From the Archives: Pantry Building Pep Talk!

I address the #1 excuse I'm given for not keeping a well-stocked pantry in this post ... to find out what that excuse is and my response go ...

HERE!

A Working Pantry is now on Instagram.  Come follow me there!

Come follow A Working Pantry on Facebook HERE.

You can also follow me ... on Pinterest!

patsi

A Working Pantry

She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27

My other blog:  She Hath Done What She Could

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders.  I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay and it helps me keep my pantry well-stocked!

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links.  This means that if you click on the link and place an order, etc I earn a small fee at no increased cost to you. Thank you for your support through these means. 

From the Archives: Canning Pecans

Yes, you can CAN pecans ... 

and they are good ... 

and they keep a long time ...

Here's how I do it ...

Canning Pecans

A Working Pantry is now on Instagram.  Come follow me there!

Come follow A Working Pantry on Facebook HERE.

      You can also follow me ... on Pinterest!

patsi

A Working Pantry

She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27

My other blog:  She Hath Done What She Could

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders.  I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay and it helps me keep my pantry well-stocked!

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links.  This means that if you click on the link and place an order, etc I earn a small fee at no increased cost to you. Thank you for your support through these means. 

Do You Have "Pantry Building Eyes?"

You might have ‘pantry building eyes’ if …

Your eyes automatically start scanning the shelves for clearance stickers when you first enter a grocery store isle.

You turn into a sleuth by analyzing, circling and marking up your grocery store sales flyers before you go shopping so you’ll know what to watch and look for once you get to the store(s).

You take a glancing notice of what others have in their grocery carts, if someone has a large number of the same items that might indicate an unadvertised or clearanced out special.

You always check the ‘dent and damaged’ clearance section of your store(s) to see what you can find.

You ‘see’ all the possibilities of a marked down item.   For example, let’s say that shredded potatoes are being marked down in a store where you’re shopping.   You could use them in casseroles, to make hash browns, in soups, in pot pies, etc.    You ‘see’ all kinds of possibilities that will stretch that marked down item into several meals.

What about you, do you have ‘pantry building eyes?’   

If so, what do your 'pantry building eyes' look for when you're grocery shopping or preparing to grocery shop?

patsi

A Working Pantry

She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27

My pantry is intentional, purposeful, simple, practical, frugal and what works for my family.  It’s the food items and household supplies that keep my household running smoothly ready and available when they are needed.  It’s my contribution to our family’s economy and my work-from-home ‘job.'

You can follow A Working Pantry on Facebook and Instagram. 

You can view my privacy policy HERE.

If you are encouraged by what you read here, please consider supporting this site via one of these ways. Your expressions of appreciation help me keep my pantry well-stocked!

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders. I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay and it helps me keep my pantry well-stocked!

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links.  This means that if you click on the link and place an order, etc I earn a small fee at no increased cost to you. Thank you for your support through these means.

From the Archives: Canning Collard Greens

For those of us who preserve collard greens, December and early January are prime times to choose your method of preservation and get it done!

Our preferred method is to can them.  Here's how we 'get it done' ..

Canning Collard Greens

 A Working Pantry is now on Instagram.  Come follow me there!

      Come follow A Working Pantry on Facebook HERE.

   

      You can also follow me ... on Pinterest!

patsi

A Working Pantry

She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27

My other blog:  She Hath Done What She Could

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders.  I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay and it helps me keep my pantry well-stocked!

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links.  This means that if you click on the link and place an order, etc I earn a small fee at no increased cost to you. Thank you for your support through these means. 

From the Archives: Canning Pinto Beans

Several of us are canning pinto beans and navy beans this month so I thought it would be a good time to repost this oldie, but goodie from the archives ...

How to Can Pinto Beans

 A Working Pantry is now on Instagram.  Come follow me there!

Come follow A Working Pantry on Facebook HERE. 

You can also follow me ... on Pinterest!

patsi

A Working Pantry

She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27

My other blog:  She Hath Done What She Could

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders.  I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay and it helps me keep my pantry well-stocked!

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links.  This means that if you click on the link and place an order, etc I earn a small fee at no increased cost to you. Thank you for your support through these means. 

What I'm Reading: 1/9/2018

In last week’s post I told you that my goal was to read two books for the week …

The Long Winter, by Laura Ingals Wilder and Nickel and Dimed, by Barbara Ehrenreich

We decided in a group I’m in to do a book study of The Long Winter, by Laura Ingals Wilder so I read the first 3 chapters, which is the assigned chapters, and then stopped.  I picked up the other book, Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich and started reading … here’s my review of this book:

Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich

Let me just say that this book was not what I thought it would be.  I had in my mind that I would be able to glean some money saving, frugal living, getting by on a shoestring tips that I could use in my everyday life.  The book however, is more about low income wage earners and the lives they live.  I didn’t glean anything from the book of a frugal nature but what I did take away was that living the minimum wage life was an unpleasant experience for the author.

The author leaves her moderate income lifestyle and decides to work at minimum wage jobs for a year while supporting herself on what she makes.  This book is her journey about what she encountered, the way she was treated, the things she observed, the people she came into contact with and the difficult choices she had to make as a result of her minimum wage income. 

