Julie's Sweet Salsa

I've been so blessed with such an abundance in my gardens this year. I've been trying to use up my tomatoes. Someone gave me the idea to try making salsa. This is one of two recipes I hope to be trying. I got this one from a sister in my ward, Julie, so I'll call it...

Julie's Sweet Salsa

12 large ripe tomatoes (I used both round and Roma, I counted 2-3 Roma's for every large round because my Romas are a lot smaller.)

2 large onions, chopped

2 large green peppers, chopped

1 - 2 jalapeno peppers, diced (the first time I made it I used 1, the second time I used 2)
1 anaheim or banana pepper, diced

1 cup white vinegar

1/2 - 3/4 cup white sugar, to liking (I used 1/2 cup the first time, most of us liked it, some of us thought it was too sweet so I reduced it to 1/3 cup and added the second jalapeno the second time.)

2 Tbs salt

Blanche (place into boiling water for 20 - 30 seconds, then run cold water over them til cool enough to handle) and peel tomatoes, cut into bite size pieces and put into large pot. (Julie uses the food processor for everything. I don't have one, I just chopped the best I could and used my magic bullet to pulse chop it up.) Add all ingredients to pot and bring to a boil.

Turn down to simmer for approximately 1 hour, until thickened. (Cooks down about an inch in the pot. I think it's a little runny still, I think I will cook down a little more next time.)

Pour cooked salsa into clean canning jars about 1/3 inch from the top, wipe around top and side and put on hot lids and bands.

Process in steam canner for 20 min. (pint jars) (I used my hot water bath canner.)

Makes approximately 5 - 7 pints.

*You can add hotter peppers as desired.

Apricots

I inherited some apricots this week. I didn't even know if we like apricots, but free is free and I thought I would give them a try. Some were really ripe and ready, and some had to sit for a few days to ripen nice.

I started out by just bottling some. It took me about 2 hours to peel and pit enough apricots to fill 6 quart jars. I just cold packed them, filled the jars, dumped in some sugar (1/4 to 1/2 cup to taste), pour boiling water to fill to the neck and processed them 30 minutes. I really didn't think that was very time effective for what I got out of it, and went to work looking for a better idea.

I came across a great Apricot/Pineapple Jam recipe....

3 cups prepared fruit (about 2 lbs fully ripe apricots)

1 can (20 oz) crushed pineapple in juice, undrained

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (I used real lemon juice from a bottle)

1 box MCP pectin

1/4 tsp butter or margarine

8 cups sugar, measured into separate bowl (I know lots of sugar -- Doug says that's what makes jam good!!!)

Bring boiling -water canner, half full with water, to simmer. Wash jars and screw bands in hot soapy water; rinse with warm water. (I like to run my jars through the dishwasher and keep them in there until I'm ready) Pour boiling water over flat lids in saucepan off the heat. Let stand in hot water until ready to use. Drain jars well before filling.

Chop finely or grind unpeeled and pitted apricots. Measure exactly 3 cups prepared fruit into 6 to 8 quart sauce pot. Add crushed pineapple and lemon juice. (I was told to put crushed pineapple into a food processor to grind a little more to reduce foaming. I had very little to no foaming. The only down side is you don't have very chunky jam.)

Stir pectin into prepared fruit in sauce pot. Add butter to reduce foaming. Bring mixture to full rolling boil (a boil that doesn't stop bubbling when stirred) on high heat, stirring constantly. Stir in sugar. Return to a full rolling boil and boil exactly 4 min., stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim off any foam with metal spoon.

Ladle immediately into prepared jars, filling to within 1/8 of rim of tops. (I just poured right from the pot to the jars, and I only filled to the neck, that gave me 5 pints for one batch.) Wipe jar rims and threads. Cover with two-piece lids. Screw bands tightly. Place jars on elevated rack in canner. Lower rack into canner. (Water must cover jars by 1 to 2 inches. Add boiling water if necessary.) Cover; bring water to gentle boil. Process 10 min. Remove jars and place upright on a towel to cool completely. After jars cool, check seals by pressing middles of lids with finger. (If lids spring back, lids are not sealed and refrigeration is necessary.)

I prepared my fruit two different ways...

The first was-- pitting and peeling by hand, then mashing them with a potato masher. Takes longer but you get more chunky jam, that's a plus.

The second way was -- I went and purchased a Back to Basics Food Strainer & sauce maker. All I had to do was break the apricot in half remove the pit and throw it into the hopper. Turn the handle and out comes beautiful puree. The skin comes out the other end. I ran it through a couple of times to get all the good stuff and voila -- Apricot Sauce! The great thing about this was that the kids loved working it, so suddenly I had all sorts of help!!

I made 9 pints of jam the first way, and 10 pints the second way. I was concerned about the time it was taking to make and how far the apricots were going (3 cups isn't very much fruit). Also how expensive the pectin is. So I was trying to think of another way to preserve these apricots. I was looking through my ball canning book and came across the idea to make apricot sauce.

I just put my puree in a pot, added some sugar to taste (I put about 1 cup sugar to 4 cups puree) and some cinnamon (Emily's idea), brought it to a boil and poured it into my bottles. Put in water bath canner and processed for 30 minutes. It was quick and easy!!

Leatherby's Carmel Sauce

Mmmmm... I love the Carmel Sauce at Leatherby's. That was one of the main reasons for going; besides the homemade ice cream of course!

1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup
1 (12 fl oz) can evaporated milk (or 1 1/2 cups)
1/2 cup butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

In a medium-size pot, combine sugar, brown sugar, corn syrup, evaporated milk and butter.

Bring to a boil and boil for about 15 -20 minutes. This might take longer, try to get it to just before the soft ball stage.

Remove the pot from heat and stir in vanilla. Transfer to a glass jar and you are ready to go.

Store in the fridge. I'm not sure how long it keeps because mine doesn't last that long!

Alfredo Sauce

1/4 cup butter
2 cup cream
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Combine butter, cream, salt and pepper in skillet. Bring to a gentle boil; reduce heat and simmer 4 minutes, stirring to prevent scorching. Remove from heat ans stir in Parmesan cheese. Do not boil. Mixture will be thin.
Yield: 4 servings

Or you can use what I use. I like the Western Family Alfredo Packets. You can get them on sale for 3 or 4 for a dollar. That to me is worth the price of the cream.

All it takes is a couple of Tbsp (tablespoons) of butter or margarine and 3/4 cup of milk. It has extra seasonings which I love.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Sauces

Sauce #1:

1 can (10.5 oz) cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup sour cream
Juice of 1 lemon (about 1/3 cup)

Blend ingredients and heat. Serve over chicken rolls. Makes about 2 cups, 8 servings of 1/4 cup each.

Sauce #2:

2 Tbsp butter or margarine
2 Tbsp flour
1 cup milk
1 tsp chicken base
salt and pepper to taste

Prepare sauce by making a roux of butter & flour (this means melting the butter and mixing in the flour with a whisk or fork). Then add milk and chicken base. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly until thickened. Season to taste. Serve over hot chicken rolls.