Little man was happy to pose with all the goods.
5 Pints of apple butter
10 Quarts of spaghetti sauce Yes, more that 50 lbs of tomatoes from our garden an NOT ONE did we eat fresh. I know we're crazy, but none of us like tomatoes... but we love pasta!
20 Quarts of apple pie filling Just dump it into a pie crust & bake. Voila! Apple pie in no time! I also use it to make apple crisp with a crumb topping and vanilla ice cream, of course!
30 Quarts of applesauce No sugar here... just the real stuff and it is YUMMY!
30 Quarts of Pears My kids' favorite! Next year I need to do at least 100! Luke will eat an entire jar by himself!
30 Quarts of Peaches From the orchard up the road. Yummy!
6 Pints of jam, plus TONS of little freezer jams in containers for Christmas gifts. I'm thinking ahead this year! No rushing around for neighbor gifts again like last year.
But wait, we're not done yet...............
We bagged up and froze about 40 quart bags of corn from our garden. It is sooo yummy, just like eating corn on the cob!Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Pickled Peppers......
Our peppers did great this year. I froze 2 gallon-size bags for chili, sweet & sour chicken, and fajitas. I friend suggested last year that I freeze my peppers and I loved having them all year. This year I have twice as much!
Just to try it out, I also dehydrated a bunch of peppers. Man, they shriveled up to nothing! That (above) is all the peppers from 5 trays on the dehydrator... and it doesn't even fill up a sandwich bag! They are actually really tasty to eat just as they are, but I plan to throw them in soup or whatever?And finally... APPLES!
This was a GREAT year for apples here! Everyone had tons on their trees. Eric's parents brought buckets and buckets from their friend's house every time they came to visit. Besides the applesauce and pie filling, I've been drying them. They are so tasty! My kids are hooked. We've been eating bags and bags of dried apples. Anne even learned to say, "Appoo" and reaches from some.
This handy-dandy peeler/slicer/corer is a MUST!! I got it for Christmas a few years ago (thanks Mom & Dad!) and I use it all the time! It also works great for peeling potatoes quickly for mashed potatoes.
The pigs have been loving all the scraps they get from my canning. (yellow bowl)It does all the work and leaves you with a perfect spiral apple.
Just dip them in water with lemon juice for a minute or two and lay them out on the trays. I borrowed a friend's dehydrator so I can do double time... 15 trays at once.
The finished product... so good and good for you, too! I've been sending them in the boys' lunches. I guess Luke has been sharing them because one of his friend's Mom called me for my dried apple recipe. She said he was begging her to make some. Cute, eh?
Well, there you have it. I might be slacking in my blogging... but at least I have something to show for it! :)
2 comments:
WOW Tanya, that is amazing! WOW. What a blessed place to live where you can grow all of that so well!!! Do you guys have irrigation or is your garden watered with a hose? We are most likely building on bigger land, and though we can't have farm animals, besides chickens, I plan to have a HUGE garden so I can be just like you!!! What lucky kids to have you as a mom. That is quite an accomplishment. And so good for you. I bet you guys don't get sick a lot with all that good stuff you are taking. We just eat candy around here. (not normally, but this week thats what it felt like) WAY TO GO!!!!
Sorry to hear about your Chicken Tragedy. Nice shot though Caleb. Hopefully you will have a Mink hat to wear to keep warm in all that snow. Enjoying your blog. Maybe someday we might catch up with the rest of the Mac family and start a blog. Yours is very inspiring.
Todd and Char
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