No Sugar Added Jam Ala Dinah

SURPRISE!!!!!  I know, I know, I haven't blogged in a really long time.  But I haven't had anything to really share till now.  Been making sugar free jams with fresh fruit.  I started playing with this several weeks ago when I had some fresh cherries that needed to either be eaten or used, so I decided to play with some jam.  I was just tinkering in the kitchen and cooking by sight, not measurements and by golly it came out really good!  So now when I find a good price on either fresh or frozen fruit I try new flavors.  

Yesterday I made some SF/GF Blueberry muffins and had blueberries left over, and a few in the freezer, so I made jam!  It was fantastic for breakfast this morning with my muffin.... so good that my boss wanted me to write down the recipe, so thought I'd share.

Let me know what you think! hugzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Sugar Free Jam ala Dingbat Dinah

About 4 cups of fruit  (I fill up my chef’s pot about ½ to ¾ full)

About 1 cup Water (or supplement SF syrup in a complimentary flavor)

1 pkg Knox Gelatin (or SF Jello in a complimentary flavor about ½ a small package)

About 2 tblsp lemon juice (I keep the frozen Minute Maid kind in the fridge)

Put the liquids with the fruit and put it on the stove on low to medium low for at least an hour. You want it to barely simmer and cook down the fruit and reduce by about 1/3.

Taste some of it and adjust the sweetener with splenda or whey low to your liking.

While it’s hot, add the gelatin and lemon juice.  Put it in mason jars and let it cool to room temp then put in the fridge.

 I’ve done Fresh Cherries with Wild Cherry jello and it’s stupendous.

I’ve done Peach without any flavoring and it was so-so.

I’ve done blueberry with Salted Caramel Torina’s syrup and it’s super good too.

You can use fresh or frozen fruit.  If the fruit doesn't break down to a nice consistency, you can use a potato masher, stick blender or pastry blender to break it up a little. Didn’t have to do it with blueberry, but did with fresh cherries and peaches.

Keep refrigerated unless you want to process it and can it.  I haven't tried putting it up in the freezer, but that little experiment is next!  I'll try to add some pictures later.

Pot Pie Soup!!!!

Pot Pie Soup!!!

5 boneless skinless thighs, about 2 cups cooked and diced

   Or you could use chicken breast, turkey, etc.

1 16 ounce pkg of cauliflower chopped up (10 carbs for the whole bag)

1 16 ounce pkg of Italian Veggie Mix (20 carbs for the whole bag)

1/2 cup or so of diced onion (I used frozen)

1 can of green beans drained (not sure of carb count, but can’t be much)

5 cups water

1 tblsp chicken Base (could use boullion or chicken broth)

½ tsp rubbed Thyme (I like using flakes more, usually about 1 tablespoon)

Salt Pepper and a dash or two of garlic Powder

Boil everything together until the veggies are tender, about 20 minutes or so.

1 block of cream cheese at room temp

¾ cup of Heavy Whipping Cream

In a microwaveable bowl, add the cream cheese and cream. Microwave for about 1 ½ minutes till nice and warm but not boiling.  Use a stick blender, if you have one, to cream it together. If you don’t have a stick blender, you can add it as is, but the cream cheese may clump up a bit. But if you keep cooking it, it will smooth out the lumps.

Add the cream cheese mixture to the soup and stir!

***You might think there isn’t enough liquid to make a “soup” when you are cooking the veggies.  Admittedly I love THICK soups, so you can add more liquid if you want to.  But once you add the cream stuff, it thins it out a bit.  Thyme is what makes this so flavorful.  You can also use any combination of veggies that you have on hand.  This is just the combo I had in the freezer today.  If you are making it for non low carbers, you can add corn, peas, lima beans, etc.

I’m proud of how this turned out! I’m gonna add it to my blog, and next time I make it, I’ll take pictures!

I didn't do an exact carb count for this, but it makes a huge pot. I can't imagine it being over 6 or 7 a cup.  Next time I make it, I'll do the math.  And next time I'll add some mushrooms too.  I didn't have any today.

The corn bread recipe I used was ok, not great.  It's missing something.  The texture was really good, but there is something flavor wise that's missing.  I'll eat it tho! basically it's almond flour, eggs, butter, sour cream, salt and baking powder.  I'm going to work with the recipe a bit and see if I can get some more flavor in it.

I've been working on this Pot Pie Soup recipe for a couple of months now.  I've made it twice "not low carb" and it was really good.  I was afraid that taking out the high carb veggies and replacing it with low carb veggies would really take it down a notch, but it didn't!!  This is definitely going to be a go to soup for me.  Hope you try it and enjoy it, and if you do, let me know!

oh, and in the picture, the soup looks kind of "yellow" but it must just be the lighting, or lack thereof.  It is a nice creamy color....

HUGZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZz