I to keep simplifying my food storage, stocking ingredients that have multiple uses and buying vinegar, soy sauce, molasses, oils in gallons instead of individual bottles. I just refill the bottle. Takes less shelf space. I"m moving away from store bought canned beans to dried beans and then just can my own. I wish I could have chickens but our HOA doesn't allow.
Wow! That’s a lot of variety. In my food storage, I try to think, “What would they have stored 100+ years ago?” It’s not always practical today, but I’m trying to work toward that. Also, Mary’s Nest here on RU-vid has some great recipes for cake and brownie mixes that are easy to can in a quart jar until needed. I’m not sure where I found it, but there are Buttermilk Pancake Mix recipes that are “Just Add Water.” That’s what I’ve made and store in a large animal cracker tub (purchased from Sam’s when my big kids where little.) By the way, we have six children. Four still live at home, but one is preparing to go to ministry school this fall!
We only store what we eat. There’s not much point in keeping a large supply of something most of your family doesn’t like. That’s also why our food storage has changed a bit over the years. We’ve somewhat moved away from certain recipes that were once family favorites and now no one prefers them.😁
Oh my goodness!! Due to life getting in the way, I've not had a chance to watch. Its been a minute. Your pantry is amazing! The garden is wow!! The cow is positively lovely! What a great reward for all your and your family's hard work. So happy to see!😊
I love seeing your urns full of lettuce/kale on the front porch - that's a fantastic idea! Isn't it amazing how long home-grown squash and potatoes last compared to buying them in the supermarket?? You've definitely done a great job of clearing through your pantry stockpile in a well-managed way to make room for what you plan to can this summer.
My favorite green bean to grow without strings is jade bush. I have planted several pole beans to find one that doesn't have strings. I always go back to my favorite bush beans.
I live in a hot humid climate year around and bugs in flour are definitely common. I have to keep my flour in the freezer full time. I would open a bag of flour and within a week there would be bugs, or in bags I hadn't opened yet🤢. Never happened to me when I lived in cooler climates. Great job with staying on top of your pantry and identifying what no longer works for your family.😊
“They” say that a three day stay in the freezer will kill any bugs in flour. I live in the north, so I am not sure if that would work for you. I stick every bag in the freezer first before I dump it in a canister or bucket. I haven’t had flour bugs since I started that.
@@amyschmelzer6445 thank you. I did try freezing it for a few days, but bugs still happened. Maybe I didn't do it long enough. Keeping it in my chest freezer is working out alright, though.
We don't use a lot of mayonnaise, so I only keep one extra on the shelf. I had to actually stock up on BBQ sauce, I like to make pulled pork, or pulled roast beef and will use the BBQ sauce in it. We don't keep a lot of what we call luxury items in stock; such as store bought cookies, chips, cereal bars. Unless, I find a really good sale on an item. I try to keep a lot of basic ingredients in stock, and re-stock when I use items.
Great video, Audrey! I agree that simplifying food storage is the way to go. It’s so much easier to manage and keep track of inventory. Would you consider doing a video showing how you make your yum-yum sauce? We do hibachi about once a week, so we go through quite a bit of sauce. Thank you for being a calm voice of reason in a crazy world. 😊
Your pantry looks so full and organized, when trying a new product I would recommend to buy one first to see if your family likes it before buying a bunch of a new product, if you don't like it then at least you didn't waste your money but if family likes it then stock up. I'm in Canada and to be honest I've never heard of yum yum sauce, could you explain what it is and what you use it for and how to make homemade? Thanks for another great video ❤
Oh yes, definitely. I would never buy something in bulk that we haven’t tried yet. Yum yum sauce is the same as the white sauce that is served at Japanese steakhouses with hibachi meals. The ingredients are mayonnaise, butter, garlic, and a tiny bit of tomato paste or ketchup. Sounds strange, but it’s delicious!😁
Can you possibly do videos on how you make the products from your milk? I’m a dairy farmer and we have Holstine so butterfat is not as high as a Guernsey. I usually by the products my milk company makes. I freeze dry my raw milk and the extra eggs my chickens are now producing.
