Pantry Meals: notes from the original class

The following are the notes that I have from the very first class I went on on pantry meals.  I claim NO credit for the following.  I am just passing on the information I was given.  My friend, Judy, taught the class and she was amazing!  If you would like to print a hard copy of the following, it is here.   ---Jen

Fast Food in a Bag

Original Concept by Mary Ann Swenson and

Christine Van Wagenen.

Having food ready in individual bags along with the recipe and ingredients makes meals and baked goods quick and easy.

All types of recipes are workable, from main dishes to desserts and snacks. These recipes may or may not be made completely from storage items.

Including our families in filling the bags is a great way to teach children and other novice cooks how to cook easy meals for themselves.

Saving Money on Groceries

Research shows that we can cut our food bill in half if we do three things:

• Make either a two-week or one-month menu that includes breakfasts, lunches, dinners and snacks
• Buy in bulk
• Have a food pantry

Meals in a bag can help tremendously with this.

Bagged Meals

For pictures and information on making bagged meals please visit: www.cookingfrommypantry.blogspot.com

Meals can be put in gallon or two-gallon Ziplock bags, plastic gift bags or boxes (see blog).

Seasonings can be stored in 2”x3” or 3”x5” zip top baggies found at craft stores and paper stores

 

Converting a Recipe

The following chart shows how the recipe for

Lubia Polo (Persian Green Beans/Rice) can be adapted to 100% Pantry ingredients.

Lubia Polo (Persian Green Beans and Rice)

Original Recipe	Adaptation
1 pound ground beef	1 can ground beef or beef chunks
1 large onion	¼ cup dehydrated onions
½ large Anaheim pepper	4 dehydrated Anaheim pepper strips or try red pepper flakes
1 T. curry powder	Same
4 c. chicken or beef broth	Same
1 can tomato paste	Same
1 pound fresh green beans	2 cans green beans
2 c. rice	Same

Canned Meats

Canned meats are available at the grocery stores and the Cannery.

The LDS Church has canneries where they do canned products.  Periodically they do canned meats.  Their canned meats only contain meat, water and salt.  They do canned ground beef, beef chunks, chicken and pork.  To get on their e-mail list in Utah County (Lindon Cannery) call 785-0998.   In order to purchase these products, you need to pre-order and then work a shift at the cannery where you actually help can the products.

100% Pantry Meals

The following recipes have been adapted to 100% Pantry—everything is in the bag except water.  It is easy to throw together a nutritious meal when rushed.  Also, they work great for traveling, camping, emergencies and busy college students. (Just remember to take along a can opener.) 

The following seven recipes are 100% pantry meals.  (Note:  The recipes are typed in two columns to make it easier to cut the recipes apart and include the recipe with the bagged/boxed meal.)

Lubia Polo (Persian Green Beans/Rice)

100% Pantry

In the Bag

1 can ground beef OR beef chunks

2 cans chicken or beef  broth OR sub 4 c. water plus bouillon

1 can tomato paste (plus 1 ½ c. water)

2 cans green beans, drained and rinsed

2 cups uncooked basmati rice (white or brown)

Seasonings Packet

¼ c. dehydrated onions

4 dried Anaheim pepper strips

1 T. curry powder

½ t. salt

In a large pan, brown the canned beef.  Add seasonings, chicken broth, green beans, tomato paste and water.  Bring to a boil.  Add uncooked rice.

Cover and reduce heat to low/medium.  Cook for 20-25 minutes for white rice or 50-60 minutes for brown rice.

Carol’s Taco Soup

100% Pantry

In the Bag

1 can ground beef OR beef chunks

1 can kidney or black beans

2 cans stewed or diced tomatoes

1 can corn

1 can tomato paste (plus 1 ½ c. water)

Seasonings Packet

1 T. dehydrated onions

Homemade Taco Seasoning

2 t. minced onions

1 t. salt

1 t. chili powder

½ t. crushed dried red pepper

½ t. garlic powder

½ t. cumin

¼ t. oregano

Combine all ingredients and simmer for 15 to 30 minutes until soft.

