6 Reasons Why I Can’t Be A Doomsday Prepper & 6 Reasons Why I Should Be

6 Reasons Why I Can’t Be A Doomsday Prepper

 

1.  Boys Smell!  I have four sons.  If I have to live in a bunker with them, I will need like 50 years of air freshener!  Plus, I am sure that the most effective “boy smell” cancelling air fresheners must be toxic, so I won’t live long anyway.

 

As much as I love them, boys smell!

 

 

2.  I doubt the apocalypse will occur anytime soon.  As my son says, “Always doubt the apocalypse, no one will laugh at you if you’re wrong.”  Since I’m not sure the world is going to end in my lifetime, can I justify investing that much money and time when I could be going to Disneyland and having fun?

 

3.  If it started raining vampire-werewolf-zombies, I’m not sure I could defend myself.  Seriously, would guns even work?  They’re already dead!  I have a cat, but she’s super timid and only likes to torture bugs, not kill them.  Plus I don’t want to store 5+ years of food for her.  I’m good with a few months, but not 5 years.

 

4.  If the Doomsday Apocalypse actually happened, I wouldn’t have anyone to talk to, because my family always talks about “boy” stuff.  Would I want to be stuck in a smelly boy bunker, hearing my boys lament the loss of their video games for the rest of my life?  (My youngest just said, “We can have generators.”)

 

5.  There’s no where I could easily build a secret, EMP-shielded, underground bunker.  Too many earthquakes, land slides, etc, in my area.  I guess I could build one further out, but then the question remains, how would I get there?  No off-road vehicle in our household.  Hmm…  I guess I could use my basement.  Oh, that’s right!  No basements in southern California.

 

Super Delicious Lemon Bars!  Find the recipe here.

 

6.  Brownies. I love them.  Can you actually make a good brownie in a solar oven or on a camp stove?  Is life worth living without brownies?  Or lemon bars?  Is it possible to have that golden brown crust without a real oven?  And will life be worth living without delicious desserts to mask the horror of life after the “end of the world”?  That is the million dollar question.

 

 

6 Reasons Why I Should Be A Doomsday Prepper

 

1.  I like being prepared.  Or, according to my hilarious youngest son, I’m paranoid.  He says I’m paranoid about lots of stuff.  Becoming a full-fledged “doomsday prepper” would fit right in with the “paranoid” person I apparently already am.

 

2.  I’m big on canning.  A little more couldn’t hurt.  Or a LOT more.  My sons are growing up and are bottomless pits for food.  So, we need more food anyway.

 

18 jars of marmalade in one day!

 

3.  It will be the ultimate “I told you so.”  If a doomsday apocalypse actually happened, some people would live long enough for me to say “I told you so.”  Of course, that would attract undo attention which is a big “no-no” in the prepping world.  Plus, I’m not real big on rubbing it in when someone else was wrong.  So scratch this one.

 

4.  Because I don’t want my cat to needlessly die.  Or my family.  Okay, maybe I should have mentioned my family first, because as much as I like my cat, I like my family more.  (Sorry, Mia!)  If a little prepping on my part can protect them, it’s totally worth it.  Right?

 

Mia, my cat.

 

5.  Bad things can and do happen every day.  While I don’t believe the world is going “end” in my lifetime, there are so many other events I can prepare for: unemployment, an earthquake, a storm, wildfire, etc.  Even if the doomsday apocalypse doesn’t happen, I will be prepared for just about anything.

 

6.  I can learn the skills I need now to make life after the apocalypse enjoyable.  Life is worth living, with or without brownies.  *BUT* if I become a serious prepper, I’m sure I can learn to make a really good brownie BEFORE the apocalypse!  Plus there are all sorts of other skills which can be useful in my life right now: gardening, baking, building things, etc.  I can learn to make brownies like this with non-traditional cooking methods now, so I can cover the boy smell in our bunker!  Plus chocolate makes everything better!

 

Best Brownies Ever!  Maybe I could learn to make these with non-traditional cooking methods and have them after the apocalypse?  Learn how to make them here.

 

Could you be a doomsday prepper?

How about simply becoming more prepared?

 

Laurel Laurie Staten Nguyen Newhall, CA

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I Have A Super Power: Speed Cooking

Who wouldn’t want that super power?  It is a necessary one in my house, because I tend to procrastinate.  Speed cooking helps me prepare delicious, healthy food at bargain basement prices and fast food speed.

