Picante Sauce using unripped tomatoes

Reader has requested the recipe once again. This is a medium spice recipe. Enjoy!

2 lbs unripe tomatoes, quartered and skin on

1 large onion
4 bell peppers
13 jalapenos
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salad oil
pinch of hand crushed fennel seed
dash paprika
dash chili powder

Using a food processor (or your amazing knife skills) finely chop the onion, bell peppers, and jalapenos. Add everything to a medium size kettle.

Since unripened tomatoes have little juice, you will need to stir this constantly over a medium heat until the liquid at the bottom begins to boil. Remove from heat, cover and place in a slow oven (200F) for 1 hour. Remove and carefully chop the ingredients in a food processor or blender (too hot for your mad knife skills) get those tomatoes finely chopped. Return to kettle or a new one, and place in the slow oven for 2 more hours.

jar and can in a hot water bath for 5-10 minutes.

The things I done did.

I got to can in the daylight! Talk about bliss. There is something to the saying about taking things for granted. . . 

I digress, last night I harvest a decent amount of cucumbers, crookneck squash and summer squash.

I am running dangerously low on canning jars. An added stress in my life. Wait, I promised not to get whinny about things. Let us move on. One solution to lack of jars;

A bit of airing out and sun drying. 

I decided to use some of the crooknecked squash in a relish. Sunshine is always needed in the darkest of winter.

Sunshine relish

4 lbs shredded crookneck squash 

2 large onions, minced

1 large red bell pepper, chopped

2 tablespoons canning salt

4 cups sugar

3 cups cider vinegar

1 tablespoon each celery seed,  and ground turmeric

1 tablespoon whole seed mustard

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon cracked peppercorn

Directions

In a large pot combine the sugar, vinegar , salt and seasonings. Bring to

a boil. Add squash, onion and bell pepper then return to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer

for about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Ladle hot mixture into six hot pint jars, leaving 1/2-in.

headspace. Remove air bubbles; wipe rims and adjust lids. Process

for 15 minutes in a boiling-water canner. 

I went ahead and canned a few jars of straight squash. Just sliced summer squash in water. A bit of salt if you'd like. You really should pressure can these at 10 lbs for 30 mins. I hot water bathed for over 90 mins.

And finally some sweet pickles. I have the mixture premade so that I don't have to have a plethora of cucumbers to start canning. Just reheat the mixture if you have leftover.

2-1/2 pounds 3-inch pickling cucumbers, well-scrubbed and quartered into spears (about 12 cups spears)

4 cups cider vinegar

4 cups sugar

1/4 cup kosher salt

2 teaspoons mustard seeds

3/4 teaspoon celery seeds

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 

6 heads dill

2 medium sweet white onions, halved lengthwise, cut crosswise into 12 1/2inch-thick slices (I actually minced them this time)

7 whole cloves, crushed

In a large saucepan, stir together vinegar, sugar, salt, mustard seeds, celery seeds, cloves and pepper. Bring to a boil over a high heat, stir to dissolve sugar.

Put dill and 1 slice of onion (or the minced onion) at the bottom of each of your sterile jars.

Pack spears into sterile quart (pints for me) jars. ladle vinegar mix over cucumbers in the jar, leaving 1/4 inch head space. Process in hot water bath for 5, 10, 15 minutes depending on how high you are from sea level.

The above picture was taken just as I removed the jars from the canner. The pickles will stop floating in 24 hours. I know that freaks some of you out. -wry grin-

Dill pickles

We are down to one vehicle right now. The motorcycle is firing on one cylinder at this time. Hopefully Husband will be able to get to it this weekend. Because of this, we closed shop early, so he could get to his second shift job, and I could get home.

With several hours extra time on my hands down in the hole. (Feeling so small. . . .I'd like to fly, but my wings have been so denied) I was able to process 11 pints of dill pickles. 

Unfortunately I haven't yet began to replenish my herb supply. Some of my herbs are coming up, but pickling season is now, not just next year. That means I had to buy some of the ingredients.

I had more than enough cucumbers to keep me in hamburger dills for the next two years. 11lbs.

If you don't remember or are new, I love my hand powered food processor. Makes things much easier, and less tiring. Especially when you have kids to run it for you.

