Living the Pantry Lifestyle - We were able to finish some items on this year's To Do list!

We have been having the craziest weather this year but nothing like the storm front that went through that left such destruction in Kentucky and other places around us.  I would never have expected such a tornado outbreak in December.  We were under a tornado watch for that system so I stayed up until the local weatherman gave the all clear for our area.

The second front that went through last week also brought unheard of winds for December but there were no storms with it in our area.  This month has been enough proof that the weather has gone crazy.

Each time the 60mph winds came though, I kept thanking God for having placed it on our hearts to bring those trees down.  One was especially rotted more than we expected and would have destroyed our house if it had fallen.  

We started this past year with a few things that we knew had to be given priority in our budget.  A tooth infection reminded me that dental work was absolutely necessary and seeing the pain I went through, my husband decided he had better see his dentist, too.  

His dental work is now all complete as of last week and most of mine is done, there are just a couple more teeth needing attention.  It was all accomplished a little at a time over the past year.

We have been putting off the tree removal for a very long time.  It seemed something more urgent kept popping up.  Not to mention that there is still other work on the house needing done that would be more cosmetic in the improvements.  However, both of us kept coming back to those trees when planning our budget.  

Next year, we plan to have the driveway resurfaced and hopefully the main bathroom to get some much needed attention.  We will see what the new year brings before making a final decision.

So, why are we getting the house in shape?  We don't plan on moving anytime soon but we have been caught in a situation before where we had to move for a new job and with little cash reserves.  We had only lived in that house four years but the town codes had already changed on a couple items, meaning they had to be updated before we could sell the house.

Now, we are trying to stay ahead of the Realtor game and eventually when we leave this home or we go Home, our kids will not be put in a position of having to make repairs before being able to sell the house.  

We do not want to  leave them with any additional burdens.  So, instead of a vacation in Aruba (which is not going to happen regardless)... we are saving up for home repairs.

Should inflation continue at the rate it is now, I think we will be grateful for anything that has been accomplished already.  Even if I would rather spend the money on something other than chopping down huge trees (it is actually a fascinating process to watch).

I finished grocery shopping on Friday for the Christmas Eve meal and last minute baking ingredients.  Most had been purchased already but I went to Kroger to see if I could find a few things Meijer was out of at the time.  Right now, between the four stores I live within a few miles radius, I can still find what items are needed.

The cost, though, is another thing.  We hear that prices are going up but even then, it is still shocking to see how high some prices are becoming. It makes prioritizing even more important.  Honestly, grocery shopping has changed so much since the beginning of COVID.

About a year ago, I started hearing reports here and there about the price of beef expecting to go up for various reasons.  So, I bought a few cans of Keystone ground beef and a couple cans of their beef off and on at Meijer.  I heard recently that their website is now sold out of beef, ground beef, and pork.  So, I went there and indeed, the only thing available is chicken.

You can still purchase these items on places like eBay for an exorbitant mark up. I haven't seen cans of ground beef on the store shelves for awhile but I have seen beef still on the store shelves.  If they are there the next time I am at Meijer, I will get two more cans for the pantry.  Most people purchase Keystone canned meat at Wal-Mart so it would be worth seeing if they had any left should you be interested.

I haven't tried their meat, those cans I have are tucked back for an emergency.  However, I have tried the Essenhaus canned chicken and it is delicious.  It is available at some Kroger stores in the Midwest.  Both Essenhaus and Keystone (and a couple other brands) are processed in the can with only water and some salt, just as one would do for most home canned meat.  They have a five year minimum shelf life.

My most recent pantry purchases were my usual "buy one to use now, buy one to put in pantry" kinds of purchasing.  I am making a broccolli casserole for Christmas Eve dinner that requires Velveeta, which... like Cool Whip... is one of my "don't ask, don't tell" foods I use in recipes.

So, when I bought one box of Velveeta for this Christmas Eve recipe, I bought one to put back for later.  This is the way I slowly stock up on food items that I don't use often.  I need to check the grocery store next week to see if Cool Whip is on sale, since it often is Christmas week.  A few tubs in the deep freeze is always a good idea for quick recipes or when I don't want to whip cream.

In January, I hope to do a restock of some pastas like spaghetti and perhaps rotini.  I have enough orzo left from last year's stock up and I need to check the macaroni but I think I have enough of it, too.  I keep both of those pastas in glass jars.

Pasta, if stored so it does not get damp, will last for a very long time and retain its' quality. I've had it last a couple of years and I have heard some people have it last longer. Because it is inexpensive, I like to stock up at once on boxes of spaghetti.  They lay flat and are the same shape box whether thick spaghetti, or thin spaghetti, or regular spaghetti.

When I was at Kroger on Friday, I checked their pasta aisle and they had plenty of spaghetti but were missing some of my favorite specialty shapes of pasta.  Another shelf that I noticed was almost bare was the Asian food aisle and this Kroger is known for stocking foreign foods since a lot of University students shop there.

After Christmas, I will check to see if foods such as summer sausage are on a clearance sale price.  I will also check the food gift boxes that contain meat and cheese, often found in the produce section. They are usually placed on sale after Christmas.

I'm going to pay more attention to gift bags on after Christmas sales this year, too.  Especially after Meijer had such a smaller selection than usual and I used many of what I had already.  I stocked up on wrapping paper a few years ago and there is plenty of it left.

Let's see, I can think of one question from last week off the top of my head.  How I cook dry beans?  I soak the beans overnight in plenty of water and just leave the bowl on the kitchen counter if the weather is not hot and humid.  I drain that water and then put the beans in a dutch oven along with plenty of water and a couple pinches of kosher sea salt and let them simmer until they are as soft as I want them.  I always have to add more water.

For soup, I let them get almost soft and then add the other soup ingredients.  For beans I'm using for salads or other purposes, like black beans for tacos, I watch for them to get done but not soft.  

It is not only in An Everlasting Meal that the subject of salting the beans right away is preferred but I once watched an episode of (I think) Cooks Illustrated and they also found it better to salt the beans from the start of making soup. It is worth experimenting the next time you make them!

Now, speaking of soup, I need to finish making the chicken soup that I started yesterday.  The weather is cooling down (finally) with a steady rain off and on... soup weather.