#Slow Cooker freezer meals

[exhaustedcosplayer]

Slow Cooker Freezer Meal Lasagna

[haruharuz]

Dump & Go meals are probably going to be some of the easiest meals for people who struggle with depression, anxiety, or other types of disabilities.

If you're preparing for surgery, giving birth, or just feel exhausted all the time please look into them.

There's a few different types of dump and go meals.

Instant pot : VERY fast and efficient, you typically throw shit in there with MINIMAL work and press a few buttons and wait.

Crock pot: SLOW. Very slow. Your food will take hours to be ready so if you're going to be at home all day, throw it in there in the morning and it'll be done for dinner. For breakfast and lunch you can have easy meals like premade lunchables or sandwiches.

Pan: You throw everything on a big sheet pan and into the oven! Less dishes, simple and easy to do.

Stove: This one requires the most ACTIVE cooking. You'll need to stir/add/etc occasionally to check on it. Unlike the others where you practically add a couple things and walk away.

This also promotes eating at home and EATING in general. I'm no stranger to forgetting to eat for an entire day and then not eating only because I didn't have enough spoons to cook.

"Okay but how do I find them?" Go online, whether tiktok, youtube, or google and look up instant pot recipes, crock pot recipes, dump & go recipes, and freezer meal recipes.

MAKE SURE you thaw these out in the fridge! Every night before bed just pull one out and put it in the fridge :)

Edit: I will also make note! You can often find freezer meals that work WONDERFULLY ! An example is pre seasoning + cutting some chicken, potatoes, and broccoli. Label it CLEARLY with directions !

That means you can freeze a batch of 15+ dinners/lunches AT ONCE and then not have to panic about cooking. If you’re a rice lover like myself you can buy a small rice cooker and turn it on while the other pot goes and that’s IT that’s all it takes for healthy yummy dinner

[direwombat]

tagged by @josephseedismyfather for this fine wip wedesday (tysm~ <3)

working on the damaged (aka, the jakesyb slasher au) becuase this fic holding my brain hostage in a cage. so here's a scene from later in the fic (which is to say, after syb and jacob have made their truce fucked and caught feelings) during their road trip to montana. this is a super rough rough-draft and will be edited. also. uh. trigger warning for lighthearted discussions of cannibalism (but none actually depicted, it's all hypothetical).

Sybille kicks her feet onto the dashboard, the dried mud of her boots flaking and dirtying the control panel. "I got a question for you," she says, after taking a drag and letting her arm hang lazily out the open window.

"Shoot."

"You said you's wanted for man-eatin'."

Jacob hums an affirmative.

"What part of me would you eat first?" He takes his eyes off the road just long enough to give her a [puzzled] look. When his gaze briefly flicks to the cradle of her hips, she grins and adds, "Previous meals nonwithstandin'."

He diverts his gaze back to the road and sighs thoughtfully. "I'd start with the organs. Heart, brain—" he casts her a quick side-glance "—probably not your lungs or liver."

She barks a rasping, smoker's laugh. "Wouldn't blame ya. What about the rest 'f me?"

He pauses for a moment, presses his lips in a firm line, contemplating. "Don't take this the wrong way, honey, but you're not exactly prime cut beef."

"Kinda hard to tell what other way I should take that." She takes another drag and casts him a sidelong smirk. "'Sides, weren't like you was complainin' the other night—or woulda any pussy done?"

"That's not what I—" he groans, mildly frustrated. "Look," he says, and he takes a hand off the wheel to run his knuckles down her ribs, allowing them to knock against the protruding bones and notch into the divots between them. It kind of tickles. "You're like a hare. Skin, bones, and muscle, but not much fat. Tough meat."

"Ooh, careful Mr. Hunter," she coos, the teasing sarcasm coats her voice, saccharine and honey-thick, "neg me harder 'n I might feel insecure enough to give ya a blowie." Self-satisfied pride swells in her chest as she watches the tips of his ears turn pink. "Well, fine — 'f ya had to cook 'n eat my tough meat, how'd ya do it?"

He's quiet for a long, long moment. "Stew," he eventually answers. "Take the meat from your shoulders and thighs. Tenderize ya with a mallet. Sear ya off to lock in your — uh — your juices." He coughs awkwardly and her grin widens. "Toss you in a slow cooker and let you simmer with carrots and onions or something. Bag you up, keep you in the freezer and have you as a hearty meal on a cold winter day."

There's a tenderness in the emotion to his voice. If she didn't know any better, she might've called it affection. It settles warmly in her chest and all of a sudden she feels exposed. With words alone he's cracked open her sternum. He might as well be holding her still-beating heart in his hands, and somehow, the image of him lifting it to his mouth, teeth bared and ready to take a bite, sounds more romantic than it does grizzly.

She scoffs. "Just don't forget to season me. 'F I find out you ate me without addin' any seasonin' I'm gon' haunt your ass."

He chuckles. "Got any requests?"

"You will use Slap Ya Mama cajun seasoning and nothing else."

"Heard."

She brings her cigarette to her lips and sucks in another lungful of smoke. "What 'bout trophies. Anythin' you'd keep?" she asks on the exhale.

"Your eyes," he answers, perhaps a little too quickly.

She snorts. "What, you gon' keep'em in a mason jar in that duffle?"

He shrugs. "Dunno. Don't really take trophies."

"Right, right," she waves the hand holding her cigarette dismissively. "Use the whole animal 'n shit."

"Something like that."

"Why my eyes?"

He's quiet for a long moment. "Nice shade of green."

tag list (opt in/out)

@voidika, @buggknife, @cloudofbutterflies92, @la-grosse-patate, @tommyarashikage

@florbelles, @statichvm, @fourlittleseedlings, @wrathfulrook, @harmonyowl,

@ivymarquis, @carlosoliveiraa, @cassietrn, @confidentandgood, @strafethesesinners,

@trench-rot, @miyabilicious, @simplegenius042, @g0dspeeed, @inafieldofdaisies,

@josephslittledeputy, @aceghosts, @adelaidedrubman, @finding-comfort-in-rain,

@socially-awkward-skeleton, and @strangefable

[copperbadge]

[ID: Two images; one is a slow-cooker pan full of chopped onions gently sweating, and the other is my wax melt warmer, a lantern-looking object with a pool of warm wax in the lid, sitting on a windowsill.]

Okay. Now that I've done with the gross part, let's talk about the positives of today's cleaning!

Part of the reason I wanted to count yesterday's grocery trip was that I did an inventory of the freezer and found I was low on sauteed mushrooms and caramelized onions, both of which I use frequently but are a pain to make when you want to be cooking other things, and both of which freeze really well so you don't necessarily have to.

I got a pound and a half of mushrooms plus three pounds of onions, and this morning I chopped up the onions and put them in the slow-cooker; I'm trying slow-cooker caramelized onions again, simply because I'll still have to babysit them a bit at the end but this way I don't have to spend forty solid minutes standing over the pot. I chopped the mushroom caps and sauteed those in chunks, but I also chopped the stems super-fine and put those in a pan of veggie broth to simmer and soften. (I don't mind the odd stem on a pizza or something but they can be a little tough, so when I prep them myself usually I cook the stems separately and puree them, then use the puree to flavor sauces.)

