I feel so accomplished!

As the years have gone by, I have gotten more into the idea of canning my own sauces, and other things. I have wanted to make more foods from scratch and can what I can for times when items are just not available, but also to save a little money. I guess some could say canning was on a bucket list of sorts for me.
Now I can cross it off that list too! Monday was the day I finally made applesauce and then I canned it. It felt great to make and can something.
I did learn some things from all of this.
The size of my first batch was just right for me. I only got a small basket of apples and I am glad I didn't get more. The jars are actually half pints. I thought we had gotten pints, but was wrong. The batch I made filled ten half pints with a little to spare for our fridge.
I should have flipped my pots around. I used the larger pot for making the sauce when I should have used the smaller pot for the sauce and larger then for canning. As it stands, I quickly cleaned the large pot and got it going for canning the second batch of jars after learning my lesson.
I am very glad that a wonderful lady from church lent her food mill to me for making the sauce. It went so quickly and you better believe that a food mill is now on my Christmas list. :)
I also learned that I need to put an actually canning pot with rack on my Christmas list. I am too cheap (especially with our big trip coming before Christmas) to spend the money on the mill and pot, so on to my Christmas list they go.
I am now hooked! I loved making the applesauce, filling the house with nice apple smells, and I loved canning it. Now I am just thinking of things we eat that I could can. I felt so good at the end of the day about what I had gotten done. Two things I have wanted to do for ages, but thought is was harder than it really was.

Until next time.... Happy Canning!