Canning: Kosher & Bread-n-Butter Pickles

We made all these at once, while we were slicing and cutting up pickles, might as well! They just use 2 different recipes to pour in the jars.

KOSHER & BREAD-N-BUTTER PICKLES

For 2 quarts of pickles, you need about 14 small to medium sized pickling cucumbers. We ended up making 18 quarts of pickles...that will give you an idea of how many pickles my in-laws brought from their garden!

For the "seasoning," we used the "Ball" brand Kosher Dill Pickle Mix, and the Bread and Butter Pickle Mix.
Instructions are very simple, and we just followed the directions on the mix container.

First things first. Cut and slice the pickles!

We sliced the pickles in 2 different ways to differentiate the 2 flavors. You don't have to do that, but after the 11th jar, you might start getting cross-eyed. Or you could label them. Either way, its all about how you prefer to eat them!

Then stuff them REALLY tight into the jars. When you think you've filled them to the top, add at least one more. =) In other words, PACK them in. Its really just an aesthetic look for me. Once you had the seasoning liquid mix, the pickles will "shrink" up just a tad are create a space. I like keeping that space as small as possible.

Directions: (for every 2 quarts)
1. Combine 2 cups water, 1 cup vinegar, and 1/4 cup pickle mix in a medium sauce pan and bring to a boil.
2. Pour hot liquid over pickles in the jar, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Wipe threads clean and screw lids and tops on.
3. Process for 15 minutes.

For best flavor, let pickles stand from 4o to 6 weeks. We always break into them after standing 24 hours and they are awesome. If you have the patience, you can try waiting. But that's something we don't have.

Canning: Squash Relish

When my in-laws were visiting, we went on a canning spree! Canned things from pickles, to jams, to pickled watermelon rhines! This week I'll show you what and how we made them!

SQUASH RELISH

Click HERE for printable recipe

8 unpeeled yellow squash
4 pickling sized cucumbers
3 large red bell pepper
1 white onion
1 red onion

Diced everything into small pieces. My pampered chef chopper is perfect for this! You can also make them in larger pieces if that is what you like. I use relish in my tuna and such, so the smaller the bits the better.

Put them in a bowl and let them get to know each other for about an hour.

2 cups white vinegar
3 cups sugar
2 teaspoons ground celery seed
2 teaspoons ground mustard seeds

Bring these 4 ingredients to a boil in a large saucepan for 5 minutes. Add squash mixture and bring back up to a boil, and let simmer for 25 to 30 minutes.

After the boiling, pour mixture into sterilized pint jars and top it off with juice, keeping about 1/2 inch head. Seal them with sterilized lids.

This recipe will make about 5 pints. We doubled the recipe, and in a large stockpot--took a little more time to heat up and such, but well worth the little extra effort...especially since it was all homegrown and we had an excess of veggies! We made 11 pints with it.

Let these jars boil for about 7 min minutes. Turn off heat and let them sit for 5 minutes. Remove them and let them cool overnight (24 hours), and keep listening for the "pop" sound. Check the next day to make sure they sealed. If they didn't, refrigerate and use within a week, or process them again. These have a shelf life of over a year when sealed--but they never last that long around here.

Click HERE for printable recipe
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Sealing and preserving the jars
click HERE for printable

I'm no professional, and I don't have professional or fancy appliances. So this is how you can do it as well if you don't have any of those fancy pressure cookers and such.

LARGE stockpot. My husband used a pot he uses to make his beer with. The pot needs to be deep enough to cover the jars by at least 1 inch.
Canning basket. This is really cheap and can be found at the majority of grocery and retail stores. Its a little basket with "feet" and a handle--put a few jars in and lower into the water. It keeps them from touching the bottom of the pan and easy to remove from water. If you only get 1 thing, get this--its worth it.
Sterilizing jars. Send your jars through the dishwasher the same day you are canning. Make sure you set the "sterilizing" setting on. Leave them in there until you are ready to pour into them. If you leave them overnight and do the canning the next day, sterilize them again. This is to prevent any germ or yeast that might have gotten in over night. You can also boil them for a few minutes in boiling water. Dishwasher is easier for a larger quantity of jars.
Sterilizing the lids. Place all of them into boiling water and boil for 3 to 5 minutes. You can keep these in the water until ready to use.

Now, to seal the jars. Heat a pot large enough to cover jars you are using by 1 to 2 inches. The jars also shouldn't be touching the bottom, so use canning basket or wire rack that will fit. They only need to be off the bottom by 1/2 inch. Bring the water to a boil, and you are ready. Place jars in water, start timer. Leave in as directions say. When time is up, turn off the heat and leave in water for 5 minutes. Remove, carefully, and let them sit for a good 24 hours. Check seal--if it didn't seal, you can process them again or refrigerate up to 1 week.

These tips come from my own personal experience. I am by no means a professional, nor do I claim to be. Proceed at your own risk.

click HERE for printable

Orange Jam & OLB Award

I thought I had already posted this--but since blogger went hay-wire, not really sure what happened. So, if you have seen this already, I'm sorry! Blame blogger. And my kids. Then comment again. LOL Just kidding.


Also, keep reading and scrolling down! I received an award from Joy of Desserts and want to pass along this award to several blogs that I read!