I can’t give you my opinion on the complete story line because I chose not to finish it and here’s way. There is language in this book that I found offensive.   At first I thought I could get through it by overlooking the offensive language but the further in the book I got the more it bothered me and I made the decision about 1/3 of the way through to not continue the book.

So, there you are … not how I envisioned my first book review for 2018 to turn out, but I do strive to keep my blog real and honest … and this is how I feel about Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich.

Here’s what I’m reading next week …

I’ll continue reading the assigned chapters in The Long Winter, by Laura Ingals Wilder  and Powerless, The Year The Lights Went Out by Suzanne Goldring.

What are you reading?  

 A Working Pantry is now on Instagram.  Come follow me there!

Also, come follow A Working Pantry on Facebook HERE.

patsi

A Working Pantry

She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27

My other blog:  She Hath Done What She Could

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders.  I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay and it helps me keep my pantry well-stocked!

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links.  This means that if you click on the link and place an order, etc I earn a small fee at no increased cost to you. Thank you for your support through these means. 

Pantry Stocking for the Single Person

Should they?  Could they?  Why would they?

Since I write/teach about pantry stocking, preparedness and the importance of such, I often hear from single people that it’s just not something they’re interested in since it’s only just them in their household.  If you are single and have this mindset, I hope the following will give you a different insight.

Being a single person doesn't change the chance of events happening in one’s life, natural disasters or sicknesses are just two examples.  Either of these events could leave you unable to go to the grocery store.  A well-stocked pantry would be a blessing in either of these situations.

Because you have no one else to rely on for income; this, to me, would be reason enough to keep a well-stocked pantry.  When you realize you are your own safety net, you start to look at things differently and for ways to keep that safety net in place.  Not having to worry about what you would eat during a season of reduction or loss of income would be one less thing you would have to worry about.

It’s true that it’s more difficult to buy and store in single quantities, but you can buy regular size packages, bring them home, leave out enough for a meal and freeze or preserve the rest in future meal size portions.  For example, if you purchase a quart of strawberries and you know you’re not going to be able to eat them all before they ruin, when you get home from shopping take out the amount you’ll eat and freeze the rest in smoothie size portions or meal size portions so you can use them at a later date.

If you are single and have always thought that keeping a well-stocked pantry wasn’t necessary, I hope you’ll give some thought to what you’ve just read.   I really believe that keeping a well-stocked pantry is something that everyone can and should do regardless of how many are in one’s household.

What are your thoughts?

patsi

A Working Pantry

She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27

My pantry is intentional, purposeful, simple, practical, frugal and what works for my family.  It’s the food items and household supplies that keep my household running smoothly ready and available when they are needed.  It’s my contribution to our family’s economy and my work-from-home ‘job.'

You can follow A Working Pantry on Facebook and Instagram. 

You can view my privacy policy HERE.

If you are encouraged by what you read here, please consider supporting this site via one of these ways. Your expressions of appreciation help me keep my pantry well-stocked!

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders. I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay and it helps me keep my pantry well-stocked!

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links.  This means that if you click on the link and place an order, etc I earn a small fee at no increased cost to you. Thank you for your support through these means.

How to Freeze Sweet Potatoes!

We live in an agrcultural area with many different crops grown around us.  One of those crops is sweet potatoes.  We are blessed that after the owners get through harvesting they allow people in the community to glean the fields.  In November my husband was able to glean 2 five-gallon buckets full and after letting them cure, I've set to work freezing them.

Here's how I'm doing it ...

The first thing I do is wash and scrub all the dirt and sand off of them.  I use a vegetable scrub brush to make sure to get it all off because nobody wants to bite into grains of sand in the midst of enjoying their sweet potato!

After washing and scrubbing the sweet potatoes, I line a flat pan with parchment paper.

Fill the pan with the clean sweet potatoes and bake them at 350 degrees for 90 minutes.

After they are done baking, I let them cool on the counter and then refrigerated them overnight.

Next, I vacuum seal them into meal size portions and add them to the freezer part of my pantry.

When we get ready to have some we'll take a package out of the freezer, let it thaw in the refrigerator, slice the potatoes into 1/4 - 1/2 inch slices, fry them up in a little bit of butter, make some gravy and enjoy!

This is a treat meal for us as the potatoes are high in carbs, (not as high as white potatoes, but still high) but we look forward to having it occasionally.

patsi

A Working Pantry

She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27

My pantry is intentional, purposeful, simple, practical, frugal and what works for my family.  It’s the food items and household supplies that keep my household running smoothly ready and available when they are needed.  It’s my contribution to our family’s economy and my work-from-home ‘job.'

You can follow A Working Pantry on Facebook and Instagram. 

You can view my privacy policy HERE.

If you are encouraged by what you read here, please consider supporting this site via one of these ways. Your expressions of appreciation help me keep my pantry well-stocked!

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders. I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay and it helps me keep my pantry well-stocked!

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links.  This means that if you click on the link and place an order, etc I earn a small fee at no increased cost to you. Thank you for your support through these means.