My first round of slicing didn't turn out like I wanted to. Oh the despair! How could you dissapoint me so food processor? A change was made.

 

The crinkle cut cone worked wonderfully.  They will be a welcome addition to my burgers and other sandwiches. 

 

Dill is the first of my herbs to be ready. I am grateful to them for growing like they should. I must have a conversation with a few of the others. 

For dill pickles you will need;

4 quarts water

6 tablespoons coarse white Kosher salt

18-20 cucumbers, scrubbed

8 cloves garlic, unpeeled and lightly-crushed

2 tablespoons pickling spice (recipe below)

6 bay leaves

1 large bunch of dill, going to seed, washed

In a large pot, heat 1 qt of the water with salt until dissolved. Add the remaining water.

Sterilize 3 quart canning jars

divide the garlic, spices, bay leaves, and dill amongst them.

If doing halves, pack the cucumbers vertically into the jars, making sure are very tightly-packed. 

Fill the jars with brine so that the cucumbers are completely covered. Hot water bath for 20-30 mins for halves, 15 minutes for pints of chips. Ready to eat in 3 days.

Pickling spice:

2 tablespoons black peppercorns

2 tablespoons mustard seeds

2 tablespoons coriander seeds

2 tablespoons hot red pepper flakes

2 tablespoons allspice berries

1 tablespoon ground mace

2 small cinnamon sticks, crushed or broken into pieces

24 bay leaves, crumbled

2 tablespoons whole cloves

1 tablespoon ground ginger.

In a small dry pan, combine peppercorns, mustard seeds and coriander seeds. Place over medium heat and stir until fragrant, careful not to burn them. Keep the lid handy in case seeds pop. Crack peppercorns and seeds in mortar and pestle (or use the side of a knife on cutting board).

Mix together all ingredients. Store in a tightly sealed plastic or glass container.

Canning Jar breakage

To be honest I am not completely sure of the reason my jars are breaking. However I have deduced a few things.

1) I am canning over a campfire.  The heat is difficult to regulate this way, and extreme heat could contribute.

2) The jars that have been breaking are old and have been used many times over the years.

3) only the older Kerr jars are breaking. My Mason jars, which are older, have faired just fine. None of my Ball jars and no newer Kerr jars have suffered.

4) No cracks, chips, or deep scratches are obvious. 

I used only Mason and Ball jars the past two nights, and only the Kerr pint jars, and I am happy to say that there was zero failures. 

Your guess is as good as mine. I think the combination of age, and extreme heat are the main culprits. And possibly just a bad batch of glass.

Independence Day

Hope everyone had a wonderful 4th! 

As for me, I stayed in the holler to babysit the cows, and allowed the boys to go to town to be kids and enjoy the holiday.

They really enjoyed the Internet from what I have been told. Aw well. It gave them time to be kids without responsibilities. 

Before my story continues I have to obligatory warning; do this and you could die, sayth the FDA and USDA.

I canned 13 pints of green beans.

They are a bit larger than I like to pick, but right now I can only do things when I am able to get to them. These will be put in the way back shelf, give them time to soften up a bit more, to be used last or in stew. They still pop when snapped, I didn't keep any rubber ones.

Still without propane, I had to use an open fire to can.

It's difficult and super tedious to pressure can on a campfire. It requires you get it very hot, then back off on the heat and attempt to maintain a constant temptature. I might be talented, but not that talented. I chose to hot water bath them. 

Gasp!

It takes 90 mins to do, at a hard boil. 

While the first batch was going, I harvest and started drying more spinach.

 

Without an electric dehydrator (I have one packed somewhere) I use a window frame with screen, placed on four logs, then cover with hail screen. With the moisture here, it takes two to three days for them to completely dry.

I thought I might take a bath, but the cows kept drinking my bath water.

Soon my first batch of green beans were done, and I restoked the fire and started the second batch.

Sunday I will be able to can the younger, better tasting green beans. 

