Canning Party

Yes, I know, how very Amish sounding, right?

As you may or may not know, over the last several years I have turned into my Granny Pike. I raise some our veggies in the summer and try to can or freeze as much of it as I can to get use through the l-o-n-g winter. If only I could duplicate her homemade pizza, I'd be all set. Oh, and crochet like she did, too. If you didn't know her, she was an amazing woman who raised 3 sons (and most of the other kids in the neighborhood) on a coal miners salary (at least what Pappy didn't spend at the "company store" on Friday nights.)

Anyway, back to canning. Being the savvy shopper that I am, I got hooked up to host a canning party by Ball®. They sent me an awesome "party pack" that included all new untensils, a stainless steel water bath canner, coupons for free jars, and goodies to give away to my guests.

They suggested we make zesty salsa and pepper jelly, so that is what we set out to do.

We chopped.

We diced.

We simmered.

We ladled.

We put the lids on.

We canned!

We ate & drank a little, too.

It was a really fun time and, I hear, the pepper jelly is awesome over some cream cheese and crackers. I'm holding out to taste it. 

If you are intersted in canning and would like to get together to try more recipes, I'd be happy to try it along with you using my new stuff. Just let me know.

I also have, drumroll please, my first ever blog giveaway! Please leave a comment here and I will randomly selected two winners of a Ball® party pack. Contest ends 6/20/2010.