Low Sugar Strawberry Freezer Jam

I think I finally have a Strawberry Jam recipe I really like! AND, it is a freezer jam that is LOW in sugar. BONUS! In general, I prefer freezer jams because they retain the fabulous fresh flavor (say that 5 times fast) of just picked fruit. However, there are not many recipes out there for freezer jams using the low/no sugar pectin. Last year I made a variety of jam recipes ranging in sugar amounts. I found the full sugar recipes taste more like sugar than fruit. AND, since I am dealing with too much sugar in our diets, I really wanted to use a low or no sugar recipe.

The Ball pectin is what was available to me here, so that is what I am using. I started with the recipe for no sugar jam on their label - as is. I suspect if you have really sweet berries, this would work well. I ended up using 1TBPS of sugar in this first round. I added it while in the cooking stage. I tasted as I went and found it needed sugar to balance out the tartness. I probably could have added more sugar. The jam is fine and we will finish eating it, but since this is a cooked recipe, I wanted to keep experimenting.

Last year I tried this recipe. Mine did not set - but then none of mine set last year, so likely it was user error. So this year, I came up with a solution that is somewhere in between the cooked version from Ball and the recipe I tried last year. The result is a big success! At least it is to me. :)

One tip I learned - work with small batches. Yes, that is written on the label of the pectin, but I missed that previously. Ooops. Probably why things failed last year.

I have found, I like using my food processor to 'mash' the strawberries. I know, I know - most other recipes will tell you absolutely do NOT use a food processor. Well, I like the texture. Small to medium bits of strawberries without the stringiness I get when I hand mash. I like to use the pulse function to get the right texture. Do Not puree the strawberries, we are making jam, not baby food. :) Also, don't do all the berries at once. I do 3-4 rounds to get the 2 cups.

What you need:

• 2 cups processed strawberries
• 1.5 TBSP low sugar pectin
• 1/3 cup 100% apple juice concentrate
• 2 TBSP sugar (This is flexible and can be omitted entirely if your strawberries are nice and sweet, or you can add more if you have really tart strawberries.)
• 3 - 8oz Jars - prepped as per jar instructions (either boil for 10 mins to sterilize or run through the dishwasher)
• sauce pan
• metal strainer
• spatula

Pour the strawberries into a metal mesh strainer. Catch the juice - I like to use the sauce pan I will be cooking the juices in (let's not dirty more dishes than necessary). Use the spatula to mush things around a bit to get as much of the juice into the sauce pan as necessary.

1. Combine the strawberry juice, pectin, and juice concentrate in the sauce pan. 
2. Bring to a rapid boil. Hard boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat.
3. Add strawberries and sugar to taste.  Stir all together.
4. Pour into jars. Clean the rims, put lids on, finger tighten. Let cool. Put in freezer.

Yes, it is a bit more work than other recipes, but combines the best of both worlds. And look at that mess!!! Luckily, it cleans up fast. 

Are you ready to make jam?! I hope to use this base recipe for other fruits this year too. I will let you know how it goes. 

Until next time...

Jill

Cake Pops and Chocolate

Yes, I have posted before about the cake pops I have made here. Everyone seems to enjoy them. After the last party, I had a ton of left over cake. I did NOT want to be eating cake forever, so I made cake balls. This time I stepped it up a notch and dipped in chocolate. This could be a good Mother's Day dessert!

A chocolatier I am NOT. But, these were SOOO good. I just used chocolate melts, half milk chocolate and half dark chocolate. Melt in the microwave (50%power) and then dip chilled cake balls. I placed them into mini cup cake liners to help limit the mess. I think it makes the presentation nice too - not that anyone around here cares about presentation! I had to freeze them so I didn't eat them all super fast. These were an even bigger hit that the plain cake balls.

What is your favorite way to deal with left over cake? I probably should just throw it out, but I have yet to be able to bring myself to do that.

Later.

Glasses of Water

Just a little health tip to share today. This one stems from a good friend of mine at Sparkles of Light.

