Home Storage Skills

Winter Preps

2011-12-09T09:01:00.000-08:00

Not sure if I've done this or not but I figured I post about it anyway. This is an email that I wrote to a group of people that are actively preparing and learning new skills.

I encourage you ALL to think about preparing for the winter months. I think ice may be a part of our experience this year. Make sure you have at least one alternate source of heat and light. It's my understanding from reading a few accounts of people caught in an ice storm that IF you have an alternate source of heat, you will not be made to leave you home for a shelter for an undetermined amount of time. I may not be 100% on target with that statement but I've read a number of experiences and this seems to be the norm.

Our new house does have a fireplace but before that we only had forced heat which of course requires electricity. So we bought a couple of the Big Buddy heaters that run off of propane. You can use the little propane tanks or get the adapter to use the bigger tanks. This is what they look like. http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200395499_200395499 You can do a google search to find a good price but this one is actually pretty good. There are a couple of different sizes. We chose the bigger ones because I wanna be really warm. :) We did practice with it. The Big Buddy used one small propane tank running on the highest setting for one hour. It wouldn't have needed to be run like that especially if the room had be closed off to the rest of the house.

Also, make a plan on how you'll close off your house and "live" in one or two rooms together as a family. Have sheets or blankets ready to block of other rooms or hallways.

Think about your sources of cooking as well. You should still be somewhat prepared for that from your experiences prepping for the hurricane. Do you have a camp stove? And fuel? Do you have a regular gas stove that you can light manually? Do you have enough water stored? Especially those of us on wells? If you don't have electricity, you don't get water. You'll need to be able to flush potties.

Sources of light. You should have those from your hurricane preps too. If not, run out to the Walmart and for about $11 you can buy a hurricane lamp and a quart of lamp oil. If you have those solar lights out in your yard, use those as indoor lights during the nights. Set them inside a mason jar or something similar and they'll be a bit more sturdy that way. Then in the morning, put them back outside.

Have a few large tarps on hand too in case you have a tree fall on your house. At least you'll be able to prevent precipitation from coming into the house to make matters worse.

Chainsaws are always nice to have. If you have one, make sure it's working properly and you have an extra chain or two.

Have some games to play and books to read. Crossword puzzle, word search and sudoko books are nice to have on hand.

You can charge your phones in the car. I bought a bunch of those wind up cell phone chargers when Emergency Essentials had them for sale last year. They did NOT work for our iPhones at all. I haven't found another option for charging yet.

Don't forget to have your car prepared as well. Charger cables at a minimum. You'll need at least one blanket, flashlight, food etc. Think about giving those as gifts this year especially to your teenagers that have their own cars.

I know it's not any fun to think about these things, but we have to. It's so much easier to think about them now and prepare for them in the comfort and warmth of our homes than when we lose electricity and it's flipping cold outside. Please get your houses in order this way. Know where your blankets are. Are there ready-to-eat foods that your family will eat if you don't have a way to cook? We've been so blessed in our area that we've not had major natural disasters occur in a widespread way. Let's take that as a blessing and do what we can with the resources we have to prepare. Let's be strong and organized. This is the only way we can confidently serve others as well. If you're too worried about you own family and existence because you didn't prepare, you'll never be able to serve anyone else. And we're here on earth to serve others and lift their burdens. Many of you have lifted my burdens and that of my family with our recent move. I'm so humbly thankful for your hard work, food and good cheer. I struggled to muster it myself. Continue to be that for others.

Try to be one of the people that doesn't need to go out to the grocery store or Home Depot when there's the threat of a big snowstorm. That's a great goal to have. Figure out what you need to do so you don't have to be one of those little grasshoppers. :) If you need any help or ideas, I'm always here to help and encourage. But, remember there is One with way more creativity and help than I could ever give. Rely on Him.

IF you have any other ideas or suggestions, please email them to me so I can share with others.

Facebook Posts

2011-08-28T19:47:00.000-07:00

While in the midst of preparing for Hurricane Irene, I would get these ideas about prepping and randomly post them to FaceBook. I had a number of people comment on how helpful the ideas were. I thought I'd combine a list of my posts to have in one handy place. I did "steal" a couple of ideas from other people who had been through this before.

We took the enclosure off and flipped our trampoline over. Hope that works.
Cook up some pasta and either freeze or keep in fridge in gallon size ziploc bag. Rather than waste water and fuel to boil the water if power is out, you'll be able to simply heat up some spaghetti sauce and add to the pasta. The kids will appreciate comfort food.
Double check flashlights and batteries. Make sure flashlights aren't corroded. How many batteries for each light. Do you have candles and matches? Hurricane lamps? Extra oil?
Check your yard for anything that can fly away. Secure trash cans, take down bird feeders. If you have rental properties, please ask your tenants to prepare their yards as well. The loose things may not effect your house but could effect others. Ask your neighbors to do the same.
The recommended generator time is 30-60 minutes every 4 hours for a refrigerator and 30-60 minutes twice a day for a freezer.
If you have a pool, you can submerge your outdoor furniture in it. It'll keep it from blowing around.
Get some cleaning supplies including bleach for the clean up too. It may not be your home that needs the help. Be prepared to help others.
Make sure you have a few pair of work gloves for all the clean up after she hits.
More ideas for prepping: get all your laundry done and dishes washed. If the power goes out you'll want clean clothes and dishes. Buy paper plates and plasticware so you don't have to dirty any dishes.
Please prepare! Lots of fresh water. Baby stuff--diapers, wipes, formula, lots of water

Hurricane Irene Lessons and Observations

2011-08-28T14:51:00.000-07:00

Holes in my Preps:

Lighting sources

I need more oil and wicks for my hurricane lamps
I have two lamps but one doesn't have a chimney--need to get one
I did go out and buy some little votive candle holders--didn't have any of those

Food:

I'm a little concerned about my food in the freezer but I have a plan if things start to go bad.
I didn't have a cooler, so I went out and bought one.
Ice or frozen things. I didn't get any bags of ice. Instead I put cases of bottles of water in the freezer and moved to the cooler.
I wish I would've cooked more-- like a roast or whole chicken to have quickie foods to eat.
Water-- we didn't have the water storage we usually do because we've been using it a lot recently. Left that to the last minute but thankfully we were able to find plenty. I think we were able to get 17 cases of 24 bottles. I hate that I was unprepared for that. I did have 14 cases in the food room but that's not enough if the water isn't potable.

General:

I wish the house was cleaner.
I wish ALL the laundry was done including sheets.
I'm not convinced that we shouldn't have boarded up our windows.
I'm annoyed that my neighbors aren't taking care to clean up their yards. Don't know what I could've done about that.
We didn't take good care of our generators. One of them wouldn't start so thankfully we were able to sell it for $300 the morning of the hurricane. Thank goodness for Craigslist.
We need to run the generators once every couple of months. We started with three. One didn't work and we lent one to Sam's mom and kept the biggest and newest for us. Who would've thought we'd be down to one. Crazy!

What I've done right:

Lighting:

Have and found my hurricane lamp and oil.
Had all my flashlights and lanterns in one place. Checked them all to make sure there were no corroded batteries.
Pulled out one of my crank flashlights that is supposed to also charge a cell phone. The charger part did not work. Good to know so I don't have to worry about making that work. But, need to find out if there is a device that would work.
I do have solar yard lights that we can use also.

Food:

Taking the advice from a good friend and mentor in preparedness, Cheryl Driggs (www.simplyprepared.com), I bought some pudding cups and fruit cups for the kids as something fun to eat. I never buy those and they've been begging me to eat them ever since I brought them home.
I also bought some Reese's Peanut Butter cups (lots of those) mostly for Sam but the kids will beg for those as well.
Other fun food I bought: sugar wafers, strawberry frosted Pop Tarts (for me), cookies, cake mixes (to use in the dutch oven or solar oven), other various crackers and cookies.
We cooked 11 lbs of pasta and put them in gallon sized bags in the fridge and freezer. My thought is that we're not going to want to use the fuel or the water to cook it when we want it. This way we'll be able to add a little pasta sauce or butter and have some comfort food. You may think that's a lot, but trust me--for this family it'll be gone in a couple of days. We eat a lot of pasta anyway and if we need to share, that'll help too.

General

We cleaned up the backyard spic and span. Flipped over the trampoline.
Got all the laundry done...almost (at this writing just before the winds are about to hit)
The house is fairly clean.
Flashlights are loaded with fresh batteries, oil lamp is trimmed and ready, other candles on the counter ready to be used if needed.
I have plenty of ways to cook without power.
Purchased fresh bleach and disinfectant wipes.
Have plenty of wipes and diapers for the baby. Wipes for us to use too.
I got a great deal on propane tanks fro Craigslist a few weeks ago. 6 tanks for $80. We had all of those filled. Plus we have about 4 more that were partially filled. I feel comfortable that we'd be able to cook on my Camp Chef stoves if we lose power.
My dad gave us a butane stove a few months ago with a set of 4 butane fuel canisters. This will allow us to cook indoors if necessary. The stoves cost around $20 on Amazon. That's a very inexpensive investment in prepping.

Expectations

The strong part of the storm hasn't hit yet as of 9pm on Saturday August 27. We've had one little blip of a power outage. Hardly lasted a second. I've heard that surrounding areas are losing power. That stinks.

I have one more load in the washer to go into the dryer. I'm hoping for just a little more time. Fingers crossed.

I'm anxious for this next phase. I've heard reports from friends down in Virginia how horrible the winds are. Lots of trees are falling. I do worry a bit about our house. Sam and I toured our yard. He thinks we'll be alright. I'm kinda wishing we had boarded up the windows. I'll know on the other side of this storm if that was a mistake.

I can say that I'm worried. I wish the hard part of this storm would've hit during the day instead of the middle of the night. Oh well. I'm concerned about potential flooding in the house. My neighbors didn't clean up their yards. Even when we asked if we could help them move their outside furniture, they just said they'd turn it over. They've got bird feeders and bird baths and all sorts of other crap all around their house. It's rude to not take care. Their stuff isn't just going to stay in their yard and only effect them. Their carelessness will potential effect this entire neighborhood. That angers me too.

I am SO tired. I haven't slept well in the last three nights and I've been working so hard to get the house and family ready for the storm. Will I sleep tonight with the storm raging? I don't know. I'm finding myself extremely apprehensive.

I was originally going to leave and take the kids to Virginia. That may have been the better choice but I would've been sick with worry to be away from Sam.

