Souper Saturday Information Packet

I spent some good times yesterday teaching a class at a church activity called "Easy Meals for Real Moms." You can probably guess what most of my ideas centered around. Sadly, my printer ran out of toner at 11 the night before so, as promised, here's the downloadable version of my handout for anyone who might have wandered over.

This is the handout

This is a link to canning dry beans (my way)

Another link to canning dry beans the traditional way

Email me with questions or poke around the website. Thanks ladies - it was fun!

How to can dry beans - the easy way

Dried beans are great to store, but not so convenient if you want a fast dinner. By bottling your own dried beans, you can take advantage of the convenience of canned beans without paying the premium for a can you're going to throw away. Most methods call for soaking the beans ahead of time, which is still pretty easy, but the way I've begun doing it is even easier.

A pound of beans will fill 4 pint bottles.

1. Set your pressure canner on the stove and follow the manufacturers directions for how much water to place inside (this varies based on the canner and how many bottles it holds). Start another small pot full of water boiling (to rinse the lids).

2. Rinse your beans thoroughly and make sure you remove any debris or rocks. No one wants dirt soup.

3. Rinse your bottles in hot water to make sure you remove any dust, etc.

4. Put 1/4 pound of beans in each bottle. Add 1/2 - 1 tsp. salt (everyone says you must use canning salt, but you really can just use regular table salt). Fill with hot tap water, leaving 1/2 inch headspace at the top.

5. Wipe the rims to remove any loose salt. Dip canning lids in boiling water, place on jars, and firmly screw on canning rings. Place the jars in your canner.

6. Turn the stove on and gently bring canner to a simmer - follow manufacturers instructions on bringing the canner up to pressure. Cook at 10 pounds pressure (15 pounds for high altitude) for 105 minutes. Let canner cool completely before opening and removing jars. Let jars sit overnight before removing rings and testing seal.