WATER lots of Water

We all know we are suppose to drink plenty of water. However, one thing that I have been trying - CHUG - really CHUG -  a 12 oz glass of water before you eat ANYTHING! Yes, this is a lot of water - well if you eat a lot it is. :)

The benefit over the past not quite 2 weeks - I have lost 1.5 pounds! My skin also thanks me - especially the bags under my eye. The bags are now equivalent  to a small purse instead of a jumbo travel bag. ;)

Now, if you are dehydrated, you will likely see the scale go up a couple of pounds first. Don't panic, this is just water weight - that you probably need. Keep going and likely you will start to lose fat. :)

The one side effect I am not keen on - I spend more time in the bathroom these days. I do feel better though, and less tired.

Give it a try. See if you FEEL a difference.

Later Gator.

Quick Projects

Lots of little projects happening around here.

Summer Hat

It's getting nice again, which means lots more time outside. Which means, bring on the sunblock and hats! Lucy has grown out of her hats, so I had to whip one up so she can really enjoy being outside - and NOT have to worry about burning her scalp. Yes - her scalp will burn - a lot. So hats are mandatory for her. Not to mention, they just make good sense for additional sun protection of the face, ears, and neck.

Since she loves Dr. Seuss these days, and Mom sent me a bunch of Dr. Seuss fabrics - she got a Dr. Seuss hat!

Cute right? She loves that it is reversible - she can choose what color she wants to show off. And, now that I added a little elastic in the back, it will stay on while she is twirling and playing. 

Crayon Rolls

Just a super quick project that can be nice for the little ones. Holds 16 crayons and has an elastic hair tie as the holder - no need to tie a ribbon on these. Each one takes about 20 minutes - love that!

Yard Projects

Then it was off to create a compost bin. We needed something fast, easy, and functional. This is what we came up with. 

Left over chicken wire and 4 plastic stakes that easy go into the ground. I used zip ties to anchor the wire to the stakes. The last 'end' I left free and added about 8 inches that 'overlapped' with the beginning. This allows me to open one end so I can dump the wheel barrel in here when necessary. Works great for now. If we end up doing a lot of this, we will likely build something more substantial.

Then I added a little landscaping fun to the yard. I wanted a nice spot to look at when standing at the kitchen sink washing all those dishes by hand! 

   

Amazing what a little mulch, bird feeder, flowers, and azalea plant can do for a grassy area. That tree is a pink dogwood. Much better now. Again, this was a quick project that I finished in just an hour or so. 

Until next time...

More Birthday Celebrations

Yep - more birthday fun these days. My son turned 10! YIKES! Not sure how I can be old enough to have a 10 year old - when did that happen?!

We had quite a delay between the actual birthday and the party with friends. Seemed every time we started to think about the party, we got sidetracked or had a full weekend with other events. Finally, we just decided to do it. I sure wish I would have taken pictures. Really, I was so busy with all the party stuff, I didn't take a SINGLE picture! Oops. At least I have some great memories.

My son continues to push my cake making skills. He wanted a battleship at first, but then I was able to convince him it would NOT look like the professional cake pictures we were finding. Sorry, my skills are NOT that good. We finally decided on a Mayan Temple. I would have loved to have had trees and more decor  but really, I ran out of steam. This is what I ended up with.

My daughter just wanted a strawberry, so that was easy.

And yes, I made cake balls like this with the left over cuts of cake. And now, after the party, I have made additional cake balls with all the left over cake. Into the freezer they will go until another time. We have had ENOUGH cake for a while. :)

We ended up doing a BIG birthday bash with friends and their families for both the oldest and the youngest (which worked out great since so many of our friends have siblings that overlap). We broke out the smoker and had pulled pork and ribs. YUM! Our friends were wonderful enough to bring some sides as well.

My hubby has worked a lot on converting the hayloft of the barn into a 'club house'. We put up some twinkle lights, a few hay bales, a white sheet, and brought in a movie projector. So, when it was time to settle down for the night, the movie viewing began. All the boys were in the barn for the night, cuddled up watching movies. Yeah - it got a bit cold. The girls and little ones were in the house with me. :) I was plenty warm.

I will say - having lots of space to run around really helps to wear out the kids.

We are looking forward to the next party - in a few months. ;) We did NOTHING most of the day sun as we just rested and tried to recover. It really was a lot of work, but well worth it. And, thank you to Sunday afternoon chick flick-a-thon. I took an early shower and curled up in the playroom watching girly movies and doing a little crochet. Pizza was delivered for dinner. The girls did my hair and the kids basically let hubby and I do nothing.

It was a fabulous weekend!