HOME-CANNING SPAGHETTI O'S

At first I just quickly canned the picked garden tomatoes until I had them coming out my ears. Then, the next year I decided to branch out and make easier recipes that were ready to eat like the following Spaghetti O's soup recipe. That was so successful the next year I branched out again and make up a pizza recipe ready to use when needed. That was quickly used up and never enough stored. I was on to something... and continued to collect more such canning home recipes. Here's one was my children’s favorite. When they got home from school they wanted spaghetti-O soup. That’s what they name it because I canned it with sometimes some alphabets noodles or round spaghetti O's. I never had any left-overs for the next year so I had to replace them ever year after. It's nice to blend some of the tomatoes in a blender or food processor however, it pleasant to have some cut into very small chunks, not to many or big. The children will not like them. This is of course optional.
Spaghetti- Or Spaghetti O’ Soup
About 10 quarts tomatoes (Measure it out with qt. canning jars after you've blended the garden fresh organic tomatoes. (Also, you can use up your old canning jars plain tomatoes.)
1 cup chopped celery (or equivalent; celery seeds-1 tbs for some tastes?)
3 chopped onions
4 chopped green peppers
4 Tbs. salts
3 bay leaves (take out afterwards and is optional)
8 Tbs. sugar or 4 tbs. honey (agave, or Stevia for diabetics)
1 tsp. pepper
Herb of choice (just a bit of some chopped curly parsley or basil?) or any herb out of your garden is nice for a rich flavor and a tiny bit of green in the bottle. Use whatever herb you grew....
While cool mix with 14 Tbs. flour or/and 4 Tbs. cornstarch and delude in a small amount of water to easily add to the tomatoes.
*Last minute add some butter to taste (I added quite a bit for flavor, but optional)
Lastly, just before processing add round small round uncooked macaroni’s (must process immediately) or, (A B C’s macaroni’s will work)
Cook 20-30 minutes
Process 15 minutes
This was so well like that the children went to the pantry after school and heated it up this ready-made soup to eat. None was left for the winter.
These are more "method" recipes, spice them to suit your family need and likes. In a hurry keep Italian Seasoning on hand and sub. in this recipes. Myself I've change the recipe to what I have on hand as you can see. Don't do all the herbs or seasoning at one time. Choose one.
* The small round spaghetti Os's come in very small packages. They go on sale one a year so keep your eye out for them and buy up. You can sub the pin wheels. Don't get too carried away on the macaroni's. I found the children like it more soupy with Cheetos's as a garnishment.  You really can't make too much of this soup...it will go first and not last long if you do a good job.
Comments Are Always Welcomed.....

MORE HEALTHY CANDY RECIPES

Molasses Candy
1 ½ cups molasses
¾ cup raw sugar
1 tbs. vinegar
1 tbs. butter
1/8 tsp. baking soda
1/8 tsp. sea salt
Combine molasses, sugar and vinegar and cook to a hardball stage. Add butter, soda, and salt. Remove from heat and stir until the soda is blended, then pour onto a greased cookies sheet or platter spray with Spam. When cooled, pull between greased fingertips until white and stiff. Break or cut into pieces. Wrap in wax paper.

Whole Wheat Candy
What candy can you buy that provides you with natural fiber?
1-cup butter
1 ½ cups whole-wheat flour
nuts, coconut, sesame seeds
1-cup honey
1 cup peanut butter (other nut butter will give a different flavor)
Melt butter, honey and peanut butter. Add flour. Cook and stir a few minutes. Add in nuts coconut or sesame seeds another seed that is your favorite.

Honey Caramels
2 cups honey
1 can evaporated milk or heavy cream
3 tbs. butter
1 cup chopped nuts
Pinch of salt
1 tsp real vanilla
Mix honey and milk then cook until it forms a firm ball (255 degrees.) Stir in butter, nuts, and salt. Pour onto buttered dish. Cool and cut. Next is a variation of this recipe

Almond Joy
1 cup powdered milk
1-cup coconut
½ cup honey
1 tsp. vanilla
¼ tsp salt
1 cup chopped almonds for topping
Chocolate
1 recipe of honey caramels
Mix honey, milk salt and vanilla together. Add coconut and press mixture in a small square pan. Add 1 cup chopped toasted almonds on top. Pour a layer of hot honey caramel over all the candy. Cool and cut into small squares (bars) and dip into chocolate.

Homemade Marsh mellows
I had looked for this recipe for a long time because I don’t like marshmallows made from cornstarch.
2 envelops plain gelatin (you can buy vegetarian gelatin from Health Food Stores)
1 cup boiling water
Pinch of salt
4 Tbls. Cold water
2 cups sugar
With ½ tsp. any flavored gelatin in bowl with 4 Tbs. water. Stir to soften. Add boiling water, sugar, salt, and flavoring. Vanilla can be used. Beat with mixer until thick. Approximate time 10-15 minutes or just before it peaks. Fill cake pans with 2-3 inches of flour, cornstarch, or powdered sugar. Cool and cut with scissors i.e., or make imprints with an egg molds filled with the marshmallow mixture.
Candied Walnuts (sub. any nut meat)
1 tsp. cinnamon (or cinnamon oil)
1 cup raw sugar
½ cup canned milk
1 lb. Nuts (walnuts)
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup brown sugar
4 tsp. water
Combine cinnamon, sugar, canned milk and water. Bring to a soft boil. Take from heat and add vanilla and stir in nuts to mixture, place on wax paper. Distribute the nuts coating them evenly. Let it stand for about 10 minutes and then break apart.
Any of these recipes can be covered with melted dark chocolate.

