Tag Archives: a well stocked pantry

Canning One Jar at a Time (Recipe links included)

Posted by KyAuthorProfessorJBowling499B in appalachian life, farm living, homesteading, Vegan recipes and tagged with , , , , , ,

Hello, from the mountains of Kentucky! It’s a dreary looking day in the mountains. It looks like rain, which would be great for our garden. The temperature has been so hot we need some rain! I am excited to share a recent amazon find with you! For all my readers who enjoy preserving, canning, and living a self-sufficient lifestyle… you’re going to love this incredible and versatile steamer/canner.

This is a stainless steamer with a basket that can double as a one quart/pint canner!
Canning a pint of leftover vegan taco soup.

With the rise in prices at the grocery store, this handy canner allows you to can leftover soup, soup beans/pinto beans, spaghetti sauce, chili and more. I like the idea of saving money and canning pints of leftover soups to have an easy one serving meal, or a quick lunch at work. Canning Homemade Vegetable Soup

Homemade veggie soup!

Our grandson recently picked me a half gallon of blackberries. I knew there wasn’t enough berries to make enough jam to fill a full size canner. I reached for the single serve canner. In just over thirty minutes I had four full pints of blackberry jam canned and ready for the pantry. Using this small canner kept me from having to make what I call “dummy” jars filled with water and pre-used lids to fill the canner space for smaller canning projects such as this one. It’s ideal for single jar projects or for canning a couple of jars. I’ll post the blackberry jam recipe as soon as possible.

Making homemade wild blackberry jam.
Four jars of wild blackberry jam.

I am also planning to use this small canner this fall when I do the majority of our canning/preserving. I will randomly have one odd jar of pickles, beans, or juice that won’t fit in my seven quart canner! The possibilities of this handy single canner/steamer are endless!

Canning Green Beans the Time-Tested Way

When I gave at least eight to ten extra cucumbers I will create pint jars of pickle relish. This canner comes in quite handy for four or five jars rather filling a full size canner with fake jars of water that often times doesn’t want to stay down in the canner. Below is a link for our favorite canned pickle relish.

Canning Our Favorite Pickle Relish

I have included the link below for your convenience. I’m anxious to hear how you use this handy kitchen gadget in your kitchen! Feel free to leave comments. As always, God bless from the mountains of Kentucky. Feel free to comment, like share, or follow.

https://a.co/d/095PN7o7

Canning Crispy Dill Pickles

Posted by KyAuthorProfessorJBowling499B in canning, clean eating, farm living, garden time, holistic living, homesteading, Kentucky memories, Vegan recipes and tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Hello, from the mountains of Kentucky. It’s been a bit stormy here today. Days like today make me want to curl up with a good book and read all day. In reality, that isn’t always possible, especially with the academic year about to begin. Our first day back on campus is only a couple of weeks away. Where did summer go?

With the abundance of cucumbers that it seems everyone has been blessed with this summer, I thought I should share my dill pickle recipe. Who doesn’t like a crispy dill pickle on their sandwich or on the side? Dills are great in potato salad, salads, on burgers, and I especially like them on a vegan chicken sandwich.

Ingredients:

4-5 pounds of pickling cucumbers
8 teaspoons of dill seeds
4 teaspoons of mustard seeds
5 cloves of whole garlic
8 teaspoons of whole peppercorns
4 cups of water
3 cups of white vinegar (5% acidity)
4 tablespoons of pickling salt or kosher salt
4 tablespoons of white sugar
8 teaspoons of pickle crisp
8 sprigs of fresh dill

Tools:

Water bath canner
Jar lifter
funnel
Measuring cup
Pint jars, rings, and flats
A large stock pot

Process:

1. Boil jars, flats, and rings to sterilize them and also to safeguard your pickles from bacteria. Next, prepare your cucumbers by washing them. I like to scrub them to remove the sticky little ends of the skins. This also makes the skin of the cucumber smoother. Trim the ends of the cucumbers. Make sure to remove the flowering end. This end of the cucumber contains an enzyme that can soften the cucumber over time.

2. Prepare the brine by adding sugar, salt, and vinegar to the stockpot and bring to a slow boil. While you wait for the brine to boil, combine the pickling spices and add them in equal parts to the jars. Do not add the pickle crip to the spices. Add a sprig of fresh dill to each jar then add your cucumbers. You can slice them in either direction or slice them into spears. They’re also good as whole pickles, especially if the cucumbers are small ones.

3. Keep an eye on your brine. Once the salt and sugar have dissolved, place the funnel in the jars and pour the hot brine over the cucumbers, leaving at least a half inch from the rim. Add a teaspoon of pickle crip to each jar. Wipe the rims to ensure the rims with a dry cloth or paper towel. Add the flat and ring, but not too tight.

