i can can chicken! ! how to home can chicken to save money and time with quick, easy, tasty family...

I CAN CAN CHICKEN!!How to home can chicken to save money and time with

quick, easy, tasty family recipes

Jennifer Shambrook, Ph.D.Author of Amazon Kindle Best Sellers

The Cornbread Bible: A Recipe Storybook

and

I Can Can Beef!!

I CAN CAN!! Frugal Living Series, Volume 2.All rights reserved by Jennifer Shambrook ©2013

Disclaimer

This is the part where I am supposed to tell you that everything in this book belongs to the authorand publisher and you’re not supposed to copy it or send it to anyone acting like it is your ownpersonal property. I am positively certain your mama taught you not to cheat and steal.

If you want to share a recipe, go ahead and do it, I don’t mind, but please give this book creditwhen you do so. Just so you know, sharing a recipe isn’t copying whole sections, just in case youwere wondering about that. The book is less than five bucks, for heaven’s sake, just give someone acopy of the book if you want them to have more than a recipe or two! They make free Kindle appsfor everything but microwaves these days.

I’m also supposed to tell you that if you do anything I’ve told you about in this book andsomething bad happens, then you’re responsible for your own actions. I’ve done everything I canto warn you where you need to be warned, caution you where you need to be cautioned and remindyou where you need to be reminded. So please don’t sue me. I drive a seven year old minivan full ofmelted crayon stains and petrified French fries that has over 170,000 miles on it. I’ve backed itinto a tree and was hit by a teenager in the grocery store parking lot and didn’t get the bumperfixed either time, so you don’t really want it, I don’t think.

Proceed at your own risk. If I tell you to do something contrary to your pressure cookermanufacturer’s instructions, adapt my recipes to follow their instructions.

Okay, now that that little administrative nuisance is out of the way… let’s check out the table ofcontents so you can see what you are going to learn in the book! The table is interactive, so youcan click on it and it will take you where you want to go. How cool is that?

Table of ContentsWhat is the purpose of this book?

What will you learn in this book?

“Why would anyone want to can their own chicken?”

WHOLE BIRDS, BONELESS BREASTS OR CHICKEN HIPS?Modern loss of chicken logic

Saving Money

COOKING UNDER PRESSURETools of the Trade

JarsLids and RingsCanning FunnelJar lifterLid magnetCanning ScoopDamp paper towelsPot holders or oven mittsDisposable glovesSharp knifeCutting boardBowlsBottle openerPressure cookerPressure cooker rack insert for stackingCooling racks or folded towels

Checklist of canning equipment

PREPARATION OF THE CHICKENFood safety during preparation

CANNING PROCESSCold pack method

Hot pack method

How to make home canned white beans

How to make and can home-made chicken stock

Pressure canning process recap

GREAT CANNED CHICKEN RECIPES

How to make Cream of Chicken Soup without the canAlternative #1 to Canned Cream of Chicken Soup RecipeAlternative #2 for Cream of Chicken Soup – A Gluten Free Dry Mix for the PantryAlternative #3 for Cream of Chicken Soup – Flour based pantry mix

How to make MirepoixMirepoix Recipe

Fancy Shmancy Chicken Salad (Debbie Street Chalmers)Fancy Shmancy Chicken Salad Recipe

Curry Rice and Chicken Salad (Birmingham Museum of Art)Curry Rice and Chicken Salad Recipe

Chicken Stew (Eloise Holt)Chicken Stew Recipe

Southwestern Chicken Soup (Nicole Holt Spencer)Southwestern Chicken Soup Recipe

Chunky Chicken Macaroni SoupChunky Chicken Macaroni Soup

White Chicken Chili (Marilyn Biggers)White Chicken Chili Recipe

Chicken and Dumplings (Polly Johnson)Chicken and Dumplings Recipe

Chicken and Cornbread (Mariruth Powers)Chicken and Cornbread Recipe

Curry Chicken Casserole (Louise Harris)Curry Chicken Casserole

Asian Chicken and Sugar Snap Stir FryAsian Chicken and Sugar Snap Stir Fry Recipe

Chicken PaprikashChicken Paprikash Recipe

Chicken Tettrazini (Patsy DeShazo)Chicken Tettrazini Recipe

Chicken Pot PieChicken Pot Pie Recipe

EXCERPT FROM THE CORNBREAD BIBLE: A RECIPE STORYBOOKMy Own Chicken’n’Dressing Recipe

Cornbread recipe for 10 cups of dressing crumbsJenny’s Old Fashioned Chicken’n’dressing Recipe

CLOSING THOUGHTS AND A CORDIAL INVITATION

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

OTHER BOOKS BY JENNIFER SHAMBROOK, PH.D.The Cornbread Bible: A Recipe StorybookI Can Can Beef!! How to can beef to save money and time with quick, easy, delicious family recipes

What is the purpose of this book?There is tremendous satisfaction in looking in your pantry and seeing a row of delicious homepreserved foods. It is rewarding in so many ways. I can for the sake of improved food flavor,improved food product, and reduced food bills. I win blue ribbons for my home canning in canningcompetitions every year. Every year, like clockwork, my non-canning friends say, “I wish you wouldwrite a book so I could learn to do that!” Well, I’m finally doing that for them and for you.

I CAN CAN Chicken!! is the second in a series of informative books that are being written in order togive you the essential knowledge you need to know how to safely home can various food products. Inthis book you will learn to can flavorful and delicious, naturally tender chicken. This is followed by aseries of easy and tasty recipes for super-quick nutritious family meals. I am a very busy person and Iam writing this for other busy people who are trying to keep a frugal, healthy, country panty in amodern world.

What will you learn in this book?1. You will learn easy step-by-step methods to safely home can chicken for yourself andyour family.

2. You will learn to almost effortlessly create and safely home can your own chicken stockusing your crockpot or electric turkey roaster.

3. You will learn to significantly lower your food costs and increase the nutritional value ofyour family’s diet.

4. You will learn how to shop to get the best prices on the highest quality cuts of meat.

5. You will learn how to use the canned chicken in delicious, easy recipes that will makegoing through the drive-through seem like more trouble than cooking a healthy meal for yourfamily.

These techniques are written so that anyone, whether you are a complete novice or a seasoned homecanner, can follow along. Everything is step by step. I explain both the how and the why of the steps.

“Why would anyone want to can their own chicken?”Canning chicken might seem like an odd pursuit to you, but I grew up with a grandmother whoroutinely canned chicken. Her name was Hazel Orelia Carlisle Johnson, but I called her Mammaw.She was half Cherokee with beautiful black hair. She lived in the country and kept chickens for botheggs and meat.

Mammaw was quite entrepreneurial with an independent spirit. She always had several revenuestreams flowing into her pocket book. She was an expert seamstress, sold Stanley Home Products,made quilts and crochet items that she would sell, and she sold eggs.

Hazie Johnson

Her hens were as industrious as she was and hence (pun intended) very productive. Not only werethey fun to watch in the yard, they supplied enough eggs for both her large family and additional eggsto sell for a little brown egg revenue stream. The hens were hard working little creatures. They gaveeggs for food and would also self-replenish by deciding to hatch out baby chicks from time to time.

When you order chicks from a hatchery, you can specify that you want only females, if egg productionis what you are after, or males if you are raising them for meat. But when Henrietta decides to getbroody and sit on a nest, you just get what you get. The baby chicks would mature and some would

have the future job security of egg production. Others, those of the crowing persuasion, were lookingat a future in a quart sized Mason jar. Roosters don’t lay eggs, so they would have to earn their livingby forming a partnership with some cornbread dressing or a pot of dumplings.

Mammaw would decree a day when she would whittle down the chicken population. The excessroosters and most of the retired hens would end up in a pressure canner. Rather than pluck herchickens, she would just skin them. She would can the meat on the bones, but all excess fat wasremoved with the skin, so you would end up with fat free chicken that was ready to be added to acasserole or stew or whatever was on the menu for that day.

Of course, a few roosters were allowed to stay around to help keep the hens in line and do their partin making baby chicks. One of my earliest recollections of my Mammaw was when I was about threeor four years old. I was staying with her out at the farm and a couple of my uncles (they would havebeen teenagers at the time) asked to take me outside to play with the baby chicks. “Keep an eye onher,” was Mammaw’s instructions to them.

Well, they did keep an eye on me, but so did one of the roosters. He was quite offended by thischubby little miniature human prancing around his yard, chasing his children, annoying his hen haremof wives, and most importantly, being the center of attention in HIS domain. He decided to just dealwith matters by teaching me a lesson I would never forget. He stretched his neck out, flapped hiswings and flew over at me dancing on his tiptoes, squawking, pecking and spurring my chubby littlelegs.

My uncles were right there, but before they could even react my Mammaw was through the back door,down the steps and in the yard with her hand around that rooster’s throat. With one fluid action, sheswung that rooster around over her head, slammed him down on the tree stump chopping block,grabbed the hatchet from the chopping block and WHACK! Off came that rooster’s head. All thosethings seemed to happen before the screen door even had time to slam.

I was astonished to see that headless rooster run a few more steps while Mammaw admonished him:“That will teach you to try to hurt my baby!” I was then scooped up and carried back into the housewhile my uncles were left to “finish ’tending to that rooster.”

My next recollection of that day was sitting at the dinner table (dinner is the midday meal inAlabama) with a crispy fried chicken leg on my plate. My Mammaw told me, “That old roosterwanted to tear into your legs, now you get even and tear into his!” We all had a good laugh at thebaron of the barnyard who attacked the little princess of the palace. Just like the queen in Alice inWonderland, the Mammaw decreed “Off with his head!”

That rooster intended for me to remember that day, and I sure do! So did my youngest uncle, Lloyd.We both ended up having chicken houses and raising our own chickens. I had to give up my chickenswhen I moved to Memphis and took a job at St Jude Children’s Research Hospital. I do a little moretravelling now and chickens need daily attention. Uncle Lloyd was always kind enough to send mephotos and tell me chicken stories of what was going on in his henhouse. Many times over the yearswe chuckled about the rooster attack and subsequent midweek chicken dinner. I am looking forwardto when I can retire to a spot where I can once again have a yard full of chickens.

Uncle Lloyd and Henrietta While I am not raising my own chickens for meat, I am always on the lookout to catch chicken on sale.When my stores of canned chicken drop to a few jars, or the grocery or warehouse stores run a reallygreat special on chicken, I get out the pressure canner and stock up. Chicken is very versatile andpresent in every imaginable cuisine. Having pint or even half-pint jars of chicken on your shelf willinsure that you can have dinner on the table in no time flat. No thawing, no running by the store, andno worries about consuming high fat foods full of preservatives and artificial flavor enhancers, notemptation to run through the drive through and pick up something fried. When you have a jar of home-canned chicken and a few handy ingredients in your pantry, dinner is just minutes away.

There are many reasons why someone would home can chicken. I could fill several pages of reasons.Your reasons may be different than mine, but here are my top five reasons:

1. Home canned chicken helps me get supper on the table quicker than thawing and cookingfrozen chicken.

2. Home canning chicken helps me to save money by taking advantage of sales and lowerprices on bulk quantities of higher quality cuts of chicken.

3. Jars of chicken only need shelf space rather than freezer space with no worries if there isa power failure.

4. Home canned chicken can last for years, rather than just two to three months, without aloss of flavor or freezer burn worries.

5. It gives me a great sense of empowerment and feeling of self sufficiency to home-processfoods and see them fill my pantry shelves.

I enjoy the feeling of self-sufficiency that is derived from preserving the foods for my family. We keepa garden and buy local produce in season so that we have nutritious home canned foods in our pantry.With a well stocked pantry, you can prepare a meal quickly. You can make fewer trips to the store,

saving in both gasoline and being exposed to the temptation of impulse buying. A well stocked pantryalso enables you to be ready to help others when you want to quickly prepare a meal for someonewho has a family event, such as the birth of a new baby. It’s still a really nice thing to bring a blessingto a new mom and dad in the form of a chicken casserole or pot of dumplings!

Whole Birds, Boneless Breasts or Chicken Hips?One of the many wonderful things about chicken is that it goes on sale with fair regularity. Someweeks it is whole birds, some weeks it is boneless skinless breasts, and on other weeks it is legquarters that are on sale. By the way, my Mama calls leg quarters “chicken hips” so that’s what I callthem, too. I also call them the best cut for hot-pack canning chicken and making chicken stock.

The easiest thing to can is boneless skinless breasts or thighs. By far those are the easiest, but thoseare often one of the more expensive cuts you can buy. However, if you watch for sales, you can oftenget them at really good prices. That means you’ve got to clear the decks to can on the weekend thatthey are on sale, or you have to divide up the job into manageable time chunks over a couple ofweeknights.

If you are only canning boneless skinless meat that only has to be cut up and put into sanitized jars,this is a manageable weeknight project. If you are planning to cut up, skin and/or bone pieces ofchicken and make stock, you will most likely want to do the cutting, skinning and boning on the firstnight. Allow the bones to simmer to make stock in a roaster or large crockpot either overnight or allday the next day.

Once you ever make your own stock, you will never be satisfied with the watered down, super saltyand over-priced products that you buy at the store. I like to make stock from thigh bones, rather thanwhole bird carcasses, just because it is so much easier to manage without all the little bones that youhave to skim out of the whole carcass. We are doing this to save money and time, after all!

Modern loss of chicken logicIf you’ve ever observed a flock of chickens, you will note there is a well regimented “pecking order”within the flock. The rooster definitely rules the roost. Next there will be a hen or a couple of hensthat are sort of the queen bees of the flock. Think of them as the popular girls in high school that setthe trends and decide who and what is “in” or “out.” Then, if the flock is large enough, there might bea middle group and one or more that are just not in with the in crowd.

If one of the hens gets injured in some way, the other hens will literally peck her to death if you don’tseparate her from the others and protect her from the “mean girls.” If you try to introduce new hens toan established flock, you will see chicken girl gang wars. Introducing new birds to a flock is aprocess that takes the tactful diplomacy of the level of a U.N. ambassador. It can be done, but it’sdifficult.

