Prep Genrl Weekly Prep Thread: September 20 ~26, 2020

[ReneeT]

Good Morning, All!! It's a beautiful sunny morning here - a bit chilly at 42*F, but it is supposed to warm up in to the low 70's, and be back in to the low 80's by next weekend - when I go back to work (But I only have to work 8 days/3 weeks and I have another 12 day vacation!)

We are going to spend some time in the kitchen this morning - older grandson has to make a edible model of an animal cell; and we hadn't gotten around to baking my birthday pie yet. The edible cell model shopping list was: cake mix, icing, atomic sour balls, multi-colored licorice, Fruit by the Foot, jelly beans, sour bites, and sprinkles. The saving grace is that we don't have to eat it - just take a picture of it

After the cake is in the oven, we are going to bake my birthday apple pie - the last minute trip and a minor kitchen snafu at daughter's house led to putting it off until today. I have photos of my boys using the apple peeler/corer to make applesauce when they were 3 & 4; seems like a good time to do a refresher course before we go into major apple season in a couple of weeks. I was amazed when daughter mentioned that she had been cooking the apples for the pie - and she also left the peels on - guess I need to write out a recipe for her.

I did manage to pick up a total of 7 of the roasts that were on sale last week; and then the new ad came in the mail yesterday and the sale has been continued - I will check the budget and see how many more I can get; then have a canning frenzy once I'm done shopping. We hit the small local store last night for cake mix and icing, and I noticed that although it wasn't in the ad, they still had the bags of sliced chicken breast at 5#/$6 - they weren't marked as Italian so I didn't pick any up but will stop in Monday and ask the owner; even if they are the Italian seasoned ones, I may get enough to run a couple of canner loads and see what we think - it should be good for things like chicken Alfredo and chicken lasagna. They are pretty easy to can - let 'em thaw, dump about an inch of chicken broth in the bottom of a pint jar, cut them in chunks, put in jar, wipe rim, slap on lid and ring band, pressure can.

Hubby was kind enough to pull the last 12 posts out of the garden for me - the ground was so dry that I just didn't have enough strength to pull them out of the ground by hand and hadn't gotten around to taking a jack and chain out to the garden. Later today, once the dew has dried off, I will mow off everything except my beloved zinnias. I am thinking about solarizing the area by putting down large sheets of clear plastic - or - putting down large pieces of cardboard to smother some of the weeds. If I pull off all the tape on the boxes, they will pretty much be broken down enough to till in by spring.

Well, the tribe is getting restless - guess I'd better quit lollygagging on the computer and get to work baking a cell

You folks all take care out there; stay safe!

 

[nomifyle]

We are getting the mud room/DH's computer room/the room we have our kitchen table and chairs in, ready for winter. DH is very cold natured and wants to be able to lite a fire in the wood stove when he gets up early. Now where to put all the stuff I had stored around the stove.

DH has not been drinking coffee during the hot weather, but now that its a bit cooler we actually sat the the table and chairs and had coffee together, it was nice. I like to sit at the kitchen table (where ever it is) and have coffee.

God is good all the time.

Judy

 

[WanderLore]

We got the thick plastic up on the cabin ceiling for winter. Just to help hold the heat. Swing set is done and waiting for grands to visit again.
Bunch of squash and pumpkins need to get picked. Peppers too.
We are just worn out the last couple days. So I am vegging in my cabin listening to Poirot.

 

[nomifyle]

I'm also working on finding the living room couch buried under mylar bags of food and food the needs to go in mylar bags. Got my foldable exercise bike out of the living room and temporarily in my walk in closet (I want it to go in my office, but I have to reorganize for that). Now I can actually get to the couch, what a concept.

I've also been organizing many of the jars I have dehydrated food in. I have a shelf in the top of my pantry that quart jars slide right in. Since there is room for the jars to be four deep, I want all the same thing in that four jar row. so much easier to keep a good count of what I have or might need. I'll have to put a label on the rows that don't have four of the same thing.