Chicken Curry

100% Pantry

In the Bag

2 cups white or brown rice

2 cans chicken (if desired, drain and rinse)

1 can coconut milk (13.5 oz)

1 can diced tomatoes (14.5 oz)

2 cups chicken broth OR 2 c. water + 2 t. chicken bouillon

Seasonings Packet

1/3 c. dried onion

1 T. curry powder

1 t. ground ginger

½ t. salt (or to taste)

½ t. cinnamon

½ t. garlic powder

¼ t. ground cloves

¼ t. cayenne pepper

Separate Seasoning Packet

cilantro (optional)

Cooking Rice

Bring 4 cups water to a boil.  Add 2 c. rice and cover with lid.  Turn on low.  Cook 20 minutes for white rice and 50-60 minutes for brown rice.

Cooking Curry

Pour all ingredients except for rice and cilantro into separate pan.  Bring to simmer.  Simmer until flavors blend.  I put it on to cook at the same time as the rice.

To Serve

Serve curry over the rice.  Sprinkle with cilantro, if desired.

 Spaghetti

100% Pantry

In the Bag

Bottled spaghetti sauce

1 can ground beef OR beef chunks

Pasta

Heat spaghetti sauce and canned meat. 

Bring water to boil in a separate pan.  When boiling, add pasta and cook approximately 8 minutes until done.

Potato Soup

100% Pantry

Our daughter really likes potato soup.  She especially likes it when she isn’t feeling well.  I usually make it with approximately 2 quarts water, peeled/cubed potatoes (to the water line), 1 lb cooked hamburger, 1 onion, approximately 4 stalks of celery plus salt and pepper.  We still really like homemade potato soup, but I found the following quick version tasty.

In the Bag

1 large can potatoes (15 oz from cannery) or 2 small cans potatoes from grocery store (drained and rinsed)

1 can ground beef (14.4 oz from cannery)

Seasonings Packet

¼ cup dried onions

¼ cup dried celery

½ teaspoon garlic powder

Put 1 quart water on to boil and add seasonings.  Cube canned potatoes.  Add all ingredients.  Cook until heated through and dried celery is soft.  Add salt and pepper if needed.

 Kathy’s Quick Chili

100% Pantry

In the Bag

1 can cannery ground beef OR beef chunks

2 cans diced tomatoes (14.4 oz)

2 cans red kidney beans (14.4 oz)

1 can chili beans (14.4 oz)

2 small cans tomato sauce

1 can green beans

Seasonings  Packet

¼ c. dehydrated onions

1 T. chili powder

Mix all ingredients in a pan.  Heat through and serve.

Spicy Chicken Soup (5 quarts)

100% Pantry

In the Bag

2 (14.5 ounce) cans diced tomatoes

1-2 cans cannery chicken (broken apart, drain and rinse if you like)

1 (15 ounce) can corn, drained

2 (16 ounce) canned beans (black, pinto, chili, etc.), drained and rinsed

1 ½ cup salsa

Seasonings Packet

1/4 c. dehydrated onions

5 cubes or teaspoons chicken bouillon

2-3 Tablespoons chili powder

2 Tablespoons dried parsley

1 Tablespoon onion powder

2 ½ teaspoons garlic powder

1 teaspoon black pepper

½ teaspoon salt

Dump everything into a pan or crockpot along with 2-4 cups water and heat up.  You can simmer for a while to blend flavors.

Partial Pantry Meals

Mary Ann Swenson fries up 10 pounds of hamburger (along with onions and peppers) at a time for many different recipes (chili, tacos, lasagna, etc.) and stores recipe size bags in the freezer.   She calls this “one mess and ten meals.”

She also cooks a large quantity of boneless, skinless chicken breasts in the crockpot and freezes the cooked chicken in recipe-sized servings.

She premixes dry ingredients where possible, and finds that with a little planning and preparation ahead of time, she can have healthy quick meals in minutes in this fast paced world of ours.

Below is a recipe to try:

Mary Ann’s Cowboy Delight

In the Bag

4 cans diced tomatoes (14.4 oz. cans)

1 or 2 cans tomato sauce

1 cube beef bouillon

1 6-oz package elbow macaroni, cooked according to package directions

2 Tablespoons dried parsley

From the Freezer

1 package hamburger mix (This is a combination of one pound of hamburger, 2 chopped onions and one chopped green pepper, cooked and then frozen in a bag.) 

