water barrel rack

workshop info...

Well, we had another successful food storage workshop! We were all inspired to plant, can and store food. As promised, I am updating the blog with info from the workshop.

To view the amazing Mountain House products, visit www.thereadystore.com. Then, compare the products with the workshop price list (which is cheaper than the website pricing-you can get a copy of the current pricing by e-mailing me at jewelcharm@hotmail.com). The due date for Mountain House orders is this Saturday, July 28th.

The Milk Orders get placed on Tuesday the 24th. The shelf-safe milk is exactly like 'real' milk except for the fact that it was processed at a higher temperature and all the bacteria has been killed. It has the same nutritional value, vitamin D, calorie count, taste (very important), AND it's hormone free!!! You can also check out Anna and Becki's blog at www.rugettingprepared.blogspot.com to find out more info on the shelf stable milk, as well as info regarding wheat grinders, sun ovens and more!

You can check out the awesome box gardens at www.boxgardensandmore.com to learn about how you can purchase a pre-fabricated box garden that is delivered to your doorstep! They provide an easy and fun way to grow your own food, weed free! I think we were all inspired to begin gardening. John Chapman (master gardener) quoted President Kimball regarding how the day will come when we will not be able to buy food at any price. Yikes!

So, let's start preparing so we can all enjoy peace of mind!

Bottled Butter Instructions

***We were recently sent an e-mail that states that this method is not safe at all and could result in serious sickness or possibly death - please research this further and decide for yourself***

(I haven't tried this yet, but got it from someone who attended the workshop that has done it. I look forward to trying it soon.)

1. Use any butter that is on sale. Lesser quality butter requires more shaking (see #5 below), but the results are the same as with the expensive brands.

2. Heat pint jars in a 250 degree oven for 20 minutes, without rings or seals. One pound of butter slightly more than fills one pint jar, so if you melt 11 pounds of butter, heat 12 pint jars. A roasting pan works well for holding the pint jars while in the oven.

3. While the jars are heating, melt butter slowly until it comes to a slow boil. Using a large spatula, stir the bottom of the pot often to keep the butter from scorching. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes at least: a good simmer time will lessen the amount of shaking required (see #5 below). Place the lids in a small pot and bring to a boil, leaving the lids in simmering water until needed.

4. Stir the melted butter from the bottom to the top with a soup ladle or small pot with a handle; pour the melted butter carefully into heated jars through a canning jar funnel. Leave ½” of head space in the jar, which allows room for the shaking process.

5. Carefully wipe off the top of the jars, then get a hot lid from the simmering water, add the lid and ring and tighten securely. Lids will seal as they cool. Once a few lids “ping” shake while the jars are still warm, but cool enough to handle easily, because the butter will separate and become foamy on top and white on the bottom. In a few minutes, shake again, and repeat until the butter retains the same consistency throughout the jar.

6. At this point, while still slightly warm, put the jars into a refrigerator. While cooling and hardening, shake again, and the melted butter will then look like butter and become firm. This final shaking is very important! Check every 15 minutes and give the jars a little shake until they are hardened in the jar! Leave in the refrigerator for an hour.

7. Canned butter should store 3-5 years or longer on a cool, dark shelf. It does last a long time. Canner butter does not “melt” again when opened, so it does not need to be refrigerated upon opening, provided it is used within a reasonable length of time.

All Things Food Storage

This is an email I got from my cousin Tawni... which comes from her cousin Sonya. These are AMAZING prices for grains, buckets with gamma lids, etc. It sounds like the order is getting placed on Wednesday and money needs to be received before your order is placed. Her email is at the bottom if you have questions.

I've done a lot of research and narrowed it down to the following web
sites. I'll try to briefly explain each one and you can decide what you
are interested in. Please feel free to contact me with any
questions!

www.wheatmontana.com
www.beprepared.com
www.western-plastics.com


Wheat Montana~ These grains have a lot to offer for nutrition. If you
order the berries, they will sprout! You can order any grain that they
sale. All I ask is that for ordering sake, you order the largest bags they
have. If you want to split it with someone, please work that out for
yourself. You will pay about $5-$6 less than is on the website (that is
even after considering tax and shipping). We will be order over 5,000
pounds!!

