Hey y'all,

This old brain is having a time, I'm telling you.  I grew up in town...small towns, but TOWN, and I'm trying hard to think country!  I saw a bumper sticker one time that I loved, it said "I'm not from the South...but I got here as quick as I could!"  Made me laugh, and that's how I am about country living..I'm not from the country, but I got here as soon as I could lol.  Actually, we STILL live in a small town lol but I'm trying to develop country thinking.  So I think I'm toodling right along, doing okay, lalala, when suddenly my husband will come in and totally throw me. 

For example, I'm feeling a tremendous sense of accomplishment, because we've canned tomatoes, froze some too, made strawberry fig preserves and generally put a bunch of stuff in the freezer, like peas, butterbeans, greens, peaches etc.  So I'm all "pat me on the back" kinda thinking lol, when boom!  Supper table last night, picture it lol.  Himself says "so...you gonna go back to the farmer's market for corn?"  Well smack my head and call me Lulu...CORN.  I forgot (insert embarrassed face).  (Mental note:  add farmer's market to the dozen things already on the schedule for next week.) 

Well, I'm doing better at this 'feeding ourselves' thing than I ever have, I guess I get points for that, right?  Happy day y'all!

OK listen to this...an older lady friend from church says that if you cook the tomatoes first and put them in the jars hot..and if you have boiled the lids and they're hot...that you don't have to put the whole jars down into boiling water, the lids will seal like this.  Anybody want to chime in on this one?

Also, to those who don't cook the tomatoes prior to placing them in the jars, do you have to cook them before using them in your recipes later?  Let me give a 'for example' here...we have rice and tomatoes a lot, and by that I mean that I cook rice separately and then in another pot, I put canned tomatoes in to heat.  Once hot, I add salt, pepper and a bit of evaporated milk (this is my m-i-l's recipe) and at mealtime, anyone who wants it can top their rice with the tomato mixture.  It's good, it really is...but I'm not sure how to do that with home canned tomatoes that haven't been cooked first.  Would I have to stew the tomatoes before adding the milk, etc? 

Thanks for the good advice, y'all are great!

My mama always made these on Sunday mornings for a quick breakfast before church.  She usually used raisin bran,  but she also would save the remnants from other nonsweetened cereals (cheerios, chex, cornflakes, etc) in a sealable container and mix them together for muffins.  A great way to use up the leftovers in the bottom of the box of cereal that nobody ever eats but you hate to throw out!

INGREDIENTS:

3 cups dry cereal

1 1/4 cup milk

1 egg

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 cup self-rising flour

1 teaspoon vanilla and 1/2 cup nuts, optional

Mix all ingredients in order-can also be refrigerated overnight.  Place in muffin tins and bake at 400 for 25 minutes or until done and brown. 

Suggestion:  If you split a muffin in half while it's still hot, put a big ol' blob of butter in there and wait a minute or so...when you bite into the muffin, the melted butter will run out and drip off your fingers and you will think you have died and gone on to Paradise!  Literally finger-lickin'-good. :)

This was my Grandma's recipe...passed to my mother...passed to me!  It's easy, delicious, quick to make and perfect on a hot summer day.

INGREDIENTS:

1- 9 oz container Cool Whip

1- 20 oz can of crushed pineapple

1 cup sweetened condensed milk (Eagle Brand type)

Juice from one lemon

1 cup chopped pecans

2 baked pie shells

Blend lemon juice into condensed milk.  Add remaining ingredients.  Pour into pie shells and cool three hours.  Enjoy!

Hey y'all,

Okay, we bought a new freezer at the beginning of summer and have made it our goal to fill it up.  We planted our first 'serious' garden this year, bought a tiller even.  We've attempted corn, greens (as in collard, mustard and turnip greens), squash, okra, cucumbers, tomatoes and various peppers.  The corn was a dud, I dunno what happened to it, not enough water, whatever.  The squash has been a bumper crop, woohoooo!  Okra..pffft ok we didn't plant enough to make a 'mess' when it got ready.  Tomatoes are yum, peppers are not yet, some greens did good, some did not, but I understand that a fall crop of greens is better here in the hot hot South lol.  Cucumbers, the jury is still out. 

SO, we've been making journeys to the local farmers market, putting up peas and butterbeans and tomatoes.  Does anyone know how to can tomatoes (you know, in jars, sealed lids) without a pressure canner?  I have my mom's old pressure canner, but it won't 'seal', you know?  I'm checking to see if I can replace the gasket, but in the meantime I just know that this can be done in just a big pot and boiling water, since tomatoes have a lot of acid and you don't have to worry about bacteria so much.  Help??