The leaves here in southern Minnesota are beginning to turn colors. The daytime temps are now in the 50's and 60's and the northern part of the state has already had a hard frost. It is the time of year when we in the north begin to prepare for massive amounts of ice and snow and sub-zero temperatures.
I taste tested the chicken vegetable soup I canned last week. That is some seriously good soup. I had layered 1/2 cup chicken, 1/3 cup each corn, carrots and peas and 1/4 cup each of celery and onions in each pint jar. On top of that went a chicken bouillon cube and the jars were filled with water. They were processed for 75 minutes. This has become my new favorite go-to soup.
I am running low on canning jars again, so it is time to concentrate on other items for my food storage. I transferred four containers of cornmeal to zip lock bags and stashed them away. Bugs seem to like the cardboard and paper containers, but I have had no problems with keeping dry food in zip lock bags. I also have been ordering extra sugar and flour with each grocery order, and need to get more molasses to use in making my own brown sugar (1 Tablespoon molasses to 1 Cup of sugar).
I had bought 10 lbs of potatoes, thinking I would use some of them in the soup, but decided instead to dehydrate them. So later today I will be peeling, slicing and blanching and getting them into the dehydrators.
Yesterday I made up several more of my cookie mixes - chocolate chip and oatmeal - which are my favorites of the cookie mix recipes HERE. I need to make up some brownie mixes and more hot chocolate mix. The hot chocolate mix seems to disappear quickly these days.
Winter is my time for needlework. I have picked up where I left off on my youngest grandkid's graduation afghan and have been spending evenings with a crochet hook and usually a movie. I am sick to death of the dog and pony show that is Washington these days and am back to reading headlines only. Keeps my blood pressure on an even keel. :)
That's about it for me here in my little corner of the world. Hope things are going well with all of you and that your pantrys are filling up. I am hearing rumors that a long, cold winter is coming, at least for us here in the tundra. Keep on prepping.
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I didn't even know you could make your own brown sugar! Your soup sound delicious and comforting.
ReplyDeleteOne Family...I started making my own brown sugar when I had some that turned rock hard before I even opened the package. Molasses isn't cheap, but it is worth it to me to make what I need when I need it.
DeleteHello Vicki. I hope this day finds you well.The soup sounds great for a cold day's meal. I discovered that when my carrots were done dehydrating they were on the tiny size. I forgot to turn the Temperature setting down from making raisins temp to carrots. They fit in a pint jar. I'll be starting another batch this weekend. Red
ReplyDeleteRed...The carrots I dehydrate turn out tiny, too. That's one thing I like about dehydrated vegetables - a big batch will dry down to fit in a small container and takes up much less storage space than canned. I think the heat setting on both my dehydrators for veggies is 135 degrees.
DeleteIf I ever get stuck out of town, I hope it's at your place! - lol
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome any old time, my friend.
DeleteI broke down and turned the heat on for the first time this fall...I'm not ready for whats coming. I know its around the corner. Just don't want to deal with it...Soup is moving up on our lunch or dinner favorites
ReplyDeleteGood plan on the heat, Rob...It is supposed to be nippy the next couple of weeks according to WCCO Weather. Could be some frost one night next week. Soup is one of my favorites now, too. Crock pot is becoming my best friend. :)
DeleteIt was 103F and 101 today here in Birmingham, AL.
ReplyDeleteYou are certainly preparing lots of good food.
Linda...I thought it was hot one day when it got up to 85 degrees! We are headed into our cold season here. The temp is 48 degrees this evening. It might reach 60 tomorrow if we are lucky. The canning is from family traditions getting ready for a long, cold winter. I would probably melt in your temps. :)
DeleteMy pantry is not filling up too well. Worst garden season every. I hope to dig potatoes in the next few days and see what we got from that.
ReplyDeleteKristina...I have heard that many have not had good gardens this year, for various, mostly weather related reasons. Hope your potato crop is a good one.
Deletewhere do you store all your goodies.
ReplyDeleteSue
Sue...Living in a small apartment presents storage challenges. I invested in three large shelving units that hold most of my home canned foods. I have an entertainment center with a cupboard on one side that holds jams, jellies and pickles and three drawers that hold dry goods like powdered milk, cornmeal, etc. There is another smaller shelving unit behind my bedroom door where the dehydrated food is stored. The largest of my two closets is now a working pantry with smaller shelves. Jugs of water are behind my sofa and odds and ends - medical supplies, paper towel, TP, etc. are under the bed. My apartment will never be a candidate for "House Beautiful" magazine, but having food on hand to feed my family in an emergency situation is far more important to me.
DeleteI just got through ordering 100 pounds of various flours and oats already sealed. Red
ReplyDeleteWow, Red...Already sealed is great. What kinds of flours were included in your order? So far I just store all purpose flour because I know it will keep and I'm not so sure about other kinds.
DeleteVicki~ I ordered all purpose,whole wheat, bread, pastry and rye.They are in 5 pound bags. Plus regular and quick cooking oats, and masa flour for tortillas. Working on the next batch of dehydrated carrots and celery. Like many of us there is a nagging feeling sitting there poking us to take care of business. Red
DeleteRed...Nice selection. I may have to add whole wheat flour and masa flour to the all purpose I already have. I, too, have both regular and quick oats stored. Also have 10 lbs. potatoes to dehydrate tomorrow. I agree that now is not the time to slack off. I fully expect things to go south between now and the 2020 election.
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