Canning Potatoes

I recently found an amazing deal on potatoes, of course, I grabbed 15 pounds (that was the limit). I love to can fresh produce/veggies that I grow or either I find a great deal on. 

Having all ready cooked potatoes makes it so easy in the winter for an easy dish or just to throw in a quick pot of soup. Yum. 

When you can potatoes you have to use a pressure canner because they are in the low acid category. 

Disclaimer: If you have never used your pressure canner before, then please read your manual. :)

I start off by sterilizing my jars, lids, and rings in a pot. In another big pot I have water boiling - prevents the jars from cracking. Hot and cold does not mix with glass jars. 

While everything is sterilizing, I start peeling the skins off the potatoes and giving them a good wash. Washing them prevents dirt in the jars. 

After the potatoes have been washed, then cut up the potatoes. It doesn't really matter what size they are as along as they fit in the jar. I cut them up in medium size cubes. 

Before your jars start to actual boil, remove one jar at a time and put 1 tsp of salt in the jar. Pack your potatoes in the jar tight. 

Ladle in the hot water and leave 3/4 inch of headspace.

Wipe the top of the jars with a clean towel. If you leave anything on the rims, then it will not seal properly. 

Place lids and bands on the jar. 

Place jar in the pressure canner and start on the next. Follow the steps above until all jars are packed and ready to go!

Turn the burner on high and put the lid on. When in doubt, look at your manual. 

Remember to not put the weight on until the pressure canner starts to build pressure - roughly 5 minutes. When you see steam starting to come out, then it is okay to put the weight on. 

The pressure will then start to build up. When the little thing on the side pops out, then your pressure gauge will start to move. 

When your pressure gauge reaches 10 pounds, then it is safe to start your timer for 40 minutes. Make sure you stay in the kitchen and watch the gauge because it will move. When it starts to go passed 10 pounds, then turn the burner down. Try and keep it between 10-12 pounds. 

When the 40 minutes are up, then turn off the burner and let the pressure canner cool down by itself. 

Wasn't that easy?

What are some things you are canner up this year?

Clean Eating Turkey White Lasagna

Lately, I have been craving lasagna so badly! Boy...this was delicious. The only thing that was missing was the non-clean items. :)

Trust me, you have to make this. Oh my word.. Remember to let it sit in the pan for a little bit - it broke apart on me because I couldn't wait to dig in. 

Click HERE to find the recipe. Sometimes I change up the ingredients in recipes, but this one I have to give her credit. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!

By the way, you will have loads of leftovers if you are just a couple. Yes! :)

Spicy Clean Shrimp Patties

With living on the east coast you usually love all kinds of seafood. I know we do! When I was living in Maryland as a small child I loved to have crabs and crab cakes. Oh my word....

Buying a bushel of crabs can leave a pretty big dent on the checkbook, of course, that is not frugal. I know I can get a pretty good deal every now and then on shrimp, so we can shrimp patties. :)

They are delicious with a little bit of a kick. 

Ingredients

• 1 medium sized jalapeno, minced (for spicy, leave in the seeds)
• 1 pound of shrimp, peeled
• dash of salt
• dash of pepper
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 tbsp cilantro
• 2 tbsp whole-wheat breadcrumbs
• 6 lime wedges of topping (optional)

Directions

1. Peel the shrimp and dry off with a paper towel or towel. 
2. Place the shrimp in a food processor as well as the jalapeno, garlic, cilantro, salt, and pepper.
3. Form 6 shrimp patties and place on wax or parchment paper. Makes it easier to slide off. 
4. Add shrimp to a cast iron grill pan or a large pan. 
5. Cook each side for 4-5 minutes. You will see nice grill marks. 
6. Serve with lime wedge.

Adding An Extra To The Family: Lucky

Over the weekend, Clay and I found a stray cat that had a litter outside. All together there were 5 kittens. The kitties were not doing good at all, so we decided to take one in. We thought an appropriate name would be Lucky.

Oh he is so Lucky.

He loves to take plenty of naps and play hard. 

Lucky just woke up from a nap and boy he wanted to play!

Isn't he a cutie? Not sure how old he is exactly, but we will find out from the vet soon. If I would have to guess, I would say around a month old. 

He has pretty sharp teeth. 

I am sure you guys will be seeing a lot more of Lucky from now on! :)

Having a baby kitten is almost like having a newborn around. 

Clean Eating Weekly Menu Plan: July 1-7th

Hey there! Welcome to our first clean eating {real wholesome food} menu plan! Clay and I have decided that we want to completely eliminate all non-clean foods from our diet. Not only would we love to loose some pounds, but we want to be healthier. 

