Homemade Triple Berry Jam

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!

This year, Paul and I decided to do homemade gifts for Mother's Day.  I made Triple Berry Jam and he made Whole Wheat Bread to go with it.  Lots of time/energy/love went into the gifts, so I hope they will love it! I made the jam last weekend, just because it takes a lot of time to make and if it completely failed then I would have time to get a new gift :)

I have never made jam before but it was a lot easier than it seemed!  I got my canning tools and jars from my mom's work, but you can also order them online and it is a seasonal item at Walmart.  I found this super awesome website that walked me through how to make jam step by step: http://www.pickyourown.org/jam.htm

What You Will Need!

Ingredients
Fruit - Strawberries (6 cups), Raspberries (1.5 cup), Blackberries (1.5 cup)
(1) Box, No Sugar Needed Pectin - available at grocery stores
(4) Cups, White Sugar

Equipment 
(6) 8oz Ball Jars/lids
(1) HUGE pot to sanitize the jars after filling
Canning Kit: Jar funnel, Jar grabber (to pick up hot jars out of the boiling water), Lid grabber (not necessary)

Directions
Before you start making the jam, wash the jars in the dishwasher with heat dry to sanitize the jars! 

Wash your berries

Mush raspberries, 1 cup mushed.  I didnt mush mine too much, just enough to release the juices.  I like chunky jams! 

Mush blackberries, 1 cup mushed.  

Mush strawberries, 4 cup mushed.  

In a small bowl, combine the pectin and 1/4cup of sugar (this will prevent the pectin from clumping)

Put all of the mushed berries and pectin into a large pot, stir.  Bring to a HARD/ROLLING boil, and add the rest of sugar.  Return the mixture to a HARD/ROLLING boil and boil for 1 minute.  

While you are boiling the berry mixture, heat the lids in hot water to sanitize and gum up

Test the consistency of your jam.  Take a small spoonful of jam and place it in a cup of ice cold water.  Wait about 1 minute and take the spoon out.  Use your finger to test the consistency, if it is too runny, add more pectin. If the consistency is just where you want it, remove the berry mixture from heat and skim off the foam on the top.

Funnel the jam into the jars and tighten the lid.  Put the jars into a HUGE pot (or a Canner if you have one) of boiling water, making sure the water level is well above the top of the jars, and boil for 10min. Remove the jars from the pot and place on the counter overnight to cool.  

From the website: "Once the jars are cool, you can check that they are sealed verifying that the lid has been sucked down. Just press in the center, gently, with your finger. If it pops up and down (often making a popping sound), it is not sealed. If you put the jar in the refrigerator right away, you can still use it. Some people replace the lid and reprocess the jar, then that's a bit iffy. If you heat the contents back up, re-jar them (with a new lid) and the full time in the canner, it's usually ok."

I made cute labels for my jam jars :) I cut a square piece of fabric and tied it to the top of the jar with some ribbon.  Then I stuck the label on the top of the lid using a glue dot.  

Beautiful homemade jam!! and DELICIOUS TOO.  it was the best jam I have ever tasted.  Just the right amount of sweet/chunky a jam should have. I really home my/paul's mom will love our gifts :) 

If you have never tried making your own jam before, let me tell you... ITS EASY! really, you are just cooking fruit and boiling jars... no complicated cooking techniques/skills required.  nothing like making french macaroons :P there are so many fresh berries now and with summer coming up there will be even more fresh/juicy fruits to make jam out of! My next 2 jams I am going to try are Pineapple Jam and Peach Jam :) 

Here is the honey whole wheat bread that paul made

So here is the finished gift! I wrapped the bread in parchment paper and tied it off with some rafia.  I arranged the card, bread and jam in a cute little basket I got at Michaels.  

A basket filled with homemade goodies for our Mom's for Mother's Day! 

S'mores Brownies

This Thursday's Treat is the S'mores Brownie :)

I havent made brownies in a loong time.  So when I was at the store to get some brownie fixings, I found these...

