What are you canning today? Part 8

[Midnightmom]

On 12/20/2023 at 4:25 PM, Jeepers said:

Midnightmom, how did your stress test go?

Stress test was "normal" and echo showed my "ejection fraction ratio" to be unchanged from the last one. And, like LittleSister, I wasn't tired out from it at all.

[Midnightmom]

I put up 12 quarts of "unstuffed pepper soup!"

Check out the size of these peppers - they were only 59c each!

 

[Jeepers]

Woo-Hoo. Those babies are huge! Another good find. 

12 quarts is a lot.   

[Littlesister]

Those are some huge peppers. Great find.  I haven't made any more of the unstuffed peppers yet. Canning is again on hold for these warm days as I need to get the rest of that wood stacked and the last wood holder put together. Canning will start again on the next cold spell. 

[Necie]

4 qts black beans 

3 qts kidney beans 

 

I did the same in reverse a couple months ago. So now DS1 has 7 jars of each, which is enough for him to make 7 batches of chili. 

[Midnightmom]

St. Patrick's Day is coming up soon. I expect to purchase a whole lot of cabbage on sale and ferment all of it into sauerkraut since I recently learned that it can be canned! Going to have to purchase some more canning salt though.     

[Littlesister]

I will need to get cabbage also. It should be on a good sale, I hope. 

 

Went to Harris Teeter this afternoon to pick up an RX and walked around the store. The had the old ball canning jars only in the pint size. It was only 2 cases, so I jumped on them.  All the other sizes were those round plain glass jars. These must have been in back stock or something because last time I checked they had those round smooth glass ones in the pints. 

 

They had potatoes also buy one get one free. So tomorrow I will be canning potatoes and cleaning house. Will be a busy Friday. 

[Necie]

14 qts beef stock 

[Jeepers]

11 hours ago, Necie said:

14 qts beef stock 

[Littlesister]

Nice job Necie. That was a lot of beef stock. 

[Midnightmom]

On 2/29/2024 at 1:24 PM, Midnightmom said:

Going to have to purchase some more canning salt though.   

 My favorite grocery store didn't have any canning salt on the regular spice aisle, so I checked the canning section. None there either, so, had to trek back to the spice aisle and picked up some kosher salt instead. Of course it was more expensive than canning salt would have been!

[Necie]

2 hours ago, Midnightmom said:

 My favorite grocery store didn't have any canning salt on the regular spice aisle, so I checked the canning section. None there either, so, had to trek back to the spice aisle and picked up some kosher salt instead. Of course it was more expensive than canning salt would have been!

I use regular sea salt. Around here it’s less expensive than canning or kosher.

[Midnightmom]

9 hours ago, Necie said:

I use regular sea salt.

I use it for the table, but for preserving I use canning salt as I read somewhere that the mineral content of sea salt can vary greatley depending on the source.

[Necie]

This last week I canned:

 

42 pints of beans— black, navy, garbanzo and small reds.

15 pints of chicken gizzards.

[Jeepers]

I got 36 half pints of asparagus spears last night. 

 

I have a picture in the phone but will have to wait until I get the computer and internet up and running before I can post it. I don't know how to do it from the phone. 

 

Even though I did a couple of things wrong like the head space (some of the tops stuck up out of the top of the jar) and not debubbling (not enough room to get even a chopstick in), they turned out great. All sealed and only a fraction of an inch siphoning on a couple of the jars. 

 

I didn't blanch them and not one spear floated straight from the canner. Maybe because the jars are so small. 

 

They are a thing of beauty though and I'm proud of them. Asparagus is a special treat for me and I eat them sparingly so they should last about 2-3 years. 

 

If I could find more for $1.00 a pound I'd buy more and can them too. 

 

I have another case of Ball half pint jars so I think I'll can some mixed veggies this weekend. I have two big bags in the freezer. 

 

Walmart didn't have the jars after all but I got a couple of cases at Ace Hardware. They have two more cases on the shelf so I'm thinking of going to get those too. Half pint jars of veggies are just right for a serving for me. 

 

I have 3 cases of Kerr half pint jars ordered for some green beans. They should arrive Monday. My pantry has been empty of home canned food for too long. First I ate it down so I didn't have to move it and then I was without a kitchen for a year and a half. I was down to nothing. Seriously. Not a good feeling! I did get some corn and some peas canned up while in Indy a few months back though. 

 

I should have all my veggies I want canned up by the end of the month. Maybe not the beets though. I forgot about those. Will probably do those in Indiana because I'm afraid of the juice staining the counter tops at this house. 

 

But I'm excited and on a roll.   

 

[Littlesister]

You did great Jeepers.  I need to try to find some asparagus cheap enough to can. One of my goals for the garden was to fix up a place to plant asparagus in a controlled area. But not going to happen this year. 

 

I canned the other day:   12 pints of hamburger, 14 pts of the thin boneless steaks, and 9 pints of chicken breast.  Haven't started on veggies yet.  

