Yes, I even have some frozen blues my dad did many years ago. There is only one gallon bag of them left and they get maide into a blueberry cake. I make a muffin batter, add a LOT of frozen blues and the end result is just enough batter to hold all the berries together. They are still tasty even after bring frozen for many years. Hardly the same as fresh, but still usable. My last batch was blueberry preserves and I also added some dried blues that tend to hold up better to cooking. With acidic blues, I don't seem to get that 'off' taste that Splenda may offer. If the berries are bland, I usually add a bit of acid blend to them to punch up the taste. I do use Clear Jel as I don't like runny fillings in pies. Bulk Foods offer some FANTASTIC sugar free turtles, pecans, caramel, and chocolate, all sugar free. Also several other sugar free items.

Diane, Stop talking about pie? Well, OK, we can stop talking about it but I also could say just what my mom used to say....."And if everyone else went and jumped off the rooftop, I'd suppose you'd have to do it too." (A momily. A momism. You know what I mean, just substitute 'eating pie' for 'jumping off the rooftop". LOL) And, exactly what baby weight are you referring to? I don't see any excess weight on you in the photos on your blog. You look perfectly normal and healthy, and NOT fat, girl. In fact, you look wonderful for a woman who's had a whole bunch of children....better than most women look after 1 child. Melissa, "MY" apple pie jam is Linda Lou's Apple Pie Jam recipe from the Harvest Forum here at Garden Web. Just go there and use a forum search using the search box, and a million threads with the recipe will pop up. I especially love the apple pie jam on apple muffins. For the best salsa recipe in the world, go back to the Harvest Forum and type in "Annie's Salsa". Every batch I've made has been darn near perfect and every person to whom I've given a jar has said the same thing..."that's the best salsa I've ever had". It is better than every other recipe I use. I think I made 7 or 8 kinds of salsa this year, and next year I may make only Annie's Salsa. Tomorrow I'll try to sit still long enough to type in the other salsa recipes I use, but Annie's Salsa is all you'll ever need. : ) If you can't find Annie's Salsa or Linda Lou's Apple Pie Jam on the Harvest Forum, let me know and I'll go find them. I never post on the Harvest Forum, but I scout it often for recipes. And, while you are there, search and find the oh-so-easy sour cream walnut recipe. I usually make pecan pralines as Christmas gifts, but next year I think that I'll make sour cream walnuts. If you make them, you have to wrap them up and give them away as gifts RIGHT AWAY or you'll find yourself eating all of them....just you and your family, sitting there munching away until the whole batch is gone....not that we did that here...but we wanted to! Dawn

There's nothing wrong with the one in the 2009 edition of the BBB but it is safe only for freezing because of the flour, which should not be canned. If you want one that you can preserve in a boiling water bath, there's an approved recipe on the National Center for Home Food Preservation website, but it does require Clear-Jel as a thickener, since flour cannot be used, and Clear-Jel is not easy to find. I order mine online because the stores here do not carry it. If, by chance, the apples were a gift from somebody who has a apple tree, be sure you know if they were fresh-picked off the tree, or if they were windfall/downfall. If they were the latter, add extra lemon juice to compensate for that bacteria might have begun growing in them while they were lying on the ground. Don't forget that, if you don't have Clear-jel and don't want to make frozen apple pie filling, there are several other BWB recipes that are safe and approved, including apple pie jelly, apple butter, applesauce, apple cranberry mincemeat, apple pie jam, apple rings, or pear apple ginger marmalade, etc. Recently I've made several batches of Linda Lou's Apple Pie Jam from the recipe on the Havest Forum and it is delicious. Be careful with any old recipes that use flour or cornstarch as a thickener. I don't think that any of them are considered safe for BWB canning under the current guidelines, but they can be frozen. Dawn Here is a link that might be useful: NHCFP Apple Pie Filling Recipe for BWB Canning

Know this is not what you are looking for, but I have this recipe saved to make with some rhubarb that I have frozen. Rhubarb pudding 1 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 cup white sugar 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 pinch salt 1 egg 1 tablespoon melted butter 1/2 cup milk 4 cups sliced rhubarb 2 cups white sugar 1 1/2 cups boiling water DIRECTIONS Preheat an oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Whisk the flour, 1/2 cup of sugar, baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl; set aside. Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish. Beat the egg, butter, and milk in a bowl until smooth. Stir in the flour mixture until moistened, then spread into the prepared baking dish. Stir together the rhubarb, 2 cups of sugar, and the water; pour into the baking dish. Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil, and place the pudding dish on top. Bake in the preheated oven until the dough has set and the rhubarb is bubbly, about 40 minutes.