They are marshmallow SQUARES! The perfect snacking size, like a cracker! Well the back of the packaging had a recipe for S'mores Brownies which I've never heard of or made before so here it goes!

What you will need!
(1) Package Kraft Jet-Puffed StackerMallows
(1) Box of your favorite brownie mix (I used Ghiradelli - yes I make box brownies I'm not ashamed)
+ Whatever ingredients you need for the brownie mix

Directions
Preheat the oven to the temperature indicated on the box
Make the Brownie Mix as directed on the back of the box
Spread the mix onto a 9x13 pan
Bake for 20min (IGNORE whatever bake times it says on the box!)

Take the pan out of the oven, and cover the top with your StackerMallows.
Put the pan back into the oven for an additional 10min.

The marshmallows will puff up!

Remove the pan from the oven when the marshmallows are puffy and the tops are golden brown.

Let the pan cool completely, cut into pieces.  Before you eat one (or 5...) put it back in the microwave for a few seconds so they are warm and gooey!

YUMMMMMMMMMMMMM.  Enjoy the semi-homemade, easy peasy, done in 30min recipe!

Cupcake gift box

I forgot to sign up for my work out class and I ended up on the waitlist! Boo. So instead I did some crafting :)

I bought the Cricut "Sweet Tooth Boxes" project cartridge a few months ago on eBay for a steal! I just couldn't pass it up. Most cartridges have 2D diecuts. This particular one makes 3D boxes! This one has all kinds of boxes for treats like candy and cupcakes.

So today I made a cupcake treat box. This is cut at 10.5". I added some paper trimming to the sides, a stamp on the inside lid, and white ribbon to tie it shut.

I have some visitors coming in a few weeks and one is particularly fond of Sprinkles cupcakes :) I think I'll use this box to give them a cupcake when they get here.

Enjoy!

Double Chocolate Bacon Cookies

I have decided that every thursday, I am going to try a recipe for some kind of cookie/cupcake/candy/brownie/etc.  Something that I have never made before.  and then make Paul take them to the office :) Yes, I'm going to be "that" wife..

So to kick off my new TUBBY THURSDAYS series, I made DOUBLE CHOCOLATE BACON COOKIES.  yes.  chocolate + bacon.  Men love Bacon, Women love Chocolate, so a chocolate bacon cookie is a double win right?? I was super skeptical about how these would taste... but the reviews of the recipe online were pretty good so why not? So here we go...

The recipe can be found here: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/chocolate-chocolate-chip-bacon-cookies/

What You Will Need!

6 slices maple-cured bacon, chopped
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 cup softened butter
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chunks (not the same as chocolate chips!)

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Place the bacon in a large, deep skillet, and cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Drain the bacon slices on a paper towel-lined plate. Crumble.

Beat the sugar, butter, eggs, and vanilla extract with an electric mixer in a large bowl until fluffy and smooth. 

Stir in flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix in the chocolate chips and bacon. Drop cookies by rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

** So I did just what the recipe said, dropped cookie dough by rounded spoonfuls... and the cookies came out like THAT! ew.  little round mounds! the dough did NOT spread out while in the oven.  So after I placed my dough on the cookie sheet, I pressed them flat slightly **

Press your dough slightly flat and Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Let stand 5 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

TAH DAH!! beautiful looking cookies!

the cookie itself was PERFECT.  Crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside.  Perfect blend of bacon and chocolate.  this cookie is a MUST TRY especially if you or your loved one loooves bacon :) 

You're my favorite peep

I love snail mail, who doesn't!! it really makes my day when I get a card from a friend in the mail stuck between a pile of bills :P

I made these super cute simple cards that say "you're my favorite peep" on them. It's an easy and cute way to send a friend a quick note to say hi or I miss you or I'm thinking about you!

I hope this inspires you to write a letter to a friend :)