Apple Waldorf Salad

 Here's one of my favorites at

Thanksgiving. I remember Grandma serving this salad and my brother and I gobbling it up....no pun intended.  I'll be making this is a couple of days for the family.

1. Six Delicious  apples, diced
2. Two diced celery sticks
3. Seedless grapes
4. One cup of diced pecans
5. 1/2 to 1 cup of Greek yogurt
6. Mix all ingredients together and refrigerate. Will last for three to four days if you're lucky.
7. Serves family of 4 to 6
8. If you have a large gathering, double or triple this recipe.

Mexican Lasagna & Birthdays

Greetings all!!
Today's mom's 85th birthday. I'm so happy that I still have her with me!!
Mr.Cowboy and I cooked breakfast, took it to your house and ate with her. Breakfast is her favorite meal so I did bacon, scrambled eggs and French toast. We laughed, reminisced and looked at old photos. Now I'm back home and thinking about making her a nice dinner.
I'm sharing the following recipe and hope that you enjoy it as much as we do.

Mexican Lasagna

• 1 lb. ground meat
• 1 jar picante sauce (I use mild)
• 1 can chili (no beans)
• 1 16oz small curd cottage cheese
• 2 8oz bags grated mozzarella cheese
• 9 Lasagna noodles
• 1 tsp. oregano
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tsp. minced onion
• seasoned salt& pepper to taste

Preheat oven @ 400 degrees.
Combine ground meat & seasonings in skillet & brown.
Add picante sauce & chili, heat till bubbling.
Cook lasagna noodles till tender.
In a 9 X 13 baking dish put a thin layer of sauce then layer 3 Lasagna noodles side by side then put cottage cheese, meat sauce, mozzarella. Repeat.
Bake @ 400 degrees for 45 minutes. 

Over & Happy

The play is over and I'm very happy to say that it was received well. All the participants were excited to perform and got rave reviews from the audience.
Afterward everyone moved to the cafeteria for dinner. The pulled pork was the highlight of the evening and I was asked repeatedly for the recipe.
I told all who were in earshot and will, again share with you all.
This recipe works with frozen or thawed pork butt. Mine were partially frozen. This is also for a large group but can easily be broken down to serve less. This would be a hit at family reunions or church socials.

1. 3 pork butt roasts
2. 2 three liter bottles coke (acts as a tenderizer and adds flavor)
3. 2 coffee pots of strong coffee (acts as a tenderizer and adds flavor)
4. 2 large onions - peeled but do not slice
5. 4 cloves of garlic
6. Your favorite seasonings - I use Accent, several of the Slap Yo Momma seasonings, pepper, Sea Salt, 1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
7. Powdered Ranch Dressing (2 pkgs)

• In a very large cooking pot place the butt roasts. Add the cokes and coffee to the pot.
• Bring to a rolling boil and cover to cook for an hour.
• Add all other ingredients and lower heat to simmer for approximately 4 to 5 hours more, checking with a fork to see when tender or falling apart.
• Remove from heat and allow to rest for an hour before the process of pulling apart. I use two forks to shred the pork.  The aroma at this point is mouth watering!!! You may have to fight off your family and the whole neighborhood.
• You can add your favorite BBQ sauce at this time.
• This is great served on buns or wrapped in a flour tortilla or as a main dish with mashed potatoes/green beans/rolls.

"V" is for Venison

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of Mr. Cowboy's buddies gave us some deer steaks last month & I decided to make a meal of it. The steaks were about an inch thick which is too thick for our taste, so I got the old mallet out & pounded to a nice very thin 1/2 inch or less. 

The following is what happened next:

 

 

 

• 3 beaten eggs
• 2 to 3 cups flour
• 1/4 cup Corn Starch
• 1 cup of oil in a large skillet 

Lightly season the venison.

Also add seasoning to the flour/ Corn Starch mixture

Begin to heat oil on medium heat. As oil is heating, dip portions of venison in flour then in egg wash & back into flour. 

Carefully place in skillet. After a couple of minutes turn over to fry on other side.

Venison should be golden brown on both sides. Because the steaks are so thin, the frying process won't take long. So what am I saying? Frying time may vary.

Drain steaks on cookie rack to keep crispy. 

