This sounds like it will be very interesting and fun to follow this challenge. If you have food items to use up that you are not sure what to do with or would like some fresh ideas I have content creators that might be interesting to you they are both completely different to each other and to you but both use foods in ways most of us have never even considered but I don't want to plug someone else on your channel so if you see this comment and you're interested let me know. I will enjoy your videos on this new challenge as I enjoy all your videos thank you for taking time to share with us and always doing so with creativity joy and integrity.
The roasted feta pasta is best made with a feta block as the crumbled feta might burn and dry out in the oven. You may want to roast your tomatoes halfway done before adding the feta crumbles to avoid this. It will be delicious either way though. The crumbled feta + phylo dough + yogurt + eggs makes a delicious Eastern European pie called "banitsa". It's so easy and SO good! I make an easier version by not rolling the dough around the filling, but just by crinkling a dough sheet in a buttered pie tin, putting a small amount of filling, another sheet, a little filling, usually 4 layers of each. Between the 2 final layers of dough I put the rest of the filling (it will trinkle down while the pie bakes). Sometimes I put a few tiny pieces of butter on top of the pie, bake at 200-220 C until the top is well browned and crispy, and let the pie cool almost completely. It's a favorite for when guests come or just a family evening meal. If you want, you can add spring onions, spinach or other green leaves to the filling. I like mine with a little black pepper and sometimes chives. 😍
Hi Becky, I'm a Texas native and Hispanic and I just wanted to let you know that tamales will take you all day. In our culture we usually do a "Tamalada" by all the aunties and other ladies of the family get together usually over the holidays and begin the long task of making tamales. I did it alone when I lived on Maui for my husband who is from there and loves tamales and it just tired me out. Every family has their own special recipe but my friend Stephanie from Views on the road has a really good recipe on her channel (she's cooked on the today show recently) and other really good recipes that are legit for our culture. I can't wait to see how you do on the tamales.
I watch Stephanie too and love her recipes! My daughters and I made tamales at Christmas and it is an all day job. I love tamales. I was exhausted and we had 4 ladies working all day and we also prepared a lot a few days before.
texas native and love the fresh made tamale's! I've watched people make them for years and never tried because I saw how labor intensive it was! Def a labor of love.
Becky, I’m a pasture raised chicken farmer down here in Tillamook. When your hens are in a molt, give them extra protein. Just until they begin to lay again. This helps their body recover and rebuild what they lose during their laying season. Typically the layer feed you buy at a feed store will be 17% protein. Switch to a broiler feed which should have 20-21% protein.
Baby Acre.. is just sleeping peacefully against Momma.. hearing her heartbeat, feeling warm & secure.. and hearing her talk, and talk, to her friends *hugs & 😁 *. He experienced all this for 9 months, and nothing has changed except location. I love it!!
@Maria Maria so I looked up you activities on You tube. It appears that this fake account of yours is to make nasty comments about Becky. How does it feel to be a low life TROLL? Do you do this with others or are you just jealous because Becky is a wonderful human being and contributes to this world while you sit there anonymously spewing your vitriol. Get a life. You are just pathetic.
Becky I am simply blown away how you have a newborn and you post so regularly. I felt like I was barely even there in these first weeks after birth and I had no job at the time. I am amazed how you manage all of it! Just make sure not to forget yourself in the process. You are awesome!!!
Egg shortage, milk shortage, sugar is always out, chicken shortage, and most predominantly, we seem to have a common sense shortage in my area. But anyway, I'm so glad to see you getting back in the swing of things. Glad to see little "quarter acre" is doing well and blessing us with his presence. Bless you both! You're amazing Becky!!!
My rule is wait until spring. I thought of doing a no spend January to clean out my freezer and pantry. Then I looked out the window. I live in Illinois. Blizzards and ice storms are a distinct possibility through March. Emptying out my food storage mid winter does not seem wise. I am now planning an April clean out. I'll be watching closely for tips.
So very true about the storms. The west coast is still having and gonna have more storms. Wise choice for now not to diminish your pantry. Just in case you cant get out .
We often begin to eat down the larder in November. Amoung other things of there are items we don't prefer or a lot of extras of something, we utilize these items in the assorted pot luck and company meals. January and Februsry have drifted into panrty and freezer re-organizing and washing; after some of it has been eaten down.
