Perfect Pot Roast

Ingredients

Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 to 5-pound chuck roast
2 or 3 tablespoons olive oil
2 whole onions, peeled and halved
6 to 8 whole carrots, unpeeled, cut into 2-inch pieces
3 cups beef broth
2 or 3 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 or 3 sprigs fresh thyme

Directions

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F.

Generously salt and pepper the chuck roast.

Heat the olive oil in large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the halved onions to the pot, browning them on both sides. Remove the onions to a plate.

Throw the carrots into the same very hot pot and toss them around a bit until slightly browned, about a minute or so. Reserve the carrots with the onions.

If needed, add a bit more olive oil to the very hot pot. Place the meat in the pot and sear it for about a minute on all sides until it is nice and brown all over. Remove the roast to a plate.

With the burner still on high, use beef broth (about 1 cup) to deglaze the pot, scraping the bottom with a whisk. Place the roast back into the pot and add enough beef stock to cover the meat halfway.

Add in the onions and the carrots, along with the fresh herbs.

Put the lid on, then roast for 3 hours for a 3-pound roast. For a 4 to 5-pound roast, plan on 4 hours. The roast is ready when it's fall-apart tender.

Seven questions and answers about the inauguration

With his wife and two daughters at his side, President Barack Obama will raise his right hand and place his left on two stacked Bibles as he takes the oath of office for another four-year term. His second inauguration promises the pageantry of the first, but on a smaller scale than 2009, when a record 1.8 million people filled the nation's capital to witness Obama making history as America's first black president.

Obama has chosen to use two Bibles during his swearing-in — one owned by Martin Luther King Jr. and the other by Abraham Lincoln. He used the Lincoln Bible while taking the oath four years ago. He is adding King's Bible for an inaugural ceremony that will take place on Jan. 21, the federal holiday honoring the civil rights leader.

At the 57th presidential inauguration a week from Monday, Chief Justice John Roberts will administer the oath of office to Obama and Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor will administer the oath to Vice President Joe Biden. It's a day rich in history and tradition.

A look at the inauguration, in question-and-answer form:

Q: Why is the inauguration on Jan. 21 instead of Jan. 20?

A: The Constitution's 20th Amendment, passed by Congress in March 1932 and ratified by the necessary states the following January, sets the inauguration date as Jan. 20 at noon.

Because that's a Sunday this year, Obama will take the official oath of office that day in a private ceremony. A public ceremony will be held Jan. 21 on the west front of the U.S. Capitol. Local officials are planning for an estimated 600,000 to 800,000 people to crowd onto the National Mall to witness the oath-taking ceremony.

This is the seventh time the inauguration date has fallen on a Sunday. Inaugural ceremonies, however, are not traditionally held on Sundays because courts and other public institutions are closed.

Before 1933, the president had been sworn in on March 4, typically the final day of the congressional season. But the stretch between the November elections and the March 4 inauguration led to a lengthy lame-duck sessions of Congress and became a concern during times of national crisis.

Sen. George Norris, R-Neb., suggested the 20th Amendment, which called for a new Congress to begin on Jan. 3 and for the president to be inaugurated on Jan. 20. President Franklin Roosevelt's first inauguration, in 1933, was the last swearing-in ceremony held on March 4.

Q: What is the oath the president recites?

A: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of president of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

Those words transform citizen to president and mark the beginning of a new administration.

Franklin Pierce, in March 1853, became the only president to "affirm" instead of "swear" that he would protect and defend the Constitution. There are Internet mentions suggesting that Herbert Hoover also opted to affirm, but the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library Association in Iowa says Hoover did not repeat the oath in 1929, and simply said "I do" after it was read to him.

Q: Does the chief justice of the United States always administer the oath?

A: Traditionally, it is the chief justice who presides over the swearing-in ceremony. But there have been about a half-dozen exceptions including in 1923 and 1963.

In 1923, Vice President Calvin Coolidge took the oath of office at his father's residence in Plymouth, Vt., following the death of President Warren Harding. Coolidge's father, Col. John Coolidge, was a notary public and he administered the oath to his son.

