My biggest issue, or even a regret, is canning so many quart jars of corn. I really need to figure out how to use them. We really like soup and stews but I already feel like I am making the same ones over and over. My husband doesn't care but I do since I do all the cooking!

Thanks so much for any help you can give,
Jodi

Just Google recipes for corn or whatever you want to use.
Corn casseroles, cornbread, soups, creamed corn, etc.

Learning what your family eats and how much of it is part of the ongoing process of deciding what to can. I've got a similar dilema with the last bucket of apples. I've already done sauce, butter, sliced, and pie filling. Hmmmm? Trying to figure out something different/new for another 15 lbs. or so other than just letting them rot and tossing to chickens.

Deanna

I use my jarred produce the same as what I would use store bought tin jars.

Corn, I make a 'scalloped corn' anytime that I'm using the oven for something else. 1 jar of corn (I use 1 cream style and 1 whole kernal), 1-2 eggs beaten well (add to corn), crushed crackers (you choose what kind). Stir crackers into corn/egg til a thick consisentancy. Bake for about 30 minutes in usually 350 oven.

It is just one of those recipes that I grew up with, great way to use up crackers that was opened but not finished.

Marla

Trust me - been there, done that, especially the first couple of years we started canning. As in 14 pints of zucchini relish were lovely to have until we realized...um, we really don't use relish as a condiment. Not something that lends itself as an ingredient either. So now our harvest of zucchini goes in a different direction.

Corn pudding is a great (and easy) side dish. A lot of them call for creamed corn, but I've found that putting whole corn kernels in a blender or food processor (just enough to break up the kernels - not too much!) with a tiny bit of evaporated milk and a pinch of sugar makes a fine substitute in a recipe.

I'm really trying to find alternate recipes to use some of our frozen and canned goods as well.

Deanna made a very important point and it needs to be repeated. In other words, don't waste time and energy canning/freezing lots of things that you don't normally eat or fix for your family just because they are available. And learn to can in appropriate sized jars. For two people, pints are more useful than quarts. Then expanding your recipe selection is necessary and there are lots of recipe sources available.

Besides the quarts of corn and the the chutney what other foods do you have lots of that you need recipes for?

Dave

PS: edited to ad - remember it doesn't all have to be used up this year. If you have access to alot of foods to can do like many of us do and can in two year cycles and do different foods next year.

Am also fond of a cold corn salad--cook, drain, and cool corn; add onions, peppers, zucchini, halved grape tomatoes, as you'd like, etc. Vinaigrette: 1/2 c evoo, 1/3 c white balsamic or cider vinegar, salt, fresh basil, garlic, oregano to taste

Marla, I will consider apple jam vs apple butter. It's a lot of work and not sure I would do it again, even though it tastes great.

Deanna, we don't eat relish so the chutney seemed like a good thing to try. I didn't make much, 5-7 pts only as I wasn't sure we would like it. Turns out we really like them. Green Tomato Chutney on a hamburger is so much better than ketchup.

Dave, thanks for the reminder that the shelf life is longer than one year. It just seemed incredibly overwhelming to see that much corn on the shelf. As for quart jars, I do like pints for my family size except for tomato products. Definately quarts then. I had so much corn that it was taking forever to can the pints. Lesson learned! Plus it was hard to turn down when the cost was cheap, and I hate throwing food away. I also canned 2 soup recipes found in the BBB that called for corn, the vegetable and the southwestern vegetable. The SW has heat but turns out very good when tomato juice and pasta is added.

I made too much freezer jam however they make good gifts. Plus I froze extra berries to use later for pie. I have 4 - 2# bags of frozen Rainer cherries. Won't do that again but now what? I made pies when they were fresh which were good but my extended family was not a fan. Plus 10 gal bags of frozen strawberries. I really over estimated how much we picked.

What I would not make again is the BBB chili sauce(too sweet), the tomato garden juice blend, and the italian tomato sauce (too similiar to one I already make). I also have a lot of frozen chopped jalapeno peppers. Why I let my husband talk me into 8 plants I will never know!

I am not new to canning but new to the amount and kinds of canning recipes I did. I will really need to pay attention next canning season.

Thanks again for you ideas and reminders. I really appreciate them.

Jodi

There are only two of us, and sometimes three when I cook for my elderly mother, and I've learned to cook potatoes in quarts, and other veggies in pints, such as butterbeans, greens, beans, corn, etc. Potatoes go into casseroles or skillet dishes, and a quart size means I have leftovers for lunch the next day. Pints for the others is a better use of the size. Half-pints are good too, when it's something you eat in small quantity.

I love canning some things I consider instant meals...such as spaghetti sauce...with or without meat; chili...with or without meat; soups, stews, ground meat, chicken. Sometimes I just don't have time to cook or don't feel like it. These can be used alone, or as an added ingredient in quick to make dish. I buy very few processed foods or package meals now, and feel wonderful. That's been the unexpected benefit by our home gardening and home canning.

Same experience with you and the other posters, I learned that I don't really need jars and jars of certain things that sounded good at the time.

I still make lots of jams and jellies, but my husband works a physically demanding job, he's long and lean, I give him a jam or jelly sandwich every day in addition to his regular sandwich and the rest of his lunch. If you've made too much jam or jelly of a certain kind, you can open it, cook it some more and make chewy or hard candy, depending on how much you cook. Or you can spread it on a dehydrator tray and make fruit roll ups with it.

