My Happy Place

Remember yesterday when I told you I never know what I’m going to end up doing any given day? Well, that’s how the day turned out. I started out in the kitchen…with two pressure canners running. My little one holds seven quarts or nine pints. The big one will hold twenty pints on two levels, but still only seven quarts. I finished canning the green chili and got six more pints for a total of eleven. Then I did a run of seven quarts of pinto beans. I canned an eight pound bag of Walmart’s Great Value Dried Pinto Beans and got twenty pints and seven quarts for a total cost of $5.98 plus a little bit of my time. And they’ll taste so much better than processed beans in a can. 

Homecanned Pinto Beans

Some of you asked for my green chile recipe. I put a link to a recipe the other day that I looked at. But I always end up making my own version no matter what a recipe says. So, here’s mine as best as I can tell you. I rarely ever measure anything so I’ll do my best to relay it accurately.

Pork Green Chile

     1 quart cooked pork (I always use butt roast cooked in the slow cooker till tender)
     1.5 boxes of chicken bone broth
     2 jars of 505 Southwestern Flame Roasted Green Chiles, 16oz. each
     1/4 c. dehydrated minced onions
     1 to 3 tsp. minced garlic, to taste. I used 2 tsps.
     2 heaping tsps. Ground Cumin
     1 heaping tsp. Ground Black Pepper
     1 heaping tsp. Smoked Paprika
     
     Mix all the ingredients together in a slow cooker. Mix a couple of heaping tablespoons of all purpose flour in with 1/2 cup of water or use some of the extra bone broth and stir it in the chile. Heat on high till hot and bubbling around the edges and is slightly thickened…about an hour or two. It’s even better when served the next day as the flavors marry. Serve piping hot with tortillas or a quesadilla to dip in it. I like to squeeze a wedge of lime over mine and add a dollop of sour cream on top. Yummmmm!

     This freezes or cans well. I canned mine in pints because I usually heat it up and pour it over burritos.

     An alternative would be to cut the meat up in chunks when it’s raw and add the rest of the ingredients and let the meat cook with the chiles. When I make a pork roast, I use it for a hot meal first with sauerkraut and mashed potatoes. Then I make another meal of cold pork sandwiches. So, I already had cooked pork in the fridge.

While I babysat the canners, I started knitting a new sweater. I decided to try a simple turtleneck version this time. I’m using the same yarn but a darker blue that would go great with denim. This pattern calls for a mock turtleneck, but Gail tells me I can just knit it longer so it folds over. I really love this designer out of Denmark…PetiteKnit. The pattern is called Novice Sweater. What can I say…I’m still learning the ins and outs of sweater making even though I may not be a rank novice. I’ve been working really hard the last couple of weeks so I am taking a sabbatical for a long weekend with my knitting needles and no work. Just good food…and maybe a nap!

As soon as I finished the canning, I headed out to the mower and got everything finished. I came in around 5-ish and made cold pork sandwiches and potato salad for supper. There is something wonderful about having food made up ahead of time that you don’t have to cook. The day was perfect…75° with intermittent clouds. Mr. FixIt and I went out after the sun set and it was so cool and lovely. 

I contacted the service department yesterday and even though our camper has been there for six weeks (THIS time), they still have not received the parts they ordered to fix it. I’m just about done with this. Ohio has a generous Lemon Law and I’m about to have a discussion with them. This isn’t right. We’re missing our favorite camping season completely. More than a little frustrating.

In the grand scheme of things, no matter what kind of inconveniences head my way, I still have a pretty blessed life. The Bible doesn’t say we MIGHT have troubles from time to time. Instead, it tells us we WILL have troubles, but when troubles strike, remember whose child you are and straighten that crown!

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“When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken.”

Psalm 34:17-20 ESV