Elevate your PB&J with the lush combination of sweet cherries and tangy rhubarb in this easy-to-make jam. While this recipe is perfectly suitable for canning, you could store it in the freezer just as well. Of course, that assumes you’ll have any left after a few days… Let’s get started! Continue reading
Jelly
Yummy Strawberry Freezer Jam
It’s that time of year again, friends – Wahoo! Strawberry season! To be fair, strawberry season is still a few weeks away in my Northern climate. However, my sister is visiting from Arkansas, and brought several boxes of fresh picked berries with her (isn’t she awesome?).
The thing about strawberries is, they’re delicious for about one day after they are picked. If you have a large quantity of strawberries to preserve, you need to work fast! Yummy Strawberry Freezer Jam is super fast! Ready… Set… GO!
Ingredients (Makes 4 cups)
5 cups of strawberries, washed and cut in half (green hulls removed)
5 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 pouch (3 ounces) liquid pectin
Directions
Step 1) Place halved strawberries in a large pot. Mash the strawberries a few times with a potato masher. Add sugar, cinnamon, and lemon juice.
Step 2) Bring strawberry mixture to a full, vigorous boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently. You want this mixture to really boil… it should boil enough that bubbles continue to cover the surface of the mixture even when you are stirring!
Step 3) When your strawberry mixture has reached a FULL boil (this will take at least ten minutes, maybe longer), stir in the pouch of pectin. Allow the mixture to return to a FULL boil, and boil with stirring for two minutes.
Step 4) Remove the pot from the heat and add grated lemon zest. Stir gently. Allow your Yummy Strawberry Freezer Jam to cool before ladling into storage containers. This jam will keep nicely in the refrigerator for two weeks, or can be frozen for up to six months. [As if strawberry jam would be neglected for six months – ha!]
Caramel Apple Jelly
Instead of spending the holiday weekend shopping, why not spend an afternoon making pretty jars of delicious Caramel Apple Jelly for the loved ones on your gift list? Caramel Apple Jelly takes a bit of time to prepare, but the steps are easy to follow and your kitchen will smell wonderful. As an added bonus, Caramel Apple Jelly is a very economical recipe! Pick up a few bags of apples to make applesauce or a festive German dinner, and save the cores for this recipe. You can always cut the recipe in half, to make 4 jars instead of 8.
Ingredients (makes 8 half-pints)
30 apple cores
3 cups sugar
3 cups brown sugar
6 tablespoons powdered pectin
2 tablespoons loose caramel-flavored tea
Directions
Step 1) Place apple cores and tea in a stockpot and just barely cover with water.
Step 2) Bring stockpot to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.
Step 3) Place a strainer in a slightly smaller bowl and line with a tightly woven, clean towel (or several layers of cheesecloth) as shown. It is important that there is room in the lower bowl, below the bottom of the strainer, for juice to collect!
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Step 4) Carefully transfer the apple cores and juice into the towel-lined strainer. Be careful to avoid overflow… you may need to ladle a few cups of juice out of the lower bowl and into a second bowl (for temporary storage) right away. Be patient, and allow an hour or so for all of the apple juice to collect in the bottom bowl.
Step 5) Combine sugars and pectin. Set aside.
Step 6) Measure 5 cups of apple juice, and bring to a rolling boil in your stockpot.
Step 7) Add sugar mixture to stockpot and, with constant stirring, return to a rolling boil. This may take a few minutes. After a rolling boil has been maintained for one, solid minute, remove caramel apple jelly from heat.
Step 8) Ladle caramel apple jelly into sterilized, half-pint canning jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe jar rims clean, and top with lids and bands. Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.
Enjoy!
Jars of homemade caramel apple jelly make wonderful gifts. Remember, making jelly is a fun and economical way to make use of fruit cores!
Back by Popular Demand! How to Make Your Own Granola Bars
How to Save a Million Dollars a Year
How to Make Your Own Granola Bars!
OK, making my own granola bars did not save me a million dollars last year. It may have only been half a million dollars. Or maybe just enough for an occasional, guilt free (mostly) massage at a fabulous spa. But more to the point, store bought granola bars are expensive. They don’t seem that way, as you’re pushing your cart down the cereal isle… $3 or so seems harmless enough, right? The problem is, many of those $3 boxes only contain 5 bars. Even that might seem reasonable if everyone was happy with one bar. I, however, have been blessed with boys. Growing boys. Have you seen growing boys raid a kitchen after school? It’s an awe inspiring, slightly terrifying sight to behold.
My darling boys could obliterate a whole shelf of granola bars in only the time it would take them to tear through all of that wasteful packaging. If I continued buying granola bars from the supermarket, I was going to need to supplement my income by renting out my boys for farm labor. They didn’t seem too keen on the idea, so Option B required me to create an easy, low cost granola bar that would pass muster with the kids. Three different versions became fast favorites. I hope you enjoy them! Don’t forget to post your comments below!
No-Bake Granola Bars, Part I: Apple Cinnamon
I make a lot of jellies and jams (recipes coming soon!). Occasionally, a batch of jelly or jam won’t turn out quite right – it’s either overcooked so that it’s too thick to spread, or undercooked so that it resembles syrup. Because I’m too frugal to just throw them away, my “jars of mistakes” have been taking up shelf space, waiting to be put to good use. Well, it’s Good Use Time! You can use any apple jelly for this recipe, whether a store-bought version or a homemade version, even if it’s underwhelming on its own.
