Homemade mosquito traps – is it possible to make one that’s effective and actually works? Such a trap is easier to make than you might think, and the beauty of it is that there are many solutions for keeping mosquitoes at bay, some for outside and some for inside. This article focuses on much more ... Read more
How to Catch and Repel Mosquitoes — Indoors and Outdoors can be read in full at New Life On A Homestead- Be sure to check it out!
There’s something about a Jiffy™ Cornbread Mexican Casserole that makes a house feel like home the minute it comes out of the oven. The smell of ground beef and taco seasoning mingling with sweet, golden cornbread is one of those aromas that pulls everyone to the kitchen table without you even having to call them. This is one of those recipes I keep coming back to because it’s simple, it feeds a crowd, and it uses ingredients most of us already have tucked away in the pantry and freezer.
I wish you could smell this yummy casserole. I love making dinner for Mark and me, then freezing the encore meals. This recipe freezes well and reheats in the microwave. This would have been a great recipe for Cinco De Mayo! You can substitute the box of cornbread with Janet’s homemade cornbread recipe. Homemade Cornbread Mix-A Pantry Staple.
Let me walk you through why each ingredient in this casserole earns its place, and then I’ll share a little bit about how this beloved dish became such a fixture at family gatherings.
Every good casserole starts with a solid base, and here that means olive oil and ground beef. The olive oil keeps the beef from sticking to the pan and adds a touch of richness while it browns. Ground beef is the heart of this dish. It’s affordable, it stretches well, and it soaks up every bit of seasoning you give it.
Speaking of seasoning, taco seasoning is what gives this casserole its signature Tex-Mex flavor. A packet of taco seasoning is a wonderful shortcut for busy moms, though many of us also keep a jar of homemade seasoning on the shelf for when we run out at the worst possible moment.
One chopped onion and minced garlic go in next, and together they build the savory foundation that every good Mexican-inspired dish needs. Onion and garlic are two of those humble ingredients that never get enough credit for how much flavor they bring to a meal.
Rotel tomatoes with green chilis add a little kick and a lot of moisture to the meat mixture, and diced green chiles do double duty by adding even more of that mild, smoky heat throughout the dish. If your family likes things milder, you can always adjust the amount, but I find the combination gives the casserole just the right amount of warmth without being too spicy for the kids. I stock 12 cans of green chilies at all times! Rotel is something I must have on my pantry shelves all the time.
Then comes the fun part, the cornbread topping. Jiffy cornbread mix is the not-so-secret ingredient that so many of us grew up with in our pantries. It’s quick, inexpensive, and bakes up into a slightly sweet, tender crust that contrasts so nicely with the savory beef underneath. Eggs and sour cream are mixed into the cornbread batter to make it extra moist and a little richer than the box directions alone would give you. A can of corn folded into the batter adds sweetness and texture, giving every bite a little pop.
Finally, shredded cheddar cheese is layered in and sprinkled on top, because let’s be honest, no Mexican casserole is complete without melted, bubbly cheese pulling the whole dish together.
Recipes like this one were not born in a test kitchen. They were born in real kitchens, passed from one hand to another at family reunions, church potlucks, and Sunday suppers, which is exactly where a dish like this earns its reputation. Someone brings a casserole dish to a reunion, it disappears before the pie table even gets touched, and by the end of the day three cousins are asking for the recipe on the back of a napkin.
This casserole became a favorite at these kinds of gatherings because it checks every box a potluck dish needs. It travels well in one dish; it stays warm and moist under foil; it stretches to feed a big table of relatives or a fellowship hall full of neighbors; and it uses ingredients that are easy to pick up on the way to the store without a special trip. A box of Jiffy cornbread mix, a pound or two of ground beef, and two cans of Rotel were often already sitting in the pantry, which meant a mom could throw this together the night before a reunion without any fuss.
Recipes like this one also tend to change hands more than they change form. One grandmother might add a little extra cheese, another might swap in corn from her own garden, and someone’s aunt always seems to have her own version of the taco seasoning blend. That is part of what makes a dish like this so special. It’s not really one recipe at all; it’s a whole family tree of recipes, each one shaped a little differently by the cook who made it and the table it was carried to.
By the time this casserole makes its way into your own recipe box, chances are it’s already fed a few generations of families at reunions, church dinners, and everyday Sunday suppers. That’s the real history of a dish like this. It’s written in stained recipe cards and passed down phone calls, not in cookbooks, and that’s exactly why it still shows up on tables today.
How To Make Cornbread From Scratch
Chicken and Dressing Casserole
This casserole is a wonderful reminder that some of the best meals don’t come from a test kitchen; they come from real family tables. It’s budget-friendly, it feeds a crowd well, and it carries the warmth of every reunion and church supper it’s ever traveled to. May God bless this world, Linda
The post Jiffy™ Cornbread Mexican Casserole appeared first on Food Storage Moms.
