Mother

8 minutes ago, mommato3boys said:

Starting Feburary I am doing a grocery challenge of $20 a week per person.

MT3B, can I ask please that you share that challenge with us , perhaps in the kitchen forum?  I wouldn’t mind trying that challenge myself though I’m not sure, with my specialized needs, I could get that low.  Still, any challenge that has us being frugal would be a good one. 
 

 Cat.  It is so nice to see you on.  Thanks to Mr. Cat for helping.  

My mom was a neat, organized person but her house always had a comfortable ‘lived in’ look and feel. If something was needed she almost always had it somewhere. She was the quintessence of improvisation.  She always said  “a messy house is a sign of creativity.” 
 

We preppers certainly are creative people.  We so often can look at something and see it for more than its intended use.  We see future possibilities. We see future needs. ‘Messy’ in this case doesn’t men dirty or even unorganized.  It means lived in, worked in, provided for. Look at how creative we are even in the storage of our preps. 

The old adage is true. “One mans junk is another man’s treasures.”  Sometimes our homes become too full and we need to take stock of our ‘treasures’.  Sometimes we decide we still need those treasures. Sometimes we need to make room for different treasures.  Ones more appropriate to our circumstance, our needs. 
 

Now, if I can just keep my own words in mind I might be able to accomplish some greatly needed changes here……

I had a thought about canned goods.  Our temperatures are supposed to be unheard of below zero numbers.  At those temps and with the predicted 40/50 MPH winds if we lose heat the canned goods would most likely freeze.  We don’t have a basement and though our house is well insulated I would hate to leave them unprotected. Glass and cans alike could be ruined.  
 

Jeepers, what did you find when your house lost heat?  Were your canned goods frozen? 

They will keep pretty well. Remember, if you are bartering then you most likely are living in a cooler home too. Things would most likely be vastly different than now. If you run out of supplies you use what you can find or barter for.  Lard or animal fat or tallow can be clarified and used.  Remember the old goose grease remedy?  You can use vinegar instead of alcohol for tinctures and you can make that yourself.  Think how did your ancestors make these things without the nice shelf stable oils and such?  
 

More questions….Ask yourself….how did  my ancestors make socks without going to the general store and buying skeins of yarn?  How did they make clothes and blankets and such without being able to run to Hobby Lobby for material?  
 

I highly doubt things will ever get that bad. After all we are a nation of plenty and even if the power goes, they’re are still Lot of ‘things’ out there both new and used. Someone will likely have something we want and will be willing to barter. Or even just share. 
 

Skills and knowledge will most likely be in great demand.  If that’s the case, we Mrs. S people will be in ultimate demand.  

👍

Small bottles of alcohol

( Neither of us drink but it is useful)

Vinegar (can be home made out of many things)

Herbs (Home grown or foraged and processed)

Herb tinctures made with alcohol

Herbs for tea ( medicinal too), and seasoning

Salves, lotions, and creams 

Herbal hair conditioners

Herbal cigarettes 

Coffee substitutes 

Lots more with herbs.  
 

How-to info on all sorts of survival things, either made up ahead or hand written. 
Or classes if it’s safe. 

I just made eight of those tonight, Little Sister.  These were egg, sausage patty, and cheese in an English muffin.  I wrapped them individually in plastic wrap and then put them in a zip lock bag in the freezer.  DH can just take one out and thaw it in the microwave, add a Dish of fruit and have a filling breakfast. Or lunch or snack anytime.   🍔 

47 minutes ago, Jeepers said:

If the other guy likes them then...sold!

You might want to save back a few in case one of yours ever needs to be replaced.  Even the new owners might appreciate that.  Sell him all the unopened boxes and keep the odd ones. 

33 minutes ago, Jeepers said:

Being all alone with no backup isn't easy

If DD and her family weren’t nearby we wouldn’t be living here now that neither of us drives.  It is another reason to be on good terms with your neighbors.  We used to but they have all moved way and new people have moved in. 

 🌹 I hope your day was WONDERFUL.  

 it’s nice to know you are here.  We miss you!  🫂

Dee, do you find the scrambled eggs get tough in the freezer as hard boiled do? I haven’t the scrambled but plain fried eggs sometimes do.  Perhaps it is the air mixed into the scrambled eggs that keep them tender.  

 Continuing for you and your family.  Get well soon!  

 Me tooo, me toooo what Becca said.       

I won’t.  I swear I won’t….

1 hour ago, Jeepers said:

Same thing with egg salad...leave out the hard boiled eggs when freezing. 

Ummmm, what would be left to freeze if not the eggs in egg salad? 
 

