Funny - I was just thinking about this over the weekend - planning what and how much we should can this year.

I made some elderberry-port wine jelly and it makes a great sauce for meat. Melt some, add some broth, thicken and serve with grilled steaks or filets (we eat a lot of venison and this flavor goes wonderfully with that). It would be good on pork, too.

I've started putting up most things "plain" - beets, tomatoes, peaches, cherries, etc. so I can tweak them however I want when I open the jar.

Instead of jam, I make fruit chutneys instead. Rhubarb, gooseberry, cranberry and plum so far. DH loves them with meat or on a sandwich, and if I get my once-in-a-blue-moon craving for a PB&J, I just use one of the sweeter chutneys. They work for both sweet and savory. Great with a fruit and cheese plate, too, which we have for dessert a lot in the summer.

I still make some jellies and jams, but mostly for gifts, so I make small 4 oz. jars, which everyone loves for Christmas.

I finally used up the applesauce from last year. We don't eat it by itself, so I use it in quick breads (any that call for a cup of vegetable oil, I substitute 1/2 cup of applesauce for 1/2 of the oil).

Lisa - have you explored the Recipe Exchange forum here and the Cooking forums here at GW for recipes and ideas? Those forums address your question directly while this forum is more just-get-it-in-the-jar oriented. :)

Like Malna, we tend to can most things plain so that they can be used later in anyway we want. But having lots of canned goods in the the cabinet does mean you need to expand your cooking recipe collection substantially or learn to can only the things you will use.

If you don't eat much jelly then don't make lots of jellies and jams. (No one outgrows PB&J sandwiches. :) Or learn to use it as syrups, marinades, meat toppings, or gifts.

If you don't scarf down pickles with most every meal like in our house and don't use various relishes in and on all sorts of things as we do then don't can pickles and relishes.

Kraut makes wonderful Ruben sandwiches, and nothing tops pork roast, fried apples and kraut for a meal. Google sauerkraut recipes for tons of ideas.

Plums aren't popular in our house because of the side-effects so I can't help there but we do use them in baking some as in cakes and sauces. But I did find this site What to Do With Plums.

Hope this helps.

Dave