THE DAY AFTER:

I praise God that this storm was not nearly as bad as it could've been for our area here in NJ. We did take in a little bit of water in the basement but not bad at all. Our electricity stayed on throughout the storm and we were able to receive statellite tv transmission for most of the night. We did lost internet and cable. Sam had a wireless "hot spot" device that allowed us to maintain access to the internet. That was a blessing as well.

The kids slept out in the living room together. I went to bed still a bit nervous of the forthcoming high winds and the repeated tornado warnings. I would say that we were not prepared for the potential of tornadoes. I've got to mull that one over a bit. Our basement is full of moving boxes that have been packed, so it would've been a very uncomfortable night if we would've had to stay down there all night. In our new house, I'll make sure we have a room that is finished and comfortable for hunkering down there in case of a tornado.

Other things on our "would've done" list are:

clean out the refrigerator and freezer as one of the first things to do to accommodate ice and other extra foods such as milk and water bottles
have some "blue ice" frozen and ready for the cooler
Sam wishes he would've had a good trailer with a flip down tailgate for moving the generators and other opportunities of service. We'll work on getting one of those.
lighting--as mentioned above
more practice with my alternate sources of cooking in case the power would've gone out - solar oven, volcano stove with the dutch ovens
general organization - just being able to find what I need when I need it. I did pretty well with that, but there is WAY more organizing that could've been in place. In my own defense, I am in the process of packing and moving my house. BUT, because of a great iPhone app, I was able to find a couple of the things I needed in boxes that had been packed. The app is call "Box It Up". I highly recommend it.
One of the things I did in anticipation of being without power for a while is to print math worksheets for the kids. My friend Cheryl Driggs advised others to get back to a sense of normalcy after the storm regardless of the power. So, I made plans to school the kids throughout the upcoming weeks. I'm glad for that counsel, but glad that we get to maintain our current lifestyle.
I did get all the laundry done - in fact, as I pulled the last load out of the dryer, I thanked God and told him it was ok if the power went out now, but quickly relayed that I'd appreciate it if it never went off. :) Ha!
I'm glad I stayed with the family as a whole. I'm glad I got to practice preparing. Glad I didn't have to use them, though.
Funny story: I bought the pudding cups for the kids to have something fun to eat. Leah, my five year old, kept begging to have on all day Saturday. I kept telling her they were for later when the power went out. Sunday morning she asked for one. I told her that because the power never went out, no pudding cup. Poor thing. :) Actually after I giggled for a bit, I told her to enjoy one for breakfast. So cute.

Most of all I am thankful for God's merciful hand during this storm. I'm so grateful for the lessening of the storm. Most look at it as the weather people and media hyping this storm to be worse that it was. I know in my heart and soul that it was the good Lord and His mercy that prevented a major catastrophe. Say what you will, I know He lives and He loves us. I know He answers prayers and is kind and loving. I'm thankful that I was able to see where my preparations were lacking without experiencing the consequences of them. I'm thankful for the sudden thought of inspiration that would come to me during the preps. I'm thankful for others' experiences and their words of wisdom that helped guide me.

Moving!

2011-05-05T12:32:00.000-07:00

So....I've decided to move my blog over to a wordpress format. Please join me at:

storageskills.com

Things are still being created and I'm happy for any suggestions. Should be a little easier to move around in the different areas like canning and cooking and such.

See ya on the flipside!

Inspired Preparation

2011-04-27T05:29:00.000-07:00

I feel the need to write something quickly about keeping your efforts in prepping as a matter of prayer and allowing God to inspire you in the decisions you make.

I'm not sure how many of you that stumble upon my blog believe in God, that's fine if you don't. I do. I believe that He lives and loves us and wants us to be successful in all things.

I'm convinced because of my own experiences that if you listen to your heart, gut, intuition...you name it, you'll be led to opportunities that will allow you to prepare even during difficult times. It's my personal belief that this is God communicating with you through subtle thoughts and ideas.

A couple of recent examples in my life:

1. I've been feeling VERY impressed to buy and save anything made from cotton. So, for about two months now I'm picking up socks, t-shirts, underwear, towels and sheets. No big deal. However, I was actually kidded/mocked by people--who keep food storage-- for my new focus. I was a bit offended but just kept on doing my thing. Not a couple of days later, an email came through on a yahoogroup to which I belong from a lady that is a seamstress. She talked about the prices of fabric climbing quickly just in a couple of weeks. At the end of her post, she made the suggestion to get out and start putting away anything made from cotton because the prices on fabric would rise to 150-200% by this summer and commercial ready-to-wear clothing would shortly follow. HELLO! I felt so very grateful that I had been listening to my "inner voice".

2. Right after this email came in from this seamstress, I got a flyer in the mail from Joann's Fabric announcing a great big sale. I emailed the seamstress and she put together that great document about what types of fabric, notions and patterns to stock. Again, a great blessing for me and for you because she allowed me to post it on my blog.

3. At the end of last week, I offered up a silent and silly prayer that I'd be ok if God let me rest a week from buying anything major for preps. He laughed, actually it was more of a chuckle really. :) I felt impressed to stock up on soap. Different types of soap. Laundry detergent as well as the type of soaps one can use to make homemade laundry detergent, and of course, body soap. Lo and behold--sale big sale on laundry detergent at the local grocery store this week. So, needless to say, I'm stocking up.

Everyone's circumstances are different. I encourage you to listen to your own "inner voice". You'll hear the whisperings. Act on them. It may be an idea from someone else. It may be that you just happen to run into an unadvertised sale or a store is clearancing out winter items or something like that. I've had that happen to me a lot recently as well. Stay within your budget. But I can guarantee you that if you're purposeful and grateful, your blessings will increase and you'll be astonished at your abundance. That I know for a fact because I'm living it. Oh, you'll still have trials....that's the fun part. Maintaining your purpose and dealing with a few challenges. God's got your back though. Believe it!

Oh and it doesn't always have to be about buying something. Could be you find some canning jars for free on Craigslist or Freecycle--that's happened to me a bunch of times. Could be some fine and dandy person teaches you how to can or garden or sew or knit or make soap. Keep your options open. And always remember to be grateful and pay it forward. We're all here to love and help one another. You just might be the answer to someone's prayer.

Good luck. I'd love to hear your experiences with inspiration when it comes to prepping.

Essential Sewing and Clothing Repair Supplies

2011-04-14T08:40:00.000-07:00

This is a guest post by a friend of mine from a yahoo group to which we belong. She's fluent in all things sewing and fabric. This is a SPECTACULAR post about what basics one should have on hand to be self-reliant in providing clothing and mending for your family. Thank you so much Anne!

Essential Sewing and Clothing Repair Supplies

By Anne Lawver

www.dailypreparedness.com

When we hear the term ‘home storage,’ our minds automatically go to neatly arranged rows of edible commodities lovingly stored. However, being truly prepared and living providently should include the ability to not only feed, but also to meet our family’s basic human needs including clothing and shelter.

For centuries, the great bulk of human clothing was produced within the home. If not in the home, then by skilled craftsman who lived and worked nearby. Garments were made to order and, until the invention of the sewing machine, sewn completely by hand. Today, most clothing is purchased from a retail outlet that acquires the clothing from any number of sources. If that supply source were cut short, or if your ability to purchase new clothing were curtailed, you would need to prolong the life of existing clothing by making appropriate repairs and/or create new clothing and household wares yourself. Additionally, a few basic sewing supplies and a dose of knowledge will allow you to make simple repairs, small alterations and even produce clothing, useful items and decorative touches for your home.

Regardless of your desire, or lack of desire, to sew, everyone should stock and maintain an adequate sewing storage. If you take a few moments to hunt for sales, your sewing home storage can be purchased at less than half retail price. Your sewing storage should ideally include at least the following:

A good pair of sewing scissors that are used ONLY for fabric. An 8 to 11 inch pair of shears is a good purchase. Mark them clearly FOR FABRIC ONLY and store with sewing supplies.
A small pair of pointed sharp scissors sometimes referred to as embroidery scissors.
Good quality sewing machine needles that come packaged in a hard plastic case. Needles packaged in paper or thin plastic are often bent during shipment and selling. Even minor bends & chips can cause problems with the stitches and your machine. Schmetz is a widely available and reliable brand of needles. Choose needles that are sizes 10, 12 and at least one package of denim needles. Even if you do not have a sewing machine, store one package of each. Sewing machine needles are very sharp and strong. They can be used to hang signs, framed art work, remove stubborn splinters and even pierce a nail that has blood building up under it (of course, the needle would need to be sterilized and you should understand how to perform such a procedure before attempting.
Hand sewing needles. Again, it pays to buy quality needles in a variety of sizes. Be certain to purchase short and long needles as well as one leather needle.
Closures such as buttons, snaps, zippers, hook & eyes, etc. If you are disposing of clothing with buttons, clip the buttons off and store. Learn how to properly sew on a button!
Elastic in ¼”, ½” and 1” widths. Clear elastic is a good additional choice as it can be sewn through and is very strong.
Safety pins in a variety of sizes.
Straight pins
Measuring tape
24” ruler or yardstick
Iron on patch material. This is sold with the notions and is fabric with an adhesive on the back that is activated by an iron. You can mend clothing, re-enforce wear spots. Etc. with this type of patch.
Heat activated adhesives. Stitch witchery’ and/or ‘steam-a-seam’ as well as ‘wonder under’. These heat- activated adhesives are sold on rolls or by the yard and allow you to hem clothing, make small repairs, make your patches or embellishments, etc.
A variety of 22” zippers. You can always shorten a zipper, but it is impossible to make one longer.
Ribbons designed for sewing, which can be used to strengthen seams, create drawstrings, add embellishments and tie back hair.
Velcro (hook and loop tape). Do not purchase sticky back Velcro as it will be nearly impossible to sew through by hand or machine. The sticky substance does not stand up well to the pressure of the Velcro being pulled apart. If you need to attach the Velcro to a hard surface, gorilla glue or a similar substance works better than the adhesive supplied on the sticky back Velcro.
Thread—again, don’t buy the cheapest you can find. Forget the thread in small packaged sewing kits. You want a thread that is tightly wound and never appears ‘fuzzy’ or frayed. If in doubt, run your fingernail over the thread on the spool and see if little ‘fuzzs’ appear. Stick with Gutterman, the newer Coats & Clark or Mettler, which are all readily available. At a minimum, store white, beige, light grey and black in all-purpose thread. Many hand quilters sew all of their patchwork using only those colors as they blend in easily. Also store several spools of white hand quilting thread, which should NOT be used in a sewing machine. Hand quilting thread is sturdier than regular thread and can even be used to suture wounds – again only if you know what you are doing!
A rotary cutter can make cutting fabric faster. If you purchase a rotary cutter, you will need a sturdy ruler and a cutting mat. Consider purchasing a cut resistant glove (Fons & Porter sells a great one) to protect the hand that is holding the ruler. Rotary cutting blades are incredible sharp and can cause serious injury.
A good quality seam ripper. Two of my favorite ones are either a curved blade seam ripper or one that has a metal handle with replaceable blades. If you cannot find either of those, or wish to purchase a less expensive one, Dritz makes a small seam ripper that usually has a blue handle. It is one of the best inexpensive seam rippers. A good seam ripper is very sharp, so use caution and store away from children.
Sewing patterns to include: (Look for patterns without button-down fronts, complicated seaming or set – in sleeves. A raglan sleeve is the easiest sleeve to put in)