Bingo Spring clean Winter is for sitting back and slowing down Where we are we don’t get winter rly but I remember all those icy days snowy days COLD days so I think of those n don’t want an emptied out food storage It goes more with the flow of life, the Bible has spring be the new year (ceremonial new yr in fall) so spring is when I’ll do a use it up, clean it out as the new plantings are coming in, we plant in March.
With just the two of us here, I don’t make huge meals. We do, however, eat ALL of our leftovers- I rarely throw out food, so it’s hard for me to use a lot out of my pantry. My challenge is to use 2 jars a week! I’m currently making chicken & dumplings from my home canned chicken and stock. 2 jars used! 😊
Hi Becky. You didn’t mention this in your lineup. I really hope that you will be sharing the process of having the garden dug, did I see snow out there? I also am interested in how your landscape designer put together the plans for what the garden will look like. I would also like to watch your planning time of purchasing seeds. I remember the really cool containers for seed storage / filing that you got last year and would like to see what you already have and what you plan to add. Although I would love to get a peek at Baby Acre, I absolutely understand why you don’t want his face to be on the web. Take care of yourself while you’re taking care of everything else. ❤
If your Instant Pot has yogurt button then all you need is Fairlife milk (or a milk that's ultra-filtered) & set it for around 8 hours or so & yogurt done. No temperature reading or heating milk & cooling. I have 2 instant pots (6 quart & 3 quart). I use my 3 quart for yogurt as it has the button. Yumm ♡♡♡ Be well.
Hi Becky. This year I am going to join for the Pantry Challenge with you. My hubby just lost his job and I need to save. Over the year I stocked dry goods, meat and poultry like you. Now it is time to use them. I will just buy milk, egg, and fresh fruit. I will make the sweet and salty snacks so my kids won't ask me to get pre packed expensive snacks. As a Turkish citizen,since baklava is a very common dessert for us, I can offer you some very good and famous homemade baklava recipes. Make sure you use starch between the layers not flour otherwise it will be dry, hard and flour smelling baklava. And won't absorb the syrup you make. Wheat or corn starch does not matter. Good luck on Pantry Challenge whoever try it. 😃
Finally someone including myself has acknowledged that we buy way too much of everything. I find I go to buy one thing and come out with several things. My fetish is buying lots spices. I have so many spices it is unbelievable. I find that when I am working I cook less and order out a lot. Now I am home I cook more and like you will be cooking just enough to last for a day or two to reduce waste.
I started the pantry challenge. I’m allowing a budget of $20.00 per week for fresh fruits and veggies. I’m also pledging to not go into a grocery store for 2 months…only pick up orders. If my husband wants something, that’s on him. I also challenged myself to make my homemade beef and chicken broth during the challenge. I’m going to make a small batch of chicken broth next week. I did make my beef broth today and will can it tomorrow. Anxious to see how much I’ll have. Like you, I am challenging myself to making one new recipe each week for Jan. and Feb. tomorrow I’m making beef stroganoff using your recipe since I have beef left over from my beef broth. The only thing that I did make an exception on was that I was sick New Years and could not go to the store to pick up a grocery haul, so I bought 10 #s of potatoes along with my first veggie and fruit grocery pick up. I’m making everything else from what I have. Let’s see how it goes.💕💕
When you mentioned the pantry challenge I realized that means I've been watching you for a whole year now!! I can't believe how much I've learned from you! I'm excited to try my own pantry challenge this year. I'm stocked up and ready to go!
Tamale story - I learned to make them at an orphanage we worked at every summer for about 15 years - Isela was the beautiful cook who would take 24 hours at least to make them and steam them in corn husks. My favorites were a fruit one with strawberries and cojita cheese, and pulled chicken with chile, olive, and of course the cornmeal polenta. She passed away in a car accident (and we became guardians of her children) and I've never had them better, not anywhere.
I suggest keeping a running grocery list on the notes app on your phone. You won’t lose it and anytime you think of something it’s handy to add it right away before you forget.
