Canning Tomato Sauce

So like I said in the previous post, this weekend Sprouts had a sale on their organic Roma tomatoes for $0.99/pound. I also had a coupon for $5 off a $20 purchase, so I came home with 20+ pounds of Roma tomatoes for about $15.  

First up I canned diced tomatoes, next up was tomato sauce.  It's the same steps as the diced tomatoes, washing, coring and peeling the tomatoes. 

Next is sterilizing the jars.  

Jon diced the tomatoes and I pureed them in the blender and added them to my large stock pot.  I cooked down the tomato mixture for two hours reducing the water in the mixture leaving a nice thickened sauce.  You can also cook it down in the Instant Pot. 

In each of the pint Ball Quilted Jelly Jars I placed 1 tablespoon of lemon juice along with 1/2 teaspoon of Morton Canning and Pickling Salt.  Next I added the tomato sauce, leaving about 1/2″ of head room at the top of the jar for expansion. 

Wipe down the tops of the jar with white vinegar and place the lid on each jar.  Tighten the ring on securing just enough so the lid stays on and doesn’t fall off. You don’t want to overly tighten the ring at this point. Process the filled jars in a boiling water canner for 35 minutes for pints.

Twelve pounds of Romas yielded 10 pints of diced tomatoes. These will be perfect for adding to soup, pasta, or homemade chili.  In a price comparison the 12 pounds cost around $9 for 10 pints meaning $0.90 per 16 ounce jar. A can of generic brand tomato sauce is $1.28 (14 oz) at Target.  So not a lot of savings, but my jars will have more sauce and won't taste like a tin can! 

One person has faith that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats vegetables only. Romans 14:2

Canning Diced Tomatoes

This weekend Sprouts had a sale on their organic Roma tomatoes for $0.99/pound. I also had a coupon for $5 off a $20 purchase, so I came home with 20 pounds of Roma tomatoes for about $15.  

Roma tomatoes are very 'meaty' and great for tomato sauces and diced tomatoes, so we broke out the canner and got to work. First up is half of these will be used for diced tomatoes. 

The first step is to sterilize the Ball Quilted Jelly Jars.  I run them through the dishwasher on a short cycle.  Next up is to wash and core the tomatoes, removing any bad spots. 

I prefer to peel the tomatoes but you don't have to do so.  To make removing the skin easy, dip the tomatoes in boiling water for 1-1/2 minutes and then immediately dip them in ice cold water.  The skins will slip right off. 

Jon helped me out dicing the tomatoes.  I was working with pint jars so I placed 1 tablespoon of lemon juice into each jar along with 1 teaspoon of Morton Canning and Pickling Salt.  Next I added the diced tomatoes, leaving about 1/2″ of head room at the top of the jar for expansion. Run a small plastic knife around the jar to remove any air bubbles. 

Wipe down the tops of the jar with white vinegar and place the lid on each jar.  Tighten the ring on securing just enough so the lid stays on and doesn’t fall off. You don’t want to overly tighten the ring at this point. Process the filled jars in a boiling water canner for 35 minutes for pints.

Ten pounds of Romas yielded 10 pints of diced tomatoes. These will be perfect for adding to soup, pasta, salads, or topping off tacos.  In a price comparison the 10 pounds cost around $7.50 for 10 pints meaning $0.75 per 16 ounce jar, a can of generic diced organic tomatoes is $1.17 (14 oz) at Target.  So not a lot of savings, but my jars will have more tomatoes and won't taste like a tin can! And, I like to can! 

Better is a dish of vegetables where love is Than a fattened ox served with hatred.
Proverbs 15:17

A Day at the Races

Last week I surprised Jon with tickets to the Cowboy 300 Infinity race at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth. I had been bidding on the tickets in a silent auction to benefit Metro Relief and won. 

The race was televised on Fox.  The race is the first of two races in the Infinity series with one race in April and the other in October.  It is a 300 mile race meaning 200 laps at Texas Motor Speedway.  The speedway opened in 1996 and it was once the fastest one and a half mile track on the Nascar circuit, to the point where there were talks to use re stricter plates here like they do at Dayton and Talladega, which are much larger tracks. 

The speeedway has a capacity or 181,000 fans! It has banking of 24 degrees in all four turns! Erik Jones the 2015 winner took the checkered flag again this year.  

We got to the speedway early and got to meet some of the drivers, Frankie even climbed into a car!  It was a great afternoon sharing one of Jon's passions with the girls.

Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win.  I Corinthians 9:24

Compadres

Abigail and her buddy Roy got to hang out today! We met up with Gungans for lunch and then ran some errands together.  

It was great to hang out and spend time just visiting.  We were together last weekend with Bible Bowl but it was a busy time and we were surrounded by lots of friends.  Today we just took it easy, hit a bookstore, resale shop, clothing stores and had a great time together.  

 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. John 15:13

Dad's Catcher Girl

My catcher girl was back behind the plate today.  The CHANT Chargers jumped out to an early lead over Poetry Christian and took home a 25-6 victory.  Abigail played catcher for most of the game.  She had four plate appearances with two walks, a fielders choice and a fly ball. She also drove in two runs! 

