Canning - What I have and am working on

My parents gifted me a Carey Electric Pressure Canner for Christmas 2023 and I LOVE it! It has made canning so much easier and no so scary. What I have canned in the electric canner so far. I have not made much since the new house has limited storage but I will do what I can, and that may include storing jars on the tops of kitchen cabinets.

Chicken Stock: 

When we cook chicken I add bones back into the water that the chicken was cooked in that already has tons of seasoning in it. I also add any skin and fat that maybe left over depending on what the chicken was used for. 

Vegetable Stock: 

When anyone cooks in the house I asked them to save the skins in a freezer bag and keep it in the freezer. Once I have enough to make a batch of vegetable stock I combine the scraps with water and seasoning in my large stockpot. I then let bring it to boil and then let it simmer for hours. Not ideal on a gas cooktop but I needed more than what a crockpot will allow. Now the Carey can also be used but I need the stock hot for canning so I choose to use a stockpot and the Carey Canner separately. 

Water:

When I need to fill up the canner and do not have enough of the item I am canning I use a jar of water. Water is also something that will be needed and it is better than buying it at the store. So instead of wasted space that can of water will be useful in establishing a good supply of water for any reason we need clean drinking water. We have gone through many "boil water" notices so this is not just isolated to a SHTF situation. Works well for storms too. Growing up on a well if we lost power we also lost our ability to have water. We also went though many hurricanes. The last one I went through was Hurricane Michael (2018) with a 10 day old newborn in the FL panhandle. We were without power for multiple days and thankfully where I was at they had bought a generator after a previous storm. That generator was ran a few times for the water to be ran and a few other things. So water storage doesn't have to just be jugs of water from the store. Simply adding one can to your canner to fill up space in the canner is a good way to start or add to you supplies.

Photo of my cabinet from my first time using the canner. These are 2 32oz jars of chicken stock, 1 16oz can of chicken stock, and 1 32oz of water. Also pictured is the orange extract I am making.

Document Storage

This is something that is VERY important. First make sure you have a good fireproof and waterproof box or bag for the items to go in. This box also needs to be easy to transport. Many people have mentioned to me that they are going to put the documents onto a storage device to keep a digital copy which is easy to transport; however, what if there are no computer, electronics, or anything else to be able to use those digital copies. Granted if SHTF to that point not everyone will have documents and they may not be needed but you never know so it is best to plan to have things saved.

We have a small binder with page protectors in it that hold birth certificates, our marriage certificate, his pertinent paperwork, and other things. Remember that a large binder is not needed as pages can be folded to save space. 

 

BEST storage bag that is waterproof, fireproof, and lightweight. I prefer the 5200F bad option and it has a smaller bag for cash, keys, passports, and such. This bag can hold up to a 3" binder as well so it can definitely hold everything that is important, including some photos.

I LOVE these small binders!!!

Dividers

Page Protectors

Another Binder Option, holds a pen and notebook

Back "at it" to share some information/Tips for friends

With things going the way they are I have been giving out a lot of information/advice/tips so I figured I would track down this old blog of my thoughts and start sharing some information. This is stricktly my information that I have thought of, unless noted, and my own ways of prepping but also sharing for other scenarios as we never know what will happen.

Emergency Candles Using Crisco

One things I have found out is that you can use Crisco as an emergency candle. Just buy some candle wicks and insert them into the can. It is said to be able to burn for up to 45 hours; however, make sure that if you do this in an emergency that you watch it. Most Crisco cans are foil lined cardboard meaning that the container itself is flammable. I know that you can get them cheaper at Costco or bulk stores like that. There are also almost always coupons out for Crisco if you like to coupon as well to help out your stockpile.

I personally will be pouring Crisco into canning jars to make it safer. I will do so by using a double broiler to safely melt the Crisco so I can pour it into the jars. If you want before hand you can hot glue the wick to the bottom of the jar. I have hear others use tiny washers to hold them down. Either way works so that the wick stays all the way to the bottom of the jar. Use some sort of stick or straw to wrap around the top part of the wick before you trip it off so that it will stay straight when you pour the Crisco in. You can also add in oil dyes and oil crayons to add colors if that is important to you but I think it is a waste of time and money that could go to something else. One thing to consider is adding in essential oils. There are a few that can help actually. I am going to put that in another post though as having EO's on hand are a great idea for your medicine cabinet.

Moved and Starting Over

Well a lot happened in the last year. I got married as well as moving right afterwards. I had to leave behind my entire stockpile in Florida but am starting again where we are now. Since we moved we put in an offer on a house that had a huge basement for stockpiling but the sellers must have thought we were joking when we said we wanted to be in the house in a month paying cash at their full asking price. They came back to us 6 months later but we had moved into an apartment by then till we find a better house. Currently in our apartment we have 2 adults, a 5 year old, 2 older dogs, and one on the way. Still starting to stockpile using the space we have above our kitchen cabinets and in our closets.

Thankfully what helps when it comes to prepping is my husbands expertise. You can't get any better than someone who is trained in all firearms, hand to hand combat, explosives, survival, basic field medicine, and more. I am learning a lot from him. He is also a great cook using whatever is around him!

After talking to my ultrasound doc today it got me back on track for prepping. He started the conversation with talking about how the economy is failing here in the USA as well as failing globally. I know that there are a lot of things going on these days and I agree that we could very soon be coming up on some sort of SHTF scenario. The guy started stocking up on ammo as he says that will very soon be our new currency. I think there are many things that could become currency if the dollar looses it's value like it has done before. It just depends on where you are at and what the needs are in that area.