There was also a pecking order related to chicken at the dinner table when I was growing up. I’m notsure I even knew what chicken breast tasted like before I was a teenager. To fully grasp this concept,you have to remember that I am from the pre-chicken nugget generation.

When mama fried a chicken, she bought a whole bird and cut it into pieces. There were two breasts,two wings, two thighs, and two legs, which is what you see when you buy fried chicken. But therewas more because nothing was wasted. She also fried up the neck, the back, the gizzard and the liver.I think the cat got the heart, but I could not testify to that in court. Mama may have snuck that littletidbit in as a giblet in the gravy or fried it up for a little personal appetizer for Daddy or herself.

All this fried chicken had a pecking order for distribution and consumption. As a kid, the drumstickwas prime chicken real estate. That’s what we would hope for. If there was company, that mightlower our pecking order status to a wing instead. That’s right, legs trumped wings in those days. Ifthere was a lot of company, we might end up with a neck or back piece and be thankful for it. A breastwasn’t even an option for a kid. As you progressed into adolescence, you worked your way up thechicken consumption pecking order and progressed from drumsticks to thighs. When you became themaster of your own domain (I’m speaking of an actual address, not a virtual one) and had your ownkitchen, husband, and chicken to cut up, you then rated a breast.

Once chickens started growing fingers and nuggets, everything changed. Some fingers, the reallygood ones, are the tenderloins of the breast meat. Those are great. But some chicken fingers arefabricated from “parts.” Hmmm. Wonder what parts? I ask you, when is the last time you saw apackage of chicken necks or backs for sale? You see thighs, breasts, wings, legs, and livers, but youdon’t see many necks and backs offered up for purchase. Has to make you wonder, doesn’t it?

What’s also a bit hard for me to realize is that I often see wings priced higher than breast. What’seven harder for me to realize is that those mystery meat chicken nuggies are priced even higher thanwings. Have mercy!

Saving MoneyOne of the absolute blessings of the modern world is the advent of the boneless skinless chickenbreast. Boneless skinless breasts are so convenient and easy to use. Also, you are paying for all meatand not bone or big hunks of skin and fat. Best of all, they go on sale regularly. While I will canchicken meat that I cut from the bone, or stew until it falls off the bone, my very favorite for ease ofcanning is boneless, skinless chicken breast ON SALE!

If you are a busy person with way too many irons in the fire and trying to tuck canning into an alreadytoo busy schedule, canning boneless, skinless chicken breast is the quickest, easiest, best way to go. Ibide my time and wait until it is on sale and then buy enough to fill my canner. That would be about18 pounds of chicken to fill 18 pint jars. Those jars will last my family about two months, since weuse canned chicken about twice a week. If it is a really good sale, and I have enough pint jarsavailable, I have been known to can two batches. Watch the grocery store sale papers and you willnotice that fresh boneless, skinless breast will go on sale every few weeks. Take advantage of thosesales!

I have also gotten great deals by looking at the dates on packages when I am shopping. One day, Iwanted to can some dark meat and have bones for making stock, so I was looking for some bulkbargain bags of chicken hips. I noticed that there were a couple of 10 pound bags in the display casethat had a “sell by date” of that very day.

You would have thought I was a bird dog the way I immediately went on point! I rang the bell for themeat market manager and pointed out to him that the meat had a sell by date of today. “If you’ll mark itdown, I’ll buy 20 pounds, otherwise, I’ll leave these and buy the fresher bags.” He was more thanhappy to mark down meat that was going to have to be tossed in a few hours. I ended up with 20pounds of chicken hips for $10.48! Even if it hadn’t been on sale, it would have only been $14.96…still a great value.

Now you might wonder, “is that meat skanky?” Absolutely not! The freshness date is a few daysbeyond the sell by date. I was going to can it right away anyway, so it was no big deal to me. I wasthrilled as I walked out of the store with twenty pounds of meat for about ten dollars! From that, Icanned both meat and broth and ended up with eight pints of chicken and nine and a half pints ofstock.

When you consider that chicken broth, which is more watered down than stock, is over $2.00 a pint atdiscount groceries, I would have come out ahead even if I had thrown the meat away and just cannedthe stock. With the stock and the meat, I felt like I had made out like a bandit on that deal. The reallygood news is that I would have still made out like a bandit if I had bought the meat at the full price,which was only five dollars more. I would have still saved enough just from the stock to haverealized a savings.

Canned chicken is about $2.75 for a 12.5-ounce can. That equates to $3.60 a pound. In my scenarioabove, even if I hadn’t made the stock, my finished canned chicken only cost me $1.31 a pound/pintjar. After that, I also had almost two gallons of deliciously rich chicken stock. Finally, I used the skinfor treats for my happy little dogs. Everything was put to good use. Also, as I recycle my jars, thereis lower waste going to the landfill, too. It’s all good.

You may also find whole birds on sale, but I usually find the leg quarters (a.k.a. chicken hips) orboneless skinless breast to be a better choice for me. I have to consider the time investment. You canuse whole birds, following the hot-pack method that is shown later. It just takes a little while toseparate the meat from all those little bones.

Cooking under PressureIf you read other books in the Frugal Living Series that deal with pressure canning, such as I CanCan Beef, this section will be a review for you. If you are relatively new to pressure canning, though,it won’t hurt to skim over this section again. Please forgive some redundancies with other I Can Canbooks. Where the process is similar I have kept the wording essentially the same.

More than once in my life, I’ve heard otherwise quite courageous cooks express absolute fear when itcomes to using a pressure cooker. Is a pressure cooker dangerous? Well, of course it is. But so is afork if you don’t use it properly. Safety measures are important with any kitchen tool. Didn’t yourMom ever tell you? “Quit waving that teaspoon around, you could put an eye out!” Always be mindfulof safety in the kitchen.

Modern pressure cookers are specifically designed for safety. The main thing you have to rememberabout a pressure cooker is to keep the lid on until the pressure has escaped. When you are pressurecanning, you also need to let the pressure subside naturally. If you will just remember those twothings, you should be fine.

I’ve been cooking with a pressure cooker since I was a teenager and after forty years I haveabsolutely no qualms in recommending this as a wonderful addition to your kitchen arsenal of tools. Icannot imagine not having both a pressure canner and a pressure cooker in my kitchen.

You are going to need to come to terms with any pressure cooker fears you may have in order to canchicken. Low acid foods like chicken must be canned under pressure. The high temperatures that arereached by the process of pressure canning destroy the little nasty things that can cause you or yourloved ones to keel over from eating things from your pantry. I rate that as high on the list of things Iwant to avoid.

In all seriousness, canning meat is a slightly more elaborate endeavor than the beautiful art of makingjams and jellies with a hot water bath. All meat and most vegetables are going to require pressurecanning. If you have even the slightest temptation to water bath can your meats, resist that urge. Justthrow the meat in the freezer until the urge passes, then thaw it out and pressure can it.

Not only do you need to pressure can chicken, you need to follow the instructions on how to do itproperly. Just like a pilot taking off on a flight, you want to check your equipment before you fly intopressure canning. Look at the manual that came with your canner and follow their recommendedinstructions. If they differ from what I tell you, please follow their advice. Just as with microwaves,there can be slight differences between cookers. If you were lucky enough to have found a bargain ona used pressure canner that didn’t have the manual, look online at the manufacturer’s website to see ifthey have it there. All of the top name brands have their manuals posted to the web.

At a minimum, you want to check the vent pipe to see that steam can escape freely. The vent pipe isthe little pipe that the pressure regulator (some people call it a jiggler) sits on. You should be able tohold the lid up to the light and see light coming through the vent pipe.

Check the gasket to insure that it is not cracked or broken. If it is, you can usually find replacementparts online and at some large department stores that sell pressure cookers.

You also want to make sure you have enough water in the pressure cooker for the long processingtime. If you pressure canner runs dry, it could wreck your pressure canner, and that’s an expensivelittle mistake. It is better to err on the side of adding too much, rather than too little water when itcomes to pressure canning. Generally, 3 or 4 inches in a large pressure canner will get the job done.

Insure that you place the lid on the pressure cooker properly. Often you have to align arrows or dotsor lines to put the lid on, then twist the lid in place. Some very large pressure canners have clampsaround the top that you must tighten two at a time choosing the clamps that are opposite each other.Again, follow your manufacturer’s instructions.

Finally, don’t skimp on the time. It would be better to over process than to under process. Theprocess is a long one, so plan your day to accommodate the needed time.

At the beginning of the canning process, you will put the lid on, heat the canner, and watch for steam

to come out of the vent pipe. This is called venting. Be sure to allow the pressure canner to vent for afull 10 minutes. This means that you can visibly see steam rising from the vent hole.

Use a timer. Don’t guess at the time. Keep the timer where you can hear it.

After venting a full ten minutes, you should use an oven mitt on your hand to carefully place thepressure regulator (the jiggler) on the pressure cooker. If you have a pressure dial, watch for it to riseto 10 pounds of pressure. Add one additional pound of pressure for every 1,000 feet above sea levelif you are at a high altitude. Only then do you start timing the pressure canning process. For pint jarsof chicken, we need to process at 10 (or more) pounds of pressure for one hour and 15 minutes. Yourtimer is a critical piece of equipment for this exercise. If you have one that only measures inminutes… that’s 75 minutes.

After 75 minutes have passed, turn off your stovetop heating element, move the pressure cooker awayfrom the source of heat and walk away. Just leave it to cool down on its own.

DO NOT TRY TO SPEED UP THE COOLING PROCESS. The natural cool down is an importantpart of the process. I will often just let it cool in the canner overnight. It won’t hurt for the jars to stayin there longer, but if you try to shorten the time by running cold water over the canner, your jars willlose their seal, at the least, and possibly explode… making a huge mess and ruining your food. As theexplosion happens INSIDE the canner, you are not likely to be in danger, but you are going to be verydisappointed that you went to all that expense and trouble just to ruin your food.

Just let the canner cool naturally and you won’t have that problem. When it cools naturally, thepressure valve drops, the dial goes to zero, there is no steam escaping when you remove the pressureregulator (jiggler), and your jars and seals should be very happy with one another.

Another piece of “must have” safety equipment is a jar lifter. This little set of jar forceps will keepyour fingers safe when loading hot pack jars or removing the processed jars from the pressure canner.

The hot processed jars should be placed on a folded towel, a cutting board, or a cake rack. DO NOTSIT HOT JARS ON A COLD SURFACE. Use a folded towel (2 or 3 thicknesses), a wooden cuttingboard, or a cake rack to protect your jars and your work surfaces.

The jars will be VERY hot, even after the pressure has dropped naturally. The liquid will boil andbubble within the jars for hours after they have been removed from the pressure cooker. It is reallyquite amazing to watch the jars bubbling away for so long. But that serves as a reminder to you to bevery careful with the jars and with the heat. Just take them from the pressure canner and gently placethem on a towel, rack, or cutting board, and leave them alone. We don’t want any burns.

You will hear that satisfying POP as the lids cool and seal. I like to count the pops. You will know thejar has sealed by pressing on the center of the lid (after they have cooled). If it is firm with no give, ithas sealed. If it did not seal, just put it in the refrigerator and use the food within a few days, or re-process in the pressure canner with a new lid.

In the actual canning instructions, you will have easy step-by-step instructions that should give you a100% seal rate. It’s not magic, it’s just following the proper protocol for canning success. But if youhave a defective seal, don’t worry, just refrigerate and eat within a few days. No big deal, however if

you find an unsealed jar in your pantry, it is a big deal. Just discard the food and sanitize the jarbefore re-use. You might also want to check to see if there is a chip in the lip of the jar. That cancause a jar not to seal properly.

After the jars have cooled, you will want to remove the rings and wash the jars and rings to removeany residue from the canning process. Because I work and most often do my canning projects on theweekends, I will often wash the jars the next weekend. The jars can be stored without rings, if youhappen to have more jars than rings, like I do.

I have both Mirro and Presto model pressure cookers. I use them for cooking quick family meals aswell as pressure canning, so having the different sizes has been useful to me. I have collected theseover the years and my oldest pressure cooker is over 20 years old. I have been using pressurecookers for about 40 years and consider this an essential item of equipment for any home kitchenwhere the cook considers saving money and time is important.

Tools of the TradeA general word about the tools you will need for pressure canning. I was raised in a family ofcraftsmen and -women. One of the differences between how well a job can be done, how well theend product will turn out, how difficult the task will be, is the quality of the tools. While I am a trulyfrugal, Proverbs 31 kind of gal, I do not skimp when it comes to the tools I need for providing healthy,home preserved food for my family. I want to get the best bang for my buck, always. So many timesbeing penny-wise and pound-foolish can cost you dearly in the end.

I use decent, not necessarily top of the line, but decent equipment. I may use a butter knife to tightenup a loose screw from time to time, but when it comes to home food preservation, I feel that I save somuch in groceries due to my food storage efforts that I am actually entitled to have adequate tools thatI need to get the job done.

Let me put just a finer point on it. My husband, whom I dearly love, has no problem having a differenthammer or a different saw blade or even a different saw for whatever job he is going to do. He is notgoing to use a saber saw for a job that calls for a circular saw. He could, but the finished product justwouldn’t be as well done and the job would take considerably more effort.

In the same manner, I am not going to spend a day canning with sorry equipment. When it comes tohome food preservation, I’ve made investments in decent equipment. I strongly encourage you to dothe same.

Please forgive me if I sound sexist here. I apologize in advance, but this is my personal observationand expectation. The menfolk reading this word about obtaining the proper tools will probably “getthis” concept right away. We womenfolk who hammer with shoes and tighten screws with butterknives may be a little harder to convince. There is a reason why the old adage is “Necessity is themother of invention.” That’s because necessity is the father of a trip to the Home Depot.

I promise you, you will save yourself an abundance of time and effort if you just break down and getthe right equipment and then use it as intended. Remember, you are going to save so much money onyour overall monthly food bill that it will pay for itself in your first one or two canning adventures.So please go ahead and give yourself permission to acquire the items you need for a job well done.Treat yourself to the pleasure of the ease of working with the right tools.

