Prep Genrl Weekly Prep Thread: Nov. 16 - Nov. 22, 2025

[SouthernBreeze]

Sherree...I know I've mentioned this before, but there's something called "trigger point therapy" which can be amazing for helping resolve injuries and keeping acute injuries from becoming chronic. I first learned of it from a little book called "Pain Erasure", by Bonnie Prudden, who was a fitness/health guru in the 1960s-70s.

It involves feeling for "tender points" in your muscles... if you (or your cooperative hubby!) press on a spot and it is exquisitely painful, you've found a trigger point. Physiotherapists used to inject these with a bit of Lidocaine to treat them, but Ms Prudden discovered that simply applying direct, firm pressure for 8-10 seconds actually works as well.

You hold the pressure (and yes, it HURTS...I've got spots on my leg that can literally make me howl when hubby works on them) for 10 seconds, then release. Move down the muscle an inch or so, and try again. Once you've addressed the area, *stop*. Don't go back to any one spot in a session. When you're done, *stretch* the area out gently. For the back, I like to do "cat stretches"...get on your hands and knees, arch your back as far as you can without pain, then slowly relax it and allow it to hollow out.

The point of all this is to release the little "micro-spasms" that form in muscles as part of the body trying to "splint" an injured area. If left untreated, they stay in spasm, and eventually actually calcification...which is the cause for a lot 9f chronic pain and stiffness, especially as we get older.

When I first learned this technique, and started working on hubby's back (probably 10 years after he suffered several severe fractures falling 40 feet off a silo), he had *dozens* of nasty, painful spots. In the beginning, it would take almost an hour to cover them all. But it was amazing how deeply he would sleep once I was done.

Over time, we eliminated most of them, and now - unless he injures himself - he only has 4 or 5 that need routine work. I sometimes wonder if we could have eliminated those if we had started using the technique soon after his fall. Ms Prudden actually tells how she used it on herself after a hip replacement (when that was a major surgery, with 10 days in the hospital), starting 24 hours after she woke up. She recovered far quicker and better than her peers (according to her doctors), and she credits the therapy for that.

We usually finish up by applying my Ouch! Liniment, and find we recover faster than people half our age...

Prayers for quick relief and healing.

Summerthyme

Thanks for that info! I will definitely try the "cat stretches". It's my sciatic nerve that keeps giving me trouble when I twist my back wrong. I do massage the bur bands when the bursitis acts up, even though, it's extremely painful to do so.

My old retired Rheumatologist told me years ago when having a flare up of Bursitis to take a good "rolling pin" and let Cary run it up and down pressing pretty hard on the outside of my leg on the bur band. It was very painful, but it did help a lot.

 

[thompson]

My old retired Rheumatologist told me years ago when having a flare up of Bursitis to take a good "rolling pin" and let Cary run it up and down pressing pretty hard on the outside of my leg on the bur band. It was very painful, but it did help a lot.

The rolling pin trick also helps with sore neck and shoulder muscles (ask me how I know).

My father had periodic episodes of back pain, usually caused by moving something wrong, and my mother got the Bonnie Pruden book when it first came out. The techniques really helped my father more than anything else.

 

[Wildwood]

I have the grands again today and we are about to go out and pick up those walnuts I mentioned a while back. The house is almost warm enough to turn on the air conditioner...unbelievably warm weather but I'm not complaining. I hate cold weather.

They were here yesterday to help me go through the sweet potato bed in case we missed some the first time. We were working so fast when we dug them because there so many more than I anticipated and it got dark, I was sure we'd missed some but we had done a good job. We may have found another dozen in that whole 5 x 25 bed. We amended both my raised beds heavily this past spring and added more dirt. I'm really pleased with that sweet potato bed...the texture is perfect for them. I bought a huge clear tarp to arch over those beds last year but we never got it up. That dirt inspires me to do it this week and get some collards in that bed...they would feed us and add a lot to the soil. I'm so blessed to have my little helpers. They are ten and fourteen and always so willing to help.

