CSN Stores & Pressure Canner Review Part 2

I said that I would do an update post on my canner and here it is!!! First here is the first post that I did on my Presto Canner. That way you can refresh yourself.
Here is my canner. Please ignore the black around the edges of the burner. I canned all day and spilled some and it seems that the longer it is right next to a hot burner, the blacker it gets. Imagine that! I had that stove going all afternoon and it was pretty nasty by the end of the night but it is clean now!
I need to name my pressure canner, I feel like it is a part of the family now. I had made jellies all day and decided to make stew/soup to can. I am getting ready to be super

busy so I am taking the time now to put up whatever I can that is easy and healthy that we will eat later. So this is the end product: I still love my canner and am actually wanting to get another just like this one. That way I can have one going while the other is letting the pressure drop. I am absolutely in love with mine and would fight you if you tried to take it from me.

CSN has so many things and even show which items they guarantee to be delivered by Christmas. Check them out for all of your holiday shopping needs!

More Jellies - Habanero Jelly

This is what I spent my Sunday doing and loved every minute of it!
Pretty green jalapeno jelly

Pretty orange habanero jelly!

I couldn't find a recipe that I like for habanero jelly so I came up with my own, modifying the jalapeno jelly recipe. I did add yellow and red food coloring to make it orange and love the results!

Habanero jelly
3/4 lb habaneros

2 cups apple cider vinegar
6 cups sugar
2 pouches of liquid pectin
Optional: rea and yellow food coloring
Cut the stem tops off the habaneros. I don't slice them anymore than this. I was in a hurry. Add the habaneros, vinegar and sugar to a stainless steel pan. bring to a boil and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Pour into a strainer that is lined with cheese cloth and let it drain. Pour back into pan and bring back to a boil. Stir in liquid pectin. Boil hard 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim off foam and add food coloring if wanted. Ladle in jars and process in water bath canner for 10 minutes.
Makes 5 half-pints.

Jalapeno Jelly

I have spoken about entering items in the fair and when I was putting them away I learned some interesting things. The wonderful women who judged wrote hints on the back. I will know to always leave 1/4 inch and only a 1/4, not 1/2 inch. I also had written on the back of my jalapeno jelly that it shouldn't have any fruit in the jelly. All the recipes that I could find was taking the jalapenos, pureeing them and leaving them in the jelly. So I had to come up with my own recipe for my jalapeno jelly. What a better time than Christmas time so I have others to test it out as well!!!

Jalapeno jelly

3/4 lb jalapenos

2 cups apple cider vinegar

6 cups sugar

2 pouches of liquid pectin

Optional: green food coloring

Cut the jalapenos into slices and then cut the slices in half. Add the jalapeno, vinegar and sugar to a stainless steel pan. bring to a boil and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Pour into a strainer that is lined with cheese cloth and let it drain. Pour back into pan and bring back to a boil. Stir in liquid pectin. Boil hard 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim off foam and add food coloring if wanted. Ladle in jars and process in water bath canner for 10 minutes.

Makes 5 half-pints.

Plum Jelly

I made plum jelly this weekend and thought I would share the recipe and then share a tip!

Plum Jelly

5 1/2 cups plum juice

7 1/2 cups sugar

1 pouch powdered pectin

Combine the juice and pectin, bring to a boil. Stir in the sugar, stirring constantly to a hard boil and boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and skim foam off of the top. Pour in jar and process for 10 minutes in a water bath canner.

5 pints or 10 half-pints

I made some earlier in the year that was very thin. I had made it with liquid pectin. It taste good, it was just thin and very liquid. It was wonderful to mix up with peanut butter to put on toast or sandwiches but I was going to try for a firmer jelly. This batch I made with powdered pectin and it gelled up wonderful. If you have issues with jelly that doesn't set up perfect, try this next time!!!

Okie Redneck's Apple Butter Recipe With Red Hots

My husbands great grandmother made apple butter that the whole family loved. I waited too long to get her recipe and she couldn't remember it. It was one of those recipes that she worked with until it tasted right and looked right. This year I decided that I was going to figure it out. I went to the Internet and started trying to find a recipe to no avail. I could find some that might have worked but they had a lot of the vinegar, which was not in Mema's, so I was told. So I planned some time out and decided to figure her recipe out. I took apples from a local orchard and got started. I tweaked it until I came up with this. The family says that it tastes like hers and I was happy to get it right! I have mental hang up with the fact that it has a red tint to it so I add green food coloring to make it a rich, dark brown. There are always changes that you can make to fit your taste buds so don't be afraid to try!

