How to Can Carrots

                Welcome back to another Suzie Homemakers helpful tips and ideas. Today I would like to show you how to can carrots. This time of year my canners are going non-stop so I can have fresh produce all winter long. I dug up my carrots a couple of days before I started processing them. I ended up with over two 5 gallon pails full. To make things easier, I pulled off all the tops and cleaned off as much dirt as I possibly could. Now it’s time for my hands to turn orange and to process my carrots.

Step#1

                Put your carrots in the sink and wash off any remaining dirt. Cut off the ends and any bad parts of the carrots. Next you can start peeling and cutting the carrots into thin or thick pieces. Some carrots I froze and some I left just for eating raw.

Step#2

                Wash your jars with hot soapy water and rinse well. Always check your jars for any cracks or chips by running your finger around the tops. Never use jars that are chipped or cracked because they will not seal correctly.  Put your cut up carrots in a big kettle and boil them for 5 minutes. While the carrots are boiling take another kettle and boil some water for pouring over your carrots in your jars.

Step#3

                Take a funnel to put into your jars this makes it easier for filling. I like to pack my carrots tight so I push them down inside the jars. Leave a good half inch from the top of your jars for space. Once you know how many jars you have to can boil your lids. Next I add ¼ tsp. of canning salt to each jar, depending on how much salt you want in your carrots you can always add more. Pour your boiling water into your jars to about a ¼ inch from the top to cover your carrots. Take a knife down the sides of the jars to release the air bubbles and add more boiling water as needed. Take your lids that have been boiling, put on your jars and screw on the covers tightly.

Step#4

                Take your sealed jars and place them in your canners very carefully. Check your canner's directions to see how much water is needed for processing your vegetables.  In my Mirror canners, I put enough water in so it comes to about half way up my jars. Again check your canning directions for Pressure temperature and time needed for canning carrots. My pressure temperature was 10 pounds for 25 minutes.

Step#5

                When your canner is done push off the burner and let stand for 1 hour before opening. Never open your canner until it is completely cooled down and the pressure is down. How I check if my canner is ready to be opened is by pulling up the pressure gage slowly to release the steam. Take off the canner cover facing away from you because the steam will be very hot. Use a can lifter to remove the jars and place on some pot holders to cool.  As the jars cool you will hear some popping this will tell you your jars are sealing. Let your jars cool for 24 hours before your take off the covers then press down on your jars to make sure they have sealed correctly.  Take your canned goods and put in a cool dry place to be eaten whenever you want.  To me, canning is fun and a nice way to save money.  This is just one of many vegetables that I can over the summer and early fall. This was one way I have my children help and learn all about canning and how to save money. Have fun canning from Suzie Homemaker.

How to Make Clothes Pin Bags

Today I would like to show you how to make 3 different kinds of clothespin bags. Why would you buy these in the store when you can make them out of things you probably have at home. You can make these clothespin bags at home for little to no money. If you have a sewing machine or can borrow one this is what you will need, some scrap material, old towels and an old shirt.

The first clothespin bag I would like to show you how to make is made out of scrap material. First lay out the material that you will need to make your clothespin bag.  Draw around the top of your hanger to cut out the pattern. Metal hangers are the best to use to hold all the clothespins. Next cut a hole in the middle of the material for your opening. I like to reinforce my seams by sewing them twice. By sewing the seams twice, this makes the clothespin bag stronger. Inside out your clothespin bag and insert the metal hanger, now your first bag is done. This clothespin bag took me about 30 minutes to make. In my pictures, I will show you step by step how to make this clothespin bag.

                The second clothespin bag is very easy to make. All you will need is an old tank top with a low neckline. Sew up the bottom of the shirt and insert your metal hanger to hold your clothespins. This clothespin bag only took me 5 minutes to make.

The third clothespin bag is made out of old towels. Take your bath towel and cut it in half and use the other half for your pockets. Make a seam down the middle to make two pockets. I like this idea because this helps keep the clothespins in. Next make two strips to make ties and sew them onto your apron. This clothespin bag is nice to use because all you have to do is take the clothespins from your pockets and hang up your clothes. This clothespin bag took me about 20 minutes to make. Here are some pictures to show you how I made this bag. Have fun making these easy and inexpensive clothespin bags from Suzie Homemaker.  

How to Buy Cheap Clothes and Shoes

                When I was growing up with two older sisters and a younger brother, money was tight. I was taught from a very young age to save and to look for bargains wherever you could find them. Since I had the two older sisters I received a lot of handed down clothes, some I could not wait to grow into. Every summer I could not wait for the rummage and yard sales to begin. This is where you can find new to slightly used clothes at the fraction of the cost. For all the new moms out there, this is where you can save a lot of money on baby clothes. The only time my babies received new clothes was from the relatives. My children were brought up on rummage and yard sale clothes. Since I had two girls this was double the savings because everything was handed down to the second child. Another great place to look for adult and kids clothes is thrift shops and your local Good Will store.

