Three day canning spree!

My daughter Mary and I went on a three day canning spree this last week! I have a love hate relationship with canning, I get all excited and say lets do this much, then in the middle of the job I am regretting how much I decided we needed to do, then when we are all done I am so so happy with the results!  She went up to Hermiston and picked up 12 boxes of tomatoes, 1 box of jalapeno peppers and two boxes of green peppers.  What were we thinking!  We were never so glad to get those last tomatoes peeled and into the canner!  I told Mary we would be dreaming about tomatoes!
We made 39 quarts of regular tomatoes, 69 pints of salsa, 61 pints of stewed tomatoes, and 49 pints of candied jalapenos.  It will be so nice to have them for the winter but oh what a job!  We froze most of the green peppers for later use.  I have a fajita recipe I use them in.
The recipe we used for the regular tomatoes  and the stewed tomatoes came out of the ball blue book.  You can get it here.
Here they are in case you do not have the book:

Tomatoes-packed in own juice

• 2 1/2 to 3/12 pounds tomatoes per quart
• bottled lemon juice
• salt (optional)

1. Fill a large saucepot with water and bring to a boil, remove from heat and add tomatoes, blanch for 30-60 seconds or until skins start to crack.  Run cold water over the tomatoes until the water is cool enough to drain off and add more cold water.  Take out of water remove skins and cut out the cores.  Cut into halves or quarters.
2. Add 2 Tablespoons bottled lemon juice to each quart jar.  
3. Pack tomatoes into hot jars, pressing gently on tomatoes until the natural juice fills the spaces between the tomatoes, leaving a 1 inch headspace.  Add 1 tsp salt to each jar.  Remove air bubbles with a nonmetallic spatula.  Adjust two piece caps.  Process for 50 minutes in a boiling water canner, this time is for an altitude of 1001 to 3000 feet. You can find the chart here.
4. Remove jars and let sit for 24 hours before putting them away.

Stewed Tomatoes

Ingredients:

• 4 quarts chopped, peeled, cored tomatoes (about 24 large)
• 1 cup chopped celery (about 1 stalk)
• 1/2 cup chopped onion (about 1/2 medium)
• 1/4 cup chopped green pepper (about 1/4 medium)
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 2 tsp salt

1.   Combine all ingredients in a large saucepot.  Cover and cook 10 minutes, stirring to prevent sticking.
2. Ladle hot vegetables into hot jars, leaving a 1-inch headspace.  
3. Adjust 2 piece caps.  Process pints for 10 minutes at 11 pounds pressure, again this is for an altitude of 1001-3000 feet in a steam pressure canner.
4. Remove from canner and let rest for 24 hours undisturbed.

And the candied jalapenos recipe I got off of pinterest a long time ago so not sure where it came from but here is the recipe:

Candied Jalapenos

Ingredients:

• 3 pounds fresh firm jalapeno peppers, washed
•  2 cups cider vinegar
• 6 cups white granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp mustard seed
• 3 tsp granulated garlic
• 1 tsp ground cayenne pepper

1. Wearing gloves, remove the stems from the jalapenos, discard.
2. Slice the peppers into slices about 1/8-1/4 inch rounds.  Set aside.
3. In a large pot, bring cider vinegar, sugar, turmeric, mustard seed, garlic, and cayenne pepper to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.  Add the pepper slices and simmer for another 4 minutes exactly.  Use a slotted spoon to transfer peppers into hot pint canning jars leaving a 1/4 inch headspace.  
4. Put the syrup back on the burner and bring to a full rolling boil, boil hard for 6 minutes.
5. Use a ladle to pour the syrup over the jalapenos in your jars, insert a nonmetallic spatula into the jars to remove air bubbles and add more syrup if necessary so that you have a 1/4 inch headspace.  Wipe the jar rims with a clean damp cloth before adding your 2 piece caps.  
6. Place jars in your water bath canner making sure your jars are covered with 2 inches of water, bring to a full rolling boil and process for 20 minutes. Remove from canner and let set for 24 hours undisturbed.

 Some things to remember when you are canning.

1. Always have your jars clean and sterilized.  I put them in my dishwasher and keep them in there so they stay hot.  If they are not hot when they go in the canner it can cause them to break.
2. I wash my rings and lids before I start and keep my lids in a pan of water kept on the stove on low heat.
3. Always wash your jar rims before placing your lids and rings on with a clean damp cloth.
4. Follow all processing times precisely to make sure you are canning safely, you can also check your extension office in your area for more info on safe canning.
5. Refer to the chart on times and pressures for your altitude.  
6. If you plan on altering a recipe keep in mind that your ph is important especially if you are water bathing.  The ph is what keeps things safe and is why some things need pressure canned and some things can be water bathed.  I love my ball blue book and refer to it for hints and tips on canning safely. 

The recipe we used for our salsa is found here.

Hope you enjoy these recipes if you decide to try them.  I am thinking about maybe trying some soups just wishing I had a better stove to can on, my goal is to save enough money to get myself a gas stove as I have done some research and found that they are highly recommended because they are better at holding up to the pressure canner.  I destroyed my front burner last year using the pressure canner on it, I even bought the special canning element to put on it but now the burner will sometimes go on high and stay there.  So frustrating and I cannot pressure can on it at all now.  Such is the way I guess and I still have my back burner as long as it holds up.  I guess if it does not I will be going to my sisters house to can.
Blessings,
Anna