Enjoy the strawberries and rhubarb you harvest or buy in early summer, into the winter months. A well-established rhubarb plant in your garden, produces enough stalks to create several tasty dishes. This year, to date, our rhubarb produced enough to share bundles with two friends, cook up and water bath can 5 batches of strawberry rhubarb jam and this recipe. Plus there is more rhubarb growing! Use a double crust when you bake the pie with this filling. One pint jar per pie.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Filling

Ingredients

Rhubarb, 6 cups, cut into one-inch pieces

Apples, 4 small, peeled and chopped

Sugar, 2 cups

Orange, zest and juice of one

Strawberries, 4 cups

Pint canning jars, 4 or 5

Preparation

Use sterilized canning jars.

To sterilize, I place the canning jars in the water bath canner and simmer on medium heat for ten minutes.

Use a heavy pot.

Add everything except the strawberries.

Stir to dissolve the sugar.

Cover and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.

Remove the cover, lower heat and simmer.

Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring often.

The rhubarb will soften.

Add the strawberries (uncut).

Return to a boil and turn off the burner and remove from the heat.

Pack hot into the pint jars.

Leave one inch of the space at the top of each jar.

Wipe the rim of the jar.

Attach both parts of the canning lid.

Tighten with a firm twist.

Add the jars to the water bath canner.

Be sure they are covered with one inch of water.

Turn burner on high.

Begin timing once the water boils, for fifteen minutes.

After fifteen minutes, turn off the burner and allow the jars sit for ten minutes.

Remove the jars and leave on your kitchen counter for 24 hours before labeling and storing.

Use within a year.