More Canning

Another busy week of canning.  It's that time of year when every day there are new tomatoes and cucumbers ready to be picked. I was canning the other day when I heard a tapping on the front door. I figured it was one of the neighborhood kids but instead...

It was my ladies, looking for some attention

This is the sink full of tomatoes that I started with on Friday morning.

The pepper plants are slowly but surely coming on

Time to make some pasta sauce!  I just throw everything in the stock pot and let is cook for a few hours.  Then I use my submersible blender (LOVE that gadget!) to blend it all together.  I add a bunch of spices, let it cook for another hour or so and then jar it up!

Pop it in the pressure canner for 15 minutes and viola...

Homemade pasta sauce-this will taste AWESOME on a cold January day

Matt's dad, Dan, wanted to help out today so Matt busted him out of the rehab center (where he has been recovering since being discharged from the hospital) for a few hours, a field trip which he greatly enjoyed.  We made a batch of salsa and tried something new too.

A fb friend gave me a bunch of jalepeño and hot banana peppers.  My kids love hot peppers on their sandwiches and burgers so I thought, why not try canning our own.  I'll have to let you know how they turn out once the kids have a chance to try them.  I am not the pepper-belly of the family so you will not be hearing my opinion on them.  My fingers are still burning just from touching them today. 

Ready for the canner

We ended up with 12 half-pints of peppers, 5 quarts of salsa, and 15 quarts of tomato sauce. Whew...I'm exhausted.