April 11TH..What have you done to prep tod

Many vegetables that used to be canned using a water bath method cannot anymore due to genetic changes with the vegetables. For example, tomatoes have been modified to reduce their acidity, so unless you pressure can them, they will not seal well.

Don't forget you can plant your dried beans and corn, rice is a bit harder to grow.

Today...What a day!

My husband went to the eye Dr. & got a virus that was growing on his eyelid removed.  Thought it was simply a skin tag, but no, it had "roots" that needed removal as well.  He & I both got a yr. supply of contacts & eyeglasses as well.

We filled all of our propane tanks (9) of them, & then went to the gas station to fill our 14 seven gal. containers of gas & purchased bar oil for DH's chainsaw as well.  We don't have a generator, so the gas is strictly for cutting wood, or bartering.

At this moment, my DH is out chopping wood for next year.  We have a soapstone fireplace (the best, in my opinion, when it comes to heating our 6 bdrm.  Northern MN hse.) 

Last yr., we only spent $157.00 on fuel oil to heat our entire house!  If you're considering purchasing a woodstove, please check this out!

Lastly, we called all of our "unbelieving relatives" to tell them what is to come.

We're still the same "wierdo's" as we were prior to the most recent call.

God help us all...
Peggy

Muttcats,

The usual problems folks have with making bread is that they get the dough too dry.  The dough should be sticky enough that you have to keep LIGHTLY dusting while kneading.   The second problem is not kneading enough.  Kneading releases the protein Gluten which makes the dough stretchy and holds the gasses while the dough proofs.  My rule of thumb (for a double loaf batch), is "push, fold, turn, push" 100 times.   Give it a try again.  There is nothing quite so wonderful as fresh baked bread.  By the way, a Coleman Camp Stove Oven works great after you master getting the temp right. 

Bought another case of bottled water (liter size)

Bought a case of Vitamin Water

Bought 20 32oz. bottles of Gatorade

Got my gloves, and masks in the mail.

Bought a bunch of coloring books and crayons and 2 blank journals (in case of boredom or prolonged isolation then we can record events)

Bought a new Leatherman in a package with a wind proof lighter, and a pair of binoculars.

Stocked up some more on canned foods and dried beans and pasta.

Bought extra fish, cat and dog food.

Ordered booties for us to take the dog outside but haven't received them yet.

Bought 2 boxes of 100 ct. sandwich baggies and a package of baby socks (We'll use the baggies as a liner and put the baby socks over them to hold them on and prevent the dog from getting any potentially bad stuff on her feet).

Stocked up on some more  candles.

Ordered a case of Glo-Sticks (Great as nite lights, or to light up a walkway, hallway, or dark cupboard.)

Bought a large bottle of Aleve.

 

 

..,.GETTING THERE...Phew!

 

It's been light for us this week, the never-ending rain is getting on my nerves and hubby is sick with a sinus-infection and cold.

My young daughter and I have no weapons or defenses if situation gets bad or people start breaking in for food etc.

Ditto on making sure you have protection from mice.

    I am new member of this forum, but I've been reading posts for a few weeks. At first I thought you guys were a bit crazy, but after reading many news reports< I've decided that I better start stocking up. I am basically buying things I would use anyway. I will have a last minute list to buy, if it indeed mutates. I have a feeling you guys will be on top of it first, and I'll have a day or so before media reports it. I have water, batteries, rice, toilet paper, toothpaste etc. This whole thing is too scary believe, but so was 9/11. We in the U.S. always seem to feel that nothing will happen to us, but I am not taking any chances. Thanks for all your help and insight.

Oknut ... thank you for putting the hamburger rocks recipe on the site!  I'm going to make them ASAP! How long will the 'canned' rocks last, when stored in the jars per your instructions? -k

I haven't actually canned any bacon. Don't know that I will, but I do want to can some bacon grease that I keep in my frig now.

As for the hamburger rocks - I did do 6 pint jars of them and had one that would not seal. I just put that one in the frig and used it in a recipe. The other 5 are with my preps. I don't plan on doing more because it was messy and time consuming to put up so little.

Here's what the site for the "Hamburger Rocks" had to say about them:

"Hamburger Rocks" are small chunks of cooked, dehydrated, fresh beef. They will store effectively for two or more years. Once rehydrated by soaking one cup of rocks in two cups of boiled water, the pre-cooked meat can be used in any recipe. It is delicious for tacos, spaghetti sauce, hamburger helper, tamale pie, lasagna, or your favorite recipe. It is very difficult to distinguish from fresh hamburger in a meal!
Regular ground hamburger turns into small "rocks," some "gravel," and a little "sand" when dried. We grind rump roast and pot roast in a #2 Universal meat chopper using the 3-bladed cutter (on right in illustration below), and now we get almost all "rocks," very little gravel, and virtually no "sand." And the yield is higher too, as there is not as much fat to melt away. Still, be prepared to cry when you make the first batch, as 6 pounds of perfectly good roast will dehydrate into only one (1) quart of hamburger rocks!
====================================

I have canned butter and someone on another thread said that lard and bacon grease can be canned the same way.
So I plan to can some lard for making tortillas and bacon grease for flavoring along with more butter.

