Contingency plans

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

My thing isn’t even a concern about use by dates, it’s simply this weird thing in my brain that says, “You bought it, now use it!”

MrsT will buy something like Oreos - I don’t even like Oreos - but as soon as they’re in the house, I give her about a week to open them, and if she doesn’t, I open them and eat one cookie a day until they’re gone, because I have this little voice in my head screaming, “They’re taking up room and they’re not doing anything! You have to eat them! They’re in the way of the next thing!”

I'm fine if something is not open. I can look at it for months. If it is open, that's another matter. My will power evaporates the moment something is opened.

My OH on the other hand will get to the very last serving of something and then not use it because we'll run out if he uses it.

 

[Barriehie]

I'll flip the cans over and open the non dusty end... No worries me looking at it; I know its there.

 

[Gone Hiking]

While in in full Thanksgiving prep mode today, I also dug out the last of my venison from the freezer and the last roast from the last side of beef we bought. (Hopefully, I'll be able to refill the freezer with venison in the next few weeks, as hunting season kicks off soon.) I made a venison-beef stew with it that I pressure canned to replenish my prepper pantry. Of course, I used (rotated) some outdated canned goods to make it, along with some fresh veggies that were going South. This is the general recipe, though I added another quart of beef stock after chopping up extra veggies. I also cut the beef roast in half and threw that into a crock pot to cook with veggies separately for tonight's meal.

Canning is labor intensive. This stew requires 75 minutes @11 psi, which you have to babysit on the stove (x2 batches)... which is why I tend to piggyback this sort of thing onto when we are spending all day in the kitchen anyway, and/or during cold, miserable weather.

But, here we end up with 12 pints of delicious, shelf-stable venison-beef stews that are perfect for single servings.

This book is fantastic for canning.

 

[SoCalZone10]

I have 160 fruit trees and a box of vegetable seeds, does it count?
But seriously, I buy when things are on sale, which exactly what happened pre-COVID. I told my husband to get 3 toilet packs, toilet paper was on sale, he looked at me as if I went mad, sure enough we didn’t worry about toilet papers when COVID hit.

 

[Barriehie]

While in in full Thanksgiving prep mode today, I also dug out the last of my venison from the freezer and the last roast from the last side of beef we bought. (Hopefully, I'll be able to refill the freezer with venison in the next few weeks, as hunting season kicks off soon.) I made a venison-beef stew with it that I pressure canned to replenish my prepper pantry. Of course, I used (rotated) some outdated canned goods to make it, along with some fresh veggies that were going South. This is the general recipe, though I added another quart of beef stock after chopping up extra veggies. I also cut the beef roast in half and threw that into a crock pot to cook with veggies separately for tonight's meal.
View attachment 137194
View attachment 137195
View attachment 137196

Canning is labor intensive. This stew requires 75 minutes @11 psi, which you have to babysit on the stove (x2 batches)... which is why I tend to piggyback this sort of thing onto when we are spending all day in the kitchen anyway, and/or during cold, miserable weather.
View attachment 137197

But, here we end up with 12 pints of delicious, shelf-stable venison-beef stews that are perfect for single servings.
View attachment 137198

This book is fantastic for canning.
View attachment 137199

Same canner and same book.

You know if you add a Tbsp of white vinegar to the canner water you can avoid that hard water deposit on the canner and the jars.

 

[Gone Hiking]

Same canner and same book.

You know if you add a Tbsp of white vinegar to the canner water you can avoid that hard water deposit on the canner and the jars.

Great tip!