Other than that, I've been working like a crazy woman trying to get stuff ready for my booths...I need to take advantage of the Christmas shopping season.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

The rolling pin trick also helps with sore neck and shoulder muscles (ask me how I know).

My father had periodic episodes of back pain, usually caused by moving something wrong, and my mother got the Bonnie Pruden book when it first came out. The techniques really helped my father more than anything else.

Our once upon a time lady neighbor practiced trigger point therapy. People would come to her for sessions. She used it on me several times, and it worked. She later died, and I've never heard of that book, until Summer mentioned it. I guess I should look into get it.

 

[Wildwood]

As often happens with our projects, we get distracted lol. We did make a dent in the walnuts but like a squirrel who is easily distracted, I had us all three off on another project in no time at all.

This morning, before he left for work, DH told me my barred rock rooster was dead. We went to address that situation first thing and he was up walking around, slowly. I put a healthy squirt of ivermectin between his shoulders suspecting mites. I took a good look at my girls and as soon as they are on the roost, they'll get the same treatment. I've got a few other things to try on the rooster. He seemed to perk up after about an hour.

Anyway, I got distracted with the chicken pen. Part of their pen is covered with a roof and part with a tarp for shade in the summer and it's coming down and being replaced by a clear one since a ton of rain is coming and I don't want that area water logged while my chickens aren't looking their best but I want sun on that part of their pen. They need sun more than shade this time of year. Since DH had borrowed my clear tarp, I reclaimed it and gave it a good cleaning. It's drying right now and we will attempt to get it up but I am vertically challenged so it may have to wait til DH gets home.

These are the clear tarps we buy...they are reinforced and sturdy. I got this one specifically for the chicken pen so they could have sunlight in the winter in their open area. It's the same type I bought to make a makeshift greenhouse over our raised beds.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09W4VCN6H?ref=fed_asin_title&th=1

 

[Meemur]

SB, a tennis ball (or a hard baseball or massage ball) can also be help with trigger point therapy, if the pain is somewhere harder to use a rolling pin on, like the middle of one's back when alone. I lie on the floor and stick it under me, or I stick the tennis ball to a brick or concrete wall with a loop of duct tape or hold it in place and then back up against it. While not the best, it can work under some circumstances.

I also know several local massage therapists who do sports massages. It's important to get a sports massage therapist because they know trigger point therapy (be sure to ask!). Otherwise, you might get someone who rubs almond oil all over and then puts hot stones on your back. While that might smell nice, it's really not overly helpful for pain.

For once, I'm not in pain, but I have a cough. It's probably Round 2 of the crud that is going around. I'm taking the usual stuff, plus drinking hot lemon with a tiny squirt of local honey.

I can't believe how fast Thanksgiving is coming! It seems like I was just dealing with Labor Day preparations. My time sense is still messed up. Usually, it straights out after the shift back to standard time, but this year it didn't.

 

[Meemur]

These are the clear tarps we buy...they are reinforced and sturdy. I got this one specifically for the chicken pen so they could have sunlight in the winter in their open area. It's the same type I bought to make a makeshift greenhouse over our raised beds.

I hope that your rooster will continue to improve! Yes, those tarps are the best. I get smaller ones at the farm store that I use for the seasonal hoop houses. Nothing stays up all year due to the ice and snow loads Dec - Mar.

 

[etdeb]

SB, a tennis ball (or a hard baseball or massage ball) can also be help with trigger point therapy, if the pain is somewhere harder to use a rolling pin on, like the middle of one's back when alone. I lie on the floor and stick it under me, or I stick the tennis ball to a brick or concrete wall with a loop of duct tape or hold it in place and then back up against it. While not the best, it can work under some circumstances.

I also know several local massage therapists who do sports massages. It's important to get a sports massage therapist because they know trigger point therapy (be sure to ask!). Otherwise, you might get someone who rubs almond oil all over and then puts hot stones on your back. While that might smell nice, it's really not overly helpful for pain.