 

Jeepers, I like the idea of canning veggies in the 1/2 pints. That would work out great for me. I have always used the pint jars for that but then it was 2 of us. Now with it being just me, I think I will start doing 1/2 pints for that. It would work out much better for me.  Though I still have a lot of pints in green beans left. But will be using those up first. I had a bumper crop of green beans and still overloaded with them. DD will take a jar home when she is in town. She loves them.

[Jeepers]

I really like the half pints for one person. Sometimes I even open a jar of corn or peas for a snack. If sons take any, they can always take two jars if they want. But a pint jar is too much for just me. I like the half pint jars for veggies and for salsa and Bar-B-Q sauce etc. 

 

I'm going to do mixed veggies this weekend and will plan on doing carrots in a week or two. I'll do the green beans when I get the jars in. 

 

I want to do some more bean soup and then concentrate on some meat. The only meat I have in the pantry is store bought. It's good stuff but in my mind, it doesn't last as long in the metal cans as it does in glass jars. That's just my thinking though. It might not be true. I'll do those in pints. 

 

It's costing me more because I have to buy everything but for me, it's worth it to get my pantry back in shape. I am shopping sales. I can't put it off any longer. I've been skating on thin ice for too long. And I'm not getting any younger/healthier either. And I don't see food prices going down any time soon. 

 

[Littlesister]

Didn't get as much done as I was hoping to do today. Knee got overworked yesterday and is really sore today. Plus, the bone spur on right heal is hurting. Might need to start wearing that boot again. 

Talked with my next-door neighbor today. We made plans to go out to lunch and to Carrollton furniture store. They have a lot of antique furniture there. She has antique furniture in a house she is trying to sale in Florida and wants to get an idea on prices before she sales it. 

Pulled a small cut of Boston Butt that was in freezer and have that in the slow cooker. Wanted to get that out of freezer. So, dinner tonight. 

Had a family pack of chicken thighs in fridge that GS had bought so got that in the freezer for him. He loves chicken thighs. 

 

Jeepers keep a close eye on your B/p. That might be the reason you had trouble while trying to can. It was too low. So, they might need to adjust your meds a bit. 

[Littlesister]

OK. I'm tired. Thought I was in What are you doing today. Looked up and I am in What are you canning today.  I need a nap. 

[Midnightmom]

I think I have 4 or 5(?) cases of half-pint jars. Most of them currently have strawberry jam in them as I went "wild" last summer when the 99c Store was selling one pound packages for 99c each! They looked sooooooooooooo pretty - last year. Now, not so much as they were all processed as low-sugar recipes and they all look "grey" now. They still taste ok, but the appearance is very off-putting......and we know we "eat with our eyes" first.

Given the current circumstances, I am very strongly considering cleaning out those jars and using them to put up some other items that it doesn't make sense to store in larger jars: salsa, spag sauce, some other condiments(?), and possibly some corned beef??? (cooked, shredded, and loosely packed 50% meat/broth as if in a soup). I haven't made up my mind on that yet, but at the same time I could not pass up buying extra when it was on sale in March. 

I'm not really sure what will wind up in those jars............yet. I like fresh asparagus, but have no idea if I would like it once it has been canned. Would buying a jar of commercially canned spears help me make up my mind??? (feel free to give me some opinions, please.)

[Jeepers]

LOL Littlesister. Don't feel bad. I do that all the time! A lot of times I forget which forum I'm in. 

 

But, I did skip a day of BP med and I'm feeling better. 

[Jeepers]

I really like the taste of canned asparagus but be aware that it is soft and not at all firm. It's very soft. If texture matters then you probably wouldn't like it. It's all about the taste. A store bought jar would be like what I have. My store had a 12 oz jar of it for $3.99! I paid $1.00 a pound. I'm sitting on an asparagus gold mine over here.  

 

If you don't want to use the strawberry jam, dump it and use the jars for something else you do like. No sense not being able to use those jars plus the space they are taking up. It hurts. I know. I've had to do it too! Now I can't even rember what it was I dumped but I know I have. 

 

In times to come, you'll be glad you dumped the jam for something you really will enjoy. 

 

BTW, all the 99c stores are closing. You might pick up some sales. We don't have them around here. 

 

 

[Necie]

3 hours ago, Midnightmom said:

I am very strongly considering cleaning out those jars and using them...

 

Make wine!!! 🍷 

[Jeepers]

LOL Necie. That just reminded me of Boones Farm Strawberry Wine from way back in the day in the 1960's. It was a thing. 

[Jeepers]

I finished 24 half pints of mixed veggies. All sealed. 

 

I'm done for a couple of days, I think. It is good to get back in the swing of canning again but I'm really tired. I need to strike while the iron is hot. Canning when you aren't feeling great isn't a lot of fun. But I sure love those full jars. It's nice to get my veggie pantry built back up. I eat those and soups the most. 

 

I might have to break down and buy another kitchen stool. I hate to spend the money for a short term use since I already have one at the other house. But my back can't hardly handle standing at the kitchen sink for hours.