Strawberry Freezer Jam

Costco had a sale on strawberries ... 4 pounds for $6.49, so my friend Jessica and I made some freezer jam! This is seriously SO easy, SO fast and SO yummy - you'll never want to buy jam again because now you can make it! You can get your canning supplies almost any where but Lowes (yes the home improvement store) always has a huge selection and good prices. This recipe is on the back of the Ball No Cook Freezer Jam Fruit Pectin. The package and says it will make enough to fill five 8oz. freezer jam jars (like in the picture) however this  recipe made 5 jars + 2 small Ziploc Twist ’n Loc Containers ... so I'd buy 2 of the 5  packaged freezer jam jars for this recipe.

Ingredients:
(5) 8oz. Freezer Jam Jars
1 ½ Cup Sugar or Splenda
1 pkg. (1.59oz.) Instant Fruit Pectin or No Cook Freezer Jam Fruit Pectin
4 pounds of fresh strawberries

Directions:
1. Stir sugar and pectin in a bowl.

2. Wash and cut the stems off the strawberries. Place in a blender and puree. Then transfer to a large bowl.

3. Add sugar mixture to fruit and stir for 3 minutes.

4. Ladle jam into clean jars & let stand 30 minutes.

You can freeze for up to 1 year or refrigerate up to 3 weeks

Candied Jalapenos (Cowboy Candy)

This recipe & pictures are from The Pioneer Woman / Tasty Kitchen ... I have not made them but they look really de-lish! My husband would love them, so I think I'm going to try to can some, but I just wanted to share her post with y'all! 

Ingredients:

3 pounds Firm, Fresh Jalapeno Peppers, Washed

2 cups Cider Vinegar

6 cups White Granulated Sugar

½ teaspoons Turmeric

½ teaspoons Celery Seed

3 teaspoons Granulated Garlic

1 teaspoon Ground Cayenne Pepper

Preparation Instructions:

Wearing gloves, remove the stems from all of the jalapeno peppers. The easiest way to do this is to slice a small disc off of the stem-end along with the stem. Discard the stems.

Slice the peppers into uniform 1/8-1/4 inch rounds. Set aside.

In a large pot, bring cider vinegar, white sugar, turmeric, celery seed, granulated garlic and cayenne pepper to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the pepper slices and simmer for exactly 4 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the peppers, loading into clean, sterile canning jars to within 1/4 inch of the upper rim of the jar. Turn heat up under the pot with the syrup and bring to a full rolling boil. Boil hard for 6 minutes.

Use a ladle to pour the boiling syrup into the jars over the jalapeno slices. Insert a cooking chopstick to the bottom of the jar two or three times to release any trapped pockets of air. Adjust the level of the syrup if necessary. Wipe the rims of the jars with a clean, damp paper towel and fix on new, two-piece lids to finger-tip tightness.

If you do not want to can these to the point of shelf stable, you can simply put the jars in your refrigerator and store them there. I prefer to keep the fridge space free so I can them. If you wish to can them, follow the instructions below.

Note: If you have leftover syrup, and it is likely that you will, you may can it in half-pint or pint jars, too. It’s wonderful brushed on meat on the grill or added to potato salad or, or, or … in short, don’t toss it out!

To can, place jars in a canner and cover with water by 2-inches. Bring the water to a full rolling boil. When it reaches a full rolling boil, set the timer for 10 minutes for half-pints or 15 minutes for pints. When timer goes off, use canning tongs to transfer the jars to a cooling rack. Leave them to cool, undisturbed, for 24 hours. When fully cooled, wipe them with a clean, damp washcloth, then label.

Allow to mellow for at least two weeks, but preferably a month before eating. Or don’t. I won’t tell!

Raspberry Freezer Jam

This is seriously SO easy SO fast & SO yummy - you'll never want to buy jam again because now you can make it! You can get your canning supplies at Lowes (yes the home improvement store) or Walmart


You’ll need:
(5) 8oz. Freezer Jam Jars
1 ½ Cup Sugar or Splenda
1 pkg. (1.59oz.) Instant Fruit Pectin
36oz. either fresh or frozen - Raspberries (if you buy frozen make sure you thaw them out before you make your jam)


Directions:
(Directions are on the back of the fruit pectin)

1. Stir sugar and pectin in a bowl.

2. Add crushed fruit. Stir 3 minutes.

3. Ladle jam into clean jars & let stand 30 minutes.

ENJOY!

You can freeze for up to 1 year or refrigerate up to 3 weeks

Cherry Pie Filling

Recipe From: Sarah


Ingredients:
5 Cups of Cherries
3/4 Cup of Sugar
3 TBS of Corn Starch
2 TBS of Lemon Juice
1/4 cup of water


Directions:
Pit cherries, put in pan pour sugar over them, mix lemon juice, water and corn starch until smooth and pour over. Bring cherries to a boil and sauce will begin to thicken, pour into hot jars then process in bath water for 20 minutes.