I serve these steaks with mash potatoes & gravy & a green salad or rice & seasoned green beans but any of your favorite veggies or salads will do the trick as well

 

 

Yummy Gumbo for Slow Cookers

Still no photo because everyone gobbled everything down before I even thought to snap a pic.
Anyway, the following recipe comes from a recipe book my mom gifted me a couple of years ago.
Fix-It and Diabetic Cookbook by Phyllis Pellman Good with the American Diabetes Association.  As some of you may know my mom is a diabetic and struggles with healthy meals each day so this recipe book is great to help with a variety of dishes.
This recipe comes from Dianna Milhizer of Michigan.

Chicken and Seafood Gumbo

1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped onions
1/2 cut chopped green peppers
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup, plus 1 Tbsp. flour
6 cups 100% fat free, 30-50% lower sodium chicken broth
2 lbs. chicken, cut up, skin and visible fat removed
3 bay leaves
1 1/2 cups sliced okra (I used the frozen okra for this but you can use fresh or leave it out all together)
12 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 tsp. Tabasco sauce (more if you like it hot)
salt to taste
pepper to taste
1 lb. ready to eat shrimp (at this point, I added another 1/2 lb. because I love shrimp)
1/2 cup snipped fresh parsley or cilantro

1. Saute celery, onions and peppers in oil.  Blend in flour and chicken broth until smooth. Cook 5 minutes then pour into a slow cooker.
2. Add remaining ingredients except shrimp and parsley or cilantro.
3..  Cover and cook on LOW for 10 to 12 hours. This is great cooked overnight!!!
4.  An hour or so before serving, add shrimp and parsley or cilantro.
5.  Remove bay leaves before serving.
6.  This is great when served with rice or noodles and a salad.
BTW if something is underlined, this was my addition to the recipe. I love adding to a recipe.

The Day After

  Airy Muffins!!

See this muffin....it's the last one of two dozen!! My wacky girlfriend Kathy gave us the recipe the other day when we met for a lunch date.

Here we all are enjoying the laughter & craziness we seem to generate.

Sorry, I got side-tracked.

That muffin was the last of my Thanksgiving meal. I looked around and the turkey was gone along with the dressing, greens, yams, pecan pie and ice cream. I grabbed the last muffin to take a quick photo before someone claimed it.  Whew!

I hope all who celebrate Thanksgiving had a good one. I'm pleasantly tired but enjoyed every moment of it.

Here's the recipe for the muffins which are light and airy and oh so tasty!!

• 1 box of butter pecan cake mix
• 1 small box instant vanilla pudding
• 3 Tbsp. poppy seeds (optional)
• 1 cup water
• 4 eggs
• 2/3 cup vegetable oil or Canola oil
• Chopped pecans
• Dried cranberries (optional)

Directions:

Mix cake mix, pudding, poppy seeds and water with mixer until well combined.

Add eggs and oil. Mix well.

Divide evenly among 12 muffin cups. Sprinkle chopped pecans and/or cranberries on top prior to baking.

Bake at 350 degrees for 23 to 30 minutes.

3 Day Pickles

A very dear friend called me up the other day and offered me cucumbers from her garden. I had thought that after the fig canning episode, I'd not be canning anything else anytime soon. However, I couldn't turn down those cukes!

Three days and sixteen pints later I'm a happy camper. I think I've shared the recipe before but I've sped up one or two things along the way.

You will need:

4 gallons or 50 thinly sliced cucumbers

2 packages of canning lime

1 gallon apple cider vinegar

8 lbs. sugar

4 Tablespoons salt (no iodine)

4 Tablespoons pickling spices

1 bag of ice 

• Mix lime with 2 gallons of water in a very large cooking pot. After lime is dissolved add sliced cucumbers. At this point, I place several plates on top of the cucumbers to weigh them down, then cover with the top of the pot or a clean dish towel. Let stand for 24 hours.
• Rinse lime mixture from cucumbers until water is clear. I use to rinse them in my kitchen sink but this took forever. Now, I set up a portable table outside, using the water hose and several big colanders, the rinsing takes only a few minutes with little fuss.
• Next, pour ice over cucumbers which cools the lime process even more. This will take about 3 hours.
• During that time mix sugar and vinegar in a pot.  To add the pickling spices cut an eight inch square of cheese cloth, pour the spices into the middle and secure with a twisty or rubber band. Place into sugar/vinegar mix.  Stir the mixture often until sugar is dissolved.
• After three hours are up, rinse ice from cucumbers and add the sugar/vinegar/spices to the cucumbers. Weigh them down and cover. Let stand for 12 to 15 hours.
• Now it's time for the canning process. I do the hot bath method but you can do whatever you choose. 
• I know this is a lot but it's worth all the effort.  BTW, you can always cut the recipe in half!! Experiment by adding different spices.

