The Intimidator

Last year for my birthday my sweet husband bought me this 23 quart pressure canner. I was thrilled...I couldn't wait to begin using it...now 11 months later it has still gone unused. Not because I didn't like it...or didn't have the desire to use it...or even thought it was too difficult to master...NO it is because I am a scaredy cat! I have been afraid of the dang thing. So this past weekend after much preparation and much mustering of all that I have in me, I can safely say I will be intimidated no more!

My first project was to can 14 pints of hamburger. The prep was so easy (but is there anything grosser than handling hamburger?) I started the canner and after some anxious moments when I thought the pressure guage didn't work, it started to do what the instructions said it would do.
(Those dead bananas are going to be banana bread tonight though they do look gross)
AND.......

Here is the finished project. Canned hamburger just doesn't seem to have the eye pleasing affect that say...peaches do. Just the same I thrilled each time I heard each can seal.

I overbought the hamburger I thought and then discovered I needed to pack the jars a little tighter. I did have a bunch left over to freeze in individual baggies and place in a larger zip lock to freeze. So now I have 14 pints of canned hamburger and about 9 bags of frozen hamburger waiting to be used.

I am quite proud of overcoming my fear (I thought it would blow up...I'm sure my mother instilled this in my head somehow) I am now on to canning pinto beans; they are in the pressure canner right now so in a couple of hours we will also have 7 quarts of jalepeno pinto beans. YEA FOR ME!