Easy Two Ingredient Applesauce for Canning

A friend generously gave me a 20 pound box of some fun apple varieties. They included Honeycrisp and Hawaii. 

The kids and I made some applesauce with them using this easy, two ingredient recipe. Yep, that's it, only 2 ingredients! 

Ingredients:

Apples (as many or few as you like. I used about 12 pounds)

Water

*If you want cinnamon applesauce, then you can add that or ginger and nutmeg. I make a cinnamon batch also that is loaded with cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. 

Wash the apples and peel them. Next, core them. This can be done with an Apple Cutter/Corer or by hand. Once they are peeled, cored and cut, toss them into a large, heavy bottomed stock pot with about an inch of water on the bottom. Turn heat to medium and continue prepping apples and adding them to the pot of water as they are ready. Once the pot is completely filled, cover with a lid and turn heat down to medium-low. 

Simmer for 30-45 minutes or until all of the apples are soft. Using a potato masher, carefully mash the apples up until your mixture is small chunks and thick, or to your desired consistency. If you want it smoother, use a Food Mill to run your applesauce through. If you are opting to add cinnamon, do so now. And just add it to taste. 

At this point you can freeze, eat fresh or can your applesauce. 

To can:

Ladle into pre-sanitized jars. Wipe jar rims clean and then put on lids and rings. Place in Canner and process in a hot water bath (add water to canner until it is one inch above the top of the jars, place lid loosely over the top of canner but do not lock closed). Process for 15 minutes for pints and 20 minutes for quarts. 

Note: Lemon juice is not needed for applesauce according to Ball's recipes and website. Sugar is also not needed. Your apples should be sweet enough without the added sugar!  

Xander is finally old enough to be somewhat helpful. This was his fist time getting to use a "real" knife. (Don't worry, it was a very dull butter knife) He had a blast and kept handing me little teenie tiny pieces of apple to put in the cooking pot. 

When the applesauce was done and we tasted it before we canned it. Xander's face lit up when he got to taste what he helped make, it was priceless! Kids should be in the kitchen, involved in cooking and shopping! The more they know the better choices they will make! 

Pear-Berry Sauce for Canning ~ No Added Sugars

Years ago one of my friends shared some of her "pear-berry sauce" with me. It was amazing! The sweet taste of the pears mixed with fresh berries. It was simply amazing! I was determined to recreate the recipe, with a few tweaks for our diet and still keep her secret recipe in tact.

Fall is fast approaching and so is the pear harvest. We recently got a 20 pound box of local ones and I decided that this would be the perfect opportunity to make pear-berry sauce again. My kiddos thoroughly enjoyed being the taste testers. 

Ingredients:

12 cups pear puree, takes about 12 pounds of pears

4 cups fresh (or frozen) blackberries, you can use any berry you prefer

4 Tablespoons lemon juice

2 cups orange juice

If you are choosing to can this for later eating, then you will need 8 pint jars, lids and rings. 

Wash, peel and core the pears. Remove any discolored, mushy or bad spots. Toss pears into a food processor and puree them up. Pour puree into a large pot on the stovetop. As soon as you pour in the first batch of pureed pears, add the orange and lemon juices. This will keep the pears from turning brown. After the pears are done, wash and puree the blackberries as well. 

If you are eating it right now, you are done. You can also put it into freezer jars/containers for storage in the freezer. If you are canning it (as I did), then continue. 

Heat over medium stirring often just until warm. There is no need to boil, just get it hot so that you can hot pack your jars. Once it is hot, carefully ladle it into pre-sanitized jars, wipe rims and add lids and rings. Process in your canner as a hot water bath for 15 minutes (for pints).  Then remove to a cool place where they can rest for 24 hours before removing rings. 

Recipe yields 8 pints. 

This recipe is much like applesauce. It is sweet and has just a bit of a grainier texture to it (from the pears). If you are canning make sure and do not omit the lemon juice, it is needed to maintain the acidity level for the blackberries and prevent bacteria. 

The natural sweetness of the fruit does not need any sugar added to it, making it a perfect "no sugar added" and super healthy snack for you and your kiddos! 

Easy Organic Salsa for Canning

I'm all about efficiency.  If there is a more efficient way to do something then I'm on board, as long as the efficient way doesn't sacrifice the integrity of what you are doing. With that being said, here is a salsa recipe for home canning that is both efficient, easy and still safe to eat and delicious!!

 

Picking the tomatoes from your garden (or a friend's) will keep the cost low. Or you can find a pick your own farm near by for fresh and inexpensive tomatoes as well.

 

Here is the recipe. I hope your family enjoys it as much as we do!

