Poor Man's Steak

10 lbs. hamburger
2  1/2 tubes saltine crackers 
1 1/2  C. onions
1 1/2 C. celery
8 eggs
1 1/2 milk (add a bit more if needed)
2 oz. Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper (go easy on the salt as the crackers are salty)


1 cup sliced mushrooms
3 cans cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup water if the mixture seems too thick




Directions
I mixed all ingredients except the soup and mushrooms. Form the meat mixture into patties, use a canning ring as a guide to the the right width and height of the patty, it will shrink a bit. Place on cookie sheet and bake 30 minutes, turning over at 15 minutes. Use drippings and make a thin brown pan gravy, add mushrooms then soup.

Add a patty to the jar, then some gravy, then repeat until the jar is filled to the fill line.

Pressure can for 90 minutes for quart jars, 75 for pint jars.  I use 11 lbs for my altitude.

I used 80/20 hamburger meat and if I make this again I will use 90/10 for a firmer pattie.
I will use less crackers and milk too.  The patties are good, taste is great but the texture of the patties seems too soft.  You could also break up the patties and serve over rice or noodles and I think that would make the texture seem sturdier.


This recipe is all over the internet.  One of my favorite sites showing this is
http://challengedsurvival.blogspot.com/2011/10/canning-amish-poor-mans-steak-and.html
This one shows all the steps to making this. 

I first saw this on Facebook and then Googled it and found it in many places. 
http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150133377120242

And this one as well as others.   http://amishrecipebox.com/Amish%20Recipes/Poor%20Man's%20Steak%20To%20Can.html

Thanks Kris for the reminder!   

Pumpkin Butter

Pumpkin Butter 3 1/2 cups cooked or canned pumpkin 1 1/2 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice 1 package liquid fruit pectin 4  cups sugar 1/4 cup of water (if needed) I mixed everything but the pectin in a large pot and brought to a boil. I cooked several minutes and added most of the water.   I then added the pouch of pectin and stirred.  The pumpkin butter was thick but not too thick, it poured. I ladeled into pint jars and the PRESSURE CANNED the jars at 11 PSI for 15 minutes. I also took extra time bringing the canner up to heat and vented just a bit longer than I usually do.  I keep reading how unsafe pumpkin butter is to BWB.  I did this weeks ago and just opened a jar and it is great.  The pressure canning did not affect the taste.  It is thick.  It was not thick when I took it out of the canner.  Time thickened it. Can this at your own risk.  I made this again and added lemon juice instead of water.  I like it lots more, it adds a bit of tartness.

Chunky Tomato Basil Soup

This recipe is easy because I used canned tomatoes and tomato juice.

2 large cans diced tomatoes. (#10 cans)
1 36 ounce bottle of tomato juice
5 ounces fresh basil leaves
2 tablespoons dehydrated basil
Lawrys seasoned salt (to taste)  I used about a tablespoon
8 cloves chopped garlic
1/2 cup sugar or to taste
1/4 to 1/2 cup lemon juice

I opened one can of the diced tomato and used my immmersion stick blender to lightly blend the tomatoes, so they were not chunky but not smooth.  I then took 2 cups of this and added the basil and blended until smooth, added this to my large soup pot and added the other can of diced tomatoes and the bottle of juice and all the seasonings and stirred.  I let it heat up and tasted and at that point added my dehydrated basil.  I wish I had doubled the fresh basil.   I then put into 10 quart jars and pressured canned this for 15 minutes.   I decided to pressure can because I was not sure of the acidity of the tomatoes as I used already canned products.  I pressured canned for 15 minutes at 11 lbs PSI.

On serving add cream.  This is so good.  I will add extra basil next time.  This would be great with your own home canned tomatoes. 

Small Potatoes

I bought these tiny potatoes at a local Farmers Market. The whole potatoes were canned with
lightly salted water. The other potatoes were cut in half and canned in a light chicken broth. (it was just brought to my attention that if I used a real chicken broth I would need to PSI 90 minutes) I used bouillon. Thanks deerie65775


I scrubbed the potatoes and then pressured canned them for 40 minutes (quarts) or 35 (pints). I left the peel on and really like them this way.
I added garlic to some jars and just a splash of lemon to other jars. These are so handy to have in the pantry.

Red Beans for Red Beans and Rice

This is a per jar recipe using quart jars.
Layer Per Jar:

1/3 cup red beans, washed and soaked for 3 hours
1 andouille sausage (about the size of a hot dog) cut into thin slices
1/3 cup chopped onions
1/3 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 minced clove garlic per jar
2 teaspoons (or to taste) creole or cajun seasoning
pinch of cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste
water or chicken broth to fill the jar

Pressure can at 11 lbs PSI for 90 minutes (or for your altitude).

