Canning and Crockpotting

It's summer, and that means it's time to heat up the kitchen with boiling pots of sauces.  I learned to can my own jams and spaghetti sauce, thanks to my sister-in-laws mom. 

This summer, I've gotten blueberry juice and strawberry syrup canned so far. 

After washing the blueberries, I added just enough water to cover

Cooking ensued.....

After the blueberries got bubbling and the blueberries started to break down, I added a little sugar and ran them through the blender to puree.  Once the blueberries were ready, I put them into my sterilized canning jars and then submersed them in boiling water to kill off bacteria that may have survived the boiling blueberry juice and sterilized jars :)  It also helps to seal the jars. 

I forgot to take a picture of the blueberry jars while they were on the table, but I did take a picture of the strawberry syrup (added more sugar than the blueberry juice to get it syrupy).

Cute little jars :)

I also tried my hand at crockpot yogurt.  I found a recipe at Girl's Guide to Butter. 

It really was easy...although it took way longer than I thought it would for the milk to cool back down, so I wasn't ready for bed until later than I planned, since I had to add the culture and wrap the crockpot to cool slowly.

What it looked like in the morning

Jarred and ready for the fridge!

Now off to get my tooth drilled and then get ready for a bridal shower I'm throwing this weekend.  Very much dreading getting my cavity fixed.....having only had 1 in my 30 years, I used to like going to the dentist....not so much today.  If you don't hear back from me it didn't go well :0 

My husband starts his new job on Monday, so we're looking forward to that - especially since we're going out for a celebratory dinner that night :)