Welcome to a new week of dinners plus some tips on how to create a prepper pantry.



It's a great idea to stock up on bulk items when you can... things like rice, beans, canned goods, and other staples that could help your family if the world is to face any food shortages. In today's video I talk you through our pantry stocking resources. I buy our bulk foods from Costco, Amazon, and restaurant supply stores.




Many people don't realize you can get many bulk foods delivered to your home on Amazon. I'm leaving a link to my Amazon store here which has an entire section devoted to the prepper pantry. Also mentioned in the prepper pantry section is my discovery of Fire Cider.

Also, the Apple Cider Vinegar Gummies are on sale right now for 10% off with code dailyconnoisseur

Now, let's have a look at the recipes.



Pastrami Sandwiches
Ben and I have been craving The Hat, which is a Southern California restaurant known for their pastrami sandwiches and chili cheese fries (I know... I know...)
We decided to recreate the dish at home. I toasted some hoagie rolls in the oven, then slathered them with yellow mustard. On the stove, I heated up the pastrami (purchased from the grocery store). I placed the pastrami on the rolls and added a layer of sliced pickles.

Chili Cheese Fries I sliced 3 large potatoes in my French fry slicer and soaked them in water for 15 minutes (this step is essential). Then I drain the water, pat the fries dry, and add 2 Tbs oil, 1 Tbs paprika, 1 Tbs garlic powder, and salt and pepper (whatever amount you feel comfortable with). Then I place them a pre-heated air fryer on the French fry setting. (All air fryers are different, so follow the instructions on yours... this is the Air Fryer I have.)

I topped the French fries with cooked chili (previously made), shredded cheddar cheese, and diced onion. We serve pepperoncinis on the side and honestly... this was better than The Hat! :)



Oven-Cooked BBQ Ribs
We normally grill our ribs on the BBQ outside, but today I tried a new technique I learned from Mandy in the Making's channel (Tell Mandy I said, "hello"). After placing a dry rub on the ribs, I tented them on a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and placed them in the oven at 300 degrees F (If I were to change it, I would cook them at 275F as Mandy suggested). We let these cook for 3 hours. Then I pulled them out and brushed BBQ sauce on top and finished them off uncovered, under the broiler for 15 minutes (Depending on. your broiler, broil for 5 to 15 minutes... check every 5 minutes to make sure you don't burn the ribs).

Creamed Spinach I don't normally measure my ingredients when I cook so this time, I made too much cream sauce. Always remember that spinach cooks down to nearly nothing, so plan accordingly. I will leave the proper measurements here for your reference. Sauté 20 oz of spinach in a lightly oiled pan until fully cooked. Combine 4oz cream cheese, 1/4 cup heavy cream, 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, and 1/8 cup shredded parmesan in the same pan the spinach was cooked in. Cook on low heat until the sauce is melted nicely. Once the sauce is warm and mixed together completely, add the cooked spinach and season with salt and pepper.


Taco Salad
The kids could probably eat tacos 4x a week. I do tend to burn out on them. So while I made beef tacos for the rest of the family, I made a taco salad for myself. I used a freezer meal for this one. I like to prepare large batches of ground beef taco filling and freeze it in separate portions. I cooked this freezer meal in a slow cooker on low for four hours and it was ready to use.

I placed tortilla chips on the bottom of the plate, topped with lettuce, the taco filling, corn, sliced olives, sliced tomatoes, shredded cheddar cheese, sliced red onions, and crushed tortilla chips on top. I squeezed the salad with lime juice and topped with Ranch dressing. Delish!


Instant Pot Split Pea Soup
When I was a child, the drive to my Grandmother's house seems to take forever. Our trip was always marked as half finished when we passed a restaurant called, Anderson's Pea Soup. Every time we drove past that restaurant, I craved a bowl of pea soup! I re-created it here in the Instant Pot.




Shrimp Scampi Linguini
This is a very quick and easy pasta dish that the whole family loves. There are many variations to this, I am leaving a recipe card for today's variation down below.



🍂 What I'm wearing
Mont Kiji Secret Garden scarf
Tee shirt by Mott & Bow JLS10 for 10% off
Jeans by Mott & Bow JLS10 for 10% off
Oliver Cabel driving shoes code JSCOTT10 gives $10 off your purchase
Red Nail polish Londontown (Changing of the Guards) JenniferS 25% off
Lilysilk white blouse Daily12 for 12% off
Pearl bow scrunchie SKYE Jennifer20 for 20% off

🍂 Featured in the video
Meal planning notebook/ grocery list
Instant Pot
Air fryer
French fry chopper
lemon juicer
Herb cutting board and chopper (similar) (Many people have asked about my herb chopper. It was a gift from my parents and I've had it for over a decade. I have linked a similar one here.
Cast iron skillet
Blue & white Churchill plates 

Welcome to The Chic Assignment for September.



