This is a very good and easy recipe! Try it!

Apple Butter

Jackie Clay

18 lbs. apples
water
5 c. sugar(or to taste)
4 t. cinnamon
2 t. cloves
3/4 t. allspice

Wash, core, and quarter apples. Place in large stockpot and pour in enough water to nearly cover them. Simmer slowly for 1 1/2 hours. Put pulp through a strainer or food mill and pour back into large roasting pan. Add sugar and spices. Put in oven and bake at 300 degrees, stirring occasionally, for several hours. When thickened sufficiently, ladle into hot jars, leaving 1/2 in. of head space. Wipe rim of jars clean; place hot, previously-simmered lid on jar, and screw down ring firmly tight. Process pints or quarts for 10 min. in a boiling water bath canner.
Tip: You can also boil this down on your stove top, but you must watch very carefully as it will want to scorch as it thickens. Its easier on a wood range, as the heat is more evenly spread across the bottom of the pot.

Also : to tell if its done take a spoon full and put on a clear plate, if there's no liquid its done

Smokin!!!!

My husband Mike decided it was time to smoke a bunch of meat in our big smoker! He has so far, since we moved here, done it once a year. He chose brisket, pork butt, tri tip and chicken. The night be fore we put a rub on all the meat and wrapped it up nice and tight to soak in. Then we put it all in the frig.

My Dry Rub

For the Rub:
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 teaspoon ground cumin
4 teaspoon smoky paprika
2 teaspoon dry oregano
2 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoon salt
25 grinds fresh black pepper
6 tablespoons vegetable oil

Preheat over to 300 degrees F.
Mix the rub ingredients together well in a small bowl.

Remove the membrane from the bone side of the ribs, then rub the vegetable oil onto the ribs. Pour
the rub over the ribs and work the rub fully and evenly into the ribs. Spread the ribs out evenly on
a foil-lined baking sheet.

Bake until tender and juicy on the inside and crispy on the outside, about 2 to 2 1/2 hours. These are also good with  my BBQ sauce all over them!

*also use for chicken, fish, and any kind of beef!

Next morning which was Saturday we unwrapped it all and lined it up in the smoker.
Put water in the water pan, big alder chips in the chip pan, lit it and let it smoke. About every hour I put some new chips in the chip pan, keeping the temp to 230 degrees for about 8 hours.

After that we took out all the meat double wrapped it in foil, put it all back in the smoker without the chips and let it cook at 230 degree for about 4 hours, till everything was done.

 ohhhh it was so good!! I made up a bunch of BBQ sauce and we had a nice BBQ dinner. The rest of the smoked meat I put up in a vacuum sealer for lunches.

My BBQ Sauce!

2 c. ketchup
1/3 c. Worcestershire Sauce
2 1/2 T. liquid smoke
1/2 t. tabasco sauce
1/4 stick of butter
1/2 c. white vinegar
2 T. mustard
1/3 c.  finely minced yellow onion
1 cup Brown Sugar(enough for your taste)
3 T. white sugar
2 t. salt

Makes about 4 cups of sauce.

Mix all the ingred. in a pot.  Mix well.
Simmer over very low heat for about 15-minutes, stirring occasionally.

I just store it in the frig. since i use it up so fast.
You can also put everything in the food processor and then in the pot to simmer. You can also can it!

Apple Pie Filling

Apple Pie Filling
This is from 'Growing and Canning your own food'

6 qt. peeled, apples
5 c. apple juice or water
5 c. sugar or to your taste
1 T. cinnamon
2 1/2 c. water
1 1/2 c. clearjel( ordered online, health food stores or food coops)
3/4 c. lemon juice

blanch sliced apples in a large pot in a gallon of water for one min. after the water begins to boil. Drain and keep slices covered and hot
combine apple juice or water sugar, cinnamon, and water in a large saucepot and bring to a boil, stirring freq. Mix clearjel with lemon juice and add to pot of syrup. Boil 1 min. , stirring constantly. Dont let it get very thick. Add apples and ladle quickly into hot qt. jars to within 1/2 in. of the top. Wipe rim clean, place hot, previously-simmered lid on, and screw down ring firmly tight. Process qts. for 25 min. in a boiling water bath. the clearjel works better than cornstarch.

Apple Butter!!!

Apple Butter

this is so good! and i didnt have to stand there and stir it all the time!