Please shop around for the best price and most convenient way to acquire your canning equipment.Canning equipment can be difficult and time consuming to find locally. The actual time it takes to runaround trying to find the equipment may be impossible to find. For equipment, I use Amazon. For jarsand lids, I am fortunate enough to be able to buy locally.

For your convenience only, I’ve put links on www.jennifershambrook.com to the various equipmentitems if you cannot find them locally, or if you’re not sure what I’m talking about. This isn’t asolicitation, these are just there to make it easy for you to see what I’m talking about, or for you toclick through and purchase, if it is easier for you to do so. My hope is that you can find things locallyor borrow for your first few canning adventures.

Assemble everything you are going to need before you start your project. It is exasperating to haveeverything ready to can, then realize you don’t have enough jars, or can’t find the lid magnet, or forgot

http://www.jennifershambrook.com

to get a jar lifter. What I have listed here is what you need, down to a damp paper towel. I have alsoposted a checklist at the very end for your convenience.

JarsThere are some important things you need to know about canning jars. Using authentic canning jars isthe only way you are able to safely pressure can any kind of food. While you can save jars from foodyou have purchased at the grocery store for freezing or storing dried foods in your home foodpreservation efforts, you cannot cut corners when it comes to acquiring good, canning quality jars forpressure canning.

The good news is that good quality canning jars can be used again and again and again and again.Unless you damage it in some way, it will have an almost unlimited lifetime. I have jars that areliterally decades old. I get itchy canning fingers when I see a collection of empty jars gatheringaround my kitchen. The lucky number at my house is eighteen when it comes to standard pint jars,sixteen when it comes to wide-mouth pint jars, or seven when it comes to quart jars of eitherpersuasion. Those are the limits for each size that my trusty 22-quart Presto pressure canner will holdin one canning session. I want to make the best use of the canning session and can with a full cookerfor the sake of frugality and stocking my pantry with great home-canned food.

For canning chicken and chicken stock, I like to use pint jars. A pint jar will hold two cups of meat,which is ample for most casserole or soup recipes. I use both quart jars and pint jars for stock, as Ihave recipes that call for either amount. I like to plan the size jar I use based on how I will use theingredients in cooking. When a quart jar can be used, I try to can seven quarts at once in order to fillmy pressure canner. Using quart jars saves space in your pantry and the number of non-reusable lidsyou have to buy.

Purchasing jars can be a bit of a quest. As canning is not a widespread domestic art, it can be achallenge to find canning jars. I will start first with the easiest and last resort. You can buy cases ofjars on Amazon at about a dollar and a half per jar. Even though they are more expensive than buyingthem in a local store, they will still pay for themselves with the first canning session. After the firstsession, the jars are essentially free. Your only expense then is for lids and the cost of hot water andsoap to wash the jars for recycling to your next canning project.

Fortunately, there are stores that carry canning jars for prices that generally equate to less than adollar a jar. I have found them at Wal-Mart, Fred’s Dollar Store, Ace Hardware, Big Lots and somecraft stores. They may be a seasonal item. Normally, I can only find them in the summer and early fall.For that reason, I will often buy more than I think I need and stockpile them. It is sheer torment to meto have the opportunity to get food at a low price or even free and not have jars available. So, I keepjars on hand. If every jar I have is full, I am going to be on the lookout for more jars for my “just incase” jar arsenal. Since I give a lot of canned goods away, I am always in need of jars.

You can also find jars in other places such as estate sales, yard sales, thrift stores and those sorts oflocations. If I go browsing in a thrift store, I always cruise the glass aisle, just in case there is a Ball,Kerr or Mason jar up for adoption by a loving canner’s home. I’ve found some gems. Again, though,just be sure it is a “real” canning jar and not a recycled mayonnaise or spaghetti sauce jar. Those areunlikely to hold up under the pressure of your pressure canning process. I haven’t tried it, and I am not

willing to endanger my safety or the safety of my precious canned foods for the sake of saving a fewquarters on a jar.

Buy good jars and they will be your devoted servants for years or at least until you give them away!

Lids and RingsWhen you buy new jars, they will come with fresh lids and rings. The rings are reusable, the lids arenot. When you open a sealed jar, pour the delicious contents in your cook-pot and throw the lid in thetrash-can so that you are not even tempted to re-use it in the canner. They are designed for a singleuse. Fortunately, they are very inexpensive. I buy them by the case at the grocery store or discountstore. I keep a supply on hand in both the standard and wide mouth sizes so that they are at hand whenI am ready to take on a canning project.

The rings can be used over and over until they rust. One way to preserve your rings is to remove themafter your canned food has been removed from the canner and cooled. Wash them, dry them, and putthem away for your next canning project. Your filled jars do not have to be stored with rings on them.This will eliminate the likelihood that your rings will stick and you will need to struggle to twist offthe ring when you are ready to use the food.

If the ring is tight or seems “stuck” when you are ready to open a jar, holding it under hot tap waterwill usually do the trick. But who needs that hassle. It just adds to the amount of time it takes to getdinner ready, so why not go ahead and remove the rings, wash them and store them, then that is oneless step when you go to cook a quick delicious meal for your family?!

There are re-usable canning jar lids. They are quite expensive and have gotten mixed reviews.

Frankly, I have veered away from using them because I have heard of so many instances where fellowcanners were not happy with their failure-to-seal rate. While I may one day invest in these as anemergency back-up measure, as long as I can get disposable lids with the compound easily and at agood price, I’ll continue to purchase them. I just need to hear that reassuring POP! when the jar sealsfor my heart to be at ease.

Canning FunnelWhen I recently started to can a batch of cubed beef I couldn’t find my canning funnel. You wouldhave thought I had lost my wedding ring by how hard I searched for that little lost gadget! I wasbeside myself because I honestly cannot work efficiently without it.

My sweet, helpful husband had kindly unloaded the dishwasher and put it in a different cabinet.Fortunately, we found it and I was able to get on with my canning project, but I purchased a secondone so that I would never have that particular panic attack again!

You absolutely must have a canning funnel. They help you to put the food into the jar without getting it(or at least much of it) on the rims of the jars. Also, the really nice ones will even measure the foodfor you so that you know when you have the desired amount of head space. (Head space, unlike aspacey head, is a good thing in canning. It is the amount of room you have from the top of the food tothe top of the jar.)

Canning kits usually come with an inexpensive plastic canning funnel. I have been using one like thatfor years. However, I did recently treat myself to one of the fancy head-space measuring super-deluxemodels after the missing canning funnel cabinet cleaning search mission. I especially enjoy it whencanning jellies and jams. Either kind will work well for your canning projects.

Jar lifterThe jar lifter is an essential piece of equipment for a safe and efficient canning kitchen. You are goingto be working with extremely hot jars when you remove them from the pressure canner. The only wayyou can really do this safely is with a jar lifter. It is a pair of coated forceps especially made forlifting canning jars (hence the name, duh.) They are very inexpensive and very essential.

Lid magnetThe lid magnet, like the jar lifter, is just what it sounds like, a magnet for lifting lids. Why do youneed a magnet, you ask? Thank you for that question! The jar lids have a compound on them that mustbe softened in very hot water before putting them on the jars filled with food during the canningprocess. The magnet not only lifts them safely from the hot water, but keeps your fingers from touchingthe rims of the jars after they have been wiped. So they add an element of safety from both theperspective of heat and sanitation.

I don’t know what it is about jar lifters, but I really like using them. They remind me of the elegantcigarette holders Mae West used to wave around, or the baton of the Maestro of an orchestra, orperhaps even a magician’s wand, but I digress. Many canning kits come with a lid magnet. I wouldadvise against purchasing one without one as you are going to want to have one and they aresometimes hard to find separately for the same reason it is hard to find jars… folks just don’t can likethey used to.

Canning ScoopYou may use either a hot pack or cold pack method in canning chicken. In the cold pack method, youload cubed chicken into the jars and cook them in the jars with a little salt and garlic. In the hot packmethod, you stew the chicken, remove it from the bone, then fill the jars with the chicken and coverwith a hot liquid, like stock. A canning scoop will be very helpful if you use the hot pack method. It issimilar to a ladle, but the handle is straight, rather than angled. You will find it gives you more controlover the liquids and keeps the canning process tidier.

A canning scoop will save time in adding the stock to the jars because it holds a half pint or more ineach scoopful. If also can chicken stock, you will find the scoop essential when filling canning jarswith stock. If you are only going to use the cold pack method, you won’t need the canning scoop now,but if you are going to use the hot pack method, it will save you a lot of time, effort and mess.

Damp paper towelsYou’ll need a few damp paper towels or clean dish cloths to wipe the rims of the jars after you fillthem and before you seal them. Even stuff you can’t see, like a little fat, can prevent a secure sealfrom taking place. I always use damp paper towels to wipe my jars and out of the literally hundredsof jars I have canned this year in various canning projects and I have only had two jars to fail to seal.

If you have a jar that fails to seal, all is certainly not lost. You just put it in the fridge instead of thepantry and use it right away. If you happen to miss that it failed to seal and find it IN your pantry, openit and discard the contents. Check to insure the jar does not have any chips around the mouth. If the jarmouth is intact, you can re-use. Wash the jar thoroughly with a little chlorine bleach in hot soapywater, and reuse the jar with no qualms.

Do NOT, I repeat (in a Barney Fife voice), DO NOT taste test anything from a spoiled jar you find inyour pantry. It might look okay, it might smell okay, and it might taste okay, but it ain’t okay. Okay?Saving that few dollar’s worth of food is not worth the quality time you are going to spend with theporcelain fixtures in your home.

If you follow the instructions in this book combined with the information found in the owner’s manualof your pressure canner, you are going to have very few lid malfunctions. When there is a malfunction,it is most often going to be detected before the jar goes to the pantry, so you will just put it in thefridge to use in a few days and not suffer a loss of food.

Pot holders or oven mittsYou should have some of these already in your kitchen. If not, they are certainly easy to find locally.Just make sure they are dry when you use them so that they do not conduct heat.

Disposable glovesSanitation is top priority in the canning process. Not touching anything goodgie is a top priority in mylife. I can handle anything if I’m gloved up. I use disposable vinyl gloves to protect my food from meand me from my food. I do not want raw meat lodged under my fingernails or any of my fingernailslodged in the food. Do I need to elaborate more on that? I think not.

Sharp knifeIf you cold pack chicken breast meat, you will need a sharp knife. For hot pack, you will pull the meat

from the bone with your gloved fingers.

I use a large knife that I have sharpened to razor-like ferocity to cut meat. A sharp knife is a lot saferto use than a dull one. Take the time to sharpen your knife before you start cutting. I like Rada knives.I was hooked on them as a young home-maker and have never felt the need to change over to a higherpriced knife.

You need a knife that is going to easily cut the meat from a large chunk to small cubes with the leastamount of effort. A sturdy, longer bladed knife is what I use. You probably already have something inyour knife block that will adequately suit your needs. If not, get a good sharp knife. You’ll find allyour cooking chores become easier for having made the purchase.

Cutting boardYou will need a cutting board that is large enough to handle the size of the meat you have purchased.You should scrub your cutting board in hot soapy water with a little chlorine both before and after usewhen handling raw meat.

BowlsAs I either cut the meat from big chunks to little chunks, trim the skin and fat, or pull the stewed meatfrom the bones, I place the meat I intend to can in one bowl and anything I intend to discard or give tothe dogs in another. It keeps my working surface tidy and organized.

Bottle openerYou will eventually be opening the jars you have canned. The pressure canning process seals by bothmelting the compound on the lid and by vacuum. This can make the lids a bit hard to remove. I havefound the very best thing to use to remove lids is an old fashioned bottle opener. I am talking about thekind that has a rounded side on one end and a sharp pointy end on the other. Some people call it achurch key. You will use the rounded end to open your jars.

With twist off tops and pull tabs, they may be a bit of a challenge to locate, but you usually can findthem locally.

Pressure cookerWell, of course, this is the queen of the show when it comes to pressure canning gadgets. No pressurecooker, no pressure canning. Gotta have this baby. As I’ve mentioned above, I have both Presto andMirro models in my pressure cooker arsenal. My 22 quart canner and 8 quart cooker are both Prestoand I also have a 6 quart Mirro. I also have a 2 liter Prestige for small batches. They are all fine

products.

There are also 16 quart canner models. I didn’t choose that one because you cannot stack two layersof pint jars in the 16 quart model. I like to do big batch canning in order to save on energy costs (bothmine and Memphis Light Gas and Water), so the 22 quart model is best for me. But, you may not befeeding a family of four, or you may not want to have that many jars of the same thing at one time. Sothe 16 quart model may be a better choice for you.

The prices fluctuate on Amazon from time to time and the quality of both Presto and Mirro is superb.This is another product that you may not be able to find locally OR if you do find it locally, it may beover-priced. I was able to find it locally. I needed to replace a canner that I was somehow lost in ahouse move (don’t ask) and found that while I could find them locally, I was going to payconsiderably more for it at the store than on Amazon. So, Mr. Amazon got my money and I savedabout $30. Since I am an Amazon Prime member, the shipping was free and I didn’t have to pay tax.

Now if you want to REALLY go whole hog, some folks swear by the American Canner. I haven’t usedone, but I have witnessed some exuberantly happy canners using theirs. It is a fine piece of equipment.I am content with my old Presto model and if it were to be lost again, I would likely just get anotherone of those or a perhaps a Mirro of the same size, depending on which one was the lowest cost at thetime.

One thing I do recommend, though, is that if you know someone that has a pressure canner, see if theymight let you borrow it for your first few canning projects. That will give you the opportunity to testdrive this process before you drop $70 to $100 on a canner. That can also help you space out yourinitial expense as you are collecting jars. A jar of your canned food with a recipe you think theywould like would be a nice thank you for the loan.

Also, since you will likely only use it once or twice a month, even if you start canning chicken, turkey,pork, lamb, venison, dried beans, and vegetables, you may want to see if you can find a friend orfamily member who would like to go in halves with you. You could keep it in even number monthsand your partner could keep it in odd number months. If you later discover you need it full time, youcould then go in halves again to purchase the second canner. Then with two canners each have onefull time, or each have two when needed for a really big canning marathon.

