I love gardening with my kids. It is so rewarding to see how they get so big in such a quick period of time and produce food that will feed and nourish your family! Plus it is great for helping kids to learn and understand where our food comes from. If you have an abundance of home grown tomatoes here is the easy way you can go about canning tomatoes. So come take a peak at our favorite tomtoes that came from our 9 foot tomato plant and how to preserve tomatoes.
If you have an abundance of home grown tomatoes here is the easy way you can go about canning tomatoes. So come take a peak at our favorite tomtoes that came from our 9 foot tomato plant and how to preserve tomatoes.

Canning Tomatoes

Our garden is finally really starting to crank things out. It has been rainy followed by a very dry/hot season – not good for most of my veggies. But, my tomato plants have flourished! With our bumper crop of tomatoes, it is time to work on canning tomato overflow to enjoy all winter long. If you’ve never tried it, it is super easy to save fresh tomatoes! Plus it is a fun project to do as a family. So let me show you how to preserve fresh tomatoes.

Different types of Tomatoes

Types of Tomatoes

We have 8 tomato plants this year. Pictured above from left to right: 6 Marzano Tomatoes (Roma  type for tomato sauce/canning), 1 Beefmaster Tomato (Hamburgers, salsa, etc), 1 Cherry Tomato (sweet eating).

9 Feet Tall Tomato PlantsBackyard tomato garden

The Marzano have grown WAY beyond my expectations! They have topped out at just shy of 9 feet tall!!

 Garden Fresh Marzano Tomatoes

How to grow tomatoes

So, needless to say, I have a LOT of tomatoes to can & for my family to eat.

How to Can Tomatoes with a Tomato Press

How to preserve tomatoes

For anyone who has ever wanted to can – it can be intimidating, but trust me it isn’t that hard. To preserve fruits or vegetables you need to deep freeze them or can them.  We prefer to can tomatoes so they can be made into sauce and stored in our pantry for convenience.

There are two main ways to can veggies – water bath or pressure canned. Tomatoes (and other non acidic items like veggies) need to be pressure canned so they don’t spoil. Here is how you do it:
Our first {of many} ripe picks of the season weighted in at 20 pounds!

Canning Tomatoes

  • Wash Tomatoes
  • Cut tomatoes into quarters
  • Put in Tomato Press (I got my Tomato Press for Christmas – $38).

Turn the wheel and the the press does the work. The pulp & juice comes out one spot & the peels & seeds come out another. You dump the peels & seeds back through the machine a couple times to make sure you get all the good pulp!
tomato press

How to preserve fresh tomatoes

You can do this without a press, it just takes a little more work.

Wash the tomatoes, cut an X in the bottom about 1.5” x 1.5”. Now drop tomatoes in boiling water for 30-45 seconds. Pull out and immediately put in ice water. After 20 seconds the peel should pull slide right off. Now cut tomato and put in large stockpot. Use a potato masher to mash up the tomatoes some and cook as below, mashing again with potato masher from time to time.

Note: If you are doing it without a press or if you want thick tomato sauce for pasta sauces:
Canning Tomatoes

How to preserve tomatoes in jars

Put the tomato juice {or smashed tomatoes} in large pot & simmer until it is reduced by 1/3 (for thin sauce) or 1/2 (for thick sauce). If you are making homemade pasta sauce you can add garlic, basil, and whatever else you like in your pasta sauce now. The flavors will blend nicely in the jars.

Canning TomatoesHow do you preserve tomatoes

Using a funnel, pour tomato sauce  and 1 TAB lemon juice into sterilized jars leaving 1/2- 1” room at the top. The jars need to be run through the quick rinse (on hot) or placed in boiling water for a minute to sterilize them to ensure you aren’t going to grow bacteria.  Wipe off the rim of the jars before putting on sterilized lids or any spilled tomato sauce will make it ridiculously hard to open!! Put on new top and sterilized (reusable) ring and tighten.

For tomatoes and non acidic fruits/vegetables you will need to use a pressure cooker to ensure they don’t spoil.

In pressure cooker put: rack in bottom, 3 Quarts (12 cups) boiling water, and 2 TAB white vinegar (opt. to keep jars looking fresh). Place jars inside pressure cooker. Close lid. Turn heat to high and cook until pressure indicator reads 11 pounds of pressure. Adjust heat to maintain 11 pounds of pressure.Canning Tomatoes

Cook for 15 minutes. Turn off & move pan off of heat. Allow to thoroughly cool; don’t rush it or the jars may break. Once it is cool, open the pan & put jars on towel to finish cooling.
Canning TomatoesTADA! You now have delicious, fresh tomato sauce ready to use whenever. By using jars, there will be no BPA leaching into your tomatoes from the cans you buy at the grocery store. You are using tomatoes in their season when they are full of nutrients! And for me, this is the first of MANY times canning this season.

For my $3 pack of seeds I will easily yield over 100 pounds of tomatoes!