13 lbs. apples or so
water
3 c. sugar(or to taste)
2 t. cinnamon
1 t. cloves

Cut the apples in half. Toss in large stockpot and pour in a bit of water to nearly cover the bottom. Simmer slowly for 1 1/2 hours. Put pulp through a strainer or food mill and pour back into large roasting pan. Add sugar and spices. Put in oven and bake at 300 degrees, stirring sometimes, for several hours. When thick and theres no liquid left when you put a spoonful on a plate , ladle into hot jars, leaving 1/2 in. of head space. Wipe rim of jars clean; place hot, previously-simmered lid on jar, and screw down rings firmly . Process pints or quarts for 10 min. in a boiling water bath canner.

Making Pear Sauce my Way!!!

Making Pear Sauce my way!
I dump a whole lota pears , skins and all in a large water bath canner, with enough water to just cover bottom of pot.
Turn the fire on med low and let soften for a while, check and try to stir every once in a while.
After about an hour or so they are soft enough to run through the food mill
Taste to see if you need any honey or sugar, or anything else you like to put in pear sauce.
Gather all your canning stuff!!! Well really you should have it all ready to go!
I use pear sauce the same as i do apple sauce.
prcess pints for 20 minutes.

*pear sauce is also good dried in a food dyhydrator as fruit leather.
When down drying, roll it up in Saran Wrap and store in ziplocs.

My Smoked Salmon!!

My Smoked Salmon!!
its salmon season here so heres what i do with some of the salmon we catch!

catch 25 lb. salmon!
fillet it
cut up in 4-6 inch pieces long , about 2-3 inches wide
set a very large bowl on counter
put in:

2 c. brown sugar
2 c. white sugar
1/4 c. kosher salt or normal salt
mix fish pieces all up in it! coating very good!

next:
pour about 4 - 6 c. of teriyaki sauce(scroll down) on top just to cover
mix up real good with hands!
cover and put in frig overnight.

next morning:
take the pieces out of brine and rinse
have smoker all ready to go
set salmon pieces on racks
mix:
4 T. honey
1/2 c. teriyaki sauce

spread on fish and sprinkle with some fresh pepper!

put in smoker for required time!

debbie

My Canning Plum Jams!!!!

Plum Jam

6 cups crushed plums (about 3 1/2 lbs plums)
1 package powdered pectin
8 cups sugar

To prepare fruit
Sort fully ripe plums, wash, cut into pieces, and remove pits.
Crush fruit.
To make jam
Measure crushed plums into a pot.
Add pectin and stir well.
Place on med/high heat and, be sure to stir!!!
Bring to a full boil with bubbles over the entire area!
Try not to get any on you , they hurt!!
Add sugar, keep right on a stirring, and heat again to a full bubbling boil.
Boil hard for 1 minute.
Remove from heat; skim.
Pour immediately into hot, sterile canning jars to 1/4-inch from top.
Seal, and process 5 minutes in boiling water bath.
This recipe yields about 9 half-pint jars.
Enjoy on a piece of nice warm homemade bread!! theres a recipe on here! try it while your making your jam!
This makes about 4 1/2 pints!!

My Wild!!! Plum Jam (Freezer Jam)
3 cups wild plums (nice and smashed or run though your sieve!)
6 cups sugar
1 box powdered pectin
1 cup water

Mix the fruit and sugar together.
Let stand about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, getting it mixed in .
Boil powdered pectin and water rapidly for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat.
Add the fruit and stir about 2 minutes will do it.
Pour into jars; tighten lids.
Let stand at room temperature for 24 hours until set.
Store in freezer or refrigerator for up to a year!!! yummmmmm
7 to 9 half-pints.

My Freezer Strawberry Jam!!

My Freezer Strawberry Jam!!

4 c. ripe strawberries
4 c. granulated sugar
1 box Sure-Jell powdered pectin
3/4 c. water

First wash and hull the berries; crush them completely, a few at a time,sometimes i use a fork or a potatoe masher! (Should end up with about 2 cups.)

In large bowl, mix together the berries and sugar. Let stand 10 minutes.

Next combine pectin and water in saucepan. Bring to boil and boil 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Stir the hot pectin into the fruit bowl and continue stirring. Don't worry if the sugar is'nt completely dissolved.

Now ladle the jam into freezer containers, could be plastic containers or small jars. I buy my plastic containers at walmart for a good price. Put lids on immediately.

