Feed Medical Lake

Feed Medical Lake Helping feed the community.

11/27/2025

I am thankful for "enough."
I am thankful for those who volunteer to help feed those in need.

11/23/2025

I'm not aware that anything on this list has changed.

PRODUCT DATING INFORMATION - 2021

Every year in the U.S. 40 million tons (80 billion pounds) of food are wasted; about 219 pounds per person. That is more than $161 billion and 30-40% of the U.S. Food supply. By the end of April 2020, more than one in five households in the United States, and two in five households with mothers with children 12 and under, were food insecure. Please, don't throw away food unnecessarily. Learn what those dates on food packages mean.

The only foods that are required by federal law to have an expiration date are baby food and infant formula. DO NOT BUY OR USE BABY FORMULA OR BABY FOOD AFTER ITS “USE BY” DATE. However, some products designed for babies such as juice and cookies or biscuits can be distributed past their date and are safe to eat.

Many canned and boxed products are safe to eat long after the date on the container and the shelf life of refrigerated and frozen foods can be extended if they are handled properly. Once a perishable item is frozen, it doesn't matter if the date expires—foods kept frozen continuously are safe indefinitely, though the quality slowly deteriorates over time.

Some examples you will see on food items:
Expiration Date (such as expires 01/01/01 or Do Not Use After 01/01/01)
Look for it on baby food and formula, medications, vitamins, yeasts, baking powder
What it Means: Discard after the expiration dates. Yeast and baking powder work less well after the expiration date but are safe to eat.

Pack Date or Closed or Coded Dates (such as packed on 03/01/2012 or 22:5306412 or KL064)
Look for it on canned food crackers cookies spices
What it Means: Packing numbers for use by the manufacturer in tracking their products. This enables manufacturers to rotate their stock as well as locate their products in the event of a recall.

Sell-By Date (such as Sell By 01/1/01)
Look for it on refrigerated foods such as milk, yogurt cottage cheese, eggs, lunch meat, packaged salad mixes.
What it Means: Tells the store how long to display the product for sale. If the food has been handled properly, it is still safe to eat and the quality is good.

Shelf-stable product
Most shelf-stable or dry foods (cans, boxes, bags) remain edible for several days, months, or even years past their code ate. Always examine the packaging to make sure it has not bee damaged too much o that the food is no longer safe to eat.

Use-By or Quality Date (such as best if used by 01/01/01)
Look for it on crackers, cookies, cold cereals, and other dry, shelf-stable food.
What it Means: This date is the manufacture's recommendation for how long the food will be at peak quality. After the quality date, the food is still safe to eat but slowly begins to lose nutrients and the quality begins to lessen.

Best If Used By (or Before)
Recommended for best flavor or quality. It is NOT a purchase or safety date.

Frozen foods kept frozen without any thawing, will keep indefinitely.

11/23/2025

CHICKEN AND SLICK DUMPLINGS
(Joanna’s Own Recipe)

1 chicken
1 onion, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Sprig parsley
1 large carrot cut into thin slices
Curry to own taste (optional) (I put anywhere from 1 teaspoon to 1 Tablespoon depending on my taste that day)

Clean and cut up chicken; place in kettle and barely cover with water. Add the chopped onion, carrot, salt and pepper and cook until tender.

SLICK DUMPLINGS:
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons oil
Milk (or liquid from the chicken pot)

Mix flour, salt, oil and enough milk to make a dough that can be rolled out with a rolling pin. Roll to 1/8” thickness. Cut dough into squares or rectangles with sharp knife. Drop dough into slowly boiling chicken stew, cover tightly and cook for 5 minutes or so, until dumplings are tender. Serve with chicken stew in bowls with warm biscuits or cornbread on the side to soak up the juices.

11/16/2025

Switching channels...I have 6 or 7 cookbooks with recipes for gifts in a jar. PM me at Jo-Jo Williams if interested and what category (e.,g., soup, dessert, etc.).