Be Prepared (Emergency Essentials)~ We will be ordering
buckets with Gamma Lids. If you are not familiar with Gamma Lids, they are
the ones that seal the bucket while screwing the lid on and off (not having to
pry it off!). These are much easier to get in and out of. Perfect
for storing large amounts of flour, sugar, etc. You would pay,
say for a 5 gallon bucket with Gamma Lid, $15.75 not including tax. I am
getting them for $10.

Western Plastics~ We are ordering the the
food grade clear containers. Focusing on the 1 gallon, 1/2 gallon and
quart size. These are excellent for storing flour, sugar, snacks, rice,
oats, etc. on your pantry shelves. You can see what is in them and
they will seal, so they will stay fresh much longer. We will be ordering
with the metal, rubberized ring lids (seals it), unless you indicate that you
want the plastic lids (good for storing crayons, etc.) Say, for instance,
you are going to order the 1/2 gallon container w/ the metal lid. You
would pay around $8 for it. We will be getting them for around $4!!!
The plastic lids are a bit cheaper.

These are very exciting
prices!! I want all of you to enjoy the savings. We will be placing
the order on JUNE 18th. If you want to order, I will need your order and
your money BEFORE hand. If I have your order and not your money, I will
not place your order. (I don't want to get stuck footing the bill!!)
We are placing huge orders (over a hundred people interested so far!!) So,
you can understand why I have to be strict!!

Thanks!!
Sonya
Goodfellow
480-354-9574
480-529-9574

msgoodfellow92@msn.com

Cherry Pie Filling

Makes about 4 (32 oz) quarts or 8 (16 oz) pints

Ingredients:
15 cups red tart cherries (about 10 lbs)
3-1/2 cups sugar
1 cup ClearJel starch (maxigel or ultragel can be used as alternatives)
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 cups juice (I used 1 cup pomegranate juice and 1 cup white peach grape juice, because that is what I had on hand. Just don't use citrus juices for this step.)
1/4 cup lemon juice
4 (32 oz) quart or 8 (16 oz) pint preserving jars

Directions:
1.) Stem and pit cherries
2.) PREPARE boiling water canner.
3.) Heat jars in microwave by placing a small amount of water inside each jar and microwaving them. Pull one out at a time when you are ready to fill them. Meanwhile, boil lids for three minutes.
3.) WHISK together 2 cups juice, sugar, ClearJel and cinnamon in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Boil until thickened and mixture begins to bubble. Add lemon juice. Return to a boil and boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add cherries all at once. Return to a boil, stirring constantly but gently. Remove from heat.
4.) LADLE hot pie filling into hot jars leaving 1 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Wipe rim. Center hot lid on jar. Apply band and adjust until fit is fingertip tight.
5.) PROCESS filled jars in a boiling water canner 35 minutes for pints and quarts. Remove jars and cool. Check lids for seal after 24 hours. Lid should not flex up and down when center is pressed. Store and enjoy!

Quick Tip: Store chocolate cake, instant chocolate pudding mix and shelf stable milk & whipping cream for Black Forest Cherry Cake!

Food Storage Workshop Information!

A big thanks to Karli for hosting such a fabulous workshop...and thanks to Misti, Anna, Becky and Rachael for sharing your knowledge with us!

For the information that Anna and Becki presented, visit Anna's blog at http://www.rugettingprepared.blogspot.com/

Other Resources:

http://www.honeyvillegrain.com/ ($4.95 shipping no matter how much you order, check out their powdered eggs)

Shar's (a local food storage store where you can purchase flame tamers, which enable you to safely use pressure canners on glass cooktops)

http://www.solarovens.org/

http://www.emergencyessentials.com/ order from their website and pay no tax, no shipping when doing "group buys."

http://www.fsiaz.com/ go to website to get a 4 digit number, then call the location in Tempe to see what they currently have in stock. (minimum $250 order)

http://www.crocketthoney.com/ sells honey (all varieties, including powdered honey)

http://www.grainsplus.com/ currently has a special on maxigel (another alternative for maxigel is ultragel...do a google search to find more info on ultragel). grainsplus also sells aerobic 07 drops.

