DIY Fruit Leather

I realize I've been posting about strawberries a lot, please forgive me. I just can't get enough of the little things. I promise I'll throw something savory in here soon, Friday, stay tuned for a fun Mexican manicotti dish that all family members will enjoy.

Back to the fruit leather though. These have been on my DIY list for awhile now and something I thought the kids would enjoy. I'm sure everyone has had a fruit roll-up at least one point in their lifetime. I honestly refuse  to buy them for the kids mainly because they are filled with way too much sugar but also because of all the unnecessary preservatives added in.

These on the other hand, I wouldn't care if they devoured the whole pan in one sitting! I added a little bit of agave nectar for sweetener, you could use granulated sugar if you wanted. Whether you choose honey, agave or sugar; start with a small amount and increase as needed. The girls thought they were a little on the sour side, I didn't think so. Next time we'll add just a bit more, I've made that change in the recipe below.

I was really surprised at how easy the fruit leather was to make, but it does take a long time in the oven. It's not a quick process or probably something that you'll make very often. But it's fun and that's what's important! Feel free to experiment with different combinations of fruit, I stuck with plain strawberry, although I was tempted to throw some peaches in there as well...yum!

DIY Fruit Leather

Ingredients:
3 cups strawberries, washed and hulled
2 tbsp agave nectar
splash of fresh lemon or lime juice

Directions:
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Preheat oven to 170 degrees or lowest setting. In a food processor or blender, puree strawberries. Add in agave and lemon/lime juice, pulse just to combine.

Pour strawberry mixture oven lined baking sheet and smooth into an even, thin layer with a spatula. Place in oven for at least 6 hours or until fruit leather is set. Remove from oven and let cool completely. Then remove the parchment paper from pan, cut with kitchen shears into strips. Roll the strips up and enjoy!

Preserving Berries

We've been anticipating strawberry season in our house. It's an annual tradition for me to take the girls out to our local strawberry farm and pick as many strawberries as we can. We usually make at least two trips out in those few short weeks.

Saturday after I delivered a wedding order the whole family made a trip out to the farm. My hubby took the little ones to jump on the bouncy house while our oldest and I hurriedly picked as many strawberries as we could before the rain started. Soon the whole family joined in and we had over 20 lbs. to take home!

Not bad for 45 minutes worth of work. I've started a list of what I'd like to use the berries for: strawberry jam, homemade strawberry ice cream, homemade fruit roll-ups and of course I like to freeze as many as I can to use throughout the rest of the year.

I love taking advantage of fresh, seasonal produce and being able to enjoy it throughout the year. Freezing is one easy way I can do this.

All you need to do to prepare your strawberries is: thoroughly wash the berries and hull them. I then slice, quarter or leave the little ones whole and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Place the sheet in the freezer for at least an hour or until frozen and then transfer to freezer bags. I am using quart sized, I think for longer storage these will work better and help prevent freezer burn.

This might sound weird but I also take a straw and suck out any excess air I can't get out of the bag. I want my berries to last me through the winter.

See how easy that was? Now I have fresh local strawberries within arms reach. We will use these in smoothies, muffins and other breakfast dishes, my homemade fruit filling for cakes and whatever else I can think of.

Strawberry Rhubarb Dump Cake

Have you ever tried a "dump" cake? I hadn't until yesterday, it was pretty good and very easy too. I had been given a bunch of rhubarb so I froze most of it but decided to try something new as well.

Essentially with a dump cake, you literally just layer everything into your pan. No stirring required. Then bake. Easy enough huh?

This reminds me of a crisp or cobbler and really did make my house smell of strawberry goodness. I would recommend enjoying a serving with ice cream, although I had mine plain and it was just as tasty!

Strawberry Rhubarb Dump Cake

Ingredients:
4 c. chopped rhubarb
1 c. chopped strawberries
1 c. sugar
3 oz. pkg. strawberry jello
1 box white or yellow cake mix
1-1/4 c. water
1/2 c. melted butter

Directions:
Lightly grease two 8x8-inch baking pans or one 9x13 pan. Layer ingredients in the order listed, do not stir. Bake at 350 for 1 hour. This is best enjoyed the day it's made.

Italian Shredded Beef

Sometimes I think I have a love/hate relationship with summer. I absolutely love the warm weather, extra time with my kiddos and watching them play softball at night. However, it's difficult to fit supper in sometimes when we're at the diamonds for several hours.

Luckily we only have this happen two nights a week, I refuse to be gone every single night like some families have to. I rely on my crockpot often and some nights we have no choice but to bring a cooler full of sandwiches and fresh fruit with us.

Last night we had a little bit of time to eat our dinner at home so I tried out a new way to prepare roast. I let the slow cooker do all the work for me so all I had to do after daycare was shred the beef and serve it up on hoagie buns. It was very tender and full of flavor. During the fall and winter this would be great served over warm mashed potatoes.

Italian Shredded Beef

Ingredients:
1 boneless arm or chuck roast (2-3 lbs.)
1 tbsp olive oil
14.5 oz. can beef broth
1 pkg. dry Italian salad dressing mix
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
Buns to serve on

Directions:
In a large skillet heat olive oil over medium-high heat, brown roast on all sides. Transfer to slow cooker. In a bowl, combine broth, Italian mix, garlic and seasoning. Pour over roast. Cover and let cook on low for 8 hours.

