Orange-Glazed Chicken

Despite all the chicken recipes I have posted, hubby and I actually eat a lot more red meat and fish than the blog showcases. You see, my hubby is a fisherman and hunter at heart, a person born in the wrong era. He should have been a pioneer frontiersman.

He also usually cooks the meat and fish, liberally sprinkling on a variety of spices–whatever he is in the mood for. I, on the other hand, am a recipe follower. And I’m the one who experiments with the chicken recipes. Although we have freezers full of the game and ocean fish he brings home, we buy chicken just for the sake of having variety in our meals.

We had some drumsticks hanging around the freezer a few weeks back, and this Orange-Glazed Chicken recipe crossed my path around the same time I decided they needed to be cooked. Wow! This marinade packs a flavorful punch. It’s sweet from the orange juice and brown sugar; savory from the garlic and green onion; packs on more subtle spicy flavor with the ginger, anise, and cinnamon; and the addition of soy sauce and rice vinegar creates an Asian flair. Oh, and the final glaze of honey provides one more layer of sweetness.

I can’t get enough of these sweet things. They are so darn delicious that you just keep going back for more! I knew I would be making them again soon–both because I craved them and because I wanted to take photos for the blog (didn’t get around to that the first time).

Although I made these using only drumsticks, the marinade would work with all chicken cuts as well as with an entire roast chicken.

Orange-Glazed Chicken

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INGREDIENTS

• 10-12 chicken drumsticks (or one chicken, whole or cut up)
• freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tbsp. honey
• orange slices for garnish

Marinade Sauce

• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp. freshly grated ginger (TIP: I keep 1-inch pieces of peeled ginger in a resealable bag in the freezer for recipes calling for grated ginger)
• 1 tsp. ground anise
• 1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• zest of one medium-sized orange
• 1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (about 3 medium oranges)
• 3 tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 tbsp. rice vinegar
• 1/2 tbsp. brown sugar
• 4 green onions, coarsely chopped
• 1 tbsp. sesame oil

DIRECTIONS

1. In a small saucepan, bring to a simmer all marinade ingredients except the sesame oil. Simmer for 15-20 minutes, allowing marinade to thicken, then remove from heat.
2. Stir in sesame oil and allow marinade to cool completely.
3. Set aside (refrigerate) 1/4 – 1/2 cup marinade for basting during roasting, then pour remaining marinade into a resealable plastic bag. Add chicken pieces and coat well. Seal bag, place in refrigerator, and allow meat to marinate anywhere from 2-24 hours.
4. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking pan with foil (otherwise you will have quite the mess to scrape up during cleaning time), and evenly spread chicken pieces onto pan. Sprinkle with ground black pepper, the place pan into preheated oven.
5. Roast chicken for 45-50 minutes, turning and basting 2-3 times with the marinade you set aside. During the final basting, brush with honey (TIP: if  honey is too thick to brush onto chicken, microwave it for 15-30 seconds).

SOURCE: Season with Spice

Farewell 2012 and Welcome 2013!

WISHING YOU ALL A FUN & PLEASANT EVENING

AS WE CLOSE 2012

The Most Viewed Posts of 2012

Oreo Cheesecake Bites…like mini cheesecakes to pop into your mouth

Stuffed Bell Peppers…very close to how my mom made them…also one of my 2012 favorites

Cinnamon Swirl Bread…light and airy and worth the time

Chai Ice Cream…my favorite tea turned into a creamy frozen delight

My Favorite Recipes from 2012 Posts

sorry…not one of my better pictures!

Kale & Brussels Sprout Salad…made repeatedly this entire year!!

Shrimp Enchiladas with Roasted Poblano Sauce…insanely scrumptious!!!

Braided Sugar Cookies…you’ll keep going back for more

Beet Berry Smoothie…surprisingly refreshing and yummy

Cinnamon Ice Cream…refreshingly winterish

Blessed Holiday Wishes

May peace and love fill your hearts this holiday season,

for those are the greatest gifts of all. 

Chicken Thighs with Cauliflower

Ready for a break from all the dessert recipes? Ready for some healthier fare? I have a solution: this Chicken Thighs and Cauliflower recipe a friend shared with me. So glad she did. It’s one of those one-skillet easy-to-make and totally yummy dishes.

It never crossed my mind to pair lime and chicken. Or lime and cauliflower. Who would have thought they complement each other so well? Thankfully, recipes open my culinary world. Allow your culinary world to expand: try this recipe. It will knock your socks off.

