Many people who think about canning potatoes, imagine a super soft and mushy end product that isn't good for much of anything besides mashing.  Nothing could be further from the truth!

There are countless ways to preserve tomatoes.  It seems as though everyone's grandmother had a special family recipe, and yet so many recipes are so similar.  Regardless of which method you choose to preserve your tomatoes, stewed, juiced, sauced, pickled, or dehydrated, have some fun with it!  In this blog, I will share my experiences, good and bad, with canning tomato sauce for the first time.  

We all have a cabinet where we keep a few extra jars of pasta sauce, or extra canned soup for a rainy day.  But do you have enough food staples stored to be able to miss a weekly grocery shopping trip in that cabinet?  What if you had to shelter in place or evacuate your home in a state of emergency?  The last thing you would want to have to worry about is feeding your family, and potentially your neighbors.

We have all seen those dates stamped on almost every food we purchase.  Often these codes look like gibberish and are very confusing.  Some say, "Best by", while others may say, "Use by", while yet others will only have a date.  I hope to clear up the confusion about these dates, and teach you what they mean, thereby saving you money on your grocery bill!

When you hear people talk about pickles, most people will automatically think about cucumber pickles.  The world of pickles reaches far beyond the dill spear, the sweet gherkins, and the bread and butter pickles commonly seen on relish trays and charcuterie boards.  Let's go down the rabbit hole of pickles, and I will also share some of my favorite pickle recipes!

Let's face it, in an age where it seems everything is digital, virtual, and delivered to our door, the basic survival skills our grandparents knew have, by many, been forgotten.  Let's dive into some hands on Basic Life Skills That Everyone Should Know!  

A Bug Out Bag, or BOB, is a grab-and-go kit that contains important items needed in case of an emergency.  Whether it is a natural disaster that prevents you from returning home, an emergency evacuation that removes you from your home, or if you are just stranded and waiting for a way to get back home, a BOB can help make the time easier!  In this blog, we will cover some BOB Basics, and help you be prepared for the just-in-case situations!

Years ago, it was a way of life, food was grown in a home garden, then preserved for use through the winter.  With the modern food chain in place now, that aspect is often forgotten.  Food that is purchased is already preserved for the most part.  Whether you purchase food that is in a bag, a can, a jar, or from the freezer department, the preservation work has been done for you, you just need to put in the correct storage place.  However, after seeing the bare shelves during Covid, many developed a realization of just how delicate the food chain can be.  

We've all seen the "Family Favorite" canning recipe featured on a website, blog, YouTube channel, or social media page, but is that recipe safe?  I want to share with you the reasons to follow safe-tested canning recipes, as well as some of the dangers of not following safe-tested recipes.  There are some home canners who say, "My kitchen, my rules", and I will be honest, I will not eat food that was canned in their kitchen!  Not following safe canning guidelines is a recipe for disaster, or worse, death!  At the end of this blog, I will share links to a video of a woman who assumed her canning method was safe, as well as to a video that shows the science behind safe canning and the prevention of botulism, the deadliest toxin known to man.

Nothing says summer quite like fresh strawberries!  One way to preserve those fresh berries to be used year round is to make jam with them.  Making jam is super simple, and as long as you follow a few simple rules, you will have a delicious sweet to gift, or keep for yourself!

We have all had times when we get home from work, and realize we still have to fix supper for the family.  After a long day at work, the last thing I want to do is cook over a hot stove for very long to put a meal on the table.  These "Meals in a Jar" options make putting supper on the table a breeze! The best part is, they are totally customizable.  Spend some time prepping and canning, store them in your pantry, then enjoy an effortless supper when it is needed!

We hope we never have to use them, but we need to know how to build them "just in case".  Emergency survival shelters can be a life saver if you are ever lost in the woods, stranded, or in the case of a natural disaster.  In this blog, we will share some basic information for building emergency survival shelters.