Let stand at room temperature for about 24 hours or until set, jiggle it to tell.

Next you can either refrigerate it for a few weeks or freeze for up to a year.

*now make a loaf of bread!!!

debbie

My HomeMade canned Pumpkin!

Canning pumpkin

You will need about 2 lb. per quart. Make sure the pumpkin
is completely ripe.

Wash, cut open, take out the seeds(use for pumpkin seeds- clean seeds, soak in salt water brine overnight, strain, put on cookie sheet cook in 350 degree oven for 20 minutes or till dried. )

Back to pumpkins !

Lay pumpkin on a cookie sheet and put in oven at 350 degrees until its soft enough to cut. About 20-30 minutes.

Take out, cool, cut in cubes and put in quarts, fill with water leaving 1 ½ in headspace.
Process in pressure cooker
Quarts: 55 minutes at 10 lbs. pressure
Over 1000 ft. do it at 15 lbs pressure

The reason I cut them into cubes is if you puree the pumpkin it gets so dense that it might not can properly. Although I do can it pureed its *not recommended by the canning people*.

I use this canned pumpkin just like the pumpkin you buy in the cans in the store.

My HomeMade Canning Beans

Canning Beans

I use pinto, kidney, navy, and turtle beans.
10 lbs. of pinto beans will process about 21 quarts

The day before canning I clean and start soaking my beans in lots of water. Soak them overnight. (10-12 hr.) You can use 5 gallon bucket to soak or whatever you have

Next day: toss any beans that are floating. Rinse the beans with water.

Pack the beans loosely in jars, leaving a 1 ½ in. head space. Be sure not to over pack them! The lids will buckle.

You can add 1 t. salt to each quart if you want to. You can even add bits of bacon or onion to the middle of jars.

Add warm water to the beans leaving 1 ½ in. headspace. Use a spatula to get out all the air pockets.

Put on your lid as directed in our canner guidelines

Process for 1 hour and 30 minutes at 10 lb pressure (pints are 1 hour 15 minutes) at 10 lb. pressure.

When you take out the beans they may look a bit different than you expect, but this is normal. When they cool and seal they will look better. When they are cooled a bit it helps to shake the beans around if they look like they are in a clump at the bottom.

I use these for chili, baked beans, taco salad, bean soups, etc.very convenient.

MY HomeMade Canning or Freezing Peppers!!!

Heres a recipe i use for my jalapenos and banana chiles, and even my sweet peppe

MY Canning or Freezing Peppers!!!

some carrots slices or the baby carrots
onion slices
1/2 t. salt per pint
1 clove garlic, cut up
winegar and water in equal amounts

1. i prick the chiles in a couple places. Pack them into clean pint jars.add a few carrot slices and onion pieces. add salt and garlic but you dont have to.
2. cover ingred. with equal amounts of vinegar and water, leave about 3/4 in. headspace.Be sure to wipe th rim of jars with a clean cloth. put the lids on and tighten a bit only.
3. process for 15 min. in hot water bath canner.
4. take out and enjoy!!

also heres a way to freeze them!!

Before freezing peppers, wash them good and steam blanch them using a tall pot, about 1/3 full of boiling water, and a metal strainer.
Set the peppers in the strainer, set the strainer in the pot, and now put the lid of the pot to hold in most of the steam.
After six minutes of steaming, dunk the peppers in a bowl of ice water and stir them around until they are thoroughly chilled. This stops the cook of the peppers.
Once the peppers are well chilled, drain them, dry them off, put them in a plastic freezer bag, and freeze them.

My Beef Stew!! to can

My Beef Stew !!

3 lb.beef or elk cut into about 1/4 inch pieces, brown(opt. can leave meat out)
6 Cups water or some beef broth
2 Teaspoon Salt
1 t. thyme
1/2 Teaspoon pepper
2 Cloves garlic minced
1 Qt chopped tomatoes
2 c. celery
4 c. carrots
1 Cup chopped onions
6 med. potatoes

this will make 14 pints or 7 quarts Use a large pot to combine beef, water, salt and pepper Bring to boil, spoon off scum, add garlic Add all of the vegetables Vegetables and meat will cook more while canning Put in jars with 1 Inch head space Process in a Pressure Canner pints 60 minutes quarts 75 minutes Remove jars to cool on towels

Canned and Store Canned Spaghetti Sauce!

i have lots of tomatoes every year in the garden so i use this recipe: not sure where i found this recipe.

