{Recap} October 2015

October, where it starts to feel like fall.

Routines fall into place. Or out the window, again.

This was also the month we found out we were welcoming another boy to our family! 

So if you are keeping track that makes three boys and one girl!

Anyone else with me? Once you have a baby of one gender and go to have another of the same gender, doesn't it make it so much harder than picking out a name for the opposite gender?

October was also the month of Applesauce making!

All these years we thought it was a crab apple tree. Sure enough, it wasn't! We think because we moved our apple trees, it helped pollinate it! So we made lots of applesauce!

Ah, I am loving going through my pictures to share.  

I was working with Wyatt on his letters, and e wanted nothing to do with it.

I started to feel like his fine motor skills needed some work, but he didn't want anything to do with pencil and paper.... so out came the chalkboard, chalk and a wet q-tip to erase what I had wrote!

Worked like a charm!

October is the time of picking the last of the garden before frost threats!

Itty bitty squash anyone? 

This year the kids could not decide what they wanted to be for Halloween. 

I could ask daily, and it would be so different than the day before.

So this year, I sucked it up and just bought their costumes.

At first I had mom guilt. But I couldn't have made them for $10 each and thats all they cost!  So no tutorial on what I made them!

But! I did make these for Carter's Halloween Party at School! So fun right?!?!

Some of the kids loved them, others thought they were too gross to eat! Ha!

Canning: Pasta & Pizza Sauce

Okay, still in over your head with tomatoes?

Even after making Rotel and Salsa?

Today I am sharing what recipes I used for Pasta Sauce and Pizza Sauce!

Make sure you follow the directions to a T, for tomatoes because they are in a gray area when it comes to pH. Hence recipes needing citric acid, vinegar or lemon.

For my sauce I went with Ball's Basil Garlic Tomato Sauce. 

Except, instead of letting it simmer for hours on end ( I tried and couldn't get it to the thickness I like for my sauce) I went with roasting instead. I know, I am shying away from the recipe, which I clearly said is a canning no no. But hear me out! I used the recipes proportions (which is where the pH comes from) and changed the technique to get to the end result. 

To roast instead of simmer, I took all my ingredients and placed in a 9x13 rimmed pan.

Stuck it in my oven at 450' for an hour or so. Your house will smell amazing.

Then using a slotted spoon (I bet a colander would work too) I scoop all my solids into my blender. 

Because it is still hot at this point, I do not fill my blender all the way and pulse until smooth. 

Then, I go back to the Ball recipe, and finish as per their instructions.

I like to can my pasta sauce in quart jars as that is a good size for our family of five. 

To do so, I increase the citric acid (it tells you right on the acid bottle) and increase my time in the hot water bath canner.

For the Pizza Sauce, I use Preserving by the Pint's recipe, and it is to die for!

(If you go to the link, there is a picture of the book, and the recipe is readable!)

If you can't read it, definitely check out her book from the library or purchase it!

Also, there is an errata for the book, so if you have her book you may need to reference it, here!

Well, now that my mouth is watering just thinking about sauce... I

 better go figure out what we will be having for dinner... pasta? or pizza?

Canning: Rotel and Salsa

If your new to canning, check out my safety post. 

Then, check out how to make applesauce, cider and pickles!

In over your head with tomatoes? I was! 

But now my pantry is full of Rotel, Salsa, Pizza Sauce and Spaghetti Sauce(I'll share the sauces recipes next week!)

Growing up I remember have Cheesy Rotel dip at a friends all the time, never have I bought a can of rotel, or the cheese to make it. So when I was looking for uses for my tomatoes and found a rotel recipe I knew I had to try it!

After finding a recipe I liked, I was happy to find it linked right back to the NCHFP!

NCHFP calls the recipe Chile Salsa, but it has the same ingredients as most of the Rotel recipes I found.

I canned my Rotel in 1/2 pint jars as we weren't sure if we would love the recipe. Now that we had it a couple times I know we love the recipe, it's the perfect combo of sweet and heat for us! But I think I will continue to can it in this size jar as we have finished a jar each time we have opened one. 

Now, for the salsa! I took out Marissa McClellan's books Food in Jars and Preserving by the Pint out from the library, and was so happy I did! There were several recipes that I have tried from there! The Blender Salsa is the recipe I used. Unfortunately the exact recipe is not on her blog, but a different blender salsa is. If you want to make the exact one I did, check out her book Preserving by the Pint. 

