What’s for breakfast: Strawberry Freezer Jam on toast

Mmmm… have you ever made a new meal or dish, ate it, and wondered why in the world it has taken you so long to make and try it?  This Strawberry Freezer Jam was just that for me.  And to make it even worse – it literally can be made in about 10 minutes (why have I never made this before???)

Here’s what you will need:

• Strawberries (these were leftovers from my Valentine orders and I had about 4 full containers got at Aldi for $1.49/pack)
• Sugar
• Instant fruit pectin (found with the canning stuff at the grocery store or Wal-mart)
• Containers to freeze/store it in (I picked up these Ball Freezer Jars cause I knew I would be using them a lot and I wouldn’t have to worry about them becoming brittle and breaking.  They were around $3 for 5.)

I washed and cut the tops off the strawberries, popped them in my food processor and blended them until smashed.  I will probably blend them a little smoother next time but I like chunky jam!  (If you don’t have a food processor, you could use a blender or just smash them by hand with a potato smasher.)

I just used the recipe on the back of the freezer jars.

No-cook Strawberry Freezer Jam

• 4 cups crushed strawberries
• 5 Tbsp. Instant Fruit Pectin
• 1 1/2 cups of sugar

I had exactly 4 cups of pureed strawberries, so I added the pectin and started with only 1 cup of sugar to see if it was sweet enough.  (It was plenty sweet so I recommend adding maybe half the sugar and seeing if that is enough for you.)

The instructions say to mix together and stir for 3 minutes (I think to get the pectin starting to work.)

Then ladle into jars!  It made exactly all 5 freezer jars.  By this time it was already starting to thicken some.  But you are supposed to leave it on the counter for another 30 minutes to thicken (which it did!) before putting in the freezer or refrigerator.

You can store them in the refrigerator for 3 weeks and the freezer for up to 1 year!

What can I say?  It was mid-afternoon, hubby was going to be home late for dinner… so I didn’t wait the full 30 minutes to try some on a piece of toast. :)

This stuff is SOOOOO YUMMY!    I love the fact that it is natural, no stuff I can’t pronounce, and good for me too!  I could seriously eat it right out of the jar with a spoon!  (It would make a great topping for some homemade vanilla ice cream, pancakes, biscuits, toast, whatever!)

There are some no sugar recipes using apple juice instead that I might try next time.  Cause we have already finished one jar and are halfway through the second one so I don’t think these will be lasting long!

(Hint: Aldi puts strawberries on sale for $0.99 all throughout the summer – so watch for that and pick some up to try this.  I price-matched Aldi’s $1.49 price the week of Valentine’s at Wal-mart to get these since Aldi’s supply was low and didn’t look great.)

Have you made any kind of jam, canned or frozen?  I would love to hear about – link up your recipe in the comments if you have posted one!  I am all inspired to make more kinds of jams and jelly now!