"Family Finances"

Avoid Debt

Spending less money than you make is essential to your financial security. Avoid debt, with the exception of buying a modest home or paying for education or other vital needs. If you are in debt, pay it off as quickly as possible. Some useful tools in becoming debt free are a debt-elimination calendar and a family budget worksheet.

Distinguish between Needs and Wants

We must learn to distinguish between wants and needs. We should be modest in our wants. It takes self-discipline to avoid the “buy now, pay later” philosophy and to adopt the “save now and buy later” practice.


Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin taught: “All too often a family's spending is governed more by their yearning than by their earning. They somehow believe that their life will be better if they surround themselves with an abundance of things. All too often all they are left with is avoidable anxiety and distress” ("Earthly Debts, Heavenly Debts," Ensign, May 2004, 42).

Getting and Staying out of Debt

We should avoid debt. There is nothing that will cause greater tensions in life than grinding debt, which will make the debtor a slave to creditors. A specific goal, careful planning, and determined self-discipline are required to accomplish this.



President N. Eldon Tanner taught: "Those who structure their standard of living to allow a little surplus, control their circumstances. Those who spend a little more than they earn are controlled by their circumstances. They are in bondage” ("Constancy Amid Change," Ensign, Nov. 1979, 81).

Provident Living - Family Finances

"More Fit for the Kingdom"

By Mary N. Cook

First Counselor in the Young Women General Presidency

New Era, Apr. 2009, 44–46

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Whenever I hear the question “Why is an education important?” I think of a phrase from the hymn “More Holiness Give Me.” The phrase in the third verse says, “More fit for the kingdom, More used would I be” (Hymns, no. 131).

The reason we need more education is so that the Lord can use us to do His work and bless the lives of others. If we focus on becoming more fit for the kingdom, choosing more education is usually an excellent decision. Even if we do not always see all the possible uses for the things we learn, education is an important way we can prepare ourselves to serve the Lord.

Why is education important?

Easy Balcony Gardening

Check out this site that I found as a recommended link from the gardening section of provident living on the church website.

Almost everyone can learn to grow plants. Whatever the size and the shape of your intended location, indoor or outdoor, you do not have to be an expert gardener to enjoy a little corner of paradise. Think trees and shrubs, multi-colored flowers, annuals and perennials. Think herbs, vegetables, upside down tomatoes, strawberries, and other delights. Think planters, trellises, arbors, and climbing vines. Think birdbaths and bird feeders, and even a small rock garden in one corner. Think artful containers in different sizes, shapes, and colors. The possibilities are simply endless! Draw your visions to a scale, and start looking through the pages of our website!

Easy Balcony Gardening

How Much Water Should Your Store?

 Kirt is in the process of washing out the barrels. We later gave some to our daughter, some folks we HT/VT, etc.

 All is Safely Gathered In- brochure

Drinking Water

Store drinking water for circumstances in which the water supply may be polluted or disrupted.
If water comes directly from a good, pretreated source, then no additional purification is needed; otherwise, pretreat water before use. Store water in sturdy, leak-proof, breakage-resistant containers. Consider using plastic bottles commonly used for juices and soft drinks.
Keep water containers away from heat sources and direct sunlight.

Drinking Water 

Ten Common Challenges Facing Families

 

"What is the great strength of [this] Church? . . . It is the emphasis which we place on families. . . . Keep your families close together and love and honor your children." —President Gordon B. Hinckley "Family Home Evening," Ensign, Mar. 2003, 3 Today, families are facing unique challenges that were unknown years ago. This feature emphasizes 10 common challenges and provides help for parents in navigating the stormy waters created by these issues. Ten Common Challenges Facing Families Parenting Issues Marital Issues Divorce Grieving Out-of-Wedlock Pregnancy Emotional and Mental Problems Substance Abuse and Addictions Eating Disorders Stress Pornography Ten Common Challenges

California Orange Trees

This was our crop of oranges that we picked in January 2010.
We in California are so lucky to be able to have fruit trees producing all year long! Peaches, apricots, pears, cherries, etc.
 
What kind of fruit trees do you have?

Soon, we will have oranges to pick and enjoy. (we actually haven't had real good luck with them tasting very good yet, but hope we figure that out soon.)

