EAT-N-GO BARS
½ c margarine 3 c mini marshmallows
¼ c dry milk ¼ c tang
½ c peanut butter 1 c raisins
4 c cheerios ¼ c wheat germ (opt)
In large pan, melt margarine and marshmallows over low heat, stirring constantly. Stir in peanut butter until melted. Mix in milk and tang powder and wheat germ. Remove from heat. Fold in raisins and cereal, stirring until evenly coated. Pat evenly into a buttered pan, 9x9 inches. Cool. Cut into bars about 3 inches by 1 inch.
PINTO BEAN PIE (MOCK PECAN)
½ c sugar 1 c brown sugar
½ c butter 1 heaping c mashed pinto beans
2 eggs, beaten unbaked pie shell
Blend sugars, eggs and butter until creamy. Add pinto beans and blend well. Pour into 9 inch unbaked pie shell. Bake at 375 for 20 min and then 350 for 25 minutes or until done. Tastes like a pecan pie. Pecans can be added also before cooking. Can be served with whipped cream or ice cream.
Scalloped Potatoes and Ham
4 c water 1 c powder cheese1 tsp parsley ¼ tsp dry mustard
2 c potato slices (can be dehydrated)
1 c cubed ham or 1 can ham
In 4 quart casserole dish, mix all ingredients. Bake uncovered at 350 for 45 – 60 minutes. Variation: Bring to boil in pan, simmer for 3 minutes with lid on. Put in wonder cooker for 3 – 4 hours.
Peanut Butter Pasta
10 oz rotini or other spiral pasta ½ c peanut butter
¾ c water or veg stock 3 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp vinegar 1 tbsp honey
½ tsp ground ginger ½ tsp chili powder
1 ½ cups frozen peas, thawed
chili oil or tabasco sauce optional
Cook pasta. Combine all other ingredients in blender except peas. Process until smooth. Toss peas into cooked drained warm pasta. Add sauce and toss well. Serve warm, or cold as a salad.
Ice Cream in a Bag
½ c milk 1 tbsp sugar
½ tsp vanilla pinch salt
3 c crushed ice 6 tbsp rock (pickling) salt
Put ice and rock salt in gallon freezer bag. Combine rest of ingredients in a quart size bag. Put quart bag in big bag and squish 5 minutes.
I received a copy of this email and thought it worth sharing. We can learn from the real life experiences of those who have recently had to live through the Japan earthquake and it’s aftermath. I underlined some of the things that I felt were relevant to what we would be dealing with in the same situation.
Email from LDS military family in Japan with advice to us all
Hi Everyone,
We're doing "fine" here. Considering what is going on around us. When the first big quake hit, around 2:45 in the afternoon on Friday, I ran to ***** room and grabbed him out of his crib. We've had plenty of earthquakes in the 2.5 years we've been here, but this one was huge. ***** started crying and calling for me --I got him too and we huddled on the stairs away from windows and light fixtures. The two boys were walking home from school and came in while the house was still shaking. They thought it was exciting. I yelled at them to "GET BACK OUTSIDE!" because I'd just been told if you're
outside, you're supposed to stay outside! I sat on the stairs praying: "Please protect my kids, please protect my kids, please protect my kids..." It seemed to last forever (around 5 minutes I've heard) and then the aftershocks just kept coming and coming. They're still coming.
They evacuated the hospital and **** was able to come home around 4. [I can't tell you what a relief it was to have my whole entire family safe and together. And how upsetting it was/is to think of people all over Japan who have family unaccounted for.
Since then, the power has been out and we haven't had any heat or access to phones (to the states) or Internet (except ***** getting one e-mail out from the hospital.) Friday evening we moved our friends in with us (**** and **** and three kids) since they just shipped all of their stuff to the states in preparation for their move in two weeks. It's been nice to have them around because everyone is on edge and extremely stressed.