Hey Becky I'm a seasoned citizen Acre fan from VA. East coast gardeners can be plagued with voles and I use ground oyster shell in my planting hole to deter them from snacking on the roots. I'm excited to see your gardening grounds and beds start to take shape. As a retired and downsized estate gardener I don't dare look through seed catalogs and live vicariously in your garden and orchard. Thanks for that!
I’m in Virginia (Hampton Roads area) and the voles are relentless 🤬 I have lost 3 dogwoods, a lot of boxwoods, and my beautiful burning bush. We have everything but nothing seems to gets rid of them.
Howdy neighbor! The voles and moles are vicious! I had to switch to container gardening because of it. Even the squirrels where I live in Hampton Roads are terrible.
@karenculpepper973 I'm up the bay from you in the Northern Neck and have tried everything. Ground oyster shell works great with bulbs and smaller plants. Cats are great exterminators for covering area but we also have a healthy coyote population and I won't leave my boy out at night.
Pro-tip for the tamales, if you have the Maseca brand Tamal masa, just follow the recipe on the back of the package! My mom makes the best tamales and I recently learned that this is the recipe she uses! All this time i thought it was a top secret, family recipe lol. My mom also tends to prepare the filling one day, and then continues with the masa another day since you want to use the filling cold anyway. Uncooked tamales also freeze really really well so you can have tamales anytime without all the effort.
@@K119_ Of course! Just make sure or use the Maseca TAMAL masa flour, since they have several types. If you want to skip a step, you can also find prepared masa at some grocery stores. Hope that helps!
This is the information I needed. I stayed with a Mexican family for weeks on end several times while studying Spanish in Cuernavaca. I just waited to hear that street vendor calling, “TA MA LS” every day. He’d push his cart around until he sold out and then went home. It didn’t take long so I always hoped he’d make it to our street!
I didn’t know you can store eggs in the freezer!? Becky you have no idea how informative you have been to me and how much comfort i find in your channel 🤍🤗
In my younger days I worked in a filo dough factory. We were only 3 people. The owner who made the dough, myself and one other lady. Once the dough was made and placed in a roller to flatten, the dough was placed on a long table and our job was to stretch the dough and wrap it around the edges then quickly grab hot "bed" sheets out of the dryer and cover the dough for about a minute to partially dry it. The owner would then bring another batch of dough and place it on top and we would repeat the process. It should be fun and interesting watching you do a scaled down, home version of filo. ❤
Hi Becky, I am participating in the pantry for the first time. My rules are 1. Use what I have first. 2. I have given myself $100 for the month for fruit and veg and dairy. 3. Get back into making bread again and try a new recipe. 4. Have fun. I watched your videos from last year, so I am ready to start. I also have a small vegie garden, which is helping me with fresh vegies as well. I hope Orbit is feeling better. Thanks, Jody Kerr Sydney Australia 🇦🇺.
I’m not doing the challenge this year since we had to rely on pantry items to get through illness over the last few weeks. What I am doing is concentrating on making our pantry into a fully stocked one over the next few months. I’m canning new things each week: this week was navy bean and ham soup. Last week I canned chicken broth. Next week, I’ll be making beef bone broth and French onion soup for canning. Thank you for inspiring me to do more!
The best way I have found to make use of huge amounts of onions is to carmalize them in a lot of oil and butter. Then I freeze them flat in bags, thin enogh that I can break off chunks while they're still frozen. They last for years and can be either tossed right into a dish from frozen or chopped up first. They save us tons of time.
I love doing the cherry tomato + feta cheese dish, and here's my 'hack' that you can also use when you're out of the pantry challenge: CostCo sells feta cheese in a container that has 3 of the feta blocks (not crumbles!). I take the blocks, wrap them in parchment paper, then wrap them in foil. They freeze great, and when I want to make a variation on the feta cheese bake - it works great with a lot of different veg and spice combos! - it's waiting in my freezer for me.
I would love to see the whole process of building your garden from scratch. We have a-lot of land and Im trying to figure out what goes with what and just seeing the process would be amazing 🤗 thank you for teaching us 🤗
Hi Becky and baby Acre! The rules I've put in place for myself are: I can spend 20.00 a week on dairy and fresh produce, I belong to a CSB (community Supported Bread) program that I paid for back in August, so I get a weekly loaf of fresh artisan bread delivered, but any other bread needs beyond that, I have to bake it myself.