Pressure cooker rack insert for stackingIf you go with the 22 quart pressure canner you will need to get an extra rack in order to use thegreatest safety in stacking your pint jars. I always use a rack in the bottom of the canner and thenanother rack between the stacks of pint jars. I will often combine both standard and wide mouth jars.The standard jars are taller than the wide mouth jars, so I position them so that the separating rackrests on three standard jars on the bottom layer to make a stable tripod for the rack to rest on.

Cooling racks or folded towelsYou will need to place the hot jars on something that is not cool when you remove them from thepressure canner. My grandmother used bath towels that were folded into thirds. I use my largewooden cutting board and the cooling racks I use when baking. You can find those at the dollar storefor about fifty cents each.

Checklist of canning equipmentSo, in final analysis, here is a recap of the tools you will need. It may seem like a lot, but some ofthese things you will probably already have on hand. Others are very inexpensive. I have tried tooffer some advice on cost savings for the others. A major purpose for this book is to help you savemoney, so if you can borrow or find something used or on sale, please take advantage of it. But do notdo without the tools you need.

Assemble everything you need before you start so that you can just flow from one step to the otheronce you get started.

1. Quantity of chicken

2. Sharp knife

3. Cutting board

4. Bowls

5. Pressure canner

6. Jars

7. New jar lids and clean jar rings.

8. Canning funnel

9. Disposable vinyl gloves

10. Canning scoop (only if you are using the hot pack method with broth)

11. Stewing pot (only if you are using the hot pack method)

12. Broth or stock (if you are using the hot pack method)

13. Fat separator (if you are using stock)

14. Damp paper towel or clean cloths

15. Lid magnet

16. Jar lifter

17. Two racks for pressure cooker

18. Potholders

19. Cooling racks, wooden cutting boards or folded towels for cool down area

Preparation of the ChickenIn this section we will address food safety and the actual methods you can employ to safely canchicken. Two methods will be given to can meat: cold pack and hot pack. I suggest you read throughboth sections, look at the recipes in the recipe section and see which method you would prefer.

You will also learn to prepare and can chicken stock from the bones of the chicken. I usually makethis from the bones from chicken thigh quarters.

Finally, as I’ve said before, I never like to run my pressure canner without it being full, in order tomake full use of the fuel used for the pressurization process. If, after jarring up all of my meat, I haveroom for more jars, I will quickly prepare some jars of dried beans. This only takes a very fewminutes and those ready-prepared beans are great for white chicken chili, or just to have on hand as anutritious side dish for a meal.

Refer to the list in the previous section and assemble everything you need to handle the food safelyand quickly once you get started. Read through the instructions before you start so that you have agood idea of what you will be doing and when.

Food safety during preparationI use a large cutting board for cutting the meat. I assemble all needed knives and wash the cuttingboard with warm soapy water with a bit of chlorine bleach in it prior to taking the meat from therefrigerator. I want everything to go quickly so that the meat isn’t sitting out at room temperature anylonger than is necessary. I wash the cutting board in warm soapy water with chlorine bleach again atthe end of the process.

I keep a box of disposable vinyl gloves in easy reach when handling raw meat or when mixingsomething with my hands. This keeps the food out from under my fingernails and any bacteria thatcould be lurking under my fingernails away from the food. I wash my hands and dry them well beforeputting on the gloves. I may go through several pairs of gloves during a lengthy food prep process.

When you remove the meat from its wrapping, take note of the weight of the meat, as this will helpyou to estimate how many jars you will need later in the process. You will get roughly one pint jar forevery one pound of boneless, skinless breast meat. If you use bone-in meat, such as thigh quarters, youwill get roughly one pint jar for every two pounds of store label weight. If you are making stock,though, you should expect to get one pint jar for every pound of store weight.

Canning ProcessNow let’s get down to the business of canning!

As mentioned above, we will be looking at both cold pack and hot pack methods for meat, canningstock, and filling any empty space in your pressure canner with a speedy recipe for dried beans… nosoaking necessary!

Your jars should be freshly cleaned. Some people actually boil their jars, some just put them througha sanitation cycle in the dishwasher. Others say not to worry so much about the jars as thepressurization process will sterilize them.

I prefer to give them a wash in the sink in very hot sudsy water and rinse them in hot water one finaltime. Even if they are already clean, I give them an additional wash and inspection just beforecanning. It may be overkill, but I don’t want to notice a little spot of something or chip once I getstarted with packing my jars. As I give them the pre-canning wash, I check for any chips on the seal,or any food residue that might have been left by the sanitation cycle from the dishwasher or previoushand washing.

Again, you can estimate using 1 jar for each pound of boneless, skinless meat or for every 2 pounds ofskin-on, bone-in meat. This does not have to be precise. It could be a little more or a little less thanan exact pound in each jar. Just divide evenly between the jars once you get ready to pack the jars. If Iam estimating, I will estimate on the high side for the number of jars and leave a little more headspace rather than overfill my jars.

I use both of these methods. I prefer dark meat chicken for certain dishes, for example, chicken anddumplings. I prefer white meat chicken for other dishes, such as Mrs. Harris’s Curry ChickenCasserole. Some dishes suit me just fine with either light or dark meat, like Chicken Paprikash. Youhave to have bones, though to make stock.

We eat chicken enough that we don’t have too much on hand by having a full canning session of whitemeat, a full canning session of dark meat, and a full canning session of stock. Stock does not have toprocess as long as the meat does, but if I want to can stock at the same time I can hot pack stewedchicken, I will just go ahead and let it have those extra minutes. It won’t hurt it.

Cold pack methodLet’s look at the cold pack method first. I recommend this method for your first chicken canningadventure. You will use this method using boneless, skinless chicken breast.

For the best prices, watch the sales or go to a big box store and get your boneless, skinless breasts ata discount price. In my hometown, at least one store seems to have them on sale every week forsomewhere in the neighborhood of two dollars a pound. Think about it, two dollars for the meat for afamily meal that will serve 4-6 is pretty good.

1. Prepare your pressure canner: Place the bottom rack in your pressure canner. Fill thecanner with about 3-4 inches of water. Add 1/4 cup of distilled vinegar to cut down onmineral deposits. Put your pressure canner on the hottest heating element your stove has butdon’t turn it on just yet. We are starting with cool jars, so we will start with cool water in ourcanner and they can rise in temperature together.

2. Prepare your jar lids: Put your jar lids (not the rings) in a saucepan and cover withwater. Allow the water to come just almost to a boil, then turn down to low. You do not needto do anything to the rings except to check to be sure they are clean and are not rusty.

3. Prepare your jars: As mentioned above, plan to have a jar per pound of meat. In eachhot, clean jar, put 1/2 teaspoon canning salt and 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic (more or lessadjusted for your family’s taste).

4. Put on your disposable gloves.

5. Prepare the meat: Take the chicken from the refrigerator and cut it into roughly uniform

one inch cubes. I like to cut each breast into tenderloin strips, then cutting across severalstrips at once, I cut into cubes. As I complete each breast, I place the newly cut cubes into abowl. Work quickly so that your meat is not sitting out at room temperature any longer thanabsolutely necessary.

6. Filling the jars: Place the jar funnel into the mouth of a jar. Notice where one inch ofhead space would be. Fill the jar to that point with the cubed chicken breast. Using yourfingers, wearing gloves, or rubber spatula, press the meat down in the jar so that it is packedrather firmly, but not a solid pack. Be sure to leave the head space, though, because this isessential for the vacuum to occur during the pressure canning process. Take a moist papertowel and wipe around the rim of each jar to insure it is absolutely clean.

7. Seal your jars: Using your lid magnet, remove one of the lids from the pan of hot water.Place the lid on top of the jar. Use a jar ring to tighten to just hand tight.

8. Load pressure canner: Using the jar lifter (your hands may be slippery), lower each jarinto the pressure canner until the bottom of the canner is filled. If you are going to stack twolayers, insert the second pressure canner rack on top of the first layer of jars insuring the rackis level. Place the second set of jars on the rack.

9. Close the pressure canner: Following the manufacturer’s instructions, place the top ofthe pressure canner on the pressure canner and twist to seal (or screw down knobs for theAmerican Canner).

10. Letting off some steam: Turn the heating element under the pressure canner to high. Thepressure canner must reach a certain temperature and level of pressure to work properly. Bepatient, it may take a little while for the pressure canner to reach the point of steam. Do NOTplace the pressure regulator (“jiggler”) on the pressure cooker until you have completed theventing process. Watch the pressure cooker and when you can visibly see steam rising fromthe pressure regulator valve, start a timer for 10 minutes and allow the pressure canner to ventfor 10 full minutes. Be patient, it can take a while for the large vessel to build a head ofsteam.

11. Building up some pressure: After 10 minutes of venting (think of how appreciative thepressure canner must feel after being allowed to vent 10 full minutes!) place the pressureregulator on the pressure regulator valve. Re-set your timer to 75 minutes, but do not start thetimer until the pressure dial shows the pressure canner has reached 10 lbs of pressure (add anadditional pound of pressure for every 1,000 feet above sea level). If you are using a pressurecanner or cooker that does not have a pressure dial, then you can start your timer when theregulator starts to “jiggle”.

12. Processing: Once the pressure dial shows 10 pounds of pressure (adjusted for altitude ifnecessary), you should be able to reduce the heat on your stovetop and still be able tomaintain this level of pressure (or jiggle). I am usually able to reduce my heating element tomedium low once the processing time begins, but this will be different for every stove. Justkeep an eye on your dial or an ear on your jiggler, as the case may be. The processing time

under 10 pounds (or more) of pressure must be a full 75 minutes.

13. Cooling: This is an important part of the process, so please do not try to speed it up inany way. At the end of the processing time of 75 minutes, turn the heating element off andslide the pressure canner to a different side of the stove to begin cooling. It will take an houror two for the pressure to drop to zero. This must be allowed to take place naturally. It doesnot need to be hurried in any way. Allow the pressure dial to drop to zero. Using a potholder,wiggle the pressure regulator (you old jiggler wiggler!) If no hiss or steam escapes, then thelid can be opened. If there is still steam, step away from the pressure canner. Give it somespace and just let it continue cool down naturally.

14. Removing the lid: After the pressure canner has cooled to zero pressure with no steamcoming out from the pressure regulator valve, you may remove the lid of the pressure canner.Decide where you are going to place this hot wet lid before you take it off. I usually opt forthe sink. Use potholders. Be careful to tilt the lid AWAY from you as you open the cooker. The contents will still be scalding hot for hours and scalding hot steam may rush out fromunder the lid.

15. Cooling the jars: Place folded towels or cooling racks on a counter or table where youcan allow your jars to sit undisturbed for 24 hours to cool and complete their seal. Using thejar lifter, carefully remove each jar from the canner and place on a folded towel or coolingrack. You may notice that the contents of the jars will continue to bubble and boil for hours.They are still very hot. Also, always remember: Never place a hot jar on a cold surface. Letme say that one more time… never EVER place hot jars on a cold surface.

16. Check the seal: After the jars have cooled, check the seals. This can be done bypressing down on the top of the lid. If it is firm, it is sealed. If it pops up and down, it doesnot have a proper seal and should be placed in the refrigerator and used within a few days. Ifyou follow all of the instructions above, you will rarely have a jar that doesn’t seal, but it canhappen, so do check.

17. Preparing for storage: After the jars have completely cooled, it is time to prepare thejar for storage. I always wait at least a day and very often longer, just because I tend to canon the weekend and it may take a few days to get to this last step. Fill a sink with hot soapywater. Remove the rings and throw them in the water. Wipe each jar with a dish cloth orsponge to insure all food residue is removed from the outside of the jar. You may wash anddry the rings and replace them on the jars, or store the rings for another canning project. It isnot necessary to store the jars with rings in place and that saves a step when you get ready touse the food in the jar.

18. Label the jar: Write the contents of the jar and the date either on the top of the lid with apermanent ink marker or on a label you can stick on the jar or lid. For this project, I usuallyjust write something like: Chicken – May 13. The month is important, the day is not. Thereason you want to do this is so that you use your oldest food first. Even though this chickenwill be good for a year or two, perhaps even longer, it does taste better the newer it is, so youwant to keep your shelves tidy by using the oldest products first.

Hot pack methodYou can use any cut of chicken that you like for this method, but for your first attempt, I recommendthat you use leg and thigh quarters… a.k.a. chicken hips. The reason I recommend this cut is becausethey are usually very inexpensive. They are very easy to skin and bone. You will have less troublewith removing the bones from your stock than you will with other pieces.

1. Prepare your chicken: You can use any cut of chicken that you like for this method, butas I mentioned above, I recommend thigh quarters. Using a sharp knife, remove the skin fromthe chicken pieces. The skin may be discarded or used for pet snacks. (I’ve been told by someyou should always cook the skin for pet snacks, I’ve been told by others you should nevercook it for pet snacks. I’m going to leave it to you to do your own research on that one. Mypuppies love it either way!)

2. Rinse meat and place in cooking vessel to stew chicken. I usually do large batches ofchicken at a time and try to break up the task into manageable time chunks. You could stew thechicken on the stove in a large pot or a large crock pot. I like to use my turkey roaster. It holdsa lot of chicken and water and I can let it slow cook either all day while I am at work orovernight while I sleep without worrying about it.

3. Add water and seasonings. I cover the meat completely and add a couple of tablespoonsof poultry seasoning, a tablespoon of garlic powder, 2 teaspoons of black pepper, and atablespoon of salt. You can adjust these ingredients to suit your own tastes.

4. Slow cook 6-8 hours or until the meat easily comes off the bones. Remove the meatfrom the water with a slotted spoon. Allow to cool enough so that you can handle it with your

fingers. Allow water/broth to continue to cook.

5. Prepare your pressure canner. While the meat is cooling enough for you to touch it,prepare your pressure canner. Place the bottom rack in your pressure canner. Fill the cannerwith about 3-4 inches of water. You may elect to add 1/4 cup of distilled vinegar to cut downon mineral deposits if you have hard water. Put your pressure canner on the hottest heatingelement your stove has and turn it on high.


