A little of what I've been up to...

I made 17 jars of tomato juice today & 17 jars of tomato sauce. In the picture are some jars of pasta/spaghetti sauce I made a couple of days ago.

Tomorrow I've got a bushel of tomatoes & peppers waiting to be made into chunky salsa. Whew...

More food storage

Today I've got some sad news...a gopher has killed one of my big yellow squash plants. -Stinker-
Also most of my cucumbers!!!

Anyhow, the good news is I picked a batch of green beans yesterday. Also our ton of potato plants will be harvested over the weekend so I'm hoping for a good crop of them. The fun/neat thing about potatoes is it's like you're digging up burried treasure. You never know what you've got until you dig!

Today I will be freezing squash & making a couple of squash casseroles to freeze for busy nights. Also more bell peppers to freeze. I'm going to make some stuffed bell peppers (the same recipe I shared here) to freeze as well.

This and a quick trip to the library & my mom's should keep us busy for the day.

Deals this week...CARROTS

It's not advertised, but Super 1 has 5lb bags of whole carrots for $2.50 so that's .50 lb. Anyhow, here's what I did...
1. Bought some carrots.
2. Peel, wash, & slice them into rounds.
3. Blanch in salted water for 3-5 minutes.
4. Allow to dry a little on a clean towel.
5. Place into freezer bags & freeze.
Use just as you would any other frozen carrots but feel happy that you spent way less!
Don't foget that carrots are good for your eyes...Did you ever see a rabbit wearing glasses???

Sweet potato count...

I used a few from my other box & ended up with 19 qts and 1 pint of sweet potatoes!!!

Buying in Bulk

For a few months now I've been a happy member of a local food co-op. Now I get to order things in bulk. While there is an initial bigger check to write, I've found I'm saving some money in the long run. Most of the products are organic. So I thought I'd share what I've gotten so far:

soft white wheat berries, 25# bags

hard white wheat berries, 25# bags

pinto beans, 25# bags

ground cinnamon, 1#

basil, 1#

sesame seeds, 1#

onion powder, 1#

frozen rhubarb, 12 packages

I think that's all that I've ordered so far. The catalogs have SO much to chose from. We try to eat as natural & organic as we can, but it does get costly sometimes. I'm in the process of budgeting how I can get some more things. So far I've come up with $100 to be my budget. I spend about that at the grocery/discount stores per week so if I just replenish our milk & a couple of necessities to be bought that week I can buy some things in bulk that month.

I've introduced my sister to this too & that way if we want we can split some things. -like the rhubarb. (you can't find it anywhere around here)

I store my bulk in white 5 gallon buckets I bought new at a paint store. Make sure to get some with a good seal for the lid. Also in case you were wondering about the spices as I was...the onion powder filled 1 quart canning jar. The same for the sesame seeds & cinnamon. The basil fit tightly into 3 quart jars. Guess I'm set on basil for quite some time! :)

All-around home organization...

I didn't want to say at the time, but my children were on vacation to Alabama & Virginia with my mother for a couple of weeks. So I was here all alone during the work days. I got so much accomplished though & worked out a few things around the home that I'd been putting off for one reason or another.

In my home binder: a new monthly menu planned, pantry/shopping lists, bills in order, & new daily routines printed out

In my home: kitchen floor down, cubbords wiped down & organized, fridge wiped down & organized, all bookshelves organized, slip covers washed, bathroom cabinets all washed & organized, I also bought a potato/onion bin at a yard sale for $5 and love it...now I just need 2 more!

Homeschool: All books ordered & are now here ready to go, put a couple things on ebay, school supplies bought

I had plenty of extra time on my hands so I was able to accomplish alot. I mostly wanted to get things in order so come school time we can get back to a routine & be able to basically "upkeep" what was done.

Another thing I worked on was scheduling in a baking/cooking day. Now I prepare the majority of our meals anyway, but I am meaning like a day to bake our weekly bread & extras to freeze. I'm really trying to keep eating healthier and part of the drawbacks to all scratch meals is time. I usually have the time, but when it's getting late & we've been out or whatever then it's like what do I do now. So I made up a few things that are in the freezer now & will make at least 1 extra thing on baking day to keep it stocked.

Right now I have 2 meals frozen:

chili & vegetable barley soup

Other I made:

1 gallon bag filled with french toast

1 bag of pancakes

2 loaves strawberry bread

2 single layer zucchini cakes

All made with low or no sugar (honey) and my freshly ground flour so they are more healthy.

Old Fashioned Peach Jam

Our last peach tree was picked the other day. Small peaches, but tasty. So I made a batch of peach jam. The insides were very dark so my jam looks more like a very bright fushia instead of peachy in color. ~It looks pretty~

Old Fashioned Peach Jam

4 cups peaches (peeled, pitted, & mashed)
5 1/2 cups sugar --yep, jam takes alot
2 T. lemon juice
1 box pectin

Pour peaches & lemon juice into a pot. Then sprinkle with the pectin. Stir. Bring to a rolling boil. Then add all the sugar at once. Stir until boils again. Allow to boil for 1 full minute. (sugar should be dissolved) Then pour into clean jars. Wipe rims & put lids & bands on. Turn upside down on a towel & let set for 5 minutes. Then flip up-right & let set until sealed. (You can also waterbath can these, but this works) --Make sure the lids have sealed after a few hours. If not refrigerate the ones that didn't & use that first.

