Strawberry Freezer Jam

I found a good deal on Strawberries at our commissary last week and then ended up getting a container of strawberries in our weekly produce box which meant I was being overrun by strawberries.  My boys eat a lot but we  had a lot of fruits and vegetables in our house and I did not want these wonderful treats to go to waste.  I decided to make some freezer jam.  It's so simple and you end up with a delightful, fresh tasting treat.  I had enough strawberries to make this recipe twice.

My boys think the jam is a bit sweet (they said it tastes like strawberry soda).  I guess it would be sweet given it has 4 cups of sugar!  This jam takes about 30 minutes to make and then you let it sit for 24 hours.

Strawberry Freezer Jam

 

4 cups strawberries, washed and cut in half

4 cups sugar

3/4 cup water

1 package (1 3/4 ounces) powdered fruit pectin 

 

• Mash strawberries with potato masher or in food processor until slightly chunky (not pureed) to make 2 cups crushed strawberries. Mix strawberries and sugar in large bowl. Let stand at room temperature 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Mix water and pectin in 1-quart saucepan. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute. Pour hot pectin mixture over strawberry mixture; stir constantly 3 minutes.
• Immediately spoon mixture into freezer containers, leaving 1/2-inch head space. Wipe rims of containers; seal. Let stand at room temperature about 24 hours or until set.
• Store in freezer up to 6 months or in refrigerator up to 3 weeks. Thaw frozen jam and stir before serving.

 

Basic Spaghetti Sauce

Back in May, I posted about doing a Freezer Meal class and my intention was to share the recipes I put in my little handout...I think I may have shared one or two but wanted to share a few more.

Basic Spaghetti Sauce

A great spaghetti sauce for once a month cookers. Can be used for pasta dishes and sauce.

1/2 lb Italian sausage (mild or hot)
1/2 lb ground beef
1 1/2 cups finely chopped onions
1 (12 ounce) can tomato paste
3 (28 ounce) cans Italian-style tomatoes or plain crushed tomatoes in puree
2 cups water
4 teaspoons minced garlic (4 cloves)
4 bay leaves
2 tablespoons sugar
4 teaspoons dried basil
2 teaspoons dried oregano
4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 teaspoons salt

In pot, brown ground beef and sausage with onions until completely brown. Drain fat.

Add remaining ingredients, bringing to a boil. Reduce heat, loosely cover and simmer for two hours, making sure to stire occasionally.

Allow to cool completely, then package in Ziplocs or plastic containers in serving sizes.

To use: thaw in refrigerator or defrost in microwave, then heat in pan.

Freezer Meal Fun

Last week for our Military Spouse Appreciation Day we had various classes that we offered to our Spouses. I taught a class on Freezer Meals. We didn't really have a proper area to actually bring in food to demonstrate so my friend and I put together a video. On the actual day, we had technical difficulty and couldn't show the video so I just had a discussion and it went pretty well. I was really pleased with the turn out and the class itself. I promised the women in my class that I would upload the clips and I thought I'd share them here on my blog as well. We really had a lot of fun making the video. Our Commanding General's wife was kind enough to let us use her kitchen since my kitchen would have been super awkward. Overall I just had fun!

Here is my disclaimer....as you will obviously see I am not a professional, I tend to roll my eyes a lot and I was not working with any script. Now that being said...I am still happy with the final product.

You can watch the intro video on here then click on the video and go to the page where the other clips are. I figured it would be easier to watch clips instead of a full 30 minute video!

Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins

I first had these muffins at a potluck and they were amazing! They were the moistest muffin I had ever had. When I found out how simple the recipe was I had to make them for my family. Now they are a huge hit and so easy to make. They also freeze nicely so you can make a huge batch ahead of time, put them in the freezer and pull them out for a nice snack or when your kids forget to tell you they have to take something to an event! (My 10 year loves this for breakfast on school mornings, so we keep lots in the freezer!)

Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins

1 box chocolate cake mix
1 handful chocolate chips
1/2 cup yogurt (lowfat vanilla is best)
1 capful vanilla
1 14 oz. Can pumpkin pie filling
Combine all ingredients.
Spray the muffin pan with Pam. Bake at 350 for 30 min.

The batter will be thick, almost like cookie dough.

Yum!