08/29/2026
I fill in my hunting off-season by planting a summer garden. I can or blanch most of the vegetables I grow. That way I can have clean and tasty veggies throughout the year.
If you haven't canned before the process is quite easy, yet time consuming. You can purchase "Ms. Wages" pre-packaged to can with, or find a canning recipe, I use both.
You need to be really careful when adding ingredients to (or leaving ingredients out of) a canning recipe. You are usually ok adding spices but when it comes to adding more produce or anything else it could throw off the acidity levels, thus making unsafe for canning.
🍅 Ingredients for Spagetti Sauce 🍝
25 Lbs. Tomatoes, 5 onions, 4 large red bell peppers, 1 large green bell pepper, 4 6oz cans tomato paste, 1/4 c. soy sauce, 3 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce, 2/3 c. packed brown sugar, 1/4 c. sea salt, 10 cloves garlic chopped or minced, 3 Tbsp. fresh oregano, 3 Tbsp. fresh lemon thyme, 3 Tbsp. fresh basil, 2 tsp. red bell pepper flakes, 2 fresh bay leaves,
1 1/4 c. Fresh Lemon juice for jars
Instructions:
Fill a large pot or Dutch oven half-way with water, bring to a boil. Using a slotted spoon, add tomatoes one at a time until you can't fit any more (about 8-10 tomatoes). Boil for 1-2 minutes. Remove tomatoes one at a time with slotted spoon and plunge in an icewater bath. Peel and quarter tomatoes.
In a food processor, (or blender) cover and process green peppers and onions in batches until finely chopped (if you want to add extra flavor, saute the peppers and onions in a little oil and a pinch of salt before processing).
In a large stockpot, combine the tomatoes (do not discard excess juices from the tomatoes), onion/pepper mixture, tomato paste, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, salt, garlic, oregano, basil, pepper flakes, and bay leaves. If you want to make your sauce thick and smooth, use an immersion blender to blend the tomatoes until smooth with no large chunks (you can also blend it in batches in a blender). Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 4-5 hours, stirring every 15 minutes or so (tomatoes burn easily so keep an eye on it). Discard bay leaves.
Add 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 9 or 10 hot
1-quart. jars (depending on how much you have). Ladle hot mixture into jars, leaving 1/2-in. headspace at the top. Remove air bubbles; wipe rims and adjust lids. Process for 40 minutes in a boiling-water canner.
Set the jars aside (a day or two) until the tops pop.
Happy Canning!
ReelCamo Girl ~ Tarra Stoddard