 

Ingredients
12 cups chopped organic tomatoes
3 cups chopped onion
1 cup chopped organic hot peppers (I used a combination of poblano,  jalapeño and hot cherry bombs)
6 cloves of garlic
1 can Organic Tomato Paste, 6 ounces
2 cups apple cider vinegar, lemon juice or lime juice
1 1/2 Tablespoons sea salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper
1 Tablespoon cumin
2 Tablespoons chopped cilantro
*note: as a recipe variant you can omit the cumin and cilantro and add an extra 1/2 Tablespoon of garlic powder instead.

 

Wash tomatoes and remove any stems. Cut in half and place in a food processor. Process tomatoes to a coarse chop (so there are no large chunks but it is not completely liquid) and measure until you have 12 cups. Pour into a large soup pot. Next chop onions in the food processor as well until you have 3 cups of coarse chopped onions. Put onions in pot with tomatoes. Put garlic cloves and hot peppers (stem peppers but leave in seeds) in food processor too. Once they are chopped to desired size place in pot. Add in vinegar and all other seasonings except tomato paste.

 

Simmer salsa on medium heat for 30-60 minutes to reduce down. I let mine reduce down about an inch. Once it is at your desired consistency,  turn off burner and add in tomato paste. The paste will help keep it thick after its canned. Stir until paste is incorporated in to salsa.

 

Ladle salsa into pre-sanitized jars and add lids and rings. Leave 1 inch of headspace.

 

Process in your canner in hot water bath style for 15 minutes for pints. Let jars sit for 5 more minutes in canner before removing. Let them sit for 24 hours undisturbed in a cool place before removing rings and storing.

 

Recipe yields between 7-9 pints depending on how far you reduce it down

. 

Note: I am not a master canner. I got the original recipe from pickyourown.org and modified the seasonings and preparation method. It is very important to make sure you follow safe canning practices and keep your acid ratios (in this recipe that is the tomato and vinegar ratio) in safe ranges to avoid botulism and other bacterial growth.

Peaches, Peaches, Peaches

I spent last weekend in Southern Oregon with the main purpose of attending "Peach-a-palooza" at Harry & David's Country Village store. Once a year they sell their peaches amazingly cheap. This year they were 20 cents per pound.

My aunt, friend, brother and I all left my mom's house at 5 am to head over.

The peaches were plentiful and after waiting in line til 7 we started filling our totes. We got into a good rhythm and within 15 minutes we had loaded all 20 of our totes, a total of 677 pounds!!

We were home by 9 and ready for the first batch to hit the canners at 10:30 am. It was a LLLLLLLOOOOOONNNNNGGGGG day! My sister in law's baby shower was in the middle of the afternoon and we took the last batch out of the canners at 10:30 pm.

In 8 hours (we spent 4 at the baby shower) we managed to get done 41 quarts of sliced peaches (some preseved with honey, some with coconut sugar and some with organic cane sugar), 51 pints of peach sauce/puree, and 30 pints of jam made. It was crazy! That was only from half the peaches!

Be watching for more posts on recipes to make your own canned sliced peaches, peach sauce and peach jam.

Here is our set up that we used. We had two canners and a water bath set up. It is very strongly advised against for using propane or gas to heat your canner when you are pressuring it because the heat is inconsistent and usually way too many BTUs. We only used the water bath method for all of ours and all three canners were under constant supervision the entire time.

I also use and love my Presto 23 Quart Pressure Canner . It is tall enough to double layer the pints and half pints so you can process a double batch and get twice as much done in the same amount of time. I have used it for pressurizing and water bathing and it works like a champ. If you are a serious canner, this is a must!

Dilled Carrots and Cukes

We always go through a lot of pickles, but I noticed that some of the store brand pickles have a few carrots in the bottom of them. They are delicious so I threw a few carrots into a batch of my pickles.

Here is the recipe to make your own delicious dilled carrots and cukes (aka dill pickles with carrots)!

Ingredients
4 large carrots
5 large cucumbers (large ones, not pickling cucumbers)
8 Tablespoons dill seed
8 cloves garlic
8 teaspoons whole peppercorns
6 Tablespoons Pickling Salt
9 cups distilled vinegar (can use white or apple cider, just make sure it is 5% acidity)
8 pint jars, lids and rings

Have jars, lids and rings sanitized and ready to use.

Peel and wash carrots and slice into 1/2 inch slices. Wash and cucumbers and slice to desired thickness, 1/3-1/2 inch is what I usually do.

Split cucumbers evenly between jars. Split carrots evenly between jars as well. Use a plastic utensil to push the carrots down around the cucumbers.  Place 1 garlic clove, 1 Tablespoon dill seed, 1 teaspoon whole peppercorns, and 3/4 Tablespoon pickling salt in each jar.

Heat the vinegar to boiling in a non-metal or coated pot. (Vinegar reacts with metal and turns cloudy) Pour it carefully into each jar leaving 1/2 inch of headspace.