Jill

I'm out of strawberries, but that is one of my best sellers. I use the Ball Pectin calculator and use the amount of sugar between 'regular' and 'reduced' with regular pectin. I love the calculator, with it I can make 'regular', 'reduced', 'low' or 'no' sugar. The first 2 with regular pectin, and the last 2 with no/low sugar pectin.

I found that pear sauce isn't always what I want, but it is a nice change from applesauce. Pear sauce can also be made into pear butter, just cook it longer. Yes you can open jars and continue cooking.

I had an entire 18 cf freezer full of fruit, not counting the peaches and apples that I directly canned. Now the freezer is looking empty after making jams/jellies/butters all this year. I'll have to fill it back up. Only thing left is blueberries (I bought about 150 lbs, red grapes (bought because the Concords weren't ready, plus bought 120 lbs) and Concord grapes (these came in after my market ended).

For some more recipes, go online and check out a cookbook site, don't worry about whether it's your canned or others, just enter the main item and see what others are making.

You can open a jar, puree it and use for enchilada sauce, adding some additional Mexican spices if you like.

A pint of chili sauce and a pound of browned ground beef (we have lots of ground venison) makes great "Manwich" sandwiches. We sometimes use a pint of beans (red, pinto or black) either in addition to the beef or instead of.

DH and I don't eat desserts often, but one we do like is an easy cobbler. I've made it with all types of canned or frozen fruit - cherries, peaches, rhubarb, or a combination of whatever I have stashed.

1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick) - original recipe called for a whole stick, but I've cut it down.
A cuppa flour, a cuppa sugar, a cuppa milk (1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup milk) Many times, instead of the cup of sugar, I'll use a 1/2 pint of jam, jelly or marmalade that I've found is too sweet to eat by itself. Works with runny jams or marmalades that didn't set, too.
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups fresh or frozen fruit or canned fruit (I usually use a pint jar or maybe a quart depending on the fruit)

1. Put the butter in an ovenproof dish (mine is a 2-1/2 quart oval baker) and put in the oven. Preheat oven to 350°F. While the butter is melting, mix up the batter by combining the cuppas, baking powder, and salt.
2. When the butter is completely melted, remove the pan and pour the batter into the melted butter. Then, carefully spoon the fruit and some of the juice (if you like) evenly over the batter. Return dish to the oven and bake for 30 minutes.
4. As the cobbler cooks, the batter will rise up and around the fruit.

The vegetable juice makes a great base "stock" for gazpacho or a tomato based vegetable soup like a minestrone.

I only grow jalapenos every other year. Even with only three plants, we get a two year supply. They keep fine in the freezer if they are vacuum sealed. We don't use them all that often (DH can't eat much spicy food these days), but I do package some for making next year's salsa in the years I don't grow them.

Your canned fruit will last quite a while on the shelf. I found some quarts of peaches the other day from 2010, and they were still delicious. They were stored in a dark cupboard, though, which helps preserve the color so they look more appetizing.

I'll see if I can think of any other suggestions.

I did not think of juice or using my cherries in a jam/jelly. I love the cobbler idea, thanks for sharing the recipe. I actually made a triple berry pie last weekend that was not too sweet and my hubby loved it.

I am revising the BBB chili recipe right now. I would definitely try it again.

I put up quite a few jars of peaches but I am very unhappy with them. The wouldn't peel, ripened way to fast and my spoilage was awful. Can I make jam or juice from them? I haven't even opened a jar to try them. Too afraid they won't be good.

Thanks again for these wonderful ideas. I really, really appreciate it.

Jodi

Here's a recipe for Cranberry Chutney, but you could easily adapt it.

Cranberry Chutney
Source: KatieC (Harvest Forum)

1 bag fresh cranberries (12 oz.) (substitute your cherries)
1 cup chopped Granny Smith apples
1 cup raisins (I use dried cranberries, cherries or currants)
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup sugar (I use 1/2 white and 1/2 brown)
1 cup white vinegar (I use apple cider vinegar)
3/4 cup chopped celery
3/4 cup water (I use apple or orange juice - depends on what I have in the fridge to use up)
2 tsp cinnamon (or more to taste)
1 1/2 tsp ginger (fresh grated or crystallized ginger is good, too)
1/4 tsp cloves

Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 30 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring occasionally. To can, process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Makes 4 - 1/2 pints.

I almost always double this recipe (except for the cloves).

Good on a cheese plate, too :-)

Regarding your peaches, if you like the taste, then yes you can juice them after canning. Make sure you use some fruit fresh to help prevent browning. I've found that I have to use it a 2nd time if I'm doing something else later with any of the light colored fruit.

Rainer cherries make a wonderful pie, so my son says. His grandmother-in-law would make pie out of any fruit and the cherries were left over one market (before I started doing jams/jelies).

Marla

Thanks to everyone who offered suggestions as well. I have a nice 3 day weekend and hope to try one or two of these recipes,

Have a great thanksgiving!

Jodi

I can tell you that the less sugar you use, the more the colors fade. Believe me, Strawberry Jam that gets to light pink isn't as appetizing.

I don't know about cranberries, since I don't use them.

Dave

PS: welcome to the forum!