 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3:14

Arbor Hills Nature Preserve

Spring is quickly changing into summer time.  The weather today was absolutely beautiful.  Abigail and I met up with Ms. Beth and Tessa at Arbor Hills Trails and Nature Preserve. 

The preserve has scenic hiking/biking trails, along with a pavilion and play ground.  It features three very distinct ecoregions: Blackland prairie, Riparian Forest, and Upland Forest.  Arbor Hills is a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Site. It's located about ten miles from our house.  

It was great to have lunch with our sweet friends and them walk off a few calories while we laughed and caught up with each other.  The girls were more adventurous and wandered down to the creek beds. 

Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. John 1:3

A Toast to the Jr. Toastmasters

The school year is quickly coming to an end and with it brings end of the year parties for PEACH's youth organizations.

The first celebration of the school year was the speaker's club. As Vice President of Special Events, Abigail planned the evenings events.  

The kids had a great evening of games and food and finished out with the awards ceremony.  Ms. Vogel has been the groups coordinator this year and she has done a fantastic job of preparing the youth for public speaking events. 

It was a great ending to a fantastic school year! 

My mouth speaks what is true,

    for my lips detest wickedness.

Proverbs 8:7

The Winner is . . .

Time to reveal the top scores for Texas Bible Bowl 2017.  When it was all said and done my McDermott youth came home with 23 Individual ribbons/trophies and two Team Trophies!

In Individual Competition:

In the Adult Division Julie Hunt 2nd Place

In the Elementary In-Experienced (1st Timers) Division: 

Elizabeth Sanderford 10th Place

Bethany Sanderford 3rd Place

In the Elementary Experienced Division: 

Robert Sanderford – 10th Place

Ella Green – 9th Place

Noah Lokey – 8th Place

Gabriel Hunt – 5th Place

Deanna Georgen – 4th Place

In the Jr. High Experienced Division: 

Zachary Sanderford – 7th Place

Noah Sears – 6th Place

Joey Georgen – 4th Place

Matthew Kearney – 1st Place

In the Sr. High Experienced Division: 

Roy Duncan – 3rd Place

Abigail Kirkwood – 2nd Place

Ryan Duncan – 1st Place

In Team Competition:

Our Jr. High Experienced Team took 1st Place.  Team Members were Joey Georgen, Matthew Kearney, Noah Sears, and Kaiden Vanderpoel.

Our Sr. High Experience Team also took 1st place.  Team Members included Abigail Kirkwood, Ryan and Roy Duncan and an additional member from the Southwest Church of Christ in Ada, Ok.

Congratulations also to Abigail, Ryan & Roy Duncan for earning top overall youth scores and each being awarded $1,000 scholarships. What does a top score look like, well Ryan answered 237 questions correctly and Abigail answered 236 questions correctly out of a possible 250!! CRAZY!!   

If you want to try your hand at the test, here are the links: 

Test

Answer Sheet

I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3:14

Building Each Other Up

Once the big test is over, then what?  Now it's time for fun and games with the youth from other congregations.  The beautiful camp site at Bandina Christian Youth Camp provide a great backdrop for fun.  Volleyball, Ga-Ga Ball, and other outdoor games.  

The camp also has a rope swing over the river.  The kids had a great time jumping in the river.  We also had a time for singing in the amphitheater and relay games in cafeteria. 

The weather was perfect!  Next door to the camp is wild animal rescue with zebras, camels and other exotic animal. It's a great spot to go exploring with friends! 

“But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; 8 or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this? In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind. Job 12:8-10

The Test!

It's the moment of truth, the test! Last night the congregations broke off into groups and played games but this morning we're down to business!  

The Texas Bible Bowl test is in the same format as the National Bible Bowl tests that were hosted by ACU, Harding and Oklahoma Christian.  

Youth 7th-12th Grade begin with the Power Round.  It is fifty questions to be answered in 25 minutes, closed Bible.  These questions can be over any of the material and is the most difficult round.  The Elementary students do not take this round.  

Next up is Round 1 "Find the Verse," for all participants.  This round is Open Bible, participants will locate, by giving chapter and verse numbers, forty (40) quotations drawn from the assigned text in 25 minutes.

Round 2 is "Fact Finder," for all participants.  It too is open Bible for participants to answer forty (40) multiple-choice questions in 20 minutes. 

Round 3 is "Identification," for all participants.  Again, while using their Bibles participants will, by marking one of five multiple-choice answers, identify forty (40) items (persons, places, things, times, numbers, etc.) in 20 minutes. 

Round 4 is "Know the Chapter - Quotations," for all participants. This is closed Bible, participants will locate, by chapter number only, forty (40) quotations in 15 minutes.

The final round, Round 5 is "Know the Chapter - Headings and Events," for all participants. This round is also closed Bible for participants will locate, by chapter number only, forty (40) general descriptions or subject headings in 10 minutes. 

Elementary age students compete with their score for Rounds 1 through 5 or 200 questions.

7th-12th Graders and Adults compete for their score on Rounds 1 through 5 plus the Power Round for a total possible score of 250 questions. 

"Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin,
it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men;
you will only find yourselves fighting against God.”  Acts 5:38-39