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Meal Planning and Recipes

Meal Planning and Recipes Preserving Uncategorized

Homemade Fast Food: Pressure Canning Complete Meals

I learned to safely use a pressure canner as a child, putting up dozens of jars of garden-fresh green beans. I love the convenience of ready-made side dishes, but a few years ago I changed my approach to save food storage space– and now use my canner almost exclusively to prepare ready-made meals.

Two favorite recipes for the pressure canner are chili con carne and beef stew. I also love Jackie Clay-Atkinson’s book Growing and Canning Your Own Food. Her Meals-in-a-Jar recipes include several stews, soups, bean combinations, goulash, meatballs, meat sauces, shredded barbecued beef, Sloppy Joes, stuffed green peppers, steak entrees, and taco filling.

Considerations for Pressure Canning

Make sure your pressure canner is in good condition. Over time, rubber seals need to be replaced and pressure gauges need to be tested to make sure they are still accurate. (One reason I love my All American Pressure Canner is because it doesn’t have a seal and the gauge is only for reference. It uses a weigh system to verify that the correct pressure has been reached.)
Follow the directions in your pressure canner manual. Make sure you also adjust the settings for your elevation. If you live in the US, you can call your local government Extension Office for the correct settings for your elevation.
The importance of safety limits recipe creativity a bit. It’s important to ensure that the amount of pressure and processing time is appropriate for the acidity level of the food, the density, and the consistency. Even some favorite canning recipes such as apple pie filling and stew have been altered in recent years over concerns that thickening agents will prevent the food from getting consistently hot during processing.
Check out available resources to avoid common mistakes. In addition to the book mentioned above, Jackie Clay-Atkinson has great information on her blog. You can also check out safety information provided by the National Center for Home Food Preservation. You can also download the USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning for free.

Do you have a favorite pressure canning recipe or story you’d like to share? We’d love to hear about it! Send an email to Editor@HomesteadLarder.com, and we might just feature you in our Your Stories section.

March 7, 2018 0 comment

Meal Planning and Recipes Practical Library Uncategorized

How to Get the Best Tasting Baked Goods: Grinding Wheat at Home

written by Teri Capshaw

Our family’s effort to incorporate organic food into our diet didn’t start with well-researched concerns about chemicals or genetically modified foods (that would come later). Instead, our obsession with food started when we realized family friends had the best homemade baked goods we had ever tasted. And it was all made with whole wheat. Their secret? Grinding their wheat at home.

Dinner rolls made with freshly ground Kamut wheat.

We already baked almost exclusively with whole wheat flour, but sometimes there was an off-putting flavor. I knew that was likely due to the oil from the wheat germ becoming rancid.

But when I tried bread made with fresh ground flour, I realized it was time to up our game.

We ended up investing in our first wheat grinder about seven years ago.

Over the years we’ve experimented a bit and picked up a few things you might find interesting if you’re thinking about buying a wheat grinder:

You want to pick a model that won’t make the grain too hot during the grinding process. Too much heat during the grinding process can damage the oil in the wheat germ.
If you live in a humid climate, choose a model you can clean it thoroughly. Our first wheat grinder was a Blendtec Kitchen Mill. We got a lot of use out of it, but when we lived in Taiwan for a couple of years, we discovered that mold had developed in a portion of the machine which we couldn’t effectively clean.
Noise matters. We loved our Blendtec Kitchen Mill, but that thing was extremely loud. After returning to Idaho, we replaced it with a Wonder Mill. We love the detachable bowl for the flour, and it’s just loud. I no longer feel the need to warn my family members that I’m about to turn on the wheat grinder.
You can buy wheat in bulk. Unlike purchased whole wheat flour, wheat, if it’s properly stored, will last for years. I like to purchase organic wheat from Azure Standard in bulk.
Different types of wheat will have different texture and flavors. We like spring hard white wheat and Kamut wheat for most of our baking. A soft spring wheat is wonderful for biscuits, cakes, and cookies.
Flour is at peak quality for the first 24 hours after you grind it– so you’ll get the most out of your wheat grinder if you keep it in a place where you can use it regularly.

Do you grind your own wheat? Have tips, tricks, or favorite varieties? Want to get started, but have questions? We’d love to have you comment below!

March 1, 2018 0 comment

Homestead Planning & Maintenance Meal Planning and Recipes Practical Library

Budget Remodel: Adding Kitchen Counter Space and Storage

written by Teri Capshaw

Do you need to add some kitchen storage space, but don’t want to shell out thousands for a remodel?

If so, you might love the mini-remodel I pulled off when we lived in a 1974 split level house with a tiny kitchen.

I picked up this Hoosier cabinet for $375 at a local antique shop. It wasn’t the kind of antique you try to keep in mint condition. That period had passed some time, probably decades, before when something nibbled on the boards near the floor (you can still see some damage in the picture above). Instead, I gave it a good scrubbing with a disinfectant solution, took off the glass doors on top, stripped the original hardware, and painted the whole thing.

With a coat of paint (including faux granite paint for the counter) and new hardware, it transformed into a cute baking center. I added small nails inside the open shelving to organize measuring cups and spoons.

The large cabinet under the counter easily fit my pressure canner. Meanwhile, the drawers on the right-hand side held placemats, cloth napkins, table runners, and trivets.

I cleaned up a $35 metal shelf from the garage and added baskets and buckets to hold shelf-stable produce like potatoes, onions, and garlic.

Since that time we’ve sold the house, but the cabinet followed us to our new home where it’s stationed next to the dining room table and holds all of my Fiestaware dishes. Even though we have more space at the new house, that old cabinet is an essential part of our kitchen.

Do you have inexpensive hacks to solve storage problems in your home? We’d love to hear about your creative solutions, and, if you would like to share a picture, feature your creative solution on our “Reader Submissions” page. Send an email to editor@homesteadlarder.com.

March 1, 2018 0 comment

Meal Planning and Recipes Practical Library Raising Animals for Meat

Cook a Whole Frozen Chicken Fast

written by Teri Capshaw

Knowing we want to eat healthy, whole foods is easy. But finding the time and energy to get something on the table can be difficult. That’s part of why my Instant Pots (yes, I have two) are my best friends in the kitchen.

Since we raise pastured chickens for meat, I always have whole frozen chickens in the freezer. And I know most three to four-pound frozen chickens will fit into my five quart instant pot.

I usually sprinkle in a little salt, pepper, and, sometimes, oregano on the frozen bird. I toss in an onion, quartered, and a few cloves of garlic or some Frontier brand garlic powder. I add about a cup of water and set the Instant Pot on high pressure for about 55 minutes. It will take a while for the Instant Pot to get up to pressure, but in close to an hour and 15 minutes, I’ll have an entire chicken ready.

Add some sides, and dinner is ready.

Sometimes, I add a jar of salsa to the pot and five minutes to the cooking time, so I’ll have shredded chicken meat for an easy Mexican dish. If I have pressure canned beans on hand, I can add rice to my second instant pot (or grab some from the freezer), and we have all the ingredients for burrito bowls. (Sour cream and cheese are staples at our house.)

When I want even faster “homestead fast food” pressured canned “meals in a jar” get the job done.

Do you have any tricks or favorite meals for days when you are too exhausted to even think about cooking an elaborate meal? I’d love to read your comments below.

March 1, 2018 0 comment

Meal Planning and Recipes

Homemade Fast Food: Pressure Canning Complete Meals

Considerations for Pressure Canning

How to Get the Best Tasting Baked Goods: Grinding Wheat at Home

Budget Remodel: Adding Kitchen Counter Space and Storage

Cook a Whole Frozen Chicken Fast

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