Applesauce Oatmeal Muffins

Here's a quick and tasty egg-free, fully-storable muffin! I'm getting better at being confident about tweaking a recipe. I looked up a few recipes online for oatmeal muffins and then came up with this variation. I baked them up on a Saturday night to be ready for a quick family breakfast before early church meetings the next day. I also figured that if they flopped, it would give me a chance to throw something else together. Why did I doubt myself? They were delicious!

Applesauce Oatmeal Muffins

1 cup quick cooking oats

1 cup water

½ cup applesauce

½ cup brown sugar, packed

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt         

½ tsp cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla

1 Tbsp white vinegar

1 Tbsp oil (optional)

Soak the oats in the water for 10-15 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and stir just until moistened. Fill muffin cups ⅔ full. Bake at 400° F for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. If you choose to leave the oil out, the muffins just won't brown as nicely. They will still taste great.

Mother's Day Giveaway Winner

And the winner is . . .

Devin and Amie

Send me a quick email with your address info and I will get you a copy of the book sent off in the next couple of days.

Thanks to everyone who spread the word and entered the drawing.

I'm off to get the garden starts watered. I'm hoping it warms up around here soon so I can actually get them planted outside and off my bathroom counter.

Final Day to Enter Mother's Day Giveaway!

It's the final day to enter the Mother's Day giveaway for a free copy of my new book. Click here to see the original post and enter today!

Freezer Jam with Ultra Gel

Mondays I typically try to share some cost-saving tips or advice here on the blog. Today you get an amazing recipe along with my advice. 

Freezer jam is my ultimate favorite. I always make a little cooked jam every year just in case, but my family prefers the fresh flavor of the freezer jam hands-down! Using pectin requires loads of sugar and is quite costly per batch. Years ago, my mom learned about another amazing thickener. It is sold under a few names - Ultra Gel, Ultra Sperse, and Ultra Maxi-gel. They are all the same product. It is an instant thickener made from corn which means any of you needing to avoid gluten will learn to love this stuff. It holds up very well in canning and also in the freezer. I use it in many recipes. For freezer jam, it costs about $.50 a batch where pectin is usually over $2.00 so it is quite a significant savings. 

It is not available everywhere. You may need to search the internet for a source near you or just order some from on on-line retailer. Ultra Gel is sold at Carnetfoods.com. We have a local preparedness store called Food 2 Store that carries it in the #10 cans. I always keep a couple on hand. I use it in all my jam and syrup making. I also thicken spaghetti sauce with it and anything else that is just a little too runny. Because it is an instant thickener, you can just add it to whatever you are making a little at a time. Mix it and then wait just a bit to see if it is as thick as you like. I also use it in many freezer meals I make to replace the cornstarch or flour that just don't hold up as well once frozen. 

Anyway, on to making freezer jam - 

My husband was so sweet to wash and prepare all the strawberries while I was at the dentist last week. After we put the kids to bed, he also helped me get 3 batches of jam completed. The food processor really helps to get the strawberries chopped quickly. You can use a potato masher. I have found it is much easier if you cut the strawberries into smaller pieces first. The kids love to help with the mashing!

Here is my can of Ultra Sperse.

My recipe calls for applesauce. We mix this will all the fruit we do. It stretches your fruit or berries and takes on the flavor of whatever else you put it with so no one ever knows it's in there.

Mix the ultra sperse with the sugar to make it easier to mix in. Without mixing it with the sugar, the ultra sperse will clump very quickly so you have to mix it in veeeerrrrrry gradually. By mixing it with the sugar, you can dump more in at once and not have it clump together.

Package the jam in reusable cottage cheese or sour cream containers. Label and freeze. It keeps for 1-2 years in the freezer. There you go, in less than 30 minutes we had 3 batches finished!