7. Prepare jars. For the hot pack method, you want your jars to be at least warm. You maywant to rinse your sanitized jars (see tools section on jars for more about this) in warm waterjust prior to use if they have cooled after sanitizing.

8. Debone meat and fill jars. I will fill my jars as I debone the meat. I have the roasterwith the broth that the chicken was cooked in, my jars, my lids, canning scoop, canning funnel,jar lid magnet, rings and jar lifter all handy for this process. I place the canning funnel in thefirst jar. Wearing disposable vinyl gloves, I remove the meat from the chicken bones directlyinto the jar. As the meat is removed from the bones, the bones are tossed back into the broth inorder to make stock. I fill jars to one inch of head space. Then, using the canning scoop, Ipour broth from the roaster over the chicken, wipe the rim with a damp paper towel, add thelid and ring, place the jar in the pressure canner using the jar lifter, then move on to the nextjar, repeating the process until all jars are full or all meat has been jarred.

9. Cooking stock. All of the bones should have been returned to the remaining broth inwhich the chicken had been cooked. Replace the cover and continue to cook the bones in thebroth while the chicken is being canned.

10. Add jars of beans if desired. I always want my pressure cooker to be completely filledso that I am making full use of the fuel being used for the canning process. See the section onpreparing beans to learn a very quick, convenient and inexpensive way to fill your pressurecanner and pantry using rinsed (not soaked) dried beans.


12. Letting off some steam: The pressure canner must reach a certain temperature and levelof pressure to work properly. Do NOT place the pressure regulator (jiggler) on the pressurecooker until you have completed the venting process. Watch the pressure cooker and whenyou can visibly see steam rising from the pressure regulator valve, start a timer for 10 minutesand allow the pressure canner to vent for 10 full minutes.

13. Building up some pressure: After 10 minutes of venting (we all need 10 minutes ofventing from time to time) place the pressure regulator on the pressure regulator valve. Re-setyour timer to 75 minutes, but do not start the timer until the pressure dial shows the pressurecanner has reached 10 lbs of pressure (15 lbs at high altitudes). If you are using a pressurecanner or cooker that does not have a pressure dial, then you can start your timer when the 10or 15 pound regulator starts to “jiggle” methodically.

14. Processing: Once the pressure dial shows 10 pounds of pressure, you should be able toreduce the heat on your stovetop and still be able to maintain this level of pressure (or cha-cha jiggle). I am usually able to reduce my heating element to medium low once theprocessing time begins, but this will be different for every stove. Just keep an eye on yourdial or an ear on your jiggler, as the case may be.

15. Cooling: This is an important part of the process, so please do not try to speed it up inany way. At the end of the processing time of 75 minutes, turn the heating element off andslide the pressure canner to a different side of the stove to begin cooling. It will take an houror two for the pressure to drop to zero. This must be allowed to take place naturally. It doesnot need to be hurried in any way. Allow the pressure dial to drop to zero. Using a potholder,wiggle the pressure regulator (that makes you a jiggler wiggler at this point, doesn’t it?). If nohiss or steam escapes, then the lid can be opened. If there is still a pronounced hiss of steam,step away from the pressure canner. Give it some space and just let it cool down.

16. Removing the lid: After the pressure canner has cooled to zero pressure with no steamcoming out from the pressure regulator pipe, you may remove the lid of the pressure canner.Have a plan for where you are going to place the large hot lid. I usually place mine on mystainless steel sink. Use potholders. Be careful to tilt the lid AWAY from you as you open thecooker. The contents will still be scalding hot for hours and scalding hot steam may rush out

from under the lid.

17. Cooling the jars: Place folded towels, wooden cutting boards, or cooling racks on acounter or table where you can allow your jars to sit for 24 hours to cool and complete theirseal. Using the jar lifter, carefully remove each jar from the canner and place in the coolingarea. You may notice that the contents of the jars will continue to bubble and boil for hours.They are still very hot. Always be sure to remember: Never place a hot jar on a cold surface. Let me say that one more time… never EVER place hot jars on a cold surface.

18. Check the seal: After the jars have cooled, check the seals. This can be done bypressing down on the top of the lid. If it is firm, it is sealed. If it pops up and down, it doesnot have a proper seal and should be placed in the refrigerator and used within a few days. Ifyou follow all of the instructions above, you will rarely have a jar that doesn’t seal, but it canhappen, so do check.

19. Preparing for storage: After the jars have completely cooled, it is time to prepare thejar for storage. I always wait at least a day and very often longer, just because I tend to can onthe weekend and it may take a few days to get to this last step. Fill a sink with hot soapywater. Remove the rings and throw them in the water. Wipe each jar with a dish cloth orsponge to insure all mineral or possible food residue is removed from the outside of the jar.You may wash and dry the rings and replace them on the jars, or store the rings for anothercanning project. It is not necessary to store the jars with rings in place and that saves a stepwhen you get ready to use the food in the jar.

20. Label the jar: Write the contents of the jar and the date either on the top of the lid with apermanent ink marker or on a label you can stick on the jar or lid. For this project, I usuallyjust write: Chicken – 5/13. The month is important, the day is not. The reason you want to dothis is so that you use your oldest food first. Also, if you are making different batches withslight variations in your broth you might want to note that, e.g. Rosemary Chicken or if youused heavier garlic, Garlic Chicken. Still, always include the date. Even though this meat willbe good for a year or two, perhaps even longer, it does taste better the newer it is, so youwant to keep your shelves tidy by using the oldest products first.

How to make home canned white beansAs mentioned above, when my canner has a bit of room left over for a few more pint jars, I utilize thatextra canner space by canning dried beans. They are very easy to do and can be done on the spur ofthe minute with minimal ingredients on hand. Just put them in the canner with the chicken and let themcan for 75 minutes along with the meat. This and other dried bean recipes will be included in I CANCAN Dried Beans to be released sometime in 2013. Rather than paying over a dollar for a 14 ouncecan of dried beans I can get four full pints of flavorful beans for about a dollar with this method.

Prepare the jars as for chicken and to each washed jar add the following:

1. 1/2 teaspoon salt

2. 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

3. 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

4. 2/3 cup dried northern beans, navy bean, or dried limas that have been rinsed, but notsoaked.

5. Fill jar with water leaving 1 inch head space. If you are hot packing chicken, use hot tapwater, if you are cold packing chicken, use cold tap water.

6. Wipe rim with wet paper towel.

7. Seal using lid that has been heated in a hot water bath and jar ring.

8. Place in pressure canner and process same as for chicken. (10 minute vent, 75 minutes at10 lbs. pressure)

How to make and can home-made chicken stockI started to say you can make this for pennies, but you could almost say this is made for free, becauseit is made from chicken bones which are often just tossed in the trash can.

If you followed the instructions above for the hot pack method, you tossed the bones back into thebroth in which the chicken had been cooked. We want to end up with 7 quarts of stock at the end, soafter all of the chicken is in the pressure cooker and the venting process is going on, I decide if itlooks like I have two gallons of liquid in the turkey roaster. I will add some water if needed. We willonly be pressurizing the stock for 25 minutes, so that is not enough time for the beans to properlycook.

The venting, pressurization, and cooling process for the chicken will take three to four hours, usually,so that is how long the bones are going to be simmered for stock. I like to add an onion, some stalksof celery and a carrot or two to the stock to enhance the flavor.

After the chicken has finished processing and has been removed to its cooling area, it is time to canthe chicken stock.

1. Prepare your pressure canner. With the bottom rack still in your pressure canner, fillthe canner with about 3-4 inches of water. You may elect to add 1/4 cup of distilled vinegar tocut down on mineral deposits if you have hard water. Put your pressure canner on the hottestheating element your stove has and turn it on high.


3. Prepare jars. This is a hot pack method, so you will want your jars to be at least warm.You may want to rinse your sanitized jars (see tools section on jars for more about this) inwarm water just prior to use if they have cooled after sanitizing.

4. Fill jars. Remove and discard bones and vegetables from stock using a large slottedspoon. Using the canning funnel and canning scoop, fill the jars, leaving one inch of headspace. (I am sitting here deliberating on whether I need to tell you that the funnel and scoopshould have been thoroughly washed after using it for preparing the chicken. I don’t need totell you that do I? I know you are clever enough to know everything should be clean for thecanning process.)

5. Seal jars. Using a clean, damp paper towel, wipe the rims of each of the jars. Using thejar magnet, place a lid on each jar and adjust rings to be hand tight. Repeat for each jar.

6. Load jars into pressure canner. Using the jar lifter, carefully load the filled jars into thepressure canner.


8. Letting off some steam: The pressure canner must reach a certain temperature and levelof pressure to work properly. Do NOT place the pressure regulator (jiggler) on the pressurecooker until you have completed the venting process. Watch the pressure cooker and whenyou can visibly see steam rising from the pressure regulator valve, start a timer for 10 minutesand allow the pressure canner to vent for 10 full minutes.

9. Building up some pressure: After 10 minutes of venting (we all need 10 minutes ofventing from time to time) place the pressure regulator on the pressure regulator valve. Re-setyour timer to 25 minutes, but do not start the timer until the pressure dial shows the pressurecanner has reached 10 lbs of pressure (add an additional pound of pressure for every 1,000 ofaltitude above sea level for higher altitudes). If you are using a pressure canner or cooker thatdoes not have a pressure dial, then you can start your timer when the 10 or 15 pound regulatorstarts to “jiggle” methodically.

10. Processing: Once the pressure dial shows 10 pounds of pressure (or more at higheraltitudes), you should be able to reduce the heat on your stovetop and still be able to maintainthis level of pressure (or cha-cha jiggle). I am usually able to reduce my heating element tomedium low once the processing time begins, but this will be different for every stove. Justkeep an eye on your dial or an ear on your jiggler, as the case may be.

11. Cooling: This is an important part of the process, so please do not try to speed it up in

any way. At the end of the processing time of 25 minutes, turn the heating element off andslide the pressure canner to a different side of the stove to begin cooling. It will take an houror two for the pressure to drop to zero. This must be allowed to take place naturally. It doesnot need to be hurried in any way. Allow the pressure dial to drop to zero. Using a potholder,wiggle the pressure regulator (that makes you a jiggler wiggler at this point, doesn’t it?). If nohiss or steam escapes, then the lid can be opened. If there is still a pronounced hiss of steam,step away from the pressure canner. Give it some space and just let it cool down.

12. Removing the lid: After the pressure canner has cooled to zero pressure with no steamcoming out from the pressure regulator pipe, you may remove the lid of the pressure canner.Have a plan for where you are going to place the large hot lid. I usually place mine on mystainless steel sink. Use potholders. Be careful to tilt the lid AWAY from you as you open thecooker. The contents will still be scalding hot for hours and scalding hot steam may rush outfrom under the lid.

13. Cooling the jars: Place folded towels, wooden cutting boards, or cooling racks on acounter or table where you can allow your jars to sit for 24 hours to cool and complete theirseal. Using the jar lifter, carefully remove each jar from the canner and place in the coolingarea. You may notice that the contents of the jars will continue to bubble and boil for hours.They are still very hot. Always be sure to remember: Never place a hot jar on a cold surface.

At the end of all of this, you will have turned less than twenty dollars worth of chicken and beans into18 jars of high protein chicken and dried beans and 7 quarts of rich chicken stock for your pantry.

Pressure canning process recapAfter reading through both the hot and cold pack methods, you will see that while both employ amulti-step process, none of the individual steps are very complicated or difficult. If you follow eitherof these processes, you will find that the first time is a bit like following a road map in an unfamiliarcity, but that each time you take the route, it becomes a bit easier and more intuitive.

You have complete latitude when it comes to whether you use the cold pack or hot pack method. Youhave complete latitude when it comes to what you want to include in your chicken stock or seasoningsfor the hot pack process. You can reduce the salt or add other spices, if you so choose. However, theprocessing steps should be followed rigidly.

I’ve said a lot about safety and offered a lot of cautionary comments about using a pressure canner. Ihope this doesn’t scare you away from pressure canning. I’ve been using a pressure cooker for fourdecades and know it to be a safe process. But just like a microwave or a food processor, a garbagedisposal or a blender, or even a simple paring knife, it is important to use some simple safetyprecautions in order to insure there are no mishaps when using that piece of equipment.

Now it is time to enjoy the fruit of your labors! In the next section, you will find a collection ofrecipes, along with some stories about how the recipes were developed or collected over the years.There is a wide variety, but this is just the tip of the iceberg of what you can do with your homecanned chicken, stock, and beans. Adapt them to your own recipes that you enjoy.

I hope you will stop by the I Can Can Chicken Facebook page and share your pictures and recipeswith the group. I will post additional recipes and pictures, too, as I develop them. That is also whereyou can learn about new books coming out as they are developed.

http://www.facebook.com/icancanchicken

Great Canned Chicken RecipesThere are several books I have seen that give you instructions on how to process canned meat, butthey usually stop there. They don’t tell you what to do with it after you have it in your pantry. Some ofyou may just be interested in having a protein on hand for an emergency, but eventually you will wantto cook it, right? For our family, I like to have the home canned meat on hand so that I can make agood supper meal quick, fast and in a hurry after working all day and dealing with evening traffic.

The idea in this section is to give you a wide variety of recipes to try with your first batch of chicken.If you have chicken two or three times a week, like we do, you have enough recipes here to easily gofor a month without repeating a recipe. I have tried to include a wide variety of recipes. Some aredown home recipes that have been passed down through the generations in my family. Others arerecipes I have “figured out” from eating at restaurants, then going home and reinventing them using thecanned chicken. There are stories to go with the some of recipes, but I’ve placed links straight to therecipe so that you aren’t required to wade through the story every time you get ready to use the recipe.

Many of the recipes are ones you can get on the table in a half hour or less, but there are a few thattake a bit more time. Those recipes are just so good, I really wanted to share them with you even ifthey do take a bit of time. Not only did I want to share all of these recipes, I wanted to have this groupof recipes all in one place for myself!