The Chic Assignment is a monthly assignment where we explore composers, artists, and poets. We also take part in seasonal activities that enrich our lives. Let's jump into September's assignment:

⚜️ Chic Assignment no. 1 Enjoy Wynton Marsalis performing Haydn's Trumpet Concerto in Eb with the Boston Pops Orchestra, conducted by John Williams.



This is such an incredible performance. So many amazing talents meet up in this one piece. John Williams is a brilliant conductor. Wynton Marsalis is one of the best living musicians today, and this Haydn Concerto is glorious.

⚜️ Chic Assignment no. 2 Enjoy the poetry of Dorothy Parker
I discovered Dorothy Parker as a teenager and have been fascinated with her ever since. I own a very well-read volume of her poetry. She was a troubled figure and her poetry could be dark at times, but her writing was also incredibly brave and witty. I can't wait to dive into her poetry with you this month.

Check out Dorothy Parker's Collected Poems



You can also learn more about her and read some of her most famous works for free at the Poetry Foundation.

⚜️ Chic Assignment no. 3 Stock your pantry for the upcoming winter
Many of you are canning right now. I'm not there yet, but I am thinking about stocking my pantry for the upcoming fall and winter season (spring/ summer for our Southern Hemisphere friends). It's a great idea to take inventory of what we have, get rid of expired items, clean it out (Farmer Boy-style), and stock it well. We don't know what lies ahead with regard to the shut-downs so let's be prepared for the upcoming winter.

Two of the Chic Society members are also YouTubers with wonderful channels and they have both addressed the "prepper pantry" trend that is very popular right now. I am listing their videos here for your reference:

This and That with Denise Jordan
Mary's Nest


⚜️ Chic Assignment no. 4 Transition your beauty routine for the change in season
Perhaps this means wearing a darker nail polish, or fixing your hair in a different way. Perhaps it means experimenting with different makeup colors, or just changing your skincare routine, but as we head for fall, we will want to have our beauty correspond with the season.



⚜️ Featured style
Earrings: SKYE Genevieve 18K gold pearl earrings code Jennifer20 for 20% off

Nail polish: Londontown Changing of the Guards JenniferS for 25% off

Lilysilk blouse Daily12 for 12% off


I look forward to hearing your observations this month. Tag me on social media and use the hashtag #TheChicAssignment. Also, be sure to invite a friend to join you this month. Thank you and I will see you on Thursday!




*NEW* Join The Chic Society on YouTube and become a member of The Daily Connoisseur.

Visit my newly designed Author Website

Shop my Amazon page for a comprehensive list of my favorite things and mentions on the blog.

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Twitter @JL_Scott

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FTC: This video is not sponsored. I also use affiliate links, including Amazon affiliate links which means I get a small commission from any purchases made at no cost to you. Thank you for your support.

I'm so busy throughout the school year, certain organizational projects get postponed. In my case, the much-needed organization project involved our pantry. When we moved into our house last August, it was never properly organized. Then we took our trip to Europe and when we came back 6 weeks later, we jumped back into our homeschool routine and the pantry never got sorted out.




Now that we are taking a summer break from school, I have time to tackle these organizational projects. Today, I bring you along with me. I de-clutter and organize our pantry and, while it's a lot of work, it feels so good to get the job done!

I actually did this video a few weeks ago and I can tell you, it's been wonderful walking into an organized pantry each morning. What a joy! Everyone in the house has noticed too and has taken care to keep it tidy. I hope you enjoy today's video and feel inspired to de-clutter along with me.

Mentioned in the video:


I use these can rack organizers to store my canned goods.


I use these seagrass baskets to hold my bagged goods and these wire baskets to hold onions and potatoes.

Because we live in California and earthquakes are prevalent here, I always have a supply of prepper foods and extra water. You never know when a natural disaster might strike, and it's best to be prepared. I have a combination of dehydrated, long-shelf life foods, including Eden Valley Farms, which has a 25 year shelf life, Emergency ready standard survival kit, and emergency drinking water (pack of 66).

