Small Batch Canning ♥ No canning equipment needed

 
A few days ago my market was having their Can-Can sale. I always try to buy a case of No Salt Added Plum Tomatoes and I always buys America's Test Kitchen's pick, Tutterosso.

That is not what this post is about, nor is there a recipe here.

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaat???
Yup, those you can find on the Internet and even here on my blog (pssssst, in this house it's known as Sunday Gravy).

Thursday I took out my slow cooker and made my usual recipe that I timed to stop cooking at 9AM.
I usually freeze my sauce but the last time I tried to add a chicken to my stand-up freezer it literally squawked at me.
Best I 'can' this batch.

In the summer, canning is a better option but this was only an 8 cup batch. Not enough to drag out all the traditional canning equipment and since canning was the only option, I remembered that I retired my highfalutin pasta pot, you know the one with the insert, a few years back when the handle broke loose from the main pot.

Why was that important? Think about it. There is an insert with holes (for draining the cooked pasta) and it was only a third smaller that my traditional canning pot. If you don't plan on canning every year, buying the whole traditional set-up is a huge investment. Just use a pasta pot.

It's quicker to bring the water to a rolling boil (mine almost takes an hour just to bring the water up to a boil). In the summer, when it's hot, you really don't want your stove on for longer that needed.
My pasta pot takes 20 minutes to boil. No brainer there.

So,why not use that? I mean, I was canning 1/2 pint jars so I did not need my huge 8 jar pot and two batches would keep me in gravy way into the cool weather. Took me 40 minutes to can 8 half pints.

Just follow the directions on your canning recipe. My pasta pot holds 4 half pint jars, so I did 2 batches.

Don't have a pasta pot? You must know someone who could would let you borrow theirs.