It seems like every time I want to make baked beans, I never seem to have them on hand.  And in my homesteading logic, to fix that problem I needed to just can my own.

The only word I can find for these beans is…amazing!  I found a recipe for “Bush’s Copycat Beans” and altered it to fit our taste.  I’m going to be honest, I was skeptical that they would even masure up to store bought beans.  This is one of those times I’m happy to be wrong.  Lucky for y’all, I planned ahead and took pictures throughout the process so I could blog the recipe.

I use a Presto 23-Quart Pressure Canner and Cooker.  I love it, it’s easy to use and I’ve never had a single issue with it.  It comes with an in depth instrucion booklet full of recipes.  And the best part?  Amazon has them on sale right now!

You’ll need to gather your ingredients.  The ingredients you will need are:

2 lbs. Navy Beans
2 cups water
2 cups Ketchup
1 cup Maple Syrup
1/2 cup Vinegar
1/2 cup Molasses
3 heaping tbsp Brown Sugar
1 ½ tsp Mustard Powder
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Pepper
4 slice bacon, cooked and chopped
½ cup onion, chopped

First, prepare your jars.  This recipe makes 8 pints.  You always want to start with clean, sterilized jars.  I run my jars through a cycle in the dishwasher to sterilize them.  I then turned my oven to 170 and sat them inside, upside-down.  I just let them in there until I’m right ready for them.

Put the dry beans into a stock pot and add 8 cups of tapwater to cover.  Cook the beans on high until it comes to a boil.  Boil them for two minutes, turn off the heat and cover them.  Let the beans sit in the covered pot for 45 minutes.  This allows the beans to absorb a lot of the water.  Drain the beans in a colander.  Add them back into the stock pot and cover with another 8 cups of water.  Cook the beans for 15 minutes at a hard boil.

While the beans are doing their second boil, prepare your sauce.  In a saucepan mix the water, ketchup, maple syrup (I used fresh maple syrup made by my Amish neighbor down the road, vinegar, molasses, brown sugar, mustard powder, salt and pepper.  Put it on the stove and bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer.  I stirred mine quite often to make sure it didn’t start sticking.  It won’t be thick, but it sure will taste amazing.  Just ask my husband!

Set up your work area by gathering all your tools that you’ll need.  You’ll need a funnel, magnetic lid lifter, a jar lifter and a large spoon.  Most hardware stores, and even WalMart, has canning kits.  The kits will have most of the supplies in them.

Also prep your pressure canner by putting it on the stove and heating water in it.  Make sure to read your directions for your specific canner to see how much water they advise.  I put 3 quarts of water in mine.  Also, to keep your jars from being “spotty” you’ll want to add 2 tablespoons of white vinegar to the water.  You’ll also want to simmer your rings and lids on the stove as well.

It’s time to get your jars out of the oven.  I like to set down a kitchen towel and put the hot jars on it.  Remember, the jars are going to be hot!  So be extra careful to not burn yourself.

This is also the time you’ll want to get your lids ready.  Put your lids in a saucepan with enough water to cover them and turn the heat on low.

I didn’t drain the beans from the second boil, I just turned the burner off.  Using your funnel and using a slotted spoon, fill the jars 3/4 full of the beans.  On top of the beans, I put a tsp (give or take) of chopped onion and chopped bacon.

Once all the jars are filled, ladle the sauce into the jars.  The sauce should still be hot.  Don’t they look so yummy?

Make sure you have 1 ″ headspace between the sauce and the rim of your jar.  In canning, headspace is the amount of space you leave between the rim of the jar and whatever you’re filling it with.  Each thing requires a different headspace.  I found this handy dandy funnel that also has markings on the side to measure headspace.  Here is a little headspace chart to follow:

• Leave 1-inch headspace for low-acid foods, vegetables and meats.
• Leave 1/2-inch headspace for high-acid foods, fruits and tomatoes.
• Leave 1/4-inch headspace for juicers, jams, jellies, pickles, and relishes.

Wipe the rim of the jar off.  Never forget this step!  Even when you’re using a funnel, you are bound to get something on the rim.  And if the rim isn’t clean, it won’t seal properly.

Using your magnetic lid lifter, pull out a lid from your pot of hot water and place it on the jar.

Put your ring on and finger tighten.  I use a towel or hot pad to hold onto the jar so I don’t burn my hand.  Don’t over tighten your rings.  Also, once the jars are sealed and cooled you can remove the rings.  The lids are what keeps the jar sealed.

Place the hot packed jars in the pressure canner.

The first thing you need to do is vent your canner.  Venting means getting rid of the steam inside the canner so you can build up pressure.  To vent, you put your lid on and make sure it’s sealed  (follow the manufacturers instructions for this as well) and turn the heat up to medium or medium/high.  You DO NOT want your weight on yet.  When steam is steadily coming out of the vent, set your timer for 10 minutes.  Once the timer goes off, you’re ready for the next step.

