Lilac Vanilla Jelly

This always marks the beginning of canning season for me. The blooms on the bushes and the sweet smell wafting through the air, then brought into the house and canned up to be enjoyed till the next bloom of the Lilacs.

Only use lilacs that come from a tree or bush that are not sprayed or treated with a chemical. This is where you want organic.

Ingredients

4 Cups Lilacs
5 Cups Boiling Water
1/2 Cup Lemon Juice
8 Cups Sugar
2 Vanilla Beans (This is a good use for those older vanilla beans sitting in the jar of alcohol that you made)
2 Boxes Sure-Jel Pectin (1.75 ounce packet)

Instructions:

Day One

Pick your lilacs and wash them. I submerge them in clean cold water, holding them under water for a bit to loosen the dirt and bugs that are holding on. Gently shake them and lay them on a towel to drip dry.

Put on a great podcast or book on tape and gently remove all the petals one at a time. Or 2 at a time. Just be sure not to allow the base of the flower. You want just the purple petal part. (or white. I mean I do have white lilacs also. They do exist)

Place the petals in a heat proof bowl and pour boiling water over them. Then let it sit till it cools. Once cooled put a lid on it and put it in the fridge. Walk away and let it sit overnight.

After picking all those petals, you deserve a rest! A drink! A movie hour! A bowl of ice cream!

@thebettencourts

I have the recipe linked in my bio for you its on our website… make sure to use lilacs that haven’t been treated with any chemicals. #lilac #lilacs #lilacjelly #helly #canning #preservingfood #delicious #waterbathcanning

♬ original sound – The Bettencourt’s

Day Two

You will be water-bath canning this, so get out the pot and 8 ounce or 4 ounce jars and lets get started.

  1. Using a coffee filter inside a mesh strainer, slowly strain the lilacs, reserving the liquid into a heavy bottom pot (this is your favorite canning pot. You know we all have that one favorite pot).
  2. Slice the vanilla bean down the middle and with the tip of the knife scrape out the cavier inside the bean and set aside.
  3. Add the lemon juice and pectin to the pot and bring to a rolling boil.
  4. Add all the sugar at once along with the vanilla paste and return to a boil, stirring constantly for one minute.
  5. Fill your jars with 1/4 inch headspace.
  6. Cap and tighten according to your type of lid you are using.
  7. Water-bath for 10 minutes. Follow the canning process as you normally would for your altitude.

This recipe assumes you have a basic understanding of canning. If you do not, and this is your first attempt at canning I highly recommend you research the basics on how to can. Those simple instructions are needed to know for all types of canning.

When your time is up I like to sit my jars on a towel lines cookie sheet and let them sit untouched for 24 hours. I then test the seals and wash the outside of the jars with soap and water. Label and store for those cold winter months.

@thebettencourts

Here we go!! Lilac vanilla jelly store bought vs homemade. the savings is well worth the work!!! #waterbathcanning #storebought #savingmoney #canning #canningandpreserving #lilac #lilacs #vanilla #homestead #homemade

♬ original sound – The Bettencourt’s

Oh, and this jelly is amazing with some homemade plain yogurt!!!!

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Kenny’s Chipotle Sauce

A few months ago a neighbor brings me a box of ingredients, a sampling of his sauce that he created and a handwritten recipe note on how to create it.

The instructions were easy, making it a quick amazing condiment to whip up in a matter of moments. But the one thing that struck me, was that after making it, you stored it in the fridge to use. The problem for me is I don’t have room in my fridge. So I started scouring the reference books and looking the recipe over to see how I could make it shelf stable.

@thebettencourts

When your fisherman neighbor stops by and drops off a gift. #food #chipotle #spice #recipe #ingredients #tastetesting #neighbors #justwait

♬ original sound – The Bettencourt’s

One food grade PH Tester later (This is the one I use) and I transformed Kenny’s recipe into a water-bath canning dream that now makes it shelf stable.

This recipe does not teach you how to water-bath can. If you don’t want to can it, you can simply keep it in the fridge like Kenny did. But for those of us that can, this is a must make to have on your shelf.