I also added some canned tomatoes to mine, not much just 2 tablespoons per jar. This is not traditional, we just like tomatoes.
Andouille sausage can vary, you should taste and see how spicy yours is before adding the creole seasonings. Some brands of sausage are so spicy, your jar may not require additional seasonings.

Pupusa Recipe

This is not a canning recipe.  I will be canning again soon.  I ran out of ideas and now have a few.
This recipe is great.  It's a leftovers recipe.  Mine are not pretty like the pupusas' I Googled.
You could make a bunch and freeze, and even cover in enchilada sauce to serve.

Ingredients for the Pupusa

2 cups masa harina

1 cup water

I also added 1 teaspoon salt and was tempted to add some cumin and or red pepper powder.


Fillings for Pupusa
meats, cheeses, beans, I used a mixture of cheese and chunky salsa.



Directions:

1. Stir the masa harina and water together in a mixing bowl until smooth; knead well. Cover bowl, and let the dough rest 5 to 10 minutes.

2. Shape the dough into eight, 2 inch diameter balls. On a lightly floured surface, roll out each ball into 6 inch diameter round. Sprinkle 1/4 cup queso fresco over each round. Place a second tortilla over the cheese, and pinch the edges together to seal in the cheese.

3. Heat ungreased skillet over medium-high heat.  Some recipes call for lightly oiling the skillet.
Cook 3 minutes and flip like a pancake.

Chicken and Sweet Potatoes in Honey Mustard Sauce

I got this idea in the frozen food section of my local grocery store.  Marie Callender TV Dinners to be exact.  I have never been able to can a honey mustard sauce successfully.  I tried with powdered mustard and all kinds of mustard and after canning, it simply disappears.  I even used some bottled honey mustard.  No luck, it just tastes like honey.  I now cook the chicken in a honey sauce and add mustard when reheating.  I canned the honey, sweet potatoes, and chicken in quarts.  I also have chicken in pint jars and sweet potatoes in quart jars and that may be easy if you are feeding more than two people.  This combination is great.

For each quart:

1 cup of chicken cut into bite sized pieces and then lightly stir fried
1/2 to 3/4 cups of honey (or to taste)
Fill the rest of the jar with sweet potatoes that have been peeled and cut into big hunks.
Fill with a light chicken broth to the fill line
Can at 11 lbs pressure (or for your altitude) for 90 minutes (quarts)  75 minutes (pints)

When read to eat, drain the liquid in a saucepan, add a tablespoon of mustard (or more or less) stir and thicken with cornstarch, then add the chicken and sweet potatoes and heat.

Enchilada Casserole Experiment

I have leaned to make only 3 to 4 jars of anything I experiment with. This is not really a recipe as much as it is an idea you can change as needed.

I stir fried cut up chicken pieces, no bone or skin.... until lightly cooked.
I cut up corn tortillas into small squares.
I used green enchilada sauce and some whole beans I had canned, some onions, corn and
green chilis.

I put 1/8 cup enchilada sauce in a quart jar and added a few squares of corn torillas,
then added chicken, a bit more sauce, more corn tortilla squares, then onions and corn, more sauce
then more corn tortillas, then green chilies and beans.  I layered this using a lot of sauce and then when through layering, filled the jar to the top fill line with sauce and used a wooden
spoon handle to get the bubbles out and added more sauce.

The verdict?   I used way too many corn tortilla squares and it mushed up a lot.
I will do this again and use less tortillas.  When I took this out of the canner it was full of liquid and bubbling, later it sort of congealed into this mushy mass that was delicious.  I like it!

DH does not like the green enchilada sauce so next time I will make it with red sauce and with beef.

I used to make a casserole a bit like this when I had kids at home, I used stale corn tortilla chips instead of corn tortillas and think that flavor would be a bit better and easier to make.  You would just smash the chips.

As I said above, this is my personal experiment.  Can at your own risk. 
This is not a pretty jar of food.

Sausage Chowder

My freezer died (is fixed again)  and I found a package of Lil Smokies and another part of a package of just sausage.  I also had a lot of potatoes to use soon.  I made this chowder.
We had a jar tonight, one the the Lil Smokies and it was great...much to my astonishment.

Once again this a "PER JAR" recipe.