My intent is to help you store healthy home processed foods and get supper on the table easily andquickly. It is also my aim to help you save money. Some of these recipes are old school and call forcream of chicken soup. That was a real popular way of cooking “back in the day” and still is for manyhome cooks. That is a quick way to get dinner on the table and I don’t fault anyone for using thattechnique to create a cream sauce for your recipe.

Cream of Chicken soup only costs about a dollar a can on sale, but a homemade alternative can bemade for a fraction of that. I have included three easy recipes for making your own cream of chickensoup alternatives at the beginning of the recipes. Two are big batch mixes (one gluten free) that youcan store in the pantry.

I’ve also included a recipe for Mirepoix (pronounced MEER PWAH). That may sound intimidating,but it is just the fancy way to say carrots, celery and onions already chopped up so I don’t have to geta knife out when I’m ready to slam dinner together. I love saying Mirepoix so I thought I’d share thatjoy with you! Mirepoix, mirepoix, mirepoix!

I anticipate that in time, you will be developing your own recipes. You can use the canned chicken inyour own recipes just as you would use leftover chicken or turkey. It is fun to adapt recipes to yourpantry stores of chicken and see just how quick you can pull a delicious and nutritious meal together. Ireally do hope you’ll go to the I Can Can Chicken!! Facebook page and post some pictures of bothyour recipes and your pretty row of canned bird. I’ll be posting more recipes there, too, as I dreamthem up or someone offers them to me.


How to make Cream of Chicken Soup without the canI mentioned above that making your own cream of chicken soup is a way to save money. That isreason enough to make it right there. But even if it weren’t less expensive, I might still make my own.I love the feeling of self-sufficiency and you may have already realized I like having as much controlas possible over the food I feed my family. Some might call it a control issue… okay, maybe it is, butI’m comfortable with that when it comes to what I feed my family and friends.

I am an advocate of planning a weekly menu. You can make up a double, triple or quadruple batch ofthis thick sauce that will serve for multiple recipes. It keeps well in the fridge for about a week. Itwill also freeze well as a part of a casserole. It doesn’t really freeze well alone, though.

I make mine with skim milk, which renders it very low fat. You can use 1%, 2%, whole milk, half andhalf or full cream. Even the skim version is quite rich. If you use this sauce in a recipe that serves six,the skim milk version will add about 40 calories to an individual serving, which is similar to whatpurchased 98% fat free condensed cream of chicken soup ends up being. If you use half and half, thecalorie count in a recipe that serves six will be around 140 calories. There is lower sodium contentin the home-made version with whatever level of fat you select for your milk.

Alternative #1 to Canned Cream of Chicken Soup RecipeIngredients to replace one can

1. 1 1/2 cup skim milk (you can use other types of milk if you like)

2. 1/4 cup all purpose flour

3. 2 teaspoons chicken soup base (I use Better Than Bouillon)

Instructions

1. Pour half of the milk into a saucepan.

2. Begin to heat on medium-high heat.

3. Blend the flour and soup base into the remaining milk with a fork until smoothe.

4. Pour flour mixture into milk in saucepan.

5. Stir constantly until thickened to the consistency of un-reconstituted canned cream ofchicken soup.

Alternative #2 for Cream of Chicken Soup – A Gluten Free Dry Mix for the PantryThis alternative recipe is made with all dry ingredients, so you can make up a batch that will be theequivalent to 9 cans of cream of chicken soup. This is made with powdered milk and cornstarch, so itis slightly lower in calories than the first alternative and gluten free (be sure to check the powderedmilk). The resulting “soup” will be more translucent rather than opaque as you are accustomed toseeing with condensed soup from the can. The taste will be the same (or better, in my opinion).Lower your sodium by using low sodium chicken bouillon powder.

Ingredients

1. 2 cups powdered milk

2. 3/4 cups cornstarch (I use low sodium and find it is plenty salty enough)

3. 1/4 cup chicken bouillon granules

4. 1 Tablespoons dried onions (crumbled if you use home made)

5. 1 teaspoon dried parsley

6. 1 teaspoon dried thyme

7. 1 teaspoon dried sage

8. 1 teaspoon turmeric

9. 1 teaspoon black or white pepper

Instructions

1. Using a canning funnel, measure all ingredients into a quart jar.

2. Put a lid on the jar and shake the ingredients together to thoroughly mix.

3. Store in the pantry for up to a year.

To make the equivalent of one can of soup

1. Combine 1/3 cup mix with 1 cup water.

2. Heat over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until it starts to thicken.

3. Thicken to the consistency of condensed chicken soup.

4. Use as you would a can of condensed cream of chicken soup.

Alternative #3 for Cream of Chicken Soup – Flour based pantry mixThis powder mix can also be stored in the pantry in a jar, plastic container or canister. Using this mixyou with get the opaque result you normally see with canned soups. It makes enough to make theequivalent of five cans of soup.

Ingredients

1. 1 cup powdered milk

2. 1 1/4 cup flour

3. 3 tablespoons chicken bouillon granules (again, I use low sodium)

4. 2 tablespoons dried onion (crumbled if you have home made dehydrated)

5. 1 teaspoon parsley

6. 1 teaspoon sage

7. 1 teaspoon thyme

8. 1/2 teaspoon turmeric

9. 1/2 teaspoon black or white pepper

Instructions

1. Using a canning funnel, measure all ingredients into a quart jar.

2. Put a lid on the jar and shake the ingredients together to thoroughly mix.

3. Store in the pantry for up to a year.

To make the equivalent of one can of soup

1. Combine 1/2 cup mix with 1 1/4 cup water.

2. Heat over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until it starts to thicken.

3. Thicken to the consistency of condensed chicken soup.

4. Use as you would a can of condensed cream of chicken soup.

How to make MirepoixToo many times I’ve purchased a bunch of celery to only use a few stalks and leave the rest, forgottenin my refrigerator until it is limp and past its prime. I hate to waste food, and I have developed thehabit of making and freezing batches of Mirepoix. The name is fancier than the ingredients, it is justcelery, carrots and onions that are chopped and mixed together. Mirepoix helps frugal cooks avoidwasting unused celery and have this great combination on hand when you just need a little to go in arecipe.

With just a few minutes of chopping, you can have this great little combo on hand to help you add alittle burst of flavor and color to your quick weeknight recipes. The vegetables retain their colorbetter if blanched, but I’ve frozen mirepoix both blanched and unblanched and really don’t notice adifference in the taste in finished recipes. The color of the frozen vegetables will be brighter,however if you take the time to blanch.

You can blanch with steam, dipping for one minute in boiling water, or in the microwave, 2 cups at atime with 1 tablespoon of water in a covered dish for 1 minute.

Probably my favorite way to use this is just to throw it into cornbread style stuffing mix. Just sauté ina tablespoon of butter, then add the water or broth you normally used for the stuffing mix. Bring to aboil and prepare the stuffing mix as normal.

Mirepoix RecipeIngredients (roughly equal amounts of each)

1. Celery

2. Carrots

3. Onions

Instructions

1. Separate celery stalks.

2. Trim celery and scrape carrots. Peel onions.

3. Wash vegetables and pat dry.

4. Cut celery in long lengthwise strips, then hold strips together and slice into 1/4 inchpieces.

5. Cut carrots into lengthwise quarters, then hold strips together and slice into 1/4 inchpieces.

6. Cut onion into 1/4 inch dices.

7. Mix all vegetables together.

8. Blanch in microwave or with boiling water (1 minute for each 2 cups)

9. Measure 2 cups into quart-sized freezer bags. (I reuse the bags over and over.)

10. Freeze lying flat. Use within 2-3 months for best flavor.

Fancy Shmancy Chicken Salad (Debbie Street Chalmers)Debbie Street Chalmers is a well known leader at women’s conferences in the southeast. She has thewonderful combination of characteristics of both humor and compassion. This is a natural talent thatshe has had since we were pals growing up together from elementary through high school years. Ifyour idea of a pastor’s wife is someone who is quiet, low key, somber, serious, and sitting in thebackground, stay away from Debbie because she will blast that image out of your brain. If I had todescribe Debbie in two words it would be joyful and vivacious.

I asked her if she would like to include a recipe for a relish in another book project, I Can CanRelishes. She let me know that she thought that was hilarious. She said that she couldn’t cook anythingbut chicken salad, but that her chicken salad was really good and if I ever did a book on chicken shewould be happy to contribute. When I started this project, I contacted Debbie again and she washappy to contribute. She sent the recipe along with some comments and those are shown below:

“Years ago I realized that I had not inherited my mother’s talent for cooking! That truth wasconfirmed when I started noticing that whenever there was a gathering at church, they alwaysassigned me the paper products, chips, or bottled drinks! But my love for chicken saladmotivated me to perfect that dish. It is now my one and only specialty and everybody lovesit. I call it my “Fancy Schmancy Chicken Salad”. I always make enough to feed an army butthe recipe has been halved for you below so you can serve four to six people.”

Fancy Shmancy Chicken Salad RecipeIngredients:

1. 1 pint home canned chicken breast (No dark meat allowed in this recipe!)

2. 2 Boiled eggs

3. 3/4 cup walnuts (you can substitute pecans or slivered almonds if you prefer)

4. 1 small can drained pineapple tidbits

5. 3/4 cup sliced seedless grapes

6. 1/2 cup sweet salad cubes drained (or home-canned pickle relish)

7. 1 to 1 1/2 cups mayonnaise (to taste)

8. 1 Tablespoon mustard (to taste)

Instructions

1. Drain the canned chicken breast and reserve broth for another recipe. (Perhaps freezeinto cubes.)

2. Use a blender or food processor to shred the chicken. For this recipe the blender or foodprocessor is important. The texture is part of what makes it so delicious!

3. Chop boiled eggs and nuts.

4. Spoon together chopped nuts and eggs in a bowl with sliced grapes, pineapples, andsweet salad cubes.

5. Pour the mix into a very large bowl with the shredded chicken. Spoon all ingredientstogether before adding the mayonnaise and mustard.

6. Add mayonnaise to your preferred consistency, but it should be very moist and creamy.The mustard gives the mixture a bit of a kick so the amount you add is up to you. Add atablespoon to start, mix it in, then taste and add more to get it to your preference.

“In the summer, you might want to add or switch to different fruits. Chopped red apples add colorand flavor as do strawberries. Mandarin oranges completely change the taste but if you use them,decrease the amount of mustard in the mix.”

Curry Rice and Chicken Salad (Birmingham Museum of Art)When I worked at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, I would sometimes treat myself to aspecial long lunch at the Birmingham Museum of Art after a major grant deadline was finished. Iwould eat delicious food in their elegant dining room overlooking the sculpture garden. After that Iwould enjoy the magnificent art collection as I wandered the halls for a little while before returningto work.

At that time, the food for lunch was served buffet style and one of the dishes I have never forgotten isthe Curry Rice and Chicken Salad that was sometimes offered on the buffet. By trial and error, Imanaged to recreate the dish for you to have as a part of your collection. The chef who originallyintroduced this delightful dish to me is long since retired, I am sure. This recipe conjures up thosewonderful lunchtime meanderings through the beautiful art collection of the BMA. I hope you willserve this dish on an occasion that will foster a sweet memory for you as well.

Curry Rice and Chicken Salad RecipeIngredients

1. 1 pint canned chicken (white meat preferred for this)

2. 3 cups cooked rice

3. 1/2 cup raisins (I like to use golden raisins)

4. 1/2 cup dried cranberries or cherries

5. 1/2 cup olives (I like to get mixed olives from the olive bar at my grocery)

6. 1 can quartered artichoke hearts, drained

7. 1/2 cup chopped scallions (using both white and green parts)

8. 1/4 cup slivered almonds

9. 1 Tablespoon curry powder

10. 3/4 cup fat free or low fat mayonnaise or salad dressing

Instructions

1. Cook rice according to package directions (you may add broth from jar of chicken inwater for cooking rice)

2. Put chicken in a large bowl. Break apart and pieces of chicken that are very large.

3. Add rice, raisins, cranberries or cherries, olives, artichoke hearts, scallions, andalmonds.

4. Mix well.

5. Stir the curry powder into the mayo or salad dressing.

6. Stir the curry dressing into the rice mixture until coated well.

7. You may serve warm, room temp or cold.

8. You can make this a day in advance and refrigerate.

Chicken Stew (Eloise Holt)My mother-in-law, Eloise Holt, is one of the best cooks in the world. She is one of those rare cooksthat is good at everything. She is equally as talented with a cake as with a pot of soup or a pan oflasagna or a cookie. Even her lemonade is especially delicious (she slices oranges into it).

One of the first dishes I had at her house was a bowl of chicken stew. I had never heard of chickenstew before I met her. Unlike Brunswick Stew, that can also be made with chicken, it does not have atomato base. The base of this soup is chicken stock and creamed corn.

Eloise advises that you use canned corn and not waste home-canned creamed corn. “You can’t tell thedifference and home-canned corn is too much work to waste.” If you have fresh corn and would liketo use it, you could take four ears and cut and scrape them rather than use the can of creamed corn.

Eloise stressed that the real secret to great chicken stew is plenty of onions. That makes it reallyflavorful. She repeated her advice to me a few times, so I’m going to repeat it again here: “Make sureyou use plenty of onions.”

Chicken Stew RecipeIngredients

1. 1 pint canned chicken (I used dark meat for this)

2. 1 quart chicken stock (that’s 2 pint jars if you didn’t can in quarts)

3. 4 medium to large potatoes, scrubbed and cut into a large dice (I use unpeeled red-skinpotatoes)

4. 2 medium to large onions, peeled, washed and cut into a large dice

5. 4 medium to large carrots, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces

6. 1 can creamed corn

7. 1 cup frozen peas

8. Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Put the following ingredients into a large dutch oven: potatoes, onions, carrots, andchicken stock.

2. Bring the vegetables in chicken stock to a rapid boil, reduce heat and simmer about 20minutes or until potatoes and carrots are tender and onions are transparent.

3. Stir in corn, peas, and chicken (with broth from jar).

4. Allow to simmer, stirring frequently, until chicken and peas are heated through (about 3-5minutes)

5. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

6. Serve with crackers, rolls, cornbread, or biscuits

Southwestern Chicken Soup (Nicole Holt Spencer)(As given to me by my daughter, Nicole. This is a recipe I enjoy at her house.)