The appliances I have on my shelf are the following, Vitamix blender, Instant pot, Crock pot, small slow cooker (I use this for my oatmeal), rice cooker, heart-shaped waffle maker (please note: my waffle maker is so old, I can't find it anymore so I have linked a similar one here), yogurt maker, and Kitchen Aide.

The Mrs. Meyer's lemon verbena multi-surface cleaner and the Aunt Fannie's Ant Remedy are both from Grove Collaborative.

Get a free Mrs. Meyers Cleaning Set, which includes a Mrs. Meyer's dish soap, Mrs. Meyer's hand soap, and Mrs. Meyer''s Multi-Surface Spray + Free shipping with VIP Trial when you sign up with Grove Collaborative for the first time. Existing Grove customers also get a free gift, a walnut scrubber sponge. *You must spend $20 in order to be eligible for the gift.

I hope you enjoy today's video.

News
For more of The Daily Connoisseur, take my eCourses, Creating Your Own Ten-Item Wardrobe and Chic Financial Principles for Debt-Free Living.

Regarding the debt-free course, Lynn writes, "Don't compare yourself to the Jones' - they are in DEBT!

I love it. Thank you Jennifer for everything you do - you continue to be a beacon of hope for me and an inspiration."

Thank you, Lynn! I'm so thrilled you enjoyed the course.

On Instagram
Lessons from Madame Chic in Russia...

На последней встрече #завтракpro с @firstelegantlady мы обсуждали этикет, элегантность, женственность, манеры. И Юлия посоветовала книгу про мадам Шик в качестве отправной точки для подробного изучения этих вопросов. ⠀ Пару дней я постила вдохновляющие сториз с цитатами, после которых очень многие спрашивали, что это за крутая книга? Вот же она! ⠀ Далекий волшебный мир французского шика, спокойствия, наслаждения жизнью. В этом мире семьи после ужина слушают классическую музыку и обсуждают прочитанные книги. Их гардероб состоит из 10 предметов, которые прекрасно сочетаются друг с другом. У них ровная спина, аккуратный маникюр и улыбка Моны Лизы. Они не спят в старых футболках и брюках с дыркой, потому что удобно, они спят в пижамах, потому что красиво. Эстетика пронизывает всю их жизнь. ⠀ И это прекрасно. Я восхищаюсь мадам Шик, также как автор книги. Она учит нас тому, что красота вокруг. Не обязательно быть богачом, чтобы привнести ее в свою жизнь. Иногда достаточно достать наконец бабушкин фарфоровый сервиз, который видит свет только на новый год, и начать им пользоваться каждый день. ⠀ И еще мне очень понравился совет: "Экономьте слова, не будьте излишне откровенными. Говорите, если это необходимо. [...] К загадочным людям притягивает именно то, что они кажутся восхитительно довольными". Вот точно! Тут кроется мой грешок, я люблю потрещать о ерунде, особенно когда в компании возникает неловкая пауза. ⠀ Резюмируя: "Как говорил Ганди, давайте сами будем теми переменами, которые мы хотим увидеть в мире". ⠀ Кому-кому электронную версию? Лайк, коммент - как обычно😂 ⠀ #нинабукс

A post shared by Нина | ✶Екатеринбург✶ (@mais_feliz) on Jun 20, 2018 at 2:39am PDT

Comment of the Week
BettyLou writes, "I use grove collaborative and the customer service is amazing. I don't need to reorder as frequently as many households so I can just delete the products I don't need from my order. The glass spray bottles with the silicone sleeves are an investment but I love them. Each color gets a different refill product. I love the geranium scent and the honeysuckle. I wish they had a vanilla scent to use exclusively in the kitchen. They also have a product that draws away those annoying little gnats that get in the fresh fruit in warm weather. We have very hard water so some of the products don't work for our home, that is when i use a homemade vinegar, castile soap, and essential oil mix to clean with."

Hi BettyLou, I couldn't agree more. The customer service with Grove is excellent. I do the same with my re-ordering. I just delete what doesn't apply to me and order only what I need. This way I never run out. I also order a wide variety of items for the sole purpose of reviewing them on the channel, which is something that most people wouldn't need to do. I'm excited to try the geranium scent. I already love the honeysuckle. Thanks for your comment!

I hope you enjoyed today's video and feel inspired to de-clutter a space in your home. Please let me know what you thought in the comments below and your comment could be chosen as comment of the week on the blog. See you Thursday for a fun "shop with me" video featuring my sister!

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