1 smoked sausage or 3/4 cup Lil Smokies
Chunky Chopped potatoes, I filled my jar halfway
1/4 cup white corn
1/4 cup onion

Fill to the fill line with chicken broth

Pressure can at 11 PSI for 90 minutes quarts.

This soup was quite watery.  I added 1/2 cup cream and because DH likes a less watery soup, I added instant mashed potatoes from a sample we got in the mail.  I may now buy some to keep on hand to thicken soup. 

Turkey Cassoulet Soup

Per jar

1 cup chopped cooked turkey
1/2 cup dry white beans (rinsed)
1/2 cup sliced sausage (any kind)
2 slices bacon (cooked and crumbled)
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 tsp garlic chopped or powdered or to taste
1 tablespoon tomato paste
salt pepper to taste


add chicken broth to the fill line and cook 90 minutes quarts at 11 lbs pressure or for your altitude.

I love this soup, I did not use sausage because I was out of it and did not want to go to the store. My Mom took me to Sweet Tomatoes and I had this soup, came home and tried to recreate it. Next time I will add the sausage and a bit more dry beans. I love the texture of the beans, not soggy and fully cooked. A great way to use leftovers, which is why I did this recipe by the jar.

Check this out!

http://storageskills.blogspot.com

She has awesome photos plus a sun oven, how cool is that?
I had never seen this model before.

Tomato and Onion Soup and Spicy Jalapeno Soup

I love the tomato and onion soup at the Soup Plantation or Sweet Tomatoes.

I also wanted to use up some of my many cans so I came up with this.

1 #10 can of diced tomatoes
2 cups tomato sauce
2 cups stewed tomatoes (just because I had them)
3.5 lbs onions sliced in thin rings
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 tablespoons Oregano or to taste
2 tablespoons sweet basil or to taste
celery salt to taste

Put all in large stewing pot and bring to boil. I then used a stick blender and blended about half the soup, I left the other half chunky. Taste and add more seasonings if desired. I love the lemon juice in this, the tartness makes this taste fresh and thats important because it is being processed twice.

I filled 5 quarts and had enough left for 2 or 3 quarts more, I then added a bottle of Spicy V8 juice and a small can of diced jalapenos and some chopped garlic. I got four more quarts and two yummy soups.

Pressure at 11 lbs pressure for 35 minutes quarts and 25 minutes pints.
I know some people would BWB this, I am just not comfortable doing this. I feel it has already been processed once, and now twice.

Candied Sweet Potatoes

12 lbs sweet potatoes scrubbed
water to cover
5 medium oranges or 1.5 cups orange juice
1 cup water (I used all orange juice, no water)
1.5 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup honey or maple syrup or Karo syrup if you run out of honey
2 Tablespoons pure vanilla
1.5 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Over medium heat boil potatoes in water until skins come off easily
about 20 minutes.

While potatoes are cooking prepare the orange sauce. Wash oranges, grate 1/4
cup peel and set aside. Juice oranges and add water until you have 2.5 cups liquid. In a saucepan combine juice, water, brown sugar and honey, bring to boil until sugar dissolves. Add vanilla, grated orange peel and pumpkin pie spice.

Immerse potatoes in cold water and peel. Cut potatoes into chunks, pack into jars and ladle the hot syrup ( 1/3 cup hot syrup for pints, 3/4 hot syrup for quarts)

Use a pressure canner at 10 lbs pressure (or for your altitude) for 65 minutes pints, 90 minutes quarts.

DH loved these. I felt they were too mushy. I am not fond of sweet potatoes in any case. I may just peel and not precook if I make these again.
For those of you who love maple flavored sweet potatoes, use that instead of honey. I forgot to take photos however these look just like the tin canned sweet potatoes in the grocery stores.

Recipe adapted from The Everything Canning and Preserving Book.
I love this book!!

Chili Beans

This is a recipe that sounds delicious. This is from a reader who has been canning for years. She has a family background in canning, learning from her elders. I think that's great.

Chili Beans

Soak about three pounds of pinto beans overnight...I'm guessing on this, as I usually do more and make a day of it

In each jar add:

1/4 cup tomato paste
2 T chopped onion
1t. chili powder
scant t. salt
1 t. cumin
pinch of pepper
1/4 t. garlic powder
1/4 t. sugar
pinch oregano
2 1/2 cups soaked beans

Fill to about an inch from the top of the jar with hot water. Process quarts for 95 minutes at 10 pound pressure and adjusted to your altitude.

Thank you again for the time and care taken on the blog and for encouraging so many to take heed and use that canner.