 

How do I accomplish this feat, speed cooking, when I am a mere mortal?  My handy, dandy pressure cooker.  I *LOVE* my 8 quart stainless steel non-stick pressure cooker.  It was a bit pricy when I bought it several years ago, but Amazon carries several for very reasonable prices.  (Here’s an affiliate link to an 8-qt stainless cooker and another one for an 8-qt aluminum cooker.) I know I’ve mentioned it before, when I showed you how I used it to make my Cafe Rio inspired beef (see that post here), but the truth is, that post doesn’t show you the full potential of a pressure cooker.  Using a pressure cooker will cut your cooking time to about 5-30% of the time it takes to stew the same dish.  So, instead of cooking beans for 8-12 hours, you cook them for 25 minutes max!

 

Cafe Rio Beef cooked in a pressure cooker, served with cilantro lime rice, Cafe Rio Black Beans, and tomato-corn salsa!

 

My most *FAVORITE* way to use my pressure cooker is cooking beans, especially black beans.  It is super fast!  If I didn’t soak my black (turtle) beans over night, I simply pressure cook them for 20-25 minutes after rinsing the beans.  If I am on the ball and soaked the beans, they’re ready in a mere 4-6 minutes!   And the great thing is, you can use your pressure cooker to make any kind of bean at super speed!  I use this chart for cooking times as they vary depending on the kind of bean you use and whether or not you soaked the beans before cooking.

 

Want to possess this super power yourself?  Take a look at my photo step-by-step, and you, too, can be a pressure cooking super hero!

 

I measured out just over one cup of black (turtle) beans, which is about 1/2 pound of dry beans.

 

I rinsed the beans well and made sure there were no rocks, sticks, or other debris in the beans. While I don’t find things often, I have on occasion found a small rock, which is not something I want to bite into!

 

I put the beans in my pressure cooker and covered them with water. I used almost 5 cups of water, since I had a little over 1 cup of beans. Generally, you use 4 cups of water for each cup of dry beans.

 

I put the lid on my pressure cooker, making sure it was locked in place, and turned the heat on high. Once the cooker was pressurized (see the red “button” popped up on the right), I turned the heat to medium-low to maintain the pressure inside the cooker.
* * * Your pressure cooker may have different instructions or safety features. Please make sure you read and follow the instructions that came with your pressure cooker. * * *

 

After 25 minutes, I turned the heat off and let the cooker depressurize on its own. There is a safety release valve, which I’ve used before, but I wasn’t in a hurry today, so I let it depressurize on its own. Then I removed the lid. Here are the cooked black beans in the cooking liquid.

 

I drained the beans, and now they’re ready to be used in any recipe I desire. Or I can eat them as is. They have no seasoning, so I will need to add a little salt, but they are ready to go!

 

One of my favorite things to do is make a big batch of beans and then freeze the excess in one cup portions, above what I plan to use that day.  Then I can pull them out when I need them and have perfectly cooked beans ready to use in all sorts of recipes!

 

Remember, I started with just over 1 cup of dry beans, and I ended up with just under 4 cups of cooked beans.

 

Here in southern California, it’s about $1 for a 15 ounce can of beans, which contains 2 cups.  I bought my beans in bulk (25 pounds for $15).  One cup of dry beans is about 1/2 pound, so they cost me about 30 cents, and I ended up with the equivalent of 2 cans of beans.  So I saved about $1.70, plus or minus a few cents when you consider the cost of water and gas (for my stove).  Plus, I can control exactly what is in my beans, including the amount of salt.

 

So, there you have it!  You can be a super hero, too, and save money to boot!

Have you ever used a pressure cooker?  If so, what’s your favorite thing to cook in your pressure cooker?

If you haven’t, does this make you want to try one?

 

 

* * * This post contains affiliate links.  For more information about them, please visit my About page. * * *

 

Laurel Laurie Staten Nguyen Newhall, CA

Am I Really Saving Money? Microwave Popcorn

Sorry I slacked off last week.  I was in need of a mini vacation, so I vacationed from my responsibilities, including my blog.  But I’m back!

