Trina's Kitchen

How to make crab apple jelly

Written on February 13, 2010 at 12:43 pm, by Trina

Last fall my husband and I took a trip to a local apple orchard to gather apples for canning, freezing and of course eating. When there the owners of the orchard gave us copies of recipes for their crab apple jelly which they told us to go home and try it. A few jugs of cider, a few different varieties of apples and 5lbs of crab apples later we went home and began our project. The crab apple Jelly turned out wonderful and I use it for putting on toast, peanut butter and jelly sandwhiches, crackers and also put it on pork as a flavoring. Here is the recipe for you to enjoy as well!

THINGS YOU WILL NEED

• 5lbs crab apples
• 5 cups of water
• cheesecloth or jelly bag
• 9 cups sugar
• sure jell

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Remove stems and blossom ends from crab apples. Cut apples into pieces. Do not peel or core. Place in large saucepan. Add 5 cups water or enough to cover apples. Bring to full boil. Stir occasionally. Cover and simmer 10 minutes. Crush cooked apples, cover and simmer 5 minutes longer.
2. Place 3 layers damp cheesecloth or a jelly bag in a large bowl. Poor cooked crab apples into cheesecloth. Tie cheesecloth closed, hang and let drip into bowl until dripping stops. press gently
3. Measure juice ( add up to 1/2 cup water for exact measure Amount needed: 7 cups juice 9 cups sugar—follow sure-jell recipe for making jelly.
4. Process in a boil water canner and let sit for 24 hrs. Enjoy!

USES

Spread on toast, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, crackers or use it to cook with

How to can applesauce with peels

Written on February 13, 2010 at 12:33 pm, by Trina

This year my husband and I made our first trip to an apple orchard and bought a bushel of pick outs which has made wonderful cans of applesauce. I took a classic recipe from the Ball Blue Book of preserving and adapted it to fit my families tastes. This is a great recipe to use for breakfast, side dishes or as a gift to give during the Holiday Season.

1. First, make sure you have your jars and lids ready and boiler canner ready. Next, using an apple slicer with corer, slice all your apples and cut them into chunks.
2. Next, put all the apple chunks into a large sauce pot, cover with water then cook until soft.
3. Once the apples are soft mash them with a potato masher.
4. Add 1/4 cup sugar and apple pie spice or cinnamon to desired taste
5. Bring applesauce to a boil (212 degree F) and stir to prevent sticking. Maintain this temperature and ladle into hot jars. Process pints and quarts for 20 minutes in a boiling-water canner

How to make pepper jelly

Written on February 8, 2010 at 1:44 pm, by Trina

THINGS YOU WILL NEED

• 7 sweet green peppers
• 1 jalapeno pepper
• 1 1/2 cups cider vinegar, divided
• 1 1/2 cups apple juice
• 1 package pwdered pectin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 5 cups sugar
• green food coloring

INSTRUCTIONS

1. To Prepare Juice: Wash peppers, remove stems and seeds, Cut peppers into 1/2 inch pieces. Purée half the peppers and 3/4 cup vinegar in a food processor or blender.
2. Purée remaining peppers and vinegar. Combine purée and apple juice in a large bowl. Cover and refrigerate overnight Strain puréed mixture though a damp jelly bag or several layers of cheesecloth.
3. Measure 4 cups juice. Add additional apple juice to make 4 cups if neede
4. To Make Jelly: Combine juice, powdered pectin and salt in a large sauce pot. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Add sugar, stirring until dissolved. Ladle hot jelly into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch head space
5. Return to a rolling boil. Boil hard 1 minute, stirring constantly, Remove from heat. Skim foam if necessary. Stir in a few drops of food colouring, if desired.
6. Adjust two piece caps. Process 10 minutes in a boiling water canner.

How to freeze peppers

Written on February 6, 2010 at 5:50 pm, by Trina

I love  peppers fresh from the farmers market. I use them in all sorts of recipes and love to eat them cut up with ranch dressing. This year though I found some good prices on peppers and decided to freeze them so I have access to them all winter long. This article will give you instructions on how to freeze peppers storing them in vacuum pack bags

THINGS YOU WILL NEED

• Peppers ( red, green, or yellow)
• Cookie sheets
• Freezer paper or wax paper
• Knife
• Foodsaver
• Foodsaver bags
• or freezer bags/plastic freezer containers

1. To start go to your local farmers marker and purchase several  peppers. Make sure they are in good condition by no bruises or bad spots. Look for ripe peppers.
2. Split them in half cut off the stem. Next, wash the peppers to get the inside stem off and the seeds.
3. Cut the peppers into strips or pieces depending on how you like them.
4. Put freezer paper on cookie sheet then lay out the peppers on the cookie. Repeat this process till all peppers are on the cookie sheets.
5. Place cookie sheets in freezer and let the  peppers freeze solid..By doing this the peppers will be easier to separate from each other. This will take several hours.
6. When the Peppers are frozen then place desired amounts in foodSaver bags. ( i used a cup per bag) then enclose bags
7. Put the  Peppers in the freezer and enjoy in all your favorite recipes.