While the mushrooms were simmering, I got started on the kitchen counters, first wiping down the hutch where I keep my meds and Shabbat supplies. I'd been keeping the new wax melt warmer, meant to help my home smell nicer, on the hutch, but the kitchen is kind of closed-off, so I finally found a spot where it was both safe from the cats and also near an outlet but could spread its scent a little further.

And then I had to tackle the area to the left of the sink, where I do a lot of my meal preparing and also snacking. I mentioned this in the Soap Dish post earlier, and you can even see the edge of the freshly-washed dish over on the right. I moved everything, washed the counter with Grease Lightning and then vinegar before wiping with a damp cloth, then cleaned everything you see in whatever way it needed cleaning and put it all back. (The yellow mug is what I use for weighing liquids while baking, and the two bowls I often use for recipe prep; the rest is mostly snacks, though the "butter" dish is a French Butter Bell, which I link because I know people will have questions. The slatted board is a bread-slicing board that I use for meal preparation sometimes because it's easier for me to clean than the counter.)

[ID: An image of my kitchen counter; it has a paper towel dispenser and a set of bamboo shelves at the back, and resting on the shelves are several boxes of snacks plus a couple of bowls. In front of that is a slatted cutting board, as well as a crock reading BUTTER on it and a bottle of dish soap. Off on the left, mostly off-frame, is the sink; on one corner of the sink's lip is a metal contraption for holding sponges and soap.]

[tightwadspoonies]

I am allergic to all nightshades (tomato, potato, peppers, eggplant) as well as shellfish. I'm also physically disabled, so standing at the stove or counter for long periods of time is painful. My food options are so limited as a result, and I end up relying on frozen foods more than I'd like. Any ideas?

Trail mix: Lots of things can be purchased in pre-sized pieces from bulk stores and mixed in zipper bags. I recommend dried fruit or berries without added sugar, seeds (pumpkin, sunflower, etc..), nuts, and puffed grain or cereal pieces. Making your own mix is usually a healthier and more customizable option than buying pre-made, so you can expand it out to a meal or just eat as a snack.

Meal shakes- Combine a regular smoothie recipe with some heavy cream or nut butter for more calories. These are much easier to clean up after if you use a stick blender and rinse it off immediately.

The following recipes minimize prep, or allow prep to be done at a different time than the meal will be consumed:

Sheet pan meals: Cut pieces of 2 different vegetables (sweet potato, onion, broccoli, green beans, cauliflower, etc...) and a meat (chicken, sausage links, beef, pork, etc...) into 1-inch cubes, toss in oil of choice with spices of choice (I like garlic, onion, salt, and black pepper), lay on a sheet pan, and bake until the meat is cooked through (30-45mins at 350F).

The chopping can be done seated and/or done ahead on a good day (or even purchased pre-cut at some supermarkets) and frozen (lay on a baking tray in the freezer for an hour, then put in a zipper bag) for a quick meal on a bad day. You can cut down on dishes by lining the pan you freeze or cook with in parchment paper.

Instant Pot or slow cooker meals: Put some meat, roughly chopped onions, spices of choice, oil of choice, and broth in a slow cooker or instant pot, set to appropriate settings and wait.

Make rice or other starch ahead of time and freeze in portions. Then all you have to do is microwave it to go with a sheet pan dinner or instant pot dinner.

Non-nightshade sauces can be tricky, but here is a relatively easy one that doesn't require sautee-ing. It does require an instant pot or slow cooker and blender or immersion blender.

[billetwoes]

The Boring Introductory Stuff (and the interesting...) Billet Woes Part 2

Disclaimer: This is my first attempt at fanfic. Constructive criticism is always appreciated, rudeness is not.

Word Count: 5,537

So, you had finally met your assigned guest and...so far, so good! However, he thinks that you are uneasy around him. What are you (or what is he) going to do about it?

Yep, this is the boring introductory part with lots of planning, but there's also a lot of food :D I hope you enjoy!

****************

In the following days, you had prepared yourself and your place for your guest. Your contact information was stored in a secure database at the Outworld Investigation Agency, and always with consent, was given to the Clans/Agencies of future guest. In your case, you were contacted by the wife of the Shirai Ryu’s Grandmaster, Harumi, via encrypted e-mail two days after Lord Liu Kang paid you a visit. You were informed that you will be billeting one of their warriors.

As Lord Liu Kang had mentioned, it is estimated he would be staying for a month. He will be arriving in exactly one week from today and you are instructed to meet him at a specific muster point; the date, time, and address where you will be picking him up were provided in the email.

You asked if there are any allergies to food and cats that you need to be aware of, as you suddenly thought that you had nobody who be willing to look after your kitties for a month. She denied any food and cat allergies. You thanked Harumi for the information.

At work, you had requested for a few Fridays off, two of which were granted for the last two weeks,

including the Mondays for those weeks to boot. This would give you time to catch up on orders and time

for cleaning. It was a good thing that your workplace was unionized so that any vacation days taken were

paid. You used a personal time off day towards the day that you are to pick up your guest.

You are a planner and a perfectionist, even though you hate that term and tend to interpret that as a slight when being called one to your face.

The longer of your two couches can be unfolded and made into a guest bed and you had sets of clean

bedding and a down duvet ready. You also deep cleaned both the guest bathroom and your

bathroom.

You had a pad of paper in front of you and began to list all the food and toiletry items. Once that is done, you began to meal plan for 3-weeks worth of food most with simple enough recipes or one that you can quickly assemble and throw in the slow cooker or oven to do the work for you. The rest of the days you reserve for taking your guest out to good restaurants in your city with a few of your close and trusted friends, if the circumstance permits it. You didn’t know what his shift or days will look like, but you want to have Plans A-Z just to be as flexible as you can.

While you were cleaning the apartment and your Roomba was doing its daily job, the kitties were staring at you with interested and curious eyes while meowing loudly and nearly making you trip a few times. They can sense a change in your behavior and energy while moving and rearranging things and vacuuming their cat trees and dusted the cat shelves that decorated the living room walls. Luckily, you don’t have to move the kitties’ litter box, as you had the large robot kitty litter box that the girls share with no issues, and it is in your bathroom. You made a point to install a cat flap on your bedroom door and were willing to pay to replace the door if you decide to move somewhere else.

You made a Costco run for the first week of your guest’s stay with you during the weekend. Once you got home and organized the snacks and fruits in baskets and set them on the island counter in the middle of your kitchen so that they are easily accessible and put away the meats and vegetables in the fridge and freezer, which you have deep cleaned a couple days prior.

You did all this while juggling your job, pushing out orders from your small business, and looking after the kitties. Once a hard day’s work is done, you went through your nighttime rituals and hit the sack.

