What are you canning now?

[rancher hicks]

When you pressure can meat, do you usually let the process of pressure canning do the cooking, or are there times you cook the meat first and then can? Sorry, I am SUCH a tenderfoot when it comes to canning. Just got my first water bath canner, but if I get brave I'm going to try what I mentioned a few days ago, get a pressure canner and try to put together the meat and vegetable and broth/gravy part of dinners so I can just heat and add to pasta, rice or starch for DH's dinners.

I hear ya. I'd like to do up some chili and soups. I hate soup with the mushie noodles, so I could do up some soup with out the noodles and then cook them later. Plus I could do up some chicken for recipes.

 

[mickey328]

I pre-cooked the hamburger and covered it with beef stock. The beef roast and chicken I packed raw and let the processing cook it. It ends up making it's own juice. Canned pasta tends to turn out just like the commercially canned stuff...all mushy. Chili comes out great, though...it's the first thing I ever pressure canned. I did all the meat separately so I'll have it without thawing for a meal. While it's heating through, I can open a can of vegetables I canned and do up some potatoes, rice or pasta pretty quickly.

 

[sonew123]

15 jars of hot pepper jelly...most is sold already
10 pints of split pea soup

 

[mickey328]

Wow, I envy the fact that you sell your stuff! I could put up a lot more stuff than I do, but we can only eat and give away so much, LOL

 

[erinszoo]

I sell jams and jellies every year at Christmas. People give it away as gifts and pay me $3.50 for a half pint. I sold 46 jars last year the week before Christmas. Not a bad bonus. People tend to like apple butter and strawberry jam although I sold about 12 jars of blackberry jam last year. I wish they still made those 6 oz jars. They were the perfect size for giving as gifts in a basket of things.

 

[rancher hicks]

I'm not that experienced to sell anything. I do like to give it as gifts, but I hate that I don't always get the jars back.

You folks who sell must order jars wholesale. right?

 

[sonew123]

I'm not that experienced to sell anything.  I do like to give it as gifts, but I hate that I don't always get the jars back.

You folks who sell must order jars wholesale.  right? 

Erinzoo...3.50$ no way! Waaay to cheap...I buy my jars wherever I can get them cheap...garage sales..and my jar pimp..mommahen I dont spend over 7$ a case new with lids and bands...used...no more than 4$ a case because of buying lids and bands...when I consider price..i just say 1$ per jar in cost...makes it easier to deal with...I have 40+ cases in my back room and have used 25cases of all sizes thus far? I am always looking no matter how many I have!

Most dont return thm to me either;( but when they do...I give them .50 credit towards their next purchase...Some folks are great and return everyone !

 

[Pozees]

I pre-cooked the hamburger and covered it with beef stock. The beef roast and chicken I packed raw and let the processing cook it. It ends up making it's own juice. Canned pasta tends to turn out just like the commercially canned stuff...all mushy. Chili comes out great, though...it's the first thing I ever pressure canned. I did all the meat separately so I'll have it without thawing for a meal. While it's heating through, I can open a can of vegetables I canned and do up some potatoes, rice or pasta pretty quickly.

Agree no point in canning cooked pasta, but never thought about just canning each ingredient separately so each meal could be slightly different, I like that idea! Also want to can some chile - it takes the better part of a day to make it, so I make a lot, then wind up freezing most of the leftovers, but making an extra large batch and canning sounds far superior - no thawing!

Which book entitled Complete Book of Home Preserving are you recommending? I did a search on Amazon and found several with nearly identical names.

One more question - has anyone ever tried canning homemade cat food?

 

[mickey328]

That was exactly my intent! Sometimes ya just have a craving for chili, and since it takes so long, I never make just a little bit. Plus I like to have it sit for a day or two before eating...it just tastes better. I did mine in pint jars which with some nice fresh bread is about enough for a nice meal for one. That way, if we had a craving, I could just open a jar and heat it up.

Freezer space seems to always be at a premium in our house, plus meals are often needed on the fly because we work odd hours. So I can't always decide the day before to get a roast out and then have time to cook it when we can sit down and eat. With having everything in a jar, whoever wants whatever...it's just a matter of opening it up, heating and eating. Next I'm going to try canning some potatoes and see how they turn out. If they're good, that'll be one more thing we can open, heat and eat; want roast beef, potatoes and green beans...open 3 jars, heat and eat.

When I made my first batch of crabapple jelly, I got the Ball book on canning and used it a lot. Now, I mostly search online...there's lots more recipes and I get great ideas on sites like this one

 

[rancher hicks]

That was exactly my intent! Sometimes ya just have a craving for chili, and since it takes so long, I never make just a little bit. Plus I like to have it sit for a day or two before eating...it just tastes better. I did mine in pint jars which with some nice fresh bread is about enough for a nice meal for one. That way, if we had a craving, I could just open a jar and heat it up.

Freezer space seems to always be at a premium in our house, plus meals are often needed on the fly because we work odd hours. So I can't always decide the day before to get a roast out and then have time to cook it when we can sit down and eat. With having everything in a jar, whoever wants whatever...it's just a matter of opening it up, heating and eating. Next I'm going to try canning some potatoes and see how they turn out. If they're good, that'll be one more thing we can open, heat and eat; want roast beef, potatoes and green beans...open 3 jars, heat and eat.

When I made my first batch of crabapple jelly, I got the Ball book on canning and used it a lot. Now, I mostly search online...there's lots more recipes and I get great ideas on sites like this one

There are so many recipes for jellies and jams. Good garden o' peas, you just can't make them all. Some I've made I won't again since no one eats them very much.