Well then, that must have been my problem because I did double the recipe!! I didn't realize you couldn't! I know you're not supposed to fool around with amounts in recipes so you keep the acid ratio correct, but where this was just strawberries and sugar and nothing else in the recipe I figured it was ok! I guess not! And I measured out 4 quarts of whole strawberries. The recipe was 2 quarts of strawberries and 6 cups of sugar. It didn't say to cut them or mash them before measuring - in fact (I'm remembering off the top of my head here as I don't have the book with me) it said to crush the strawberries one layer at a time and then to mix with the sugar, so it sounded to me like you measured the whole strawberries, then crushed them and that's what I did. I'm not going to fuss with what I already made - as I said, it won't go to waste as hubby will use it as pancake topping - we've even been known to plop a spoonful of jam in a bowl of oatmeal, so this stuff will work for that as well. But I'm glad I spoke up because for future adventures in jam, I wouldn't have known any of this and would probably have given up on it if I kept failing! And I thought it was weird that the jam recipe that used the pectin used an extra cup of sugar from the one without pectin. I've learned so much from just this thread - thanks so much guys! I want to take my next adventure into the realm of peaches! Peach jam sounds yummy and if I fail again, hubby does like peaches, so he'll have more pancake topping than he knows what to do with lol!! Lisa

One day, as i was leaving Simonian Farms (where 5 out of 4 Fresnans shop), I stopped to talk to a lady just going in. She was hoping they still had Boysenberries... she just wanted to bake a pie in the worst way. She gave me her recipe right there on the spot and it is a good one: Boysenberry Pie Faye Tolbert, Corcoran, CA 1 unbaked pie shell 1 to 1-1/2 pounds fresh or frozen Boysenberries 1/2 cup flour 1 cup sugar 1/2 to 1 cup water Use enough berries to generously fill the pie shell. Mix flour and sugar together; pour over berries. Add enough water to come up to 1/3rd the inside of the pie shell. Add top crust, crimping all around. Make vent in top crust. Bake at 350-375 degrees F for 45 minutes to 1 hour - until juice appears thick.

We don't have a large family (yet), but we recently catered our own wedding, with 70 people, so I learned a few things! The smartest thing we did, was to shop at a wholesale, discount place. We went to Costco's (others: "BJ's" and "Sam's"). I noticed a lot of people with large families there. Not only is it cheaper, but the large sizes really inspire you to do batch-cooking. Here was one recipe we loved, which freezes well, is easy to reheat, and was well tailored to the portions at Costco...Quesadillas (similar to fajitas): 1 large bag of grated cheese (about 5 lbs for $11!) 20-30 tortillas any combo of pre-cooked veggies or meat We went vegetarian, using onions, mushrooms and peppers--but try spinach, zucchini, chicken, anything that's on sale! Even just plain cheese works. Fill the tortillas with the stuff. Fold them in half (omelette-style). Then, stack them and put them in a bag and freeze (I put saran wrap between each one to keep them from sticking together, but it may not have been necessary). To cook, just grill, fry, or toaster-oven them (I like to thaw them, then toaster-oven for 10-15 minutes). Microwave probably works too. We bought a big-sized container of salsa to go with it, and some sour cream. These are soooooo yummy, I promise your kids will love them. Total servings: 20-30 Total cost (at Costco's): $20-$30, including veggies & salsa

I made a Chocolate Buttermilk Pie that was from Sandra Lee (amazing since the only part that wasn't from scratch was the crust). Here is a link that might be useful: Chocolate Buttermilk Pie