On this past Friday I got out my big electric roaster and dumped in the 6 lbs of Great Northern dry beans that had soaked in water overnight, 2 lbs. of diced carrots, 2 lbs. of diced onions, 5 lbs. of diced boneless ham and the left over ham from a nice ham bone that I had simmered the day before. The broth from the ham bone plus enough water to generously cover all the ingredients went in next along with a small jar of ham soup base plus a couple tablespoons each of garlic granules and celery powder. The soup slow cooked all day until the beans were nearly tender.
Saturday morning I started canning the soup and when all was said and done, there were 14 quarts and 9 pints of seriously good ham and bean soup. In the same canner load of pints of soup went 4 pints of chicken breast that I found while cleaning out the freezer in my fridge. I really need to pay better attention to what I have in the freezer. Occasionally I will find a surprise that I forgot was in there. :)
Sunday was devoted to putting my kitchen to rights as it sort of looked like someone had set off a bean bomb in the middle of it. I had several bags of beef scraps left over from the last time I canned beef. I thawed the beef and it went into a stock pot with the peels from the carrots and onions I put into the bean soup along with plenty of water. That simmered all day and then I strained off the broth. The broth is in the fridge keeping cool so I can skim off the fat. I will go through the meat scraps and salvage any pieces of meat big enough to can with the broth.
But today I need a bit of a break from canning. The aroma of chocolate chip cookies is wafting through my apartment. Soon that will be replaced with the smell of peanut butter cookies and possibly a batch of sugar cookies. Sometimes cookies are just necessary to a person's well being. At least, that's what floats my boat today!
Now that I have half pint jars I will can bbq pork tomorrow. The meat is thawing and the bbq sauce is ready.
But for today, it's all about the cookies. :)
Thanksgiving
1 minute ago
Wish I was there!
ReplyDeleteGood on you for canning the soup. It sounds so yummy.
It would be lovely to have you here, Jennifer. The credit for the soup - it is yummy - goes to Oldest Son who brought me the ham soup base to add to it. Made all the difference.
DeleteMmmm, cookies!
ReplyDeleteLinda...Cookies are always a good thing. :)
DeleteCan I adopt you as my sister? - lol
ReplyDeleteWorks for me, Gorges. :)
DeleteThe soup (and cookies!) sounds delicious.
ReplyDeleteOne Family...They turned out pretty good. Another item to add to the food stash. :)
DeleteSoup and cookies keep the doctor away...at least I'd like to think so. A good balance of the healthy stuff and a sweet treat to go along with it would definitely work for me. Great to hear you're humming along nicely with your food preps! Take care, CW
ReplyDeleteYep, CW...That balance works for me. Especially the cookie part. :)
DeleteThe canning isn't going as quickly as I would like. I find the need for an occasional 'rest' day in between. But I guess slow but steady works too. At least that's what the tortoise said! Take good care.
Vicki~ I need to get out my ham bones and the navy beans. I picked up some Nestle "Frozen" blue and white vanilla chips at 50 cents a 12 oz bag. My Husband made oatmeal bar cookies and they are yummy. Finally found a place with soft white wheat in a sealed pail. So I ordered two. It was out of stock at most of the Long Term Storage sites. Ordered more canning jars as I'll be dehydrating veggies starting tomorrow. Life goes on and my 19 year old cat wants her treats. Red
ReplyDeleteRed...Ham and beans is a favorite of mine. What made this batch better than usual was that my oldest son who is an excellent cook, brought me a jar of ham base. It is like bouillon but in paste form. He uses it when he makes ham and bean soup at the restaurant where he works. Good on you, finding the wheat. I wonder when food shortages will become the norm. I am buying as much as possible now, while food is still available and prices are not yet through the roof. Your husbands oatmeal bars have made me hungry for oatmeal raisin cookies. :)
DeleteI'm looking to dehydrate more potatoes - both sliced and cubed. 15 bags of slaw mix went through the dehydrator over the weekend. Your cat is 19? Wow! She should have her treats if for no other reason than she has managed to live that long. :)
Vicki~ She is one of three rescues. She was found in the trash at 6 weeks old. The two males are 11 (found under a car potential coyote meal) and 14 (got loose somewhere, got caught and ended up here.) I'll see if the ham base is available locally. Red
DeleteGod bless you, Red, for being one of those who rescues animals. Some days my heart breaks with the knowledge that with my limitations, I can no longer do the same.
DeleteThere are foods I love, there are foods I like, and there are foods I will not eat.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, all cookies are wonderful and in my wildest imagination I cannot consider saying no to the question, "Do you want a cookie?"
John...Cookies are a universal smile. When my kids were young, I had to stir up double batches of cookie dough, knowing full well that they would sneak some whenever my back was turned. And I, too, have never met a cookie I didn't like. :)
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