A general women’s wardrobe pattern to include at least a simple skirt, elastic waist pants, simple blouse and jacket
PJ, scrub or other pattern for men, children and women
Simple dress for women and children. Some nightgown patterns can be adapted to make simple dresses, especially for children. As you look at patterns, remember you are not looking for your favorite fabric, just the basic line of the pattern.
T-shirt for children and adults. Again, check the sleepwear section as many pj tops are simple t-shirts
Basic butcher-style apron. Wearing an apron when you cook and clean is the best way to preserve your clothing.
Baby layette pattern—multi-sized and including at least a day gown, t-shirt, pants, bib and diaper cover
Loose fitting jackets for children and adults.

Fabric! Even if you never intend to sew, a small stash of basic fabrics is an essential ingredient in a prepared home. Consider purchasing on sale, at garage sales, through freecycle or donations the following:

Flannel. Look for tightly woven 100% cotton that is at least 43” wide. White is your best choice if you are simply going to store it. Flannel can be used for diapering, blankets, lining jackets for warmth, pillowcases and nightware. Flannel sheets purchased on the clearance rack can be a great source of extra wide flannel at a very reasonable price. Be certain to check after-Christmas clearances. I was able to find a set of king-sized flannel sheets for 95% off—the set cost me $2.
White cotton lawn, batiste, broadcloth, shirting and/or ‘bottom weight’. These fabrics can be used for nearly all clothing needs, including baptisms, blessings and burials. Again, cotton flat sheets, if new or nearly new, are another good source of wide cottons. I would not rely on worn sheets for new garments, as sheets wear very unevenly. You do not want to spend valuable time and resources creating a garment that may wear out in one spot and be perfectly fine in another.
Denim. Recycle old jeans as well as buying yardage when you can find a great deal. Denim comes in many weights and should be 100% cotton.
Wool sold by the yard as well as re-purposed wool sweaters and garments. Wool is naturally flame retardant, can shed water (depending on weave), breathes and if felted (which merely means shrinking it excessively) will not ravel. Felting old wool pieces and then sewing with the newly created fabric is quite ‘in’. Felted wool makes wonderful hats, slippers, baby booties, jackets, quilts and decorative items. There are multiple websites with excellent free tutorials on felting.
Polar fleece—though many new sewing enthusiasts gravitate to fleece for its comfort and ease of sewing, please note that it is HIGHLY flammable. Not only will it burst into flames, it will explode into blobs of molten synthetic.

21. A basic sewing ‘how to’ book. If you can find a copy of the book “Let’s Sew” by Nancy Zieman, it is a great basic guide to the beginnings of sewing. Originally written for 4-H children, it is a good reference source. You may also find classes and willing tutors through the American Sewing Guild, which has groups throughout the country: www.asg.com

Always watch for sales and coupons to acquire fabrics at discount prices. All fibers, but most significantly cotton, are rapidly increasing in price. There are several good online sources for fabric, including www.fabric.com (always check their clearance section, especially the ‘everything’s a $1.95 section) and www.voguefabricsstore.com (they carry many high end fabrics, but also have closeouts). Both of these sites will get designer bolt ends of better quality cottons and wools, then discount them sharply. One way to identify a fabric intended for use in the production of retail clothing, especially higher end retail lines such as Ralph Lauren, is the width of the cotton. Cottons sold in stores such as Wal-Mart and JoAnn’s are usually 45” wide. Many of the shirtings, silks and cotton/polyester blends at www.fabric.com & www.voguefabricsstore.com will be 54” to 60” wide, which is the ‘normal’ for commercial bolts.

Other good sources for fabric include garage sales, thrift shops and freecycle. Be certain you learn a little bit about fabric quality and pricing before paying too much for fabric!

Finally, acquire a few basic sewing skills. Sewing isn’t hard and is actually good for you! At least learn the basics of hand stitching, such as sewing on a button, a snap, hemming a skirt and sewing a running stitch. It takes only a few dollars and a bit of time to create simple and fun children’s clothing. One of the easiest dresses to make is to simply add a skirt to a little girl’s t-shirt.

The Ultimate Way to Season Cast Iron

2011-02-23T08:31:00.001-08:00

I found this in the January 2011 issue of Cooks Illustrated magazine and thought I'd pass it on.

For years we've seasoned cast-iron in the test kitchen by placing it over medium heat and wiping out the pan with coats of vegetable oil until its surface turns dark and shiny.

When a pan starts to look patchy, we simply repeat the process. But when we heard about a new method that creates a slick surface so indestructible that touch-ups are almost never necessary, we were intrigued. Developed by blogger Sheryl Canter, the approach calls for treating the pan with multiple coats of flaxseed oil between hour-long stints in the oven.

We carried out Canter's approach on new, unseasoned cast-iron skillets and compared them with pans treated with vegetable oil--and the results amazed us. The flaxseed oil so effectively bonded to the skillets, forming a sheer, stick-resistant veneer, that even a run through our commercial dishwasher with a squirt of degreaser left them totally unscathed. But the vegetable oil-treasted skillets showed rusty spots and patchiness when they emerged from the dishwasher, required reseasoning before use.

Why did the new treatment work so well? Flaxseed oil is the food-grade equivalent of linseed oil, used by artists to give their paintings a hard, polished finish, and it boasts six time the amount of omega-3 fatty acids as vegetable oil. Over prolonged exposure to high heat, these fatty acids combine to form a strong, solid matrix that polymerizes to the pan's surface.

Although length, seasoning with flaxseed oil is a mainly hands-off undertaking. We highly recommend the treatment:

1. Warm and unseasoned pan (either new or stripped of seasoning*) for 15 minutes in a 200-degree oven to open its pores.

2. Remove the pan from the oven. Place 1 TB flaxseed oil in the pan and, using tongs, rub the oil into the surface with paper towels. With fresh paper towels, thoroughly wipe out the pan to remove excess oil.

3. Place the oiled pan upside down in a cold oven, then set the oven to its maximum baking temperature. Once the oven reaches is maximum temperature, heat the pan for one hour. Turn off the oven; cool the pan in the oven for at least two hours.

4. Repeat the process five more times, or until the pan develops a dark, semi-matte surface.

* To strips a cast-iron pan of seasoning, spray it with oven cleaner, wait 30 minutes, wash with soapy water, and thoroughly wipe with paper towels.

Sale Seasons

2010-12-22T14:45:00.000-08:00

A friend sent me this list from an about.com article she read. I have always taught during my coupon classes the importance of planning ahead. This is a great list to do just that. I always pick up my ketchup and other condiments in May/June because they're on sale and usually have coupons to match. I buy at least a year's worth. That way I don't have to worry about it for quite a while.

I encourage each of you to do the do the same. Could be some really good deals on different types of food and next year's Christmas gifts in the next couple of weeks.

Oh, and I've already seen Easter displays up at the stores. WHAT!!!

January
Food:
Chocolate (Christmas clearance)
Soda
Diet foods
Frozen finger foods

Non-food: Linens
Electronics
Cameras
Computers
Small appliances
Air conditioners
Carpeting and flooring
Furniture
Winter clothes
Toys (on clearance after the holidays)
Bicycles
Christmas gift wrap
Christmas decorations
Athletic shoes
Exercise equipment
Motorcycles
Houses
Boats
Motorcycles
Anything from thrift stores

February
Food:
Chocolate (post Valentine’s Day)
Steak (post Valentine’s Day)
Seafood (post Valentine’s Day)
Oatmeal

Non-food:
Big screen TVs (before the Super Bowl)
Cameras
Motorcycles
Boats
Air conditioners
Tools
recliners

March
Food:
Frozen foods

Non-food:
Boats

April
Food:
Candy (Easter clearance)
Eggs
Ham
Cheese
Mustard
Ready-made dough
Dinner rolls
Frozen pies
Cake mix
Cake frosting
Pie crusts

Non-Food:
Electronics
Vacuums
Cookware
Tires and other car care supplies

May
Food:
Hotdogs
Ground beef
Hamburger and hot dog buns
Condiments (ketchup, mustard, barbeque sauce, relish)
Salad dressing
Chips
Ice cream
Popsicles
Frozen pies
Soda
Bottled water

Non-food:
Party supplies (disposable plates, cups, napkins and utensils)
Grill supplies (charcoal, lighter fluid)
Vacuums
Cookware

June

Food:
Ice cream
Popsicles
Soda
Bottled water
Iced tea mix and bags

Non-food:
Tools (around Father’s Day)

July
Food:
Hot dogs
Ground beef
Hamburger and hot dog buns
Condiments (ketchup, mustard, barbeque sauce, relish)
Salad dressing
Chips
Ice cream
Popsicles
Soda
Bottled water
Iced tea mix and bags

Non-food:
Grill supplies (charcoal, lighter fluid)
Party supplies (disposable plates, cups, napkins and utensils)
Furniture

August
Food:
Cereal
Breakfast bars
Peanut butter
Jelly
Lunch meat
American cheese
Yogurt
Chips
Snack cakes
Cookies
Ice cream
Soda
Bottled water
Iced tea mix and bags
Drink boxes

Non-food:
Pool supplies
Outdoor toys
Outdoor furniture
Bathing suits
Summer clothes
Summer shoes

September
Food:
Cereal
Breakfast bars
Peanut butter
Jelly
Lunch meat
American cheese
Yogurt
Chips
Snack cakes
Cookies
Hot dogs
Ground beef
Hamburger and hot dog buns
Condiments (ketchup, mustard, barbeque sauce, relish)
Salad dressing
Canned fruits and vegetables
Soups
Broth
Frozen pies
Soda
Drink boxes

