Have A "Jelly" Christmas!

I'm a big fan of giving home made gifts for the Holidays; made with love (and a little sweat), of course! I especially like to give home canned items and baked goods, because everyone is so busy they rarely make home made goodness for themselves. I don't mind whipping up a batch of something or other, or two. In fact, if you have read my earlier posts, you know that when my stress odometer hits warp speed, I bake or cook for stress relief! There is just something about rattling and banging a few pots around, and seeing my culinary creation transform before my eyes that brings on a kind of  bliss! Of course, there are few complaints, when I hit one of the stress induced frenzies. Generally, because the troops get to be my taste testers when I am done!

One of my favorite things to make for Holiday gift giving is jelly! In my humble opinion, home made jams and jellies are far superior to the store bought variety. I like to whip up several different varieties to have on hand to put in home made gift baskets, a simple gift for a co worker, or a  last minute hostess gifts. I live in a very close knit neighborhood, and a jar of jelly is a nice way to say thank you to our neighbors who do so much for my family all year long!

If you are thinking that jelly making is an advanced placement project, it's not! In fact, for anyone who wants to give home preserving a try, this is the perfect beginner project. I will also let you in on a little secret..... I use 100% fruit juice purchased in the juice aisle at the grocery store! I usually watch the grocery ads and buy the juice when it's on sale (sometimes there are even coupons to make it even cheaper). My favorite juices to use to make jelly are:

• Welch's 100% White Grape/ Peach juice
• Welch's 100% Concord Grape juice
• Welch's 100% Grape/ Cranberry juice
• Tree Top (or store brand) 100% Apple Juice

All you need to start your project  is:

•  Several cases of small jelly jars (these can be found in the canning aisle of you grocery store, or at thrift stores and garage sales)
• A half gallon or gallon of 100% juice
• Several boxes of pectin (found in the canning aisle of your grocery store). A gallon of juice will make about four batches of jelly. A half gallon about two. You will need a box of pectin for each batch you make.
• A bottle of Real Lemon juice (I add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice to each batch to increase the acidity of the fruit.)
• A 5 - 10 pound bag of granulated sugar, depending on how much jelly you plan on making.

 Just follow the directions that comes in the box of pectin.

Skip the instruction that tells you how to make the juice from whole fruit. Start your jelly making by measuring out the amount of prepared juice called for in the recipe. Follow the instructions step by step, and voila, perfect jelly. You will need to water bath (boiling water can) the jars of jelly to seal them, but that is very easy. In fact, The Simply Canning blog has excellent step by step instructions for water bath canning! If you don't have a water bath or steam canner, a large deep pot that will hold a rack in the bottom will work. The water just has to be able to cover the jars by an inch, so that your jars will seal properly. Don't forget to label your jars. I use printer friendly address labels that I gussy up with my print artist program, but here's a great link for making canning labels from Sweet Preservation.

The beauty of this project is it can be made ahead of time! Once the jelly is made and sealed they can sit in boxes in the pantry until you need them. When your ready to gift your gift,all you have to do is tie a pretty ribbon around your jar, and deliver it to the lucky recipient.  How's that for one more item checked of the Christmas Gift Giving List!

Applesauce Fun!?!

I mentioned in my previous post that Dear Hubby "surprised" me with two boxes of apples from a friend's orchard. The troops have been doing there best to eat them, but with the way above average temperatures here the apples had started to get a little soft. Not wanting to waste them I decided to throw together a batch of applesauce. Of course, I grossly under estimated the project! I started off by quartering the apples:

Tossing them into my trusty kettle. This pot is one of my most prized possessions. It belonged to my Great Grandmother, who used it for the exact same purposes, as I do. Then it was passed on to my Mother who would make giant batches of chili in it to put in the freezer, for later. I became the proud owner of it several years ago, and I have put it to a myriad of uses.


While the apple were "cooking down" (This takes about thirty minutes. Don't forget to stir them occasionally so they don't scorch!). I put together the Victorio Strainer. I picked this wonderous culinary gadget up at the local thrift store for $6.00. A HUGE bargain! Purchased new this would cost much, much more! This handy gizmo is one of my favorite canning items. It eliminates the need to peel, core, and seed fruits and veggies. It does the work for you. Notice the trusty Pyrex pans waiting to catch the yummy goodness!