From the Refrigerator

1 cup diced celery, optional

1 cup grated carrots, optional

1 teaspoon minced garlic

  

Combine tomatoes, beef broth, garlic, celery, carrots and hamburger mix.  Simmer 20 minutes.  Add cooked macaroni and heat five minutes more.  Serve.

You can add the dry macaroni directly to the rest of the ingredients if you choose.  This will make the consistency much thicker. 

Spicy Roast Beef

In the Bag

2 cans diced tomatoes (14.4 oz)

1 can diced green chilies

From the Freezer

Beef roast, thawed

From the Pantry

Onion, chopped (or ¼ c. dehydrated onions)

Place thawed roast in the crockpot.  Cover with chopped onions.  Top with diced tomatoes and chilies.  I usually put the crockpot on high for an hour to get it up to temperature.  Then I reduce the crockpot to low for approximately 8 hours.

Breakfast Pack

Recently I started putting together a breakfast pack.  I put a variety of individual mixes in quart Ziplock bags.  I then put different mixes along with the recipes in a gallon Ziplock bag.  This makes it easy to put together a hot breakfast in the morning.  (My breakfast pack might include 1 Blueberry Coffee Cake Mix; 1 Apple Pancake Mix; 1 Scone Mix, etc.)

Breakfast Ideas to go in Breakfast Pack

(Include the dry ingredients in a Ziplock bag along with the recipe)

• Blueberry coffee cake
• Apple pancakes
• Hot cereal
• Scones
• Banana Pancakes
• Cranberry Applesauce Muffins
• Pumpkin Pancakes
• Hoe Cakes
• Apple Bread or Muffins
• Pumpkin Bread or Muffins
• Waffles
• Coconut Bread or Muffins
• Crepes
• Blueberry Muffins
• Banana Bread or Muffins
• Applesauce Bread or Muffins

Bread in a Bag

You can put together lots of different breads in a bag along with the recipe.  The ingredients can be much healthier than the ingredients found in mixes from the store that include lots of preservatives.

This makes it really quick to throw bread together and get it in the oven.  I do some of the following in bags:

·         Muffins

·         Pita Bread

·         French Bread

·         Cornbread

·         Pizza Crust to use for Pizza or “Flat” Garlic bread

Desserts in a Bag

These same concepts can be used to create easy desserts in a bag.

Here are some desserts that can easily be made into mixes:

• Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Chocolate Cake
• White Cake
• Angel Food Cake
• Upside Down Cake
• Gingerbread
• Brownies
• Pie Crust
• Pudding Mix

Credits

I have learned so much from my Church that has helped me in my efforts to have foods stored that our family (with its very special diet needs) can eat.  Many of these ideas and concepts have come from members of the Church who have shared their ideas so freely with me.  To all of those that have helped, I thank.  I especially am grateful for our Prophet and Church who have given this guidance.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS or Mormons) recommends that its members have a three-month supply of foods that is part of our normal, daily diet. 

They also recommend for longer-term needs to build a supply of food that will last a long time such as beans and rice.

Quoting from their Pamphlet “All Is Safely Gathered In”  “We encourage Church members worldwide to prepare for adversity in life by having a basic supply of food and water and some money in savings.”

For more information, see www.providentliving.org

Creating Your Own

Family Plan

Step One: Put together a two week menu plan. (Meals your family likes!)

Sample 14-Day Menu

(Note:  Many of these recipes can be prepared with 100% Pantry items or they can be prepared with items from the freezer or fresh ingredients.  I make a lot of spaghetti sauce in the summer from the garden and freeze it.  However, I also buy a few jars of prepared spaghetti sauce for camping.  Also, we buy beef directly from a farmer so I use a lot of beef from our freezer. However, it’s also very nice for a quick meal or traveling to used canned ground beef.)