Non-food:
Grill supplies (charcoal, lighter fluid)
Party supplies (disposable plates, cups, napkins and utensils)
School supplies
Large appliances (refrigerators, stoves, washers, dryers)
Cars
Lawn mowers
Grills
Trees, shrubs and bulbs

October
Food:
Canned fruits and vegetables
Dried fruits (raisins, apricots, cranberries)
Soups
Broth

Non-food:
Large appliances
Lawn mowers
Grills
Tires and other car care supplies
Jeans
Trees, shrubs and bulbs

November
Food:
Turkey
Butter
Cheese
Baking supplies (flour, sugar, yeast chocolate chips, baker’s chocolate, sweetened condensed milk, cooking oil)
Pie crusts
Ready-made dough
Dinner rolls
Frozen pies
Cake mix
Cake frosting
Pie filling
Spices
Nuts
Dried fruits (raisins, apricots, cranberries)
Oatmeal
Candy (Halloween clearance)
Marshmallows
Soup
Broth

Non-food:
Aluminum foil
Plastic wrap
Disposable baking pans
Cookware
Electronics
Tools
Carpeting and flooring
Trees, shrubs and bulbs

December
Food:
Ham
Butter
Cheese
Baking supplies (flour, sugar, yeast chocolate chips, baker’s chocolate, sweetened condensed
milk, cooking oil)
Pie crusts
Ready-made dough
Dinner rolls
Frozen pies
Cake mix
Cake frosting
Pie filling
Refrigerated cookie dough
Spices
Nuts
Dried fruits (raisins, apricots, cranberries)
Oatmeal
Soda

Non-food:
Disposable baking pans
Aluminum foil
Plastic wrap
Electronics
Computers
Carpeting and flooring
Tools
Toys
Winter clothes
Cars
Motorcycles

Night Canning

2010-12-16T13:51:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago, I bought 140 lbs of ground beef and chicken tenders. I had three pressure canners going at one point. Two of them, my big ones, I used outside on my Camp Chef stove. I have two Camp Chef stoves. One with two burners and the other has three burners. I've also used my turkey fryer burner on which to can.

Below you'll see a couple of pictures of my late night. Actually I think it was only about 8 or 9 pm when these were taken. You can see the jars of beef and chicken behind the steam from the first picture. It was quite chilly outside. That did help the jars cool down quite fast.

This picture is of my Presto pressure canner. Sad story: The canner had 13 minutes left to process. I asked my 11 year old son to go out and check on the pressure gauge for me. He came back and said it was close to 15 lbs pressure. I told him to turn it down a bit. Well, he turned it down too much and the pressure went below 10lbs pressure, so we had to start the WHOLE THING over again. Brought it back to 10lbs pressure and set the timer for 75 minutes. UGH!!

The rest of the sad story is that I ruined my canner. With it being on the heat for nearly three straight hours caused it to bow out and I had to throw it away. It was a great canner. I highly recommend the Prestos. I got that one specifically because it's made to go on glass top stoves, which I have. So, I'll have to get another big Presto before the next big canning venture.

This picture is of my All-American canner cooling down after a batch. The beef next to it are also cooling and because it's so cold outside, you can see the steam rising from them.

I do recommend having some sort of alternative way of cooking and canning. If the power goes out, the meat I have in the freezer won't be lost because I'll be able to thaw it and put it in the jars and can it. Plus, just being able to cook something hot and soothing in case of an emergency will be quite a blessing. Make sure you have plenty of propane to run it.

I canned 40 lbs of the chicken = 33 pints.

Canned 40lbs of ground beef = 43 pints (3 didn't seal)

I froze the other 20 lbs of chicken. Cooked up 20 lbs of ground beef and put in freezer in 1 lbs freezer bags. Made the other 20 lbs into meatloaves. I think I got nine meatloaves.

List of Skills

2010-12-14T12:32:00.000-08:00

Lately, I've been impressed to compile a list of skills that one would need to live a self-reliant life. I certainly don't think I'll ever be able to learn all of these, but there are definitely many that I could focus on and broaden my horizon. I challenge those of you reading the blog to pick one on the list that interests you and start learning about it. Seek out books, look on the internet, make a new friend that can teach you and then, practice, practice, practice.

These are not all of my ideas, but a compilation from many from the yahoogroups I belong to. If you have others that you think should be added to the list, please let me know.

Preserving Food

Canning

Dehydrating

Root Cellaring

Fermenting

Meat Preparation

--cleaning preparing wild game/fish

Preservation w/out power

--smoking

--curing

Domestic Skills

Soap Making

Candle Making

Sewing

Knitting

Crocheting

Quilting

Laundering clothes/using a clothesline

Shoe/moccasin making

Grinding Grains

Bread making

Alternative ways to cook

Cooking

Baking

Gardening

Sprouting

Planting

Soil Preparation

Irrigation

Mulching

Pest/disease Control

Harvesting

Seed Saving

Three season garden

Prep for winter

Medical Care

Pandemic/biological response methods

Disease control

First Aid

CPR

Burn & would care

Home nursing

Alternative Medicine (essential oils, herbs)

Outdoor Skills

Building shelters

Fishing techniques

Trapping/snaring

Hunting

Shooting

Foraging for wild edibles

Fire making

Collecting (downing/cutting/splitting) firewood

Animal Husbandry

Knife Sharpening/use of a chain saw

Mechanical Skills

Basic home repairs

Basic carpentry

Mechanic

Metal worker, including blacksmith

Electrical

Plumbing

Misc. Skills

Alcohol for fuel making

Windmill/wind generator & solar power

Water collection/purification/safety

Various sanitation disposal method

Communications (ham radio & other methods)

Firefighting and other safety techniques

Alcohol for fuel making

Scrounger/gatherer

A love for learning

Seeking God’s guidance

Bartering

Ham Radio

Gelatin for Health

2010-12-02T09:49:00.000-08:00

I recommend reading this article of the health benefits of using gelatin. Also, I recommend reading the comments below the article.

http://zentofitness.com/gelatin/

The Hidden Power of Gelatin

Most of us have heard about Gelatin- its probably what comes to mind when you think of either baking or gummy bears. What not many people know about Gelatin is that is can actually be a very good addition to your diet, with a host of health benefits:

• Improving Hair, Skin and Joint/tendon health

• Soothes the Digestive tract

• Contains many essential and non-essential amino acids including Arginine and Glycine

• A natural Anti-Inflamatory

• Stimulates the immune system

• Regulates Hormones

So what is Gelatin? Gelatin is the an animal product found naturally in the hoofs, bones, skin etc basically the collagen of animals. I know this sounds disgusting but what we forget is that in the old days gelatin was a key part of our diet and was used in a load of recipes when baking and it even comes off the bones naturally in things like Bone Broths. Sadly we do not each many of these dishes anymore leaving gelatin sorely lacking from our diet.

One of the first and most substantial things Gelatin can do is improve your skins and hair health. Our skin is made of Collagen and this requires Vitamin C for our bodies to produce. Alternativly we have the option of eating more gelatin rich foods or gelatin which will help your skin become smoother, firmer and clearer over time. This benefit also transfers over to your hair which will start to look shinier and stronger within weeks of eating gelatin on a regular basis.

As mentioned earlier Gelatin contains Arginine and Glycine. This is important as it is one of the few protein sources to contain large amounts of these amino acids.

Arginine can have a metabolism boosting effect, more importantly though is the benefit of Glycine which has two main functions -- Firstly it helps build muscle and secondly it converts glucose to energy rather than fat. This is key as the more things in our diet that prevent lipolysis and promote fat oxidation the better. Glycine is especially good at soothing and rebuilding the digestive tract therefore I highly recommend it to anyone with things like ulcers or a leaky gut. It even helps absorb calcium in the gut and has been shown to have a calming effect soon after ingestion.

I decided to write this post as I have started integrating Gelatin into my diet recently and have noticed some great results. For one my joints have definitely gotten a lot more supple and my digestion feels a lot better, so the stuff has definitely done some healing. The dry skin I normally have on my elbows has also gone. On top of this it is and easy to integrate into the diet……

You only need around 1-2TBSP’s per day or a few times a week. This is pretty easy to mix into stuff as it has no flavour and just adds a slight gooey gelatinous texture to whatever you are eating, which definitely isnt a bad thing. Here are a few ideas:

• Smoothies (this is really easy and goes unnoticed)

• Oatmeal (Again due to the naturally gooey texture goes unnoticed)

• Soups and Stews

• Vegetable Curries (adds a nice protein boost)

• Yoghurt

You can get creative though and try it with a host of things. It is a pretty safe to experiment with as it holds no flavour…….

Which type? Go for the powdered type which you can find pretty easily in the baking section of most food stores. If you go to an organic/health food shop you will be able to find some kind of Organic non-hydrolyzed version which is the best type to go for. I haven’t seen it myself but have heard there is also a vegetarian version you can get which is made from seaweed gelatin, rather than from animal source (obviously this would not hold the same benefits).

So if you see an opportunity to use gelatin then give it a try - in smoothies, soups or your morning oatmeal…..

The Many Uses of Gelatin

2010-12-02T09:19:00.001-08:00

What!? A blog post on gelatin.? Yup. I was laying in bed this morning thinking about Thanksgiving dinner and the lovely and delightful Jell-o salad I made. It's my favorite thing at the table and I made it just for me. However, this year those dang kids of mine found out how simply marvelous it really is....and they ate it. They fought over it even and the salad that usually lasts for a couple of days for ME, was gone in a day. So unfair.

I thought about making some Jell-o for dinner tonight and I have an ample supply of Jell-o but my family inhales it making it a rather expensive luxury for those little buggers. I was thinking about the fact that I could take fruit juice and make my own Jell-o using unflavored gelatin and how would I do that. I do own unflavored gelatin but have never really used it.

Well, that's not exactly true.

I have a confession to make. I'm rather embarrassed but since it's been two decades ago, I think I can stand the shame. Once, in college, I was seriously jonesin' for some chocolate chip cookie dough. We had no eggs, but we had unflavored gelatin. WHAT? That doesn't even make sense. Moving on....I happened to read the box and found out that you can use unflavored gelatin as a replacement for eggs. Yes, I did. I made the dough without the egg and WITH the unflavored gelatin. I think the cooked cookies would've tasted better, but alas....I ate the dough anyway. Sick, huh? Those days are behind me now and I thought I'd expand on the wisdom of having some unflavored gelatin in your home storage.