In 1963, Sarah Hughes, a U.S. district judge in Texas, administered the oath to Vice President Lyndon Johnson aboard Air Force One at Love Field in Dallas, after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Hughes became the first woman to swear in a president.

Q: When was the parade first started?

A: The first organized parade occurred at the inauguration of James Madison in 1809. But the tradition dates back the country's first inauguration of a president, George Washington, in 1789.

Local militias joined Washington's procession as it passed through towns on his journey from Mount Vernon to New York City, where he was met by the Continental Army, government officials and other prominent citizens who escorted him to his swearing-in ceremony at Federal Hall.

During Abraham Lincoln's second inauguration in 1865, African-Americans marched in the parade for the first time. Woodrow Wilson's second inauguration in 1917 saw women, for the first time, take part in the inaugural parade. Obama's parade four years ago included the Lesbian and Gay Band Association for the march along Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House. The association was the first lesbian and gay group in history to participate in a president's inaugural parade.

Q: How many inaugural balls are there?

A: Historically it's varied.

The first inaugural ball was held in 1789 to honor Washington, and came one week after he was sworn in during a ceremony in New York City.

The tradition of the inaugural ball really began in 1809 when Dolley Madison hosted a gala for her husband, James Madison. Four hundred tickets were sold for $4 each. The tradition took hold as supporters reveled in the idea of a night to fete their new president with dancing and music.

Some presidents shunned the idea and wanted to avoid an elaborate celebration. Presidents Franklin Pierce, Woodrow Wilson and Warren Harding requested no balls at all.

In more recent times, President Bill Clinton went from 11 inaugural balls in 1993 to a record 14 in 1997.

Obama had 10 official inaugural balls in 2009, but has decided to cut the number to two this year amid a struggling economy. One ball will be the invitation-only Commander In Chief's Ball, started by President George W. Bush for members of the armed forces. Tickets will be free for invited guests, including active duty, reserve and Medal of Honor recipients, among others. The other ball, called The Inaugural Ball, is open to the public, though only a limited number of $60 tickets were made available.

Q: Who pays for all this?

A: Much of the tab is picked up by supporters and other private donors, as it has been for years. In 2009, Obama raised $53 million in private money for hisinauguration. The private money pays for the official inaugural balls, the traditional parade, giant TV screens on the mall for the swearing-in and thousands of portable toilets.

Public money is used for security, which is harder to put a price tag on. Secret Service doesn't discuss it, but the federal government reimbursed the District of Columbia $44 million for the 2009 inauguration. That was just for city costs, not Secret Service or military personnel.

Other public money that has been set aside for this inaugural:

-The Architect of the Capitol has $4.2 million to spruce up the Capitol grounds for the swearing-in ceremony on the west front. That money also pays for the inauguralplatform under construction, along with bleachers and barricades.

-Nearly $2 million has been approved for U.S. Capitol Police.

-$1.2 million has been budgeted for the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, which handles all of the events taking place at the Capitol grounds for the inaugural.

Q: Who plans and coordinates the inaugural festivities?

A: The Presidential Inaugural Committee, chosen by the president-elect, coordinates all of the official events outside the Capitol, where the swearing-in takes place. The committee handles the parade, official inaugural balls and planning for the crowds on the National Mall.

The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies is responsible for staging the day's activities on the Capitol grounds, meaning the swearing-in ceremony and the traditional inaugural luncheon that follows for the president and vice president.

For the Department of Defense, the Joint Task Force National Capital Region coordinates the military's participation in inaugural activities. That includes marching bands, color guards, firing details and salute batteries for the parade as well as security and medical support for inaugural activities. About 5,000 service members are expected to take part in this inaugural.

Source: Christian Science Monitor

Rising above the fray

Sometimes you may feel you’re in a compromised position. Perhaps it’s a neighborhood disagreement or an upset in the workplace. Or it could be a family squabble. Although not directly involved, you may be tempted to take sides, adding your own opinions to an escalating confrontation. But isn’t there a better approach – one that doesn’t draw you into the fray?

