Saturday, December 21, 2013

Give the gifts the Savior would like us to give....

Hi everyone! I haven't gone missing, in fact I have some fun things I would love to share with you. However, many of them are going to be shared with loved ones this Christmas. So, for obvious reasons I cannot share them yet!

However, as we give gifts of all sorts this Christmas, I would encourage you to give the gifts the Savior wishes us to give. May the Lord bless you and yours this Christmas Season. Thank you for sharing your time and interest with us. We are grateful to be a part of you world for the brief moments that you find to stop by. 


 Merry Christmas!!!!!!!



Saturday, December 14, 2013

The Handmaid of the Lord....

Courtesy of KSL
It is Christmas time.  I am sure that I have been just as busy as the rest of you. I made the mistake of going to Costco today....in the afternoon....with all the craziness.  I found that I had to exercise great patience with people who would just stop in the middle of the aisle and were totally oblivious to the many people lined up behind them trying to get by.  I tried to be courteous..."Excuse me, can I get around you please"...but I was muttering under my breath....'don't block the aisles please....please do not block the aisles.....you're going to block the aisle and trap all of us if you do that".  I decided I wasn't carrying any type of Christmas Spirit as I was being the muttering fool.  So, I went home.

I did some housekeeping duties, went out to dinner with my husband and some wonderful Young Single Adults from our Ward, and then came home.  I am supposed to teach a lesson tomorrow during our Relief Society Meeting (Adult women's Sunday Meeting).  I am going to teach the lesson on what an elect woman Mary was.  As I have looked into what a remarkable young woman she was, I have decided to share some of the things I have learned with you.

Selected in the Pre-mortal life...

"...Mary and Joseph were selected in those ancient councils by the Father to be the earthly guardians of Jesus. Mary was given the unique privilege and responsibility of bringing the great Jehovah into the world, in which he would obtain a body of flesh and bones, experience mortality, and continue his mission for the redemption of mankind." (Robert J Matthews)

Reference to Mary in the Scriptures....

Over time, the scriptures foretold of Mary beginning in the Old Testament:  
The Old Testament:  Isaiah 700 BC:  Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” (Isa. 7:14.) The New Testament identifies this as a prophecy referring to Mary and the birth of Jesus. (See Matt. 1:22–23.)

The Book of Mormon:  Nephi 600 BC: “… I beheld the city of Nazareth; and in the city of Nazareth I beheld a virgin, and she was exceedingly fair and white.
“And it came to pass that I saw the heavens open; and an angel came down and stood before me. …
“And he said unto me: Behold, the virgin whom thou seest is the mother of the Son of God, after the manner of the flesh.
“And I looked and beheld the virgin again, bearing a child in her arms.
“And the angel said unto me: Behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father!” (1 Ne. 11:13–15, 18, 20–21.)
King Benjamin 124 years:  the Redeemer should “be called Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of heaven and earth, the Creator of all things from the beginning; and his mother shall be called Mary.” (Mosiah 3:8.)
Alma 80 years: “And behold, he shall be born of Mary, at Jerusalem which is the land of our forefathers, she being a virgin, a precious and chosen vessel, who shall be overshadowed and conceive by the power of the Holy Ghost, and bring forth a son, yea, even the Son of God.” (Alma 7:10.)
(Timeline courtesy of Robert J Matthews).

Royal Lineage:

Maybe you are more informed than I am, but I always thought that any lineage associated with the Mortal Savior would have been through Joseph.  So not! Mary was of the Royal line of David.  

Since Jesus was not begotten by mortal man, his descent from David would, by necessity, be through his mother. Thus, when Mary came to earth, she was born into that royal lineage so she could transmit it to her son Jesus. That Mary was of Davidic descent is plainly set forth in the scriptures. Jesus was frequently addressed as “Son of David”; he did not disclaim that title. (Robert J Matthews)


Joseph was also royalty and Jesus inherited the royal line through Joseph as well. 

“Had Judah been a free and independent nation, ruled by her rightful sovereign, Joseph the carpenter would have been her crowned king; and his lawful successor to the throne would have been Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” (Jesus the Christ, p. 87.)
Being where we should be...

I cannot imagine what it must have been like for Mary to be informed that she was to be the mortal mother of the Savior. She too had experienced 'the veil' of forgetfulness when she was born, but must have been taught and trained by loving parents to prepare her for such a moment.  