 

Many moons ago, I remember reading something about all the things that cause cancer.  If I remember correctly, this article contended that everything on the planet, save 7 things, caused cancer.  Is that true?  I don’t know, but I remember one thing on that list broke my heart: microwave popcorn.  Who doesn’t love microwave popcorn?  A self contained snack, hot and ready in less than 3 minutes.  Truth be told, microwave popcorn is good, but it isn’t my favorite.  My most *FAVORITE* popcorn is oil-popped popcorn (which most likely also causes cancer, because everything does, right?). 

 

A little popcorn goes a long way!

 

Now we have a lot more to worry about with GMOs, pesticides, bees dying, etc.  Is there an up-side to popcorn?  If what I read on the Internet is true, not only is popcorn a whole grain, it is not (yet) GMO (see article here).  That’s great if you are a popcorn lover like me, but is it good for anything else?  YES!  If you have a grain mill, you can grind popcorn to make cornmeal and have non-GMO cornbread!  Most of the corn grown in the USA is a GMO, and, if that concerns you, this is a great solution.  At least for the time being…

 

But, back to traditional popcorn.  Today, I’m going to show you two ways to make popcorn and compare the cost of homemade microwave popcorn to store-bought microwave popcorn.  First, here’s my favorite way to pop popcorn: in a pan with oil.  YUM!

 

To begin, I pulled out my popcorn and some Kettle Corn seasoning.

 

I added 3/4 cup of unpopped popcorn to a large stockpot with oil.

 

I put the lid on the pan and turned the heat on medium high. I let the popcorn pop until there was a second or two between pops, then I removed it from the stove.

 

My 3/4 cup of unpopped popcorn became about 24 cups of popped popcorn!

 

I sprinkled on some of my favorite “Kettle Corn” popcorn seasoning for an indulgent treat!

 

Now, microwave popcorn.

 

I measured about 3 tablespoons of unpopped popcorn into a plain, brown lunch bag. If you don’t have a lunch bag, you can put this into a microwaveable bowl and put a plate on top to cover it.

 

There are two ways you can seal the bag. First, you can fold the top over 2-3 times.

 

Or you can fold down once and put one staple at the top to hold the bag shut. No, this will not hurt your microwave. Yes, I’m aware that it’s metal, but it will be okay. I promise. Well, maybe I shouldn’t promise. I was told it was fine, and I’ve been doing it FOREVER (at least 5 years), but I am not an expert and cannot guarantee your experience will be problem free. Consult a microwave expert before proceeding.

 

Turn your microwave on high and pop until there is 1-2 seconds between pops. Then remove from the microwave.

 

DO NOT TRY TO TAKE PICTURES OF THE MICROWAVE WHILE YOU ARE POPPING POPCORN, IGNORING THE ACTUAL POPCORN. You will end up with a stinky mess like this one.

 

Your popcorn should look something like this when you open the bag. You can either fold down the bag and eat it right out of the bag (after adding anything else you want: salt, butter, etc.)…

 

Or, you can pour it into a bowl and serve. Just under 3 tablespoons of unpopped popcorn popped about 6 cups of popcorn.

 

So, are you saving money to pop your own popcorn?  Here’s the cost breakdown:

 

Grocery Store prices (in Southern California on June 9, 2014)

 

Homemade

Popcorn – $1.20/16 ounces, which contains 11 servings (3 tablespoons each), making is just under 11 cents a serving

Lunch Bags – $3.09/100 bags, making it just over 3 cents a bag

Total Price – 14 cents per serving using a bag or 11 cents if using a bowl.

 

Purchased from grocery store

Least expensive microwave popcorn – $5.99/25 servings = just under 25 cents a serving.

You save 9 – 14 cents per serving if you shop at my local grocery store.

 

Warehouse club prices (in Southern California on June 9, 2014)

 

Homemade

Popcorn – $23.98/50 pounds, which equals just under 4 cents a serving

Lunch bags – $3.09/100 bags, making it just over 3 cents a bag (My warehouse club doesn’t sell paper lunch bags, so this is the grocery store price.)

 Total Price – 7 cents per serving using a bag or less than 4 cents if using a bowl

 

Purchased from Warehouse Club

Store-bought Microwave popcorn – $7.28/56 servings (2 servings per bag) = 13 cents a serving.

You save anywhere from 5-9 cents per serving if you shop at my local warehouse club.

 

Is it worth it to you?  I can’t speak for you, but it’s worth it for me.  🙂

 

What’s your favorite way to save money making something at home?

 

 

 

Laurel Laurie Staten Nguyen Newhall, CA