And look for more cauliflower recipes coming soon. Our garden is exploding with cauliflower right now. I’m particularly excited about that for several reasons. First, my previous attempts at growing cauliflower failed because apparently it’s a cold-weather plant. Aha! Like I said, cauliflower explosion this time around.

Second, little green worms almost destroyed my entire fall crop. It took me awhile to figure out what was chompin’ on my plants. Every day, they were full of more and more holes until a couple plants had nearly no leaves left. When I discovered the green buggers, I painstakingly picked them off (gross, yes) and sprayed the plants with a solution recommended by a local nursery. They all sprung back to vibrant life…yay!

And finally, the darn squirrels (thanks to nut-feeding next-door neighbors) tend to destroy my seedlings as they look for homes for the nuts. I keep trying to tell them my garden beds are NOT a suitable home for their nuts, but they aren’t listening. It’s an ongoing battle…sigh… They annihilated most of my broccoli plants but for some reason didn’t touch a single cauliflower stalk. Go figure.

As you can see, the cauliflower faced some obstacles, but together we endured the battles and found victory. Now, off to find some more cauliflower dishes that will make me victorious in the kitchen…

Chicken Thighs with Cauliflower

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INGREDIENTS

• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 1/2 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 8)
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 1 head cauliflower (about 1 1/2 pounds), cut into florets
• 2 small dried red chilies or 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
• 1 tbsp. fresh lime juice, plus lime wedges for serving
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat oven to 450 degrees F.
2. Heat oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat.
3. Season the chicken with 1/2 tsp. kosher salt and 1/4 tsp. black pepper.
4. Working in batches, cook the chicken skin-side down until crisp and golden, 6-7 minutes. Transfer to a plate; reserve the skillet.
5. Pour off all but 2 tbsp. of the skillet drippings. Add the cauliflower, chilies, and 1/4 tsp. each of kosher salt and black pepper; toss to coat.
6. Nestle the chicken, skin side up, amongst the cauliflower. Transfer skillet to oven; roast until the cauliflower is tender and the chicken is cooked through, 20-22 minutes.
7. Add the lime juice and cilantro to the skillet; toss to combine. Serve with lime wedges.

SOURCE: Real Simple (via my friend Beckie–thanks!)

For today, I hang up my apron strings…

image found on google.com

For today, I hang up my apron strings. I’ve had it.

Everything I touch is a disaster. It’s the opposite of The Midas Touch. Everything I touch burns, cracks, tastes bland, falls apart…

I am on the last day of a three-day weekend, and I had planned to make all my Thanksgiving desserts ahead of time instead of scrambling the night before the holiday–my usual method. But alas, the kitchen gods have different plans for me. This was their weekend to mess with me, to make me the butt of their pranks.

No matter how much I slave in the kitchen and try and retry, nothing seems to be working. Last night, I made two pumpkin pies. One didn’t cook thoroughly and ended up in the trash. The other had burned edges, not worthy of taking to the Thanksgiving gathering. So much for all the butter and eggs and pumpkin puree that went into both the homemade pie crust and the pumpkin custard on those.

The stuffed peppers I made for dinner last night just tasted bland compared to their usual stellar flavor.

And I tried all day to post a blog with a pasta recipe but to no avail due to internet issues. Sigh…

This morning, after a restful night of sleep, I thought I’d start again. This time I aimed to make a fresh blackberry pie since Sprouts had big fat juicy blackberries on super sale. I mixed up yet another batch of pie dough, this time experimenting by adding some lemon zest to the dough. It rolled out fine, fit into the pan just fine, and I even crimped the edges just fine. It parbaked and was looking splendid…until I lifted the foil that had the pie weights: up came a nice big hunk of pie dough from the center of the pie. ARGHHHHHH!!! Imagine the expletives bursting forth. By the way, the zest tasted so fresh and bright in the dough–would have been delightful for the berry pie.

Okay, I officially give up on homemade pie dough–for today. Off to the market–thankfully only two blocks away–to cave in to store-bought pie dough. I got home and the more upscale brand I had purchased was full of cracks in the first package. Then in the second. ARGHHHHHH!!!! I marched those two blocks again, returned the cracked pie doughs, and bought another brand.

They await in the freezer for the day the kitchen gods return to my life and work with me rather than against me.

