Sugar Free Chia Jam

By far the easiest jam recipe you'll ever make.  No cooking, no pectin, no sugar.  Only two ingredients and you can eat it straight out of the jar if you want to. Seriously. Crushed fruit and chia seeds and that's it.

The chia seeds thicken up the fruit so it can become spreadable for peanut butter and jelly or topped on your hot cereal's in the morning.  Also great scooped into your morning smoothie. And chia seeds are super healthy for you, so that's a plus. Noted as one of the most nutritious foods on the planet they have ton's of fiber, protein, Omega-3's and various other nutrients.  You can buy them most places these days, they usually come in a see through container and are dry and very tiny. You can also find them online. And best of all they are usually reasonably priced.

I loved this recipe because clearly, it's very easy.  But also very healthy AND it tastes exactly like the fruit itself, the chia seeds don't add any flavor, just texture.

Chia Jam
Recipe from Time

Ingredients

• 1 cup crushed fruit
• 1 Tbsp chia seeds

Cooking Directions

1. Mix together and place in the refrigerator for a day or two in order for the chia seeds to plump up. Enjoy.

Homemade Greek Yogurt

We all know what a craze Greek yogurt has become, right? Well, did you know that most of the large store brands have tons of sugar and artificial stuff you don't need, or want?

I decided to try to make my own, and luckily I found a recipe on Pinterest that was just perfect.  I mean, I need easy.

If you've got some time and a large slow cooker you can easily make this recipe.  I do have to warn you that this recipe makes a lot.  So, I've been making recipes from Pinterest and I have yet to find one that I don't like.  Greek yogurt recipes are amazing. I would gladly make this amount of yogurt again, specifically so I can make other recipes with it.

Don't get me wrong, I love it for breakfast.  I've been trying all sort of different combinations.  Fresh and frozen fruit, granola, honey, peanut butter, maple syrup, etc.  I love them all.

(pictured above with blueberries, honey and cinnamon)

This is one of my best discoveries on Pinterest. Easy to do during the week while I'm homeschooling our daughter and easy to let culture while I'm sleeping.  Did I mention easy? No sugar added, no processed junk, no weird colors.

I'm in love with this one. I hope you can try it soon.

Homemade Greek Yogurt

Recipe From One Good Thing

Ingredients

• 1 gallon whole milk
• 2-3 cups powdered milk
• 1/2 cup live culture yogurt

Cooking Directions

1. Pour the milk into a large slow cooker (mine was 6 quart).
2. Add the powdered milk (to up the proteins) and whisk to dissolve.
3. Heat on low until it reached 180º.
4. Turn the slow cooker off and let the milk cool to 95-115º.
5. Put 1/2 cup of live culture yogurt into a small dish and add some of the warm milk to it, whisk until smooth and then add back to the slow cooker and whisk in.
6. Put the milk into storage containers of any size you like. I used multiple sized mason jars.
7. Place the jars in a cold oven with the oven light on and let sit for 8-12 hours (I did it overnight).
8. Now place the yogurt into the refrigerator and let chill before using.

Strawberry Freezer Jam

What do you do when you have all these fresh strawberries and they are starting to go bad? Make jam! I know, I know, don't panic.  Freezer name is much easier then traditional jam making.  You don't even have to have canning jars, but you do need some sort of jar with a lid.

I'm sure you've noticed how fast fresh strawberries tend to go bad, right? Don't let your efforts be wasted by throwing them away.  Even if you just bought them from the grocery store, don't throw your money away either.  Freezer jam is easy.  No thermometer, canning jar's or supplies are needed.  I promise.

You do need a box of pectin but that's all you need from the canning jar isle, unless you specifically want the canning jars.  Even if you buy too many there are a million and one uses for canning jars.  Store everything from spices to leftovers in them.  I make salad dressing in them because it's convenient to just shake it in the jar and them just set the jar on the table for serving.  Give gifts in them, use them as a flower vase.  Really, you can always use extra jars and lids.

Just store the jars in your freezer when you're done, let them thaw in the refrigerator and then use them in about a month and you've saved all that yumminess and money for later use.  The jam is so tasty!  Peanut butter and jelly never had it so good, or use it to spread on toast.  There are so many uses for canned jams and jelly's.  Even if you give them away to your family or friends, they'll be so happy and you'll be a hero.  Give this recipe a try!

Strawberry Freezer Jam

Recipe from All Recipes

Ingredients

• 2 cups fresh strawberries, crushed
• 4 cups granulated sugar
• 1 (1.75 oz) package pectin powder
• 3/4 cup water

Cooking Directions

1. Crush the strawberries and add the sugar, stir and let sit for 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan combine the water and the pectin. Bring to a hard boil and boil for 1 minute.
3. Turn off the heat and let sit for 1 minute.
4. Mix the pectin mixture in with the crushed strawberries, stir until the sugar has dissolved and let sit for 3 minutes. Pour into the containers and tighten the lids. Let sit for 24 hours and then place in the freezer.

**Once thawed, they will last for about 1 month in the refrigerator. 

Easy Pickled Jalapeños

What do you do with a hefty yield of fresh jalapeños from your garden? Can them.  Can you? Of course you can.  OK I'll stop.

Even if you know nothing of canning don't fret, this isn't really "canning".  These are refrigerator pickled jalapeños, much easier than the traditional canning method where specialized equipment is sometimes needed.  All you need to make these happen is some jars, some jalapeños and about 30 minutes.

One question I know you're going to ask me is how long do they have to sit in the refrigerator until they are ready to eat.  Well, it's like this.  The longer they sit the more pickle-y they become.  Technically you can eat them immediately after canning but they will develop a stronger taste the longer you wait. The good news is, they last a really long time in the refrigerator, Jami from "An Oregon Cottage" said she's still using her's after about a year!  If I still have any in a year I'll let you know.

I made a much smaller batch than the original recipe.  I like jalapeños and all but I can't eat them everyday, so I needed to tone it down a bit.  Great way to use up some of those garden jalapeños!

Oh, one more thing.  I found two red jalapeños when I went to pick these.  I had to look it up and find out what that meant.  Are they hotter? Milder? Turns out they are just more ripe but the flavor is much the same.  Adds a pretty color to the jars in my opinion.  Also, don't be afraid to add in some sliced carrots...you get the nice pickled jalapeño flavor without all the heat.

Easy Pickled Jalapeños
Recipe from AnOregonCottage

Ingredients

• 1 - 1 1/2 pounds of fresh jalapeños
• 6 garlic cloves
• 3 cups apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup water
• 1 Tbsp pickling salt

Directions

1. Wash the jalapeños, cut off the tops and then slice into 1/4 inch pieces. 
2. Cut each garlic clove in half. 
3. Pack the sliced jalapeños into three pint sized jars and add 4 garlic clove halves to each jar. 
4. In a medium saucepan, add the vinegar, water and salt.  Bring to a boil. 
5. Pour the hot liquid over the jalapeños. 
6. Screw on the tops and rings and refrigerate.  The original poster of this recipe says she has used her's up to a year later. 
7. **If you want to "can" these jalapeños, make sure the liquid is to within 1/4 inch at the top of the jar before securing the lids.  Process in a water bath for about 10 minutes. The jalapeños will be softer than the refrigerated version but refrigeration will not be necessary until they have been opened.