Home-Canned Tomato Soup

With the extreme hot and dry summer we had, I was not expecting to get many tomatoes this year. Was I ever wrong!! We have been blessed with an overabundance of them picking several five gallon buckets a week.

My husband said he would eat tomato soup if I canned some so this was a first for me. I never cared much for tomato soup but tasting this as I made it, I discovered I might actually like it after all.

Tomato Soup

1 1/2 cups butter 1/2 cup finely chopped onions 2 1/4 cups flour 3/4 cup sugar 2 Tbsp salt 1 tsp pepper 7 quarts tomato juice Directions: Melt butter; add onions and simmer until tender. Stir in flour, sugar, salt and pepper. Stir until smooth. Remove from heat. Gradually stir in the tomato juice a little at a time so that the mixture can be stirred smooth. Return to heat and bring to a boil stirring constantly. Ladle into jars and hot water bathe for 1 hour. Yield: Approx. 7 qt and 1 pint printablerecipe Linking to StoneGable

Canned Salsa

Tomatoes are ripening faster than I can get them canned so today my daughter came and helped me make a huge batch of salsa. Salsa is the most requested canned item from my family and everyone loves it so much I almost can't make enough to last all year. Once you start eating home canned salsa, the store bought stuff just doesn't cut it anymore!!
We probably tripled this recipe and canned 30 pints today but we will have to do another batch later.
Ingredients don't have to be measured precisely. For the most part we just measure approximately and keep tasting especially when it comes to adding the hot peppers. They vary so much in hotness from pepper to pepper. I use a variety called garden salsa but jalapeno's work great too.

Salsa

15 cups diced tomatoes 3 cups chopped onions 5 cups chopped green peppers. Sometimes I add red or yellow. Whatever I have on hand. 1 1/2 cups finely chopped hot peppers approx. This depends on how hot or mild you like your salsa and how hot your peppers are. 6-8 cloves garlic minced more or less to taste. 1/4 cup white sugar 1/4 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar 1 Tbsp lemon juice 1 Tbsp chili powder 1 tsp cumin 1 Tbsp oregano 1 tsp black pepper 1 Tbsp kosher salt 2 6 oz. cans tomato paste Combine all ingredients except tomato paste. Bring to a boil and simmer 45 minutes over medium heat. Add the tomato paste and cook to desired consistency. NOTE: Sometimes I put in an extra can of tomato paste to thicken to my desired consistency.  Put in jars and process 15 minutes in a boiling water bath. printablerecipe

Pizza Sauce

I know the tomato season is nearing the end but I'm still getting some so I made pizza sauce. I must say this is the best pizza sauce I ever made!!
 Well, I confess it's the first pizza sauce I ever made but it turned out delicious. I got this recipe from a friend from church. Thanks Jean. This is actually half of the recipe and made 19 pints.

Pizza Sauce

7 quarts tomato juice 1 tsp parsley flakes 1 1/2 tsp onion salt 1 tsp cayenne pepper 3/4 cup sugar 1 1/2 Tbsp paprika 2 Tbsp garlic powder 2 Tbsp oregano 2 Tbsp basil 1 1/2 Tbsp Italian seasoning 1 Tbsp chili powder 1/2 Tbsp black pepper 1/4 cup salt 1/2 cup oil 1/2 of a # 10 can tomato paste or 6 cups Heat juice. Add seasonings oil and paste. Bring to a slow boil. Fill hot jars and cold pack for 15 min. in pint jars.

printable recipe