A Great Recipe For Salsa...

This is a photo of the salsa I made last week. 

I was just finished writing the entry about canning and realized I had told you I would share my salsa recipe with you. It's easy to make, the chopping takes the longest. You may want to go chop all the veggies first. 

The photo of my first batch this year didn't turn out well. The lighting wasn't right and I didn't realize it. It will look brighter then this. Cooking it will darken it, but not a lot. You may want to cut the amounts down and just make it up and store in the fridge. You may have a fresh salsa recipe that is quicker. I'd probably save this one for canning. I use it in meatloaf, and mix in some with black or pinto beans and mix it up with rice. It's great. As a side note I canned some of the Salsa in the 1/2 pt. jars aka: jelly jars, for my Special Soldiers. They are also great for quick gifts. 

Salsa

*Use only FRESH ingredients. (makes about 8 pints) 

20-22 medium Tomatoes, washed, peeled, and quartered. (enough to make 18 cups) 

1/2 cup finely chopped red chilies

6- Jalapenos seeded and finely chopped

3-banana peppers seeded and finely chopped

1- green pepper seeded and fine chopped

4-1/2  cups Onion finely diced

1-cup celery finely diced

1/2- clove garlic ( I use about 2 tsp. of the minced in the jar)

1- 12oz can of tomato paste

1-1/2 cups of white vinegar

2-Tablespoons Season Salt

3- Tablespoons regular Salt

1- Tablespoon ground black pepper

1- Tablespoon sugar (optional) 

** I have also used other peppers like poblano peppers. They are mild and have a great flavor. If you remove the seeds you remove a lot of the heat. We don't like hot, so I may add another green pepper or yellow peppers and take away a couple of the jalapenos. You may want to add a couple of the hotter peppers. it's all up to you. I usually have more tomatoes so I make sure I keep careful track of the # of cups. then adjust the recipe accordingly. 

Mix all the ingredients in a large pot.

 Heat to boiling, then simmer for about 3 hours. 

You will want to make sure you stir it ever so often. 

If you have a lot of excess juice, you may want to remove it after cooking for 2 hours. 

(I use a turkey baster to remove any extra juice) 

* I have found if I chop the stuff kind of chunky there is not as much juice

To Can

Fill Jars with hot salsa and seal. 

process in a water bath about 20-30 minutes for pints. 

about an hour for quarts. 

My Kitchen Is Full Of Canning Jars Again...

 It's that time of year again.. My kitchen is full of canning stuff again. This past week there were canning jars stacked everywhere for washing. The big pots are up from the basement, and I'm sorting through the screw bands and looking for that new box of lids I bought last spring on clearance. The water bath canner was hauled out and fired up. My largest colander and biggest bowls are found. The jar lifter, funnels, and tongs are at the ready. The Canning Season Has Begun.. 


I love it. I don't love the way my kitchen will look for the next couple of weeks, but I do love the canning part. I love the baskets and grocery bags full of produce that appear on the table every day. I love the red of the tomatoes, the Yellow and white of our Sugar and Cream sweet corn. The green of the beans. All of the colors pop when they have been canned. They all look brighter and happier somehow.

I love the smells that waft through the house with each batch of salsa, speg. sauce, green tomato mincemeat, and pickled beets. I love when my kitchen is full of canning jars.

Today I will wash up and get ready to make the next batch of salsa. I think with the next picking of green beans I'll be canning some of those too. I still have jars of canned tomatoes and tomato juice left from last year. I may even make up one batch of speg. sauce if I get really ambitious.

Our garden is much smaller these days. Now we plant tomatoes, peppers, green beans, some squash, and maybe corn. It's more difficult for husband to run the tiller and work the hoe. It takes me a little longer to carry the pots up, But I can't imagine not canning some of it. The idea that later this winter I will open a jar of beans or salsa is wonderful. It will bring back the memories of the summer. The bright colors and familiar smells will elicit those great memories of just a few months before. Then sometime in January the first seed catalog will arrive and husband and I will start talking about what we want to put out in the garden this summer. I think this next year I'm going to ask for beets. I'm also going to ask for a few extra tomato plants. I will have finished up the green tomato ketchup/relish and the green tomato mincemeat. I can smell that mincemeat cooking already. It's wonderful.