What Not to Store...and other useful information

From the Utah State University Cooperative Extension

• Home Canned Butter, especially unsalted, canned butter. (Why - unsalted canned butter has NO protection from botulism, slated, home canned butter has no science-based process to can safely)
• Petroleum jelly covered raw eggs. (Why - there is No protection from microbial contamination.  This is a major food-borne illness risk)
• Milled Grains (Whole wheat flour, Cornmeal, Cereal, Granola) (Why - quality deterioration)
• Oily Grains or Seeds (Nuts, Brown rice, Pearled barley, Sesame seeds) (Why - quality deterioration)
• Home canned Quick Breads (why - these foods are not safe for home canning)

What Not to Store


Storage Conditions
Moisture and temperature are the two critical factors in optimal food storage.
Moisture - the humidity in the storage environment should be low.  If dried foods pick up moisture from the storage area, molds and bacteria can grow.  This can lead to spoilage and illness.  Moisture can also lead to the breakdown of some packaging materials (paper degradation and metal rusting). In areas of high environmental humidity a dehumidifier may be needed.

Temperature - The optimal temperature range is in the cool to moderate range, approximately 40 - 70 degrees F.  Research at Brigham Young University (Ref. 1.) on long term storage has shown that wheat retained an acceptable quality for 25 years stored cold (basement) and only 5 years stored hot (garage or attic).  Grain germination rates will decline and vitamin breakdown rates in all stored foods will increase as the temperature increases.  Canned foods should not be allowed to freeze.  Freezing will bulge cans and may cause seem failures leading to a potential for food-borne illness.  Dry foods can freeze without concern.

Other factors - Direct sunlight is detrimental to foods.  It can speed deterioration of both the food and the packaging.  The heat from sunlight can also speed deterioration.  Always store foods off the floor.  Flooring materials, especially raw concrete can leech chemicals into stored foods.  These chemicals can pass through plastics and can cause rust to form on metal.

Reference 1. Green R., D.J.Rose, L.V.Ogden, O.A.Pike.  "Effects of long-term storage on quality of retail-packaged wheat."  J. Food Sci.  July 2005: Abstract # 54H-8.
Storage Conditions 

"A Christmas with No Presents"

James E. Faust, "A Christmas with No Presents", Ensign, Dec. 2001, 2–6

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I have been thinking about what makes Christmas such a great time in our lives. I am old enough to remember many Christmases. They have all been glorious. But I have learned that it isn’t just the presents that make them great.     UAdd a Note 

The Happiest Christmas of My Childhood

Giving and Receiving Presents

True Gifts

Ideas for Home Teachers (or Parents)

Some Points of Emphasis  

1. There is a difference between presents and gifts. True gifts may be part of ourselves, coming from the riches of the heart and mind.
   
2. Our Heavenly Father can give us so many wonderful gifts—the gift of peace, the gift of love, the gift of service, the gift of self, the gift of faith.
   
3. Above all, He has given us the gift of His Son.
4. The message of the Christmas season that is applicable throughout the year lies not in the receiving of earthly presents and treasures but in forsaking of selfishness and greed and in going forward, seeking and enjoying the gifts of the Spirit in our lives.

 A Christmas with No Presents

Potatoes SEVENTEEN Ways!

