House Party!

A few months ago I signed up with House Party to see if I could try some products for free.

This what their website says:

A House Party^™ is thousands of parties across the country, hosted by people like you. Each event is sponsored by a leading brand and focuses on something cool that the sponsor wants its best fans to experience firsthand and share with their friends.

Once you sign up you get emails about upcoming parties that you can apply for. If chosen, you will be a party host. The company sponsoring the parties sends you their products and you invite your friends. There is nothing to sell. Companies are using these parties as a new type of advertising. (You can read more about how it works here.)

A few emails came after I signed up, but it was nothing I was really interested in. Then I got an email for a party that I really wanted! Jarden Home brands, the makers of Ball and Kerr, were going to be sending canners and supplies for a canning party. So I applied. I was super excited when I found out that I was chosen to be a party host!

I've canned a few times in the past. I would have canned a bunch of jalapenos from last years garden but I ran into a problem. When we moved to this house we inherited a glass top stove and my old enamel canner (that I got at the thrift store for a few bucks) is not safe to use on my new stove. I researched a bit online and several sites said you can't can at all on a smooth top stove so I pretty much gave up. When I saw that this party included a canner that works on ALL stove types... even glass tops... I was so excited.


Friday night my host package arrived and it was better than I expected! This is what I got:

• Elite Stainless Steel Waterbath Canner with Canning Rack (it's beautiful!)
• Ball 4-piece utensil set
• Ball Canning Discovery Kit (see below for a description, it's really cool!)
• Ball Blue BookGuide to Preserving (2 copies)
• Plus coupons to get 4 cases of jars free, pectin for the recipes, and a demonstration chart

My guests will get:

• Reusable grocery bags
• Coupons for them and to give their friends
• Ball Fruit Pectin (to make their own jam/jelly)
• A jar of salsa and a jar of peppy jelly with the recipes

I made a trial batch of the pepper jelly this morning. It went well! I haven't tasted it yet but it sure looks good! I still can't believe they sent me all this great stuff for free!

If you are interested in learning more, here are a few links for you:

• Ball's website Fresh Preserving has all sorts of great canning resources and recipes
• The Ball Blue Book is the best canning guide (Walmart sells this for under $6)
  
• Ball's Elite Stainless Steel Waterbath Canner can be used on all types of stoves... including glass top!
• If you want to try canning but don't want to invest in a canner you can get a Ball Canning Discovery Kit which includes a how-to booklet, 3 jars with lids/rings, and a special basket that turns any stock pot into a water bath canner! (Wal-mart sells these for $10)

I will have a few leftover coupons for the Ball Blue Book ($1 off) and Canning Discovery Kit ($2 off) if you are interested let me know and I'll get them to you. With the coupons you can give canning a try for under $20!

*This a re-post from my personal blog.