Thriving In My Thrifty Week–Still Canning–September 20, 2022

The shelves are starting to fill up nicely. I have most items canned that I want to do, and a few blank spots to tuck away the remaining items. The boxes on the left are now almost filled and labeled with jars that won’t fit or that I have canned an excess of.

For example, there are 2 boxes of pears. I canned extra of those this year and don’t anticipate using them all this winter. So they can remain stored in a box and the shelf can be used for items for immediate use, but are always handy in case people around here start gobbling pears up!

Dealing with this many canned items is a big organizational task. There is always a lot of arranging and re-arranging during the winter. There is a constant parade of full jars marching into the house and empties marching out. I organize them in sections according to their size and whether they are small mouthed, or wide mouthed. I keep all jelly/jam and tuna jars in shoeboxes in a different location to keep them organized as they empty. I use baskets and keep empties on the dryer until the basket is full, then deal with the jars. I keep a few jars of food in the house to grab quickly, but the rest is stored in the shop. It’s only a few steps to run out there and grab more at any time.

I keep good records. I use a simple journal with blank lines I bought years ago at the Dollar Store, and it’s not complicated. I count what’s left from last year, and add what I did this year. I often refer back to last year’s record sheets to see how many we actually used. This gives me an idea of how many jars of a certain item I need to can this year. Sometimes I look back 2 or 3 years to get an average, as people are fickle around here. One year they may gobble a certain item, like cherries, and the next year they might stop eating them!

This week, I was able to get pickled sweet pepper rings done. I also got several more tomatoes products canned, including crushed, more salsa, whole tomatoes and juice. I did 2 canner loads of vegetable beef soup and also canned beef broth. The broth used all the beef soup bones in the freezer, as I like to clear them out in anticipation for the new 1/4 beef we get each fall. The soup used up some of the broth, many vegetables that were lingering in the fridge and all the small bits of this and that I could pick in the garden and quite a few tomatoes. There’s just a small amount of meat in it, from the soup bones, and lots and lots of good veggies and herbs for flavor.

I went out and found quite a few pickling cucumbers I was not expecting, so I started another small batch of sweet pickles. There are never too many of those and I really don’t need more dills. It’s so cute when my autistic son comes over, as he did this past week. Every time, he shyly asks for a jar of those sweet pickles. I’m happy to share.

Because I have such a bumper crop of tomatoes, I am purposely canning more than I need. We eat a LOT of tomato products, so that’s been a big job. I learned to do this the hard way years ago when I lost my entire crop, except 7 quarts, to a blight of some kind. I was again reminded that crops are not always readily available when you want them, when the peach crop was very, very small this year. I only canned a few jars, but thankfully have many left over because last year’s crop was so huge.

I also canned quite a few items for others, especially my niece, who is getting married in a couple of weeks. Between her mother and myself, she will start off with a good supply in her canning cupboard. I enjoy canning, so when she asked for that for her wedding gift, I was delighted to agree. Rob already took her the canned goods, and they are put away at her new apartment, ready and waiting for the newlyweds to enjoy.

Rob is working almost every day on items for my niece’s wedding. I’m going to do another post on those, this one is getting too long.

We did a few more activities this past week, although the main focus was food preservation. We stacked firewood that was given to us. The pile is getting huge, and we fell blessed.

I picked many veggies and used them in meals. We’ve also been utilizing the jars that didn’t seal, which you always get a few of when you can as many jars as I do. We ate soup that did not seal, another batch of soup I made from extra veggies, tuna noodle casserole, hamburgers, spaghetti, salads, chicken gravy over mashed potatoes, and a Costco chicken. It’s always a bit of a struggle to cook when I’ve been canning for hours, so the chicken really helped out and you can’t beat the $5 price tag. I’m pretty sure I only have a pint of tomatoes in the fridge that needs to be dealt with from the items that did not seal. I’ve had tremendous success in getting them to seal this year, and have only had a very few that didn’t in the hundreds of jars I’ve canned.

I was able to fill the yard debris bin this week for the first time in a while. There is much more yard work to do, but the canning has been a priority, so that felt good to at least get started.

