Gifts In a Jar - Slow Cooker Country Bean Soup Mix

Two of our Soup Mixes ready for their recipe cards and ribbons.

This soup is great!  It can start out its life in a jar after sitting in your pantry where it has rested since you got together with a group of friends to make up some freezer/pantry meals or it can all come together for the first time in your slow cooker.

This past Christmas, we needed gifts for teachers, bus drivers and mail delivery persons.  After preparing a few jars of this recipe, I still had enough of everything left over to make our own meal!

I was glad I did.  Everyone really liked it.  And you know me, I love the simple recipes best!

If making this in a jar for storage, just add all dry ingredients to a Quart Jar.  When ready to cook, add contents of a jar, 6-8 cups water, browned turkey sausage and a 26 oz can of crushed tomatoes to a 6 quart Slow Cooker.

Slow Cooker Country Bean Soup
3 cups dried beans, any combination (for a prettier gift, use 1/2 cups of 6 different beans or even layer two different types of beans 1/2 cup at a time)
2 T dried minced onion
1 T dried parsley flakes
2 tsp beef bouillon
1 tsp dried minced garlic
1 tsp dried basil leaves
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp pink Himalayan sea salt
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes

Layer beans in 1 quart jar.

In small baggie, mix onion, parsley, bouillon, garlic, basil, oregano, salt pepper and red pepper flakes.  Tie with twistie tie.  Place on top of beans in quart jar.  Seal jar with appropriate tight-fitting lid.

Include tag when gifting:

Slow Cooker Country Bean Soup
1 Jar Country Bean Soup Mix
6-8 cups water
1 26 oz can diced tomatoes
8 oz smoked sausage links, browned and sliced

Remove seasonings from jar and set aside.  Dump beans in large bowl and cover with water.  Soak overnight.  Drain beans in strainer and discard water.  Rinse beans until rinse water runs clear.

Brown sausage links in skillet, and slice.

Combine soaked beans, water, tomatoes, sausage and contents of seasoning packet in slow cooker. Cook on low 6-8 hours, until beans are tender.

Soup can be made thicker by using a potato masher to mash some of the beans and replacing mashed beans in slow cooker during last half hour of cooking.

Gifts In a Jar - Peppermint Vodka

Three of our jars just after the peppermints had been placed in the vodka by the girls.

I was searching for a hot chocolate mix that was yummy.  I've made a few in the past and GAG!  They were not what we wanted.  Seriously, some of them made the packets of *cocoa* seem gourmet level!  Do any of you have a homemade mix that will stand well as a gift in a jar?  If so, PLEASE share with me! 

As I searched through the multiple and varied hot chocolate mix recipes that take up a huge portion of the internet, I noticed a theme.  Seems there are quilte the multitude of persons out there that love them an adults only hot chocolate! 

Now, I have to admit that I don't drink.  My alcohol is used for cooking.  Love me some wine in my pizza sauce and I've posted a few canning recipes that use various adult beverages . . . . but I don't "do" booze as a beverage. 

So, when I notied this, I immediately asked a few friends if this was a common "thing".  Seriously, I'm such a dork I thought of hot chocolate as only something kids and wussy adults such as I would imbibe.  The friends had responses of "HECK YA!" and "Hmmm, never tried it, but now that you've mentioned it . . . ."

So, I decided to try it.

There really wasn't a recipe other than "take peppermint candy and let it dissolve in vodka.  Serve in your hot chocolate."

So, that is what I did . . . .

Peppermint Vodka

1/2 Pint Canning Jars

Vodka

Peppermint candies

Red Food coloring

Clean and Sanitize 1/2 pint canning jars with lids that seal (reuse old leads and seals or use the plastic ones).  Fill jars with vodka.  Unwrap peppermint candies (please, use the good ones, the ones that use actual peppermint oils and extracts and not artificial flavoring).  Drop candies in Vodka.  We used two candies in each jar just because we had enjoyed sampling the peppermints and only had enough to place two in each jar.  Enjoy watching the peppermints dissolve.  Now, you can be done at this step, or use red food coloring to make the flavored vodka look festive.  The girls wanted this treat for their "aunties" to look like Christmas, so we put 8 drops of red food coloring in each 1/2 pint of vodka.

