Assuming you already know the basics about canning, I will only go into detail about the times and preparation: This recipe is for steaw meat, steak, or roast. You may even thaw items from the freezer and can them, as well.

Trim off the bone and fat. Cut into sizes you prefer (even large pieces are fine.) Simmer in hot water, then pack meat into jars with 1/2 teaspoon salt/pint or 1 teaspoon salt/quart. Pour the water into the jars leaving a 1-inch head space. (I like to add a bay leaf, but you can add anything you like, even an onion.) If you have broth left over, just put it in its own can and process it with your meat for later use in soups or for gravy. Adjust caps. Process pints 1 hour and 15 minutes or quarts at 1 hour and 30 minutes at 10 pounds pressure. Remember: Higher elevations will take a little longer.

Canning tip: All current pressure canner recipes call for 10 pounds of pressure. Only the times are varied.

Another tip: Pressure cookers (or your canner) can be used to make great, quick meals! They produce slow cooker quality foods by tenderizing everything and infusing the flavors. I picked one up at GoodWill and particularly like using it for brown rice, because it's so quick.

This is real brief. You could try picking up a book at your library. There are so many things to can. And it is so handy to have on hand.

Benefits of canning dried beans and meat
Ruth

With pintos, I can open a can and mash it for refies, or add tomato sauce and hamburger for chili. I can open a can of navy beans, add a couple of shredded carrots, tomato sauce and some quick-fried bacon pieces, and wha la! Bean and bacon soup! The meat is great. I can make a quick soup by adding vegies, water, etc., or I can add a thickener and make a meat sauce over, say, mashed potatoes, toast, bisquits, rice, or noodles. These canned goodies have been a real blessing to me.

My slow cooker is really nice, too. I have the largest one that I know of on the market. I think it's 6 or 7 quarts. I have been known to start something in the am, but end up not eating it until THE NEXT DAY! I just keep it in the cooker all night. The cooking temperature keeps the bacteria away. The lid keeps the moisture in. A friend of mine has a timer she puts on her cooker....like when you go on vacation for lights....she puts her hot cereal in it. By the time the kids get up, the house smells of cinnamon. Of course, the bread machine is nice for that, too.

Hot Chocolate
Nancy

I use powdered milk, Nestles Quick(NesQuick) & powdered coffee creamer. I start with the milk, then add Nestles Quick until it looks brown, then add coffee creamer until it looks whitish. It just kind of a look method. Then use at least 1/3 c.of the mix & add hot water.(I like mine chocolatey, so I usually add a little more to my cup).

Cocoa recipes
Micki

Yield: 1 serving

2 c Nonfat dry Milk Powder
3/4 c Sugar
1/2 c Hershey's Cocoa
1/2 c Powdered Nondairy Creamer
1 ds -Salt

In large mixing bowl combine all ingredients. Blend well. Store in tightly covered container. Makes 3 3/4 Cups of mix.

Combine 1/4 cup mix and 3/4 cup boiling water. Stir. 15 servings.

Susan Bauer From: N9662 U1 (Steven) Date: 07-19-93 From: Helen Peagram
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Hot Cocoa Mix

2 cup sifted powdered sugar
2 cup instant nonfat dry milk powder
1 (8 oz) jar non-dairy creamer
2 cup powdered chocolate milk mix
2 cup miniature marshmallows

Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Store in an
airtight container.
Combine 1/4 - 1/3 cup of mix with 3/4 cup of boiling water or milk. Stir
well. Makes about 8 cups or 32 servings.
Note: for an added treat, use a flavored non-dairy creamer.
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Hot Cocoa Mix

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
---------------------------------------
3 1/2 cups dry milk
2 cups powdered sugar -- sifted
1 cup powdered coffee creamer
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder -- sifted

In a mixing bowl combine dry milk powder, powdered sugar, creamer, and cocoa.
Store in airtight container.

For each serving, place 1/3 cup of the mix in a mug and add 3/4 cup boiling
water.