Peaceful disagreement

Support given without words, either pro or con, can be very effective. Maintaining a balance when matters are spinning out of control can help contribute to an amicable solution.

I’ve found that this approach requires keeping my thought free to welcome in healing ideas that include a genuine love for both parties. Focusing on each one’s spiritually pure nature – and the God-like attributes making up that nature – helps elevate my thought above the controversy.

We can face down the dark thoughts that try to crowd out joy, and hold fast to the goodness inherent in each individual as a loved expression of a divine Parent. In doing this, we can avoid taking on personal responsibility for the outcome. Our efforts to rise to a healing atmosphere of thought are rewarded. In this love-filled space, where God reigns, there can be no support for feelings of antagonism or alienation. This approach brings with it a peaceful assurance that God is operating in the minutiae of our life – and removes the onus of taking sides.

I saw this proved recently. A disagreement between two members of opposite sides of the family was threatening the plans for a family gathering. As an onlooker to this squabble, I could take sides, or I could let prayer raise my thinking to a higher realm, a healing one.

I reasoned that taking sides would only widen the rift, but refusing to side with either party and supporting a right solution through prayer would help restore harmony.

This statement from the writings of Mary Baker Eddy inspired me to proceed in this direction: “Love enriches the nature, enlarging, purifying, and elevating it”. I knew my thinking about the situation needed elevating.

This was evident when one of the individuals attempted to win me over to her side. The idea of Love “enlarging, purifying, and [especially] elevating” my nature enabled me to lift my thought above the temptation to take sides, and still to remain loving, but neutral.

As I maintained this altitude, challenging the downward pull to dwell on the discord, I saw that I could remain impartial by refusing to indulge in criticism of either party.

I found support for this stance in this statement, also from Science and Health: “Nothing is real and eternal, – nothing is Spirit, – but God and His idea. Evil has no reality. It is neither person, place, nor thing, but is simply a belief, an illusion of material sense”.

When we witness disturbances that threaten to throw us off balance, we can be most effective by maintaining our spiritual poise.

The door to that “elevator” is always available as we seek a healing refuge in which to open our thought in prayer to God’s messages. In the quiet of elevated thought, we can rejoice in the promise of healing that lifts us into the atmosphere of Love’s ever-presence where there is no room for misunderstanding or hurt feelings.

The victory for me lay in not taking sides but in maintaining a spiritual altitude. Later I heard from one family member that peace between them had been restored.

Staying out of the fray, but not ignoring it, enabled me to contribute through prayer to its resolution. Siding with God, instead of persons, places us in a healing role. What better part to play!

Source: Christian Science Monitor

30 Days of Thanksgiving: Day 8

(I'm still behind a day. Maybe I can post two today and get caught up.

Today I am thankful for teachers. Not just mine, but all teachers everywhere. I guess in some ways, that would include all of us, but for today's purposes, I am focusing on those who have worked and are presently working in educational institutions around this world.

Teachers help to mold and shape the minds of this world. They love and nurture their students. They spend countless hours preparing for their students and insane amounts of their own money on supplies. And let's not forget that a teacher's education does not stop at a Bachelor's Degree. Many teachers spend a good portion of their career, and again their own money, to continue to further their own education to higher levels of achievement because that is what is required.

More specifically though, I am most thankful this morning for the four teachers who must brave 27 degree (and colder) temps, rain, sleet, and snow to work the car lane at my five-year-old's elementary school. One teacher ensures that all children get across the crosswalk safely which connects the gymnasium to the main building while the other three open car doors and usher the children on into the building.

I am certain that at no point in getting a teaching degree did you take a course that taught you how to direct traffic and open car doors.

Thank you teachers for all that you do for all of us. You are truly the backbone of our society.

30 Days of Thanksgiving

Day 6: Today I am thankful for the Democratic process and the honor and privilege to vote.

Day 7: I'm so thankful for my children. Everyday I am amazed with the things that they say and do. My children are such a blessing to my wife and I and I cannot imagine life without them.

