EASY Freeze-y Jam

I'm becoming "known" for my freezer jam - ha!  It really is good, but there is no secret recipe and it's so easy that I have to chuckle.  We have a plethora of raspberries and blackberries that grow in our backyard so this is how I use them.  Now, I know what you are thinking - it's April, no one has berries this time of year!  Well, I still have a freezer FULL of berries picked from last summer just waiting to be made into jam.  I usually make about 5-6 batches at a time throughout the year and this go around was no different.

Here's how I do jam!

I thaw my berries that were previously frozen in gallon ziplock bags...

Then I buy a few boxes of this stuff (located in the canning aisle at most grocery stores):

The box contains my recipe (one box produces one batch)...you see, no secret at all!

Then I simply follow the instructions.

I like to puree my berries in the blender - just a preference.  It will make the jam more firm with no chunks but smash your berries how you prefer!

Add the amount of recommended sugar:

Mix up the pectin:

It starts out lumpy:

But nice and smooth once it's been boiled:

Put everything together:

And you get some beautiful jars of jam!

Once the jam has set for 24 hours, place in the freezer (good for about a year), refrigerator (good for about 3 weeks) or in your belly (delicious!).

For the blackberries, I add in one extra step - I run the pureed berries through a sieve to remove some of the seeds (this step is a pain, you really have to press it through!). The seeds tend to be really big so I remove at least half of them.

And there you have it!  I made 5 batches of jam in about an hour.

Dry Pack Canning Tutorial

Don't let the words "dry pack canning" scare you!  All that dry pack canning is, is "the process used to store foods that have less than 10% moisture and are low in oil content" and the process is SO SO simple!  Almost as easy as filling a jar and putting on a lid!  No cooking even required!

I store all kinds of varieties of beans in #10 cans.  Dry beans are so EASY and CHEAP and HEALTHY to cook with!  I have several recipes that use beans found HERE.  You can easily replace store-bought canned beans in any recipe with dry beans.   You just cook them before using them in your recipe. To cook them, I place the desired amount of beans in a crock-pot and triple the amount of water.  Then I cook them on high for about 5-6 hours or until tender.  I've found that 1/2 cup of dry beans yields about a 15-oz can of canned beans once they are cooked.

Okay, back to the canning...

I was making chili the other day and realized I didn't have any chili beans (also known as small red beans) for my recipe.  So I bought a big 25 lb. bag (mine is from WinCo in their bulk section) then only used 1 1/2 cups of beans for my recipe. 

So the rest of the bag was placed in #10 cans and sealed up for later use!  Here's how I did it...

The LDS church has several Home Storage Center locations.  Find a Home Storage Center near you HERE.  

They rent out these big and pretty heavy (but SO easy to use!) canners:

Now, you don't have to be a member of the church to borrow one, but they may ask you your ward and stake.  If you aren't a member, no biggie.  You will at least need to leave your name and phone number and commit to returning it on a specified date.

While you are at the Home Storage Center, you'll want to buy enough #10 cans, metal lids and at least 1 plastic lid for whatever you will be canning:

For 25 lbs. of small red beans, I needed 4 #10 cans, 4 metal lids, 4 oxygen absorbers and 1 plastic lid (which all cost me under $5.00 at the Home Storage Center).  I did have about 1/2 can of beans left over so I just used an old #10 can to store the rest of them in but any other container would work.

Fill the cans so there is 1/4 inch space to the top.  I'll be honest, I just guessed and filled them pretty full.  Then I placed the oxygen absorbers on the top.  Here's where you have to work quickly.  Once the oxygen absorbers are opened from their clear plastic pouch, they need to be sealed in the can within 30 minutes.

The machine even has some canning tips on it as well:

Place the metal lids on top:

Setting up the machine up is easy (make sure to do this before you open up those oxygen packets!):

Set the machine on any flat surface (I used the kitchen table) and plug it in.  The counter would work if there is enough overhang underneath so you can secure it with the provided clamps:

This lever just needs to be inserted so it pops out:

Then just follow the instructions located on the top of the machine:

Lower the base handle:

(this is in raised position)

(this is in lowered position)

Place your prepared #10 can on the base and raise the handle:

Press the motor switch and hold it.  This will cause the can to rotate.  And believe it or not, this is incredibly quiet so it can all be done during nap time!!

While holding the motor switch with your left hand, you'll be operating the lever with your right.  Push the lever away from you for 3 rotations (I like to count the seam on the can as it circles 3 times) then pull the lever toward you for 3 rotations.  I usually do 4 or 5 of each just to make sure I did it right but I'm sure it's unnecessary.

And your sealed can lids will now look like this:

Check your seams to make sure it's all sealed.

Then I have a GORGEOUS labeling system - ha!  I just use masking tape and a Sharpie to write on the side of the can.  I prefer the side over the lid because I can see what's in each can when it's on the shelf.  But writing on the lid works too.  I don't write directly on the can because I like to re-use these when they are eventually empty.

And there you have it (I did write the date on the lids but after I snapped this picture!:

The plastic lid is for the one can that is open.

I learned this the hard way...the plastic lid will only fit on cans that have been canned (had the metal lid sealed to it).  So, if you want to buy a bunch of cans to use for storage and not to seal, make sure you seal the empty can anyway, then use a can opener so the plastic lid will fit!

Then place all those cans in your food storage!

Food Storage Basics

Is the idea of getting a year's supply of food storage for your family an overwhelming thought?  I've come up with a simple solution for storing long-term food (well, it's how I store my food anyway).  No more calculating how many pounds of grain are needed per person per year, etc.  I've been using this system for about 4 years now and it's worked wonderfully!

