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.
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| 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.
The one concession I am making to “Christmas the way it was before “ is fruitcake. Later this week I will soak my fruit in rum, and bake the cakes the following day. They will get a regular feeding of dark rum until after Thanksgiving. I will ice two of them with marzipan and Royal Icing. The others I leave “naked.” They are not cheap to make, but two years ago, a friend who loves receiving my fruitcakes, ( but won’t make them herself anymore because they are expensive to make and some people are just rude about them) showed up with a gift of a bag full of the candied fruit I use which she picked up for 99 cents each. We popped those right in the freezer. I am still using that stash! One batch bakes two regular cakes and about 4 small loaf styles. I only give them to people who I know genuinely like them. The rest we eat here because we all love it…yes, really.
ReplyDeleteLike you, I have no desire to go shopping when the weather is cold or rainy. We’re good with supplies though. In fact, unless there is a screaming sale, I am going to see how long I can go without stepping foot in a store for anything other than cat food, cat litter and chicken feed.
-Meg B.
I am going to be working on eating my freezer down so that I can restock with fresh items. We don't get the same kind of weather that you do, but at least once a year we have an ice storm that sends the entirety of Central Texas into a tizzy. Hopefully I will be off the day it happens and I can hunker down with my wine and my stocked pantry!
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