Strawberry Freezer Jam

Well, can I just tell you how proud I am of my little ol' strawberry patch!

 I planted it two years ago around our back yard deck with starts from a friend's garden. Last year, it produced a small bowl full of berries. This year, it has far exceeded my expectations! Last week, it produced a small mixing bowl full of berries. Enough, to mix with rhubarb and make  cobbler. This week, it has provided me with a large mixing bowl full of very ripe strawberries.

Plenty of strawberries to make two batches of Strawberry Freezer Jam. Eight pint jars worth! (Notice that I used empty peanut butter jars to store the jam. The peanut butter jars stack beautifully in the freezer.)

My hard working little patch has also been frantically sending out lots and lots of  runners (baby strawberry plants).

Hopefully, next year those little baby plants will produce even more strawberries! YUM!

Strawberry Rhubarb Oatmeal Crisp

The strawberry bed has provided me with a whole bowl of strawberries this week. I am pretty proud of my strawberry yield (this is only the second year that the strawberries have produced). Home grown strawberries are very sweet and flavorful.

Most of the strawberries were smallish, about the size of a quarter.

Some surprised us,and were quite large.

There were some characters in the batch. They were just oozing with personality.

There weren't enough strawberries to splint among all the eager eaters, so I combined them with some rhubarb from our rhubarb plant.

I ended up making Strawberry Rhubarb Oatmeal Crisp.  It was uber sweet, uber rich, and uber delicious! Even the rhubarb haters ate it up, and didn't complain!

I adapted a Rhubarb Crisp recipe out of one of my favorite cookbooks, "9X13 The Pan That Can".

Strawberry Rhubarb Oatmeal Crisp
(makes 12 - 16 servings)

Filling:
4 cups  fresh or frozen rhubarb
4 cups fresh or frozen strawberries (quartered if the berries are large)
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup cold butter, cut in small pieces
1/4 cup all purpose flour

Oatmeal Topping:
2 cups oatmeal
1 3/4 packed brown sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup chilled butter (two sticks)

1. Preheat oven to 325.
2. For filling: in a large bowl combine rhubarb, strawberries, 1 cup of brown sugar, and 1/4 cup flour.
3. Spread filling evenly in a greased 13x9 baking pan.
4. For the topping: In a medium bowl combine the 1 3/4 cup brown sugar, 1 cup flour, and 2 cups oatmeal.
5. With a pastry blender or hand mixer cut cold butter into oatmeal mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs.
6. Sprinkle oatmeal mixture evenly over fruit filling.
7. Bake, uncovered for 45 - 50 minutes or until fruit is tender and topping is golden brown.

This recipe isn't super frugal or healthy. Almost three cups of brown sugar and 2 1/4 cups of butter does cut into the baking supplies (and we won't talk about the cholestrol), but for a special occasion I think it's okay to go a little crazy once in awhile!

Freezing Strawberries and A Nifty Trick For Hulling Them

Strawberries are a favorite at our house, so I have been taking advantage of the great deals on strawberries this week. The only down side to strawberries is that they don't stay fresh for very long (even in the refrigerator). Even though my family has been happily trying to keep up with influx (strawberry jello, strawberry shortcake, strawberries on their cereal, strawberries after school, strawberries on ice cream, strawberry smoothies) I decided to freeze a bunch. That way we can enjoy them later in the season when they aren't so readily available (and cheap!). Freezing strawberries is very easy to do, and if you flash freeze them individually you can store them in gallon plastic freezer bags (using fewer plastic freezer bags). When you need strawberries you can take out only as many as you need. To freeze strawberries:

1. You will need a large cookie sheet covered with wax paper (make sure wax paper is 2-3 inches longer than the cookie sheet on both sides), a straw, and gallon plastic freezer bags.



2. Wash strawberries under cold running water. Place in a colander to drain.

3. Hull the strawberry. I read this method in a magazine several years ago, and it makes hulling strawberries so fast and easy (plus there is less waste) that I have been using it ever since.

A.Push non flexing side of the straw through the bottom of the strawberry.



B. Push up through the strawberry popping the stem out of the strawberry. If you don't get it all the first time, just pull back on the straw a little reposition and pop the rest out.



