I have been looking forward to strawberry season since February. We have a strawberry farm close to us, and they have animals, and homemade ice cream. I look forward to taking my kids there every year to picnic, pick strawberries, see the animals and buy them ice cream. I was so excited about spring in general, I started making strawberry and spring themed crafts with my Cricut machine.

I decided to make a strawberry themed tiered tray. I embellished the cups, a little sign, jam jar, and made the paper basket and strawberries all with my Cricut!

I also made a kitchen towel with my Cricut, while I was at it.

This year we actually ended up buying a gallon of strawberries at the farmers market. I made jam with some of the strawberries, and strawberry pie filling. I like having a variety of home canned pie fillings for a quick dessert. This year I’ll be making peach, apple, and blueberry pie filling as well.

Regarding my jam, I haven’t canned any in many years. Does anyone know why the fruit floated to the top?

For canning pie filling, you want to use Clear Jel as your thickener, which you can order here.

This recipe makes 3 quarts, and will give you a pie per jar. If you are using a deep dish crust, you will want to add more fresh berries to the mixture after opening the jar, but this fills an average pie plate.

You need to use new lids, but can use used rings. If you are canning longer than 10 minutes, you don’t need to sterilize the jars, they just need to be clean. This is a water bath canning recipe.

Home Canned Strawberry Pie Filling
Makes 3 Quarts

4 pounds of strawberries
1 1/4 cups of Clear Jel
3 cups white sugar
4 cups juice or water
4 1/2 TBSP lemon juice

First wash, hull and slice strawberries. The smaller berries I slice in half, the larger ones I slice three times.

In a large pot, combine Clear Jel, sugar water and lemon juice.

Bring to a boil on medium heat, stirring constantly. Once mixture comes to a boil and thickens, fold in strawberries.

Using a wide mouth funnel, add pie filling to quart jars leaving 1 inch head space. Wipe rims clean.

Put on your lids and rings, and water bath can for 30 minutes. To use, just pour in your favorite pie shell and bake!