Canned Spaghetti Sauce, Chili & More

For some reason I am driven to can and preserve . . . it’s more than just being self-sufficient, though I certainly do love and appreciate that aspect of it. For me, it is just second nature I suppose. It’s the way I grew up and generations before me. We love to plant, tend, grow and harvest and then preserve our bounty. For me there are few things more beautiful than rows of varying colors of fruits, vegetables, meats and more all lined up and ready to be used.

For a number of years now I have been canning meats in addition to everything else that I have put up for years. I love the convenience of opening up a jar of chicken for lightning quick Chicken ‘n Dumplings, casseroles or salad. I can have a big pot of Beef Stew ready in a matter of minutes or Beef and Noodles.

But this blog post is not about canning meats . . . this one is about putting up staple recipes so that you can use them impromptu and still feel good about what you are eating and serving to your family and friends.

Over the past week I have put up quarts of Beef Vegetable Soup, Chili con Carne and Spaghetti Sauce with Meat. 

Here are just a few of the reasons why and the how to’s follow:

-          It’s just so darned easy to come home or feel puny and still put a ‘home cooked’ meal

      together instantly.  I mean, who doesn’t love convenience?

-          It truly saves time. I put up 20 quarts of spaghetti sauce in about 3 hours. That’s 20    

-                 meals in mere minutes.       

-          It saves money. Buy the ingredients you can’t or don’t grow when they are on sale!

-          There is a great satisfaction in having the pantry full.

-          If I need to share a meal with a sick friend or neighbor, I can do so quick and easily.

There are other reasons as well, but these are the few that popped into my head as I type.

First of all, let me say that you can preserve nearly any recipe you have by following a few safety  rules. Canning meat was done by the water bath method for many generations and while I don’t know personally of anyone dying from eating it, I still do not want to take that chance. I even Googled it and could not find information anywhere on how long to water bath meats or products having meat in them.

Secondly, anything that you process that has meat in it, must be cooked as if that is all that is in the jar! This is extremely important to the safety of your food supply. The standard times for pressure canning meats are 75 minutes at 10 lbs. of pressure for pints and

                                                                90 minutes at 10 lbs. of pressure for quarts.

Please do NOT deviate from these times; therefore, when I pressure can Beef Vegetable Soup, Chili or Spaghetti Sauce (we always eat ours with meat in it), they are processed at these times.

If you are afraid of a pressure canner, don’t be. As long as you follow the manufacturer’s instructions you will be just fine. The two main dangers occur when you leave it unattended and it seriously overheats or trying to remove the lid before the pressure has been safely released. If you follow these two basic rules, you should not have any problems or fears.

You can use your own favorite recipes for Chili and Spaghetti Sauce, but the following are the ones that my family and I prefer:

Spaghetti Sauce      

1 to 2 lbs. lean ground beef

1 large onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 t. each dry basil & oregano

Salt & pepper to taste

1 12 oz. can tomato paste

2   4 oz. cans tomato sauce

1  29 oz. can tomato puree

1  4 oz. can mushrooms, coarsely chopped

Water

Brown the beef and drain and rinse if needed. Add the onion and garlic and cook about 3 minutes. Rub the basil and oregano between your palms to crush it and release the flavors. Add to the pot. Stir in the tomato paste, sauce and puree. Add a little water if needed. Add the mushrooms and season to taste with the salt and pepper. Simmer about 20 minutes if you will be eating it right away.

If you are canning it, you don’t need to simmer it. Simply fill the jars, leaving at least ½ inch of head space and process as described above.

I love having this ready to go. I can make a salad and heat the sauce in the microwave right in the jar (without the lid of course) while the pasta cooks and dinner is served!

Chili

2 lbs. lean ground beef

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 large onion, diced

2 T. chili powder

2 quarts canned tomatoes

4 – 6 cans kidney or pinto beans (or cook your own)

Salt & Pepper

Hot sauce or cayenne if desired

Brown the meat, drain and rinse if needed. Add the onion, garlic and seasonings. Cook 2 – 3 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and then the beans. Bring to a simmer and cook 20 – 30 minutes if you want to serve it right away.

For canning, process at the times and pressure listed above.

*Both of these recipes are in my cookbook, NEVER Trust a Skinny Cook! It contains over 600 recipes and about half of them are my original concoctions. I still have some for sale for

$10 each plus shipping. They make a great gift too!

                                                           

Homemade Fruit Pectin

You can make pectin for canning from firm green apples picked early in the season. 

   For best results, use slightly under ripe apples that are firm and tart.

   You will need two 5-gallon buckets. Take one and drill holes in the bottom and halfway up the sides of one bucket for drainage. Line with a wet, wrung-out pillow case and set the bucket with holes inside the solid bucket to catch the liquids. Another method is to take an old T-shirt and simply use it in place of cheesecloth to drain the pectin into a large bucket. Secure it with a cord tied around the rim.

  Cut about 5 gallons of green apples into quarters, place in large pot and add water - don't cover the apples but just up until you can see the water.  Bring it to a boil, stir, reduce the heat and stir every 3 to 5 minutes to keep it from scorching.

   When the apples are tender and about the texture of applesauce, pour them with seeds, skins and all into the pillowcase lined bucket or T-shirt covered bucket, cover and let sit overnight.