Per serving = 143 calories, 3 gm fat, 6 mg cholesterol, 87 mg sodium, 21 gm
carbohydrate, 0 gm fiber, 9 gm protein.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

NOTES : Mocha Mix:
Prepare as above, except sitr 1/2 cup instant coffee crystals into mix.

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HOT COCOA MIX

Beverages-Hot Chocolate

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
---------------------------------------
1 c Cremora Non dairy creamer
1 c Nonfat dry milk
3/4 c Sugar (or more, to 1 cup)
1/2 c Unsweetened cocoa
-----FOR MOCHA, ADD-----
1/4 c Instant coffee
-----FOR MEXICAN, ADD-----
1 t Ground cinnamon
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Hot Cocoa Mix
This simple mix of powders is courtesy of my ex-mother-in-law, who (perhaps unknowingly) provided lots of smiles to her daughter's dormitory floor.

8 oz. powdered milk
4 oz. non-dairy creamer
¼ lb. confectioner's sugar
½ lb. can instant chocolate milk mix
1 T. cinnamon (my addition to the recipe, optional)

Add 3 heaping Tablespoons of mix to your mug of hot water (or to your personal taste).

SHOPPING
Mary

1. Try to be organized about shopping, and try not to just run out to the store every day. Plan your meals as much as possible.

2. Use a crockpot once a week or so. It frees up one afternoon if you have a stew in the crockpot before breakfast (or shortly afterwards); just add a raw veggie platter and dip, or bread or something.

3. "30 Meals Plan" - We did this for awhile ... the basic idea is that you spend approximately two days in a given month cooking up 30 meals that go well in the freezer. Then you don't have as much planning OR shopping to have to do; you do it all at once. Some meals lend themselves to this better than others. And it is very possible to get bored with the selections. There are entire books devoted to this subject, so I'll quit here.

4. Teach your kids to cook. Assign the older ones (8 and up) one night a week that they have to help you cook. You coach, and they learn. Once they get to be about 10, they do the bulk of the cooking on their own, on their given night, while YOU attend to lesson plans, ironing, giving a music lesson to one of the other kids, etc.

5. When approaching a delivery date, surgery date, other major event that could put a kink in the cooking plans, try this: Every night for two weeks to a month prior to the "event", prepare twice as much of the main dish and freeze half of it. Then you'll have a wide variety of frozen meals, and won't have spent several days preparing for it ... just a little extra time each night. You can't always depend on your church to bring meals in during these situations.

Homemade Laundry Soap (liquid)
Ruth

1 bar Felz Napta
1 bar Ivory
1 bar Castille
1/3 bar Lirio (Mexico)
1 C Borax
1 C Washing Soda
lots of drops or Orange essential oil

Grate all bars. Melt over medium heat in about 1-2 Quarts of water. Dissolve Borax and soda in 5 gallons of water, add liquefied bars, pour hot into 1-gallon vinegar jugs leaving about 5" at the top for shaking as they gel hard.

I do about 15 loads per week and this lasts me about 4 weeks. I use about 12 oz per load. It doesn't suds but it cleans really well, even greasy grimy stains. I do pretreat a bit on occasion. It used to cost me $24.00 per month for soap and now costs about $3.00

The first, 3rd and 4th are bar soaps found in the laundry section of the really big grocery stores. Look either up high or down low. Look really hard. I had to go to 5 different stores before I found that Albertson's carries them. The Washing Soda is next to the Borax in a yellow box. Essential oil can be picked up in any Health Food Store.

Lirio (Mexican) is a bar of laundry soap. Check your laundry soap aisle, it would be with
the other ones... if they don't have it you could sub something else. It took a lot of batches before I got this recipe the way I need it.

The normal recipe only needs one bar of soap (Felz Naphta) I found that didn't get out DH's dirt though. I use the Castille because we have really hard water here.

Also, always fill the washer with water before putting detergents in, otherwise, you might stain clothes the other way.

Dishwasher Soap
Jonna

this is what I used and it worked well.

1 T Borax
1 T Baking Soda

Also, you can use vinegar for the rinse part of the dishwasher IF YOU USE REGULAR SOAP. If you use the Borax mix AND the vinegar, the dishes are spotted, but either one worked well alone.