Enjoy your day. I'm going to go wash up a few more jars. I think I will can some green beans.

Ketch-up Saturday...

Good Morning !  I've got dishes in the water, so I'll have to be quick. Another post or two will come later today.. 

1.  I adopted 2 new Soldiers. That means I write letters and pack their boxes 

2. I took on teaching our girls at Church again. Grades 1-6. I love it, I can't wait to start. 

3. No knee pain this week unless I bend them a little to much. 

4. NEVER and I mean NEVER shut your bare foot in the front door. My toe is still bruised and swollen. Wearing shoes is very, very painful. 

5. The green beans are coming in full tilt. Husband has been picking and snapping them for me. 

6. The green beans have been coming in full tilt. Husband is tired of snapping them for me. (he did it 3 whole times)  chuckle. Anyway He picked 2 bags full yesterday. He quickly dispersed all of them to the neighbors. Guess he won't have to snap them. 

7. Bills have been paid, errands run. Well most of them. Next week I have to run to the Vet and get heart worm meds. 

8. I went to a friend's house and showed her how to can tomatoes. She is canning like crazy now. 

9. My first canning of the season was done. I made Salsa. 10 Pints and 2 -1/2 pt jars are done. It's very yummy. 

Hope your week has been going great too.. 

Guarding His Master Once Last Time...

Hawkeye, Guarding his master one last time.

 Navy Seal Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class Jon  "JT" Tumilson , 35 gave his life in Afghanistan. 

Read more: http://globegazette.com/news/local/family-friends-fellow-officers-remember-navy-seal-tumilson/article_5d76e13a-ca72-11e0-8343-001cc4c002e0.html?mode=story#ixzz1VxKidZER

Some Days Words are not needed.. 

Rest in Peace JT.

you can also see another photo here:
http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/128315683.html

JT and Hawkeye... 

Yummy, Easy, Refrigerator Pickles....

  This time of the summer our cucumbers are putting on loads. Husband said today to start making the pickles. The vines are turning yellow, so they'll be finishing up soon. These Refrigerator pickles are yummy and easy as pie to make..  I make them in the bowl. and them transfer them to an empty pickle jar or canning jar to be eaten...  Everyone loves them..

Refrigerator Pickles

Place the following ingredients in a large bowl and set aside

7- cups of Sliced Cucumbers/ about 5 medium

 (do NOT peel them) I like to cut them a little thick. 

I also use the small ones. I save the med. size ones for salads. 

1- cup of sliced onion 

1-green pepper seeded and thinly sliced

1- Tablespoon of salt

Optional:  I have put banana peppers in this seeded and thinly sliced, 

you could use any of your favorite peppers. 

Place the following ingredients in a saucepan and heat to almost a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. 

2- cups white sugar

1- cup White vinegar

1-teaspoon celery seed

Optional: I used dill seed this time as I didn't have any celery seed., it worked great

I have also added 2- tsp. of minced garlic, 1-tsp. of turmeric, 

and a couple shakes of hot pepper flakes. 

remove from heat

let the mixture cool, then pour over the top of the Cucumber/onion/pepper mixture.

cover and refrigerate for 24 hours. 

I prefer heating the sugar, vinegar and spices. I have found if I pour the 

hot liquid over the cucumber mixture it all shrivels up...

YUKKO

 so I let it cool off, and then pour it over the mixture in the bowl. 

After 48 hrs.I like to transfer the mixture to an old pickle jar or canning jar, 

cover with the liquid, and refrigerate. 

then I add more cucumbers, onions, and peppers to the bowl. 

cover and refrigerate for 24 hrs. and so on. 