God is good all the time

Judy

 

[moldy]

DD#2 is coming to visit next weekend and help me can. I'm so excited!! Canning and breaking down the garden are first on the list. She just wants to 'hang out, fish, and help (me) can." So I guess that's what we'll be doing.

 

[briches]

I continue slow and steady. Went to the grocery store a couple of times over the past few days. I was surprised by the increase in prices of many items. I think this trend will continue.

I stocked up on some deodorant, body wash, and a few other items to put away.
I also started planning for Christmas and got a few items to start on stocking stuffers. My kiddos are young adults now, but it gives me great pleasure in planning for them.

 

[ginnie6]

This week the youngest boy and I will be tearing down the last of the summer garden and getting some winter crops in. I'm late on it but I think things like collards and kale and such will still be ok. I may try to grab a few started cabbage plants too. I have one more small mess of beans to pick and maybe another handful of okra too. Other than that just slowly adding a few things here and there that we might need. I'm thinking I may buy a case of pineapple to dehydrate this week too. I have figs, apples, and raisins already so some pineapple would be good.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

We'll be making an unusual run into town today. We didn't get to finish our shopping last Tuesday due to the fact that Cary and I both were just worn out. So, going back today. I plan to go to Walgreens to pick up a script for Cary, and to see what they might have on sale that I can use. Academy Sports for Cary to get a new item for one of his guns. Then, to LOWE'S for a gallon or two of water seal for our renewed deck.

Cary is back to cutting, splitting, and stacking firewood into our wood shed. Now that our temps are cooling, there's lots of things to do outside, before winter sets in. Most of our raised beds are gone, but there's winterizing to do in all my flower beds. Lots of pinecones to pick up to add to our kindling, and pine straw to rake. I use it for mulch.

 

[psychgirl]

I made a list last night of “holes” to concentrate on.

I love lists.

I make tons of em, then leave them on the counter lol!

I need to keep an eye open for JUST what’s on my list and NOT get sidetracked like I usually do. I’m a sucker for a good sale.

 

[mecoastie]

Cool weather!!! Chimney pieces come this week so hopefully I can get that done and evaporator all set for Feb. Last of the salsa was canned last night. Garden is about done except for the popcorn. We have a small fall greens garden and the potatoes to lift but that is about it. Got to get the house chimney swept and ready to go. Time to get the firewood moved up to the house. Got 2 more hives that need to be moved back home from a friends house. Sold some more stuff and I am hopefully going to be putting together a larger solar system. I want to set it up to provide power for the sugar shack but with all the parts easily moveable to the house if needed. Took the first week of Nov off. Just want to go vote, hunt and cut wood that week.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

I made a list last night of “holes” to concentrate on.

I love lists.

I make tons of em, then leave them on the counter lol!

I need to keep an eye open for JUST what’s on my list and NOT get sidetracked like I usually do. I’m a sucker for a good sale.

I know what you mean about those lists. I do the same. Since we only shop twice a month, my lists get rather long. I keep a running list on my kitchen counter, too. Since I have no more room for storage food, I only buy what I use over a two week period. If I use a can of peas, I add a can of peas to my list, etc. Now that I've started buying just to replace items, I'm saving a good bit of money.

It would be a nightmare for me to enter a store without my lists!

In town today, we got the water sealer for our deck. Cary bought more ammo and the part for his gun he wanted. I didn't find anything at Walgreens that I needed, so I didn't buy a thing. I went to Belk's looking for camisoles, but they didn't have the colors I wanted, so I didn't buy anything there, either. I had to grit my teeth not to, though!

 

[nomifyle]

It was commodities pick up today. They doubled up on the pork/soy tvp patties. They take up too much freezer space and we don't eat soy, so they will either go to someone in the community or maybe the dog. There were some canned fruit (which we are always glad to get), rice but no beans (we do not need beans) a couple of largish cans of beef and some vegetables and three bags of apples.

The other commodities that we get (called the 40# box) we did not get last month and apparently not this month either, they said due to transportation issues. We will be fine without it, but this one is where I get my supply of powdered milk, potato flakes and boxed milk.

We stopped at Dollar Tree, they actually had 6 boxes of the sinus/allergy meds we take, I was greedy and took all six boxes. They also had the Southgate brand of beef strew that DH likes, I only took enough to replace the amount that I like to keep steady, although no cans of the Southgate Chili. I filled in a few other gaps and called it quits.

God is good all the time

Judy

 

[briches]

I love keeping lists as well but have switched over to keeping them on my phone (google keep). I always have my phone with me and love having my checklist with me wherever I go. It’s also handy because when I think of something, I can immediately add to my lists.

So handy.

 

[ReneeT]

I hit two grocery stores on the way home from the pool this morning - the IGA had roasts on sale, but only had three out; I went ahead and got two of them as I could see that they were restocking. I may stop by IGA again tomorrow on my way home from the pool to see if they have a couple more. We might cook one of them as a roast with veggies, but the rest will be cubed and canned. After I left IGA, I went to the local grocery store where I bought 4 - 5# bags of frozen, sliced, Italian seasoned chicken breast for $6 each; those are thawing in a cooler and should be ready to can tomorrow afternoon or Wednesday afternoon. If I had room in the freezer, I'd get a few more bags to can later on, but the owner tells me that they are putting in new freezer cases in the area where they had a restaurant, and that they will continue to have the chicken breasts for that price for a while so I will hopefully not need to worry about seriously stocking up on them.

I had some potatoes in the veggie drawer that sprouted, so I'm going to plant 'em deep in one of the raised beds; then sow yellow beets above/in between them - hoping to get some good greens from the beets before cold weather shuts them down. I'm feeling draggy so obviously missing something in my diet; I like the greens so that will be the first thing I try.

 

[prudentwatcher]

Had a doctor's appointment today. Her computer system was down and she was beyond frazzled so I didn't get yelled at for putting on a few (ahem!) covid pounds Everything else was good, so I'm good for another six months. She did say our county in Florida was now#2 in covid cases with the students back in town (UF). She stressed no going out to eat and not being around large groups of people. According to her, droplets of the virus can remain in the air for up to 16 hours, which is why she is totally against restaurants.

On Sunday I broke up a bunch of branches down to small twigs and stored them in the kitty litter buckets. I am now up to seven full buckets and working on my eighth. I put a bunch of branches in the garage to dry off and will break them down in a few weeks.

Ordered a few more mylar bags and they just came in today. Found a place I could stash another rubbermaid container filled with mylar bags of rice, so that is what I will be doing with them.

Finished another hat on the knitting loom. This one was from much thinner yarn so took a few extra rows from my standard formula. I have 7 adult and 5 children's caps ready to donate, and 3 adult and 2 children's caps done as gifts. I have a ton more yarn to work with, I had just taken a couple weeks off for a break.

 

[Walrus]

I had promised to get back with my impression of that Bröö shower/bath soap from the hippies in Asheville.

It's pretty good! Suds up nicely and smells good with the bergamot oil, and seems to be lasting a good long time.

If'n I had my druthers, I would've added frankincense and myyrh essential oils to it, but that's just me. I like that woodsy scent that results, and I like the reference to the King anyways.

I wish people would use more essential oils in their soaps, like Zum do. I don't like having to hunt for the pleasant aroma; I'd rather it filled the shower or bath space.

Other than that, got further behind on vacuum packing with more bulk purchases of rice, pinto beans, lentils and split peas. I did find another 5-gallon bucket of coconut oil and grabbed it. Got a bunch to do whenever I find a round tuit. Just trying to load up with more good staples, basically.

Not much wheat or corn meal, but there were big bags of flour.