For once, I'm not in pain, but I have a cough. It's probably Round 2 of the crud that is going around. I'm taking the usual stuff, plus drinking hot lemon with a tiny squirt of local honey.

I can't believe how fast Thanksgiving is coming! It seems like I was just dealing with Labor Day preparations. My time sense is still messed up. Usually, it straights out after the shift back to standard time, but this year it didn't.

Tennis ball is best for me also works when Shoulders flare up. Stand against wall with tennis ball between me and wall and go to town rolling it.

 

[Wildwood]

I hope that your rooster will continue to improve! Yes, those tarps are the best. I get smaller ones at the farm store that I use for the seasonal hoop houses. Nothing stays up all year due to the ice and snow loads Dec - Mar.

Thank you, I just checked and he was up moving around.

I think it's the nylon threads running through plus I think the clear plastic it's made from has more UV resistance than the typical tarp plastic. I can best describe the difference as supple instead of crinkly if that makes sense.

 

[anna43]

I got to the bank this morning and got my stuff taken care of. Still have a decision to make about one issue which I can call about and not go in. May have to sign something later but for now it's taken care of.

Carpet was cleaned today. I assumed (I know NEVER assume) that since the last times it was done by this company, they did not use any scented products. I asked both prior times. Anyway, he started in my bedroom with a strongly scented product, and I stopped him as soon as I realized, used my inhaler and told him I'm allergic. He was very apologetic and redid the bedroom with unscented product twice plus opened the windows for several hours. Not fun since high today was 39º. I'm hoping the scent is now low enough that I can sleep in there tonight.

I was planning to do the celery while he was doing carpets, however, all the small furniture from the living room was in the dining/kitchen so that didn't work out. I did get the soup into the freezer plus had some for supper. I have enough left for another meal or I could freeze another container. I'll see how the week goes.

 

[Meemur]

I hope the smell is out!

That was the other reason I pulled out all of the wall-to-wall carpeting. It's a bear to maintain. I just have two large area rugs now. If they get too bad, I cut them into four foot pieces and wave bye-bye.

 

[anna43]

I did not want carpet in the bedroom, but my late dh did. He didn't like cold floor when he got up. I pointed out that I wore socks to bed so that wasn't an issue, but he was not impressed. The only carpet I have is living room, hallway and master bedroom. When we had a houseful, it was much quieter with carpet but difficult to keep clean. I like the carpet I have in the bedroom, but do not like the living room/hallway carpet. It's still good so I won't be replacing it any time soon.

The smell is much less noticeable, but I still have a headache which might be because there is still too much smell. I may end up sleeping on the couch in the living room.

 

[Meemur]

Yeah, it's not exactly a good night for sleeping with the windows open. It's about 42 degrees outside over here.

The other area rug is in my bedroom. I don't like cold floors in there, either. The area rug is safer for me than a throw rug. I won't trip over it.

 

[summerthyme]

I won that battle, here. When DS built the apartment, he just included a tiny "loft" over the office that just fit a queen size mattress as their bedroom. That was a deal breaker for us, at our ages! So, he added on a nice 12x15 bedroom. He was adamant that he needed to install carpet...we are directly over the barn, and the floor can definitely be chilly.

But I enlisted his sister's help, and kept reminding him we had 2, elderly house/farm dogs, one of whom insisted she HAD to sleep in the bedroom. Thankfully, he listened, and put in easy to clean laminate. I put throw rugs on each side of the bed, and it works fine.

Summerthyme

 

[hd5574]

My house is old...all wooden floors ..old wide pine..except in the bathrooms
In the house before this had wooden floors...I began..by wool...orientals so I have over all the main part of the house...and wool rugs by the beds..
No wall to wall...ever...

 

[anna43]

Wall to wall never seems appropriate in older houses, wool area rugs do. My house is a 1979 ranch where you need to either install wall to wall carpets or new flooring as all that's under the carpet is sub-floor plywood.