This is a recipe that I have adapted to my family (and pantry) over the years. When my first son,River started eating table food I started meal planning for my family. This is a recipe that I cameacross and knew that we would all enjoy, and it is so quick and easy. I make it with the same basicingredients but sometimes I will add a couple extra things or sometimes I only have one can of beansin the pantry and that works too. You can really take this recipe and run with it to cater to your tastebuds. I add a can of corn to mine because that is my husband Erek's favorite food. I have also seen aversion of it online where someone put olives in it, that isn't for me but you really can take it and runwith it. Another great thing about this recipe is that it makes a pretty generous amount. So I alwaysend up with enough left over to put it in my freezer to enjoy for a future meal.

Southwestern Chicken Soup RecipeIngredients:

1. 1 jar of canned chicken with broth

2. 1/2 medium onion, chopped

3. 1 can of corn

4. 1 can of black beans (or home-canned pint)

5. 1 can of kidney beans (or home-canned pint)

6. 1 can of regular tomatoes with green chiles (like Rotel)

7. 1 can of petite diced tomatoes

8. 1 package of taco seasoning

9. 1 package of dry ranch dressing mix

Instructions:

1. Drain the broth from the canned chicken into a large dutch oven or soup pot.

2. Saute onion in the broth for 2-3 minutes, or until it begins to turn transparent.

3. Add chicken and stir.

4. Add all of your remaining ingredients, including the seasoning packs. (Be sure to add theliquid from all of your cans or jars.)

5. Cook on medium for approximately 15 minutes, then reduce heat to low and simmer.

6. Your soup is ready to serve! I top mine off with sour cream and I like to enjoy my soupwith either cornbread or tortilla chips.

Chunky Chicken Macaroni SoupThis soup will cure what ails ya! It practically cooks itself and is a wonderful, low-fat and low-calcomfort food.

Chunky Chicken Macaroni Soup RecipeIngredients

1. 1 pint home canned chicken

2. 1 quart home canned chicken stock (or broth)

3. 2 cups Mirepoix (roughly equal amounts carrots, celery and onions)

4. 1/2 cup Frozen peas

5. 8 oz. macaroni or noodles


7. Sage or poultry seasoning blend

Instructions

1. Saute the onions, carrots and celery in about a half a cup of the chicken stock or brothuntil the onions are beginning to turn transparent.

2. Add the stock or and broth from canned chicken and the macaroni and seasonings.

3. Bring to a boil, then reduce to medium-low to simmer until macaroni tests done.

4. Stir in peas and chicken and bring soup back to a boil.

5. Serve with crackers, crusty bread, or with a side salad.

White Chicken Chili (Marilyn Biggers)On the third Saturday night of every month a group of us get together for dinner at a halfway house formen who are returning to “the world” after being in prison. Forgiveness House offers spiritualsupport, assistance finding employment, counseling, and accountability through Christian brotherhoodfor those who have decided they want to walk the straight and narrow and get a new lease on life.Most of the men have been through the Kairos prison ministry experience and are trusting God to helpthem overcome the tremendous challenges they have to face while trying to build a brand new life.

Our Saturday Night suppers at Forgiveness House are a lot of fun. We eat, laugh, tell stories, watch aballgame or play dominoes or cards. We always look forward to visiting with the guys and hearinghow things are going with them. Each month we plan our menu. About twice a year we will have aChili night and we’ll have two or three different kinds of chili with all the fixings. I will usuallybring my Prize Winning Rainbow Chili. Marilyn Biggers, who is a leader in the Kairos PrisonMinistry program and my dear friend, usually brings her highly acclaimed White Chicken Chili.

White Chicken Chili Recipe1. 1 pint of home canned boneless chicken breast chunks

2. 3 tbsp oil

3. 1 bag (12 oz) frozen chopped onion or one large chopped onion

4. 1 red bell pepper, minced (optional)

5. 1 bag frozen corn (12 oz)

6. 3 cloves garlic, minced

7. 1 ½ tsp oregano

8. 1 tsp chili powder

9. 2 tsp ground cumin

10. 1 ½ tsp salt

11. 1 can diced green chilies (7 oz)

12. 4 tbsp corn meal

13. 3 pints home canned chicken stock

14. 2 pints home canned white beans (or three cans from the grocery store)

15. 1 can fat free cream of chicken soup*

16. 1 can fat free evaporated milk

17. Cilantro and Shredded Cheese for Garnish

* You may prefer to try one of the homemade substitute recipe for condensed cream of chicken souprecipes found at the beginning of the recipe section.

Instructions

1. Heat oil in large soup pot and add the onion and other vegetables, if using.

2. Sauté on med high until onion is transparent.

3. Add corn, garlic, oregano, chili powder, cumin and salt cooking for about 2 minutes.

4. Add green chilies and corn meal, stirring to combine.

5. Add the chicken, chicken stock, beans and cream of chicken soup.

6. Bring to a boil, stirring often and reduce to a simmer.

7. Add the evaporated milk and simmer for 10 minutes.

8. Serve topped with cilantro and cheese.

Chicken and Dumplings (Polly Johnson)My Granny had a biscuit bowl that had flour in it that sat in her pie safe at the ready for a batch ofbiscuits, a pie crust or dumplings. Granny would just make a well in the bowl of flour and add theingredients necessary for whatever she was whipping up. She made it look easy as pie… even whenshe wasn’t making pie. But those of you that have made biscuits or pie crust or dumplings know that itisn’t particularly easy if you don’t have the gift or a good teacher to show you how. Granny wasknown for her delicious fluffy biscuits and her chicken with dumplings that were light as a feather.

My mama, Polly DeShazo Johnson, took care of Granny in her later years. Granny was able to stay inher own home because Mama lived right next door and was out there at Granny’s a good bit of thetime. Mama would cook for herself, Daddy and Granny. Mama discovered the easiest method in theworld for making chicken and dumplings and she would make them this way for Granny.

This is a great comfort food recipe that you can serve as a main course, or serve in a bowl as a onedish meal. These are very similar to the dumplings served at Cracker Barrel.

Chicken and Dumplings RecipeIngredients

1. 1 pint canned chicken (I like shredded dark meat for this, but cook to your ownpreference)

2. 1 quart chicken broth

3. 6-8 flour tortillas


5. Dash of garlic powder

Instructions

1. Pour chicken broth into a dutch oven and begin to bring to a boil.

2. Add dash of garlic powder and a little salt and pepper.

3. Using a pizza cutter, cut tortillas into five or six strips, cut crosswise to cut strips intothirds.

4. Drop pieces of tortilla into boiling broth.

5. After all strips are added, stir and lower heat to simmer.

6. Simmer 15 minutes.

7. Add chicken and any broth in the jar.

8. Stir and allow to simmer 5 to 10 more minutes.

9. Taste to see if more salt or pepper are needed.

Chicken and Cornbread (Mariruth Powers)Mama was served this dish at a Presbyterian Women’s luncheon at the First Presbyterian Church ofLeeds. Her first cousin, Mariruth Powers served her this dish several decades ago. She liked it somuch she made a point to get the recipe. She made it recently for Sage and Daisy just to see if it wasreally as good as she remembered. All three agreed that this needed to be included in this cookbook.The combination of cornbread and heavy dose of sage will remind you of eating a delicious chickenand dressing.

This recipe is very simple and is a good standby for cooking from the freezer and cupboard. In thetime it takes for the cornbread to cook, the sauce can be prepared. The heavy dose of sage might seema bit scary, but try to overcome your fear. The sage makes the cornbread taste like good old fashionedchicken and dressing.

Chicken and Cornbread RecipeIngredients

1. 1 box cornbread mix (like Jiffy Mix)

2. 1 pint canned chicken

3. 2 Tablespoons butter

4. 1 cup frozen Mirepoix (recipe below)

5. 1 cup frozen green peas

6. 1 can condensed cream of chicken soup (or home-made alternative)

7. 1/3 to 1/2 cup chicken broth from canned chicken (add milk if needed)

8. 2 Tablespoons ground sage

Instructions

1. Preheat oven according to cornbread mix directions.

2. Prepare cornbread mix according to package directions.

3. Pour into 8x8 pan and bake according to package directions.

4. Melt butter in saucepan.

5. Add frozen Mirepoix and peas to melted butter.

6. Saute until onion is transparent.

7. Stir in soup and broth or milk.

8. Add chicken and sage.

9. Cut cornbread squares and divide between 4 to 6 plates.

10. Spoon chicken sauce over cornbread.

11. This makes a great meal served with a salad or green vegetable.

Curry Chicken Casserole (Louise Harris)I was very fortunate to grow up attending a little country church called Bold Springs. My family hasattended the church for over 100 years. One of the many blessings of that church is the number ofabsolutely outstanding cooks. Some of the best food I have ever eaten in my life has been in thatfellowship hall.

There were only three problems and they all had to do with size. One was the size of the plate. Evenwith the big oval shaped Chinettes or the large rectangular sectioned foam plates, there was neverenough room to get even a little taste of everything that looked really good on your plate. The otherproblem was the size of my stomach. If I filled one of those plate with little dabs of what I selected, Iwould often have more on my plate than would actually fit in my stomach. Then I would be remindedof the third problem because someone would kindly remind me that the size of my eyes must havebeen bigger than the size of my stomach.

There were several dishes that were going to go on my plate AND in my stomach before I got too fulland one of them was Mrs. Louise Harris’s Curry Chicken Broccoli Casserole. When I began planningthis book, this was one of the recipes that was a “must include” as I sifted through the many chickenrecipes I wanted to include.

This may be served with or over rice or pasta. We like it with brown rice. I have to admit, I almostdidn’t get a picture of this casserole because it started to disappear before I could get my camerafocused!

Curry Chicken CasseroleIngredients

1. 1 pound bag of broccoli florets

2. 1 pint canned chicken breast

3. 2 cans cream of chicken soup, undiluted (or home-made alternative)

4. 1 cup mayonnaise

5. 1 teaspoon lemon juice

6. 1 teaspoon curry powder

7. 1/2 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

8. 1 Tablespoon toasted bread crumbs or crumbled cracker crumbs

9. 1 Tablespoon melted butter (Mrs. Harris used a half a stick, but I’ve found 1T is enough)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350*F

2. Cook and drain broccoli and arrange in a 9x13 baking dish

3. Place chicken on top of broccoli

4. Mix soup, mayo, lemon juice and curry powder into a sauce.

5. Pour sauce over chicken.

6. Sprinkle with cheese.

7. Combine crumbs with melted butter and sprinkle over top of cheese.

8. Bake 30 minutes and serve with or over pasta or rice.

Mrs. Harris told me that she would sometimes make it the day before and refrigerate it until she wasready to cook it.

Asian Chicken and Sugar Snap Stir FryYou can have dinner on the table in less than 20 minutes with this super easy Asian-inspired dish.This is a tasty, low fat one dish meal that weighs in at only 430 calories a serving! You can add somered pepper flakes to this for a little extra zing.

Asian Chicken and Sugar Snap Stir Fry RecipeIngredients

1. 1 cup rice (regular rice, not quick cooking)

2. 2 cups water for cooking rice

3. 1 cup (half a jar) home canned chicken

4. Broth from canned chicken

5. 1 tablespoon peanut or canola oil

6. 1 teaspoon minced garlic (about one clove)

7. 4 cups mirepoix (a mixture of equal amounts chopped onion, celery and carrots)

8. 6 ounces sugar snap peas

9. 1/4 cup peanuts

10. 1/4 cup soy sauce

11. 1 teaspoon ground ginger

12. 2 tablespoons cornstarch mixed into a slurry in 1/2 cup water

Instructions

1. Bring two cups of water to a boil in a pot with a tight fitting lid.

2. Add rice, stir and bring back to boiling.

3. Lower heat to lowest setting, cover and cook timed for 14 minutes.

4. Heat oil in wok or very large non-stick skillet

5. Stir in garlic to flavor oil.

6. Add mirepoix and stir until onions begin to become transparent.

7. Add sugar snap peas, chicken broth, soy sauce, ginger, and cornstarch slurry.

8. Cook on medium heat to thicken.

9. Add chicken, stir gently and cook until chicken is heated through.

10. Divide rice between four plates.

11. Spoon chicken and vegetables over rice and garnish with peanuts.

Chicken PaprikashThis recipe uses half of a pint jar of chicken stock. When I have leftover stock, I pour it into a plasticice tray and freeze into cubes. When frozen, I pop the cubes into a zip lock freezer bag. These cubesare great for seasoning vegetables. Rather than using butter, I one of these practically fat free cubesinto vegetables as I heat them in the microwave or on the stove. It adds a rich flavor with hardly anyadditional fat or calories.

Chicken Paprikash RecipeIngredients

1. 1 pint cubed home canned chicken (light or dark meat), reserving broth

2. Add enough chicken stock to the broth from the jar to make one cup.

3. 8 ounces wide egg noodles (fettuccine works well, I break into thirds to make it easier tomanage for my little ones)

4. Water for cooking noodles

5. 1 teaspoon salt

6. 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil

7. 3 Tablespoons butter, divided

8. 1 8-ounce of fresh mushrooms, sliced (I like Baby Bella)

9. 1 medium onion, chopped

10. 2 teaspoons minced garlic (about 2 cloves)

11. 1 Tablespoon paprika (Hungarian is best)

12. 3 Tablespoons tomato paste

13. 1 cup low or no fat plain yogurt

14. 3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

15. 1 teaspoon parsley flakes


17. Fresh parsley to garnish (optional)

Instructions

1. In a large pot heat water, salt, and vegetable oil to cook noodles to boiling.

2. While water heats, slice mushrooms and chop onions, if they aren’t already prepared.

3. Put noodles in boiling water and bring to a second boil. Reduce heat and simmer.

4. In a heavy skillet, melt 2 Tablespoons butter. (You are saving the 3rd for the noodles.)

5. Saute onion, mushrooms, and garlic until onion is transparent.

6. Stir in paprika, tomato paste and broth. Stir until smooth.

7. Gently stir in chicken, reduce heat to medium to medium low.

8. Stir flour into yogurt and stir until smooth.

9. Add yogurt with flour to the chicken and vegetable mixture.

10. Continue to cook and stir until thickened.

11. Reduce heat (or turn off if you have an electric range) and continue to stir for about 1 to2 more minutes. Remove from heat.