All night, you heard the never-ending flapping of plastic as the kitties were going in and out of the cat door and pawing at each other by pushing the plastic door repeatedly. You had wondered whether you made a mistake with that modification while resisting the urge to scream at the cats.

The day arrived when you are to pick up your guest. You are to meet outside an abandoned building in an industrial area at 4 pm. You were glad that you had the day off so that you are relatively relaxed and had lots of time to grab a coffee from Tim Horton’s. When you arrived there, you droved into a parking lot where there was a group of around 20 people with Lord Liu Kang. Also, there were two ladies. The first one wore a black trench coat with her hair in a neat ponytail and comfortable flat leather boots. She also had what looked like a sheathed katana strapped to her back. The second lady wore what looked like a black leather vest with a wide belt with pink and white garments underneath the leather vest. Her boots and fingerless leather gloves also matched the color scheme of her clothing, and her hair had small side braids that were tied up into a high ponytail.

As you parked in a stall, you and a few other billet hosts walked towards the group, some with their children, and once everybody was present, Liu Kang raised his hands to get everybody’s attention. The crowd of people shushed each other, and all turned their eyes towards the Fire God.

“Good afternoon, everybody. Thank you for coming here today,” he began, “Most of all, we are grateful for your dedication to look after our warriors and protectors. You honor all of us.”

He then turned to the first lady in the trench coat and motioned to her, “This is Harumi, the co-leader of the Shirai Ryu.”

She nodded solemnly and addressed the hosts, “We are truly grateful for supporting our warriors. Your roles are of the utmost importance. As you have been informed, there is a suspicious area with a portal appearing and disappearing identified outside of your city that needs to be monitored for threats. We suspect that this portal is from Outworld, but it could be from the Netherrealm or the Chaos Realm. Constable Li Mei from the Sun Doh District of Outworld is working with us to investigate this anomaly.” She gestured towards the second lady.

The second lady stepped forward, “We suspect that one of our generals named Shao is responsible for this, as he is guilty of insurrection against our kingdom. There have been talks and rumors in our realm about a group of rebels under this general to invade your realm. I give you my word that I will not rest until all threats are neutralized.”

There were concerned and slightly panicked murmurs in among the billet hosts. You listened attentively with held breath, which you only let out now. Many people asked questions and raised concerns. Fortunately so far, this was the only one known to date and nothing of concern by way of a serious threat has arose.

Harumi stepped forward to speak, “Your willingness to aid us by opening your doors to our warriors that are strategically close to this area makes it convenient for us to respond to any emergencies. Be assured that you are far enough that you are safe. Should any of you be endangered, our warriors will protect you.”

“On behalf of Outworld, we are in your debt,” Li Mei said gratefully, “Harumi and I will not be joining you, as we have to attend to matters concerning our clan and people.”

The billet hosts, including yourself, nodded in support and expressed heartfelt gratitude for the warriors, and they returned the gesture.

“And now, we will begin assigning your warriors to you,” Liu Kang announced, “Harumi and Li Mei will separate in to two groups. Once your name is called, please step forward.

On queue, the Outworlders, who were dressed in their traditional garb grouped together behind Li Mei and the Shirai Ryu, who were dressed in t-shirts, zip up hoodies, leggings, dark washed jeans and sneakers. One by one, Harumi and Li Mei took turns calling names and people stepped forward to be paired with their guests. Greetings and handshakes were exchanged, and smaller groups began to walk away towards cars as pleasantries and excited chatter from children faded.

“Y/N,” Harumi called.

You stepped forward and walked towards her.

“Tomas,” she called turning to her left.

A tall man carrying a couple of medium sized duffel bags stepped forward. His hair was gray, which surprised you, but you did your best to keep a pleasant expression. Is that his natural hair color? The next thing you noticed was his demeanor. He wore a serious expression on his face and his piercing silver-gray eyes had an intense look. There ere a couple of scars above his left eyes and his eyebrows were shaved, at least you though they were, in such a way that made him look intimidating. The image of a rattlesnake came to mind because its top eyelids were slanted above it eyes that made them look perpetually angry and mean all the time.

“Y/N, this is Tomas,” she gestured towards the man, “also known as Smoke. He is our second in command. I trust that he is in your capable hands.”

‘Smoke’ in reference to his grayness??

“I will do my best,” you replied humbly, nodding then turning to Tomas, “Hello, Tomas.” You shook his hand.

He smiled and shook it back, “Hello Y/N. Thank you for having me.” He sounded friendly(!) which kind of threw you off guard.

“Oh, you’re welcome,” you replied, letting go.

“I will take my leave, Harumi,” He bowed respectfully.

Harumi nodded, “Stay safe, both of you.”

You both walked towards your car.

“Is this your first time in Canada?” You asked starting a conversation.

“No, it isn’t,” he replied, “I’ve been billeted before in Quebec and the Yukon. This is my first time in Alberta.”

“Welcome to Alberta! Have you eaten, by the way?” You asked him, wanting to make sure he’s comfortable.

“No, not yet” he replied.

“Would you like to go grab a bite first? We can discuss the details when we get home,” you offered, “Do you have a preference?”

“Whatever you recommend, I’d love to try the food here,” he replied happily, smiling, “Thank you!”

“Alright, then! I’ll take you to one of my favorite spots,” You started the ignition and set up Google maps and entered the address of one of your local favorites, which is a French-Scandinavian style restaurant. The Elder Gods forbid that you get lost on your way out of this deserted location and spend time driving around in circles. Though friendly enough, the mental image of a happy rattlesnake in Peter Parker’s voice made you laugh internally.

Your dinner was light-hearted enough and you kept conversations casual and asked each other surface-level questions about each other. He touched on his experiences with the Shirai Ryu and his relationship with Harumi and her husband, Grandmaster Scorpion. Turns out, he was his adopted brother.

“Oh,” you exclaimed, “That’s something!” As if your insides weren’t chaotic enough with the knowledge that he was the second-in-command, he was THE ADOPTED BROTHER of the GRANDMASTER of the Shirai Ryu. The pressure! Before your brain had time to process that, your nervous system had decided that you’re screwed.

“What’s wrong,” he asked, looking concerned, “You look scared?”

“Uh,” you laughed nervously, “Well, I guess I’m dealing with precious cargo! Ha ha! Yeah, a little.”

“Don’t be! I’m human, like you,” he reassured, “I don’t bite.”

You nodded, still laughing nervously. Your perfectionist brain, otherwise known as the brain that took over your Asian Parents after you left them, went into hyperdrive. ‘Smile!’ ‘What are you doing?! Fix your face! You are making a bad first impression!’ ‘Say something intelligent or you will make him lose face!’ ‘He’s more important than you, watch your manners!’ For those of you who had Tiger Moms, you know the PTSD that comes from that upbringing. You raised your eyebrow while rubbing your forehead to try and soothe yourself.

“Ok,” you replied, still with an incredulous smile, mentally beating yourself with a wooden stick to get yourself to calm down, “I’m sorry. I-uh, I just got…” You feel embarrassed because you probably made a fool out of yourself.

“Wow, this duck is really good!” He praised, taking another bite of his dish. It felt like he was distracting you from your chaotic thoughts by redirecting your attention towards the food, and you were grateful for it. “I can see why you like this place. What other dishes have you had?”

“Oh,” your thoughts snapped back to the present moment, “I love their cod dish, which is unfortunately a seasonal item. I often come here for brunch, especially during weekends, so I’m more familiar with that menu. I love the Oeuf en Cocotte and their Grav Lax. If time permits, I’d love to take you here again for brunch and to other hot spots!” You had forgotten how nervous you were moments ago because any mention of food and restaurants will get you excitedly talking and making recommendations.

“I’d like that very much!” He took another appreciative bite of his food.

“I’ll stop talking now and let you eat,” you muttered, “I tend to talk a lot when I’m nervous.”

The both of you ate the rest of your meals in silence. Once your empty plates were cleared, your desserts came, which was a salted caramel chocolate cheesecake with candied pecan and toffee crumble on top with crème fraiche vanilla bean ice cream on the side and a couple of macarons. 

You paid for your dinners and drove home in a happy mood. Once both of you entered in your apartment, you introduced him to your kitties, and always the social butterfly, Minou immediately rushed to smell your guest for a couple of minutes before she decided that Tomas was worthy of being marked as a friend. She meowed, purred, and rubbed her body and head against his legs.

“Well, hello there!” Tomas smiled and greeted in a high voice that sounded like how someone would talk to a cute toddler, “You’re so friendly! I’m Tomas, your new friend!” Minou flopped on her back and exposed her belly in response.

Bijoux on the other hand, stood a few feet away staring at Tomas warily. When Tomas finally noticed her and went to introduce himself, Bijou took a couple of steps back and hissed.

“Bijoux,” you scolded in a stern tone, “Be nice!” You went to pick her up, but she bolted and hid in your room. “I’m sorry!”

“Don’t worry, I’m sure a stranger in her space must be uncomfortable for her,” he chuckled, “We have a few stray cats in our compound, so I’m familiar with their behaviour.”

You gave Tomas an orientation of your apartment, starting with the kitchen, showing him the food that he can help himself to and the appliances that he can freely use. Next was the living room, where you explained about the couch that you will unfold to make his bed; then you showed him the guest bathroom where there was a new set of toiletries and shower items, which he can choose not to use if he brought his own stuff; you showed him the closet outside the guest bathroom where he can access clean towels, and the laundry room beside it; finally, you briefly showed him the room that you have set up as a work shop and explained that you will be keeping this shut during times when you will be working on orders. You gestured to your bedroom, which you didn’t show because that is your space.

Finally, you lead him to the counter where you keep your keys on and where your landline is. You pulled open a drawer and pulled out a laminated envelope labeled “Emergency”.

“If you ever need it, there is money in here for emergencies,” you explained, “Do you have any questions?”

Tomas shook his head with an expression of approval, “So far, I have none! You really went out of your way to make sure that I’m looked after! I am impressed…and grateful.”

Humbled, you briefly bowed your head before responding, “Thank you, I appreciate the kind words. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask.”

“I will!” He was smiling. You had decided to sharply nudge your jerk brain to cut out the jerk-talk and your nervous system is still on amber alert. You breathed a sigh of relief, and Peter Parker rattlesnake is behaving like Minou and rolling in rainbow.

“Anyway, I want to discuss our schedules so that I can plan on accommodating you,” you gestured towards the dinner table, “Would you like something to drink?”

“I would like some tea please. I’ll try the triple berry please.” This you made for him, and you made yourself a chamomile tea. You offered cream, milk, sugar, honey, or Stevia, and he refused all of them.

You discussed how the both of you would be coordinating your schedules. As Lord Liu Kang had mentioned, both schedules were close enough, which makes it easier for you to accommodate him. The large group was broken into three smaller group that would be covering the morning, evening and night shifts. It was very important that all the warriors had time to rest, maintain their training, communicate with their superiors, and just as equally important, socialize and maintain relations with their hosts. It is also important for the hosts to be close by just in case they need to take the warriors to the site to do their jobs.

Tomas was assigned to the morning shift. You start work at 8:00 am and the morning shift started at 6:00 am. This means that you would have to get up at 4:00 am to make breakfast then take him to the site, which will take 20 minutes if there is no traffic, as per Google Maps on your laptop. That meant that you have to hit the sack at 8:00 am in order to get a full 8-hour’s worth of sleep. Once you dropped him off at the muster point, another host will take the entire morning group to the site, then you can head home to work on orders before driving to work. He ends his shift at 2:00 pm and you end your shift at 4:30 pm, which meant that he had to wait for you for 2 ½ hours. To complicate things, you didn’t know what the traffic situation was like driving to pick him up at the muster point.

You then asked him if he knew of any of his group mates that were being billeted in your city, and he knew of two. Tomas had proposed to have a Zoom call to see what their situation looked like with their hosts, which was arranged after he contacted them. While one of the hosts was in the same situation as you, the second host, a lovely lady named Lisa who appeared to be in her thirties, fortunately worked from home and can pick up the three warriors and, with consent, can bring them to a friend’s place that has a large space dedicated to workout. There, the three can train there until you and the other host get off work to pick them up at the friend’s place. This was a stroke of luck which lifted a heavy burden off your shoulders. All of you in the call exchanged contact information, got the address of the friend’s place, thank Lisa for the kind accommodation and hung up. One major problem solved.

You wouldn’t have any issues with making dinner once you get home, which lead to the next question of what his food preferences are. You were told by Harumi that he had no allergies, which he confirmed. He said that he had no preferences and would be happy to eat whatever you made. You also wanted to know what his typical meals were like (ie. How much protein, how much vegetables, what time he typically eats, etc.). He gave the basic information and told you not to worry about following the regimen to a tee.

You asked about his lunches and whether you needed to pack food for him, and it sounded like you did as there was no mention of any arrangements for lunch. Noted.

You also took account the time difference between Edmonton, your city, and Japan, which was 15 hours, so you worried about jet lag. Tomas explained the Shirai Ryu’s current situation with the Lin Kuei and how they are always on a state of being on red alert around the clock, and therefore must be ready to respond at any time, even if they must wake up in the ungodly hours of the morning. You made a comment about how exhausting this sounds, which he agreed saying it was an understatement. He reassured you that you didn’t need to worry about his sleep schedule, as he is able to adapt easily.

“So, you guys are pretty much more than first responders,” you said, shaking your head, “dealing with your personal feuds and protecting us at the same time. Thank you for your service! To say that we appreciate you would be an understatement.”

“Kind words, Y/N,” Tomas replied humbly, “And we likewise thank you for your service. We would be in a much more difficult position if it were not for what you do for us.”

The rest of the conversation involved tying up loose ends about your arrangements and during this time, Minou decided to jump on the table make friends with Tomas some more by exchanging head bonks and purrs for scratches and praises.