We left the vodka sit a few days before gifting them.  We flipped them daily bethe sugary dissolved candies would settle in a layer at the bottom of the jar. 

To serve - shake jar and pour some in your favorite hot cocoa or sip it on its own.

 

Lemon Balm Jelly

Lemon Balm Jelly

My New Addiction

I've been excited to try something with the Lemon Balm I have growing in various places around the house.  I have some sitting in olive oil right now that will be made into a salve in a few more weeks.  I've been tossing back the idea of drying the leaves and making tea.  And we toss some in our lemonade as well.  When I had a free weekend, and the ingredients, I decided to toss together this jelly.  

I am SOOOOO glad I did.  This stuff is YUMMY!

This same recipe is in a few of our local Amish Cookbooks but it also appears in You Can Can.  

Lemon Balm Jelly

~ adapted from Herb Jelly in You Can Can

2 - 3 ounces freshly cut Lemon Balm

3 cups unsweetened apple juice

1/4 cup bottled lemon juice

1 1.75 oz pkg regular powdered fruit pectin

4 cups sugar (have measured out in a large bowl)

Chop herbs and firmly pack into measuring cup.  Measure 1 1/2 cups firmly packed herbs.  Transfer to large non-reactive pot.  Add apple juice and bring to a rolling boil over high heat.  Boil, uncovered, for 5 minutes.  Remove from heat and cover.  Let stand 10 minutes.

Line strainer with coffee filter and strain Lemon Balm water.  Press Lemon Balm to get out all of the water.  If you end up with less than 3 cups, add additional apple juice (I cheated and added a little lemon juice as well as apple juice to make up my 3 cups).  Compost the Lemon Balm and filter.

Combine the Lemon Balm water, lemon juice and fruit pectin.  Whisk to ensure the pectin dissolves.  Bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly.  Add sugar all at once.  Return to full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down; boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat.  Skim off foam.

Ladle Jelly into hot, sterilized 1/2 pint jars.  Leave 1/4" headspace.  Process in boiling water bather for 5 minutes.  

Remove from bath and let cool on towel covered table.  Do not disturb OR PRESS LIDS for 24 hours.

Concentrates - Strawberry Lemonade

Two examples of our concentrates!

Having two daughters as well as having the annoying diagnosis of MS, I want to do everything possible to raise girls with every chance of being healthy.  Hearing all of the horrible things out there about food dyes and lists of ingredients that don't appear in nature, I try to keep the girls as far away from processed foods as possible.  One thing I like is making my own concentrates.  This way, the girls can put as much/little flavoring in their water as they like, and I feel better knowing where everything came from!  AND - it continues the soda-free lifestyle that I planned for them.  At 5 and 3, neither girl asks for soda . . . and I hope it stays that way as they continue to grow!

There are many recipes out there for this.  I use one that I found in Taste of Homes - 2005.  I know there is also a good one on SB Canning.

We ended up making a few different versions of this -
Strawberry Lemonade
Blueberry Limeade
Berry Lemonade

Just use 4 qts of whatever type berry you like with your choice of Lemon juice or Lime Juice.

Strawberry Lemonade
~ adapted from Taste of Home's Contest Winning Annual Recipes 2005

4 quarts fresh strawberries, hulled
4 cups lemon juice (I used bottled)
3 quarts water
6 cups sugar

Sterilize quart canning jars and lids.

In a blender, puree the strawberries.  Place in a large non-reactie pot; add lemon juice, water and sugar.  Bring to 165F over medium heat.  Stir occasionally.  DO NOT BOIL.  Remove from heat and skim off the foam.

Pour into hot jars, leaving 1/4" headspace.  Adjust caps.  Process 15 minutes in boiling-water bath.

To serve, mix to taste with water, lemon lime soda, ginger ale or soda water.

This makes 6 quarts of concentrate.

I will warn you that some people have complained about the actual "fruit" that is in the juice.  BUT - it is REAL FRUIT.  So, I just tell them to get over it.

I did strain my blueberry Limeade - but did it when mixing with water, prior to serving.  The blueberries were quite large and I didn't want any of the little ones here at the time choking on a blueberry in their drink.