I've always found it interesting that in many older homes the floors near the walls and out maybe 3 feet are finished wood while the center of the room is poorer quality unfinished wood. It was always expected that an area rug would be used. I can't recall where I saw it, but one house had linoleum instead of finished wood outside of the area rug. I have no idea if the entire floor was covered with linoleum with a rug over the center or just the outside was linoleum.

I also find it interesting that in 1962 when we bought a new home the floors were good quality hardwood wood. It was an addition of all houses exactly alike and everyone as soon as they could afford to put in wall-to-wall carpet. I had an area rug that was given to us and never could afford carpet. The absolute worst fad was carpet in kitchens and bathrooms!!

 

[ginnie6]

Our house had ugly, nasty beige carpet when we bought it and with a houseful of kids it was even worse after a year or two. I was spending more time cleaning it than anything. I ripped it out and found beautiful hardwood floors. We'll probably all die from some type of cancer after ripping out that carpet and the layer of tile under it but....that carpet was nasty! I will only ever do area rugs again as I can take those out and clean them and not have layers of dirt caught up underneath no matter how often I vacuum.

 

[WanderLore]

Morning all. Up at 4. Letting coal stove go out as temps are warm enough to just use wall heater and one burner on stove.
Only place we have carpet is living room. That will get taken out in the spring.
My sciatica is so bad. I've tried everything and the trigger point. Ice is main help.
I'm going to call my chiropractor this morning. Haven't seen him in years. See if he can help.
It's so bad I can barely walk. I get it shut down for long enough to get chores done. The morning is the worst.

 

[WanderLore]

Propane getting topped off this morning.
Gravel I guess is on hold. Yesterday was sleet and then rain all day.
What would be a huge help is to put a propane wall heater in the kitchen. But that will entail hiring someone. Plus they will want possibly to replace living room one too. It's old and doesn't have an emergency shut off.
Can't think what it all will cost. Scot did all this stuff easily.
I don't know anyone who could do it but my neighbor who is moving any day to Florida.

Could take the wall heater out of the unused bedroom. That is hooked to an outside tank of 100 gallons. Noone uses that room in the winter. And it's a good heater.

 

[WanderLore]

Seeing my chiropractor I haven't seen in year, today at 11

 

[Meemur]

Good luck! I hope that you can get some relief. Back pain is the worst!

Winter is still on hold here but temps are more seasonal (40s and 50s). Normally, we'd have a dusting of snow and icy patches. I'm not complaining! Last year, I was able to walk outside until about mid-December. I hope that's true this year. I'm enjoying my lunchtime walks.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

When we bought this house, the floor covering was in bad shape. One of the first things we did was to pull up all that floor covering in every room. We replaced it with carpet. After about 5 years of that, we ripped that stuff up and out, and replaced it with ceramic tile. Never again will I have carpet. That stuff was so nasty underneath it, I said, "Never Again". I have area rugs, too. The pantry room, bedroom, and laundry room have hardwood flooring.

We're supposed to break the heat record for November 19th, today. Low 80's! I guess our winter won't start, until sometime in December.

Today is shopping day. We have several stops to make in two different small towns, so it will be a long day.

My back is much better. Cary gave it a good massage last night. I also used some Voltaren cream on it, afterwards.

 

[moldy]

Working from home today due to multiple online meetings on my usual day off. it's OK - it all works out. I pulled some old mayo today that was expired and gave it to the chickens. I've gone thru the freezers, but really need to rotate/inventory/purge the pantry and that is a really big job. Just have too many other things to get done before I can focus on that.

 

[connie]

I'm keeping my long term emergency storage foods but my everyday pantry and freezer is now more 3 -6 month.
Winter is the peak. As we age, we just don't eat as much.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

I'm keeping my long term emergency storage foods but my everyday pantry and freezer is now more 3 -6 month.
Winter is the peak. As we age, we just don't eat as much.

We're not eating as much anymore, either. We also have plenty of long term storage foods, too. Not eating as much is one of the reasons for emptying out all the older foods from my pantry, and only replacing with what I call "basics". My overall pantry inventory has shrunk, but it's still filled with what we need to get by for several months to a year, plus, all the long term storage foods from Mountain House and Keystone meats.