Apple Butter

5 cups mashed apples

5 cups sugar

2 Tbs apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup red hots

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

Optional: green food coloring

Peel and core apples. Place in stainless steel pan and fill halfway up with water. Boil until apples are soft and will easily break (approx 30 minutes). Use food mill and mash the apples but don't liquefy. Combine all remaining ingredients and cook for at least 20 minutes. If you want to add food coloring to turn in brown add it now. (It normally takes me 8 drops) Place in jars and process in water bath for 10 minutes.

Makes about 3 pints

1 pound of apples=1 cup of mashed apples

I have seen recipes that call for apple sauce instead the mashed apples and am thinking about trying it next time. If you try that leave me a comment and tell me what you think.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!!!

Recipes to follow!!!

Canning Pears in Syrup

Here is the syrup recipe again. This way you will have it all together.


Ultra-Light Syrup - ½ cup sugar & 5 cups water - yields 5 ¼ cups
Extra-Light Syrup - 1 ¼ cups sugar & 5 ½ cups water - yields 6 cups
Light Syrup - 2 1/3 cups sugar & 5 ¼ cups water - yields 6 ½ cups
Medium Syrup - 3 ¼ cups sugar & 5 cups water - yields 7 cups
Heavy Syrup - 4 ¼ cups sugar & 4 ¼ cups water - yields 7 cups
Corn Syrup - 1 ½ cups sugar, 1 cup corn syrup & 3 cups water - yields 6 cups
Honey Syrup - 1 cup sugar, 1 cup liquid honey & 4 cups water - yields 5 cups

In a stainless steel sauce pan, combine sugar, other sweetener (if using) and water. (Use amounts listed on the table for the syrup that you want to make.) Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Reduce heat to low and keep warm until needed, taking care not to boil syrup down.
Allow 1 to 1 ½ cups of syrup for each quart of fruit. It is best to use the lightest syrup. This allows the pears to be used in pies or cobblers. You will be surprised how little syrup you will use.

Preventing fruit from browning - submerge cut fruit in a mixture of ¼ cup lemon juice and 4 cups of water. You may also use citric acid or Fruit Fresh.

Pears in Syrup
Makes eight pint jars or four quart jars
8 to 12 lbs ripe but firm pears peeled, cored, halved and treated to prevent browning (this is listed above) and drained
1 batch hot light or medium syrup

1. Prepare canner, jars and lids.
2. In a large stainless steel saucepan, over medium-low heat war pears, one layer at a time, in syrup until heated through, about 5 minutes.
3. Using a slotted spoon, pack hot pears, cavity side down and overlapping layer, into hot jars within a generous ½ inch of top of jar. Ladle hot syrup into jars to cover pears, leaving ½ inch headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace, if necessary, by adding hot syrup. Wipe rim, Center lid on jar. Screw band down until resistance is met, then increase to finger-tip tight.
4. Place jars in canner, ensuring they are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil and process pint jars for 20 minutes and quart jars for 25 minutes. Remove canner lid. Wait 5 minutes then remove jars, cool and store.

Syrups for canning fruit

I have been enjoying my peaches that I canned and I haven't tried my apples yet but I am sure that I will enjoy them this winter in making cobblers or pies. I canned them in the extra-light syrup and they are sweet enough to just open and eat but will be able to be used in other recipes as well. This is recipe to keep around for all your fruit canning needs!

Ultra-Light Syrup - ½ cup sugar & 5 cups water - yields 5 ¼ cups
Extra-Light Syrup - 1 ¼ cups sugar & 5 ½ cups water - yields 6 cups
Light Syrup - 2 1/3 cups sugar & 5 ¼ cups water - yields 6 ½ cups
Medium Syrup - 3 ¼ cups sugar & 5 cups water - yields 7 cups
Heavy Syrup - 4 ¼ cups sugar & 4 ¼ cups water - yields 7 cups
Corn Syrup - 1 ½ cups sugar, 1 cup corn syrup & 3 cups water - yields 6 cups
Honey Syrup - 1 cup sugar, 1 cup liquid honey & 4 cups water - yields 5 cups

In a stainless steel sauce pan, combine sugar, other sweetener (if using) and water. (Use amounts listed on the table for the syrup that you want to make.) Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Reduce heat to low and keep warm until needed, taking care not to boil syrup down. Allow 1 to 1 ½ cups of syrup for each quart of fruit. It is best to use the lightest syrup. This allows the fruit to be used in pies or cobblers. Always check with your recipe and see what the recipe recommends you use though. Some fruits require a heavier syrup. You will be surprised how little syrup you will use.

