Jams And Jellies Add New Flavors To Meals, Snacks

The Allentown Morning Call For a new flavor twist to a meal or snack, try these quick tips for using preserves, jams and jellies:

Top hot cereal with preserves.

Use warm preserves or jam as a topping for pancakes, French toast and waffles.

Give iced tea a fruit or mint flavor by stirring in 1 to 2 teaspoons of jelly.

Sweeten a grapefruit half with a few teaspoons of jelly. Serve as is, or broil.

For a quick coffeecake, spread plain, store-bought coffeecake with preserves. Slide under broiler until topping bubbles.

For a low-fat dressing for fruit salads, blend together 2 parts low-fat sour cream and 1 part preserves or jelly.

Top a serving of cottage cheese with a few spoonfuls of preserves or jam.

Toss peach or apricot preserves with fresh fruit salads - for example, orange marmalade, pineapple sections and sliced bananas.

Stir in 1/4 cup of apricot, peach or pineapple preserves before serving cooked vegetables like carrots or sweet potatoes.

To make a quick fruit relish, stir 1 cup grape jelly into 1/2 cup each of sweet orange marmalade and chopped walnuts. Serve with turkey or chicken.

Baste ham steaks or slices of Canadian bacon or glaze a baked ham with strawberry, apricot or cherry preserves.

Fill butternut or acorn squash with apricot or pineapple preserves before cooking.

For sweet and sour sauce, combine 1/2 cup of jelly, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce and 1/2 cup wine vinegar. Simmer 5 minutes, stirring constantly.

For barbecue sauce, mix 1/4 cup sweet orange marmalade, apricot, peach, plum or pineapple preserves with 1/2 cup chili sauce and 2 tablespoons steak sauce.

Make an energy shake by combining a banana, skim milk, ice and strawberry jelly in a blender.