 

[hd5574]

We have a very big pantry..many basic staple items but...also a good deal of long term storage...have a small amount of mountain house it has so many carbs and such small pieces of meat ...but concentrated on the cans of military surplus...what we call "chunky" meat...chicken breasts, thighs, pork chops, sirloin steaks, cubed top round, hamburger patties, chicken tenders and chicken patties,and cans of dried shredded cheese in many flavors, the things they use for our military..and the kinds of things we buy to make meals at the store..we have some close friends who are much younger than us..they are prepping but way behind us...I continue to buy so we will be able to help them with things if they need it....it is also vital to have have fats....

both my parents graduated from high school in 1929...truly from then until the last years of the 1940s, things were tough..so it was grim for around 15 years...first the depression...then the food rationing of WWII...

The value of the dollar drops every year..it seems that prices are going up on everything..except the amount of money coming in....the amount of debt is staggering, public, corporate and private..so it is difficult to see a quick way out of this mess if there is even a way..
I believe we will have profoundly hard times coming for years..not just the United States but the whole world..so the more long term stuff the better ...just my thinking..and some of the reasons why..

We don't put money into..the latest tech gadgets...from what i am reading the price of electricity is set to sky rocket...recently got an email my conservative delegate at the state house warning us to expect the price of electricity to go through the roof...he even suggested people heat with wood..we do heat with wood but it was a shock to see him warning the people in his district to prepare..for price shocks...in fact I have never heard an elected official say anything like that before..

just yesterday there was another huge cloud outage..when I looked at the list of things out I realized I didn't use any of them..some i don't even know what they are..
I try to use as much paper as possible..and stay away from as much digital as is humanly possible.... don't bank on line or pay bills on line.have a landline, and dumb flip phones for emergencies only..get paper bill's ...the flip phones were $30 each and the tablet in am using was around $100..so,a low tech redneck..

During a recent sale...we invested in a good battery backup system...it is expandable..as we experiment with it more...we may expand it.....time will tell..but it looks like it may pay for itself sooner rather than later..

Just some of our ideas on all this mess ..and ways we are preparing for it

 

[anna43]

Propane getting topped off this morning.
Gravel I guess is on hold. Yesterday was sleet and then rain all day.
What would be a huge help is to put a propane wall heater in the kitchen. But that will entail hiring someone. Plus they will want possibly to replace living room one too. It's old and doesn't have an emergency shut off.
Can't think what it all will cost. Scot did all this stuff easily.
I don't know anyone who could do it but my neighbor who is moving any day to Florida.

Could take the wall heater out of the unused bedroom. That is hooked to an outside tank of 100 gallons. Noone uses that room in the winter. And it's a good heater.

My two cents on replacing heaters -- I would buy new and have professionally installed. Propane is nothing to mess around with. If you are keeping the older heaters, I would have them checked out to be sure they are operating correctly. This can be a life-or-death issue. I'll economize and cut corners many places but not on gas appliances. Also, a newer heater would likely be more energy efficient and might qualify for a rebate.

An apartment we lived in had a wall natural gas heater. I was young and knew nothing about malfunctioning heaters. When I washed my curtains in the spring, I was doing it my hand in a bucket and the water kept turning black. I must have changed the water at least 6 times for each panel. When I washed the windows, it was the same, washed over and over with water turning black. When we moved out that December the heater got tagged as defective. I had been having headaches and fatigue, and I believe the only reason my son and I didn't die is the place was drafty as a barn.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

We're back, and I just got everything put away. My back hurts, now, so I'm resting it, before doing supper.