I hope you take us along for the garden build. Enjoy all your content and have learned so much for you, I've always been a country cook (nothing wrong with that) you have shown me how easy it is to expand my variety. Thank you ❤
I can't sleep even though I'm exhausted. My Aunty passed away suddenly yesterday at age 49. She never had kids but she was a mother to me and many others and the greatest Aunty anyone could ask for. We are completely devastated and I dont know how to accept this. Becky, I just want you to know that your videos are a comfort to me and I appreciate all the effort you put in ❤️
We're in the opposite spot as you. I normally love doing pantry challenges, but I'm having to restock my new house after moving across the country. Spent just over $1,000 on Thursday. 😅 Putting all of that away was not fun, but it's nice to be cooking in my own kitchen again (spent 2+ months living in a camping trailer on my friend's property waiting on this house to close).
Hi Becky. I struggle with using onions before they start to go bad and I hate wasting money. Couple that with my family liking the flavor of onion, but they don’t necessarily like biting into an onion. Therefore I use my food processor and purée the onions. I then put them in an ice cube tray and after they’re frozen I put the onion cubes in a freezer ziplock bag. When I need onion for a recipe, I take out an “onion cube” and it basically disappears in the recipe because it’s purée and I haven’t wasted anything. The ice cube tray makes a nice serving size and you can pull out as many or as few cubes as you need. Just another idea.
No egg shortage on our farm. Our girls are laying 32-36 eggs a day! We have 40 hens and this is their first time laying, we got them in the spring. Our son turned out to be a great egg salesman, lol. The girls can eat a flock block in a couple of weeks, it has sunflower seeds, meal worms and other goodies in it.
I hope your dog is doing better now! I am looking forward to seeing the lemonade concentrate canning! That sounds great. I got my first water bath canner and the Ball book for Christmas this year! You inspired me to get started canning.
Becky, I have never bought used or ground flour from wheat berries and I would love to learn the process and what is needed. Could you possibly do a video showing how you do this? I buy flour in bulk from Sam's, but have considered trying Azure. I want to try and do all I can to feed myself and family as healthy and cheaply as possible!! My kids are grown, but I can, freeze ect and share with them. I have 5 grand children and I know how my kids struggle esp now with the high prices. I also have chickens!! OH OH I had to edit lol, I so want to learn how to make yogurt and sour cream also, please show us how you do it!
I would love to see the the that too. I have 2 half wrecked grinders that came with my old farm and in don't know if I'll restore them or try to convert them to apples. I eat hardly any thing with flour, though, just pancakes once a week or less.
I know that Becky already has a video on how to make sour cream. You can find it by searching RU-vid “Acre Homestead sour cream”. I also thought I watched her make yogurt before but couldn’t find the video through the search bar. Both foods seem very easy to make so good luck! EDIT: I just watched further in this video and just heard Becky say she might do videos on sour cream and yogurt. It would be nice if she showed how to do these again.
It's awesome that you are getting baby A used to noise so you don't have to tip-toe around and still get things done 😉 my mom taught me to do that with mine
I've never done a pantry challenge before, but I watched your channel last year and this year I'm going to do it. I don't have very many rules, but I'm allowing $30 a month for groceries (and hoping I don't need it) and the only other rule is to try a new recipe once a week. I'm looking forward to this.
I have been hanging my ear out listening to hear any mention of the '23 garden...thank you and how exciting to hear that you're breaking ground this month! - Now, if it doesn't dump 2 foot of snow on the 9th!
Hi Becky, this is my first time posting but i have been watching for a very long time. I just wanted to comment on your potatoes. When I buy a large bag of potatoes i double stuff a bunch of them and freeze them. I bake the potato, cut the top portion off and scoop the inside into a bowl and add butter, nonfat plain yogurt and some shredded cheese then freeze on a cookie sheet. the next day i put them in a freezer bag and take out a couple at a time.
This is my second pantry challenge. You inspired me last year 😊. My rules for 2 months - dairy and eggs only. I was successful last year, so here is to year #2.