   The next morning, the pectin will have drained out and collected in the lower catch bucket. Do NOT squeeze the remaining apples as this cause cloudiness in the pectin. Add 1 teaspoon of lemon juice to prevent the pectin from browning. (optional step)

   Once the pectin has cooled, you can test its gelability by mixing 1 teaspoon pectin in a small bowl with 2 teaspoons rubbing alcohol. Let it sit for a few minutes. Then take a fork and if the pectin sticks to and globs up on the fork, it will work well for jam and jelly. If it is loosely hanging from the fork, it will work but will not set up firmly. If  the pectin drips more than an inch from the fork, use the pectin for syrup or you can boil it again and repeat draining it overnight. Syrup is simply a thinner form of jelly and works great for pancakes, waffles and the like. 

* I always boil and strain the peelings from apples when I put up apples or applesauce, add cinnamon and make a syrup for pancakes. My favorite combination is apple cinnamon syrup on gingerbread pancakes.

* You can also boil peach peelings with pits, or cherry pits, etc. for making a tasty syrup. You can even add a little good quality vanilla to it for extra flavor.

Homemade Jelly 

Sterilize jars.

Mix together equal amounts of fruit juice and apple pectin and bring to a full boil. If you use the whole fruit, you will be making jam.

Add 1 and 1/3 cups sugar for each cup of pectin mixture and stir until the sugar dissolves (Do NOT reduce the amount of sugar!)

Bring the mixture to a boil and cook for one full minute.

Pour into hot, sterilized jars and top with lid and ring. Tighten well.

Turn the jars upside down for 10 minutes and then return upright to seal them. The jam or jelly should be ready to use the next day.

Store in a cool, dry place.

      

  Leftover pectin can be frozen or canned for future use!

  

Love Green Tomatoes? Try This

I love the tang of Fried Green Tomatoes . . . but since I’m still trying to lose weight, I’ve done some experimenting and have learned to love them in many other ways, too.

First off, let me share the best way to freeze them for frying later on . . . wash, slice and bread them as you would for frying then place them in a single layer on a cookie sheet and freeze overnight or until solid. Once frozen, then you can layer them with waxed paper in between in container or bags and seal them. Use only what you need and fry them frozen rather than thawing first.

Another way to preserve them is to pickle them. Simply follow any recipe for dill pickles and add a small hot pepper to each quart for a little kick if you want to. My family loves dilled green tomatoes and dilled green beans as well.

Now let’s move onto to other ways of enjoying them. One of my favorite summer time dishes is okra, but again, trying to lose weight and eating breaded and fried veggies don’t mix. I spray a large skillet with cooking spray, drizzle in a little olive oil and add a sliced onion or coarsely chopped onion and cut okra. Stir fry for about 5 minutes and then add green tomato wedges. They are done when they begin to get soft (about another 3 to 5 minutes). Sprinkle with kosher salt and mmm, mmm.

We also enjoy them prepared in the same manner with any number of other fresh vegetables . . . cabbage, onions and other veggies turn sweet after cooking and we love the tart tang of green tomatoes. Try adding zucchini, yellow summer squash, eggplant, a little corn cut off the cob . . . whatever you like and enjoy your summer bounty.

Since this is now our preferred method of eating the tomatoes when I canned them earlier today, I diced some and cut some into wedges. I also canned a few of the slices for breading and frying later. They are so tasty because the salt cooks all the way through them.

Canned Green Tomatoes

To can them, follow these easy instructions:

Wash and cut them as desired and fill clean jars, leaving at least half an inch of headspace. Add 1 tsp. canning or pickling salt (or kosher) per quart and ½ tsp. for pints. Pressure cook for 5 minutes at 5 lbs. of pressure.  Enjoy them all winter long.

Freezer Slaw & Frozen Cucumber Salad

If you have been blessed with an abundance of cabbage and cucumbers, here is a quick and easy way to preserve them for use all winter. Both turn out crispy and crunchy and keep well in the refrigerator after thawing. Simply thaw and serve when you need them.

FREEZER SLAW  

1 medium head cabbage, shredded

1 carrot, grated

1 green pepper, finely diced

1 small onion, finely diced

1 T. canning salt

Combine these ingredients and let sit for one hour.

In the meantime, bring to a boil the following ingredients:

1 cup vinegar

¼ c. water

1 tsp. celery seed

2 cups sugar

Let the mixture cool. Squeeze any excess liquid from the vegetable mixture.

Pour the dressing over the slaw and stir to blend well. Place in plastic freezer

containers or freezer bags, leaving headspace for expansion, seal and freeze.

FROZEN CUCUMBER SALAD

About 2 quarts of cucumbers, sliced thin (peel or leave the skin on)

2 large onions, sliced into rings

2 Tbs. pickling salt

1 ½ cups sugar

1 cup cider vinegar

Heat the sugar and vinegar to dissolve. Let cool

Place the cucumbers, onions and salt in a large container and mix to coat. Let stand in

refrigerator for a couple of hours (or overnight). Drain well. Pour the sugar/vinegar mixture over the vegetables and mix well. Put in freezer containers, leaving enough headspace for expansion.

These keep indefinitely in the refrigerator once they have thawed.