OH! I did get a couple 50-lb bags of steam-rolled whole corn after listening to an old moonshiner's telling of his basic recipe. His basic recipe: 50 lbs of corn, 80 lbs of sugar, 1 pound of brewer's yeast for his mash. (he's got a big still obviously)

 

[Digger]

I went to my favorite sheltered workshop. They had just put out the men's fall clothes on Saturday. I found me 4 pair of jeans. Three pair were the Members Mark brand I like and one still had the store tags on them. I like men's jeans better than women's. I also found me a L L Bean vest that looks new and an UnderArmour shirt. I got hubby 2 long sleeve Carhartt tshirts with pockets. They look like new also. I also found me a jacket. I spent just under $50. I did not have time to look for more, but the Jean's was what I needed most.

I picked up some more pantry items at the store too.

 

[nomifyle]

I love keeping lists as well but have switched over to keeping them on my phone (google keep). I always have my phone with me and love having my checklist with me wherever I go. It’s also handy because when I think of something, I can immediately add to my lists.

So handy.

Since I am loathe to use anything google, I fool myself and keep my list on walmart's app. I shop there most of the time anyway.

Prudentwatcher: Your doctor sounds like a doctor I'd run the other way from as fast as I could.

Walrus: since I'm alergic to scented anything, I always look for unscented things.

Digger: looks like you really scored on the clothes. I've had to dig really deep into my clothing stash to find something that covers my weight gain over the last year or so.

God is good all the time

Judy

 

[SouthernBreeze]

Cary and I are still living in the Stone Age. We're still using flip phones. Sooner or later, we'll have to upgrade, but will wait as long as we can.

 

[nomifyle]

Cary and I are still living in the Stone Age. We're still using flip phones. Sooner or later, we'll have to upgrade, but will wait as long as we can.

DH has a flip phone still, but I went to a smart phone back in around 2012. And I love it, although I do not put all my life on my phone. I had a PDA that I absolutely loved and when we evacuated for Katrina in 05 I forgot the charger and my information was lost forever. I even replaced it but I was hesitant to use it the way I had the first one.

God is good all the time

Judy

 

[Digger]

My friend and I split a bushel of apples. She canned all apple sauce. I made 6 pints of sauce and 8 pints of pie filling. We are going to get another one soon and do it again.

I vacuum sealed sliced sweet peppers for the freezer. I have more to do today and some okra to freeze too.

 

[hiwall]

Cary and I are still living in the Stone Age. We're still using flip phones. Sooner or later, we'll have to upgrade, but will wait as long as we can.

My wife and I still have flip-phones. We will never change. If forced we will just drop cell phones and use only the land-line.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

My wife and I still have flip-phones. We will never change. If forced we will just drop cell phones and use only the land-line.

That's about where we are. So, we're hoping that ours will last a long time. I think they've stopped making them. If we got a smart phone, it would only be for emergency use, or to stay in touch with my 80 yr. old mother. I have no use for all the apps and options that comes with these new fangled phones. Like I said, "We're Stone Agers", LOL.

 

[WanderLore]

We have a free store, run by a church, in a town nearby. Great place to drop off donations and pick up stuff.
Got a king sized feather mattress pad for the bed, don't ask me how I got it to the jeep lol.
Few other items and some sweaters.
House is full to the gills with food and stocks. Going to do tomatoes soon as we just started the coal stove. It is running 2 days on one bag. $6 a bag, 40lbs.
Hubby wanted to give the rooster a second chance. So he bravely went in the coop and grabbed him and put him in crate. I took him to my Amish neighbor who was happy to get him. Their rooster is pretty old and they have large pens. He had that rooster cuddled to him lol so I feel better. My girls are relaxing and my 2 little bitties as well.
Not too much to report. Little fixes and so on here and there. Very quiet without the grands running around, I sure miss them.
I'm researching the cheapest easiest small solar set up for my cabin. And doing same on heat system.
I have a small propane wall heater I can use but DH says too big for cabin? We are discussing it.
Food and supplies in the stores look very good right now.

