Are you ready for disaster?

We don't really think about it until its in our back yard. Hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, massive flooding...would you be ready if one of these were to strike your town? I personally freak out over natural disasters. I think its a control thing. I can't control where its going to strike, how bad it will be or what the aftermath will be like. I'm not a control freak, but man does that really push my limits. In fact when that movie came out about the end of the world because of the polar ice shift, i couldn't bring myself to watch it. Understand this, I do NOT get scared by horror flicks. In fact, I usually laugh through them. But you bring on a natural disaster movie and I'm a HUGE OL' Baby! But back to my point...

I have started to think, since we moved back to Houston that it might be a good idea to compile some recipes that don't require cooking. And, to rebuid my stock pile of non-parishables. Last time we lived here, we lived through Ike and were one of the few families with more than enough food and water to last the 2 weeks without power. But if it were to strike again today, i don't know that we would be. We are very much out of practice. So in respect for our eastern friends living this tragedy personally, I'm enlightening all of you while having a great place to reference this for future use.

Taken straight from Disaster Meal Recipes; Meals from a Can by Linda Larsen. Some of these actually sound pretty yummy!

Photo with common license by dj denim

Disaster Meal Recipes

• Bean and Tuna Salad
  This salad is delicious, even when it's not an emergency! It's also colorful and very good for you too.
• Peanut Butter Granola Wrap Sandwiches
  These crunchy and creamy wrap sandwiches are super easy to make and delicious.
• Updated Peanut Butter Sandwiches
  Carrots, sunflower seeds, and currants add crunch, texture, and nutrition to a simple peanut butter sandwich.
• Butter Bean Salad
  You could use any canned bean in this excellent recipe; black beans or red beans would be delicious. And add any canned meat for hungry appetites.
• Tuna Pizza
  Mashed white beans, combined with some seasonings, make an excellent pizza sauce for this flavorful pizza. Boboli crusts are another great ingredient that stores well at room temperature.
• Coconut Fruit Salad
  Any canned fruit is delicious in this super simple salad. Serve it in ice cream cones for a treat to raise spirits.
• Kris' Famous Sweet Potato Salad
  I love this salad; it's suave and savory. You can also use it as a sandwich spread or dip. Buy small jars of salad dressing or mayonnaise for your emergency pantry for this and other salad recipes.
• Salmon and Potato Salad
  Use pouches of salmon instead of cans if you'd like; the fish in that packaging does not have skin or bones. Serve this salad in pita breads for an easy lunch.
• Couscous Chicken Salad
  You do need boiling water for this salad, unless you can find a brand of couscous that rehydrates in cold water.
• Pantry Gazpacho
  This flavorful gazpacho is very satisfying. It can be heated if you'd like, and served hot.
• Texas Caviar
  Cut this recipe in half so you'll be able to eat it in one sitting. Serve as a sandwich filling, or as a dip with chips an d crackers.

Photo with common license by lynn.gardner

Even the best laid plans don't always work out...

The Pilot and I decided we were going to try to get ahead of the game this week with meal planning, snack prep, laundry set out and dishes put away. Who doesn't want to start the first week of school ahead of the game, right? Today is Wednesday and so far this week, we had a great day 1, semi ok day 2 and were slow to roll this morning for day 3. The recap...

Night before Day 1:

The Pilot kept me company while I folded laundry and made the meal plan for the week. Every day was covered; breakfast, lunch and dinner. We even planned a few "special" meals just to make the week a little more exciting and rewarding. 

• Day 1: B- Pineapple Muffins, L- Pancackes & bacon, D- Hamburger Helper
• Day 2: B- Pineapple Muffins, L- Sandwhiches, D- Chicken and Rice Soup
• Day 3: B- Pineapple Muffins, L- Mac & Cheese, D- Dinner @ Church
• Day 4: B- Pineapple Muffins, L- Ramen Noodles ala Pilot, D- BBQ Chicken & Potatoes
• Day 5: B- Pineapple Muffins, L- Hot Dogs & Chips, D- Spaghetti & Meatballs

Sounds yummy and simply, doesn't it. I even pre-made all the muffins so breakfast was easy. I'll post the recipe at the end of the post. We even went shopping for any ingredients we were missing. Okay, so onto Day 1.

Day 1:

Breakfast - Check. 

Every one got up early, showered and got dressed. We were out the door in record time for the first day with camera in hand. Case started 2nd grade. Cole started 1st and sweet little Jake started Pre-K. This was a first for him. But I was determined not to lose it. I snapped away and despite our apprehension, he did so well. He went right into class and had a rockin' day! Here's a quick picture of my sweet little man. (To the left below)

Baby Josh on the other hand didn't NOT enjoy the morning quite as much. He wanted to ride on the bus and wanted to go to school with is brothers. In three years he will be oh so lucky, but this morning he had to settle for silver dollar pancakes with mommy & daddy. It seems silver dollar pancakes can fix anything.

Lunch - Check.

After school was equally as wonderful. They kids enjoyed their first day. No one peed on the playground, remember Case's first week at Kindergarten. And they had lots to tell over Rice Krispy treats and milk.

Dinner - Not quite as great. Totally flaked. The stove was covered in grease from lunch and we decided left-overs was a better idea. Sigh. 

Day 2:

Breakfast - Check

Clothes were not laid out but we still managed. Drop off was easy and I was off to work. I can't tell you much more about yesterday except Lunch didn't happen as planned and we opted for Frozen Pizza for dinner. There was an unplanned trip to the eye doctor to replace some broken glasses and dinner just couldn't come quick enough. Sigh. On to day 3.

And here we are day 3:

Breakfast - Check

Clothes weren't laid out. We slept far too late but still managed to get kids to class on time and hot coffee in hand. Lunch is still in the works and dinner is at church. Maybe the rest of the week will fall into place as planned.

Where did we go wrong? Can we get back in the game at this point?

Pineapple MuffinsYield: 14 muffins

Ingredients:
For the muffins:
2 (6 oz.) cartons Rachel’s Exotic Mango-Pineapple-Passion Fruit yogurt (or other pineapple yogurt)
1 egg
1/2 cup canola oil
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 (8 oz.) can crushed pineapple (or 1 cup fresh pineapple chunks)
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda

For the glaze:
1 (6 oz.) carton Rachel’s Exotic Mango-Pineapple-Passion Fruit yogurt (or other pineapple yogurt)
2/3 cup brown sugar

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.  Butter/grease muffin pans (or line with paper liners).

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine 2 cartons of yogurt and egg.  Mix until combined.  Add the oil, brown sugar and pineapple to the bowl and mix until combined.  In a separate medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and baking soda.  Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low speed until just incorporated.

Fill the prepared muffin cups with batter and bake for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Transfer to a wire cooling rack and allow to cool completely.

To prepare the glaze, mix the remaining container of yogurt with the brown sugar until smooth.  Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator and drizzle over the top of the muffins just before serving.

Source: from Annie's Eats adapted from The Pioneer Woman