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Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Bananas and Cherries and Chocolate Cookies

32 bananas

I bought these bananas when they were greenish for $0.33 per pound, a really good price. The weather has been damp, so I did not get them in the dehydrator soon enough. I love them at this stage, but they are so sticky to cut and place on the dehydrator tray.
 
half a bag of frozen cherries
 
I love these cherries. These have been languishing in the freezer, so I decided to thaw them and add them to the trays of bananas. I bought frozen carrots to freeze this week. Do you ever buy frozen food to dehydrate?
 
I am working toward eliminating the need for my big freezer. My big freezer is the smallest one sold that is frost-free. I will keep it, just won't plug it up. However, it has two or three turkeys in it, so I don't know how long it will take me to empty it. I am working my way up to canning meat. The idea of canning meat frightens me. 

chocolate chunk cookies

While I have lots to do, why not add a batch of cookies to the work load? These are sort of firm on the outside and very soft, almost gooey on the inside--delicious. The recipe--a cookie mix. It was given to me, so I decided to bake these tonight-- Wednesday. Monday.
 
It was a long day with exbf here today, helping me with things that are hard for me to do. However, these bananas had to be sliced and dehydrated. So, I am up late and it is now Thursday Tuesday. He usually comes on Wednesday, so I will be ahead all week. The caffeine in the dark chocolate chunks is making my heart beat fast, and not in a good way. Do you get sidetracked this way? Of course, I cannot slice bananas and eat cookies.
 
Next in the dehydrator--Vidalia onions.
 
Your turn
Do you ever just overload yourself needlessly with extra work, like cookies? What experience have you had with canning meat? I have the instructions, just need moral support. Does anyone keep quarts and half gallons of dehydrated-at-home fruit around for snacks? Do you dehydrate store-bought frozen food?
 


8 comments:

  1. I bought a dehydrator at a garage sale on Saturday. I'm going to follow your blog to earn more about using my new purchase. When you dry bananas do you treat them in some way prior to placing them on the shelves?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Janet,
    When I first dehydrated bananas, I tried two methods in the same drying session. One shelf had sliced bananas, plain. The other shelf had bananas treated with lemon juice. They were the same color. Fruit Fresh is the same.

    I am not aiming for the store bananas, all crispy and perfect looking, an even white.

    Hope this helps. Just ask. I will be dehydrating a lot of things.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh, those look delicious!

    Canning meat truly isn't that hard, Linda! I've done it. It's very convenient for when you want to throw a meal together. If you have a pressure canner you can certainly can meat. I've made tacos and pasta bolognase from the ground beef and ground turkey I purchased on sale and canned. I found it very convenient since I didn't have to dig through my freezer and worry about freezer burn if I forgot something was in there. You can even can meat with the bone in if you want.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Pamela,
      One of these days...you know the rest. I need to get three turkeys in the oven and then in jars. I will not be able to cut raw turkey.

      Delete
  4. My wife would not consider making cookies to be extra work, but rather the work around which all else evolves.

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  5. Snowbrush,
    She is so right! I am eating three of the batch right now. I just got my priorities mixed up for the moment as I wrote. Getting back on track!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I overload myself with needless work daily ! I have told myself I like to be busy, but not this busy. I need to cut down on all the extra chores I give myself.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jane,
      M idea of extra chores is ruled by my body, not the work difficulty of the chore. My back does not last long, then Fibromyalgia stops me dead in my tracks. But, I suppose "extra" is relative?

      Delete

Okay, hoping the annoyances have gone away.