Canning Day #3

Did I mention that I had a serious case of the canning bug? Here's some more!

Today I made and canned salsa. For a beginner canner, I probably should not have modified the recipe, but I did!! Hope it turns out! On a side note, this was a lot of work. I would definitely save it for the last day of canning. I think if I had started with this one, I might have stopped at this one.

If you're going to make this one, may I recommend using this to chop the veggies. (Thanks Camille for letting me use yours!)

If you're up to the challenge, here's another canning recipe:

Salsa

1/2 bushel tomatoes

3 green peppers

1 red pepper

3 to 4 jalapeno peppers

8 to 10 onions

1 cup white vinegar (I used lemon juice instead)

1/2 cup canning salt

3 Tbsp sugar

1 (24 oz) tomato paste

1 Tbsp oregano

3 Tbsp cumin (I didn't add this)

2 (4 oz) cans green chilies

Garlic to taste

I added cilantro because I like cilantro in my salsa.

Chop and blend first 5 ingredients. Add all ingredients and cook for 3 to 4 hours. Why so long? I think it helps to cook off some of the liquid so you get a thicker salsa.Fill pint jars and water bath for 20 minutes. Enjoy!!

Canning Day #2

There's still more to can so here I go!!!

Jeff and I canned peach and apple pie filling tonight. He cut the fruit while I prepared the syrup. We made a good team - it only took us about 2 hours from start to finish. We had a little left over syrup so we cut up some apples, poured on the syrup, and let the kids eat it for dessert. It was really good!!

I plan on using ours for peach and apple crisp. I can't wait to open some up and try it.

If you want to make some for yourself, here's what I made:

Peach or Apple Pie Filling
4 1/2 cup sugar
1 cup cornstarch
3 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt
10 cup water
3 tsp lemon juice
1 cube butter

Combine all ingredients in a lg. sauce pan. Bring to a boil stirring until clear and thick. Place slices of peaches or apples in quart jars. Pour hot syrup over the fruit. Make sure bubbles are out of jar. Wipe top of bottle to remove any syrup and cover with lid and ring. Process in a boiling water bath for 25 minutes. Make 7-8 quarts.

*For apple filling use 4 tsp cinnamon and 1/2 tsp nutmeg.

I've been bitten...

by the canning bug!!!

My very nice neighbor (Camille) showed Kim (neighbor) and I some of the basics of canning. It's so easy that I can't believe that I haven't done it before. I remember helping my Mom can all kinds of things as a kid, but I didn't really pay attention. I'm sure I was thinking something like, "Canning? Who's going to be canning in 10 or 15 years?"

So, finding bottles was the hardest task. It seems like EVERYONE has decided to do some canning this year. We looked everywhere and couldn't find any. Luckily, my sister (Shawna) was coming down for a visit and my Mom had a few (2 1/2 dozen) in her basement. She also brought down the pressure cooker and we made "Soup Starter". I cannot use a pressure cooker on my range so we used our grill and did it in the garage. That's called Redneck Canning! :)

My sisters and my Mom tell me how great this "Soup Starter" is. I'm hoping so because I now have 11 bottles of it! There's all kinds of ways to use this - some throw potatoes in it, others use noodles, hambuger, chicken, etc. If you feel like giving it a try, here's the recipe:

Vegetable Soup

4 1/2 qt tomatoes, diced

3 qt carrotts, sliced (I shredded mine)

6 onions, chopped

3 red peppers, chopped

3 green peppers, chopped

1 large cabbage, chopped (I shredded mine so kids couldn't tell it was green)

1 Tbsp pepper

1/2 cup salt

4 qt water

I also added a little pearled barley to mine.

Combine all ingredients and boil 1 hour or until tender. Put in quart jars and seal using pressure cooker. Pressure 15 and cook 15 minutes for pints and 25 minutes for quarts.