Tomorrow I will have a recipe for canning pears! I am getting ready to go and get some to can and I can't wait to see how they turn out!

fair results 2010

I told y'all that I would update you on my fair entries. Well, I am finally getting around to it! I had put a baby quilt that I got fourth with and then I entered salsa, blackberry jelly, plum jelly, jalapeno pepper jelly but didn't place. There were so many entries and I was excited to do as well as I did. My spicy bread and butter pickles placed first overall!!! I was so excited about this. These are grandmas that I was competing against!

I have recipes for all of these and if any of them tickle your fancy and you would like them leave me a comment or email me!

CSN Stores & Pressure Cooker Review

I was so excited to be approached by Jessica to do a review and knew exactly what I wanted to do it on - a pressure cooker! I have been wanting one and thought that this would be a good time to get one. I made my order online and was very impressed and it went smoothly.

I did make one mistake and forgot to make an account so I had to call and have them help me make a password so that I could check the status of the order. The customer service representative was wonderful and was so helpful. I was impress with how she seemed to WANT to help me.

On Monday night (7/26/10) I checked my email and squealed, it was shipped. They had upgraded me, free of charge to ship quicker. I should receive it on Wednesday it says!!!

On Wednesday I checked my email and it was on the truck to be delivered! I am ready to sit down and look through everything that comes with it and maybe even can some green beans!

I have received it and it has been put through the wringer!!! I have canned 40 pints, plus 7 quarts of chili and a ton a brown beans. I canned two batches, one right after the other and it worked perfect. The book is self explanatory and has tons of recipes. I am looking forward to seeing what else I can do with this.

I have always been scared of using a pressure cooker. I have heard so many stories of them blowing up in the middle of canning. Presto has a high quality product that has safety devices so that the stories that I heard wouldn't happen. This was refreshing to me and was also somewhat expected. After dealing with CSN and knowing their customer service standards, it is only right that their products have just as high of standards as they do.

Christmas is coming up so I suggest that you look at their numerous stores online and get to shopping!!! Everything is conveniently located and easy to find. They have everything that you could want for the pets, babies, husbands, wives and everyone and everything in between. What are you waiting for???? Go and check them out!!! You can finish all your Christmas shopping from the comfort of your own home and you will have gotten a great deal!!!!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a $60 gift code in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

I entered some canned items in our local fair and took first with my spicy bread and butter pickles. I not only got first but got the first place Ball Fresh Preserving Award!!!

Certo and Grape Jelly

One of the pops that I love to hear right now is the popping of a can that is sealing. I have been trying to set food back and also find easier ways to have things that we like to eat that will be ready when we want it. One of the things is chili. I finished 40 pints so far today. Plus 9 pints of dill relish and 4 1/2 pints of grape jelly. I can't wait to try the grape jelly but it is super easy so I am going to share the recipe with you today. It is an old recipe, it called for 1/2 a bottle Certo. They don't even make it in bottles anymore. Just an FYI for you, if you find one that calls for 1/2 bottle of Certo use 1 package of the Certo that is made today, they are equal.

6 cups of sugar
3 cups water
2 pkgs. of Certo liquid pectin
1 can frozen grape juice (keep it frozen and make sure it is 100%juice!!!)

combine the sugar and water in a pan. Bring to a boil and remove from heat. Stir in Certo and frozen grape juice. Mix well and then skim off the foam or bubbly top. Ladle into jars and process in water bath for 10 minutes.

I hope that you enjoy it! It is simple way to make jelly and would make a great Christmas gift. In 8 ounce jelly jars it looks so pretty!

Anything else that you would like to know how to can????

What's the big Dill? (revisited)

Originally posted July 29, 2009....

