Three-Month Supply Back-up Plan

There are many reasons to have a good Three-Month Supply of food as a part of your food storage. First, it is a commandment. Second, it will be a blessing during hard times. Third, it can be incredibly convenient when life doesn't go as planned. I was reminded of this third reason Sunday.

Saturday evening, I looked at my monthly menu plan and saw that I had planned Grilled Chicken for Sunday dinner. I got the chicken out of the freezer, and put it in the refrigerator to thaw. Sunday, after getting home from Stake Conference, I went to get the chicken out of the refrigerator to marinate it, only to discover that it was still frozen; very frozen to be specific. This has happened before, and you would think that I would have learned to get chicken out of the freezer two days ahead, but I haven't yet. So there I was, standing in the kitchen with a package of totally frozen chicken breasts and a very hungry family anxiously wondering when Sunday Dinner would be ready. I had to come up with a Plan B, and I had to come up with it quick. After evaluating the pantry for a minute or two, I gave everyone their choices: pasta or Indian Fry Bread. Fry Bread won. I mixed up the dough, and while it rested for a few minutes, I got a jar of pinto beans, a jar of beef chunks, and a new bottle of canola oil to refill my small bottle out of the pantry. I heated the beans, and then the beef, in the microwave while the Fry Bread was cooking, and soon dinner was on the table. Not only were the ingredients for the Fry Bread, as well as the beans, beef, and canola oil from my Three-Month Supply, but so was the salsa and the shredded cheese (which I keep in the freezer). The sour cream was nice to have, but was not a necessity. The meal would have tasted just fine without it.

What's the point? The point is that if you store foods that are familiar to you and that your family eats on a regular basis, then when dinner doesn't go the way you planned, you can still put a great meal on the table that your family will love. So tonight, we will have chicken for dinner, and I will continue to rotate and add to my Three-Month Supply so that when I again find myself in a dinner bind - and I'm sure I will, sooner rather than later - I will have options available. And if the chicken still isn't thawed, then we will be having Spaghetti!