Canning Challenge

A week or so ago, I took my first solo trip into canning tomatoes. My mom used to can tomatoes when I was a child, but she did water-bath canning.

My husband bought a pressure canner recently, and well I wanted the canning to go faster.

I'd never used a pressure cooker before, much less a canner. I was nervous. Not to mention the fact that it barely fits between my gas cooktop and the microwave (which hangs above the cooktop).

But I did it. Here are the pictures:

I started with vine-ripe tomatoes, fresh from the garden. Then blanched and skinned them.

The prepared jars and lids being heated:

I decided to do a cold pack with the tomatoes. I put them in the jars with lemon juice and a bit of salt then poured very hot water in until it reached 1/2 inch from the top of the jar, which really only wound up being about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of water.

A jar before processing:

My completed jars in the canner:

After they cooled, they looked watery, so I decided I would not be doing the cold pack method again. But it's only 7 jars, and I didn't blow up the house. :)

So there was my canning challenge. LOL I hope you enjoyed it more than I did. 

Have you canned successfully? Or unsuccessfully? Tell us canned and if it taste good?

Blessings,
Ginger

A2Z Meme - "C"

Let's Eat Cake

 Over the years I have been called upon by my children to make special Cakes for their birthdays.

Some were better than others. A few of the better ones I couldn't find pictures of. How depressing. Anyway, here are a few of my creations.

BTW, the last picture is not cake.  :)  My second son is not fond of cake, so every year he asks for Peanut Butter Pie. The recipe I use follows.  I don't know where it came from originally, but it's good and EASY.

 

Peanut Butter Pie

Prepared pie crust, baked according to directions, and cooled.

Filling:

¾ cup confectioners sugar
½ cup peanut butter
2 cups milk
vanilla instant pudding (large)
Cool Whip

Mix sugar and peanut butter until lightly colored and it looks like sand and small pebbles.  Sprinkle all but 2 tbsp. in the bottom of baked pie shell.

Mix pudding with milk and let begin to thicken.  Pour over crumbs in shell. Top with Cool Whip, then sprinkle with remaining crumbs.

Refrigerate overnight or a couple of hours.

Enjoy.  :)