Living the Pantry Lifestyle - A little stock up and some candy recipes

I decided to use my birthday gift of cash (thank you my Florida friend!) to partly stock up a little as a hedge against inflation.  So, one morning mid-week when I knew Meijer would not have many shoppers, I went shopping without any definite list.

I wanted to get a few things to "put back" but I also wanted to see what was in stock, the prices, and what continues to be out of stock.  I'm realizing more and more if there is something specific I want to get as a gift or I need personally that I had better buy it right then if I have the money.

I had heard that stores and many brands were cutting down on the options they were offering and every month I see it happening more.  Some items are still available on Amazon but usually at a higher price than at the stores.

For the pantry, I bought one can of Keystone ground beef since Meijer still has it in stock.  The Use By date is five years out and we know it can be good years after that date. I bought some cans some cans of vegetables and some more packages of the Pomi tomatoes.  I only buy one can of Keystone meat once in awhile because most of it is now just under $10.00 a can.  The price has risen significantly over the past two years.

I wanted to buy a chuck roast but there was none to be found and when I looked at stew meat, it didn't look good and it was ridiculously expensive.  However, I found round steaks on sale (half the price of the stew meat) so I bought two, one to use while the weather cooler for awhile and another is in the freezer.  Both will be cubed for oven stew.

I have mentioned that while I enjoy listening to advice from some of the "real preppers" on YouTube, I stock up differently with just two of us and with limited space.  They often buy multiple flats of food at a time but my "little at a time" pantry stocking works well for us.  There is still a lot to be learned from them and from a couple favorite homesteaders with large families.

For instance, I watched Alaska Prepper's video last week about the prices of food products in Alaska.  Alaska has always had higher grocery prices than the Lower 48 states but it could very well be what is coming to our grocery stores. 

We just have to look around us to know that food scarcity may become more of an issue but inflation definitely has already hit us hard in our grocery budget.  This is an area where we must pray and ask God's wisdom for what each individual household should do.  

Some, like us, may lay aside some extra canned goods while others may be led to really deepen their pantry.  Whether you have a large family or you are stocking a pantry to help others, I am sure God will give you the wisdom you need.

I was gifted a small solar generator from a sister-friend and I need to purchase a dorm room refrigerator soon to use with it.  I was waiting for school to start when they are easier to find.  My son is going to come over and we will go through all the instructions together since he is thinking of buying one.  This would give me a backup to keep my insulin in should we lose power.

I continue to look through recipes that I plan to make in the next few months to make certain I have the ingredients on hand.  I may have mentioned previously that I have a casserole that uses Chicken Stove Top Stuffing sprinkled on top of the mixture and I haven't been able to find it for ages.  Meijer finally had it this time so I bought two boxes.  

So many ingredients I always take for granted have been available only off and on.  This next week, I plan to go over more Holiday/cold weather recipes to make certain I have what is needed on the shelf or in the freezer.

I had some birthday gift card credit left over at Amazon last week so I ordered my favorite gel pen and plenty of refills while those were still cheap.  I needed a refill for the pen I have been using and also decided the way things are going, it would be a good idea to order an extra pen, too.  

I also ordered my planner for 2023 since I have one particular planner I like to use and they can sell out on a good year.  Normally, I wouldn't order it until around November.

We learned in 2020 that the shelves can be full one week and then half-empty the next.  Those lessons... and what I hear is going on around the world... has made me serious about getting the non-food items that, if not essential, at least make my life a lot easier.  (Like socks and underwear!)

My husband came home from the health food store recently, telling me he had to order both the multi-grain bread he needed and bee pollen.  He said it reminded him of something southernprepper1 would report. The only thing he came home with was the maple syrup I asked for and that had been ordered last week.  Apparently, someone had come in and bought every jar of bee pollen they had in stock, which was well over ten jars.

That is another reason to purchase, at least a little at a time, what is needed.  Although, he could live without bee pollen, he has used it for years after it was recommended to him a long time ago by an aunt that also had extreme allergies. I have heard, of course, of people buying up toilet paper but that was the first time I ever heard of someone emptying the shelves of bee pollen. 

 

Okay, I said I was going to share some of my favorite candy recipes this week.  Today I am sharing those I already have parked on my recipe "blog".  I have shared all of these before but they can be made from pantry ingredients. I usually give a combination of candy band baked goods as Christmas gifts.

By the way, I heard on a video that Philadelphia cream cheese in one area was $5.00 a block.  Their store brand was still less than $2.00 a block.  Cream cheese will last a long time in the refrigerator.  I doubt we will see the 5 for $5.00 sales on cream cheese again soon.

I check the Use By date on every purchase these days.  I have found three different Use By dates on the same display of the same brand of cream cheese before.  I always buy the farthest out, which is usually months away.  When I was shopping at Meijer recently, I found two different Use By dates on the same product sitting next to each other... twice on the same shopping trip.  These Use By dates were months apart from each other.

Now for the recipes!

The first three are Beverly Nye candy recipes (some of her recipes overlap).

• Homemade Mounds... here. 
• Basic Mints... here.
• Peanut Butter Easter Eggs (or balls for Christmas)... here.

• Rachel Ray's Fudge (easy and delicious)... here.
• Pretzel candy... here.
• Candied Cranberries... here.
• Raspberry Truffle Brownie (a brownie with a fudge top)... here.
• Christmas Jam (not candy but a sweet gift if you are into canning)... here.
  

TILAPIA:  Speaking of recipes, I forgot I was asked how I fix tilapia.  I simply pat the filet dry with paper toweling and then salt the fish.  I put flour in a flat bowl (I usually season my flour for fish with salt and lemon pepper added to flour.) I also store any leftover seasoned flour in a Ziploc bag and put it in the freezer to use again.

I turn the heat on the skillet at medium and when it is warm, I pour in a good amount of oil if it is a stainless steel pan.  If it is nonstick, I just drizzle it with oil. (Remember the Frugal Gourmet, he always said "hot wok, cold oil".)  That is how I remember to always heat the pan before adding oil.  Just don't walk away and forget it and ruin the pan.  I did that... only once.

When the oil is ready, I dip both sides of the tilapia in the flour and press the flour into the fish to make it stick.  Pat the fish to get rid of excess flour that could burn. Then I put the fish in the pan and cook it three or four minutes on one side (according to how thick the fillets are) and then two to three minutes on the other side.

I transfer the fish to a plate that has a paper towel on it and then onto serving plates.  This is how I also cook other fish fillets.  

Added Note:  I find it easier with tilapia to use kitchen scissors to cut the thick half of the fish away from the thinner half, just along the seam nature has provided.  I then flour them separately and cook the thicker part of the fillet first and the thinner part of the fillet next (it cooks faster than the thicker part).