Author: dcarey

Before refrigeration existed, people used canning to preserve the food from harvest all year round. Learn the canning basics below!

The process of canning kills microorganisms that cause food to spoil and seals the jar to prevent any other spoilers from getting in.

Some food requires high temperature and pressure to be preserved, while other, more acidic food can be preserved with a boiling water bath.

Here are the basic supplies you’ll need for canning…

• Boiling Water Canner
• Pressure Canner
• Canning Jars
• Lids and Bands
• Canning Salt (not table salt)

Let’s get started!

Are you looking for a way to prevent fuel-filters from freezing? Are you looking for a way to extend the life of your fuel injection pumps and fuel injector? Are you looking for a way to make fuel last up to three times longer?

If you answered yes to one or all of the questions above then we have the right products for you. Rural King carries multiple different fuel additives that can get the job done for you year round!

Canning is not as tough as you may think. It’s a great way to save all your homegrown fruits and vegetables, which is a great way to save money on the homestead. It’s an easy way to begin preserving produce for the winter. By following Ball’s 3-step process for beginnings, you will be canning in no time!

5 Things To Do On A Rainy Day!

Rain Rain Go Away Come Again Another Day!! As children we would sing that little song in hopes that it might actually get ride of the rain so that we could go outside and play instead of being cooped up in the house all summer. Since the rain comes and goes as it pleases we have to find fun things to do inside. So I have come up with some fun things to do while your stuck in the house. These are great family activities that everyone can enjoy. Try one the next time your family is stuck in the house and let us know how it went.

1. Indoor Treasure HuntHave someone hide some things around the house and then create a map or clues to find them.
2. Create a Family Recipe BookEvery family has recipes that have been past down. Be creative and make a scrapbook of those recipes.
3. Camp In the Great IndoorsWho says you have to be outside to camp. Clean out the living room and set up that tent, cook some marshmallows over the stove and sit around telling ghost stories.
4. Bake Some GoodiesSomething that everyone loves is a fresh baked cookie or pie.
5. Organize Your Own Film FestivalEveryone enjoys watching movies. Dig out some of your old favorites and just relax on the couch and eat some popcorn. 

Well Father’s Day is this weekend and you probably have something great for him, but what about his belly? Something that I know is one of my husbands favorite part of Father’s day is all the delicious food that I make for him. I wanted to give my husbands favorite meal that is easy to make and taste pretty darn good.

Broccoli Rice Casserole

What you will need

• 1 can cream of mushroom
• 1 can cream of chicken
• 1 Cup of Milk
• 2 Cups of Rice ( Uncooked )
• 1 Jar of Cheez Whiz
• 2 Medium Size Chicken Breast ( Shredded/Cubed )
• 1 tbsp Onion powder
• 1 (16 ounce) package frozen florets broccoli
• 1 Bag of Shredded Cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Cook the rice as directed
3. Mix chicken, broccoli, and rice in a 9 x 13 pan.
4. Add cheese, milk, cream of mushroom, cream of chicken and onion powder
5. Stir it all up well
6. Cover with tin foil and bake for 25 mins
7. Take off foil and sprinkle a little shredded cheese on top and let it sit for about 5 mins, serve and ENJOY!
   

Bird seed ornaments are a simple and fun craft for children to do!

What you will need:

• Any kind of Bird Seed
• Peanut butter
• Paper and scissors
• String

How to make your Ornament:

• Cut out a shape with your scissors and your paper (such as a heart) and also tie a string to the top of your shape so that you can hang your ornament when it’s finished.
• Next take your shape and spread peanut butter all over one side of your shape.
• Then take the side with the peanut butter and smash it into a plate of bird seed until there is bird seed covering the entire peanut butter surface.

When you are finished you can hang your ornament outside on a tree or a bush and watch the birds enjoy their treat! Easy as that!

It’s time to get out there and start planting your gardens and flower beds. Here at Rural King we have a lot of gardening options. One thing I love is the watering globes. It can be tough to know how often and how much to water your plants or flowers, but with the watering globes things have gotten a lot easier. What you do is fill the globe with water and place it in the ground. When the soil dries out it releases oxygen in the globe which then pushes the water into the ground. The plants will never get over watered or have too little water with this handy device.

Another item we have that is especially handy is the Step2 Garden Kneeler Seat. After spending an hour bent over the garden trying to get everything planted, your back starts to ache and you can no longer ignore the pain. Well, why not avoid all the hassle and just use the Garden Kneeler Seat? This will give you the perfect height to get down there and do what needs to be done without having to continuously strain yourself. It makes gardening easier and more enjoyable, the way it’s supposed to be!