Corn Cob Jelly

Corn Cob Jelly

I have been flipping through my various canning books before going to bed each night.  I have too short an attention span to get into a good book right now with so many changes going on around here.  In one of my Amish-style books was a recipe for Corn Cob Jelly.  

HMMMMM.

We have been cooking a lot of corn this summer.

Heck, someone just dropped off a Bakers Dozen this week that I'm going to freeze.

HMMMMM.

Oh heck, why not!?!

So, I made the jelly.  I mean, it's beyond simple and takes almost no time.  

I am not going to say it is one of my favorites.  But, I'm not going to say it was a total fail.  It's just that, the day I made this jelly, I also made my new addiction - Lemon Balm Jelly.  So, anything after that just kinda pales.  I will keep this recipe as it is something fun and will be a good conversation starting gift.  

Corn Cob Jelly

adapted from Country Canning II Cookbook

12 fresh corn cobs, corn kernels removed
water to cover cobs
1 box powdered pectin
3-4 cups sugar (I used 3)

Sterilize 1/2 pint jelly jars and lids.  Set aside.

Boil cobs for ten minutes.  Strain water at least one time through a coffee filter lined strainer.  Save enough of the strained water to measure 3 cups (add additional water if necessary).

Mix strained corn water with 1 package pectin - whisk pectin to get it to dissolve quickly.  Bring to a boil that cannot be stirred down.  Add sugar all at once, whisking to dissolve sugar quickly.  Bring to a rolling boil again for an additional 5 minutes.  Fill prepared jars with the mixture.  Leave 1/4" headspace.  Process in hot water bath for 5 minutes.  Remove from water bath onto towel lined table.  Leave undisturbed for 24 hours.

This Jelly took the longest to set of all three jellies I made that day.  But, it did finally "gel".  This made 5 1/2 pint jars.

Canning - Three Bean Salad

Pickled Three Bean Salad

My husband tells me over and over that he never ate beans before he met me, didn't like 'em and swore he never would.  Then, he started dating me . . . and eating my cooking.  Then, he started attending family events.  He realized beans weren't a bad thing.  In fact, they were pretty good.  So good that Three Bean Salad became one of his most requested dishes when we would have family events.

I always have dried beans in my pantry.  This year, we also planted a few bean plants, hoping to have at least one survive to continue teaching the girls where food really does come from - and NO!  it's not from the cases at the local SuperCenter!  And, when we go to the Farmer's Market on Saturday Mornings, well, for some reason, we always come home with at least one type of bean!

This past Saturday, we actually came home with both GREEN and YELLOW beans.  With the RED peppers we also had, it was a RAINBOW!  The girls were all excited because of the color of their food.  They didn't care what the food was - together, they made a rainbow!

I was excited, too!  Together, they would make the Three Bean Salad I had noticed earlier on my favorite canning site, SBCanning.  I LOVE that site.  She is pretty much my one stop shop when it comes to recipes, advice and ideas.  She makes certain all home recipes are safe and if not, will tell ya the reason why one shouldn't attempt that recipe any longer.  LOVE HER!

I had only ever made this recipe fresh before.  I had heard that there were cans of this salad you could buy at the store.  GASP!  The Hubster likes this a lot, but sometimes, I don't have all the beans at the same time, etc.  So, when I was on SBCanning the other day and noticed it . . . I kept it in the back of my mind that it would be interesting to try . . . then, the Hubster could have it whenever he wanted!  WIN!

So, I tried it.  Prepping the dried beans was easy, toss 'em in a big bowl of water overnight, tell the Hubster to drain and rinse them in the am and cover with water again.

Prepping the fresh beans . . . that was a little harder.  Ten Toddler Fingers and Ten Kindergarten Fingers kept sneaking the treats.  Luckily, I had bought more than was needed for the recipe . . . . especially as Grown Up Mommy fingers kept snagging the yummy things as well!

I canned the Three Bean Salad following SB Canning's recipe.

Unfortunately, one of the Tattler lids didn't seal . . . dang.  We were forced to put that jar in the fridge and eat it right away.  What a SHAME!

Let's just say that jar didn't last long in our fridge.  The girls decided this was the best meal ever!  Miss Mia stated that she hoped more lids would fail so she could eat more instead of waiting.

