~ from my home to yours, living the Working Pantry lifestyle ~ surviving today's economy ~ a can-do spirit and attitude ~

Friday, May 13, 2022

What's That In Your Hand?: 5/13/22

I tried a new to me chicken pot pie recipe this week from the Homestead Pantry.  The thing that caught my eye and made me want to try it was that it has a pour over crust.  I was not disappointed; it was delicious and that pour over crust made this a simple dish to put together. I substituted home-canned turkey for chicken because that's what I had that needed to be used.  

The next time I'll use chicken ... or then again, I might use turkey or beef cubes.  The meat will be determined by what I have on hand that needs to be used next.

Last fall I planted 99 cloves of garlic and this week harvested 99 bulbs.  That’s a 100% success rate and I’m thrilled.  As soon as it cures, about 3 – 4 weeks, I’ll start preserving it. 

(Picture is of the garlic laid out on a half piece of a cattle panel to cure, that's what I had on hand so that's what I used. The air can circulate around it, and I was able to place it in an area out of direct sun which along with time is what it needs to cure.  Of course, you don't won't it to get wet either!) 

The variety we planted is called ‘Music’ and has become a favorite that grows well in our area.

This week I planted straight neck squash, mullein and tea roses that we got off a clearance rack at a local big box nursery for $2.67 each.  

I brought the tea roses home and placed them in a solution of liquid fertilizer and water where they stayed for approximately 48 hours.

I also pruned all the dead leaves and stems from them.  By the time I planted them (2 days later) they looked as good as any well cared for ones you would find in a nursery.  It pays to shop the clearance bins ... in every store!

I put together a small, raised bed using what I had on hand to plant the mullein in, the wood forming the border came from our woodpile.

We had a couple of days of overcast, cool, misty rainy type days which meant I spent most of my time indoors continuing to work on my spring cleaning.  While doing that I watched/listened to this series, The Wartime Kitchen and Garden.  There are 8 videos all together.  I really enjoyed them and picked up a few pointers that I can implement into my daily living.  (I’m counting this as my continuing education for the week.)

Along the same lines, I also started watching the series, Wartime Farm.  (This too, counts towards my continuing education.)  I have watched this series before but wanted to watch it again.

I ran out of Italian seasoning this week, so I made a note on my rolling 'to-do' list to make up another jar and will keeping rolling it over until I get it made.  Hopefully, that's before I need it again!!  I'll be using the herbs that I grow or keep on hand to make it.  I love being able to make my own spice mixes.

The suckers from the tomatoes that I pruned last week are starting to make hair like roots ... can you see them in the picture? I started out with 3 jars, but the plants in one of the jars started rioting so I discarded it.  I believe the other 2 are going to be okay though and before much longer the tomatoes will be ready to plant.

In my ongoing effort to find ways to supplement the commercial fertilizer we use in gardening I added this compost tea video to my compilation.  This is something that is reasonable and doable for us and that's what I look for when looking for solutions to issues we deal with.

My hubby was given several pieces of nice clothing, some fit, some didn't, and some weren't his style.  For those that he chose not to wear, I removed the buttons, deconstructed them and added the fabric to my sewing pantry.  Waste not, want not!

That's it for this post ...

What's that in your hand, how are you using what you already have?

Until the next time ...

patsi

A Working Pantry

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

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18 comments:

  1. The pot pie looks delicious. Thank you for sharing all the links you did. I am hopping over to watch!

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    1. Anne in the kitchen, you're welcome. I hope you find something beneficial to you in them.

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  2. I am going to try the pot pie. Any easy recipe like that is great and we have a lot of home canned chicken on the shelf. I frequent the plant markdown rack, too and find it really rewarding to bring plants back to life.

    This week work continued on the wood rack and it is looking great. Banana peels were chopped and worked into the pots of peppers and tomatoes. A trip to the discount grocery yielded 7 favorite box mixes for baking for 75 cents each and 3 quarts of plain yogurt for $1. I am going to try making yogurt cheese next week. I will season it for a cracker spread and I will happily eat that for lunches along with some fruit. We will be traveling to visit one of our son's families this weekend. I always try to provide a meal for everyone so this time I am packing containers of meat sauce from the freezer along with the pasta and a salad from ingredients we have on hand. I also made brownies from a mix bought on sale with added walnuts and milk chocolate chips from the pantry. The mix is already replaced with one that cost me 10 cents this week after a sale and iBotta rebate. We also picked up a free pack of cookies and containers of gelato for 55 cents each with store ecoupons and iBotta. We made a stop at Lidl because they had annuals for 1.99 a pack and were able to fill some holes in our pantry that we had not found elsewhere. We had not been able to find frozen peas-go figure!

    We did get the freezer contents moved and wow it filled up fast even though it is larger. We did purchase baskets to organize everything well but I think that expenditure will pay for itself by keeping food items from getting lost. I did order the freezer by going through Swagbucks which earned $35 back. Our college age neighbor boy will be coming Friday and Saturday next week to stain our deck for which we are very grateful. We are no longer able to handle that job ourselves so I am glad to put the money in the pocket of a responsible young man.

