Canning with Tattler Lids

We invested in a reuseable canning lid called Tattlers. This batch of picante was our first time using them.  The white lids and the red rings have a lifetime warranty on them.  I was worried about using them  - not sure why - maybe just because they were new to me.

You boil the whites and red rubber rings just like standard canning lids.

   Clean the rims of the glass jars and them put the lids on (red ring fits under white cap)  You then add the rings  - these are the regular rings that you already have.  The only difference on these is that the instructions tell you to only finger tighten the rings so that some air can escape.

This was the first time I used the pressure canner - though I did use it as a water bath.  In this canner, the instructions said to pour boiling water over the jars and then put the lid on. 

This is the canner all bubbling and churning.  My boys call it the small-pox container.  : )  I dont care what they call it - this thing is heavy.  Im just glad they are able to move it for me.

The final result on the tattler lids - they worked like champs.  All the lids were sealed.  I did a lot of research on them before buying and I could not find anything negative about them.  If you are planning on canning - they are a great investment.  They should pay for them selves after 3 uses.

Grandma's Dressing - East Texas Style

Ok - this is 'COMFORT FOOD' at its best. (Well.. this and Chicken N Dumplings.) This recipe isnt hard at all - just a lot of steps along the way. I try to do a lot of the prep the day before. Oh and since I am a Southern gal - this is Cornbread Dressing!!

Here is the short version of the recipe - I will post the original at the end. I also took several shortcuts - mainly using precooked chicken but I have also cooked the chicken in a crockpot all day.

1) Cook and crumble 2 recipes of corn bread. (Used Betty Crocker Cookbook recipe)


Chop onions, celery & green onions. Chop 4 boiled eggs.


Opps - forgot the broth picture but I made about 6-8 cups of chicken broth. You pour broth into the corn bread mixture until its wet and very moist.


Stir in onions, celery, green onions, boiled eggs, 2 raw eggs, 1 1/2 sticks butter & chopped chicken.


Place in greased pan and bake at 350 for about 30-40 minutes.




Not hard - just lots of steps.




Eat!! Yum Yum!!




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Chicken & Dressing - East Texas Style

1 fryer - large & fat
2 tblsp salt in water with chicken
2 pkgs cornbread mix (she always said any brand but Martha White)
Chicken broth from chicken
1 1/2 sticks butter
1 cup celery, chopped fine
1 cup green onion, chopped fine
1/2 cup onion, chopped fine (optional)
1 1/2 tbspn chicken boullion
2 eggs, slightly beaten
2 boiled eggs, chopped

1) Cover chicken with water and add 2 tbspn salt, 1 tbspn black pepper. Cook until meat easily falls from bone. Remove chicken from broth after cooling. Remove meat from bones.
2) Cook cornbread mix as directed. After its cool, crumble and soak with broth until very moist. Add celery, eggs, boullion, melted butter and more broth as needed. Add chicken.
3) Test by cooking a small amount (if desired). Add more seasoning or broth if necessary. Cook in a pyrex pan after spraying with Pam. Enough broth used will usually be bubbly around edges. Cook at 350 until brown.

Canning

We have talked about canning for many years and just never did it. Well this birthday gift fixed that!! Now the delay was what to can....


We still were growing some jalapenos so we thought that was a good start. This is a mix of jalapenos, banana peppers and red bell peppers. We also bought about 2# of jalapenos to make some extra jars. Luckily I had a great chopper who didn't mind slicing all these peppers.


We made a brine of vinegar, olive oil, peppercorns, fresh dill, salt, garlic and a little of this and that.

Stuffed our jars full of peppers and poured the brine over them.

Luckily Dad was home to put the cans in their bath as I don't like that part.


Ten minutes later, we have jars of pickled jalapenos. Now the real test will be how they taste!!


We all had a lot of fun with it and are looking forward to some more canning adventures!!

Eggplant Parmesan

This has become a big fav in the house! We use the Southern Living Cookbook recipe. Easy and tasty!

Peel and cut-up an eggplant. Let it soak in water for a little while to remove bitterness.


Dip in egg.

Cover in cracker mixture

And in our fav family tradition - fry it up!!

Drain

Layer in big casserole dish

Layer with sauce and cheese.

Repeat

And top with tons of cheese.

It was all eaten before I remembered to take a picture! Yum Yum!!

Hatch Peppers!!

WARNING - This recipe isnt for those who dont like deep fat fried food : )

Once a year, HEB bring in Hatch Chili Peppers. They have a huge roaster and the entire parking lots smells so good. They may still be there the first weekend in Sept but it all depends on their supply. If you arent familiar with Hatch Peppers, check out this link:

http://www.specialtyproduce.com/index.php?item=99

We generally buy a carton of roasted peppers and freeze them to have throughout the year. We use them diced for soups and seasonings but our favorite use for them is chili rellanos.

I like this recipe but we use fresh instead of canned peppers.

http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1716,148186-253207,00.html

First step is to remove all the black skin from the peppers. This is easiest to do under running water. After removing skin, you need to remove all the seeds.



The easiest way to stuff cheese in them is to have it cut in links like these.


After stuffing with cheese, roll in a flour, salt and pepper mixture and set aside.

This is a tray I made up to freeze. Once frozen, we put them in a baggie and pull them out as we need them throughout the year.

Here they are ready for the freezer. This year I have 4 gallon sized bags - yum yum!!



This batter is the best. You beat all the egg whites together and then add the yokes a little flour. It is almost like dipping your peppers in a meringue.



Throw them in the fryer and cook until golden brown.

Then the best part - eat eat eat!!

More Star Wars

And if pancake molds werent cool enough, we also got Star Wars cookie cutters.

For Star Wars Fans

Grandma sent us Star Wars Pancake molds. They are so funny!

Though there was a little bit of a learning curve - I finally started spraying each mold with non-stick spray and they came out much better. Also, the batter needs to be very thin to fill the mold easier. I did read that Williams-Sonoma also sells a pancake pen to help fill molds better. It basically looked like a plastic ketchup/mustard type bottle.

Anyway - if you have a Star Wars fan, these are really fun to surprise them with. They also sell cookie cutters, we are in the process of making those today so I will post those later.