We’re expecting a large and terrible snowstorm tomorrow. I’m very much in favor of the electricity staying on, but I have sandwich meats and bread on hand just in case. Here’s what I’m planning to make this week:
- Monday: Salsa chicken
- This “recipe” came from Rockford’s advisor/boss in graduate school. You take chicken breast halves, put them in the slow cooker and salsa over them. And then you cook them for 6 hours or so on low. They’re good over rice. I’m not expecting the power to fail until late in the day (if at all. please let’s make it not at all, but I’m planning to have the chicken cooked early anyway. I’ll reheat it if we have power. We’ll eat it cold otherwise.
- Tuesday: Chicken tacos
- This will be shredded chicken from yesterday’s leftovers, served with tortillas, cheese, sour cream and avocado. No lettuce, because I neglected to buy it.
- Wednesday: Eggs & veggie sausages
- Clearly, I’m counting on having power on Wednesday. Although I did make some just-in-case hardboiled eggs, so we could have hardboiled eggs and not-warm veggie sausages.
- Thursday: Bean griddlecakes
- Rockford scoffs at this, but I stand by their deliciousness.
- Friday: Homemade pizza
So we are fine on the eating front if the power goes out for a day or so, but we still don’t have any non-electric source of heat (because, apparently, I do not learn). So I’m a bit worried about the Staying Warm factor. But I do have a plan or two in the event that we do lose heat.
Plan A! We would be to drive over to my in-laws’ house.
If the roads are too bad for that, though, we would have to go with Plan B. Which is probably a hair-brained scheme and has also earned the Scoff of Rockford, but I would appreciate your opinion nevertheless.
Plan B! I would set up a small tent in the living room, and we would camp out wearing warm clothing and blanketed in blankets until the electricity was restored. The theory being that the tent would retain our body heat, thus keeping it warmer in there than in the wide open expanse of house. (The house isn’t all that expansive, but it’s bigger than a tent.)
What do you think? Is Plan B an incredible idea or an incredibly stupid idea?
We once had to camp out in our dining room during an ice storm when we lost power. However, we had no tent, but did have kerosene heaters. I think you’re on the right track, but with no extra source of heat, I don’t know.
I think Plan B is good in that the kids will think it’s fun. I don’t know how well it would keep you warm,but that’s what coats and blankets are for. You could always turn it into a Little House on the Prairie experience.
.-= Rootietoot´s last blog ..A loner- that’s all =-.
I think camping out in a smaller space than the whole house is a great idea. I’m not sure there’s much benefit, though, to going with a tent versus a small bedroom. Unless maybe your bedrooms are really drafty or lose heat much more quickly than your living room.
Our heat is gas. Our furnace stopped working the day after we brought the baby home from the hospital. I was freaking out. Now we own a space heater :).
As an avid camper, I endorse the tent idea. However, two small children and two adults in a confined space may lead to everyone being a little bonkers. Multiple thin layers is best for retaining body heat! And wine. Wine helps.