Sugar Free Strawberry Freezer Jam (Using Honey instead of Sugar or Splenda)

Okay, so as I mentioned in my last post, I had lots of strawberries, and I wanted to make some jam. Without sugar. But I don't believe in Splenda or all those other artificial sweeteners. I think they're just as bad for you as the real deal, and in my opinion not nearly as good. So I use honey. That is my sweetener of choice. And really, the flavor it adds to stuff, starts to grow on you after awhile. :)

Like this Strawberry Jam. Honestly, I like it far better than regular Strawberry Jam. You know, the jam that calls for 4 cups of Sugar and 2 cups of strawberries...to make 3-4 pints of jam. That's at least one whole cup of sugar, per pint...and only half a cup of strawberries! The suggested serving size for jam, is one Tablespoon. (who actually only uses only 1 tablespoon of jam?) Ok. So...There are 2 cups in a pint, and 16 Tablespoons in a cup. So, there's 32 servings of jam per pint. So let's see...that would make 1/2 Tablespoon of Sugar, and 1/4 Tablespoon of Strawberries. That isn't even one whole Strawberry.

So here's a visual for you...this is what this looks like...in black and white.

I took 1/2 Tablespoon of Sugar, and then smashed up one small strawberry...making a little over 1/4 Tablespoon of Strawberries. Do you see that? That's crazy!! I don't know about you, but I would never eat the bread in the above picture...much less feed it to my child. But, honestly, that's what we're doing! Okay. I'm all grossed out right now. So. Now that we have this out of the way...here's a much better version. :)

I originally was looking for some "No Sugar Needed Sure Jell". But I couldn't find any, and I was in a hurry. So I grabbed a pink box of Sure Jell Premium Fruit Pectin, with No Sugar Needed Recipes inside. But ew. You had to cook the jam, and it called for Splenda. One of the main things that attracted me to this particular one was that it called for 4 cups of Strawberries, and only 3 cups of sugar. All I did, was followed the recipe exactly as it was in the box. Substituting honey for the sugar...and adding one ingredient into it. :)
So here you go.

Recipe:

4 Cups of crushed Strawberries
2 1/2 -3 cups of Honey
one box of Sure Jell Premium Fruit Pectin
4 Tablespoons of Cornstarch

Wash and rinse your containers and lids.Rinse and hull your strawberries, and then crush them in a food processor or blender. Measure exact amount of fruit into a bowl. Measure Honey into a saucepan and stir in one box of Sure Jell. Mix well. Add one cup of water. Combine 4 Tablespoons of Cornstarch in 4 Tablespoons of water. Mix until cornstarch is totally dissolved. Add to the Honey and Sure Jell mixture. Bring to a full rolling boil. Stirring constantly. Boil for one full minute. Mixture should be nice and thick.
Pour into bowl of strawberries, Stir until combined. Fill prepared containers. Leaving about a 1/2 inch space at the top for expansion during freezing. Let Stand at room temperature for 24 hrs, until set. Refrigerate up to 3 wks. Otherwise store them in the freezer for up to a year.

This recipe made 4 pints of Jam.

Enjoy!

Here are some other suggestions for strawberries: Strawberry Salsa, Strawberry Honey Butter

And if you don't have a great bread recipe, go here: Whole Wheat Bread Recipe. This recipe is very versatile, and delicious.

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Turkey Bacon & Feta Cheese Salad With Bonus Honey Butter Rolls

Alright! I'm almost done updating these promised recipes. I can't wait! I've been making some pretty cool stuff. But I have to get this out of the way first! :)

So first up is the salad. This salad was delish. Honestly. Another thing is...I didn't follow or use a recipe. :) But if you can't make it just with knowing the ingredients and "feeling it"...I'm sorry. I'll try and do the approximate with everything. :)

Okay. Baby Spinach. Turkey Bacon. Feta Cheese. Bosc Pears. Baby Bella Mushrooms. Hardboiled  Eggs. Red Onion.
So just use however much spinach you want. Cause I have no clue on this one.
Approx half a package of cooked and cut turkey bacon.
2 Baby Bella Mushrooms per plate.
1 1/2 hard boiled eggs per plate.
Half of a red onion distributed between the two.
Sprinkle with as much Feta Cheese as you want.
Half a Bosc pear. Slice it. And garnish each plate with one half.
Sprinkle lightly with Pepper.
Drizzle with Balsamic Vinaigrette.
Enjoy! :)

So next up is some Honey Butter Rolls. :) Super Easy. Fast. Delicious. I'm really sorry that Once again, I didnt take many pics. Mainly, after they came out of the oven pics. I was just in a hurry to get everything set on and served before it got cold...that I sorta forgot.

I also used White Whole Wheat Flour in these instead of Whole Wheat. I realize that yes, White Whole Wheat is not as "healthy" of an option. So for the longest time I just didn't use it. But I have done a lot of research on different flours...and decided that know. In the end it isn't necessarily the "unhealthiest" flour of the two. True, Whole Wheat Flour contains approximately 5% more protein than White Whole Wheat does, and it has tannins and phenolic acids...whereas White Whole Wheat does not. But! White Whole Wheat has considerably less gluten content. So if you are trying to monitor gluten, the fact that it's lacking 5% of the protein value, is outweighed by the benefits of less gluten. That however, is just my opinion. If you decide to buy White Whole Wheat Flour, make sure it's organic.

