EASY CANNED MEAT MEALS

by Linda L. Vance

Here's the situation: Our freezer was stuffed to overflowing...not only with such staples as strawberries, corn, cider, and beans, but also with some family specialties, including freezer jam, pumpkin pie, carrot cake, and zucchini bread. And, since our eyes had been focused on filling every nook and cranny with produce from our bountiful garden, our vision became shortsighted. Therefore, we were ill-prepared when we received a windfall of two quarters of beef and 17 two-year-old chickens.

In fact, we nearly passed up this bonanza, but that savory protein was just too valuable to let go. So, as we gave thanks for the meat, we also pondered the pleasant predicament of finding ourselves with too much food for the freezer. Then the obvious solution occurred to us, and we got out the mason jars and canned the beef and chicken.

Of course, a shortage of freezer space isn't the only reason to can meat. As a child, it always intrigued me that our family could arrive home late after a Sunday outing, and Mom could still have homemade vegetable soup on the table in a flash. She'd simply open a can of beef, one of beef broth, and another of vegetables...empty their contents into one big pot. . . and, within half an hour, we'd be eating the kindoffresh-smelling brew that usually has to be simmered all day long!

Unfortunately, not everyone is lucky enough to have grown up in a house where canned meat was an important partofthe family diet. Therefore, Id like to present twoofmy mother's other recipes-both of which take only minutes to prepare-to help any novice meat canners getoffto a good start.

SKILLET STEW

To make this one-dish meal, cook your choiceofmeat in a frying pan until it begins to brown. Then put in the jellied broth and let it all simmer for at least 15 minutes. Add home-canned vegetables, halfofa bay leaf, salt and pepper...and continue to simmer the mixture until the ingredients are heated thoroughly. The bay leaf-which should be removed after cooking-gives a special tang to the dish, but you may want to use someofyour other favorite seasonings, as well. Naturally, the stew can be made with fresh vegetables, rather than canned. (We like it with cubesofpotatoes, carrots, and a little onion.) This variation, however, requires that the mix be simmered until the vegetables are cooked, which increases the preparation time and may require adding a small amountofwater.