The only change I had was that I like my salsa a little chunkier, so instead of blending my double batch I did one batch blended one batch hand chopped. 

Taco Tuesday hasn't been the same since I started opening up jars of homemade Rotel and Salsa. Yum!

Canning: Dill and Bread & Butter Pickles

I once read an article about canning which said Jellies and Pickles were the hardest to try to can first. 

And you know what, I agree. 

Jellies are hard because if you don't boil it to the perfect temperature it just won't set right. 

Pickles can turn mushy the first couple tries, but once you get a good batch you'll  never go back to store bought!

My kids LOVE pickles, so this year I was determined to grow enough cucumbers to eat, and pickle. 

I guess I was too determined. I grew 30+ lbs this year. Compared to last years 8 lbs!

Luckily I had two easy pickle recipes to use!

First, let's start with dill pickles!  If you search "Dill Pickle Recipe" on the internet you will get a million and one results, but remember you want a tried and true recipe. I personally use a recipe that was given to me from a friends grandmother, and it is a hit! But since I want to share safe, trusted recipes, I found this one from NCHFP (National Center for Home Food Preservation) that is almost identical, except for the canning part. The recipe I was given doesn't have canning directions, so that's why I went with NCHFP's!

I find myself making Dill's more often than Bread and Butter because it takes less time. I measure out my brine ingredients and get that boiling. Then I stuff my clean quart jars full of garlic, dill, a hot pepper and cucumbers. For my dill's I cut my cucumbers into spears. Once the brine is boiling, I fill my jars. Now, here is where I've heard you can just let the hot brine seal your jars. I think that is a personal decision, since I'm not 100% sold on how safe that is.

Dill Pickle troubleshooting: If you get mushy,soggy dill pickles it could be a couple things. I've found that I leave my cucumbers on the vine until there are enough to make a batch of pickles. If they sit on the counter they get rubbery.  Also, you can use Pickle Crisp by Ball to help reduce soggy pickles.

Now, onto bread & butter pickles! I find these take a little more time as you boil the syrup, then add the cucumbers and let them cook a bit. I also can these in pint jars because you can pack a lot into a jar! I have this oxo mandoline, and it is perfect for bread & butter pickles!  

I used this recipe, but looked at NCHFP's recipe too.

If you look at NCHFP's it's just double the other one. 

Speaking of doubling, I find that small batches work best for me. 

I've canned both ways, double or tripling batches vs. single batches, and find that for me doing small batches are easier to handle. Even if I have to make the same single recipe a couple times during the summer, it still works out to be the same amount of jars on my shelf, with less frustration.

At most I can can 7 quarts at a time, and even that can be a lot to fill!

Canning: Apple Sauce & Cider

As I stock my pantry, I've been asked what recipes I've used, and how to do it. 

So I thought why not share what I have been up to while the blog has been pretty quiet!

First, you may want to check out my safety post!

I've decided to share my Apple Sauce and Cider first because they have been the easiest to can!

Applesauce is pretty easy to make, and normally I just make it when I have some apples that need to be used. This year I decided to grab a couple bags on sale (Oh how I wish my apple trees produced this many, but they will soon enough!) and can a big batch to have on hand.   I found that you can make a "cider" (and I use the term loosely, because it's not exact like you'd get at an apple farm, but close) from your skins, cores and  extra pieces.

Now, I know I really preached the importance of recipes in my safety post, and here I am not posting an exact recipe. But if you check out the National Center for Home Food Preservation Applesauce, they don't either! That's why I decided to start with this first! 

To make my applesauce, I used my peeler, slicer, corer to get the apples ready, then I threw them in a heavy bottomed pot (so you don't scorch the bottom on accident) with a couple inches of water and let them cook down. To speed up the process, once soft I mash the apples using my immersion blender.  If your sauce is more of an apple butter consistency add more water, if its runny let it cook out. If you prefer plain applesauce, your done. If cinnamon is more your style, add to taste. 

That's it! I told you, easy!

 To can, funnel your hot applesauce into clean, hot jars (I fill my kitchen sink with hot water, and put all the jars I can fit in), wipe your rims, add your lids and rings. Place in your hot water bath for 15 min for pints, and 20 for quarts.  