Hope to can some of the cheese sauce from velveeta cheese too. That recipe called for water bath canning.

The canned bacon recipe I posted was the only one I could find when searching. It sounds like it's quite time consuming so I'm not planning to put any up. I'd rather just rely on commercially canned meats to use in small amounts for flavor. Of course I already have my 5 pints of hamburger rocks too.

I hope to find time to try making jerky from ground meat. Should be able to add small amounts of it to dishes for flavor and added protein.

I'm no canning expert.

twoolf - It might be easier to cut the bacon strips in half and pack into pint jars instead. That way you wouldn't have so much space to fill with grease - just a thought. Like I said, I haven't actually done this.

Deb

I think that's a good plan ReadyMom. I picked up a bag of the Hormel crumbled bacon. I just read the back and it must be refrigerated after opening so it might make sense to purchase more of the smaller bags instead of large ones, just in case we don't have electricity.

I only posted the recipe because someone asked for one. It sounds like a lot of work to me for a small amount of meat. I don't plan to can anymore hamburger rocks for the same reason.

The single canned bacon recipe I could find, stated that it was not approved too. I'd rather just have some canned bacon grease for flavoring and depend on commercially canned meats.

ReadyMom - I don't really know. It might be more difficult to remove enough fat and dry them well enough if they aren't ground. You could always pressure can jars of meat according to standard instructions for canning meat.

When I made my Hamburger Rocks, I used very lean ground beef - it was over 90% lean so there wasn't as much loss due to fat content.

A person could always make jerky from beef and it's supposed to store well, especially if vacuum packed.

I just have trouble finding the time to experiment as much as I'd like to.

Where is my Grandmother? Wish she were still around because she knew how to do almost everything.

'ping' - 'ping' -  'ping' - 'ping' .... music to my ears!!I just canned my first butter! Yahooo!!!Now, I feel like an official 'prepper' --- actually When I came home, today with my second 100 cans of on-sale canned goods I was probably one then, too!! 

oknut wrote: Congratulations ReadyMom! I know I felt good when I canned my first little batch of butter. I've only got 10# of it canned so far so I need to do more soon.

I canned bacon by directions that were on the web but are now gone.  I fried the bacon and kept it in a dish til i had enough fat to do a 1/2 pint.....stuffed as much bacon as i could into the jar and then poured in hot grease to cover bacon and about 1/2 inch from the top.  I cannot remember the amount of time i pressure cooked it but would have been at 11 pounds and probably for over an hour.  Am so angry i did not mail myself the directions and store on my computer, now i cannot do it again.  Bacon grease can be canned like lard...but be very very sure the water is  boiled off.

I also used 1/2 pint jars ... liked the smaller size for the butter better.  Only I have to get more. I found that 8 sticks of butter filled 9 jars and I still had room to shake. 

bacon drippings .... when I was young, we grew up (I'm English, living in USA most of my life) spreading the bacon drippings, that were saved in the fridge, on bread and it was sooooo good!  Now, you wouldn't think of doing that.  But, boy, just thinking about it ..... mmmm ... it was good!

ReadyMom, I'm originally from Germany. My grandma used to make "schmaltz", goose fat with bacon bits. Spread on bread, add some salt. Soooooooo good!!) (and so bad for you!).

Oknut, from what I understand you're only supposed to can sweet, unsalted butter. Apparantly salted butter becomes VERY salty. Magarine is a no-no, forgot why.

 

Femvet wrote: Somewhere I read some reciped how to use powdered milk to make yoghurt, sour cream and other stuff. Does anybody have the link??? TIA

I almost hate to post the link as the increase in traffic may knock my favorite budget recipe site down, but Hillbilly Housewife has the recipes you speak of.

http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/powderedmilkrecipes.htm

Wonderful site muttcats - Thank you!

Muttcats, after checking this site out, I can see why it's your favorite. It's fantastic!!!!!!!!!!!! Menu plan with matching shopping list, all the recipes for the menu's. Everything in one place!! I will be printing like a maniac!

Tried canning bacon today.  Not particularly difficult, but before I do any more, I'll let this batch sit for a while and then sample it to see if it warrents doing any more.  Also put up more butter bring total to 36 one half pints.  Goal is 48 1/2 pints then I'll quit.  Local stores had some good sales this week (10 cans green giant vegis for $5 etc), so took advantage of that (30 cans).. Probably get more before the sale ends.  Goal there is a total of 180 cans.  Picked up some incedentals like soups etc that ar not on my list but I'm just trying to get some variety in the larder!   Of the 187 food items on my list, 138 are complete so I'm almost there