I had a bunch of oranges in my fridge, and wanted to try making it jam like the strawberries. So I made this EXACTLY like the other kind--using the same measurements.

ORANGE JAM

6 good sized oranges
7 cups white sugar
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 package of pectin
4-6 mason jars

Boil a large pot of water with mason jars lids. After a few minutes, remove lids and pour water into mason jars to keep them warm.

Peel and remove skins and pith from oranges. (no white at all!) Cut up oranges into big chunks. Place in a large pot and start cooking them over med-high heat. Add the sugar after about 5 to 7 minutes (add the butter about 4 minutes into it). Cook until sugar is dissolved and mixture is boiling.

Dump the water out of mason jars (careful! very hot!) and using a ladle, fill jars up to the lip. Wipe the threads clean and seal with the lids.

Turn them upside down for 5 minutes (enough time to clean up). Turn back upright and let cool on the counter. You will hear a loud "pop" when its all sealed! Enjoy on  a toasted English muffin or toast!

 

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Thank you so much Joy from Joy of Desserts! This is actually my very FIRST award! Needless to say, it brought a huge smile to my face and what an honor it is! *happy dance* I love Joy's blog as well! I can always count on a fun blog hop, no matter which day it is, and it's guaranteed to add 5 lbs to your butt every time [there is that many good sweets!]. Such a SWEET gal--make sure you stop by and tell her I sent you! ;)

Thank you so much, Joy!

 Rules for accepting the award:
1. Post linking back to the person that gave you the award
2. Share 7 random things about yourself
3. Award 15 recently discovered blogs
4. Drop them a note and tell them about it.

Now its time to share 7 random things about me:

1. Today, this very day, my husband and I celebrate our 8th wedding anniversary!
2. I LOVE the smell of fresh herbs, and would prefer a herb bouquet over a flower bouquet.
3. I try to run anywhere between 2 and 4 miles a day..I gotta keep my butt from expanding, somehow.
4. I've never lived on the west coast, but I have lived in 7 different states (12 different places) since married.
5. I cannot function without coffee in the mornings, but I'm trying to broaden my horizons with fresh herb tea.
6. I'm a huge cat fanatic. Don't bring a dog around me, and for heavens sake, if your dog poops--PICK IT UP...I don't care if you have to do it bare-handed.
7. I absolutely love the Military life-style. I love change and accept it with arm wide open. Don't ask where you think we'll be next year, we will never know. =)

And I like these 17 wonderful bloggers [the list is quite a bit longer, but could only put 15. I'm a rule-follower]:

2. A Well Seasoned Life
3. Susie B. Homemaker
4. Bacon Time with the Hungry Hypo
5. Boobies, Babies, & a Blog [you'll see "Boobies" when she leaves a comment--cracks me up EVERY TIME]
6. Confessions of a Marine Wife
7. Le Chateau des Flours by Frenchy
8. GI Joes Wife
9. Grandma's Guide to Life
10. Cooking Mimi
11. There's a Newf in My Soup
12. The Country Cook
13. Kerrific Online
14. Semper Wifey
15. Mommy's online garage sale

Strawberry Jam

First of all, this blog just hit....

I really appreciate each and every one of my followers! Its super motivation to keep cookin and blog about it. Truly makes me happy! It even has my husband impressed--and that's not so easy to do! =) I need to think of something special to do--any ideas?

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This recipe was submitted by Gina from The Canary Family. I have never "canned" anything, so this was all new to me! And I have to say--I don't know why I was so scared to--it was easy as pie (or should I say "strawberry jam"?)! I always keep jars around for my recipes like Homemade Coffee and craft projects here and there--so this was just another opportunity to use them! So here it is!

STRAWBERRY JAM

For step-by-step directions, click here: Step-by-step Jam

7 cups white sugar
5 cups strawberry chunks
1 package of pectin
4 to 5 pint-size jars

Boil a large pot of water with lids and rims inside. Pour the water into clean jars, and set lids aside. (this keeps the jars hot!)

Measure out 7 cups white sugar, set aside.

Trim and cut into chucks strawberries to measure 5 cups.

Dump strawberries and box of pectin into a large pot over med-high heat. Mash and stir, and add 1 teaspoon of butter to keep the foaming-action down.

Once the mix comes to a boil, stir in sugar. Hard boil for 1 minute then remove off heat.

Dump water out of jars, and fill them with strawberry mush with a ladle. Wipe the threads clean and twist on lids and rims really tight. Turn the jars upside down for 5 minutes. [just enough time to clean the mess up]

The flip the jars back right-side-up and let cool for several hours. The lids will "pop" and you will know its sealed.

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I made pretty little labels with mine--and I will pass them out for Mother's day. My husband and I went through half a jar this morning for breakfast (it was that good!) so I think I might need to make another batch soon!

I also didn't fill the jars up that high, and next time I will fill it to the "neck." Its looks better that way as well.

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I also want to give a "shout-out" to a dear friend of mine. I met her back in our first year of college (like, more than 10 years ago) and we still keep in touch to this day! Brittany has helped me quite a bit with my blog. She has designed my header and helped touch up a few pictures. She's got her degree in graphic design--and her work is fabulous! So stop by and tell her I sent ya! You never know if you'll need a super-awesome-creative-sweet-cool friend. =)