11/16/2025

Mother knew what she was talking about...
(21) If you seal an envelope and then realize you forgot to include something inside, just place your sealed envelope in the freezer for an hour or two. Viola! It unseals easily.
(22) Use your hair conditioner to shave your legs. It's cheaper than shaving cream and leaves your legs really smooth. It's also a great way to use up the conditioner you bought but didn't like when you tried it in your hair.
(23) To get rid of pesky fruit flies, take a small glass, fill it 1/2 inch with apple cider vinegar and 2 drops of dish washing liquid; mix well. You will find those flies drawn to the glass and gone forever!
(24) Put small piles of cornmeal where you see ants. They eat it, take it "home," can't digest it so it kills them. It may take a week or so, especially if it rains, but it works and you don't have the worry about pets or small children being harmed!*
(25) Even if you are very diligent about cleaning the lint filter in your dryer it still may be causing you a problem. If you use dryer sheets a waxy buildup could be accumulating on the filter causing your dryer to overheat. The solution to this is to clean your filter with a toothbrush and hot soapy water every 6 months.
*(26) BONUS! Ants hate black pepper (ground). I follow the "ant train" to its point of origin and sprinkle the black pepper all around their entry point. Issue resolved!

Thank you for reading all the things your mother should have told you. Please remember, these were from MY mother who passed away in 2012 at the age of 91. There may have been some "improvements" on these methods since then but nothing beats a failure like a try.

God bless!

11/14/2025

Yet another 5 things your mother should have taught you...

(16) Sprinkle cayenne pepper on your plants. It won't hurt the plants and squirrels won't come near it.

(17) To get something out of a heat register or under the fridge, add an empty paper towel roll or empty gift wrap roll to your vacuum. It can be bent or flattened to get into narrow openings.

(18) Pin a small safety pin to the seam of your slip and you will not have a clingy skirt or dress. Same thing works with slacks that cling when wearing panty hose. Place pin in seam of slacks and...guess what!...static is gone.

(19) Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill with hot water. Dump out the hot water, but don't dry cup. Next, add your ingredient, such as peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes right out. Or spray the measuring cup or spoon with non-stick cooking spray before using.

(20) Hate foggy windshields? Buy a chalkboard eraser and keep it in the glove box of your car. When the windows fog, rub with the eraser! Works better than a cloth!

5 more tomorrow!

11/13/2025

5 More things your mother should have told you...

(11) When you buy a container of cake frosting from the store, whip it with your mixer for a few minutes. You can double it in size. You get to frost more cake/cupcakes with the same amount. You also eat less sugar and calories per serving.
(12) To warm biscuits, pancakes, or muffins that were refrigerated, place them in a microwave with a cup of water. The increased moisture will keep the food moist and help it reheat faster.
(13) When you start putting your plants in, work the nutrients into your soil. Wet newspapers, put layers around the plants overlapping as you go. Cover with mulch and forget about weeds. Weeds will get through some gardening plastic; they will not get through wet newspapers.
(14) Use a wet cotton ball or Q-tip to pick up the small shards of broken glass you can't see easily.
(15) Place a dryer sheet in your pocket. It will keep the mosquitos away.

Stay tuned...more to come.

11/12/2025

More 5 Things Your Mother Should Have Told You...
(6) For a cool brownie treat, make brownies as directed. Melt Andes mints in double boiler and pour over warm brownies. Let set for a wonderful minty frosting.
(7) Add garlic immediately to a recipe if you want a light taste of garlic and at the end of the recipe if you want a stronger taste of garlic.
(8) Leftover Snicker bars from Halloween make a delicious dessert. Simply chop them up with the food chopper. Peel, core and slice a few apples. Place them in a baking dish and sprinkle the chopped candy bars over the apples. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes!!! Serve alone or with vanilla ice cream. Yummm!
(9) Heat up leftover pizza in a nonstick skillet on top of the stove, set heat to medium-low and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy. No soggy micro pizza. I saw this on the cooking channel, and it really works.
(10) Easy deviled eggs...put cooked egg yolks in a zip lock bag. Seal, mash until they are all broken up. Add remainder of ingredients, reseal, keep mashing it up mixing thoroughly, cut the tip of the baggy, squeeze mixture into egg. Just throw bag away when done. Easy clean up.