Now, maybe I’ll just curl up with a book and leave the kitchen in peace…

Pickled Jalapenos

 

I don’t eat pickled jalapenos much, but hubby loves to chomp on  ‘em, especially with his burritos. He and I have tweaked this recipe since summer 2011, and now he officially gives it his thumbs up.

Although we have 15 plants growing in our garden, we found jalapenos on sale at the market several weeks ago and stocked up. Our jalapeno plants are looking a bit on the weak side since the gigantic rhubarb plant next to it overshadows its sun. I had no idea a rhubarb plant would take up so much room. The leaves for each stalk grow to the size of elephant ears–HUGE!!! The other day I pulled all the stalks and plan to attempt a relocation for the rhubarb.

Anyhow, back to pickled jalapenos. So, the original recipe calls for sauteing the onions and carrots in some oil. Turns out to be too much oil for hubby. He doesn’t like his pickled jalapenos so slick. He did, however, love the flavor of all the herbs in there (oregano, thyme, and bay leaves).

To remedy the slickness problem, I tried roasting the onions and carrots the next time. Although he liked it, now he wanted some of the slickness back as he had grown accustomed to it. So on this last batch, I used less oil, tossed the onions and carrots with it first, then roasted them to deepen their aromatic contribution.

Hubby also suggested we slice the jalapenos in half (seeds and membranes removed) so we could squeeze more into a jar. Excellent idea since not a lot would fit into the jars when left whole, which means with only 6 or 7 jalapenos in a quart jar, hubby would eat them up in no time. With halves, we got closer to 9 jalapenos in a jar instead. Yay.

On this last batch, hubby was so excited to test out the halving idea that he actually participated in making this batch. I had to run an errand, and by the time I returned, he had chopped all the onions and carrots and halved the 3 pounds of jalapenos. He learned that next time he needs to wear rubber gloves when dealing with jalapenos because his hands burned until the next day!

He also stuffed all the jars with herbs and veggies and jalapenos and poured in the brine. Love that he helped out.

These guys can go straight into the fridge or you can give them a quick water-bath canning. So now we have several jars of home-pickled jalapenos in the pantry for a very reasonable price and with flavoring that has hubby’s stamp of approval.

And the juice–ah, the juice. It’s useful to add a spicy kick to your dishes. We love to add it to burritos and tacos. I’ve not tried it in soups but that might work, too. After all, I often add a can of diced chiles to my soups so why not jalapeno juice to amp the kick factor?

P.S. We are both very excited about this recipe because, as I mentioned earlier, hubby loves jalapenos. However, the store-bought products have triggered some seriously massive heartburn for him, but these don’t cause that reaction. Yay again.

Pickled Jalapenos (original recipe from Cooking Lessons)

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Yield: 3 pints (with 4 peppers in each)

INGREDIENTS

• 1  pound jalapeno peppers
• 6 sprigs fresh oregano in 3-inch lengths
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme
• 3 bay leaves
• 3 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 small white onion, halved lengthwise and thickly sliced
• 2 medium carrots, thickly sliced
• 6 whole garlic cloves, peeled
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 2 1/2 cups white vinegar
• 1/4 cup water

DIRECTIONS

1. Wash jars and lids in hot, soapy water.
2. In each pint jar, place two 3-inch lengths of oregano, one sprig of fresh thyme, and one bay leaf.
3. To prepare peppers: Cut a small cross in the tip of each pepper and leave stems intact.
4. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions, carrots, and garlic. Cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes or until the onions wilt.
5. Add the jalapenos, salt, pepper, vinegar, and water to the pot. Increase the heat to high and bring to a full boil. Adjust the heat to a simmer and cook for 3 minutes.
6. Set a colander over a bowl. Ladle the vegetables into the colander; reserve the liquid that collects in the bowl.
7. Pack the peppers and vegetables into the jars. Ladle the hot brine over them, leaving a 1/4-inch head space. Gently slip a wooden skewer or chopstick between the peppers and the side of each jar to release air bubbles.
8. Seal the jars and store in the refrigerator for up to 6 months. For room temperature storage of up to one year, process the jars while still hot in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes (directions below).

