Inflation! What You Need To Do! Frugal Living! Chicken & Veggie Pie! 

One of the things I learned from a Korean friend was that a single pork chop could feed 4 people. Simply pound flat and cut into thin strips for a stir fry with the most inexpensive vegetables from the farmers market and serve over rice.

I noticed in the summer the hotter it gets the more the air comes on, so I turn up the thermostat to 80 with ceiling fan going and it's comfortable. I have an electric stove, and 5 minutes before I'm done cooking I turn off the stove because with electric stove it will keep on cooking for at least 5 minutes.

The other day corn was on sale and after I cooked and cut the kernels off the cob, I looked on line and found a recipe for corn jelly. I used the corn water to boil the rice in. It had a mild corn flavor that gave the rice a good flavor. Plus the water didn't go to waste.

I only recently found your channel. I really like your positive outlook, and it’s such a pleasant relief over the fear-based channels that are talking about finances now. Also love the recipe and cooking part at the end. Quality content!

When I was growing up, my grandma would serve hot rice with milk, a bit of sugar, and raisins which plumped up beautifully when cooked. She called it dessert, and frankly it was my favorite of all the desserts she made. I still eat it that way today. My son, who is a Marine, called me the other day and asked me how to make that so he could make it for all of his Marine buddies. So fun.

Hi from Cape Town South Africa. I find it so strange that aircon and dryers are the norm in the USA. At the moment it's winter and rainy season here. I find myself hanging out washing and taking it off inbetween the rain. that's just how we do it, rich and poor

Awesome recipe ! This is NOT a meal stretcher but a CHEAT. My cucumbers are growing faster than I can harvest, so looking for easy fridge pickle recipes , I came across this video. When you have a jar of pickle juice dill or sweet SAVE IT . I washed and sliced my cukes to desired slices & spears . I poured the STORE bought brine over my cukes in clean mason jars & let them sit in fridge 1 week. They are just as crunchy & taste delish. WHO KNEW ? But yes , you can reuse store bought pickle brine more than 1x. Just saves those extra dollars buying spices for pickle right now. I thought , if this is a bad experiment at least my chickens could have next level treats. lol

One thing I like to do in a meatless recipe, is to puree a can of cannellini beans to add to my pasta sauce. It adds protein and fiber and it’s inexpensive. Trust me, you can’t taste cannellini beans in the pasta sauce at all. Just serve over your favorite pasta with a side of steamed veggie. I found a good deal on broccoli so that was our side veggie.

Emmy, I hear you and totally agree! Yes, we must now put a little more effort into our meal planning but we can still make yummy dishes on a budget. With a $5.50 pkg of chicken breast, I’ve been able to make 3 dinner meals for the 2 of us. Grilled chicken and veggies, Cesar Salad with cubed chicken, and shredded chicken taquitos. Still have a enough chicken for one more meal so I’m excited to try your recipe. Thank you for sharing and bringing us such inspiring videos.

Love your videos. Love the recipe ideas, especially using what you have. My biggest meal stretcher is making fried rice. We use whatever meat we have leftover, usually pork or chicken. I’ve been known to use ground beef or turkey. If there isn’t much meat, I add more eggs. Add leftover veggies. Super simple and uses up a lot of bits of leftovers. If there isn’t much leftover, I freeze them and add to the bag until I have enough. Love your inspiration. This weekend I made grilled cheese using bread that I didn’t really like, it was great for grilled cheese. I saved the heels and am drying them out to make bread crumbs. I never used to do that. After watching your videos, I rarely let anything go to waste. Tonight I’m making tacos. Any leftover meat and tomatoes will go into the freezer for taco soup.

Quinoa or couscous cooked in chicken broth, add cucumber, tomato, corn or olives if you have it - and feta. Some lemon juice or Italian dressing. So refreshing on a hot day and a bite of summer in the winter.

Suggestion: Make the shredded cheese, rice and egg all together and then make it into a crust. That's what most gf crusts do. Also, I stretch my ground meat by fine chopping veggies like onions, carrots, celery, zucchini and cabbage and cooking it all together. I add about 5 cups of chopped veggies to a pound 1 pound of meat. The key is micro dicing all of them to the same size so they are around the same size as the meat crumbles and it fools your mind! I can usual get 3-4 meals out of one pound of meat this way.