4. Add the jars to the canner and add warm water until the water is at least an inch or two above the jar lids. Slowly bring the water in the canner to a boil. Boil for ten minutes. Turn the stove off and leave the jars until the water settles down and then remove the jars with the jar lifter. Place the jars on a dry folded towel on a flat surface and wait for the sounds of the pinging jars to seal. Once the jars have cooled, add the date to the lids.

This recipe typically makes eight pints of pickles x. You can double the ingredients for quarts or for more pints. The projected shelf life of the pickle is typically one to two years. However, I have opened a jar beyond this timeframe and the pickles were still great. One of the keys to a longer shelf life is to ensure the vinegar is at least 5% acidity.

This is a pictures of sliced dill pickles in quart jars.

I hope you and your family love this recipe as much as we do. As always, feel free to follow or comment. For now, God bless, from the mountains of Kentucky.

How I Saved 106.86 My Last Shopping Trip Using Apps and Coupons!

Posted by KyAuthorProfessorJBowling499B in clean eating, grocery adventures, saving money with coupons and tagged with , , , , ,

Okay, so when I embarked on this clean eating journey my food intake changed dramatically, as did my grocery bill. Many of the foods that became a staple in my pantry were on my husband’s list of favorite foods to eat. I found myself buying groceries for two different menus. To decrease the expenses we decided it was time to increases the produce in our garden. We both enjoyed the majority of the vegetables. I saved a bundle on zucchini, squash, cucumbers, and cantaloupe alone! As much as this helped our budget, encouraged me to eat healthy, and also provided vegetables for our family, there were some things on my grocery list that we couldn’t grow!

I had a desire and a need to reduce my grocery bill. I was determined to find ways to trim back, and cut corners. So, I decided that coupons would be my first choice. I’ve always enjoyed saving a little money here and there with coupons, but most of my coupon experience was limited to accidentally stumbling onto a coupon in the insert from the Sunday paper, or a magazine. I needed to get into some serious couponing. No, not extreme, but serious. I read as much as I could online about shopping with coupons, bought a few e-books, and watched the amazing show about extreme couponing. It all seemed complicated, but remember, I was determined to save money!

Before long, I figured out a system that worked for me. It wasn’t complicated, and it didn’t involve a lot of time, but I was saving money! I clipped coupons, scoured the sale papers, loaded online coupons to my Kroger card, printed free coupons, bought from coupon clipping services, and watched sale weekly sale papers. I also loaded a few apps to my phone that added to my savings. These apps worked with stores such as, Aldi’s, The Dollar Tree, Wal-Mart, Kroger, and The Dollar General. I frequently use Checkout 51, Ibotta, Wal-Mart Savings Catcher, and my Plenti card. The savings from these apps can really add up quick!

I love a day of savings! 106.86 total savings

I love a day of savings! 106.86 total savings

Over the past three years I have learned a lot about clean eating, using coupons, finding the best sales, and using them to stock my pantry. Today was a great day of savings. The day began at Wal-Mart when I purchased a 16.5 Purina Small Bites dog food for just 1.00. This was made possible through the use of a 4.00 coupon that I clipped from the insert in the Sunday paper and a 7.00 check from Purina. My husband saves circles from bags of Purina dog food that we mail to the Purina company in exchange for checks that are redeemable for more dog food. That’s instant money! Using the combination of the coupon and the Purina check I bought a 16.5 bag of dog food for just 1.00! A total savings of 11.00.  I purchased ten more of the 4.00 coupons from Klip 2 Save, which is my favorite coupon clipping service. Each coupon costs a couple of cents, but still reap a huge savings! My plans are to fill our dog food bin for the winter for only a few dollars! I left Wal-Mart and headed to Kroger for even more savings.

Checking my list, I carefully scoured the Kroger shelves, selecting items that were on sale, close out items, as well as items from the reduced price bin. The deals were fantastic! I found usable and worthy items in the close out and reduced items bin that I had coupons for! I was pumped! I made my way to the checkout line with a cart running over with super deals! I had set a dollar amount that I didn’t want to exceed! As the total quickly began to climb, I was a bit nervous about the cost before my Kroger card was swiped…it exceeded my goal. But, after swiping my card, and handing my stack of coupons…my total sale was far below my budget! My total savings for a huge haul of groceries was 59.76. I was pumped!

Now, on to the gas pumps for even more savings, just another reason that I love shopping at Kroger! When the computer at the pump ask if I wanted to use my full .20 of savings, I selected yes with a grin on my face! I would get my gas for 1.78. I hadn’t paid this little for a gasoline in quite some time! A total savings of 3.80.

I love saving at Kroger!

I love saving at Kroger!

