INGREDIENTS FOR CANNED CHICKEN, PRESSURE CANNER, BOTTLES, CHICKEN, SALT AND A GOOD BOOK

We are planning to do some demonstrations on canning meat for this months meeting. Please sign up since we will be splitting up!! I hope that we see you there!!

Chicken prices vary every week but when I did this I just called Familee Thriftway and talked to Mike the manager in the meat department (very nice man). He got me a case on the next truck. I got my case of 40 pounds for $68.00 for boneless skinless chicken breasts.

I got about 2-4 chicken breasts in each bottle depending on the size of the chicken.

Get ready to start pressure canning. Put 2 inches of water in the bottom.
If using QUART jars; set your jars in and make sure they are not touching each other or the sides of the pan. If you are using PINT jars; you can stack them, not directly on top of each other but between two jars, thus allowing you to be able to get more of the pint size jars in at once. Put your burner on High, LEAVE THE REGULATOR OFF! wait until the steam starts to come out of the pipe. Then time it for 3 min. Put the regulator on and allow it to build pressure until it gets to 14pounds, then set your timer for PINT SIZE:1 HOUR AND 15 MIN. QUART SIZE: 1 HOUR AND 30 MIN. Once it gets to 14 pounds you have to keep it there so keep letting out steam and turn the burner down. This is when you read a book or watch T.V. right by the canner. By the time you are done you are going to be on medium-low heat. When the time is up move off the burner. I pushed the regulator and let out steam slowly until it got to 10 pounds and then took the regulator and allowed it to go all the way down to ZERO. DO NOT OPEN THE LID UNTIL IT IS AT ZERO!!! Then make sure you have jar tongs, or hot pads to get them out. (I used silicone hot pads and they worked fabulously.) Then let them seal, make sure you check them over a couple of days just to make sure they sealed. And you have fabulous meat in your food storage!
**TIP** IF YOU PUT WIDE MOUTH PINT JARS ON THE BOTTOM AND REGULAR PINTS ON TOP YOU CAN GET A LOT MORE IN THE CANNER, BECAUSE THEY STACK BETTER WITH WIDE MOUTHS ON BOTTOM.

I got a full 24 bottles of chicken! What a great feeling to have it in my basement. We tried it and it is wonderful chicken. Out of one quart of chicken we made; chicken enchiladas, chicken salad, small batch of white chicken chili. I think the next time I do it I am going to just do pint size because they are nice to have for sandwiches or quick lunches.

There is a great coupon this month. It is for a ShelfReliance Shelf. If any of you have seen these they are awesome!!
The coupon is for $100 OFF any Food Rotation System of $299 or more, PLUS FREE shipping on orders of $299 or more. When you check out enter DBM100 Hurry, it expires on May 31, 2009. Also, Shelf Reliance has a new food program called THRIVE. You can see a video about this new product and see if it is something that interests you! I do have a coupon for thrive products so just leave a comment and I will get you that coupon.

One more thing, I'm a posting fool today...but I have to let you all know about these handy conversion charts. They are magnetic so you can just post them on your fridge for super easy reference. You get one for powdered milk, one for powdered egg, and one for magic mix. They are $7.50 (shipping included). I would encourage you to act fast if you want them because they have already sold out once!! I just bought mine. You can click HERE or click on everyday food storage button on the side of the blog to learn more.

Hello ladies,

I am excited at what a turn out we had for the Ralph Burton clinic!! At the last count I did we had 32 people there! I hope that you got some questions answered. I watched KSL this morning and there was a lady that was talking about the best books for gardening and so I am passing along the information. Maybe if you didn't get your questions answered or need some more in depth knowledge these may provide that for you. (I couldn't see one that talked about rock gardens :0) j/k) I copied the three that I thought were the most interesting but for a complete list click here. I canned chicken today, whew..what an experience! I am going to post it soon! Have a Wonderful Weekend!

By Bunny Guinness

Sets out to prove it is possible to create a garden for the whole family to enjoy - one which combines mystery, adventure and exhilaration for children, while simultaneously appearing stylishly designed and planted for the grown-ups - even in a small space and on a tight budget.

By Patricia Lanza

This intriguingly titled book serves up a time-saving approach to gardening that will come as welcome news to the overworked and the horticulturally challenged. Lanza exhorts readers to build soil up, "instead of digging down," by simply layering organic materials onto a prospective garden site and close-planting directly into it.

By Marcia Tatroe

The first complete gardening book to cover the hot, dry, desert and plains areas of Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Wyoming, Idaho, Montana. Topics include: extensive plant lists for all areas, hardscape ideas using rock and wood, where to find garden art and how to use it to create your own regional aesthetic, as well as hundreds of practical suggestions to overcome the challenges of gardening in the Intermountain West.