Canning: Homemade Pasta Sauce

You asked for it! Making and canning your own pasta sauce is easy peasy. Use any recipe you like. I recommend a simple one--tomatoes, veggies, and herbs. Simple recipes are more versatile...you can use one for pasta, soups, chicken parm, meatball subs, etc, and just gussy it up as needed. Mine contains tomatoes, onion, garlic, basil, parsley, carrots (for sweetness), salt, pepper, and just a touch of date sugar. It's organic and refined sugar-free. You can use canned or fresh tomatoes. Fresh ones will need to be peeled, which is done by cutting an "x" in the skin on the bottom and dropping in a pot of boiling water, then an ice bath. Canned ones save you this step, but don't forget that the lining of cans contains BPA. I think the perfect solution would be to self-can some whole, peeled tomatoes. Hmmm. Add that to my list :)

Make your sauce according to the recipe. While hot, ladle through a funnel into sanitized canning jars. Wipe the rims with a clean cloth, place lids on top. Screw on rings. Place jars on a canning rack in enough boiling water to cover the tops of the jars by at least an inch. Process for 30 minutes (for altitudes up to 1000ft). When your jars cool, the button on the top of the lid will depress, indicating a good seal. If one of your jars doesn't process properly, cool it and freeze or use within a couple of days.