Never buy jam again...Super EASY Freezer Jam

If time permits, I would highly recommend picking your own berries to get the freshest berries possible. That being said....this year my schedule did not permit me picking my own so I headed off to the local farmers market to make my strawberrry selection.

Truthfully, these berries are a little ripe but since my freezer has an empty space begging to be filled with delicious freezer jam I made them work. Sort through berries and only use the firmest, berries. Make sure they have a solid center. They SHOULD NOT be mushy!



Once you've sorted your berries....cut off the caps and wash berries in cool water. Set aside.

Place a few berries in a pan and begin to mash....I have this one that came with my double boiler and it works great.

If you happen to have a sieve you could use that instead of mashing. You'll get essentially the same result either way. I continue adding berries until I have everything mashed. Caution: don't overfill your pan initially or they will slide out. Only mash a few at a time whichever method you choose.

Above is the consistency of my strawberries after I've mashed everything. Now you can begin to add your ingredients. The recipe I use is from a Ball Blue Book that my mother purchased for me years ago.

Strawberry Jam
2 cups finely mashed or sieved strawberries

4 cups sugar

1 package powdered pectin

3/4 cup water

Combine berries and sugar. Let stand about

20 minutes, stirring occassionally.

Combine pectin and water in a small saucepan.

Bring to a rolling boil;boil 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Add pectin to fruit mixture;stir 3 minutes.

Pour into can or freeze jars, leaving 1/2" head space.

Adjust caps, let stand until set, up to 24 hours.

Freeze. Yield: about 6 pints.

Pouring jam into jars, remember to leave head space.

Finished product.

Don't be alarmed if the jam seems a little thin when you

are pouring it into the jars. It will thicken as it sets.

My family loves this stuff!

Each year I make a little more....this year I experimented with

adding raspberries and blackberries
to the mix....my husbands favorite.... strawberry/raspberry.

Good luck!! Let me know if you have questions.

Big hugs,

Hogskin Valley Girl

Campus Tote

Picked up these great new Campus Totes from Maggie Bags yesterday and I thought I would let my select group of followers be the first to preview them. I love this bag! It is available in the multi-color option as seen here and also comes in dark red, gray, tan, pea-soup green, teal and black. This new, sassier version of the tote of many colors is fully lined and has a zipper enclosure. It comes with a lifetime warranty and the absolute best part.....it

is MACHINE WASHABLE. Talk about style meets functionality! These wallets are new too and they match the new campus tote.
They're so cute!


Inside the wallet

Campus Tote $81.95 and Wallet $51.95.

The bags will be available on our website soon! Currently you can purchase them at our shop

inside the Southern Market at 5400 Homberg Dr. Knoxville, TN 37919

new facebook page

I just changed the facebook page for our business, Nioka Green Store and will be deleting the old page. Please click on the Facebook badge in the bottom right corner and "like" us. We would also LOVE it if you would pass it along to your friends and help us spread the word. I would love to see how quickly we can get to 500 "Likes....maybe we could even do a drawing.



I have lots more to blog about....a homemade jelly tutorial, my chair project, and more. Stay tuned!!