Tomato Sauce

about 40 pounds tomatoes
5 cups chopped onions
12 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons oregano
6 bay leaves
1/4 cup salt
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar, i also use honey
3 teaspoons crushed red pepper (oppt.)
Bottled lemon juice or citric acid

Wash tomatoes; remove core and blossom ends. Cut into quarters; set aside. Saute onions and garlic in olive oil in a large saucepot. Add tomatoes, oregano, bay leaves, salt, black pepper and sugar. Stir in crushed red peppers, if desired. Simmer 20 minutes, stirring once in a while. Rtake out the bay leaves. Press mixture through a sieve or food mill; discard seeds and peels. Cook pulp in a large, uncovered saucepot over med-high heat until sauce thickens, stirring to prevent sticking. Reduce volume by 1/2 for a thick sauce. add 2 tablespoons lemon juice or 1/2 teaspoon citric acid to each quart jar. Add 1 tablespoon lemon juice or 1/4th teaspoon citric acid to each pint jar. ladle hot suace into hot jars, leaving 1/4th inch headspace. Adjust two-piece caps. Process pints 35 minutes, quarts 40 minutes, in a boiling-water canner. Yields about 14 pints or 7 quarts.

i also can just tomatoes and use this recipe to make the sauce, you can also use canned tomatoes from the store.

Spaghetti Sauce from Canned Tomatoes

1 Tbs olive oil
1 onion, diced up
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 30 ounce can tomatos pureed
1 15 ounce tomato sauce
1 Tbs sugar(i use honey also and i ususally add more than 1T.)
(a bit of chocolate tastes good also!) oppt.
1 tsp Italian seasoning mix (recipe below)
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (oppt.)
1/4 cup red wine
( you can also put some diced tomatoes or whole tomatoes in)
Heat the oil and saute the onion until soft. Add the garlic and cook a few minutes, stirring frequently. Add the tomato puree, sauce, sugar, Italian seasoning, red pepper and wine. Simmer 30 minutes or more over very low heat, stirring now and then.I use this for spaghetti and meatballs, eggplant Parmesan, and pizza, anything with noodles

Italian Seasoning Mix

6 T. dried oregano
2 T. dried marjoram
4 or 5 t. garlic powder
4 T. dried basil
2 T. onion powder

Combine all ingred and store in a container, i use jars. Shake up before you use!

Canned and Store canned Sauce!!

i have lots of tomatoes every year in the garden so i use this recipe: not sure where i found this recipe.
Tomato Sauce

about 40 pounds tomatoes

5 cups chopped onions

12 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons oregano

6 bay leaves

1/4 cup salt

1 tablespoon black pepper

1 1/2 tablespoons sugar, i also use honey

3 teaspoons crushed red pepper (oppt.)

Bottled lemon juice or citric acid



Wash tomatoes; remove core and blossom ends. Cut into quarters; set aside. Saute onions and garlic in olive oil in a large saucepot. Add tomatoes, oregano, bay leaves, salt, black pepper and sugar. Stir in crushed red peppers, if desired. Simmer 20 minutes, stirring once in a while. Rtake out the bay leaves. Press mixture through a sieve or food mill; discard seeds and peels. Cook pulp in a large, uncovered saucepot over med-high heat until sauce thickens, stirring to prevent sticking. Reduce volume by 1/2 for a thick sauce. add 2 tablespoons lemon juice or 1/2 teaspoon citric acid to each quart jar. Add 1 tablespoon lemon juice or 1/4th teaspoon citric acid to each pint jar. ladle hot suace into hot jars, leaving 1/4th inch headspace. Adjust two-piece caps. Process pints 35 minutes, quarts 40 minutes, in a boiling-water canner. Yields about 14 pints or 7 quarts.


i also can just tomatoes and use this recipe to make the sauce, you can also use canned tomatoes from the store.


Spaghetti Sauce from Canned Tomatoes



1 Tbs olive oil

1 onion, diced up

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 30 ounce can tomatos pureed

1 15 ounce tomato sauce

1 Tbs sugar(i use honey also and i ususally add more than 1T.)

(a bit of chocolate tastes good also!) oppt.

1 tsp Italian seasoning mix (recipe below)

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (oppt.)

