Freezer Jam

This summer, I made freezer jam for the first time ever. I had raspberries from my mom and blueberries that I bought by the case, and I added a few strawberries at the end to get just the right amount of fruit. I followed the directions from the Sure Jell package. It was so easy, I'm not sure why I had never tried it before!

I'm not always sure if it's cost effective to make my own versus buying a product, so I broke down the cost of making this batch of jam:

I used Polaner All Fruit jars I had saved=FREE
Sugar was on sale for $0.69 when you bought 2 Sure Jells. I used about $0.25 of sugar
Sure Jell was $1.69 each; I used a coupon for $1 off 2, making each package $1.19
The raspberries were free from my mom.
The blueberries small amount of strawberries were about $2.
So for $3.44 I got 8+ jars of jam, or $0.43 per jar. And I know exactly what's in it (no high fructose corn syrup!) Not bad!

Triple Berry Crisp

Another recipe from allrecipes.com.

1 1/2 cups fresh blackberries (I used strawberries)
1 1/2 cups fresh raspberries
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries
4 tablespoons white sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 1/2 cups butter (I only used 1 cup of butter)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

1. In a large bowl, gently toss together blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, and white sugar; set aside.
2. In a separate large bowl, combine flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Cut in butter until crumbly. Press half of mixture in the bottom of a 9x13 inch pan. Cover with berries. Sprinkle remaining crumble mixture over the berries.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until fruit is bubbly and topping is golden brown.

Cherry Cheese Pie

I take after my dad in that I love desserts made with cherries. This is an easy, refreshing dessert for the summer--just don't trip on your way to put it in the fridge in the garage to chill like I did last fall!

1-8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
1-14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1/3 cup lemon juice from concentrate
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1-9 in. baked pie shell of graham cracker crumb crust
1-21 oz. can cherry pie filling, chilled

In large bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk until smooth. Stir in lemon juice and vanilla.
Pour into crust; chill 4 hours or until set. Top with desired amount of cherry pie filling before serving. Store leftovers covered in refrigerator.

Smoothies

We love to have smoothies for a snack around here. I don't really follow a recipe, but this is what I do:
Get out the blender
Put in 1 banana
Add 1 small container of yogurt
Add 2-3 spoonfuls of pineapple (crushed or tidbits work best)
Add a splash of orange juice
Add a handful of ice cubes
Sometimes we add berries (in the picture we added frozen blueberries)
Blend until smooth
So refreshing!

Cherry Crisp

This was our dessert on New Year's Eve.

1 1/4 cups flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup butter
1 can cherry pie filling

Mix dry ingredients and cut in butter until you get fine crumbs. Put half of crumb mixture in 9 x 9 pan. Spread cherry pie filling on top. Put rest of crumb mixture over pie filling and pat down.
Bake at 350 degrees of 30 minutes.

Frozen Fruit Cups

The county extension service has been offering some classes on stretching your food dollar. This week the topic was healthy snacks. We tried this recipe, and I made some at home yesterday.

3 bananas
24 oz. strawberry yogurt (I used raspberry yogurt)
10 oz. frozen strawberries, thawed, with the juice (I used raspberries)
8 oz. canned crushed pineapple, with the juice

Line 18-24 muffin tin cups with paper baking cups. (I did not use paper cups, just put the mixture directly into the tins.)
Dice or mash bananas and place in a large mixing bowl.
Stir in remaining items.
Spoon into muffin tin cups and freeze at least 3 hours or until firm. Remove frozen cups and store in a plastic bag in freezer.
Before serving, remove paper cups and let stand 10 minutes.

Banana Bread/Muffins

This recipe is also from the Joy of Cooking. I usually make muffins rather than bread as the kids are more likely to eat muffins.

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking power
5 1/3 T. unsalted butter (I use salted butter, and use less salt instead)
2/3 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup mashed very ripe bananas (about 2)
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans (I NEVER add nuts, but I do sometimes add chocolate chips.)

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8 1/2 by 4 1/2 inche (6 cup) loaf pan.
Whisk together flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder.
In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar on high speed until lightened in color and texture, 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in the flour mixture until blended and the consistency of brown sugar. Gradually beat in eggs. Fold in bananas and nuts until just combined.
Scrape the batter into the pan and spread evenly. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes. Let cool in the pan on a rack for 5 to 10 minutes before unmolding to cool completely on the rack.
For muffins: Bake for 15-20 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. Makes 12 regular size or 24 mini muffins.