USES

Peppers can be used for snacks, stir fries, mexican recipes or any other recipes asking for  peppers

How to Freeze Pumpkin for Pies, Bread and Eating

Written on February 6, 2010 at 5:42 pm, by Trina

This summer my husband and I attempted to grow pumpkins but only a few survived after something ate them from inside the ground.  We got lucky though and our neighbour  gave us some of his to use for decoration and when we were done we froze the pumpkin meat to use for pies, bread and general eating.   For convenience I froze in one cup portions to be used in recipes.

SUPPLIES NEEDED

• Pumpkins
• knife
• bowls
• glass baking pans
• water
• food processor
• cookie sheets
• wax paper
• freezer bags

INSTRUCTIONS

1. First, cut the pumpkins in half and scoop out the seeds and save for roasting, then remove all the strings inside the pumpkin and discard. We put this in a bowl and threw it out in the garden. Also, preheat the oven to 300 degrees
2. Next, cut the pumpkins in half so you have four quarters. Scrape the pumpkins with a spoon so that all the strings are out and its just the meat left.
3. Place water in the bottom of the glass baking pans so that it will cover the bottom of the pumpkins. Place the pumpkins skin down and place in the oven. Cook at 300 degrees for one hour or until you can easily slice a knife though it.
4. When the pumpkins are cooked, let cook until you can handle them. Peel the skin of each pumpkin. My husband used a potato peeler to remove the skins.
5. Next, slice the pieces of pumpkins in small pieces and then process them in a food processor. Place the process portions in a bowl to store.
6. After all the pumpkin has been processed, lay out wax paper on cookie sheets. I portion mine into one cup portions and place on a cookie sheet.
7. Freeze pumpkin portions overnight. Remove pumpkin from cookie sheets and place in freezer bags. By double freezing the pumpkin you can place several cups in one bag or you can freeze them separately.

USES

Use frozen pumpkin as substitute for can pumpkin in your favourite breads, pies, bars, soups and recipes that call for pumpkin.

How to make old fashioned apple jelly

Written on February 6, 2010 at 3:17 pm, by Trina

Every Fall, my husband and I visit an apple orchard to pick up our yearly apples. Our first year there we were given a recipe for old fashioned apple jelly. I took it home and found it to be wonderful to can and even better to eat.

THINGS YOU WILL NEED

• 4-5lbs of apples
• 2 quarts of water
• jelly bag or cheesecloth
• sugar
• canning jars

INSTRUCTIONS

1. To make apple jelly cook 4-5lbs of cut-up, unpeeled, uncored apples in 2 quarts of water for 30 minutes or until tender.
2. Next, strain the apples through a jelly bag in a bowl or pot. if you do not have a jellybag then strain in though a cheesecloth. Allow the juice to drip thou
3. Then for every cup of liquid, add one cup of sugar and cook until the sugar is dissolved.
4. When the sugar is all dissolved, then boil rapidly until it jells when placed on a spoon.
5. Skim Froth off the top, put into sterilized jars and put in boil water canner for 15 minutes.

USES

This jelly can be used to spread on your favorite breads, rolls, or can be used as a marinade for roasts.

How to Freeze Corn Using a Foodsaver

Written on February 6, 2010 at 2:37 pm, by Trina

Corn on the cob is one of my favorite end of the summer treats. It is grown each year in our garden but can also be bought at farmers markets and various road side stands. However, we always have more then we can eat so we freeze enough to be able to have corn all winter long. This year we added a new addition to our food preservation supplies. We bought a foodsaver which we will use to help preserve food for a longer period of time and will stay fresher longer.

THINGS YOU WILL NEED

• at least a dozen corn on the cob
• Knives
• Pan or bowls
• Foodsaver
• Foodsaver bags
• Freezer bags
• Plastic freezer containers
• Sharpie

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Pick at least a dozen or more of fresh corn from your garden or from a local farmers market.
2. Peel the husks off the corn including all the silk as well. If you are doing a lot of corn recruit a spouse, child or friend to help you with the task.
3. Once the corn is free of all the husks and silk, use a knife and scrape off the corn on each cob. Use a bowl or pan to catch the corn in.
4. Once all of the corn has been removed from the cobs place in desired amounts in foodsaver bags/ freezer bags or plastic freezer containers
5. If using a foodsaver follow the instructions completely for it and enclosed the bag
6. Mark all bags Corn and the date so you know when it was placed in the freezer. This corn should last up to a year.

USES

For side dishes, or ingrediates in recipes