Boiled. Wash potatoes, leave skins on, leave whole or cut in large pieces. Boil in water in covered pot: whole, 30 to 40 minutes; cut up, 20 to 25 minutes.
Parsleyed. Mix chopped boiled potatoes with 1/4 cup melted butter and 1/4 cup *minced parsley.
Creamed. Combine thin or medium white sauce with boiled potatoes. Allow at least 1 cup sauce for four medium potatoes.
Au Gratin. Use recipe for creamed potatoes, use cheese sauce instead of white sauce.
Broiled. Cut cooked potatoes lengthwise in slices about 1/4 inch thick. Drizzle with melted butter, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Broil until golden brown on both sides.
Cottage fries. Slice boiled potatoes. Heap slices into skillet coated generously with oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Brown slowly until crisp, turning as necessary.
Lyonnaise. Follows recipe for cottage fries, except add sauteed onion slices to the potatoes before frying.
Potatoes Anna. Melt 2 tbsp butter in skillet. Arrange thinly sliced or grated raw potatoes in 2 or 3 layers. Sprinkle each layer with salt and pepper, dot with butter. Cover, cook over low heat 15 minutes. Uncover, cook until tender and crispy brown.
French Fried. Cut potatoes into long strips. Let stand in cold water for at least 15 minutes. Drain and dry completely. Drop into hot oil, deep enough so the fries float. Do not crowd pan, fry until tender and golden brown. For crispier fries, cook half way, let cool completely to room temperature, fry again.
Country Fried. Cut potatoes in half, cut each half into 2 pieces. Slice thinly, deep fry.
Baked Fried. Arrange thin strips of raw potato in single layer in shallow baking pan which has been greased with oil. Drizzle with oil. Bake in 400 degree oven 30 to 40 minutes until tender. Turn occasionally. Sprinkle with herbs for added flavor.
Potato Puffs. To four cups mashed potatoes, add 2 beaten egg yolks, stir, then add 2 beaten egg whites, stir, add 1/2 cup milk, 2 tbsp butter, mix thoroughly.. Spoon into 1-1/2 quart baking dish, bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until puffed and brown.
Puffed Potatoes in the Half Shell. Cut baked potatoes in half lengthwise. Scoop out potato, whip until fluffy with butter, milk, seasoning, bits of cooked ham, minced onion, & then spoon into shells. Bake in 400 degree oven until tops are golden brown.
Scalloped. Arrange layers of thinly sliced potato in greased baking dish. Sprinkle each layer with salt, pepper, minced onion, dot with butter. Pour hot milk over the potatoes, so it is within 1/2 inch of the top of the potatoes. Bake at 350 degrees about 1 to 1-1/4 hours or until potatoes are tender.
Mashed. Boil potatoes, drain water, break into chunks, add butter, beat/mash/whip until smooth, add salt and pepper to taste.
Golden Parmesan. Slice six large potatoes into small pieces. Mix 1/4 cup flour, 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, salt and pepper, in a paper bag. Put potatoes in bag and shake until coated. Melt butter in large pan. Lay potatoes in one layer in the pan. Bake at 375 degrees for one hour. Turn two or three times while baking so all sides are browned. Sprinkle with parsley when nearly done.
Potato Deutscher Grate 7 potatoes, rinse in cold water, press dry. Soak 6 slices dry bread in 2 cups milk, beat in 2 eggs, salt &and pepper to taste, stir in the potatoes. Pour into a greased dish, top with sour cream, bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

TWO MORE WAYS TO FIX POTATOES

Parmesan Potato Casserole
2 cups mashed potatoes | 8 ounces cream cheese | 2 eggs | 1 small onion, diced | 2 tablespoons flour | 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated | 1/4 cup dried bread crumbs | Salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Mix Parmesan cheese and bread crumbs; set aside. In a medium-sized bowl, combine mashed potatoes, cream cheese, eggs, onion, and flour. Beat with a mixer on low speed until blended. Beat at high speed until mixture is light and fluffy. Add salt and pepper. Pour potato mixture into a greased casserole dish. Sprinkle with bread crumb/Parmesan cheese mixture. Bake for 35 minutes.
Baked Potato Cup
Roughly mash leftover potato with raw egg & shredded cheese. Bake inside 1/2 a bell pepper until pepper is tender, about 30 minutes at 350 degrees. When cool, cut in wedges. Eat cold or at room temperature.

Thomas S. Monson - quote

"Many more people could ride out the storm-tossed waves in their economic lives if they had their year's supply of food…and were debt-free. Today we find that many have followed this counsel in reverse: they have at least a year's supply of debt and are food-free."
— Thomas S. Monson

Solar Cookers International

If you are at all interested in solar cooking, check them out. They offer an inexpensive, but effective solar cooker which is available locally as the company is based in Sacramento.
Several months ago we saw a demonstration of their solar cooker as part of a Relief Society meeting where alternate cooking sources were used to cook the meal for us.

