Motivation Friday and change in plans

Thursday, October 30, 2008
Time to check on my goals. I didn't get another project loaded. But I did finish quilting the chunky churn dash. I love the quilt, but it gave me a headache. The batting is not easy to work with. It took a LOT of thread (it's a king size). Remember the decision to use variegated thread on the back, and a plain teal on the front? It was a good idea as I had this much teal thread left----


Not much! And of course I ran out of bobbin thread with this much to finish---


Yes, less than a foot to go!! Now I can set it aside until I have time for the binding.

Today has brought a few changes in my plans. Earlier this week I was rummaging in my freezer (trying to make room) and thawed out two turkeys. Who's coming to dinner you ask?? No one, I am going to can the meat! (For those of you who were at the Heartstrings Sew In in Rochester last weekend, I made those chicken enchiladas using canned turkey.) Last night I took the thawed birds and cooked them whole in my pressure canner. Yes, it's big. Big enough to hold a 23lb bird. Did that twice, one bird went into a blue canner in the downstairs fridge. (Once the pressure is up, it only takes 1/2 hr to cook a whole turkey.) The other one I sat outside (it's not quite freezing at night) on the step in the canner. This morning I took all the meat off the bones, packed it in jars, and I have some of the jars in the pressure canner. From two birds I got 23 packed pints. Now you may think this is a lot of work (it is) but it's so HANDY!!! Think of all the things you can make from meat that is already cooked and doesn't need to thaw. Casseroles. Chicken and Dumplings. Chicken salad sandwiches. I even boil down the broth (season it with onions, celery, and carrots with the whole birds) and can that too. These turkeys were bought with this project in mind, I bought them on sale anywhere from $.29 to $.48 a lb. I usually can about 4-5 birds a year. And the change in my day? The man who is going to combine our corn called late last night, they will be here late this afternoon. EEEkkk! So I am scrambling to get my turkey canned then will go help. So no sewing today.

6 comments:

JuJu said...

Can I come live at your house? You are such a good cook!!

MightyMom said...

come and see who won Thesaurus Thursday this week!

MightyMom said...

Cool! I never thought of canning meat! but I don't have a super cool pressure cooker or a neato canner either!

sides that...our leftovers last us approx 3 days MAX...that's from a BIG turkey.

There are BIG EATERS in this house! (5 of them)

Pat at Bell Creek Quilts said...

What a heart ache! only inches to go on your chunky churn dash! Did you use another thread on the back or are you waiting on matching thread?

I want to see your pantry with all the canning you've been doing! must be awesome!

Good luck combining the field~hope the weather holds for you :)

Stephanie D said...

If I had more time to spend, I might consider that, because it makes good sense.

Mary Johnson said...

It sounds like a lot of work but I bet it's nice to pull the turkey off the shelf. I'm forever forgetting to thaw something out for dinner! Luckily I have some recipes that I can cook my chicken breasts frozen and then add them to the rest of the dish.