Sometimes things come to me in dreams or in those fuzzy moments between sleeping and wakefulness. Today I had one of those moments.
While we will not be putting our house up for sale for a number of months yet, we are already starting to downsize and pack things up. I hate packing, so if I can do a little at a time I might just be ready by the time early spring rolls around!
So this morning the thought comes to me that I have a freezer... well, several freezers really... that are FULL of meats and some veggies. Even if I cooked every single day (and right now with all the work going on to finish the house this isn't terribly likely), I couldn't come close to using all that meat up. My only option? I'm going to have to start canning it all!
This evening the husband and I are making a trip to Wal-Mart for more canning jars, as I don't have near enough to can what is in the freezer. My plan will be to take a day at least once every couple weeks to pressure can as much as I am able. Right now I'm thinking the venison will make it's way into stews, some of the chicken will end up in chicken soups (minus the noodles of course), and the ground meats may just become canned sloppy joes and meat loafs (my mom just did some of this and said it turned out fantastic). Other meats will be chunked up and canned as is.
Sure, this is going to be a lot of work, but I think it will be well worth it. I've been meaning to spend more time learning the ins and outs of pressure canning anyway, and with the way the world is looking right now, more canned meats are just more shelf stable food added to my pantry. Of course, canned meat also makes for quick suppers on busy nights!
I will try to share some of my recipes and experiences as I go along on the freezer emptying project.
Fingers crossed!
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