Freezer Jam
4 cups mashed fruit	2+ cups of sugar depending on tartness
1 cup applesauce	of fruit
¼ cup light corn syrup	½ cup Ultra Gel* (add more if you like it
2 Tbsp lemon juice	thicker)
Combine all ingredients and mix well. Sprinkle the Ultra Gel in gradually to avoid lumps. Pour into freezer safe containers and freeze.  I love this recipe because it works with every kind of fruit or berry. The applesauce takes on the flavor of the other fruit and allows you to stretch your berries or more expensive fruit. You really just need 5 cups of fruit so if you have 4 ½ cups of berries, add ½ cup of applesauce, etc. This is a recipe my mom got years ago and our family has used it every year since. I make strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, peach and apricot freezer jams every year. The apricots I put in the blender, the strawberries I put in the food processor, all the other fruit I mash with a potato masher. This jam never needs to be cooked so it retains its fresh fruit flavor. You can also use frozen berries if you'd like. I save my sour cream and cottage cheese containers to freeze my jam in. They really work well. One note of caution, because this jam has far less sugar than many recipes it will spoil faster once it is thawed out. Knowing this, choose containers the appropriate size for your family so that it can be eaten in a week or two once it is thawed out. Enjoy!

Sunday Will Come

On this Easter Weekend, I find myself reflecting on the life and mission of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Every year at this time, I join all the other Christians in the world as I remember the horrible events that led up to the glorious resurrection of the Son of God. I am reminded of an amazing talk given by Joesph B. Wirthlin in the October 2006 General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He had recently lost his wife of 65 years. He took time in his talk to reflect on the joys of this life and also the sorrows we face. He then talked of the Savior and of his death and resurrection. He assured each of us that "Sunday will come." Just as the resurrection morning followed the darkest few days in mortal history, when we are facing challenges, we can be confident that "Sunday will come."


I have copied a little of the talk here. Enjoy!


The Resurrection is at the core of our beliefs as Christians. Without it, our faith is meaningless. The Apostle Paul said, “If Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and [our] faith is also vain.”
In all the history of the world there have been many great and wise souls, many of whom claimed special knowledge of God. But when the Savior rose from the tomb, He did something no one had ever done. He did something no one else could do. He broke the bonds of death, not only for Himself but for all who have ever lived—the just and the unjust.
When Christ rose from the grave, becoming the firstfruits of the Resurrection, He made that gift available to all. And with that sublime act, He softened the devastating, consuming sorrow that gnaws at the souls of those who have lost precious loved ones.
I think of how dark that Friday was when Christ was lifted up on the cross.
On that terrible Friday the earth shook and grew dark. Frightful storms lashed at the earth.
Those evil men who sought His life rejoiced. Now that Jesus was no more, surely those who followed Him would disperse. On that day they stood triumphant.
On that day the veil of the temple was rent in twain.
Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of Jesus, were both overcome with grief and despair. The superb man they had loved and honored hung lifeless upon the cross.
On that Friday the Apostles were devastated. Jesus, their Savior—the man who had walked on water and raised the dead—was Himself at the mercy of wicked men. They watched helplessly as He was overcome by His enemies.
On that Friday the Savior of mankind was humiliated and bruised, abused and reviled.
It was a Friday filled with devastating, consuming sorrow that gnawed at the souls of those who loved and honored the Son of God.
I think that of all the days since the beginning of this world’s history, that Friday was the darkest.
But the doom of that day did not endure.
The despair did not linger because on Sunday, the resurrected Lord burst the bonds of death. He ascended from the grave and appeared gloriously triumphant as the Savior of all mankind.
And in an instant the eyes that had been filled with ever-flowing tears dried. The lips that had whispered prayers of distress and grief now filled the air with wondrous praise, for Jesus the Christ, the Son of the living God, stood before them as the firstfruits of the Resurrection, the proof that death is merely the beginning of a new and wondrous existence.
Each of us will have our own Fridays—those days when the universe itself seems shattered and the shards of our world lie littered about us in pieces. We all will experience those broken times when it seems we can never be put together again. We will all have our Fridays.
But I testify to you in the name of the One who conquered death—Sunday will come. In the darkness of our sorrow, Sunday will come.
No matter our desperation, no matter our grief, Sunday will come. In this life or the next, Sunday will come.

Joseph B. Wirthlin, “Sunday Will Come,” Ensign, Nov 2006, 28–30

Easter Nests

These are so simple and add fun to any Easter event!

