It's always nice to have spiced pinto beans on the pantry shelf. Once opened you can heat and serve 'as is' or whip them up into fresh homemade refried beans.  The main kitchen tip I will share is that when canning beans, remember they WILL expand  during processing so fill your jars with beans first about 3/4 full and then top off with liquid. Some folks do 1/2 beans 1/2 liquid. The NCHFP says to add beans and liquid to 1" headspace but, they never explain expansion - which can also lead to siphoning.  Just something to keep in mind. All beans must be Pressure Canned. 
Enjoy! Diane

Spice Mix Per Pint Jar: 
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp dried, minced onion

Per the NCHFP:
Quantity: An average of 5 pounds is needed per canner load of 7 quarts; an average of 3¼ pounds is needed per canner load of 9 pints--an average of ¾ pounds per quart.
Quality: Select mature, dry seeds. Sort out and discard discolored seeds.
Procedure:

• Place dried beans in a large pot and cover with water.
• Soak 12 to 18 hours in a cool place. Drain water.  OR
• To quickly hydrate beans, you may cover sorted and washed beans with boiling water in a saucepan. Boil 2 minutes, remove from heat, soak 1 hour and drain.
• Cover beans soaked by either method with fresh water and boil 30 minutes.
• Add my spice mix above to each cleaned pint jar, if desired.
• Fill jars with beans with cooking water, leaving 1-inch headspace.
• Pressure Can Pints 75 Minutes / Quarts 90 Minutes.

Apple Pecan Scones with Cinnamon Sugar Topping 

Ingredients
Scone Dough:
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup cold butter, cut into small pieces
1 small fuji apple, chopped into small pieces
1/2 cup pecans, chopped
1/2 cup milk *

Topping: 
2 Tbs Milk
ground cinnamon 
granulated sugar 

Instructions
Preheat oven to 425°

• In a large mixing bowl, whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt together. 
• Add cold cut butter into flour mixture and using a pastry blender or a fork, mix until crumbly.
• Add in chopped apple and pecans, stir. 
• Pour in milk and stir until incorporated. *once you get to mixing the dough, if it seems too dry, and all the flour isn't being incorporated, slowly add an additional 1-2 Tablespoons of milk,  depending on how dry your dough is. 
• Remove dough from bowl and place on a lightly flour covered surface and knead about 8 times.  
• Divide dough into two equal parts and pat into circles, using a pastry brush, brush milk lightly on to the top of dough, and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar, then cut each circle into 8 diagonal pieces and place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper sprinkled with a bit of flour.
• Place in the oven and cook for about 20 minutes or until browned.

Canning Plums     We were fortunate enough to have some freestone plums that needed to be eaten because they were ripe and sweet!  However, we knew we couldn't eat ALL of them so, we decided to can up 3 pints and we look forward to eating them this Winter! They are an easy fruit to can and we chose to Steam Can these.  My suggestion is - IF raw packing halves, to give the jars 3/4" headspace (or a FAT 1/2") because they WILL expand in the jar and expel air within the fruits cell walls, which can cause siphoning. If you want to lessen your chances of a siphon, Hot Pack your jars and once processed - leave the canner lid slightly askew for 5 minutes to stabilize the air around the jars before removing from canner.
Reminder!! Just because you have siphoning - doesn't mean that your jars won't seal - as long as you end up with sealed jars and decent headspace, you're ok in my book!  Enjoy! Diane 

• To process a full canner load:  An average of 14 pounds is needed per canner load of 7 quarts; an average of 9 pounds is needed per canner load of 9 pints.
• Always make sure you are canning mature fruit you would EAT or cook with!  Plums may be packed in water or syrup. 
  
• Wash plums, cut in half to remove pit and any pieces of stem. 

• Hot pack – Add plums to water or hot syrup and boil 2 minutes. Cover saucepan and let stand 20 to 30 minutes. Fill jars with hot plums and cooking liquid or syrup, leaving 1/2-inch headspace.
• Raw pack – Fill jars with raw plums, packing firmly. Add hot water or syrup, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. (*see my note above about raw packing and siphoning) 

• Wipe jar rims free of any liquid or debris, Add lids and process 30 minutes in an Atmospheric Steam Canner or water-bath canner. 

   I used/made a sugar syrup of 5 cups water, 3/4 cup sugar

NCHFP Processing Times Here 

Bake up some of these light and fluffy doughnuts that have a hint of vanilla and nutmeg inside with the taste of cinnamon sugar on the outside.  These are great with a cup of coffee, glass of milk or a nice warm spiced Fall cider.   Enjoy! Diane 

Fall Baked Doughnuts 

Cream Together (for approx. 7 minutes until smooth): 
1/4 cup butter, room temp
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar 

Add in (mix until combined): 
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon salt 
1 teaspoon Rodelle Vanilla extract 

Once the above is combined
alternate adding in: 
2 2/3 cups of all purpose flour
1 cup milk 

Spoon or pipe the batter into lightly greased doughnut pans, baking at 
425 for 10 minutes.  
Once out of oven, shake the warm doughnuts in a bag of 1/4 cup granulated 
sugar and 2 Tablespoons ground cinnamon to coat.  

Yield: Approx. 12-14 doughnuts 


​

Photos by: Diane Baker for Canning and Cooking at Home
Recipe Adapted from: King Arthur Flour "Doughnut Muffins" 

     One thing that has always been a great benefit, is being able to cook a great family meal using our Slow-Cooker (aka 'Crock-Pot.') The advent of the Instant Pot craze pushed so many great slow cooker recipes aside.  I personally don't like to cook with an Instant Pot - I make very few dishes that we actually "like" in it - those three recipes are listed at the bottom of this post.  Making homemade stocks for canning is great in an Instant Pot but, pressure cooking meats (like beef) just isn't our preferred method.  I still reach for our Slow Cooker - more so in the Fall and Winter.  I thought I'd compile all my Slow Cooker recipes for you - tried and true!  So, dust off your Slow Cooker and show it some love by whipping up some great meals. Enjoy! Diane 

Slow Cooker Recipes:

Chicken:
Honey Soy Chicken
Chicken Cacciatore
Applesauce BBQ Chicken
Ranch Chicken Burritos/Tacos
Cantonese Sweet & Sour
Chicken Stock/Bone Broth
Creamy Chicken with Chives

Beef:
Pot Roast 
Mississippi Pot Roast 
Italian Beef Sandwiches 
Coca Cola Roast 
Coca Cola Beef Ribs
Mongolian Beef 
French Dip 
Mushrooms & Beef Tips  
Corned Beef & Cabbage
​Steak Fajitas 
Steak Tips & Gravy 
​Pepper Steak 
Beef & Broccoli
My Beef Stew
Beef & Cabbage Stew
Beef Stroganoff
Hawaiian Beef 
Beef Barley Stew 

Pork:
Braised Pork Carne Asada
BBQ Pork Sammies
Zuppa Toscana 

Beans:
Party Beans 


Instant Pot Recipes: 
Cashew Chicken
Shredded Chicken Burritos
Green Chile Mac & Cheese   
Hamstock