I am learning to cook with fresh herbs it has been fun to do. I am going to plant a herb garden next year. A friend of mine was talking about foods we like and she mentioned pickles and we were talking about how much we both loved pickles. She found a recipe for sun cooked pickles. I am going to share it with you today and hopefully you will love it!!! Here is my contraption that I am using to keep raccoons out of mine while it is cooking. I am going to give you other tips to help too! This is a kennel for pets and it is keeping them pickles safe while they cook!!!

Sun Cooked Pickles
(measurements are for 1 quart jar)
1 tsp of sugar
1 1/2 Tbls salt
2 1/2 Tbls vinegar
1 dill head with seeds
cucumbers that are between 6-9 inches long

(this is one of the hints) Combine the sugar, salt and vinegar with boiling water. My first batch I followed the directions and put the cucumbers first and then everything else but it didn't mix well so do it backwards. After you have added the boiling water and made sure that it has basically dissolved start adding the cucumbers. This is your brine. The recipe that I had said to split the cumbers in half but I split mine in quarters to make spears. add the dill at the end and put the lid on. I used canning jars and it needs to be tightened one turn. I have it tight enough that I could have the lid "holding" but not totally screwed on. It needs to be loose for the brine to be able to bubble out a bit. Sit the jar outside in the sun and let it "cook". It takes 3 to 4 days to cook. The brine will start to get cloudy and the cucumbers will look more like pickles. After they are done bring them in and refrigerate them.

Hints
-Like I said before combining the ingredients put the sugar, salt and vinegar in and let them dissolve makes it easier.
-If you can't put the jars in something to keep the animals out of them they need to be taken in at night. I found that the cage works great.
-The pickles will not be bright green like you see in the store. They will be a nice green color.
-The sun may bleach the cucumbers. This is okay and doesn't effect the taste.
-Be careful carrying the jars, the brine makes them slippery.
-Make sure and have tons of cucumbers because everyone is going to love them!!!!
This is my 3 quart jar that will be done tomorrow (Wednesday). We have already gone through 3 quarts!!! This is a new favorite of ours!

Updated hints (7/20/2010)

-When using canning jars, flip the lid upside down and then put the band on. This way you don't risk the chance that the jar will seal, causing the pickles to spoil.

-Store the pickles in another, larger container so that you are just using a few containers to make them in. Large plastic peanut containers or pretzel containers work well.

Garden and Canning Jewels

Zucchini RelishSpicy Bread and Butter Pickles
More Blackberry Jelly

Half of the stuff

Here are some things that I have been canning recently. Does anyone what any questions about canning or gardens or anything else? I would love to do a post on it!

Somewhat Dill Zucchini Relish

I made a batch of regular zucchini relish. It was good, but a little sweet for our taste. I will give it to family 'cause there are lots who like it. I like a dill relish. So I decided to do some tweaking and see if I could come up with a relish that wasn't totally dill, but wasn't really sweet either.

This is what I came up with. I will continue tweaking it and see what I can do with it!

10 cups of chopped zucchini

4 1/2 to 5 cups of chopped onions

4-5 cups of green and red sweet peppers

10 tbl of salt

10 tsp celery seed

5 tsp mustard seed

5 cups sugar

4 cups white vinegar

1 tsp turmeric

4 tbl dill

Chop zucchini, onions, and peppers in food processor. Combine them in a bowl with salt and cover with water. (I used a cheese cloth in a strainer for this step..) Let set at least two hours but up to overnight. Drain, rinse and drain again. Squeeze excess water our with hands if needed. Combine remaining ingredients in large pan. Bring to simmer and add veggies. Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Place in jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Process for 10 minutes in water bath canner.

garden veggies!
My first jar of canned tomatoes!

Writer's Workshop - Things that make me smile

Your Assignment, Should You Choose To Accept
This week's assignments are:
1.) Describe someone in your life who you might not know as well as you think you know.2
.) Write a poem about a memory you sometimes wish would disappear.
3.) Write a list of 10 things that are sure to put a smile on your face when you are not happy.
4.) People would be surprised to learn that…
5.) A snappy comeback!

Head over to Mama Kat's to find out more about it or to link up! It is tons of fun!

I chose the prompt write a list of 10 things that are sure to put a smile on your face when you are not happy.

1. 2.

3. Just being out in nature is wonderful. It doesn't even matter if I get anything!

4. Same as above. It is so nice to just be out in nature.

5. My garden is another thing that makes me happy. It is so neat to see all the small plants become bigger and start producing.