I’m now literally going to the shops when I really have to , If I’m going to the doctors and I’m going past the grocery store and the post office I’ll do the, all on the one day to save petrol

When I make rice, I always make it like this: 2 cups chicken broth( or 2 cups water with 2 chicken bouillon cubes), 2 tablespoons butter, 1 cup rice, and 1 tsp parsley. It's so delicious like that and can stand alone or used with other ingredients. This is an old Taste of Home recipe.

Great video, thanks, from Scotland. I found a food saver and 2 rolls of wrap in a charity shop for £5. Inspired by your channel, I bought it and have had a great time using it. Xx

MAN, YOU GUYS ARE ON FIRE! :)))) You guys are just AWESOME! :) AMEN, AMEN, AND AMEN! Answer to your question: I meal prep 1 day a week, usually...cook bulk rice, bulk potatoes, meat, etc....then I just kind of plan bowls and meals by adding things during the week...:) Have a great week out there! :) Love and blessings from MN:) Dawn @ Rich & Dawn in MN :)

I'm a single mom who can't find a job and I really needed this pep talk.

I was cleaning out my small chest freezer and found a few boxes of Green Giant cauliflower with cheese sauce. My daughter used to like that but she has now moved out on her own. I was going to throw them out but stopped myself and thought of ideas to use them. I cooked it in the microwave, chopped 3 oz of leftover ham, baked a potato in the microwave and chopped it up in small pieces. mixed all of this together with some sauteed onions and put it in a small glass dish with some panko bread crumbs on top and baked it for about 15 mins in the air fryer. It was phenomenal.

Great video - it reminded me to think twice before buying something when the money could be used for a better purpose.

We are in a recession. And inflation is a lot higher than they are saying. Stocking up on food specials and keeping to a strict budget to continue saving.

Turning unused electric items off at the wall and unplugging them is important. Vampire electricity adds considerably to a power bill. I love how you encourage us by reinforcing that we are not powerless, it’s a stressful time for many and feeling and being in control is important to,emotional well-being.

I so look forward to your videos! Your positive attitude is contagious. Your creativity with food inspires! I can’t even begin to count the times I stand looking in the freezer/fridge and say, what would Emmy see that I’m not seeing yet 😉 Yours is a voice of reason which we all need right now. Thank you! I often, like you, let the meat accent, not be the focus of the dish. The flavors mixed are what give us the punch the dish needs to be a success! I will for sure try the pie. So many variations can be made. Love this! 25 thousand subscribers! You both ROCK! CONGRATS!

My shelf stable pantry includes a variety of herbs and spices to change up my basics like rice and pasta. I’m making more “one pot” dishes that make it easier to stretch proteins. Cutting a small portion of meat, chicken, or sausage into smaller pieces helps distribute the taste and texture throughout the dish. The same basic ingredients, like rice and chicken, can be prepared different ways utilizing different homemade sauces and veggies. Curried chicken, creamy mushroom chicken and rice casserole, jambalaya, ratatouille, chicken stir fry, chicken fried rice, and on and on. Rice and a little ground beef can be the basis for stuffed peppers, cabbage rolls, burritos, and more. Beef would be good in Emmy’s rice pie, too!

We took 3 chicken thighs and boiled them. Next I have pulled the meat from the bones. Then I took the broth and added carrot and celery. We had pillsbury biscuits on the fridge and we made little dumplings from the biscuits and had chicken and dumplings. I didn’t make the broth from leftover bones because we’re moving cross country this week and I’m overwhelmed. But it made a hearty meal for 4 with leftovers.

I always look forward to your videos. I loved how you “tricked” Paul by adding the pumpkin pie spice to the pasta dish. He has a great sense of humour. DIXIE is such a sweet dog. I love how she makes noises sometimes when you are cooking something delicious.

