Canning and Preserving

 

It's that time of year, preserving the bounties of the garden.

I am new to the canning scene. I bought a pressure canner last summer, and I have used it twice to can green beans. I was very proud of my accomplishment.

 

I always want to make jellies and jams when fruit comes in season, but instead I end up freezing the fruit for smoothies or eating it. Well, I found a solution in this book.

 

 

MICROWAVE GRAPE JELLY

The recipe allows you to use grape juice in the place of real grapes.

I thought you could probably use this same recipe for any number of fruit juices, and you don't have to use up your fruit (unless you want to).

So, I bought a good quality fruit juice for my recipe.

 

 

I needed a powdered fruit pectin, lemon juice and sugar, along with my canning jars.

 

 

The recipe makes a small batch, so I made four batches and ended up with seven pints and 6 1/2 pints of concord grape jelly. I sampled it and it is good. You could play with the amount of sugar in the recipe or even substitute a different sweetener.

 

 

I hope you try this recipe, it is really simple.

I think I will try making apple jelly next with apple juice.

Here's the recipe...

 

MICROWAVE GRAPE JELLY

 

1 1/2 cup grape juice,        1 Tbsp. powdered fruit pectin,

2 tsp. lemon juice,    1 3/4 cup of sugar

 

Combine grape juice, pectin, and lemon juice in a 3 quart microwave-safe bowl.

Cover with plastic wrap or wax paper and bring to a boil in microwave on a high setting (about 5 minutes). Remove from microwave. Add sugar, stirring until dissolved. Return covered mixture to microwave and bring to a boil on a high setting (about 4 minutes). Remove from microwave oven, stir. Return uncovered mixture to microwave and cook until jelly sheets from a spoon (about 1 minute). Remove from microwave and skim foam if needed. Ladle hot jelly into hot, sterilized jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Adjust two-piece caps. Process 5 minutes in a boiling-water canner. Do not attempt to process in microwave oven. Yield: about 2 pints, and a 1/2.

 

NOTE: DO NOT USE METAL SPOON TO STIR,

ONLY A WOODED SPOON OR SILICON SPATULA

This mixture is extremely hot, use caution when filling the jars.



 

 

 

All Natural Cleaners

One of my goals for this summer was to make my own all natural home cleaning products. You can find a lot of recipes on Pinterest as well as many blogs. I tried to find some that had ingredients that would be easy to find, and inexpensive. I found that it is really affordable and easy to make your own cleaning products, and it gives me peace of mind to know that these products are safer to use. I have also found that these homemade cleansers work just as well as the more expensive name brands.

 

I decided to make some cleansers that I used most often...

all purpose spray, glass cleaner, and dishwasher detergent.

 

Two of the key ingredients is Borax and Washing Soda

 

 

 

POWDER DISHWASHER DETERGENT:

1/2 c. Borax, 1/2 c. Washing Soda, 1/4 c. Citric Acid (found in the canning section)

Mix well and use 1-3 teaspoons per load. I use white vinegar for my rinsing agent.

 

ALL PURPOSE SPRAY:

1/2 tsp. liquid Castille soap (I used Dawn liquid detergent), 1 tsp. Borax, 1 tsp Washing Soda,

1/2 c. white vinegar, 2 c. hot water, 25-30 drops of essential oil (optional - I used fragrance oil), and a 24 oz. spray bottle.

Mix the soap, Borax, washing soda, and vinegar in a large bowl. Slowly add the water and stir. Allow to cool and add essential oils. Pour into a spray bottle and label.

To use, simply spray down the area and wipe dry.

 

 

GLASS CLEANER:

2 c. water, 1/4 c. white vinegar, 1/4 c. rubbing alcohol, 1 tsp. lemon juice, 1 Tbsp. corn starch, 5 drops essential oil (optional)

 

Mix well and shake before using. This really works well to clean mirrors and glass, and it is very economical to make.

 

I hope you give these recipe mixes a try and see how easy it is to make these products for yourself, and feel safer in the process.



 



 

 

 

 

 

Updates

Well Hello,

It has been a long while since I posted a new entry, and our family has been busy.

I thought I would try to update you on all our family happenings.

 

March brought two birthdays - My Sweetie turned 44 - WOW!

 

The other birthday was our Hannah (plaid shirt).

She turned an amazing 10 - Can't believe that one either

In this photo we are on our way to get her birthday gift, a Guinea Pig.

Just look at her excited little face. My face did not look excited, but she's only 10 once.

 

 

 

This next photo is Cosmo, the Guinea pig eating one of his favorite snacks, a carrot.

 

 

After birthdays, we needed a little vacation.

We took Spring Break at Indian Beach on Emerald Isle, NC

We always enjoy our family time. Usually there is no one there as you can see.

 

 

I have also been enjoying our local farmer's market.

I like to support our local farmers, and also browse the handmade products that are also sold there like homemade soaps and lotions.

 

In April, our 14 year old went out with his Paw Paw to turkey hunt,

and do you know they caught one. I was so excited for him. This was his first turkey.

 

We have had a lot of rain showers, which has blessed us with many pretty flowers.

And finally, the most exciting thing that has happened is that we have had our first graduate from our home school. Emily was part of the graduating class of 2013. We are so very proud of her.

 

One last thing to mention, my birthday is tomorrow.