You offered Tomas more tea, which he accepted. Once this was done, you decided to set up his bed. You unfolded the couch, put on the bedding sheets, two pillows (you made sure to buy memory foam ones, and the down duvet, which had its own duvet covers.

It was an hour before you went to bed so you decided to lay out the ingredients for breakfast on the counter (save the eggs and bacon, because heaven forbid you inconvenience your guest with food poisoning!).

For his lunch, you made something quick, but made sure that it was as nutritious as hell, because, neurotic much? You cut some herbs and vegetables to be roasted with two chicken legs which you seasoned well and with olive oil and chicken rub. You threw that in the 400 F preheated oven for an hour. While that was in the oven, you made some pilaf which you flavoured with minced garlic, mushrooms and chicken stock. Once this was done, you scooped the piping hot rice into one side of a large two compartment container and washed the pot and some utensils. Once the chicken was done, you first scooped the roasted veggies on the other side, then the chicken legs on top of the rice and veggies. You set the lid on top but not fully covered to let steam escape so that it would cool down before you put the whole thing in the fridge. 

Boy do you have A LOT to get used to for the next month! No more being a night owl for the next month or so, and thankfully, you had a week’s practice to sleep earlier, even though you obviously needed more than that.

You noted that Tomas was observing you with a smile. Deep down, you felt scrutinize, but pushed the feeling down, as you were most likely overthinking things.

“You are taking this far too seriously, Y/N,” he chuckled, “I can see that you enjoy cooking. I am excited to try your food, it smells great!”

Maybe it’s how you’re perceiving things. On first impression, he seemed polite and friendly; in fact you felt that he was too polite that it was making you uneasy. You were a suspicious person by nature, especially when it comes due to having been surrounded by polite people in the past that showed their true colors down the road. You didn't think that he was like this, as you have just met him and so far there were no issues, so you concluded that you were overthinking things to prevent yourself from seeing him through that lens.

You shrugged it off and replied in a nonchalant tone, “I haven’t billeted one of you guys in a while, so I need to be on my A-game. I’ve been accused of being neurotic at times, but I feel it’s justified.”

“I like your attention to details and how focused you are. I’m a little concerned, as you seem…how do I say this, uneasy,” he explained, piercing eyes staring at you.

“What do you mean?” You asked, trying to hide the fact that you are due to fighting your own internal thoughts. You made yourself continue to clean to avoid his eyes, “I’m ok.”

There was an uncomfortable pause and when you raised your head, he kept his eyes on you still.

“WILL YOU STOP STARING AT ME???” You mentally screamed at him, “YOU’RE MAKING ME UNCOMFORTABLE!!”

“What?” You asked, still scrubbing the glass dish under the running water. Being stared at and scrutinized irritates you in general, and you can feel yourself starting to head there.

“I see…,” he said gingerly, followed by another silent pause, “Anyways, who was the last person you billeted?”

Saved.

“Ashrah. She’s a doll!”

“A “doll”?”

“It’s one way of saying she’s amazing with a great personality, like, she’s a peach or she’s a gem.”

Tomas nodded, “Ah, yes, she is amazing.”

You washed the rest of your dishes and cleaned up the kitchen. Once the dish with the chicken has cooled down enough, you secured the lid and placed it the fridge after asking if that amount was enough for lunch.

“Goodness, that’s plenty!” He exclaimed, eyes brightening appreciatively.

“Good.” If you had guests, you have the quirk of cooking way more food to make sure that nobody starves to death.

After cleaning the kitchen, both of you decided to call it a night. Minou did not curl up between your legs that night like she usually does, and Bijoux was still hiding under your bed with her ears flat against her head when you tried to coax her out.

******************

The next week was the week of settling into your routine. You found that getting up at 4:00 pm after being disciplined enough to sleep at 8:00 pm was no problem at all, mainly because your psyche won’t allow you to jeopardize Tomas’ mission. Negative reinforcement has usually worked when something important is involved.

The both of you went about as planned, having the first breakfast of his stay. You’ve made scrambled eggs, bacon, and banana blueberry pancakes with oats, the latter which in your opinion was ok as you normally don’t eat breakfast, let alone make it. You went overboard with the assortment of fruits, nuts, granola bars and Greek yogourt. Plus, there was an assortment of juices, milk, almond milk, oat milk, and your lactose-free milk.

You had to warn Tomas about keeping the bagels in the bread box as Bijoux, the grumpy calico, was obsessed with bagels. The two cats were kept in your workshop while you had breakfast, to their disappointment, and their miserable meows serenaded your ears, which you apologized for, assuring Tomas that you weren’t an abusive cat mom.

You cleared the table once done, reheated his lunch and packed it in an insulated lunch bag. The cats were let out once their wet food and automatic dry food feeder has been filled and had full water dishes. You drove him to the muster point.

You went about your workday and once done, you picked up Tomas from Lisa’s friends place once work was done and went home for dinner. Rinse, repeat.

The week went by smoothly with no problems (thank the gods!) and there were no complaints coming from him. Again, he remained polite and respectful.

While the weekends were more relaxing for you, as you had no work, the warriors worked 7 days a week. You hoped that they got compensated well for that, and that is also part of the reason why you always go above and beyond when you billet them.

On Sunday evening, you passed an area of the living room where Tomas was having a private phone conversation with someone; he had his back towards you.

“It has been uneventful so far, Kuai Liang. No threats yet.”

As you didn’t want to eavesdrop, you went about preparing dinner after locking the kitties in your workshop. Again, the miserable meows filled the air.

When the pot of vegetables that you had cooked in a pot filled with vegetable broth and coconut cream started to boil, you pureed the mix with your immersion blender until the pot magically turned a beautiful vibrant orange. You added more salt, sugar, cracked pepper and spices to taste until you had achieved a desired balance.  

You then proceeded to make a simple apple salad with a sweet and tart citrus vinaigrette that paired well with a large pork roast that you had in the oven, and then toasted slices of sour dough with the roasted garlic and herb compound butter that you made a few days ago. There was also gravy ready made on the stove. Since it was the fall, you wanted to make something season appropriate.

Once that was done, you set the table and started to bring out the food. While you were doing so, you overheard this:

“There have been no problems with my host so far. I have been properly spoiled with home made meals…………Well, she is nice enough, but she’s too serious. Cagey. I’ve been observing her and my first impression is that she seems uneasy around me, like she’s scared of me!” This was followed by loud laughter by the person on the other line.

You stopped moving and were taken aback.

“………Actually, in fairness to her, I do remember her reaction when I mentioned being……(more laughter on the receiving end)…....no, it’s not funny!.........What?? Since when am I intimidating??.....(……….”yeah, man!”).....I  also look too serious? It’s never my intent to…………..Cut it out! I do NOT look like a Russian villain!”

You kept moving and managed to finish setting the table and let slipped a silent stifled giggle. You couldn’t help but wanted to eavesdrop, even though you know you shouldn’t.