Recipe

1 Tablespoon of Instant Yeast
1 1/8 cups of warm water
3 cups of White Whole Wheat Flour
 1 1/4 teaspoons of salt
3/4 cup of honey
1/2 cup of softened butter (1 cube)
1/4 cup of dry milk

Dissolve Yeast in Water & Honey. Let set for approx 15 minutes or until the yeast has started to bubble and expand. Add remaining ingredients to mixture and mix and knead until you have a smooth dough. It is going to be sticky.
Set in a greased bowl and let raise until doubled in size.
(I was in a hurry so I just skipped this step. They probably would've been fluffier if I wouldn't have.)
Lightly grease your desired pan, and form dough into even balls. Space evenly on pan and let rise until double. While they are rising preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Stick in preheated oven for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove and immediately butter the tops and sides. Serve warm, with your choice of jam. :)

So there ya go!

Question: "Do you have a tried and true dinner roll recipe or do you enjoy trying out different recipes?"


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Lemon, Rosemary & Garlic Roasted Game Hens

Okay. First things first. ;) I passed my test!!!! Yay! Seriously! I'm so happy right now....I got this cool certificate....and cool card...and cool little First Responder patches...and it awesome! Even though I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the patches...they're still cool. That's how happy I am. I also got a WAY better grade than I thought I would. Which is also...well, very cool. But no, it wasn't a 100% so you cannot know what it actually was.

Second thing. I apologize for my complete lack of pictures...but I was rather in a hurry when I made this meal...so I didn't have time to take lots of pictures. So yeah, sorry.

I would apologize for taking so long on an update...(again!) But, it's my blog...and seeing as how it's my blog, I get to update it when I have time/feel like it. Life is getting much busier. That's all.

First up: The Awesome Cornish Game Hens!

These are so simple to make, and absolutely delicious. I will definitely be making these again. They take about 45 minutes to cook. So without further ado (or pictures) here is the recipe:

Recipe

2 Cornish Game Hens
1 lemon quartered
2 Tablespoons of Rosemary
(or more if you really like Rosemary)
1/2 cup of olive oil
6 or 7 cloves of garlic
1/4 cup of white wine
1/3 cup of chicken broth
fresh rosemary sprigs for a garnish
[if you have fresh rosemary..if not use whatever you want]Oh! And salt and pepper to taste. :)

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F.
Get yourself a roaster or an oven safe dish.
Put the hens in that dish. ;) Okay. I'm going to be serious now.
Quarter your lemons and put two quarters in the cavity of each hen. Put a Tablespoon of Rosemary in there too. Or if you have fresh Rosemary, like a sprig or two. Mix your salt and pepper into about a 1/4 cup of olive oil and rub onto the hens...I added more pepper after that. Arrange your Garlic cloves around the hens and put in preheated oven, uncovered, for 25 minutes.
Reduce oven heat to 350 degrees F and in a mixing bowl whisk together the wine, chicken broth and remaining olive oil...then pour the mixture over the hens. Cover the hens (or don't, I don't care.) and put them back in for approx. 25 minutes. Or until they're a nice golden brown and the juices are running clear. Baste with pan juices every 10 minutes or so.
Transfer the hens to a serving dish and make sure to empty all of the juice and stuff from the cavity. Cover to keep warm. Take all the pan juice and garlic and put them in a sauce pan. Boil until it is a sauce like consistency...approx. 4-6 minutes. Spoon sauce over hens, garnish...and enjoy!

Additional super easy recipe. Honey Seasoned Yams. :)

Recipe

2 yams
4 Tablespoons of honey
Salt and pepper to taste
(and your favorite seasoning salt)
Slice of butter.

Poke yams with a fork...many times. In a small kettle combine the honey, salt and pepper and a little butter.  Add Yams, and enough water to cover them. Bring to a boil, cover and keep on low heat for 25-30 minutes, or until soft.
Remove from kettle. Cut Yams in half, and add a little butter and more seasonings to the top of it. Enjoy! (and remember, they're much better hot!)

okay! So that's everything. I'll see ya next time with the dinner roll recipe and the salad!



Today's question: what is your favorite thing about spring?
I love all the flowers and sunshine.

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I linked up with: Little farm in the big city

Strawberry Honey Butter

Awhile back I saw this recipe for Strawberry Honey Butter, and decided I absolutely had to try it. It just sounded too good. I mean, who doesn't like Honey Butter? Who doesn't like Strawberries? Okay, so if you don't like either of those, don't tell me about it, I really don't want to know. :) So anyway, the other day when I found Strawberries on sale, I knew exactly what I had to do. Buy them, of course.  As soon as I got home I launched into my project. 

Get your strawberries, and rinse them well.

Hull them, and if you like slicing things like I do, slice them also. :) I like chopping things. Plus, you feel a lot more validated eating a slice of your strawberries, than just eating a whole one. :)

Throw them in the blended and blend them all up. 

In a sauce pan combine your Honey, Lemon Juice, and blended Strawberries. Bring to a boil, and boil approx. 3 minutes, or until the mixture has thickened. Stirring continually.
Remove from heat and let set until mixture has reached room temperature.

Combine your softened butter with your cooled strawberry stuff, and blend it furiously.
Cool for about an hour to let the flavors blend.

Recipe

1 pint of strawberries, hulled
4 Tablespoons of Honey
3 Teaspoons of Lemon Juice
1 cup of softened butter [2 sticks]

Rinse strawberries and hull them. In a blender or food processor, blend until strawberries are smooth. Pour into sauce pan. Add the honey and lemon juice. Bring to a boil, and boil for approx. 3 minutes or until mixture has thickened, stirring continually. Remove from heat, let cool to room temperature. Put cooled strawberry sauce back into blender, add softened butter. Blend until smooth. Cool for 1 hr to allow flavors to mix. Enjoy!

This is so easy to make and absolutely delicious!! Definitely a new favorite!

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