Canning Recipes

Spaghetti Sauce

I have tried several different spaghetti sauce recipes and always come back to this.  
We love it and it looks so pretty in the jars.

16 lbs. tomatoes (about 32 cups)
4 c. onions, chopped finely
1/4 c. garlic, minced
1 c. olive oil
1/4 c. basil
1/4 c. oregano
1 T. sugar
2 T. salt
2 t. pepper
2--12 oz. cans tomato paste

1.  Chop, blend, puree (it is completely up to you--we blend ours because my kids don't like chunks) your tomatoes and place in a very thick bottomed pot.  Saute onions, garlic and oil together until onions are translucent.  Add to tomatoes along with basil, oregano, sugar, salt, pepper and paste.  Simmer for 2-3 hours, or until it reaches your desired thickness.

2.  Process in steam bath canner 20 minutes for quarts and 15 minutes for pints.  Follow your canners directions and remember because the spaghetti sauce is very hot you do not need use cold water in your canner.  Start with hot water and place on medium high heat and start timing from the time steam starts coming out.

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homemade peanut butter

so easy 4 cups peanuts roasted or not unsalted, roast for 8 minutes in 350 ovenshake every 2 minutes so they dont burn, put in processor, add 1 1/2 tbs veg oil or peanut oil, add 1 teaspoon sugar, Iused brown I added 1/2 teaspoon molasses pinch of salt if desired, blend blend blend I added 1 teaspoon vanilla andsugar.

Apple BBQ sauce

Difficulty: Easy
Servings: 7
Prep Time: 5 minutes   Cook Time: 2 hours  
Ingredients

8 cups applesauce
6 cups brown sugar
32 oz. tomato sauce (or two 15 oz. cans)
1 1/2 cups vinegar
4 tsp. salt
4 tsp. garlic powder
3 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. liquid smoke
2 tsp. chili powder
2 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. black pepper (optional)
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
Directions

Mix all ingredients together in a large stock pot. Bring to a boil; simmer for 1 1/2 – 2 hours or until thickened. It smells wonderful!
Fill sterilized pint jars with the hot BBQ sauce, leaving 1/2 inch head space. Process 20 minutes in a hot water bath. Be sure to add five minutes for each 1000 feet elevation. I have to process mine for 25 minutes because we live at about 1600 feet.

Yield: 6 – 7 pints

Apple Pie Jam

Prep Time 35 Minutes
Cook Time 30 MinutesIngredients¾ cups Raisins6 cups Apples (peeled And Chopped)1 whole Lemon, Juiced And Zested1 cup Unsweetened Apple Juice1 package Powdered Fruit Pectin, 1.75 Oz.1 cup Brown Sugar3-½ cups Sugar1 teaspoon Cinnamon½ teaspoons Nutmeg6 jars 8-ounce Size Canning Jars, Lids And RingsPreparation InstructionsChop raisins in a food processor. Set aside.Combine apples, lemon zest and lemon juice in a non-reactive pan. Stir well and add apple juice.Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring frequently. Reduce heat and boil gently, stirring occasionally, until apples beginto soften, about 10 minutes.Remove from heat and stir in pectin. Whisk until dissolved. Stir in raisins.Return to a full rolling boil over high heat, stirring frequently. Add in both sugars. Stir well and bring to a full boil again.Boil for 1 minute.Remove from heat and stir in spices. Skim off any foam. Ladle into canning jars, leaving a 1/4″ head space. Seal with2-piece cap and band.Process in water bath canner for 10 minutes.Makes five or six 8-ounce jars.

hotdog chili sauce

This is the go-to recipe for hotdog chili sauce at my house and at work. We used to sell hotdogs as a fundraiser for a United Way day here and this chili sold hundreds and hundreds of hotdogs. I make it at home and freeze in meal-size containers and also can it.