Homemade Relish

I made squash relish today. It tastes really good & can be used in the same way you would use sweet pickle relish.

Squash Relish

10 cups finely shredded squash (I used zucchini & yellow)
3 T. salt

Wash squash & cut out most of the seeds. Then shred it. I put mine through the food processor. Then put it in a bowl & sprinkle with the salt. Allow this to set in the fridge overnight.

Next day- Drain off the water. Put it into a big pot & then add:

1 tsp. celery seed
1 tsp. ground turmeric
2 1/2 cups white vinegar
5 cups sugar

Stir & bring this to a boil. Allow to simmer for 30 minutes.
Then put into clean jars.
You may water bath can this, but if it's boiling and you get the seals & bands on it will seal on the counter.

This made 11 half-pint/jelly jars full.

Food Storage...

Hubby helped me put the food up yesterday which made it much easier & fun. So we can now add to our list:

4 pints + 4 half-pints Apple butter

3 gallons Sliced peaches (frozen)

5 Quarts + 1 pint more pasta sauce

9 pints more enchilada sauce

Today I'm going to shred up the zucchini and put into freezer bags. I do this in 2 cup portions as that is the amount I use for soups, zucchini bread/muffins & for zucchini cornbread.

Zucchini cornbread (or could be called fritters)

1 c. corn meal

1/4 c. flour

1 level tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. soda

1 tbsp. sugar

1 tbsp. buttermilk

1 c. shredded squash (1 cup if fresh, 2 cups if frozen & squeeze all the water out that you can)

Mix dry ingredients real well. Add enough boiling water to make stiff dough. Add buttermilk and squash. Mix well. Drop by spoonfulls into a hot cast iron skillet with hot oil. Cook until golden on both sides.

This is great by itself or served along side a bowl of soup, red beans & rice, or beef tips & rice!

Salsa & Canning

I've got tons of tomatoes sitting on my counter & porch waiting to fully ripen. So tomorrow we will be making & canning salsa. There are several recipes here http://www.salsagarden.com/Canning_Salsas.html We will be using the "Home Canned Salsa" recipe. I will need to run to the store to get some onions, salt, & seals but other than that I have enough to make probably at least 5 batches.

My husband & son really like their salsa! lol

So far this season I've canned & stored:

strawberry preserves

Green beans

whole new potatoes

chopped potatoes

tomato juice

crushed tomatoes

enchilada sauce

pasta/spaghetti sauce

pizza sauce

Still in pantry from last season:

dill pickle spears

dill pickle slices

bread & butter pickles

pickled squash & onions

cowboy candy (candied jalapenos)

jalapeno pepper slices

banana pepper slices

green tomato salsa

It may seem strange, but it's so neat to open the pantry and see things that we've grown & preserved ourselves. ~Hard work pays off~

*SALES FLASH* of the week

Ok. Here's what I found:
Super 1 Foods:
Chicken of the Sea tuna .50 a can. There are certain things that if a certain price or lower I buy a bunch. So...I bought 20 and to be honest if I didn't just pay for the pond & land work I probably would have bought 40!!! (put them in your pantry/food storage)
Also not advertised they had food club brand tomato soup 3/$1 so I bought several of these too because it's my daughter's favorite soup to dunk a grilled cheese into. ~smile~

Food Storage...

I must be honest, cooking & canning I know how to do, but the food storage aspect is fairly new to me. I am going to do my best this year to preserve at least most of the vegetables, sauces, & meats that we will use.

I've printed up some lists of things that I feel we "need" in the household & then food & other items that maybe aren't 100% necessities, but things we like to have around. ~example...peroxide is a need in case of injury, ketchup we all like but would survive without. lol

Today I thought I'd start with meats.

I must admit I'm blessed with the fact that other than a couple of chickens a month or some canned tuna I have not had to purchase meat at a grocery store in about 2 years!

I never thought that was possible, but here's how we have done it.

Beef- a friend raises a cow for us that will be ready in the fall. Come next spring we will be raising our own steer!

Pork- we raise our own hogs

Venison- I'm lucky to have 2 hunters that usually get at least a couple of deer a year, sometimes more.

Fish- I've also got fishermen. We live about 5 miles from a big lake so we usually have bream, catfish, perch, & bass in the freezer.

I have not canned meat, but I have canned the stock & it's delicious.I saw a recipe online for a chunky type beef stew that you can. I plan on trying this and also canning some of the beef in chunks this in broth.There are many recipes online to do this & my pressure canner came with some recipes as well.

Anyone have anything to share about this? Any recipes for storing meats? Just leave me a comment...

Canning tomato juice

Here is the easiest way I've found so far...

First go out to your garden & pick all of the red tomatoes. *If you don't have a garden, you may buy them at a farmers market, from a neighbor, or at the store if you must. Now, make a note to yourself.

~Dear self,

Plant a garden next year!

Next, wash the tomatoes in cool water.

Cut out the stem and any bad spots out.

Place them in a blender & blend.

Pour the beautiful pink colored juice into a big soup/stock pot.

Bring this to a boil then turn it down to a simmer.

Allow to simmer for about 1 hour. ~Until it's the desired consistancy you like. The more you cook it, the thicker it will become.

Now ladle this into your clean canning jars.

Whipe the rims, put on lids, & place in water bath canner.

When water is boiling process for 30 minutes.

Carefully remove jars and allow to set untouched until the seal "pops."

Notice you do not have to peel the tomatoes? If you've done this before you will appreciate that you don't have to fool with that!