Daddy's Girl

Lauryn and I at EKU's Homecoming 2012

Cast-Iron Blueberry Cobbler

Ingredients

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon minced dried lavender
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole milk

1 cup granulated sugar plus 1 tablespoon
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
1 scraped vanilla bean
2 cups blueberries
Vanilla bean ice cream or lightly sweetened whipped cream, for serving, optional

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the butter in an 8-inch cast-iron skillet and transfer to the preheated oven to melt.

Meanwhile, mix together the flour, baking powder, lavender and salt in a bowl. Stir in the milk, 1 cup sugar, the lemon juice, zest and vanilla to combine. Mix together the remaining tablespoon sugar and the blueberries in another bowl. Remove the hot skillet with the melted butter from the oven and pour in the batter. Top with the sugared blueberries. Bake until brown and the batter has risen up and around the fruit, about 30 minutes.

Transfer to a rack to cool slightly. Serve with vanilla bean ice cream or lightly sweetened whipped cream.

30 Days of Thanksgiving: Day 5

Today I am thankful for my Momma. For the woman who gave me life (and then threatened countless times to take it away if I didn't get my shit together). I am thankful for her love, guidance, and support. But most of all, I am thankful for the relationship that we have and the fact that I know that my Momma is ALWAYS there for me, my wife, and our children.

I cherish our daily talks. The fact that I know that all I have to do is pick up the phone and she will be on the other end and always says what I NEED to hear. Not necessarilly what I WANT to hear.

I adore the type of Granny she is to my children and I pray that I can hang around this Earth long enough to have that type of relationship with my future grandchildren.

Thank you Mom for being such an amazingly strong woman. I love you!

P.S. Happy 63rd Birthday. I hope you had a great day!

Cast-Iron Ground Beef Pie

Ingredients

2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/4 pounds ground beef
Salt
2 large russet potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
1 head cauliflower, quartered and core removed
1 cup chopped celery plus 1/2 cup chopped celery leaves
2 large onions, chopped
3 tablespoons pine nuts
1 generous tablespoon tomato paste
Pinch ground cinnamon
1 clove garlic
Zest of 1/2 orange (about 1 teaspoon)
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature 

Directions

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Pour the olive oil into a preheated 8-inch cast-iron pan over medium-high heat. Allow the oil to heat up, and then add the ground beef and some salt. Press the meat into the pan and cook until caramelized, about 5 minutes, and then flip and caramelize the other side.

While the beef cooks, begin the mashed potato topping. Fill a large pot with cold water and add the potatoes, cauliflower and a generous pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook over moderate heat until tender, about 20 minutes.

When the beef is dark brown and caramelized, remove it from the pan and set aside. Add the celery, celery leaves and onions and let sweat for 1 minute. Add the pine nuts and tomato paste and cook for another minute or two. Stir in the cinnamon, garlic and orange zest to combine. Return the caramelized beef to the pan and stir in the parsley. Add a splash of water, if needed. Remove from the heat and set aside.

When the potatoes and cauliflower are done cooking, drain and pass through a food mill or potato ricer. Stir in the Parmesan and butter until smooth and uniform.

Spread the potato mixture over the beef mixture in the pan, and smooth the top to seal in the beef.

Bake until golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes.

30 Days of Thanksgiving: Day 4

Today I am thankful for Joker Phillips and his many contributions to the University of Kentucky and it's football program, first as a student-athlete and then in several capacities on it's football coaching staff.

Phillips released a statement earlier this evening after the news broke that he would not be returning as head coach next season. It read in part: ''I am very appreciative of Mitch Barnhart and Rich Brooks for providing the opportunity to have been the head coach here. I appreciate the Big Blue Nation and encourage the fans to stay behind their team going forward.''

Joker, you are a true class act and will always be a part of Big Blue Nation and UK Football lore. Thanks for the memories!

30 Days of Thanksgiving: Day 3

My wife. No amount of praise could adequately express how much I love, respect, treasure, and adore her.

We have been through so many life-changing events together. The births of our two amazing children. My (seemingly unending) sicknesses. Financial struggles. The loss of loved ones. Some amazing highs and devastating lows. Through it all she has been amazing.