Thank you Judy! Chili is so good on cold days.

Green Sauce

5 lbs tomatillos washed and cut into small hunks
2 lbs anaheim chili's roasted and prepared or 1 lg can roasted green chili
6 jalapenos chopped
3 large onions chopped
1/4 cup lemon juice or to taste
2 cups water
8 cloves garlic chopped
1 TBS Lawry's seasoned salt, or to taste
2 TBS Cumin or to taste

Bring all to a boil and boil covered on low for about 20 minutes.
I then took my stick mixer (immersion blender) and blended all.

Pour into jars, wipe rims and I pressured this at 11 lbs for 25 minutes.

This sauce may have to have some thickening before using. I will be using it as
a sauce for enchiladas and as a soup base. I really like the color and the flavor.
You can add tomatoes if you want as well. If you like spicier add more jalapenos
or a pinch of cayenne powder. I have made this using lime juice insted of lemon and
really liked it as well. The tomatillos keep this sauce mild. I shop at ethic markets and love it. My tomatillos were 3 lbs for a dollar.

I took the photo will a cell phone, its a bit blurry.

Sausage,Cabbage and Vegetable Soup

2.5 lbs Sweet Italian Sausage cut into chunks
I head cabbage sliced thin, I used green cabbage
3/4 lbs carrots cut into slices
4 cups chopped potatoes
1 lb soaked navy beans
2 cups chopped celery
2 large onions chopped
5 cloves chopped garlic
1.5 cups apple juice
3 granny smith apples, peeled and chopped
4 TBS cider vinegar
3 TBS brown sugar
3 tomatoes peeled and chopped
salt and pepper to taste


I threw everything into a stock pot and covered with water.
I brought to a boil then simmered for about 15 minutes.
I ladled into my quart jars (12 jars) and processed for 90 minutes at 11 PSI.

This is good, not as odd as I thought it might be. I like it and my guests liked it.
I wish I had used more apples. If I do this again I may throw in cubes of pumpkin.

Experimental Tomato, Sausage, Veggie Sauce

The reason this sauce is experimental is because about two years ago I purchased one of those huge #10 can of crushed tomatoes at Sam's Club. (it was $1.89) It sat in the garage until this weekend. I had leftover sausage and carrots from my other canning. I decided to can this, knowing the tomatoes would be double processed. I used lemon juice to tarten up the flavor a bit. I love fresh tomatoes, I love canning fresh tomatoes. I hate paying over $3.00 a lb for tomatoes, and those barely taste like real tomatoes. I used carrots because I had them and had no plans to use them in anything else. I did not want to use any other veggies because I was not sure I would like this. We do like it! We decided to do this again, next time with meat and green chilis and onions. DH also wants to make some with a lot of italian seasonings.

1 #10 can crushed tomatoes
2 cups shredded carrots
1 lb sausage
1/4 cup lemon juice
salt and pepper as desired


I processed for 90 minutes because it had meat in it. 11 lbs pressure for my altitude.

This feels like cheating, I cheated once and made apple butter out of a #10 can of applesauce using my slow cooker and extra lemon juice and no one could tell. After all those times peeling the apples, no one noticed. Next time I am at Sam's Club or Costco, I am going to be sure and check out those huge cans, after slowly turning and looking to see if the canning police are watching LOL.

Split Pea and Spicy Italian Sausage Soup

I have used the traditional ham before and the canning process seems to leach the flavor out of the ham, leaving chunks of meat without any flavor to chew on.
I wanted to try something different. I like this a lot, DH thought it was too spicy.


2 lbs dried green split peas (rinse and pick out any strange looking peas)
10 cups water (I used part chicken stock)

Bring to a boil and while boiling cut into chunks

5 carrots
5 potatoes
3 spicy italian sausages (about 9 inches long each)

then add to the liquid

1 tsp Lawry's seasoned salt
1 tsp powdered garlic
1/2 tsp black pepper

I then added the cut carrots, potatoes and sausage to the boiling liquid
and waited for it to come back to a boil and ladled into 5 quart canning jars
added water to the jars to the fill line,and cooked at 11 lbs pressure for 90 minutes.

I took about and extra 20 minutes letting my canner get to 11 lbs.
When the timer went off I turned the burner off and waited until there was no
pressure left in the canner.
I had no liquid loss when I opened the canner to remove the jars.

In this recipe and almost any recipe you can add or take away veggies.
I tend to use whatever I have on hand and make liberal substitutions.

Any soup with meat needs 90 minutes for quarts and 70 for pints.