The Angel Gabriel...
“… Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women … for thou hast found favour with God.
“And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus.
“And he shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:
“And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.” (Luke 1:28–33.)

So, I offer this wonderful Video for you to see.  The miracle of Christmas began long before the birth of the Savior.  It began in the pre-mortal existence where Mary was most likely selected to be the Mother of the Savior of the world.  She lived her life in such a way, that she was in a position to have this great opportunity.



I think that when I go back to Costco in a few days (and yes I have too, they only had half of my order), I will try to remember where I came from and where everyone else in that giant store came from in their Pre-mortal life.  I will do my best to remember that these were the valiant and good who were saved to come forth to the earth at this time.  I will be prepared to to be more patient, smile, and offer a "Merry Christmas" to people that I do not know.

Being prepared isn't just the 'stuff' or temporal preparation, it is primarily the Spiritual Preparation.  I need to put myself in the right place, mindset, and position to be worthy of the tremendous blessings that I have been given.

Let me offer this early "Merry Christmas" to you all!



Sunday, November 24, 2013

In honor of Thanksgiving...


Are you ready for the big day or are you panicked because this big meal is only a few days away?  Personally, I hope you are looking forward to it!

So, I am sharing some of my favorite ideas to help you with your holiday meal. These are from 'meals past', but I still use the ideas, recipes and the like each time I host a big meal.  It is totally doable!

Make a plan:  

Hosting Thanksgiving takes more than food.  Please see this 'to do' list to help you cover your bases.  

Lay out everything ahead of time:

No kidding, make sure you have all the dishes and pieces that you will need. Set them up ahead of time to make sure you have everything and that everything fits.  See this post that shows you the steps we did when we fed over 45 in our home.  I learned a lot.

Cooking the 'Bird':

There is more than one way to cook a Turkey.


PS...It's crispy and tender.


He sets it up in the back yard and lowers the turkey down while he is atop the ladder.  By the way, he uses a good portion of my stored oil to do this.  So, if you are going to try this, stock up!

Making the Stuffing:

With so many concerns about cooking Stuffing in your turkey, why not try let your crock pot do all the work?  Learn more about this method here. 

What about the Rolls?

What about Cranberry Sauce?

  • This is so simple to do and inexpensive. You can make 12 half-pints of delicious Cranberry sauce for less than 50% of the national brand.  The added blessing is that you have some for long after Thanksgiving when you have a craving for this delicious condiment.  It also makes a unique neighbor gift!

We need a little Dessert!

  • When making pies, uses this recipe for the pie crust...it really lives up to its name of "Perfect Pie Crust"!
  • Fill you pie crust with Apple Pie Filling that you hopefully canned a few weeks ago. It is still not too late if you have access to apples.  Put them up on Monday or Tuesday so that you have this filling ready to go on Wednesday.  You can make your pies ahead of time as well.

 Please, please don't forget the Why!

Even among the strife of worldly cares, we have much to be thankful for.  President Thomas S Monson shares the following:
We can lift ourselves and others as well when we refuse to remain in the realm of negative thought and cultivate within our hearts an attitude of gratitude. If ingratitude be numbered among the serious sins, then gratitude takes its place among the noblest of virtues. Someone has said that “gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.”

Let me express my sincere thank you to each of our readers.  We are grateful that you take time out of your busy day to visit with us.  We are hopeful that the information that we share positively impacts your lives for the better. 

I wish to tell you all that I know that my Heavenly Father lives, and loves us all.  He is all-knowing and all-caring. He knows each of us by name and desires to bless with all that he has as we strive to become closer to him.

May the Lord bless you all this Thanksgiving Season.





Sunday, November 17, 2013

Cranberry Sauce....getting ready for Thanksgiving!



Isn't it beautiful!  Cranberry Sauce...from scratch! (If you are wondering what is up with the jar on the far left...stay tuned and I will tell you:)

Thanksgiving is just around the corner.  I hate making this wonderful holiday into "Labor day", so I try to do things ahead of time.  This is why I made....and canned...my own Cranberry Sauce.  And...it tastes amazing!


After bringing the water, sugar, and Orange juice to a boil for 5 minutes, add your fresh cranberries.


