Feeling like suzy homemaker today.. & its freakin' me out!

[Momagain1]

Quote:
OOH I LOVE that idea!!! Can we do it again? I'll head it up if you all want!!!

never heard of chokecherry jam!! I'mmaking watermelon jelly in July when they are dirt cheap here!!

 

[Momagain1]

todays work

canned red beans; ready to add into ANY dish that calls for them!:

and strawberry jam...

 

[Terri O]

WOW you are a busy lady Momagain! I saw that you are already on the other canning thread. THanks for that blog link BTW! I will have to check out her FB page too...so much to read on here all the time! I need to put the computer away NOT read all about what I should be doing.
I am sure that you can head up a swap. I think more people are on the other thread. Post it there and see what happens...we did 2 half pints or 1 pint to keep mailing costs down; but you can do whatever you want. All that is really needed is matching up the participants and making sure everyone knows the rules.

I really want to can up some beans too...seems like a much better idea than buying them in a can all the time. Some days there is just not enough time to cook them from dry! My books have different timing on the processing. What times and pressure do you used for yours and is it different for different types of beans?

Thanks! Terri O

 

[Momagain1]

I use the ball blue book for canning..its the holy grail of canning books lol..

I canned my soaked, then boiled 30 min only, red beans for 11 pounds pressure for 75 min, quarts would have been 90 min


**I read that you soak them in salted water**

mine look lovely today!

 

[PineappleMama]

Shepherd's Pie for supper... can't get more traditional than that.

Here's the recipe I'm using (posted on Cooks.com by a Brit) if anyone cares to give it a go...

1 lb lean lamb, minced
1 large onion, sliced
1 medium carrot, chopped
1 stick celery, chopped
enough beef stock to cover (I used 4 cups in mine)
salt
pepper
3 to 4 tsp corn starch or 2 Bisto (if you know what it is) and 1 corn starch
2 lbs good mashing potatoes
4 oz butter
salt
pepper

Let's get this right and the best way: Add minced lamb into a casserole dish, add onion, carrot, celery, beef stock, corn starch and/Bisto/corn starch, salt and pepper, to taste, and stir.

Cook in a slow oven, say 275°F for 2 hours. You can do all this on stove top for about 20 minutes BUT the flavor is never the same.

When complete, drain off gravy and reserve.

Boil and mash potatoes with milk, butter, salt and pepper, however DO NOT make it into a wet paste. It should be firm and almost chunky.

Add back enough gravy to the meat to make it moist. Gently add the potato to the top and build up. Spread with a fork, finally making fork marks both up and down and across to form a basket like pattern.

Put oven temperature at 400°F, then bake until potato is crispy and golden on the peaks (about) 30 minutes.

Serve with remaining gravy and steamed cabbage (preferably Savoy, if you can get it). NO CHEESE, PLEASE.

I've only ever had MIL's version... which is beef (that'd be cottage pie but she calls it shepherd's, even though she knows perfectly well that shepherds don't raise cows) with mushrooms and green beans and cheese and cream of mushroom soup and I donno what else in it... but it always, like clockwork, messes up the works so I did NOT want to use that recipe... plus I kinda have this THING about traditions sometimes... get all stickler about it? Anywho, I'll let y'all know how it goes once it's done...