What have you canned or preserved today?

[Ridgerunner]

I canned another 18 pints of green beans yesterday. With our weather change, that's pretty much it for stuff this year, though there is some chard and kale that will be good for a while to eat fresh.

Now it is time to empty out the chicken coop on the garden, getting ready for next year.

 

[vfem]

My husband tried to convince to buy in with some neighbors on 1/4 cow. Sadly, I don't know WHERE I'd put it. No way we have enough freezer space with all my garden stuff and my meat birds. Even if we bought another freezer, it would fill up with birds! (Which I short changed myself on that this summer and should have tripled the broilers we did. Kicking myself!)

 

[Mickey328]

I was totally bummed yesterday. On Wed I spent about 4 hours dicing 15 lbs of onions and getting them in the dehydrator. Bro's dog comes along the next morning and knocks it all on the floor! The onions were free, but...oh the work and tears invested!

 

[baymule]

So sorry about the onions!

 

[Mickey328]

Thanks. I'm still trying to steel myself to do it all again, LOL!

 

[journey11]

Oh, that is a bummer, Mickey. Dehydrated onions are so super handy to have. I watch for the store to have 3 lb. bags for a dollar. Those won't keep long at all, but are perfect for dehydrating.

V, I didn't know you were doing meat birds. I can't eat a grocery store chicken after having raised our own. I don't like mine brined anymore and who knows what they soak those things in... Home raised they are so tender, I don't think they even need it. I am down to my last pack of chicken breasts we did in May 2011. I still have maybe 6 packs of drums and thighs, 3 whole roasters, and when I was rearranging the freezer to accomodate the beef, I found 2 packages of wings hiding in there! I vacuum pack nearly everything, so it will keep longer. No way I could have managed raising and butchering them this year since Savannah arrived, but next year I will try again (after I get my whole property fenced to keep out the stinkin' neighbor dogs...)

Our quarter of a beef, 74 lbs, only took up one freezer shelf. I was surprised.

 

[seedcrazy]

Ahh to have fresh farm raised beef and chicken (although I sure don't miss plucking those birds LOL) rather than the crap in the grocery store. I went out and stripped all my tomato vines in prep for the freeze tonight, got about a bushel, and got another big huge bowl of peppers so soon I'll be canning more once those tomatoes get ripe. Think I will go through my canned goods though and dump a few things that are getting past their shelf life so I'll have the jars. I've got to quit canning so much stuff I can't use it in a year. LOL

 

[peteyfoozer]

Ahh to have fresh farm raised beef and chicken (although I sure don't miss plucking those birds LOL)

We bought a WhizBang Plucker this year. What a GREAT investment!! I can face commercial chicken anymore either, there just isn't any comparison. We have 2 steers to butcher, one will be Christmas gifts and 2 lambs to put in the freezer. I have a trio of roosters I am going to can, so there is handy shredded chicken ready for casseroles and burritos. I'm back to looking for roasts to can beef dip and burrito meat again too.

 

[journey11]

LOL, I hear ya, Seedcrazy. I am still eating pickles from 4 years ago.

Petey, you're makin' me hungry! It's close to dinnertime, and now I wish I was having mexican food instead. I've not tried canning meat yet other than stock. I do want to can most of my deer this year though. I ended up freezing the beef ribs anyway...just quicker. But I like the idea of putting back some of it on the shelf so I don't have to worry so much about losing everything in the freezer. We're going next weekend to shop for a generator because this crazy weather has been too nervewracking this year. I need to do more canning, but with youngin's around, freezing tends to be easier!

 

[Mickey328]

13 pints & 1 half pint of lima beans in the canner now. Yuck...but Bro loves 'em! Also made a huge pot of baked beans which will go in next. Yum.