Tomato ketchup(s)

Original post >>>

6 celery ribs, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
2 medium onions, peeled and diced (about 2 cups)
1/4 cup water
3 pounds tomatoes, quartered
5 Tablespoons vinegar
1 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
1/2 Tablespoon allspice berries
1/2 Tablespoon whole cloves
1/2 Tablespoon celery seeds
1 teaspoon ground mace
1/2 teaspoon salt



Carefully wash, core and quarter your tomatoes. Placing them in a heavy stock pot. Using a potato masher, smoosh the heck out of them. Cook over a medium heat. Bring to a light boil for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile. . .

Put you celery, onion and water in a medium saucepan. Cook over a medium heat. stir the mix occasionally. Cook until almost soft, 25 minutes.

Add the celery and onions to you mashed tomatoes, continue cooking until the vegetables are completely softened, 15 minutes. Strain tomato mixture in small batches through food mill into another small stock pot.

Stir in the remaining ingredients. Place the pot over medium high heat and bring to a boil. Continue boiling, stirring often to be sure that the ketchup is not sticking to the bottom of the pan, until the mixture thickens, kind of, for 15 to 20 minutes. Ladle into your sterilized pint jars, and process in a hot water bath for at least 40 minutes. Makes 1 1/2 pints.


Need a simpler recipe? Very basic tomato ketchup>>>

Unripened tomato ketchup>>>

No tomatoes but love ketchup? Not a problem, I am the ketchup queen>>> I know it doesn't say it, but I indeed wrote the article.

Extracts and canned oranges

Extracts are super simple and don't need more than a paragraph to explain. Mainly it is a side item I do with leftover or food waste.

Place peels, seeds or leaves (tear the leaves) in to jar. If you don't have enough to stuff the jar full, it can be added to over time.  Pour vodka, moonshine or rum over them. The stronger the alcohol the better. Tightly screw on the lid, then set out of your way and out of your mind for a week, vigorously shake. Do this for four weeks. Strain and place into a separate jar. Do not open near a flame.






Canning Oranges
You will need oranges, peeled and segmented
Water or orange juice or a light syrup of your making ( basically a sugar water mix, the more sugar the heavier the syrup). I prefer a lite sugar water to a syrup as it helps the oranges taste fresher.

Place your orange segments in your sterile jars, leaving an inch of head space, as they tend to float. Bring your liquid to a boil, then pour over the tops, leaving a half inch of space. Lids on tightly, and water bath.

Lower altitudes, 5 mins. Middle of the road 10 minutes. Higher altitudes, 15 mins.

This is usually finished before you are done candying the orange peels.

3 ways to preserve your broths

Before we start, does everyone here know how to make a basic broth?

There are 3 ways to preserve your homemade broths, be it beef, chicken or vegetable stock. (broth and stock are indeed different, however are interchangeable in your recipes). With all the following preservations, remove as much fat as possible. You can freeze the fat for use later in soap recipes.

The first is canning. Pour your hot broth into a pint canning jar and pressure can 20 minutes at 10 lbs (11lbs on dial gauges). Allow to cool for 24 hours and then stack up in your pantry.

Next is freezing.

Pour your broth evenly into an ice tray. I highly suggest you line your tray with parchment paper or foil. Allow to freeze, remove and store in a freezer bag. Each cube is 1/8 cup of stock. This is also considered a cold bouillon cube.

And finally, and my favorite, dehydration.

Pour 1 cup of stock onto a fruit rollup tray and place it into my dehydrator. Set it on the meat setting or 145F. It tends to withdraw from the center and pool along the edges. Let sit overnight.

Once dry, peel and crack off the tray onto foil.

Tightly fold up your foil and place into a zip-lock type bag. If you have a food saver I would use it, and remove as much air as possible.

You end up with a little packet of flavoring that equals 1 cup broth. Kind of like those Ramen packets. You can do more than 1 cup at a time, just be sure you keep track of how much you use. You will need to add the same amount of water to rehydrate it.

This packet makes 3 cups of broth.

The Best of 2010

For more pics of the chicken condo go here; Welcome to the Doll House

An apple is an excellent thing, until you have tried a peach.

~George du Maurier


I have finished canning my peaches. Got 9 quarts for pie. Well, ok, it is actually a simple syrup with peaches in it.




