My friend, Dianne, who is an amazing canner, sent me a recipe or “Burritos in a Jar”. Of course, I had to make them . . today! I was debating about whether I should do it — more jars to move. Vince said “I’d rather move full jars than empty jars.” Not sure about that rationale but . . if he’s good with it, I’m good with it.
Moving frozen meat has never worked well but this move is a bit different, in several ways. First, we’re paying for it out of our own pocket and that’s painful! Second, when we leave here, in 10 hours we’ll be at the new place with a freezer set up and cold – it will be one we’ve brought from here. When we left Kentucky, it we spent three nights in a hotel on the way to MO and then two more nights in a hotel after we got there waiting or the movers. When we came here, we spent one night in a hotel on the way because we didn’t leave MO til about 2 p.m., then we were in a hotel for a week here before the movers got there.
I had quite a few frozen cherries that I had picked from a friend’s tree and when we left MO, I thought I could save them with dry ice but it was just too long because the freezer in MO had to be turned off and dried out the week before the movers packed it and add the week in the hotel here and there was no way so I’ve given up trying to save much of anything out of a freezer.
I used 6 pounds of ground meat out of the freezer! It’s layered – starts with dry pinto beans, then rice, then onions, then bell pepper, then Rotel, salt, taco seasoning and beef broth.
Of course, I never totally follow directions.
- I didn’t have Rotel tomatoes so I used some of my home canned tomatoes and added jalapeno peppers.
- I used freeze dried onion and bell peppers (from the garden) so I didn’t have to do a lot of chopping.
- I didn’t have storebought beef broth so I used water and Better than Bouillon (beef flavored).
That’s it – pressure canned for 90 minutes – that’s a story for another blog post! Why is it that sometimes EVERYTHING goes wrong? Oh well . . in the end, it was a bunch of little things and it’s all good now.
Dottie Newkirk says
That looks good and it will be SO nice to have some more almost ready to eat meals, especially when you’re unpacking in MO.
Judy Laquidara says
I have lots of ready to eat meals in jars and that’s what keeps us eating at home on those days when I am really too tired to think about cooking but also too tired to clean up and go out to eat. In Texas and in MO, we’re too far out to get pizza delivery or any of the meal delivery services.
Another funny thing is that all these years, we’ve had such horrible cell phone service. I’m sometimes talking to a friend and have to hang up and call back three or four times during a five minute conversation. In MO, it’s worse. I don’t feel like we live that far out but apparently we do. Terrible cell service, not great internet. There’s hardly a place inside the house that the phones will work and that’s with the booster installed. It’s a good thing phones aren’t that important to us and the internet works enough that I can do blog posts. Watching a TV show streaming . . not so much!
Sibyl Scott says
Judy that looks like something my family would love–when you get a chance–would love the recipe for it. Also will it be served as a burrito–looks like almost a soup or starting of a casserole. But looks yummy. I agree with Vince why transport empty jars when full ones take the same space–not weight but space.
Paula Nordt says
Have never done any pressure canning. Does it cook the raw beans and rice, or just seal the jar to preserve the food?
Judy Laquidara says
It cooks the food – roast and venison will become fork tender, beans will cook completely, rice will get a little gummy (or a lot gummy) but for a burrito, I don’t mind. For my jambalaya, I add the raw rice and cook it with the contents of the jar before serving – I don’t put the rice in the pressure canner for 90 minutes. I do cook rice in my Instant Pot for 10 minutes. The jars do seal and as long as the pressure has remained at the correct level for the correct time, and you have a good seal, the food should be preserved.
Paula Nordt says
I really need to learn how to can foods. Can you suggest any good resources for teaching myself?
Judy Laquidara says
First, only do it if you think you’ll like it. I find it to be one of those things that people either love or hate. I like it because I don’t have to worry about the power going out or moving and not being able to save my food. I have jars of food that are 7 or 8 years old and it’s still as good as it was the day I canned it. You know that doesn’t happen with frozen food.
Ball Blue Books are a good source for canning. I think they put out a new one each year but the basic info is in all of them.
There’s really not much to it. I think everyone thinks it’s harder than it is. The All American Canner is pretty foolproof and safe. There are no gaskets and the lids are screwed down so I can’t imagine it would even be possible for them to fly off and decapitate someone.
If you know someone who cans, it would be so nice to spend a bit of time with them. Once you see how easy it is, it gives you confidence that you can do it.
Paula Nordt says
Thank you! I do have a friend who cans. Once I get through with my three week substitute job, I’ll bug her about it.
Nelle Coursey says
It sounds really good!
Kathy says
Would also live the recipe
Ruth says
But if an empty jar breaks, all you have are shards of glass. If a full jar breaks, there’s a big liquid mess full of glass shards. Good luck with that one day moving trip. I hope everything works out well! I love reading about other people’s moves. (We’ve moved about 23 times in 44 years.)
Judy Laquidara says
I know . . never say never but we’ve moved lots of canned food three times and have never had a jar break. Keeping my fingers crossed.