Next June, we celebrate 10 years of marriage and are in the process of planning a Vow Renewal ceremony to celebrate.

I look forward to spending every year that I have left in this life with my wife. I know sounds cliché, but she really is my better half.

To steal Simon Greene's line from 'Guess Who' (because my wife LOVES that movie):

"That's just it, she's everything I'm not. You know, she's my other half. Without her I'm not whole. You know the thing about meeting your other half is you're walking around, you think you're happy, you think you're whole, then you realize you ain't shit without her. Then you can't go back to being just a half 'cause you know what it's like to be whole."

30 Days of Thanksgiving: Day 2

Today, I am thankful for our DVR (even though my wife has around 20 episodes of 'The Bold and the Beautiful' on it. She has gotten a little behind.).

The DVR is a wonderful piece of technology that allows my wife and I to watch shows together that come on while she is at work in the evenings. Because of our DVR, we are able to set shows to record while we are out of the house or are watching something on another channel. Another one of my favorite things about having a DVR is the fact that I can pause, rewind, or fast forward when watching a recorded episode. Which means, NO MORE COMMERCIALS. Finally, when watching live television, you can pause and rewind. So, should you miss that big play at the end of the fourth quarter, you can rewind. Need to tend to a screaming child? Hit pause.

So, to advancements in technology, three cheers! HIP HIP HOORAY!

30 Days of Thanksgiving: Day 1

Today, like everyday, I am so thankful for a loving, faithful, and patient GOD. It was HIS hand who I have held onto for the past two years as I have battled Congested Heart Failure.

It was very hard to find out at 27 years old, with a wife whom I adore and two very, very young children that I was as sick as I am. It has not been easy and there have been many very dark days where I have prayed for the will to go on. 

It was early on in my sickness that someone said to me, "If God brought you to it, HE'll bring you through it." And HE has shown me that many, many times.

And so, on this first day of Thanksgiving, I am thankful for GOD's grace, mercy, and wisdom. Without it, I could not and would not have made it these past two years. I don't deserve it, but I'm so blessed by it.

Test Run

This is my first attempt at blogging from the Blogger app on my wife's phone, an LG Optimus Elite. I wish Blogger made an app for Blackberry. That's the kind of phone I have.

I hope this was a succesful attempt.

Mini Muffin Corn Dog Poppers

Ingredients

2 ounces cream cheese
1 box Jiffy cornbread mix
1/3 cup milk
1 egg
2 hot dogs, diced
1 jalapeño, diced
Nonstick cooking spray

Directions

Preheat oven to 375ºF.

Put the cream cheese into the freezer for about 5 minutes to chill. Cut into cubes.

In a mixing bowl, combine the cornbread mix, milk and eggs. Fold in hot dogs, jalapeño and cream cheese.

Spray a mini muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray then divide the cornbread mixture equally into the muffin cups. Bake 15-20 minutes.

Mini Muffin Jelly Doughnut Bites

Ingredients

 2 tubes store-bought biscuits from refrigerator section
1 egg
1 1/2 cups strawberry jelly
1 tablespoon water
1/4 cup powdered sugar
Nonstick spray

Directions

Preheat oven 350ºF.

On a lightly floured work surface, pop the 2 canisters of biscuit dough and separate each biscuit from one another, there should 16 total biscuits. Gently separate each biscuit in two so there are a total of 32 each thin biscuits.

In a small bowl, whisk up the egg with a splash of water to make an egg wash and reserve.

Place about a teaspoon of jelly into the center of each biscuit, then lightly brush the outer edge with egg wash. Pinch the edges of the biscuits together so that the dough completely incapsules the jelly. Give the seams a good pinch to make sure they’re really nice and secure.

Spray a 24-cup mini muffin tin with nonstick spray then pop each mini biscuit/ jelly doughnut into the tin with the seam side facing up. Bake for 10-15 minutes until golden brown.

Bake off the remaining 8 doughnuts after you have baked and cooled the mini muffin tin from the first batch.

