mish mash mom

This is your lucky day!

I'm feeling a little crazy and am going to share with you a secret family recipe.  I figure, if you've got something good, you should share it, right? 

The other day, we ran out of jam.  For some people, this might not be seen as a huge problem, but at our house, it was tragic.

Jam runs through our veins. 

We love it that much.

However, we have been spoiled and only eat homemade freezer jam.  We've tried to do store jam and just can't hack it. 

You could even go so far as to say that we border on jam snobbiness.

So I ran to the store and collected ingredients, and made a quick batch of jam. 

It really was quick.

And easy. 

And sooooo good! 

And after you try it, you may never be able to go back.

First, wash and hull your strawberries. {I know that my collander looks like it has seen better days, but as I was contemplating replacing it, I came to the conclusion that I really liked it all cracked and broken because it made it more collapsable and it's easier to get into the cupboard that way.}

Then, take a few strawberries and start blending.  I start with just a few so that I can get a good liquid base and then the rest are easier to blend.  On a side note, I would like to thank my 10 year old daughter for these amazing photos of me making jam.

Once you get a good liquid going in the bottom, add more and more strawberries until you have 5 cups of liquid strawberry. {Don't blend as much if you like chunky jam.}

After your strawberries are blended, pour them into a large bowl and set aside.

Next, take 2 boxes of dry pectin {I like MCP--the Sure Jell makes it kind of jiggly}

 and dissolve and bring to a boil in 1 and a half cups of water.  I always use a whisk to get the lumps out.  Let it boil about a minute, but watch it because it will boil over if you aren't careful.  

Pour the pectin mix into the strawberries and stir. 

Next, add two packets of Strawberry Kool-Aid and stir till blended.  {I think that is the secret part of the secret recipe...}

Then add 6-7 cups of sugar {depending on how sweet you like your jam} and stir until blended.  Continue stirring for about 3 minutes, then let sit on the counter for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

After your jam has set, divide into freezer-safe containers and store in your freezer.  When you are ready to use it, keep it in the fridge.

This recipe usually makes about 8-10 cups of jam.

Also, I have made a variation of this recipe in the past with rasberries and rasberry Kool-Aid, and really, you could do like a peach-strawberry or any other combination that you can think of.

So there you have it.  Happy jam-making!

Yeesh...I think it actually took me longer to post this recipe than to make it.