 

[aviax2]

DH and I took a spur of the moment trip to the other end of the state to the Smokie mountains. It was fun although all I really did was go to a couple of favorite wineries and found a couple of apple orchards over in the Cosby area, but I’m glad to be home. We came home with lots of wine and lots of apples. Planning on dehydrating some, freezing some, canning pie filling and applesauce.

I still have to get those buckets and lids washed up and filled with all the things we took out of the freezer last week. Also have some grains I need to get vac sealed in 1/2 gallon jars.

 

[nomifyle]

In our commodities yesterday we got a couple of packages of catfish filets. I am a total failure at frying foods, so DH decided he would fry some catfish. He asked for flour and I added some corn meal. He used our rendered lard to fry it in. And darn was it good, I can never tell if something is done and always burn it (I never learned to fry because its unhealthy and am too old to try). So we made a bargain, he would fry whatever and I would do the cleaning. Better than have to fry, ruin and then have it clean it all up myself. Its so nice to have someone else cook a meal.

God is good all the time

Judy

 

[hiwall]

In our commodities yesterday we got a couple of packages of catfish filets. I am a total failure at frying foods, so DH decided he would fry some catfish. He asked for flour and I added some corn meal. He used our rendered lard to fry it in. And darn was it good, I can never tell if something is done and always burn it (I never learned to fry because its unhealthy and am too old to try). So we made a bargain, he would fry whatever and I would do the cleaning. Better than have to fry, ruin and then have it clean it all up myself. Its so nice to have someone else cook a meal.

God is good all the time

Judy

My wife has me fry everything for her. That's okay with me, better than the alternative.

 

[skwentnaflyer]

Dehydrating eggplant strips--the plants really produced and we need to use them up.
Going to use them in lasagna in place of noodles.

 

[briches]

My hubby is the main cook in our relationship. He enjoys it and is better at it. It’s a win win.

 

[nomifyle]

My DH thought I would cook like his beloved first wife. Wrong-O, not gonna happen. I was in my mid 60's when we got married and had been cooking for a long time. No, I was not going to fry everything, and besides I never "fried" anything before and was not about to learn. I baked a cake once (from a box) and managed to mess up the icing because I didn't know you had to let it cook first, never tried it again (that was about 1985) and have never bought a cake mix since. I can bake a pretty good fruit cocktail cake (from scratch) and a cobbler too. I just don't do it very often. I didn't grow up eating dessert after a meal, so I didn't raise my boys eating dessert, as far as I know neither of them are sugar eaters. I used a few processed foods during the years, like box mac and cheese, hotdogs and usually kept cold cuts in the fridge but it was not a steady diet. I used hamburger helper once, only because someone gave me a box. I'm a plain cook and intend to stay that way.

I do have to say that the fried cat fish the DH cooked last night was delish and he used our own rendered lard (I may be repeating myself on that one). We don't use vegetable oil of any kind. Its Coconut oil, some olive oil, and now our rendered lard. I do have a bottle of peanut oil in the cabinet, but its probably gotten rancid.

One thing I don't know how to make is a pie crust from scratch, so I use frozen ones. I found a recipe that I had cut out of a magazine (mid 80's) in a cook book but have not tried it. My bad.

God is good all the time

Judy

 

[SouthernBreeze]

Since fried catfish is such a big deal here in the South, you would think every Southern cook would know how to do it. I DON"T. That is one meat I can't fry. It's either still raw or burnt by the time I'm finished with it. I just never learned to do it right. The only times we ate catfish growing up was frying it in a huge deep fryer using peanut oil, and my dad did the cooking. I love me some fried catfish when someone else does the cooking! From time to time, Cary takes me to a favorite steak and catfish restaurant where they serve "all you can eat" filleted fried catfish with all the trimmings for a certain price. Love It!

 

[prudentwatcher]

We had two trees that are right up next to the house kind of "topped" so nothing (hopefully) will fall on the house, but there are still plenty of branches for birds and squirrels. Since we live in hurricane country, falling trees and branches are a concern.