I DO remember those freezer boxes and still have some somewhere.  I even have Tupperware ones.  I bet they would work for stacking garlic bread and etc too. Freezing the bread flat first would make it easy to remove one slice at a time…. 👍

I was gifted a couple silicone “Souper Cubes” I use to freeze things.  They come in different sizes but mine have four one cup sections. They come with a nice lid.  The food comes out as square blocks which fit nicely in zip lock or food saver bags and stack really great. 
 

I freeze all sorts of food on cookie sheets then put them in bags for easy use.  I make up sausage or other meat patties and freeze them that way before stacking them in bags. I can take out just what I need.  Euphrasyne, that’s a great idea about the garlic bread! 
 

This is such a fun thread.  I’m sure we have other similar ones but it’s good to revisit ides.  I’m getting several great suggestions.  Thanks everyone! 

I do freezer meals because of my restricted diet.  I sometimes do separate meals for DH so senior solo here too. I always label and date my meals but I also add instructions if needed, like oven temp if baking. 
 

I love my home made freezer meals.  We don’t go anywhere unless someone takes us so no running to town for us.  My energy levels fluctuate so greatly that I make them up and freeze them when I feel reasonably energetic and use them when I am too tired or unable to cook.  I used a whole lot of them the first few weeks after my fall and was sooooo grateful I had them.  They all need to be replaced now so your list was extremely  timely.  Now I can put a few different meals away?  

Great list, Jeepers. I make a lot of those as well but a word of warning….measure your space in the freezer first.  Those containers are great for convenience but take up LOTS of space.  If you add a Food saver bag it’s even more.   I use food saver bags to freeze foods directly.  I vacuum seal the food then lay the bags flat on a cookie sheet to freeze. I am careful to smooth them out. When frozen I store them like books upright side by side. You can even use inexpensive book ends to hold them.  I have also used flat plastic baskets to hold them upright, putting like things together. The baskets allow more air circulation around them. Depending on your space you can get a second row of ‘books’ above the first.  Another advantage to doing them this way is that you can boil the bags in a pan of hot water to heat them.  
 

Another thing I do is make ‘dump meals’.  These are more like fresh cooked and make a nice change.  I gather all the raw ingredients, prepare if needed like peeling and chopping, but put them directly into the bags uncooked along with seasonings, sauces, etc. I often use frozen veggies and meats directly from their bags unthawed to do this and it really makes the process fast and easy. I try to mix the seasoning or sauces in just by squishing the bag around some and then it also acts like a marinade . I most often use this method for crock pot meals but if the pieces are bite size those bags of meals can also be boiled in a pot of water.  Or I do all the ingredients for a ‘sheet pan’ meal and then just dump them on the pan and roast in the oven. Most of the time I get these type meals out the night before to thaw a bit, especially if they are for the crock pot. I especially like this for pot roast meals. I put a small roast in the bag, add some already peeled baby carrots, some quartered onions, some washed small red potatoes and whatever seasonings I want, seal and freeze.  

I have even done dump meal breakfasts by putting the raw eggs in the bags, adding onions, peppers, mushrooms, meat, and even cheese and freezing them to cook later. I used to take these along in the cooler when camping.  They were great for first or second day when they were thawed some.  Just get a big pan of water boiling, put the bags into cook in the water, eat right from the bags, then use the water afterwards for what little cleanup there was.  I also make breakfast sandwiches and wrap individually in plastic wrap. I freeze these stacked in bigger zip lock bags so I can take out what I want that day.  I often bake my egg mixture on a rimmed sheet and then cut them in squares to portion them on the bun or English muffin.  I do the same thing if using ground meat.  I will put a piece of cheese with each but put it aside until the sandwich is hot, then add it back or it gets too melted. Try making the sandwich using waffles.  They are great and you can even drizzle some syrup over the top if you want.  
 

Don’t forget deserts. I love apples or other fruit cored and chopped and put in the bag with honey (or brown sugar), I add cinnamon, raisins, dates, nuts, shredded coconut, or rolled oats and freeze them to dump and bake.  These are also great to put into one of the sections of the divided container to cook while you are microwaving the meal. I often just stick some frozen fruit pieces in with my freezer meals to have hot desert and it’s so easy when making up the trays. 

Don’t get me wrong.  I love the already cooked portioned meals In the trays.  I usually double or triple a recipe I am making for us and then portion the extra into meal sizes and freeze. But you have to think of space for other things too, like ice cream   

The big candy canes switches places.  

I am doing my well wishes for the new year.  Happy New Year everyone.  May 2024 be a good year for all.

 Thoughts from here too! 

She is adorable, simply adorable!