A Well Stocked Pantry

One of the greatest gifts I can give to my family is that of a a well stocked pantry. Now down here in "Hurricane Country", the summers get a little "pantry bare." I allow our freezer to start dwindling in case of a long term power outage, and start stocking the pantry with more items that won't spoil and can be easily cooked on a grill or camp stove.

Once the majority of hurricane season has passed, it's time for canning and restocking the freezer season!!

Here is my home canned section of my pantry after I finished our massive canning blitz from the summer through September. Not everything is shown here because we are constantly using our pantry and many jars were opened and used long before I finished!

This year we put away:
25qts of Applesauce
17 half-pints of Blueberry Lemon Preserves
4pts Strawberry Balsamic Jam
4 halfpints of Blueberry Syrup
12 pts of Peach Honey
2 1/2 qts of Pickled Watermelon Rind
13pts Peach Slices
20 half pints of apple butter
4 1/2 pints of peach freezer jam
2 pts of Strawberry freezer jam

We are hoping to get back to the mountains to get some late season apples for more applesauce. My boys LOVE homemade applesauce and go through a quart at a time. My husband and I bought 4 1/2 bushels of apples during Labor Day weekend. We had hoped to make 42 quarts (enough to last us until almost canning time next year), but our van was literally holding all it could that weekend!! They also eat their weight in peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I make a loaf of bread each day to keep up with the amount of sandwiches my guys put away. They love my homemade jams and preserves with the homemade bread. And I know what every single ingredient is! They were all made with love, so in a way they are being nourished by my hard work and.....love.

Next year, I hope you will join me in stocking up your pantry of love!


Blessings!!

Jennifer