Difficulty: Easy
Servings: unlimited!
Cook Time: several hours  
Ingredients

Hamburger 10 lbs.
Tomato Paste 4 cans (the 12 ounce cans)
Black Pepper 2 Tbsp.
Garlic Powder 5 Tbsp.
Dehydrated Onion Flakes 1/2 cup
Fresh Garlic Cloves, minced 1+
Oregano 1 1/2 tsp.
Chili Powder 3/4 cup
Tomato Sauce (29 ounce cans) 2 cans
Ketchup 32 oz.
Prepared Mustard 1/4 cup
Directions

Add very hot water to meat (while stirring over medium heat) to break up the meat particles – add as much water as you need – it will cook off. When meat has been broken down into tiny pieces by the hot water, add all the rest of the ingredients. Simmer for a while, stirring often. Taste & adjust seasonings, adding more garlic, onions, etc. as needed. Simmer and taste until desired consistency is reached – it will thicken as it stands, so keeping it a little less thick than you want the finished chili to be is best. Buy brand name tomato products – it does make a difference in this chili. If in doubt about the flavor, make a hotdog & try the chili as you will serve it – that is the best test. If the chili thickens up too much as you use it, add a little water. Don’t go leaner than about 80/20 on the hamburger – the fat adds to the flavor. I like to add some cayenne pepper to mine, some folks add red pepper flakes.

To Can: Fill hot clean jars with hot chili, debubbling and leaving 1? head space. Wipe jar rims extremely well. Cap. Process in a Pressure Canner: Pints for 75 minutes, Quarts for 90 minutes at 10 lbs. pressure (adjust if needed for your altitude).  The chili will thicken a little with the canning and the meat will be even finer textured. We like it just fine after canning – I have always canned leftovers of this after cooking a large batch. Might be even better if cooked less and then canned.  Sometimes I cook a pint of this down a little to thicken, add some cumin, and use as a soft taco filling!


Ranch Style Beans
(Ingredient Measurements Per Quart Jar)

1 1/2 cups Dry Pinto Beans
1/8 cup onion
1/4 cup tomato
1 clove garlic
1 t jalapenos
1 t green chilies
1/8 cup green pepper
1/4 t cinnamon
1 t honey
1 t salt
1/4 t pepper


If you have never worked with beans before, you should know something. Measurements, by volume, of dried beans are different than beans that have been boiled. I counted the number of empty jars that I had available and measured that amount of dried beans into a pan. I wound up with almost twice as much as I needed. Just keep this in mind if you don’t have a large amount of empty jars on hand. I would estimate a half cup of dried beans per pint or one cup of dried beans per quart.


Put your beans in a colander and sift through them with your fingers. You are looking for rocks, pebbles, twigs, or any beans that just don’t look right to you. Then rinse the beans off and run your fingers through them to get them all cleaned up.


Put the beans in a large enough pot and cover with plenty of water. You’ll notice right away that some beans start floating. I tossed these out. Honestly, I don’t actually know if they are bad or not, but if 99% of the beans are sinking I don’t trust the 1% floating up there. I ran my fingers through them one more time to allow any floaters that were at the bottom to hit the surface, and then I skimmed them out. Place the pot on high heat and bring them to a boil. I let the water come to a full boil for about a minute and then I took the pot off the heat. Drain the beans and set aside.

Chop your pepper, onion, garlic, and tomato if you aren’t using canned.


I cheated and bought canned chopped jalapenos and chopped green chilies. Also, the green chilies are my addition to the recipe. I really enjoy the mild bite that they add to dishes.

Place the measurement of beans in the bottom of each jar. Then start layering the other ingredients on top. I started with green pepper, then onion, then jalapenos, chilies, garlic, honey, Cinnamon, salt, pepper.




I was making pints which made some of the measurements very interesting. Instead of estimating what a half a clove of garlic was, I just added a quarter teaspoon of garlic to each jar. By the time all the layers were in there it reminded me of a little Christmas tree like parfait.


My wife has a little teapot that she uses to boil water for her tea before bedtime. It really comes in handy when I’m canning things. Add boiling water to each jar leaving 1 inch of headspace. Be aware that I had to add water to each jar, allow it to settle, and then top off each jar with a little bit more to get the proper headspace.


I found out that my Presto 23 quart pressure cooker can hold 16 pints and 1 quart jar. It’s a beautiful sight.



Process the beans at 10 pounds for 90 minutes.



Enchilada Sauce

This is great to have on hand.
Difficulty: Easy
Servings: 3 1/2 cups
Ingredients

28 oz tomato sauce
1 tsp oregano
1 Tbs garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp chili powder (more to taste if you like)
2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp or less salt (I didn’t add this)
1/2 tsp cumin
I tripled this when canning and got around 4 pints I believe.
Directions


Mix it all up. Heat through. Process pints in boiling water bath for 35 minutes.