11/11/2025

5 things your mother should have told you: (1) Take your bananas apart when you get home from the store. If you leave them connected at the stem, they ripen faster. (2) Store your opened chunks of cheese in aluminum foil. It will stay fresh much longer and not mold. (3) Peppers with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for eating. Peppers with 4 bumps on the bottom are firmer and better for cooking. (4) Add a teaspoon of water when frying ground beef. It will help pull the grease away from the meat while cooking. (5) To really make scrambled eggs or omelets rich add a couple of spoonfuls of sour cream, cream cheese, or heavy cream in and then beat them up.

10/29/2025

Here is some meal planning...

These are Walmart prices I found. Check them out...

Breakfast #1:
15 oz. can sausage gravy $1.00
Jiffy biscuit mix $0.93
1/2 doz. eggs $1.13
Total cost $3.06. Feeds up to 6.

Breakfast #2
32 oz. pancake mix $1.98
24 oz. syrup $2.36
2 sticks butter $2.73
Total cost $7.07 Feeds 4-6

Breakfast #3
12.25 oz. Honey Nut Os $1.87
1 gal. milk $3.04
2 bananas $0.56
Total cost $5.47 Feeds 6-8

Lunch #1
2 cans chicken noodle soup $1.40
20 oz. loaf of bread $1.20
16 oz. Creamy peanut butter $1.94
18 oz. grape jelly $1.98
Total cost $6.52 Feeds up to 6

Lunch #2
2 cans tomato soup $1.40
20 oz. loaf of bread $1.20
12 slices cheese $1.84
Total cost $4.44 Feeds up to 6

Supper #1
11 oz. box Mac & cheese $1.48
14 oz. Kielbasa $3.56
20 oz. loaf bread $1.20
Total cost $6.24 Feeds 4-6

Supper #2
Spaghetti 16 oz. $0.98
Spaghetti sauce 24 oz. $1.67
6 Garlic bread sticks $1.97
Total cost $4.62 Feeds up to 6

Total cost these meals is $37.42.
If each meal feeds 6 people the cost per person is $6.24 for 7 meals or WAIT FOR IT.............$0.89 per meal.

10/29/2025

CHILI DINNER:

1 (15oz.) can beans (pinto, kidney, black, etc.) (Walmart Great Value) $0.92
1 (15 oz.) can whole kernel corn (Walmart Great Value) $0.50
1 (15 oz.) can crushed tomatoes or chili starter seasoned tomatoes (Walmart) $0.88
1 Tablespoon chili powder or to taste (recipe for homemade below)
Mix all ingredients together; cook over medium heat until heated thoroughly. Cost as little as $2.30 (prices will vary)

Add Salad as low as $2.73

Add Walmart Great Value regular buttermilk biscuits, 10 count, $0.97

Total chili dinner = $6.00

If you have sufficient funds, you can add 1 pound ground beef (73/27) for an additional approximate $5.44 taking the meal to about $11.44, and you should be able to feed 4-6 people ($1.90 to $2.86 per person).

BAKING POWDER BISCUITS
2 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons cooking oil
3/4 cup milk for rolled biscuits OR 1 cup milk for drop biscuits

Sift dry ingredients together; mix in the oil and milk. Roll dough to 1/2-inch and cut out with biscuit cutter and place on an ungreased baking sheet (or drop by spoonful). Bake at 400°F 12-15 minutes until golden brown.

HOMEMADE CHILI POWDER
2 Tablespoons paprika
2 teaspoons oregano
1 1/4 teaspoons cumin
1 1/4 teaspoons garlic powder
1 1/4 teaspoons cayenne pepper
3/4 teaspoon onion powder

Mix together and store in an airtight container.

Feed Medical Lake hopes these recipes help. We have many recipes on file. Message any list of ingredients you have on hand you need a recipe for to Jo Jo Williams. I'll try to find a good recipe for you. God bless.

10/28/2025

Reminder - Money donations go farther at food banks and food pantries. They can buy in bulk and get discounts. And they know what they need.

Address

P. O. Box 364
Medical Lake, WA
99022

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 5pm
Tuesday 8am - 5pm
Wednesday 8am - 5pm
Thursday 8am - 5pm
Friday 8am - 5pm
Saturday 10am - 4pm
Sunday 10am - 4pm

Telephone

+15097141150

Website

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