Backup Heat!

 So glad that I had backup heating the last few days. My furnace went out a couple of weeks ago and it was not too cold - I just used my Duraflame Fireplace Stove Heater, and it was perfect for my small house. Not small enough to be a tiny house, but it is SMALL! It is the back half of a pole barn garage. So most of my house is garage. The last couple of days have been very cold. Teens overnight. So I had to bring in the Kerosene Heater. I always keep at least 10 gallons of kerosene on hand for emergencies. Really helped the last couple of days. I think that this winter so far has been mild, but when it does get too below freezing I want to have my kerosene heater so none of my pipes freeze. Hope to get my furnace looked at this summer. Might be cheaper to have it done then. I tried what I could on my own with the furnace, changed filters - new thermostat, and nothing worked. Still blowing out cold air. Luckily I had some backup. I still have a wood burning stove sitting out in my shed that my insurance said I could not put in. So that sucks. I need to go talk to them again. Was wondering if I could just put it in the garage? Hope.

Food Storage Recipe - Creamy Meatballs, Broccoli , and Fries

 

 I was given some meatballs and none of us really like them so I had to find something to do with them! This is easy to make and taste great.

Whisk together 1 can of cream of mushroom soup and 1/3 cup of water. I have use other cream of soups also. 

 

Add a 1/2 bag of frozen steak fries. Partially thawed. Stir the fries up to coat them with the cream of soup mixture.

 

Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat. Simmer uncovered for a few minutes.

 

Stir in a bag of frozen broccoli and a small bag of frozen meatballs. Thawed a bit.

 

Return to a simmer and cover.

 

Simmer gently until the broccoli is tender.

 

Stir in 1/4 cup of sour cream and cook for a bit longer. 

 

Season with salt and pepper.

 

SERVE

Times Will Get Worse?

 If times do get worse for us we need to be prepared and be able to stay safe. Don't call unwanted attention to yourself. 

If all of your neighbors are out of work , it might not be a good thing to have all kind of packages and deliveries coming to your home. This is the number one thing that I have done the past few weeks - stopped ordering anything online! I was getting a lot of big packages from Amazon Pantry and one day it dawned on me that my neighbors had to notice it , too!  Probably not a good idea to call attention to the fact that I have items coming to my house. Gives anyone that is desperate the idea that I might have something they need. I have started doing online pickup orders. Not too often. Just when we really need something. Going and getting it does not seem out of place. EVERYONE goes to the store and brings home bags. I just have really cut back on it and on how much I get. 

Make your neighbors think that you are out of things, too! That you are in a tight situation and not going out a lot , not spending money, etc!

Gumbo Lily: Cream Soup Mix

I have got to make myself some of this. This could come in handy a lot . Especially this winter when I can;t get to a store as often as I would like too.





Gumbo Lily: Cream Soup Mix

 

 

 

Organize Your Food Storage / Pantry

The best thing that I ever did was organize my food storage. I found so much that I did not realize I had stored back and some items that were out of date. Really has already saved me a ton of money!! I am preparing for winter already and if we have a worse "second" wave of this pandemic.

I was really surprised at how much we have. This is not even all of it. With it being organized now, I can easily see what we do need and get more of it. I can see when we are getting low on something before we run out of it. It took me almost 2 days to organize it all. But, it was something that had needed done for a while.

I used the plastic shelving that are easy to put together and can hold quite a bit. Holds a lot , but keeps it easy to see it all. I also used some of those plastic shoe box sized totes to put items in that are small , like packages of gravy mix, oatmeal packs, candy, etc. The buckets have rice and dried beans in them.