Homemade Cranberry Sauce

Cranberry sauce isn't just for Thanksgiving anymore.  At least not according to my kids!  They eat it like it's candy.  My sister and I made 10 quarts and canned them.  It was easy and fun too.

Cranberry Sauce
6 cups fresh cranberries
3 cups water or orange juice
3 cups sugar
cinnamon sticks or 2 T. ground cinnamon

Combine all ingredients over medium heat.  When berries start popping, turn heat down to a simmer.  Simmer until the sauce is the consistency you like.  I simmered it for quite a while and some of the berries were still whole, so it didn't turn to mush.  Remove the cinnamon sticks and can in boiling water canner for 25 minutes.  If you don't want to can this, it can be frozen.   You can also use a couple teaspoons of orange extract if you want the hint of orange but don't have any juice.  That's what I intended to do, but I forgot.  Oops.

This recipe does not make 10 quarts.  I tripled the recipe to get that amount and I even had a little extra for Thanksgiving dinner.

Strawberry Jam

Today I made strawberry jam.  I've been putting it off for several days but I didn't want my strawberries to go bad, so I buckled down and did it.  It hardly took any time at all.  I spent more time trying to talk myself out of doing it.  Why do we do crazy things like that?  Anyway, it was fun and really easy.  Here's the recipe:

STRAWBERRY JAM
8 cups whole strawberries, tops cut off
4 T. lemon juice
1 package pectin
7 cups sugar

Put the strawberries in a large pot.  Smash the strawberries slightly.  Add lemon juice and pectin.  Whisk until thoroughly mixed.  Bring to a boil.  Add sugar, all at once.  Stir quickly until the sugar is completely dissolved.  Bring back to a rolling boil and boil for 1 minute.  That's it!  Now ladle the jam into hot jars.  Run a plastic knife along the edges to get out any air bubbles.  Clean the rims really well with a wet paper towel.  Put on the lids and rings (not too tight).  Can in boiling water canner.  Because of the elevation where I live, I boiled the jars for 20 minutes.  Remove from pot and allow the jars to cool for 24 hours.  You will hear the sound of the jars sealing.  If after 24 hours any of the jars haven't sealed, put them in the refrigerator.