@thebettencourts

I love when my brain goes into overdrive and I just have to figure something out…. and this is what happens. #chipotle #phtester #waterbathcanning #foodpreservation #foodstorage #neighbors

♬ original sound – The Bettencourt’s

Just a small note on using a PH tester… It is addictive and will make you feel like a little mini scientist. Now on to the recipe…

Kenny’s Chipotle Sauce

  • 1 12 ounce can Chipotle in Adobe Sauce
  • 1 29 ounce can Tomato Puree
  • 1 Tablespoon Granulated Garlic
  • 1 Tablespoon Cumin
  • 1 Tablespoon Cayenne Pepper
  • 2 Tablespoon Chili Powder
  • 2 Tablespoon Minced Dried Onion
  • 1 Cup finely minced Pickled Jalapenos
  • 3/4 Cup Brine from the Pickled Jalapeno Jar (you will need an extra jar for this brine)
  • 1 Cup Sushi Vinegar
  1. Puree Chipotle’s and Jalapeno brine till smooth.
  2. Combine all ingredients in pot, bring to a boil, reduce heat and jar.
  3. Store in the refrigerator till ready to use.

To make it shelf stable follow these steps:

  1. After bringing it to a boil, very low simmer for 2 minutes.
  2. Fill 8 ounce, sterilized mason jars. 1/4 inch headspace.
  3. Waterbath can for 25 minutes.

Keeping cats off our counters… Pet Shock Mats

Our 2 barn rescue cats are driving us nuts. They refuse to stay off the table and counter’s of which are the only 2 rules I insist on.

They literally have free range over the entire house. But they refuse to listen to me.

Can you see how the phrase… What, were you raised in a barn fits here?

Get it?? Hahahaha

So recently we were joking about electrifying the table and counters and then just after we were joking about it…. Amazon was showing us add in social media for products that do just that… Only in a more humane, safe way!

So we laughed about it. Then jumped on it and bought them. Since it was amazon prime day we bought 2 different kind and this is our review on both of them.

This first mat we opened was by Seerway. Scat Pet shock mat https://amzn.to/3zLc530 It came 2 to a pack and they seemed like a really good deal till we discovered the cats could walk on top of them for several seconds without them being triggered.

They do have 3 modes… Beep only, Buzz only, and beep then buzz… The quality seems a little less then the other mats and not as efficient. Here is a video of Charlie.. Look how long it takes for it to go off while he is standing on it.

The other mat is Dog Care Pet shock mat https://amzn.to/3zTfWuL. The quality of this mat just feels more superior. It lays flat nicer and the controller on it seems to be of higher quality. It also has the same 3 modes. But the feature to turn it off an on is on the side and much easier to use.

It also reacts faster when a cat walks on it. Here is the video of Henry’s first run in with the mat…

Here is the Tiktok of both animals and my initial review… you can see Charlie literally standing on top of it for awhile before it even goes off.

@thebettencourts

ok.. let’s see some video of the training mats in progress… there is definitely one we are preferring over the other. I will do a product review and comparison in a few more days. #catsoftiktok #cats #kittensoftiktok #trainingcats my flowers are guarded like #fortknox

♬ original sound – The Bettencourt’s

Honestly, we like the Dog Care one so much we ordered 2 more. Here is the review of both of those below…

Before I close out on this let me say, comment carefully. I can not be in the room with them all the time and I run this homestead. Meaning there are safety reasons why I don’t want them on the counter and table. Hot items, food and items that are dangerous for them… and Charlie, who is getting bigger and still insists on jumping behind the tiny hole behind the fridge. My fear is one day while I am out doing errands he will get himself stuck once again and I won’t be there to rescue him.

So these mats, that give a tiny shock equivalent to sticking your tongue on a 9 volt battery… could be the very thing that saves his life till he finally learns he is not supposed to be up there!

https://www.tiktok.com/@thebettencourts/video/7130740375135718699?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7112945846195062315

All links to products are amazon affiliate links of which there is no charge to you… but I do get a small fee from Amazon.

Pantry List

This is my personal list that I work off every year to determine what I have used and need when I go do my stock up shopping trips.

This list is pretty personal as it shows the items we use. So be kind. I also feel the need to explain how we eat. We actually don’t purchase items that come in boxes. Example, brownie mixes we make from scratch. We make our own Pasta from grinding our wheat berries. We make our own cookies and so on. We also can most of our own food annually. So we can tomatoes, and marinara sauce. However, we purchase Tomato Sauce and paste from Costco. For us, the amount of tomatoes needed to make these items is greater then the cost to purchase them.

That doesn’t mean we don’t ever make tomato sauce. On occasion when we have an abundance of tomatoes, we make our own sauces. It just means we have a supply on hand for those times we don’t have them.

