Waiting for Irene

With Hurricane Irene on its way with fierce winds and rain (the storm is expected to hit our area Sunday), I am planning to stock my house and pantry with essentials, should we be stranded at home over the weekend, or should our home lose power.

Along with batteries and bottled water, I intend to load up my fridge and shelves with necessities to get us through the weekend. I’ve planned a few meals centered around low-cost or non-refrigerated items, should our fridge lose power. (So, I won’t be stocking our fridge with expensive cuts of meat for the weekend.)

For the menu, I’ve planned meals like meatloaf for Friday night (before the hurricane hits), black rice and beans (a recipe can be found on simplyrecipes.com), pasta with clam sauce (using canned chopped clams and clam sauce) and risotto (made with canned chicken broth, shaved parmesan cheese, garlic and onion).

Our fish have plenty of dried flake food on hand, and we don’t have any other pets, so we don’t have to stock up on pet food or supplies.

I also plan to stock my pantry with these items, which will come in handy if we don’t have access to our fridge during or after the storm:

Apples

Broccoli

Dried apricots

Grapes

Crackers

Canned soups

Boxed mac and cheese

Pasta

Bread

Peanut butter

Jelly

Cereal

Milk

Bottled water

Bottled juices

Canned Soups

Instant rice

Paper plates and cups

Plastic utensils

Paper towels

Toilet tissue

But let’s hope that the storm’s effect will be minor in our area, and that I won’t have to rely on these supplies!