We cut a potato and an onion in thin slices, then add butter salt and pepper, bake it til fork tender. My SIL uses Italian salad dressing instead of butter. We can feed up to 6 people on 2 potatoes and an onion. The kids will top it with cheese or even leftover bits of bacon. This is also a great hobo meal when camping.

Paul is a great taste tester! You two are the best 🙂

I used to make Sunshine Chicken. You can search the internet for the recipe. You cook the chicken and rice in orange juice. The recipe calls for yellow curry, which we like. I suppose you could leave that out if you don’t like it. You could add in frozen peas or another vegetable, such as broccoli, zucchini, or yellow squash if you want a complete one dish meal. It’s a great taste for summer and a good way to use rice.

Your rice crust is a variation of the Tightwad Gazette rice crust for Universal Quiche. The only difference is Amy Daczczyn mixed the shredded cheese with the egg into the rice, then baked. She then used it as a base for a quiche, eggs/milk/cheese plus any veggie and meat bits you have on hand. I have made it and it's delicious. Thanks.

I am Puerto Rican so Rice and Beans are a main food staple to us. My grandmother used to take leftover white rice and make it into a breakfast cereal with milk and other ingredients, I am sure one could find a recipe for it. We make our rice with sofrito as a base, red tomato sauce and you can make it with beans of your choice or add, chicken and peas. I like to make stir fry from leftover white rice but now I going to try that rice pot pie. Just thought I would share. Thanks for another great video.

I’ve been adding one cup of Aldis salsa to rice and topping with shredded cheddar cheese to stretch taco night. The kids loved it! A side of beans also stretches.

Thank you for your videos. I really needed this today. I had to put my sweet boy Tux to sleep today so it has been a hard day. I truly appreciate your consistency in putting up videos as it gave me something to look forward to. Thank you much.

Emmy & Paul, your the best! Love your creative & frugal meal ideas and those in the comment section. Sometimes we think that a simple meal isn’t good enough, but you prove that isn’t true. Last night I used 4 mushrooms, garlic, and some leftover diced onions to make a simple gravy. I had a few potatoes and made mashed potatoes. Also had some fresh green beans so that’s what we had for dinner. My husband declared it one of his favorite meals. Another one is canned tuna, crab, or salmon (on sale of course 😉) mixed with crushed crackers or a cooked grain, an egg and a few herbs from the garden and made patties to serve on buns with lettuce and homemade tarter sauce (mayo, lemon juice, horseradish, dill, parsley).

One thing I've been faithfully doing is checking my receipt before I leave the store. Almost every single time I go shopping either I'm not getting the advertised sale price, or I'm charged more than what the item is supposed to be. I walk right back in the store, and very nicely let them know so that they can charge me correctly. All those extra charges add up and I want to be charged correctly. I loved those rice ideas ... so helpful, and as usual loved your floral plates and that pink spatula. Vintage, maybe? That chicken dish looked fantastic. You two are so cute and I really get the feeling that you both love doing this!!

You could use that rice crust and make a Mexican flavored dish with it, whether chicken, beef, beans, etc. you could use it for many types of casserole options. Left over bits of this and that.

I add lentils to my chili,it doubles the batch..in fact I have some in my freezer now!

Hello all. Some meal stretcher ideas: cooked rice, canned French style green beans, sautéed onion in butter with feta sprinkled on top and salt and pepper (the feta gives it a little something extra); cooked rice and peas with a peanut butter sauce I make with PB, teriyaki, red pepper flakes and a little water (this also goes great with Raman noodles cooked without the seasoning packet); Raman with canned tuna and an egg with red pepper flakes; angel hair spaghetti with garlic, olive oil, Romano, Parm, or Asiago and lots of broccoli or zucchini or both. Add in some chicken if you have it. And all of these taste great hot AND cold.

Emmy, this recipe can be adapted to various diets. I eat low carb/keto, and I can sub cauliflower rice for the rice, chopped broccoli, maybe some canned mushrooms, for the mixed veggies, and I can have a delicious meal! Cheese, eggs, meat are all keto, so no need to sub there. Good job Emmy!

Lots of wisdom there, Emmy!! ☺️👍🏻

You guys are the best. I love this Emmy. These are the days to stretch our food. Thanks!!