We also are phasing out having pre-ground flours on hand. Meaning we will be carrying a selection of whole grains that we can mill into flour as we are baking. This is probably not something others would want to do. So those columns could be deleted. Or replaced with something you do stock, that isn’t already on the list.

The idea is that you make the list your own. You save a copy of it to your own computer and you tweak it throughout the years to work for you!

With that said, let’s talk about how I use the list:

The list is made into categories like a grocery store. And I have also stored the items in this same way so when I go to do my inventory, it takes less then 30 minutes to make my list and head to the store.

I have listed the ‘buy’ prices which are 2019 prices. I intentionally haven’t changed them because they were actually 2016 prices that never changed. This way when I see a price that is close to the one listed, I know it’s a great deal!

The Store/Price is the store I have found to consistently have the best price on that item.

On my personal list I have everything filled out in the “On hand” column for our family and the amounts we have on hand. Which will be different for each family.

The list is simple to use…

Print it out.

Here is the links to the List:

This is the excel spreadsheet you can download and manipulate in excel or you can use straight in google drive…. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Nk8btzWWKLa8OvupEu7TKg3SlRXd-xeO/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=105840082908432996010&rtpof=true&sd=true

Or for those that want a straight PDF file here you go:

pantry-list-publicDownload

Attach it to the coolest clip board you can find.

  • Print it out.
  • Attach it to the coolest clip board you can find.
  • Run around the house looking in all cupboards and rooms.
  • count each item and right how many you see in the ‘Have’ column
  • Subtract the the ‘Have’ from the ‘On Hand’ Column and write it in the Used.
  • Subtract the “Used” Column from the “On Hand” and put that in the “Need” column.
  • Dress in the cutest outfit and head to the store to meet new people.

Be prepared for people to look at you funny while you walk through the store’s with clipboard in hand. They will make comments…. I just roll with it. Loudly exclaiming I am shopping for a large camping trip… Or commune.. or one I have retired… I am stocking up for when the world collapses and I need to hunker down. (That one doesn’t get laughs as it used to anymore.)

I like to have the separate columns so that I can see how many each year we have used and adjust my on hand column as needed. But as I said before, each family is different and how often you do inventory is up to you.

I do recommend not waiting too long these days. I used to shop twice a year and in 2020 it took me 3 months to get the items we used the last 6 months. I now shop off the list every time I go in to town.

Which is usually every other month. Remember, I live pretty rural, and while we have a grocery store in out tiny area, I use it for emergency items. The savings on purchasing the items in the big town more then pay for the trip inland in gas when I do go shopping.

The best thing about using this list is I don’t run out of things and find myself in the kitchen trying to find an emergency substitute for an item so I can finish dinner. Couple the list with my shopping lists I have created on my Alexa, and I simply have her add it to my shopping list when I grab and item off the shelf. Then It keeps a running grocery list for me at all times.

Let me know over on tiktok if you have any questions. I would love to answer them for you.

@thebettencourts

The massive pantry list is here… all for free sharing with you in hopes it will help you become more organized and better prepared for anything you might find come your way. #pantry #groceryshopping #homestead #savingmoney #organization #prepping #prepared

♬ original sound – The Bettencourt’s

Mom’s Homemade Granola

As a kid I would love the moments my mother would whip up a batch of her homemade granola. There was something about the cold milk flooding in the bowl over the warm fresh out of the oven crunch that I still love to this day.

Add in the fact that it is so simple to make and it literally is a bonus!

You can add dried fruits as in raisins and cranberries and dates at the end of the cooking phase after it has cooled.

  • 8 Cups of Oats
  • 3 Cups of All Bran
  • 1/4 Cup Sesame Seeds
  • 1/4 Cup Flax Seeds
  • 1/2 Cup Coconut flakes
  • 1/3 Cup Wheat Germ
  • 1/2 Cup Sunflower Seeds
  • 3 Cups Assorted Nuts – Chopped
  • 1 1/2 tsp Salt
  • 3/4 Coconut Oil Melted
  • 3/4 Cup Honey
  • 3 Cups of assorted Dried Fruit (optional add in at after cooled)

Step one

Mix the oats, all bran, sesame and flax seeds, coconut, Wheat Germ, nuts and salt in in a large bowl. Stir together. Pour in the oil and honey and mix together. Pour out on a cookie sheet, in a thin even layer and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Stir. Bake for another 10 minutes. Stir. Bake for 5 Minutes. Stir.. and continue to bake for 5 minute increments till evenly toasted.

