What's in your hand and what can you do with it?
Welcome to this week's “What’s in Your Hand?’ edition
where we strive to inspire you to focus on what you have to work with, not
what you wish you had or hope to have in the future, but what you have right
now ...
We’ve been blessed to find a few hams over the
past several weeks at a really good sale price and we needed to do something
with the chunks (we froze the slices for future hot ham and cheese sandwiches
or just regular ham sandwiches or as an entrée in a meal). I decided that a canning of ham and beans
were in order and that’s what I did.
Some of the jars have pinto beans in them, some have navy beans, some have
black beans, and one was all ham. Since they all processed at the same poundage
and time, it wasn’t a problem!
I had two pots of aloe that were overcrowded and
needed re-potting. I finally got around
to that this week and now have many starts for future aloe plants.
We emptied a spice container this week and hubby tossed it in the trash. When I realized what had happened, I dug it out, cleaned it up, sterilized it, de-labeled it and refilled it with a homemade spice combination that we use a lot of … salt, garlic powder and cayenne pepper powder. The mix is 3 parts salt, 1 part garlic powder and 1 part cayenne pepper.
We’ve had a couple of really nice spring like days this week with temps in the 70’s so I headed outside to get started on some of those ‘spring prep jobs’ …
Hubby helped me clean out the chicken coup, re-straw the nest boxes and spread the poo over the row garden (we spread 4 wheelbarrows full onto the garden) then he was off to do something on his to-do list.
The chickens checking out their newly 'spring-cleaned' digs! They were so funny to watch, and we stood for several minutes doing just that!
I then turned my attention to spring gardening …
I thinned the carrots
Moved a Swiss chard plant, I’m hoping it will do
better this year in its new location
Started weeding and prepping our raised beds for
planting
Later in the week I pulled this book, An Amish Garden, off my bookshelf to get some inspiration and ideas for this year’s garden. With all the shortages and increased food prices, we're taking gardening more seriously this year then we have in a long time!
Speaking of inspiration and ideas, check out this blog post by Homesteading Family on beating inflation. Many of the things she suggests I already do but it was a good read that caused me to re-check myself. This is not the time to get lack in keeping a well-stocked pantry.
In the garden this week I planted Little Marvel green peas and started Golden Acre cabbage seeds in the green house. Both were seeds I had on hand, and both are heirloom.
One more suggestion for you to check out this week. This post, Every Part of the Buffalo, by Spring Creek Cottage goes so well with our 'What's that in your hand?' theme that I just had to share. Hurry on over and get some wisdom along with a good chuckle and tell her that A Working Pantry sent you! This young lady is wise and prudent beyond her years!
And finally, I've started updating my Goals 2022 page, check out what I ticked off the list this week!
Look around you, how are you using your
resources, your time, what’s that in your hand?
She is not afraid of the snow for her household, for all her household are clothed with scarlet. Proverbs 31:21
Until next time,
patsi
She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27
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I will check out those blog posts. I have been thinking back to when we had less here and trying to regroup. I can't part with empty spice bottles either. They always seem to have some use sooner or later.
ReplyDeleteOnce again we had brown bananas so we baked a large loaf of banana bread this morning. We will cut it on smaller parts and freeze for later. Friends stopped by on Thursday and they were happy to take some home from our freezer. Over the week behind I tried to get some frozen items out of the freezer and eaten up. Over the holidays it seems so easy to just keep stashing the leftovers in the freezer but then I wonder if we want to eat that again. So we had a turkey dinner of turkey, stuffing, gravy and mashed potatoes, a container of chili, leftover Christmas cookies, some French toast casserole and a bag of pizza slices that we add to over time. None of it seemed appealing until it was out and ready to be eaten and all of it was great. There are plenty more items to eat left in the freezer. Hubby reminded me that there is pecan pie in the freezer, too. I am reminding myself that I should be nothing but thankful for the bounty!
Lana, these are strange times that cause us to take stock, aren't they? Your freezer sounds like mine and yes, we're thankful for our bounty and the ability to fill the freezer with it.
DeleteI love this post! It had my mind running in so many different directions. I’ve had some serious thoughts and discussion with friends as to how much of these shortages are manufactured. Our stores are letting their shelving go near-bare. Staff shortages? If they don't hire, they can claim staffing, AND they can also let customers think there is an actual shortage AND they can evaluate time-on-shelf and if they should continue to stock that brand. Further, by reducing lower cost brands, people will have to buy the higher priced brands. Hmm ... could manufacturers be in on this? Lastly, shelves that need attention can be more easily cleaned (and sections of freezer or refrigerated cases can be turned off, reducing energy costs). Don't know if there's any truth in this thinking but watching my local grocery store letting certain lower priced items run out before the weekend or winter storms, and then having the shelves cleaned and fully stocked a few days later makes me think. My store is no longer offering rainchecks, either. Makes ya wonder ...