#	Recipe	Recipe
1	Lubia Polo	100% Pantry
2	Pizza
3	Julie’s Chicken Strips
4	Spaghetti	100% Pantry
5	Taco Casserole
6	Mock Chili Potato Bar	100% Pantry
7	Chicken Curry	100% Pantry

8	Spicy Chicken Soup	100% Pantry
9	Skillet Lasagna	100% Pantry
10	Potato Soup	100% Pantry
11	Chicken Cacciatore
12	Taco Soup	100% Pantry
13	Carli’s Sloppy Joes
14	Thai Chickpea Curry	100% Pantry

Our Family’s Two-Week Menu

Step Two: Collect the recipes and convert to use pantry foods as needed.

Step Three: List items in each recipe and multiply by how many times you want to serve it. (See example below.)

Step Four: Purchase food

Step Five: Develop a working rotation system that is good for you.

Shopping Plan

 

Meals our Family Likes—All ingredients from pantry.

	Carol’s Taco Soup		Qty	Amount needed to make meal 6 times
1	Cannery ground beef		6	Cannery Ground Beef
1	15-oz can kidney beans		6	15-oz can kidney beans
2	14.5-oz. cans stewed or diced tomatoes		12	14.5 oz cans stewed or diced tomatoes
1	11-oz can corn		6	11 oz cans corn
1	8-oz can tomato sauce		6	8 oz cans tomato sauce
1	Package taco seasoning		6	Packages taco season
1	T. Dehydrated onion		6	T. Dehydrated onions

	My Recipe			Amount needed to make meal 6 times

	My Recipe			Amount needed to make meal 6 times

	My Recipe			Amount needed to make meal 6 times

	My Recipe			Amount needed to make meal 6 times

	My Recipe			Amount needed to make meal 6 times

	My Recipe			Amount needed to make meal 6 times

Pantry Meals: Corn bread

We love cornbread at our house.  But we love it even more for pantry meals because it is quick!  Sometimes we don't have 2-3 hours to make bread.  Cornbread takes less than half an hour.

Corn bread recipe:

3 c. flour
1.5 c. corn meal
1/4 c. sugar
4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs (or the equivalent of powdered eggs and water)
1/2 c. powdered milk (reconstituted with 2 c. water to make 2 c. milk)

1/2 c. oil

Combine the first 5 ingredients.  Add the milk, eggs and oil and mix until moistened.   Pour batter into a greased 9x13 pan and bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

I will be honest.  I haven't made it yet with powdered eggs.  I hope to try it out soon and I am crossing my fingers that it works!

We like white flour for our cornbread.  We have tried it with wheat and no one (including me!) will eat it.  Sorry, there are just some things that you have to have white flour for!  And instead of storing corn meal, we store popcorn which can be quickly and easily ground into corn meal in our wheat grinder.

***UPDATE: My friend, Andrea, made this tonight and used powdered eggs, powdered milk, and powdered shortening instead of oil (I didn't even know there was such a thing!).  She combined all of the dry ingredients (flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, salt, powdered egg, powdered milk and the powdered shortening) and then added the water need to reconstitute the powdered things.  She said it turned out GREAT! 

***From my Aunt Karen: (I can't wait to try this!!!)  "Jen, I saw an awesome idea for cooking cornbread in a hurry and it works really well. Heat up your waffle iron and pour some batter on it. In the recipe I saw they then layered beans, hamburger, lettuce, cheese, sour cream and salsa kind of like a Navajo Taco.  We have used this method several times when we didn't want to heat up the house or just wanted it quick."  --Aunt Karen

To make cornbread for our 3 months of meals we need:

Cornbread  (9x13 pan)  (4x/wk)				X48	containers
	Flour		3 c.	144 c.	12 - #10 cans
	Cornmeal		1.5 c.	72 c. (3.25 c./lb)	23 lb.
	Sugar		1/4 c.	12 c.	1 - #10 can
	Baking powder		4 tsp.	192 tsp. = 64 Tbsp.	4 lbs.
	Salt		1/2 tsp.	24 tsp. = 8 Tbsp.	1 lb. (30 Tbsp./lb.)
	Powdered milk		1/2 c.	24 c.	2 - #10 cans
	Eggs		2	96 (Honeyville #10 can = 80 eggs)	2 cans
	Oil		1/2 c.	24 c.	6 qts.

