I'm canning the last of the damaged sweet potatoes before the power goes out.
I'm canning the last of the damaged sweet potatoes before the power goes out.
With just reading what everyone is going through and has to face, I am now going to take a serious inventory of everything around here!!! Just thinking about a sustained power outage occurring... I took 12 pkgs of Venison out of the freezer. DH wondered what in the world his DW was doing now... I will be canning ALL of it! Considering portions, to avoid waste, I only can meat in pints. In addition, most of the Chanterelles we pick in two days will be dehydrated. The 10.5#s, minus a small priority box for a dear friend, in CO, are cooked. A lot will be canned with the Venison!
I seldom hear of solar lights... They are very handy in power outages. When we are managing our resources carefully, the smaller generator is only used during the day, without using any generator at night (exception is freezing temps).
I begin everyday by preparing for what is coming. This I do by speaking with my Father in prayer and by reading at least
two chapters from the Bible. Then if God directs me to do something else, I am better able to hear His voice.
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14 pints of Venison cold packed, pressure canned with Chanterelle mushrooms, dried onions, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and small amount of organic beef broth. We picked 9#s of Chanterelle mushrooms today (25#s this wk).
DH and I attended a networking group to increase our business, went to the monthly social, then attended a study at our Pastor's house. Once home, I finished the canning and then worked out for 30 minutes on my elliptical.
Reminder to self- Drink decaf tea at the study next time!
Yesterday, I canned 12 QTS of Venison mixed with Chanterelle mushrooms, dried onions, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and organic beef broth. Now, ALL done canning meat out of the freezer. I am working to condense our freezer space, then we can unplug one.
I picked 8#s of Chanterelle mushrooms; DH picked 4.5#s. I will be dehydrating, pickling, and dehydrating them. I also picked 1.5#s of Shrimp mushrooms, and 7 Shaggy Manes.
I'll post what gets done tonight!
I scored really big today at a local grocery store named Smith's. It is part of the Kroger family of grocery stores that are out in the southwest.
The normally sell ground Bison for $8.49 a pound. Today I got 12 pounds market down to $4.29 a pound. I divided it up into portions and wrapped up in freezer paper.
I also scored big to add to preps Campbell soup.....Mushroom and cream of chicken. I have snagged a coupon that somebody left behid in the check out the other day. The grocery store was running a special on the above soups for 49 cents a can if you bought 10............long story short is I got a total of 20 cans for $5.00 Picked up on sale 10 boxes of Stove Top Stuffing for 79 cents a box.
Got 4 more cans of corned beef on sale for $4.00 a can....normal price out here is anywhere from $5.00 a can to $6.50 a can.
Here is the thing about what I bought above. A package of Stove Top Stuffing with a can of Cr. of Chicken soup poured over it.........is/can be a full meal. for two people in a crisis situation. Or either can of soup poured over a bowl of rice. It is eating on the cheap but will fill one's belly and provide lots of calories.
The other thing I did was prep up the swamp cooler for cold weather. Got this big roll of "wrap" that is like Saran wrap and had the swamp cooler wrapped up and then the cover put on and tied down with things that are like bungie cords with a crank/ratchett? on them to make them really tight... The neighbors came out and said that was a great idea. Hey, not my idea. I saw somebody doing this with their swamp cooler and just copied what they did. Anyway.........that plastic wrap keeps the cold air out and a bigger plus........it keep out the smoke that would otherwise come in from the numerous fireplaces that burn through the winter right behind me in an apartment complex. It will also make a permanent barrier to keep out blowing sand.
I also got one of those big fat things that looks like an overstuffed pillow only highly insulated and made of really tuff and dense fabric.....it stuffs up into the hole inside the house. So there is saran wrap on the outside and a big ole stuffed pillow in the swamp cooler vent hole into the house.
No more smoke, no more sand and no cold will come into the house.
But.......there is yet another plus......
No HEAT (that rises) will escape out of the swamp cooler.
So..........in prepping I am going to keep the house warmer at less cost with health benefits to boot.
This to some may not seem like a true prep thing but it is. Any money I can save by making the house tight for the winter to cut cost of electricity and heating/gas is a huge prep.
Not just the money aspect of it but just suppose there is NO electricity and NO gas to heat with..........
at lease I have sealed up all the places where cold air could come in.
This is a huge preparation for surviving in the cold with power or heat.
Living on a limited income retirement income.......every dollar counts and is beneficial to prepping and surviving.
DH & I went to pick up pine cones. Some will be for Christmas decor, and also fire starters. A lot of them are 8" long or even bigger! I found some White Chanterelles, but mainly collected pine cones. DH picked 5#s of Orange Chanterelles. The Chanterelles will be sauteed, sealed, and frozen this time. I'll be dehydrating any more we find.
canning up clemintine oranges and dried celery, and drying corn. is what I have been up to today. tonight for supper, we had pie pumpkins cut into. a tablesppon ofbrown sugar in each one, and a couple of strips of bacon, and baked ,yup they were great.
momof23goats
5 QTS of Apple Cider are in the canner right now and DH cleaned and sauteed all the shrooms. Looks like there was more like 8#s. I just estimated earlier, usually weigh them, but realized I underestimated the amount when I saw DH chop them up and saute them. He had two runs with our largest iron skillet which I can get 4#s in.
We have very little prepped food that is processed. Since we eat Paleo, no way am I going to prep junk. That just means I go to the extra trouble to can, dehydrate, and freeze.
Next week, I am going to buy some bulk organic veggies from a Farmer who uses heated tall hoop houses.
The reason I am canning only high quality organic is for our health. I sure don't plan on eating junk food when my body most needs good wholesome fare.