Perfect Baked Potatoes

Frugal Tara's post here for this week's Hilander/Kroger deals made me want to share this spectacular recipe for perfect baked potatoes.  We actually just had these for dinner last night and the potatoes were soo big that they were a meal in themselves!  Ours actually looked much more yummy than this one in the photo, but you get the idea.  My husband topped his with left-over chili I had made earlier in the week and it looked amazing. 

For years I struggled with making a baked potato just like you can get in a restaurant.  My skins would always come out soggy and the potato would be under cooked.  I always used my mom's method of wrapping them in aluminium foil to bake them.  One day I finally decided enough was enough and I searched for the perfect baked potato recipe online and I came across this one.  As soon as I tried it I knew this one was a keeper!  Now we have baked potatoes more often and I think they are better than any potato I have had in a restaurant.  Give this recipe a try, you won't be disappointed at all!

Strawberry Freezer Jam

We picked fresh strawberries at the end of last week and had just enough to make one full batch of strawberry freezer jam.  This recipe is the BEST for strawberry jam.  It's extremely easy, tasty and cost effective.  Since we don't usually see many good deals or coupons on jellies or jams, I find it enjoyable to stock the freezer with this yummy treat while the berries are in season. 

Here's the pectin that I use:

It costs about $1.00 and some change at Wal-mart for the packets.  Here's how easy it is:

Wash fresh picked strawberries and cut off the stems and any soft/dark spots.  If you have some berries that aren't quite ripe yet you can still use them - the sugar added to the recipe will off set any tart berries you have. Rinse under cool water and let drain in a colander while getting the other ingredients ready. 

Mix together 1-1/2 cups sugar and the packet of pectin in a medium to large bowl.  Crush strawberries in blender/smoothie maker until you have 4 cups of crushed strawberries.  You can decide the consistency level you prefer.  I make mine with little to no chunks of strawberry left.  Mix the dry ingredients with the crushed strawberries for 3 minutes.   

Pour into freezer safe containers.  I use small Rubbermaid containers with screw on lids (that I got FREE @ K-mart double coupon sale!).  Let sit for 30 minutes and then freeze.  Soooo easy!  Use within 1 year for peak freshness, use within 6 weeks once defrosted. 

I will do this several times during the peak of strawberry season so that we have enough to last us the whole year.  I like to make extras so that I can share it with family, friends and neighbors.  You can also use other fruits and berries at their peak freshness.  Last year I found an awesome deal on peaches and mangoes at a local Hispanic market so I made peach-mango freezer jam and it was de-lish!  Get creative, the directions on the packaging will walk you though the recipe for different varieties. 

Let me know if you try it and how it goes...Enjoy!