Homemade Triple Berry Fruit Strips

Yesterday my sister-in-law Rochel came over for our typical weekly domestic activity. Sometimes it has been precious sewing time, but recently it has been adventures in baking. We made cookies last time and this time we both really wanted to make dried fruit strips aka fruit roll-ups. We found the recipe on a favorite blog and decided to give it a shot.

Here we are adding the blueberry and blackberry puree into the pan of strawberry puree. Isn't that pretty? We used the Magic Bullet to blend our fruit.

Then we squeezed 1/2 a lemon and added the juice to the pan.

Next add the applesauce....and then don't forget 1/2 cup of sugar. Although the sugar is optional and I bet it would be great without it too.

Once all the ingredients are in the pan you have to get it to a boil. Then let it simmer for 30-40 minutes until it reduces down.

We poured the hot mixture onto a pan covered with parchment paper.

Smooth it out as evenly as possible.

Ta-Da!

Isn't that pretty? Well, it looks done, but now you have to bake it for 8-10 hours. Yes, you read that right, I said hours! The start time for this recipe is key. We put it in the oven at 4 pm. This meant that we would be pulling it out of the oven between midnight and 2 am. I did take it out at 1 am. So be careful. You don't want to end up waking up in the middle of the night to get your fruit out of the oven.

My daughter has been gobbling them up all day! (I have too.)

Recipe:

Approximately: 4 cups of fresh fruit (measure first, then puree)

1/2 lemon juiced

2 cups unsweetened applesauce

1/2 cup sugar (optional)

Directions: Puree fruit, add all ingredients, simmer 30-40 minutes, pour in pan, bake 8-10 hours at 130 degrees, cool and cut into strips. EAT and enjoy!!!! You could share them too!

For this recipe we used 2 cups strawberries, 1 cup blueberries, and 1 cup blackberries.

Mmmm Cake!

So, no I don't really make cake all that often. This time my husband actually asked me to make a cake. I had made a beautiful dinner and then he says, "I'd really like cake. You haven't made a cake in a while." Like any other wife I whip up a yellow cake and throw on some peanut butter frosting. I used the same frosting from my previous cake post. It is sweet, but not too sweet. I have been trained in Wilton cake making and boy is that icing good, but bad, bad, bad! Since this was not going to be a fancy decorated cake I figured this frosting would be fine. So here's the recipe for the frosting. The cake is just a yellow cake mix.

Frosting:
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup milk
powdered sugar
1tsp vanilla

I didn't put a measurement for the sugar because you may need to add more or less as you go. Add one cup at a time until you get a consistency you like. If I had to guess I would say I used between 3-4 cups of sugar. I wanted it to be drippy, but not watery. So this part is completely up to your personal taste.

Peanut Butter Frosting:
After you make the whole batch of frosting pour out a 1/4 of it and add a large spoonful of peanut butter and mix in until smooth. You could just add 3-4 spoonfuls to the whole batch, but I wasn't sure how my hubby would like it.

I would love to see your picctures or hear about it if you make it. It is so yummy! Thanks to my sister-in-law for finding the original icing recipe!

Just wait until you see what I made today! That will be my next post.....homemade triple berry fruit roll ups!

Ooh Ooh...PICK ME!

THIS IS SO EXCITING!
How would you like to own this Tamron lens for your DSLR camera? Well you have a chance! Go to I heart faces (Click the link above) Subcribe and enter the give away!


A Tamron 18-270mm VC
The World’s First and Only 15X Zoom Lens!
(Value $629)

As you already know I have way too many hobbies on my plate, but photography can capture all the moments we let slip by. We just got our new camera last week and I am loving it! Honestly I don't win contests, but I thought even if I don't win maybe someone I know will win. And if I can't win this awesome prize maybe you will and that will make me happy too! So go register! Also feel free to let me know of other awesome give-aways! I usually just stumble upon them when they are over!

You have until tomorrow night to get registered so don't procrastinate! If you want a shot go NOW!!!

Here's my beach photo. I wish I was there right now!

This is one of my favorite pictures from our last beach trip. I love the view of the water and her image that seems frozen in time. Truth be told she was racing to the water!

Fix it Friday: Mr. Handsome

This is the original photo.

Mr. Handsome
Mr. Handsome fix #1


Mr. Handsome fix #2

Mr. Handsome fix #3

Ooh, that was fun! I can't wait to get my new camera and start fixing my own photos!

Pink Piggies!

I fell in love with a little hot pink tutu. My daughter put it on and I got this cute picture of her pretty little toes. This picture is for I heart faces!

Petit Fores....(My first try)

Mmmm cake! Who doesn't love a new cake recipe? This recipe was a very simple and not a fancy version of the petit fore.

First, I baked a white cake in a jelly roll pan. After the thin cake was baked and cooled I sliced it in 1-2 inch squares. (The bigger squares did much better.) Once the cake is mostly cooled off you can prepare the icing. Oh, the icing is amazing! Here's the recipe so go get a pen........

