OAMC, Month 4

I hit the jackpot with serranos and red bell peppers in the clearance section. $4 for enough peppers to can up some hot pepper relish.

Relish is a super easy undertaking and great for beginners. I used this recipe.

I chopped all my peppers in the food processor. Added minced garlic, vinegar and water and boiled for 5 mins.

I also tried out my new Tattler lids that I ordered last year. I thought this would be a good batch to test them out on.

I made a small batch of 6 half-pints plus enough left over to blend up into a hot sauce that I’ll just put in the fridge (without canning). Processed for 10 mins in boiling water bath. And voila~easy peasy & done!

Hot pepper relish.

One of my lids didn’t seal, I must have left it too loose. There’s a learning curve with these but I’ll get the hang of it.

With half of the family enjoying spicy foods, this will add some nice spice to the pantry.

To recap my OAMC adventure so far:

Jan~ Turkey soup

Feb ~ Beef stew & Bean soup

Mar~ Mushrooms

April ~ Hot Pepper Relish

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Once a Month Canning?

I’ve read a few blogs recently where they focus on canning something different every month. Usually something in season, like Salmon in June or garden produce in August. During the off-season they still find something to can like beans or meats. This keeps the pantry stocked and adds variety, which is always good.

I love the concept and I’m thinking of giving it a try. It’s more motivation to keep me on a regular schedule.

I managed to get my turkey soup canned up on the last day of January (WTG me!) and so I’m ready to figure something out for February.

First thing is to check the pantry and see what’s needed. Well, not fish, for sure. Or jams/jellies, we’re pretty well stocked. I’m down to one jar of canned black beans, out of soup (good thing I’ve got some fresh jars to move into the pantry today) and out of canned beef and moose. I still have some canned chicken.

Soups are an important mainstay in our winter diet. Soup and sandwich for lunch on a cold day is so warming and filling.

I think that’s where I need to focus. Beef stew sounds good but I’ll have to keep my eye open at the grocery store for special deals, that will be my deciding factor. Bean soup sounds hearty and tasty too. Our local butcher, Echo Lake Meats, makes a beef Canadian bacon that is so tender and delicious. It would work to sub out for the ham in this recipe. Mexican chicken soup sounds delightful as well.

Homemade cream of mushroom sounds good too… Or this version of you want a already thickened cream of mushroom soup. And I just happen to have some mushrooms on hand. But I could also make this, decisions, decisions.

Off to gather ingredients!

I settled on making some beef stew and bean soup in pints. Processed 11# for 75 minutes. That will give us a nice variety for our work lunches!

And just like that, I’m off to a great start with once a month canning!!

My canning shirt from my Seester.