• Unprepared gelatin has an indefinite shelf-life as long as it is wrapped airtight and stored in a cool, dry place.

• Keep gelatin dishes refrigerated until ready to serve to maintain their gelatinous state.

• Do not add fresh or frozen pineapple to gelatin or Jell-O. These fruits, along with raw figs, kiwifruit, guava, ginger root, and papaya contain an enzyme called bromelain which breaks down gelatin causing it to lose its thickening properties. The enzymes are deactivated by cooking, so canned pineapple and kiwi are fine to use.

• To avoid clumping, dry unflavored gelatin should be mixed with a little cold water first for 3 to 5 minutes to moisten and separate before adding hot water.

• Thicker stock and a more delicate flavor results from using veal bones rather than beef bones since the veal has more collagen which gels the stock.

• Store gelatin desserts in a covered container to avoid the formation of a thick rubbery skin on the surface.

• Too much sugar can inhibit gelatinization. The more sugar in the recipe, the softer the resultant gelatin will be.

• Firmness varies on the ratio of water to gelatin and temperature. You can successfully melt down (gently using a double-boiler) and re-chill gelatin several times before the mixture loses its thickening ability.

• Gelatin takes twice as long to dissolve when used with cream or milk.

• When using sugar with unflavored gelatin, mix the sugar and gelatin first before dissolving.

• To suspend fruits, meats, or vegetables in gelatin, chill until it is the consistency of cold egg whites. Then mix in the additions and chill until completely set.

• Be sure to drain all solids of their liquid before adding to gelatin to avoid watering down the gelatin.

• For 2 cups of gelatin mixture, allow 1 to 2 cups of solids, either minced, cubed, or cut into small pieces.

• To easily unmold gelatin, spray the mold with cooking oil before filling. If you want to avoid an oily film which might cloud the surface by using oil spray, simply rinse the mold with cold water prior to filling. Or dip the mold into warm (not hot) water to the depth of the gelatin for 5 to 10 seconds, loosen edges with a knife or spatula, and unmold. Return to the refrigerator for 20 minutes to refirm.

• Use 1 envelope (1 tablespoon or 1/4 ounce) unflavored gelatin to 2 cups of water for standard firmness. Decrease or increase water for your particular needs. One 3-ounce package of flavored, sweetened gelatin needs 2 cups of water. One tablespoon of unflavored powdered gelatin equals 4 sheets of leaf gelatin.

• Two hours of chilling should be enough for standard clear molds, while it may take up to 4 hours for those with additions. Layered gelatins will take longer, since each layer must be individually chilled and firmed before adding the next layer.

• If you are doubling a recipe originally calling for 2 cups of liquid, use only 3-3/4 cups of liquid in the doubled recipe.

• Other liquids can be used in place of water to prepare gelatin, including fruit juices, clarified vegetable or meat stock, wine, vegetable juices and seafood broths.

• Do not bring gelatin mixtures to a full boil or you risk losing its thickening properties.

Tips taken from: http://homecooking.about.com/od/specificfood/a/gelatintips.htm

Yahoo Groups

2010-11-30T13:55:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure if you're aware of the vast amounts of information on the internet via Yahoo Groups. Yahoo Groups are essentially online clubs you can join with the luxury of staying in your pajamas to participate. I belong to quite a few.

There, you will find people who are so knowledgeable in the subject of the group, that it will just blow your mind. Also, most of the groups have compiled extensive files that you can browse and download to add to your own library of recipes, techniques, skills and all around know-how. Many also have photos they've uploaded of all sorts of things like container garden ideas, canned food, food pantries and other efforts.

The best part of Yahoo Groups is the fact that they're free. Some of them require you to "apply" for membership through a moderator, but that's mostly there to keep out the riff-raff, and certainly none of my readers is riff-raff. :) Other groups you can join and have immediate access to the files and posts.

To join just go to yahoogroups.com and sign up. You can do a search for subjects you're interested in. Below are a few that I belong to that I highly recommend. You can search for them directly.

PrepJr

food-storage (must include the hyphen)

preserving-food (must include the hyphen)

FPDC&M

ediblecontainergardens

If you have any other suggestions for good storage skills type groups, please let me know. The more the merrier.

Hope to see you around. Even if you're just a lurker on the groups. You'll surely pick up something to add to your treasure chest of knowledge.

Almond Cheesecake Bars

2010-11-24T13:36:00.001-08:00

This is a bonus post just for Thanksgiving. I received this recipe in an email through a yahoogroup. It's so easy to make and it tastes wonderful. Enjoy!

Almond Cheesecake Bars

2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup icing sugar

FILLING:

1 - 8 oz package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp almond extract
2 eggs, lightly beaten

FROSTING:

1 1/2 cups icing sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 tsp almond extract
4 to 5 tsp milk

Combine the flour, butter and icing sugar; press onto the bottom of a
greased 13 x 9" baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 20 to 25 minutes
or until golden brown.

For filling, in a small bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar and extract
until smooth. Add eggs and beat on low speed just until combined.

Pour over crust. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until center is almost
set. Cool on a wire rack.

Combine the frosting ingredients until smooth; spread over bars. Store
in the refrigerator.

Makes: 3 dozen

Finding Jars

2010-11-23T20:30:00.001-08:00

Canning as a way of food preservation is making a come back. With all the difference pesticides and other food additives, many are choosing to can their own food in order to insure a quality product for themselves and their families. With the increase of popularity of the skill, the increase the demand for canning jars and supplies.

I thought I'd give a few tips on gathering jars as inexpensively as possible.

1. Free is always best.
- Ask for them. Especially the older generation. Many canned religiously but with the ease of getting food and their increased age, they don't want to be bothered anymore. (Great source to teach canning as well)
-Put out a request on Freecycle and Craigslist in your area. Remember to check areas that surround your area. Be willing to travel.

I must throw in a story or two of my experiences with Freecycle and Craigslist.

Freecycle - I threw out a request on my Freecycle group for canning jars. I was rewarded with a response from a lady that was moving and wanted to get ride of all her canning supplies. She gave me about 500 jars of different sizes as well as lids, tools and a Victorio Strainer. FREE!!! HELLO!!! Major score!

Craigslist - I saw an ad in the FREE category. I had to travel about 30 minutes North but was rewarded with 70 jars plus lids and rings. Again...a great score.

They're out there, you just have to keep your eyes open.

2. Not free but cheap.
- Craigslist - I'm finding that "jar owners" are tuning into the fact that they can make a little money off of their jar cache. Don't let them take advantage of you. Remember you can buy a whole box of brand new jars, lids and rings for less than $12 usually. (quarts always cost the most) I usually will spend as much as .50/jar but that's it. .50/jar for quarts and less than that for pints and half pints. Be respectful but bargain with them a bit, especially since they're not offering lids and rings.

Another Craigslist story - I saw an ad for an All American pressure canner and a lot of about 70 jars for $100. It sat their for a while but then I couldn't stand it any longer and bought it all. Everything was nearly new. The husband was getting rid of his wife's canning collection. That canner retails for just under $200 and the jars would've easily been around $50 brand new. Good deal!

-Keep your eyes open at yard sales and flea markets. You may pick up one here and one there, but usually it'll be closer to half a dozen or more. The same rules apply for pricing as above.

3. Stores. Boring, I know. Usually Big Lots has the least expensive prices on jars. They carry the Golden Harvest brand of jars. Walmart also carries jars during the summer (canning season) for decent prices. This year Ball and Kerr put out coupons for jars, you can use those at the Walmart.

Usually the grocery stores will be the most expensive. They typically carry jars all year long. That's your last resort though.

TIPS

--When you go to pick up your jars, make sure you run your finger around the edge of the rim to check for any chips or cracks. You're not going to want to pay for those.
--Give the jars a good looking over to check for cracks or funky spots. I've had a couple of jars straight out of a new box that weren't completely blown out, they had a indent in them. Thus making them completely unusable.
--Most stores will put their canning supplies out around late April or early May. Prepare be saving some money throughout the winter to bump up your supply when they're available again. By the first of November here, Walmart was sold out of all their jars here in NJ. Down South, you'll probably find them earlier in the year and later into the Fall and even Winter. Canning is more of a way of life down there. Kinda like Mecca for me. :)

Hope that gives you some ideas. Just keep your eyes open and no doubt you'll amass quite a collection. Good luck!

Wheat vs. Flour

2010-11-23T12:23:00.000-08:00

I often get asked questions that require a specific answer for the person asking. Like, how much flour do you put in your bread recipe? Or how long do you knead the dough? Or how many children do you have? HA! Just seeing if you're awake.

Most of the time specifics are not very important to me. When it comes to bread, I mostly do it by feel and what I see happening to the dough. So, I'm trying to pay a bit more attention when I'm baking bread or doing other skill-related tasks so that I can return and report.

My husband and I were talking about how much wheat we felt we needed to have in storage in order to have at least a year's supply. He's a perfectionist/specific kinda guy. This frustrates us both from time to time. :)

Today I made some wheat bread. I decided to measure out wheat berries and then grind them and measure the flour that was created.

I put two cups of wheat berries into the grinder and out came a little over four cups of flour. So, that should help you and my husband for future wheat calculations.

2 Cups Wheat Berries = 4 Cups of Whole Wheat Flour

An additional note: I tend to mix and match my grains and legumes when making bread. Today's bread was 4 cups of wheat berries, 1 cup dried navy beans, 1 1/2 cups of buckwheat and about 1/3 cup of whole flax seed. This combo produced 13 1/2 cups of flour. Turned out to be the right amount for my dough today.

My recipe also called for 1/2 cup of oatmeal. I had a daughter who made oatmeal for breakfast this morning and about 1/2 cup of cooked oatmeal was left. Perfect! I just threw it in the water when mixing up the dough. That could've contributed a bit for the extra amount of flour I needed.

Canning Shredded Pork

2010-11-22T12:19:00.000-08:00

I'm having a bit of trouble with my pictures loading so until I get that figured out I'll just explain the beginning of the experiment.

I was at the Sam's Club last week and noticed their country spare ribs were on sale for $1.42/lb. My husband loves when I slow cook them in barbecue sauce and serve either as a sandwich or over rice. But, then I got this great idea. So, I bought three packages.

