| Author |
Farm Kitchen:  Canning Chili and such  |
|
|
wildshannon
Farmgirl at Heart
7 Posts
shannon
chickaloon
alaska
USA
7 Posts |
 Posted - Oct 18 2007 : 4:29:46 PM
|
| I'm leaving my husband and son home alone for 3 weeks (going to see my grandbabies in Texas). They are very good about cooking for themselves but lately have been working over 16 hour days on our new adventure (a log Lodge/Retreat Center for young married couples). I just canned pumpkin cake/bread for them - that's dessert. Now I need to can some staples. Something they can dump out of a jar/ heat/ pour over rice/ noodles. Looking for chili, soups, sauces, etc. Tomorrow I'm going to try my hand at canning beans. Has anyone every canned their homemade chili with beans and meat already in it? What about spagetti sauce -- ever canned it with the noodles? I'd love to hear from you gals about your favorite canned meal. Oh, and the reason I can't just put all of this in the freezer is because we live off the grid/ the small freezer is already full. Thanks for any responses. Shannon Wilder in Chickaloon Alaska |
|
|
Hideaway Farmgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
1553 Posts
Jo
Virginia
USA
1553 Posts |
Posted - Oct 19 2007 : 08:44:03 AM
|
Wow, Shannon, I admire you and your family for living off the grid! Are you able to make "regular" recipes and then can them, if so, there are tons on the Kitchen forum here. And, my DH's aunt used to can steak ... seriously, she would cut up beef pieces and can them in broth, then reheat and make easy meals.
No idea how pasta or rice products would work; but thinking of soups and sauces that we buy in the store, I would think they could be safely canned, especially if the products are going to be consumed sooner rather than later (weeks or months). I was also thinking that beef strogonoff might be able to be canned, pasta and all.
Let us know how you do! Also, do you have a way to fuel a crockpot where your DH could dump in the list of ingredients for one recipe that you bundled together ahead of time, and let it cook all day while they are working? Each time they did that, it that could make meals for a night or two. Worst case, teach the guys how to boil water and cook two nights worth of rice ro pasta at a time, then reheat the leftovers to go with the next night's meal.
Speaking of bundling ingredients together for them, you could take various canned veggies and place them in a bags or containers, where again the guys would only need to open the jars, pour into a pan, mix together and heat them up.
Good luck, and let us know how it goes!
Jo
"Wish I had time to work with herbs all day!" |
 |
|
|
Hideaway Farmgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
1553 Posts
Jo
Virginia
USA
1553 Posts |
Posted - Oct 19 2007 : 08:46:26 AM
|
Post script: I just googled: canning chili and found a ton of links. Won't post them all here but if you google the canning sites there are specific canning instructions for each recipe.
Jo
"Wish I had time to work with herbs all day!" |
|
|
|
Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
Posted - Oct 19 2007 : 09:39:17 AM
|
I can meat and beans all the time...like Jo said..just google ..it is amazing!! I don't ever can things with rice or pasta in them as they tend to disintigrate and get yucky..much better to cook them up as needed and pour your canned goodies over them. I can my chicken or veggie soups and then add rice or noodles afterwards too.
I LOVE having canned convenience items on hand!! Have fun!!
Jenny in Utah
Inside me there is a skinny woman crying to get out...but I can usually shut her up with cookies
http://www.auntjennysworld.blogspot.com/ visit my little online shop at www.auntjenny.etsy.com |
|
|
|
wildshannon
Farmgirl at Heart
7 Posts
shannon
chickaloon
alaska
USA
7 Posts |
Posted - Oct 19 2007 : 10:41:55 AM
|
Thanks gals. I'm off to the big city to pick up supplies and more canning jars( 2 hour drive). The problem with the crock pot concept is.... I can't use one. They take sooo much electricity. I cook almost all of my meals in a pessure cooker or dutch oven. Right now the wind isn't blowing (100 ft. wind turbine) and the sun (solar panels) isn't shinning so there's no extra power to be had. I had to get my son to turn on the generator this morning so I could blow dry my hair before heading out into the feezing cold. Whenever I head down to the lower 48 to squeeze my grandbabies, I stock the freezer with homemade burritos, pulled pork for b-b-q for sandwiches, frozen individual lasagna, etc. They just mentioned that the last time I was gone, they wanted beans. Canned those for them yesterday. They look good too. I canned pumpkin cake last week -- yummy. Most of the time my guys are pretty self sufficient. They cook their own breakfast -- homemade biscuits and all. Make their own lunches too. It's just that right now they are soo busy building, trying to get the foundation/ floor joists in before the deep white stuff starts stacking up (that would be snow). Tomorrow, I'll google "canning chili" and get busy with that. I think I've just about decided that I will cook that brown rice up ahead to time and freeze it. Thanks for all the help. Have a great day.
May God's Blessings pour out on you today !! Shannon in Chickaloon Alaska |
|
|
|
wildshannon
Farmgirl at Heart
7 Posts
shannon
chickaloon
alaska
USA
7 Posts |
Posted - Oct 20 2007 : 9:48:53 PM
|
| Well, it was another day of canning. Today I got the chili canned. It turned out great too. I soaked a 1/4 cup of dry beans in the bottom of the jar in boiling water for an hour before I cupped the hot chili on top of it. Cooked up too much moose meat for it though... so had about a pound left over. It will be great in tacos tomorrow night. Also canned a whole bag of Costco chicken breasts so the guys can make chicken salad while I'm gone. I had lots of power today with the sun shinning bright so took advantage of that too and got 4 loads of laundry done. Looking forward to having our day of rest tomorrow even though it takes us 2 hours to get to church from Chickaloon. Hope all of you gals are having a great weekend. Has anyone down in the states gotten snow yet? We woke up to our first real snow this morning --- it is so pretty. Looks like winter wonder land. God Bless America. Shannon in Chickaloon |
|
|
|
Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
Posted - Oct 20 2007 : 10:11:54 PM
|
Sounds like you had a wonderful productive day for sure!! I love days like that..
and YES..we have had snow a couple other times..but today it snowed HARD and for hours and hours...and it stuck..it is cold out there, so I imagine it will still be there in the morning...our first real snow of the year. I milked my cow at 9:30 and brrrrr..it took over an hour to thaw out my nose and ears when I came inside!!
You never know here whether we will get October snow or none to speak of until December. I like it alot..but I do have stuff to finish up outside before real winter sets in.
Yum..I havn't had moose meat in awhile..it is one of my favorites..elk is my MOST favorite.
Jenny in Utah
Inside me there is a skinny woman crying to get out...but I can usually shut her up with cookies
http://www.auntjennysworld.blogspot.com/ visit my little online shop at www.auntjenny.etsy.com |
|
|
|
Shirley
True Blue Farmgirl
734 Posts
Shirley
Olympia
Wa
USA
734 Posts |
Posted - Oct 20 2007 : 11:43:58 PM
|
| Please remember you have to can meat in a pressure cooker canner!! |
|
|
|
wildshannon
Farmgirl at Heart
7 Posts
shannon
chickaloon
alaska
USA
7 Posts |
Posted - Oct 22 2007 : 1:23:43 PM
|
thanks Shirley for reminding people of that. And yes, I did use a pressure canner. I even cooked the chicken breast almost all the way in my pressure cooker. Then canned it (90 minutes at 10-11 #'s). I told my husband to make sure that the lids are hard to get off and pop -- then smell it. If in doubt, throw it out. They all seemed to seal just fine though so I don't expect any problems. I'm heading off tomorrow night on the red-eye out of Anchorage and won't arrive in Dallas until noon the next day (just LOVE those over nighters!! NOT !!). But it's all worth it when those chubby little arms squeeze my neck and call me "meme". I'm dosing up on emergen C's since one has been sick and the other one is coming down with it. So, keep me in your prayers. There's a lot of illnesses going around this fall. Thanks again and have a great day. Shannon in Chickaloon Alaska
May it all be to HIS glory !! |
|
|
|
Shirley
True Blue Farmgirl
734 Posts
Shirley
Olympia
Wa
USA
734 Posts |
Posted - Oct 22 2007 : 11:29:18 PM
|
| Have a good trip and say Hi to Alaska for me :) I havent been there for awhile and I loved it. |
|
|
| |
Farm Kitchen: Canning Chili and such |
|
Canning Chili and such
