Make It Monday: 11 Food Preservation Recipes

Here is a collection of food preservation and canning recipes on Save Green Being Green:

1. Apple Chips
2. Apple Pie Filling
3. Apple Sauce
4. Apple-Rhubarb Jam
5. Frozen Eggplant Slices
6. Pear Sauce
7. Pumpkin Jam
8. Strawberry Freezer Jam
9. Strawberry-Rhurbarb Compote
10. Strawberry-Rhubarb Jam

And as a BONUS - my recently shared recipe (pictured above!)

Tomato and Zucchini Salsa

Thrifty Thursday: Tomato & Zucchini Salsa & Canning Labels GIVEAWAY

This is my mom's recipe and I often tell people about it when they are looking for either a thick recipe, another way to use up zucchini, or they just want something different to try. The recipe below is the one she gave me, but you cans always make it spicier if you choose. What is thriftier than growing your own food and canning it?!?!

Tomato and Zucchini Salsa
Yields: 13 pints


8 C shredded zucchini
4 C chopped onions
2-3 hot peppers
1 C green peppers
5 T salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1 T cumin
1 1/2 T corn starch
2 tsp dry mustard
1 1/2 C vinegar
1 T cayenne
4 dashed hot sauce
1-2 T crushed red pepper
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp black pepper
2 (16oz) cans of tomato paste
10 C peeled tomatoes
1/2 C brown sugar (I have left this out before and it's still very good, if you do not want any sugar)


Directions:
Combine all in a large slow cooker for several hours. Put in jars and process.

Last month, I told you all about the Lovable Label Canning Labels (go check it out and leave a comment! It gets you a 2 free entries in the giveaway!) and now I have had a chance to use them and let you know what I think of them.

I decided to order the Write-On Labels in the Flower Power Design. I wasn't sure what I was all going to can this year, so I wanted to be able to write on them myself. Plus, when you get the write-on labels you get 45 in a pack which was the most amount labels for the price and I really liked that idea.

You just write on the label with a permanent markers (which can later be washed off with rubbing alcohol so they can be reused). The labels are made of the same high quality material that other Lovable Labels are made of, so they are safe to use in the microwave, dishwasher, freezer and fridge.

So, now it is your turn to try out my recipe above and win some of your own labels. You can get them personalized however you want (as long as it fits on the label) or get write-on ones like I did.

What will you get?

ONE LUCKY READER WILL WIN A SET OF LOVABLE LABELS CANNING LABELS

OF THEIR CHOICE

ENTER RAFFLECOPTER BELOW

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I was sent the above labels for the purpose of review. No monetary compensation was received. All thoughts, option,s photographs and the above recipe belong to SGBG.

Make It Monday: Pear Sauce Recipe

You can alter this based on how many pears you have, but what you see above was paid with a 10-pound lug of pears. You may choose to not add any sugar because pears are quite sweet naturally.


Homemade Pear Sauce

10 pounds of Bartlett Pears, peeled, cored, sliced
1 C water
2 T lemon juice
3/4 C sugar
2 tsp cinnamon

Directions:
Puree pears slices in a food processor.
Combine pears and water in a large pot and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes.
Add lemon juice, sugar, cinnamon and bring to a boil.
Simmer until thickened.
Process in your preferred canning method while mixture is hot or if freezing, allow to cool before putting in freezer safe containers.
Enjoy!

Make It Monday: Refridgerated Pickled Red Onions

Ingredients needed: 2.5 pounds of red onions, 1 C apple cider vinegar, 1 C water, 1 tsp. sea salt, and 1 T evaporated cane juice.

Starting cooking your brine on the stove top. Combine all ingredients (except the onions) in a pot over med-hi heat. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Allow to cool slightly.

While your brine is cooking, slice our red onions thinnly. I used a mandoline slicer, but you could use a knife if you can slice thinnly enough. Pack the onions in pint jars. I fit 2 1/2 pounds in 3 pint jars.

Pour slightly cooked bring over the top of onions to the cover them completely. Allow to refrigerate for 24-48 hours before serving. Use within 1 month.

With the upcoming grilling season you are going to love offering these at your table. I really love putting them on sandwiches and hoagies too!

Thrifty Thursday: Pop Your Own Popping Corn

Sure, you probably don't have cobs of corn you grew and dried over the winter right now, if you did you were probably already popping your popcorn. But if not, why not plant some popping corn in your garden this spring. Allow your corn to dry in a dry location (it may take a month depending upon your humidity level to be dried all the way) and then pop it in a paper bag in the microwave.

Yes, on the cob! Just put the cob in a paper bag and press the popcorn button but be sure to hang around and listen for sounds that it has stopped popping. Only pop one cob at a time. 

So, who is excited to grow your own popcorn this summer!

Try It Tuesday: Easy Strawberry Freezer Jam

Making your own jam doesn't get much simpler than making Freezer Jam. All you need are 3 ingredients and some storage containers. I used canning jars, lids & rings because I have them, but you don't need to. You can use any container that you have that can be frozen. Make this a family project from start to finish and take your kids strawberry picking with you and then have them help make it. Making it is super easy and no cooking is required.

Easy Strawberry Freezer Jam

Ingredients Needed:
* 4 lbs. strawberries
* 1 1/2 C sugar
* 1 package of Ball Freezer Jam Instant Fruit Pectin

Directions:
* Remove hulls and stems from strawberries and crush
* Stir sugar and pectin together in a bowl
* Add crushed strawberries and stir for 3 minutes
* Ladle in to clean containers and let stand for 30 minutes
* Store in fridge (up to 3 weeks) or freezer (up to 1 year)
* Enjoy!

Make It Monday: Frozen Apple Pie Filling

Looking for something besides applesauce or apple butter to make with the apples you picked this fall but don't feeling like making more than 1 pie or crisp? Then try out my recipe to make the filling for apple pie or crisp that you just freeze, no canning necessary.

Frozen Apple Pie Filling
6 C apples, peeled & sliced
3/4 C raw sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp citric acid dissolved in 2 T water




Directions:

Combine all the above ingredients in a 1 quart freezer bag. Freeze flat.

To make in to a pie or crisp, allow to thaw and then use as the filling inside a pie crust or top with apple crisp topping; there is nothing else to add.