Buttercup Goes Rogue

Last week I spoke about Buttercup the Magical Cow.  If you remember, there was more to the story of our dear Buttercup.  You see, I had never actually seen a cow at the farm next door.  That's where the story gets a bit murky and creative license has to take over.  The last sighting of Buttercup had been about a month prior to my move to Oregon but on clear nights, the kind where sound can travel far, you could still hear her calling and it seemed to echo from the forested area behind the house.  Here's a brief account of how I think her last night at the farm went down....





In honor of Buttercup's sacrifice, I will allow no part of the meat I buy go to waste.  Last week, I made beef stock in a pressure cooker and gave the instructions for canning it.  This week, I'm including instructions for how to make Vegetable Beef Soup and how to can that as well.



Good luck and... well... I have to now....









Ingredients:

1 1/2 quarts of homemade beef stock

Any reserved bits of meat, carrots, and celery from the homemade stock cut into pieces

2 parsnips, cut into 1" pieces

1 potato, cut into 1" pieces

1 28 oz can of diced tomatoes, with juices

1 Tbs Tomato Paste

2 cups of corn (fresh or frozen)

2 cups of green beans (fresh or frozen)

2 cups frozen peas

2 cups of cooked or frozen spinach or other greens



Directions:

Put all ingredients into a pot and bring to a boil.  Simmer for 15 minutes to blend the flavors.

Follow the steps for canning beef stock from my previous post (click here) with the following exceptions:

You will probably only need 5 quart jars for this recipe but having an extra one ready can't hurt
The pressure cooker needs to be brought to 11lb of pressure and held there for at least 85 minutes.  If in doubt it's better to over-process than under-process.


Hints: 

When you remove the jars from the canner they may be bubbling for a while.  The contents are and will remain very hot for longer than you may expect and this is normal.  I was freaking out over this one and looked all over the internet for answers.
This recipe gives a base for the soup.  When I actually serve it, I add various spices to make it hotter, saltier, Italian flavored, etc.  That's also when you would add any rice or pasta you may want in your soup.
You may loose a bit of liquid in the canning process.  As long as the jars seal, it's fine and will not affect the longevity of the soup. 
Just to be totally safe, when I prepared a can of soup a week later, I brought it to a boil and let it simmer for several minutes.  We're still alive and kicking!