Saturday, July 25, 2015

Quick Canning Update

Yesterday Son came home with nine pounds of bacon ends and pieces.  This morning I diced the meat, lightly browned it, packed it into half pint jars and ran it through my pressure canner.  Tomorrow I will wash and label the jars and put them on the shelf.  I got 17 half pints.  I find that both Son and I like these home canned bacon bits.  They have so many uses.  We eat them mixed with scrambled eggs or in omelets.  They are good in a green salad.  They add flavor to nearly any type of potato casserole type dish.  I may have to do a couple more batches because we use them often.

A little while ago I did a post about canning cheese sauce.  This past week I used a jar of it to make a small side dish of mac and cheese and it turned out really good.  I like broccoli with cheese sauce and I'm sure there are other uses for it.  The cheese sauce maintained the right consistency and flavor through the canning process.  I can get #10 cans of it at my local grocery, so I will likely can more in the small jars.

It has been hot and humid here this past week.  Early this morning (Friday) one of those fast moving storms rolled through.  A lightning strike close enough to bring me completely awake from a sound sleep (takes a lot to accomplish that) knocked our power out for an hour or two.  We have had few storms this summer so far, but the ones we have had have been fast and violent.  I would like to see a day of just gentle rain that would cool things down a bit.  I am really looking forward to fall.

10 comments:

  1. We have a small battery-powered fan that we use for the dog when traveling (not that THAT happens anymore). I've thought of getting a couple more for power outages. It helps in muggy weather; we've used it!

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  2. Canned bacon, I'd like to try it. I've purchased and have a case of commercially canned bacon in my pantry...and have never used any...kept saying it was for 'that day.' Think I'll pop a can when I arrive home today. Great idea, Pretty Lady.

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  3. I usually like summer but this one has been hellish. Either it's way too hot and dry, or it's so wet that everything starts to mildew. Fall will be nice. Cool, crisp, and the leaves changing. But that won't start happening here til about the second week of September.

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  4. Gorges...I had forgotten about those little battery operated fans. Good idea. Thanks for the reminder.

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  5. Stephen...I have not tried the commercially canned bacon, although others say it is really good. It is sort of outside my budget. Others have also successfully canned the bacon strips, but I haven't tried that yet, either. So far, the bacon bits have satisfied. One can really never have too much bacon. :)

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  6. Harry...Fall is my most favorite time of year for the reasons you mentioned. I live up the hill from the river and the trees on the banks are gorgeous. I like having my windows open. Even a breeze of city air is better than the stuffiness of a closed up apartment.

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  7. We still have standing water in some fields. I still am looking at a dehydrator for Christmas if not before.

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  8. Rob...My favorite things to dehydrate are frozen hash browns and onions. The hash browns can be kept dry in a freezer bag on a shelf and they rehydrate in warm water in about 15 minutes. If you decide to get a dehydrator you might want to invest in the plastic mesh tray inserts. They keep the smaller foods from dropping through the trays. I really use mine a lot.

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  9. I have seen your posts on canned bacon, I think this is a fabulous idea! I will have to try that!
    Need a little more details if ya could give me some pointers...time in the cooker and the like?

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  10. Mary...OK. I'll do a post on it today. We love the stuff!

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