I will be joining my Sweetie in saying that I am getting old (44).

But, he will always be older than I am - Ha!

 

I need to get some updated pictures of myself, but you know how that goes, right?

Home cooking

I really like to cook good healthly meals for my family. Sometimes, it's hard to find something that everyone likes. We all love lasagna, but I wanted to find a healthier version. I found a recipe for lasagna rolls and modified it a little to suit our taste.

This recipe is really very simple to make, and has less fat and calories than your average lasagna recipe. All you need to make this recipe is...
Lasagna noodles (cooked and drained), 1/2 chopped onion, fresh mushrooms (cut in small pieces), approximately 6 oz. of fresh baby spinach (I buy the ready to eat bags), minced garlic (1 tsp), a large skim Ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese (skim version), and I used my favorite spaghetti sauce.
First you boil and drain the noodles.

While the noodles are cooking, in a large saucepan, pour in a little oil (I used canola oil). Add your minced garlic, onions, mushrooms and spinach and cook till tender.

Next, mix up your Ricotta and Mozzarella cheeses together.

I save about half of the cheese mixture, and add the other half to the spinach, mushrooms, and onions.

My two youngest prefer their lasagna rolls without the veggies, so I do half with veggies, and half with just cheese. Next you take the lasagna noodle, and spread on the cheese mixture.

Then, you roll them up and place them in a dish. I put a little pasta sauce in the bottom of the dish first, then put the rolls on top. I use two dishes, one for the spinach rolls and one for just plain cheese.

Now all you have to do is pour on your sauce, cover with foil and bake. I bake them at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes. This recipe cooks much quicker than a baked lasagna recipe because you don't have all the layers. I served this with a salad and bread. It's a fairly quick and easy meal to make, and it is really good. This would be a great dish to serve when company comes over. It looks really professional and taste great. If you like Italian food, I think you should give this recipe a try.
Let me know what you think if you decide to try it.

Mantel Decorating

I would love to have a real fireplace mantel. I have always wanted a fireplace. My sweet husband bought me an electric fireplace. It is pretty close to the real thing without the mess and having to cut wood. I think it is pretty, and it is the size of a real mantel - so I'm satisfied for now.

 

I love to decorate my mantel for special occasions and holidays, so I decided it was time for a little Valentine's Day decorating. I usually do a wreath on the front door and decorate my mantel. This year I decided to just look around the house for some things to use.

 

I have a small collection of teapots, and this red and white one was a gift from my father-in-law.

I love the vintage look and the colors worked great for Valentine's Day.

The teddy bear belongs to my youngest daughter.

It reminds me of all those stuffed animals given on this occasion.

 

 

 

This book was a treasure I found discarded at our local library.

I thought a book on roses would be appropriate for V-Day. The book is titled,

"The Complete Book of 169 Redoute' Roses," by Frank Anderson.

It is a book full of botanical illustrations

done by Pierre-Joseph Redoute' (1759-1841).

 

 

This is the other half of my mantel, another teapot, another borrowed stuffed animal, (my Hannah loves sock monkeys), and more roses. I thought the mantel turned out pretty nice considering I spent no money at all.

 

My favorite scripture to remember during this month is

1 Corinthians Chapter 13

Verse 13 says...

"And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three;

but the greatest of these is charity."

 

 

 

 

 

Homemaking

Have you ever made homemade laundry detergent? It's really simple and a little goes a long way. Detergent is so expensive, and for just a few dollars you can make 2 gallons of detergent without all the chemicals. Here's how...

I purchased this soap at my grocery store. This one bar will make three batches of 2 gallon detergent.

You'll also need to buy these two items which are easy to find at most grocery stores.

 

The first step is to grate about 1/3 of the soap bar into a large pot.

 

 

 

Next you add 2 quarts of water (8 cups), and heat on medium until the shavings dissolve.

Next add 1/2 cup of the washing soda, and 1/2 cup of Borax and stir until it dissolves into the water.

 

 

Turn off the heat and add 2 more quarts of water to the pot.

 

 

 

Divide this between 2 gallon jugs (I reused vinegar jugs). Fill each about 1/2 full and then add 2 more quarts of water to each jug. The consistency will be thinner than store bought detergent, but you will only need to use 1/2 cup for regular washers, and 1/8 cup for HE washers per load.

I always shake the detergent a little before I use it for a load of laundry.

Just so you know, vinegar is a great rinse agent and fabric softener in laundry,

and your clothes do not end of smelling of vinegar.

There are several different recipes for homemade detergent that are easy to find on the internet.

Give it a try!

 

Winter Days

 

We woke up this morning to beautiful snow!

It started last evening, and snowed until around 11 PM. It was so peaceful to watch.

The kids wanted the day off of school, but I said, "No."

I was merciful, and gave us a 1/2 day of school, then we went out to enjoy the snow.

 

 

It was a beautiful sunny day which was very nice because it has been raining all week.

 

 

The trees were so dramatic in their coat of white.

We did a little sledding, and then...

 

 

We made a very sweet lady snowperson. I like her smile.

 

 

How do you like her hat? She just had to have a cute hat.

 

 

Someone else likes hats in our family.

We had a great family day in the snow, they seem to come so rare for us,

but it was a really nice change.

I hope we have another day like today before winter leaves us. 

Enjoy your family today!