Olive Garden’s Zuppa Toscana II
5 lb. Sausage (polish is best) sliced and diced
10 lb. red potatoes sliced and diced
3 large onions chopped
3 packages bacon crispy, drained and crumbled
3 T. garlic minced/powder
3 bunch kale chopped
6 cans chicken broth
3 qt water
A couple cubes of chicken bouillon
Place onions, potatoes, broth, water, bouillon, garlic in pot and cook till potatoes are done. Add sausage, bacon, salt and pepper to taste, and simmer 10 minutes. Add kale and heat through.
Pour into quart jars with ½” head room. Pressure can at 10-15 pounds of pressure for 1 ½ hours. Makes about 2-3 batches of 7 quarts each.
To serve: heat soup on medium heat and add 1 cup +/- whole milk/cream/regular milk
One quart feeds 2 people
Etouffee
4lbs polish sausage sliced and diced
6 bell peppers chopped
6 bunches green onions chopped
6 stocks of celery diced
8-10 cans Campbell Golden Mushroom soup
4-5 cans water
chili pepper, cayenne to taste
Sauté sausage and produce till sausage browned. Add soup, water, and spices and simmer 40 minutes. Should be soupy looking add more water if needed for soup consistency. For a sauce version to be served over rice use less water for a more thick sauce consistency.
Pour into quart jars ½” head room. Balance liquid and substance in jars, add more water if needed. Pressure can at 10-15 pounds pressure for 1 ½ hours.
To serve: Preheat on Medium heat add ½ cup rice to one quart sauce. Heat to boil and cook till rice is finished.
Olive Garden’s Pasta E Fagoli
4 lbs ground beef (precooked 2/3 of the way done)
3 large onions chopped
2 lbs carrots slivered
2 stocks celery chopped
3 L cans diced tomatoes or equal fresh ones
2 lbs dry red beans presoaked and rinsed
2 lbs dry white beans presoaked and rinsed
1 can beef bouillon cubes or LOTS of beef stock
Oregano, pepper, parsley (1 ½ containers), tabasco sauce to taste
4-6 cans spaghetti sauce
3-4 pkgs of pasta (large noodle types – shell, bowtie, etc) precooked
Saute onions, carrots, celery, and tomatoes in olive oil. Add beef, beef stock (or cubes and half gallon of water) and drained and rinsed beans. Add noodles, spaghetti sauce, and seasonings and spices. Simmer 10-20 minutes, add more water if looks really thick.
Pour into quart jars 2/3 of the way full. Add water to 1” head space. Pressure can at 10-15 pounds pressure for 1 ½ hours. Makes about 18-21 quarts.
To serve: If the soup looks really thick, add about ½ the jar of water to it while heating it to serve (like a condensed soup).
Chili
3-4 pounds ground beef
4 quarts spaghetti
6 bags dried red beans presoaked and rinsed
My favorite seasonings (Old Westport)
1-2 lbs corn (optional)
4 quarts water (to equal spaghetti)
Pour into quart jars try to balance beans and liquids. Add more water to some jars as needed.
Pressure can at 10-15 pounds pressure for 1 ½ hours. Makes about 18-21 quarts.
Pressure Canning Rules
► Leave ½” to 1” head space – large head space for recipes with smaller chopped items in them
► Anything with meat I use general rule 10-15 pounds pressure for 1 ½ hours.
► To determine time and pressure I look up the time and pressure for the individual ingredients and go with the longest time and highest pressure (usually beans or meat)
► I will often cook my soup, stew, or chili the night before and have it in my jars and caped and start sealing the next day. For large batches of 2-3 loads its not unusually for it to take about 2 days just for the pressure canning part. (I just makes sure I don’t place jars in frigde, to avoid an explosion when I go to process in the morning) The pressure canning is designed to kill anything that might grow or whatever in it, so I don’t feel 12-24 hours on the counter in a sealed jar is that bad.
► Don’t freak out if there’s an oil slick on the water in the canner after processing, this is normal skim as much off before pulling out jars to avoid slick jars and then wipe down jars. IF its really bad empty canned, wash and refill, but if you can remove most of it than it should be fine for another 2 batches.