Put your weight on the canner, being careful of the steam that’s coming out, and wait for it to come to pressure.  Once it’s up to pressure, set your timer for the appropriate time below.  Remember to only start the timer once your canner is up to pressure.  Waiting for the canner to get up to pressure sometimes takes several minutes, and it will feel like time stands still.  Just be patient, it will get there.

75 minutes at 15 lbs for pint jars (if you are under 1,000 ft. altitude, use 10 lbs)
90 minutes at 15 lbs for quart jars (if you are under 1,000 ft. altitude, use 10 lbs)

You may need to adjust the heat up or down during this time.  If you see your pressure rising above what it should be, reduce the heat.  If you see it falling below what it should be, raise your heat.  I normally don’t leave my kitchen while I’m pressure canning, just so I can keep a close watchful eye on the pressure.

When your timer goes off, turn the stove off.  Actually, turn the stove off and walk away.  Go take a much deserved seat for a while.  You HAVE to leave the lid on and allow the pressure canner to return to normal pressure.  I just let mine sit for quite a while.  Once the pressure is down to normal you can remove the lid and take your jars out.  I use the jar lifter to remove them.  And I always set them on a kitchen towel then cover them with another towel.  I don’t want them to cool down too quickly.

And there you have it, better than Bush’s baked beans!

This week our local hometown grocery store had their bi-annual meat sale.  This is my absolute favorite time to stock up!  With the amazing sale on chicken, I knew it was time to get canning.  Home canned chicken is so amazing.  Every bite is tender and so full of flavor, not to mention quick and easy to use.  I will never buy canned chicken from the store again!

First, I use a Presto 23-Quart Pressure Canner and Cooker.  I love it, it’s easy to use and I’ve never had a single issue with it.  It comes with an in depth instrucion booklet full of recipes.  And the best part?  Amazon has them on sale right now!

Start with clean, sterilized jars.  I run my jars through a cycle in the dishwasher to sterilize them.  Being that my chicken is cold when I pack it in, I don’t keep the jars hot.  I don’t want to take the chance of having broken jars in the canner.  We all know what happens when you mix hot and cold.

I used close to 10 lbs of chicken.  That much chicken will fill 9 pint jars and that is how many jars my canner holds.

I cut the chicken into chunks for the ease of getting it out of the jar.  As I’m cutting the chicken into chunks, I’m also cutting off any bits of grisle, bone or veins they have on them.  I save these little bits and put them in my freezer to use the next time I make homemade chicken broth.  The canned chicken will shred easily as you pull it out.  I do like to cut it into chunks so it is already an edible size when it comes out of the jar.  Then I don’t have to cut it later, just throw it into whatever I am cooking.

In the bottom of each jar, I put a 1/2 tsp of salt.  I then pack the chicken chunks in on top.  I fill the jars about half-way, then push it down and make sure all the nooks and crannies are filled in.  Then packing more chicken chunks in on top.

Make sure you have 1 1/4″ headspace between the chicken and the rim of your jar.  I have learned not to fill the jars exactly 1 1/4″ from the top.  I stop at maybe 1 1/2″ or so.  I noticed that some of the juices come out of the jar during processing.  If you under-pack the jar just a smidge it takes care of that problem.  In canning, headspace is the amount of space you leave between the rim of the jar and whatever you’re filling it with.  Each thing requires a different headspace.  I have a funnel that also has markings on the side to measure headspace.  Here is a little headspace chart to follow:

• Leave 1-inch headspace for low-acid foods, vegetables and meats.
• Leave 1/2-inch headspace for high-acid foods, fruits and tomatoes.
• Leave 1/4-inch headspace for juicers, jams, jellies, pickles, and relishes.

You don’t need to add any liquid to the chicken.  When it cooks, it makes it’s own liquid.  Real, fresh, yummy chicken broth!

I topped off each jar with just a sprinkle of garlic powder, for extra flavor.

Wipe the rim of the jar off.  Never forget this step!  Even when you’re using a funnel, you are bound to get something on the rim.  And if the rim isn’t clean, it won’t seal properly.

Put your lids and rings on the jars.  Since we are doing a “cold pack” for the chicken, I don’t heat mine up before placing them on the jars.

Also since we are doing a “cold pack”, I didn’t prep my pressure canner ahead of time.  Being that my jars were still cold from putting cold chicken in them, I wanted to prevent my jars from breaking once the canning process started.  I put 3 quarts of hot tapwater in the pressure canner and sat my jars down in.  I gave them enough time to warm up a bit from the water before I even turned the burner on.  Make sure to read your directions for your specific canner to see how much water they advise.  Also, a little tip, to keep your jars from being “spotty” you’ll want to add 2 tablespoons of white vinegar to the water.

