I’m a firm believe that if it can’t be solved with duct tape, it can’t be solved.  Well, check out this you tube video showing how to use duct tape to open a tightly sealed jar! It’s amazing.. duct tape can actually UNSTICK something!!!

This was the first pressure canned recipe I ever tried.  I wouldn’t say it came out all that great put practice makes perfect!

Slice and core your apples.  There’s much argument over the internet on whether or not to leave the peels on.  If you’re going to do just apples and not apple sauce, I would recommend leaving the peels on to help them not fall apart.

Sterilize lids and jars according to manufacture’s instructions.

Boil apples in water (or syrup) for five minutes.  Then take apples and liquid and pour it into jars.  Make sure the water is full until the groves (about 1/2 of the top) to leave room for pressurization. Close lids tightly, but not overly tight to make sure the moisture can escape.

Place on the rack in your pressure caner making sure that non of the jars are touching.  Add 2-3 inches of hot or boiling water to the bottom of the pot. Make sure to pour water around the jars and not on them to prevent cracking.

Close lid and turn burner to high for 10 mins.  After 10 minutes you should be hearing the whistling from the steam.  Set the flame to low and let pressurize for 6 minutes.  Turn off the fire and let steam finish escaping.  Remember to open pot away from you.  Use the jar lifters to remove the jars from the pot and set on a towel.  Tighten lids and let set up to 12 hours.  If your jars do not can properly (the little bubble at the top of the lid presses up and down), either discard the jar or put in the fridge and use as soon as possible!

Whenever we cook most things at our house (especially anything Cajun) there is always a basic mix of veggies we use. To save time, I always keep some cut up and in the freezer.

What you need: 

• onions
• bell peppers
• celery
• parsley
• green onions (or onion tops like my family calls them)

What you gotta do: 

For each mix you want to have 2 onions, 1 bell pepper, 1 celery stalk, about a handful of parsley and half a cup of green onions. Chop and mince all the veggies as small as you can and be sure to mix them up as best as possible  Fill up jars or ziplock bags and toss in the freezer.  It will keep for about three months! Now when you go to cook you just add handfuls as needed.  This cuts down on TONS of time in the kitchen and also prevents a lot of vegetables from going to waste.

Enjoy!

This might be my favorite thing to can.  I always end up with bugs in my rice.  You can also get jars that measure an exact amount of rice.  This jar has about 2 cups of rice in it, so when it comes time to cook all I have to do is dump it in the pot.  This is also extremely good if you like to buy rice in bulk!!!

The directions are basically the same as Oven Canned Cereal.

You fill whatever size jar you want to use to the brim.  You do not need to leave extra room like you do when canning with a pressure caner.  You put a cookie sheet in the oven then place your jars on it. Set it at 200 degrees for about an hour (I personally only let it cook for about 45 minutes and everything worked fine for me). When you take the jars out, be sure to use some kind of oven mitt because they will be super hot! Put the jars on a towel if you put it straight on a cold surface, the jars could crack. Moisten the lids, place them on top and screw them on tightly.  You should hear the popping sound from a seal being made in no time, but it could take up to 24 hours.