Step 2

There is a fine line from the sweet toasted phase to the burnt phase. As a rule, I stick to the kitchen and focus on the toasting till it’s done!

Step 3

Let cool and add in Raisins, Dried Cranberries, dates, or any dried fruit of choice if you desire. Or leave plain and serve over yogurt.

@thebettencourts

Granola recipe!!!! #granola #recipe #homestead #homesteading #homemade

♬ original sound – The Bettencourt’s

Canning Pickled Peppers and Carrots

This recipe is amazing. But sadly I can’t find it on the internet anymore so… Steven thank you we have enjoyed it for years.

Below you will find my conversion for making it into a bigger batch.

This is the amounts needed for a 25# bag of carrots. Make smaller batches but this is what you will need for shopping. Total 7 batches.

  • 25 Pounds Carrots
  • 12 White Onions
  • 4 Pounds Jalapenos
  • 3.5 Gallons Vinegar
  • 21 cups sugar
  • 1 cup and 8 tsp canning salt

Review of the Chef Choice Meat Slicer

Why would you buy a meat slicer? You might be asking yourself that question. I did for so many years… Till I asked a friend how she got her homemade bread sliced so perfectly and she laughed exclaiming she just used her meat slicer!

That right there was genius!!!

I was also making our own lunch meat and was having a hard time getting perfectly sliced pieces… So I really started thinking about it.

And then I researched and found a vast different in pricing and quality and pricing!!!

After reading all the reviews I settled on this guy…. Chef’s Choice 609A it is going for 139.99 right now.. Slightly more then what I paid for it 2 years ago. But still a great deal considering some of twice that price.

We also added this blade that would allow us to cut our own hard cheeses… At 36.50 for the blade I like having the option for doing cheeses and softer items.

The above links are amazon affiliate links. No extra charge to you, but I do get a small commission on the purchase. And I would really appreciate it!

In all honesty you don’t need the slicer. I am however glad I have this bad boy and it saved on the wear and tear of my hands. While providing me with the perfect sliced bread and meats that make my CDO heart happy.

Here is my review of it on TikTok… and the following of it in action…

@thebettencourts

Replying to @ginam6025 this is the meat slicer. I have written a review of it on our website with direct links for you. website in my bio

♬ original sound – The Bettencourt’s

Here are the links to Tik Tok that show it in action.

@thebettencourts

meat slicers are amazing for slicing bread…. multi use tools. #homemade #bread #meatslicer

♬ I’m So Hungry – Karter Zaher
@thebettencourts

diy lunch meat!! #homemade #diy #lunchmeat #homestead #savingmoney #fromscratch

♬ original sound – The Bettencourt’s

And here’s the final video where I show the meat it sliced…

@thebettencourts

is it cheaper to make our own lunch meat or buy it from the store.? (spoiler… we keep spices on hand…. and we didn’t count those in the total. because salt and pepper could be used) #lunchmeat #homestead #homemade #meat #brisket #savingmoney

♬ original sound – The Bettencourt’s

Whole Wheat Buttermilk Biscuits

Simple. Flaky. Delicious.

What more could we ask for?

I think I should premise why I choose to use this recipe with the ingredients.. It’s rather simple. The ingredients are all in my pantry and in all honesty, none of the items need to be refrigerated. Meaning all the items are already in my long term storage. So I don’t need to run to the grocery store to pick anything up to make it. I just plop it all in a bowl… incorporate and fold and bake.

It really is that easy!

But here is the best part. They are cheaper and easy to make. So much so they match or beat the store brand and Pillsbury biscuits that come in that freaky can that scares the crud out of me.

Here’s the breakdown…

2.68 with a count of 8

makes each biscuit .33 cents each.

And 4.34 for a count of 20 makes each biscuit .217.

While this is a better match it;s still cheaper to make them.

1.98 for 5 biscuits makes each one .396

which is not a deal at all. Why do I remember them being in 6 count or 8 ct? This packaging seems rather small and odd to me.

Then there is the store brand at Walmart being 1.58 for 8 coming in at .19 each.

This is the exact price it costs to make them from scratch. But the thing is I would still have to go to the store to buy the package and go home to pop it open and make them.

