So yesterday I cleaned out the freezer compartment of the refrigerator. I did that mostly because in my typical unorganized fashion, stuff was just crammed in there willy nilly. And when a rock solid package of food slid out when the door was opened, I was in danger of winding up with a busted toe. I can't jump out of the way of falling objects quite as fast as I used to. Anyway, in the process of cleaning and sorting, I found about 15 lbs. of hamburger. Decided it was time to can some chili. I had been out of my home canned chili for a while and I really like having it on hand for a quick meal.
This morning I browned the meat, drained it and tossed it into my big stock pot. I added 9 pints of tomatoes with green peppers and onions that I had canned a couple of years ago. That wasn't enough, so I added 5 quarts of diced tomatoes. Threw in a big handful of dehydrated onions just because. I had a couple of cases of kidney beans in the pantry, so I added 6 cans of them to the mix. I seasoned the chili with salt and pepper and chili powder to taste.
When I can chili, I don't need to cook it first. I just heat it up enough to warm it before filling the jars. Because the chili contains meat, the quart jars are processed in the pressure canner for 90 minutes which is plenty of time to fully cook it. I wound up with 14 quarts of chili.
When I was growing up, my Mom always served chili over rice. I always thought she did that because she liked it that way. It wasn't until I was grown and feeding my own family that I realized she used the rice to stretch the chili to feed our family. By that time I liked the combination of chili and rice, so while the chili was in the canner I cooked up a big pot of rice, let it cool down and portioned it out into small freezer bags and froze it. So now when I want chili for supper, I just need to microwave the rice enough to thaw it out and heat it up while the chili heats on the stove. Add a pan of cornbread and I have a quick, easy supper. And goodness knows, I am all about quick and easy meals. :)
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Sounds delicious! I never thought about freezing rice! We eat it quite a bit at my house.
ReplyDeleteJenn...The chili did turn out pretty good. There was a bowl full left over from filling the jars and I had it for lunch. Not too bad. :)
DeleteI stumbled upon the idea of freezing rice when I made too much and didn't want to waste it. Quite often I fix something for a meal that can be eaten over rice. Freezing it turns it into sort of a convenience food for a quick meal.
We have soup when we have too many things piling up. I should make a post on my aunt's "junk cake" sometime, though I think I've mentioned it before.
ReplyDeleteGorges...I make soup now and then to use up extra food, but this time there was way too much hamburger for that. I needed to get it out of the freezer and use it up.
DeleteI would love to hear about your aunt's "junk cake." Sounds kind of fun.
I worked with a man form Robstown, Texas that insulted me because I like rice in my chili. To make things worse, my addition of beans too led to another insult.
ReplyDeleteEven though I was raised in Texas, I don't think he thought I was much of Texan after he learned of my tastes.
Jess...I thought it was just we Yankees who liked rice and beans in our chili. I am glad to know I am in such good company. :)
DeleteThat is a lot of chili. I don't remember having chili as a child. Oh, right! I was allergic to something in chili. Even smelling it cook made me weak, woozy and wanting to throw up. Maybe mama did not cook it because of me. At school on chili day, I was ill all day long.
ReplyDeleteFinally, one day when I was about 23, I smelled chili and was actually salivating to get some. From then on, I made chili. I cannot stand the beans, so never put them in.
I have never seen chili served over rice.
Linda...I think the way we make and serve certain foods has a lot to do with how we were raised, and maybe even where. Sometimes I will read about someone in the south cooking a particular dish and I have to look it up because here in the north it is something unfamiliar. My Mother, out of necessity, used rice to stretch many meals like chili. I have often used rice in place of potatoes.
DeleteI commented on yesterday's post too.
ReplyDeleteI also freeze mashed potatoes in meal size portions. I found out about that in a cookbook.
Love chili. Made chicken broth yesterday and made a veggie-chicken-rice soup today. Goes well with our very rainy weather.
Cheers, SJ
SJ...I found and replied to your comment on yesterday's post. Glad you told me. I usually go back one or two posts and check the comments but I missed that one.
ReplyDeleteI learned something new today. I like your idea of freezing individual portions of mashed potatoes. I guess I knew they could be frozen but had forgotten. Remember when TV dinners first came out? My parents would buy a few now and then. They washed out those aluminum trays and then made their own by filling the trays with leftovers from Sunday dinners, which often included mashed potatoes. We thought that was pretty special, to have our own TV dinners. :)
Your soup sounds so good. The Thursday when my groceries are delivered usually turns into a busy day. I may have to drag out my crockpot Thursday for a pot of soup. Haven't done that for a while and now you have me hungry for homemade soup. :)
Glad I could pass on something to you since you have given me so many good ideas.
ReplyDeleteI'd get those tv dinners from the store when my parents would go out and I'd have a babysitter. Funny story - my mom would save the trays for a friend who would use them. Not my mom - she wasn't really into being the homemaker by the time I came along.
The soup turned out well. I made enough for last night's dinner, tonight's and one serving for the freezer. Progress for me in scaling down my cooking!
I'll go read your comment on the other post. Cheers, SJ
SJ...Both my parents were good at stretching a dollar. I think that's one reason they did the homemade TV dinner thing and canned fruit and vegetables and froze as much food as possible. That is funny about your mom saving the trays for someone else. Not everyone is inclined to be Martha Stewart. I know that I like things tidy. Sometimes that happens. Sometimes, not so much.
DeleteI am definitely going to make some soup tomorrow. I do need lessons in scaling back. I nearly always wind up with too much. If that happens, I guess I can send some home with the kids next door. :)
I like home made chili. It's one of my favorite things. I make a big batch in a cast iron Dutch Oven, then put it into small, one meal containers and freeze it. Chili is always a good meal.
ReplyDeleteHarry...Chili always seems to hit the spot, especially on cold winter days. Most times I make it the same as you, but with 15 lbs. of hamburger that needed to be used up, canning was the best option. One jar didn't seal, so I've been eating off that. Turned out pretty darned good, if I do say so myself. :)
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