More Gardening Tips

These are the absolute best cinnamon roll recipe you are ever going to taste. These homemade cinnamon rolls are gooey, delicious, and easy to make. Plus this clone of Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls Recipe comes out perfect every time! But the best part, you can make these amazing cinnamon rolls in the bread machine! Your family is going to love these bread machine cinnamon rolls!  Delicious Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread REcip

Breakfast Recipes

Unlike traditional Chili, this Sweet Chili has baked beans and is super EASY to make. Favorite even with picky eaters. YUMMY  Delicious Instapot Corn Chowder REcipe This is not only the best tomato soup recipe, but it is actually good for you too as it is filled with not only tomatoes but carrots, celery, onions, and garlic too! But don't worry, your family wont realize they are eating lots of nutritious vegetables as they will just enjoy the rich flavor from the bacon and roasted tomatoes. This best homemade tomato soup is our family's favorite soup recipe for fall, winter, and anytime we want some yummy, homemade comfort food! I know your family will love this best ever tomato soup too! Amazing Thanksgiving Leftover Soup

Soup Recipes

Pizza Quesadilla - this easy lunch recipe is ready in 5 minutes and tastes amazing! Plus it is a kid favorite lunch idea for at home or in their lunch box #pizza #quesadillas #easyrecipes #lunchrecipes #kidrecipes #yummy Best Asian Slaw Recipe Nothing says summer like a fresh summer chicken salad! Whether you eat it on a plate or as a chicken salad sandwich, it is such a yummy lunch idea for at home or on a picnic. Our easy chicken salad recipe is the best - it combines all the traditional things you expect with the unexpected refreshing crunch of grapes. Your whole family is going to love this homemade chicken salad that is so quick and simple to make! You've got to try this quick, EASY, and fresh summer salad! This berry spinach salad has a homemade raspberry vinaigrette on top of spinach, strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries.

Recipes for Salads and Sandwiches

Easy Lasagna Recipe filled with pretty layers of flavorful meaty sauce, cheese, and pasta noodles. Family favorite casserole that super yummy!  Nothing says summer like a warm grill cooking meat to perfection! But enough with burgers and dogs, it's time to make some delicious grilled pork loin. My mouth starts wating at the thought of our delicious BBQ grilled pork loin recipes. These juicy grilled pork tenerloins have a super easy pork loin marinade for grilling that gives them the most incredible, rich flavor while keeping the meat moist and oh, so yummy! Want to learn about cooking pork tenerloin on the grill? Keep reading! If you are looking for a mouthwatering recipe that uses up leftover turkey, you will go nuts over this EASY Turkey Pot Pie Recipe.  I have been known to cook a whole turkey just to get leftover meat to make this flavorful recipe for dinner. Pasta makes a quick, easy and filling meal, but pasta dinner ideas seem to be either tomato or heavy cream based sauces. This easy pasta recipe is a quick dinner idea with a no tomato pasta sauce you can make all in one pan in under 30 minutes! This simple pasta recipe is sure to become a new staple  easy pasta dishes the whole family will love!

Main Dishes

Whether you are whipping up appetizers for friends or family, are prepparing some desserts for a game night, looking for a fun super bowl dip, or are just looking for a easy dessert - you will love this oreo cheeseball. This dessert cheese ball is quick and easy to make, but oh-so-yummy! We like to serve this sweet cheese ball with pretzels, apple clices, vanilla wafers, etc. Your guests will be asking for this oreo cream cheese balls recipe! cookies with snickers Best-Gingerbread-Cookies-Recipe Everyone loves a good apple pie! Whether you are celebrating the Fourth of July, celebrating apple month in September, or whipping up a homemade apple pie to round out your Thanksgiving feast - everyone wants to make the best homemade apple pie! Making a home made apple pie is actually really easy and quick to throw together! Here is our super easy apple pie from scratch recipe that will make you the hostess with the mostess and leave your guests begging for more!

Desserts

Our families traditional pepperoni cheeseball looks like a football and is quick and EASY, making it the perfect super bowl appetizer recipe! This pineapple cheese ball is the perfect cheese ball recipe! It is slightly sweet with an amazing flavor that will be a favorite with kids and grown ups alike. This is my favorite appetizer recipes. Yummy! Nothings says summer like a fresh salsa recipe. Whether you are making homemade salsa to go along with chicken, top your tacos or carnitas, or to serve as a chips and salsa appetizer - salsa from scratch is always a hit! This pineapple salsa is a tropical twist that is bursting with flavor! You can make it spicy by adding jalapenos for a spicy pineapple salsa or keep it a mild pineapple pico de gallo if you prefer - either way it is abolutely delicious! Are you looking for a quick and easy fruit dip to serve at your next party or game night? This peanut butter dip is not only simple to make, but is super yummy and versatile too. Use our peanut butter fruit dip with apples, vanilla wafers, pretzels, and other dippers for quick appetizer recipes! With just 3 ingredients you will love this cream cheese fruit dip that has become a family favorite staple throughout the whole year!