English Toffee
1 cup raw sugar or sugar
3 tbs. water
1 14 ounce chocolate bar (grated)
1-cup butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup chopped nuts
Cook sugar, water, butter, and vanilla together until it is bubbling and is nearly to hardball stage. Pour sugar mixture on foil fitted on a cookie sheet. Spread ½ of the grated chocolates over it and ½ the nuts. Turn foil over quickly onto another foil covered cookie sheet and cover with the remaining chocolate and nuts. Cook the crack with a knife to break into smaller pieces.


Fudge (Pudding style)
1-cup sugar
1 small packages chocolate pudding
½ cup evaporated milk
2 tbs. butter
Mix all together except butter. Cook until softball stage. Mix in butter and add nuts if desired. Pour into a buttered dish. Cool and cut into squares.

Comments Are Always Welcomed.....

HONEY CANDIES (homemade)

HONEY CANDIES: Here are some old collected recipes for the occasional sweet tooth when I do want candy it’s without corn syrups to say the least without aspartame, nutra sweet, and splenda, fructose all of which increase the appetite and are addicting! Here are some to satisfy that tooth using honey.
Heirloom: I like to touch all the bases and keep the new “Millenniums for healthier foods.” These are basically needed in anyone’s repertoire for survival during hard times. Also, because of their rarity cooking with honey should not be lost to our next our generation. The recipe is easy and so basic to any style of natural cooking. Honey is a natural, predigested enzyme, thanks to the bees, and comes with anti fungal, vitamins, and minerals. Try and find good candy without corn syrup or harsh chemicals today. With sweeteners that makes you hungrier, putting on weight never satisfying any sweet craving and raising blood sugars much higher than sugar. Old fashion candy making is gone art but is coming back. Just check the ingredients on packages of candy in our markets that you feed to your children.
Be sure to use a candy Thermometer when using a honey candy recipe it cost too much to waste. Also note you can switch from corn syrup recipes to honey, just add a little less honey it much sweeter.
Try adding orange, lemon, peppermint, cherry or other flavorings. How about chopped nutmeats or dried chopped fruit, peanut butter, coconuts, so many seeds can be added for fiber, i.e. lets make candies a more nutritious and in anyway you want them for a treat for the family. Add herbs such as; thyme or horehound incorporating in hard candy recipes. Or, lemon juice instead of the water called for in the recipe converting some to candies medicines. Why not? Keep them healthy by buying raw sugars in a health section of your groceries or health food stores. Look at their labels and get ideas. It’s all an art. Start with some basics and expand your preferences.
Honey Candy
Rarity...where can you buy honey candy with out corn syrups and chemical sugars these days? Candies are now poisons to our children. We were all doing better on just plain bleached sugars, and health was better then. However, the best thing about making it at home is you can sub raw sugar here if you wish and add some nutmeat or add variety of seeds,(sesame) which are now back in style.
Ingredients;
2 cups honey
1-cup cream
1-cup raw sugar
Combine and cook slowly until it reaches hardball stage when tested in cold water. Pour onto a buttered platter. When cool enough to handle, butter hands and pull until a golden color appears. Pull into long ropes and cut into pieces and wrap.
Old Fashioned Hardtack
Ingredients;
2 cups sugar
¾ cup of honey
½ tsp. flavoring such as cinnamon, peppermint etc.
1-cup water
Mix and cook to 270 degrees, or hard brittle stage with threads in the water. Remove from the heat and add natural food color as desired. Pour onto a buttered dish and cool. Break into pieces and roll in powdered sugar if desired.
Honey Taffy
Ingredients;
2 cups honey
2 or 3 tbs. organic butter
1 tsp. real vanilla
Combine the preceding ingredients in a 4-quart saucepan. Carefully bring honey to a boil. Boil on medium high heat, stirring occasionally. Cook to a firm ball stage. To test for doneness, drop a few drops of the hot mixture into a cup of cold water. When it forms a firm ball, remove hot mixture from heat. (Be careful not to overcook it or burn it.)
Add 1 tsp. vanilla to hot mixture. Pour onto a buttered tray to cool. But just barely enough so that it won’t burn your fingers when you pull it. Pull it till it’s very light and porous. Twist into a long rope. Lie on a buttered tray and put in refrigerator to cool. When cool, crack into pieces by hitting it with a table knife or such...Taffy will sweat and get stick if left out at room temperature. Cover and keep in refrigerator.
Don’t forget molasses is very nutritious and loaded with minerals.
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