6.

7. I love doing anything with crafting. It is so neat to see something come to life. 8. Cooking. I get to create something from scratch and it has another purpose, to nourish us!

9. Everyone of my personal collection of figurines has a special memory or meaning behind it.

10. Reading a good book, canning or any one of a numerous list of things that I love to do!

Now it is your turn. Choose a prompt, write and head over to link up!

Plum Jelly

I was lucky to have an older woman contact a friend of the family, saying that she would love to have the plums on her tree picked. She is elderly and isn't able to pick them any more. We took a large plastic tub and another friend to help us pick. The plums were between the size of a cherry and a golf ball. We picked for 45 minutes and ended up with about 35-40 pounds of plums. On Saturday I cooked them down and got the juice and stored it for Sunday. The large jar holds about 4 gallons of juice. I had already cooked 3 gallons to make what is pictured below. I used 30 pounds of sugar, 12 pouches of pectin and went through a ton of jars. I ended up with 3 wide-mouth quart jars, 27 pint jars and 11 half pint jars. I am going to freeze what is left of the juice until I can get some more pint jars. They are just the easiest to can with for jelly. I had to find more space to set the jars. I normally have a spot on the table but had to move to setting them on the counter too! I don't think that we will be getting any more plums-unless someone has a really good plum butter recipe....... Maybe you could send me one? I really like to make all this and would love to have any recipes that any of you would give to me. I would love to be able to make it, take pictures and put it on here!!! I was proud of how this has turned out for the first time making it!

Juice that is left and one batch of jelly. Tops of other jelly jars (2nd batch) and one of the finished jars.

They are so clear and pretty!

Salsa and Blackberry Jelly

This is from my recipe that I have shared before. I added 5 habaneros this time and it was perfect! It will keep getting warmer as it ages but still tastes good now.

I am trying something for the first time this year, making blackberry jelly. I found a couple places to pick blackberries so I am freezing them and getting the juice from them with a fruit mill. Add 4 cups of juice (about 3 quarts of blackberries) 7 1/2 cups of sugar and once it is to a rolling boil add 2 packages of liquid pectin. Once it starts boiling again, stir constantly for 60 seconds. Skim the foam off and place in jars. Put in a hot water bath and process for 10 minutes. That got me 10 of the half-pint jars. I have given a few away but Mister and I have almost finished one, he is eating it way more than I have been! We are going to keep picking since this is our favorite jelly. I was doing some research and found that by freezing the berries before making juice from them, the cells walls are broken down and you are able to get more juice from them. Just an FYI for you!

30 things to do this summer....

30 things I vow to do this summer.... I am enjoying this summer so lets see if I can think of 30 things that I am wanting to do. Head over and see the other topics at Mama Kat's and see if you can find something else that you like as well!

1. Make salsa so that we have enough to last through the winter.
2. Learn how to use a pressure cooker to can green beans and possibly other things. I have heard that chili is good and that would make it super easy for dinner.
3. Get a tan that is from being outside, even if it is a "farmers tan".
4. Make multiple kinds of pickles.
5. Keep my house clean so I am not stressing.
6. Learn how to can tomatoes.
7. Spend some time relaxing outside.
8. Lose weight so that I feel comfortable.
9. Go floating down the creek more than once.
10. Cut down my computer time in the evenings.
11. Read at least 5 books over the summer.
12. Watch the whole first season of Glee in one day (or maybe two).
13. Spend some time with friends around the campfire.
14. Take Roxy to the water and let her play.
15. Go out and eat with Mister at least once a week, just the two of us.
16. Start making Christmas gifts.
17. Start buying Christmas gifts.
18. Clean out, shampoo and wax my car.
19. Finish ripping the guts out of the inside of the bronco and build a roll cage inside it.
20. De-clutter my house.
21. Organize my craft stuff.
22. Keep up with canning so that we have lots of yummy food this winter.
23. Make sure and at least once a week have nothing to do when we get off work.
24. Not wish the summer away, no matter how hot it is.
25. Grill out and eat healthier.
26. Eat more fresh veggies out of my garden.
27. Give away some of the veggies to those around me.
28. Shoot my bow enough to pull 50 lb. draw weight.
29. Take a blanket out in the dark and watch the lightening bugs (fireflies) with Mister.
30. Go target shooting with the husband and father-in-law.