1 gallon of water, 4 oz of pectin, and 2 cups of sugar. Blanch peaches, and pull off the skin. Pit and throw into the pot with the above mixture. Heat through and can.

The liquid you have left is a wonderful peach flavored simple syrup that can be used for tea sweetening or pops.






I processed 2 quarts of the simple syrup.

I have peach butter simmering on the stove now.

Basic Tomato Paste

You need paste to make various other tomato based sauces

makes about nine 1/2 pints

13 lbs Peeled,cored, chopped tomatoes
1 1/2 c Chopped sweet red peppers
2 Bay leaves
1 tbs Salt
1 Garlic clove; peeled

Cook tomatoes, peppers, bay leaves, and salt for 1 hour over medium heat, stirring occasionally.

Press through a food mill and return to pot. Discard seeds and bay leaves.
Add garlic, and continue to cook over medium to medium low heat, stirring frequently, until tomato mixture is thick enough to mound on a spoon, about 2-1/2 hours. Or place in a low oven over night.

Remove garlic.

Pour hot paste into hot 1/2 pint jars to within 1/4 inch of tops.

Process in a boiling water bath 45 minutes.

Basic Red Pasta Sauce

10 lbs Tomatoes

3 tbs oil

4 1/2 cup Onions, chopped

3 Garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 tsp Oregano, crushed

2 Bay leaves, crushed

1 Tbs Plain salt (non-iodized)

1 Tbs Sugar

1 tbs Black pepper

1/2 tsp red pepper, crushed

1 tbs Parsley, dried

1 tbs Celery leaves, minced

Peel, core and chop tomatoes. Combine with rest of ingredients in heavy saucepan.

Simmer 2 hours stirring often until desired consistency. Pour into hot jars leaving 1/2" headspace.

Process 30 minutes.

Makes approximately 5-7 pints.

Cucumber Ketchup

I will be linking my canning recipes to the amounts on my sidebar. I know that I usually do this, but am late on it, and there are a few people that read on feed readers that have no clue what's on my sidebar, now they know.



1 quart cucumbers, peeled and seeded
1 cup chopped onion
2 green peppers, cored and chopped
1/2 cup water
2 cups vinegar
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. cayenne
2 Tbl. mustard seeds in a muslin bag
1 Tbl. salt

Combine cucumbers, onions and peppers with water. Cook until tender.

Put through a food mill.

Add remaining ingredients and boil until thick and clear.

Remove the mustard seeds.

process in hot water bath, 1/2 pints 5 minutes. Pints 10 minutes

The rooster isn't in the hen house.

My oh my, what an August it has turned out to be! It has yet to reach the traditional 120F mark with 100% humidity and no rain. Instead it is in the mid 70's, my house if wide open and canning hasn't turned my house into a sauna. The rain has been plentiful, enough to keep us from watering the garden and not so much that the garden is flooded. The grass is lush, unlike the normal dry and brown, with a smattering of prairie fires. The cows are loving it. The Ladies, minus babies, are grazing my front yard as we speak. We have only mowed twice this year, and the was the ditch next to the road, we mow good neighbors and horse neighbors as well as our own. But they both have been on top of it this year, mowing ours as well. It's nice to know neighbors at times.

I had a dream the another night that a neighbor had come to my house and chewed me out for my cattle. In reality she has complained that they have woken her up at night. How did she know they were mine? She has cattle in the fields behind her (not her field, not her cattle). There are more in the neighboring fields as well, but I guess she knows the sound of my cattle really well. They have never woken me up and they stand right outside my bedroom window. Sammy is another story, she will stuck her head into the window, and whinny. Scared the begeebers out of me the first tie she did it. Speaking of Sammy, I discovered that she is terrified of thunder. I was standing on the back porch yesterday, when thunder shook the ground. Sammy tucked her tail between her legs and bee lined it to the barn. Most the time she will just stand out in the rain looking miserable.

Small is turning out to be the best herding dog I have ever had ~giggle~. That boy has those cows wrapped around his stern little finger. He helped me round them up last night before and during a storm. No they didn't get out, I am just keeping them in the back pastures at night now.