Hello. I save a lot of money doing zero food waste in the kitchen...i try to be as creative i can and don't waste anything! Wish you the best. Thank you

I have a suggestion for this meal to make it differently and to lower the cost. Increase the amount of rice. Bake the onion, add the vegetables, than the rice, some soy sauce and pepper. Stir fry this. Make omelet with six eggs and slice them. Add to the rice mixture when its done. This is more eggs but you do not need the cheese and the chicken breast. Serve with cucumber and sweet and sour sauce. You can add some peanuts on your plate if you want.

I made the Chicken Rice Pie which you demonstrated on Tuesday (June 14), and we loved it! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. The pie was so big that we will have leftovers and even had some to put in the freezer for another time. All smiles and stuffed tummies in Texas say thank you, thank you & thank you!

Not too original but I make fried rice or stir fry with refrigerator clean out bits and pieces. These meals always grow to a couple dinners and lunches at least just using up stuff that would have been wasted.

I just love your channel! Such great advice and such a positive attitude about it! Love your recipes too

I made kale salad tonight, kale, yellow onion, chopped walnuts, and chopped dried cranberries. The big splurge was poppy seed dressing (I often make my own honey mustard dressing). The deal is, I had no red* onion! Boo hoo!!! So I substituted yellow onion. Alas it was to strong! I pushed some of the onion aside and finished enjoying my salad, but now I know if I don't have red onion in my house, use yellow onion, but not so much! 🙂 *Note: I didn't run to the store for one onion!!!

Great video. I sauté my rice with olive oil, onions, salt and garlic before cooking in water. It really gives the rice a great flavor and pairs very well with animal protein or cooked beans.

You and paul since I became a widow . I just retired and use your recipes. I batch cook and make tv dinners when I just don't feel like cooking. I

Yesterday ground beef leftovers for tacos were today chili. I run the ac at night 72 so we can sleep comfortable. During day kids stay in basement. Husband found a piece of various meat in refrigerator and combine all of them in souce over rice. I like some tea and realize I can make it at home have plenty of bags along with mint.

I adore stuffed peppers ..I substitute mince for rice and veggies. Cold rice and frozen mixed veg like you used Emmy makes a wonderful cold salad to enjoy as a side dish.

I took your advice from your last video. I met a friend for coffee. I got water with dried fruit which was $1.80. I made my own homemade salsa and brought that with me. We sat outside and had a great time.

Lightly fry chopped onions, variety of red, yellow, green peppers, some muchrooms, and carrots, add two or three tablespoons of passata, add the quantity of water which is needed for the amount of rice you want to cook. Let the veggies cook for about 5-7mins and then add the rice, let it cook, season accordingly. This is a meal in it's self or you can eat it with fish cakes or grilled meat, sausages etc. Here in Portugal we are a rice eating nation(in fact in Europe we eat the greatest amount of rice per person) look up authentic Portuguese recipes and will find we have a lot of rice recipes. 🍚🍚enjoy. Just we eat an average of 17.5kg per person, which is close to 40lbs of rice.

A few years ago, I read where one way to save on electricity bill is unplugging things when not in use because even though they are off, they are still drawing electricity. So we unplug appliances like coffee pot, toaster, air fryer, when not in use. We unplug every thing that we are not using at the moment. Another way to help the electric bill is to adjust the water heater temp. There are so many ways I stretch food. Pasta will go in a soup, rice turns in to rice pudding or I make gravy for rice and gravy, nothing goes to waste. I pound a chicken breast to make two. So many ways to stretch food!

What a great idea to freeze rice! I will start doing that! I loved the suggestions for the rice add-ins! The rice-chicken pot pie looked incredible! I love taking a baked potato, fluff with a fork, drizzle with some really good extra virgin olive oil and shake on some lemon pepper. Try it - it is so good! Great video, as always!