The next stop on my route would be Rite Aid. I was on a mission to find hair color at the lowest price possible. I had a couple of 3.00 coupons and a few buy one get one free coupons, that meant I could get two boxes of color for 2.00. I picked up six boxes of hair color and strolled up to the check out counter. The price rang up and I swiped my Plenti card. I noticed my accumulated points and decided to use them. I was thrilled to discover that the six boxes of hair color that I planned to pay two dollars for…was totally free! This freed up my coupons as well for future purchases. I left Rite Aid with six boxes of hair color that I purchased for 0.00!  A savings of 28.00, and enough hair coloring to last for a year!

My final stop would be The Dollar Tree. Again, I went on a mission! I was going in to purchase Gain fabric sheets and Hall’s cough drops! Again, I presented paper coupons for the Gain fabric sheets. I paid 1.50 for the fabric sheets, instead of 3.00. As soon as I got in the jeep I quickly used the Check Out 51 app to scan the receipt receiving a 1.00 for one of the bags of cough drops! Total savings 2.50 on a 5.00 purchase!

Save with Check Out 51

Save with Check Out 51

Once I arrived at home, I was excited to share the huge amount of savings with my husband! As we put away the huge load of groceries, I scanned the bar codes for savings on items that were offered on Ibotta. With a full pantry of groceries that satisfied the needs of clean eating, healthy eating, grandchildren’s cravings, and my husbands midnight snacks, I sat down to scan the lengthy Kroger receipt for Ibotta. Cha-ching…1.80 was added to my Ibotta account!

Save more with Ibotta

Save more with Ibotta

It was a great day of shopping and a great day of savings…not to mention a full fridge, full pantry, full tank of gas, and enough hair color to last for a year! But, the best part of all…my total savings for the day was 106.86! Be sure to check out my post The Journey Begins to find out more about my journey to a healthier life style.

Stocking the Pantry…

Posted by KyAuthorProfessorJBowling499B in clean eating and tagged with , , ,

It was a new morning, a new day, a new beginning for me. My mind was made up. I would make the changes necessary to live a healthier life. This no longer was about losing twenty pounds quick. It was about changing the way I see myself and others. I would no longer be intimidated by other people’s weight loss. Commercials were not going to cause a burning desire to purchase the latest weight loss gadget. I had a vision, a road map, a guide, and a newfound desire to live a healthy life, one day at a time, one meal at a time, one prayer at a time.

First things first…I needed to make a list of items that I would need to have readily available in my pantry for the journey ahead. This meant that I would have to reorganize my shelves. I couldn’t throw away all the things that my husband still enjoyed indulging in. Things such as; cakes, cookies, chips, and much more. This simply meant that I would have to create and maintain my own section of healthy foods in the pantry. My desire is for him to be inspired by my new way of eating and make much-needed changes in his diet as well. Foods such as; fruits both dried and fresh, vegetables, granola, whole grains, Greek yogurt, water, protein bars, protein powder, fresh chicken, fish, turkey, and ingredients to make healthy salad dressings, and much more would have a place in our kitchen. This wasn’t going to be an easy task, but I was committed. My mind was made up!

All the foods that I had loved to share with my family were still at my fingertips, but I also had a well stocked pantry.  I was right, it wasn’t an easy task at all. I discovered that healthy eating was very expensive. I no longer prepared one meal, but often prepared two meals as my husband was not quite ready to join me in healthy eating.

Below are a few of the items that I stocked my pantry with, and are a must for clean eating. I’ve learned a lot along the way, and learn more every day, but this is how the journey started.

Fresh organic vegetables, fresh organic fruits, grains, dry beans, stevia, lean chicken, salmon, lean turkey, nuts, seeds, extra virgin olive oil, chia seeds, coconut oil, almond milk, whole grain cereals, raw honey, protein bars, Greek yogurt, fresh eggs…and a desire to research recipes and ideas.

After the initial grocery escapade. I begin to think of ways to decrease my growing grocery bill. Two things sprang to mind. I loved to use coupons, so I would search for coupons that were usable, and would lower my final grocery cost. I also realized that I could decrease my grocery bill tremendously simply by growing the vegetables that I loved, and required to make this massive change. We could do this! After all, we had the land and we already grew some vegetables. Yes, I was feeling more confident. We could do this! It would take a lot of planning, work, time, dedication, and sweat, but I was determined!

Slowly our garden grew each year, as did my herb garden. We have recently added chickens to our small farm, which supplies us with plenty of fresh farm eggs. My husband and son also contribute to the cause by providing our families with venison and most recently elk. You can’t get much more organic than venison and elk meat!

I am still learning about clean eating as it is a day by day process. I also love to learn from others. This is truly a journey that has changed my life in many different ways. A journey that I have never regretted!