► Be sure there’s an inch of water at least above the tops of the jars in the canner ESPECIALLY for a long canning session (1 ½ Hours). The water MUST cover jars!
► READ THE MANUEL AND YOUR CANNING BOOK (I recommend The Ball Blue Book) Knowledge is power, understands the whys behind the process for better conversion
► Add 1-2 T vinegar to the water in the canner to avoid hard water spots on jars
► Check lids immediately after removing from canner to be sure they sealed, if a jar didn’t seal don’t be afraid to reprocess it, or change the lid and reprocess it, This is the time to do so before you discover its no good 3 months later when you need it.
► You don’t have to heat them before placing in canner, just BE SURE that the temperature difference between jar and water isn’t to big. Closer to room temp the better. Then heat them both up together for canning.
· Example: 1st batch soup is hot so I make sure the water in the canner is at warm-hot before putting jars in; 2nd and 3rd batch jars are room temp but water is pretty hot still do I let water cool longer then add jars and bring to boil
Basic Conversion rule of thumb
► Triple the recipe ingredients for canning
► Always season to the heavy side, especially if recipe calls for noodles or beans. Then if you need to add more water to the jars the added spice offsets the water.
► Experiment with ingredient quantities and varieties (best done before canning so you don’t have 20 quarts that your family avoids)
· Example – red or russet potatoes, more spaghetti sauce or less, large chopped onions or finer, fresh parsley or dried, etc.
► Always spice to taste or smell
► Be creative and use what you have
Ingredients Rules
► I will often use things that I have previously frozen or canned in my soups and that’s fine – it’s the same as using store bought canned beans in the chili, or frozen corn in soup.
► Any dairy product must be added before serving – dairy can’t be pressure canned it burns or curdles, so add later of omit if possible
► Noodles- precook and still add more water to recipe – they expand about double when canned
► Ground meats- pre cook 2/3 of the way done to avoid over cooked texture, except in chili (don’t know why but its fine there)
► Shredded meats – use the extra head space and pack substance down the meat, it has a tendency to worm up and will prevent proper sealing
► Beans –
· My method: rinse and soak 24 hours, then drain, rinse, and soak again, repeating for about 3 days. This means you should have to increase the containers used for soaking as beans expand. Add a little more water for more absorption to avoid condensed chili, or beans.
· Other method: soak for at least 24 hours than fill jars 2/3 full and the last 1/3 with water can as usual with the ½” head room
Cooking Tips
► Using the pressure canner pots to cook soups, stews and chili before is great and then fill all jars at the same time then wash and use for canning
► I fill my jars by guessing how many jars I think I will fill and then pouring in 1 c at a time into each jar, repeating till full of pot empty then balancing the jars between themselves – this avoids jars with too much liquid and too little substance or vice versa.
► If there is no pop when you open and break seal DO NOT USE even if it looks and smells fine DO NOT USE!!!!!!
Why Can?
► It becomes a convenience food rather than ingredients for a meal
► Doesn’t require electricity to keep safe (like freezer) so its ideal for our more minor disasters
► Can be made so that extra water isn’t need from food storage to re-hydrate or prepare the meal. Saving it for the emergency and drinking.
► Easy way to get a balanced meal with out all the servings for variety or the dreaded casserole.
► Less time to prepare – especially if they’re dried beans.
► No having to thaw meat – good if you’re good at forgetting to pull it out of the freezer.
► Less dishes – 1 jar verses 2 pints and a couple quarts, cutting boards and knifes.
► Opportunity cost - spend a few hours in one day and cut out an hour everyday for that meal.
Now is the time to learn, experiment, and prefect it – when you need it, that luxury is past and can no longer be afforded!
Teriyaki Turkey
Turkey breast (boneless skinless works best)
1c. soy sauce
1c. oil
1c. sprite
½ tsp garlic
Cook in crock pot for 9 hours on medium-high
Separate into half-pint jars (typical serving size for stir fry) or pint (as side dish). By sure meat and juices are equal. Leave ½” head space. Pressure can at 10-15 pounds pressure for 1 ½ hours.
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