  

What??? Figs!!!

This morning I was minding my own business because Mr. Cowboy was off to the hay fields. I was all set to "think" about sewing something when the phone rang. It was Mr. Cowboy no less, asking if I wanted some figs. As I hesitated to answer, he broke into my thoughts of how to get out of this situation, "Good, I'll bring them right over to the house. Better still, meet me half way," then he hung up.

AAaaaaaaarrrrgh!

Deep breaths, inner peace, inner peace, more deep breaths!

Off I went to meet him half way.  Four Wal-Mart grocery bags filled to the tippie top later.............!!!

 

Lots of trimming stems adding sugar and I also added some marinated orange slices into the large pot.

Lots of stirring as the mixture started to boil so that it wouldn't stick to the bottom of the pot....whispering to myself.....inner peace, inner peace, inner peace.

13 pints later.....canned figs. 

 Mr. Cowboy must sense my mood because he has failed to come in for lunch.......hehehehehehehehehehe!!

Rule #1 - Never plan anything.

Rule #2 - Don't even think about planning anything.

Rule #3 - Don't answer the phone but if you do, remember rule #1!!

My recipe for figs are as follows:

No measurements here.
Figs, a large pot full, rinsed, trimmed of stems
To the figs add a bag of sugar, two pounds if you don't want it too sweet or if you're like me, the four pound bag works just fine.
Bring to a boil and then to a simmer for at least 30 to 45 minutes. You will need to stir when mixture is boiling so that it doesn't stick.
Now can the figs in mason jars and the hot bath. This type of canning is easily found on the Internet.

Happy Easter

John 12:23-25 - Jesus replied, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed.  But if it dies, it produces many seeds. Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life."

For those who celebrate Easter, I hope yours is filled with love, family, food and happiness!!!

 

 

Mr. Cowboy decided to take a spin in his old Ford Galaxy. I must say, he looked real good!!!

If you're wondering what this photo is, it's part of a pork roast. I thought I'd take a photo before everyone dug in and ate it all up. I, also, wanted to share the recipe.

• 1 large pork roast
• 1 pot of brewed coffee
• salt/pepper
• 3 Tablespoons of cooking oil
• 1 whole onion

1. Heat the cooking oil in a large Dutch oven or cooking pot. While oil in heating season pork roast with salt/pepper or any other seasoning you use. I sometimes add a package of dry ranch dressing mix.
2. Place seasoned roast into pot and sear on all sides. Next add the pot of coffee into the pot and the onion. Cover and allow to simmer for 2 1/2 hours or until tender. If the roast is very large, cook for at least 3 hours.
3. Remove from pot, allow to cool for 20 minutes before slicing. I, also, save some of the liquid to dribble over the slices.
4. Serve with rice or cabbage or sweet potatoes and a green salad. Yummy!!!!!

Coffee or Tea

I'll bet you thought I'd be asking you the question "Do you prefer coffee or tea?" But, nope, that's not what this post is about.

Pork or beef roast is what it's all about.

If you are unsure of how to cook a roast, just season it well with your favorite seasonings then brew a pot of coffee or steep a couple of bags of tea pour that over your roast & bake at 325 degrees for two & a half hours. 

This process tenderizes & add a wonderful flavor to the meat

When done the roast will fall off the bone & the taste.....to die for!!

Enjoy!!!!

Exciting Lemons 3

Ok, so my friends Gene,  Angie and a few others have brought up some thoughts about my experiment using Kosher salt so I decided to do another process.....just to be fair, of course.

Lemons in a sugar jar mixture......I'm smiling big because I'm always up for more experimenting!! It's the science teacher in me.
I instructed Mr. Cowboy to purchase more lemons. He thinks I'm a bit crazy and he's right but isn't this fun!!!!!!

I sliced lemons fairly thin but didn't worry if some were a bit on the chunky side then placed them in a quart Mason jar with sugar layered between. I didn't bother measuring how much sugar, I just pours some over each layer until I could see the lemons and at the top of the jar, I pours in more.

Looks yummy already and smells divine but I will wait until February 5th to taste them for the first time.