Would somebody please explain to this rooster that he doesn't belong in the mud room?
edited to add, it smells like someone is burning a marijuana crop. hhmmm. . . think I need to do some outside chores for a while ~wink~

Leave me alone!

The boys worked hard on the truck engine this weekend. Still don't have a working truck.


That would be husband and Medium.

Ladies do you remember that one embarressing moment when your mother, aunt or grandmother mentioned how bid you were getting? And then promptly announced to the world that you were getting breasts? Well I don't have a daughter to do that to, so here is Uma.
A blossoming udder to say the least. But she is standing in the stanchion, and only kicks me 3-4 times a session.

Undies is getting big.



And here is Urth in the stanchion. She has been feeling left out because she is the only one besides the babies that doesn't get to stand there and eat treats. She will follow me, mooing when I leave the barn, she doesn't understand why she doesn't get to play this game. I tried to explain it to her, but you know how teen girls can be. So last night I let her hang out after I was done milking. She ad a very smug look on her face.
Now, if you will excuse me, I have a bunch of canning to do today.

No elebrate Storytelling this time

Just the facts ma'am

ok, I was cannning my purple pole beans. I got the water boiling in the canner, put the pint jars in, put the lid on. Waited for the whistling of the vent to begin, and allowed the steam to go for 5 minutes. I put the 5 lb weight onto the valve and walked away, knowing from experience that Where I was, I would be able to hear the pressure weight rocking and could adjust the heat accordingly. The weight never rocked, instead I heard a pop and a roar of steam. My pressure canner exploded. I told you I wasn't looking forward to the rest of yesterday.


Today I am off to a Town Hall meeting with Jerry Moran. Now he is not my districts rep, but he is running for Senate in 2010, and I have a few things I want to talk about. And believe it or not, it has nothing to do with health care, unless the FDA and USDA have decided to put their sticky little fingers into that as well. I want to talk about the fact that the USDA should be forced to do their job before expanding their programs. The USDA was sued by a meat packing plant because the packing plant wanted more frequent inspections, what is required by law, then they were getting. The USDA wasn't willing to inspect on a regular basis. The packing plant won, and the USDA was told to do their job. I don't see why if they aren't able or willing to do basic inspection of food processing plants that they should be allowed to mess with artisan foods and direct farm to consumer sales, ie HR 2749 (which if you missed it was passed last month). Nor do I believe that, even with a now reduce budget, that they should be given money out to "bribe" youth farming programs to help "educate" their idiot parents.

HR 2749 has several problems, CU’s statement that the registration requirements do not apply to farms depends on one’s definition of “farm.” While the statute excludes “farms,” the FDA’s current regulations take a very narrow view of what qualifies. Under the existing regulations, a place that grows food and does any processing of that food for sale would not be a farm, and thus would be subject to HR 2749. See 21 CFR § 1.227(3) and (6). In other words, a farm that washes greens, cut vegetables, or dries fruit before selling it would be forced to register and pay the annual fee under the regulatory definition of “farm.” This also goes on to include your artisan breads, and jams. If you sell those items, you too will be fair game. Now this bill might not affect your backyard as once feared, but it affects mine. As does the regulations for NAIS. I have animal product that is sold to the public, things that leave my property, just because I am a small land owner doesn't mean I get to be exempt from this Hell.

Jerry Moran is indeed against all of this, but I need to have my say. I don't like the feeling that people that don't ever have anything to do with their food except to eat it, are making these decisions. That Lobbyists for Monsanto had a heck of a lot to do with these programs (a rep is married to one).

Under HR 2749, the HHS Secretary would have the power to prohibit ALL MOVEMENT of ALL FOOD within a geographic area. No court order is needed to exercise this power. The Secretary only has to notify the appropriate official of the State(s) affected and issue a public announcement. [7a]

• [7a] Section 133(b)–pp. 98-99

HR 2749 requires the HHS Secretary to issue “science-based performance standards . . . applicable to foods or food classes.” The Secretary is to “identify the most significant foodborne contaminants and the most significant resulting hazards . . . and to minimize to an acceptable level, prevent or eliminate the occurrence of such hazards.” [8a] FDA would have the power to make pasteurization of all raw milk a performance standard. Based on both its public statements and its record of taking enforcement actions against farmers, FDA is vehemently opposed to the consumption of raw milk and would like to ban its distribution.