Wipe rims and put on lids and rings.

Place in canner and cover with water to one inch over top of highest lid. Cover Canner and bring to a boil. Process for 15 minutes at a rolling boil. Let jars sit for 5 minutes before removing them from water bath and let sit on counter for 24 hours before removing rings and storing in a cool, dark place.

Enjoy these delicious dilled carrots and pickles!!

Yields 8 pints

Pickled Peppers

My husband loves spicy food and I do not! One of our solutions to this problem has been him adding hot peppers to his food. Have you ever bought a jar of pickled peppers at the store? They are ridiculously expensive for a small container!

This is the third summer I have been pickling hot peppers for my hubs. They turn out great, aren't soggy or spongy,  and have great flavor. Plus they are one of the easiest things to can!

Here is the recipe so that you can make your own pickled peppers to enjoy year round.

Ingredients:
4 1/2 pounds fresh hot peppers (I use mostly jalapeno with a few Serrano or habanero tossed in)
4 1/2 cups distilled vinegar (either white or apple cider, they just need to be labeled as being 5% acidity)
4 1/2 cups water
8 Tablespoons Pickling Salt 8 cloves of garlic (optional and can be omitted)

8 pint jars, lids and rings

Wash the peppers. Put on gloves! (Pepper juice burns your skin!) Using either a knife, mandolin, or grater with whole slice option; thinly slice all the peppers into a large bowl. I use a mandolin and it goes very fast. Slice the peppers all the way to the tops but do not include the stems. Keep the seeds in the bowl with the slices.

Get your jars sanitized and the lids and rings ready.

Mix the water and vinegar together in a non-metal or coated pan. Vinegar reacts with metal and turns cloudy. Bring to a boil.

Fill jars with sliced peppers (including seeds), add 1 tablespoon of salt to each jar and one garlic clove. Carefully pour the vinegar mixture over the peppers in the jars leaving 1/2 inch head-space. Add lids and rings.

Place jars in your Canner and cover with water to at least one inch above jar lids. Place lid on canner and process for 10 minutes in water bath. Let jars sit for 5 minutes before removing to your counter-top. Allow jars to sit for 24 hours before removing rings and storing in a cool, dark place.

Yields 8 pints.

Hope that you enjoy these! Do not alter the recipe or you will throw off the acidity balance and make it unsafe. Always follwo safe canning practices to avoid botulism and other bacterial growth in your food!

For more fun and easy recipes, be sure and check out Gluten-Free & DIY Tuesdays page on Allergy Free Alaska's blog!  

Raspberry Jam with Maple Syrup

I used the bulk of my raspberries to make jam with. We use jam everyday and love it! Usually I try not to put any sweetener in my jams and jellies, fruit is plenty sweet on its own. But raspberries are acidic and tend to get sour as jam, so I opted for maple syrup to take that acidic edge off.

Ingredients

12 cups mashed raspberries
2 cups 100% cranberry juice
1/2 cup plus 1 Tablespoon Low or No-Sugar-Needed Pectin
1/2 cup organic maple syrup

Wash the raspberries and then mash them in a large cooking pot. Add the cranberry juice and slowly sprinkle in the pectin, stirring as you add so it does not clump. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add in the maple syrup and then bring to a hard boil. Boil hard for one minute while stirring constantly. After the minute is up, remove from heat.

Skim off any foam and carefully pour hot jam into pre-sanitized and ready jars. Add rings and lids (that are prepared) and place in Canner . Cover the highest jar with 1-2 inches of water. Bring to a hard boil and process for 10 minutes (for pints and half pints) with canner covered. Let jars sit for 5 minutes before removing from canner. Allow jars to sit for 24 hours before removing rings and storing in a cool, dark place.

Yields 15 cups of jam

*Note: You can make a half batch (or smaller) of this recipe. Just maintain ratios as listed above to have a safe canning experience. 

Organic Blueberry Pomegranate Jelly with Maple Syrup

I had a few more bottles of the Santa Cruz Organic juices so I made some more jelly with them. This batch was made using 100% Blueberry Pomegranate Juice.

Ingredients
2, 32 ounce bottles of Organic 100% Blueberry Pomegranate Juice (64 ounces total)
1 1/3 cup water
3/4 cup organic lemon juice
1/2 cup organic maple syrup
6 Tablespoons Low or No-Sugar-Needed Pectin

Stir together juices and water in a large cooking pot over medium-high heat. Slowly sprinkle in pectin and stir so it does not clump. Bring to a boil. Add in maple syrup. Bring to a boil again and hold at a rolling boil for 1 minute. Then remove from heat.

