"Other Craft"

Ready for more of that "other" craft? And yes, I have decided baking/cooking is totally a craft! Because you really need to be skilled to do it well. Ever since I made my strawberry rhubarb dump cake I have been on a strawberry rhubarb kick. I love strawberry rhubarb jam, but never really wanted to spend the money to get it from a farmers market... because $6 a jar seems so expensive! {Well, compared to Smuckers}

So, since i've been on this kick, I thought i'd try my hand at making my own jam. Which is a big feat for me! I like things as easy as possible when it comes to the kitchen. I looked at a ton of recipes, and finally found one that seemed easy enough for me to make, but it didn't include adding actual strawberries. So I played around, and added strawberries! I am in love with my new jam! And... it's so stinking simple!!!



This is the recipe that I made.... Of course you can always cut this in half if you wanted to. This recipe made 3 pint jars and 4 half pint jars. So 5 pints of jam total.






Ingredients
8 cups chopped rhubarb
2 cups sliced strawberries
4 cups sugar
1/3 cup orange juice
2 packages of strawberry jello


Instructions
1. Cut up your rhubarb in to 1/4" pieces and place them in a bowl.
2. Add in the sugar and orange juice, mix it around and let it sit for about an hour.
3. In the meantime, slice up your strawberries and sterilize your jars.
4. When the rhubarb is ready, pour the mixture in a pot. Add strawberries. Cook on medium/high heat, stirring often for about 12-15 minutes - until the mixture is mostly liquid {with a few chunks that make the jam delish!}
5. Remove from heat and add in the packages of jello and stir.
6. Pour the mixture into jars and place them in the refrigerator to settle. Your jam will be ready in a few hours!






See how simple!? And honestly, this tastes just as good as the stuff that takes more time to make. Enjoy your jam!



To add in a little crochet to this post, I've entered a contest over at Not Your Average Crochet to win this prize package. The giveaway ends on 6/26/12.