ReplyDeleteI also think about brands, not only in terms of cost, but as it relates to how I'm going to use the item. If it's something that will be a primary feature in a dish and flavor or consistency in size is important, I'll usually use name brand; if it's something that will be used in a casserole or sauce, I'm not brand-loyal (unless I know that there's a major difference in taste). For an artichoke dip, for example, I don't feel I really need Hellman's, store brand will do. But, for my sandwiches it's got to be Miracle Whip. I rarely use ketchup in anything other than as an addition to a sauce where there will be other seasonings, so it's whatever is on sale. Cream-style corn used in a favorite casserole is store-brand; green beans used for a 3-bean salad will be name brand, for consistency of cut and appearance. Hot dogs are always name brand, regardless of price. This can result in big savings (last week, store brand tomato sauce vs. Contadina was 40 cents/can). Don't cheat yourself where it may count but save where you can.
The feed sack story on Every Part of the Buffalo made me think about a quilt that I have tucked away. In the late '60s or early '70s, everyone was trying to cut back on their heating oil costs. Grandma pulled out some quilt tops she had stashed away. They'd been made by her mother but were never finished. Over several weekends, adding batting, backing, and binding to each, and then tied them. All of got an extra blanket for their beds. These quilts, including mine, were made from old flour sacks and remnants from dresses my great-grandmother and grandmother had made. Most were large-squares; mine has hundreds of 1-2" squares. Mom and grandma had fun talking about flour where the fabric came from. So much history, and reuse of items that still held value and could be repurposed.
Thanks for the inspiration, food for thought, and the memories! Such a blessing to read your posts.
Lori, Thank you! I remember my mom making our dresses from flour sacks. The flour sacks were made of floral cotton and were always repurposed. Growing up we wasted very little, my mom was very much of the mindset 'waste not, want not!'
DeleteHi Patsi!
ReplyDeleteYou inspired me to check our Aldi add for this week. I plan to buy some of their oranges and kiwis. I threw out a spice container this week. I didn't think of making a mix to put in it. I'm getting back to my thrifty week posts. I do much better keeping track of what I've done that way and it's one more motivation!
Blessings,
Laura of Harvest Lane Cottage
Laura, I always look forward to your thrifty posts each week, I'm glad you've started them again.
DeleteI've been checking out a few different grocery stores in the past couple of weeks just to see how things looked (haven't had to do a lot of shopping myself) and everything seemed to be fine - the only store that seemed to be low on milk and eggs had received their delivery - it just hadn't made it's way out from the back as yet. Lots of meat, turkey pieces and chicken - bought a few trays of the thighs so I am well stocked for a couple of months.
ReplyDeleteLana - I had one last pkg. of "Christmas dinner" in the freezer and ate that one night just over a week ago - just cooked some sweet potato and broccoli to accompany the meat, stuffing and cranberry sauce!
I checked all my herbs and spices just before Christmas and restocked a bit then.
Margie, it's great that your area isn't experiencing shortages, I hope it stays that way.
DeleteWhat a nice productive week you've had. It was fun to see your hens in their new digs. I save all sorts of jars. They certainly come in handy for using myself and for making gifts in jars and I don't have to use canning jars. Win, win. I finally got seeds ordered and like you am adding new things. It's still really cold here and the weather is usually unpredictable until the middle or end of May so inground planting and transplanting starts are a few months off. Another 3 quarts of bone broth went into the freezer this week. I made a new recipe using cassava and tigernut flour for gluten free tortillas. This time I made them burrito size. They're also in the freezer. In the craft department I made a dozen gratitude journals and bookmarks to match for gift giving, got February birthday and anniversary cards made and mailed out. I was able to score 10 lbs of sugar and 10 lbs of King Arthur flour in an online order at a more than reasonable price. I did notice online that most frozen vegetables were out of stock.
ReplyDeleteCookie, you had a productive week too! I'm going to make some of those journals and matching bookmarks. You inspired me; I hope mine turn out as well as yours did!
DeleteWhere did you order the sugar and flour from?
I ordered it from Wal-Mart. There were also no limits as Costco had been having.
DeletePatsy, I think we bloggers are on a mission! I've been thinking of adding more of the old fashioned savings tips to my own blog and sharing some I've found helpful on other blogs/vlogs! I'd just read "Every Part of the Buffalo" yesterday and it really reinforced an urging I've felt to go back to frugal basics.
ReplyDeleteTerri, it's hard to put into words, isn't it? I somehow feel that it's time to put into practice in a big way all the things I've been learning. I hope that makes sense!
DeleteThis week I have been trying to pull odds and ends out of my standing freezer. For two reasons, it use them up, but I also need to defrost that freezer. I hope to continue to do that this week also.
ReplyDeleteMamaHen, I'm in the process of doing that too!
DeleteThanks for visiting Hickery Holler Farm and the mention hope it helps! Hugs from the Holler : )
ReplyDeletethe canned quilter, I love your blog and have been a long-time reader. Thank you for all you do in sharing your wisdom with the online world.
Delete