Fresh Peach Jam

I LOVE any homemade jam, bottled for frozen! I usually like to wait for the fresh Utah peaches to come around to make jam, but our local Basha's had them on sale for 78 cents a pound last week. These were some yummy peaches and I wish I would have bought more before the sale ended. Oh well, shouldn't be too long until I get a call asking if I want to buy a case of Utah peaches. This recipe is easy and simple ingredients. It is SO yummy too, I couldn't even wait for it to cool down in the jar before I had to taste it.

Fresh Peach Jam

Ingredients:

• 5 cups chopped peaches (approx. 5 peaches)
• 2 cups sugar
• juice of one lime
• 1/4 cup water

Directions: Mix all ingredients in a large pan. Bring everything to a boil. Cook for 10-15 minutes. I like my jam smooth, w/out many chunks, so I poured everything into my food processor after it had cooked for about 10 minutes and chopped very fine. Then I added it back to the pan to continue cooking. While the jam was cooking I boiled and dried my lids. I also put my jars in the microwave for a minute so that they would be warm when I added the jam. I added the jam and put the lids on.

In less than an hour I hear the popping sound of jars sealing!! Isn't' that a wonderful sound?!! I have to tell you though, I added a little more than 1/4 c water:) My little 2 almost 3 year old was helping me out. I turned my back for literally a second until I heard him say, "there that is enough." He had gotten some water out of the fridge and poured it in the jam in the pan:) Not sure how much he added, but it must not have been much:)

This little guy is a BIG help in the kitchen. Earlier in the day he was eating a piece of wheat bread that I made a few days ago and I hear him tell the cat, "you can't have any, this is homemade wheat."

Have a great day!!

Strawberry Freezer Jam

I made this freezer jam yesterday and it is SO yummy. It is the recipe right off the sure-jell package. Since strawberries were not on sale this week, I used frozen strawberries. I actually like using the frozen strawberries, I think they are usually sweeter than the fresh ones that you buy at the grocery store.

If you want to make this jam, you will need:

• 1 quart of strawberries, it will puree down to 1 pint
• 4 cups of sugar
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 box of fruit pectin

Directions: Crush fruit(I pureed mine in my food processor), add 4 cups of sugar to the fruit. Bring the fruit pectin and water to a boil on high heat and boil for one minute, then add the hot pectin to the fruit and sugar. Stir until sugar is desolved. Let sit for 24 hours before you move it to the freezer.