Posted on 12/07/2012 12:47:35 PM PST by Kartographer
Weekly Preppers' Thread to post progress, good buys, DIY projects, advice, ideas.....
This week we put up 52 pints of stew meat, 27 pints of ground beef and 16 quarts of ground beef. That is 111 lbs of beef that will sit on the shelf ready for easy dinners.
We also got 16 quarts of nice beef stock.
The meat came from a half a beef that we split with another family.
Yes, you can buy canned beef but the price and quality you get from canning your own can not be beat.
Salt and Sugar was part of my first long term preps. Double down on them. They will be good long term not just for eating, but also to barter, and help preserve foods.
Besides the liberal loonies like Mayor Bloomberg are probably going to try to outlaw them sooner or later.
Just in case, I also found directions on the internet for how to make your own sugar at home out of beets. Haven’t tried it yet to see if it really works, but at least it is stashed in the old timey cook book methods section of my collection. LOL.
I also keep several containers of bleach and lots of vinegar on hand. Vinegar also helps with food preservation, and makes a very good cleaner/mild degreaser mixed with some water and a dash of dishwasher detergent-cheap too. I have a book that has about 100 things that vinegar is good for, but I can’t begin to remember all that stuff like I used to.
Glad you mentioned vinegar and bleach. Just finished reading that vinegar can be kept indefinitely and bleach for about 4 years though it gets weaker and finally turns to salt water.
Vinegar as preservative. I had not thought of that aspect. I’m going to stock up on it now.
bttt
Don’t forget the Toilet Paper. It lasts forever, and it ain’t gettin’ any cheaper!
Do you cook the ground beef first before you process it?
I’ve always heard good things about them on forums. They look solid in the store.
I’m not sure if there really are “gluten free” oats. I don’t touch them. A lot of people react to them. :( so be careful. Try for rice or organic corn instead.
You do have to mix it with water if you want it loose. I also can smallish meatballs. Those you should brown before canning. Yes, you can can them in sauce so you only have to pour them out and heat them up.
RE: On the gun topic, since I know most people on FR, and especially preppers, don’t have enough guns, I’m looking at the Henry Survival Rifle. So far I like it. It’s 0.22 caliber, 3.5 pounds, 16.5” long, reasonably waterproof (if floats when disassembled and stored in the stock), and it can be assembled in under two minutes. I don’t actually have one, so don’t put too much trust in my comments. Does anyone else have one and like/dislike it?
I was really interested in one of these a couple years ago, and got an attempted demonstration at Gander Mountain. I say “attempted” because a piece got stuck in its receptacle in the stock, & I said nevermind. I took it as indicative of quality that one needed to scramble for a prying tool not supplied with it to make it fireable... or that possibly inept/hasty stowage could be such a PITA to undo. May be acceptable to someone who doesn’t mind tweaking to make a new unit do what it’s made for, & of course I never got to test for accuracy. YMMV.
Thanks for the info TM!
I own the 10/22 takedown, have put optics on it, and have stripped, cleaned and packed it numerous times, but have yet to fire it.
Thus far I am impressed with the quality and design. Of course, it helps that the 10/22 has been around forever (mature components, only the “takedown” design is new).
We’ll see how it holds up under real use.
Check this out. You can get it in 9mm or 40 S&W and it uses readily available pistol magazines. It is very lightweight and folds easily to fit in a small 16" back pack.
I wish I’d started out with one of those in .40 paired with a Beretta 96.
But I got the PX4 (Beretta pistol) first, so I paired it with a CX4.
If KelTec were to make a Sub2K that takes the _X4 series of magazines, I might have to think long and hard about ditching the CX4 in favor of one. No complaints about the CX4 other than its snappyness on the cheek - I just appreciate innovative, compact designs.
Velveeta will survive just fine at cool room temps before opening for up to a year, maybe longer. Personal anecdote, not scientific data. If carefully re-wrapped, I have kept it another year or so in the fridge. Even if carelessly re-wrapped, all that seems to happen is the edges dry out and they can be cut off and discarded while the rest seems about the same as ever.
When they say *processed* cheese food, they mean it.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.