The first thing you need to do is vent your canner.  Venting means getting rid of the steam inside the canner so you can build up pressure.  To vent, you put your lid on and make sure it’s sealed  (follow the manufacturers instructions for this as well) and turn the heat up to medium or medium/high.  You DO NOT want your weight on yet.  When steam is steadily coming out of the vent, set your timer for 10 minutes.  Once the timer goes off, you’re ready for the next step.

Put your weight on the canner, being careful of the steam that’s coming out, and wait for it to come to pressure.  Once it’s up to pressure, set your timer for the appropriate time below.  Remember to only start the timer once your canner is up to pressure.  Waiting for the canner to get up to pressure sometimes takes several minutes, and it will feel like time stands still.  Just be patient, it will get there.

75 minutes at 15 lbs for pint jars (if you are under 1,000 ft. altitude, use 10 lbs)
90 minutes at 15 lbs for quart jars (if you are under 1,000 ft. altitude, use 10 lbs)

You may need to adjust the heat up or down during this time.  If you see your pressure rising above what it should be, reduce the heat.  If you see it falling below what it should be, raise your heat.  I normally don’t leave my kitchen while I’m pressure canning, just so I can keep a close watchful eye on the pressure.

When I was growing up I was blessed to not only have a Mama that grew her own food, but canned it as well.  Not only my Mama, but all the women in my family.  Many family gatherings would include a circle of women chatting about their recent crops and what they were planning on canning with them.  It was a given that once I had a household of my own, I would follow in all their footsteps.  And proudly, I have.

I spent the first 18 years of my canning life afraid of pressure canning.  I think we’ve all heard a terrifying story or two about Great Aunt Edith having her pressure canner explode on her.  With hearing stories like that, I had completely written off pressure canning.

As my garden grew every year, so did the items on my list to can.  Some of those items had to be processed in a pressure canner.  I finally talked myself into giving it a try.

The first time I took the pressure canner out of the box and sat it on my stove, I was nervous.  I wasn’t going to let my fear keep me from doing it, but a healthy dose of caution guided my every step.  I kept having visions of my day ending like Great Aunt Edith’s did: my wild imagination conjured images of explosions, and shrapnel flying all over and through me that would lead to the headlines, “Woman Killed by Flying Tomatoes in a Pressure Canner Explosion.”

I made it through that canning session just fine, praise the Lord.  Pressure canning is not difficult, not dangerous and not all that time consuming.

For years when I made chicken broth I would put it into baggies and freeze it. I would fill the baggie, lay it flat to freeze and then find great satisfaction in how nice and neat they look when you stack them.

Except they are frozen.  And when I’m whipping up a recipe, I have to take time to defrost them.

I wanted instant chicken broth.

I am by no means a pressure canning expert.  But today, I’m going to walk you through pressure canning chicken broth.

First things first, you need to make your chicken broth.

Every time I cook a chicken, whether in my rotisserie or in the oven, I save every leftover bit and bone and broth and grease.  I put it all in a large freezer-safe tupperware container and put it in the freezer.  Each time I cook chicken, I pull the container out and add to it until I have what I think is enough to make chicken broth.  Normally, once that container is full I’ll do a go of broth.  Or you could just go out and buy 2 stewing hens.

When I have a free day to make the chicken broth, I give myself plenty of time to cook it.  It’s not that it’s a lot of work, it just takes time.  I try to start mine earlier in the morning and allow it to simmer and reduce all day.  It probably isn’t a good idea to start cooking your broth at 9 pm, unless you like staying up all night and not sleeping.  It takes a minimum of 3 hours to turn bones into broth but I like to let mine go a lot longer than that.  The longer it reduces, the richer your broth will be.

Before starting your broth first gather your ingredients.  You’ll need onions, celery, garlic, carrots, salt and pepper.  And grab your container of chicken bits out of the freezer.

Put everything in a large stock pot.  Don’t worry about dicing or making your veggies pretty.  I just quarter the onion, cut the celery and carrots in half and let the garlic cloves whole.  Cover everything with water.  I put enough water so everything is covered by at least 3 inches on top.

Bring the whole thing to a boil, and then simmer for a minimum of 3 hours.  I let mine go for much longer than that.  This last time mine cooked for about 12 hours.  I’m not going to tell you to taste it to see if it’s done.  If you’ve cooked it for longer than 3 hours, it’s done.  Although I highly recommend letting it cook for longer than that.  At this point it’s probably more of a chicken stock. A more reduced, darker, stronger, thicker version of broth.  And amazingly yummy in recipes!

Now is the only “work” part this recipe really has.  After you’ve simmered the broth down, strain it through a colander into a bowl.  Actually you’ll probably need a few bowls.  You don’t realize just how much broth you made until you get to this point.  You can also strain it a second time through cheesecloth to get those small bits that the colander let through.