Yes, this will be in my file and will be made many times again!

If you would like the recipe, just jump right over to SB Canning's - Pickled Three Bean Salad Page.  I used the one day one . . . I don't have the patience to wait to make my food unless I absolutely have to do so!  And, just look at the photos on her page - the food just looks sooooo much more yummy than mine.  Cursed me for not picking a prettier jar for my picture!

Enjoy!

Roasted Red Pepper Spread

Trying to find new recipes that aren't "Salsa" can be difficult - especially when I'm not overloaded with tomatoes.  That's why I was excited when I happened upon this recipe.  I don't know if it's from the Ball Book or not as it has gone missing . . . but I will say it is a very good recipe, smells delish when cooking it as well.  And, I cannot wait to open a jar this winter for on my spaghetti . . . yes, it says "spread" but I'm going to treat it more as a red sauce.

Roasted Red Pepper Spread
14 medium (6 lbs) red bell peppers
5 medium (1 lb) Italian plum tomatoes
5 cloves garlic
1 large onion
1/2 c red wine vinegar
2 T finely chopped fresh basil
1 T sugar
1 tsp salt

Slice and seed peppers.  Roast red peppers, tomatoes, garlic and onion under broiler at 425F.  Turn to ensure all sides are roaster, and tomatoes and peppers are blistered, blackened and softened.  Garlic and onion will be blackened in spots.  Remove from heat.

Place roasted veggies in blender and process until smooth.

Prepare water canner.  Sterilize 5 8oz (1/2 pint) jars, lids and bands.

Combine puree, vinegar, basil, sugar and salt in large saucepan.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer until mixture thickens, about 20 minutes.  Ladle mixture into hot jars.  Leave 1/2 inch head space.  Process for 10 minutes.  Let stand for 24 hours before moving.

Cinnamon Honey Butter

Cinnamon Honey Butter

*** WARNING ***

THIS IS HIGHLY ADDICTIVE!!!

My friends and I made this goodie while all of the burners on the stove were in use during our latest "Jam Session".  This was also a great way for my four year old to be "one of the Canning GIRLZZZZ".  It is a very yummy recipe, and very addictive.  

Today, my Mom made us pancakes for breakfast and we enjoyed this on the pancakes in place of our usual maple syrup!

Cinnamon Honey Butter

2 sticks butter, at room temperature (we used 1 salted and 1 unsalted stick)

1 cup powdered sugar

1 cup honey (we used cinnamon honey)

2 tsp ground cinnamon (or more to taste)

Using the whisk attachment on your mixer, start whipping the butter.  Add in the powdered sugar and continue to whip.  Continue whipping after adding in the honey and the cinnamon.  Stop mixer and scrape bowl one or two times during the process and then continue to whip.  Spoon the flavored butter into 4 oz jars - Yields 6 jars.

Store in refrigerator.  No hot water bath!  Enjoy on breads, pancakes, waffles or straight out of the jar on a spoon!

Zucchini Salsa

Zucchini Salsa

My friend Jen has been wonderful in sharing produce from her garden.  One week, we ended up with a ton of Zucchini.  At our house, we had a few peppers from the four plants we had planted.  I spotted this recipe and knew we had everything we needed for a yummy salsa!

Zucchini Salsa
10 cups zucchini, peeled and shredded
4 onions, chopped (ran these through the food processor)
2 green peppers, chopped (ran these through the food processor)
2 red peppers, chopped (ran these through the food processor)
1/4 c pickling salt
2 T dry mustard
1 T garlic powder
1 T cumin
2 cups white vinegar
1 c brown sugar
2 T red pepper flakes
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp pepper
5 cups chopped ripe tomatoes
12 oz tomato paste

Day One:
In a large bowl, combine zucchini, onions, Green and red peppers and the 1/4 cup salt.  Mix together, cover and let stand over night.

Day Two:
Rinse, drain and put the zucchini combo in a large pot.  Add mustard, garlic, cumin, vinegar, brown sugar, pepper flakes, an additional 1 T salt, nutmeg, pepper, tomatoes and tomato paste.  Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes.

