Bottled Chicken & Beef

Tried something new (beef) a few weeks ago... and something old (chicken)! :)
My friend Amy was moving to the next state, so we needed to reduce her freezer supply. We took a couple of beef roast, trimmed some of the large portions of fat, and bottled it! Here's how:

Cut meat into jar length chunks.

We seared it (browned the meat) on all sides to add extra flavor (doesn't have to be cooked through) Then we packed the hot meat into hot jars.

Add 1/2 t. salt for Pints & 1 t. salt for Quarts

Covered with a broth that we made from adding water to the drippings in bottom of the fry pan and boiling for a few minutes. (It sure smelled yummy at my house!) Shake slightly to remove any air bubbles. Leave 1" headspace and wipe off the tops of your bottles.

Place hot lid (have lids boiling in water while packing meat) and then a ring to bottles.

We then followed the guidelines in the Kerr Blue Book for processing beef for our area.
We pressure cooked it for 1 hr 45 minutes at 15 lbs of pressure for Pints.

Doesn't that look tasty??

BOTTLED CHICKEN

This is one of my FAVORITE old school activities! So quick, so easy, and SO yummy!

Pack trimmed chicken breasts or tenders into hot jars, leaving 1" headspace.

Add 1/2 t. salt for Pints or 1 t. salt for Quarts. Do NOT add liquid.

Wipe rim of jar, add hot lid and a ring.

Process in Pressure Canner
Pints - 1 hour 25 minutes @ 15 lbs pressure
Quarts - 1 hour 35 minutes @ 15 lbs pressure.

Remove and allow to cool on towel overnight. Store in a cool dry place.

** We LOVE having this on hand! We make chicken salad, enchilada's, chili, etc! Anything that calls for cooked/shreaded chicken we use our bottled meat! It saves TONS of time! (And freezer space!

It looks slightly "science experiment-ish" but you can't beat the flavor! TONS better than store bought!

Making Bread

Jess' Mom gave me the best recipe for bread! It is SO quick, easy and so little "hands on" - which for someone with sensory (read:slimy stuff touching my hands!) issues it is PERFECT! *wink*

Johanne's Whole Wheat Bread

(Which tastes more like half & half)

2 3/4 cup steaming hot water

1 1/4 T. yeast

1 1/2 *heaping* T. Dough enhancer

1/3 cup oil

1/3 cup honey (if you do the oil first the honey comes right out of the measuring cup *grin*)

3/4 T. salt

Start adding fresh ground Whole Wheat Four (Start with 6 cups)

Continue adding flour in 1/2 cup increments until dough pulls away from sides. (up to 10-12 cups of flour)

Knead in mixer with dough hook for 10 minutes.

While kneading turn oven on to 170. After kneading completes, turn oven off.

Shape dough into 2 loaves and place in greased loaf pans (turning over once to grease tops). Place in warm oven (do not turn back on yet) for 30 minutes.

Turn oven back on after 30 minutes to 350 (leaving loaves in oven) and Bake for 30 minutes.

Tip out of pans to cool on racks.

Freezes beautifully. YUM! Bread in an hour! YEA!!

Monthly Laundry Whitener Extrodinaire

Hi! I have done much that I need to post about... but thought I would quickly throw this one out here... it's a favorite trick!

Whiter Whites without bleach!

Fill your washer with hot water.
Add about 3/4-1 cup powered Cascade Dishwasher soap while filling.
Add whites.
Run agtation for wash cycle, but STOP before draining.

Let soak overnight.... or even just a few hours.

In the morning let cycle finish it's draining and rinsing etc.
Add your favorite laundry soap and wash one more time, full cycle.

If you have a front loader, you can soak them in your bath tub... you just need to be sure the soap is fully dissolved as it may eat holes in fabric if it is not.

I do this to my white ninja's (*grin*) and other whites once a month or so. It really brings back the white!!