Solar Cookers

"Grow Your Own Soup"

Richard M. Romney, "Grow Your Own Soup", New Era, Apr. 1978, 41

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Church members, heeding President Spencer W. Kimball’s call to plant gardens,  may, in cultivating their gardens, discover a delightful secret—they can grow many of the ingredients of a hearty soup, including spices, right in their own backyards 

Whatever family members plan, they should keep one thing in mind: Gardening conditions vary widely. The best source of information will always be a local gardener who has had enough experience in the geographical area to know what will work and what won’t. Venture out to a local garden store, call a university extension service, maybe even visit a farm—it’s a fun way to meet new friends, and most vegetable lovers are glad to talk shop.

     UAdd a Note 

There are some gardening tips, however, that are acceptable almost everywhere. 

1. To begin with, don’t overdo it. 
2. Most root vegetables can be grown fairly close together.
3. Another tip for a soup garden is to plant a crop with a short growing period as soon as possible, followed by another crop when the first one is harvested, such as peas followed by beans or beets. 

      UAdd a Note 

Spices and herbs are fairly easy to cultivate, and they will add zest to any soup. 

• Red and green peppers thrive in many areas. 
• Parsley is a colorful garnish and grows almost anywhere.
• Sage endures once it gets established and boasts an attractive flower. 
• Chives grow successfully, even in an indoor pot, and can be trimmed repeatedly and still grow back. 
• Garlic sprouts only from its own cloves and should be planted early, because it requires 120 days to mature. 
• Thyme, anise, sweet marjoram, and basil are usually available on well-stocked seed racks, but oregano is hard to find. 

     UAdd a Note  Here are a few other general reminders:

—Vegetables need at least six hours of sunlight a day. 

—The garden site should be relatively level.

—Just about any soil will benefit from the addition of organic matter, such as manure, peat moss, or dead leaves. 

—Be careful with fertilizer. 

     UAdd a Note 

—The simplest way to eliminate plant pests is to remove insects, worms, or eggs by hand. 

—Give seeds a chance.

As the first vegetables begin to ripen, the rewards of all the hoeing and weed pulling start to manifest themselves. Mom’s potato soup may include spuds grown just outside the kitchen door, with a few onions chopped up and stirred into the cream to perk up the taste. Or perhaps the tomato soup will be made from scratch, using the fruits of some industrious deacon’s own vines. 

Sound appetizing? Start planting now, then. Remember, though, that all the vegetables may not be ready at the same time.  

Link to the complete article for these recipes.   Grow Your Own Soup

• Peruvian Stew

• Pot-Au-Feu

• Minestrone

• Zucchini Soup

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day!

From "Better Times Info"  Better Times Info

 Breakfast doesn't have to be an expensive meal, it can be one of the most thrifty -- and yet, the most tasty -- of all your meals. Many people rely on expensive processed cereals but I'd like to tempt you with the visions and tastes of true Oklahoma home cookin' for breakfast. Better Living Through Better Breakfasts  is our motto!

A Note about These Breakfast Recipes:
These recipes use smaller amounts of meat than is usual at breakfast and are generally calculated to serve 2 or 3 adults unless otherwise specified.

