Easy Food Storage Start

 As I have been doing some research on food storage I found a great site that has guest authors post ideas and in one particular post I found I thought would be greatly helpful in starting food storage in a very easy way. The author is Frippery Farms blog. I want to give full credit to her for the idea and the pictures. We no longer drink soda so I might be in search of bottles from friends that still do for this idea.
I don't know what her real name is but she has some great ideas.

Frippery Farms says:

I started my food preps with the simple basics.

Beans and rice. (I have since added wheat, oatmeal, and many other items, but today, lets stick to basics)

Even #10 cans or 5 gallon buckets of beans and rice can cost you a small fortune when you are storing anywhere from 3 months to 1 years worth of food. When you get into prepping for a family of 4 or more, the costs really skyrocket!

I get around the high cost of food prep by buying in bulk and packaging the food myself.

It is easy to do, you only need the simpliest of supplies and an afternoon of effort to get your own food storage started.

First, you need 2 and 3 liter soda bottles. If you don't drink soda, ask neighbors, check at a local recycling center, scronge through a trash bin here or there.

Why yes, that IS my bathtub! The reason they are all in my bathtub is because of my next step...scald out the bottles with the hottest water that will come out of your tap. If you have your water set kinda low, you may have to heat up water on the stove. About halfway full will do, Shake it until all soda residue is gone, then pour out. If the soda residue is dried, you may have to repeat the procedure. Remember to scald the bottle tops, too!

Next, you need to dry the bottles out. Depending on the humidity and heat of where you live, this can take from 1 day to almost a week.

I set mine out on our screened in porch. Since I live in the hottest, driest section of Texas, it only takes a day to dry. (Lucky me!) Yes, that is my yard, yes that is sand. Yes, it sucks when I try to garden, hence the box in the background.

Next you will need your rice or beans and BAY LEAVES. Very Important...don't forget the Bay Leaves! Bay leaves will repell and kill all sorts of bugs and kill their larvae if they are present in your rice or beans (or wheat or oats, or...well, you get the idea!)

You'll need a funnel, but I make mine from posterboard. That's a 50 pound bag of rice behind there, btw. Under 20 bucks. Bay leaves cost 2 dollars.

Put a couple of Bay leaves in the bottom of the 2 liter bottle and then funnel in your rice or beans.

When you get almost to the top, shove another Bay leaf or two in that bottle and seal TIGHTLY. If you have it, dip the top in bees wax to compleely seal out oxygen.

Two liter bottles are remarkedly easy to store in small spaces. Under beds, in a closet, where-ever. Cool, dry place.

This is a very small closet. Only 24 inches wide. It currently contains 200 pounds of rice and 100 pounds of beans!

I have been storing beans, rice, oatmeal, wheat, barley and many other grains and dry goods in this manner for several years. I have cooked rice stored this way 15 years after the storage date and it was as good as the day it was stored. cooked up fine and fluffy! Similarly, beans cooked after being stored for several years in this manner also cooked up fine.

This storage method keeps out rodents, insects and other vermin. It also keeps out moisture, so there is no mold or rot of the contents.

It is easier than #10 cans or the 5 gallon buckets (and cheaper!). Opening a 2 or 3 liter bottle with an easily resealable cap is more convenient than lugging around a 5 gallon bucket and you'll probably use up the 2 liter bottle much faster , leading to less spoilage and waste.

So, don't despair if you can't afford to order the latest and greatest from a food storage supplier online. You can have food storage on the cheap for your family! 

 If any of you have done this or have further ideas I would love to hear from you. Hugs, Bobbi Jo

Freezing Information

 When we have food storage it should not just be in our closets or under our beds. In our food storage we should include our refrigerator and our freezers. We are told to at least have a 3 month supply of food for our families. Here is a link to find out what, how and how long you can freeze foods:
    USDA Food and Safety Inspection Service 

Just an example from this website :
 Freezer Storage Chart (0 °F)
Note: Freezer storage is for quality only. Frozen foods remain safe indefinitely.

