Canning Butter for a rainy day!

Dad and I canned our own butter last year.  Generally I freeze my butter or margarine, but that does take up quite a bit of room if you are trying to store for long term.  Now I will have some margarine in the freezer, but butter on my fruitroom shelf.  Dad and I needed some butter last Sunday and rather than go to the store, I grabbed a jar off the shelf.  I have found this is easy to do and would make a great family home evening and working on your food storage at the same time.  NOTE:  you need to use real butter, not margarine.
I am going to try to grab some everytime I go to Costco for a while so I can stock it up.    

Heat pint jars (without bands) in a 250 degree oven for 20 minutes.  (A dripper pan workds well for this.)  One pound of butter slightly more than fills one pint jar, so if you melt 11 pounds of butter, heat 12 pint jars.  While the jars are heating, melt the butter slowly (in a large kettle) until it comes to a slow boil.  Using a large spatula, stir the bottom of the pot often to prevent scorching.  Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.  Place the jar lids in a small pot and bring to a boil, leaving to simmer until needed.
     Stirring the melted butter from the bottom to the top with a or measuring cup with spout and handle, pour the melted butter carefully into heated jars through a canning funnel.  Leave 3/4" of head space in the jar.
     Wipe the tops of the jars, then place on hot lids and screw on the bands tightly.  Lids will seal as the jars cool.  The butter will separate into three layers: foam, oil and milk solids.  Once the lids "pop" and seal, shake the jars to mix your butter.  Do this every 15 minutes or so, until the butter retains more consistency throughout the jar.  (This may take up to an hour our longer.)  When just slightly warm, move jars to the refrigerator for an hour.
     Canned butter should store for 3 years or longer on a cool dark shelf. 
Note: It does not need to be refrigerated once opened, if used within a reasonable amount of time.

Hope this is something you will do in your family to help with your food storage.

Love,
Mom

Almost Halloween

Here it is almost Halloween.  I finally got a few decorations up Saturday for the Grandkids and neighbors.  We bought a skeleton this year, pretty dead like.  (life like)  Pretty sad to decorate just a week before Halloween.  It has been so incredibly warm here in Utah, but today it was a little cooler and the leaves are starting to fall off the trees.  I'm not ready for winter, but I enjoy the cooler weather.

Saturday dad and I put the finishing touches on winterizing the yard stuff (hoses and such) and put the yard decorations away.  We've been drying apples, onions and herbs and freezing tomotoes to make salsa sometime later.  I ordered more trays for drying fruits a few weeks ago and they came yesterday which really allows me to be a super dryer.

I'm going to hate it when the time changes in two weeks.  I always have such a hard time when the clock changes.  I am excited about the first of the year becuase then we don't have to go to church so early.  I loved my Saturday afternoon nap last Saturday, except then I didn't go to sleep until after midnight.  I really need to quit doing that.

I found a place that had #10 cans of Jello on sale so I bought a few cans of one flavor.  The company sent me the wrong flavor so I called them.  They said it was their error and that they would send me out what I ordered and I could keep the two cans that they accidently sent me.  That was an awesome deal.  I love good deals like that.