How to Preserve in a Boiling Water Bath

1. Fill a large, deep pot with enough water to cover the jars by one inch. Bring to a boil.
2. Inspect canning jars for cracks and discard defective ones. Thoroughly wash the jars in hot, soapy water or run through the dishwasher.
3. Wash the lids and screw bands. Use only unused lids each time to ensure a good seal.
4. Fill jars to within 1/4 inch of the top (headspace) with hot jalapenos (wide mouth funnel works beautifully for this). Wipe the rim of each jar with a clean, damp paper towel before covering with the lid. Screw on the bands (not overly tight, though).
5. Set a canning rack or a thick, folded dish towel on the bottom of the pot of boiling water. With a sturdy pair of tongs, place the jars in the pot.
6. Process the jars at a gentle boil for 10 minutes. If necessary, add more boiling water to keep the jars covered by one inch of water.
7. Remove the jars from the water with tongs; set on a dishtowel to cool.
8. After 12 hours, check the jars to ensure that they are sealed. Press on the center of each lid; it should remain concave.
9. Label and date the jars by writing on the lids with permanent marker.
10. Remove the screw bands to prevent them from rusting. Store the jars in a cool, dark place for up to one year.

SOURCE: adapted from Cooking Lessons

Pickled Jalapenos (my adaptation)

Yield: 4 quarts (8 pints)

INGREDIENTS

• 3 pounds jalapeno peppers
• 16 cloves garlic, peeled
• 16 3-inch sprigs fresh oregano
• 8 sprigs fresh thyme
• 8-12 bay leaves
• 2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 onions, halved lengthwise and thickly sliced
• 2 medium carrots, thickly sliced

Brine

• 7 1/2 cups vinegar
• 3/4 cup water
• 3 tsp. salt
• 3/4 tsp. black pepper

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Wash jars and lids in hot, soapy water.
3. In each quart jar, place four cloves garlic, four 3-inch lengths of oregano, two sprigs of fresh thyme, and two or three bay leaves.
4. Place cut onions and carrots in a large bowl and toss with the 2 tbsp. olive oil. On a foil-lined baking sheet, spread the onions and carrots. Roast in oven for 20 minutes. When done, evenly divide the onions and carrots amongst the four jars.
5. To prepare peppers: For halved peppers, cut off tops, cut in half lengthwise, then remove membranes and seeds (wear gloves or your hands will burn for many, many hours).
6. Pack the halved jalapenos into the jars (you should get approximately 16-17 halves into each jar).
7. To make the brine: In a pot, bring water, vinegar, salt, and pepper to a full boil. Once salt dissolves, pour the brine into each jar, leaving a 1/4-inch headspace. Gently slip a wooden skewer or chopstick between the peppers and the side of each jar to release air bubbles.
8. Seal the jars and store in the refrigerator for up to 6 months. For room temperature storage of up to one year, process the jars while still hot in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes ( see directions above for water bath canning method).

Refrigerator Dill Pickles

I feel like I’ve been brainwashed as a child of the consumer generation, led to believe that I cannot produce much on my own, hence must buy it from the shelves of the sellers. This belief leaves me at the mercy of those who create the products. Have you ever checked out the labels of the foods you buy? Lately, I’ve grown wary of what goes into supermarket packaged foods. And even what goes into growing produce. And let’s not even get into the meat industry. I don’t feel good about it–any of it.

But I do have some control over my food. I’ve pleasantly discovered that creating many of the items I used to buy pre-packaged are really quite easy to make myself. One of these items includes dill pickles.

Yes, pickles. And they are so incredibly easy to throw together! Mix a few spices with a brine of salt, water, and vinegar, pour over the cut kirby cucumbers, stuff in the fridge, and one day later you have delicious pickles! See, I told you it was incredibly easy. And far, far more economical than buying those pricey jars of storebought pickles.

Refrigerator Dill Pickles

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Yield: 3 pints

INGREDIENTS

• 2 pounds kirby cucumbers
• 1 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar
• 1 1/2 cups filtered water
• 2 tbsp. sea salt or pickling salt (that’s 2 tsp. per jar)
• 6 garlic cloves, peeled (2 cloves per jar)
• 2 spring onions (whites only), chopped
• 3 tsp. dill seed (1 tsp. per jar)
• 1 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns (1/2 tsp. per jar)
• 3/4 tsp. crushed red pepper (1/4 tsp. per jar)

DIRECTIONS

1. Wash and dry cucumbers. Chop off ends and slice into spears or rounds. Set aside.
2. Combine vinegar, water, and salt in a sauce pan and bring to a simmer.
3. Equally divide the garlic cloves, onions, dill seed, black peppercorns, and crushed red pepper between the jars. Pack the cucumber spears into the jars as tightly as you can without crushing them.
4. Pour the brine into the jars, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Tap the jars gently on the countertop to dislodge any trapped air bubbles. Apply lids on the jars and let them cool on the countertop. Once they reach room temperature, store them in the refrigerator. Let them cure for at least a day before eating. Pickles will keep in the fridge for up to a month (mine have even tasted fine several months later).