APPLE PIE FILLING

(or if it doesn't thicken you can use it as apple crisp - which is what I do anyways, because I like apple crisp more than apple pie)

Recipe from: Bridgette


Ingredients:
10 Cups Water
4 1/2 Cup Sugar
1 Tablespoon Salt
2 Tablespoon Cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoon Nutmeg
1 Cup Corn Starch
9 Tablespoons Lemon Juice


Directions:
Boil 9 cups of water (you'll set 1 cup aside and use with the corn starch), sugar, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg in a sauce pot, once it boils add the 1 cup of water to the 1 cup of corn starch in a small bowl - mix fast once it's an even texture, pour corn starch mixture into sauce pot with other ingredients (make sure you stir it in very fast or it will clump).

Once it's thick and bubbly add lemon juice. Remove from heat.


Fill 7 quart jars with peeled, cored and cut apples, and add sauce/filling to the bottom of the mouth of the jar.


Put lids on and process for 20 minutes in a boiling-water canner and hope they seal!


Use for pie filling, a cobbler, crisp or hot over ice cream!

Red and Green Christmas Jalapeno Jelly

From the Kitchen of:Sarah

Ingredients:
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped jalapeno pepper
5 cups white sugar
1 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar
1 (6 fluid ounce) container liquid pectin


Directions:
Remove stems, veins and most of the seeds of the bell and jalapeno peppers. Mince peppers in a food processor.

In a 5-quart pot over high heat, combine bell peppers, jalapenos, sugar and vinegar. Bring to a rolling boil; boil for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and cool for 5 minutes.

Stirring constantly, add the pectin and let mixture continue to cool for 2 minutes more. Now stir for 1 minute.

Pour into hot, sterilized jars and top with sterilized lids. Secure lids with bands and allow jars to cool slowly, creating a vacuum seal.

Pickled Asparagus

Recipe From: Periscilla


Yield: 6 pints


Ingredients:
10 pounds fresh asparagus
6 large garlic cloves
6 small hot peppers (optional) or 1 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes (equally optional)
3 teaspoons dill seed
½ cup canning or pickling salt (NOT table salt)
4½ cups white vinegar (5% acidity)
4½ cups water


Directions:
Step 1 - Selecting the asparagus. The most important step! You need asparagus that are FRESH and crisp. Limp, old asparagus will make nasty tasting canned asparagus.Select firm, crisp asparagus. Remove and discard any soft, diseased, spotted and bug-chewed asparagus. About 4 pounds of asparagus makes about 8 pints of pickled asparagus.


Step 2 - Prepare the jars and canner. Wash the jars and lids. Get the canner heating up.


Step 3 -Wash the asparagus! Scrub the asparagus in plain cold or lukewarm water using your hands or a vegetable brush.


Step 4 - Trim the ends and cut into smaller pieces. Cut stems from the bottom to leave spears with tips that fit into the canning jar with a little less than ½-inch headspace


Step 5 -Wash and peel the garlic! Peel and wash garlic cloves. Place a garlic clove at the bottom of each jar.


Step 6 - Pack the asparagus into the jars. Place the whole trimmed asparagus upright in jars, leaving ½-inch of headspace. Trim the asparagus to ensure proper fit, if necessary.


Step 7 - Make the Pickling Solution
In an 8-quart (or larger) pot, combine the
3 teaspoons dill seed
½ cup canning or pickling salt (NOT table salt)
4½ cups white vinegar (5% acidity)
4½ cups water
Bring to a boil. Place one hot pepper, or a few flakes (if either is used) in each jar over asparagus spears.


Step 8 - Pour the pickling solution into the jars
Use a ladle or pyrex measuring cup to carefully fill each packed jar with the hot vinegar solution, again allowing ½-inch headspace. The asparagus should be covered and there should still be 1/2 inch of airspace left in the top of each jar.


Step 9 - Put the lids and rings on
Put the lids on each jar and seal them by putting a ring on and screwing it down snugly (but not with all your might, just "snug").


Step 10 - Put the jars in the canner and the lid on the canner (but still vented)
Using the jar tongs, put the jars on the rack in the canner. Make sure there is enough water that the pot won't boil dry (usually 4 inches is plenty, but always use the directions that came with the canner as the guide!


Step 11 - Process for 17 minutes for pint jars - 30 minutes for quart jars


Step 12 - Remove the jars. Lift the jars out of the water and let them cool on a wooden cutting board or a towel. Once the jars are cool, you can check that they are sealed verifying that the lid has been sucked down. Just press in the center, gently, with your finger. If it pops up and down (often making a popping sound), it is not sealed. If you put the jar in the refrigerator right away, you can still use it.

Allow pickled asparagus to sit in processed jars for

3 to 5 days before consumption for the flavor to develop!