Good morning Becky. I don’t know if you realized it but you were rocking when you were sitting at the counter, welcome to the world of being a mama so cute I’m 52 years old and occasionally still find myself rocking.❤
Hi. I am trying the pantry challenge as well. I only have a few rules. 1. I can run to the store for dairy and fresh produce when needed. 2. I can purchase things for my husband's lunch and the kids lunches for co-op once a week. 3. And I can be flexible if we have guests to entertain or they want to go out to eat. Other than those I am going to shop my home and use up what we have here as much as I am able. ❣️
Carmelize those onions and then can them! I’m planning on throwing a ton in a roaster. Also going to smoke and then Carmelize some too for Smoked Onion Ranch
Hi! I'm usually a lurker but felt the need to share. I would like to think that I'm doing a version of the Pantry Challenge. Basically I'm using up all of our beef and pork and as many products that are on my shelves with added salt! Sadly my father has some heart issues and as I'm living with him to take care of him it's up to me to make sure he's sticking to doctor's orders. Still! I don't want anything I've already bought going to waste so I'm using up what we already have and hopefully going entirely salt-free when I get my pressure canner and the garden set up and growing. This is going to be my (technically) third year gardening and I'm also starting over fresh because of my fiance and I moving in with my dad. At our last place we couldn't dig in the yard because we were renting so everything was in pots and containers. There were so many parallels in my life and your videos; moving, giving up the old garden, rushing to get everything packed and ready, cleaning for the next people to move in, etc, that it was really nice to know that I wasn't the only one going through it. Granted, you now have a baby to take care of and I have a mid-80's old man who is slowly becoming more dependent, amongst a few other differences, but it was really nice to have that passive support even during all the craziness. So I guess I'm trying to say thank you, you may not always see it but your work and effort into these videos are doing so, so much good.
Katie I commend you in your care of you Dad! Have grace for yourself, as Becky says, and take some deep breaths and know your garden will happen in its own time! Blessing to you and your family!
Love that part of this challenge is mindfulness about reducing plastic waste. I've been putting some of the food preservation techniques you've shared to good use. The cream cheese does stay edible by freezing, but once thawed it is crumbly, not smooth. Butter freezes and thaws beautifully, so no longer wasting any of it. That's a win! Also plucking off the eye things from potatoes is such a great tip and eating any damaged ones first. Anything to save money, reduce waste and still have delicious meals is such a blessing. Thank you Becky, God bless.
Go grab those cranberry’s they are out for a limited time, and on sale, throw them in the freezer until you are ready to preserve them. I froze jalapeños from the garden and put aside just for cranberry jalapeño jam, everyone goes crazy for it... get the cranberry’s for your sauce, and get them for your juice, but for a new recipe try the cranberry jalapeño jam, it’s an awesome appetizer with cream cheese and crackers and self stable
Hi Becky! You are doing a great job keeping up with your channel so soon after having your first baby. I used to write my shopping lists on paper, too, but I would also lose them or just forget them at home. I then began using my Alexa app to create my lists! I can add items either manually or by voice. My husband can add items to the same list from his phone or voice. The app sorts the items into categories to help shop efficiently. And best of all, either of us always has the list with us and never lose or forget it! If this 62 yr old can use technology, so can you!
I participated in last year's pantry challenge and again this year. Since I don't have lots of shelf or freezer space, my main rule will be to use up what's been around for quite some time. I started thru Christmas by attempting your "no knead bread" and used some European coarse flour, instead of AP. That turned out pretty well.
I love doing the pantry challenge with you! My husband is not so thrilled as there are multiple times he looks at his plate and then at me like....what the heck is this? He likes his normal comfort foods and is not such a fan of the new dishes I come up with that utilizes what I find in the cupboard, fridge and freezers! My rules are...no grocery trips except for my hubby's beer and water drops and milk for cooking and the grandkids. Last year I went 3 and half months and only spent $30 on a few things I desperately needed to finish some recipes for what I already had at the end of the challenge. I couldn't believe I could go that long and by the looks of my cold storage and cupboards I will be able to go that long again!