Rise and Shine Casserole
6 slices dry whole wheat bread | 1/4 cup butter, melted | 2 cups milk | shredded cheese |
1/2 tsp dry mustard |3 eggs, beaten | Salt and Pepper
Tear bread into small pieces. Layer 1/4 of the bread and 1/4 of your cheese 4 times in a casserole dish. Pour melted butter on top. Combine remaining ingredients in a mixing bowl, mix well. Pour mixture onto casserole. Refrigerate overnight. First thing in the morning, bake for 1 hour in 350 degree oven. Variations: add crumbled fried sausage or bacon, ham, cooked beans, jalapenos, shredded cheese. Smother casserole with chili, chili sauce, cooked beans, or gravy.
Home Made Hash browns
Slice potatoes in half and boil for ten minutes. Cover with cold water and refrigerate overnight. Shred (peeling the potatoes are optional) and fry in oil in skillet until brown on both sides. Another Way to Hash brown Potatoes: Boil potatoes whole, let cool, place in a well-oiled frying skillet or on griddle, mash with a potato masher, fry until crisp on bottom, flip until done on the other side. A Third Way to Hash brown Potatoes: Use leftover baked potatoes, place in well oiled skillet, mash with a potato masher, fry on both sides. Note that with all recipes for hash brown potatoes, the secret is to cook the potatoes the day before and refrigerate overnight..
Redneck Eggs Benedict
Large biscuits | 2 eggs, boiled | 1/8 lb sausage or bacon | 2 potatoes, hash browned | 2 cups cheese sauce or gravy Make 4 large biscuits using the Better Times biscuit recipe and bake until done. Slice in half, layer on each biscuit half, in this order: fried hash browns, 1/4 boiled egg, fried sausage or crumbled bacon, top with cheese sauce, gravy, or other sauce.
For Redneck Eggs Florentine, substitute cooked turnip greens for meat.
Potato Pancakes
To 1 cup leftover mashed potatoes, add 1 egg and 2 tablespoons whole wheat flour. Mix thoroughly, make small dollar size pancakes, fry on medium griddle on both sides until done. A sprinkling of dried Italian herbs adds to the flavor.
Creamed Eggs
Add 2 to 4 hard cooked eggs, cut into quarters, to 1 cup medium white sauce. Serve hot over toast or biscuits or rice. You can sprinkle with paprika and parsley, crisp bacon bits, etc. Variation, add small amount of fried sausage to the white sauce.
Oatmeal Pancakes
1 cup oatmeal | 1 cup whole wheat flour | 1 tsp baking powder | 1/2 tsp baking soda | 1 egg, beaten
2 tbsp butter | 1-1/2 cups milk with 1 tbsp of vinegar in it (or use buttermilk)
Soak oats in one cup milk for five minutes. Add other ingredients, mix well. Heat griddle (test for hotness by sprinkling some water on it, if the bubbles "skitter" around the pan, it's ready). Make small pancakes, turn when brown. If you don't have vinegar or buttermilk, use regular skim milk and increase baking powder to 1-1/2 tsp and omit baking soda. To make the pancakes extra fluffy, separate the egg yolk and white, beat separately, add egg yolk and milk, then add stiffly beaten egg whites.
Bob's Food Cooperative Pancakes
1 cup 100% whole wheat flour|1-1/4 tsp baking powder | 1/4 tsp salt | 2 tablespoons oil
| 1 cup milk | tablespoon honey | 1 egg
This makes a light and fluffy pancake. Mix dry ingredients, add the oil and mix thoroughly, beat two eggs and add to 1 cup milk, mix with dry ingredients. This 1 cup recipe makes pancakes for two adults, 12 -14 dollar size pancakes. Serve with peanut butter and homemade jam.

A Buttermilk Pancake Recipe
1-1/4 cups buttermilk | 2 tbsp oil | 1-1/4 cups flour | 1 egg, beaten | 1 tsp baking powder | 1/2 tsp soda | dash of salt
Mix ingredients, cook as described in Oatmeal Pancakes. If you use plain milk rather than buttermilk, adjust baking powder as described in Oatmeal Pancakes.
Breakfast Tacos
1 cup cooked rice or fried potatoes | 1/8 - 1/4 lb sausage | chopped onion | corn or flour tortillas
| 2 eggs beaten | chopped jalapenos | hot sauce/salsa
Fry sausage (or bacon, or ham) with the onion and jalapenos and drain the grease. Add rice or potatoes, stir until hot, add beaten eggs, scramble together with the sausage. Meanwhile, heat the tortillas on a griddle or directly over a low flame. Divide sausage/rice mixture among the tortillas, add hot sauce/salsa, and/or cheese as desired. Makes 6-8 tacos. Variations: (1) smother with hot dog chili sauce. (2) Add fresh chopped tomatoes, and/or chopped black olives, and/or chopped green onion.
Breakfast Pizza
1 recipe pizza dough | 4 eggs | 1 cup hash brown potatoes | grated cheese |
1/2 lb sausage | 1/4 cup milk | salt and pepper
Cook sausage until browned, drain fat. Place pizza dough in an ungreased pan, spread melted butter on the dough. Spoon sausage over dough, sprinkle with potatoes, top with grated cheese. Mix eggs, milk, salt and pepper. Pour onto crust. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes.
Breakfast Pockets
1 recipe bread dough | Ingredients similar to breakfast pizza
Divide the bread dough into small balls of dough about the size of a bun. Let rise, then roll into circles. Brush dough lightly with olive oil. Prepare filling, and put a couple of tablespoons of filling on each circle of dough. Lightly moisten the edge of the circle with water, and then fold over like a turnover pastry and seal the edges. Bake in a 425 degree oven until bread is done. Brush with melted butter after baking.
Tortillas and Eggs
This is a good way to make a few eggs go a long way. Fry some bacon or sausage, remove from pan and set aside. Tear corn tortillas into pieces (smaller pieces are better, say 8 pieces to the tortilla), sauté in oil with chopped onion, garlic, and sliced jalapeno peppers. Sauté for about 3-4 minutes. Beat 2 to 4 eggs, crumble sausage or bacon, and add meat and beaten eggs to tortillas, stirring constantly while the eggs scramble and set. For each egg, you can add 3-4 torn-up tortillas.
Crock-pot Oatmeal
Put oatmeal, water, and raisins in a Crock-pot at night before you go to bed. Cook on low, it's ready in the morning. Add honey and milk to taste.