Once you have the broth strained stick it in the fridge overnight to allow the fat to rise and solidify at the top.  If you’re like me, your fridge is full of 25 dozen eggs and fitting a big pot in there is next to impossible.  I separate mine into 2-3 large bowls and try to maneuver things around to make it fit.  The next morning, take it out off the fridge and remove the hardened fat with a spoon.

If you aren’t interested in pressure canning this broth, you can put it into baggies and freeze it.  I always measured mine out into 1 or 2 cup baggies and wrote on the front of the bag how much was in it.

Otherwise, let’s get on to canning!

First, I use a Presto 23-quart pressure canner.  I love it, it’s easy to use and I’ve never had a single issue with it.  And the best part?  Amazon has them on sale right now!

You’ll need to have your broth on the stove on low heat.  You want to put it into your jars hot.  Also prep your pressure canner by putting it on the stove and heating water in it.  Make sure to read your directions for your specific canner to see how much water they advise.  I put 3 quarts of water in mine.  Also, to keep your jars from being “spotty” you’ll want to add 2 tablespoons of white vinegar to the water.  You’ll also want to simmer your rings and lids on the stove as well.

Gather up the rest of your tools that you’ll need.  You’ll need a funnel, magnetic lid lifter, a jar lifter and a large spoon.  Most hardware stores, and even WalMart, has canning kits.  The kits will have most of the supplies pictured below in them.

Fill your jars with hot broth.  Make sure you have 1″ headspace between the broth and the rim of your jar.  In canning, headspace is the amount of space you leave between the rim of the jar and whatever you’re filling it with.  Each thing requires a different headspace.  I found this handy dandy funnel that also has markings on the side to measure headspace.  Here is a little headspace chart to follow:

• Leave 1-inch headspace for low-acid foods, vegetables and meats.
• Leave 1/2-inch headspace for high-acid foods, fruits and tomatoes.
• Leave 1/4-inch headspace for juicers, jams, jellies, pickles, and relishes.

Wipe the rim of the jar off.  Never forget this step!  Even when you’re using a funnel, you are bound to drip on the rim.  And if the rim isn’t clean, it won’t seal properly.

Using your magnetic lid lifter, pull out a lid from your pot of hot water and place it on the jar.

Put your ring on and finger tighten.  I use a towel or hot pad to hold onto the jar so I don’t burn my hand.  Don’t over tighten your rings.  Also, once the jars are sealed and cooled you can remove the rings.  The lids are what keeps the jar sealed.

Place the hot packed jars in the pressure canner.

The first thing you need to do is vent your canner.  Venting means getting rid of the steam inside the canner so you can build up pressure.  To vent, you put your lid on and make sure it’s sealed  (follow the manufacturers instructions for this as well) and turn the heat up to medium or medium/high.  You DO NOT want your weight on yet.  When steam is steadily coming out of the vent, set your timer for 10 minutes.  Once the timer goes off, you’re ready for the next step.

Put your weight on the canner, being careful of the steam that’s coming out, and wait for it to come to pressure.  Once it’s up to pressure, set your timer for the appropriate time below.  Remember to only start the timer once your canner is up to pressure.  Waiting for the canner to get up to pressure sometimes takes several minutes, and it will feel like time stands still.  Just be patient, it will get there.

20 minutes  at 11 lbs for pint jars

25 minutes at 11 lbs for quart jars

You may need to adjust the heat up or down during this time.  If you see your pressure rising above what it should be, reduce the heat.  If you see it falling below what it should be, raise your heat.  I normally don’t leave my kitchen while I’m pressure canning, just so I can keep a close watchful eye on the pressure.

When your timer goes off, turn the stove off.  Actually, turn the stove off and walk away.  Go take a much deserved seat for a while.  You HAVE to leave the lid on and allow the pressure canner to return to normal pressure.  I just let mine sit for quite a while.  Once the pressure is down to normal you can remove the lid and take your jars out.  I use the jar lifter to remove them.  And I always set them on a kitchen towel then cover them with another towel.  I don’t want them to cool down too quickly.

If you are new to pressure canning, I highly suggest purchasing a book on it.  There are some variables to consider, like altitude, and a book would be a great resource to get you familiar with pressure canning.

Sure, there are risks when it comes to pressure canning. There are also risks when you light a propane grill or walk to feed your chickens in the snow.

If you know what you’re doing and understand what you’re working with, the risk is considerably lessened. When it comes to pressure canning, the more I learned about canners and how they function, the less nervous I was. Pressure canning is a great item to have in your food preservation arsenal.

And nothing is quite as satisfying after a long, exhausting day of canning than seeing all those jars full of food you prepared with love for your family.  Give yourself a high-five!