Last, but not least for this week, we were able to collect a few seeds to save for next year. We’ve collected parsley, snap peas, beet seeds, and a few more. I will still buy many seeds, especially of a few hybrid varieties I like to plant, but it’s been fun to learn this skill over the past few years and to see that it really works! We have enjoyed many veggies from our own seeds this year, such as all pole beans–purple and green, most of the cucumbers and some green onions, and a few more, as well.

12 thoughts on “Thriving In My Thrifty Week–Still Canning–September 20, 2022”

  1. My heart smiled when I saw your canned goods. My mom and me use to can together. It is a lot of work, but well worth it.

    1. I do have to say my mom did ask me if I had gotten to any “recreational” canning, yet, as she gently teases me about that every year. Actually, I did–Safeway had grapes for 97c/lb so I canned up a few batches of the super easy kind of grape juice–1 cup of grapes in the bottom of a jar, 2 T sugar, and fill with water and process. I haven’t made that for a few years, but my nephew has been begging me to make some as he remembers it fondly. Canning can create good memories around here, too.

  2. very inspiring! I love to look at pantries, especially at this time f year when they start to fill up.

  3. It’s a treat to see all those shelves filled with jars of produce and other items you’ve canned! It’s a good idea to can extra of what you have, just in case next year’s crop isn’t as bountiful. My garden didn’t do well, at all, this year, but, I was able to freeze just a few bags of peapods and broccoli for future meals.

    1. I’m glad you got something, at least. In your mild climate, can you grow more cool-weather crops during the winter? Like lettuce, or spinach? Or is the water situation the same all year round? I’m not familiar with your growing climate, and I just wondered.

  4. Boy isn’t that true, don’t have enough one year but next year they won’t eat it.
    Still canning… looks like I will get what I wanted for the different tomato items.
    Waiting for Brussels sprouts to come in to store as mine didn’t do anything. Then it’s about getting some chicken thighs , turkey (to can and 1 for Tday) and ham (to can and 1 for Christmas day)
    Blessed be
    Prayers for peace

    1. It sounds like you have had fickle eaters, too:).
      It’s interesting around here concerning turkey. My husband has been trying to get ahold of some boneless turkey breasts to cook for my niece’s wedding and has had a problem finding them. The meat man at Safeway told him they are having trouble getting turkey of any kind, whole or the breasts, and doesn’t know if that will improve. I asked him if the man said why, and he did not, and neither did he say if this was specific to his store, or all across the board. It will be interesting to see if all the turkeys suddenly show up in a few weeks like normal, or if there is truly a shortage. I guess time will tell. My husband is not one that gives up easily, so he will be checking at many other places. Then, if no turkey shows up, we will be pulling the turkeys I still have in my freezer and my sister’s turkey, removing the breasts for the wedding and dealing with the rest in other ways. Hmmmm….sounds like work to me:), so let’s hope some turkey appears!

  5. I’m always impressed by what you accomplish. I know it’s such a good feeling to see all those jars lined up on the shelves. I learned that lesson one year too, when there were only enough tomatoes for fresh eating, but not enough to can. It hurt my feelings to have to buy tomato products :o).

    1. I know, right? I KILLED me to buy all those tomato products, even though they weren’t that expensive that year:). Just because I wasn’t used to having to add them to my grocery cart, and because I know what’s in my own!

  6. I love your canning pantry – so many different colors! Something about a shelf full of home-canned food is so satisfying. A tremendous amount of work went into what you (with everyone’s help) have accomplished. You are doing a great job of providing healthy food for your family.

    For me, canning never seems to stop anymore since I got the electric canner. It stays out all the time. Today I found chicken legs for $.79 a pound and am going to can them. I have never canned chicken with the bone-in but it is supposed to taste great. Yesterday I canned 5 pints of dried black beans to have ready to grab off of the shelf. Apples are cooking down on the stove right now so tomorrow I can put up apple butter.

    I look at your pantry and marvel at all you have accomplished.

    Jeanne@GetMeToTheCountry

    1. You are the one who got me canning chicken in the first place. I haven’t done bone-in, though. I have done the boneless, skinless breast so far. The electric canner sounds intriguing. I’ll have to look into one.

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