We are no longer doing our once a month shopping. We are having to go once a week because all of the foods we eat do not have a long shelf life.

As always it is done on a very frugal budget!

Stay on the lookout for the recipes during the week!

Menu Plan: July 1-7th

Monday, July 1st - Jalapeno Shrimp Cakes with Veggies on side {Recipe HERE}

Tuesday, July 2nd - Turkey and Broccoli White Lasagna

Wednesday, July 3rd - Spinach and lettuce salad with oranges. Fresh herb vinaigrette

Thursday, July 4th - Happy fourth of July! We left this day open.

Friday, July 5th - Veggie and Steak foil packets

Saturday, July 6th - Sausages with peppers. Fruit on the side

Sunday, July 7th - Chicken Fried Rice

Print Menu Plan and Shopping List HERE

Our Journey of Clean Eating (Amazon Order)

When I hear a knock on the door and I greet my UPS man, boy, I am one happy girl. I love to receive packages! Don't we all? I love packages that are great for you as well. :) I think I may be a tad bit strange..haha.

One thing you do not see in this picture is a pressure cooker/canner. I already have one, but I wanted a better one. By the way, I got an awesome deal on this stuff!!

When I went to go check-out on Amazon I received an offer to sign-up for an amazon credit card with rewards. Usually I say no to these types of things. If we got approved then we would receive a $50 gift card. Oh yeah...I am in now! :)

Here is the breakdown:

Bob's Red Mill Whole Wheat Pearl Couscous, 16-Ounce(Pack of4) - $11.57

Coffee Bean Direct Sencha Green Loose Leaf Tea, 2 Pound Bag - $21.03

Muir Glen Organic Tomato Sauce, 15-Ounce Cans (Pack of 12) - $20.88

Bob's Red Mill Pastry Flour Whole Wheat, 5-Pound (Pack of 4) - $13.91

Presto 1755 16-Quart Aluminum Pressure Cooker/Canner - $69.00

Total: $136.39 -$70 gift cards ($20 previous gift card in the account)
Final Price: $66.39!!! The price we paid was lower than the actual canner by itself!!!!!

Our Journey of Eating Clean (Shopping Phase)

My husband and I have always had a pretty good diet. We do not buy any processed foods/snacks well because they are just loaded of crap and are pretty pricey. 

I never finished planning the last week for the menu so we can try and focus on switching our pantry to a clean pantry. I have done a lot of research and some people just throw out all of their "dirty" food, but I cannot see myself throwing out food. We can been trying to finish it all up and have a clean, fresh start in July. 

Our grocery budget in the past has been $166 and this month we changed it to $300. I say $300 because we really wanted to stock up on a lot of the clean basic and next month we will not have to do that. After this month our budget will go down to $200. 

Some say you cannot have a clean, organic lifestyle on a budget...I will show you how you can! 

So let's start this journey together and become healthier! :)

Yesterday the hubbs and I went grocery shopping. I will give you the breakdown as well. We went to BJS (like Costco), Wegmans (like Whole Foods), and Walmart. 

Boy... we got a lot of stuff! The photo above doesn't even begin to describe how much stuff we purchased. I always like to put the perishable items in the fridge pronto. 

BJS

At BJS we stocked up on a lot of grapefruits, apples, organic pure maple syrup, agave, organic spinach, organic romaine lettuce, kale, almonds, honey, vanilla extract, olive oil, salmon fillets, whole chickens, and peppers (boy he can go through a jar of those in a day!). 

We really did a lot of stuff there and bought a lot of things in bulk. 

Total: $136.25 (wow)

Wegmans

We purchased organic hemp protein powder, organic tomato paste, molasses, organic salsa, white whole wheat flour, and organic flaxseeds. 

I love this store! Some of the products are so neat looking! Dork moment..haha! :)

Total: $29.30

Walmart

Some people hate to shop at Walmart because of the views and so on, but on a budget we have to shop there for some things. They even have some organic items! YAY!

We bought a lot of things: tuna, plastic baggies, toilet paper, quick oats, lemons, vinegar, red wine vinegar, unsweetened applesauce, low sodium soy sauce, raisins, almond milk, clean butter, stir-fry veggies, jalapenos, garlic, and more! 

Sometimes the receipt is hard to read because they don't spell everything out!

Total: $50.62

We also have a order from Amazon coming pretty soon. When it arrives I will show you all when we purchased. I got a great,great deal on it!!!

Final Total: $216.17 ($5.48 is tax)