Topped off on more canned cat food today, an ongoing process with five cats.

 

[aviax2]

I’m with you ladies that are okay with their husbands doing the frying! From potatoes & onions, okra or deep fried anything, DH does it along with the grilling.

We’ve got 18 trays of apples going in the dehydrators plus 3 hefty quarts in the freezer for cooking. One bushel down and 3 more to go. Little granddaughter will be here the next few days so it will be hit and miss on what gets done, she’s at that climbing and into everything stage.

 

[moldy]

Canned up some potatoes and turnips today. Working on prepping sweet potatoes for freezedrying, along with some tomatoes. We had a few more cows added to the pasture (we lease it out), so there's that. DH and I went out for lunch today. While I was happy to support a local business, the prices have really gone up - $30 for the two of us. Both of us also signed a recall petition for our idiot governor - I'm not hopeful, but it won't be because I didnt' do my part.

 

[Digger]

Hubby and I went to town. We ended up going to 3 grocery stores. Neighborhood Market even had a few Libbys pumpkin. I got 3 for me and 3 for my prepper friend. I also got her 2 twin packs of Sure Jel. We finally found Tums in the mint flavor. We added a lot of canned goods. I found everything on my list. Things were pretty well stocked everywhere with just some holes here and there. My main problem is I am running out of room to stash things.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

It is pouring rain this morning. It started yesterday afternoon. Remnants of Beta passing through. Of course, we would have to be out in it. Cary had to take his Jeep back to the shop in town. I had to drive my car, so he would have a way back home. Hopefully, he will be able to pick his Jeep back up this afternoon, or tomorrow at the latest. I hope the rain slacks off, before I have to drive again. I don't drive very often, and trying to drive in this kind of rain makes me extremely nervous.

Once his Jeep is fixed, everything we had on our list to get done before the election will be done. I keep telling myself that the world does not end on election day.....

 

[straightstreet]

It is pouring rain this morning. It started yesterday afternoon. Remnants of Beta passing through. Of course, we would have to be out in it. Cary had to take his Jeep back to the shop in town. I had to drive my car, so he would have a way back home. Hopefully, he will be able to pick his Jeep back up this afternoon, or tomorrow at the latest. I hope the rain slacks off, before I have to drive again. I don't drive very often, and trying to drive in this kind of rain makes me extremely nervous.

Once his Jeep is fixed, everything we had on our list to get done before the election will be done. I keep telling myself that the world does not end on election day.....

My DH's Jeep is also in the shop. Actually it's in the shop alot the past 6 months getting fixed so I'm pretty sure he's going to sell it and go back to a truck.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

My DH's Jeep is also in the shop. Actually it's in the shop alot the past 6 months getting fixed so I'm pretty sure he's going to sell it and go back to a truck.

We're not planning to trade or sell anytime soon. This is the first time it's had to be worked on for the most part. The ignition switch is bad, so it's getting replaced. My car is much newer than the Jeep, and just paid it off a few months ago.. We're enjoying the NO monthly payments right now, LOL. Both vehicles still have low mileage on them, especially my car. Like I said, I don't drive much. It's still like new. We always try to keep a newer vehicle with low mileage all the time. Never know when it might be the last one you ever get to buy. If the world holds together, I can see in the future where we might trade both vehicles, and buy one new vehicle. What kind? Cary wants a truck. I want a mid size SUV.

 

[WanderLore]

i posted an easy pie crust recipe, if i can find it again

 

[WanderLore]

2 cups all purpose flour. 1/2 cup oil, 1/2 milk. i use coconut oil and box shelf stable milk. dump in bowl and work around. dump on wax paper and double it over and run a roller or something over it to flatten it, lay in pie pan and cut off excess.
This is easy for anyone and not much clean up. My grands did it.

I like to use crushed corn flakes in a bag to coat stuff for frying. Less mess