"Honey, What's Cooking? The House Smells Great!"

pictured is 8 lbs of carrots with celery and onions waiting
to be stirred for even distribution

My three lovely ladies and I started prepping Monday and have been pressure canning since yesterday. If you are in the neighborhood, feel free to drop by and get yourself a few pints. We love to share! The pints are prepared in the early morning, and there is plenty of time to chat between canner loads. 

This week, it is going to be approximately 100 pints of pot roast. We aren't finished yet, so I don't have the final count. We've gone through 18 lbs of carrots at this point. I have not kept track of the onions or celery. I just chop and mix it until it looks about right. Cubed potatoes also go into the jars. I forgot to keep track of those too.

I've been pressure canning since 1995. For the roast with vegetables, I purchase the sirloin tip in the cryovac package (currently $3.08 lb) and cube it. (My SamsClub knows me and gives me the largest packages.) I prep the beef and most of the carrots, celery, and onions a day before I plan to start canning. I do the potatoes the same day. While the canner is running, I will chop more vegetables. 

I fill the jars 1/3 full of beef, add a handful of cubed potatoes, and then the carrot/celery/onion mix fills in the gaps. I fill the jars with water and pressure can for 75 minutes per pint. 

Pressure canning saves me a lot of work and time over the course of the year. I know if I am in the middle of something, I don't have to stop working to feed the gang. I also don't have to compromise on nutrition to get something on the table quickly. I can simply ask the family to open and heat their choice of a healthy, home prepared meal off of our shelves. The payoff is huge in time, money, and nutrition. 

I do keep some meals ready in the freezer, but I prefer pressure canned. That's because I do not have to worry about losing my money or time investment by a power outage. 

College students, neighbors, elderly friends, new friends have all appreciated the shelf stable home cooked meals when given as gifts. A basket of jars with a pretty dish towel, dish cloth, and wooden spoon makes a pretty gift!