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
Most fruits and vegetables have a short shelf-life after harvest. They will wilt and brown and lose their nutritional value even under the best conditions.
Fortunately, you can prolong the life of your produce through dehydration. Then you can powder them which is even better. Foods that are converted into powder are easy to store, transport, and use as ingredients in meals. And the best part is you can retain important nutrients during the process.
This article will explain the powdering process, what foods lend themselves to this method, and how you can store your food powder.
Turning food into powder begins with dehydration. As its name implies, dehydration is the process of reducing the moisture content in food. Removing it inhibits the growth of bacteria, yeasts, and mold, allowing it to last longer. Dehydration also takes away much of the weight of a food.
People all over the world have dehydrated foods for many centuries, and there are both traditional and modern ways to go about it. To dry foods, you need a combination of the following factors:
Here are the most common methods:
If you live in a place that has many hours of hot sun, you can use the same technique that the Ancient Romans used to dry their figs or grapes. For effective sun drying, you’ll want an air temperature of at least 86 F and about 60% relative humidity. Slice your fruit and vegetables and place them in single layers on a mesh screen before covering them with a second screen to keep away insects.
Another ancient dehydration method is air drying. This method takes place indoors in a well-ventilated attic or screened-in porch and works well for delicate greens, herbs, and mushrooms. You can enclose your veggies in paper bags to protect them from dust or other air pollutants.
You can use your oven to slowly dry your food at temperatures of about 140 F. If the temperature is any higher, your food will cook instead of dry. It’s a good idea to prop the oven door open a few inches to improve air circulation.
The most convenient and efficient method to dry food is with a food dehydrator. These appliances come in a wide range of sizes and with different features. In addition to an electric element for heat, most dehydrators have an adjustable temperature gauge and vents and a fan for air circulation.
Because of their high natural sugar content, some fruits can be challenging to turn into powder. The foods that you’ll have the most success turning into powders include the following:
Depending on the size of the dehydrated food and its natural sugar content, the amount of time involved in powdering can vary, but the steps are basically the same. For example, here is a brief overview of how to make dehydrated vegetable powder.
The basic conversion ratio of fresh vegetables to dehydrated vegetables to dehydrated vegetable powder is:
2 cups of fresh vegetables to 1 cup of dehydrated vegetables to 1/2 cup vegetable powder.
Your ratio will depend on the cut of your vegetables. You can add vegetable powder to boost the nutritional content of anything that you are making, including salads, soups, stews, egg dishes, casseroles, and smoothies. You can even add them to baked goods such as bread, cookies, and brownies.
Store your vegetable powder in an airtight container such as a mason jar or a Mylar storage bag and place it in a cool, dry, dark place.
As with regular dehydrated food, you can add oxygen absorbers to your powdered food to make it last even longer. For 1-quart bags, add a 100cc oxygen absorber. For 1-gallon bags, add a 500cc oxygen absorber. And for 5-gallon bags, add 2 or 3 1000cc oxygen absorbers.
If you keep your powdered food in a jar that you're going to open the jar frequently, you may want to use a moisture absorber to cut down on clumping.
It’s a good idea to divide your powders into small containers for long-term storage. Keep in mind that the more you open the container, the more air enters the container, shortening its shelf life.
Here are some additional tips for turning your foods into powder:
If you learn better by watching videos, here are links to some helpful videos we’ve found for turning food into powders:
Dehydrating fruit is a wonderful way to extend your harvest, cut down on food waste, and build up your emergency food pantry at the same time.
Like any of the skills you’ve been learning as a prepper, dehydrating and making powders takes some experimenting until you find the best method for you. However, you’ll find that the results are worth it.
Originally published on Urban Survival Site.
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The post How to Turn Food into Powder appeared first on Homestead Survival Site.
Estimated reading time: 10 minutes
Bugging out of the city and into the country during an SHTF scenario would be very stressful, to put it mildly. Hopefully, you and your family would be able to bug out quickly, but the trip to your bug out location would probably take a while. Once you finally got there, everyone would be eager to relax and get some rest. That would be a mistake.
I'm not saying no one can sleep at a bug out location, but I am saying that you'll want to take turns standing guard. During certain scenarios, desperate people could pour out of the cities and into the country, looking for food and water. Even more likely, marauders could invade remote homes, knowing the police are too busy to respond and the neighbors are too far away to help.
This is why, if you do have a bug out location (or are searching for one), you need to make sure you can defend it. Here are the top factors you need to take into consideration when it comes to defending a bug out location.
If your bug out location is not worth defending, then what’s the point of defending it? Your BOL will only be worth defending if it meets several of the qualities that any bug location needs to have, and that includes:
If your bug out location does not meet these qualities, then it’s not going to be a suitable place to stay over the long term, and subsequently, it’s not going to be worth risking your life to defend.