Hi Becky. Greetings from England and yes, we too had egg shortages, really bad leading up to Christmas especially with baking, seems ok now. All due to the avian flu. I live in a very rural area, lots of farms and small acreages, so eggs are available if you have good friends! What I don't understand is a total non-existent supply of biscuits for cheese, even Ritz!! Apparently "they" (factories? bakers? all workers?) are on strike and have been for the past 2 months. But regular biscuits are fine, go figure. Motherhood becomes you and you have bounced back so speedily. Looking forward to your version of BBQ sauce/marinade - there are so many recipes I am overwhelmed so do nowt, but I know anything you devise, I will like.
I was thinking to myself earlier that “man I wish Becky made some cheese.” I love watching the cheese making especially because I want to have my own homestead one day with a dairy cow. Thank you so much for being so consistent even with this new addition to your family! You are a warrior! Have an amazing day :)
I had an older neighbor ( sadly past 3 years ago) who had goats and made cheese. Her feta was wonderful- unfortunately she passed before she could teach me. She also made ice cream from goats milk which we loved. She and her husband took over the family dairy farm but she had a lactose issue so she raised goats for milk and other products for her and special friends
Becky, I listen to you always say to add salt to everying. I happen to live in a little town in Ontario Canada. We are proudly the largest salt mine in the world. " Goderich salt mine, located 1,800 feet under Lake Huron, is the largest underground salt mine in the world. The mine is as deep as the CN Tower in Toronto is tall. It has operated since 1959." I have raised my family and now live alone so I don't have to cook for anyone but myself but I really enjoy following you and your growing family. Love and prayers to you all.
Pantry challenges are my favorite type of RU-vid videos! I try to incorporate the idea of a pantry challenge each month to get rid of things that are going to go bad, things that I've avoided and creating new recipes incorporating those items. And we love when we find new favorites. Good luck and have fun everyone!
I like them because it makes me focus on things I generally forget I've got. It also makes me focus on the things I can do, as opposed to well that's quick so I'll do that instead , I think it's a really creative process.
With the chickens and feeding them eggs, if they’re calcium deficient they can also become egg bound. Which means they’re eggs are so soft and low on calcium that they can actually break inside them and can be deadly.
Thank you for sharing your bundled up Baby Acre with us today! Just seeing that tiny bit of him is such a gift. He’s so precious. 🙏😌💙 And, thank you for your videos! They’re the best! 🤗
Looking forward to the challenge, just a tip, keep a small jar of yeast in the fridge if you use it often and keep the bulk of it in the freezer. It becomes unstable in the cupboard. Your videos are fantastic and I wish your new family a healthy and happy new year.
Hi Becky! I'm a mom of two from just north of Toronto in Canada and I'm a faithful fan. I just want to say that I'm really looking forward to all the upcoming videos from your pantry challenge and food preservation products. Best to you, Josh and Baby Acre in 2023. 🌷
Hey, Becky!! Word of advice, never ever keep you working yeast in the cupboard. Too much temperature fluctuation. Mason jar in the fridge and it won't lose it's potency. I've got year old yeast that's still doing the job perfectly. Congrats on Baby A!!! Oh, how I remember those 1st baby days. I was never so exhausted! I watch every video. You are such an inspiration. Much love from Florida!
The sneak peek at baby A brought a huge smile on my face! It took you off guard, but so so worth it, Just about cried! He is so cute!! I’m so into your videos, I just love them, I bought seeds today, can not wait to plant,looking into raised beds this year, I’m so excited to get canning! My top priority this spring and Summer! The one lady with baby on her channel (Three Rivers Homestead) shows her cute little girl, I love babies! just seen baby(A)little man looks like Josh! ♥️ what a beautiful bond between you and Josh!
I want to get involved in this to a point. I live in a small apartment with no garden and I am just starting to build my pantry so my goal will be "No Waste" and "No Prepackaged stuff while I continue to build over the next few months.
We finally received the 21.3 cubit upright freezer and then filled it or more over loaded it with meats and frozen vegetables. My grocery trips now are much smaller and for milk and eggs. I did this with a smaller freezer during the pandemic that carried us through those rough times of empty shelves in stores. I have a list of everything in my freezer so I can make my weekly meal plan from that. How exciting starting your garden tomorrow. Hope you will be filming the development of that as is built. We are starting a garden this year. As well get our chicken coop built for Chickens as soon as we can this year so we can have chickens again.