These Pickles will keep well for up to 3 months. 

Hillbilly Supper Night and a recipe for Fried Cabbage

   Tonight is Hillbilly Supper night.. a favorite at our house. Since dear husband is from the south, born in MO. raised in Ky; We have these nights at least a couple times a month. They are particularly wonderful in the summer when the garden is coming in. Tonight there will be white beans , corn bread, freshly picked green beans, fried cabbage, fresh tomatoes, and big slices of fresh cucumber. I may even whip up a peach cobbler for dessert later on.

I wanted to add the recipe for fried cabbage. I looked online and ran across this (SouthrenPlate.com)  wonderful site. I love the great Southern mom attitude and Christy's wonderful way with words. I'm adding the recipe here, but you will definitely want to check her site out. It's looks scrumptious. If you've never tried frying cabbage you should. it's wonderful. I may add a few other recipes later this week, right now I have some cabbage to fry.

enjoy...

Fried Cabbage

Ingredients

• 5-6 strips of bacon (more or less if you like)
• 1 head cabbage, chopped
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. In large skillet, fry bacon until crisp. Place bacon on paper towel lined plate and remove all of the bacon grease from the pan except for about two tablespoons. Place chopped cabbage in skillet and crumple cooked bacon on top of it. Cook over medium high heat, stirring constantly, for about five minutes. Reduce heat to low and cover. Continue cooking until cabbage is done to your desired tenderness, five to ten minutes more. Salt and pepper to taste.

Welcome Home Marine...

  This week I got to do one of the things I love best.. I got to head out to the local Airport and Welcome home one of the Marines on our list. Remember that I belong to a Troop Support Group, "My Heart Supports The Troops" you can check out their website here.

  I love going to the Airport. It's so much fun to watch the people there. Especially when there is a member of our Military coming home. We have a wonderful Patriot Guard group that's always at the airport for these special events. I love to watch the pride and excitement they all show. Today was especially exciting as one of their members was the Marine's Daddy.

It's fun to watch the family and friends as they wait. They are usually dressed in Red, White, and Blue, or have something patriotic on them. Sometimes they carry signs (like the one above made by J.C.'s brothers) and sometimes they carry flags, or other important things to give to the loved one.

There are others that are waiting for loved ones to return on the same flight. They get excited too. There is much ado when the flight lands. The PGR come to attention, flags at the ready. The family is so excited they don't know whether to stand where they are or run to the front.

Our group loves to meet our Troops at the Airport. We come with flags, and cameras too.. And the best part is the hugs and handshakes, and welcome home Marine.. and welcome home son.. that we get to hear.

sometimes I don't know who is more excited. The Troop or the folks there to greet him. I would say it's a close race between the two.

I think there is something very special about the Veterans with the PGR that greet each Troop. They always ask if the family wants to greet them first. They adjust their line accordingly. Today the family stood at the end of the  line. I thought they would bust from the anticipation of the best hugs that would be given that day..

Out of the line of PGR a Vietnam Veteran steps up and hugs the Marine.. Then another and another.. It's very moving. I am moved to tears just thinking about it.

Husband Ken has told me numerous times about the welcome home that the Vietnam Veterans received. It wasn't a good experience. They were spit on, and called vile names. Today it is very different. Thanks in part I believe to the generation of Vietnam Vets and their families that will never let another generation of Veterans feel abandoned by their Country.

It's fun to watch the onlookers waiting for a flight. They get in on the excitement too.

It was a quick handshake and a "thank you for serving, and Welcome Home".. from us after the family had gotten all the special hugs and kisses. Then it was time to head back to the parking lot and home.

Some may wonder why I would take an hour or so out of my day to go wave a flag, take some pictures, and shake a hand or hug a neck of a returning Troop. Do it one time and you'll know why. It's because it does my heart and my soul and my being good.