“I don’t know how to get her to be more comfortable around me,” Tomas hissed quietly, “…………Oh, really?..............That’s the thing, I’m not, though!” He let out an exasperated sigh, “You know what? I’m hanging up now!”

You decided to hang out in the kitchen and pretended to finish up.

There was a delightful exclamation of “Oooh! This looks amazing!” from where the dining table is.

“What would you like to drink?” You asked from behind the counter, opening the glass.

“Lemonade, please.”

You filled a tall glass with his juice of choice and you settled for a hot apple cider and took the glassed to the table.

“By the way, you don’t have to lock the cats in. I am fine with them roaming around,” he said reassuringly.

“I didn’t want them jumping on the counter while I’m making food, nor do I want them on the table while we’re eating, because, you know? Litter paws. Germs.”

“Fair enough. I feel bad for them, though.”

You began carving the pork roast while Tomas bowed his head and said, “Itadakimasu!”, and then helped himself to the salad and toast. All the while, you gave no indication that you overheard the conversation he was having with Kuai Liang, but in the back of your mind, you were dying to know what they were saying about you.

[jeanjauthor]

Writing, OCD, and "What If?"

I have OCD. It went undiagnosed for most of my life, but then things like that were only spoken of in very hushed tones in the early decades of my life.

I thought things like "counting steps in fours!" was because I had been immersed in music all my life, so it was only natural that the most common time measure, 4/4, was a part of my life.

And I thought things like "developing a system to remind myself that something on the stove or oven is ON--the stove light--OR something in that area needs to be handled in a few hours when it's cooled off--covered dishes, jarred foods for fridge & freezer, etc--and it can ONLY be turned off when everything on or around the stove is off AND taken care of!" was just sensible. (It's also an ADHD management tool, because unless I remember to set a timer, I can forget...but I've trained my family to Look Around The Kitchen To See What Needs Doing If The Stove Light Is Still On, too...so it works!)

Anyway, I just saw a commercial--skipped over it after a few seconds--that talked about OCD thoughts also including "What If? scenarios.

My first reaction was a sort of mental snort-laugh, and I thought to myself, "I do that all the time as a writer! I use What If to create stories!"

They were talking about, "What if someone in my family gets hurt because I'm not happy all the time?" and other, far more intrusive thoughts which I won't get into here. And I realized...yes, I have those thoughts, too. Apparently OCD includes Intrusive Thoughts in its category umbrella. (I learned something today!)

But then I re-thought about it, and realized...I use What If like a UNO Reverse Card, and I also use my OCD like a UNO Reverse Card, by turning a potential negative into a positive. In the kitchen, I have set up a series of decade-long habits: Stove Light Is On, Check What's Going On. There's food in the slow cooker, there's foil over a cooling casserole, there's jarred meaty spaghetti sauce to be checked to see if it's finally cool enough to freeze, or even just stick in the fridge. (I always cover my food while it's still very hot to reduce chances for spoilage.) (Also the meat sauce we made just a couple days ago was soooo gooood, I kept wanting to snatch a bowlful and just eat it as-is, lol. Managed to put away 5 quart jars, so yay, that's five meals' worth of magnificence!)

In writing, that "What If?" has been turned away at least some of the time from bad or at least disruptive/disturbing intrusive thoughts...into a powerful tool for positive things.

I use What If all the time when thinking of story ideas, scene ideas, characterization ideas...and then--and here's the important part--I use that What If scenario (which sometimes can be A Bad Thing), and I figure out how to make it right again.

Here's a somewhat upsetting scenario of an intrusive thought, "What if I drove off this bridge?" WHOA, TOTALLY NOT WHAT I WANT TO THINK!! (which is why it's called an intrusive thought, it's an intruder that is unwanted...so I remind myself that this is not me, just my brain crossing wires and sparking utter BS.)

To grab control of my mental steering wheel, I FIRMLY think instead, "What if my character from (story) saw someone on the edge of a bridge? How would THEY handle that situation?"

There was a guy down in Australia (Donald Taylor Ritchie, may he rest in peace) who saved hundreds of would-be jumpers' lives over the decades by just talking with them, and inviting them to sit and have a cup of tea while he listened and commiserated, giving compassion & comfort & sympathy at his home near a certain bridge.

Or I might have a thought, "What if the building catches on fire???"

I think instead, "How would my hero save the day if a fire DID break out, either here or in their current location?"

I'm not trying to make me the hero...because that's hella exhausting some days and my brain fights me on that, those days. I'm trying to retrain my brain to use the Intrusive Thought in creative and constructive ways that don't force me to actually act. It's telling my OCD to Sit Down, You're Not On Stage Here, It's Another Character's Turn On Stage.

...This has had the subtle but powerful effect of training my mind to disengage my body, especially when it's one of those, "Dump in ALL the Turmeric!!" moments...which is an uncomfortable thought as it's a large jar and there's still a lot in there, and it's a natural dye that will stain EVERYTHING it touches. But I digress.

If you have OCD and Intrusive Thoughts...first, my deepest sympathies, I really do understand. Second, you can learn to Uno-Reverse the negative sides of such things. Good kitchen safety habits are one. What Would My Character Do is another.

Third, if you think of it as a training-for-an-emergency scenario, you're actually far more likely to be able to act in a genuine emergency...because this is OCD's secret super power.

But if you're afraid that thinking about it from your perspective will have you actually doing it (when it's not needed)...then think about your characters doing it.

And if you're not a writer? Think of it as a character in a roleplaying game, tabletop or video game. Heck, think of it as the characters from Stardew Valley, or Minecraft, or No Man's Sky! Remove it from you, personally, to Someone Else's Experience Entirely.

It takes practice, and it's a subtle effect...but it's a powerful tool in the end.

[wordnerdworld]

Day 7 NaClYoHo

I accomplished today's goal of cooking a meal in my slow-cooker!

My goal was to use up some ingredients I already had on hand and to give myself some tasty food to eat the rest of this week. In that sense it worked! It's not my favorite version of beef stew and sadly the potatoes I was going to serve it with were no good (very green and very sprouted). But I improvised and still have tasty food to show for it!

Only...not literally show because I forgot to take a picture :_(

I would be the worst food blogger ever, lol. I almost always forget to take the picture.

Tomorrow is probably going to be a Very Busy and Very Tiring day at work (that's likely to be the theme all week), so I'm going to keep my next goals small:

Call to make appointment

Write my Christmas list

There are some other kitchen-related tasks I'd like to complete--cleaning out my spice cabinet, cleaning out my pantry, donating any eligible items, using up stuff in my freezer, cleaning out baking items. We'll see if those make the goals list this month or not.