Yesterday (Saturday) they opened the commissary (No lights, cash only) and we grabbed some extra food, water and diapers. Since we have the standard Mormon "food storage" I wasn't too worried about running out of food or water, but I didn't have any spare diapers so was happy to buy three big boxes yesterday for *****. (And yes, I bought two big cans of hot chocolate. Priorities, people!)
The power is now back on off-base which is how I have Internet access right now. We're at ***** house. Hopefully it stays on.
We were asked at church to see what extra coats, blankets, food and water we can round up to donate to the Japanese people nearby. I feel heart sick thinking of those who've lost homes and loved ones. Although you probably know much more than me, I hear the devastation is extremely great. We were lucky to be so safe on base and grateful our off-base friends and neighbors were okay.
The earthquakes (aftershocks) haven't stopped and I spent all night last night having nightmares about running from collapsing and buckling buildings. The kids are on edge and tantrums are at an all time high. They keep busy playing during the day, but when it gets dark and we have to ration flashlights and candles it gets extra hard to keep the peace.
A few things I've been wanting to tell people and note for the future:
*Get an old-school, corded phone. If the power goes out, your cordless won't work. We were lucky to have a corded phone upstairs which helped ***** (The phones have worked on-base off and on, but we were never able to get a call through to the states.)
*Speaking of accountability, in an emergency, if you're going to leave your house--leave a note on the door saying where you are going so when guys from church or work coming looking, they'll know where you are.
*When the power went out, people off base couldn't get their cars out of their garage. Turns out there is a special crank to use but most of our friends didn't have it or know what it was. Luckily ***** had parked outside and was able to get her kids to our house Friday.
*We've been cooking with our camping equipment.
On Base. Estimates have said 24 hours to restore power(we're way past that) to 1 week, to indefinite.)
*Do you have an extra refill of your prescriptions in your 72 hour kit? It's terrifying to imagine running out of the things you take every day. Also, the thought of my kids getting sick and not having enough Children's Advil and/or Tylenol made me pretty nervous until I verified we had some of each.
*For ONCE I was glad to be doing Dave Ramsey yesterday when we had plenty of cash on hand to shop at the commissary. But we also have a cash and yen emergency fund hidden in the house for back-up which was very comforting.
*While I'm making notes to myself: Buy a hand crank wheat grinder and blender! (We have a freezer full of frozen fruit to make smoothies but no way to blend anything.)
*Flashlights are a pain. All of our Rayovac batteries that I had stored for an emergency, LEAKED! So the flashlights are all slowly dying, being over used by the children, and being misplaced. The best source of light the last two nights has been the pillar candles I've had in the cupboard for fancy table settings. They seem to burn pretty slow and shed a lot of light. I've gone through 3 and have 1 left. Wish I had a 20 pack of those in my 72 hour pack. It would be nice not to worry about running out. Small, light weight, energy efficient lanterns would be nice too.
*Also, my next house will have a wood burning fire place. This all would have been much easier if we could have been warm.
*Also, I'm buying all my kids a down comforter. We have one on our bed and we've been fine at night, but the kids need 20 blankets piled up to stay warm. (Actually, the older boys each have a two layer fleece blanket which is pretty warm, but unfortunately, they're not very big.)
(Poor little ***** had to spend yesterday in his snow suit to stay warm. The poor little guy must be sensing the stress because he's been quite out of sorts. He's always shivering (even when bundled) and very clingy. The kids are all confused and upset but mostly hanging in there. Like I said, it's been nice to have friends to keep us company.)
Sorry, I'm rambling on and on but I've had all this stress for the last two days and my main way to process is by writing my thoughts down. So I've been going a little nuts feeling so disconnected.
A few more random thoughts:
*The last two days this thought kept running through my head "All are safely gathered in.". I can't express enough how glad I was/am to have my family around me. Please say a prayer for our many many friends with deployed spouses. This is a very stressful time here and it's really sucky for them to be apart. Also, please pray for all the Japanese people who are missing or displaced. So sad.
*We were very blessed on base to have running (freezing cold) water. Off base, sewer lines broke and contaminated the water supply they weren't even supposed to touch it.