While doughnuts are baking, put powdered sugar in large mixing bowl. Once doughnuts are done and still a bit warm, toss them gently in the powdered sugar.

Mini Muffin Philly Cheesesteak Bites

Ingredients

2 lbs ground sirloin (1 lb per muffin tin)
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 cups all-purpose biscuit mix
1/2 cup milk
2 cups shredded provolone cheese, divided
Salt and pepper
Cooking spray

Directions

Preheat oven to 400ºF. Put 2 mini muffin pans into the hot oven for a few minutes until hot. While mini muffin pan is preheating, prepare the Philly cheesesteak mixture.

In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, brown the meat. Once brown, add the onion, peppers and Worcestershire, and cook for 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and cool.

In a medium bowl, mix the biscuit mix, milk, cooled meat mixture and 1 1/2 cups of cheese. Season with salt and pepper.

Pull the hot pan out of the oven and spray muffin cups with cooking spray. Use a small scoop to evenly scoop heaping scoopfuls of the biscuit mixture into all of the mini muffin cups. Top each scoop of mixture with a little sprinkle of cheese.

Bake for 15 minutes or until golden on top.

Mini Muffin Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients

2 tubes store-bought crescent rolls from refrigerator section
4 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 cup pecans, chopped
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
1/4 cup powdered sugar
Nonstick spray
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions

Preheat oven to 350ºF.

On a lightly floured work surface, pop the 2 tubes of crescent rolls and gently unroll them being careful not to break any of the perforated lines. Gently roll out both rectangles separately with a rolling pin to 12x6” rectangle. Cut both rectangles into 2 equal halves, so there is a total of 4 squares measuring about 6x6” each.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine brown sugar, cinnamon, pecans and maple syrup. Divide the mixture equally onto each crescent dough square, leaving a 1/4-inch border.

In a small bowl, whisk up the egg and a splash of water to make an egg wash. Using a pastry brush, brush the border of all 4 crescent squares. Roll each square up into a log, and then cut each log into 6 mini rolls.

Spray a 24-cup mini muffin tin with nonstick spray then pop each mini cinnamon roll into the cup making sure the cut spiral side is facing up. Bake for 10 minutes.

While muffins are baking, mix up the powdered sugar and lemon juice. Drizzle over the hot mini cinnamon buns and serve.

Mini Muffin Spinach & Artichoke Bites

Ingredients

1 10-ounce box frozen spinach, thawed
4 ounces cream cheese
2 14-ounce cans artichokes, drained and chopped
1 1/2 cups biscuit mix
1 cup milk
1 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated
Nonstick spray

Directions

Preheat oven 350ºF.

Put cream cheese into the freezer for about 5 minutes to chill before chopping into a small dice.

Wring out the thawed spinach in a dishtowel to remove excess liquid. Place spinach into a large mixing bowl along with the artichokes, Parmigiano, biscuit mix and milk. Combine all the ingredients then fold in the chopped chilled cream cheese.

Spray the mini muffin tin with nonstick spray then divide the spinach-artichoke mixture equally in the muffin cups. Bake for 12-15 minutes till puffed and golden in color.

Strawberry Jam

Ingredients

3 pints fresh strawberries
3 cups superfine sugar
2 tablespoons orange-flavored liqueur (recommended: Grand Marnier)
1/2 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored and small-diced
1/2 cup fresh blueberries

Directions

Place the strawberries in a colander and rinse them under cold running water. Drain and hull the strawberries. Cut the larger berries in half or quarters and leave the small berries whole. Place the strawberries in a deep, heavy-bottomed pot such as heavy Dutch oven and toss them with the sugar and orange-flavored liqueur.

Bring the berry mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring often. Add the apple and blueberries and continue to keep the mixture at a rolling boil, stirring occasionally, until the jam reaches 220 degrees on a candy thermometer. This should take 25 to 35 minutes. Skim and discard any foam that rises to the top. Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature and then store covered in the refrigerator. It will keep refrigerated for at least 2 weeks. To keep the jam longer, pack and seal in canning jars according to the manufacturer's instructions.