I was looking at your shelf behind you. What are the two items with the little faces on them that look like a flower around them? Those are such happy shelves❤️

Anyone who has been a prepper for a long time, knows that prepping is the very best way to hedge against inflation. That along with eating whole food that is plant-based, organic non-GMO, saves me a lot of money. For health reasons, I eat high protein, low fat, low protein, no sugar, flour or processed foods. If it is not healthy, I don't eat it. My new tiller cultivator arrived today, can't wait to use it on my garden.

I am keeping my air conditioner on 78 right now and turning my ceiling fan. Hope that I can keep it there for awhile. don't know for sure because I I am down south. "Georgia"

You can flavor a lot of gravy with 1 pound of sausage or a tiny bit of chicken to pour over biscuits, toast, noodles, rice, or make a pot pie

Love your ideas for rice, I add salad dressing to mine to jazz it up a little

Being an Indian, I store dry lentils like chick peas, and mixed lentils and they are good foe one year in the pantry

Great idea ! the possibilities are endless. You two are so cute. 🌻

Great recipe! Another tip for stretching protein is using bone broth in recipes. It's a 'protein sparer', meaning it enhances the other proteins already in the dish, so you can use less meat and still get a lot of protein from the dish. QOTD: I guess the way that I jazz up staple/stretcher ingredients is with herbs and spices. You can really bring varied flavors into a dish with herbs and spices (sauces, too). Lately, I've been using a lot of za'atar, harissa, and sauces with Mexican flare. You can jazz up ground beef, pasta dishes, rice, potatoes, sweet potatoes, etc. Right now I have in a crock pot 2 butternut squash. (Whole, washed, pierced with a knife a few times on the seed ends) When they're soft, I'll slice in half, remove seeds, remove skins (you can also eat the skin of butternut squash), and roughly 'chop' or mix. I'll add a bit of honey or maple syrup (sugar works, too), mayo, diced onion (or onion powder), maybe some diced garlic, and spices such as cayenne, paprika, salt, pepper, and sage. I'll mix well. This makes a nice warm dish or can be chilled and served much like potato or macaroni salad, as a side dish or lunch.

Something I cane uo with one summer when a friend had just given birth, I took her a coupkenof beef tri tips ( a triangle shaped bbq hunk iof beef thats verynpopularin calufornia s central san Juaquin valley. I took sine gsrden iver flow zycc, yellow squash mudhrooms,red inion chop& slice up, sauté until soft & browned I added 3-4 chopped tomstoes, from the gsrden stirednit all together I added almidt a bottle of a favorite pvenegrettetonitball, served it over whole grain couscous added more vibegrette until its as juicey as you like. Simple easy,yummy & easy to customize to your likes.usesbup ectra graden produce! 😄

With cous cous, I like to add shredded cheese, shredded chicken, olives, & bind with a vinaigrette. Easy to make substitutions & change ingredient amounts.

Hi Emmy and Paul yesterday here in PA it was hot humid so kept window blinds and curtains shut Air set at 72 and fans. Today not as hot so set at 75. And winter oh boy buckle up buttercup... Our house is all electric. And the area we are was costly before so our heat will be at 66 to 68 at the highest. Bought hanging racks to hang laundry. Having husband stop at store or pharmacy on way home to cut down on gas cost so I don't have to run there. Have a great week.

When I have left over mash potatoes I add flour roll into pastry were rewuireduscles and curry with butter and rice do yummy

Great video as always ,,,, ❤ I will never look at rice the same way again 🤣🤣🤣🤣 I did my monthly shop ,, I get 20% off once a month thru the store I work for ,,,, I was so watchful,,comparing ounces ,lbs ,,etc ,,,I looked at the peppers and a man came up up and said there are deals over there on veggies , he got a whole bag of peppers for a $1. I was so glad for him 😊 I found peeled garlic tonnes for $2. I am going to put thru processor and into ice cube trays and freeze .

For my couscous, I cook the coucous in butter a d chopped onion, browning the coucous before adding salt pepper and broth

Turning off lights is yes good.... But keep in mind it costs more to turn them on! So please be smart If you will be going back in that room... Do not do "off, on, off, on"

Love watching this couple! You both are so respectful!!!

I add rice and black beans to my beef for tacos. Thanks for sharing.

