Another of my rainy week canning sessions using up some of my sales that I ran across this month already. Ham and white bean soup is one of our favorite soups. Add a sandwich or salad and another of those great and hearty stick to your ribs kind of meals.
3 pounds chicken at $0.39 a pound = $3.90
I started out with a ten pound bag of chicken legs and thighs that we caught on sale recently for $0.39 cents a pound. We thawed out 1 bag and trimmed them up and placed on a baking sheet and baked until done.
Then we took the meat off the bones and the bones and skin went into a crockpot for a nice big portion of fresh bone broth.
The extra chicken meat went into quart jars and was canned for later use. I also kept some out for a pot of chicken and noodles for that night for supper.
Two bowls of broth went into the fridge that night for the fat to rise to the top overnight as it cooled and was skimmed off the following morning as a treat for the dogs.
3 Great Northern Beans $1.35 = $4.05
3 pound bags of great northern beans were soaked overnight in hot water and the next morning boiled until just soft and then drained.
3.5 pounds chunked smoked ham at $1.99 per pound = $6.96
Another sale item we found recently was Cure 81 smoked boneless hams for $1.99 per pound. I bought 3 for the freezer. This was a great sale on a great product. We cut up approximately half of the ham or about 3.5 pounds into half inch chunks.
Next we layered the cooked beans into jars filling to a little over half full. Then we added on top ham, chopped onions and a small amount of celery chopped small. I wanted to end up with about 2/3 of a jar full of additions. Since the ham was smoked and already salty we did not add any salt. It can always be salted when opened and heated.
Then each jar was filled with heated chicken broth leaving a one inch head space. Do not forget to remove those bubbles.
Wipe down those rims good and add lids and rings. I processed my quarts for 90 minutes in my pressure canner.
Remove jars and allow to cool overnight. Wash and label sealed jars for storage. My end result was 14 quarts of hearty ham and white bean soup. A quart makes 2 generous helpings of soup and perfect for the two of us for a meal. Add a small salad or maybe a sandwich and we are in heaven. Instant lunch or supper meal just heat and eat.
The total cost is $14.91 cents. Not counting the jars or lids and 2 onions and a small amount of chopped celery. I haven't bought new jars in years and buy lids every time I see them but many of my lids are years old. But remember those jars are good for a lifetime. Don't forget those extra 3 quarts and one pint of chicken we canned as well that is just a bonus of producing that rich bone broth that is included in that total cost. Each one of those 3 quarts of chicken will make a pot pie which is another 3 meals as a bonus. Remember that this reflects some GREAT sales though.
Final approximate cost of each quart jar of soup.
$1.07 per quart (32 ounces) or a meal for 2 people. That is $0.53 cents per person or rounds up to about 4 cents an ounce.
A 19 ounce can of Campbell's chunky bean and ham soup $1.98 or 10.4 cents an ounce at Walmart according to their website today and it is out of stock at my local store. I am sure that 10 cents an ounce reflects the cost of can, transportation and middle and retail profit though.
How's that for keeping it real.
Blessings from The Holler
The Canned Quilter
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ReplyDeleteDarlene