SOURCE:  adapted from Food in Jars (definitely check out her post because she includes pics of the process; plus, her site is awesome for small batch canning AND she has a new book about small batch canning) and Kitchn.com (love this site; and this is a post from the gal who sponsors Food in Jars)

Happy Birthday Blog!

Today marks the one-year anniversary of my food blog…woo hoo!

Thank you to all of you who have subscribed to receive posts, who check here periodically, and those who have commented on the foods–I especially love to hear from those of you who have tried the recipes.

I began this blog to share recipes with friends and have ended up loving having a place to catalog my recipes and ideas. I have learned tons about cooking in the past year from reading other people’s food blogs, watching food shows, and trying new recipes. I can’t believe how many new recipes this endeavor has inspired me to try (many have not made it to the blog yet while some are not worthy of making it). And I can’t believe how my palate has opened up to flavors and ingredients I used to snub. And my cooking and baking skills have grown tremendously, so the food blog has expanded me in ways I never envisioned.

I never imagined I could make Flan or Taquitos or Granola.

I never expected to make French Onion Soup (I detest onions) or Buttermilk Ranch Dressing from scratch nor thought I could make a fancy-looking knotted bread roll…or make pickles (that one hasn’t been posted yet because I’m still working on perfecting the flavor).

I would have never thought to slow roast strawberries mixed with vinegar nor would I have imagined myself decorating sugar cookies with royal icing or making a layered cake (chocolate/strawberry, chocolate frosted, carrot), which had eluded my skills in the past.

Making ice cream from avocados was my oddest attempt and Papaya Margarita was my most tasty cocktail.

I’ve made a ton of scrumptious and sumptuous dishes, but I’m most excited to have mastered whole roasted chicken and skinny French Fries.

I could go on, for I’m enthused to have learned so much. However, I’ll wrap it up by sharing the top reader favorites from the year as well as my own:

READER FAVORITES:

Decorated Sugar Cookies

Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream

Thin and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chicken Tortilla Soup

MY FAVORITES:

I’ve shared a lot of my well-loved recipes from my years of in the kitchen, but a handful of new favorites from this year (in no particular order) include those that friends and family have raved about and those I have made repeatedly:

Brownie Mosaic Cheesecake with Peanut-Butter Crust

Baked Oatmeal

Espresso Ice Cream

Wasabi Cucumber Sesame Salad

Zucchini & Carrot Slaw with Asian Dressing

Lemon Pasta with Roasted Shrimp

Garden Fresh Tomato Sauce

Italian Wedding Soup

Sweet & Salty Butterscotch Pecan Cookies

Slow-Roasted Balsamic Strawberries

Bruschetta with Artichoke Hearts and Parmesan

Mexican Pizza

Toffee

Walnut Pillows

Again, thanks for sharing in my blog endeavors and may 2012 bring you much love and goodness. I look forward to a year of even more exploration with yummy ingredients and scrumptious and sumptuous concoctions.

Seal Beach Shooting Tragedy and the Victim’s Fund

Sunday morning, Oct. 16, 2011, 7 a.m.

I live in Seal Beach, a beautiful little beachside community in Southern California that has always felt peaceful and safe.

Until Wednesday, October 12, 2011.

On that afternoon, the town’s serenity shattered as a man entered Salon Meritage and proceeded to embark on a shooting spree, killing 8 employees and clients and injuring one other, who is currently in critical condition.

This tragedy has left our city reeling, our minds shocked, and our hearts in pain.

I didn’t know any of the people who lost their lives, but I pass the salon every day to and from work. I walk by it often as I circle the town on foot. Forever more I will think of all the families affected by the loss of lives in this horrific tragedy as I pass the site.

Our city is trying to heal and it will take time. The night after the tragedy, a candlelight vigil was held. Thousands of people appeared from our city and neighboring cities. Community members shared their grief and their strength. Prayer services have been held, too, and grief groups are forming. I walked to the site both Saturday and Sunday to see and feel the compassion of the townspeople, for there is a beginning of healing in the outpouring of love evidenced by the growing amount of flowers, signs, pictures, and heartfelt letters.

picture from a link to an article about vigil from City of Seal Beach webstie

However, how do the families of the victims heal? Their pain runs far deeper. They have been in my thoughts and prayers daily.