One of the key qualities to look for in a BOL in the first place is for it to be naturally defensible. If it’s not, then you’re going to have an extremely tough time defending it and you may actually be giving a major advantage to the enemy/attacking force.
Here are the qualities to look for to make sure your bug out location is naturally defensible:
There are additional modifications you can make to your bug out location to make it even easier to defend, which we will discuss later.
The old saying goes that there is safety in numbers, and this adage certainly holds true for this scenario. Defending your bug out location will always be easier the larger your group is.
This is why it’s smart to make your bug out location a rendezvous point for both your immediate family and your close (and trusted) friends and relatives who live in the area.
Yes, this means you’re going to need to stock up on more provisions, have a larger area, and have an even greater abundance of natural resources than you would need for a typical family of four or five. But the tradeoff is you will have more manpower, and thus safety in numbers.
Your bug out location will always be easier to defend if you don’t have anyone attacking it in the first place, and this is why you must do everything in your power to make your bug out location a secret at all costs.
The only people who should know about your bug out location are the people rendezvousing there, and you must make absolutely clear to them that they are to tell no one else about the location, and to not invite anyone else to the location unless if you all unanimously agree.
You'll need to begin modifying your bug out location to make it more easily defensible. Yes, you should have pre-selected an area with naturally defensible terrain, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t make additional modifications as needed.
Defending your bug out location comes down to three primary principles:
The best defensive structures/firing positions for you and the defenders will be to build bunkers and trenches into the ground, and to enhance these bunkers and trenches with the aid of sandbags. You should also dig tunnels or windy ditches leading between bunkers and firing positions so you can always stay on the move (movement will be key to your defense).
Meanwhile, you need to minimize places of cover for your attackers, and you need to inhibit their attack as much as possible.
Here are some defensive modifications you can use to make the enemy attack as difficult as possible:
No matter how well-defended your BOL is, none of it matters if the enemy gets the drop on you. This is why an early warning system should be considered just as important as your physical defenses. Some simple, low-tech options include:
The goal isn't to stop the enemy with these devices, it's to buy your group precious seconds (or minutes) to get to your firing positions before the attack actually reaches you.
Mounting a defense is going to require suitable defensive weapons and a healthy supply of ammunition and magazines.
At a minimum, you will need the following firearms in your defensive arsenal:
You will need at least one thousand rounds of ammunition per weapon (not per caliber, but per weapon) and at least five magazines for every pistol and at least ten magazines for every semi-automatic rifle.
Every person in your group should ideally carry a sidearm with them at all times so they will always be armed in the event of an immediate and unexpected attack, and you should keep your shotguns and defensive rifles within easy reach.
Every person capable of holding a firearm should also be comfortable using it under stress, which means regular range time now, while ammo and practice are still easy to come by. It's also worth designating roles ahead of time, such as who takes the long-range rifle if someone spots movement at a distance, and who holds the choke point with the shotgun. Deciding this in advance means there's no confusion (or arguing) once the adrenaline kicks in.
Related: 9 Best Firearms to Have After SHTF
One strategy the enemy may use to take your bug out location is to starve you out, but you can mitigate this by:
The enemy probably won't try to poison your water source (as that would mean they would poisoning their water source should they win), but nonetheless, you should still have a healthy stockpile of clean drinking water (one gallon of water per person per day is the rule).
You should also have more than one way to purify water on hand. A gravity-fed filter is great for daily use, but boiling and chemical treatment (like water purification tablets) should be your backups in case your primary filter breaks or wears out.
You will also need a healthy stockpile of long-lasting, non-perishable, and nutritious food. White rice, beans, canned meats and vegetables, flour, and potatoes work best.
Related: The Beginner's Guide to Emergency Food Storage
You are also going to need plenty of medications and first aid equipment should anybody in your group be wounded or injured in the defense of your location.
Even the best defenses are useless if no one is watching them. This is why you need a guard rotation in place from the moment you arrive at your BOL, not after the first scare.
A few things to keep in mind when setting up your rotation:
A tired, distracted guard is almost as dangerous as having no guard at all, so treat your rotation schedule with the same seriousness as your physical defenses.
Finally, you must have an emergency escape route should things become dire and defeat be imminent.
Your escape route can be a road that leads out of the bug out location that you can take via vehicle, it can be a tunnel that leads you out, or it can be both of those things.
What’s important is that you have a way out of your bug out location should you be forced to evacuate, because the last thing you want is to become trapped and have no way out.
Defending your bug out location, especially if manpower is limited to just you and your family, will be no easy feat.
Nonetheless, defending your bug out location from marauders can be done with knowledge and application of the principles in this article.
Have plenty of provisions to outlast a siege, make sure your bug out location is worth defending, and maximizing your defensive positions while hindering the enemy advance is what it all comes down to.
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The post How to Defend Your Bug Out Location from Raiders appeared first on Urban Survival Site.