Why yes, I CAN can.

So the pressure canner got broken in yesterday. 16 jars of chicken veggie soup. I gotta admit it feels pretty damn good knowing I can do it. Why? With my food allergies, I need to be able to grab stuff from my pantry that isn't going to make me sick. 

This particular canner holds 8 pint jars. Which means it can probably hold about 6 quart jars. It feels really good knowing this skill (with the help of growing with veteran canners like my parents) is at my disposal.

The downside of this canner is that it's stove eye heat setting controlled. Pressure canner work because they employ steam to created pounds per square inch that aid in sealing the jars, killing any bacteria in the jars due to temperature and cooking the foods inside the jars (which is why you can can meats). Many pressure canners have the PSI's being controlled by the steam release valve.

Hey, I can upgrade later to one of those. For now, I can deal with temperature maintained one.

Yes, I was utterly terrified yesterday about this first run. A jar could have shattered. I could have not heated the seals up in enough for them to seal properly. There could have been a malfunction with the pressure canner.

Nope. Other than five of the seals developing warps in the lid. I think what happened was when I got the temp figured out where I wanted it... the PSI was around 13.5. For chicken you only need 11 PSI with this canner for an hour and 15 minutes. I might have left them too long.

So I can do basically eight jar batches here and there. To fill in on preps.  Our dehydrator died so for a while I was just having to contend with food having to go into the compost been more often.

Now I have the options of making soup bases with my veggies whenever they are getting iffy. I can make my groceries stretch even further and without contrivance. 

Which will come in handy when the freezer needs emptied and cleaned and newer frozen goods bought. Like meats.

Best thing that we'll be going for is more soup bases than full specific soups.  You know the standard fare: Garlic, Onions, Celery, Carrots or Bell Peppers or combinations thereof. Then, only needs a protein added.

The chicken veggie and future beef stew will be more for quick grab meals, camping trips or when DR and I are sick.

Plus it means supplementing the pantry in the future. When things like tomatoes, cucumbers, etc etc go on sale we can grab a bunch while the garden situation is in flux and can away.

Feels pretty Gods damn good TBH.