Canning, freeze drying, and freezing….super busy

  I have been super busy lately with canning, freeze drying, and making freezer foods for my family.  I have been trying desperately to make healthier options for foods, and to make sure I have easy stuff I can pull out of the freezer or from the pantry for when I don’t feel like actually cooking.

While this isn’t totally necessary I made my own coffee creamer from a recipe I got from my son in law. It is peppermint mocha and it is so delicious!!!

I also made turkey soup for all of the kids.  While these are in canning jars they were not “canned,.”  I simply used these jars for easier transportation and for less waste since they can return them to me when they are done and I can use them again.

Then there is the applesauce.  I have been using flash food to get my fruit super cheap, and ended up spending $10 for two boxes of apples which ended up making 8 quarts of applesauce.  I did some without added sugar and some with sugar and cinnamon.

Then yesterday Brad decided to take my job and he made all of the kids and significant others fried rice.  In addition to what is here he also made four more for Aaron, him, Genavieve, and Brennan.  Everyone will have an amazing lunch tomorrow.

I also made bone broth.  I have been reading about the benefits of bone broth.  From what I have read it is very good for helping reduce inflammation.  I made two large crockpots full, and then put them in canning jars in the freezer.  Later today I am going to try my hand at canning some broth that I am currently making.


While I was making the first batch of bone broth Brad realized that there was still a lot of meat that cooked off the bones, so he decided to make treats for the dogs and cats.  He packaged some up for all of the grand pups and kitties.  

I also ended up canning the leftover turkey/veggie soup (minus the noodles)…..I will admit I opened a can and it was so freaking amazing. The flavor was so much more intense which I think might be because it went through the pressure canning process.  

Now today, I am making and canning pea soup.  I am so excited about this because everyone loves pea soup in the family, and it is looking like I might get abut 8 quarts of soup (that is if I can stop myself from eating it LOL).  I am also making squash soup, but since you cannot can squash soup that one will be frozen

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