Mother

Thanks. I was thinking more of crumbles like with beef. Having to freeze it to store kind of defeats the purpose for preps. But being safe is important. Maybe canning the chicken first and then use it chopped or pulled would be better.

I wonder if it can safely be dehydrated?

Oh Orchid, I’m so sorry you are going through this. You are in my prayers.

Orchid/Zzelle. We’re glad to have you here no matter the name. If you (or others) have trouble again try contacting us at the link at the bottom or at mrssurvival@yahoo.com

Shalendra. Welcome to Mrs. S. Thank you for that info. I’m sure it will help to find reliable supplies of Kava.

The quilt is really cute, Becca.

Momo. I hope your day was SUPER!

I don’t have chickens but wonder if the cats would like it that way. I’m sure the wild birds would eat it if the chickens eat it but I’d never thought about using the excess that way. I’m always careful not to put a lot of it into our septic tank. A little is good as it feeds the bacteria there but I’ve always felt too much might overwhelm it. When I was making bread regularly I never had any excess as I made twelve or so loaves each week and could just add to the starter and not have to take any out. Then I would use the whole amount to make the batch and remove a cup to start the next set. Now, with my “maybe” one loaf every couple weeks it’s easier to start it, add to it, then freeze the excess when I feel it is ready.

SnapshotMiki, you talk often about making snacks and food for your dogs. Could you possibly post some how-to’s? Maybe in the homesteading forum because it is animal related? Or in the Pinch a Penny one, or where ever you feel most comfortable. It would help a lot of people to learn to make instead of buy.

Freezer meals are super for fast and easy meals. I do them all the time but you might also consider ….. Dump meals……. These are basically the raw ingredients for a meal that are put into freezer bags or vacuum sealed and frozen. These are not precooked. They are taken out the night before and thawed in the refrigerator and then cooked the next day. These are especially great for crock pot cooking or oven baking. For instance, to make a soup you would prepare the vegetables and meat as normal, add seasonings and place it all in the bag raw. If you would add broth then pour it over the ingredients and freeze it all together. I freeze these flat on cookie sheets so when frozen they stack nicely. To cook I thaw in the fridge overnight and simply dump them into the crock pot the next morning. They can also be simmered in a pan on the stove or depending on their content can be placed in the oven to make a stew. Another example, I take a roast, (either beef or pork or lamb or?)or some pieces of poultry and place them in the bag. This can be done using either fresh or frozen meat (don’t thaw first), I add whatever fresh or frozen vegetables I want in the recipe like carrots, onions, even potatoes. These are especially easy to do using frozen veggies because you just open and dump them in. I then add whatever liquid I might marinate the meat in (or not), seal, and freeze. It is easy to thaw and then put this in a roasting pan and cook it in the usual way. Admittedly these ideally should be thawed before hand so they do need to be planned for but it drastically increases the amount of meals you can make in a given time because you don’t have the precooking to deal with. You can do them ‘assembly’ line style where you make several of the same or similar meals at the same time. The meals are more like fresh cooked and make a welcome change to the precooked ones. At any given time I have eight or ten of these ‘dump’ meals in my freezer. Yesterday I had a stew that contained beef tips, carrots, onions, potatoes, green beans, celery, and tapioca with V-8 juice. All had been dumped into a bag with the juice and frozen. It wasn’t even totally thawed before I put it into a pot with a lid and let it cook for four or five hours. it helps to label these with the instructions so there is very little to even think about when preparing them. Try thinking of the recipe ideas you already have listed and see if there is a way to freeze them raw and still have them easy to prepare after. Like the pork loin with cabbage and bacon. Could you put the raw pork into the bag, add the raw cabbage with bacon and whatever seasonings or additives you might have, freeze it all that way, and then after thawed be cooked all together. If you really do want the cabbage separate then can that recipe be frozen raw and easily cooked after thawing. MomM’s BBQ chicken wings or ribs might lend themselves to frozen dump meal methods. Why not make the pizzas up and freeze them uncooked. It will probably not take a lot more to bake them than to reheat but of course wood fired might not be as easy. Stuffed peppers are easy. I do them often by just cleaning the peppers, stuffing them with the raw meat mixture and freezing them upright on a cookie sheet before putting them in a bag to store. I take out whatever amount I want to use, thaw (sometimes in the microwave), and cook them the usual way, adding whatever sauce I want. Well, you get the idea. Not all meals have to be precooked to be easy.