Bring the combination to a medium boil for 10 minutes. After boiling, take off the heat and add the Vanilla.  I promise the Vanilla makes this sauce just amazing!


This is an optional step, but it is one I like to do.  Some people do not mind Cranberry Sauce with lumps and others like their sauce to be smooth.  I am of the latter group.   So, I am using my stick blender to smooth out the sauce.  This step only took a few minutes.


Put the delightful mixture into clean and sterilized jars.


Place the jars into the a hot water bath.  As I live over 5,000 feet, I processed  these jars for 20 minutes.


Look at how beautiful this sauce is.  I am not only ready for Thanksgiving, but I also have a start on my 'neighbor gifts'.  I also will have this yummy sauce to use anytime I want...and I like that option.  Just for your information, this recipe yields 12 half pint jars.

The Cost...

How much did this cost?  Here is the breakdown:

8 cups of Cranberries:  $3. 59
4 Cups of Sugar: $ 2.28
Water:  free
Vanilla:  $ .31

Total Investment:  $6.17 half-pint jars of Cranberry Sauce

As this blog serves a national and even international community, I will use a national price for the big brand name Cranberry Sauce which is $8.86 for 14 ounces which works out to be $.63/ounce.

This recipe generates about 128 ounces total for a cost per ounce of $.05.  This is over a 75% savings over purchasing it in a can.

Why?

Why would I can it?  It only takes under an hour, it's really delicious, and I like to have it in smaller containers so that I don't waste any when I open it.

Also, you may still be wondering why the jar on the left looks so funny?


It is because the lid was not sealing as quickly as the others, so I turned the jar upside down to help it seal.  It set up and will remain that way until the jar is opened.

Where?

Where did I get the recipe?

I found this recipe on Canning Granny, but found this particular recipe in the comments section.  Here is the recipe....it's a good one!


Leslie's Cranberry Orange Sauce

8-9 cups cranberries
4 cups sugar
4 cups water
2 oranges
1 T. vanilla flavoring, optional



Preparation : Prepare 12 half pint jars, lids, and rings. Sterilize the jars and keep them in the hot water till its time for processing. Make sure to fill your water bath canner and get the water to a simmer.


Cooking: In a large stainless steel add water, sugar, zest and juice of 2 oranges and heat up over medium heat. Bring to a boil for 5 minutes. Add the cranberries and bring back to a boil. the cranberries will begin popping. If you like it whole cranberries and some sauce use a potato masher to smooth the cranberries. If you want it to be just sauce you can use an immersion blender. Cook stirring occasionally until the mixture thickens, about 10 minutes. Add vanilla flavoring. Remove from heat.


Filling the jars: On a dishtowel place your hot jars and using your funnel in each jar using a ladle then fill the jars leaving ½” headspace. Remove air bubbles and refill to the proper headspace with the mixture if necessary. Taking a clean papertowel wet it with warm water and wipe the rims of the jars removing any food particles that would interfere with a good seal. Using your magic wand extract the lids from the hot water and place them on the now cleaned rims. Add your rings to the tops of each of the jars and turn to seal just "finger tight".
Processing: Make sure your rack is on the bottom of the canner and place the jars in the water bath making sure that the water covers each of the jars by 1 to 2 inches. Add hot water to the canner if it doesn't measure up. Cover the pot and turn up the heat under the canner and wait for the water to start boiling. Once the water has come to a boil start your timer for 10 minutes. When complete turn off the heat and remove the cover and let the jars sit for another few minutes. Remove the jars and place them back on the dishtowel in a place that they will sit overnight to cool. Do not touch or move them till the next morning.


Sealing: Some time in the next hour your jars will be making a "pinging" or "popping" noise. That is the glass cooling and the reaction of the lids being sucked into the jar for proper sealing. Some recipes may take overnight to seal. Check your lids and reprocess any jars that did not seal.

Try it !!!!!!

Saturday, October 26, 2013

Look where I went....




This is an actual parking lot in Shipshewana Indiana.  Actually this is the parking lot on one side of a store with automobiles on the opposite side of the building



This town certainly did have some really "Neat Stuff".



I like the "Seven Sisters Eatery" (in light of the popular "Six Sisters" wonderful info we all see on the Internet as of late)


I am telling you, these businesses are "the best" for having resources for those with a preparedness mindset.



Look was on the shelf!  I have never seen Tattler lids on a store shelf.


