Food Storage Friday- randomness: recipes, pandemic update

Sorry for my lack of blogging- I've been in a summer funk, it's too hot to do anything, my sister in law who we have lived next door to for almost 6 years moved away, (like 5 minutes away, but still...) and I just can't seem to get things done enough around here to really sit down and do a thoughtful post! There are a few things that have been bopping around in my brain for a while so I'm just going to get them out here- first of all, a great food storage friendly recipe we tried last week, it is from 5 Dollar Dinners:

Black Bean Soup

she suggests serving it with fresh cooked corn on the cob- it's a good combo

1 cup dried black beans (can substitute 3 cans prepared black beans)

2 cups chicken broth

1 onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced (or 1 tsp dried garlic)

1 can Rotel tomatoes with green chilies (12oz) or salsa

2 TB lemon juice

1 tsp ground cumin

dollop sour cream

shredded cheese (optional)

1. Soak beans overnight in lukewarm water or for at least 2 hours in HOT water. Drain and rinse. Add to large saucepan and cover with at least 2 inches of water. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to medium. Cook for 1 1/2 - 2 hours, until beans are tender. Once cooked, strain off liquid and return beans to saucepan. Mash beans with potato masher. (Or skip all that and just mash 3 drained cans.)

2. Add broth, chopped onion and garlic, salsa, lemon juice, cumin. Stir through about cook for about 15-20 minutes. Simmer longer for a thicker soup. Top with dollop of sour cream and/or shredded cheese.

3. Remove husk and threads from corn. Boil 4-5 minutes in large saucepan. Serve hot with butter!

And I haven't tried this yet but it's on the menu this week, Tuna Melts from Taste is Trump. Maybe it was the picture that got me, I've never had the desire to make tuna melts, but all of the sudden, hers sounded really good. Recipe HERE.

Ok, and finally a little pandemic reminder, thank goodness all the hype is over, and hopefully the swine flu fades away and we don't hear much about it again, but the concern is, viruses are always changing, and it's possible that this one, (or any other flu strain going around actually?) could mutate and become something more serious and deadly. It could happen, this fall, or years in the future, or never at all. The best preparations besides a good supply of food etc, would be to make sure you have a steady supply of not expired otc pain relievers, kleenex, hand sanitizer, disposable gloves, and possibly medical masks. If someone in your family somehow contracted a potentially deadly virus, you would certainly want to be prepared to keep them separate from everyone, and still care for them without putting yourself or the rest of your family in danger. So that's my latest thoughts! Sorry for such a long post but it's pretty over due!

**Check back next week, I'm planning on laying out a Food Storage inventory system! Hopefully to be put in place around here this week- cross your fingers for me! I realized we've been using up a lot of our food stash and it's time to start keeping track of what we have and what we need more of.