I also purchased some yellow onions, and some inexpensive spices in bulk at the spice store across from Canino’s.  So for less than 25 dollars I was totally armed with everything I needed to make spaghetti sauce.  I did have to run out and buy some new lids.  But that entire purchase was about 4 dollars.  So, 29 dollars had me going to make lots of spaghetti sauce.  There are these preparatory steps in canning.  The things people don’t tell you about.  You need to get all of your jars together, wash, and sanitize them.  Get your lids and rings in hot water as well.  For me locating everything takes awhile.  Today it took much longer, as my hallway closet shelves came out of alignment and things went crashing down.  This added another good hour to this canning project, but I was a determined woman at this point.

I lugged my tomatoes upstairs.  Washed the tomatoes, and began to locate all of the pots I would need.  The canner, obviously, the pot to immerse the tomatoes into to get their skins off, a pot to put the chopped tomatoes into, and then a pot to put the tomato skins into.  This is a messy proposition.  I used the recipe from the presto canning site, it is the one I used last year, and it turned out well.

SPAGHETTI SAUCE WITHOUT MEAT

• 30 pounds tomatoes
• 1 cup chopped onions
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup chopped celery or green pepper
• 1 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced (optional)
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 4 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoon oregano
• 4 tablespoon minced parsley
• 2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 cup brown sugar

Yield: About 9 pints

Procedure:Caution: Do not increase the proportion of onions, peppers, or mushrooms. Wash tomatoes and dip in boiling water for 30 to 60 seconds or until skins split. Dip in cold water and slip off skins. Remove cores and quarter tomatoes. Boil 20 minutes, uncovered, in large saucepan. Put through food mill or sieve. Sauté onions, garlic, celery or peppers, and mushrooms (if desired) in vegetable oil until tender. Combine sautéed vegetables, tomatoes, salt, oregano, parsley, black pepper and sugar. Bring to a boil. Simmer uncovered, until thick enough for serving. At this time the initial volume will have been reduced by nearly one-half. Stir frequently to avoid burning. Fill jars, leaving 1-inch headspace. Adjust lids.

Dial Gauge Canner—Process at 11 pounds pressure – Pints 20 minutes and Quarts 25 minutes. For processing above 2,000 feet altitude, see chart for recommended pounds of pressure.

Weighted Gauge Canner—Process at 10 pounds pressure – Pints 20 minutes and Quarts 25 minutes. For processing above 1,000 feet altitude, see chart for recommended pounds of pressure.

They make this sound easy, I have a smaller galley kitchen, so that means washing the tomatoes then putting them into the boxes that they came out of, scoring them, pulling out the ones out of hot water,  dunking other tomatoes into boiling water, then going over to the sink, peeling tomatoes and then chopping them up, and starting this process over again.  This honestly takes awhile.  You do get a moment to rest when the sauce is boiling away.  That also means lining up your jars, and getting them ready.

I made two batches, starting around 1 pm, and finishing around 8 pm.  I got 29 quarts out of this project, putting my cost at about a dollar a quart if we don’t add my labor.  My kitchen will still take some cleaning, sauce overboiled briefly, tomatoes spalsh when you peel them, and water drips when tomatoes are in transit.   

Right now my arms are sore, my skin on my hands feels like it has been through a wonderful skin peel.  I am sure I won’t do this at least for a little while.  Or at least until I come up with another great deal at the farmers market.

1 (29 oz.) can diced tomatoes
1 (10.5 oz.) can condensed chicken broth, undiluted
2 Tablespoons margarine
2 Tablespoons white sugar
1 Tablespoon chopped onion
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 Cups of heavy cream (I have substituted Half and Half, and it was just as good…)

Directions:
1. In a large stock pot mix tomatoes, chicken broth, margarine, onion, and baking soda. Simmer for 1 hour.
2. In a separate pot, heat cream over a low heat until hot, watching carefully so that the cream does not scorch! Once heated through add to tomato soup and serve.

Thanks to Sly1 for sharing this recipe.

1 tablespoon chopped sautéed onion
2 1/2 lbs. tomatoes
2 quarts of milk
1/2 pint of heavy cream
4 Tbsp.  sugar
black pepper to taste

Simmer onion until done, add tomatoes, milk and cream. Bring to high heat but do not boil. Put lots of sugar in this one, then add a little more with plenty of black pepper.

1/2 C. Mayonnaise
1/2 C. Sour Cream
1/3 C. Sweet Chile Sauce
1/8 C. Sweet Pickle Relish
1/2 tsp. Paprika
1/2 tsp. Finely Chopped Basil Leaves
1/4 C. Real Bacon Bits (compressed in cup)

Mix all together, and blend well. Serve on your favorite combination of salad.

4 Tbsp. butter
1 lb. hot Italian sausage
1 lb. sweet Italian sausage
2 onions — sliced
12 ounces beer
1 Tbsp. basil
4 garlic cloves — minced
2 cans Italian style stewed tomatoes
Salt and pepper to taste

Cut sausage into 1 inch pieces (use a pair of scissors). Melt butter in a large skillet and sauté sausage pieces until browned. Add the onions and garlic and cook until onions are transparent. Add remaining ingredients, cover and simmer for about 45 minutes. Serve over hot rice.

Soup is great served with croutons on top.

Return to saucepan and add cream and butter, while stirring over low heat. Garnish with basil leaves and serve with your favorite bread.

1/2 C. Diced Onions
1/2 C. Diced Tomatoes
2 Tbsp. Chopped Cilantro
Diced Jalapeno to taste (Omit the seeds)

Dice both tomatoes and onions. Chop cilantro, and add enough diced jalapeno seeds to suit your desired hotness. Mix together, and serve.

1 small to medium jalapeno pepper, minced
1/4 C. diced tomato
1/4 C. onion, finely diced onion
3 tbsp. lemon juice
1 1/2 Tbsp. finely chopped cilantro
1/2 tsp. salt, or to taste

Preparation Instructions:

Combine all ingredients. Let sit for at least a half hour so flavors will blend.