Just make your traditional rice crispie treat recipe substituting cornflakes for the rice crispies. I used 3 Tbsp butter (you can use a dairy-free substitute), 16 oz. of marshmallows and 9 cups of cornflakes. I also added a little green food coloring for fun. You can easily leave it out and they still look like nests. How many of you have ever made rice crispie treats and had then turn out so hard that you couldn't even chew them? I'm sure we all have. The trick is patience. Don't melt the butter and marshmallows over too hot of a heat or when the mixture cools it will be like hard candy. Use low to medium heat and just be patient.

Spray your hands with oil so you won't stick too badly.

Once the mixture cools enough to handle, shape into nests and place in muffin tins to cool completely. This will help them keep their shape. I was able to get 24 nests out of this recipe. If the mixture in the pan cools too much while you are shaping the nests, put it back on the heat just long enough to get it unstuck from the pan.

Place egg-like candies or jelly beans into each nest. 

This is a great activity for kids of all ages to help with. Be careful - you'll have them all fighting over who gets to lick the wooden spoon.

Chocolate Dipped Easter Eggs

Every holiday has "traditional" foods or treats that you wouldn't want to go without. Think ahead about these dishes so you can have the ingredients on-hand as part of your 3-month storage. In the early Fall, I think ahead about Thanksgiving and Christmas. After Christmas, I think through to Valentines Day and Easter. I also think about Birthdays and make sure we are ready for those as well. You get the idea - These dipped Easter Eggs are a favorite at our house and at the Easter Egg Hunt with the extended family. They are a little time intensive, but I stretch it out over a few days so it doesn't seem so bad. I make the fillings one day and then shape them and store them covered in our extra fridge. Then we dip them a little at a time over the week ahead of Easter.

Here's the coconut cream eggs.

Here's the chocolate and peanut butter eggs all formed and ready to chill.

To dip, stab a toothpick into each egg and dip in melted chocolate. Use an additional toothpick to help you transfer it to your tray and remove the first toothpick.

Add sprinkles while the chocolate is still soft. You can also drizzle with colored chocolate instead of using the sprinkles. I use different sprinkles for the different fillings so we can tell them apart.

They look so festive and fun! Believe it or not - everything is storable for at least 3 months.

Using a hand mixer speeds up the process when you are making the fillings.

Coconut Cream Filling

4 oz cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup butter

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

4 cups powdered sugar

1 1/2 cups coconut

1-2 cups additional coconut -add at the end

Mix filling ingredients. Knead additional coconut in at the end until it is as full of coconut as you like. I like it heavy on the coconut. Shape into eggs and place on waxed paper. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours until hardened. Makes 36 small eggs.

Chocolate Filling

1 small pkg instant chocolate pudding

1/3 cup boiling water

1/3 cup butter

3 cups powdered sugar

Stir together pudding mix, boiling water and butter until butter is melted and mixture is smooth. Stir in powdered sugar. Refrigerate mixture until firm enough to mold into egg shapes. Shape into eggs and place on waxed paper. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours until hardened. Makes about 24 small eggs.

Peanut Butter Filling

1 cup peanut butter

6 Tbsp butter

2 cups powdered sugar

Mix peanut butter, butter, and powdered sugar together until creamy. Form into small eggs and place on waxed paper. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours until hardened. Makes 24 small eggs.

Chocolate Coating

5 cups milk chocolate chips

2 Tbsp shortening

Melt chocolate chips with the shortening in the microwave for 2–3 minutes on high, stirring every 20–30 seconds. Dip egg shapes into the chocolate and return to the waxed paper. (This works best if you stab each egg with a toothpick before dipping. Decorate with sprinkles or drizzles of white chocolate. Refrigerate to harden. Melt additional chocolate, if needed.

Mother's Day Giveaway!

With Mother's Day just around the corner, I wanted to offer a free book as a wonderful gift! If you have a copy for yourself already, I'm sure you can think of a special mother who would love to receive one as a gift. Full of tips and ideas to make life a lot easier for moms, my book is a perfect gift. So, if you are interested in a FREE copy, just leave a comment on this post. In your comment, please share a bit of provident advice that could help all of us. Do you have a trick that helps you stick to a budget? What is your favorite food storage item and why? How do you work food storage items into your daily cooking? What tip could help us all prepare just a little more for emergencies? I'm sure you can think of more than one item that would be appropriate to share.

