Can you believe that March is already here! Where did January and February go?
This has been a week full of the unexpected which wrecked
havoc with my nicely laid out plans!
It’s okay though; I’m just rolling with the events and will do the best
I can. Sometimes, life is like that,
isn’t it? We have to be flexible!
So, what did I get done in my pantry … let’s see!
My to-do list from last time:
Make turmeric
capsules. Didn’t get done!
Check on the status
of the collards and hopefully can them! I’m afraid the collards are a no go! I may be able to salvage enough for a meal
but it looks like between the weather and life, they ruined in the garden. This makes me feel wasteful and I don’t like
that! I’m glad that we have enough
canned to get us through another year but you can be sure that I will make
every effort to do better next year!
In addition:
I needed
butter so I went to the freezer part of my pantry and pulled some out. When
butter was around $2/lb in November and December I purchased several and
brought them home and froze them. I’m so glad I did!
I did the same thing with a gallon of milk. I had run out so I pulled a gallon from the freezer part of my pantry.
I did the same thing with a gallon of milk. I had run out so I pulled a gallon from the freezer part of my pantry.
We were invited to
a birthday dinner for a young lady who was celebrating her 98th, yes
98th birthday. I asked what I
could bring and was told that she really liked pound cake. I told them I had a recipe for a really good
one and would bring it. The recipe calls
for a box of yellow cake mix so I went to the freezer part of my pantry and
removed one that I had purchased on sale and frozen some time back. The only
thing I had to purchase was 8 oz of sour cream.
Can I just say it again, I’m so glad I have a well-stocked pantry!
I enjoyed kefir smoothies
this week made using the organic fruit we got at Sam’s Club for $.51/bag that I told you
about in this post. I can get 8 smoothies from each bag!
Our Working Pantry Facebook group has a ‘Just One’ challenge each week and my first challenge was
to make at least 100 vitamin c capsules.
I got 80 done instead … didn’t quite meet my goal but it’s better than
none at all!
We did our monthly shopping this week and purchased the following:
Plain flour (this
one 5 lb bag will be enough to last us for 6 – 12 months)
A bulk bag of
mozzarella cheese. I will divide this up
into 1 cup portions and freeze them.
A large tub of sour
cream
2 large tubs of
cottage cheese
4 lbs of sausage
that we will get 8 meals from
and 2 cans orange juice
concentrate
Our Sam’s Club
“find” this week included ...
Vitamins ... the price ... $.81! We purchased a year's supply!
These 2 bottles of spice blend ... the price ... $.81 each!
These cans of Campbell's cream of chicken soup for $5.01 per case (8 cans). We purchased 16 cans. The price breakdown for each can is $.63.
With a temporary
reprieve in our current financial situation, I’ve started focusing on
building back up the areas of my pantry that are in need of restocking. This week I added 2 cans of evaporated milk
to my pantry. Normally 12 cans is a
year’s supply, but one of the things that we have learned is that by stretching
and getting more resourceful with the basics, we used more. So I plan to double that 12 and turn it into
24 which means I have some work to do to get it to that level.
I’m getting ready
to place an Amazon order using the gift cards I’ve earned the month of February
doing Swagbucks. (Look for a post later in the week on ‘how
we’ve earned extra money for February’ which will include Swagbucks.)
I finally got the
Christmas cards we received this last year turned into gift tags for use in the
next Christmas season. I used my Sizzex machine and die cuts that were given to me as a gift several years ago. (A link to the Sizzex machine I have can be found at the bottom of this page.)
I got to go to
JoAnn’s Fabric this week! I haven’t been
doing much shopping at all during the past 3 months and especially not
something as frivolous as a trip to a fabric store. There were a couple of things I needed in
order to finish an outfit I’m making for my newest little granddaughter. The lack of these things had caused the project to come to a standstill.
When I found out that we would be making a trip to the airport in a
larger neighboring town I asked my husband if we could go a little early and
let me go to JoAnn’s Fabric. He said yes and even tracked down a couple of
coupons I could use while I shopped. I
found what I needed and was able to use the coupons my husband found! It was a nice treat!
We've started saving
our change again and currently we have $10 in our jar. Normally this would go toward Christmas, but
considering the financial cloud that is hanging over our heads, we’ll save it
to be used as an emergency fund.
Here’s my pantry to-d0 list for next week:
Divide and freeze
the bulk bag of mozzarella cheese we purchased last week
Make Turmeric
capsules
Check the local
sale ads for bargains (It sure is nice
to have grocery money to work with again!)
Now it’s your turn, what have you done to build up your pantry or
live frugally?
patsi
A Working Pantry
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