Pour into sterilized jars, wipe rims, add lids and rings.  Water bath for 15 minutes once water has come to a rolling boil.  Let stand 24 hours, remove rings and test to ensure jars have sealed.

The results of our Jam Session.  

This "Jam Session" was a great mental health day for all of us.  We started around 9 and didn't finish until close to 730 that evening.

Attendees were Tortie, Jen H and Christine.  Miss Mia was also present and "helped" the entire day, skipping her nap.  

Recipes:  Caponata, Sloppy Joe Mix, BBQ Sauce, Hot Pepper Honey Mustard (two batches), chocolate raspberry sauce, Fuzzy Navel Jam, Sweet Potato Butter, and Cinnamon Honey Butter.  We also made "emergency candles" from Crisco!

Jen brought the rest of her produce from her garden and placed it in freezer bags, what we didn't use in our recipes, as we've had a hard frost and freeze this past week and our growing season is officially over.

Spiced Red (PURPLE!) Cabbage

Spiced Red (PURPLE!) Cabbage

My friend Jen has been the most awesome person in the world lately . . . according to Miss Mia, Jen put in a HUGE garden just for us.  AND she grows PURPLE veggies.  Yes!  PURPLE.  One night, Jen gave us PURPLE peppers, PURPLE Cabbage and PURPLE eggplant.  Needless to say, Miss Mia has decided that, next year, that's what we're growing . . . all PURPLE!

We've enjoyed many meals from Jen's garden, but still had quite the overflow of cabbage.  So, the husband actually decided we should can some . . . and NOT have it be "sauerkraut".

This is what we found.

Be warned, it makes your house smell like Christmas!

Spiced Red(PURPLE!) Cabbage

1 large head red (PURPLE) cabbage
1/8 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/8 cup mustard seeds
4 cups white vinegar
1 T whole cloves
1 T whole allspice (this didn't make it in our recipe)
1 T peppercorns
1 T celery seed
1 stick cinnamon - broken in half

Shred cabbage using food processor.  Layer cabbage in a bowl, covering each new layer with some of the kosher salt.  Cover cabbage and let stand for 24 hours.  Using a large colander, rinse and drain cabbage.  Try to get as much water off of cabbage as possible.

Sterilize jars (I ended up needing 4 pint size jars and one 1/2 pint jar).  Raw pack each jar with the cabbage, leaving 1 inch head space.

Place the cloves, allspice, peppercorns, celery seed and cinnamon in a tied cheesecloth.  In a non-reactive pot (or dutch oven), combine vinegar and sugar over medium heat until sugar is dissolved.  Add the mustard seed and the cheesecloth ball to vinegar and sugar mix.  Cook mixture on low boil for three minutes.  Remove the cheesecloth ball before ladling.

Ladle the vinegar mix into jars - leave 1/2 inch head space.  Remove any air bubbles.  Tighten lids and place in water bath for 20 minutes.  Remove from water bath, place on kitchen towels and let sit for 24 hours before moving.  Remove rings for storage.  Leave sit at least three weeks in storage for best results regarding flavor.

It will turn a beautiful color!

Fruit Pie Filling - FAIL!

Since we had so many apples, I decided to bust out the new pressure canner and try my hand at what seemed a very simple procedure.

The pressure canning went well.  It was the recipe itself that seemed to be an epic fail.

My pie filling looks like I just poured water over the apples.  We still baked the pie, thinking it would thicken as it baked.

YAH, not so much.  There is still a pie crust in my oven that has some apples swimming in sugary water.

Basic Fruit Pie Filling

(this made 7 quart jars)

4 – 6 qts prepared fruit

2 cups clear jel

2 cups cold water

7 cups sugar

1 tsp salt

6 cups water

Mix Clear Jel and cold water until smooth.  Combine the sugar, salt and 6 cups waer and bring to a boil.  Add Clear Jel mixture and cook until thick and clear.  Add fresh fruit.  Fill jars, leaving at least 1 1/2” headspace.  Seal and pressure can 10 minutes at 5 lbs pressure.

Cranberry Wine Jelly

I love cranberry juice, and when I noticed the recipe for Cranberry Wine Jelly in the Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving, I put it on my list to try. Plus, it just looked so darned easy.