Item	Months
Bacon and Sausage	1 to 2
Casseroles	2 to 3
Egg whites or egg substitutes	12
Frozen Dinners and Entrees	3 to 4
Gravy, meat or poultry	2 to 3
Ham, Hotdogs and Lunchmeats	1 to 2
Meat, uncooked roasts	4 to 12
Meat, uncooked steaks or chops	4 to 12
Meat, uncooked ground	3 to 4
Meat, cooked	2 to 3
Poultry, uncooked whole	12
Poultry, uncooked parts	9
Poultry, uncooked giblets	3 to 4
Poultry, cooked	4
Soups and Stews	2 to 3
Wild game, uncooked	8 to 12

Let's get our food storage together in all the different areas. Hugs, Bobbi Jo

Shelf Life

As I have been getting back to work on organizing life part of this is the shelf life of my families food. I have found a great web site that has that information for almost anything you would want to store. The site is called Still Tasty Your Ultimate Shelf Life Guide

What a fantastic site. I am sure there are many more out there but this has been by far the most comprehensive site I have found. 

Hugs, Bobbi Jo

Blog Neglect

 I apologize  for the neglect of this blog. I am now back and ready to start posting again.

With all that is going on in the world today I feel that it is pertinent that we prepare with what we can. 

I hear from ladies that they don't have the money to work on their food storage or  their 3 month food supply. If not now when ? I know times are hard for most of us.

I want to share just a few suggestions to help out with this. These things will be things that you have heard or read before but they are worth repeating.

When you are low or out of an item you buy two. For example when you are low on mayonnaise and you go to the grocery store pick up 2 instead of one. This way you always have one on hand.
With doing these on one or two items with each shopping trip you will soon have a small supply built up.
This will save money in the long run by not having to run to the store each time you go to make something and realize you are out of an ingredient.

Be determined to build up your food storage but start small. Staring with the above suggestion is a great start.

You should also not wait to use your food storage. Integrate it into your weekly menu. You don't want to wait till you absolutely need to eat it till you learn what you like or don't like or even how to cook with it.

Your food storage isn't just your pantry closets. It is in your freezer & refrigerators too.
Keep a list of what is in your pantry, refrigerator and freezer. Inventory will help save you money. Knowing what you have on hand to use for your meals and also save you from running out to buy something you don't know you have already.

Make a meal plan from what you have on hand, what is on sale at the stores from reading the lost leaders of the paper. If you don't get a paper you can go on line to the stores and get signed up for a weekly flyer on line.

Do inventory before shopping trip so there are trips and money saved.
I will be honest with you I have just recently started to do this regularly and I have lowered our grocery bill by $30. This is on all products including paper products and toiletries. Granted I do have some food storage and such but this is amazing to me how much I can save by taking a little more time being organized.

Hope this helps you out. There will be more to come in the future. Hugs, Bobbi Jo

Easy & Quick Dinner

Garbanzo Bean & Veggie Burgers

Makes about 14 patties

4 generous cups cooked garbanzo beans
2 eggs
½ cup shredded carrots
½ cup shredded onions
½ cup shredded peppers (green, red, yellow.. whatever you would like)
1t salt
1t seasoning salt
1t pepper
¼ t red pepper flakes
½ cup finely crushed crackers, or bread crumbs or flour

I used my food processor to shred my veggies.


Put your garbanzo beans and eggs in the food processor and blend them part way. Then add veggies and seasonings and blend until mostly smooth (this does not need to be completely smooth). Put this mixture into a large bowl. Add the crushed crackers (or bread crumbs or flour) to the mixture and stir them in well. Let this sit for about 10 to 15 minutes.



Heat a large frying pan or griddle on medium high heat. Pour some olive oil over the griddle. Use a ¼ cup measuring cup to scoop out the bean mixture. You should be able to take this and form a patty. If it is too moist, add a few more cracker crumbs, if it is too dry you add a little olive oil to get the right consistency. Form a patty and lay it on the griddle. You can do this for however many burgers will fit in your frying pan or griddle.


Let them cook for 4 to 5 minutes and the flip them over.


Cook them for another 4 to 5 minutes on the other side. Allow them to cool slightly before eating.