Icing: 2lbs powdered sugar, 1/2 cup milk, 1/2-3/4 cup heavy whipping cream, 1/2ts vanilla.

Yep, that is it! Now let me warn you that these cakes are not the most beautiful. I am a perfectionist and it drove me crazy that these little treats were so messy and imperfect, but once you eat one you forget about the bumps and lumps. We coated the cakes 2 times for 2 reasons; the cakes were not completely covered the first time and because the icing is so yummy!

We left the cakes on the cooling racks to allow for all the drips to stop. In a perfect world I would have had the energy to make some royal icing in pretty colors and decorate them, but my 2 year old woke up and mommy's fun was over. Although we did get to eat them!!!

Fix it Friday

Every Friday there is a picture editting challenge at I Heart Faces. This is the picture to be editted this week. I am really new at photo editting, but it is a little fun. I am not sure my changes are that great, but I am learning. In this photo I really wanted to get rid of the background. I played with that feature with my Corel photo editting software. After about 30 minutes I decided the background could stay and I would work around it!

One approach was to crop the background out as much as possible. I brightened the picture, increased the saturation, and increased the clarity. I am not sure if any of these aspects really improve the picture to a professional, but I like it.

This edit was a little more fun. I did a lot to the actual picture with the saturation, sharpness, and noise reduction. The vingette helps to hide the background. I added the border to give it a little more structure. Adding text is also a fun detail.

Check out the iheartfaces blog...it is amazing!

My Latest Sewing Project

My little Katie has been going through a throw pillow phase.....she likes to throw my throw pillows on the floor and jump on them. "Sew".......I had an idea! I have fabric and my basic sewing skills will come in handy when sewing a square! I found the polka dots and matched up a green fabric. Our living room is painted a light sage green so they will match perfectly. I don't mind kid gear in my living space, but at least these will match and not stick out so much. As you can see she loves them!

Just in case you were wondering how I made these.....I matched up the fabric I wanted to use. Since I already had the fabric I measured so I would know what size pillow forms to buy. I used pillow forms so I could take the covers off if they get dirty....funny, "if they get dirty?" Uhh, she's 2....of course they will get dirty! I can even make an extra set of covers later.

My next sewing project is my apron. I think I will tackle that next Friday!

Which Camera is the Best?

My husband and I have been on quite a journey with trying to find a fancy professional camera. There are so many cameras in various price ranges and with a variety of features. We are not professional photographers and don't have those aspirations. We just want a good camera that we can take really good pictures with. This is an DSLR camera and it has all the features we are looking for. We have narrowed it down to the Nikon D5000. That is unless my husband discovers another camera to compare it to. I am glad that he searches and studies before big purchases, but my impulsive nature is going crazy inside me! I just want a camera already!!!! But he is wiser than I. Hopefully in a few weeks I will have some fun new pictures to show off!

Now if only I could figure out how I will fit photography into my daily life!!!!

Just Another Day in Paradise!

"Hey Mommy, wanna play?" asks my 2 year old. I really wish I could just sit and play all day, but as a SAHM I really can't. Today for example I have to do some laundry, clean up the clutter from yesterday's shopping trip, list some items on Ebay, bake cookies for tomorrow, and eventually take a shower. Funny thing is that this list is not that long, but it will keep me busy. Katie and I do stuff together everyday like read a toddler devotional at breakfast, put stickers in her sticker book, read books, watch cartoons, and dance to music. How I wish I could have a clone of myself so I could just play games and read with Katie all day. Then my clone could do all the work! Okay so I am really not okay with cloning. I just wish there were 2 of me. I bet my husband would find some pros and cons with that.....

So between work and play I will do my best to enjoy the day with my little angel!

I'm a Woman With to Much to do!

Have you caught yourself saying that......?

It seems that each day goes by faster than the one before. I do accomplish a lot, but I still have projects waiting for me. I want to bake sugar cookies with my daughter, sew an apron for myself, sew an outfit for my daughter (something I have never done), and make a quilt with all my left over fabric scraps.

My daughter will be 3 in September and I want to start some sort of basic homemade preschool with her. Since I am home with Katie, taking care of our home is up to me too. You know, the never ending laundry, mopping, dusting, decluttering, shopping, and organizing.

BUT guess what??? I LOVE IT!!!! I love it all. I would not have it any other way. I just wish I had more time! Especially more time with Katie. She is growing up so fast! Which leads me to my next hobby.

I love photography.... always have, but never thought it was something I would ever get to do now. I figured later in life when kids are grown and out of the house I would explore that creative outlet. Surprise, surprise, my husband is interested in buying an SLR camera. My heart says yahoooo! My brain says oh my gosh another thing I want to do.

I have also just started in the world of twittering.....oh my! I think I have managed to network myself quite well. I am on facebook to connect with old friends, current friends, new friends, and family. I blog. I sell on Ebay. And now I twitter. I love networking with other moms. I have to say we moms are pretty darn amazing! I get so many ideas from other moms. I read blog after blog and get so inspired which probably half of my problem. Maybe just maybe I can inspire you!