Appetizers

Mouthwatering cornbread recipe that is soft, warm, sweet, and oh-so-perfect! This yummy, homemade corn bread sidedish uses creamed corn!  super yummy quick yeast rolls You will love this easy to make recipe for delicious bread in crockpot. This rosemary bread recipe is super easy and cooks up in your slow cooker so you can smell the yummy bread smell all afternoon. Serve alongside soup, salad, or main dish for a satisfying meal.

Breads and Side Dishes

 

Planting Carrots CVC Activity for Kindergarten dying flowers science experiment Spring Activity for Toddlers

Plant Activities for Kindergarten

DIY Lava Lamp - super easy way to make your own lava lamp with simple things you have around your house. This homemade lava lamp is such a fun science project for kids of all ages to sneak in some summer learning. This science experiment is for toddlers, preschoolers, pre k, kindergarten, first grade, 2nd grade, 3rd grade, and kids of all ages at home, homeschool, summer camps, classroom, etc. Looking for a really fun and memorable science experiment for kids? You will love these EPIC pop rocks experiment. Try this pop rocks science experiment with preschool, pre-k, kindergarten, first grade, 2nd grade, 3rd grade, and 4th grade students to try a simple chemical reaction. This Whether you try this pop rocks science experiments for homeschool science, at a science birthday party, or as part of a summer science project - this is a MUST try,  really cool science experimentkids will LOVE. Take your homemade playdough to a whole new level of FUN with this amazing Color Changing Playdough recipe. This is sure to be a hit with toddler, preschool, pre k, kindergarten, first grade, and 2nd grade children alike.  These super EASY to make marshmallow shooters are a must for your summer bucket list. This summer activity for kids is not only fun, but it is actually a STEM activity for kids too! Students assemble, tweak, and design this simple marshmallow cannon to try to get the most distance they can. THis is such a simple, but fun summer activities your preschool, pre-k, kindergarten, and elementary age students in first grade, 2nd grade, 3rd grdae, 4th grade, 5th grade, and 6th grade students will want to try over summer break!

Summer Fun

Looking for more outdoor activities for kids and things to do in the summer? Your toddler, preschool, pre k, kindergarten, and elementary age kids will love these fun ideas to keep them busy all summer long:

If you are looking for a fun unique activity using eggs, you will love this silly egg head craft. This egg shell diy chia pet is cute, simple and silly spring activities for kids. This egg shell craft is fun for toddler, prsechool, pre-k, kindergarten, first grade, and 2nd graders too! bleeding tissue paper fireworks craft Spring is the time for field trips to the local zoo. In an attempt to make our homeschool field trips extra fun (and educational) I created these super cute, zoo scavenger hunt templates. We have lots of choices with these zoo scavenger hunt printable pack to accomidate kids of all ages from toddler, preschool, pre-k, kindergarten to elementary age students in first grade, 2nd grade, 3rd grade, 4th grade, 5th grade, and 6th grade students. Whether you use the simple animal scavenger hunt or learn about endagered animals or animal habitats in one of these zoo scavenger hunt ideas - kids will have fun learning about zoology in science. Simply download free printable scavenger hunt pdf file and you are ready to learn about animals with this printable scavenger hunt at your local zoo. EPIC Bubble Painting - kids of all ages will love this fun summer art project where they will make a bubble craft by blowing bubbles. Recipe included for this fun to make, easy, summer activity for kids!

Summer Activities for Kids

Edible Ice Cream Playdough Recipe - amazing 2 ingredient playdough recipe perfect for toddler, preschool, kindergarten and kids of all ages for an ice cream thing, kids activity, or summer bucket list #playdough #playdoughrecipes #icecream This vinegar and baking soda rocket is an out-of-this-world fun AND educational summer activity for kids! Preschool, pre-k, kindergarten, first grade, 2nd grade, 3rd grade, 4th grade, 5th grade, and 6th grade students will enjoy making the baking soda rocket. This how to make a bottle rocket project is one of those really cool science projects your kids will remember forever!  EASY Stained Glass Craft for Kids - this fun art project is great for kids of all ages from toddlers, preschoolers, kindergartners, elementary age age and families to make to bright their front door or a window up with a spring craft for kids. You will love this art project

Fun Summer Activities for Kids

Beth Gorden is the creative multi-tasking creator of 123 Homeschool 4 Me. As a busy homeschooling mother of six, she strives to create hands-on learning activities and worksheets that kids will love to make learning FUN! She has created over 1 million pages of printables to help teach kids ABCs, science, English grammar, history, math, and so much more! Beth is also the creator of 2 additional sites with even more educational activities and FREE printables - www.kindergartenworksheetsandgames.com and www.preschoolplayandlearn.com. Beth studied at the University of Northwestern where she got a double major to make her effective at teaching children while making education FUN!

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