A Beautiful Sight!!

Hi everyone! Remember I said a few weeks ago that hubby was building shelves for my canned goods? Well, they're done! And I wanted to show off his handy-work! It was hard to get it all in the picture, but there are 8 shelves (5 shorter for pint jars, and 3 taller for quart jars). The entire unit is 6 feet tall and just under 9 feet wide. In the picture above the bottom shelf got cut off. Oh well! It's only holding empties for now. We're going to hang curtains in front of the shelves so that the light doesn't shine on them (and so that they're hidden from folks that I don't want to show my preps to). For now, though, I'm enjoying seeing all those beautiful jars when I go to the basement!


Prep On!
Gen-IL Homesteader


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What have you done???

Hi everyone!! It's the end of January. January is the month where many people make resolutions or goals for the coming year. Did you make any prepping goals this year? And what have you done towards accomplishing those goals?? Even if all you did was go to the library and check out a book that relates to some skill you want to learn, then you've made a start at accomplishing that goal. Good for you!!


Well, I did some canning and dehydrating this month. I canned meatballs in tomato sauce. I also canned a few jars of sloppy joes/barbecue. Our stash of dried apples was getting low, so when my sister found some on clearance I dehydrated them. I also sat down to try and learn about how to use the Aladdin oil lamp that hubby got me for Christmas. I accomplished a life goal (that has nothing to do with prepping) of reading through all 6 Jane Austen novels. (I read the last book this month!)


And, of course, this year's garden plans are starting to brew in the back of my mind. February is the month that I've set aside as 'get ready for the garden' month. It's when I'll figure out what veggies we'll plant and how much of each. I'll figure out the dates to start seeds indoors. I'll figure out what new foods need to be canned from what we grow, and how much we'll need. When you're trying to grow enough food to supply your family for a year, there's alot of planning that goes into the garden before you even pick up a seed. But, the rewards are immense!!


So, the new pantry shelves that hubby was building are finished!!! We've loaded them with what's left of our home-canned foods and they look FABULOUS!! I'll post a pic in the near future!


Prep On!
Gen-IL Homesteader

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12 Days of Prepper Christmas-Day 5

(A view of some of our trees covered in our first major snowfall today!)

In a past year, Matt from KY Preppers did a series of posts entitled 12 Days of Prepper Christmas. My thanks to Matt and APN for allowing me to use the title for my own series of posts. I hope that you will find something useful that will make your own Christmas more fun, frugal, and wonderful!

Hi everyone! Today's prepper gift ideas is one that doesn't require any work on your part, as the first 4 days have. But, it is just as enjoyable to give and could be needed as much as any other gift. It's the gift of canning! If someone you know has just started canning, you can help them along by purchasing some canning supplies for them. A couple boxes of quart or pint jars is invaluable! You can purchase a few other inexpensive supplies such as jar lifters, plastic 'bubbling' tool, or a magnetic lid lifter. You can purchase a big stock pot which can be used for cooking foods to be canned, or for water bath canning. Depending on how much money you're willing/able to spend on this person, you could even purchase a pressure canner. (I'd make sure this person is definitely going to continue in the canning adventure before spending the money that a pressure canner requires!)

The other great item to add to this kind of gift is a good canning book. The Ball Blue Book, which is updated all the time, is a great basic canning/dehydrating book. Another canning book that I really enjoy is Jackie Clay's book, Growing and Canning Your Own Food. Jackie's book has alot of different recipes including many meal-in-a-jar recipes.

Prep On!
Gen-IL Homesteader

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Is Canning Really Worth It?

Hi everyone!! I have been asked that question (Is canning really worth it?) so many times!! Even hubby has asked it at times when I've been stressed, burning the midnight oil to get some veggies put away! Maybe you've read my posts encouraging you to do some canning, and you've thought to yourself 'Is is worth it?' Well, my answer would be a definite "YES"!! Let me explain....





Like so many things we do, there is an initial monetary investment if you're going to start canning. Of course, if you're a patient, savvy shopper you can save yourself some of that money. The items that you will need to start canning are:





*water bath canner (can be large stock pot with towel on bottom)

*canning jars

*screw bands

*flat lids

*pressure canner (for veggies and meats--can also be used for fruits)

*stock pot

*jar lifter





Of course, beyond this list you could add any number of gadgets that are NOT necessary to a successful canning career.





