Does that mean you only need 1/2 C instead of 1C in Annie's if used in place of vinegar? No it doesn't. Please do not read into it any more than what is said. The recipe calls for 1 cup of vinegar. You have a choice of the acids you can use instead of all or part of the vinegar only because we know that brand name bottled lemon or lime juice is stronger than vinegar so it can be safely substituted. NCHFP says "bottled lemon juice can be substituted for vinegar because it is more acidic but vinegar cannot be substituted for bottled lemon juice." Which you use - vinegar or lemon or lime or a mixture of all three is up to you. It is a matter of different taste. So that does NOT, in any way, mean that you can cut the total amount called for in the recipe. Many discount brand bottled juices, be they apple, grape. orange, lemon, or whatever contain varying degrees of the actual juice so label reading is a must. There was a recent news story 3 or 4 months back about one of the common store/generic brands that actually contained no, none, zero juice of the of fruit on its label - just sugars and water, some rind and food colorings. Buyer beware. ;) Dave

Happy to share :-) This is one I've used for many years. Copied and pasted complete with notes. It's a favorite in my "Quick Meals" file, though it has way too much cholesterol in it to have more than occasionally. CHILI RELLENOS CASSEROLE 2 (7 oz.) cans whole chilies 1 lb. medium or sharp cheddar 1/2 lb. Jack cheese 3/4 tsp. salt 4 eggs 1 can evaporated milk (12 oz) 3 tbsp. flour grains of pepper to suit your taste Lightly coat 9 x 13 pan with butter. To line bottom of pan with chilies, open them up to lay out flat. Grate cheeses. Layer cheeses on top of chilies. Beat eggs, flour, salt, pepper and evap. milk together. Pour evenly over cheeses. Bake at 375 degrees 35 - 40 minutes until lightly browned and set. A toothpick inserted in center should come out clean. Let set 10 minutes before serving. It is very good just "as is", but for variety top with sour cream, salsa or enchilada sauce, etc. ............................................................................ Notes: I've substituted regular milk, ..cream, ..and a sour cream and milk combo in place of the evap. milk, when I forgot to put it on my shopping list. Always came out very good. Layer in an additional small (4oz.) can or two of chopped chilies with the cheeses. No whole green chilies .. using the chopped in the amount called for worked just fine. I've added 3/4 to 1 lb. of cooked and drained lean burger (with a bit of onion/jalapeños cooked in with the burger) onto the top of the green chilies before adding the cheeses and baking. Another easy quick dinner. Crystal

I, too, hope everyone had a GREAT time at the Fling. I just am unable to get to these outings anymore and be far from my home base for any length of time. But, I hope my babies found a home, altho they were small, they are big in spirit and a desire to grow and feed someone that cares for them. I also sent a door prize of 5 20-gallon Sunleaves Gro Bags that I hope someone was able to use. I kept the 10 gallon bags. I know, selfish of me, huh? I looked over Chandra's very nice photo gallery of the Fling and with a tear in my eye, wished I could have gone. But, I did enjoy the photo journey. Susan

In a nutshell, the biggiest worry in home canning is low acid vegetables and a few fruits that are low acid. When they are canned, a low or zero oxygen environment is formed inside the jar. Under these circumstances, botulism spores which are normally found in the soil and COULD be in your jars, and are not killed by the temperatures of a boiling water bath or just heating the substance being canned, can start to produce a highly toxic substance called botulinum or something like that (it's not exactly that, but something spelled very similarly). That can KILL you! And there is no off smell, etc. for that. However, it is easily avoided by either adding acid and or sugar to low acid vegetables (such as many cucumber pickle recipes, for example), or by pressure canning, which if done correctly reaches a temperature inside the jar hot enough to kill the botulism spores so they don't start reproducing. Tomatoes are on the border of what is considered and acid fruit/vegetable and acid levels vary with the tomato, so it is tomato recipes that often cause the most discussion and controversy with home canners. As far as "safe" goes, one way to insure safety is to follow recipes developed by folks who have tested the safety of the end product in a regulated food lab, such as the National Center for Home Food Preservation at U. of GA (I think that's where it is), or commercial labs like Ball has. That doesn't mean that an old family recipe isn't safe for sure, but it means there is no way of telling for sure. Many home canning recipes are so similar to commercial ones that you can pretty much tell they are safe. Others fly in the face of safe canning practices with regards to acidity and processing, so you can pretty much tell they are unsafe. Some are on the fence. Also, there is no gauruntee that if you eat something unsafely canned you will get botulism poisoning, it is just a considerable risk. And since the consequence is death, I don't think it is worth the risk if there is any question as to the recipe or methods followed by the home canner. When done properly, home canning is absolutely safe, and the quality is far superior to what you would get in the store. It is no more dangerous that preparing meat. However, you can't mess around and expect it to be OK, just like you can't leave meat sitting out and think that you are not taking a risk.