If you have friends helping in the canning process who enjoy a glass or two of wine, you may want to have a few extra bottles on hand.  We ended up needing about triple the amount the recipe called for (I promise, I did not imbibe as I was pregnant the initial time we tried this recipe).  I guess making jellies is a thirsty process!

Cranberry Wine Jelly
2 cups cranberry juice cocktail
3 1/2 cups sugar
1 pouch liquid pectin
1/4 cup Burgundy wine (a great time to use delish local wines!)

Combine cranberry juice cocktail and sugar in a large saucepan, stirring until sugar dissolves.  Bring to a boil, stirring frequently.  Stir in liquid pectin.  Return to a rolling boil.  Boil hard 1 minute, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat.  Stir in wine.  Skim foam if necessary.  Ladle hot jelly into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch head space. Adjust two piece caps.  Process 10 minutes in a boiling water canner.



Follow me on over to these Linky Parties!
gluesticks - Get Your Brag On! 
Tatertots and Jello







    

Chablis Jelly

I have some foodie friends who also are known to enjoy a glass of wine now and then.  I knew, during canning season, that I would need a special recipe to make them happy.  In studying the Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving, I found my recipe.

Chablis Jelly

3 1/2 cups Chablis
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 package powdered pectin
4 1/2 cups sugar

Combine wine and lemon juice in large saucepan; stir in powdered pectin.
Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Add sugar, stirring until dissolved.  Return to a rolling boil.  Boil hard 1 minute, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat.  Skim foam if necessary. Ladle hot jelly into jars, leaving 1/4 inch head space. Adjust two-piece caps.  Process 10 minutes in a boiling water canner.

Hot Pepper Honey Mustard

36 - 40 peppers

4 cups yellow mustard

5 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups honey

4 cups apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon salt

Process peppers; Pour all above ingredients into large pot. Bring to a boil.

Mix in the following:

1 1/2 cups flour

1 cup water

Pour flour mixture into pepper mixture. Stir for 5 minutes. Process mixture until smooth. Pour into jars and process in hot water bath for 10 minutes.

*** DO NOT DOUBLE ***

Banana Butter

I want to start by saying this is an old recipe.  Water Bath Canning this and storing it on the shelf is NOT recommended due to the mashed banana.  Instead, it's better to prepare this recipe and toss it in the fridge or the freezer.  It is so good, it won't stay in either long!  If you DO decided to waterbath - please be certain to use caution and remember I warned you this is no longer a recommended process for Banana!!!!

Banana Butter after processing

Banana Butter
1 cup mashed banana

2 tsp lemon juice

3 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup canned crushed pineapple, with juice

2 T chopped maraschino cherries

1 pkg liquid pectin

Measure the first 5 ingredients into large saucepan. Heat and stir constantly, bringing to a rolling boil. Boil 1 minute. Remove from heat. Stir in pectin. Stir and skim for 5 minutes so fruit won't float. Pour into hot, sterilized half pint jars. Place leads on jars and screw metal bands on securely. Process for 10 minutes in hot water bath.

Pineapple Zucchini Jam

This jam has been a big hit with everyone who has tried it!

Pineapple Zucchini Jam
6 cups grated zucchini
6 cups sugar
2 T lemon juice
1 10 oz can crushed pineapple, drain and reserve 1 cup juice
2 small 3 oz packages orange gelatin

Add one cup of pineapple juice to the zucchini. Boil 6 minutes. Add sugar, lemon juice and pineapple. Boil 6 minutes more. Add orange gelatin. Boil another 6 minutes. Fill, seal and process in hot water bath for 10 minutes.

Canning Day!

Yesterday, Christine and I got together and canned some fruits and veggies. When all was said and done, we had 9 different recipes. It was a great day for gossip and making food that smells so delish!

All were new recipes. So, we do not know if they are a success, but we're hoping! If nothing else, the food sure does look pretty in those jars!

We made Banana Butter, Honey Berry Jam, Apple Mint Topping, Peach Jam, Berry Freezer Jam, Zucchini Pickles, Zucchini Relish, Zucchini Pineapple Jam and Dilly Beans. We've a few more recipes we'd like to try later this summer. Fingers Crossed!