4. Place hulled strawberries on the cookie sheet.



5. Place cookie sheet on a flat area in the freezer. Let the strawberries "flash" freeze for about two hours. They should be firm, but not frozen to the cookie sheet. If you let your strawberries freeze over night, and they are frozen to the wax paper, let them sit on the counter for 15 minutes before removing them from the tray.

6. Remove from cookie sheet by lifting the corner of the wax paper and loosening the strawberries.



7. Place in a gallon plastic freezer bag. Write the date you froze the strawberries on the bag with a permanent marker. Place in the freezer for storage.



Now your strawberries are ready to enjoy. Use them to:

• Make smoothies.
• Make milkshakes
• Use them in place of ice cubes in lemonade or punch.
• Chop them up semi frozen and throw into pancakes, muffins, cake, or quick bread batter
• Thaw them whole and make fresh strawberry pie
• My kids like to eat them frozen like a popsicle. Just thread them onto a straw for a handy handle.

What are your favorite ways to eat strawberries?

Chocolate Dipped Strawberries and Waste Not Want Not Challenge Day 10

What do chocolate dipped strawberries and the WNWN challenge have in common? Not a whole lot, but I wanted to show off my handiwork (which did use several recycled items), and I am sure you are all dying to hear more about my new WNWN lifestyle!

First, the strawberries! My family have some dear friends who's son just got married. Being smart people they wanted to put together a nice open house for the newlyweds without breaking the bank, so they asked friends and family to help make refreshments. When I was asked to make some chocolate covered strawberries; I was thrilled to help! I have always wanted to try this, and it seemed like the perfect opportunity. I went to this great WEBSITE that gave me all the instructions, and when our friends drops off the supplies I enlisted my dear hubby and a great friend to help. Because we were going to be dipping 16 pounds of strawberries, and they had to be portable, I went to Costco and asked for several empty cardboard boxes (that we lined with wax paper) to put them in. My other frugal idea was to put the melted white chocolate that I was going to drizzle over the dark chocolate in an empty mustard bottle. The opening in the lid was the perfect size to make a thin line. I have seen it done with a plastic bag with a corner cut off, but I never have good results ( I always end up with the bag "farting" - please, forgive the crude remark- and leaving an ugly mess); plus I needed two cups of melted white chocolate to cover all of the strawberries; that a lot to shove in a Ziploc bag! The mustard bottle worked beautifully, by the way! Here are the "fruits" (forgive the pun) of our labor:


I don't know who was prouder my hubby or me!

Now, on to the WNWN challenge. It has really hit me lately how important frugality is. I have a couple of friends who have lost jobs this week. It can happen to anyone of us at any time; it is important to be prepared! I am on day ten, and I have to say, I have become a reusing junkie! I lay awake at night thinking of ways to maintain my family's lifestyle as cheaply as possible. It has been extra challenging this last week because my children have been home for spring break! So, I have had to be very creative to keep them entertained and not break the bank. This week:

1. Saved an empty cereal box and used it to make new inserts for two reusable grocery bags that have lost their plastic inserts.
2. Made refried beans in the crock pot. It made enough to serve for two meals.
3. Taught my daughter how to sew a darling skirt (but that is another post for later) for cheap.
4. Took my little boys to our local library to participate in "A Wimpy Kid" party, check out DVDs, and books.
5. Discovered episodes of Bewitched and Gilligan's island on Hulu.com; which my children loved (and I did not have to rent any movies).
6. Made a double batch of homemade pancake syrup to get us through Spring Break week (also made a double batch of pancakes and waffles and froze half for hot breakfasts this week).
7. Made "soap on a rope" for both of the bathrooms.
8. Poured baking soda and vinegar down the garbage disposal to kill the funky smell (Pour one cup of baking soda into the garbage disposal. Pour one cup vinegar over the soda. Let it bubble for 5 minutes. Pour HOT tap water from the faucet down disposal for 2 - 3 minutes and run the disposal for a minute. This method also works great on clogged drains.)
9. Used dinner leftovers for lunches the next day.
10. The only item I went to the grocery store for this week is milk. We used up leftovers and I cooked out of the freezer and pantry.
11. Saved the plastic containers that the strawberries came in to make Easter baskets for my kids.

We survived (okay, I survived) a whole week of Spring Break with only minor skirmishes between siblings, and the kids seemed content to create their own fun. All in all I think this week has been a success.