Stay tuned.  BTW, every other day or so I will turn the jars in the frig so that the syrup has a change to permeate all the lemon parts.

Exciting Lemons 2

It's been about 24 to 36 hours since Step 1.
I might have forgotten the lemons for a bit........sorry.......life and all that!!!!
Time for Step 2 which is the longest part of this experiment.

Place lemons in mason jar using a spoon or fork to help with placement and compaction. See the syrup or juice the lemons have already made? This is a good thing, I think.

Make sure to pack them tightly then pour liquids over all & seal well. Place in frig for several weeks to months.

I'll be checking on the lemons on February 5th, so stay tuned!! At that time I'll open the jar and do a taste test. With all that salt I don't know what to expect but it is fun just thinking about it.

Mr. Cowboy is in the background with raised eyebrows and is about to go out to the back forty to "kick" so dirt.......LOL!!

Exciting Lemons

Yep, lemons.

I was watching a cooking show when someone mentioned cooking with lemons that had been "aged" for 6 to 9 months. And how much zingy-er recipes became when you added some. Also, with aged lemons, you can use all parts. You don't want to throw out any piece of it.

WOW!! I immediately looked up some recipes. 

So in this new year, I want to share my lemon journey with everyone.

Mr. Cowboy was instructed to go to the grocer's to buy a bag. He rolled his eyes but bought some, then wanted to supervise the process. He's so cute......but no, I don't need him hanging over my shoulder at this point.

Step 1

 

Of course this is a whole lemon.

Cut off both ends.

 

 

Slice into each lemon just enough to allow it each to open but not fall apart.

Place each in a bowl or container.

 

Mix 1/2 cup Kosher salt to 1/4 cup sugar.

 

Sprinkle over and into each lemon, cover and refrigerate overnight. This will allow the lemons to marinate in their own juices making a syrup.

Stay tuned for the next step.

Pie.....Yummy!!

 

I know this isn't a good photo but it's all I took before the family pouched on it. This is a "frig" pie that I found on the Internet here: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/12181/no-bake-peanut-butter-pie/

It's very easy to make and goes quickly once it sets up so be warned.

Trouble In The Meadow & Peach Fuzz Jelly

Just when it seems life slows down around the farm something always happens.

 The neighbor's cows got into Mr. Cowboy's hay meadow & he needed help shooing them back toward the dry creek bed they came through. He had some choice words that don't bare repeating as I put me boots, gloves, hat and any other protective gear I could think of to wear. 

We commenced to shooing them home with a stray here and there attempting to grab a bite before they had to go home. That wasn't too terribly bad but mending that gap was no fun for this old girl. Barbed wire is strong, sharp & tricky to handle. Neither one of us enjoyed the process or the heat but we got it done.

Then it was onto the peach fuzz jelly. Yep, you heard correctly. At least that's what I've named my jars. 

I found the recipe via Blind Pig & The Acorn, which lead me to Raising Homemakers by Carmen (Sorry, I don't have the link to that blog but I wanted to give full credit to her and Blind Pig. I was so happy to find this great recipe which allows you to use ever bit of the peach. I printed off the recipe and am providing it below.

Peach Jelly by Carmen

• 4 cups peach juice (see below)
• 1 package of pectin (I really like Kroger brand!)
• 1/2 tsp. butter
• canning jars, bands and lids (new lids!)
• 5 1/2 cups sugar

To make peach juice place the peach pits and skins in a pot and cover with water.  (I had about 15-20 peaches so this batch of juice made enough for two batches of jelly and then some.) Turn the burner on high.  Once it starts boiling, turn it down to medium/low and let it simmer for about 10 minutes.  Let it cool a bit.  (I had to wait for hubby to get back from running errands, one of which was buying more sugar for me, so my juice sat a few hours.)  Then strain the juice.  You’ll need 4 cups of juice for a batch of jelly. (If you have less than 4 cups of juice…like 3 or so, it will work if you add water to it to make 4 cups, but I wouldn’t use more that one cup of water.)

Place the juice, butter (keeps the jelly from foaming), and pectin powder in the pan. See how big of a pan I use? It’s a must or you are going to get splattered with very hot jelly later in the process.  Stir it on high heat until it boils.  A full rolling boil.

