Home Canned Chili Beans And More Radio Show Stuff

This recipe is based on one given to me by my friend Deborah Tukua. I’ve used it for years and years, making changes here and there to suit us.  If you want to cut it in half you can, with no problems. Its so nice to have a meal already cooked that you simply have to heat up.

10 pounds pinto beans yields about 17-18 quart jars of chili beans

Soak 10 pounds of beans over night in enough water to cover

Drain water off.

Bring 7 quarts water to a boil. While the water is heating, add these ingredients to a HUGE pot. I use my water bath canner.

Get your quart jars ready, lids and rings too. Go ahead and get some water boiling in your pressure canner.

Ingredients:
4 cups bell pepper (red or green) chopped
7 cups onion, chopped
10-20 ounces Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup garlic powder
2/3 cup chili powder, I often use chipotle chili powder
1/2 cup salt
1 1/2 cup brown sugar or rapidura
1/4 cup dry mustard
Drained pinto beans
6 chili peppers, seeded and chopped are optional for heat

When you have all the ingredients in your HUGE pot, add the 7 quarts of boiling water and stir well. Be sure to go to the bottom of the pot and bring the ingredients up to the top a few times.

Bring the pot to a boil on medium high heat and allow it to boil for 5 minutes.

While the HUGE pot of ingredients is still very hot, add the ingredients to the quart jars, leaving a 1 inch head space. Run a rubber spatula down the insides of the jars to release air bubbles. Wipe the tops of the jars clean and then seal with lids and rings.

Process in a pressure canner at 10 pounds of pressure for 75 minutes.

If you would like to add meat to the chili beans you can.  Cook ground meat until it is done, salt to taste. Add the ground meat to the ingredients in the HUGE pot and bring to a boil. Can as directed above (10 pounds pressure) except increase the canning time to 90 minutes.

 

You can also can plain beans with no seasonings except salt. Soak the beans as directed above.  Heat soaked beans to boiling and fill hot jars 2/3 full with beans and cooking liquid.  Pressure can at 10 pounds pressure for 70 minutes for quarts.

Dehydrating – veggies, including previously frozen veggies, lots of veggies, meats, eggs, fruit. All of these things can be rehydrated and made into nourishing, quick meals.

Storing beans and rice
Canning beans and canning bean meals – so much simpler to heat up a home canned jar of foodthan to have to use energy and heat up the house to cook a full meal. Very good idea for summer time,.

The main foods we’re concentrating on storing:
Wheat berries
home canned tomatoes
peanutbutter
salt
beans
oil and fat including home canned butter
dehydrated veggies
sugar/honey/molasses

Herbal First Aid Kit – what we’ve got in it so far…..
Plantain – bruising, wounds

Elderberry syrup – colds, coughs, flu

Violet syrup – coughs

Catnip for swelling, bruises applied externally, internally for fever, Since catnip is suitable for infants and children, it is used in childhood fevers and colic.

Burdock – Arthritis, sciatica, urinary calculi and gout. Burdock is commonly used to normalize the female menstrual cycle, during menopause and for mastitis.

Black cohosh – Good for the initial phases of influenza when there is chilliness, aching muscles and an acute fever, menopause hot flashes.

Boneset is used for influenza and colds with night sweats, aching in both muscles and bones, fever.

Calendula – anti-viral, aids in healing wounds, burns, bruises, boils, rashes.

Chamomile – calming, Chamomile is used for indigestion, gas and accompanying pain, gastritis and gastric ulcers and externally for burns, ulcers and wounds.Good even for babies.

Cayenne – Antiseptic, stimulates circulation, gargle for sore throats.

Comfrey – Externally it decreases the healing time for skin wounds and irritations and has been shown to act as a mild analgesic

Horehound – colds, bronchitis, moist asthma, coughs in general, feverish conditions.

Garlic – Antibacterial, and more.

Feverfew – migraine headaches, arthritis, colds and flu.