"Stocking " Up

Last week we committed to buying half a cow from a friend. With my freezers already about to overflow with the chickens we processed this summer and 3 pigs yet to go to slaughter I knew we were going to be short on space. I started doing some rearranging and defrosting and realized a lot of space was being taken up by bones. Lamb bones, pork bones and 40 pounds of chicken parts. Yep, time to make and can some stock!

So while the canners were running full time so were the turkey roasters. The first 2 rounds were 1 each of lamb and pork bones. They each simmered for 3 days. The next 5 rounds were chicken bones. I let them simmer for 2 days. Now jar after lovely jar of stock line the pantry.

The meat arrived today. Guess what came with it. Uh huh, more bones!!

And Still More Maters

The canning has continued. Another large basket of tomatoes was gifted to me. This time I canned plain chunks and sauce. There were a good many yellow tomatoes in the batch so I did a single batch of yellow salsa. It turned out so pretty!

It has been a rainy week here on the homestead with over 7 inches falling the last few days. Outside chores have been put on hold except for feeding and milking. I decided a little organizing in the pantry was in order since all my pretty jars were starting to fill the shelves. I have a collection of old blue canning jars so I washed them up and filled with various beans and grains. So much more pleasant to walk in my pantry these days!