To be entered into the drawing a second time - mention this giveaway on your Facebook page, Twitter or personal blog and then leave an additional comment telling me that you did so.

To be entered into the drawing a third time become a public follower of this blog and leave me yet another comment. (You could combine all your comments in one post if you'd like. Just be clear that you've done all three requirements so I know to enter your name 3 times in the drawing.)

For those of you who have already received a copy of my book, post a review on Amazon.com and I will enter you a fourth time into the drawing. (I know you know a spectacular mom who would love getting my book from you as a gift, or maybe you are like me and you'd love one copy for the kitchen drawer and one to stay clean and pristine on your bookshelf far away from dirty cooking fingerprints!)

At any rate, everyone can have lots of chances to win so start spreading the word!

A winner for the FREE book will be chosen at random on April 27th (This gives you a little more than a week to spread the word!) and then announced on this blog the next day. Pass the word on to family and friends so they can get in on the fun.

Soft Garlic Breadsticks

Our family loves these breadsticks and so does everyone who has ever tried them! My son is famous at school for taking these for snack when he has the assignment. We are asked to bring them to all of the room parties as a healthy snack. This dough is also the base for many other recipes I will be sharing here on the blog. So go ahead, make up a batch for tonight and make it a pizza night to remember!    Soft Garlic Breadstick/Pizza Dough
2 ½–3 cups bread flour	1 ½ tsp salt
¼ cup gluten flour	½ tsp dried basil
3 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese	1 Tbsp yeast
¼ cup dry milk powder	2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 Tbsp sugar	1 ¼ cups hot water
1 Tbsp garlic powder
Mix according to basic bread making instructions. Once dough has completed the first rise, shape into breadsticks or roll out as pizza dough. Put on greased pans and let rise slightly. For breadsticks, bake at 425° F for 10–12 minutes or until golden brown. Brush with melted butter. For pizza, bake for 8–10 minutes or just until dough is beginning to turn light brown. Put toppings on and then bake an additional 5–10 minutes or until cheese bubbles. Makes 10–12 breadsticks or 1 large pizza crust. You can use 1/2 whole wheat four and 1/2 white bread flour. You can also freeze any leftovers once they have cooled so don't hesitate to double or even triple the batch. I often wrap pizza dough in plastic wrap and freeze it after the first cooking time and before adding toppings. Then it makes for quick pizza another night. You may find that you love it enough that you want to make up a few mixes and keep it ready to go in the pantry.

English Muffin Bread

English Muffin bread is great to try as your first experience with bread making. It is especially fun to get kids involved! No kneading or big mixer is required, although you can use one if you'd like. 

You end up with a stiff dough after mixing all your ingredients. Just plop it in the pan - the kids love to "plop" it.

Flatten out a little to help it fill the pan.

Bake until golden brown. Delicious, old-fashioned and rustic looking - doesn't it look great! We love it with a meal or as toast with strawberry freezer jam. It also makes great PBJ sandwiches for lunch. Since no kneading is required, it works out perfectly every time. Freeze any that you won't use in a day or two. I always use 1/2 whole wheat flour and 1/2 white bread flour.

English Muffin Bread
5 ½–6 cups bread flour	¼ tsp baking soda
2 Tbsp yeast	6 Tbsp dry milk powder
1 Tbsp sugar	2 ½ cups hot water
2 tsp salt	Cornmeal
Combine the dry ingredients, only using 3 cups of flour. Add hot water and beat well. Stir in enough additional flour to make a stiff batter. Grease two loaf pans and sprinkle with cornmeal. Pour batter into pans, dividing it evenly. Sprinkle tops with cornmeal. Allow to rise until nearly double (about 45 min.) Bake at 400° F for 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from pans and cool on a wire rack.

Wheat Prices are Rising

I don't want to excite a riot in any way, but I thought I would share some info I have learned this week. One of the best ways to save money on your groceries is to shop around for the lowest prices on items that can store and then stock-up when you see the items for a low price.

We all know that we have been watching the prices at the grocery store climbing a little more each week. This week I realized how high wheat prices have gone. I don't shop for wheat very often since I store so much here at the house. I do like to keep 100 lbs in buckets that I pull from on a regular basis for rotating since what I have all sealed up will last for 30+ years.

