My Great Recipes Collection

Great Recipes From the Past

Canning & Freezing

Super Fast and Tasty Apple Butter

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The recipe for Super Fast and Tasty Apple Butter comes from House Specialties Encore by Deanna House. House taught home economics for years and also wrote extensively. You can find used copies of her books online…just go googling.

Here’s what House writes about the Super Fast and Tasty Apple Butter: When my friend Anne Reuther from Milwaukee, Wisconsin gave me this quick apple butter recipe, she had no idea how many times I would make it. It’s quick, easy, fat-free, and most of all delicious.

You can make this either in your microwave or on the stove top.

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Super Fast and Tasty Apple Butter

Ingredients

  • 3 cups apples peeled and diced
  • 3 tablespoons water
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
  • 1/2 cup sugar

Instructions

  1. In 2-quart saucepan, combine apples, water, lemon juice, cinnamon, cloves, and allspice. Cover with lid.

  2. Cook over low heat until apples are cooked, stirring occasionally.

  3. Pour apples into blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Return apple butter to saucepan. Add sugar.

  4. Cook low heat, stirring constantly, until apple butter is hot and sugar is dissolved. Pour into jars. Cover and refrigerate.

Microwave Preparation

Recipe Notes

Microwave Instructions

  • In step one, reduce water to 1 tablespoon.
  • In 2-quart microwave-safe casserole combine apples, water, lemon juice, cinnamon, cloves, and allspice. Cover with lid or vented plastic wrap.
  • Microwave on full power 5-6 minutes until apples are cooked, stirring once.
  • Blend apple mixture as above.
  • Return apple butter to casserole and microwave on full power 1-2 minutes until hot and sugar is dissolved.

Sweet Dill Pickles

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Here’s an interesting canning recipe for No. 1490 Sweet Dill Pickles. This Michigan Consolidated Gas Company recipe comes from a Red Plastic Box that I bought at an estate sale a few years ago.

sweet dill pickles no 1490 from michigan consolidated gas company

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Sweet Dill Pickles

Servings 6 pints

Ingredients

  • 4 quarts boiling water
  • 2 cups coarse salt
  • 75 2 to 3- inch cucumbers cut in quarters lengthwise
  • 1 teaspoon powdered alum
  • 7 cups vinegar
  • 5 1/2 cups sugar
  • 4 tablespoons celery seed
  • 4 tablespoons cassia buds
  • 3 cups sugar
  • 6 tablespoons dill seed

Instructions

  1. Heat to boiling 4 quarts water and 2 cups salt. Cool.
  2. Pour over cucumbers. Cover and let stand 1 week. Drain.
  3. Cover with boiling water and let stand another 24 hours. Drain.
  4. Cover with boiling water; add 1 teaspoon alum and let stand 24 hours. Drain.
  5. Cover with hot sirup made from vinegar, sugar, celery seed, and cassia buds.
  6. For three successive days drain off sirup. Add 1 cup sugar and heat to boiling. Pour over pickles.
  7. On third day, pack in sterilized jars. Add 1 tablespoon dill seed to each pint and pour hot syrup over pickles. Seal.

Recipe Notes

If fresh dill is used, use 2 springs to each pint.

Makes 6 pints

Canning No. 1490

Home Services Department Michigan Consolidated Gas Company

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Tomato Catsup

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This handwritten recipe for Tomato Catsup comes from the Red Plastic Recipe Box collection that I got at an estate sale a few years ago. This sounds like a great way to use up the oodles of tomatoes growing in the garden this summer.

handwritten tomato catsup recipe

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Tomato Catsup

Ingredients

  • 1/2 bushel tomatoes
  • 6 large onions
  • 4 red peppers finely chopped
  • 3/4 teaspoon whole cloves
  • 2 teaspoons stick cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon whole allspice
  • 1 nutmeg
  • 3 cups sugar
  • 1/2 cup salt
  • 1 1/2 quarts white vinegar

Instructions

  1. Take a large kettle.
  2. Wash and slice tomaotes and let simmer.
  3. Put through food chopped oions and pepper.
  4. Add to the tomatoes, then spice, vinegar, salt, and sugar. Boil slowly for two hours. Stirring often.
  5. Shove through sieve.
  6. Put back to boil and boil till thick.
  7. Put into bottles.

Pumpkin Butter

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It may seem funny to share a recipe for Pumpkin Butter in the middle of the summer, but it is time to start thinking about what you might be canning for the winter.

This recipe for pumpkin butter comes from the Cross Country Cookery cookbook.

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Pumpkin Butter

Ingredients

  • 10 cup pumpkin cubed
  • 6 cup apple cider divided
  • 2 cup orange juice divided
  • 2 cup sugar
  • 2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon cloves
  • 1/4 teaspoon allspice

Instructions

  1. Heat pumpkin, cider, and orange juice in Dutch oven or kettle to boiling. Reduce heat. Simmer uncovered until very tender - about 20 min.
  2. Measure half of pumpkin and half of cooking liquid into blender. Cover and blend on medium speed until consistency of apple sauce - Repeat with remaining pumpkin.
  3. Add 3 more cups apple cider and 1 more cup orange juice to pumpkin liquid. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat. Simmer. Stir often. Cook until mixture mounds - about 2 hours.
  4. Stir sugar, cinnamon, cloves, and allspice into cooked pumpkin mix. Let simmer 15 min, stirring to prevent scorching.
  5. Pour hot pumpkin mix into sterilized jars (use water - both canner keeping jars hot), leaving 1/4" head space.
  6. Wipe rims with clean, damp cloth. Seal.
  7. Process pints 15 min in simmering water bath (180-185). Start counting time as soon as water in canner boils.
  8. Cool out of drafts.

Recipe Notes

You will need about 6 lb pumpkin.

Bread and Butter Pickles

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This recipe for Bread and Butter Pickles was found in the Red Plastic Box Collection. The recipe is handwritten.

Bread and Butter Pickles

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Bread and Butter Pickles

Ingredients

For the pickles

  • 1 gallon of cucumbers
  • 2 green peppers shredded
  • 8 small white onions
  • 1/2 cup salt

For the pickling syrup

  • 5 cups sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 2 tablespoons mustard seed
  • 1 teaspoon celery seed
  • 5 cups vinegar not too strong

Instructions

Prepare the pickles

  1. Select crisp, fresh cucumbers, wash but not pare them. Slice crosswise in paper thin slices. Slice onions, then and cut the peppers into fine shreds.
  2. Mix the salt with the three vegetables and bury pieces of cracked ice (1 quart) in the mixture.
  3. Cover with a lighted lid and let stand 3 hours.
  4. Then drain very thoroughly.

Prepare the syrup

  1. Mix the sugar, turmeric and cloves together.
  2. Add the mustard seed and celery seed and the vinegar and pour over the sliced pickles. Place over a low heat and paddle occasionally using a wooden spoon.
  3. Heat the mixture to scalding, but do not boil.
  4. Pour into hot jars and seal.