Sweet Pickles

I created this recipe last summer.  If you love sweet pickles, you should try making your own, they are so much better!

1/2 lug or 10 pounds pickling cucumbers washed and sliced in desired size
6 c. water
1/2 c. pickling salt
2 c. onions
Place cucumbers and onions in non reactive bowl and pour salted water over to cover.  Let sit for 2 hours. I split the cucumbers up into three bowls.  After 2 hours, drain and rinse the pickles and onions well and return to bowl.


4 c. vinegar
4 c. sugar ( can do half brown sugar and half white)
1 1/2 tsp. mustard seed
1/2 tsp. celery seed
1 1/2 turmeric ( I reduced the amount of this)
1/4 c. salt
1 tbl. allspice
2 tsp. cloves

Heat to a boil and pour hot over pickles in the bowls and allow to cool.  Once cool, pour into jars and refrigerate up to a year, no need to can them.

Pear Butter

 

If you've never had pear butter before, you need to stop whatever you are doing and make this today! 

 

From: Gimme Some Oven

 

3 lbs. or about 10 ripe pears, peeled, cored and diced

3 Tbsp. honey

1 Tbsp. lemon juice or 1 lemon

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. allspice

pinch of groud nutmeg

1 tsp.  ground cloves

 

Stir first three ingredients together in a medium saucepan, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer for about 50 minutes, covering so that the lid is slightly open, and stirring occasionally. Keep an eye on the mixture so that the bottom does not burn. Once it has reduced slightly and thickened, remove from heat and add spices then transfer to a food processor. Pulse until smooth.

Transfer to canning jars or a heat-proof container, seal, and refrigerate until ready to use. Keep for up to a week.

 

Grandma Maxine's Freezer Salsa

This is seriously the best salsa.  You may obviously adapt this recipe and add or take away you want.  I think the process of simmering it down with the fresh ingredients is what makes it so delicious!


8 c. tomatoes or 2 1/2 pnds chopped
2 tbl. sugar
1 1/2 c. chopped green and red peppers
2 c. chopped onion
2 jalapeno
1/2 c. fresh lemon juice or vinegar will work maybe even a 1-2 tbl. balsamic vinegar
2 tbl. salt
4 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. to 1 tbl. cayenne pepper
I might try adding some cilantro next time.

Bring all ingredients to a boil and simmer for 45 min. to 1 hour until it starts to thicken.  You can freeze in 6 pint size jars or do a water bath for 15 min. for canning.

Canning Tomatoes

1/2 tsp. salt
1 tbl. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. sugar

Place tomatoes in boiling water for 30 seconds.  Remove into cold water and peel.  Stuff quart sized jars full, clean top of jar and then place canning lid on top.  Place in canner filled with water at least 1 inch above jars.  Bring to boil then let boil for 40 min.

Apricot Jam

Sweet warm homamade apricot jam over homemade bread, makes me think of my grandma's house!   This is my same recipe for strawberry jam or any jam you want to make. 

4 cups fruit, crushed in the food processor, I make mine really fine

4 c. sugar
1/8 c. fresh lemon juice, to preserve color (optional)
you can also add a large box of any kind of jello

Bring to boil fruit and 3 cups sugar stirring often. Boil for 2 minutes then add remaining 1 cup of sugar and (jello and lemon juice if adding)boil for 5 minutes. Fills about 2 1/2 pint size canning jars.  I put extras in the freezer.

Strawberry Jam

This is my Grandma Maxine's recipe for Strawberry Jam.  You can make this into jam or preserves and you can also freeze this recipe.  Nothing better than homemade strawberry jam!

4 c. strawberries halved if making preserves or mashed if your making jam (I partially mash mine)

4 c. sugar

Bring to boil strawberries and 3 cups sugar stirring often.  Boil for 2 minutes then add remaining 1 cup of sugar and boil for 5 minutes.  Fills about 2 1/2 pint size canning jars.

freezer peaches

This is a pretty easy recipe and makes a nice sweet syrup for the peaches.

For each quart of halved or sliced peaches, combine 1/4 teaspoon ascorbic acid (to prevent darkening) with 1/4 cup cold water. Sprinkle over peaches.
Add 2/3 cup white sugar for each quart of prepared peaches. Mix well but gently.
Spoon peaches into containers, leaving about 1/2 inch headspace; seal containers and freeze.

Freezer Corn

This is the recipe I used this year to do Freezer Corn.  Yum this beats any frozen or canned corn from the store.

4 QT raw corn
1 QT water
1/2 c. sugar
3 TBL. canning salt

Boil 10 min. Put pan in ice water to cool off faster then bag in freezer bags. I did 1 cup in each bag because thats about how much we eat as a family with dinner.