Fundraising efforts have begun throughout the city, and this morning it dawned on me that I could offer a small part in this effort by posting on my blog and asking if readers would be willing to donate. If you can, the money raised will help the families of the victims. Please see information on the City of Seal Beach website.

Thank you for reading this. I can’t even begin to express how this all feels. But to me, the pictures of the condolences at the site speak volumes of emotions. Thank you for allowing me to share that. Thank you to anyone who helps the families. And I ask that you pray for the families.

Tomato Canning

This past spring, hubby and I built raised garden beds in our backyard to maximize our veggie production (okay, he did most of the work). In addition to the  crazy abundance of radishes, cucumbers and zucchini, we harvested tons of tomatoes–about 30 pounds so far and loads more still on the vine.

Prepping for the raised beds

Raised beds on their way!

Woo hoo--growth galore!

Garden Gone Wild 2007, before the raised beds

Although nothing beats the taste of fresh homegrown tomatoes thickly sliced and sprinkled with salt and pepper, there is no way we could have eaten the buckets upon buckets upon buckets we picked every few days.

So, I turned to canning, which is really packing the goods into jars and sealing them via water bath or pressure cooking. I wonder why using jars is called canning? I always want to say “jarring” instead.

My first attempts at canning began a few years ago when we truly had an insane amount of tomatoes–about 300! I made loads of salsa with success but the tomato sauce I attempted was a dismal disaster–just a pot of brown mud, which tasted close to mud, too. I canned it anyway, but I couldn’t stomach the thought of eating that goo, so it ended up down the drain a few months later.

The year of 300+ tomatoes!

We then had one year of a very small tomato crop yield, but the following year I was back to salsa making. Let me tell you how frustrating it is to take time to chop, cook, pulse, and pack all the salsa into jars only to have most of them crack in the pressure cooker. ARGH! And not just once, but twice that season. Double ARGH! And that was even with me closely following the instructions for pressure canning.

This year, with our organized garden beds, we purposely attempted to grow bunches of tomatoes so I could can them. But when I took the pressure cooker out of the cupboard, which hadn’t seen light in two years, the pressure gauge was broken. So I turned to the water bath method, which I find much easier, to tell the truth.

In case you are wondering what a pressure cooker looks like.

I canned whole tomatoes, Roasted Pepper and Garlic Tomato Sauce, and Tomato  Salsa. I’m so excited that I discovered several useful and informative blogs as well as tasty recipes. And even more excited that not only did the tomatoes for the recipes come from our garden, but the peppers and chiles and jalapenos as well.

Roasted Pepper and Garlic Tomato Sauce

Salsa

Now, you don’t have to turn to canning to make these recipes. You can easily reduce the amounts and still make scrumptious sauce and salsa. However, check out my salsa post if you want a really easy and quick salsa.

I’m going to list the various sites and recipes rather than type it all out. Plus, I want to send you to people who have knowledge about canning:

Whole Peeled Tomatoes at Food in Jars (also check out her Canning 101 post, which has several other Canning 101 topics linked at the end of the post)

Roasted Pepper and Garlic Tomato Sauce at Full Measure of Happiness

Canned Tomato Salsa at Simply Recipes

And in case you are wondering, we own the Presto Pressure Cooker/Canner (really, it’s a slightly older model than this one). It’s big and useful if canning a lot at once or items not acidic in nature. Years ago, before I even met hubby, he bought it to jar his own tuna (he loves to catch big fish).

I have also used the Ball Home Canning Discovery Kit for canning jams and to do small batches of canned whole tomatoes. It holds the pint-sized jars well but it’s a bit small for the quart-sized jars.

I want to purchase the Ball 21-Quart Waterbath Canner or something similar, but I’ve just used the pressure cooker pot instead for now. And it has been much easier since I bought the Norpro Jar Lifter.

The jars I’ve purchased at Smart and Final.

And finally, if you want to read some official info about Home Canning, check out the USDA Principles of Home Canning.

It’s really not as scary as it looks to home can. And it’s quite fun. And it can be quite time-consuming, but I’m getting better and faster at it. Try jam for starters instead; it’s much easier than tomatoes simply because tomatoes require blanching and peeling first.

So, now you know how I spent one entire day during my 3-day weekend : ) But I’m so excited to see all those jars lined up and know that all that goodness came from our garden and is not chock full of preservatives.

L to R: Tomato Sauce, Whole Tomatoes, Salsa