A Winter & Holiday Pantry Stock Up

 

It is that time of year again where I like to have plenty on hand so when the weather turns I am not forced to go out if I don’t want to.  Throughout the summer I worked on squirreling away pet food and supplies.  Then I worked on preparing for myself.  This year my list was rather short as I already had plenty on hand.  My main goal was to restock the upright freezer in my garage with more frozen produce.

 

I grated & put away half of the zucchini

Rhubarb from my garden

I was blessed with fresh vegetables from my co-workers this summer and I was able to grate some zucchini and add two packages to the freezer.  I also added some chopped bell peppers and chopped onions for easy meal preparations.  I have added several bags of frozen broccoli, peas and green beans to the lot as well as a huge bag of berries I picked up at Costco and divided up.  I repackaged the frozen vegetables and berries vacuum sealing them in order to stave off potential freezer burn.

 

The beauty of seasonal produce is that I am able to grow, pick and preserve quite a bit each year to add to my pantry and LTFS shelves.  This year I made three different batches of fruit preserves which will be enough for this year and the following year as well.  

 

Peach preserves

Nearly full

Lots of readymade meals & a few frozen pizzas
 have been added to the kitchen freezer

I have quite a bit of meat in the deep freezer as well as on the LTFS shelves so this time I didn’t have to stockpile much in preparation for winter.  Finding ground beef and a couple of small chuck roasts on markdown filled out the gap in the deep freezer.  I also have plenty of home canned soups, tomato products, meats, relish, preserves and fruit on the shelves.  I was able to focus most of my grocery budget on filling in with any pantry staples I was running low on.

 

My last Costco run

This great buy on meat this month filled up the freezer

Plenty of cleaning supplies & toiletries

Upstairs in the linen closet my shelves are filled with plenty of housekeeping and laundry supplies.  I also have plenty of toiletries and paper products.  I simply added a case of facial tissues from Costco to complete the restocking goals in there.  I should be all set to complete the year and begin the next year with no difficulty.

 

Holiday baking and meals are going to be based off of what I already have on hand with one exception.  I will be going to Costco next month to pick up two rotisserie chickens and placing them in the freezer to use at the holidays.  I tried this last year and it worked out really well.  At this stage of my life I don’t need to roast a great big turkey as a whole chicken is adequate.

 

After I pick up a couple of these I'll be all set for the holidays

Having a home that is well stocked with adequate food and supplies gives me great peace of mind as I head into winter time.  It will help me not only take care of my needs but free up some cash for tackling higher heating bills as the temperatures drop.  The bonus of being well stocked is the peace of knowing I won’t need to go shopping when the weather is yucky.