Monday, March 08, 2010

Right now,


all six children are fast asleep and in their own beds (even this little Hammy). 

And one hubby.

There are two dozen Oatmeal Crispies hidden away in the freezer (until Danny reads this).  There are also a half-dozen in a bag on the counter. 

My two quart Pampered Chef batter bowl is filled stuffed full with cooked (and finally cooled) ground beef and chopped onion.

I have six quart-size jars of black beans (with bacon and onions for flavor) still bubbling cooling off on a thick towel on the counter.  I had decided this week that I needed to be a real grown-up and re-learn how to use my pressure cooker/canner.  I'm very proud of myself and also pleased that no jars shattered in the process.

The dishwasher is humming.

The dryer is clinking.  It sounds like there are a few pairs of overalls in there.

Dirty dishes litter the counters.

Eight bottles are filled up to four ounces each and lined up in two rows in the fridge.  This should get me through the I-don't-want-to-be-awake-yet hour.

My living room is clean- if you don't count the king-size snowman comforter on the couch.

And I'm off to bed 20 minutes shy of turning into a pumpkin.  Good-night!

7 comments:

Leslie said...

post a pressure cooker bean tutorial - please! I'm dying to do a whole bunch of jars and get stocked up and even with all my canning experience I've never pressure cooked them in the jars.

Lisa said...

You. Are. Incredible.

i'm erin. said...

wowza. I suck. You are amazing. and your beans sound good. share.

JoMamma said...

Reading this made me sleepy, and it's still hours until bed time. How do you do it all?

Nikki said...

JoAnn- The key is to not be gestating at the time. lol

Tubbs Family said...

I have A LOT of dry beans. I never thought to can them. Please tell me more! After you can them, can you pop it open and use them instantly like a can you bought from a store. My problem is that if I want beans at the last minute they're all dry!! Is it a pressure cooker you use?? I've been looking at one to can meat and vegetables. Do you have to use a pressure cooker to do beans? Does it cook the beans for you like the meat? SO many questions! I'd love to learn how you do it and pass on the information to my ward.

Nikki said...

Denay- Yes, I use a pressure cooker/canner and it cooks them in the process. I'm very novice at it, but I can post what I know. I've been reading about all the many types of foods you can cook with the pressure cooker. I'm excited about the possibilities.

After the beans are done, they cool off, and then go in the pantry like a can of beans from the store. Then I just open it up and serve. We've had a lot of beans this week with no complaints from the kids.

I'll try to get a basic pressure cooking post written up this week.