Even if FDA does not issue a performance standard requiring pasteurization, the likelihood is that if HR 2749 passes into law, the agency will be increasing its enforcement actions against raw milk producers whose products cross state lines. FDA has indicated that raw milk is a priority item with the agency; with the passage of HR 2749, it would have much greater resources to go after raw milk than it did before. FDA could take enforcement action directly or through state agencies funded by FDA.

You can sign a petition here if you want. I would greatly appreciate it, as this will affect my business.

The Mob Has Spoken

The bull's name is officially Winston.

Did you catch the broadcast? Did I make a fool of myself? Kymber and I were talking, and it seems to us that our voices sound much higher on this program, than it does on the phone, or any other radio shows I have done. Seems odd. If you missed it, you can download the entire 1 hour and 51 minutes here.

I have a bunch of caning to do today, the purple pole beans and cucumbers have gone nuts over all the cool weather we have been having. Somebody remind me to update my side bar in the morning.

I answered an apple processing question the other day. Got something you need help on? Just ask.

Why, I think my Pickle's gone soft!

It happens every time. You're in the mood, and bam! The pickle is soft. What's a girl to do?

Stop cooking them! Stop getting your cucumbers hot.

All the recipes out there, have you pouring hot liquid on your raw packed cucumbers. But there really isn't a need to do so, unless you plan on canning and storing them in your pantry. But if you have the room in your refrigerator, stop cooking them.

I love crunchy pickles, like the ones you buy in your refrigerated section. You know, the one where Groucho Marx dresses up like a stork? But what is their secret?

As soon as you pick your cucumbers, put them in the fridge, get them nice and cold. Make sure you process them that same day however. While they are chillin', heat up your pickle mix and sterilize your jars. Then allow them all to cool back down. Stick the liquid into the fridge, allow it to get cold. Next you will need to cut up your cucumbers.


Cut the blossom end off, then cut into halves or spears. Then plunge them into cold ice water as soon as they are cut. Repeat the process with all your cucumbers. When your liquid is cold, raw pack your future pickles into your jar and pour the liquid over them and seal, place back into the fridge. Don't allow them to sit out or get warm at all! Cold pack one jar at a time, and get it back into the cold before you pack the next.

Allow to sit in fridge for 6 weeks. and Crunch. Now when your in the mood your pickle will not be soft.

Canned Meat

And the green meat goes, do dodo dodo dododo do. . . oh wait, that's Lou Reed, not Canned Heat. You are welcome for the earworm.

We have to talk spam. There is no way you can go through a canned meat concert without spam. Now mind you I do not have the recipe for the store bought, nor have I found anything good online. The only one I found was kind of nasty, and not a real recipe. Does your chickens have any lips? After some trial and error, I have discovered a reasonable substitute . Stop groaning, some people like spam. I myself ain't to thrilled with it, but making it at home you can use up some of your extra pork and chicken parts if you don't feel like making more sausage.

You need scrapes of ham and chicken. Push through your meat grinder. Place this in a food processor, add a dash of paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper. You can get fancy and add other flavors. Puree the meat. Stuff into a pint canning jar leaving 1 inch headspace, and process in a pressure canner for 90 minutes.

Now we got that out of the way, let us talk about canning meat. There are reasonable fears out there about canning meat. You don't want to mess up an entire batch, wasting the food, or you don't want to end up poisoned. Canning meat is just as simple as canning green beans. Just more people like to put the fear into you about it.

Step one, work clean. If you are process something on the counter, make sure you wash the counter down good before placing a new chunk of meat down on it. Keep your hands clean, and sterilize everything.

Here are the basic guidelines to meat canning.

We can start with chicken,

Once you have dressed your bird out, allow it to chill for at least 6 hours. Remove as much fat as possible. For canning raw (this is best with your bannies) Fill your pints or quarts with raw meat, do not add any water, and leave an 1 1/6 head-space. Do not pack the meat tightly, it should be loosely sitting in the jar. In your pressure canner process your boneless chicken for 75 minutes in pints, 90 minutes for quarts. Got bones? 65 minutes for pints, 75 minutes for quarts.