Now for the cider! Again, I use this term loosely because it's not cider like you buy at an orchard.

They make theirs by mashing down entire apples and then pressing the juices out of the apple.

To make an at home knock off version of cider, you can boil down your cores and skins. So if your making a big batch of applesauce, don't throw the extra pieces away. Put them in a kettle of water and let it boil down. When I was doing this all I could think of was that I was making apple broth. If you plan on trying to make cider, you may want to get organic apples since you are boiling the skins.

In my Putting Food By book, it has directions for Apple Juice:

"Apple Juice: Wash and Cut apples, discarding stem and blossom ends. Do no peel or core (you make even use the peels leftover from making apples sauce). Barely cover with cold water and bring to a boil over moderate heat and simmer until apples are quite soft - about 30 minutes."

Now, I let me simmer for most of the morning since I was busy making and canning my applesauce. I also added cinnamon to taste. Then I strained and Processed in a Hot Water bath for 30 minutes for pints or quarts per the books instructions. 

If you want to try it without canning, I almost went with this recipe! 

Canning: Safety First!

Now, that I have teased you by sharing my Pantry and my First Adventure in Pressure Canning posts I want to share some safety information before I start sharing the recipes I have used!

If you take one thing from this post, this is it:

 I want to encourage you to find recipes from trusted, credible sources.

 With that said, have I brought you back to high school english class when your learning to write a research paper? Where you have to find good, credible sources?

This is a hard, but very important step to canning. It's all about safety.

Especially with everyone and anyone being able to post (me included) recipes online. 

Did I lose you yet? While I love to browse pinterest,  and the internet for canning recipes to try,

 I am finding that I am confusing and second guessing myself. Which could be a good or bad thing.

Think about it: one typo could change your canned good from safe to not safe, also known as botulism. 

So, if you plan on canning get yourself some canning books and/or reputable websites. 

They really are good to have on hand in case you find yourself second guessing yourself! Recently I found a recipe online I wanted to try, so I looked in my canning books to see if it was in one of my books. Guess what there it was, and the processing time was three times longer. So, I used the recipe from online, alongside of the book and processed for the longer time. It's all about safety for me, and if taking that extra 20 minutes to have it in the canner (while I clean my kitchen) and it makes sure that my product is shelf stable it is worth taking the time and checking in a book.

The books that I reference the most are:

 Ball Blue Book: The Guide to Home Canning and Freezing

Putting Food By: The No, 1 Book about All the Safe Ways to Preserve Food

 Websites I have referenced:

The National Center for Home Food Preservation 

Ball's Fresh Preserving 

I've found some recipes that I like on pinterest, and then referenced my books to find they are the exact same which is perfect! No second guessing. Or I've gone and found nothing similar and wanted to pull my hair out. This is where I either keep searching or maybe not try that recipe, because I am unsure if it is safe. It might sound extreme but since I am still fairly new to canning I want to find good recipes that I can pass down for years to come!

If you know me, you know I was a terrible baker. My problem was that when I cook I like to edit/alter recipes. With baking I learned (and now canning) that is a big no no! You have to trust and stick with the recipe, hence me going on and on about trusted recipes and sources.

Safe canning is about the acidity. If you find a recipe you like, but don't want to puree it, don't. That's the only time I shy away from a recipe. The acidity is about what is in the recipe, not the texture of it. For example, I found a really great tomato sauce recipe (that I will share next week) that I love the flavor of. But instead of simmering it and waiting for it to thicken, I roast my tomatoes down (in the quantity the recipe states) then puree it in the blender. I didn't change the acidity, just the process. 

Now, back to some canning basics.

There are two different types of canning. Hot Water Bath Canning and Pressure Canning.

I could go on an on about the pros and cons, similarities and differences, high acid and low acid.

But that would take a while...So I'll give you a quick run down... 

Or cliff's notes so to speak (again with the high school english class reference!)

Hot Water Bath Canning: Cheaper investment in the beginning, introduces you to canning, allows you to can high acid foods.

Pressure Canning: More expensive investment in the beginning, extends your canning abilities, allows you to can low acid foods

With that said: Both types of canning are easy to do. Really. 

Even if you have a mishap the very first time... Trust me I did. 

Canning is easy. Especially if you are using trusted recipes, fresh produce and clean equipment. 

With this out of the way, now it's on to the fun stuff! Actually canning!