The ones someone else cans 🙂

So far no favorite for a full meal.

lol. I have to admit that the ones someone else has canned can be very very good. The two jars I got at the Larose meet were excellent.

But I am still pretty new at pressure canning (maybe 7 or 8 months now), so I haven't tried canning whole meals in a jar. Just meats and vegetables (separately). When I open a pressure canned meat jar I mix it with dehydrated vegetables, mushrooms, onions, etc. But it would make so much more sense to open only one jar and have the meal already prepared. Next time I cook a chicken I will try this. I will be interested to see what other recipes people share, so that I can try these as well. Thanks Anita and oldschool for the giggle.

I would LOVE to learn how to use a pressure canner. Have to admit its a little scary to do it on my own. Just do the hot water baths only.

You can do it Girlcancan 🙂 I was a little fput off at first too but it's a cinch once you know how it works. It takes longer than WBC but it's so worth it! There are some really great youtube videos if you don't live near anyone who can show you in real life.

I can second that. I was super chicken to do it the first time. I always remember when my mom's pressure cooker blew the contents of the pot all over the ceiling. What a mess. Of course that was not canning, but I associated the two. Anita is right. Once you know how it works it becomes pretty easy. I didn't have anyone to show me, just you tube. But I tried it, and it worked. Now I love it. And you will too. You can do so much more with it.

And nothing in the world matches the taste of your own home-canned goodies. We used to travel to Alaska each summer (before our Northern friends moved South looking for warmer climes) and canned our salmon overlooking Prince William Sound. I wouldn't have thought there would be a lot of difference between commercial and home-canned. I was really, really wrong. Why did I have to think of that? Now I need to find a good source of salmon in Alberta....

New to pressure canning and I thought I had it all figured out when I bought a pressure cooker and not canner. 😳 I still use it for canning but keep an eye on the time and how the results end out. My favorite recipe so far is Beef meat with a layer of Pork fat on top with a little pinch of salt. This recipe I used mostly with Moose meat and I couldn't ask for anything better. 😉

http://mealsinajar.blogspot.ca/2012/10/10-jar-meal-recipes-using-thrive-foods.html

http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/specialty-forums/survival-emergency-preparedness/vault/211821-recipes-jar.html

http://cheftessbakeresse.blogspot.ca/search/label/52%20jar%20method?m=1

Here are some sites for meal in a jar recipies using freeze dried and dehydrated foods. Being new to Thrive foods I went through and picked some recipies that appealed to us, got the ingredients in smaller sizes and tried them out. Once we picked our favs I made a bunch of jar meals for two, vacum sealed and away we go. Nice part is everything is in one jar.

I now have a pressure canner so now Im experimenting with canning meat and creating a jar mix to go with it. For example a casserole mix, then pick your jar of meat to add. For anyone with an ipad, a very handy app is the Recipie Manager with Serving sizer. I enter my recipies for jar meals that I find on line, as there is only two of us the one pint jars are just right so using the app I can convert to what I need.

That's a great idea Patriotkings! Canning makes so much sense.

JonnyJ - I hate to be a killjoy but canning in a pressure cooker is not recommended. The low acid foods you have canned are not safe to eat. It can look and smell fine and still give you botulism - which can be deadly. It's fine for water bath canning as long as the depth of the water is deep enough to cover the jars by an inch. Save your money and buy a pressure canner. Get a Presto - a 23 quart is about $130.00 and they go on sale sometimes 🙂

Of note, when I make the mixes (ie dry ingredients) for meals in jars I am vacuum sealing using a Foodsaver vacuum sealer with the jar attachments. You can do the same thing in the vacuum sealer bags for more "transportable" meals. If you do this it is wise to put fine powder dehydrated items in a baggy so that it doesn't get sucked into the sealer. When using Mason jars I will use a cut down coffee filter or cupcake liner at the top of the jar, then put the lid on, suck away til sealed, screw on ring and store. Most of these recipes are shelf stable for 5-7 yrs.

I bought my Foodsaver at Costco and the jar attachments from Amazon.

Ps, I hear and understand where Anita is coming from but if you followed all the other rules and your jars are fully sealed, and the product in them will allow you to do, boil it for ten min and it become a lot safer, instead of just throwing that food out.. that is just one of the tricks that many of our grandparents did that we no longer talk about, because they have this firm, if its low acid and not pressure canned, its not safe.. Which I get.. but grandma's rules was no snacking (as even one bean if it had botulism can kill you, but that all low acid veggies where used in soups, stews or recooked (at a simmer) before serving..

Not ideal but worth noting if you have food that you don't want to throw out, and also worth noting in a SHTF if you can only water bath can, and not pressure can for safety.

Said Grandma's advice is to be used at your own risk! Use your common sense, when it comes to home canned goods.

That's a great idea Patriotkings! Canning makes so much sense.

JonnyJ - I hate to be a killjoy but canning in a pressure cooker is not recommended. The low acid foods you have canned are not safe to eat. It can look and smell fine and still give you botulism - which can be deadly. It's fine for water bath canning as long as the depth of the water is deep enough to cover the jars by an inch. Save your money and buy a pressure canner. Get a Presto - a 23 quart is about $130.00 and they go on sale sometimes 🙂

Glad I read that, I was debating the pressure cooker myself 🙁 - Presto it is then 😀

Glad I read that, I was debating the pressure cooker myself 🙁 - Presto it is then 😀

Make sure you buy one with TWO gauges, not just the cheaper one with just a 'rocker' gauge. I made that costly mistake and find it hard to keep it regulated.