Pumpkin Seeds
Cindy

Just put them (un-rinsed for more flavor) onto a cookie sheet, sprinkle with salt and bake at 350, stirring every 15 minutes. Yummy esp. warm

Another fave. is to bake a stew in a cleaned out pumpkin, (remove seeds and pulp) then when you serve the stew you can scoop the pumpkin meat too as part of your stew.

More on Pumpkins!
Ruth

Place that baby on the cutting board and get yourself a major knife. Ccut it in half (if not putting stew in it like Cindy suggested...cute idea, Cindy).

Expect to get your hands gross. Pull out all the seeds and set aside in a bowl. Throw out all the "membrane" stuff. You might need to use a spoon to scrape some of the membrane, also.

Bake the seeds like Cindy suggested....YUMMY! And they are very high in iron, too.

Cut the rest of the pumpkin into 4"x4" pieces place on a cookie sheet. Bake at 350° for about 45 minutes. When it is tender, cool. Scrape all the "meat" into a bowl. Now you are ready to make pie, bread, whatever. You could also boil the pieces, but it would turn out a bit more watery...but it works, too.

Baking Substitutions

Evaporated milk and sweetened condensed milk are not the same, so don't be tempted to substitute one for the other after accidentally picking up the wrong can at the grocery store.

Sweetened condensed milk is mixed with a sweetener. If you find your self in a pinch, this mix will do: 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons powdered milk, ¾ cup granulated sugar and ½ cup warm water.

Buttermilk also known as cultured milk and can be replaced by sour milk. Take one tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice, place in a measuring cup and fill with enough milk to make one cup. Do not stir, let stand for five minutes before using.

Corn syrup--- If you are in desperate need of corn syrup you can substitute 2 parts sugar to 1 part water and boil to a syrupy texture.

Unsweetened baking chocolate can be replaced with three tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder and one tablespoon of oil (olive oil would not work here) for each one ounce square

1 cup all-purpose flour = 1 cup plus 2 tablespoon cake flour

1 cup cake flour = 1 cup minus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup self-rising flour = 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.

1 teaspoon baking powder = 1 teaspoon baking soda plus 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar.

1 tablespoon cornstarch = 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour.

1 tablespoon tapioca = 1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour.

1 package active dry yeast = 2 1/4 teaspoons dry or 1 package compressed yeast.

1 cup dry bread crumbs = 3/4 cup cracker crumbs.

1 cup packed brown sugar = 1 cup granulated sugar or 2 cups powdered sugar.

1 cup honey = 1 1/4 cups sugar plus 1/4 cup liquid or 1 cup corn syrup or molasses.

1 cup milk = 1/2 cup evaporated milk plus 1/2 cup water

1 cup buttermilk or sour milk = 1 tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice plus sweet milk to equal 1 cup.

1 cup heavy cream = 3/4 cup skim milk plus 1/3 cup butter.

1 cup light cream = 7/8 cup skim milk plus 3 tablespoons butter.

1 cup sour cream = 7/8 cup sour milk plus 3 tablespoons butter.

1 cup yogurt = 1 cup buttermilk or sour milk.

1 cup whipping cream, whipped = 2 cups whipped dessert topping.

2 large eggs = 3 small eggs.

1 egg = 2 egg yolks (for custards).

1 egg = 2 egg yolks plus 1 tablespoon water (for cookies).

1 ounce unsweetened chocolate = 3 tblsp. baking cocoa plus 1 tablespoon shortening, butter or margarine.

1 ounce semisweet chocolate = 1 ounce unsweetened chocolate plus 1 tablespoon sugar.

Deboning Chicken
Bobbi Miller

Used by Permission

Pedialyte

1 liter water, 2 TBS honey*, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp baking soda, (Optional) 1/2c orange juice Boil water, add honey, salt, baking soda. After boiling, add optional orange juice. For children less than 1yo, add other sweetener. This is a supplement, not intended to replace nursing.