I am loving my new Nesco digital pressure cooker. I rubbed some bbq rub on the meat and put one package into my cooker. I put a little water in the bottom and a steamer insert inside onto which I put the meat. I set the cooker for 45 minutes. At the end, the ribs were perfect. The meat fell off the bones when I was shredding it for pulled pork sandwiches. That was about the easiest meal I've ever made.

I cooked the other two packages the same way and had quite a bit of meat that I could then can.

Here is most of what I cooked and shredded from the pork ribs. We did eat some for dinner the night I bought them. This is one of those big disposable plastic containers nearly full.

I filled up three and a half quarts with the pork. I had saved the broth from cooking the pork and used that as the liquid. The jar furtherest to the right looks a little different because I used water to fill that one. I ran out of the broth.

Make sure the rims are wiped down really well because the pork was a bit greasy and you want the lids to seal on to the jars successfully. I used a little soap on my cloth just to make sure. I know of some people who will use rubbing alcohol or white vinegar on the rims. I haven't found that necessary, but with the greasy food, I just wanted to do a little more.
Inside are the three quarts and one pint of pork. I filled the canner up with three extra quart jars of water. I processed the jars at 10lbs pressure for 90 minutes in my pressure canner.

I'm pretty thrilled with the outcome of this particular experiment. I bought the meat for $1.42/lb. We ate dinner from it and I got at least three more dinners from it. Unfortunately, I did not have the foresight to record how many pounds I bought. I want to say about 7-8 lbs altogether. A couple of the packages were bone-in so they weighed a little more for a little less meat. But the rib bones are not that large.

You may wonder why there are a few bottles of water in the canner. I've learned to do this for a couple of reasons.

#1 - keeping the canner full helps to cut down on the jiggling inside, especially in a water bath canner

#2 - the water will be sterile and can be used for emergencies

I don't usually have a less-than-full canner, but when I do, I just fill up some quart jars with regular tap water and slap a lid/ring on it. No big deal.

Baking Bread in the Sun Oven

2010-11-21T20:47:00.000-08:00

Thanks to my mom and dad, I'm now a proud owner of a Sun Oven (sunoven.com)

I've been anxious to test it out.

I put the oven outside before I started to mix up my bread in order to warm it up. Just like a regular oven you want to get the Sun Oven up to temperature.

I was using this the second week of October in NJ. It was quite a warm day actually and only took about 30 minutes to warm up to 350 degrees.

I've seen a few pictures where four loaves fit in the oven. I only baked two because it was my first try and I didn't want to ruin four. I baked my other two loaves in the conventional oven. I was surprised at the difference.

This picture was taken just before I opened the oven to take out the bread. Let me warn you. This this is HOT!!! It's 350 degrees. Please make sure you have your oven mitts handy, you're going to need them. And it's daggum hot just getting into the oven with the reflectors doing their thing, you may need to don a pair of sunglasses as well. Just be careful.

There they all. All baked and yummy.

I didn't put enough dough in each of the pans so my bread is a little flat. That's all my fault. Again, I wasn't trusting the Sun Oven with a full loaf. Oh me of little faith. This bread was perfect. It browned evenly and the Sun Oven retains moisture so the bread comes out just lovely. It's not even a bit dried out.

See that! Perfect. I highly recommend adding a solar oven to your emergency supplies. You can cook in it all year long. I'm looking forward to trying it during the dead of winter. The oven doesn't even have to be used only for an emergency, it can be used to cut down on other energy costs, cuz the sun is free!

Pears

2010-11-21T20:31:00.001-08:00

My across-the-street neighbor let's me pick as many pears as I want each summer.

The tree wasn't as plentiful as last year,

but it still provided plenty for my family as well as a friend to put up.

This year I tried something a bit different and I'm really pleased with the way they turned out. This year I used my steam juicer and Victorio strainer to cook down the pears to make pear sauce as well as pear juice.

Below you can see the hopper of the steam juicer full of quartered pears. I washed them all first and just cut them up and put them in the juicer--stems, seeds, peels and all.

You can see how the juicer is set up with the tubing coming out and a pot set below to catch the juice that will be extracted from the pears.

Yes, all those pears from the first picture cooked down to half.

All that juice is in the pot below.

I took the cooked pears that are all hot and smushy and put them in my strainer. With a turn of the crank, out one side came the sauce (like applesauce) and the other end came the stems, seeds and some of the peelings. Just like that.

Here's a full picture of the strainer. The sauce will come out of the left side there and the stems and seeds will come out of the tube that you can't see. Great picture huh? :)

I put the sauce in the jars and process them in a boiling water bath for

the same time as applesauce.

Here is a picture of all the juice I collected in the pot below the juicer.

Look at all that beautiful juice. It's just perfect and pure. I processed the pear juice just like apple juice. I was able to use all the bits and pieces of those free pears. YAY!!!

Using Gadgets to Can Tomatoes

2010-08-27T22:46:00.000-07:00

I did something different this year when canning tomato sauce. I used my steam juicer and food strainer. Let me tell ya, it was so much easier.

My family uses tomatoes mostly in the form of sauce, specifically pasta sauce. So, I decided to can my tomatoes in sauce form this year. I was able to eliminate the need for a blanching bath for the tomatoes because I used my steam juicer.

Below you'll see the 4 out of 5 baskets of tomatoes I canned this year. Each basket has approx. 30 lbs of tomatoes in it. So, in all I canned 150 lbs of those little red jewels of love. :)

I want to introduce you to two new pieces of equipment that I used this year. Below is a picture of my steam juicer all set up to receive my bounty. I highly recommend owning one of these juicers and buy one that is stainless steel. They're a little more expensive, but well worth it in the long run.

Mine is a Mehu-Liisa steam juicer. It's about the most expensive one out there and the only reason I bought it is because it's made in Finland and I served a mission for my church in Finland. So, I chose to support their economy. Mehu Liisa means "more juice" in Finnish.

I just bought a juicer for my mom from Amazon for $120.xx which included shipping. I'm sure you could find it cheaper. I just chose not to search high and low for one.

So the concept of the steam juicer is that it is in three pieces. The bottom piece is filled with water and put on the heat source. As the water heats up it turns to steam which streams up through the middle piece and hits the tomatoes (or other fruit/veggies even chicken) sitting in the strainer basket. As the steam hits the produce, it naturally cooks the produce and draws out the juices which fall into the middle piece. The middle piece has a hole which tubing is hooked to for the juices to drain out. The cooked produce is in the strainer basket and the juices are collected outside of the steam juicer to be used or thrown away.
Below is the bottom piece and has water in it. I have let mine go dry a few too many times, thus the brown spots on it. Gotta stay on top of the water supply.
Here is the middle piece. Notice the hole in the middle where the steam is allowed to stream up to hit the strainer basket. The middle piece also catches the juices that fall from the cooked produce.
The top piece is the strainer basket. You'd be surprised how much produce can be put into this part. Plus as it cooks down, you can add more.
Here's a picture of Lucy washing a basket of tomatoes. My sink is large enough to actually fit an entire basket of them.
She washed them and I cut them into quarters and put them in the strainer basket.
Here you can see the tomato juice pouring out of the juicer into a pot. It's hot stuff.
Here are the tomatoes on their way to being cooked down.
I tried something else that worked really well too. I filled my huge roaster pan up with quartered tomatoes, onions and about 6 cloves of garlic and a hefty sprinkle of Italian seasoning. I put the whole thing in the oven at 400 degrees and roasted them. I went in and stirred them around a few times. It took a good 3-4 hours to cook them down but boy they sure did smell good.
Below is a picture of the roasted tomatoes, onions and garlic cooked down and ready for the food mill.
This is the food mill. You can do a google search for a Victorio strainer to see all the pieces and parts. Basically you have the hopper on top which feeds the produce into the strainer part. As you turn the handle it moves the produce straining out the peeling and seeds creating a perfectly pure sauce.
It's a bit of a mess but you can see the process. The sauce comes out the side and the peelings and seeds go out the back. I saved the peels and put them in the dehydrator. After they were dried, I put them in the food processor and turned them into a tomato powder. Now I can use them to make a paste or flavor a stew...etc.
Once the sauce is done, I fill add 2 tbl lemon juice to quarts, fill the jars with sauce, wipe rims, put on lids and rings and process them in a water bath canner. 40 min for quarts, 35 min for pints. (1 tbl of lemon juice for pints)

You can refer to my blog post for step by step instructions on how to can tomatoes using a blanching bath. storageskills.blogspot.com/2009/08/preparing-tomatoes-for-canning.html

I ended up with 30 quarts of sauce, 23 quarts of tomato juice and the dehydrated peels. What a blessing to have such a wonderful bounty.

Preparing Tomatoes for Canning

2009-08-25T07:48:00.001-07:00

I just got finished processing 13 baskets of tomatoes this last week. Everyone needs to know how to process tomatoes. In this blog post, I'll show you how to prep your tomatoes and can them in chunks. The only different with sauce is that you would blend the softened tomatoes and cook them down more so there is less water in it.

Let's begin: Bring a pot of water to boil. This will be used to blanch and peel the tomatoes. Do this first so that while you're prepping the tomatoes the water can start to heat up.

Aren't these tomatoes beautiful? Do you know that I will NOT eat a fresh tomato? I can't stand the taste of them. But, I'll eat anything made from a tomato. I'm a little strange. I do try a tomato once or twice a year to see if anything has changed. :)

Get all of your tomatoes washed off. I got these straight from my garden. I pick my tomatoes and put them in a colander that I bring to the garden with me. Makes it much easier to rinse and start eating. I do this with all my veggies from the garden.

This is just a picture of my pretty tomatoes. I grew all heirlooms this year. This are a paste tomato except for the big fat one, that's a Campbell's brand heirloom that I picked up at a plant sale this spring. I'm learning how to harvest seeds this year.

Once your tomatoes are washed, go ahead and with a knife, cut an X in the bottoms of the tomatoes. This will help you peel them easier once they've been blanched.

Fill up a big bowl or a sink with cold water and add some ice to it. You're going to want the water as cold as possible when you put the hot tomatoes in it. That will stop the cooking process and make the tomatoes easier to handle. It's hard to see the ice in this picture but there is some in there.

Once the water in the pot is boiling, put about 10-15 tomatoes in and let them boil for about 1-2 minutes. Depending on how ripe your tomatoes are--leave them in longer or shorter. You'll see the skins begin to crack and split or you'll see the X start to curl. Pull the tomatoes out and put them in your ice water.