Hi Becky! May I suggest you try to make tomato jam with some of those frozen tomatoes? I don't know if you've tried it yet but I find it to be really delicious and not a very common flavour. I look forward to seeing how the challenge works out for you this year. Love from Argentina!
@@Tamshazeleyes Wow that's interesting, I might have to try it soon. I love sweet and sour dishes. I guess it has more of the sweetness of ketchup but without the acidity.
@@tibbs4000 this one's in Spanish but it has English subtitles so it should be easy to understand, I recommend you try this one out! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-m8rckX2a5yE.html&ab_channel=CanalDulce
We make tons of tamales every year. We pre-cook all our meat and shred it up, add the sauce, & refrigerate it, a day or two before. Then the night before, we make up a bunch of masa and refrigerate it. The next day, you can just work on getting the masa filled, and into your husk or papers etc, and start steaming. We are sometimes steaming for a couple of days even though we have several steamers. Once the husks (or parchment papers) are filled w the tamales, you can store them in the fridge overnight while they await steaming if you are doing alot. Tamales freeze well too. You can either re-steam them or just microwave them from their frozen state. This year, we have 2 of our own grass fed hogs to butcher for tamales.
You can make tamales by yourself. Day #1: make the filling first & clean/prep the wrappers. Day #2: make the masa & make tamales with masa, filling & wrappers. Depending on how many you make, just freeze the extras for other meals!!! You can make savory & sweet/dessert tamales!!! 👍💕👍
Hey Becky, you said you found eggs in your freezer. I've been there too, it's like a treasure hunt. Even after your reorganization maybe a small magnetic white board listing all the odds and ends will help you keep track.
One of the easy dim sum items is Char siu bao. It is a Chinese bbq pork bun. They freeze beautifully and the bun dough can be stuffed with many different fillings. I have seen red bean paste pork and veg (kinda like a dumpling filling) and other things. Once you go down the Asian food-making rabbit hole it is so interesting and hard to climb out of. Made with Lau on youtube has many good recipes and videos on youtube. I found the viral tick tok pasta good but very salty with all the feta. I have had lots of success using the Boursin cheese or using half cream cheese and half feta for a better salt balance in the pasta.
Thank you Becky! I’m so inspired by your participation in the Pantry Challenge I’ve decided to participate as well! Can’t wait to make yogurt with you!!! Today I used up some leftover corn tortillas by making baked tortilla chips! Enjoy that sweet baby of yours. ❤️💕❤️
I am participating in this #threeriverschallenge and I am so excited! I am literally taking all my food and creating freezer meals, shelf stable meals in a jar, and taking my squashes out of my pantry and preparing them to go in the freezer for butternut squash soup. I am also volunteering at a local food bank and anything that they are going to throw in the trash I am bringing home and preserving it. I have given myself the rules of only buying those things I absolutely need if I can not wait on it. So far I have been doing well without going to the grocery store at all. I have cut my coffee consumption in 1/3 for the last week and instead using up my hot tea bags I have an abundance of.
This is my 2nd year doing the challenge. I learned so much last year. I was a food hoarder because I really didn't know how long what I stored would last. One of the BIGGEST pluses for me was finding out I could easily do a few months. I no longer feel compulsive about storing so much. I just buy to replace what I have. It was also fun to find new recipes! I don't think I repeated even one dinner for the whole challenge. I am looking forward to using up what I have before my garden abundance starts again!
In our culture it is usual to make filo pastry. You need fine flour, sift it and give enough time to the dough to rest between the phases.And never, ever let it dry, it will crack (cover with oil or nylon, depending on the recipe).
Seeing a lil sneak peak of Baby Acre so sweet. I had a few packs of cranberries left of from Christmas and made them into jam so tasty. Looking forward to seeing how your pantry challenge goes I watched all of last years
Love you Becky!!! I have a 1 yr old and 3 yr old and love watching you in my down time (Ma ma time). Been watching you from the beginning of your channel so I feel like I know you and your super supportive husband.
