It's All About TOMATOES Today! Stewed Tomatoes Chunky Salsa Tomato Sauce Spaghetti Sauce and Tomato Juice! We'll start with Stewed Tomatoes: Stewed Tomatoes This recipe makes about 6 pints. 4 quarts washed, cored and chopped tomatoes 1/2 cup chopped onions 1/2 cup chopped green peppers 4 teaspoons celery salt 4 teaspoons sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt Hot Pack Add all ingredients to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pack hot jars with hot prepared tomato mixture leaving ½-inch head space. Remove air bubbles. Wipe rim and screw threads and adjust lids and screw bands. Processing Methods Pressure Canner Weighted Gauge Type @ 15 pounds pressure. Pints 15 minutes Quarts 20 minutes After processing, remove jars immediately, place on a rack to cool. Chunky Salsa: 8 quarts Tomatoes, Diced 1 quart Sweet Peppers, Chopped 1 quart Onions, Chopped 1 quart Celery, Chopped 1 quart Cider Vinegar 2 cups Water 1 cup Sugar 2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar ⅓ cups Canning Salt, Not Iodized 1 Tablespoon Pickling Spice, Tied In A Cloth 2 Tablespoons Chili Powder 3 Tablespoons Cayenne Pepper, More If You Want It Hotter 1 Tablespoon Garlic Powder 2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice 1 Tablespoon Lime Juice Tabasco Sauce, To Taste (None For Mild Salsa, Plenty For Hot Salsa) Fresh Ground Black Pepper To Taste Preparation Instructions Combine all ingredient in a large, heavy kettle or roasting pan. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 3 to 3-1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. Remove the picking spice that was tied in a cloth. Pour hot salsa into clean, sterilized pint jars. Process in a pressure canner at 15 lbs. pressure for 30 minutes. This makes a mild to medium-heat salsa. For killer hot, we drop in 2 or 3 jalapeno peppers. (Not at my house . . . we're whimps!) Yields 14 pints. Seasoned Tomato Sauce This recipe makes about 5 half-pints. 10 pounds washed, peeled, cored and chopped tomatoes 3 medium onions, chopped fine 4 cloves fresh garlic, minced 1 1/2 teaspoon oregano 2 bay leaves 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon black pepper 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper 1 teaspoon sugar Hot Pack Add all ingredients to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Press mixture through a food mill and discard seeds. Return to sauce pan and cook over medium-high heat until thick, stirring frequently. Add lemon juice or citric acid to hot canning jars and pack with hot prepared tomato mixture leaving ½-inch head space. Remove air bubbles. Wipe rim and screw threads and adjust lids and screw bands. Processing Methods Boiling Water Bath Canner Half-Pints 35 minutes Pints 35 minutes Pressure Canner Dial Gauge Type @ 11 pounds pressure or Weighted Gauge Type @ 15 pounds pressure. Half-Pints 15 minutes Pints 15 minutes After processing, remove jars immediately, place on a rack to cool. Spaghetti Sauce SMALL BATCH: 2 – 15oz cans tomato sauce 1 – 6oz can tomato paste 1 tablespoon parsley 1 heaping tablespoon minced garlic 1/8 cup olive oil (I don’t measure – just use enough to saute the onions) 1/2 cup chopped onion (or more) 1 teaspoon salt (more or less – cook for a while and then adjust to your taste) 1 1/2 teaspoon basil 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 1/4 teaspoon ground oregano 1/2 to 1 cup water (more or less – depends on the thickness you prefer) OPTIONAL INGREDIENTS: 2 – 16oz cans whole tomatoes 2 tablespoons sugar mushrooms 2 pounds ground hamburger, cooked and drained Simmer onions in olive oil until translucent, add other ingredients and let simmer until you’re ready to serve. (Simmer at least 2 to 4 hours – crockpot works great for this!) LARGE BATCH: You’ll need a BIG pot – I use my 6 quart stainless. 1 – large #10 can (105 oz) tomato sauce 4 – 6oz cans tomato paste 4 tablespoons parsley 4 heaping tablespoons minced garlic 1/4 cup olive oil (I don’t measure – just use enough to saute the onions) 2 cups chopped onion (or more) 1/2 to 1 tablespoon salt (more or less – cook for a while and then adjust to your taste) 4 1/2 teaspoons basil 3/4 teaspoon black pepper 1 teaspoon ground oregano 3 cups water 3 to 6 tablespoons sugar – some cans of tomato sauce are a little sweeter and require less sugar – every batch is different (you can even leave the sugar out completely if you want – we like just a touch of sugar to cut the acidity of the tomato) Simmer onions in olive oil until translucent, add other ingredients and let simmer until you’re ready to serve. (Simmer at least 2 to 4 hours. If your crockpot is big enough, you might get all of this in there!) Tomato Juice This recipe makes: 7 quarts Ingredients: 10 pounds tomatoes, peeled and chopped 3 cloves garlic, minced 2 large onions, chopped 2 carrots, cut into 1/2 inch slices 2 cups chopped celery 1/2 cup chopped green pepper 1/4 cup sugar 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 1/2 teaspoon pepper Lemon Juice Directions: Combine tomatoes, garlic, onions, carrots, celery and green pepper in a large Dutch oven or soup kettle. Bring to boil; reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes, or until vegetables are soft. Cool. Press mixture through a food mill or fine sieve. Return juice to Dutch oven; add sugar, Worcestershire sauce and pepper. Bring to a boil. Ladle hot juice into hot sterilized quart jars, leaving 1/4 inch head space. Add 2 tablespoons lemon juice to each jar. Adjust caps. Process for 40 minutes in hot water bath. Just A Note About Tomatoes: Traditionally, canning tomatoes has usually been done by using the hot water bath canner method. Recently, however, more people are finding that canning tomatoes in a pressure canner will result in higher quality and give you a more nutritious product. Pressure canning is also required for many canned tomato combination products because the pH value is above 4.6 which is a low acidic food. Tomatoes themselves fall close to the low acid level, just slightly above 4.6 and when mixed with meat for sauces or with vegetables like peppers or zucchini, which are a low acidic food it raises the pH value above 4.6 and must be processed by pressure canning to insure food safety. Foods that have a pH value of 4.6, or lower, may be processed in a boiling water bath canner. When canning tomatoes by themselves, it is recommended that acid should be added to lower the pH level. This can be done by adding 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or 1/4 teaspoon citric acid per pint of product. For quarts, add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice or 1/2 teaspoon citric acid. This may be done by adding directly to jars before filling. Here's the PDF: Preserve It . . . Canning Corner - Tomato Canning Recipes PDF HAPPY CANNING! P.S. The Simply Soups Recipe PDF Is On The Way! I had a dream last night that all the recipes were mixed up, so I'm doing a final review before I post them. It wasn't a dream, it was a nightmare! Soup Lover's EVERYWHERE were HOSTILE!!! Yep . . . it wasn't pretty. A little time for a final check will give this girl some seriously needed peace of mind! Check back later TODAY!