Recipe of the Week: Mom’s Baked Beans

The following recipe for Mom’s Baked Beans is from SurvivalBlog reader “Sis.” Ingredients 2 Small (15 oz.) cans or 1 large can of Pork and Beans. 1 tsp. Dried mustard 3/4 cup of brown sugar 1/2 cup of catsup 5-7 slices of bacon (fried up, drained and then crumbled) Directions Mix all of the ingredients in a cast iron pan. (ideally cast iron, but you can use a regular baking pan.) Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for around 1 hour. Chef’s Notes “I like for it to get a little crusty around the edges so if you do you might …


SurvivalBlog Graphic of the Week

The term “America” is used differently, depending on the context. Today’s graphic shows the different “Americas”, from the perspective of ethnic populations and geographic boundaries. (Graphic courtesy of Reddit.) The thumbnail image below is click-expandable.       — Please send your graphic ideas to JWR. (Either via e-mail or via our Contact form.) Any graphics that you send must either be your own creation or uncopyrighted.



Preparedness Notes for Sunday — July 7, 2024

On July 7, 1807, French Emperor Napoléon Bonaparte and Russian Tsar Alexander I met on a raft in the middle of the Neman River and signed the first Treaty of Tilsit. — On July 7, 1520, Battle of Otumba, Mexico: Hernán Cortés and the Tlaxcalans defeated a numerically superior Aztec force. — July 7th, 1907 was the birthday of science fiction novelist Robert A. Heinlein. He passed away on May 8, 1988, at age 80. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 113 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First …


JWR’s Meme Of The Week:

The latest meme created by JWR: Meme Text: Sleepy Joe’s Incoherent Mumbling at the Debate Showed Us… Kamala’s Nose Is Under The Tent News Links: Analysis: Biden’s incoherent debate performance heightens fears over his age. CNN: Biden’s disastrous debate pitches his reelection bid into crisis. Watch: A shaky and mumbling Biden freezes in first debate. The Atlantic: Biden Must Resign. CNN: Biden tries but fails to turn back rising tide threatening to swamp his reelection bid. ABC: If Biden drops out, who could replace him? A look at possible candidates. Notes From JWR: Do you have a meme idea? Just e-mail …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power. And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them. And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them. And there appeared unto them Elias with Moses: and they were talking with Jesus. And Peter …


Preparedness Notes for Saturday — July 6, 2024

Today is the 30th anniversary of the 1994 Storm King Mountain wildfire that took the lives of 14 firefighters. Weather changes, resulting in 45 mph wind gusts, caused a modest wildfire to erupt into a blazing inferno, which threatened homes in and around the town of Glenwood Springs, Colorado. Firefighters from around the country were called to assist in fighting this wildfire. We will never forget the young men and women who lost their lives battling this fire: Prineville, Oregon Hotshots: Kathi Beck, Tamera Bickett, Scott Blecha, Levi Brinkley, Douglas Dunbar, Terri Hagen, Bonnie Holtby, Rob Johnson, Jon Kelso Missoula …


Editors’ Prepping Progress

To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make both long-term and short-term plans. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities and planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, ranch improvements, bug-out bag fine-tuning, and food storage. This is something akin to our Retreat Owner Profiles, but written incrementally and in detail, throughout the year.  We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in your e-mailed letters. We post many of those — or excerpts thereof — in the Odds …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“O Lord, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth. For thou hast made of a city an heap; of a defenced city a ruin: a palace of strangers to be no city; it shall never be built. Therefore shall the strong people glorify thee, the city of the terrible nations shall fear thee. For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, …


Preparedness Notes for Friday — July 5, 2024

On July  5, 1687, Isaac Newton‘s great work Principia was published by the Royal Society in England, outlining his laws of motion and universal gravitation. — July 5, 1715: Ottoman troops storm citadel of Acrocorinth in the Peloponnese, massacring a large part of the population and selling the rest into slavery. Inspires Lord Byron‘s poem “The Siege of Corinth”. — Joly 5, 1950:  US forces entered combat in the Korean War for the first time, in the Battle of Osan. — We are seeking entries for Round 113 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $900,000 worth of prizes …


A Difference in Deference: The End of Chevron

Last week, Americans got some important and long-awaited news: Supreme Court strikes down Chevron, curtailing power of federal agencies. Without a doubt, the 1984 Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council case was a very bad decision that had some far-reaching and lasting consequences. Under the Chevron doctrine, courts have often been required to defer to “…permissible” interpretations by federal agencies of the statutes that those agencies administer. Under Chevron, this deference extended to even when a court had a different reading of the relevant statute.  It thus, in effect, allowed Federal agencies to create law, and ofttimes be beyond the …


Economics & Investing For Preppers

Here are the latest news items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. In this column, JWR also covers hedges, derivatives, and various obscura. This column emphasizes JWR’s “tangibles heavy” investing strategy and contrarian perspective. Today, another look at prospects for a gold-backed BRICS currency. (See the Precious Metals section.) Precious Metals: BRICS Gold-Backed Currency to Launch at 2024 Summit? But also read this piece from Reuters: US dollar’s dominance secure, BRICS see no progress on de-dollarization – report. o  o  o The latest piece by Hub Moolman: Silver and Gold: …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“The ways of Providence being inscrutable, and the justice of it not to be scanned by the shallow eye of humanity, nor to be counteracted by the utmost efforts of human power or wisdom, resignation, and as far as the strength of our reason and religion can carry us, a cheerful acquiescence to the Divine Will, is what we are to aim.” – George Washington, from a Letter to Colonel Bassett – Tuesday, April 20, 1773


Preparedness Notes for Thursday — July 4, 2024

We wish our readers a happy Independence Day! — July 4th is also the birthday of Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) and of General Giuseppe Garibaldi (1807–1882). — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 113 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2,000. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 …


Year 3: An Honest Look at the Farm – Part 3, by SaraSue

(Continued form Part 2. This concludes the article.) Preparing for WTSHTF When I wrote the 7-year food plan, it wasn’t just an idea.  I actually did it.  I took a guest room in the farmhouse, and half-filled it with food-grade buckets of dried goods and supplies that were calculated to last seven years.  It has been nice to be able to pull out anything I needed.  In addition to that, I bought several freezers over the past 3 years.  They are mostly full as I write this.  The last freezer I purchased from Costco was the biggest chest freezer they …