I have a month's worth or more of different, what I call, survival recipes that are quick and simple to make. Mostly skillet meals, or one pot meals. What I call "basics" are all the ingredients needed to make those meals. The more, the better. Those items cover a large variety of things. That is what I'm restocking my pantry with. We eat those meals on a regular basis, too, so I'm always replacing what I use. I no longer buy food items for the pantry that are "just in case" items. If we don't eat and use it on a regular basis, I don't buy it for storage. We already have a year's worth of Mountain House meals for 2 meals a day for a year, plus enough Keystone meats to do the same. Lots of canned meats on the shelf, too, but I gave Mom all of the canned roast beef that I had in storage. We hate that stuff, and I was saving it for dog food. Our Frisco passed, so I gave it to her.

I think we have plenty to do us for a long while even if the grocery stores all close. We can always ration.

I did something today that I said I wasn't going to do. That is fill my meat freezer back up, before defrosting it. I did that, today. The way the prices of beef and other cut meats are going, I was afraid to wait, until the freezer was empty not knowing if we would be able to afford to refill it when the time came. Now, it's full again. We have several large ice coolers that I can put the meat in while the freezer is being defrosted. Cary will have to get them out, and clean them up. It was a big haul at the meat market, today.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

My two cents on replacing heaters -- I would buy new and have professionally installed. Propane is nothing to mess around with. If you are keeping the older heaters, I would have them checked out to be sure they are operating correctly. This can be a life-or-death issue. I'll economize and cut corners many places but not on gas appliances. Also, a newer heater would likely be more energy efficient and might qualify for a rebate.

An apartment we lived in had a wall natural gas heater. I was young and knew nothing about malfunctioning heaters. When I washed my curtains in the spring, I was doing it my hand in a bucket and the water kept turning black. I must have changed the water at least 6 times for each panel. When I washed the windows, it was the same, washed over and over with water turning black. When we moved out that December the heater got tagged as defective. I had been having headaches and fatigue, and I believe the only reason my son and I didn't die is the place was drafty as a barn.

We have a small wall propane heater that we use to knock the chill out of the house when it's not cold enough to light a fire in the wood heater. Cary has that propane heater checked by a professional every year. They check the lines, blow out the heater from accumulated dust, and light the pilot light. We don't mess around with it, either. Better safe than sorry. We don't get charged for it. When we order our first propane tank fill up in the Fall, that's when it gets checked. They are always happy to do it.

 

[WanderLore]

Scot and SIL put both wall heaters in. I clean them regularly. We have co monitors. Never had a problem.
I'd pay to have all this done but I can't imagine what the cost would be.
Might have to wait. I've never had problems with soot like that Anna. Only once years ago in the 90s, I was using kerosene to heat. Had to wash walls that spring.

 

[WanderLore]

Scot put the one in the living room years ago. Swapped an old one that has been there.
Propane guy looked it over said was expert install.
If I could afford it, I'd get a new one for living room. And use the new one in bedroom for kitchen.
I put the inside chimney together myself. Had to replace all the pipe. Wasn't easy. But it works perfect.
Saw my chiropractor today. It helped but I'll need more adjustments. At least 3-4 more.

 

[Meemur]

I had a lot to do today, but the morning started out with drizzle and fog. It cleared off later, but the fog came back about 4 pm. I finally just gave up and came home and made an early dinner.

I'm having a hard time making the adjustment from summer to winter. I keep running out of daylight at 5 pm, but I haven't finished everything that I wanted to get done.

I think I'll need to go back to scheduling a lot less, especially on foggy days. The traffic slows to a snail's pace and errands take 3X as long. I guess at some level that I'm just not ready for winter.

 

[Wildwood]

I had a lot to do today, but the morning started out with drizzle and fog. It cleared off later, but the fog came back about 4 pm. I finally just gave up and came home and made an early dinner.

I'm having a hard time making the adjustment from summer to winter. I keep running out of daylight at 5 pm, but I haven't finished everything that I wanted to get done.

I think I'll need to go back to scheduling a lot less, especially on foggy days. The traffic slows to a snail's pace and errands take 3X as long. I guess at some level that I'm just not ready for winter.

I'm not ready for it. This very warm fall has spoiled us all around here...winter will be all the worse when it finally shows up which will be sooner rather than later. I figure we have one more week of moderate temps but it may well rain every day.