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    1. Lana, I hope you like the pot pie recipe, it's on my 'to-do' list to make another one today, this time using chicken!

      I know your family enjoyed the meal you brought with you on your visit. That was a really sweet thing to do.

      I hope you found your frozen peas, it's really a hit and miss shopping adventure around here.

      Freezer organization is so helpful for not letting things get lost and then become freezer burned from being in the freezer too long. I'd say those baskets will definitely pay for themselves long term and short term.

      Have you gotten your deck stained yet? I think that's a wonderful idea to have someone you know that is responsible to do your deck. Using what's in our hands definitely includes realizing our limitations.

      I hope you've had a great week!

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  3. Thank you so much for the shoutout, friend! I’m thrilled that you enjoyed the recipe!

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    1. Anonymous, good things deserve to be shared! You're most welcome!

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  4. Your pot pie looks beautiful! I was so surprised that the crust has only three ingredients. I can't wait to try it. Thank you for sharing the recipe!

    This week it rained for several days. It felt so cosy to do my homemaking while listening to the rain.

    With love from,
    Kelly (Mrs. Kiwi)

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    1. Kelly, that simple crust is what drew me to the recipe. I've made pot pies for years, but never with a pourable crust. That pourable crust is a keeper!

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  5. Patsy your math is all wrong...You've had far more than a 100 percent increase if you planted ninety nine cloves of garlic and now have 99 bulbs of garlic! My head isn't math minded but I think your increase is in the 1000s range!

    I love that Pot Pie recipe. My granny used to make it and I adopted it and have used it many times. It's a nice change from a pastry crust and I think John favors it over the pastry.

    I wish you good success with the tomato starts and must share that I too love to rescue and resuscitate plants from clearance racks. I find great joy in seeing them come back to life.

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    1. Terri, you know you're right! My math was all wrong ... yippee for wrong math! My rescued tea rose bushes are thriving and I planted out some of those tomato suckers this week, so far they are doing good as well.

      I hope you've had a good week!

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  6. Thank you for all the links. The pot pie recipe looks delicious and I'm hoping to successfully adapt it to my dietary needs, using alternative flour and homemade cream soup and non-dairy milk. Our big surprise this week is that the washer and dryer that was promised for late summer came on earlier than expected. On my hand this week, I backed 9 dozen cowboy cookies for the freezer. I was gifted with more eggs . Some got frozen for later use, some were made into more impossible pies and some impossible pies were .given to a neighbor that had a family member who just came home from the hospital. I transplanted pepper plants, marigolds, and planted some heat resistant lettuce seeds. I will plant the russet potatoes tomorrow before the severe thunderstorms come in the late afternoon. I figured they'd be safe since they'll be buried down. I took all the bits of leftover meats from the freezer,and shredded them to make barbeque. 4 pints of no'mato sauce got made from some beets and carrots from last year's harvest. I continue to shop my stashes for crafting. I love that you repurposed the clothes that you husband passed on. Ihave a blessed week

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    1. Cookie, your cowboy cookies caught my attention, have you shared that recipe with me? You are such an inspiration in how you adapt and make things work for you. What about the impossible pie? Do you have an adaptation for that? These are the kind of things we all need to be learning, how to take what we have and turn it into something we can use, whether it's food or something else. I hope you've had a good week.

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  7. Just wondering how you preserve your garlic?

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    1. Anonymous, I'll chop and dehydrate some, powder some, ferment some, freeze some and use some in herbal remedies. Garlic is something we use alot of!

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  8. I'm a bit late to the party. This week our town was under a huge rainstorm and many areas flooded. We were high and dry and managed well bar a waterfall coming in through the ceiling. Our fabulous son was able to mend this for us. We now just have a large hole in the ceiling. It can stay for a while and will be added to the renovations list.
    I cut my thyme plant down and hung several bunches up to dry
    I cleaned out a large part of the garden and have planted out tomatoes, onions, kale and sweet basil.
    I am using fabric from the stash to making a requested panda sleeping bag for my Grandies upcoming 6th Birthday.
    I used what I had in the yarn stash to make the same Grandie a pink beanie with a pom pom, also requested, and a pink scarf
    I have been on Granny duty a number of days as our daughter and SIL are both not well. Taking the 11 month old for a walk and keeping him entertained is full on work.
    That pot pie recipe is being added to the files for using when (If ever) it cools down here.

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    1. Jane, I'm sorry about your ceiling, but so glad your son was available to repair it.

      Your panda sleeping bag is amazing. You have to have a tremendous amount of talent to be able to pull that off! The pink beanie and scarf are so cute. I know your little grand was pleased!

      I hope your daughter and SIL are better and yes, those little grands are a full-time job, but what a good job it is!

      It's gotten really hot here too this week, yesterday we hit 100 degrees and are forecast to do it again today.

      I hope you've had a good week!

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  9. Very productive week for you 😊. Thanks for the link to the War Time Farm - I love the British documentaries and the “farm” ones are the most informative and educational.

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    1. Kathy, I agree about the documentaries, I've learned several things from watching them.

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