Combine dry goods and set aside:
3 cups of whole oats
1 cup of high fiber cereal
3/4 cup of diced, dried apples
1 heaping teaspoon of cinnamon
Combine in a large pot and boil for two minutes:
¼ cup butter (or vegan substitute)
1 cup apple jelly
Remove from heat, stir in dry ingredients. Line a 9” x 13” cookie sheet (preferably one with low sides) with parchment paper. Pour mixture onto center of parchment paper; let cool for a few moments until safe to touch. With wet hands (prevents sticking), press mixture to evenly cover parchment paper. 
Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until firm. Lift parchment paper and set on large cutting board. Cut mixture into 16 granola bars. Line each bar with parchment and refrigerate or freeze for storage.
Enjoy!
No-Bake Granola Bars, Part II: Wild Blueberry
Two summers ago, my family spent a week on the Maine Coast (beautiful… highly recommend!). Kitchen goofball that I am, I managed to squeeze my canning pot, canning utensils, and a case of half pint canning jars into the back of the family minivan. I was on a quest to purvey enough of the fabled wild Maine blueberries to make 12 jars of jam, and I succeeded… sort of.
I overcooked the jam.
There was wailing and gnashing of teeth. There may have been a few words uttered that would, ah, make a Sunday School teacher blush. But… Crowded Earth Kitchen wastes NOTHING! Despite having no earthly idea how I would salvage those blueberries, I packed my 12 jars of crystallized blueberry “rock” into the van and brought them home.
You may use any blueberry jam for this recipe (I salvaged mine by soaking the jars in scalding hot water). You might even get wild and crazy and try using another variety of jam. If you create your own version, please let me know how it turns out!
Combine dry goods and set aside:
3 1/2 cups of whole oats
1 cup of high fiber cereal
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
Combine in a large pot and boil for two minutes:
¼ cup butter (or vegan substitute)
1 cup blueberry jam
Remove from heat, stir in dry ingredients. Line a 9” x 13” cookie sheet (preferably one with low sides) with parchment paper. Pour mixture onto center of parchment paper; let cool for a few moments until safe to touch. With wet hands (prevents sticking), press mixture to evenly cover parchment paper. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until firm. Lift parchment paper and set on large cutting board. Cut mixture into 16 granola bars. Line each bar with parchment and refrigerate or freeze for storage. Enjoy!
No-Bake Granola Bars, Version III: Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip
Combine dry goods and set aside:
3 cups of whole oats
¾ cup of high fiber cereal (any variety will suffice)
1 cup of chopped pretzels (if you like salt) or crispie rice cereal (if you don’t)
Combine in a large pot and boil for two minutes:
¼ cup butter (or vegan substitute)
½ cup natural peanut butter
¼ cup brown sugar
½ cup honey (or maple syrup as a vegan substitute)
Remove from heat, stir in dry ingredients. Line a 9” x 13” cookie sheet (preferably one with low sides) with parchment paper. Pour mixture onto center of parchment paper; let cool for a few moments until safe to touch. With wet hands (prevents sticking), press mixture to evenly cover parchment paper.
Then, press mini chocolate chips into the top of the granola bars (I used two tablespoons; use more if you don’t mind the sugar, or don’t use them at all). Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until firm. Lift parchment paper and set on large cutting board. Cut mixture into 16 granola bars. Line each bar with parchment and refrigerate or freeze for storage. Enjoy!
Cardamom Pear Jelly
“Cardamom Pear” or “Pear Cardamom?”
I’m going with Cardamom Pear as the name of this delightful, economical jelly. On their own, pears have a mild flavor which is greatly enhanced by warm spices such as cardamom, cinnamon, and anise. Whichever spice (or spice blend) you select will completely change the flavor profile of the jelly. I’m partial to the exotic, chai-like qualities of cardamom, but feel free to substitute the spice of your choice. Now, go get those pear cores you saved, and let’s get started!
Ingredients (makes 8 half-pints)
30 pear cores
6 cups sugar
6 tablespoons powdered pectin
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
Directions
Step 1) Place pear cores in a stockpot and just barely cover with water.
Step 2) Bring stockpot to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.
Step 3) Place a strainer in a slightly smaller bowl and line with a tightly woven, clean towel (or several layers of cheesecloth) as shown. It is important that there is room in the lower bowl, below the bottom of the strainer, for juice to collect!
~
Step 4) Carefully transfer the pear cores and juice into the towel-lined strainer. Be careful to avoid overflow… you may need to ladle a few cups of juice out of the lower bowl and into a second bowl (for temporary storage) right away. Be patient, and allow an hour or so for all of the pear juice to collect in the bottom bowl.
Step 5) Combine sugar, pectin, and cardamom. Set aside.
Step 6) Measure 5 cups of pear juice, and bring to a rolling boil in your stockpot.
Step 7) Add sugar mixture to stockpot and, with constant stirring, return to a rolling boil. This may take a few minutes. After a rolling boil has been maintained for one, solid minute, remove jelly from heat.
Step 8) Ladle jelly into sterilized, half-pint canning jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe jar rims clean, and top with lids and bands. Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.
Enjoy!
Jars of homemade cardamom pear jam make wonderful gifts. Remember, making jelly is a fun and economical way to make use of fruit cores!