*Today we sang "I Need Thee Every Hour" at church. Has a lot of meaning right now. Please pray for us (us being everyone in Japan) and if you feel so inclined, find a way to send some warm blankets to people who've lost their homes. Don't know when I'll be back on-line again, but hopefully soon.
Thanks to everyone for your concern. I knew (figured) there were people praying for us back in the states and it helped to think about that.
Earthquake Fix It List
“True emergencies can be modified by good planning.”
1. Identify potential hazards in your home and begin to fix them.
2. Bolt tall furniture & big screen TV’s to wall studs.
3. Secure free hanging natural gas lines in heater/water heater room so they can not swing wildly in an
earthquake and break the soft/flex line.
4. Install water heater earthquake straps to wall studs to prevent the gas and water lines being torn loose in an
earthquake.
5. Secure all objects (mirrors, pictures, etc.) over beds.
6. Secure bunk beds together and to the wall. If possible unbunk them.
7. Move heavy objects to lower shelves and light objects to upper shelves.
8. Install power failure lights in halls and children’s bedrooms. (Light dispels fear)
9. Never allow the gas tank to go below the halfway point. (After an earthquake, fuel will be unavailable for 10-15
days)
10. Store all emergency fuel and pesticides on the floor of an exterior shed (away from the home)
11. Strap down computers and sewing machines to prevent damages in an earthquake. (buy new keyboards after an
earthquake before turning on to prevent damaging the power supply)
12. Add small screws to the “L” brackets of floating bookshelves to keep them and their contents in place in an
earthquake.
13. Strap washing machine and dryer to wall stud. (Remember that the laundry
room and kitchen are the most dangerous rooms to be in during an earthquake)
14. Use earthquake/museum wax to hold valuable vases and collectables in place.
15. Add roping or netting to garage shelves. (During an earthquake things will fall blocking entry into the garage, because all doors open into the garage and there will be no electricity for a week or two)
Some website with more information:
www.ussc.utah.gov/putting_down_roots.html (Utah Seismic Safety Commission)
There is and excellent State of Utah publication on the above website
quakekare.com
publicsafety.utah.gov/homelandsecurity/earthquake.html
bereadyutah.gov/EarthquakePreparedness.html
Quakehold.com
www.seis.utah.edu ( www.seis.utah.edu/lqthreat/threat.shtml)
Remember - An earthquake is not a single event!
The following items can be stored in a garbage can with handles.
TOP OF THE BARREL
Flashlight bandage, large triangle
Radio bandages, plastic strips
FIRST AID KIT Q-tips
DRUGS sterile absorbent
Antibiotic ointment Ace bandage
aspirin, tylenol, advil Butterfly bandages
Ipecac (induces vomiting) Gauze pads 4” x 4”
Kaopectate MISC.
Prescription meds Scissors
Tweezers
DRESSINGS Thermometer
Adhesive tape 2” roll Petroleum jelly
Sterile bandage 2” & 4” Rubbing alcohol
Tissues
First Aid Handbook Pocket knife
MIDDLE OF THE BARREL
FOOD
3 day supply of food requiring no refrigeration
Date all food items
WRITE OUT A MENU FOR EACH DAY
Examples:
canned tuna or pork & beans canned orange or tomato juice
1/2 lb/person peanut butter 1/2 lb/person
nonfat dry milk 1/2 lb/person
graham crackers 1/2 lb/person
dried apricots 1/2 lb/person 1 gal. water/person
*This supplies 2,000 daily calories and essential nutrients
BOTTOM OF THE BARREL
BEDDING EQUIPMENT
sleeping bag/blankets can opener
plastic sheet/tarp dishpan
CLOTHING dishes - disposable
one change/person utensils - disposable
personal supplies ax
toiletries shovel
towel bucket w/plastic bag liners
good book
paper/pencil INFANT NEEDS if applicable
FUEL & LIGHT
matches PERSONAL DOCUMENTS
candles
signal flare CASH
sterno canned heat
WATER PURIFICATION TABLETS BLEACH EYE DROPPER
