Simple Savings: Use Free Food!

Yesterday, we went on a walk and saw two apple tress that had a ton of apples. There were almost as many on the ground as there were in the trees, so I figured that nobody wanted them, and they also were clearly not on anyone's property. So, my son and I picked some apples to make apple sauce. The apples are very small and bitter, but after washing, cutting, cooking, and lots of sugar, they made a delicious and huge batch of applesauce. 

Using food from trees helps reduce waste (all of the apples I used won't end up on the ground), saves money (they were free), and is very satisfying. 

I should have pulled out my Canner...but didn't think about it until I realized I had a lot more applesauce than we could eat in a reasonable amount of time...so I put some in the freezer, and we'll be eating the rest of it over the next week or so. 

Canning and Freezing for the Year - 2012

I have been busy doing some canning and freezing the past couple of days. So far this year, we have canned the following:

July

3 Twelve oz. Raspberry Jam
6 Eight oz. Raspberry Jam

August

5 Pints Pickled Green Beans
5 Eight oz. Apple Butter
3 Pints Apple Butter
6 Pints Applesauce

September

2 Quarts peaches
6 jars peach jam

This is what we have frozen so far this year:

5 1/2 Pints Applesauce
7 Pints Rhubarb
6 Pints Strawberries
4 Pints Spinach
9 Pints Shredded Zucchini
2 Pints Cut Zucchini
11 Pints Green Beans
 2 Pints Tomato Puree
2 Pints Spaghetti Sauce
2 Pints Pear Sauce
2 Pints Peach Sauce
3 quarts Peach Pie Filling
3 pkgs. yams
2 pkgs. mashed yams
2 pkgs. tomatoes
2 16 oz. pkgs. broccoli
2 8 oz. pkgs. collard greens
1 quart spaghetti squash
2 pkgs. butternut squash
15 pints pumpkin

It takes some time to preserve food, but it is nice to have all winter as well as helpful for your budget. Everything except the strawberries came from our garden and the apples were given to us by a friend. We eat what we can when it is fresh, but save what we can't eat for later in the year.