Reduced Sugar Freezer Jam

Hello friends! It's been awhile! Ok, so I have to admit, I have been in a cooking slump.... UNTIL, I found this amazing product! My sister in law introduced me to it while we were slaving over making our annual batches of raspberry freezer jam! THIS WAS THE EASIEST recipe EVER and good news, there is really no stirring or waiting required!

( I bought it at Harmon's grocery store in Utah for $8.00.  It can also be found at all Whole Food Stores and specialty grocery stores.  Walmart DOES NOT carry it.)

REDUCED SUGAR FREEZER JAM

4 cups finely chopped or crushed fruit or berries

2 cups sugar or sweetener equivalent

2 TBS. lemon juice

1/2 cup of Ultra Gel

Combine crushed fruit, sugar and lemon juice in a medium bowl.  Gradually add Ultra Gel, stirring constantly.  Let stand for 5 minutes to thicken and stir until smooth.  Package in jars, label, date and freeze!

Yields 5 cups. ( I was able to make 12 jars from doing this recipe 2 times!)

(Recipe from label on the above product.)

 And of course... I HAD HELP!

Strawberry Fruit Leather

My kids LOVE fruit leather and I found this really great recipe!  It was fun and really good!  ENJOY!

STRAWBERRY FRUIT LEATHER

1 1/2 lb strawberries, halved (4 1/2 cups)

3/4 cup sugar

17- by 12-inch nonstick bakeware liner such as a Silpat; a large offset spatula

Purée strawberries with sugar in a blender until smooth, then strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a large heavy saucepan.

Bring purée to a boil, then simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally (more frequently toward end), until thick enough to mound slightly and reduced to 1 to 11/4 cups, 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 200°F with rack in middle. Line a large baking sheet with nonstick liner.

Pour hot purée onto liner and spread thinly (as evenly as possible) into a 15- by 10-inch rectangle using spatula. Dry purée in oven until it feels drier (it shouldn't stick to your fingers) but is still slightly tacky, 2 to 3 hours.

Cool on liner on a rack until completely dry, at least 3 hours and up to 24.

Place a sheet of parchment paper over leather, then peel leather off liner and roll up in parchment.

Too Easy Strawberry Orange Jam

2 packages (10 oz. each) frozen sweetened strawberries, thawed and undrained

1 package (1 3/4oz.) powdered fruit pectin

1 TBS. orange peel, grated

1/2 cup orange juice

3 1/2 cups sugar

In a large saucepan, mix strawberries, pectin, orange peel and orange juice until pectin is dissolved. Heat to rolling boil over high heat, stirring constantly.

Stir in sugar. Heat to rolling boil, stirring constantly; remove from heat. Quickly skim off foam. Immediately pour into hot, sterilized jars or freezer containers, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Wipe rims of jars clean. Seal immediately; cool. Refrigerate or freeze. Thaw before serving.

(Recipe found at BettyCrocker.com)