Friday, April 22, 2016

Beef in Jars

Oldest Son brought me between 13 and 14 pounds of boneless chuck roast.  I lost maybe half a pound in fat trimmings.  I cut the meat into pieces large enough to fill pint jars and wound up with 13 pints of beef roast for the shelves.  I would like to have canned more, but there are other places my money needs to go, so I will wait until the beef goes on sale again.

The last dance competition of the season for my granddaughters is held this weekend.  Youngest Son called me to let me know the website I can use to watch the girls in real time.  There I found a list of all the dance numbers for the weekend, and I get to watch them dance 9 times!  Each granddaughter has a solo and I watched Boston do her tap solo Thursday evening.  She did a really good job.  I don't know how she does it.  If my feet were flying that fast I would be tripping over them.  Maddie May has a duet late this afternoon and the rest are spread out over Saturday and Sunday.  I have gotten so I can pick them out of a group so it is even more fun for me.

The bananas I bought are finally ripe enough for banana bread, so I will make a couple of loaves later today.  I am guessing that after Oldest Son reads this, he will be knocking on my door, looking for some banana bread to take in his lunch.  Fine with me.  Half the fun of baking it is the sharing of it.

And that is pretty much as exciting as my life gets this week.  In between watching the girls dance, I think I will do some sewing.  I have another quilt top all cut out and ready to put together.  And maybe a nap.  Yep, definitely a nap.  :)

12 comments:

  1. That canned beef will be really handy... I can think of so many things you could do with that!

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  2. Lisa...I have a lot of beef, cut into about one inch cubes, already on the shelves. I use that in stew and soup and in a gravy over rice or potatoes or noodles. But I wanted some in larger pieces to be used for roast beef dinners. I think this will work really well for that a well as lots of other dishes. I just love having canned meat on hand.

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  3. Enjoy watching your little cuties dance! That must be so much fun! :o)

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  4. Aw, thanks, Chickenmom...I'm not able to go to watch them in person, so this works out really well. And it is so much fun to watch them. Of course, the neighbors probably think I'm nuts, due to the sounds of cheering and applauding and all coming from my apartment. :)

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  5. I suspect your feet could have moved that fast at her age, maybe mine, too! lol

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  6. Gorges...I expect you're right. She is only 13. These days, the distance across the street is sometimes a challenge! Don't think either you or I will set any land-speed records any more. :)

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  7. Well, at our age I suspect a steady, comfortable existence is ok. I know I don't long for anything adventurous, myself. Pottering around the house and keeping up with the families goings on sounds good to me.

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  8. I quite like my life and it is anything but exciting to anyone watching. I think 'slow and steady' is just fine..LOL.
    Your canned meat sounds amazing - I really do just need to buckle down and try pressure canning. It just hasn't come to the top of my to-do list yet.
    The local store has a case lot sale this week so I spent some money restocking my canned beans. It works for me. I use a 1/2 a can for two meals and freeze the other half.
    Going to my garden tomorrow for a work day. Compost is being delivered and it should be a fun, if wet, time. The group is organized enough to have coffee and snacks. I'm looking forward to meeting some new people.
    Have a great time watching your grands!! I had to laugh, my neighbors probably think I'm a little touched as well when I'm talking to the tv. Cheers, SJ in Vancouver BC

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  9. Harry...I completely agree. I see others with all sorts of drama in their lives and I find myself being thankful for my quiet, uneventful life. I am perfectly happy to leave the adventures to the younger set. I think it takes reaching a certain age to truly appreciate the simple things.

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  10. SJ...Slow and steady is good thing. I like the part where I actually have the time to stop an smell a few roses along the way.

    The canned meat really is good. But there is nothing wrong with stocking up with canned goods from the stores. I think it is important just to stock up, no matter the source.

    Enjoy your garden day. It sounds like you have found a good group of fellow gardeners. With coffee and snacks, yet!

    I just finished watching Maddie Mae and her dance partner do their duet routine. They nailed it! Lots of whooping and hollering here from Grandma! I will watch the awards ceremony later this evening to see if the judges agree that my granddaughter is just awesome. :)

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  11. Did you cold pack the meat or hot pack?

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  12. Fiona...I just filled the jars with raw meat, added water to cover and processed for 75 minutes. I have in the past browned the beef first, but in my opinion, it really didn't make much of a difference in the end product.

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