Home Canning and Preserving

My house smells like fall, more specifically, it smells like apples! We have a friend with several apple trees. I have been canning apple butter, apple pie filling, and homemade applesauce. On top of that I am dehydrating apples for a quick easy snack for my kids (minus preservatives)!

Here's a picture of my homemade apple butter cooking in my crock pot:



Garage sales and Craigslist are great resources for finding canning supplies and cheap dehydrators in your area. I recommend finding a dehydrator that has heat AND a fan. Food dehydrators are not only handy with fruit-- it can also help preserve vegetables to be used later on.

Garden vegetables can be dehydrated and then later added to homemade soups! If you find celery on sale or dig up homegrown carrots, remember they can be dehydrated to use later in the year. A friend of mine even slices up and dehydrates potatoes. You can used dehydrated potato flakes to thicken up a gravy, or make mashed potatoes!