Feeling like Mrs. Molly Mormon...

There are times I just don't feel like I'm being a great Mormon mom. I yell at my kids, I don't read my scriptures everyday, my house has too much clutter that is just accumulating all over and my food storage is almost non-existent (except for cereal, BBQ sauce, and salad dressing that I got with some awesome deals). Lately I've been trying to get myself all-together and be a better person. I have been trying to get my house in order, trying to develop better relationships with my kids, and get working on the food storage.

Today, we will talk about the food storage. I know, you are so excited. There are many ways to get that food storage going...but not too many on my tight food budget. So I have turned to canning. I know you are a little shocked there....but yes, I have entered the world of canning women. Specifically, I started last October when a couple ladies I worked with in YW invited me to can applesauce with them. It was a great experience and I will forever can applesauce and apple pie filling with them. (oh yes, that is right, apple pie filling. Oh so good) It was like canning for dummies and they are so much fun to work with.

This year, I've been a bit more adventurous. I found a great friend, Melissa, the mother of one of Kim's great friends. She is big into canning and knows what she is doing, so we have combined forces and canned together. This earlier this year, we did strawberry jam and strawberry lemonade concentrate. After doing jam with her, I felt educated and did some on my own: raspberry jam (well, Nicole and I did this one together with FREE raspberries from Grandma and Grandpa Andersen's garden). Then all by myself I made apricot jam (from FREE apricots I got from my home teacher).

(A jar of apricot jam I did all by myself. I only got enough apricots to do one batch, but they were free so I'm not complaining.)

I know, I know jam is easy. But yesterday was my greatest adventure yet, peaches! We planted a peach tree in our yard two years ago when we moved in. Last year a fierce windstorm blew off all the blossoms and we didn't get a single peach. This year, we got more than we thought we would. Steven ate quite a few and then informed me he was tired of eating them and I should do something with them before they got too bad. So I called Melissa and asked if she was willing to do peaches. When I told her they were free because they were off my tree she jumped at the opportunity. I knew we wouldn't net too many jars because it's only a dwarf tree and the birds had been pecking at the peaches, but I figured a couple jars would be better than none. So we went to work yesterday at 10am boiling, peeling, cutting, pitting. After letting all the jars sit to make sure they sealed, I got home about 2:30pm. I ended up with 8 quart jars and Melissa got 7 qt and 1 pint jar for our effort.

(The 8 qt. jars out on my counter cooling and waiting for room in the garage.)

So all in all, as the peaches sit so beautifully on my counter (I need to clear room for them in the garage), I feel really good about myself. I feel all Pioneer-ish....growing my own produce and then preserving it for later consumption. I feel like a good little Mormon housewife. One step at at time I guess.

(We added a mint leaf in a couple of the jars upon the suggestion of the canning book, we will see how that changes the flavor and decide if we want to do that again. That is the green thing you see in this picture.)