Peter Piper Picked a Peck of.....

Y'all know how we Texans love our gardens, right?   Well, I love me some peppers, but this year, my banana pepper plants yeilded a total of......drum roll......one (1) yes, #1 pepper!     

Sweet Banana Peppers

You may know that peppers of all kinds are one of the highest forms of Vitamin C around! An excellent way to spice up soups, curries, and sauces, green chillies provide the most vitamin C than any other food with 242.5mg (404% RDA) per 100 gram serving, 181.88mg (303% RDA) in a half cup chopped, and 109.13mg (182% RDA) in a single green chili pepper. Red chillies provide 144mg (240% RDA) of vitamin C per 100g serving, 108mg (180% RDA) per half cup chopped, and 65mg (108% RDA) per pepper.

A friend of mine came over with a big box of these beauties, and I was jumping for joy!~

Honestly, the thing I like about  Subway Sandwiches the most, are those bright yellow green sliced banana peppers they put on their sandwiches. At the grocery store, these beauties cost around $3.50 for about a pint, so I decided to pickle me some peppers faster than you could say Peter Piper!

Here's what you need:  

• 1/2 lb banana pepper, seeded and sliced crossways into rings

Pickling Juice

• 2 cups white vinegar
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon celery seed

Directions:

1. 1
   Sterilize 2- 1/2 pint jars.
2. 2
   Bring the vinegar, sugar, mustard seed and celery seed to a rolling boil.
3. 3
   Place peppers in the 1/2 pint jars.
4. 4
   Pour on the hot pickling juice and bring liquid to within 1/2" of the top.
5. 5
   Be sure the edge of the jar has no juice on it.
6. 6
   Place lids and screw on bands finger-tip tight.
7. 7
   Seal jar and leave for 2 weeks.
   
   
   
   
   I decided to water process mine, just well because. You can see from the size of these quarts, that it will take a family of 3 awhile to eat them all!  So I want to preserve them to use later.
   
   
   For more information about canning your harvest, check out Ball Canning Jars.
   
   
   Have you ever preserved your food?  What kinds of things do you can?