Living the Pantry Lifestyle - A little of this and that!

This last week was interesting to say the least as I tried to accomplish the regular household maintenance and stock up shopping (how can it be a month already?) while still dealing with a muscle in my back that wants me to sit as still as possible.

I did receive a wonderful gift of help when my daughter-in-law brought her cleaning crew with her (Piper and Oliver) and cleaned the white siding on our front porch.  Have I mentioned that I have the best daughter-in-law (and son-in-law)?!  I had asked her if she knew anyone who wanted to earn a little extra money by cleaning and her answer was that she would do it for me at no charge!

I love how God made a way for something that has been a burden to be taken care of so easily.  Well, she and her helpers had to work but it was easy for me!  I also love how she is training the kids to do acts of service for other people, even though they are only three and six.  

I am feeling okay but I need to "let it go" where the work does not need to be done right now... shut the door to the messy study and desk, and let the muscle just relax. I have dealt with it for decades, ever since a childhood accident having to do with carrying a chair too big for me to carry while walking down stairs. Anyway, I digress...

Last week's stock ups at Aldi and Meijer were mostly food items we would use this month.  I did buy a tube of anchovy paste to try (thank you for the suggestion!!!) and I bought a couple boxes of Pomi Chopped Tomatoes to try. Next time I am at Kroger or Meijer, I want to buy a couple boxes of the Pomi strained tomatoes since they are the same or similar to passata.

I have been watching an Italian cooking show where she uses passata in a lot of recipes.  Italian passata is a tomato sauce that is not made with cooked tomatoes as are the American brands.  I want to try it since it is supposed to make a light pizza sauce when a few Italian herbs are added.  They use pasata for everything, including pasta sauces, on the cooking show.

I love learning new things from cooking shows.

As far as other tomatoes, I went with my husband last week when he did our Kroger shopping so I could purchase some cans of my favorite Red Gold tomatoes.  Kroger is the only place where I shop that sells the large cans of peeled whole tomatoes and I was running low on them.

The stores are mostly well stocked and what I could not get at Meijer, I found at Kroger.  Meijer had no boxes of Cherry Jello and just a few boxes of vanilla instant pudding, both needed for Holiday desserts. So far, there hasn't been anything I could not get by looking at multiple stores except items that are discontinued.

Aldi is not always predictable on how much chicken they will have.  I have only been buying two packages of chicken on stock up day.  I could not believe the price at Meijer for deboned chicken breasts, they were something like $3.49 a pound for a family pack.  They had been $1.99 a pound full price and often $1.49 a pound on sale for years.  I didn't buy any!

One reminder I keep hearing from favorite YouTube vloggers is that the canned vegetables and fruits we are buying right now are mostly from last year's crops.  So, even though they are already going up in price they are probably at their lowest cost they will be for awhile.

Does anyone else listen to southernprepper1?  His Boots on the Ground segments were recommended to me perhaps a couple months ago (time goes so fast, it may have been longer) by someone I trust.  On these segments, he reads email updates he gets from the States but also other parts of the world.  

They are all from individuals who report such things as shortages, price increases, supply chain difficulties, and other changes such as with doctors and hospitals. It is very interesting to see how different parts of the country are experiencing challenges. 

He reminds me of Prepper Dawg, they are the only two "prepper vloggers" that I watch just about every day.  Both are Christians and come at these changes in our society from that worldview and both tend to stay away from fear mongering.

I had to stop listening to some guys who had fairly good information but came to every video update as if the world was falling apart right now and WWIII was tomorrow.  

Who knows what tomorrow will bring but no one can keep their peace if someone is shouting to them all the time that the world is ending. I have learned that I can tell the difference between people who believe in preparing but also put their trust in the Lord. 

I have heard from a few sources that there may be candy shortages during the Holiday season, especially chocolate.  I will share some of my favorite (simple) candy recipes next week.  Remember, cocoa lasts for a very long time if kept away from moisture. I have extra chocolate chips stored in glass jars and some packages of other "chips". There is extra sugar of various kinds and there is butter in the freezer.

I am ready for Holiday baking and candy making.  I've mentioned before that I planned to become a pastry chef and then Juvenile Diabetes happened and "poof", not a good idea.  But one can still bake for those they care about.

Mentioned in this Blog Post

Pomi brand Italian tomatoes... here. (They are probably cheaper at the stores but this will show you what they look like if you don't buy them already.)  This is my new pantry item to try this week.

Prepper Dawg on YouTube... here.

Southernprepper1 on YouTube... here. (Especially his Boots on the Ground segments are worth your time, you don't have to listen every day, even a couple times a week will keep you updated.)

I think I will add here a link to a couple She's In Her Apron recent videos that have a pantry theme.  The first is how she plans her menus for the month... here.  The second was also recent, where she made up various pantry meal kits... here.  I thought both had good ideas.

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