Everyone is up early this morning. It's cold in the house. The temperature must have really dropped last night. #2 makes pancakes, coffee and tea. #1 lights a fire in the basement.
I get the bowl of fat from the fridge outside. After lifting it from the bowl and dusting off the crumbs, it goes in the old coffee pot on the stove to melt. I wipe the bowl out and drain more fat from the rendering pot. A lot of the cracklings are dry and crispy, ready to be taken out. I offer some to the boys to try, but don't find any fans. I put them in an ice cream bucket to go in the doggy stew pot later.
I take the bowl of rendered fat back outside and grab the pan of baked beans. I scoop some into a stock pot and start adding onions, peppers, chili powder, garlic, and tomato sauce. A nice pot of chili for supper tonight. I was going to reheat and can the rest of the beans, but I think it'll be just as simple to make it all into chili, and then can the excess. I pour the rest of the beans into the pot, add more onions, peppers and spices, and put the whole thing on the stove. I get a baggy of squash from the freezer and put it in as well. It won't be noticeable once cooked in.
I clean out the cast iron pan and start cooking two packages of ground beef- about 4 pounds. #1 already has his nose in the chili pot, sampling and adding more spices. I shoo him away before he makes it burn your face off hot.
Husband and the Bigs go out to do chores and work the horses. The Littles get started on their work books.
I boil water, wash dishes, tidy the kitchen, and start a batch of bread. The cooked ground beef is strained and added to the chili pot. I add water to the soup pot, more weeds, and a handful of noodles. It goes back on the stove for lunch. I clean the cast iron pan, bowl and utensils for breakfast tomorrow and put them in their place on the counter. I go out and pick more weeds, add a bunch to the doggy stew pot, along with the cracklings, rice and flour.
It's too late in the season to leave the bear hanging for long, the outer edges are nearly frozen already. I start trimming off all of the visible fat. Dad arrives and sees what's left of his bear. He's not too happy with me giving half of it away yesterday without asking. Not that he hadn't planned to share it with Brother and Sil, but still, I should have asked. I ask Mom if she wants to render the fat, and she says no, I can have it. Dad and I get busy butchering while Mom puts the Littles to work tidying the yard and putting things away.
Dad takes all of the steaks, the tenderloins, some stew meat and a few roasts. He tells me to split the rest with Brother and Sil. I tuck it away in the freezer for now. I take the fat in the house and add it to the rendering pot.
Mom and Dad join us for a late lunch, soup and turkey salad sandwiches, then head back to their place.
The chili has been simmering on the stove all morning, so it's ready to can. I sterilize 6 quart jars and put the canner on to boil.
The boys and Husband are not too ambitious this afternoon, so we set up a game of Risk.
When the canner's ready, I fill 6 jars of chili and pop them in to process. I roll out the bread when it's not my turn.
We enjoy a quiet afternoon at home, break for supper and chores, then play another round while the bread bakes. We go to bed late, after I take over the world, mwahahaha!!!
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