Becky, an easy way to make yogurt, is after you heat the milk, cool the milk and add the yogurt. I then put a lid on the pot and put it on a seed heating pad over night. Works every time
I want to thank you for being you!!! You been such an inspiration to me this last year. Thanks to you, I have gotten into canning, food preservation, make ahead meals, and have been expanding my recipe catalog. I’m jumping in with you and I am trying the pantry challenge for the first time! Thank you for continuing to share your life, viewpoints, and suggestions. I know I am growing and learning and feel like I’m part of a greater community too. One app that has helped me a ton is called SuperCook. It lets you tag all of your pantry/food items and then hunt for recipes. I use it to help reduce food waste when something is about to expire or needs to be used up. Total game changer and you should try it for inspiration!
I have been waiting for this! I have a full freezer and pantry so this is a excellent way for me to use what I have!!! Thanks for the encouragement!!!!
I love the way you treat your husband. I see a lot of wives that try to make their husband get excited about food storage and preserving. My husband loves the things that I cook but he also likes to buy junk food. I try to make all of the stuff that I can that he likes but I won't ever force him to eat just what I make. Thanks for the videos and thank you for sharing your lives with us.
One thing I do during this pantry challenge that has helped me I when great buys come up (like your cranberries) is that I allocated a small amount of my grocery budget that I can use towards any “loss leaders” or great buys on things to stock up on. I try not to use them during the pantry challenge, but I don’t want to miss a great buy on things to stock my pantry or to preserve. Hope this helps you going forward.
I don't know what kind of wheat grinder you have, but the right wheat grinder really makes a big difference. I used to have an old magicmill that my mom got in the 80's. It made bread, but it was super dense. I bought a nice stone grinding type wheat grinder a year ago. It makes light and fluffy bread. We're a family of 5 and I now make all our bread. I'm also asked to bring the rolls at all the family functions because everyone likes my whole wheat dinner rolls and whole wheat cinnamon rolls. I bought a Komo duett because I wanted to be able to roll my own oats and have a good range of cracked wheat to fine flour. I regret nothing, but it is expensive, and I did save up an awfully long time for it. From my understanding the mockmill is a great mill that's more budget friendly and may even grind slightly more fine
I am anticipating your tamale recipie. What I really like is the amounts you make are truly family size. Some of the videos I see make meals that my late husband would have eaten in one sitting and then looked for the non existence leftovers. Love your videos, thank you for all the time , consideration, and clarity that you put into these videos.
I heard about this challenge from FaithFamilyHomestead. I was planning to do one so I decided to join in this one. My largest goal is to make room for my first spring/summer garden produce. But similar to yours, I want to clear out some things to help with organizing; making room to preserve; use up things that have been sitting; and to take a load off from these ever-increasing grocery prices. Doing so will also allow me to invest in further building my garden. My allowance during this period is $150 each month for dairy and other produce/staples, which is significantly less than my normal budget; one bow out night per month for takeout, but only if truly needed (must give grace and mental rest where necessary). No other eating out. Hoping I can stick to it because I really need to.
Hi Becky- I am doing the pantry challenge as well this year here in North Louisiana. Going to do an inventory and see what I have that needs to be eaten and use up stuff so I have freezer space for our new garden produce. Good job on the fig trees! I have a very simple, old timers fig preserve recipe that is super easy and so good. Let me know if you want it. You are looking fabulous! I am so glad to see your energy returning and your excitement to get back to things is infectious. Thanks for all you do and keep up the good work. Like you, I find things "jump" into my basket at the grocery store and staying out of there is very productive to saving money for sure! Hug that sweet baby and enjoy every stage he will go through.
My rules 1. $50 budget (I’m stealing that 😊) for dairy and fresh produce 2. Really focus on using the dried beans and lentils in pantry because they’ve been sitting there for a couple years. 3. Have my kids take turns cooking with me at least once a week. 4. Eating out no more than twice a month (date nights) 5. Process the tomatoes and apples in my outside fridge and freezers that I harvested this year.
I love #3. My mom assigned each of her 3 teenage kids to cook dinner for the family one night a week each. We each had to menu plan, (mom had approval) and a budget, so we helped with grocery shopping choices too. She got a break and taught us about nutrition, planning, recipes, and finances. She got a break from cooking too. Win/win.
