diy: canning at home

For those who have never canned it can seem like a pretty scary undertaking. I won't lie, it definitely takes time, but scary...not in the least. I have been canning salsa, tomato sauce, jams and pickles for about 8 years- once you have a few of the basics down, canning can be fun and a pretty seamless process. 

You only get better and more efficient with experience. Believe me, I have had Jam over boil on the stove top (not fun), scalding hot water down my arm and leg and a few other disasters- but they never caused me to give up on canning.

You know why?  

Because there is nothing better than opening a can of jam or sauce in the dead of Winter that you put up yourself- you can almost taste Summer.

So today, I'd like to share with you a few helpful tips, tricks and resources that will make canning a little less scary for those looking to preserve the Summer harvest for the first time

mexican salad pizza // quinoa crust

Justin and I have a few food traditions that began early on in our relationship - Sunday morning breakfast and Friday night pizza, beer & movie night. We have continued with these "dates" religiously, hands down Sunday's and Friday's are my favorite days of the week.

I love salad pizza's, a warm pizza loaded with veggies and topped with fresh greens - this pizza has a Mexican flare which I love and topped with a healthy dose of greens & fresh tomatoes, which I love even more.

mexican quinoa stuffed green peppers

some nights quick and easy needs to be on the menu.

i wanted to share with you one of our go to summer meals, that is quick, easy & cheap.

this year has been a banner year in the garden for green peppers, even if you don't grow your own, green peppers can be had at the cheap - i am sure most of us already have a few hanging around in the fridge.

this recipe is one of the rare ones that i break out the pepper jack daiya for - justin, well he likes his plain.

mini pepper poppers

mini pepper poppers

say that 10 times fast

aren't these the cutest mini sweet peppers you ever did see

i think so - not hot but sweet as can be

filled with a "bacon bit" sourcream & pineapple mixture

topped with a bit of daiya

these were totally big on game day

almost as big as the patriots going to the super bowl

i only know that because of all the facebook chatter

justin and i were too busy playing buzz quiz on ps3

with me beating him on all the fashion & food questions

but him winning the game

winner winner chicken dinner

mexicali phyllo wraps // chipotle cilantro cream

round two of game day snackies - aren't you excited

... i can't believe i just used the word snackies

moving on

mexicali phyllo wraps made a very welcome appearance on sunday

i love the simple combination of flavors these wraps have

make a little or allot - you can customize this recipe to do either

don't you just love that - you can also customize the filling

to sum it up this is a very customizable recipe

beet + corn salsa

 its been a while

but i have a good excuse

i have been elbow deep in tomatoes & end of summer goodness from the garden

this time of year you will find me in the kitchen canning summer's bounty to enjoy all winter long

nothing beats opening a jar of salsa in the middle of winter ...or sauce, jam, pickles

and savouring the tastes of summer

a  few steam burns on the knuckles and scalding water down leg (apparently i did not learn my lesson from canning strawberry jam) is a small price to pay for a ticket back to summer when i need it most - in the middle of a new england winter

being able to preserve summers bounty, in my book is priceless