Stepping stones are a great way to dress up your garden, but can be quite pricey. So why not spend an afternoon making your own garden stepping stones? They are super easy and fun to make for the whole family!

There are tons of different kinds of stepping stone, whether you want to add them to your garden or just accent a walkway into your backyard stepping stones make cool landscape accessories. They can also make great gifts, although they may be a little heavy to wrap!

What you will need:

• Concrete (you can find this in your local Rural King store or special stepping stone concrete at a craft store)
• Plastic mold (you can also find these at craft stores, but you can also use a pie pan or a plastic pot drainage saucer which is also found in our Rural King stores.)
• Decorations such as paint, shells, marbles and glass beads or pieces of a wind chime.  

What to do:

• Put on a pair of plastic gloves and lay out a few sheets of newspaper to cover the floor.
• Pick which mold you’ll use to make your stepping stone.
• Mix the cement according to the instructions on the package and pour it in the plastic mold container. It should be at least two inches thick.
• Depending on how you want to embellish your stepping stone, start decorating it while the cement is still soft or wait at least 24 hrs for it to dry before removing it from the container. 

Stepping stones: before the cement hardens, you can make a hand or footprint, stick on shells and glass beads or use cookie cutters to make cool shapes. You can use anything lying around your house to jazz up your stepping stones. If you’re more of a painter, then wait for the cement to completely dry before you paint your stepping stone!

This is for all those bird watchers out there. If this is something you like to do as a hobby or just like sitting on your porch I imagine that one of you favorite birds is the hummingbird. If you are new to this the best way to attract them is putting out humming bird feeders. The sweet smell will attract them and have them buzzing all over your yard. Stop by Rural King and pick up a feeder and try this homemade recipe.

Homemade hummingbird nectar recipe instructions:

1 part regular white sugar to 4 parts water.
Example: 1 cup sugar, 4 cups water

1. Boil the water.
2. Add sugar and stir until dissolved.
3. Let cool.
4. Refrigerate in a designated hummingbird feeder pitcher.

Using a microwave works too. Put the water in a microwave safe container and heat to boiling point. Carefully remove and add sugar. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. I fill my clean feeders and set them aside to cool and let the rest cool a bit before storing in the fridge.

Nothing extra: There is no need to add anything extra to the homemade hummingbird nectar recipe, i.e. coloring, honey, etc. It’s not necessary and could be harmful. Honey will quickly ferment becoming poisonous to the birds.

.

So you call yourself a sportsman, huh?  Have you ever been bowfishing? Go ahead and put your compound in storage and pick up this recurve.

The Sand Shark was built-tough with laminated Maple/Purple Heart wood construction.  It features a heavy-duty sight, stabilizer and plunger bushings that are threaded and epoxied into the riser.

Let’s move on to the best part, the gear!  The Sand Shark is outfitted with all the top of the line find ’em and catch ’em gear: Light-Stryke Laser Sight, AMS Retriever Pro, Hydro-Glide Arrow Rest, Hydro-Shot Finger Savers, Fin-Finder String Silencers.

If you are new to bowfishing here are a few tips I have picked up:

• Think about where the sun is before heading out on the lake or pond.  The worse the glare is, the harder it will be for you to see the fish.  You may want to consider getting a good pair of polarized sunglasses.
• I prefer fishing at night.  The OMP Light Stryke Laser helps you aim and shoot with accuracy in the daytime or at night.  Spotlights can also be used in conjunction with the Light Stryke Laser.
• When aiming at a fish, aim low…then a little lower.  The distance of the fish that you see at the surface is distorted through the water.  I usually go with aiming 6 inches – 1 foot below the fish as my ‘rule of thumb’ but you always need to factor in how deep the fish is to determine how much you need to compensate.  Bowfishing is a skill that you can continuously improve upon.

Spring is here and summer is on it’s way.  Now is the time to pick up your fully loaded Sand Shark Bowfishing bow.

Ruralking.com offers four different packages of the Sand Shark Bowfishing bow.  Be sure to click on the links below to find the one that suits your bowfishing needs!

• Sand Shark Muzzy XD Bowfishing Package
• Sand Shark AMS Retriever Pro Bowfishing Package
• Sand Shark Light Stryke Muxxy XD Bowfishing Package
• Sand Shark Light Stryke AMS Retriever Pro Bowfishing Package