Roasting Green Chili

Well I got some of my Green Chili, I do have more coming ( we eat a lot of green chili). A friend of mine has an uncle that grows green chili down in MC Elmo canyon. Usually I buy at wally world haven’t been very happy with them for a few years. As you can see these chilies a great they are big and meaty, now we just need to get them roasted after which I plan to dehydrate and can them.

Andy made this roaster so it makes the job so much easier. If you don’t have a roaster sometimes the store will roast them for you, or you can roast them in your oven, or on a grill both of which I have had to do before.

I like doing my own because I like to get them a little done then the store does, makes them easier to peel. As you can see in the picture, they are pretty black.

When they are done I put them in a bag and close it up so they can steam. I let them sit over night then by morning they are cooled off and steamed so the skins just fall off.

They smell so good !!!

When you peel them you may want to wear plastic gloves because your hand will burn for a while after.

When I peel mine I put them in a large pan of water then take them out the peels should just slide off. If they are hot chilies you may want to take the seeds out also. After I ake the skin off and the seed out I rinse them in the pan of water they were sitting in, then put them into a pan of clean water, After I have them all done I drain the water then can, dry or freeze them.   

Recipe for mock apple zucchini crumb pie.

I tried this new recipe for Zucchini Pie that  taste just like Apple Pie. It is great, didn’t tell Andy what it was until he at half of it, he thought it was apple pie, every one who has tried it loves it. This is a great way to use those big zucchinis that you think are too big to do anything else with. Actually, you want the big zucchinis for this.

The first thing you want to do is peel the skin off, slice it down the center and scoop the seeds out. It'll look something like this.

Then you want to slice it long ways again so that you end up with four long strips.
Next, slice it into thin short strips (you need 4 cups) and boil until crisp tender.

Then drain it and run it under cool water to stop the cooking process. It even looks like apples.
While this is cooking Cut in a ½ cup of butter to 1 cup flour and ¾ cup of brown sugar. Whoops Forgot to take a pic. Set to the side
　
After you drain the slices put them in a bowl and toss with 2 tbsp. lemon juice and a dash of salt.

In a separate bowl, mix 1 1/2 c. sugar, 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, 1 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar, a dash of nutmeg and 3 tbsp. flour. It should look like this.

Add your zucchini to the dry ingredients and stir to coat. It's OK if it's runny. It'll soak up.
Dump it all into a 9 inch pie crust.

Then take your crumb topping and put on top of the pie
You can put a top crust if you don't want the crumb topping. 

Put the pie on a cookie sheet because it will spill over. Bake at 400 for 50 minutes

Very Yummy! Taste just like apple pie

Recipe for mock apple zucchini crumb pie.

4 Cups sliced zucchini
2 tbsp. lemon juice
a dash of salt.
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
a dash of nutmeg
3 tbsp. flour

Peel the skin off, slice it down the center and scoop the seeds out.

Then you want to slice it long ways again so that you end up with four long strips.

Next, slice it into thin short strips and boil until crisp tender.

Then drain it and run it under cool water to stop the cooking process.

After you drain the slices put them in a bowl and toss lemon juice and salt. In a separate bowl, mix sugar, cinnamon, cream of tartar, nutmeg and flour.

Add your zucchini to the dry ingredients and stir to coat. It's OK if it's runny. It'll soak up.
Dump it all into a 9 inch pie crust.

Then take your crumb topping and put on top of the pie. Or you can put a top crust on now like a regular apple pie.
Put the pie on a cookie sheet because it will spill over. Bake at 400 for 50 minutes

Crumb Topping
4 Tbsp of butter
2/3 cup flour
2/3 cup of brown sugar
½ tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg

Mix all ingredients until crumbly
　
　

Canning Meat

How to can Meat

I love canning my meat, it is so easy, and so convenient to be able to just open a jar of meat when you need it. It also saves on freezer space, and will last a lot longer canned then frozen.

You can can all kinds of meat beef, pork, elk venison, poultry, fish, and rabbit. You can can bacon but I will cover that on another day

Canning meat is so easy if you have a pressure canner (Meat has to be canned in a pressure canner).
There are two ways to can meat Raw pack or hot pack (except hamburger and that needs to be hot packed). I like the raw pack because it is the easiest and quickest.

Always read your canning manual before attempting to can anything.

1. You need to start with clean jars they do not have to be sterilized because they will be cooked at such high temperatures, but it is up to you. I personally do not sterilize them and I haven’t had any problems. (But make sure they are very clean). If using used jars make sure, there are no small cracks in the jar and on the rim of the jar

2. Cube the meat in to chunks. Put the raw meat in the jars. A pint jar will hold appx. 1 pound of meat a quart will hold appx 2 pounds of meat. You can put whole pieces of chicken with the bone still in.(I go ahead and debone mine first that way I can use the bone to make broth) fill to about one to one and a half inches from the top the raw meat needs no added liquid. You can add a teaspoon of salt per quart if you like.