When I first started canning about 15 or so years ago, I scoured garage sales, estate sales, and thrift stores for any canning equipment I could find. (Now think of craigslist and ebay.) I answered an ad in the classifieds in which someone was selling a few canners, lots of canning jars, and other various canning gadgets. I called that phone number as quick as I could and went to view the 'goods' that night! I was able to score a single pressure canner, double-stack pressure canner (love this!), water bath canner, half of his canning jars, and all his gadgets (things I would probably never pay full prices for!) for only $50!!! That was a steal!!! Then, my parents bought me another double-stack canner (score!), a great big stock pot, and a fabulously large ladle for my birthday one year. The biggest expenses in canning were given to me and purchased as cheaply as possible! Those are my recommendations for getting canning items as cheaply as possible! To this day, I continue to buy inexpensive canning jars at thrift stores and garage sales.(I've since been given another couples canners which I was able to pass on to my sister!)





So, what if you've been patient and just have NOT been able to score any cheap or free materials? What if you have to go out and buy brand new items? I would recommend that you buy only what is absolutely necessary for the moment and continue to keep looking for inexpensive used items.





The great thing about canning equipment is that it will last for years! There's been the occasional broken jar, but besides that all of the items I bought/was given years ago are still being used today! They've long ago paid for themselves.





This year I put in 4 rows of green beans, which used app. 2 packets of seeds ($1-2 per bag). So far this year, we have picked enough beans to can 160 pints of green beans, and we've also frozen and eaten a ton! Plus, the plants are still producing, so there are more canned beans to come! If I was to buy 160 pints of green beans in the store, I could possibly get them for 50 cents a piece on sale or at Aldi. Even so, at 50 cents I would have to spend $80 to get 160 pints, and I wouldn't know what kind of bean it was and if it had been raised organically! Of course, there is stove gas that is used, but it is so minimal I wouldn't even know how to calculate it! I could say almost the same thing for this year's tomatoes. I started all my plants from seeds indoors, only watered in the very beginning, and have 20 quarts of juice and over 32 pints of sauce so far. (Plus, all of the mouth watering tomatoes we've eaten raw!) I would say that in this year alone, I've gotten enough food to justify the expense of buying canning equipment, and that equipment has been earning it's keep in the same way for 15 years!! I think you'll agree that canning is indeed WORTH IT!!





The one expense in canning that is continual is the flat lid. This year, though, I've been hearing more and more about the reusable Tattler canning lid. I've not used them, but I think I'm going to give them a try. It's another investment but is one that could, like the rest of the canning equipment, earn it's keep in a very short time! And what a great preparedness item!





Prep On!!

Gen-IL Homesteader








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Pantry, Corn, the Homestead Garden

Hi everyone! I hope you're all enjoying our beautiful Illinois weather! Here in the north we're experiencing a little bit of a Spring warm-up! Everything is green and beautiful!

First off today, I'd like to direct your attention to this article on the APN. It's titled 'Creating a Pantry'. I thought there were some good points in it, especially for those just getting started with prepping.

Then there is this article that talks about how favorable weather has helped IL farmers get their corn crops in earlier than the past few years. This is good for consumers, as it could potentially lead to a greater amount of corn harvested, which would lead to lower corn prices.

Here on our homestead, the peas and snap peas are growing well, and tomatoes under the milk jug 'greenhouses' appear to be doing well. A few rows of snap peas didn't germinate so I planted a few more seeds. Don't be afraid to do this if it happens to you! With most veggies, there's plenty of time to harvest, and if you've gotten a bad seed packet, they're cheap enough to try another one! Your harvest will be worth it, in the end. Don't forget to take time in the garden. Keep a careful eye on the plants, watching for water needs, and pulling weeds.

With garage sale season upon us, now is the time to be watching for canning and dehydrating equipment. I've been able to score some really great deals on canners and canning jars at garage sales and through newspaper ads. If you're going to try preserving your harvest this year, which is a great boost to your preps, you'll want to get your equipment as cheaply as you can! (Keep your eyes peeled for any other garage sale items that would be good to add to your preps, such as camping equipment!)

Prep On!
Gen-IL Homesteader

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How did you add to your preps this week?