Follow these directions for turkey as well. Rabbit is the same process, expect that you need to soak the rabbit meat in salted water (1 tablespoon salt per quart water) for 1 hour, than rinse well.

Now for hot packing the above meats.

Cook the meat in whatever manner you see fit until it is only 2/3 of the way cooked. Fill your hot sterile jars loosely, cover with the broth or water leaving 1 1/4 inch head-space. Process in a pressure canner, no bones, 75 minutes for pints, 90 minutes for quarts. Got Bones? 65 minutes for pints, 75 minutes for quarts.

Chunks of meat.

So you have your beef, pork, lamb and venison. Your smoker is full as is your freezer, or maybe you just feel the need to can something. Well do I have instructions for you!

Make sure the meat is chilled and remove excess fat. Cut into cubes, or plain ole chunks and pack loosely into your hot sterile jars. Do not add water and leave 1 inch head-space. Process with a pressure canner, pints 75 minutes, quarts 90 minutes.

To hot pack these meats, you will need to cook your meat rare. Fill your jars and cover with boiling broth or water (tomato juice if your kinky) leaving a 1 inch head-space. Process in a pressure canner, pints 75 minutes, quarts 90 minutes.

Canned hamburger? Are you kidding me? Nope and I did see it brought up on another blog, of course this person was going to buy it from a supplier instead of making there own. Saute your ground meat fill your jars, cover with boiling broth (not the fat) or water (tomato juice if your kinky) leaving a 1 inch head-space. Process in a pressure canner, 75 minutes for pints, 90 minutes for quarts.

Of course you can flavor these products however you wish, except do not add a salt substitute, it turns bitter. Do not eat your meat unless you have boiled it uncovered for 10 minutes.

All these times are for altitudes below 1,000 ft (this is standard with just about all general canning guides) And your dial should be at 10 or 11 PSI. (or weight gauge in lbs)
1,001-2,000 dial gauge at 11 PSI, weight gauge at 15 lbs
2,001-4,000 dial at 12, weight gauge at 15 lbs
4,001-6,000 ft dial at 13, weight gauge at 15 lbs
6,001-8,000 ft dial at 14, weight gauge at 15 lbs
8,001-10,000 ft dial at 15, weight gauge at 15 lbs

The above isn't just for meat, it is for all your pressure canning food stuff.

Any questions?

Do you want me to cover fish and seafood as well?

TAG!!! Apple Sauce!

I was patching up one of the fences Sunday, we share a fence line with several horses, and they like to bend the fences over because the grass is greener on this side (I guess). When I heard hooves beating the ground. I looked back and sunny was running toward me. I stood up, and he stopped, so I went back to work, keeping my ear out for him. He walked up, and nudged my hair. I turned, not wanting him to grab a mouth full of it. I have had the goats do that before, not fun. Sunny pushed against my shoulder, made a high pitch horse noise and ran off. I shrugged and went back to work. Sunny came back, and repeated the nudge. I reached up to scratch him, and he took off. The third time he did it, I stood up and followed. He stopped a little ways from me and waited. But as soon as I got into a n arms length of him, he booked. I turned around to go back to my fence, when he ran back around. Once again waiting until I was an arm length away, before running off again. We did this several times, before he stopped running and allowed me to scratch him. He pushed his forehead into my chest. I am still trying to get over the fear of horse bites. I have heard horror stories to that effect. (Like a kid who got an ear bitten off, and that woman on AFV that got her chest bit, still don't see how half those videos were ever funny).

I told my husband about Sunny's behavior, and he said that Sunny has done that to him before, he seems to like to play tag.

In canning news,

I worked on a bit more of my apples. Somehow a bad one got into my cellar stored ones, so process we must, before the whole bunch is spoiled. I made Spiced apple butter. Same as apple butter (plain) except replace the water you soak them in with spiced rum.

Also made Apple Pie Apple sauce. Taste like Christmas.

Apples soaked until tender in water, and but through a food mill into a crock pot. 2 tablespoons of vanilla, cinnamon, sugar, nutmeg, cloves and ginger to taste. Cook on low until the preferred thickness of applesauce.