Blueberry Pie

   I finally did it! I made a successful blueberry pie! It has taken me quite a few tries to find a recipe that my family likes and in which the pie is not runny. I took a couple of recipes I found online and tweaked things until I found what worked. The result was a hit with my family!

Blueberry Pie
Ingredients:
   4 cups blueberries
   ½ cup sugar
   ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
   3 Tablespoons corn starch
   1 Tablespoon orange juice
   1 teaspoon orange zest
   1 - 9" unbaked pie crust
Topping:
   ½ cup sugar
   ¼ cup flour
   ½ cup quick rolled oats
   4 Tablespoons butter, softened

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Wash the blueberries and pat dry. If using frozen berries, let them thaw completely. Mash up half of the blueberries in a small bowl. (This is the key to getting a pie that is not runny!)

In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, salt, and corn starch. Add the mashed blueberries, orange juice and orange zest. Stir until combined. Let the mixture sit for 15 minutes. Fold in the whole blueberries.

Place blueberry mixture into an unbaked 9" pie shell.

To make topping, combine sugar, four, oats, & cinnamon in clean dry bowl. Cut in butter, until all ingredients are moist and crumby. Place topping over blueberry filling.

Cover entire pie with foil and bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 25 minutes or until topping and crust is golden brown and pie is bubbly.

Notes:
You can make a lattice top if you prefer. My kids like the crumb topping!

Frozen Blueberries

   My children and I have been blueberry picking several times this summer. They don't love to pick the berries, but they sure love to eat them. They love them straight from the freezer!
   The proper way to freeze blueberries, so to pick them, place them in freezer Ziplock bags, and put them in the freezer. That's right... you don't wash them.
   When you are ready to use the blueberries, just wash them off. They thaw very quickly, especially after being washed. I do like to dry the berries if I'm adding them to a dough or batter of some kind. I just pat them dry with a paper towel.
   So go pick some blueberries and enjoy them all year! Just be sure to remind your children (and husband) to wash them before eating them straight from the freezer!

Blueberry Pancakes

   What could be better than pancakes for breakfast?... I'm thinking homemade blueberry pancakes! My family loves these delicious pancakes!

Blueberry Pancakes
Ingredients:
   2 eggs, separated
   1½ cups flour
   3 Tbsp sugar
   ¾ tsp salt
   2¼ teaspoon baking powder
   1 cup milk
   3 Tbsp butter, melted
   1 cup blueberries, rinsed

In a small bowl, beat egg whites until stiff; set aside.
In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Beat egg yolks in a medium mixing bowl; add milk and melted butter. Stir dry ingredients into egg mixture. Mix until batter is smooth. Fold in blueberries and then fold in stiff egg whites.
Bake on a hot greased griddle.
Makes 12 pancakes.

   Serve them hot with maple syrup and butter! Feel free to add more fresh blueberries on top!

Blueberry Muffins

   So... I searched the internet trying to find an awesome recipe for blueberry muffins and found two that looked especially good. I made both and had my family vote on which was best. This is the recipe they all loved the best, as did I! I think it is the crumb topping that is baked on that won us over!

Blueberry Muffins
Ingredients:
   1½ cups flour
   ¾ cup sugar
   ½ tsp salt
   2 tsp baking powder
   ⅓ cup vegetable oil
   1 egg
   ⅓ cup milk
   1 cup fresh blueberries
Topping:
   ½ cup sugar
   ⅓ cup flour
   ¼ cup butter, cubed
   1½ tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners. For batter, combine flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup;

add the egg to the measuring cup

and enough milk to make 1 cup.

Add milk mixture to the flour mixture and stir until just mixed. Fold in blueberries.
Fill muffin cups with large cookie scoop. Do not bake yet! We will add the crumb topping prior to baking.

To make the crumb topping, mix together sugar, flour, and cinnamon.

Add cubed butter.


Cut in butter until well mixed (everything is moist).

Sprinkle muffins with the crumb topping.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until done.

Makes 12 regular sized muffins.
Notes:
My youngest son prefers no crumb topping, so I leave a few without topping for him!
I like to double the batter, but not the crumb topping, as this makes a lot of crumb topping!

Blueberry Jam

   I had fun making bleberry jam with some of the women from my church today! I think many people do not realize how easy it is to make jam. Especially berry jam! Here is the blueberry jam recipe that we used. It makes 6 cups of jam.

Indgredients:
   3 pints blueberries (4 cups crushed berries)
   4 cups sugar
   1 pkg Sure Jell
   1/2 teaspoon butter (optional)
   jars with lids & rings (all clean and sterile)
   tongs
   funnel

Step 1:
   Wash the blueberries and remove any stems.

Step 2:
   Crush blueberries with a potato masher. Only crush about 1 cup at a time. Be sure to crush each berry, but be careful not to liquify them.

Step 3:
   Measure exactly 4 cups of sugar, and set aside in a bowl.

Step 4:
   Place lids for jars in a shallow pan of water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and keep hot until ready to use.

Step 5:
   In large pan, mix 4 cups crushed berries, 1 pkg Sure Jell, and 1/2 teaspoon butter.

Step 6:
   Bring berry mixture to a rolling boil. Add the sugar; stiring constantly. Bring back to a rolling boil and boil for 1 minute.

Step 7:
   Remove foam (if any) from top of jam.

Step 8:
   Using a funnel and ladel, fill jars with hot jam. I fill mine to about 1/4 inch from the top.

Step 9:
   Place a hot lid on the jar of jam. Screw a ring very tightly onto the jar.

Step 10:
   Place jar upside down. The heat from the jam will seal the lid. Leave upside down until jar is sealed.

Your jam is ready to enjoy!

Visit Kraft Foods if you need other recipes for jam or want a recipe using another Sure-Jell product.