With the temp down in the 70's today I decided to freeze dry a full load of sliced strawberries.. They are so good for snacks, to add to baked good or just throw a handful in your frosted flakes... :)
But the fun part was using up the last of the holiday Ham. I decided to can a batch of 9 bean and ham soup. I had ham broth left from cooking down last years bone with a few ham hocks so it will have a great smokey flavor. I chopped and sauteed some carrots with some onion and a bit of garlic to give the soup a rich flavor... I will serve it with corn bread... I made 12 jars that will last all year. Funny how during the holidays when the meat is cheap more people do not do a little prep and make some cheap meals... I but two hams at .85 a lb. We had a wonderful dinner, two left over meals. leaving us with two beautiful bones for ham and beans dinner, 6 packages for breakfast or dinners. I made a large batch of ham salad and shared some and now I am canning 12 jars of soup. That is 23 meals for just over 17.00 for the meat. The freeze dried strawberries are so good I sent my grandson to pick me up another flat that is 8 lbs for $4.00. To buy freeze dried berries they are about 35.00 for a #10 can on amazon. I am making them for 2.00 a can... I ended up freeze drying 10 lbs of strawberries for the cost of 5.00 (four lbs filled the jars in the photo), the best part is I donate my time... hahahaha.. I do love my freeze dryer it does all the work all I do is set it up and wait... Some loads are done in 17 hours some in 30 it just depends on the density of what is being processed.
For dinner we will have our go to ground beef tacos followed by a fresh strawberry pie... Yep this is my kinda day... give me a kitchen and let me do what I do....
Update, 4/15 Wow the soup is so good we had it with corn Bread.
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