What do you substitute for 'cream of X' soup?

[Ldychef2k]

Well, 45 minutes was what I used...hope that's okay. If I do chicken, I might increase it to 75, but these puppies were just a bubbling away inside the jars when I took them from the canner.

This is going to sound so silly, but when I look at what I have done the past two months, especially now with the pressure canner, I feel like crying. It's hard to explain, but I feel like I have finally allowed myself to be the person I have kept at bay all these years, thinking I needed to be a certain way or people would think I was nuts. I mean, I was a mom and now a grandma, work hard at an office type job, take care of my ill parents, watch my grandkids five days a week, and other stuff. But this is ME, the REAL me.

I mean, what kind of goofball tears up when she hears her jars "ping" in the kitchen while she is working in her office.

Yes, I just noticed the discrepency in the processing time, too! Farmerlor??? 45 minutes or 75 minutes for pints?

 

[SKR8PN]

Your not a goofball for shedding tears of joy when you hear your jars sealing. The wife and I both as happy as a pig eating slop when our jars sound off!

 

[noobiechickenlady]

Okay, I made the cream of mushroom this weekend. FANTASTIC! The only issue I had (not with the recipe) was too much salt. We use very little salt and have for years, its just not in our taste buds. If I had used my own stock the salt would have been fine, but the organic chicken stock I used (found on sale!) was salted. It should be fine when we dilute it & add the other foods for a casserole. It would not be great for eating out of the can though :/

Keljonma, I'm giving your dried recipe for gifts this Christmas The only change I am making is to omit the powdered milk and change the boiling water to milk. I'll add an instruction tag & a pretty top to the jar. Presto!

Ldychef2k, I love hearing my jars ping, too. I smile in pride at what I've accomplished. I think my Grandma would be proud

 

[freemotion]

Noobie, I was thinking of doing the mix for a gift, too, but I was gonna change the instructions to 3 cups boiling water, then add 3 cups of milk and just heat through. Or 4 c water and 2 c cream.

 

[Ldychef2k]

I just asked on another thread about making cream of tomato, but then I thought about cream of asparagus. I have a lot of asparagus frozen....so hmmm.

Dang I wish I had some jars !

 

[freemotion]

Build it and they will come! Put the word out! I actually made little flyers and handed them out to all my friends and clients. I tell everyone who doesn't cook (most people) that Classico spaghetti sauce comes in canning jars, so please save them for me, too. If you have a Costco near you, that is one of the kinds they sell there. Find some families who use it and toss the jars. Tell kids you will pay 10c per jar, too, if you can find the coins.

My flyer is in a Word doc, I can e-mail it to you if you'd like. You can just change the contact info (or not... ). It worked out really well for me, because it has pictures on it....you just have to add the Classico jar bit.

I got lots of single jars and some boxes and people would tell me about others who had jars.

Got a hundred arriving this afternoon! But it has been months that I put the word out, so be patient, and continue to remind people. People love to recycle. People love to help others out, especially if it doesn't cost. Older folks love to see their jars get a good home where they will be used.

Check out freecycle and craigslist, too. I looked for weeks without finding any, then spring cleaning time hit. If you can check several times a day, you have a better shot at being the first to reply to an ad. You can also take out your own ad...it is free here, but not everywhere. I added a "finder's fee" to my ad, something homemade to anyone who found jars for me in someone else's shed or basement. That worked quite well, too!

 

[Ldychef2k]

YES PLEASE TO THE FLYER !!!

I am SO going to do the "finder's fee" thing....See, I have all this jam.....

GREAT IDEAS !

 

[freemotion]

Check your e-mail....

 

[PunkinPeep]

Build it and they will come! Put the word out! I actually made little flyers and handed them out to all my friends and clients. I tell everyone who doesn't cook (most people) that Classico spaghetti sauce comes in canning jars, so please save them for me, too. If you have a Costco near you, that is one of the kinds they sell there. Find some families who use it and toss the jars. Tell kids you will pay 10c per jar, too, if you can find the coins.

My flyer is in a Word doc, I can e-mail it to you if you'd like. You can just change the contact info (or not... ). It worked out really well for me, because it has pictures on it....you just have to add the Classico jar bit.

I got lots of single jars and some boxes and people would tell me about others who had jars.

Got a hundred arriving this afternoon! But it has been months that I put the word out, so be patient, and continue to remind people. People love to recycle. People love to help others out, especially if it doesn't cost. Older folks love to see their jars get a good home where they will be used.

Check out freecycle and craigslist, too. I looked for weeks without finding any, then spring cleaning time hit. If you can check several times a day, you have a better shot at being the first to reply to an ad. You can also take out your own ad...it is free here, but not everywhere. I added a "finder's fee" to my ad, something homemade to anyone who found jars for me in someone else's shed or basement. That worked quite well, too!

I, just this morning, discovered that the classico jars - that i had been saving just because i hate to throw away something that i might be able to re-use - might double as canning jars. I am so excited! I immediately went to my computer to ask y'all, and i did a search and found your post.

I have another question. I'm not very experienced at canning, and this question might prove that, but is there some reason why i can't re-use the classico lid as well? I think i need someone to explain this to me. Because the companies who manufacture all that sauce clearly do use those all-in-one lids to can the sauce in the first place. Why can't i do the same?

 

[freemotion]

Yes, but they don't re-use them. The flat lids with rings fit perfectly, the regular-mouth size. I ALWAYS use new flats for pressure canning.

I remember my mother would sometimes re-use a lid....once, and for water-bath only, and it was risky. We ran out of toilet paper a lot back then, too, so it was about extreme financial difficulty, not about what was best. It is worth the ten cents per lid for the peace of mind. And even then, they don't always seal!