For Hamburger you need to lightly brown it in a little grease then pack into hot jars. Some people like to add hot water or hot broth. I prefer not to it keeps the hamburger from packing together and it will come out in the larger chunks like normal fried hamburger
If you want to hot pack your meat just slightly brown, it some people will put it in the oven to brown or you can put in a large roaster pan and cook in the roaster or on top of the stove. To this you will add hot broth or hot water to 1 inch from the top of the jar 

3. wipe the rim of each jar with a damp cloth, put on the lid (be sure to boil the lids for about 5 minutes before placing on jar. If your lids have been stored for a year or two you will want to boil them for a little longer) screw down the ring firmly tight.

4. stick a knife down into and around the meat to get out air bubbles. Put about a gallon and a half water in your canner . Make sure your water is the same temperature. as your meat hot pack hot water, cold pack cold water. Place the jars into the canner, put the lid on and tighten it Turn up the heat under the canner.
You must let the canner heat up and exhaust steam. This generally takes about ten minutes, although it can take longer when you have many jars in it. You want the steam to be exhausting forcibly, for about 10 minutes (not just puttering out in little spurts and spits). Check your owner’s manuals to see what pressure you need to use for you altitude, where I am I have to use 15 pounds.

Pints should be processed for 75 minutes and quarts for 90 minutes. When the processing time is up turn off the heat under the canner. Do not move the canner from the stove let the pressure come down to zero. Do not force the temperature down let it come down by itself . When it has reached zero lift off the weight and make sure no steam spurts out. If no steam comes out you can safely open the lid, be careful when lifting the lid as there will be some steam still in the canner.
Lift the jars out with a jar lifter and set them on a dry towel out of any drafts you can also cover them with a towel.

As the jars seal the lids will make a popping sound. The liquid in the jars will be boiling this is normal. Do nor touch or poke the lids while they are sealing as this could cause them to not seal. I wait at least 12 to 24 hours to check if they have sealed, If they are sealed they will be tight and will not pop back up when you poke it. If it is not sealed refrigerate and use right away, or reprocess using a new simmered lid and clean jar.
Take the rings off and store. Your meat will be ready to use.
To use just open an jar and add to what ever you are fixing They say you should heat the meat after opening but I have opened a jar and just made sandwiches with it.
This will make the meat very tender
　
　

Fire Dept. Tri State

Weekend before last was the Volunteer Fireman’s Tri-State (Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona) convention, Dolores hosted this year, which is 10 miles from us. Had lots of fun all, the departments have teams and they have contest in the afternoons . Dolores did a great job especially since they were on a fire all night the night before. The local bar burned down. They got done with the fire just in time for the convention. Several area departments helped with the fire ours included.

This is one of our guys getting ready for the one man



He is running it



Andy and a couple others getting the Y put together in the 6 man



The two losing teams have a water fight at the end.

Every department has there own T-Shirts I really liked these three.

It was a great week-end our dept didn't place but oh well always next year.

Sorry I have been MIA

Sorry I haven’t got much posted recently been so busy in the hay field. I use to only have to cut hay but now I get to bale also. When Andy was working on the fires here in CO. we got behind on haing so he taught me to Bale hay, which I had tried to keep from learning for over six years. I knew how it is once you learn to do it you have to do it. I guess it is a good thing I learned though, oldest son isn’t around much to help so now I can pick up the slack.
I am working on a post about canning meat hope to have it posted this week.

Make your own Bug Repellent Spray

Make your own Bug Repellent Spray

This is the bug spray we use my husband likes it a lot better then the store bought and as always I like it because there are no chemicals.

Ingredients1 ounce witch hazel
1 ounce grape seed oil
35 drops citronella essential oils
20 drops eucalyptus essential oils
15 drops lemon essential oils
15 drops lemongrass essential oils
15 drops Lavender essential oils

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl or directly into a small spray bottle. Shake well before use. Reapply often, up to every 1-2 hours as needed.
Instead of grape seed oil, feel free to use the oil you have on hand olive, jojoba, almond, etc.

Make your own Hair spray

Make your own Hair spray

This recipe is so easy and you have the ingredients right in your pantry. This stuff really works, really holds, is really cheap and it contains no harsh chemicals. You may need to do a little bit of adjusting until you find the ratio that works best for you (maybe only 3 teaspoons of sugar for super fine hair or 5 for coarse hair...).
Ingredients
1 Cup water
1 Tbs. Sugar
1 Tbs Vodka or rubbing alcohol ( optional, acts as a preservative)
Spray bottle that produces a fine mist
3-5 drops of essential oil if you would like it scented

Directions:
Place water in a pot and boil. Once boiling turn off heat and add sugar. Stir to dissolve. Let cool add alcohol, cool and add essential oils and place in spray bottle .
To use: Spray bottle should be on its finest mist. Lightly spray a thin coat of hairspray on hair once dry you can reapply. Warning: don't just go crazy with it or else you will end up with a wet head. Do apply in very thin coats.
Be sure to label the contents of your bottle.