Add the sugar all at once and stir.  Keep stirring until it gets to a full rolling boil like in the picture above.  You want it to boil like that for 1 minute. (Keep stirring…you don’t want the bottom to scorch.)  Then take it off the heat and set a timer for 5 minutes. During that time I take all my jars very carefully out of the water.  I use a long skinny wooden spoon and pair of hefty tongs to do this.  I set them on a towel on the counter upside down.  Then I set the pan of jelly on a hot pad right next to them on the counter.  I also set the lids and bands next to those.

When the five minute timer is up I skim the top of the jelly.  There will be a bit of foam, but not nearly as much as if you hadn’t put the butter in.  Set a jar next to the pot, put the funnel on, and funnel jelly into the jar leaving 1/4 – 1/2 inch head space.  Move on to the next jar until all are full.  

Once the jars are all full I wipe the rims of the jars with a hot damp dishrag.  You may need more than one, depends on how messy you were filling the jars.  *smile*  Next take a lid out of the water and dry it off with a clean towel, set it on the jar, take out a band, dry it off, then screw it on the jar.  Make sure it’s tight.  Set jars upside down on a clean towel. Repeat until all jars are tended to.  Place the jars 1 inch apart. Once the last jar is flipped upside down set the timer for 5 minutes. (This helps seal the lids.) After 5 minutes flip them right side up and in an hour or so you’ll hear little pops.  Check all the lids in a few hours to make sure the lids are sealed. If you can press on the lid gently and there’s some give then you need to pop that one in fridge and use within a few weeks.  There’s no need to process the jelly/jam if your jars, lids and band are sterile and hot and your jelly/jam is hot.  I know what some people say.  I have done this for a few years now and never had a problem with my jelly/jam.

Note: I did not follow all the directions to Carmen's recipe. I went with my old way to place jars in hot bath for 10 to 12 minutes but the results were great.

Many thanks to Blind Pig and Carmen for this fantastic recipe!!

Squash Pickles??

Yep, you heard correctly.

My mom found & saved the following recipe from the East Texas Farm & Ranch Living section in one of our local newspapers.

I immediately went out to our local farmers market and purchased some fresh squash.

Ingredients:

• 10 cups sliced squash (I used the goose-necks)
• 2 medium bell peppers, chopped 
• 4 medium onions, sliced 
• 1/2 cup salt 
• 1 four Oz. jar pimentos, diced
• 2 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar
• 3 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 1 teaspoon celery seeds 

Instructions:

• Mix squash, peppers, onions & pimentos in large pot. Pour salt over the top & cover with water. Allow to sit for a couple of hours.
• Drain water off of squash mixture & add remaining ingredients. 
• Place on stove & bring to a boil.
• Remove from heat and ladle into hot, sterile pint or quart jars. Make sure to leave 1/4" from top of jars.
• Process as recommended by canning instructions. 

This one is just out of the boiler & is extremely hot. I made 6 pints and 1 quart. Can't wait to taste a jar in a few days time.

Berry Pie

This is a pic of the berry pie I baked last night. There's nothing left of it this morning I'm happy to say because if there was even a slice of it I'd be scrafing it down....hehehehehe.

Here's the recipe I used:

Pre-heat oven at 325 degrees.

• 2 cups of fresh berries
• 1/4 cup sugar (more if you want it sweeter)
• 1/3 cup melted butter or margarine
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon Allspice
• 1 to 2 tablespoons Cornstarch 
• 1 tablespoon of grape jelly

Carefully fold above ingredients together so as not to mash berries.

Place one pie crust in pie pan and pour mixture into it.

Add second crust on top in any way you please. I did the criss-cross like my grandma use to.

Sprinkle a bit of sugar and Cinnamon over top

Bake for approximately 1 to 1 1/2 hours, checking to see if top crust is golden.

Serve alone or with your favorite ice cream!!

Dessert

"Peach/Apple Delight"

I meant to post this yesterday but was visiting with family. This is a very simple recipe & your family will gobble it up.

Here's what's needed:

• 2 uncooked pie shells
• Deep dish pie pan
• 1 eight ounce to ten ounce can peaches
• 1 can Apple filing but you will use only half of that.
• Vanilla
• Sugar
• Cinnamon
• Nutmeg
• Allspice
• Butter

NOTE: I am not a measurer. So this is not going to be an exact science.

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees.

