Canning!

I love canning! It is so rewarding once those pretty jars are all lined up in rows on the shelf. The only thing better than canning is canning something new and different! Recently, I canned beef stew and dried pinto beans for the first time. Although we have not tried the beef stew as of yet, the beans turned out great!

Buying dried beans in bulk is more cost efficient than buying them in cans, but if you are like us remembering to soak and cook the beans before hand is a trick. Then when we want to use beans in a recipe we don't have any ready or usable for the next several hours. So, I was looking through our Ball Blue Book Guide to Home Canning, Freezing & Dehydration and I discovered a recipe for canning dried beans and peas. No more dried beans that need soaking before every use ! Now we have jars of ready to use beans! Canning beans takes a little time but doesn't require that much actual work. Especially compared to corn or green beans.

Use any variety of dried beans or dried peas. Cover beans or peas with cold water. Let stand 12 to 18 hours in a cool place (Not in the refrigerator). We set our beans to soak the afternoon or evening before we wanted to can them. Just set them in an out of the way location and let them be all night. No work there! Drain. Cover beans or peas with cold water by 2 inches. Boil 30 minutes. Pack hot beans or peas into hot jars, leaving 1-inch headspace. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt to each pint, 1 teaspoon salt to each quart, if desired. Ladle hot cooking liquid or boiling water over beans peas, leaving 1-inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Adjust two-piece caps. Process pints 1 hour and 15 minutes, quarts 1 hour and 30 minutes, at 10 pounds pressure in a steam-pressure canner.

Now you have your own jars of beans ready to use. Home-canned beans are both cost efficient and healthier than store bought. Not only that, who can beat the feeling of satisfaction that comes from your accomplishment?

Once we taste our beef stew I will post on how I did it. I changed up the recipe from the book a little. I wouldn't want to tell you the recipe until we try it, in case I need to tweak it some more!