Canning Craze!

I found another new hobby!  I really like canning.  I always avoided it when my mom was doing growing up. It always seemed so complicated and time consuming, but after a really good R.S. Enrichment Night about pressure canning, specifically meat, I knew I had to try it and I loved it.  Yeah, that might be a little lame to some, but I thought it was fun and I loved seeing the finished product.

My first attempt was chicken.  It was super super easy.  Buy chicken, Cut chicken, put in jars, add water, put in pressure canner, play Angry Birds for the next two hours.  Of course there are a few details in there that are quite important that I left out, but that really was the basic jist of it.  My neighbor came over and helped me this first time, but I think I could do it by myself now.  Meat is also a lot less prep than say fruits with all the blanching, peeling, cutting, etc., but I think I might still try my hand at peaches in the fall.

It's definitely a project to start and do after the kids are in bed and some of the prep can be done the day before, but in the end the first batch about breaks even, as opposed to just buying the canned stuff from Costco (which we have in the past and liked).  That's mostly because I had to buy all the jars the first time, but next time I'll already have the jars and I'll only need to buy more lids, which are fairly cheap.  Then it will definitely be cheaper.

We tried some of the meats at the activity too and they were great.  Up close it really doesn't look that great...kind of like brains floating in formaldehyde, but I've tasted it and it's awesome.  And it's already cooked so all I have to do when I need something for dinner is grab a bottle and I can use it in just about anything.  My next bottling endeavor will probably be some roast beef.  That rarely comes around Costco, but it makes delicious burritos, enchiladas, salads, etc.  Until next time...