Ahhhhh......Those maters feel so much better now that they're in the ice water. You can see how the skins are just falling off the tomatoes. Sometimes that will happen. Other times, if the tomato isn't quite ripe, you'll have to hand peel it.

In this picture, you can see how easy it is to peel. Grab the tomato so the X is facing up, and just pull down the skin with your fingers. Easy peesy!

I like to get the seeds, core and some of the liquid out of the tomato before I put them in jars. Here you'll see one half that I've seeded and cored and the other half before working my magic.

Now, just give it/them a rough chop.
Put the chopped tomatoes in a pot and bring them to a simmer. You're reducing the liquid a little more and softening the tomatoes. I've found in all my years doing this that cooking them down a bit makes for a prettier jar of tomatoes and you can get more in the jar. It's one more step than canning the tomatoes raw, you can do that too if you'd like. I've done it many times.

You will need to add some lemon juice to your tomatoes before you process them in a boiling water bath. Nowadays the tomatoes aren't as acidic as in the past and little beasties are developing to withstand regular tomato acidic. By increasing the acid with lemon juice, you're making sure the little beasties (very academic) can't grow in your stored jars.

1 Tbl in a pint

2 Tbls in a quart

I usually put the lemon juice in first so I can see that I did it. I just go around with my bottle of lemon juice and a tablespoon and fill up all my prepared jars.

Ladle in your tomatoes, wipe the rims and put on your warm lids and rings.

Process quarts 40 minutes in boiling water bath. Pints 35 mins.

Let cool on cooling rack over night. Remove rings and wipe around threads near the rim. Label with type and date and put them in your storage.

Coupon Basics

2009-05-10T17:30:00.001-07:00

I taught a VERY basic coupon class on Saturday and thought I'd share the powerpoint presentation here. I'm in NJ so there will be differences with store policies about coupons in different places of the country.

I welcome any other suggestions. This was very basic and I filled in with a lot of stories from my experiences of couponing over the last 10 years.

I welcome any suggestions to add to the ppt. I'll be teaching a similar class to an organization within Catholic Charities next month. So, I'm all for tweaking it.

Thank you.

Couponing 101

Flu Preps

2009-04-26T21:33:00.000-07:00

I've been meaning to write a little about prepping for a potential pandemic flu. Now, with the current state of affairs it's not too difficult to realize that this can actually happen.

I want to encourage everyone to gather a three month's supply of the food that you eat on a regular basis. Figure out about 5 meals that are common in your home. Take of example: spaghetti. In our family we have 6 children and 2 adults. We have to have 3 pounds of pasta for just one meal. If we eat spaghetti once a week, I'll need to store at least 36 boxes of pasta for a three month's supply. The same type of calculations are done for the ingredients for the sauce. If you buy canned sauce, then calculate how many you will need.

Continue doing this for all of the meals you've chosen. Remember to think of meals for breakfast as well. Also include fun foods that you're going to want to eat. Cookies, cake and brownie mixes, jello, instant pudding...etc.

Along with food, you're going to want to have N95 masks and surgical type gloves in storage. This is to prevent spreading or inhaling anything from the flu "of the day" to MRSA a nasty staph infection.

Learn how and teach your loved ones how to wash their hands correctly. When washing hands, lather the hands up generously and continue to scrub hands for the the amount of time it takes to sing "Happy Birthday". Then rinse hands in warm water. You'll need to wash hands after using alcohol-based hand sanitizer five times. The hand sanitizer just doesn't get into all the crevices of the hands and fingers.

BUT, please do include hand sanitizer in your storage. Get hold of small bottles of sanitizer so that EVERY member of the family carries it with them. Teach them how to use it and make it a normal part of their day.

Washing hands will be the greatest source of protection we have to fight against any funky things coming down the pike.

Bleach is also necessary to clean the surfaces of your home and other areas. Mix 1 tsp of bleach to one gallon of water. This mixture will only have potency for ONE day. You'll have to mix this up every day. My husband will be taking this in a spray bottle to the gym every day to spray down the equipment before he works out.

Keep your "outside of the house" footprint small. Combine all of your errands so you only have to be outside for a minimal amount of time. This is where the three month's supply comes in handy.

Add over the counter drugs and vitamins to your storage. Things like children's Tylenol and cough medicine may help with symptoms from the flu. The healthier you can make your body the better chance you will have of getting through this will as little stress as possible.

If you have more questions, please ask.

Container Gardening Class

2009-03-30T18:04:00.000-07:00

Last week I had the opportunity to teach a container gardening class to my stake. I was pleasantly surprised to see that over 50 people attended the class. I created a power point presentation vs. giving out a ton of handouts. I thought I'd post the link to my power point presentation that has been converted to a .pdf file.

Container Gardening Presentation

Thank you

2009-03-20T13:19:00.000-07:00

I'm still a little inept at figuring out the blog stuff. I just wanted to say THANK YOU to so many of you who have sent me your success stories about your own home storage efforts. I'm so proud of you. I don't know you but I'm thankful to you for all of your preparations. It makes me more determined to do more.

Keep up the good work. Please continue to write and tell me all the fun stuff you and your friends are doing. YAY FOR YOU!!!

Wendi in NJ

Online Canning Class

2009-03-10T17:17:00.001-07:00

I just took an online self-study course on Home Canning and Preservation offered by the the National Center for Home Food Preservation through the University of Georgia.

I have to say that I knew a lot but learned quite a bit as well. It also helped to solidify some things I was a bit shaky on. They have you take a pre-quiz before each section. I didn't pass the pre-quizzes but scored between 70-90%. After the section, you'll have the opportunity to take the same quiz up to two more times. If you pass the course with greater than 70%, you will be sent a certificate saying that you completed the course.

The course is free of charge. Click on this link http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/index.html and scroll to the bottom. You'll see a little sign that says "Preserving Food at Home--Self Study". Under that banner there will be a teeny tiny link to sign up for the course. It took about a week before I was sent the link and password for the actual course.

You have up to 6 months to complete it. Having done a bunch of canning, I didn't feel it necessary to actually go through the exercises they give you. They teach you to can apples, tomatoes and something else that slips my mind. If you mess up, they give you reasons for the problems. I did find it to be very helpful.

I completed the course in one day. If you're familiar with canning, it takes about 2 hours or so. I was also doing laundry, homeschooling and general mom stuff.

Let me know if you take the course and what you think.

2009-03-09T14:49:00.001-07:00

I've decided that I'll add some of my musings from my weekly emails I sent out to members of my church and others about food storage. Most of it is the sales from the different grocery stores each week. But, it's also a chance for me to communicate some preparedness thoughts. This is last week's.

I'm going to delve into your personal lives. Do you have a year's supply of toilet paper? Have you ever tried to figure that out? I'm not sure if I want to tell y'all how much TP I have saved, but....my goal is to have a roll/day. I have 8 people in my family. All of whom are potty trained now. And there are 5 girls to boot. So, like I said, I've got a goal of having at least 1 roll per day in storage. Depending on how quickly we catch the 3 year from unrolling it all ....I may need less or more. :) TP takes up a lot of space, BUT the good thing is that it doesn't require a cold, dark storage place like your food. Though, I would be thoughtful about where I store it because little rodents like the soft cushiness of Charmin just like we do. If you have extra Rubbermaid containers that you can put it in, you can store it in the attic or up in the rafters of the garage. You can also squish it down to put more in a container. I have a roll of TP in each of our 72 hours kits that's been vacuum packed with our food saver. If you have other suggestions, please let me know.

One more thing personal...feminine supplies. Please store these things. Just take a little wander into the world where you have nothing for yourself (if you're a woman) or your daughters or anyone else that may need your help. Again, they take up some space, BUT just like the TP, they don't require special storage conditions. It would be my suggestion that you pick up an extra package each time you go to the store. Don't wait until you need them. If you get them on sale, it's not too much of an extra burden. Plus, Kotex always has coupons available to make a package of pads right around $1.50-$2.00. That's not that bad. You've got to have them anyway, just make it a habit to grab a box each time you're at the store. You'll be surprised at how quickly that adds up. I encourage the men that read this to please support your wives in this extra expense. It'll make for a much happier wife in the long run. This is also something you may wish to add to your 72 hours kits. I'd put them in a plastic bag.

I'll tell y'all a little about myself. One that I"m sure will make you mock me, BUT I can handle it. Everyone has to start some where with food storage. I was a single woman living in Charlottesville Va with my own house (own mortgage). I did not have any food storage at all. Nothing! I got a letter from my aunt that encouraged me to start saving water in 2 litre soda bottles. That's where I started. Well, more specifically, I started with a 2 litre soda bottle filled with water and a GIANT box of Tampax tampons from Sam's Club. And the rest is history. :) If I can do it, anyone can. Trust me.

The Survivors Club widget

2009-02-20T16:00:00.001-08:00

Leave a comment and let me know which type of survivor you are. This is a great little quiz. I haven't read the book yet, but intend to purchase it within the next week. BTW, I'm a Thinker. Enjoy!

Applesauce Oatmeal Cookies

2009-01-21T12:05:00.001-08:00

Applesauce Oatmeal Cookies

Cream:
1 c shortening
2 c sugar

Add:
2 eggs
2 c applesauce (2 c dried apples, 2 c boiling water, let stand for 5 minutes)

Add and mix well:
2 tsp soda
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cloves

Add:
3 1/2 c flour
2 c oatmeal
1 c chopped nuts (optional)
1 c chocolate chips (optional)
1 c raisins (optional)

Mix well and drop by spoonfuls on greased baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees 10-12 minutes.

Note: I did add chocolate chips and nuts to mine. I also doubled up on the cinnamon.
Use a blender to create the applesauce for the cookies after they've soaked.

Apple Brown Betty

2009-01-21T11:59:00.001-08:00

Apple Brown Betty

Pour 2 c boiling water over 4 cups dried apples. Let stand at least 5 minutes.

Topping: Mix the following ingredients well:
1/2 c flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 c oatmeal
1/4 c brown sugar
Then cut in 1/4 c butter

Place the apples and liquid remaining in a greased 9 x 9 pan. Sprinkle the topping over the apples. Bake at 350 degrees for 55 minutes.

I doubled the recipe for the topping mix as I really really like the crunchy stuff. You could also add some chopped nuts to the topping mix if you like.

