Getting back to my childhood "roots"

In my last post, I asked what people were doing to save money....and didn't get a response from anyone, which is fine.  But I thought I'd share what I've been doing for the past couple of weeks.

Last week, I made 2 different batches of salsa - 1 relatively mild (called "Mom's Salsa") and one with a few teaspoons of Frank's Hot Sauce added to it (called "Dad's Salsa").  My son helped me make Dad's and my daughter helped me make Mom's.  Unfortunately, DH really likes the salsa and has been going through about half a pint each time he snacks!  So, I guess I'll be making more in the near future.

This week - today, in fact - DD and I made grape jelly using unsweetened grape juice, pectin, and sugar.  We had 6 pints, but 2 didn't seal so they went directly to the fridge.  Apparently, they are better than store bought...at least that's what both children told me (DS made a PB&J sandwich using my jelly and DD had some on some of the homemade, unsalted tortilla chips that I also made today).

The jelly gave me a little more trouble than the salsa, but I think it's because I was a bit impatient to get it made and see how it tasted...lol.  A bit sweeter than I''m  used to as it took 9 cups of sugar to 6 cups of juice and 12 Tablespoons of pectin....however, I've also been using low-sugar, store-bought jelly for a few years now, so this is actually probably close to what "normal" grape jelly tastes like...I guess I'll just have to use less now.

I have "grand plans" as to what I'll be canning this year, but I don't know how much I'll actually get to.  Things that have been added to the list of possibilities include: apples, oranges, pears, peaches, fruit cocktail, applesauce, spiced apple rings, apple pie filling, spaghetti sauce, more pickles (last done 2 years ago), maybe sauerkraut (BIG maybe), grapes....the list keeps getting added to and things keep getting taken off and replaced, but the bottom line is that I don't want to h ave to pay crazy prices when I want something that is out of season in the stores....so I'll can when things are fresh and I can have them all year long :-)

Next thing I want to try, though not canning, is homemade cheez-its...have a page bookmarked and ready to go, just need to go shopping and get ingredients....wish I had a food processor since that's what's used in the recipe, but the person who posted said that a blender could also be used...it would just take a little longer to mix everything up....we shall see....