I consider 3 parts to my food storage:

1. 3-month supply of pantry items (or canned goods)
2. 1-year supply of grains in buckets
3. 1-year supply of miscellaneous items in #10 cans

Now, do I really know if this would last EXACTLY 1 year or 3 months?  No.  I just know that it will last a while - a long while which is all I'm really concerned about at this point.

So, let's start with the 3-month supply of my pantry items:

Yes, this is downstairs in my storage room as my kitchen didn't come equipped with a pantry...maybe in another life!  But this is where I store all my canned items.

Since I shop at Costco, keeping this stocked is fairly simple.  I know the canned food items that my family eats on a regular basis by heart and I always make sure I have an ample supply of all those items.  See that lonely can of olives on the right side?  Well, I've got it on my shopping list this week to buy another case of 8 this week to replenish it - even though it's not on the menu to eat olives any time soon.  I never stock the pantry when I'm completely out of items.  In fact, my ideal is to be about 2 or 3 cases deep of each item as my family can almost go through about that much in 3 months.  But ya know, I'm not perfect and neither is my system but that's what's great is it doesn't require perfection!!

So, if you are trying to build your food storage, I'd definitely start here.  Once your pantry is stocked with items that will take you about 3 months (give or take!) to consume, move forward (but then never let any canned item get to zero again!).

Next item on the list are my buckets.  Now, I only store here what my family eats on a {pretty} regular basis.  It seems kind of a waste to store food that you won't eat, let alone that you don't even know how to prepare!  But that said, if your family doesn't consume wheat on a regular basis, don't despair!  We're taking baby steps here!

What I have in buckets are white wheat, red wheat, long grain rice and regular rolled oats.  But if your family doesn't currently eat those or know how to, find out what your family eats regularly that can be stored long term and store it.  If your family doesn't eat anything that will store long term, I'd still get your supply of something and gradually learn how to incorporate it into your family's meals.

The picture may appear to be just a mass of random buckets but there is  method to my madness!  See all those colored lids?  Those are called Gama Seal lids and in each of those buckets are my "open buckets."  The Gama lid easily screws on and off making it easy to get into my buckets.  When that buckets gets empty, I refill it with another bucket that has the oldest date written on the lid.  But keep those empty buckets as you'll want to refill them!  I do replace those white lids after I've opened a bucket as they don't re-seal.

Each column of buckets contains the same item as what's in my gama-lid bucket.  I like to have 9 buckets of each - oats, white wheat, rice and red wheat.  When I started, my goal was to have each family member have their own bucket of each grain (there are seven of us so that means 7 buckets of red wheat, 7 buckets of white wheat, 7 buckets of oats and 7 buckets of rice) but I've gradually built up to 9 total as I have the space.

When I run out of a bucket I place the empty bucket on top of my stack so I know exactly what needs to be refilled.  I refill all empty buckets every 6 months (in Utah, during General Conference time which is April and October, all the stores have their food storage/bulk food on sale so this is when I like to replenish!).  I buy my wheat from Bosch Kitchen Center (they have high quality wheat that I like) and my oats and rice from the LDS church's cannery (which doesn't go on sale but I still buy it at the same time as the rest).  Costco also sells those items in bulk as well!

I like to use my white wheat to make whole-wheat pancakes or waffles (recipe found HERE) and whole wheat muffins (recipe found HERE) at least once a week for breakfast.  I like to use my red wheat to make homemade bread (recipe found HERE).  I'll admit, I don't make bread as often as I'd like so it takes me the longest to go through my red wheat.  I do have a wheat grinder (which should be a must on your food storage list if you intend to use your food storage!):

And a Bosch mixer:

  I also do have a hand grinder for in the event during an emergency that we are without power:

It's also great for making your own cracked wheat cereal for breakfast!  It's similar to oatmeal but a little more nutty and chewy - it's yum!

Not pictured in my buckets above (they are to the left of all these buckets) are a few random buckets which include white sugar (3 buckets total), white flour (3 buckets total), powdered milk (1 bucket total) and salt (1 small bucket).  I also keep these stocked at all times.

Then lastly, I have my #10 can items.

These items I don't rotate often (okay, haven't yet!) with the exception of the beans that I canned myself (see how I canned all those HERE).  For those, I bought 25# bags of various kinds of beans my family eats (pinto, great northern (aka white), black, kidney, chickpeas (aka garbanzo beams), chili beans (aka small red beans) and lentils) and canned them using the LDS church's canner that I was able to check out at our local cannery.  I have 1 open can of each type of bean.  If you'd like to see some of my bean recipes, check them out HERE.

The other #10 cans are mostly items I'd only use in an emergency (with the exception of the dried apple slices (those are SO good as a snack!) and the potato flakes which I use.  I bought 12 #10 cans from Costco when they were on sale that contained 6 freeze-dried various fruits and 6 freeze-dried various vegetables.  Then I bought 6 cans of freeze-dried meats (beef, ground beef and chicken).  I also have whole eggs and powdered butter.

It's taken me probably 4 years to build this supply financially.  Now that I have it, I just have to replace what we eat and it fits right into my budget.  It tends to be about $200.00 every 6 months in April and October to replenish any food storage items we've gone through.

If you are feeling overwhelmed by building your food storage, just start small and gradually build your supply.  Having a year's worth of food storage is peace of mind knowing my family would be provided for in an emergency!

Next up on the food storage agenda is my freezer!