It's Tomato Season...Favorite Chili Sauce Recipe!

It's Tomato Season!

Cutest tomato label ever!

 

Have you ever noticed that when you plant tomatoes that there is either too few...or too many?  I have the sinking feeling that this is the year of "too many."  The weather has been perfect for tomatoes...hot and sunny.  Now the plants are full of quickly ripening tomatoes...and I am not exactly in the mood to spend days huddled over a steaming canner.  Lucky for me, my husband George loves the "scientific process" of canning.  He'll do all the peeling and chopping...which I hate...and I will prepare the bottles and get the water bath canner steaming.  Fair trade I think!  Last weekend we made the raspberry jalapeno jelly I posted about here.  It was a great success and I now have enough to last for at least a year.

 Of Course I Can!

She looks a tad shell-shocked if you ask me...lol!

 

Homemade Chili Sauce...

Yummy...better than store-bought!

 

George's Chili Sauce Recipe

Yield:  about six pint jars.

4 quarts peeled, cored, chopped tomatoes ( about 24 large)

2 cups chopped onions

2 cups chopped sweet red peppers (about 4 medium)

1 hot red pepper (we use the dried pepper flakes)

1 cup sugar

3 Tablespoons salt

3 Tablespoons mixed pickling spices

1 Tablespoon celery seed

1 Tablespoon mustard seed

2 1/2 cups vinegar

 

Combine tomatoes, onions, peppers, sugar and salt.  Simmer 45 minutes.  Tie spices in a cheesecloth bag; add to tomato mixture; cook until very thick, about 45 minutes, stirring frequently

 

Prepare home canning jars and lids according to manufacturers instructions.

 

Add vinegar to tomato mixture; cook to desired thickness. Remove spice bag.  Carefully pour hot sauce into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch  head space.  Adjust caps.

 

Process 15 minutes in boiling water bath canner. 

 

 

Pretty...as well as delicious!

Use for crockpot meatballs...serve over rice!

Better than Manwich for sloppy joes...a favorite Halloween supper treat!

 

Random Acts of  Fall Crafting...

Repurposed bird cage.

Burlap and Sunflowers.

 

Dear little owl...

I love sunflowers this time of year...a preview to Fall.

Owls and crows show up in August around my house.

 

Happy Pre-Fall, Sisters!

 

 

 

 

Raspberry Days...my favorite recipe for canning!

August is Raspberry Month...
At least it is on my calendar...it is also sunflower month, but that's another story.  I am so looking forward to Fall.  It's been a long hot summer.  You probably didn't even notice that there were no posts in the month of July...I am sure I am not the only one to be swept away in the busy-ness and the heat.  I am an Autumn Woman...not only in the seasons of my life, but in my love of the golden waning of the year.  This week I have been taking down the red, white and blue in my home and replacing it with the reds of apples and the golds of sunflowers.  I am also getting ready for the tons of tomatoes that will soon be ready for canning.   Our garden is pretty limited this year...my husband's company has been busy with a complicated job that requires more of his attention than usual.  Tomatoes and Peppers...that's it!  We had planted green beans, but they didn't come up.  Which is okay by me...canning beans can be very tedious.  I'd rather do crafts!

Raspberry Jalapeno Jelly

 

Technically...it's a jam...but "jam" doesn't flow off the tongue like "jelly." A few years ago, after spending more than $6 for a small jar of raspberry jalapeno jelly at a craft boutique...and loving it...we decided to make our own.  After all, it should cost less than $36 to make six half-pints of sweet and spicy goodness.   This recipe quickly became a family favorite.  We use it on taquitos (flautas), pork chops, and with turkey...instead of cranberry sauce.  I love it with Swedish meatballs in place of the Lingonberry Jam they sell at Ikea.  You should try it on cornbread muffins...OMGoodness!

 

My first batch...2011.

 

I love how pretty the bright red jelly looks!  Since I was using Tattler Reusable Canning Jar Lids, from reusablecanninglids.com/ I didn't want to write the contents on the top, so I made some little tags, just to make them extra fun.  We found a great recipe at greensandjeans.com.  The only change we made was to use 5 jalapenos intead of 2.

Greens and Jeans Raspberry Pepper Jam

Makes 6 half-pint jars

Ingredients:

5 cups fresh raspberries

2 jalapeno peppers, (we used 5, 2 with seeds)

1 red or green bell pepper

4 cups sugar

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1 package powdered pectin.

Directions:

Wash and pick through raspberries.  Crush berries and place in a large pot.  Chop the bell peppers and jalapenos (wear gloves!)  Add the chopped peppers to the pot along with the sugar and vinegar.

Cook the mixture over medium heat, stirring often until the sugar dissolves. Simmer for 15 minutes.  At this point, stir in the pectin.  Bring to a rolling boil and boil for 1 to 2 minutes.  Ladel into hot half-pint jars and process in boiling water canner for 10 minutes. 

 

Some RS Announcements...

 

Summer Social

August 8 @ Dallas Harris' house

6:30 - 8:30 pm

 

more info. and invitations coming soon.

 

Birthday Breakfast

Celebrating all sisters who have a birthday in July and August

Saturday, August 3

 

9:00 am

Dallas Harris' home

 

HIGHLAND STAKE RELIEF SOCIETY TEMPLE SESSION

Saturday, August 24, 2013

7am session in the Timpanogos Temple

Since the Highland Stake Relief Society will be receiving tickets to the General Relief Society Broadcast on September 28th, (also can be viewed at the Stake Center), we won't be having our usual dinner and humanitarian hour before the broadcast. Instead there will be a stake Relief Society Temple Session.

 

 



Education Week August 19-23  Program booklets are being mailed out and can also be accessed online.  Registration and tickets to the evening performances can be purchased now. 

 

That's all for now, Sisters.

Have a lovely day!