Favorite Time of the Year

My favorite time of the year!!

It is not the changing seasons or Halloween that is around the corner.

It is....

Canning!!

I love canning!! It is a lot of work but it is worth it because I know what is in the products I am making and you can can almost anything.

Several weeks ago we canned salsa, pizza sauce and spaghetti sauce. ALL in one night. Yes we are a little crazy.  Last weekend we made applesauce!

For the tomato products we started with 2 bushels. Here is the end results.

To make the Pizza an spaghetti sauce we used the following recipe:

2  yellow onions, peeled and diced (about 2 cups diced)
2 Tbsp olive oil
5-6 cloves of garlic, minced (about 2 Tbsp)
2 Tbsp dried herbs (basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme, etc)* mixed, total
1/2 cup red wine***
12 cups peeled and seeded fresh ripe tomatoes**
salt and pepper to taste

In a large soup pot, heat up the olive oil. Add the onions and cook slowly, on medium heat until they start to caramelize. They should be evenly brown and soft. Cooking them this way brings out the natural sweetness in the onions. Add the garlic and dried herbs and cook for 5 minutes. Deglaze the pan with the 1/2 cup of red wine and cook for 2 minutes more. Add the tomatoes and their juice and stir to combine. Bring to a simmer and cook on low, stirring occasionally for at least 2 hours, or longer depending on the water content of the tomatoes. The sauce should be thick with much of the water evaporated to concentrate the flavor (sometimes I let it cook 4-5 hours over a very low flame). Add salt and pepper to taste.

*This recipe is from http://www.formerchef.com/2009/09/01/how-to-make-basic-marinara-sauce/*

We did adjust it a little bit. we added a little bit of tomato paste  to the pizza sauce but not as much to the spaghetti sauce.  We added to make it thicker.

Also We pureed the tomatoes in the pizza sauce but not in the Spaghetti. This has to do with personal preference as to whether a person likes a more chunky spaghetti sauce or not.

As for the red wine. You do not have to add it but man it is delish with it. We purchased a 5 dollar bottle so it doesn't have to be anything expensive. Believe me we know nothing about wines as we don't drink alcohol. 

I love canning as it is a great and cheap way to provide food for my family!! hope this helps

If you are interesting in canning let me know and I will help as much as I can!

Happy Scrappin'

Brittany

Life has gotten in the way

I am here. I am alive!!

My goal in starting this blog was to post and share new things a couple times a week. Reality hit and so I recommitted to once a week. Well Reality hit again and it has been several weeks. I guess that is what happens when I have a 10 month old and mid terms at school.

I will try and do better.

Here is a link to the newest catalog from MEMORY WORKS. It is filled with great stuff for all level of scrapbookers and craft makers.  I am already starting to see a bunch of stuff that I can't live without.

Memory Works Fall Catalog

If there is anything you are interested in purchasing let me know through the comments on here!! Happy shopping!!


Happy Scrappin'

Brittany