Monday Message

Scroll down for this family-favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe!

"The best place to have some food set aside is within our homes, together with a little money in savings.  The best welfare program is our own welfare program. Five or six cans of wheat in the home are better than a bushel in the welfare granary. ... We can begin with a one week's food supply and gradually build it to a month, and then to three months.  I am speaking now of food to cover basic needs." Gordon B. Hinkley, "To Men of the Priesthood," Ensign, Nov. 2002, 5.

I love what Elder Robert D. Hales has to say about Provident Living, click the link to watch his message: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fC7pPAyrSSg#t=22

When I was 18 I married my high school sweetheart. I knew nothing about cooking and grocery shopping or how to use washers and dryers at the Laundromat. That was almost 41 years ago. I am still married to my high school sweetheart but I learned many things since then.  

I know what it is like to be newly married and I know what it is like to be a mother and now a grammy.

I prepared to get married by starting a hope chest which was just cardboard boxes with items I would pick up at yard sales and such, these were needed to start my married life. Dishes, a rolling pin, a quilt I made, and on and on... so preparation has always been part of my life.

As life went on our pay was not much and I would have to learn how to make it go far. I still work at that, pay never goes far.

When my husband was in the air force money was very tight, they just don’t get paid enough. I would plan out how many meals we would need before getting paid again then I would add a meal or two. We had couples who lived on both sides of us who would have no food by payday and would need to borrow from us that extra meal. So knowing this I tried to have more meals to share.

We joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and from then on I have learned so much. I learned how to be a good mom by watching other mothers at church. We had classes that taught us how to cook, to can, to garden. My learning continues, but I have lived and learned so much that I am happy to help others to learn so they too are prepared. 

For income shortfalls, for unemployment, for sickness, unexpected bills, etc… life goes up and down so fast it is like riding a roller coaster. You will get queasy. You will be out the money. When you are up you can see clearly, when down you do not know what lies ahead.

Even if you think you have been educated and now you have finally arrived... what possibly could happen? You have a great income, a nice house, cars etc. What could happen? Plenty. I am here to tell you plenty and more can happen… life is learning it is hard at times but always worth it.

So when I get preachy for you to prepare for times in your life that it is not as well as you thought it always would be, just remember I have already been there and know what you need to do to help you over some of the rough patches.

I have always gained knowledge from those who were older and lived their lives. Yes, things are different now... but not so much. Men and women meet, fall in love, get married, have kids they loved just as much as you do. Styles change, yes, but wisdom only gets better.

So learn from me, what I have learned and am still learning. Yes, we may have different interests. Your hair is pretty and mine is gray, you have kids and mine are grown. I have not forgotten how busy it is with little ones. It is for them that you work so hard to prepare. It is for them you make homemade cookies...

So store up what it takes to make cookies!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 c. margarine
1/2 c. plus 1/3 c. shortening
1 c. sugar
1 c. brown sugar

Mix this well and add:

2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla

Then I really cream this together, all of it so far, maybe three to four minutes.

Then add:

3 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt

Mix just enough to incorporate it stop and add:

12 oz pkg choc chips
half to one c. chopped nuts either walnuts or pecans (if you have picky kids you can leave out or take out half and add nuts to the other half)

Drop bake at 350 degrees till golden.

These have been a childhood favorite, came out of a Betty Crocker cookbook as old as I am. This is my children’s favorite as well. 

Stock up your shelves with food for your family and others too.

You might say eeewwwwwwww food storage that means making a million things with wheat and beans, but it is as simple as the cookie recipe above. Store what you like and what your family likes. When hard times come in our lives, and they will, that is not the time you want to have no storage.

I have been covering life skills. You don’t have to be the best seamstress in the world, just be able to sew on a button or hem or, as I have been doing, remaking some dresses. I can tell you it is easier to make then remake or refashion but to be able to do it and build on that skill is a huge savings.  

Learn to make bread by hand and once you know how then find a cheap bread machine. I can tell you that I am not a fan of bread baked in the machine but I am a fan of using it on the dough cycle and shaping it, letting it rise and baking in my oven. I see them all the time at goodwill for three to five dollars. 

If you look back a few weeks ago I gave you the best bread recipe ever to make homemade bread in a machine. That recipe is older than I am and I gave you tips to change regular flour to bread flour. Yes, this makes one loaf at a time but you probably won't use more than one huge loaf a day and if you do make it several times a day to get ahead. There is always a way to work it out. Just because I tell you one way doesn't make it right or wrong it’s an idea.

When I suggest things like pressure canners, vacuum sealers, dehydrators... just put them on your list when thrifting or going to yard sales. These are tools we should keep our eyes out for and if you have them, keep others in mind and pass the word along.

Same with a good sale, let others know.

These items help put up food from your gardens.

So make some cookies, get some milk, put up your feet and make a plan of action.

Set some goals and work as best you can towards them. We are all learning and sharing.

One thing I have started is a go-to binder. Mine is white and is an inch thick, just to give you an idea of size. In this I am putting the recipes I need more often like that bread recipe, my yogurt recipe, the hot cocoa recipe, the powdered milk conversion chart, and the diner pancake recipe I gave you last week. Just search around the blog for wonderful things and ideas. I am just starting it but this should help to have handy.

http://everydayfoodstorage.net/food-storage-recipes  I just love this gal, she gets it on food storage you can learn a lot from her.

Storage is not just about food, like toilet paper, toothpaste what your family needs are. We had girls and should have bought stock in pads... Yes I hear them Mooooom! But keep these things in mind along with a well stocked first aid kit…

Follow along on the Monday Messages for fun and learning and sharing. If you have a topic you would like like me to cover or if you have ideas to share, let's all share! Email me at bshook@huxcomm.net