Newer version of Annie's Salsa - BWB only Annie's Salsa 8 cups tomatoes, peeled, chopped and drained 2 1/2 cups chopped onion 1 1/2 cups chopped green pepper 3 to 5 chopped jalapenos (for milder leave out seeds and ribs) 6 cloves minced garlic 2 tsp cumin (optional) 2 tsp pepper 1/8 cup canning salt 1/4 c fresh cilantro (optional) 1/3 c sugar (optional) 1 cup cider vinegar (see note on subbing lemon or lime juice option) 16 oz canned tomato sauce (to adjust density) 8-16 oz canned tomato paste (to adjust density) Mix all ingredients, bring to a boil, boil 10 minutes. Pour into hot jars, process pints for 15 minutes in BWB. Makes 6 pints. _________ A lot of changes have been made to this recipe over the years. Some people like lemon or lime juice in place of some or all of the vinegar, that's fine. (Note from Sheila - I like half lemon half lime.) Some people leave out the cilantro, that's fine too. Do not increase! Some people add more hot peppers or fewer onions, fine as long as you keep the same total measurements. (Note this is what NCHFP does in their new Choice Salsa recipe.) Some people leave out the sugar, that's fine. You can scoop out the goo in the middle of the tomatoes with your thumbs when I'm peeling and chopping for a less seedy version, so it's 8 cups of chopped tomatoes without the seeds and goo. Most who make it regularly as well as Annie recommend using a variety of different slicing tomatoes, not paste types, for best flavor and consistency. (Note: use the tomato sauce and paste to adjust the consistency of the final product to a "sloshy" consistency.) According to Annie "My salsa is not as thick as Heinz catsup but it's thicker than taco sauce. If you don't like it quite as thick or sweet, cut down the amount of paste. I would add some, then taste. Reducing that ingredient shouldn't affect the safety of the recipe. I use equal amounts of sauce and paste. You can pull it off the heat at any point and adjust for flavor. Before I cook it I check for salt, sugar, check the consistency. Add more pepper or cumin if I want. When I first started making this salsa, tomato sauce and paste came in 8 and 16 ounce cans. Like everything else, they've now been downsized, so now I have to use partial cans." Does anybody have good versions of the other recipes that have weird symbols in them for measurements?

Muffins and breads freeze well, as does cookie dough or baked cookies and cupcakes without frosting. Pizza freezes nicely, as do calzones, cabbage rolls, savory pies like chicken or beef pot pie, meatballs and pot roast! Anyway, soup. One of my favorites is beef vegetable, but I have no recipe. I take every vegetable that I can get my hands on and chop them up. Chop up some beef into bite sized pieces, brown in the pan with some onion and celery. Add a couple of quarts of water and all the vegetables and cook until everything is done. Add salt, pepper, herbs. I like tarragon. If I have a jar of tomatoes open I'll add that, or leftover spaghetti sauce or whatever is in there. Leftover gravy? In it goes. Part of a jar of home canned beef stock? Double bonus, into the pot. I've used hamburger in this, venison, leftover steak, Italian sausage, kielbasa or a mixture of things, it's all good. I keep adding to the pot, adjusting seasonings, until it tastes good and the refrigerator is cleaned. (grin) It's never failed, but sometimes it grows quite large, which is how I know it freezes well! Good luck to your friend, I hope she comes through with flying colors. Annie

The original recipe from BH&G would have been safe to use but she has modified it with lots of added low-acid ingredients - garlic, celery, and carrots - that were not in the original recipe when it was tested. The current BH&G Ham & Bean Soup with Added Vegetables recipe is for freezing only. http://www.bhg.com/recipe/meat/ham-and-bean-soup-with-vegetables/#page=0 It appears she figures she has made her recipe safe just by increasing the processing time over the original recipe which was 60-75 min. for pints/quarts. She increased it to 75-90 mins. for pints/quarts. That increase might be enough to cover the increased density and higher pH but we can't know for sure since it hasn't ever been tested. So the simple answer is we don't know if it is safe or not. Personally my guess - probably safe if you stick with the 1/2 & 1/2 rule just because of the long processing time. It's your choice. Dave

Here is a wonderful tried and true recipe from Stefano Faita A French Canadian soup INGREDIENTS 1 tbsp. olive oil 2 tbsp. butter 1 onion, diced 2 carrots, diced 2 celery ribs, diced 2 leeks, diced (white and light green parts only) 2 garlic cloves, chopped 2 cups yellow split peas, rinsed (about 1 pound package) 3 savory or thyme sprigs 1 bay leaf Freshly ground black pepper, to taste 1 leftover ham bone 2 cups diced ham 4 cups chicken stock, preferably unsalted or low sodium 4 to 6 cups water Salt, to taste, if needed Handful flat leaf parsley, chopped Extra virgin olive oil, for garnishing (optional) Parmesan Croutons or crusty bread, for serving PREPARATION Heat the olive oil and butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, celery, leek and garlic and cook until soft, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add split peas, savory, bay leaf, black pepper, ham bone, ham and stock. Add enough water to cover the ham bone. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Gently simmer, stirring occasionally, until split peas are tender, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. If the soup is too thick, add some water or stock to loosen. Taste and season with salt, if needed. Remove savory and bay leaf before serving. Stir in fresh parsley. If desired, serve with a drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and Parmesan Croutons or slices of crusty bread. Yield: 8 servings.