[motherhenna]

For easy, cheap meals my go-tos are usually:

- Breakfast burritos (you can keep tortillas in the freezer/fridge, salsa, sour cream, cheese, eggs however you like, if you have extra lunch meat or leftover meat it can be thrown in)

- Tuna rice bowls (canned tuna with a little mayo, rice, I usually keep frozen edamame in the freezer, if you have furikake or seaweed snacks those are nice to top with, sriracha)

- Basically lunchables (crackers of choice, cheese, lunch meat if I have it, any fruit I have on hand but honestly grapes and apples are my favorite with the cheese)

- In college I used to keep a jar of pesto on hand and whenever I made pasta would just finish it in a pan with pesto, cheese, and milk to make a creamy pesto sauce

Whenever I do have like a really good weekend day or burst of energy, I try to make something that I know will last me a few days or will freeze well (like jambalaya, an easy soup from scratch, etc). I’m not the biggest fan of slow cooker recipes but honestly they’re often low effort and I will make some every now and then to save energy!

Thanks a lot, anon! I'll keep all of those in mind--I actually just bought some tortillas earlier today for chicken quesadillas so burritos are certainly another option!

[anyoldfandom]

Dropping this channel bc I just saw a post and realized I never shared it but legitimately this is a really good channel if you need to prep meals and cook for yourself and you just never have the time/money/energy for it. Very nonjudgemental, showing a lot of tasty looking easy recipes, and going over viral food trends and talking about the pros and cons. She also gives a lot of good advice for cooking for youeself - one that has stuck with me is the idea of prepping everything you need for a meal to pop in the oven or slow cooker when you do have some free time and energy and then stick it in the freezer, so on bad days you have what's often the longest and most painful part of cooking done already and can just pop it in the oven (as someone with ADHD who grew up in a household where me and my mom often wouldn't be home until 8 PM on school nights, it's a very pleasing idea).

She also talks about how to add to meals that include things you like rather than replacing the "unhealthy" foods, to put more nutrition on your plate in yummy ways rather than deprive yourself of foods you enjoy. So give her a shot!

[progressdisability]

Assist Personal Activities to Promote Health and Well-Being

Assist personal activities are essential services in ensuring individuals continue to live comfortably and confidently in their own homes. Tailored support promotes independence, skill development and a sense of achievement in daily tasks like bathing and grooming.

These tasks, commonly called ADLs (Activities of Daily Living), are the fundamental self-care skills completed from morning to night.

Personal Hygiene

Maintaining personal hygiene is an important component of general health and well-being. It includes bathing or showering, washing and drying hands frequently (especially after using the toilet), shaving or trimming fingernails, caring for the mouth and teeth, grooming, covering coughs or sneezes, and menstrual hygiene.

People who do not practice good hygiene can become ill due to the build-up of sweat, body odors, dead skin cells, chemicals that are produced as a result of certain activities and medications, and even bacteria that can cause infections. Proper hygiene also helps others feel comfortable around you. Your assistance with personal hygiene tasks could include reminders to bathe or wash hair, assisting with grooming, and ensuring that toiletry bags are stocked.

Meal Preparation

Meal preparation is when you prepare whole meals or recipes in advance, often in bulk. You may do prepwork, like pre-chopping vegetables so they are ready to be cooked or eaten raw later; putting together slow cooker meals in gallon freezer bags with meat, veggies and seasonings that can be easily tipped into the cooker on demand; or cooking large pots of soup to be frozen.

Assisting with meal preparation can help keep the care recipient engaged and involved in their cooking, helping to make it more enjoyable. You can encourage them to choose recipes they enjoy and try new ones and even take them grocery shopping, which can foster independence and give them a sense of purpose. It can also allow them to develop and perfect their cooking skills, making it quicker and easier for them to cook meals for themselves.

Medication Management

Managing medication can be difficult for patients who struggle with dexterity, memory and mobility issues. Helping them create a medication schedule, reminders or adherence aids can be useful to assist them with their health needs. It’s also important to ensure they remove expired medications and are following any directions for avoiding harmful drug interactions. This might include ensuring that they are not mixing medications with alcohol or other drugs. This can be done by discussing the medications with their health care team or logging them into their electronic medical records. They should also discuss dietary and herbal supplements with their health care team to be sure they are not conflicting with any prescribed medications.

A simple process to support completing medication management is a list that can be used by practice staff who are engaged in this activity with the patient and/or family members during preparation for the day.

Mobility and Transfers

A major aspect of home healthcare involves providing patients with mobility assistance. Whether it’s moving them from bed to wheelchair, chair or even repositioning to prevent bedsores, effective transfers increase a patient’s sense of independence and help promote overall physical well-being.

Improving a patient’s ability to move also reduces the risk of complications associated with prolonged inactivity, such as muscle stiffness, blood clots and weakness. It also helps prevent pressure ulcers by distributing weight evenly over different surfaces of the body.

Proper transfer techniques minimize the risk of injuries to both patients and caregivers. This also enables individuals to remain independent for longer periods, increasing their confidence and boosting their sense of self-reliance and dignity.

[sakurarebin]

H’s Helpful Hints Blog #2: Preserving Foods

As I said in my last blog, this blog is all about preserving foods. There are a few types of preservation and I want to delve into the pros and cons of each. The three main types of preservation are dehydration, canning, and freeze drying. There are benefits and drawbacks to all of these. 

Let’s start with dehydration. Dehydration is a rather useful way of preserving various foodstuffs from veggies and fruits to herbs to meats and even complete meals. This is done by taking all the water and moisture out of the foods. Bacteria needs that moisture to multiply, so by removing it, it creates shelf stable foods. Many people doing backpacking will dehydrate full meals that can be used months after creation to eat along long trips cross country. Dehydrating individual components of a meal can be potentially very simple. Dehydrators generally cost somewhere between $30-$100 for the unit and don’t require a lot of power to operate it, making it fairly cost effective. If your own can reach low temperatures, ovens can even be used in place of a dehydrator. Also, once a dehydrator is started, you can leave it be while it does its magic for the allotted time (I generally will do it overnight).

The downside to dehydration is that once a food is dehydrated, it won’t come out the exact same even after reconstitution. While celery is great in dishes like soups, stews, and casseroles, no celery stick will be made with dehydrated celery. Using dehydrated foods also takes a bit more time than using fresh since they have to spend time soaking (As a tip, hot water does speed up this process). This makes it ideal for slow cooked meals, but a little rougher for getting home late and no time for prep. Lastly, not all foodstuff can be dehydrated. Ingredients with a lot of oils and fats either are harder to dehydrate or simply cannot be. Avocados are a great example of a fruit that can’t be dehydrated. The oils and fats can go rancid, making it unreliable for long term use. In the case of meats, which I will go into during my next post, some freezer space is necessary for long term storage (more than a couple months). However, the amount of space taken in the freezer is diminished. Lastly, places with high humidity face challenges with taking all of the moisture out of the food. It may not be impossible, but will require more time. 

Next let’s move to canning. Canning is a method of preservation passed down through the generations. It mostly requires a large pot, canning clamp lifters, the cans, lids, rings, and lots of water with a way to heat said water. Out of all of the forms of preserving that I’m going into, this has the lowest cost to entry. Also, almost all canned goods can be used as is rather than needing to be added to other ingredients like dehydration requires. Honey (fruits) and vinegar (pickling vegetables) are great for canning goods, as well as the pectin, Clear Jel, and Sure Jell. In order to can meat, you will also need a pressure cooker, which some homesteaders will use for all canning since it speeds up the process. Applesauce, spaghetti sauce, sliced peaches and pears are all examples of great things to can for future use. 