Remove meat to a large plate and shred using two forks. Return shredded beef to slow cooker with juices. Using a slotted spoon, serve beef onto buns. Top with pickles, roasted red peppers or any other desired toppings.

Cinnamon Glazed Scones

Holy busy weekend! It feels like we've been on the move all weekend long, I'm so ready to relax a little bit tonight. Our 5 year-old had her dance performance last night, it's been sort of crazy with all of the extra practices including almost five hours of dress rehearsal Friday night. It was so worth it all though, to see her up there on stage last night! All of the girls did amazing, it was an awesome show they put on!

Look what I made this morning. Scones! And they were really easy too. I'm not sure why it's taken me so long to make my first batch, they are easy peasy.

I went pretty simple this morning, I figured my family would for sure enjoy one with a crunchy cinnamon/sugar topping and vanilla glaze. Think cinnamon rolls! I also incorporated some bread flour and loved the texture. I can't wait to try some new varieties, strawberries should be ready to be picked soon, I think those are next on the list!

Cinnamon Glazed Scones

Ingredients:
1 c all-purpose flour
1 c bread flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 stick unsalted butter, cubed
1 egg, separated
3 tbsp honey
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/3 c buttermilk, plus 1-2 tbsp more

Topping:
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon

Icing:
1 c powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
splash of milk for thinning

Directions:
In a large bowl combine both flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut in butter using a pastry blender, until mixture is crumbly. In another bowl, combine egg yolk (set egg white aside), honey, vanilla and buttermilk. Mix together well. Add wet ingredients to flour mixture and stir just until combined. Add an additional tablespoon of buttermilk if needed, I added about 2 tbsp.

Use your hands to help knead dough together then turn onto a floured surface. Form into an 8 inch circle and roll out to 1 inch thick. Cut into eight wedges. Place on a greased baking sheet. Whisk egg white until frothy and brush onto scones. Combine the cinnamon and sugar topping and sprinkle onto scones. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Meanwhile combine powdered sugar, vanilla and milk in a bowl, whisk together until icing is formed. When scones are done, remove from oven, let cool for about 5 minutes and then drizzle with icing.

Adapted from: Money Saving Mom

Blueberry Muffin Waffles

I love blueberry muffins and I also love waffles. So when I came across a recipe that combined both, I knew I had to give it a try!

We're on our third day of summer vacation and I'm loving the fact that we're not so rushed in the mornings. I still have daycare kiddos here but I also have much more time to prepare a special breakfast for them. These were on our menu yesterday and everyone loved them.

I think the waffles are sweet enough without the syrup and the kids sure didn't complain. I put just a little bit on mine but I think I could have definitely gone without. They are really thick and soft, just like a muffin. These are my new favorite way to prepare waffles, in fact I think I'll be making at least a double batch this weekend to freeze.

Blueberry Muffin Waffles

Ingredients:
1-1/2 c flour
3/4 c sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/3 c canola oil
1 egg
3/4 c milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 c frozen blueberries

Directions:
In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. Add in oil, egg, milk and vanilla. Whisk together just until combined. Fold in frozen blueberries. Heat waffle iron and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Drop batter onto waffle iron and cook accordingly.

Adapted from: Taste and Tell

Weekend Recap

We spent our weekend up at the river celebrating my mother's 50th birthday. But first, Friday was the last day of school for the girls. The school year sure did fly by! We made this flower pot for my kindergartner's teacher who we just love dearly. Gracie painted the whole thing (I did do one extra coat of yellow) and then I did the writing but she did a very good job making this herself. I also let her pick out the flowers.

Friday was a lot harder on her than I ever imagined. She became really attached to her teacher this year and just loves her. When she got off the bus she immediately burst into tears. So it took us a little while to calm down. It just breaks my heart to see her so upset.

Today she's still a little upset but I think by the end of the week she'll be happy to have a little break and enjoy her summer. I sure am happy to have them around me more!

Anyways so we had a two hour drive Friday night before we arrived at my parent's cabin. My youngest brother and his girlfriend followed behind us. My mom had no idea we were coming, as soon as we got there, we walked down to their friend's cabin where they all were talking, etc. I can't believe she still couldn't hear us walking up on the gravel, but we stood there for a good minute before she turned around and seen the group of us standing there.

It was great to see her expression, she was so shocked! We had a nice little get together planned for Saturday night. I took care of the salads, appetizers and of course cake. I was afraid of transporting a large tiered cake that far so two smaller cakes were easy enough and they went over very well!

The first cake is a vanilla cake with strawberry fruit filling and topped with fresh strawberries. One of my very favorite ones to make!

Next we have a chocolate cake with a snicker filling: caramel buttercream, chopped snickers and more caramel drizzled on top. It's then covered in regular buttercream, I love this design! It's really so easy to make.

I think I was so busy with everything that I completely forgot to take many pictures over the weekend. We had a great time though. The girls had so much fun, stayed up way too late both nights and up pretty early. Last night I was happy to be in bed by a decent time.

Check out these fun new pans my mom found at a garage sale. All for $2! She's always on the look out for extra baking pans for me.