My favorite way to stretch rice is to make chicken fried rice with lots of veggies. I also like to take leftover pasta and chicke and make a roasted red pepper cream sauce, mix in the chicken and pasta. My favorite and so cheap to make.

Thank you for sharing how you made the recipe. I made it tonight for dinner and my husband and I loved it. My 8 year old wasn't a fan of "crunchy rice" but ate the rest. 😊

Yummy and appealing pot pie! Love all the vegetables.

I parboil potatoes about 5 . When cool I slice the potatoes . Put in casserole dish . Then I add 300 mls of light cream to I packet of low sodium French onion soup and pour over the potatoes . Put in 170 Celsius oven . Another one I do is buy two carrots , two potatoes , a Swede , two small turnips a parsnip and a little bit of sweet potato . Pulverise in a food processor . add 60 gr of breadcrumbs and one egg . Mix with a 500 gr of sausage mince or chicken mince and make into sausage / pasties rolls with pre bought pastry sheets . You can add other scrap vegetables you want or have . Cook for 30 to 40 mins at 220 Celsius . You will have to convert to Fahrenheit .

Woohoo, I just came to check if the Tuesday video was up 😘😘😘 Love from Mariska, Belgium

We add some sage to bring out the chicken flavor. Love your vids !

Great tips here! One thing I'd like to add: store owners are not arbitrarily raising prices. They also have increased costs for wages, materials, and GAS! (That's how products get to the stores, after all.) That's why inflation is such a dangerous spiral and so hard to "tame." If it were just "made up" prices then one store would just lower their prices to get more business and the others would follow along. [Note: I'm sending you an "alternate" use idea, as you requested in another video.]

Emmy I agree w everything you shared..HOWEVER..by people staying home weekends small businesses & restaurants will lose lots of business..This will have a trickle down affect causing more problems...This is just awful

we use ground turkey instead of ground beef. at our Aldi,one pound of ground turkey is $2-$3. same size ground beef is $8-$15. not grass fed,organic,no.regular ground beef. use beans oats. lentils quinoa, etc to bulk up meat use way less meat use meat to add flavor to dishes. or reserve for special events. also,check with utility companies about getting on a budget plan or deferred payment plan seniors,veterans,and disabled can qualify.so can lower income households. worth looking into. if you have to drive,group errands together so you aren't driving all over the place. stock up on non perishables,non food essentials,etc.

Another great video Emmy & Paul! I'll send you an easy rice pilaf recipe that elevates ordinary white rice to the next level. I just checked my planted potatoes and they are starting to sprout & pop up through the soil! I'm so excited! They were just regular ShopRite potatoes that had a bunch of eyes. Woo Hoo! My other veggie & herb plants are really taking off too! Hugs from our house to yours! 🤗

Emmy- made the chicken and rice pie, BIG HIT! Thank you

I feel really inspired to try a new recipe after watching this and reading the comments, I loved your plates with the flowers too and also getting a little peek of Dixie in her bed ❤️🤗

I ground mushrooms in the food process then I mixed with ground beef no ones now

My husband makes a chili recipe that has shredded carrot in it. After it's cooked, you can't tell there is carrot. It thickens the chili and gives it tooth. I add carrots or lentils in ground beef now to stretch it and no one even notices.

You could also use all of those ingredients, minus the flour, and make a delicious fried rice!

Ohhh and congrats! 25k subscribers 😃

Great encouragement and haul! My only concern with rice is arsenic levels, but we eat it occasionally. That recipe looks delicious and I'm anxious to try it. Looks like comfort food and we need that. We add beans to different things for protein and to stretch the meals like in soups, casseroles, etc. A small amount of beans and less meat or no meat and still good.

Does Paul ever not like something?!!!! He is always so excited about all the recipes!! Great video!

You could do a lot with this recipe. I think scrambled ground beef, mixed vegies, and cream of mushroom soup would be good, too.

Love your flowers!!!

Blessed you are for sharing, wonderful gesture..😁🙏

We eat keto. Our meal stretchers include cauliflower, broccoli, eggs, and leafy greens. It is amazing how far you can stretch protein when it is a salad topping.