I got 150 short day onion starts in today. I'm sharing them with my kids so we'll get fifty each. They came from Hoss Tools and they are some good looking starts.

 

[connie]

SB that is very smart to collect those recipes. I should do that more. Most recipes like that will feed us twice.
I do like to combine single ingredient foods. No prepackaged rice or pasta type things.
That can be a winter project for me. Winter is easier as I cook more beans and cornbread and soups.
Summer more grilling.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

SB that is very smart to collect those recipes. I should do that more. Most recipes like that will feed us twice.
I do like to combine single ingredient foods. No prepackaged rice or pasta type things.
That can be a winter project for me. Winter is easier as I cook more beans and cornbread and soups.
Summer more grilling.

I've collected these recipes for years. I still search the net for new recipes in my spare time. I look for recipes that are quick and simple to make. In a grid down or shtf situation, I don't want to spend a lot of time and effort cooking. I'll have other things that need doing, too. Life won't be as easy as it is now. I also look for recipes that don't involve a lot of ingredients or hard to get ingredients. A lot of my recipes can use the same ingredients, basically, as other recipes, too. I can use a can of tomato sauce with several different things, or cream of cheddar soup, cream of chicken soup, beef broth, etc. Pasta and rice are a huge basic. I don't store any pre-packaged food items. I have lots and lots of different spices, too.

I've accumulated enough different recipes to use one recipe each day for at least a month. No food fatigue. I always try the new recipe, before I add it to my monthly list to see if we like it enough to eat on a regular basis.

 

[patriotgal]

SB, have you shared your recipes here in the kitchen? Working full time means I need to better prepare.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

SB, have you shared your recipes here in the kitchen? Working full time means I need to better prepare.

IIRC, I've only shared a couple. I think I posted them in the Prep threads, though, not in the kitchen threads. Take my word for it, though, the recipes are really simple, not gourmet. I can cook any of them on my wood cook stove or a camping stove in a skillet or big pot with no trouble.

Let me add......A good place to start is with a search for copycat Hamburger Helper recipes. I have several of those.

 

[Meemur]

I'll make a confession: I rarely use recipes, unless I'm either making something totally new, like a French dish, or fancy holiday desserts because I don't make them enough to remember the ratios of flour, sugar, etc.

I'm not an expert cook by any means! But I am a lazy one. I have a rough plan of what I want to cook all week, but I may change my mind, depending on what's left over or needs to be used up faster than I planned. Basically, I have a protein, two portions of veggies (often steamed green beans), and a carb, often potatoes or rice, sometimes noodles, with a small slice of cheese (maybe) and some apple wedges (or other whole fruit) for dessert. I might vary the flavors a bit with some light sauces but generally, it's fairly plain. On the other hand, dinner is usually on the table quickly, which means more to me these days than having anything fancy. I'm still trying to get stuff done in the evenings.

But back to my Thursday. The fog has finally lifted enough to drive safely. I'm finishing my second cup of tea and then I'll try to finish errands, including mailing the last of the birthday cards. Yes, I still send cards. These are to folks who either don't have the internet or who appreciate real cards with a short letter tucked inside.

My goal this year is to start Christmas cards the day before Thanksgiving and mail them on Black Friday. I have drastically cut the list back to around a dozen or so, basically those who sent me cards (and care about this tradition). I spent around $80 on forever stamps several years ago, so I'm good there. If I had to buy stamps at today's prices, I'd cut my list in half. It's getting expensive!

 

[moldy]

I like to see recipes that are tried by someone I know. There are too many online that I have tried that were just bad, and I haye wasting them on the chickens.

 

[Meemur]

Moldy, that's where a little knowledge of cooking can pay off. For example, I have seen videos where the hosts dump stew meat directly into a slow cooker. Browning the meat first will give it a better flavor. Sure, it won't hurt the meat to cook it that way, but it won't be as good.

I'll recommend the America's Test Kitchen videos. Yes, the cooks act like Karens sometimes, but they explain the science behind cooking which is very helpful.