Prep Genrl Weekly Prep Thread: January 20 ~ 26, 2019

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ReneeT

Veteran Member
Sorry for the late start - I stayed over in my work town Saturday night in order to be sure to make it to work Sunday morning, and while I can read the forum on my phone, trying to post from it is a pain!

Ivan's post on last week's prep thread about trapping was very interesting - but it sure makes our temps and wind chills look picayune - it was down to 9*F with a wind chill of -2*F last night.

On the plus side, the temp is great for keeping stuff I don't have room for in the fridge or freezer frozen in a cooler on the side porch :lol: I did stop by the store to pick up more of the 99 cent/lb split chicken breast on my way home from work last night, but am doubtful that I will get there again before the sale ends Tuesday night - unless Hubby decides he needs to go to town today or I can con him in to picking up more chicken when he gets off work Tuesday :) I already have enough to meet the 3 case goal I started out with, but..well...you know how it is when the price on something hits that 'buy now!' price!

Hoping I can talk my friend in to stopping by the grocery store in the pool town on our way home today so I can pick up some more of the one sale round steak to can as well - got three days off; might as well make some good use of them! I'm honestly worried about trying to go to the store next month since the SNAP cards have been loaded early
 
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moldy

Veteran Member
Very busy week this week - and not starting particularly well. Got home from school last night and DH tells me both the tractor and skidsteer are down for feeding cows. Yaay - just as a storm is heading in

Tonight, he said the cows didn't need fed, so I"m guessing he got it fixed. I worked today, have tomorrow off (but have the brand inspector coming by), work w-th, then see clients friday. Lots of driving involved thurs and fri. Then work the weekend and Monday.

Oh - and steers go to the locker on Thursday, and the calves to the salebarn on Friday.

Yeah - not busy at all!
 
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ReneeT

Veteran Member
Good Heaven's, Moldy!! You've got quite a schedule, girl! Make sure to give yourself a hug as you pass yourself coming and going!! I'm taking it that you're seeing herbalist clients?

The three cases of chicken I'd planned to can are done - I canned them by putting about a half inch of water in the bottom of the jar, then filling it with chunks of chicken breast to the shoulder of the jar. This can be used for any chicken dish, but is really good for chicken salad, enchiladas, etc... that don't generally use broth. I do always try to find something to use up the little bit of broth the jars contain - dump it in with a pan of green beans, add to soup, use as part of the liquid in a cassarole, rehydrate dried hashbrowns, etc...

As I was prepping the chicken for canning yesterday, I tossed all the skin and bones into another canner (remembered to ask Hubby to get another one down), added water and cooked them down for broth. I was able to pick a tall cottage cheese carton's worth of chicken meat from the bones, and ended up with 4 half gallon jars of heavy broth as well. I will lift most of the fat from the top of the jars and save it to cook with - it makes a very tender dumpling and can be used for low temp frying as well.

Hubby was not amenable to stopping after work to pick up one more package of chicken before the sale ended last night - not that I blame him since it was pouring rain and the wind was blowing it sideways :lol: I still have enough raw chicken left to run a full canner load (9 pints) today; but I think I'll do up a dozen jars instead because I want to end up with a FULL case (it's only OCD if you can't function :whistle: ) I will fill the jars a third of the way full of broth, then add chunks of chicken breast until the broth rises to the shoulder of the jar. Since I have two canners out, I will run 6 pints in each one, adding in quarts of water to fill out the space, and to have on hand for medical emergencies/water storage. I will use this chicken and broth in recipes that do require liquid, like small batch chicken and noodles or in making up the packaged Knorr's noodle or rice side dishes. I will finish up today's canning by canning 7 quart jars of chicken broth.

Since I knew the chicken would take a while to prep for the jars yesterday, I started off with beef - the store in the pool town had stew beef on sale for $3.99/lb and also bottom round steak for $3.49/lb. I bought a combination of each and was able to can 9 pints in an onion soup broth to add to the 7 pints I'd canned last week. Of course, now I need to pick up enough more beef on Saturday before the sale ends in order to can 6 more pints so the case is full....:groucho:

Since I have the big cottage cheese tub of cooked chicken on hand, I will try to use it up for supper tonight/work lunches tomorrow. Some of the chicken, I will toss in a skillet with a bit of the leftover broth and some Mexican seasoning; while it seasons, I will mix up a small batch of enchilada sauce and prep one pan of 3 chicken enchiladas to bake - we'll have those for supper. I'll use the rest and some leftover broth to make a small batch of cheesy chicken veggie soup - the temperature rose into the mid 40's yesterday and through the night and it poured rain; just a bit ago we had some heavy wind come through and the temp dropped like a rock to 32*F and continues to drop - looks like a low of 17*F is predicted for tonight and then down to 1*F tomorrow night, a nice heavy cream soup with meat and cheese should just hit the spot.

I have to pick up the grandsons after school today to take to Ninja class (anything to burn off some energy in those boys :lol: ), then will take them out for supper before returning home to get ready for work the next two days. I'm looking forward to my weekend off work - got the pool planned for Saturday morning, followed by picking up the grandkids and taking all of us to get haircuts, then a quick trip to Aldi before returning home. I found a giant bag of Lincoln Logs downstairs - I remember starting to buy up any I found at garage sales/thrift stores back when older grandson was just a tiny baby, then giving them a bleach water bath and letting them dry out before storing them - so I will drag them upstairs and see what the boys think of them :)

Well, the temp is continuing to drop and the WNW wind is hitting the kitchen side of the house and making it pretty chilly where I'm sitting, so I'm either gonna have to get up and get moving, start a canner spewing some warm air, put on some warmer clothes, or turn up the heat.... Or maybe all four!

Take care all; stay safe out there!
 
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