1/4 cup red wine

( you can also put some diced tomatoes or whole tomatoes in)

Heat the oil and saute the onion until soft. Add the garlic and cook a few minutes, stirring frequently. Add the tomato puree, sauce, sugar, Italian seasoning, red pepper and wine. Simmer 30 minutes or more over very low heat, stirring now and then.I use this for spaghetti and meatballs, eggplant Parmesan, and pizza, anything with noodles


Italian Seasoning Mix

6 T. dried oregano

2 T. dried marjoram

4 or 5 t. garlic powder

4 T. dried basil

2 T. onion powder



Combine all ingred and store in a container, i use jars. Shake up before you use!

Fruit Leather!

Fruit Leather
i use a borrowed dehydrator , it has these plastic things you lay down in it to make leather with. i just pour a bit of the sauce on those and spread it around put the lid on and turn it on, it takes a while, the thicker you pour it the longer it takes.
when done just peel it up and roll it in saran wrap, that makes it easier to unroll. so good with homemade apple or pear sauce!
Canning pear or apple sauce
if you have some apples or pears you can make sauce real quick, well not reallly quick!
what i do is put my whole apples(rinsed off) in a huge pot(i make a lot at one time) put a little bit of water in the bottom so it wont burn, (there will be plenty of liquid once the apples get to cookin!) put the lid on, turn the burner on med heat or a little higher, just watch and see what you feel comfortable with, and let it cook for about 15 min check to make sure its not burning with a long wooden spoon, mix it up best you can. just keep checkin every 15 or 20 min.till its all soft (its doenst have to be squishy soft). then i turn off heat let it sit for about 10 min. to let the steam stop and cool off a bit. i get out my food mill, put it over a large bowl and put a cup full in it and turn the handle till its all quished up and runny falling into the bowl, i do this till the pot is empty. (all the stems and skins will stay in the mill so you'll have to empty it every once in a while. ) then i mix that sauce in my bowl, taste it to see if i need to add honey or cinnamon. if you do just put some in to your taste. or just leave it plain old apple sauce.
if you can it just read the directions for your water bath canner! or if you want to dry it, do the above!

Freezer Biscuits

Freezer Biscuits

6 c. flour
1/2 c. dry milk powder
1/4 c. baking powder
1/4 c. sugar
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cream of tartar
2 c. shortening
1 1/2 c. water
Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Mix all dry ingred. in a large bowl. Cut the shortening into the flour until mixture resembles peas.. Using a fork, stir in water until mixture is just moistened. . Turn dough onto well-floured counter. Flour your hands and knead dough 8 to 10 times until smooth. Pat out dough about 3/4-inch thick, cut with biscuit cutter,. Place about 1/2-inch apart on baking sheet and bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden. Makes about 5 dozen. To freeze, Get them ready but don’t bake!. Freeze then put in plastic bags. Take out how many you would like to have and bake frozen for 30 to 35 minutes.Also the ingredients can be mixed, stored in a container, water added and baked as needed.

Preparing the Pumpkin for pies!

I always just bake the pumpkin in the oven . i cut the pumpkin in half , scoop out all the seeds (put them in a bowl of water to soak , this helps with cleaning of the pumpkin seeds) and lay it open side down on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 for about 30 min. depending on the size. Just poke it with a fork to see if its tender or not!

After its done take it and peel off the skin, most of it will peel easily, then just cut it up, either can it, freeze it or use it for some of the recipes i have on here!

Heres what i do with the pumpkin seeds(also i do this with the sunflower seeds we grow)
take them out of the water i had them soaking in, clean the up a bit, its ok if theres still pumpkin goop on them, now i put them in a bowl of salt water for a few hour to overnight to soak. When i can get to them i strain them and spread a bit on a cookie sheet, put in oven and roast at 350 for about 15 or so min. They roast up pretty fast so keep an eye on them. Take them out, cool off, and put in plastic bags or jars to store!

Apple Pie in a Jar

Apple Pie in a Jar

28 c. sliced peeled apples
4 ½ c. sugar
1 c. clear gel
2 t. cinnamon
¼ t. nutmeg
1 t. salt
10 c. water
3 T. lemon juice

Pack apple slices tightly in quart jars. Make a syrup from sugar, and cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg salt and water. Cook and stir until thick and bubbly. Add lemon Juice. Mix good. Pour liquid over apples ‘ don’t fill liquid all the way , only halfway.’
Wipe and seal process in waterbath for 20 minutes.
Makes 7 quarts.