and the gods hold their sides, laughing.
I had big plans for chicken thighs that are on sale this week. They come in a family pack and I had ordered six of them. The plan was to make chicken vegetable soup to can. But the gods said, "I don't think so." There was a power outage at the store where the grocery delivery service shops. The delivery guy told me that there was no meat at all available when my shopping was done. It crossed my mind that if it all goes to hell like it seems to be doing, this kind of food shortage could be the norm rather than the exception. No point in getting upset. Couldn't be helped. Luckily it was just one store that had the problem and Son will pick up the chicken I need for the soup at another store. Take that, you snickering gods!
I did get twelve 1-lb. bags of baby carrots that are on sale for $1 each. I like to put a roast or chicken in the oven, surround it with potatoes, carrots and onions and slow bake it, or do the same in the crock pot. So I packed the carrots in pint jars, added water to cover them and pressure canned them for 25 minutes. Wound up with 27 pints of carrots.
While I was working on the carrots, I had pretty much decided just to forget about canning the chicken soup. But then I got to remembering the reason I do all of this. We could go on for years, doing a slow slide into third world status, or we could drop to the bottom with a bang. Either way, the whole idea is to be prepared for whatever happens. I have been told that I am foolish to have this much food on my shelves. "What are you going to do with it all," they ask. "Nothing is going to happen," they say. I hope they are right. I hope that life continues as it has for generations. But if it doesn't, seems to me there is a real possibility that the last jar of chicken soup may be the very thing that saves someone in my family from starving. So I will continue to can the soup, continue to add to the household and medical items that will be useful and in some cases, necessary should they become scarce in the future.
It is called "common sense."
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They call it foolish. Even if it was a foolish vice, if that's the only vice you had....
ReplyDeleteWell, Matt...I'm not sure that vice is the right word, although I'm pretty sure I have enough of those to go around. My food storage and prepping efforts (I don't particularly like the word "prepping," but there it is) are usually called "obsessions." Thing is...I don't care. I do whatever I think I need to do, regardless of popular opinion. I'm sort of stubborn that way. :)
ReplyDeleteI don't can, but its amazing how certain "prepper" foods jump into my shopping cart on most trips to the store..... all on their own.
ReplyDeleteMatt...I have witnessed that phenomenon more than once. These days I mostly use the grocery delivery service and order mostly sale items. Time was they would call and ask, "Do you really want 24 cans of tuna?" Or "This must be a mistake. I have you down for a dozen jars of peanut butter." Now they just go ahead and fill the order. And the guy who calls to take my order every two weeks has started putting extra food in his pantry. Funny how that works. :)
ReplyDeleteWOULD YOU PLEASE SHARE YOUR RECIPE FOR CHICKEN VEGETABLE SOUP. I WOULD LIKE TO TRY A BATCH.
ReplyDeleteBrenda...I will probably do a post about it when I can some, but in the meantime here goes:
ReplyDeleteI don't have a recipe as such. I take whatever chicken I have, put it in a stock pot, cover it with water and cook it until it is falling-off-the-bone tender. I drain the meat, reserving the broth. When the meat has cooled some I pick it off the bones and cut the bigger pieces into about 1-inch chunks.
Then I prep whatever vegetables I want to use. As an apartment dweller, I can't garden so I use either veggies from the Farmers Market or this time I will use frozen mixed vegetables from the grocery. Those I heat until just thawed. Fresh can be used raw.
The broth is strained to remove bits of skin, bone, etc. I heat it to a slow simmer, adding powdered chicken bouillon and whatever other seasonings I like - the choice is to taste.
I fill either pint or quart jars 1/3 full of meat, 1/3 full of vegetables and top them off with the broth. Wipe the jar rims, add the lids and rings and process in a pressure canner using the time for chicken. Mine is 75 minutes for pints and 90 minutes for quarts. The weight is determined by your altitude. Mine is 10 lbs pressure.
This is kind of a soup base. It is good just heated right out of the jar. Sometimes I make dumplings with it. Sometimes I thicken it and serve it over biscuits. I'm sure there are other ways to use it. I also make a beef soup the same way, but adding tomatoes. It's all good.
Hope this helps.
Thank you so much. I will make over the weekend.
ReplyDeleteBrenda...You are welcome. That soup is one of the staples in my pantry - my idea of convenience food. :) Hope it works as well for you as it does for me.
ReplyDeleteOh you crazy old lady, why go to all that work?? The government will take care of us all......Yea I know I could hardly keep a straight face. Our store has ground beef on sale until Sunday for $3.XX a lb in 3 lb pack. Sunday is our shopping day so I will price WM and then decided on which place we will buy from.
ReplyDeleteRob...Yep. That government man will show up, knocking on my door with food and water and whatever I need, come the first sign of trouble. And, oh, its about that bridge in Brooklyn I have for sale!
ReplyDeleteSo instead of waiting with my hand out, Son bought 40 lbs of chicken thighs Friday. Got them all cooked and chopped. Getting ready to fill the jars with meat, veggies and broth and run them through the pressure canner in the morning. Cub has thighs and drumsticks on sale for 99 cents a pound through Saturday (today). Makes really good soup. I'll check out the hamburger. I need to can another 30 lbs. or so. Nobody is going to go hungry if I can help it. :)
I hope you're wrong too, Vicki, but I don't think you are. The inevitable fall, both seasonally and literally, appears to be marching our way at a steady pace. Your articles on canning remind me that my shelves aren't near as full as yours and that I need to get busy. Thanks for the inspiration.
ReplyDeleteFern
Fern...I would prefer to be dead wrong. I would love to go back to a time when hate and discontent weren't the norm. But it seems as though events are spiraling out of control. My canning efforts have, in some circles, been described as an obsession. I think I would much rather be obsessed with stocking up than obsessed with the latest TV drama! Dancing With the Stars doesn't make for a very filling meal. :)
ReplyDelete