Better Times Info

Eating with the Season: Winter

Here are  sample menus, for a week of frugal winter  meals.

Meats: 2-3 servings/day; 1 serving equals 2-3 oz meat or 1/2 cup of cooked beans. 1 egg or 2 tablespoons peanut butter or 1/3 cup nuts equal 1 ounce of meat

Milk group 2-3 servings/day, 1 serving equals 1 cup of milk or yogurt; or 1-1/2 ounces of natural cheese; or 2 ounces of processed cheese

Vegetable group: 3-5 servings/day; 1 serving equals 1 cup of raw leafy vegetables; 1 cup of other vegetables, cooked or chopped raw; 3/4 cup vegetable juice

Fruit group: 2-4 servings/day; 1 serving equals 1 medium apple, banana, or orange; or 1 cup of chopped, cooked, or canned fruit; or 3/4 cup fruit juice

Grain: 6-11 servings, 1 serving = 1 slice of bread; or 1 C cooked grain, rice, pasta

Frugal Winter Menus

 Sunday

Breakfast: Omelets and fried potatoes, yogurt/fruit, juice, toast

Lunch: pot roast

Dinner: hot beef sandwiches

Monday

Breakfast: Biscuits & gravy, juice, hash-browns

Lunch: Sloppy Joes, potato soup or cabbage soup

Dinner: Enchilada casserole

Tuesday

Breakfast: Pancakes, sausage, yogurt/fruit

Lunch: spaghetti, garlic toast

Dinner: pork steak delight

Wednesday

Breakfast: Oatmeal and muffins, peanut butter, juice

Lunch: Soup, deviled roast beef sandwiches,

Dinner: Redneck Salisbury Steak

Thursday

Breakfast: biscuits & gravy, eggs, yogurt, juice

Lunch: Beans and cornbread

Dinner: Shepherd’s pie

Friday

Breakfast: Breakfast tacos, juice, yogurt

Lunch: Chillaquilas

Dinner: Bob's Vegetarian Sauce/Pasta

Saturday

Breakfast:  Redneck Eggs Benedict, fried potatoes, juice

Lunch: beef, rice or potato and vegetable stew

Dinner: chicken fried steaks

Select one side for lunch and 2 or 3 sides for dinner, one dessert and one or two snacks, per day

Sides: refried beans, Spanish rice, carrot salad with raisins, tortilla chips, bulgur wheat and rice salad, salsa, winter root salad, potatoes, cabbage, carrots , rice pilaf, baked winter squash, baked sweet potato, butternut squash salad, roast turnips in honey and wine sauce, mashed potatoes, baked squash, cooked tomato/corn side dish.

Snacks and Desserts: Raisin pie, Cherry cobbler, granola, yogurt, Brownies, canned tropical fruit, popcorn, dried fruit, bread pudding with raisins, hot peanuts, custard, popcorn with peanuts, pudding, dried apple slices and peanut butter, chocolate cake, bean dip, tortilla chips, sweet potato pie, sweet potato muffins.

The story of this food.

On the Saturday before this week starts, the family would have baked potatoes. 

• Extra potatoes would be baked to provide hash-browns for Sunday and Monday mornings and for potato soup lunch on Monday. 
• The Sunday pot roast provides lunch, then hot beef sandwiches for dinner, and chopped beef for the sloppy joes and enchiladas, with some broth and fat leftover for the beef stew later in the week. 