Actually, I guess I should say How did you add to your preps these past 2 weeks?, because 2 weeks ago was the last time I asked. Now, I don't ask this to try and flaunt what I did or to make you feel bad if you didn't prep. I ask because I want to keep it on our minds! I don't want to forget that prepping is a day in/day out things that I need to be doing. It isn't something that we do once and forget about. It's really a different way of life and we need to encourage each other in this journey because there isn't a whole lot of encouragement from the rest of the world. Any emergency is right around the corner, and I want to be continually preparing for whatever it might be.

So, towards that end, I personally canned chicken soup and chicken stock, and I dehydrated another 6 pounds of apples that were on sale for a great price. I have always frozen 2-cup containers of chicken stock. The problem is, when I need it and have forgotten to thaw it, I spend a little time melting it before use. Boy, having canned chicken stock is great! I used one pint already this week because I forgot to thaw the frozen stuff! (Silly me!) I'm definitely going to can more of it the next time I cook another bird!

Prep on!
Gen-IL Homesteader

A few more thoughts on growing

I know I said I wanted to post on seed starting, but I had a few ideas floating around in my brain still on yesterday's topic. Firstly, if you have to plant in buckets and you're having trouble finding cheap pots to put plants in, think about those 5 gallon plastic buckets that you can usually get for .25-1.00 at bakeries. Wash them out well, drill some drain holes in the bottom, fill with a good mix of compost and topsoil (the bagged stuff will work fine), and you've got yourself a place to plant! I used these buckets one year to grow potatoes in when I ran out of room in my garden. Don't worry about how they'll look! We're talking about survival here, not landscaping! Survival always looks great!



Another idea I had was to look for a garden plot of someone else's that you can tend. In 1999, when we were living in a rented home, I put an ad in our church's bulletin asking if anyone had a garden plot that I could 'borrow' for the season. One family answered my ad and had a small space I was able to plant. Then, my younger sis talked with her neighbor and found out she had planted a garden (in their neighbor's garden, no less) and was looking for someone to help her as she'd 'bit off more than she could chew'. I jumped at the opportunity! Since she'd already done the planting, I met with her once a week to pull weeds, and when fall came, we harvested and canned together and split the bounty! Not only did I make a great friend that I still have to this day, but I had fun gardening with someone and had jars of security in my cupboard! Something along these lines may happen again this year as younger sis might do some planting in our garden because she has a few too many beautiful trees in her yard! (Trees that drop tasty nuts!)



The idea I'm trying to get across is that it's okay to do something out of the ordinary, something that takes a bit of extra work, something that might not look beautiful in the world's definition of the word, to be able to feed yourself. When those bright red tomatoes, or deep green cukes are growing out of your bakery buckets, you'll think they're the most beautiful things you'd ever seen! When you can go to your yard and grab some free veggies for dinner, you'll be the happiest person alive!

Okay, next time we'll take a look at seed starting as it's almost that time here in IL!! (Is that cheering I hear???)

Prep on!
Gen-IL Homesteader

How did you add to your preps this week?

You know, for most of us prepping is a way of life. When I'm in a store I'm looking for sales on canned goods, I pick through the mark-down carts for dented cans or overripe fruit that can be brought home and dehydrated/canned/frozen. I watch for sales on items that would be useful or necessary in the event of an emergency.

I go to the grocery store once every two weeks. Before I go, I look through my pantry and freezer to take stock of what's needed. I know how many jars of certain items that I like to keep on my shelves. While we like to use fresh or frozen veggies, I always have canned on hand in case of an emergency. I use those cans every once in a while to keep my stock rotated. So, every shopping trip I'm rebuilding my supply from the few things I've using in the past two weeks. I also look for any great sales or mark-down items.

Remember that I said I was going to try to add significantly to our food preps for the month of January? This week I added to our preps by canning pinto, black, and kidney beans, and black-eyed peas. I also bottled 5 pounds of butter. I dehydrated a bunch of bananas, and 6 pounds of apples. I also bought a gallon of water to put back. Next week I'm hoping to can a few meals-in-a-jar.

We meant to stop at an out of the way gun shop while we were traveling to purchase some more ammo, but we completely forgot. Next time!

How did you add to your preps this week?

Prep on!
Gen-IL Homesteader