12. Check noodles for doneness. Drain in colander and toss with the remaining 1 tablespoonbutter and teaspoon of parsley flakes until butter is melted.

13. Divide noodles between plates and spoon chicken paprikash sauce over noodles.

14. Garnish with fresh parsley, if desired.

Chicken Tettrazini (Patsy DeShazo)This is a recipe that was introduced to our extended family by my aunt, Patsy DeShazo. Aunt Patsywas the epitome of “the hostess with the mostest.” Her daughter-in-law, Terri DeShazo, described herhome perfectly, “Her house always looks like the magazine photographers may show up any moment!”My cousin, Cary Lou, who would take her to go grocery shopping once commented on her foodselections: “She always buys the ‘comfortest’ groceries!”

To help you visualize Aunt Patsy, think of the beautiful dark-haired Laura Petrie in the old Dick VanDyke television show, with a dash of Donna Reed. Pearls and aprons went together naturally for AuntPatsy. She was transplanted from Illinois to Alabama and adapted to the foreign culture of the DeepSouth with a pleasant grace. She served cocktails and appetizers to my Uncle Bob in the eveningwhich were followed by meals that tasted wonderful and looked like a work of art.

The first time I tasted this recipe for chicken tettrazini, I was about twelve. It was the first time I canrecall eating mushrooms. Aunt Patsy served the dish al fresco on their patio with a green saladfollowed by fresh strawberries with whipped cream for dessert. Whenever I have chicken tettrazini, Iam always reminded of Aunt Patsy and her wonderful creative flair.

Chicken Tettrazini RecipeIngredients

1. 1 pint home canned chicken (light, dark or mixed)

2. 8 oz. spaghetti

3. Water to cook spaghetti

4. 1 tsp garlic

5. 5 Tbsp butter, divided

6. 4 oz. sliced mushrooms

7. 1 tsp olive oil

8. 2 Tblsp. Flour

9. 1/2 tsp celery seed

10. 1/4 tsp. pepper

11. 1/4 tsp. salt (to taste)

12. 1/4 tsp. paprika

13. 1 pint chicken stock or broth (I use home canned)

14. 1 can cream of chicken soup (or home-made alternative)

15. 1/8 – 1/4 cup Parmasan or Romano cheese (to taste)

Instructions

1. Prepare spaghetti in boiling salted water according to package directions. Drain.

2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

3. Saute mushrooms and garlic in 2 tablespoons butter.

4. Remove from heat, add drained spaghetti and toss with mushrooms and butter.

5. Put spaghetti and mushroom mixture into a 9x13 inch baking dish that has been preparedby rubbing a teaspoon of olive oil over interior of dish with a paper towel (or spraying withcooking spray)

6. Drain canned chicken, reserving broth, and arrange on top of spaghetti and mushrooms.

7. Melt 3 tablespoons butter over low heat. Do not let it brown. Remove from heat.

8. Stir in flour, celery seed, salt and pepper.

9. Return to heat and slowly add chicken stock and reserved broth from canned chicken.

10. Cook until thickened.

11. Remove from heat and stir in cream of chicken soup (or alternative).

12. Pour sauce over spaghetti and chicken.

13. Sprinkle with Parmesan or Romano cheese and paprika.

14. Bake at 400 degrees F. for 25 minutes.

Chicken Pot PieIf you want to kick comfort food production and being a frugal cook into high gear, it’s time for somechicken pot pie. I make mine in a deep cast iron chicken fryer. That gives the the option to make theentire dish in one cooking vessel.

I use up my odds and ends vegetables with this recipe. This is a dish for cleaning out the freezerand/or refrigerator of all your left over vegetables. It is absolutely delicious and you can eat it as asingle, one dish meal or add a side salad if you want to stretch the meal to feed an even larger crowd.

In the recipe, I call for a pre-made pastry. You can make your own (as I do) or use pre-made pastryfrom the store. Teaching you to make pastry is a little outside of the scope of this book, so I’ll justoffer you a link to Martha White’s recipe page so you can learn how to make pie pastry directly fromher.

http://www.marthawhite.com/Recipes/Detail.aspx?recipeID=2762&mealtype=32

Chicken Pot Pie RecipeIngredients

1. 1 pint of home canned chicken broth

2. 1 pint of home canned chicken (white or dark)

3. 4 cups of diced or chopped vegetables (fresh, frozen, leftovers, or canned all work – Ioften use a combination of mirepoix, green beans, corn, potatoes, squash, turnips, peas, orwhatever else I have on hand.)


5. 1 teaspoon Poultry seasoning (or your own combination of sage, parsley, thyme, chivesor other herbs; adjust to taste)

6. 1 teaspoon minced garlic (about one clove)

7. 1/4 cup cornstarch dissolved in 1/4 cup water to make thin paste.

8. Pastry for a one crust pie (thawed if frozen)

9. 1 egg white

Instructions

10. Preheat oven to 375*F

11. Put all ingredients except cornstarch in large oven-proof dutch oven on stovetop.

12. Bring to a boil.

13. Stir in cornstarch paste.

14. Reduce heat and stir until thickened.

15. Score pastry in several places to allow steam to escape as it cooks.

16. Remove meat and vegetable mixture from heat and carefully lay pastry on top

17. Brush with egg white (optional)

18. Bake at 375*F for 30 minutes or until crust is golden and flakey

19. Remove from the oven and allow to sit for 10 minutes before serving

Excerpt from The Cornbread Bible: A Recipe StorybookSince you’ve got all this chicken and chicken stock, you might feel inclined to make up a great big panof chicken and dressing. There is an entire chapter devoted to making custom chicken and dressing inThe Cornbread Bible: A Recipe Storybook with a method taught for what I call the U-Pick Dial-A-Dressing Method. It basically takes the recipe shown below and customizes it to suit your own tastes.

This is a basic chicken and dressing method that will feed 12 to 15 hungry folks or 20 genteel, well-fed folks who are trying to be polite. This recipe can be served with cranberry sauce on, green beancasserole, squash, yams, and whatever else you normally have with dressing. You can use some ofyour stores of chicken stock to make a nice, rich and flavorful gravy, too.

My Own Chicken’n’Dressing RecipeI’m still old school and just like plain old cornbread for the bread in my dressing. As previouslymentioned, you can add other types of bread crumbs to the cornbread, but it will be best if it isMOSTLY or ALL cornbread crumbs. My absolute favorite is 100% cornbread for the bread part.You’re probably not surprised, since I’m writing a whole book on cornbread.

I like to make my cornbread the day before, but in a pinch, I can make it in the morning to use thatafternoon. It just handles and crumbles better if it has cooled and rested for awhile.

To make the cornbread crumbs for dressing, I cook the bread a little differently than I do for regularcornbread. I use a sheet cake pan, do not pre-heat the pan, and cook at a lower temperature. This isbecause I do not want the thick crust for dressing. We are making this to make crumbs and the thickercrust from hot popping grease in a cast iron skillet doesn’t crumble well.

Not creating a crust is especially important for me. Since it wouldn’t be used in the dressing, what doyou think would then happen to that unused crust??? Well, I would then have a little gluttonous devilsitting on my shoulder shouting… “It would be a shame to waste all that cornbread crust, Miss JennyFaye. Why don’t you just EAT IT ALL! Bwah-ha-ha-haaaa!” So I use the cake pan so that I will be‘led not’ into that particular temptation.

Here is how I make my “standard” cornbread dressing. You can mix and match your own ingredientsto come up with your own version from the lists you’ll see later in this section, but if you want tofollow a recipe for your first cornbread dressing test drive, or just claim this as your own, here is asuper easy version that I love. It is a main dish recipe with big chunks of cooked pulled chicken. This is a crowd-sized or multi-meal recipe, but the basic ratio is two parts bread to one and a half totwo part fixings to one part liquid. Feel free to downsize as needed.

First you will need the cornbread crumbs:

Cornbread recipe for 10 cups of dressing crumbsIngredients

1. 3 cups self-rising cornmeal mix2. 3 cups milk3. 3 Tablespoons cooking oil4. 3 eggs

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375*2. Grease 9x13 sheet cake pan with cooking spray or oil saturated paper towel.3. Mix all ingredients together.4. Pour into the greased 9 x 13 sheet cake pan.5. Bake for 30-35 minutes in a 375* oven.6. Allow to cool completely in the pan.7. Crumble by hand into a large mixing bowl.

Jenny’s Old Fashioned Chicken’n’dressing RecipeYield: Serves 12 to 15 (at least)

Ingredients:1. 10 cups crumbled cornbread (recipe shown above makes 10 cups)2. 2 pints canned chicken (I like to use hot packed, pulled dark meat for this)3. 4-5 cups chopped vegetables (onion, celery and carrots in fairly equal parts)4. 4 large eggs, lightly beaten5. 1 quart (2 pints) home canned chicken stock6. 2 heaping tablespoons poultry seasoning7. 1-2 teaspoons salt8. 1-2 teaspoons black pepper9. 2 tablespoons Clabber Girl baking powder (You can use another brand, but the box mightnot be as cute on your shelf.)

Instructions:

1. Heat oven to 350*F.2. In an extra-large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients except chicken. 3. Gently fold in chicken.4. Spread the mixture in a large turkey roasting pan or three 8x8 or loaf pans.5. Pat down with back of large spoon.6. Bake for 30 - 40 minutes or until lightly browned.

Closing thoughts and a cordial invitationYou will find your home canned chicken will readily adapt to your own favorite chicken recipes. Youare cordially invited to share them with others on the I CAN CAN CHICKEN! Facebook Page. Pleasedrop by the page for new recipes as I dream them up for my family or other readers add ideas or justto say hello. I would love to hear from you. www.facebook.com/ICanCanChicken

Also, your feedback is what will help others decide whether or not this food preservation methodmight be right for them. If you have found this book to be helpful or inspiring in any way, please leavefeedback for me on Amazon! I check for new feedback every single day. Your feedback is whatinspires me to keep writing and sharing the things I’ve learned along the way.

It is my hope and prayer that this information will help you to save money and improve the nutritionalvalue of the meals in your own household.

Thank you for spending this time with me. I hope you have learned something that is helpful to youand the members of your household.

Blessings to you and everyone you love, dear reader!

Jennifer Shambrook, Ph.D.


http://www.facebook.com/ICanCanChicken

About the AuthorJennifer Shambrook, Ph.D. has a busy full time job, and also holds faculty appointments at theUniversity of Central Florida and the Medical University of South Carolina. She is the mother of bothgrown children and two school age children, grandmother of nine, and wife of a very supportivehusband. She has won awards for her academic publications and serves as the editor of a peerreviewed academic journal Research Management Review. She is an award winning cook and haswon blue ribbons and best of show awards for her home canning efforts for decades. Dr. Shambrookis the author of the Amazon Best Sellers, The Cornbread Bible: A Recipe Storybook and I CAN CANBEEF!! Dr. Shambrook has a Ph.D. in Public Health Education and Promotion. She is originally fromLeeds, Alabama. She now lives with her family in Memphis, Tennessee where she works in the city,lives in the suburbs, and likes to keep a country pantry.

Other books by Jennifer Shambrook, Ph.D.Dr. Shambrook’s books are being described as both useful and delightful by her growing audience.Her conversational style, humor, and down-home manner makes learning new cooking techniques fun.She is a born teacher who loves sharing her knowledge with others.

The Cornbread Bible: A Recipe StorybookIn The Cornbread Bible: A Recipe Storybook, Dr. Jennifer Shambrook not only shares recipes forsome great, low-cost, Southern cooking, but also shares the stories behind the recipes. The peoplewho created the recipes and the people for whom the recipes were created populate this recipestorybook.

Dr. Shambrook is a comfortable storyteller and you will find yourself relating these stories as yourfamily or guests eat the down home recipes from this book. With this book, you will find it very easyto be a good cook. You will also find these recipes to be very easy on your food budget. Shambrookcooks with an eye to saving time, effort, and expense.

The book offers both recipes and the principles behind the recipes. This enables the reader to followstep by step as they learn the principles, then use these recipes for inspiration to create their owndelicious cornbread dishes. There are also general tips such as how to care for cast iron cookware ortell when your oil is hot enough to fry a hushpuppy or corndog.

Included in the book are a variety of breads, including many gluten free options. Also included areside dishes (greens with cornmeal dumplings), main dishes (pot roast pie), and a delicious recipe forgluten-free corndogs. There are recipes for breakfast, lunch and dinner. You will enjoy reading thestories behind the recipes as you learn to fry hushpuppies, make the Chihuahua Muffins, or cook hardycornbread-topped entrees.

You will find The Cornbread Bible: A Recipe Storybook informative, entertaining and chock full ofuseful tips that will help you be a better cook while lowering your food budget at the same time.

I Can Can Beef!! How to can beef to save money and time with quick, easy, delicious familyrecipesIn I Can Can Beef!! you will learn to can delicious, naturally flavorful and tender beef cubes. Thewell explained step-by-step instructions are followed by a series of easy and tasty recipes for super-quick nutritious family meals.

These techniques are written so that anyone, whether you are a complete novice or a seasoned homecanner, can follow along. Everything is step by step with explanations of the how as well as the whyof the easy steps.

Dr. Shambrook uses both her academic teaching experience and her friendly down-home story tellingstyle to clearly explain the process of canning beef in a way that even the most inexperienced homecanner can follow.

http://www.amazon.com/Cornbread-Bible-Recipe-Storybook-ebook/dp/B00AA4F6L4/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1369512945&sr=1-1&keywords=the+cornbread+bible

http://www.amazon.com/delicious-family-recipes-Frugal-ebook/dp/B00BOB667K/ref=pd_sim_b_4

i can can chicken! ! how to home can chicken to save money and time with quick, easy, tasty family...

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