I sprinkled my ice cream with a little cinnamon...just to be fancy. :)

Dehydrated Apple Slices

2009-01-21T11:50:00.000-08:00

I've never really played with dehydrated food. Today I tried out two different recipes. Apple Brown Betty and Applesauce Oatmeal Cookies. Both were made with dehydrated apple slices that I got at the Home Storage Center many years ago. Seriously, at least 8 years ago.

The Apple Brown Betty was a cinch to make. I'd make that one again. It turned out to be more like an apple crisp. I would never have known it was made with 8 year old dehydrated apple slices.

The Applesauce Oatmeal Cookie were fine but I screwed them up. I made the mistake of not reading the directions on how to make applesauce from the apple slices. So, after soaking them, I had some brain warp that did not let me thing through the problem of how to make it into applesauce. I ended up using a ricer. Please don't do that. I ended up squirting apple guck all over the place including my hair and clothes. I can laugh about it though. I didn't have enough liquid nor enough riced apples. Why oh why did I not think to use the blender? I guess I've just shown how NOT to do something. That's also very important. Glad I could help.

I've included the recipes from the blog preparednessmatters.blogspot.com that I used today. All in all I was happy with my endeavors. Dehydrated food is not so scary after all.

Canning Chicken--let's begin

2008-11-09T16:33:00.000-08:00

I am using a Presto canner for this canning job. This Presto is a 23 quart pressure canner. They cost about $90 or so. I've seen them as cheap as $85 recently online. Usually with free shipping.

This canner will hold two layers of pints jars for a total of 18 jars. It also has a pressure gauge as you can see. This indicates the pressure for the canner.

I have a smaller Presto canner that doesn't have the dial gauge but just uses the weight jiggling as the measure of pressure.

I also have an All American Canner which does not have a rubber gasket it inside the lid. It is all metal on metal. The All American costs around $200 online. This canner should last forever because there is no danger of the gasket drying out and going bad.

Your first step in canning is to prepare your jars. Clean them thoroughly and check them for cracks or chips. Especially on the rim. Run your finger around the top of the rim, if you feel a rough spot or a chip, investigate it. If it's a chip in the glass, DO NOT use it.

My scientific explanation is that if there is a chip in the rim and you use the jar, little nasty yucky disease thingies can get into the jar and hurt you. You probably will not end up with a sealed lid anyway. Or the lid may seal temporarily and then unseal and you've wasted some food you worked really hard not to eat.

Ok, that's all the scary stuff about canning and it's all out of the way now. On with the show. Your jars are clean and ready to go.
I usually add 1/2 tsp of salt (I use sea salt) to the bottom of the jar. You do not have to use salt at all. It is completely optional.
I can most of my meat starting raw. I'll tell ya right now, canned hamburger that started raw in the jar looks just nasty. Chicken is not too bad. You'll see that at the end of the instructions here.

You can cook your meat first if looks are important to you. For some, they are. I have cooked my hamburger first and then canned it and it looks much nicer in the jar. I'll do a post for hamburger later and show you the difference.

Anyway, back to the chicken. I typically use chicken tenders because then I don't have to trim any fat or cut it up. You can use chicken breast or any other cut that you'd like.

Just start putting the raw chicken in the jar.

You are going to want to pack the jar very tightly. The chicken is going to cook while in the pressure canner and therefore reduce it's size. Squish it down in there.

I leave about 1/2 inch headspace in my jar. Head space is the amount of room from the top of the food to the top of the jar. You can see that I packed them just up between the start of the threads for the jar.
Pack all your jars and then get ready for the lids and rings.

Clean the Rims

2008-11-09T16:28:00.000-08:00

With a warm, damp towel or cloth, pinch the rim between your fingers and wipe the rims clean. Cleaning the rim, removes any little bits of food that could prevent the lid from sealing to the rim. This is especially important with super gooey foods like jam and peaches. But, always do it with every canning job.

For those who are still a little wary of canning meat, once you've wiped the rims, you can use a cotton swap dipped in alcohol and wipe the rims once more. Not necessary, but some do it.

Ready for the lids!

Lids and Rings

2008-11-09T15:38:00.000-08:00

Once the rims are wiped clean, it's time to put on the lids.

While preparing the jars and chicken, place the correct amount of lids in a pan with water to cover the lids. Pul the heat to low and just let them sit there while you're working.

This green magnet wand is great in picking out the lids from the hot water so you don't burn yourself. You can always use a fork or something to pull up the lids from the water.

Place the lids on the clean rims.

Screw on your bands tightly. Not so tightly that you break the jar. Just until the band is on snugly. It's just there to hold on the lids until they seal to the rims.
All the jars ready to go in the canner.

Loading the Canner

2008-11-09T15:31:00.000-08:00

My Presto canner starts with 4 quarts of water and about 1/2 cup or so of white vinegar. The vinegar will keep the canner clean and help with the odors.

Read you instruction manual for your canner and how much water it takes. You don't want your canner full more that half way once the jars are in. You need to allow for water displacement. (It's nice to know that elementary school science comes in to play.) Remember, you're not doing a water bath, we're using steam to process the jars. Therefore, less water is needed.

No need to have the water hot. The raw meat is cold so the jars are cold. There is so little water in the canner that it heats up quickly and heats up the jars along with it. You can start with cold water and cold jars.

The canner comes with a flat rack with holes in it that sets in the bottom of the canner. If you get a big canner, you'll need to order an extra rack so that you can put the second rack on top of the first layer of pint jars.

My large Presto canner has enough room for two layers of pint size jars. Here you see the bottom layer. I am able to get 9 regular mouth jars in very comfortably. When you're using wide mouth jars, just know that you won't get as many in per layer.

This is the second layer, which has been arranged just like the bottom layer. The second layer is sitting on top of a second rack, which is sitting on top of the first layer of jars.

Revving up the Canner!

2008-11-09T15:17:00.000-08:00

Before you put the top on the canner, take a quick look through the steam vent. Just to make sure it clear and open and not clogged.

Put the top on the canner and lock it into place.

Turn the heat up to HIGH. You're waiting for steam to start really streaming through the vent pipe. This picture is probably impossible to see the steam. But it's there, I promise.

Set the timer for 10 minutes to steam out the canner. This is to really fill the canner full of steam which will of course produce the pressure once the weight is put on.
After the ten minutes, place the weight or pressure regulator on the vent pipe.
On the Presto canners, there is a pressure gauge that will pop up to indicate the canner is full of pressure. If the gauge is UP, don't play with the weight or try to open the canner.

You'll process the meat 75 minutes at 10 lbs pressure for PINTS. 90 minutes at 10 lbs pressure for QUARTS. There will be quite a bit of heating up time and cooling down time. Start timing once the pressure gauge show 10 lbs. Or, if you don't have a gauge, when the weight starts to rock. Note: 10 lbs pressure is for 0-1000 feet altitude. Make sure you know your altitude an adjust pressure accordingly. I recommend purchasing the most recent Ball Blue Book of Canning and Preserving.

For a non-gauge canner, you'll want your weight to rock gently with a consistent movement. If there's too much time in between rocks, increase the heat. If the rocking starts to get violent, decrease the heat.
Don't mess with the canner while there is still pressure in it. Turn off the heat after the processing time is done. Let it cool down on it's own.

Once the gauge shows 0 and the pressure indicator is flush against the canner, you can open the canner. Just remember, it's HOT!

Almost Done!

2008-11-09T15:08:00.000-08:00

Be careful. Everything is very hot. Use your jar tongs to remove the jars from the canner. Put them on a cooling rack with a little space between each jar.

These jars are right out of the canner. It might be impossible to see that they're still boiling inside, but they are. Cool completely overnight. Check to make sure the lids sealed to the rim of the jar by tapping in the center. If the sound is hollow and there's a bit of a slight bump, the lid did not seal. Put it in the fridge and have it for dinner or reprocess it.

If the lid sound tinny and is firm in the middle, the lid sealed and you're good to go.
Remove the rings, wash each jar in hot, soapy water and dry and label with date and what's in the jar.
All washed up and ready for the storage room.

The chicken and other meat you can should be eaten in 1-2 years. As long as you still have a good seal on it, it'll be fine. It's just recommended to be eaten in a year or so.

I always smell mine and just check it out before I use it in a dish. Just to be on the safe side. I've lost a few jars of hamburger when a seal unsealed. No big deal, just throw it away.

Good luck!

Pressure Canning Meat

2008-11-07T15:28:00.000-08:00

1. Wash and prepare jars, lids and rings.

2. Optional: add 1 tsp salt to bottom of jar.

3. Pack raw meat tightly into prepared jars within 1/2 inch of top of jar.

4. Wipe rims of jars clean.

5. Put on warm lids and rings.

6. Read instructions for pressure canner. Fill with about 4 quarts of cool-warm water and 1/4 cup of white vinegar. The canner should not be filled more than 1/2 way with water.

7. Put filled jars in canner. Usually you can get 9 comfortably in canner. If you have a tall canner, place rack on top of first layer of jars and put the next layer in. This can only be done with pint jars or smaller.

8. Put lid of canner on and close tightly.

9. Turn burner on to high heat. The steam vent (small pipe on top of canner lid) will start to show steam as the water heats up.

10. Once the steam has a steady output, time it for 10 minutes before placing the weight on the vent.

11. Once the weight is on the steam vent, pressure will begin to build. The pressure valve will pop up which indicates that the canner is full of pressure.

12. Keep canner on high heat until the weight starts to rock or jiggle. If the rocking becomes violent, turn down the heat until the weight continues with a gentle rock. You'll be able to hear it rocking.

13. Don't worry if a small puddle of water accumulates under the weight or around the pressure valve.

14. If you have a canner with a gauge, build pressure to the amount indicated in the recipe. The weight on the steam valve will also rock. Turn down the heat to maintain the correct pressure.

15. Once the correct pressure is reached, begin timing. For pints of chicken and beef (no bones) the pressure is 10 lbs for 75 minutes (at sea level). For quarts of chicken and beef (no bones) the pressure is 10 lbs for 90 minutes.

16. Once the time is up, turn off the heat and let the canner depressurize. DO NOT TOUCH IT!!!

17. Once the pressure valve has dropped and is flush against the canner, you can open the lid.

18. Do not try to cool the canner other than just naturally.

19. The jars inside the canner are HOT. You'll see that the liquid inside the jars is boiling. The boiling will continue for a couple of hours.

20. The the jars cool on a cookie rack over night.

21. After the jars have cooled, remove the ring and wash each jar with hot soap and water. Dry and label them with what's in the jars and the month/year.

CONGRATULATIONS!!!