My, Oh My What a Surprise!

Children are special...I love my kids dearly and they know it. They get told "I Love You" on a daily basis. So it really didn't catch me too off guard too much when our daughter, Michele, gave me a gift on Friday when I arrived home.

She met me in the hallway and said, "Mom, I found this for you today. I thought about waiting until Christmas to give it to you, but I just couldn't."  She then handed me a small white box. Inside was two necklaces. One with an open heart that says "Mother" and a smaller heart that fits inside the other that says "Daughter". This means a lot to me.

As a mother of this almost 18yo, I know that teens can focus a lot on friends, relationships or lack there of, school, music, cars, etc.  But I have to say that I am thankful that my two teens seem to "get" what life is about (most of the time)...Family, Loving, Caring, Sharing, and Building lasting and worthwhile Friendships...

Thank you, Lord for giving me such loving children. My prayer is that they stay true to themselves and reflect God's love in all that they do.

Why Do WE have Fans Running in December

Today was "work in the kitchen day" at our home....We had lots that we had to do. We had been graciously given some venison, peaches, tomatoes, key limes, jalapenos, and bell peppers . Plus, we had stock made from our left over turkey that needed to be canned. So, we got up ready to get to work...at least some of us did, while others got into the groove after a few minutes and a cup or two of coffee.

Needless to say, it got really warm in the kitchen really fast with a room full of people, the cook stove running, and the fireplace blazing.

Here is what took place.


The guys were designated the breakfast area as their prep station. Where they washed, trimmed, cut, ground and packaged the venison meat. They did a fantastic job.'

We ended up with 21 quart packages of ground venison, 8 packages of either back-strap or tenderloin, and we have about 8 pounds of meat marinating in the fridge to make Jerky out of.



This is down the main work area of our kitchen. We had a lot of things happening at the same time. Here My Knight is getting venison from a cooler to grind and package. On the stove is jam cooking and broth/stock being processed in the pressure canner. In the large kettle next to the PC, is pints jars of both in a "holding tank of warm water" waiting to be pressured. In the second black kettle is peach peelings, waiting to be cooked down to peach juice. Finally in the sink, are the peaches that are being washed, peeled, and chopped for peach jam and butter.

 Our daughter loves to "can", yet today she had to set out. As she is studying for the ACT test. She only has a few more days to practice and study before taking the test. So, we gave her the day off from canning. Even though she would have loved to be in on the whole process. 

Side Note: She is doing a presentation this week for FCLA competition called "Leukemia - We "CAN" make a difference. More on that after her presentation is judged.

Here are the final "canned" products. Left to right: 3 quarts and 1 pint Peach Juice, 5 pints Tomatoes and Onions, 4 half-pints and 3 pints Peach Butter, 2 half-pints and 3 pints Peach Almond Jam, 5 half-pints and 1 pint Peach Raspberry Lavender Jam, 8 pints and 5 quarts of Broth.

I will share recipes for the Peach Jams and Butter in upcoming posts.

Happy Canning,

Home Canned Peach Pie Filling

Again, another blessing gifted to us this past week....PEACHES. I hate wasting anything. I had to preserve this delicious fruit (before going bad), so that we could enjoy it when snow has blanketed the yard and we are dreaming of summer. 

Here is the recipe I used...sorry, I don't know who to give credit to for it as I have had it for a long time. 

PEACH PIE FILLING

1/2 cup quick cooking tapioca (this is the thickener)

3/4 cup sugar

1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon or nutmeg (optional)

6 Tablespoons lemon juice

5 pounds peaches, peeled and sliced

2 cups sugar

Combine tapioca, 3/4 cup sugar, cinnamon and lemon juice. Set aside.  Place peaches in a large pot with 2 cups sugar and just enough water in bottom of pan to prevent sticking. Heat to 190F/90C (just under boiling...use candy thermometer); stirring frequently. Add tapioca mixture and, stirring, reheat to 190F/90C, but do not boil. Fill hot sterile jars with mixture, leaving 1 inch head space. adjust lids and process in BWB 15 minutes for quarts. I got 4 to 5 quarts per batch.

Enjoy!

Serina

Banana Split Preserves ~ Home Canned

Okay, so I had been given all these banana's the week of Thanksgiving...I knew we weren't going to eat or use all of them before they went bad. I had to do something with them. But What?

I already have bananas frozen for smoothies. I have jars of banana jam and banana butter...What could I do that would be different yet tasty and delicious. As I became searching through my cupboards and fridge, I came across a 1/2 gallon of maraschino cherries. The wheels began a turning in my head and here is what I came up with.

Banana Split Preserves

6 cups mashed bananas (approx. 12)

1/2 cup finely chopped maraschino cherries

1/8 teaspoon banana extract

1/8 teaspoon cherry extract

1/2 cup lemon juice (helps w/browning and preserving)

6 cups sugar

1 box of pectin

Mash and measure the bananas into a large saucepan. (Larger than you think you will need, as it foams a lot when it boils). Add the lemon juice, extracts, cherries and sugar; mixing well. Bring to a rolling boil and boil hard for 1 minute; stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in pectin. Return to heat and bring back to a rolling boil for 1 minute. Mix well. Ladle into clean, hot sterile jars and seal. Process in a BWB for 10 minutes for pints. I got about 7 pints from each batch.

This turned out so delicious and pretty... I can't wait to try it on some homemade ice this next summer.

Serina