Waste Not Want Not

Now is the time that my kid's love to eat all the fruit that I have canned throughout the fall. I hate to pour the leftover juice down the drain since I had to pay for the sugar to do the canning. I have discovered that I can use it in my cooking and baking. You can replace it for the liquid called for in quick bread, muffin, cookie, or cake recipes. If the recipe calls for milk use powdered milk (1/3 cup of dry milk + 1 cup of liquid equals 1 cup liquid milk) and the amount of juice needed to equal what is called for in the recipe. You can also decrease the amount of sugar by a tablespoon or two. I have also used leftover juice from pineapple in place of water or milk when I am making a pudding based salad. It is also great to add to juice or kool aid(pour it through a mesh strainer into the pitcher if your family isn't big on floaties) to make it stretch a little bit further. When in a pinch I have even used leftover juice from peaches, blueberries, or apples as pancake syrup. Pour into a saucepan and add a little almond extract and cinnamon or nutmeg. Bring to a boil; stir in 1 tablespoon of cornstarch mixed with 1/4 cup juice or water. Return to a boil stirring constantly until it has thickened. Make sure you let the "syrup" cool a little before you serve it.