And honestly, once you start cooking from scratch, you start to taste the chemical taste in the processed food.

Don’t believe me? Try making something from scratch for years and then go back to the store bought brand.

You won’t like the taste.

So what does it cost me to make biscuits?

.19 cents a piece.

I make a batch of 12 biscuits which costs me 2.34 cents for 12. I heat my oven once and after they are out and cooled I put them in a ziploc bag and store them in the freezer. Taking out only what I need when I need them. Saving me the cost of gas to go get the can, and the cost of heating my oven over and over again for each can of biscuits.

Not only that, I am using freshly ground whole wheat in my biscuits which gives me the health benefits of the natural vitamins and minerals in each bite.

I am literally sold on making them myself! And here is the recipe so you can make them for yourself.

Whole Wheat Buttermilk Biscuits

  • 2 cups of soft white wheat flour ground on the pastry setting or fine setting.
  • 1 T Baking Powder
  • 1 T Sugar
  • 1/2 t Cream of Tartar
  • 1/4 t Sea Salt
  • 1/4 t Baking Soda
  • 1/2 cup Shortening (ok, I use Crisco at the moment, I know!)
  • 1/8 cup Buttermilk powder
  • 2/3 cup water

Mix all of the dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside. Mix Buttermilk powder and water together in a small bowl and set aside to rest. Use a pastry cutter and incorporate the shortening into the dry ingredients till small sized texture. Then add water and mix gently till incorporated. Just enough to place on a well floured surface patting out and fold over 3-4 times mixing in flour only as needed. Then cut and place in cookie sheet.

Bake at 450f for 10-12 minutes

Enjoy!

Canning Salsa

Today While on Tic Tok we did a live event and then an actual video post on just how simple and easy it is to can homemade salsa.

@thebettencourts

Easiest salsa ever!!! #canning #canningandpreserving #homesteading #homestead #savingmoney #preservingfood #salsa

♬ original sound – The Bettencourt’s

It really is that simple!

We used this book:

Put ’em Up! By Sherri Brooks Vinton which is an amazing canning book to add to your bookshelf!

Not only is the salsa recipe a hit in our family, but this is also the book I use for the Salsa Verde I canned up every year.

This was a simple water bath canning method, where we just used the following equipment…

In Total I got 19.5 jars on the 2 batches that I made today and each jar cost just .46 a jar. Keeping in mind I actually had to buy the tomatoes and cilantro and Jalapenos. Which normally I would grow and wouldn’t have to purchase them in the store. All in all, I am pretty happy with that sale on tomatoes.

Happy Canning my friends! You can do this!!!

Long Term Storage of Full Mason Jars

What is the best way to store those canned up mason jars that are full with perfect gold?

It’s recommended that you don’t stack jars in order to prevent a false seal, so that leaves you with building shelves for every single layer of jars. Or, you can head on over to U-Line and purchase boxes designed and made specifically for storing mason jars. Giving each size jar the perfect amount of headspace above the precious lid ensuring no false seals.

For the Quart jars you would choose this box…

https://www.uline.com/Product/Detail/S-18945/Special-Use-Boxes/15-7-8-x-11-7-8-x-7-1-8-Canning-Jar-Boxes

Here’s the direct link…. https://www.uline.com/Product/Detail/S-18945/Special-Use-Boxes/15-7-8-x-11-7-8-x-7-1-8-Canning-Jar-Boxes

For the Pints I use these:

https://www.uline.com/Product/Detail/S-18944/Special-Use-Boxes/14-7-8-x-11-1-8-x-5-Canning-Jar-Boxes

Here is the direct link to them: https://www.uline.com/Product/Detail/S-18944/Special-Use-Boxes/14-7-8-x-11-1-8-x-5-Canning-Jar-Boxes

They offer more sizes, but these are the one’s I have ordered and can attest to working. The cardboard is very sturdy and personally, I would use these to move my entire collection if and when we decide to move.

Here’s the deal with U-line: You have to order in groups of 10 and you have to pay shipping which can be a lot depending on where you live. But when you look at what they want for the price of one of the plastic deals that aren’t even secured… just snap together, and look so odd… it’s about 19.00 for just ONE!

So spending 104.00 out the door for 20.00 looks like a steal of a deal. I have been using them for 2 years now and they hold up amazing!!

Now, if I ever get rain in the house… I might change my mind on that. But so far, I have been able to keep them dry!