Pantry Meals: Wheat Bread

I often make my own bread.   Bread will be an important part of my short term and long term food storage.  With teenage boys that are trying their hardest to eat us out of house and home, we have to have SOMETHING to fill them up!  I have planned on having either wheat bread or corn bread with each of our pantry meals.  I plan to make bread every 4 days.  My recipe makes 4 loaves.  And I plan to make a 9x13 pan of cornbread 4 times a week.  (I know that equals 8, but you never know when some extra bread will come in handy!)

I think that I will keep everything to make bread (except the wheat, that is in large buckets or cans under my bed) in a Rubbermaid tote, so that it is all together. 

Here is what we have to have to make bread:

Bread	4 loaves			X 23	containers
		instant yeast	3 Tb.	69 Tb. (1 oz = 2 tbsp.)	3 lbs.
		wheat (then ground into flour)	9 c.	207 c.	18-#10 cans
		apple cider vinegar	2 Tb.	46 Tb. (1 qt. = 64 Tb.)	1 qt.
		salt	1 Tb.	23 Tb. (1.88 c./lb. & 16 Tb. in a cup)	1 lb.
		gluten	1/2 c.	11.5 c. (5 c. / 27 oz. can)	3 cans
		sugar	3/4 c.	17.25 c.	2 - #10 can
		oil	1/2 c.	11.5 c. (1 qt = 4 c)	3 qts.

Pantry Meals: Taco Soup

TACO SOUP

In the box:

2 cans pinto beans

2 cans black beans

1 can green chili's

1 can corn

1 qt. jar tomatoes

1.5 Tbsp. taco seasoning (1/2 packet)

3 Tbsp. dry Ranch seasoning (1 packet)

6 chicken bouillon cubes

Add:

1 pint canned hamburger (or 1 lb. cooked)

Unwrap the bouillon cubes.  Mix them with 6 cups of water in a pot.  Drain the beans, and corn.  Add beans, corn, chilies, tomatoes, seasonings and hamburger to the pot.  Cook on low until heated through.  Add more water as needed for the consistency that you like.

In times of plenty, serve with tortilla chips, sour cream and cheese.

I could always buy canned tomatoes, but I get so many out of my garden each year that I bottle them.  I have TONS of bottles of tomatoes in my pantry.  That is why I use them. 

Right now I don't have any bottled hamburger.  Once I get some done, I will add jars of that into each box.

Pantry Meals: Chicken & Rice Bake

CHICKEN & RICE BAKE

In the box:

1.5 c. uncooked rice

2 cans Cream of Chicken soup

3 chicken bouillon cubes

1 tsp. onion powder

1/2 tsp. pepper

1 pint canned chicken (shredded)

Unwrap the bouillon cubes.  Mix them with 2 2/3 cups of water in a bowl.  Add the soup, onion powder, pepper, rice and chicken.  Mix together well and transfer to a 9x13 baking dish.  Cover and bake for 1.5 hours at 375 degrees.

Optional: top with French Fried Onions at the end of the baking time and cook uncovered for 5-10 minutes.

2 meals worth fit in one box.   The jars are my canned chicken.  And the rice and spices are in the bags.

Pantry Meals: Beef Barley Soup

This is one of my favorite pantry meals.  It is so simple yet tastes SO GOOD!

BEEF BARLEY SOUP

In the jar (or bag):

1 c. pearl barley

3/4 c. dry lentils

2 tsp. parsley flakes

1/2 tsp. thyme

1/4 c. minced onions

2 tsp. dried celery flakes

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1/4 tsp. garlic salt

2 bay leaves

10 beef bouillon cubes

Add:

1 pint jar (or 1 lb. cooked) hamburger

Unwrap the bouillon cubes.  Mix the contents of the jar with 12 cups of water.  Cook for 40 minutes.  Add cooked meat and simmer 5 minutes more.
 

I put this recipe in jars this time because I ran out of zip lock bags.  I put 2 jars in each box and a label on the front of the box so that I know what is in it.

The red things in the jars are the bouillon cubes.  You could also use bouillon granules if you wanted to. 

Pantry Meals

In the Home Food Storage pamphlet put out by the church.  We are told that in addition to our year supply of long term storage items, we should:

"Build a small supply of food that is part of your normal, daily diet. One way to do this is to purchase a few extra items each week to build a one-week supply of food. Then you can gradually increase your supply until it is sufficient for three months. These items should be rotated regularly to avoid spoilage."