            If you do not want to do the thrift shops or rummage sales try this out. Go to your favorite stores at the end of the season and shop the clearance sales. What I like to do is watch for certain items and wait until almost all of my size is gone then I buy. Some stores keep lowering the price until they are almost all gone this is when you get your best deals. Just be patient and watch then buy those items at a very low price. Another great way to save is to watch for stores to have their 80% to 90% off sales and they give you a store coupon which gives you and extra discount. I have walked out of stores with more than 10 items for under 50 dollars. I buy next year’s clothes at the end of the seasons and save a bundle of money.

            Buying shoes is a little harder but not impossible. End of season is another good time to buy but also watch for sales. Again be patient, some stores keep lowering their prices just to reduce stock. Buy when you think the price will not go any lower. Watch for some shoe stores to have buy one pair get the second pair half off. This is where you can sometimes even use sale items and still get the second pair at half price. My last two pairs of shoes cost me under 20 dollars. I have even bought tennis shoes recently for $3 dollars a pair so I bought two pairs right away so when the first pair wears out I have another pair available.

            To this day, I have never bought anything unless it was on clearance or 80 to 90% off. To pay full price for something is a waste of money. I pride myself on getting the best deal I can possibly get. This is like a game to me to see how much I can save on kids to adult clothes and also shoes. Be a smart shopper and save money in the process. Check out more saving ideas from Suzie Home Maker coming soon.

Onions, Onions, Onions

Onions, Onions, Onions

As you have seen from my previous blog posts I have a huge onion garden with over 200 onion sets growing. I like to have fresh onions all year round, so I dry them out and put them in a dark dry basement to be used when needed. But today I want to give you another dehydrating idea. Do not throw out all those delicious onion tops, cut them up and dehydrate them. The green tops are great in soups, salads, and any dish that calls for onions.

After you cut off the onion take the green stems and cut off any brown or yellow stems. If any of the green stems does not look good just throw them away. I like to cut my onions outside so my whole house does not smell and I dehydrate them in the garage. To make things fast and easy, I use a scissors to cut off the onion and to cut up the tops. I cut up over 100 hundred onions today and cut the green stems up in just over 3 hours.

Cut into small strips or pieces and rinse them off using a colander. Then place the cut up greens on your dehydrating trays. My dehydrator has the heat source on the top so I put an empty tray on top so the onions do not touch the motor. Part way through change your trays around so the onions can dehydrate evenly. You do not have to spray the trays because the onions will not stick they just fall off when they are dry. My 7 trays of onions will take about 8 to 10 hours to dry at a temperature of 135 degrees.

After they are brittle and easy to crunch up I will put them in a zip lock bag and store them in my cupboard to use as needed for my favorite recipes. These onions will keep for a very long time if dried correctly. Here are some pictures of how I cut up and dried my onion tops. Enjoy your onions and onion tops all winter long from Suzie Home Maker.

 

Homemade baby food

Making Home Made Baby Food

            Today I would like to talk to all the new moms who just had babies. The first year can be very expensive. Try going to rummage sales and thrift shops for clothes, baby cribs, high chairs, strollers, and much more. Buying this in a store is way too expensive. So today I am going to tell you how to save money on making your own homemade baby food.

            When my children were babies I never bought any baby food from the store, for one thing it was way too expensive. Since I had a garden, all my vegetables were fresh and easy to make into baby food. First you will need a good blender or food processor. All you have to do is cook your vegetables until they are soft and put the vegetables in your blender with a little water and puree them. Next you will need a few ice cube trays to pour your pureed vegetables into and freeze them. When they are frozen put in a zip lock bag until needed. Buy fresh fruit and repeat the same process of cooking and freezing the baby food. This way you have no added sugars or preservatives in your baby food.  Making meat takes a little more time, just make sure the meat is cooked well done with no spices in the meat. Just remember to always add enough juice so your blender can puree the meat until it is soft.

            Making your own baby food is much cheaper than buying it in the store. Every weekend I would make enough baby food to last a whole week.  Then I would freeze the baby food for the next week. When it was time for meals I either had some baby food ready in the refrigerator or just took out what I needed and put in the microwave to heat up. This saved our family a lot of money on our grocery bill each week. I felt better knowing what was in my baby food because I made it fresh with my own vegetables and fresh fruit and meat.

            As my baby grew so did the meal planning. I had no problem mixing vegetables with meats in my blender too. Just freeze these too the same way and heat up as needed. A little jar of fruit and vegetables can cost over 50 cents each, when you start going through more than 3 or 4 jars a day this adds up fast. Making your own baby food is cheaper and much healthier for them.

            Here are a few of the fruits and vegetables and meats that I made for baby food. I pureed apples, bananas, peaches, pears, beans, carrots, squash, peas, chicken and roast beef. I felt good as a mother giving my children real baby food made fresh by mom. Have fun raising your children they grow up way to fast.

Have fun making healthy homemade baby food from Suzie Homemaker.

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