Applesauce--Crystal

I went to my mother-in-law's house on Thursday. She got some apples for the both of us to make applesauce (Kenna's favorite). I got to make some and take it home. Pics to come soon.

Here are the steps:

1. Wash apples.
2. Cut apples.
3. Put apples 3/4 full in big pot with 12 cups water.
4. Cook on medium heat until soft, stirring occasionaly.
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5. Take the apples out of pot and separate using a _____(I don't remember, I'll find out) into 9x13 dish to catch the juice.
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6. Then take the juice part and put into another pot and add 1/2 cup per 9x13 filled.
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7. Cook until boils and simmer for 5 minutes.
8. Fill quart or pint jars with 1/2 inch remaining on top.
9. Put on the lid and ring tightly.
10. Place into another pot full of water just to cover the jars.
11. Let the water boil for 20-30 minutes accoridng to your altitude.
12. Take jars out of pot and let cool on the counter. (make sure the lids are sealed, some will seal while they cool)
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Kenna helped. She thought it was cool that we were making applesauce. She got to be a taste tester and loved it. I didn't get a pic of that, I wish I would have. I'll take one of her when we open our first jar.

Freezer Jam--Crystal

Yesterday we made Strawberry Freezer Jam. It was so easy to make.

All you need:

*Strawberries-4 cups

*Freezer Jam Pectin-1 pkg.

*Sugar-1 1/2 cups

*Ball Freezer Jars-5 or 6 8oz jars

1. Cut strawberries. Then smash the strawberries. I used my meat grinder for my Kitchenaid mixer. Worked really well. Otherwise use a hand smasher.





2. Mix sugar and pectin in a bowl until blended well.





3. Add four cups of smashed strawberries. Sitr until well blended for 3 mins.





4. Ladle into the freezer jars to fill line. Twist on lids. Let set for 30 mintues to thicken. Then put into freezer.

Refridgerate up to 3 weeks. Freeze up to 1 year.

It was fun to smash the strawberries in the meat grinder. It worked so well. I really liked that I didn't have to cook the strawberries and then boil the jars.

I made a double batch. The recipe said you only needed 5 jars, but I think since I used the grinder it made more. I think it's because there was less volume. If you use the hand smasher it wouldn't get the strawberries so smashed. So I needed more jars. That's fine with me. More stuff to have.

I also bought more strawberries then needed and ended with enough to make another batch. So I had 8 lbs of strawberries to begin with. I used almost all but 2 cups of the smashed strawberries. So I ended up with 19 jars of jam. That should last us a while.