Carefully pour into pre-sanitized and prepared canning jars and top with prepared lids and rings. Place jars into Canner and cover completely with water, to 2 inches over the highest lid. Process at a full boil for 10 minutes with lid on but not pressurized.  Let sit for 5 minutes after processing is done before removing jars. 

Allow jars to sit in a cool place for 24 hours before removing rings and storing.

Note: This jelly will not set up at room temperature and is more like a syrup. When placed in the refrigerator it will set up firmer to be more of a jelly consistency. 

Want more amazing gluten-free recipes and diy projects? Check out the Gluten-Free and DIY Tuesdays page on Allergy Free Alaska's blog.

Blueberry-Pomegranate jelly is on the left and my Organic Apricot-Peach jelly is on the right. 

Organic Apricot Jelly ~ No sugars added

My kitchen was gathering a giant stack of empty mason jars so it was time to take action. I grabbed a few bottles of organic juice and decided to make some jelly with them.

You can make jelly (aka jam made from juice and not fruit) from any juice. I couponed some Santa Cruz Organic juices last year for $1.50 per bottle. Score!

Gabriella and I decided to make apricot jelly first. I had a few peaches so we chopped them up and added them to the apricot jelly, just for a little texture.

Gabriella is 4 and is actually at the point where she is more helpful than distracting, but just barely! I'm a big advocate of including your kids in everything you do, even if it makes it take longer to do. If you don't want them around, why have them in the first place? Also, I think it is important for kids to learn skills like canning,  cooking, chopping, etc. Healthy habits start young! Okay, end rant. Back to the jelly!

Here is the recipe so you can make your own.

Ingredients
64 ounces organic 100% apricot nectar
2 cups chopped organic peaches
1 cup water
1/4 cup organic lemon juice
1/2 cup of Low or No-Sugar-Needed Pectin

Peel and chop the peaches. As you can see, my helper was assisting me during this part with her butter knife. As a result, a lot of the pieces were quite large that got dumped into the jelly. If you are making this unassisted, chop the peaches into very small pieces. The idea was just to add a little texture to the jelly.

Pour the apricot juice, water and lemon juice into a large cooking pot. Put on medium-high heat. Add in chopped peaches and slowly sprinkle in the pectin, mixing as you add it so that it does not clump. Stir gently until it boils.

This was the first time I have ever let Gabriella stir a pot on the stove. She thought it was awesome. As soon as it started to boil I had her move back and I took over.

Stir the jelly constantly while it is at a rolling boil for 1 minute. Then remove from heat.
Fill your canning jars and leave 1/2 inch headspace. Put on lids and rings. Put jars in your Canner and cover with water until it is 1-2 inches above the highest jar. Process at a boil for 10 minutes. Then let them rest for 5 minutes before removing (carefully) from canner. Let sit for 24 hours in a cool, dark place before moving to storage.

My batch yielded 11 cups of jam

Homemade Organic Chicken Stock

I cooked up a whole chicken last night for dinner and it seemed like a waste to just throw away all the bones. So, after a quick phone call to mom to double check my plans, I threw the bones into my crockpot with some water and various vegetables I had lying around.

I used an onion, some parsley, whole garlic and carrots.

*Note: using odds and ends of vegetables that you have leftover from other things works great. Keeping odd parts of vegetables (or your pulp from juicing) and using those makes this practically free to make! If you store them in the freezer you can just grab them out when you are ready to make stock.

One your veggies are in, pile all the chicken bones on top.

Cover with water and a lid. Set your crockpot to low and walk away.

I let mine simmer on low for 36 hours. At 24 hours I pulled out the bones that were still intact and cut them in half (they cut very easily with a knife) then threw them back in so the marrow could come out.

Okay, 36 hours later I was ready to strain and can it.

I put an old t-shirt inside of my colander that was sitting inside a bowl.

Very carefully pour the contents of your crockpot into the strainer.

How mine looked after I lifted the colander and t-shirt out.

Now, for canning it.

Bring the stock to a boil and get your lids and rings sanitizing at the same time.

Gather all your other supplies:

Funnel, jar grabber, tongs, jar for ladling, clean jars, etc.

Fill each jar (I used pints) and leave 1 inch of head space.

I pressurized mine and cooked at 10lbs for 20 minutes (for the pints)

*Note: All Pressure Canners are different and the weight and time required is different for altitudes and canners. Be sure to check yours before you use it!

Once they are done, let the canner depressurize on its own. When it is done, carefully remove the lid and grab the jars out with your jar grabber.

Let them sit for 24 hours without disturbing to seal. If a jar doesn't seal you can freeze them or use them right away.

I yielded 8 pints of stock from bones that I was planning on throwing away anyways. I had all the veggies already so the only real cost was the lid, which is 10 cents each. 10 cents for a pint of organic, salt-free chicken stock is pretty crazy cheap!