It has been hard for me to get my head around that.  Because if I have food in the house, I'm going to use it!  Or someone else would use it and then I would have 10 meals that I wanted to make and they were all missing 1 thing!  But last year I was introduced to "Fast Food in a Bag".  This has helped me get my head around this concept and see how I could actually have 3 months of meals in my house...and have everything for each one!  I have adapted the system to use boxes instead of bags because they stack and store better.

So for my 90 days of dinners I have 13 meals that I will store 7 each of.  They are:

Hawaiian Haystacks
Chicken and Rice Bake

Shepard's Pie
Taco Soup**
Green Chili Beans**
Krysti Casserole** (named for Marshyl's sister.  i.e. Macaroni and Tomatoes)
Green Chili Burritos
Beef Barley Soup**
Tamale Pie**
Chicken Enchilada Soup**
Spaghetti
Creamy Chicken Enchiladas
Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup**

Most are a meal on their own, those that aren't, we will eat with cornbread (**).

Okay, that is actually only 14 meals.  We are trying out new meals to see what we like and want to add into the rotation.  I have the book "It's in the Bag" that is full of recipes.

Some of these meals we got the recipes from our friends.  I was a part of a "pantry meal swap"  (PMS group!) and we would choose a pantry meal and make 12 of it and then take it to the swap and return home with 12 different meals.  It was great.  That gave us different meals to try out and if we liked them, add them to our rotation.

As we find more meals that we like that can be converted into pantry meals, we will add them in, increasing our number of pantry meals.

2010 Christmas Letter

Dear family & friends: 

This year has been a busy one!  We are just hanging in there, doing what we do.  Here is a quick update on everyone...

Kaiden (14) has stayed busy being a teenage boy.  He loves doing origami and has mastered the most intricate and complicated pieces.  He is still working towards his Eagle in Scouts and was able to be on Timberline staff this year.  He had a great time.  He is also continuing to make it to the temple every week to do baptisms. He is in his second year of seminary and that is his highlight every day.  He has been taking piano lessons for almost a year and a half now and is amazing at it.  He has quite a talent for it and he impresses us all with the songs that he plays.

Nicolas (12) has loved being in Young Men's and having the priesthood.  He loves going to the temple and also goes every week.  He stays busy hanging out with his friends and playing outside.  He and Kaiden have both been working on their cycling merit badge and that has kept them busy riding long distances on their bikes.

Luke (10) has a new best friend in the neighborhood and he and Dalton are never far apart.  They spend their time playing football and riding bikes when it is warm and now that it has turned cold, they can be found making snow forts.  Luke is a Webelos scout and loves earning activity badges and working towards his Arrow of Light.

Afton (7) has discovered her talent for singing and is ALWAYS singing something as she goes through her day.  She also loves to dance.  She is quite the social butterfly and loves to play with her friends.  She loves to read and draw and does very well at those things.

Makensi (4) has developed an attitude this year.  She is a sassy little thing.  All we can do is laugh, she is so cute.  She loves doing arts and crafts and is constantly cutting something!  She also loves to be outside and playing with her friends.

Garrett (2) rules the roost!  He is the baby, what more can I say?  He gets away with anything he wants to!  He loves to sing and go to his class at church.  He loves to beat box and is really good...for a 2 year old.  He adores cars, trains, tractors, airplanes and anything that goes.  He knows how to navigate an iPhone better than most adults!  He also loves to read books and is so much fun to have around.

Marshyl is still at Heritage Makers and loves it.  The company is doing great and keep coming out with amazing products.  He is still the Scoutmaster at church.  That takes up most of his time, but he hopes to carve out a little bit more and get back into school next semester.

Jen is still homeschooling the whole crew as well as keeping the Primary running as the president.  She has been learning so much about essential oils, herbs and health and wellness.  She also learned how to make soap this fall and is excited to try more things with it.  Every now and then she finds time and is able to enjoy reading.

Our family has been very blessed this year.  Everyone has been healthy and happy and we love being together.  We wish you all a Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year!

We love you all!