• Spray pie pan with a non-stick spray or rug with butter or margarine and lay first pie shell into pan. Set aside.
• In medium sauce pan, combine can of peaches, 1/2 can of apple filling. The reason I use only half is you only want the flavor and thickening of the apple filling but if you don't mind the overwhelming apple taste use the whole can. Begin to simmer on low heat.
• Add a dollop of butter or margarine. I'm a butter lover so I use butter but margarine works just as well.
• To mixture all sugar. I'd say 1/4 cup is quite enough. (Sugar substitutes work well here)
• Stir, then add, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Allspice and Vanillla. Ok, I can see you're about to panic, so I'd say 1/2 teaspoon of each of these. I love that Cinnamon flavor so I'd add more Cinnamon than the others.
• Stir and add a couple of dollops of butter to that. When butter has melted, pour mixture into pie shell and cover with remaining shell. As you can see from the above photo, I'm not good at sealing the shells together with fancy crimping or fork sculpturing. Sprinkle with Cinnamon and sugar over the top then slice an opening in the middle. This allows pie to bake without overflowing and making a mess. (Ask me how I know this!!)
• Bake for one hour then allow to cool or eat right away with ice cream. That's what my family did right after dinner. They could smell the pie baking all through dinner and as soon as I took it out of the over, they pounced......sigh!!

Cracker Pie?

Yes, you heard correctly. Ritz Cracker pie to be exact. 
One day I was surfing the NET looking for something sweet to make for a Sunday dessert for my mom, who always says, "We had something sweet on Sundays!" She was speaking about her mom who made apple pies, cupcakes, German Chocolate cake, homemade ice cream, etc. Since I'm the one doing the cooking these days, mom is always bugging me about dessert. I'm not big on sweets at all. But for her, I started searching and came upon the following recipe:

RITZ CRACKER PIE
Found at COOKS.COM

• 4 egg whites
• 1 c. sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 25 crushed Ritz crackers
• 1 c. chopped nuts

Beat egg whites until stiff then gradually add sugar and vanilla.
Roll Ritz crackers until fine and fold into egg whites mixture.
Add nuts and pour into buttered pie pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. 
Let cool and top with Cool Whip or whipping cream.

You have got to try this. It's delicious!!!

Pickled Watermelon Rind

This recipe is partly from my mom's memory and some research on my part.

You will need:

A medium sized watermelon

1 package of pickling lime

1/2 gallon Apple Cider Vinegar

4 lbs. sugar

2 tablespoons salt (no iodine)

2 tablespoons pickling spices

Canning pots

Mason Jars, lids and rings

And whatever you feel is needed

• Mix lime with 1 gallon of water in a large pot. Stir occasionally until lime dissolves. 
• In the meantime, dice watermelon rind into cubes no larger than your pinky fingernail. As you can imagine, these will be tiny pieces but the effort is well worth all the time spent. Depending on you stamina, you should get 4 to 6 cups of rind.
• Rinse and pour into lime mixture. Since rinds are light weight, you will need to place a couple of dinner plates on top to weigh them down. Cover with a lid or dish towel and let stand for 24 hours. This is not an exact time limit if you go over, that's great up to 30 hours is just fine.
• Rinse rinds 6 to 8 times or until water is clear to remove lime mixture.
• In large pot add crushed ice to rinds. Allow to sit for 3 hours.
• While rinds are sitting in ice, mix 1/2 gal. of vinegar, 4 lbs. sugar and 2 tablespoons salt together. Sugar will take about 3 hours to dissolve. You will need to stir at least every 30 minutes. To this mixture at 2 tablespoons of spice which needs to be wrapped in cloth. I usually use muslin and a bread twisty for this step. So far there is NO cooking at this time.
• After the 3 hours are up, drain rinds thoroughly, then pour sugar mixture over top of rinds. This will need to sit for at least 12 hours but more time is just fine.
• Now comes the canning part. Make sure your jars, lids and rings are ready to go. You can read up on how to do that on the Internet.
• In a giant pot, bring water to a boil. This is your "bath" for canning.
• Bring rind/sugar mixture to a boil for at least 5 minutes, then reduce heat to a simmer.
• Using a scoop, pour rind mixture into mason jars. Wipe top of mason jar clean before applying lid and ring. Do this step until all rind mixture is used.
• Place jars into boiling pot and cover. Allow 15 to 18 minutes to process.
• Remove from "bath" and allow to cool over night.

This is how I do it and I hope I have given you enough information to help you in this endeavor. Please feel free to ask me anything if my wording is confusing or if you need more clarification. 

Good luck!!!