Look how cool this stove is!


I like this Compost Trash Can....



Things were reasonably priced!


Nearly every grain or flour you can think of.


I took my time going down the spice aisle....I just wished I had more space in my luggage to bring many of these home!


I found these metal lids (on the right) that are the same size as the lids I use with my gallon jars.  I use these to store my food storage staples.


You might ask why I would replace the lids....well it is a simple reason.  The metal lids have a gasket in them where the plastic lid does not.  These fit perfectly on my existing containers.


These are Airlock devices for fermenting foods like Sauerkraut etc.  I have paid over $6.00 a piece for these. In these stores, they were just under $2.00.  I nabbed a few.

Although not pictured here, there was the largest selection of Lodge Cast Iron ware (and huge pieces as well), crocks, bottles, canning supplies, and baskets that I have ever seen.  

One thing that I really loved is the fact that they did not accept credit cards or debit cards....absolutely none!  However, they had an ATM nearby so that customers could retrieve cash for their purchases.

Take home message:


  • If you live near an Amish community, you are very fortunate.  You can access Food Storage Staples and Preparedness items all in one place.
  • I love that customers were required to pay cash and cannot use debt.
  • It is a way of life for these great folks.  They practice what they preach every day.  

These are lessons that we all can take advantage of....


Monday, October 14, 2013

The Making of.....my Wonder Oven


I posted the results of my Sunday Meal using my Wonder Oven.  However, I promised to share how to make your own Wonder Oven or Wonder Cooker as it is referred to.  If you do any search on the internet, you will find many versions of the same pattern. I laughed when I repeatedly saw the same handwriting on various patterns reportedly made by several authors.  I guess it is good enough idea that it is being duplicated.

Making the pattern was certainly the most difficult part of this process, by far.  I printed off the instructions and pattern from this link.   I like the clear instructions, photos, and suggestions in making this device.  I even like the suggestions on how to fill the device with polystyrene beads.

The directions are simple, cut 4 pieces of the top and bottom. Sew the side seams together (2 at a time) and then put right sides together and sew all around the perimeter but leave an opening to turn the parts inside out.  This opening is also used to fill the pieces to the oven.  

Speaking of filler....I priced out the pellets online.  I didn 't need the amount that most suppliers were trying to sell.  So, I went to Wally World and bought a cube filled with the pellets.  It looked like it was supposed to be a type of an ottoman and it cost $15.00.  This is a far cry away from the price that distributers were asking.

Well, it is important to remember that I am married to Rooster Senior....who is really great at figuring out mechanical things.  He also hates styrofoam peanuts and beads. When I asked for his help to fill the Wonder Oven pieces, he started to cringe.  Just the thought of free-flowing styrofoam was too much for him.  Soooo, he went out to his garage and scrounged up a device.


I had never seen this 'air gun' type of device.  I asked him where he got it and he said he couldn't get another one.  It allows 'stuff' to be sucked into one end and shoot out the other.  It also connected to his air compressor.  


My job was to hold the other end of the hose in the cube of pellets.  I am not kidding, those pellets flew into the hose and from the cube and into the wonder oven in no time flat.  Then, Rooster Senior quickly pulled out his Shop Vac and vacuumed up any errant pellets that were in his beloved garage.  (I only wished that he would use this mindset to keep our home uncluttered).


As brilliant as the pellet filling system was, there was a major drawback.  He put the Wonder Oven parts....on a table that had a light coat of sawdust on it...that I didn't see. So, this beautiful black fabric was now covered in sawdust. I just sewed the opening closed and took the pieces into the house and cleaned the sawdust off.  


I took it in a put one of my largest pots inside....and it fit!

Cost:

So, what did this cost me?  

  • $15.00 for a cube with pellets from a big box store. This is a great time of year to get something like this as they are trying to sell off the last few pieces because school has started and all the College students are now settled in.  This cube was marked down by $5.00.
  • Fabric was something that I had already from a project that I never finished.  It is heavy weave.
  • The ribbon that I sewed in the small openings (so that I can store this item either on hooks or hanger) came from remnants that I had in my sewing supplies.  
  • Total Cost..."$15.00!".  On line, these devices are being sold from between $39.99 to $49.99.
It was inexpensive.  The sewing level in my opinion is at the beginner level.  