Not silly at all. It took me an embarrassingly long time to perfect my sweet tea. I wasn’t raised in the south!😁 For both, I use a gallon pitcher and an electric kettle. For the lemonade I use 1 1/2 cups of lemon juice and 1 1/2 cups of sugar (of course you can use less if that’s too sweet for your taste). I add just enough hot water to dissolve the sugar and then add the lemon juice and fill the rest of the way with water. For the tea, I use either 7 regular black tea bags or one gallon size tea bag. Add 1 1/2 cups of sugar to the bottom of your pitcher. Pour 4 cups of boiled (but not still boiling!) water into your pitcher and stir gently to dissolve the sugar. Once the sugar is dissolved, add the tea bag(s) and put the lid on the pitcher for 20-30 minutes, depending on how strong you like it. Remove the tea bags and fill the rest of the way with water. Now all you need is a good biscuit recipe and you’ll be all set to live in the south!😂☀️
Buy you pickling lime which is “hydrated lime” or calcium hydroxide in 50# bags at farm store for $12 instead of buying the same thing in tiny bags for triple the price. I store mine in 5 gallon buckets to keep total dry for long term storage.
Could you do a video on your milk cow? We have cattle but want a jersey for milk and etc. I have so many that remember their grands having one and they always say, "You going to milk that thing everyday?" I respond with she will have a calf to nurse too. How do you handle that on the crazy days? Milking will be my responsibility mainly because my kids are in school and work. I would love for you to do a video on any tips or tricks for a milk cow. What supplies do you use for filtering the milk or cleaning, etc. Thanks!
@@Pursuit.of.Simplicity That would be awesome. I’ve tried to look up other videos on RU-vid, and they seem to be so confusing. Yes I’m a beginner gardener but… You would be better at explaining what to do!
Have you had any problems with mustard or ketchup turning brown and getting watery? I used to buy a couple of the two packs at Costco, but it's just my husband and I, so we don't go through them very fast. After about 6 months or later, I pulled out a Frenches mustard and it had already turned bad. Because I only use it for potato salad, I decided not to have an overstock of it anymore. I haven't had any problems with BBQ sauce, mayo or Asian sauces turning bad. Last summer Food Max had the large size bottles of Kinders BBQ sauce on a manager's special for 99 cents, so I bought a case of them and so far, they are staying fresh and not turning watery.
I've used various condiments which were opened past the date stamp and then stored in the fridge and emptied over a year's time. I wonder how cool your storage area is? I keep mine in a closed cabinet (out of light) in a year round coolish garage space (never over 65F). Light and heat are the enemy of food storage.
Hey Audrey. Do you have a peach farm in SC you can recommend? I’d like to go pick my own peaches this summer and I love SC peaches. I live in north ga now but grew up in SC and when we were kids my mom took us to peach farms to pick our own peaches. I can’t remember where they were.
Hi Lisa! We always buy from Big Smile Farm (the Yonce family) but I don’t know of any around me that are you-pick. With how heavily peaches are sprayed (😣) I like buying from a really clean farm that double or triple washes theirs before boxing up.
Crisco can be used in an emergency as a source of light. In the big can stick a tapered, or emergency candle and light it. Will burn a long time.....not sure if rancidity would matter in this use. I've also made mini lights by filling a half pint jar with Crisco and inserting a birthday candle.
Can also be used to light up your bbq, wipe on charcoal. Or make firestarters for campfire. save t.p.roll cardboard, stuff with used paper towels, wipe with the crisco. Any rancid fat works. And no gasoline smell.
I can’t remember, did you buy a freeze dryer yet? If you did, make your peanut soup and freeze dry it for quick meals for your husband and yourself. Also, canned carrots are gross. 😂 Canned those once and never again.
Make homemade cinnamon buns with walnuts and RAISINS the kids won’t eat lol I load mine up with them both and I could never get my husband to eat plain raisins lol so I’m sure your kids will eat them up too.