On a day off, make the bread dough for the week, granola, yogurt, and any specialties like banana or zucchini bread. 

• Pancakes, french toast, hash browns, scrambled eggs, and cooked breakfast meats all freeze very well, so if mornings are a rush, you can make "breakfasts for a week" and freeze them in small freezer containers for warming up in the morning. 
• Chop leftover roast finely and make deviled roast beef for sandwiches. 
• Make enough rice pilaf for the Monday dinner to also serve the Wednesday dinner. 
• Hamburger cooked for the Tuesday spaghetti sauce can provide meat for the Wednesday soup and sandwiches, Thursday's shepherds pie, and Saturday's beef stew. 
• Leftover pork steak rice pilaf can be mixed with the potatoes for Thursday's shepherd's pie. 
• Saturday's beef stew accepts leftovers from previous meals (beans from Thursday, pot roast remnants from Sunday, shepherd’s pie, pasta sauce, etc. 
• Make enough mashed potatoes for Thursday's shepherd’s pie for Saturday's dinner. 
• Leftover mashed potatoes from Saturday can become potato pancakes on Sunday morning or potato puffs for one of the other meals that day or the next.

 Better Times Info

Provident Christmas Gifts for 2010

Christmas is just around the corner, and your ward Provident Living Specialists would like to weigh in on what you adults might think about getting for yourselves or for each other for Christmas this year.  Okay … we’ll admit that we’re neither Santa’s elves nor the voice of your conscience … even if we’d like to think we are.  So let’s get right to the point on this one:  we think this is the perfect year to get something (or several things) really practical and useful for Christmas, and not incur ANY debt while doing it.

Why would we say this?  Aren’t “diamonds a girl’s best friend?”  Aren’t the stores loaded with the season’s most compelling electronic devices, newest games, and hottest fashions?  And hasn’t the media been telling us for decades that practical gifts for Christmas are in bad form – even unthinkable?  And wouldn’t getting a much needed, practical gift for Christmas somehow spoil the moment?

In the Jewish culture they celebrate Passover in the spring, during which celebration a child is coached to ask the all-pertinent question:  Why is this night different from all other nights?  In that same vein allow us to formulate our question as follows:  Why is this Christmas different than all other Christmases?

Those who have been following the news might instinctively know why this Christmas is – indeed – different than all other Christmases.  As the poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning might answer, “Let us count the ways.” 

• The U.S. economy is sputtering along, and has been sputtering for several years now.
• The U.S. dollar is showing signs of major weakness (in fact, it has likely never been weaker)
• Savvy investors in the U.S and all over the world, and even the Chinese government, have been investing in Asia and in precious metals, not in American companies.  (This means that investors are not confident that their investments in U.S. based businesses will pay off for them, but gold (which produces nothing) will.
• Producers and buyers nation wide are reporting that food, textiles (especially cotton) and many other commodities have not only seen significant rises in prices over the past two months, but are likely to see even greater price rises over the coming year.  Rising prices are an evidence of a weak dollar on world currency markets.
• There are many, many other evidences of economic and currency weakness, but this is not the place to dwell on them.

The bottom line is here is that the structural weaknesses evident in the U.S. economy and currency (and in the economies and currencies of most other developed nations outside of Asia) should cause us to seriously consider the state of our world in the short term.

According to President Monson, many in the Church (and probably even a few in our ward) are not as prepared for challenging times as they would like to be.  In a September 1986 article, Elder Thomas S. Monson said, "Recent surveys of Church members have shown a serious erosion in the number of families who have a year's supply of life's necessities.  Most members plan to do it.  Too few have begun.  It is our sacred duty to care for our families, including our extended families."  Granted, that statement was made 24 years ago, but I sense that President Monson could say the same about preparedness today.  

The counsel of the prophets and apostles of God should be sufficient incentive for us to prepare, but some of us need the extra motivation a spectacularly gloomy news story gives us.  We would respectfully suggest that at the moment, BOTH conditions (too little preparedness in the Church and a really gloomy economic forecast) are more than evident.  And that with the advent of rising prices for essential commodities, time and opportunity to assemble our food storage might be shorter than we had hoped.