My friend called to tell me the LDS cannery came out with their new price lists.  They are now charging over $11 for 25 lbs. The last price list had it listed for $7 something. So after some calling around we determined that Costco has the best price for wheat right now. They are charging $16.99 for 45 lb buckets of hard white wheat. A few weeks back, it was $13.99 so their price is up also. They also told my friend that they will most likely be raising the price again the middle of the month. So if you want wheat - get it now!

It takes about 300 lbs of wheat to make 365 loaves which would give you a loaf a day for a year. Use this info to determine how much wheat would be good for your family to store, keeping in mind that without crackers and pretzels you'd be eating more bread.

Teaching the Next Generation

Self-reliance is a product of provident living and exercising economic self-discipline. From the beginning the Church has taught that families—to the extent they can—need to assume responsibility for their own temporal welfare. Each generation is required to learn anew the foundational principles of self-reliance: avoid debt, implement principles of thrift, prepare for times of distress, listen to and follow the words of the living oracles, develop the discipline to distinguish between needs and wants and then live accordingly.

Source: The Sanctifying Work of Welfare H. David Burton Sunday Morning Session April 2011 General Conference


This is a statement that stood out to me as I listened to the General Conference of the Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The idea that each generation must learn anew the principles of self-reliance is very important. It is important that your grandmother knew how to can her garden produce and that your parents figured out being content with what their salary could give them, but it is more important that you figure it out and teach your own children. These are lessons and skills that every generation must learn.

Find opportunities to teach these principles. Get your children involved in the kitchen as you learn to cook with storable items, plant a garden this year and give them all assignments, hold a family night on budgeting using Monopoly money so your kids gain a better understanding of just how much it takes for essentials, or create a family vacation budget and have the kids help plan the activities that will keep you within your budget.

These are a few simple ideas. It takes work as a parent to teach our children all they need to know but that is what we committed to when we became a parent. If these are skills you still need to learn before you can teach your kids, set some goals for yourself in this area. Make it fun and the kids will soon want to be learning at your side.

Egg Salad Sandwiches

Easter time gets us all thinking a little about eggs. Egg salad sandwiches are a high-protein, inexpensive meal. According to the latest studies by the FDA eggs stay fresh in the fridge for 10 weeks. This means that you can change your buying habits and keep more eggs on hand as part of your 3-month supply.

To make egg salad, peel and wash hard boiled eggs. I've learned that using a pie cutter chops them so fast.

Add a little mayo or salad dressing (I realize there are divided opinions on which one tastes best. Some families may even need to make two bowls with one of each to keep the peace.) I also add a little onion and garlic powder and then salt and pepper to taste. This time of year my chives are up again so I'll snip a few and add them in place of the onion powder. It's all good.

Spread the egg salad mixture on homemade wheat bread for a hearty quick and easy lunch. You can use store bought bread if that's what you have. I've even made these for brunch before and cut them in cute little triangles before arranging them on a fancy platter. Fancy doesn't have to be expensive.

Freezing Potatoes

I went out into the garage the other day and found that my box of potatoes looked like this. They were all growing sprouts! I have been storing these potatoes since early November - they lasted great for more than 4 months and we've been using them a lot this winter. I probably have about 25 potatoes left that are sprouting.

The potatoes are still good - don't throw them away! Break the sprouts off and then use the potatoes in any recipe. Dr. Nora Olsen, an associate extension professor and potato specialist at the University of Idaho says that the sprouts and green coloring that sometimes appear on potatoes that have been exposed to light contain higher amounts of alkaloid compounds that are not good for us. The whole potato is not bad though. As with the sprouts, Olsen explains, you can cut the green part off and eat the rest of the potato.

If you have more potatoes sprouting than you can get through very quickly, you can freeze them.

Peel and cut into desired shape. Boil in water just long enough to make them barely tender. Drain. Spread out in a single layer on a cookie sheet to freeze. Once frozen, transfer to a freezer bag. When ready to use, cook as desired. I cubed some before freezing and then fried them in a little oil just as I do the frozen hash browns from the store. They were delicious. I also boiled a few of them to turn into a potato salad. No one would have ever known they had been frozen first. So if the potatoes in your garage begin to sprout or start going soft, peel them up and freeze them to preserve them a little longer. You can easily store enough potatoes to include them in your 3-month supply of meals.

