Economy . . . Ideas on How to Survive It

My Piggy Bank after I filled my gas tank

I have been thinking a lot about the economy since I was filling my gas tank the other day at  $3.45 / gallon of gas.  I know, many others are paying much more already, but it is sending me into a little bit of shock.   I used to fill my tank for that amount!

I was in college during the "Energy Crises" of the 70's.  I had my suspicions during the holidays.  I spent each day trying to fill my mother's tank while she drove the other car so she wouldn't have to.  Got lots of needlework and reading done over that Christmas Break.  When I got home, my roommate from Canada told me about all the reports up there showing all of our harbors clogged with oil barges that no one would unload, so I knew I was right.

Well, I now more than suspect that we are being manipulated again, for the good of only "Heaven know who".

My daughter's fave story
when she was little.. because it
reminded her of me

I do NOT believe in scare tactics.  I feel they are counter productive and even harmful.  I do believe in using good sense and taking action however.

So I am working my saggy old bottom (oops, too much info, sorry) to the bone doing what I have been talking to death for several years.  I will be gathering more ideas and sharing them as I go along.

It is time to use ALL of our resources to build a way to be as self sufficient as possible.  

• Use our imaginations.  
• Pray for guidance of how to best use your resource.  YES, I did say pray.  I have found many answers to dilemmas through prayer.  If you are a meditater, meditate.  What ever way you choose, use it.
• Talk to the funny old geezer up the street from you.  Ask what people did in the depression . . .  you either will find it pretty depressing or pretty inspiring.  If they just depress you, be polite and find someone who had an imagination.  My poor father had such a tale of woe, my father-in-law became a wonderful gardener.  Guess who actually went hungry at that time.  You decide what who you want to be like.
• Look at your finances. I mean to really LOOK.  Go through it & ask your self,  "Do I really need that?",   everything that doesn't sustain life and keep a roof over your head.  Not make it prettier roof, just one that gives you shelter and a refuge from the outside world.
• If you just HAVE to go to Disneyland this year, hope you enjoy it. . .  as you are going to the store and grind your teeth over the price for the rest of the year.
• Think of fun things to do as a family, at home or near by.

Have I turned you completely off to my ideas? Hope not. I have lived on such meager means and survived them, without incurring any debt.  We have great memories ( now they are great) and we did't have to take nearly as long to recover after financial reversals.

On Friday I will be posting the pictures of our tire gardens.  They will show how to cut the sides out, fill them with proper garden soil, all the how's and why's I can find and share with you!

Other grow boxes have been put in as well that I will share with you.  Amazing what can be scrounged.  

Just think of it as recycling!

CHICKEN POT PIE - - - - FROM THE PANTRY

This was Sunday dinner.  It all came from my pantry, every bit of it, nothing from my freezer.

I took dehydrated peas, peppers, potato dices, carrots, and minced onions (forgot the celery).  Left them soaking while we were at church so they would be ready to go when we got home at noon.  The jar has chicken that I canned last summer when there were such good sales on meat for BBQ's.  You can also use canned chicken from the store.

Seasonings:   Salt, pepper, fresh rosemary (from my own garden so it counts as pantry, right?), thyme, chicken broth powder.





Can you tell that I hardly ever cook from recipes?  To decide how much
of the rehydrated veggies I needed, I drained them, scooped them into the dish I was going to make the pot pie in.  I ratio was able to decide what ratio of each veggie I wanted as I went.  I left some room for the sauce later.  then I dumped them into another dish until I was ready for them.  I dried the dish out before I put the crust into it to prevent sogginess.





I made a crust for two pies, rolled out half and lined the dish with it.
I put it into the fridge to get good and cold while I fixed the filling.  I went ahead and rolled out the other half so it would be ready to lay finish the pie when the filling was done.  Cover it so that it won't get dried out.








I dump the chicken out into a wide spaghetti bowl.  I went through it to remove all the bones and cartilage.  Save the broth,  it adds wonderful flavor!   Yes, that is my kitchen trash at the bottom of the picture.  I have the trash can in a cupboard where I work all the time.  I find it a great step saver.  I can drop anything that needs to be disposed of without moving, gotta love it.

***(When I am processing fresh veggies, this is where I do it so that I can just push the scraps off the counter into the trash.  Don't worry, I am working on a chicken coop and compost box so I don't waste any of that good stuff!)

After deboning, dice up by cutting across the grain of the meat.








I like to brown any canned meat that I use.  It firms up the texture and brings out the flavor.  This time I used a little olive oil that I added minced garlic to the bottle for flavor.  It has a very subtle flavor.  This also when I added the minced onion, still dry, to brown and let the flavor mix with the meat.








Now is the time to mix in the cream soup.   HERE is the post I did for cream soups.   This actually directed you to Chef Tess's blog which is HERE .  I made this in the pan with the chicken and let it simmer gently to let the flavors mix well, then added the veggies.  Heat through, it will help it cook faster in the oven.


So how much soup do you need?  I put enough in
to cover the veggies really well.  then add a bunch
more.  it tends to thicken more and somehow sauce
disappears.  I have learned to add it until the veggies are absolutely swimming in that sauce.  When you scoop it out, there will be plenty to drown the crust if you would like  . . and we like.





Take the crust from the fridge, pour the filling into it.
No dawdling here thank you very much.  Get that baby into the oven before the bottom crust has a chance to get soggy.  This is where I had to add more sauce this time, the skillet wasn't big enough.





Cover the pie, pinch the edges good, trim the excess, poke some vent holes in the top crust and throw it in the oven!

This one took quite a while to bake since it was so deep.  We all love lots
of the warm, gooey, drippy, yummy filling.  I had to turn the oven down to finish cooking the inside without burning the crust.

It was a lovely sight to behold . .  but did I get a chance to take a picture, NO!  Hungry kids and  grandkids dug into it before I could grab the camera.  You'll just have to take my word for it.

I did a little measuring, after the fact.  This was a 2-quart casserole dish.  The recipe for a 2-crust pie was just about tight for the crust. It served 4 very hungry adults and two pretty hungry boys with some left-overs for my hubby to take for a meal at work.

My 9" X 13" rectangular pan is about 4 quarts to the top.  I make about 3quarts worth of filling when I use that.