Food Storage Fun!

There are so many uses for canning jars. You can craft with them, create adorable gifts with them and of course preserve food in them. I can barely get on Pinterest without seeing a clever new use for a canning jar. We were recently blessed with about a hundred jars. We have canned in some but being newbies to the canning world most are sitting empty on a shelf. I recently spent some time using some of those jars for food storage. I usually use plastic baggies for food storage and then throw them away. So by using jars not only am I wasting less, I am also saving money. The best part is they look pretty on the pantry shelf, in the fridge and yes, even in the freezer! My canning jars even make my scraps for scrap soup look good.

Tips for freezing in canning jars:
1. Keep your two part canning lids used for the freezer separate from your canning lids used for actual canning.

2. I am not 100% sure this is an issue but I always put room temp or cold food in my glass containers for the freezer. Never hot food. Don’t reheat food in the frozen jar.

3. Leave headspace for your food to expand in the freezer. Not leaving headspace is what causes jars and containers to break.

4. I use dissolvable canning labels on my jars so that when it is time to put something else in them I wash the label right off. On my labels I always put the expiration date of the food I am storing on food for the pantry or the date I packed them on food for the fridge or freezer.

Tips for buying jars:

1. Buying canning jars in canning season is always best if you want new jars. There are always sales and coupons circulating.

2. Check Craigslist or Freecycle. People who do not plan on canning anymore or who have just used the jars for a wedding will sell them cheap or even give them away!

3. Scour those yard sales!

Once you have a good stock of jars you have reusable containers for life. It reduces waste and your family’s exposure to the harmful chemicals in plastic food bags and containers. I am not naïve enough to say I can eliminate plastic from our food because virtually all food packaging is in plastic but I am working to reduce it by making food at home and storing it in glass. One thing I am going to eliminate is heating plastic of any kind in the microwave. Maybe we do not ingest a lot of chemicals by storing or eating out of plastic containers but I feel sure we do when we heat it up.

I read an article recently that suggested using baby food jars for storing single servings of food. I love this idea. Now I just need to find a Mom who will save her jars for me!

I have to say all these baby steps have been so much fun and not a lot of work! I am looking forward to my next project! I hope you are too!

Scrap Magic

Here is some more scrap magic for you. I serve lots of veggies during the week and usually there is only a small amount left so I would just throw it out. No more. I now have a container in the freezer that I put these scraps in. Once my container is full I make Scrap soup. Scrap soup is basically stock or broth of your choosing (use your vegetable stock cubes you made from the previous post)water, salt, pepper and your scrap vegetables. My ratio is around 2 cups broth or stock to 1 cup water. I love the flavor so I like more broth than water. Your ratio should reflect your own tastes. The last time I made scrap soup I added leftover Thanksgiving turkey that I had frozen. You can add whatever meat you like if you do not prefer just vegetable soup. Like the vegetable stock no two scrap soups will be the same. My last batch had spinach, green beans cooked two different ways, corn and carrots.

Some other recipes I plan to try with my scraps are:
Scrap pot pie
Scrap Shepherd's pie
Scrap veggie frittata

Pretty much anything you would use a can of mixed vegetable for substitute with your scraps! Even if all you have left is a tablespoon of peas and carrots it adds up! Getting a meal out of what I would normally waste is a good deal in my book!