A Christmas Story

The following heart-warming Christmas story was written by Rian B. Anderson.*


It was Christmas Eve 1881.  I was fifteen years old and feeling like the world had caved in on me because there just hadn’t been enough money to buy me the rifle that I’d wanted for Christmas.  We did the chores early that night for some reason.  I just figured Pa wanted a little extra time so we could read in the Bible.

After supper was over I took my boots off and stretched out in front of the fireplace and waited for Pa to get down the old Bible.  I was still feeling sorry for myself and, to be honest, I wasn’t in much of a mood to read Scriptures. But Pa didn’t get the Bible, instead he bundled up again and went outside. I couldn’t figure it out because we had already done all the chores. I didn’t worry about it long though. I was too busy wallowing in self-pity.  Soon Pa came back in.  It was a cold clear night out and there was ice in his beard.

“Come on, Matt,” he said. “Bundle up good, it’s cold out tonight.” I was really upset then. Not only wasn’t I getting the rifle for Christmas, now Pa was dragging me out in the cold, and for no earthly reason that I could see.  We’d already done all the chores, and I couldn’t think of anything else that needed doing, especially not on a night like this.  But I knew Pa was not very patient at one dragging one’s feet when he’d told  them to do something, so I got up and put my boots  back on and got my cap, coat, and mittens.  Ma gave me a mysterious smile as I opened the door to leave the house.  Something was up, but I didn’t know what..

Outside, I became even more dismayed. There in front of the house was the work team, already hitched to the big sled.  Whatever it was we were going to do wasn’t going to be a short, quick, little job.   I could tell. We never hitched up this sled unless we were going to haul a big load.  Pa was already up on the seat, reins in hand.  I reluctantly climbed up beside him.
The cold was already biting at me.  I wasn’t happy.  When I was on, Pa pulled the sled around the house and stopped in front of the woodshed.  He got off and I followed. “I think we’ll put on the high sideboards,” he said.  “Here, help me.”  The high sideboards!  It had been a bigger job than I wanted to do with just the low sideboards on, but whatever  it was we were going to do would be a lot bigger with the high side boards on.

After we had exchanged the sideboards, Pa went into the woodshed and came out with an armload of wood – the wood I’d spent all summer hauling down from the mountain, and then all Fall sawing into blocks and splitting. What was he doing?  Finally I said something.  “Pa,” I asked, “what are you doing?”  You been by the Widow Jensen’s lately?” he asked. The Widow Jensen lived about two miles down the road.  Her husband had died a year or so before and left her with three children, the oldest being eight.  Sure, I’d been by, but so what?

Yeah,” I said, “Why?”

“I rode by just today,” Pa said. “Little Jakey was out digging around in the woodpile trying to find a few chips. They’re out of wood, Matt.”  That was all he said and then he turned and went back into the woodshed for another armload of wood. I followed him.  We loaded the sled so high that I began to wonder if the horses would be able to pull it.  Finally, Pa called a halt to our loading, then we went to the smoke house and Pa took down a big ham and a side of bacon. He handed them to me and told me to put them in the sled and wait.  When he returned he was carrying a sack of flour over his right shoulder and a smaller sack of something in his left hand.

“What’s in the little sack?” I asked.  Shoes, they’re out of shoes.  Little Jakey just had gunny sacks wrapped around his feet when he was out in the woodpile this morning.  I got the children a little candy too.  It just wouldn’t be Christmas without a little candy.”

We rode the two miles to Widow Jensen’s pretty much in silence.  I tried to think through what Pa was doing.  We didn’t have much by worldly standards.  Of course, we did have a big woodpile, though most of what was left now was still in the form of logs that I would have to saw into blocks and split before we could use it.  We also had meat and flour, so we could spare that, but I knew we didn’t have any money, so why was Pa buying them shoes and candy?  Really, why was he doing any of this?  Widow Jensen had closer neighbors than us; it shouldn’t have been our concern.

We came in from the blind side of the Jensen house and unloaded the wood as quietly as possible, then we took the meat and flour and shoes to the door.  We knocked.  The door opened a crack and a timid voice said, “Who is it?”  “Lucas Miles, Ma’am, and my son, Matt, could we come in for a bit?”
Widow Jensen opened the door and let us in.  She had a blanket wrapped around her shoulders.  The children were wrapped in another and were sitting in front of the fireplace by a very small fire that hardly gave off any heat at all.  Widow Jensen fumbled with a match and finally lit the lamp.

