Super Duper Chili Beans

This is a recipe that sounds delicious. This is from a reader who has been canning for years. She has a family background in canning, learning from her elders. I think that's great.

Soak about three pounds of pinto beans overnight...I'm guessing on this, as I usually do more and make a day of it

In each jar add:

1/4 cup tomato paste
2 T chopped onion
1t. chili powder
scant t. salt
1 t. cumin
pinch of pepper
1/4 t. garlic powder
1/4 t. sugar
pinch oregano
2 1/2 cups soaked beans

Fill to about an inch from the top of the jar with hot water. Process quarts for 95 minutes at 10 pound pressure and adjusted to your altitude.

Thank you again for the time and care taken on the blog and for encouraging so many to take heed and use that canner!

View the Original article

Tomato Onion and Spicy Jalapeno Soups

I love the tomato and onion soup at the Soup Plantation or Sweet Tomatoes.

I also wanted to use up some of my many cans so I came up with this.

1 #10 can of diced tomatoes
2 cups tomato sauce
2 cups stewed tomatoes (just because I had them)
3.5 lbs onions sliced in thin rings
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 tablespoons Oregano or to taste
2 tablespoons sweet basil or to taste
celery salt to taste

Put all in large stewing pot and bring to boil. I then used a stick blender and blended about half the soup, I left the other half chunky. Taste and add more seasonings if desired. I love the lemon juice in this, the tartness makes this taste fresh and thats important because it is being processed twice.

I filled 5 quarts and had enough left for 2 or 3 quarts more, I then added a bottle of Spicy V8 juice and a small can of diced jalapenos and some chopped garlic. I got four more quarts and two yummy soups.

Pressure at 11 lbs pressure for 35 minutes quarts and 25 minutes pints.
I know some people would BWB this, I am just not comfortable doing this. I feel it has already been processed once, and now twice.

View the Original article

Chicken and Sweet Potatoes in Honey Mustard Sauce

I got this idea in the frozen food section of my local grocery store.  Marie Callender TV Dinners to be exact.  I have never been able to can a honey mustard sauce successfully.  I tried with powdered mustard and all kinds of mustard and after canning, it simply disappears.  I even used some bottled honey mustard.  No luck, it just tastes like honey.  I now cook the chicken in a honey sauce and add mustard when reheating.  I canned the honey, sweet potatoes, and chicken in quarts.  I also have chicken in pint jars and sweet potatoes in quart jars and that may be easy if you are feeding more than two people.  This combination is great.

For each quart:

1 cup of chicken cut into bite sized pieces and then lightly stir fried
1/2 to 3/4 cups of honey (or to taste)
Fill the rest of the jar with sweet potatoes that have been peeled and cut into big hunks.
Fill with a light chicken broth to the fill line
Can at 11 lbs pressure (or for your altitude) for 90 minutes (quarts)  75 minutes (pints)

When read to eat, drain the liquid in a saucepan, add a tablespoon of mustard (or more or less) stir and thicken with cornstarch, then add the chicken and sweet potatoes and heat.Posted byCynat7:13 PM

View the Original article

Red Beans for Red Beans and Rice

This is a per jar recipe using quart jars.
Layer Per Jar:

1/3 cup red beans, washed and soaked for 3 hours
1 andouille sausage (about the size of a hot dog) cut into thin slices
1/3 cup chopped onions
1/3 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 minced clove garlic per jar
2 teaspoons (or to taste) creole or cajun seasoning
pinch of cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste
water or chicken broth to fill the jar

Pressure can at 11 lbs PSI for 90 minutes (or for your altitude).

I also added some canned tomatoes to mine, not much just 2 tablespoons per jar. This is not traditional, we just like tomatoes.
Andouille sausage can vary, you should taste and see how spicy yours is before adding the creole seasonings. Some brands of sausage are so spicy, your jar may not require additional seasonings.Posted byCynat7:51 PM

View the Original article

Small Potatoes

I bought these tiny potatoes at a local Farmers Market. The whole potatoes were canned with
lightly salted water. The other potatoes were cut in half and canned in a light chicken broth. (it was just brought to my attention that if I used a real chicken broth I would need to PSI 90 minutes) I used bouillon. Thanks deerie65775


I scrubbed the potatoes and then pressured canned them for 40 minutes (quarts) or 35 (pints). I left the peel on and really like them this way.
I added garlic to some jars and just a splash of lemon to other jars. These are so handy to have in the pantry.Posted byCynat7:52 PM

View the Original article

An Interview With Jessica Koslow of Sqirl - Her Canning Success

Intrigued by a Daily Candy article, I purchased two jars of Sqirl confections online and tweeted the find using the tag #canvolution. Four months later, I met owner Jessica Koslow IRL (in real life) at Forage in Los Angeles to connect over good food and a love for canning.

As a trends research, creative development and marketing consultant...

View the Original article

Delicious Pickled Bell Peppers Recipe

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers...


You can pickle any kind of pepper. I think jalapenos are probably the most common type to get pickled. I personally have a fondness for for . I think they make a lunch time sandwich more fun. They can be made more colorful by including some red or yellow peppers.

I usually make them with just garlic, but this time I decided to throw in some ginger too. A fun thing about pickles is that you can be creative about what spices you use.


Bell peppers happen to be just about the right height to fit 1/2 pint. They are kind of short for the pint jar I have them pictured in, so they are floating to the top.

Four peppers makes about 3 pints, so it is easy to determine how many jars you need.
Since the brine recipe here came from The Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving:, it only makes enough for three 1/2 pint jars. It can simply be multiplied to fit the amount you are making.

Brine (for 1 1/2 pints)
1 1/2 cups vinegar
1/2 water
2 Tbs sugar
1 tsp canning salt


Cut the peppers into strips. Bring the brine to a boil. Put a garlic clove in each jar. Pack pepper strips into jar in a vertical position. Cover with brine leaving 1/2 inch inch headspace and process in a water bath. Process 1/2 pints for 15 minutes or pints for 20 minutes.

High altitude instructions
1,001 - 3,000 feet : increase processing time by 5 minutes
3,001 - 6,000 feet : increase processing time by 10 minutes
6,001 - 8,000 feet : increase processing time by 15 minutes
8,001 - 10,000 feet : increase processing time by 20 minutes




View the Original article