Once the apples are soft load the hopper and start processing them.


Of course, it is always nice if you get a little help! Surprisingly, Child #3 and #4 love to help do this part of the process. They fight over who gets to "plunge" the apples and who gets to turn the crank!


Just like magic! Applesauce come out the side and the apple "poop" (Yes, another "Barrettism" created by my delightful children. Nice potty language, huh?) shoots out the center. The apple "poop" gets tossed into the garden to break down over the winter.


The applesauce goes back into the kettle, and it is time to add sugar. I usually taste test the amount of sugar I stir in. Sweeter apples need less sugar than tart ones. These were fairly sweet, so I only added 3 cups of sugar to the whole kettle. You can add cinnamon and nutmeg at this point, too, if you like spicy applesauce.

Once the applesauce comes to a slow boil and the sugar is dissolved pour the applesauce into hot sterilized jars (dishwashers are fabulous for doing this!).


Top the jars with new lids that have been simmering in hot water for 5 minutes, and tighten down the lid down with a ring. Place them in a on the plate of the steam canner.


Cover with the dome lid and bring to a boil (a steady flow of steam will start shooting out of the steam holes in the lid), process for 20 minutes (if you live at sea level). I process mine for 30 minutes because I live at 4,600 ft. above sea level. If you don't know what adjustment to make for your altitude you check out this link. You can also use a water bath canner if you don't have a steam canner. Just follow the instructions for water bathing in The Ball Blue Book. I fact, the instructions for making applesauce can be found in The Ball Blue Book.

When you are done processing the jars set them on a hard surface to cool. Don't they look just lovely?


Woo, Hoo! Apples are all done! Another check mark on the canning list! Is that list getting shorter? Maybe,..... but wait ....... what do I see simmer on the stove? More salsa, anyone?


Really, I can stop anytime I want to............................

I Need A Canning Intervention!

I swear, I made a promise to myself, at the beginning of the Summer, that I would NOT doing any canning this year! I had just inventoried the storage room downstairs and realized that 2/3 of the stash of garden produce I had put up from 2009 was still sitting pristinely in their cardboard boxes. That is because I was WAY out of control in 2008 and basically canned anything that would hold still for 5 minutes; leaving a surplus! I really had good intentions, and I held out for quite awhile but................

• Bountiful Baskets had such great deals on peaches, and pears, that my Dear Sweet Friend and I just did a "little" canning to take advantage of great prices and put a few things away.

• Then the stinkin' green beans that I had been lamenting were not going to produce, did just that! So, I thought I'd just put up a few more jars (12 to be exact) of Dilly Beans ( for a grand total of 36 pints of Dilly Beans in the storage room).

• But then Bountiful Baskets offered a fabulous price on a 36 pound box of Gala Apples. My Dear Friend and I really did need to stock up on Apple Pie Filling and it was just one box. In the end we netted 22 quarts.

I am NOT an addict! I can stop any time I want to! Only...........

• Those darn tomato plants that were loaded with green tomatoes that I knew were not going to ripen, did so all at once! Not to mention that those jalapeno pepper plants have been just so industrious, and so have the green pepper plants!

In fact, I don't think my peppers have ever produced anything close to this amount....ever! This is just one weeks picking. I have 2 gallon Ziploc bags of green peppers in the freezer already!

• I just couldn't waste all these beautiful veggies that my garden had worked so hard to produce.
• I would just make one batch of salsa to use them up....or maybe four batches (32 pints later).

• Oh, No! When I drained the tomatoes to makes salsa, it left a gallon and a half of perfectly good tomato juice. Of course, Waste Not Want Not! There was no way I could pour that juice down the drain. Besides, I had all the canning equipment out anyway, so I steam canned 6 quarts of tomato juice.

• Then I still had a pile of jalapenos! Now, if I tried to feed the kid's that many hot peppers all at once, I'm sure something VERY, VERY bad would happen! It would only take a minute to pressure can a few for later. Twelve more 1/2 pints later (bringing the grand total of canned peppers to 35).
• I'm sure I am done now! Oh, wait! Dear Hubby brought me "flowers" in the form of two more boxes of apples from his friend's orchard. Looks like I'll be making applesauce tomorrow.....and what about all those yummy beets still in the garden.....and the carrots, we can't waste those!

Hello, my name is Tightwad Mom and I have an addiction problem...........!