Yummy new Freezer Jam recipe

I thought I would like to share a Surprise with you, as you are so good to keep following this blog. This one is another great recipe and simple and quick little gift idea, or can be just for you and your family if you like as well. I have a story behind this recipe creation.
I recently found out that I was the lucky one to get diagnosed with diabetes. (of course I am being facetious as no one who gets diabetes is very pleased about it.) Anyway, I have been on a quest to figure out how to handle this with diet, and going without sugar is relatively a difficult adjustment as sugar is pretty much contained in about everything that we eat. So.... I have started to experiment up some of my favorite recipes of the past, making changes to them using no sugar or sugar substitute, and No fat or fat substitutes such as applesauce, and fruit sauces. Anyway, this is what I came up with for a jam or fruity syrup for pancakes, waffles or PBJ sandwiches or whatever.

I wanted to see if I could double the recipe for keeping production time to a minimum, so I tried it and it turned out wonderful. The apple juice makes such a delicious contribution to the flavor. I had frozen berries on hand, but I will be making some with fresh as the harvesting of fresh picked berries is so plentiful right now. I will be freezing it up to last all winter. If I run out of fresh frozen jam, I can just make up some more with frozen berries, if I can find the right pectin. My thoughts are to keep some pectin on hand so during the winter you can do just that. The particular type of pectin I used, I don't seem to be able to find during the winter months, so stock up! Make a small jar for your sisters you teach and take it over to them. Also this would make a great Christmas neighbor gift, as it is red and we all know what the color of Christmas is!! All you need is the jam that has been made up and put into small freezer sixed containers, fabric rounds that are about 2 inches larger than the diameter of the lid, black stretchy elastic bands that would normally be used to put in your hair, and a cute ribbon to tie to the elastic for an added touch of cuteness.! Oh and you should definately copy the cute tag template and attach it with twine. I should tell you too that I have given away several of this jams and people have loved it. If you don't want to tell them it is sugarfree, don't. When they ask you for the recipe, direct them to this blog and then they will find out. This jam tastes so fresh and not too sweet, but just right! Enjoy and let me know what you think of this recipe. Love, Katie G.

P.S. Since I printed up and customized a gift tag for this jam recipe, I thought I would share it with you. You can find a page of these tags as well as a customized page for this Freezer Jam Recipe from "Your Visiting Teachers", for printing at http://visitingteachingsurprisedocuments.blogspot.com/2009/09/blank-gift-tags-and-one-printed-for.html The original gift tag can be founnd at http://alenkasprintables.com/freeprintables/blanktemp/gift_tag.png

August 2009 Visiting Teaching handout

Go to http://visitingteachingtips.blogspot.com for the message link and my message about the August message. Here is a book mark that I designed to go with the message. It is the quote from the message from our Prophet, President Monson, about education. FYI, the paper came from the digital kit from Keriet called "Botanicals Revisited".
I have made it so you print on both sides. I still like to laminate my bookmarks, simply because they look better, but also because they last longer.

Don't you think a bookmark is the perfect little gift to give to the women you visit teach since the message is about education? I thought so too! Enjoy! Katie G.

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Tips for Keeping Cool in the hot month of August
















If you to to this link, http://visitingteachingsurprisedocuments.blogspot.com/2009/08/keeping-cool-in-hot-month-of-august.html I have posted some fun tips you could copy and take with you to your sisters that will help them and their families keep cool in the hot month of August. These ideas are great as vacations have been winding down and now preparations are happening for going back to school. What will the kids do to keep themselves not only cool for the hot month of August, but busy too? Mom's and grandmoms, can have a great time with their kids, doing no cost or low cost fun activities to keep fun going until school starts again. Enjoy. Oh and if you have any to share, feel free to comment and I will add them to my list. XOXO Katie G

July is over and August is here!

Can you believe that it is August already and that it is also a new month of Visiting Teaching? I had a great time reading about the Wonderful Pioneer Women and posting their stories for you to also enjoy. If you can't find them and want to reread any of them, scroll down below the posts, as that is where they can be found. Eventually, I will post them in the posts section for July so that they will be in the archives and can be brought back up there.

I am still looking for readers who would like to post some fun ideas for Visiting Teaching. Please read the post below so that you can see what I am looking for as far as guest posters.


Have a good week! XOXO Katie