Simple Refrigerator Strawberry Jam

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It’s October, which means the school year is officially in full swing! Lydia is adjusting well to her kindergarten class and Bryce is doing a great job attending school twice a week for the first time. We’re starting to get down our daily morning and afternoon routines, but one thing that can be a bit tricky still is preparing school lunches. My children each like very different entrees and snacks, and Bryce is not allowed to bring meat to school (due to religious reasons). It actually works out well, though, because Lydia tends to be my little carnivore and Bryce tends to be my vegetarian. Bryce is pretty much happy with any lunch as long as it includes a “dip”, which can be anything from sour cream to peanut butter to hummus. I often pack peanut butter sandwich crackers in his lunch box, so I thought — Why not make a dip for peanut butter sandwich crackers? And of course, strawberry jam was the perfect companion!

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds fresh strawberries
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 T Real Fruit pectin for low-sugar jam

Directions: 

Begin by gathering your ingredients and rinsing off your fresh strawberries. Strawberries are in season near us December through April, so that’s a great time to make some extra jam, especially as holiday gifts.

Remove the tops of your strawberries and slice them into halves or quarters (depending upon how large the strawberries are).

Mash the strawberries in a large bowl with a potato masher. I like my strawberry jam a little bit chunky, but you could also continue to mash until you have a smoother puree.

Place the puree in a saucepan along with the pectin and sugar. Bring the pot to a boil, continually stirring. Once you have brought the strawberry mixture to a rolling boil, stir for one minute, and turn off the burner. Skim off the white, bubbly slime at the top of the strawberry mixture. When it cools, ladle into four pint-size glass jars or plastic containers to store in the refrigerator. The jam will store well in the refrigerator for about two weeks. If you would like it to last longer, you will need to follow proper canning guidelines.

So remember how I said my son loves to dip almost everything? How fun would it be to dip these Horizon® Peanut Butter Crackers into freshly-made strawberry jam?

A little container of fresh strawberry jam and peanut butter sandwich crackers make a great lunchbox snack, but can also be served after school.

Bryce has really gotten off to a great start in preschool. Now that both kids are in school, we love to spend lots of time together as a family. We plan to check out the Peanuts Movie, in theaters this November! Look at this cute lunchbox featuring Snoopy and Woodstock.

Looking for the perfect lunchbox ideas? Check out this quick video! Bryce loves the Horizon® Peanut Butter Sandwich Crackers and Lydia loves the Horizon® Cheddar Sandwich Crackers, so there’s something for each of my children.

A video posted by Carrie Wells (@huppiemama) on Oct 5, 2015 at 1:18pm PDT

Horizon® Sandwich Crackers {Cheddar and Peanut Butter} and Horizon ®Kids Aseptic Milk Boxes can be purchased at Walmart. These both make great additions to your child’s lunchbox. The milk boxes are a good alternative to juice, contain 8 grams of protein each, and are an excellent source of calcium. They’re also available in Vanilla and Chocolate.

What do you pack in your children’s lunch boxes?