Pinto Creek Potato Company in Queen Creek on Ellsworth and Rittenhouse, where you can buy potatoes in bulk

http://www.freshpreserving.com/ a fabulous resource for USDA approved canning recipes

Mike Lacy sells used water barrels (previously used for soda pop syrup) mlacy10@cox.net (480) 236-8996

Sicilian Chicken Soup

Okay, so I love Carrabbas. I have some favorites that I order every time I go. I am sure there are so many other fabulous dishes at Carrabbas, but I always order Sicilian Chicken Soup and Chicken Marsala. Whenever I hear of someone going to Carrabba's, I tell them, "When they ask if you want soup or salad, you say-Soup! Get their Sicilian Chicken soup. It is delicious!" Well, recently I found a recipe for this soup online. I was skeptical about how similar it would be. Amazingly, this recipe tastes almost just like the original. I have adapted it slightly and changed the directions a bit to facilitate the canning process. This recipe will fill 14 quart sized jars.

Ingredients:
5 celery ribs
4 medium carrots, peeled (or 25-30 baby carrots)
1 large yellow onion
2 medium potatoes, peeled
1 large green bell pepper
1(14-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley (or dried)
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tsp ground black pepper
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1 large Costco-sized rotissere chicken (or two small chickens), cooked, deboned and cut into chunks
chicken broth
Small tube pasta (we use Barilla Ditalini) -add when ready to serve

Using a food processer, shred/blend all vegetables. (Be careful when chopping potatoes in processor not to blend too much--the starch in the potatoes can turn it into potato paste.) Add seasonings. Stir until evenly combined. Spoon mixture into jars. Next, evenly add chicken peices to each jar. Finally, add chicken broth to jars until full, leaving 1 inch headspace at top. Process at 15 pounds pressure for 75 minutes. When you are ready to serve the soup, pour the contents of jar into pot and bring to a boil. Add approximately one cup of pasta for each quart of soup. Boil according to directions on pasta packaging. Grate fresh parmigian cheese over the top and enjoy.

Sweet Pork

Thanks to Karli for sharing this recipe with us! This sweet pork is similar to Costa Vida's sweet pork and is excellent in salads or burritos.

Ingredients:
Pork Roast
Sauce:
3 8oz. cans tomato sauce
2 8oz. cans El Pato sauce
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup water

Cut pork roast and fill jars. Pour sauce mixture over roast. (multiply sauce recipe as needed for amount of roast). Cook at 15 pounds of pressure for 90 minutes. Store and enjoy!

Pinto Beans

Beans are the easiest thing on the planet to can. If you are new to canning, I recommend starting with some pinto beans.

Ingredients (per quart size jar):
1 cup dry pinto beans
1/2 clove fresh garlic
1/8 of a small onion (chunk)
3/4 tsp. salt
Fill with water, leaving 1 inch head space at top.
Boil flat lids in water for three minutes.
Meanwhile, wipe down rims of jars with damp cloth.
Place flat lids on jars. Screw on bands.
Cook for 50 minutes at 15 pounds of pressure.
Store and enjoy!

Dr. Pepper Roast

This recipe is famous in our family (thanks to Bri). Everyone who tastes it loves it.

Ingredients:
Roast (approx. 1.5 lbs roast per quart sized jar)
1 can Campbell's cream of mushroom soup
2 cans Campbell's cream of potato soup
2 cups Dr. Pepper (we joke that the caffeine cooks out...but, you can opt to use caffeine free)
1 package Lipton onion soup mix
1/2 - 1 tsp. Tony's Creole Seasoning (depending on how spicy you want it)

If you were to cook this in your crock pot, you simply add all ingredients and cook on high for 4-6 hours. Serve over mashed potatoes.
However, because we eat it and LOVE it, I decided to can it.

Directions for canning:
Cut Roast into chunks (or buy stew meat, which is already cubed for you)
Put chunks of roast into clean pint or quart size jars (depending on the size of your family)
In pitcher, mix all remaining ingredients. (Multiply gravy mixture as needed for amount of roast you are canning. One batch of gravy mixture will fill approximately three quart sized jars.)
Pour gravy mixture over top of roast.
Use handle end of a plastic spatula and run it down the insides of the jar all the way around. This will allow the gravy to settle in around the roast .
Add more gravy until the jar is full, leaving approximately one inch headspace.
In small pan, boil flat lids for three minutes.
While lids are boiling, use damp cloth and wipe down rims of jars.
Place flat lids on jars, screw bands on.
Cook at 15 pounds of pressure for 90 minutes.
Store and enjoy!