Strawberries have been on amazing sales this year, and so we have bought a few more than usual. I made some strawberry jam, which turned out amazing, and then I found a recipe for Strawberry Lemon Marmalade, which is super sweet. And then I altered my applesauce recipe to add strawberries, which turned out an amazing new flavor of applesauce. I have had some requests for the recipes... so here they are!
STRAWBERRY JAM
(I used the Ball Natural Fruit Pectin because that is what I had on hand)
(Recipe can be found on insert)
- 5 C crushed strawberries (about 5-1 lb containers)
- 1/4 C lemon juice
- 1 1.75-oz pkg Ball® Original Fruit Pectin
- 7 C sugar
- 8 half pint preserving jars with bands and lids.
Directions:
1.) PREPARE boiling water canner. Heat jars and lids in simmering water until ready for use. Do not boil. Set bands aside.
3.) COMBINE strawberries and lemon juice and mix well. Gradually stir in pectin. Bring mixture to a full rolling that can not be stirred down, over high heat, stirring constantly.
4.) ADD entire measure of sugar, stirring to dissolve. Return mixture to a full rolling boil. Boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim off foam if necessary.
5.) LADLE hot jam into hot jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe rim. Center lid on jar. Apply band until fit is fingertip tight.
6.) PLACE filled jars in canner. Be sure water covers tops of jars by 1 to 2 inches. Add hot water if necessary. Place lid on canner. Bring water to a gentle, steady boil.
7.) PROCESS jars for 10 minutes, adjusting for altitude. After processing is complete, turn off heat and remove lid. Let jars stand for 5 min.
8.) REMOVE jars from canner and set upright on a towel to cool, undisturbed for 12-24 hours. After cooling, test lids by pressing in the center. If lid does not flex, it is sealed. If lid flexes up and down refrigerate immediately.
STRAWBERRY LEMON MARMALADE
- 1/4 cup thinly slice lemon peel (about 2 large)
- 4 cups crushed strawberries (about 4 1-lb containers)
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 1.75-oz pkg Ball® Original Fruit Pectin
- 6 cups sugar
- 7 (8 oz) half pint glass preserving jars with lids and bands
Directions:
1.) PREPARE boiling water canner. Heat jars and lids in simmering water until ready for use. Do not boil. Set bands aside.
2.) COMBINE lemon peel and water to cover in a 6- or 8-quart saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and boil for 5 minutes, until peel is softened. Drain and discard liquid. Return peel to pan.
3.) ADD strawberries and lemon juice to peel and mix well. Gradually stir in pectin. Bring mixture to a full rolling that can not be stirred down, over high heat, stirring constantly.
4.) ADD entire measure of sugar, stirring to dissolve. Return mixture to a full rolling boil. Boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim off foam if necessary.
5.) LADLE hot jam into hot jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe rim. Center lid on jar. Apply band until fit is fingertip tight.
6.) PROCESS in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes, adjusting for altitude. Remove jars and cool. Check lids for seal after 24 hours. Lid should not flex up and down when center is pressed.
Quick Tip
Use lime peel and lime juice in place of lemon for a Strawberry Lime Marmalade.
STRAWBERRY APPLESAUCE
(Baked not boiled.)
- Apples (any variety, any amount)
- Strawberries (about 1 1/2- 2 C per 3 Quart pan, adjust to personal taste.)
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Peel, core and coarsely chop apples into sections. (I use a vegetable peeler, and an apple corer/divider)
- Place apples into a oven safe dish with a lid.
- Bake for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare strawberries by washing and hulling them.
- At 30 minutes add strawberries to the pot. (The apples should have cooked down a little and made space for the strawberries.
- Bake for an additional 15-20 minutes or until when you look in the pot you can see a small amount of juice in the bottom and the apples are soft.
- Remove from oven and blend or puree in sections. (I use an immersion blender, but a regular blender, food processor or food mill will also work.)
- Mix all sections together for a uniform sauce, and if desired add sugar to taste and a few sliced strawberries to the top before serving. Serve warm or cold.(Baking the applesauce brings out the natural sugar much better than boiling, so I typically do not add sugar, because it makes it too sweet.)
- Enjoy!
HAPPY EATS!!
So we thought and thought and thought about the backyard, and what we wanted to do with it. My first thought was, I needed a pool. Andy said no. After further thought, and Andy's job moving locations, I decided that he was right and that we should not get a pool just to possibly move in a couple years... Andy decided that he really wanted some grass. I thought that was a great idea. I also told Andy before we knew we were moving for sure, that if we ended up in Arizona that I was going to plant citrus trees!! Other than those few things nothing else was official.
The week prior to the irrigation, my dad and I did some extensive research on citrus trees, including visits to all the local nurseries, Home Depots, Lowe's and lots of Google time. On the last day when I had decided trees I wanted, I ran into Costco for something else and what did I find?? Citrus Trees and for only $20! They even had the types of lemon and lime I was looking for! Then my we drove to one last nursery and they had the orange! The ground had dried enough on Monday that my dad and I were able to plant the citrus trees, it still was a big mess!!
So in all my thinking, I decided that I wanted to extend the back porch a little with cement pavers, so I searched and searched and finally found some that I wanted. With a lot more research and planning Andy decided that we could go ahead and put them in. He was SOOO AMAZING and did most of the work by himself while I was at work! They look SO GOOD!!! We also found out that Pati and John were coming to visit, so we tried to work really hard and get as much done as possible before they got here!!