Home Owners or Renters Insurance

Today is Money Monday here on the blog. I try to discuss something that will help us save a little money or spend more wisely each Monday. This morning I have been thinking about Homeowner's Insurance because we recently paid ours for the year. If you are not a homeowner then you should seriously consider purchasing renters insurance. It protects all of your belongings in the case of a fire, flood, etc. My brother's policy even protects his belongings that he stores in the trunk of his car. If something were to happen to the home or apartment you are renting, the landlord's insurance would protect only the building not any of your belongings and it would cost you an awful lot to have to replace them all.

Many of you pay your homeowner's insurance through an escrow account that is set up with your mortgage. Some mortgages require that you do it this way. Ours does not so we choose to pay it on our own. This gives us a little more control over how much we put aside every month.  The bank sets a certain amount aside every month out of what you pay them. They allow this to collect in an escrow account until the date that the bill is actually due. In most cases, they error on the side of caution and collect more money than is actually due in case the insurance costs go up. This means that many years you have put more into an escrow account than you really needed to and the bank was the one earning the interest on the money as it sat there all year before paying the bill.

We have learned to discipline ourselves to put the money aside each month into our own savings account. We see the bill come through so we know exactly what we are paying and we have also earned the interest during the year while we were waiting to pay the insurance company. It doesn't add up to a whole lot of savings, but it puts us in control and it makes it a little easier to change insurance companies when we decide to.

Every few years, I go through the steps to check the prices and coverages we can get trough different insurance companies. Last year I did this and figured out that by changing companies, we could increase our coverage amounts and actually pay over $600 a year less for insurance.

That $600 can go a long way when purchasing food storage, filling the emergency fund, painting the house, etc. I'm sure you could all find wise ways to spend an extra $600.  So check into what you are paying for insurance. You just may be pleasantly surprised.

Wise words from a prophet

"Many more people could ride out the storm-tossed waves in their economic lives if they had their year's supply of food and clothing and were debt free. Today we find that many have followed this counsel in reverse: they have at least a year's supply of debt and are food-free." — President Thomas S. Monson, "That noble gift — love at home," Church News, May 12, 2001.

Only you hold the power to change your circumstances - begin today to make small changes that will give you great peace in the future.

Homemade Biscuits

I love having biscuit mix in the pantry. This one is so inexpensive to make and we've decided we like it with 1/2 whole wheat flour so it's lots more nutritious. Don't be afraid of making a large batch. Pair these with sausage gravy for a fast and delicious breakfast. They also go great in place of rolls for dinner.

To make biscuits, just add 1 cup water to 3 cups of mix and combine in a bowl.

Drop onto a greased baking sheet or roll out and cut into perfect biscuit shapes. (I'm usually in too much of a hurry to worry about perfect shapes - they get devoured either way and drop biscuits make less of a mess to clean up.)

Biscuit Mix
12 cups flour	2 cups shortening
2 Tbsp salt	1 ½ cup dry milk powder
4 Tbsp baking powder
Use a hand mixer to blend the ingredients. The shortening just disappears into the mix. We like it using 6 cups whole wheat flour and 6 cups white flour. Use as a substitute in any recipe that calls for Bisquick. To make biscuits: Combine 3 cups mix with 1 cup water. (Dough will be a little sticky.) Drop onto greased cookie sheet and bake at 400° F for 10–12 minutes. Or, roll out to ½-inch thickness using more biscuit mix on the counter instead of flour so you keep your ratio of fat to flour like you need for a fluffy biscuit. Bake as directed. To make cheddar garlic biscuits: Stir in 1 ½ cups grated cheddar cheese and 1 ½ tsp garlic powder to the above biscuit dough. Shape and bake as above. Brush with additional melted butter and sprinkle with more garlic powder before serving, if desired. To make pancakes: Combine 2 cups of mix with 1 cup of water and 2 eggs. If you do not have eggs available, you can substitute ½ cup of mashed bananas, applesauce, or pumpkin. It's great with a little cinnamon sprinkled in as well.