Tomatoes

 My Grandma and Grandpa had TONS of extra tomatoes this year and I was blessed to acquire them. I may have been a little crazy to take on such a project, having never used a pressure canner in my life, but I made the decision and dove in!
I started in the shallow end with Freezer Spaghetti sauce.

 I was also making dinner, so I went ahead and started some ground beef.

 Look at these beauties! Apparently Roma or "paste" tomatoes are the best for canned sauces as they have less juice.

 I didn't have to skin them for this recipe which was nice. But oh the chopping!

And then more chopping!

 Sauteed the onions and celery. It called for bell peppers but I didn't have any, so went with the celery I had.

 All the tomatoes with spices in the crock pot.

Then add the onions and you have a very full crock pot!

It cooked for a few hours and then I let it cool, and finally filled a few freezer bags with it. When I decide to use it, I will need only to add a can of tomato paste and it's ready to go!

While I was at it, I made some really yummy beef and tomato soup.

 Adding cream of chicken soup just makes for all kinds of creamy goodness. :)




On to bottling! 
So I started the bottling yesterday in the late morning. 

 The onions I had were pretty powerful. It was a tear filled adventure! Even with the mini chopper helping..

 Boiling the tomatoes.

 Followed by an ice bath.

 The skinned and chopped tomatoes with anaheim peppers and assorted spices.

 James scooping the mix into the blender.

 The brew had to cook for an hour, being stirred often.

 We heated the bottles. Who knew there were so many steps?!?!

 Then James poured the sauce into the jars and I wiped and sealed them.

 We loaded the pressure canner.

 And it started steaming.

 I admit I was nervous to put the cap on, but I took a deep breath and went for it! Turns out its not that big of a deal. :)

  They processed for an hour. Here is the fruit of our labors. :) Tomorrow we will make chunky salsa. :)

Bagels

I made bagels last week. They weren't pretty, but they were yummy and a big hit!

Olivia helping with the dough.

 Shaping the dough into bagels.

 After they rose.

 Boiling in sugar water to make them chewy.

 Drying.

 Baking.

The finished product. Kind of looks like one of those Crueller donuts...  :)

Recent Adventures!

 I have been so unusually busy lately!! We have still found time for a few kitchen adventures though, just not time to write about them!
 Here's a taste of what we've been up to:

  A fun and fairly easy biscuit topped chicken and vegetable casserole.

 Cheeseburger and French Fry pie!

 Dough for French Bread! My first time!

 You roll it out..

 Then roll it up, gash it...

 Brush it with egg whites..

 and let it rise!

 They weren't perfectly pretty that first time, but they were perfectly tasty! We made delicious sandwiches with them for Conference Sunday.
 James' sister was in town with her new baby and we had a nice shower for her up at Aunt Christine's house. James and I made three different types of popcorn to share.

 We had fun popping the corn the "old-fashioned" way.

 Marshmallows, butter and brown sugar to be melted in the microwave.

 Mixing it all together. A good arm workout. :)

 James chopping the almonds for me.

 Yummy popcorn balls!

 And here's the chili cheese kind.

And the peanut butter chocolate popcorn!
 Good stuff it was. :) Today I am making bagels and will report on it when I have a moment.

  I made bread on Sunday. Tried a new recipe and was quite pleased.

 Look at this yummy dough!

And the loaves, about to get into the oven!

I enjoyed several slices with butter and jam and a bit of cold milk. Good times. :) My next adventure will be homemade pretzels and crackers. :)

Broccoli Cheese Soup

 I found a great recipe for Broccoli Cheese soup and tried it last week.

  It didn't call for chicken, but I had some and wanted to add it.

 I boiled the broccoli with seasonings and chicken stock.

 And then put it in the blender though the recipe calls for a food processor. I have asked for one for Christmas. :)

 I made a nice little rue.

And added cheese and milk, stirring a lot!

 Then I added the broccoli.

 And the chicken and some left over brown rice.

It said to eat it with a crusty bread. French bread was on sale, so that's what I went with and it worked beautifully! I have decided that this is a recipe that I want to practice and develop. I added lots of my own spices as it was just too bland with only what the recipe called for. I have other ideas of how to perfect it. It will be a fun and yummy project!