Strawberry Peach Jam

We've got a couple of delicious fresh peach recipes for you this week.  They will tickle your taste buds for sure!:)

It's peach season here & we are so lucky to live in a peach valley!  We can get some of the best peaches around, I dare say.  I love canning them & making jams & pies, etc.  But I really just love a nice big juicy fresh peach.  The kind where the juices run down your face.  YUM!

This jam is delicious.  The strawberry & peach go together so perfectly.

Try it on some toast, PB&J, or it is fabulous on pancakes!

Strawberry Peach Jam

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1 1/4 cup mashed strawberries

2 cups finely chopped peaches

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 (1.75 oz) box Pectin

4 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup light corn syrup

Wash strawberries, remove, stem and mash them with a potato masher until coarse.  You still want a few chunks in there.  Wash and peel peaches.  Chop with a knife into small chunks.  Add the peaches to the strawberries and stir to combine.

Add the lemon juice and stir.  Sprinkle box of pectin over fruit and then stir really well.  Let fruit mixture sit for 30 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes or so. 

Pour in the corn syrup and mix well.  Gradually pour in the sugar and stir until sugar is dissolved and it is no longer grainy.  You may want a second set of hand to help you with this part.  It takes a little bit of time & my arm felt like it was about to fall off by the time it was ready!  Just a heads up...but it's worth it!

Pour jam into freezable containers, 1-2 cups size, leaving about 1/2 inch room at top to allow for expansion while in the freezer.

Let sit on the counter for 24 hours and then either refrigerate & use within 3 weeks or freeze for us to 1 year.  Makes about 7 cups.



Strawberry Freezer Jam (the kiddo's all-time favorite jam!)

We ran out of this jam back in January & my kiddo's have not been happy!!  We'd been waiting to find a good sale on strawberries so I could make another stock pile until next year.  This time I'm making more than I think we'll need so as not to run out and have the wrath of my kiddo's every time they want a PB&J!!

We also love this jam on pancakes & waffles as well as toast and PB&J's, but my all-time favorite is on a piece of warm homemade white bread!!

Strawberry Freezer Jam

recipe from any box of pectin!!:)

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4 cups mashed strawberries (about 2 1/2 pounds whole strawberries)

8 cups sugar

2 boxes of pectin

1 1/2 cups water

Wash & remove stems from strawberries and mash them.  You can mash them with a potato masher or I just like to blend them in my blender, but if you do that just don't blend them to death!  In a large bowl measure the EXACT amount of sugar...I know that's a lot of sugar, but it needs to be that much or else the jam will not set.  You can try the recipes on the less-sugar pectin boxes if that much sugar scares you to death!:)  Pour the strawberries over the sugar and stir until mixture is combined really well.  Let sit for 10 minutes.

When there is about 3-4 minutes left of the strawberry/sugar mixture start making the pectin.  Measure water into a medium sized sauce pan (you don't want it too small because when it starts to boil it boils up...I've had many a spill overs over the years!) and add the pectin.  It may be a little lumpy but will dissolve during this process so don't worry.  Bring the water/pectin to a boil stirring constantly.  When it reaches a boil, stir & boil for 1 minute.  Pour over the strawberries and mix for 3 minutes to ensure it's incorporated throughout.  Pour into freezer safe jars.  Let sit at room temperature for 24 hours and then put in the freezer for up to a year (we've used some past the year mark and it was still good) or store in the fridge for up to 3 weeks.

Makes about 5 pint size jars.

Hope you enjoy as much as we do!!

Tomatillo Ranch Dressing

This is a recipe revisited from my Sweet Pork Burritos Recipe. I thought it deserved a post of it's own.:)

Some of you have probably either tried or have heard of Cafe Rio. For those of you who don't it's a Mexican grill restaurant that Tony (my hubby) and I got hooked on when we lived in Southern Utah close to 11-12 years ago now. (***very exciting side note...they opened a Cafe Rio in Grand Junction a couple of weeks ago, so now we can get our fix more than just once a year when we're visiting Utah!!!***) Anyway, they have one of the best tomatillo dressings, and dare I say...I like this recipe BETTER than theirs!! Promise you won't be disappointed. It is SOOOOOOOOOO delicious!

Tomatillo Ranch Dressing

recipe from my sister Jamie

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4-6 tomatillos

1 packet buttermilk ranch dressing mix

1 packet Hidden Valley Fiesta Ranch Dip mix

1 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves (I just let my blender do the work here!)

2 Tablespoons chopped garlic

1 teaspoon lime juice

1 cup buttermilk

1 cup mayonnaise

Peel husks off tomatillos and discard. Wash tomatillos and place in blender along with all remaining ingredients. Blend until a fine sauce forms. Chill until ready to serve. Makes about a quart of dressing. We store ours in a quart canning jar; not ideal for pouring, but can't seem to come up with a better solution.:)

I have also halved the recipe and just saved the ranch packets for the next time I make it, because it does make quite a bit!

This is perfect for sweet pork salads...

Taco salads...

or just a regular old green salad....

or even just pour it over a hunk of lettuce...

or just guzzle it straight from the jar (I've been tempted, but have not succumbed yet!!):)

Ham glaze

This ham glaze is so good. It's a recipe from my Mom that she has had for years and one that I used to eat growing up. So if you've got any more ham leftover (or are like me and grabbed a few hams after Christmas that were on a great sale) you've got to give this glaze a try. Ham and pineapple were just made for each other!!:)

Ham Glaze

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1 cup brown sugar (packed)

1 T. cornstarch

1/4 t. salt

1 small can (8 1/2 oz) crushed pineapple (with juice)

2 T. lemon juice

Mix brown sugar, cornstartch, and salt together in a small saucepan. Add pineapple. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens and boils. Boil and stir for 1 minute. Makes 1 3/4 cups.

So simple and yet so delicious...that's seems to be my motto!:)

Tomatillo Green Salsa

We have tomatillo's coming out our ears!! We only planted 4 plants and they are just producing like crazy...so I made a double batch of our favorite TOMATILLO ENCHILADA SAUCE and froze 6 pints of it (wasn't sure if it could be canned...but they say it freezes well), and some TOMATILLO RANCH DRESSING(one of my absolute favorites...just scroll down after the sweet pork recipe and there it is!) and then made 5 pints of Tomatillo Green Salsa! Can't wait to try it and see how it is! Looks and smells fabulous!

Here are about half of our tomatillo's. I just love their color!! With their husks on:

Without their husks: this picture is only about 1/4 of what I picked which is half of what we have growing if that gives you some perspective!

Tomatillo Green Salsa

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• 5 cups chopped tomatillos

• 1½ cups seeded, chopped long green chiles (I de-seeded and ribbed these...didn't want too much heat!)

• ½ cup seeded, finely chopped jalapeño peppers (I de-seeded and ribbed these too!)

• 4 cups chopped onions

• 1 cup bottled lemon juice

• 6 cloves garlic, finely chopped

• 1 tablespoon ground cumin (optional)...I opted to use this

• 3 tablespoons dried oregano leaves (optional)...and this!:)

• 1 tablespoon salt

• 1 teaspoon black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan and stir frequently over high heat until mixture begins to boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Ladle hot into clean, hot jars, leaving ½-inch headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace if needed. Wipe rims of jars with a dampened, clean paper towel; apply two-piece metal canning lids.

Process in a boiling water canner according to recommendations. 1-1,000 feet altitude=15 minutes. 1,001-6,000=20 minutes, and above 6,000=25 minutes.