Now, to the downsides of canning. Canning takes up a lot of space and takes quite a bit of time to actually do, especially in large quantities. Canning jars, even the small ones, take up more space than the typical cans in a store. Plus they are fragile and do better stored in dark, cool spaces which limits where they can be stored. Plus, in large quantities, there is a higher cost for the starting materials, since more jars, rings, and lids are needed. In order for the food to be safe for long term storage, the jars must be thoroughly cleaned and sanitized. Then after all the food is prepped, each batch of jars needs to be sealed, which takes more time. Pressure cookers can help speed up that process, but that is also an additional cost. People who have small living spaces or very limited time are more likely to struggle with canning. 

The last type of preservation that I want to discuss briefly is freeze drying. Freeze drying is an extremely useful type of preservation. Meat and certain fruits have much better texture and it is easier to reconstitute packaged meals. However, the machines start around $1,000, which puts it outside of my (and I’m sure a lot of other people’s) affordability. I don’t have a lot of information about these processes, however, some people may be interested in it, so I figured I would still mention it here. Buying freeze dried ingredients at the store is completely within the realm of stocking up on stuff, whether that is meals or individual ingredients. I regularly see freeze dried strawberries at the dollar store, making them a great thing to stock up on now and again. 

Before I wrap up this blog, I want to talk about one final thing in regards to preservation and that is storage. There are many different types of storage out there. We tend to reuse containers, like glass jars of jelly, instant coffee containers, yogurt tubs, spice jars, or mason jars for dehydration. Most dehydrated veggies and fruit that are properly dried will last between 6 months and a year in a sealed container. There are three main ways of extending the life of dehydrated food. The first is vacuum sealing. Vacuum sealing requires a machine and the bags in order to operate, which will put it out of budget for a number of people. Additionally, despite its name, vacuum sealing isn’t completely air tight and can eventually let air in over long time storage in open air. There are certain circumstances where vacuum sealers are best, but they aren’t always the best go-to. Mylar bags are an alternative to vacuum sealing (paired with the next method I’m about to go into). These are the bags used for most camping or space food packaging and are likely to help keep food safe for a very long time. However, they are not inexpensive. In my personal opinion, the best way to store dehydrated goods is in a sealed, airtight container with oxygen absorber packs. Oxygen absorber packets can be bought for $9 per 100, making them cost effective and boost shelf life from a year to potentially 15 years by themselves. There are only a handful of things they can’t be used for (which I will be going over in my next couple of posts), but I can count those things on one hand, so the benefit and usefulness outweighs the downsides. 

I highly recommend a mixture of various types of preservation methods rather than just sticking to one type. And even more than that, I want to again emphasize the importance of community. It can be hard for one person to take care of the responsibilities of their day-to-day life, plus preservation. I aim to make things as simple as possible, but even then, working together with a community helps take the strain off of everyone. One person might have the time and space to garden or do extra shopping, someone else may be able to dehydrate, and another do canning. When we work together, we can accomplish so much more. In older times, music and stories were often sung and told while people worked together. Keeping each other in good company with various types of art can not only help ease the anxiety of security, but can also boost the spirit. Let’s work together! 

[fairykukla]

With my various dietary restrictions and energy depletion issues (thanks, Covid!) I have had to adjust recipes to suit my needs.

Today I was thinking that I could post my experiences and maybe one of my meals could inspire others!

Creamy Seafood Hotpot:

Ok, so I can't eat MSG loaded soup base, and thanks to Covid I can't eat onion or garlic (or have it in my house at all.)

But I had frozen shrimp and scallops in the freezer, so I decided to be brave. This was delightfully easy. Here's my version:

Get a big pot with a lid.

Add the following:

2 cups milk

1 pkg frozen shrimp (ideally, fully peeled pre cooked)

1 pkg frozen scallops

1 pkg frozen veggie mix (I like Aldi's peas, carrots, green beans mix.)

1 cup short grain rice (I used sushi rice.) original recipe called for orzo pasta. You do you.

1/4 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

4 tablespoons butter

Salt, pepper, and Herbs De Province.

(an Italian herb blend will likely work well, too.)

Bring to a boil on high heat, then reduce to a simmer and cover.

Simmer for about 15 minutes without peeking.

Stir well and serve with toast or bread.

The original recipe called for things I can't eat, so I substituted my own. However it does not suffer from a lack of onion or mushroom.

I intend to try it with canned veggies just to see what it's like. My favorite canned veg mix has potatoes as well, and I'll bet they'd be great in this as well.

It's very hearty with a stew-like consistency. Highly recommend!

It might also cook well in a rice cooker, pressure pot, or slow cooker, for those who have appliances but no stove top.

[lianruru]

Slow cooker orange chicken drumsticks that are sweet and sour and cook perfectly with little work. This recipe makes meals that can be frozen, which makes it great for busy weeknights or meal planning.

Ingredients: 8 chicken drumsticks. 1 cup orange marmalade. 1/4 cup soy sauce. 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce. 2 cloves garlic, minced. 1 tablespoon grated ginger. 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes. 2 tablespoons cornstarch. 2 tablespoons water. Sesame seeds and sliced green onions for garnish.

Instructions: Soy sauce, hoisin sauce, garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes should all be mixed together in a bowl. The chicken drumsticks should be put in the slow cooker. Mix the sauces together and pour them over the chicken, making sure that every piece is covered. When the chicken is done, cover it and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or high for 3 to 4 hours. Add water and cornstarch to a small bowl. Stir until the mixture is smooth. During the last 30 minutes of cooking, stir the mixture into the slow cooker to make the sauce thicker. The chicken is done and the sauce has thickened. Serve it hot with green onions and sesame seeds on top. To make meals ahead of time to freeze, put everything in a freezer-safe bag except the cornstarch, water, sesame seeds, and green onions. Mark and freeze. Let the food thaw in the fridge overnight before cooking as directed.

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 240 minutes

Aden C

[pamelarussmann]

This slow cooker recipe is perfect for preparing chicken in bulk and freezing for later use. It's a convenient and delicious way to have ready-made meals on hand whenever you need them.

Ingredients: 4 chicken breasts. 1 onion, diced. 2 cloves garlic, minced. 1 cup chicken broth. 1 cup frozen mixed vegetables. 1 teaspoon dried thyme. 1 teaspoon dried rosemary. Salt and pepper to taste.

Instructions: Place chicken breasts at the bottom of the slow cooker. Add diced onion, minced garlic, chicken broth, frozen mixed vegetables, dried thyme, dried rosemary, salt, and pepper. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours, until chicken is cooked through and vegetables are tender. Once cooked, let it cool completely. Divide into freezer-safe containers or bags. Label the containers with the date and contents. Store in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 360 minutes

Gail