I think this is the first time in history... Or maybe just a long time that the poor less fortunate folk's will get buy Way better than other's! First time"we" can teach them Alot!

It's easy to make coconut rice at home too. Cook the rice in a tin of coconut milk topped up with water to make the required amount of liquid

Being from the south, when I think of rice meals, I don't think of butter and salt. That actually threw me off when you said that, lol. I think of red beans and rice, jambalaya, any kind of soup/ gumbo served over rice, chicken cacciatorie over rice. I prefer rice to pasta any day.

For your carrot: make carrot salad with shredded carrots and hard boiled eggs, oil and vinegar or lemon juice. Super cooling for the summer!

I'm going to make this tonight! I just put the crust in the oven :-) I had some leftover rice from making stuffed peppers. And instead of chicken I'm going to use some canned London broil that we have

Chicken & Veggie Pie. Looks delicous. Got my taters in the bucket!!! My favorite method of maintaining a sustainable pantry and stockpiling items long term for the whole family and the family dog and the family cat is what I consider to be the most practical, utilizing every type of food storage methods and technology available, both old and new. . Except for the fruits and vegetables that get canned, I keep perishable items like meat, poultry, fish, fruit, vegetables and dairy products in the refrigerator on a short term basis until I'm ready to use them for a big family meal - and for even longer term sustainable storage, a large separate freezer, which can store a half side of beef with plenty of room left over for homemade ice cream etc. . I'm considering upgrading to a walk-in freezer at some point.in the near future, if my plans to open a bed and breakfast come to fruition. Sometimes, however a nice round of cheese can do well for quite awhile on a pantry shelf at room temperature - and doesn't mind even if it has to stand there alone.😁 Store bought canned goods get shelves.in the large pantry closet - several for canned meat like corned beef hash, spam and sandwich spread and another for canned vegetables Bread, rolls, grains, homemade pasta, cereals and the like are stored in special humidity controlled bins I order from Amazon Prime - which usually get delivered to my doorstep about an hour after I order them. . Stuff from the family garden and orchard, like onions, bell peppers, tomatoes, cauliflower, cucumber, pumpkins, carrots, corn celery,, potatoes and yams, cherries, blueberries and strawberries get canned in Mason Jars and stored in the cool, root cellar of this wonderful rambling former farmhouse (circa 1867) I share with my extended blended family and several rambunctious dogs raised on table scraps from the some of the finest food from a plethora of sources both commercial and home based. . There's even a special separate "summer kitchen" which I converted to store butter and ice cream churns, pots, pans, utensils, extra storage containers, foil, bags, cutlery, and other meal related accoutrement. Out back in the woods, just beyond the big pile of wood I maintain all year, (for use in an antique woodstove I keep on hand, in case the power goes out) there's even an old rusting vintage still where my great grandfather made some of the finest corn whiskey for miles. Next to it is the rusting hulk of the Ford Model A he used to transport that powerful hootch by the light of the moon on soft summer nights to his eager customers in a tri-county area. Further into this verdant forest of mostly sycamore, oak, pine and scrub, runs a cool stream into which I occasionally cast a rod or net to catch some Brook Trout, Bluntnose Shiners, or whatever takes the bait (just earthworms for the most part). And yes, hunting season means wild turkey, deer, and even an occasional wild boar. Next week, I'm planning on filing for a permit to 3-D print a smokehouse in order to be able to create gourmet artisan handcrafted, beef, bacon, turkey, and beef stick jerky, which interested local merchants can private label for other people to share with their families and their family dogs. Unfortunately, i had to break the bad news to my free range hens today that due to expected egg shortages regretfully numbered are their days of laying a couple of eggs and then basically taking the rest of the day off with ranging privileges' within the parameters of a few very nice rural acres - parts of which are rich with fat grubworms. There's even a short dirt road between the main barn and the farmhouse which they're free to cross to get to the other side as often as they'd like. My rooster Ben overheard me and he ain't too happy either, knowing full well that due to oncoming egg shortages, he'll be "workin' overtime to make sure there's plenty of eggs for me an the family.

Paul is a great sous chef!