Function:
  • This device worked just as it is promoted.  It is a great addition to your Supplies and it is also fun.  Consider using it on a camping trip or when you are going to be gone for a few hours.

Try it!



Sunday, October 13, 2013

Experiment on the Word.....the Wonder Oven



What's in the 'box' you ask?  It's a Wonder Oven.  I have had the pattern for some time, but just haven't taken the time to do anything with it.  

I will be teaching a class on Powerless cooking this week and decided to 'experiment' with this device.


For me, the most challenging part was to make the pattern from the instructions. (I will be doing a post just on assembling this device in the near future).  Once the pattern was made, sewing took only minutes.  Filling it with pellets was an adventure that only Rooster Senior to come up with...but it was brilliant.  I will show you that process soon...I promise.


Here is a view inside the bottom piece.  


Here is the top.

Soooo.....does it really work?  I decided to experiment and see.


Since Rooster Senior is under the weather, I decided to make Chicken Soup.  Here I have used my own Canned Chicken, and then added the water.


The seasonings were added (from my Pantry)


I used raw carrots and celery on purpose.  I wanted to see if they would get cooked in this device.


I even added Pearl Barley...again to see if it would cook all the way through.  I brought the Soup to a boil and let it simmer for 5 minutes.


I put the pot inside the bottom of the Wonder oven. As it is filled with Styrofoam-type pellets, I just molded the bottom around the pan.


Then I placed the lid on top.  I did this at about 10:00 in the morning and then left for a long day of Church meetings.


I left it on the counter just like this.  Rooster Junior got home first.  He didn't mess with it even thought he knew dinner was inside.  When Rooster Senior and I returned home (at about 5:00 p.m.), our son quickly set the table as my Visiting Teacher came over for a few minutes.  I heard my son take the pan out of the device.  I wanted to quickly measure the temperature, but again I had company.  I decided I could wait to do that.


It may not be the best picture, but hopefully you can see Cooked Celery and Cooked Carrots as well as Cooked Pearl Barley.  After my Visiting Teacher left, I quickly checked the temperature.  It was above 140 degrees F.  The Pan was hot, the soup was delicious.


My son also sliced up some Rosemary-Garlic Sourdough Bread that I made yesterday.  It was all really yummy.  I will do another post featuring this.  It was delish to say the least!

Take-away points:
  • This device does not require any fuel.  Think about that in a time of emergency.  Once the food is warmed, it will hold the heat and continue to cook the food over time.  I can't say enough about how important the fuel issue is.
  • This device is really, really easy to make once you have the pattern drawn to scale.
  • It worked like a charm.  I plan to use it again on days when I know that I won't be home for a long time.  I know that the food will be cooked and at a safe temperature.
  • I won't wait for an emergency to use this.
  • I hope you noticed the 'loops' of ribbon on each piece. These are to hang up the 'oven' in the closet when it is not in use.
  • My husband and son didn't even pull funny faces when I used this today.  I guess they are getting used to me.

Consider getting one for your family.....soon!

Sunday, October 6, 2013

Need something to keep the younger crowd "on topic" during General Conference?

Image courtesy of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.


I love General Conference, don't you?  I also love how creative some folks are when they are trying to involve their children in the process.

I recently made a "Guess Who" game inserts for my Grandchildren for General Conference.  I had seen several folks talk about doing it, but did not ever find the 'end product'.  

If you would like to print this out, please use this link.  

I would suggest that you print 3 sets on card stock. Two sets will be used in the device or holder.  The third set is to be used as a draw pile.

If you would like to know more about the General Conference held by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, please go here.  It is a beloved time of year for the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.


Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Announcement from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints regarding the Home Storage Centers.