I wouldn’t do this with a bird I wanted to make friendly but for an aggressive rooster You might have her try this….. when he pecks at her, catch him even if you have to chase him down. Then just hold him, pet him, play with his feet and his beak and generally touch him all over. Don’t put him down until he hangs his head down in submission. It might take an hour or much longer. If he is still aggressive after that do it again. ———> Jeepers.

WRITE A BOOK!!!! Well, of COURSE you need to write that book in your spare time. . You will make a great author?

Jeepers, it sounds like there is a bit of progress. Good for you! Hey, not to be suspicious but be sure someone doesn’t have that lost key. Maybe even consider having the locks changed completely.

Oh Jeeper, I can just imagine how you must be feeling. Your home of so many years reduced to bare bones, living in a small place for what might be months, so many decisions to come, and so much work ahead has got to be overwhelming. I’m so sorry. I’m guessing it’s difficult to get away at this point but Is there any way you could go to Indiana for a few days refreshing visit with sweet GS and family? Maybe being able to work on getting that house more livable would give you encouragement.

My thoughts exactly and no, I did not watch the video for that reason. You ask, “is your food ruined?” If my food looked like that I would say “yes it is”. Just MHO though.

So glad to hear from you We2’s. I’m sorry you are having to deal with all these problems and praying they will all resolve and give you peace again.

The problem I’ve found with hot plates is that they tend to not be big enough to support a canner but the real problem is they fluctuate in their temperatures making pressure canning a bit risky. People do can on the burners of their gas grills but again, you’d have to test the evenness of the burn. Is there such a thing as a modern gas canning stove? You would probably be better off with something gas because you would then also have something to cook on in grid down situations, like during Iowa storms.

Happy birthday, Kappy!

He is one cute 🧛‍♂️. I can see why you want to be closer.

Happy belated birthday to you both. Cat. We miss you.

Mt_Rider, and others, if you are hungry for greens why not grow sprouts? They need no light unless you want to’green’ them at the end in a window. Just a jar, some way to screen the top of the jar, sprout seed, water for rinsing 2-3 times daily and a place to tilt the jar upside down between rinsing. I usually have one or two going beside the sink all winter. Ready in a week or less. This week it’s broccoli but I have variety mixes too. Love them.

Cricket!! I hope your day was special!

Happy birthday, Mommafitz. I hope your day was great.

I used to put up over 800 quarts for our family of five but that amount included fruits, vegetables, soups, jams, jellies, and meat. That was besides all that was in two large freezers and all the things I made fresh like bread, noodles, cheese, yogurt, butter, the food stored in our root cellar, and so much more it just boggles my mind to look back on it considering 80% of everything was grown or raised by our family. BUT!!!! There are just two of us now and we don’t eat anything like we used to nor do I can much now. We have three freezers now but one is a small chest type which contains flour and gluten free flour and etc One is a medium sized upright and contains a variety of soups, premade meals, dump meals, fruits, vegetables and etc. Our large commercial upright contains mainly meat (a large portion of it venison or wild game) and vegetables. If I add what we have for canned goods and pantry items DH and I could eat for a year or more. I try to keep it that way on a rotating basis. That said, a pint of meat would last the two of us at least two meals. We do not eat keto because of dietary restrictions but I have in the past. We eat an anti inflammatory (AIP) diet with very little grain and an emphasis on vegetables. To assess our true consumption needs I go by meals, not individual components. I grow most of our greens; sprouts, shoots, microgreens, and larger greens such as kale, lettuce, chard, turnip and others. We prefer frozen over canned vegetables, fruit, fish, and meat but do like the convenience and storage time of canned products. I also dehydrate a lot of foods and use them in soups, deserts, and etc. 365 pints of meat would last us over two years and probably longer even if we had none in the freezer. I believe it wouldn’t take me long to find it monotonous with just canned beef, chicken, pork and fish. It would be great for survival though and I have probably three or four dozen jars I canned in 2019 on my shelves. MM. It’s good for us to assess our needs.

It was so nice to have all these birthday wishes. Thank you everyone.