Homestead Acres

Posts Tagged ‘frugal living’

I have always been inclined to have a pantry, perhaps it comes from being around my Grandma.  Who’s generation lived through the depression and was very skilled at stretching things.  It seems that more and more people have fallen into the practice of shopping weekly for all their grocery’s.  Keeping just enough food on hand for a few days.   Through out my live I’ve seen many times why this is not a good idea.  You really never know when having some staples stored up will be a huge help.

Storms

We live in a snow belt.  Just last week the schools were closed for 3 days and the roads also.  Yes they did open for short spells, but do you really want to drive on bad roads and then get stuck at town when they close again?  It’s a wonderful feeling to see the snow falling and not have to worry that your short on food, water and other supplies.  In the summer like wise storms can knock power out for hours or days.

Job loss

Another good reason for stocking a pantry is income loss.  I can’t count the times hubby has been laid off work with little notice, or weather has reduced his work hours.  Even a tax mix up can happen leading to your refunds being cut off.  Yes that happened to us a few years ago.   We went to town to shop and found a bill in the mail.  We knew we didn’t owe it but it took months to sort out.  Our income was greatly reduced during that time and we were able to live almost entirely off our pantry stores.

Price increases

Prices are always going up.  In the past few years we have seen more frequent price jumps as inflation affects all sectors.  Do you remember the grain crises a few years ago?  Almost over night a 8 kg bag of rice went from $6.00 to nearly $20.00!  Like wise wheat berries, as well as processed flour more then doubled.   With the price of grains rising it drove the prices of all grocery’s up.   Having a good stock of goods at home can help protect you from sudden increases.  It allows you time to save up to restock your goods, and to watch for sales.

Savings

Keeping a pantry saves a lot of money!  I don’t buy the same things every week.  Instead I have a master list of what our family uses.  I keep a base amount on hand at all times.  I mark off a list how many we have used and when I see a good sale I can replace them.   It’s even better if you can use coupons on sale items.  This helps since I normally don’t get caught having to replace all items that go up in price at the same time.

Check back soon to learn how to keep track of your pantry.

Every year around this time I see questions popping up on forums all over the internet.  How do I cook a chicken or turkey?  There are many things we didn’t learn at our mothers knee.  But there is no need to be afraid to cook tasty meals for your family.

Another problem I see often is “Help, I forgot to that the turkey!”.  Really unless your wanting to stuff the bird, there is no need to thaw.  Except for one Thanksgiving year, I have always cooked my chickens/turkeys from frozen.  This saves a lot of space in the fridge, since you don’t have a big bird taking up space all week.

• Remove chicken from it’s bag and rinse well.  Place in a roasting pan.
• Add a little water to the roasting pan.  I use a cup or so.
• Sprinkle desired seasonings over the bird.  I like garlic powder, pepper, rosemary, marjoram
• Place your bird in the oven at 350F.  I usually cover my roaster as I find the breast meat is more tender that way.  But if the lid doesn’t fit it’s not a big deal.  Add a cover of tin foil in the last hour of cooking.  This will help keep the ends of the legs from burning.
• Check on your bird every few hours and baste with cooking juices.
• For a dark brown skin, brush with olive oil.
• Cook the bird for 20 minutes per pound.  If you have a thermometer the temperature in the thigh should be 180F. If you do not have a thermometer, your bird should be nicely browned the legs should be loose and movable away from the body.  Cut between the leg and the body and the juices should be clear.

It is cherry season!! My favorite way to buy cherries for canning is prepitted in 5 kg buckets. Its cheaper and saves a lot of time.

CHERRY PIE FILLING

           http://web1.msue.msu.edu/msue/imp/mod01/01600844.html                          

                  Quantities of Ingredients Needed For       

                               1 Quart        7 Quarts       

Fresh or thawed sour cherries  3-1/3 cups     6 quarts       

Granulated sugar               1 cup          7 cups         

Clear Jel                 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp  1-3/4 cups       

Cold water                     1-1/3 cups   9-1/3 cups       

Bottled lemon juice        1 tbsp + 1tsp      1/2 cup        

Cinnamon (optional)            1/8 tsp        1 tsp          

Almond extract (optional)      1/4 tsp        2 tsp          

Red food coloring (optional)   6 drops        1/4 tsp        

QUALITY: Select fresh, very ripe, and firm cherries.
Unsweetened frozen cherries may be used. If sugar has
been added, rinse it off while the fruit is still frozen.

YIELD: 1 quart or 7 quarts

PROCEDURE: Rinse and pit fresh cherries, and hold in
cold water. To prevent stem end browning, use ascorbic
acid solution (see ascorbic acid). For fresh fruit, place
6 cups at a time in 1 gallon boiling water. Boil each
batch 1 minute after the water returns to a boil. Drain
but keep heated fruit in a covered bowl or pot. Combine
sugar and Clear Jel in a large saucepan and add water.
If desired, add cinnamon, almond extract, and food
coloring. Stir mixture and cook over medium high heat
until mixture thickens and begins to bubble. Add lemon
juice and boil 1 minute, stirring constantly. Fold in
drained cherries immediately and fill jars with mixture
without delay, leaving 1 inch headspace. Adjust lids and
process immediately.

Recommended process time for CHERRY PIE FILLING
in a boiling-water canner

                      Process Time at Altitudes of           

Style    Jar    0-        1,001-     3,001-      Above       

of Pack:    1,000 ft  3,000 ft   6,000 ft    6000 ft     

Hot         30 min      35        40         45
Size:
Pints or Quarts

My husband and I have started a homesteading how to series.  Our gole is to help people new to a homesteading way of life to learn the basics of different tasks.

Building a custom greenhouse from used building materials.

View Part 1 here.