especially for my family now of SEVEN!!!  

Thank you to my mother who has diligently been helping me get my food storage room all ready and organized so that I can have the peace of mind that I am prepared.  I am happy to report that I have my 5 meals planned out that my family would eat and have enough for 3 months worth- along with many "comfort foods" and water (could probably use a few more cases).  The hard part now is keeping it rotated and not letting anything expire.  I hope my method of this works as I put it into play.  As food comes off the shelf, it gets written down in a notebook so next time I go to the store I can replenish what I used.  Sounds easy enough doesn't it?  

Here is a visual for my family who wanted to see the finished product.  Our food storage room is very small so had to use every ounce of space in there to fit all the food in.  The rotating shelf for canned goods is the key- seriously it is totally awesome and saves so much space.  The other metal shelf we got at Sams Club and is so sturdy- I don't fear it falling over with all the weight it has (except when my kids try to climb up to the top shelf and sneak some treats).

So, my challenge to you all is to make it a priority to get your food storage going.  I wish I could send my mother to each of you for a week and have her help you out- she is good at it and LOVES it.  Couldn't have done it without her.  It feels so great to have the peace of mind that we would be OK in the event of a crisis.  

Just a yummy recipe that we love using only food storage items.  This is one of my 5 meals.  A great website called Safely Gathered In has great tips/tricks/recipes so go check it out.

Coconut Curry Chicken 

Adapted from Rachael Ray Magazine

1 1/2 cups white rice
2 tsps curry powder
13.5-oz can coconut milk
canned chicken
2 tsp five-spice powder*
1 Tbsp oil

Add rice and 3 cups of water to a saucepan. Drizzle a little oil in and turn up to high heat. Watch for the water level to boil down to the rice. When it does, turn off the heat and cover. Let sit for 15 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

*the five spice powder I ordered online but you can find it at any Asian market or make it yourself.  It is equal parts of these spices: Ginger, Nutmeg, Allspice, Cinnamon, & Red Pepper

Drizzle oil in a skillet. Add curry powder and cook for one minute. Add coconut milk and cook until reduced by half, about 7 minutes. Drain chicken and add to a bowl with the spices. Coat chicken. Add chicken to frying pan with warm oil and saute for a few minutes. Add chicken to the sauce and stir to combine. Serve over rice.