Your Provident Living specialists would encourage practical, essential purchases this Christmas, without going into debt, and we believe He whose birth we are celebrating would nod approvingly at the suggestion.

We testify that being prepared for challenging times gives us a peace that cannot be duplicated in any other way, and we further testify that the apostles and prophets who have so counseled us are called of God.

P.S.  Our grown children are getting solar cookers from their parents for Christmas.  We’re trying to practice what we preach.

We’ll try to post new information on it every week.  You can ask us questions (click on "Comments") through the blog if you desire.

"The Best Christmas Gifts"

"The Best Christmas Gifts", New Era, Dec. 2007, 18–21

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… are those that come from the heart and build our faith.

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Christmastime is a season of gift giving, in memory of the gifts given by the Wise Men to the Christ child and the gift Christ gave us in the Atonement.

     UAdd a Note 

Excitement is in the air as we anticipate giving and receiving gifts. Gifts come in all sizes and shapes, but it seems that the best gifts are those that can’t be wrapped: gifts of service, family, faith, and testimony.  

Enjoy the following memories from our readers of gifts given and received. (click the article title at the end of the article)

Spirit of Christmas

“The spirit of Christmas is the spirit of love and of generosity and of goodness. It illuminates the picture window of the soul, and we look out upon the world’s busy life and become more interested in people than in things.” President Thomas S. Monson, First Counselor in the First Presidency, “The Precious Gift,” First Presidency Christmas Devotional, December 3, 2006.     UAdd a Note 

Want to learn more about gift giving? Read “Giving with Joy” (Ensign, Dec. 1982), by Elder Henry B. Eyring of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, at www.lds.org. Click on “Gospel Library.” 

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The Best Christmas Gifts 

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"Family Home Storage: A New Message"

"Family Home Storage: A New Message", Ensign, Mar. 2009, 56–60

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Check the expiration date on your ideas about home storage. You may need to throw some of them out.

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“We can begin ever so modestly,” President Hinckley explained. “We can begin with a one week’s food supply and gradually build it to a month, and then to three months.”

A New Approach

 

In the spirit of President Hinckley’s remarks, Church leaders decided to closely reexamine their approach to self-reliance, looking for ways to reinforce the concepts of home storage and financial preparedness. As a result, the Church published the pamphlet All Is Safely Gathered In: Family Home Storage, outlining new guidelines for home preparedness that give Church members a simplified, four-step approach to building their home storage.

They are as follows:

1. Gradually build a small supply of food that is part of your normal, daily diet until it is sufficient for three months.
2. Store drinking water.
3. Establish a financial reserve by setting aside a little money each week, and gradually increase it to a reasonable amount.
4. Once families have achieved the first three objectives, they are counseled to expand their efforts, as circumstances allow, into a supply of long-term basic foods such as grains, legumes, and other staples.

Of the new guidelines, Presiding Bishop H. David Burton says, “Our objective was to establish a simple, inexpensive, and achievable program that would help people become self-reliant. We are confident that by introducing these few, simple steps we can, over time, have more success.”

The Time to Begin Is Now

 

“Perhaps in the past accumulating a year’s supply of food may have been a little intimidating and even illegal in some places,” says Dennis Lifferth, managing director of Church Welfare Services. “But this new approach asks us to do the best we can, even if all we can do is to set aside a can or two each week. If the prophet asks us to do something, we can find a way to fulfill the commandment and receive the blessings.”

“This new program is within everyone’s grasp,” explains Bishop Burton. “The first step is to begin. The second is to continue. It doesn’t matter how fast we get there so much as that we begin and continue according to our abilities.”

Prophetic Counsel about Home Storage

 

“Many more people could ride out the storm-tossed waves in their economic lives if they had their … supply of food … and were debt-free. Today we find that many have followed this counsel in reverse: they have at least a year’s supply of debt and are food-free.”

President Thomas S. Monson, “That Noble Gift—Love at Home,” Church News, May 12, 2001, 7.

Shelf Life of Long-Term Storage Items

 

Research shows that these common longer-term food storage items, if they are properly packaged and stored at or below room temperature (75 degrees F; 24 degrees C), remain nutritious and edible much longer than previously thought. Even after long-term storage, these foods can help sustain life in an emergency.  

Family Home Storage - a new message