oven gloves for solar oven

While testing "canning" bread from the solar oven, I discovered it was tricky to do with regular hot pan holders.  Trying to get the reusable canning lid on, & then the ring, & holding the jars.  Tricky!  So I decided to try some of these.  They're awesome!  A bit big on my little hands, but still way better.  I can manipulate things with the solar oven so much better.  And I've never had my hands start to feel too hot.  I'm really glad I got these.

manual egg beater

On one of the lists of "things to have", I noticed a manual egg beater.  I had tried to whip cream with just a whisk once, but quickly lost patience & got out my mixer.  So I bought this one, based on the amazon reviews.  It works great!  Almost as fast as an electric mixer & easy to use.  I'm glad to have this for all that shelf stable whipping cream!

Solar Oven Creme Brulee

I made this from a crock pot creme brulee recipe.  It wasn't quite the best I've had, but better than a lot I'd paid $5 for at a restaurant.  It was quite tasty!  It was easier to get it to cook right than any stove top ones I've tried.  And made entirely out of my food storage (stored eggs from chickens, see post in July on how to do that), thanks to shelf stable whipping cream (see previous posts).  How cool is it to be able to have creme brulee, with no electricity & living off your food storage?!

--2 cups heavy cream

--5 egg yolks

--1/2 cup sugar (baker's or fine sugar is better so the granules disappear)

--1 T good vanilla

--1/4 cup raw sugar (for topping, add later, I used regular)

--whip the 5 egg yolks in a medium-sized bowl

--slowly add the cream and baking sugar while mixing

--add the vanilla

Pour into ramekins.  Put in larger dish, & fill that 1/2 way up sides of ramekins with water.  I cooked them for about 2 1/2 hours in the SOS oven.  You can put sugar on top & brown with torch (or on broil in the oven) if desired.

MMMMmmmm!

Case lot sale at Smith's

If you have a Smith's near you, they have a caselot sale starting tomorrow!  It's an unusual time of year for one but take advantage of it!  If nothing else, at least go get a case of Ramen noodles for $3!  It has 24 meals!
Lots of other good deals too!

Almost free solar rice krispie treats!

 I decided to try melting marshmallows for rice krispie treats in the solar oven.  It was really nice!  It took about a half an hour, but they melted evenly, didn't burn & I didn't have to stand there & stir them.  Tasty!

Since I'd gotten the rice krispies free with a sale, & the marshmallows with a coupon for $.25, & took no energy to cook, these were almost free!

Free batteries

Office Depot has 8 pack for AA or AAA Energizer batteries for $7.49 each.  Get back that same amount on your rewards card to spend later.  They also have a lot of other free stuff too.  The "bankers boxes" can be great for storing prep items in.  Limit 2 of each item per day.  Good in store or online!

New Years Preparedness resolution

I love how many people I know have preparedness for their New Years resolution.  That's one that even if you don't do perfectly, anything will make a big difference later!  So give that a thought!  Go on a Dollar Store prep shopping spree:  http://singlemompreparedness.blogspot.com/2011/07/preparedness-items-at-dollar-store.html  Start the $10 a week prep plan:  http://singlemompreparedness.blogspot.com/2011/10/start-your-food-storage-for-5-10-week.html    Get some chicken & can it (on sale at Kohlers this week for $1.69 lb for breasts).  Get some free batteries every time they're available.   Do something every few days, or at least every week, & you'll be amazed at how quickly it starts to add up!