I love canning!

Okay, well maybe I don't LOVE it...but I sure do LOVE the outcome. I'm obsessed with food storage and so I LOVE seeing my pantry full of bottled jars.

Therefore here is a quick picture blog of the canning I have been doing for the past few weeks.

Here is some super delicious spaghetti sauce! I have probably already used half a dozen jars. I love this recipe! It's more "runny" then "saucy" but I don't care. It's great for pasta and pizza and whatever else.

Here is some salsa. I love this recipe but this batch turned out pretty runny. I probably should have let it cook down for quit a bit longer. Oh well. It's not that great for chips because of that but it is awesome for cooking with. I have put it in dips, the slow cooker and even my rice cooker. It's mild but good.

My neighbor Kelsey has an overabundance of grapes and she said I could pick whatever I wanted for canning. I was originally going to try and make a jam or something but the grapes were so darn sweet that I couldn't bring myself to do that since you have to add so much darn sugar. Therefore I tried something new....grape juice! I've only done 8 quarts so far. Your supposed to let it sit for a week or so and then try it. I guess so it gets really juicy. Therefore I'm going to try some here soon and see how it is and if it's good then I want to make a ton more. This is probably the easiest canning recipe I have ever tried. Super super easy.

Here are all the elderberries we have to can. I have a bag in my freezer right now. I was planning on making elderberry jam (one of the yummiest things in the world) but apparently the stems are poisonous and picking all the berries off of the stems is a horrendous ordeal. Therefore I think I will make jelly instead. I'm not sure though....my mom and I are still thinking about what to do.

Here is some yummy applesauce. Levi takes a jar with him every week and it always comes home empty. Finally! I found something healthy for him take to work that won't spoil in two days!

This is some of the most delicious apple pie filling in the world. Probably because it is loaded with sugar, but hey, it's so so good! Levi doesn't even like pie but I still made 9 quarts! More for me!

Well that is all the canning I've done so far. This however is a quilt I am proud of. It is all of Levi's worn out jeans I have been saving for years and the backing is all of Jayden's receiving blankets he outgrew. It took forever to put this together and it is really heavy. In fact the sides are pinned on still. The quilt is so heavy that I can't sew it on my machine. That means it has to be done by hand....that's why it isn't done yet. Levi is excited for it though. It will be a nice heavy blanket for him so he can be warm all winter long in his truck.

Finally, here's my little munchkin. All dressed up for Halloween. I really wasn't going to do anything for him at first. I just couldn't justify spending so much money on an outfit that he will only wear for a few hours and especially when he has no idea what is even going on. I did find this outfit though at Wal*Mart the other day (I know, shame on me for going there..it was a last minute desperate search for a car battery), it was cheap and it works great for pajamas. So, I bought it. He doesn't even mind having the hood on all day!

For the past few weeks Jayden has learned to play peek-a-boo and he LOVES it! It is the cutest thing... well at least to me it is. Here is a short little video of him I took when my sister was playing with him. I just love love love my little guy! He's going to be 1o months soon. Holy Moly! He's growing up too soon already!