Canning Tomatoes

I bought a bushel of tomatoes last week at Green Canyon Hot Springs for only $15 (that's 50lbs for those who don't compute in bushels)! They have a public swimming pool and greenhouse all at the same place. We made 23 pints of salsa last week, and canned 24 pints of tomatoes with the leftover onions, jalepenos, anaheims, and garlic last night. We started everything at 7:30pm and finished processing the final jars at 10:30pm. We've been having fun canning this year, because Landon's mom chipped in, so we were able to buy a 23-quart pressure cooker/canner. We're learning as we go and I think it's becoming a family hobby.

Here was our process last night:

First, I boiled the tomatoes to loosen the skin, then the girls removed the skin and sent the tomatoes over to Nana.

Next, Nana cored and sliced the tomatoes.

Landon chopped all the onions and peppers (in a 1 cup chopper!) to prepare them for the jars.Here is the final product, all ready for taco soup, chicken tortilla soup or spaghetti sauce.