Photo courtesy of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints


The following article comes from the Church's newsroom. If you recall, there was a significant amount of speculation as to what the changes to the Home Storage Center (aka Canneries) were and what it would mean.  Please see the information directly from this link:

Within the last couple of months, the Church has made some significant updates to their welfare centers.
Now it’s even easier for members to get and maintain food storage items, as the LDS home storage centers have changed from self-packaging to prepackaging (already packaged and available for purchase). 
“We wanted to make it easier, safer, more convenient, and more available for our members that don’t have some of these [food] products in their own areas,” said Don Johnson, director of production and distribution for LDS Welfare Services. “More products are available in prepack to save members time, so they can use their time to volunteer in other ways.” 
Now members can visit their local storage center and purchase what they need without the additional time and labor that comes with self-packing food items. 
With this change, it also allows for expansion of the products. Brother Johnson explained that by November 1 they intend for all 101 storage centers in the U.S. and Canada to have nine new products for a total of 17 that will be prepacked and available for members to purchase. Some of the 17 products include apple slices, macaroni, powdered milk, hot cocoa mix, and sugar. 
According to the Church’s Providing in the Lord’s Way pamphlet, “Members should build a three-month supply of food that is part of their normal diet; store drinking water in case the water supply becomes polluted or disrupted, and gradually build a longer-term supply of food that will sustain life.” 
“We’re trying to help members prepare their food storage to follow principles for a long-term basic storage in a way we can help them best fulfill becoming self-reliant,” said Brother Johnson. 
Self-reliance is an important aspect of the gospel, as members are counseled to provide for themselves and their families. President Spencer W. Kimball said, “The responsibility for each person’s social, emotional, spiritual, physical, or economic well-being rests first upon himself, second upon his family, and third upon the Church if he is a faithful member thereof” (“Welfare Services: The Gospel in Action,” Oct. 1977 general conference). 
On June 17, the Church released an article explaining that home storage centers were not closing down but were changing canning methods. It stated, “These changes have been considered for some time as the Church has looked at the best way to provide home storage goods to Church members efficiently.”

The Church produces prepackaged food, such as white flour, at Deseret Mills in Kaysville, Utah. Photo courtesy of Welfare Services.
As such, these changes will reduce cross-contamination, freight and sanitation costs, facility space requirements, and complexity for volunteers while increasing safety to volunteers and patrons, customer satisfaction, regulatory compliance, food safety, and efficiency.
Despite the packaging change, there are still 12 storehouses located in the western United States and Canada that will continue to offer self-packing.

What a tremendous blessing for us all:

  • New Product lines
  • Being able to purchase what you need without investing the time to pack the food.
  • Having 17 products prepackaged will make the availability of food items more universal to more people world-wide.
I hope you take advantage of this tremendous resource.  To find the nearest facility to you, please go to here  


Sunday, September 29, 2013

I "Relish" the idea....


Every once in a while, we just enjoy good quality hot dogs.  This is especially true when they are cooked on the grill on a beautiful summer evening.  


The question then becomes, "What do you like on your hot dog?".  How about dill relish?  My family has seemed to shy away from the sweet pickle relish and only prefers the dill relish.  So, as I looked at the odds and ends left from the cucumber plants, I wondered whether I could make my own dill relish.  I was so very pleased to find out that there were several options!

I used the recipe from the Ball Blue Book of Preserving   Let me show you how easy this really was.


The recipe calls for "Finely chopped cucumbers".  I used my food processor and shredded them.  They were a little long, but as usual I was in a time crunch and was also excited to see if this could work.


The instructions state that you place the shredded cucumbers in a bowl and sprinkle with salt and Turmeric with water.  I used a plate to cover and keep the cucumbers in the brine as they soaked for 2 hours.  


I diced my onions and placed them in my pot.


I drained and rinsed the cucumbers.  


I added the cumbers and sugar to the saucepot.  


I added the dill seed, and white wine vinegar to the saucepot.  I brought the mixture to a boil.  Then the heat was reduced and simmered for 10 minutes.


Just an FYI, I put these jars into my dishwasher to clean and sterilize while my cucumber mix was soaking for 2 hours.  Here I just removed the clean and hot jars and lined them up to receive the relish.  


After ladling in the hot relish and cleaning the rim, I placed the warmed lids on top.


I processed them for 15 minutes and then removed them.


What's the verdict?  Well, I couldn't get anyone to wait while I took a picture of a whole hot dog...both Rooster Senior and Rooster Junior began to devour everything!


When I asked what the 'verdict' was from these two guys, they both said....."It tastes like relish".  Just so you know, this is High Praise from these two.

It was easy and quick.  Another thing to know is that I had everything on hand that I needed.  I didn't have to go to the store and buy anything.  I think this is the best part of having your food storage in place.

I would do this again in a heartbeat.  It is a great thing to do with the last stragglers of your cucumber patch in the late summer. 

Try it!

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