“We brought you a few things, Ma’am,” Pa said and set down the sack of flour.  I put the meat on the table.  Then Pa handed her the sack that had the shoes in it.  She opened it hesitantly and took the shoes out one pair at a time.  There was a pair for her and one for each of the children – sturdy shoes, the best, shoes that would last.  I watched her carefully.  She bit her lower lip to keep it from trembling and then tears filled her eyes and started running down her cheeks.  She looked up at Pa like she wanted to say something, but it wouldn’t come out.

“We brought a load of wood too, Ma’am,” Pa said.  He turned to me and said, “Matt, go bring in enough to last awhile.  Let’s get that fire up to size and heat this place up.”  I wasn’t the same person when I went back out to bring in the wood. I had a big lump in my throat and as much as I hate to admit it, there were tears in my eyes too.  In my mind I kept seeing those three kids huddled around the fireplace and their mother standing there with tears running down her cheeks with so much gratitude in her heart that she couldn’t speak.
My heart swelled within me and a joy that I’d never known before filled my soul.  I had given at Christmas many times before, but never when it had made so much difference.  I could see we were literally saving the lives of these people.

I soon had the fire blazing and everyone’s spirits soared.  The kids started giggling when Pa handed them each a piece of candy and Widow Jensen looked on with a smile that probably hadn’t crossed her face for a long time.  She finally turned to us. “God bless you,” she said. “I know the Lord has sent you.  The children and I have been praying that he would send one of his angels to spare us.”
In spite of myself, the lump returned to my throat and the tears welled up in my eyes again.  I’d never thought of Pa in those exact terms before, but after Widow Jensen mentioned it I could see that it was probably true.

I was sure that a better man than Pa had never walked the earth.  I started remembering all the times he had gone out of his way for Ma and me, and many others.  The list seemed endless as I thought on it.
Pa insisted that everyone try on the shoes before we left.  I was amazed when they all fit and I wondered how he had known what sizes to get.  Then I guessed that if he was on an errand for the Lord that  the Lord would make sure he got the right sizes.
Tears were running down Widow Jensen’s face again when we stood up to leave.  Pa took each of the kids in his big arms and gave them a hug.  They clung to him and didn’t want us to go.  I could see that they missed their Pa, and I was glad that I still had mine.

At the door Pa turned to Widow Jensen and said, “The Mrs. wanted me to invite you and the children over for Christmas dinner tomorrow.  The turkey will be more than the three of us can eat, and a man can get cantankerous if he has to eat turkey for too many meals.  We’ll be by to get you about eleven.  It’ll be nice to have some little ones around again.  Matt, here, hasn’t been little for quite a spell.”  I was the youngest.  My two brothers and two sisters had all married and had moved away.
Widow Jensen nodded and said, “Thank you, Brother Miles.  I don’t have to say, May the Lord bless you, I know for certain that He will.”

Out on the sled I felt a warmth that came from deep within and I didn’t even notice the cold.  When we had gone a ways, Pa turned to me and said, “Matt, I want you to know something.  Your ma and me have  been tucking a little money away here and there all year so we could buy that rifle for you, but we didn’t have quite enough. Then yesterday a man who owed me a little money from years back came by to make things square.  Your ma and me were real excited,  thinking that now we could get you that rifle, and I started into town this morning to do just that, but on the way I saw little Jakey out scratching in the woodpile with his feet wrapped in those gunny sacks and I knew what I had to do.  Son, I spent the money for shoes and a little candy for those children. I hope you understand.”

I understood, and my eyes became wet with tears again.  I understood very well, and I was so glad Pa had done it.  Now the rifle seemed very low on my list of priorities.  Pa had given me a lot more.  He had given me the look on Widow Jensen’s face and the radiant smiles of her three children.
For the rest of my life, whenever I saw any of the Jensens, or split a block of wood, I remembered, and remembering brought back that same joy I felt riding home beside Pa that night. Pa had given me much more than a rifle that night, he had given me the best Christmas of my life.

**The author of this story is uncertain. Some list “unknown” as the author, one lists Rian B. Anderson.