As I gathered our belongings for t-ball and laced up Morgan’s cleats I asked, “Girls, where is Rover? I thought he was in here playing with you.”
“We don’t know where he is!”
So I looked high and low.
And then I found him.
Looks like he put shaving cream everywhere but where he needed it… I spy a 5 o’clock shadow on his upper lip. Needless to say, we were a little late to t-ball.
Red Rover, Red Rover someone please send the clean up crew right over.
The World de Wally had a rollback last week on strawberries {$1.50/lb} so I went a little hog wild and bought a lot… maybe 8 pounds! And this is what we did with them…
Homemade fruit roll-ups.
If you were around last summer, you may remember we made blueberry and peach fruit roll-ups and the kids {and adults} devoured them. This is kinda like the same song, second verse. I’ve been waiting for fruit to come back in season and prices to drop so I could try other variations. Last week happened to be the week of the strawberry fruit roll-up… and needless to say, they’ve already been gobbled up.
The much abbreviated version goes something like: blend strawberries & applesauce in blender, add lemon juice and sugar, reduce in saucepan while stirring, spread on parchment-lined cookie sheet, bake for a LONG time on a low heat. If you’d like the unabridged version I made a PDF HERE with all the details for all three varieties {blueberry peach, peach, and strawberry}.
I think the most important step is to let it properly reduce to a thick applesauce consistency. You’ll know you’re there when you part the red sea and the red sea stays parted when you reach the other side.
I personally think the best time to make this is right before you go to bed, as long as you’re not afraid to leave your oven on while you sleep. Once it’s reduced, spread it evenly on a parchment-lined {or heat/microwave safe plastic wrap} cookie sheet and bake at a low 145°F for 8 to 10 hours {mine has always taken closer to 10 hours than 8}. When it’s all done you can roll it up, slice it and serve it with the peace of mind that it’s preservative & dye free!
*** Edited to add: If you oven only goes down to 170, that is ok! It will still take just as long. It can take up to 12 hours, if you touch it and it’s still squishy, it’s not done. If the top is sticky but the leather is firm you can blot the stickiness off with a paper towel!****
And if you have little rovers… they’ll gobble it up and there’s no doubt you’ll sneak it while they’re napping.
Strawberry Jam and lots of it.
This year I tried Marisa’s {from Food in Jars} Strawberry Jam recipe and it is wonderful in so many ways, especially spread on a piece of butter coated, Honey Oatmeal toast! If you have access to strawberries you should give it a try… it will not disappoint!
5 minute Mousse
1.5 cups of cold milk
1 {3.4 oz} package of Jello instant pudding {I like chocolate!}
1.5 to 2 cups of heavy whipping cream WHIPPED {or you can cheat and buy the tub of high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated oils 🙂 but the real deal whipped heavy cream is better! }
This is one of those things that is so incredibly simple I slightly hesitated to even post it. But, regardless of how brainless it is, it is really good and really simple and if you are looking for simple and tasty {and have strawberries near by} I think you’ll love it. My sister first shared the recipe with me a few weeks ago when I made an angel food cake and didn’t know what to serve with it when she suggested, “Make some white chocolate mousse and add a dollop to each slice of cake and garnish with strawberries!” She went on to tell me that you just mix Jello instant pudding with whipped cream for a really quick {and good} mousse.
Variety is the spice of life… so your mousse can be a wide variety of flavors. These happen to the be the 3 that most appeal to me.
And good ole chocolate stood above the rest for this round.
Start by throwing about a cup and a half of heavy whipping cream into a freezing cold mixing bowl and set the mixer on high. While it’s whipping in the stand mixer… I added 1 and 1/2 cups {just under the 2 cups the package calls for} of COLD whole milk to my blender and 1 package {regular 3.9 oz package} of chocolate {or your flavor preference} instant pudding! I blend until it’s well incorporated… by then the whipping cream should be nice and whipped {about 4 or 5 minutes}. If you have a little helper solicit them to scoop the whipped cream {leave a little in the bowl for garnish} into the pudding. It works best if you use throw-away tupperware and leave Cheez-It crumbs on the counter too! 🙂
If you have patience you can teach your 5 year-old how to “fold” the whipped cream into the pudding. If you don’t have patience, stop and pray for some, because you’ll no doubt need it if you have a 5 year-old helping you “fold”!
After lots of folding {which she did wonderfully} you should have a creamy, delicious, heavenly, not-too-sweet 5 minute chocolate mousse.
Put a lid on it and pop it in the fridge for a few minutes and then it’s ready! It’s great with strawberries and a dollop of whipped cream on top! My kids didn’t even notice that the whipped cream wasn’t sweetened.
And last but not least…
We have been highly entertained with t-ball! If you’ve never watched a 5 and 6 year-old t-ball game you are MISSING OUT! It is quite possibly the most precious thing I’ve ever watched. My heart swells watching them and I can’t wipe the smile off my face the entire time I’m there. I think the coach and the ump are both reminding the kids to back up because this girl can really slam it! 🙂
Micah emailed me last month, she was interested in purchasing an ad on the sidebar. She is the director of Big House Foundation, a non-profit , Christ-centered organization in the Lee County, Alabama {Auburn/Opelika area} that connects the needs of foster families with the the community. Big House has applied for a grant through Pepsi Refresh for $25,000 and Micah wanted to spread the word. I told her it was my honor to share the word and purchasing an ad would NOT be necessary, as James 1:27 commands “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”
After I watched this video {with tears in my eyes}, I thought what a simple task this would be… to spread the word of an organization that is making an eternal impact in the lives of children who are from broken homes and looking for acceptance, stability, and love.
This video is incredible, I promise it will encourage your heart to know what BigHouse is doing for both foster children and the families that are caring for them!
I asked Micah to tell me more about Big House and this is what she shared…
I started BigHouse about a year ago after my parents became foster parents and my eyes were opened to the physical, spiritual, emotional, and cognitive needs children in foster care have. Our organization currently provides free access to a completely stocked clothes closet where families can shop, as well as swimsuit and towel drives, school supplies, Christmas parties, and other fun events for the kids to participate in. We are now gearing up to begin our summer and after-school programs where we will provide tutoring, art, dance, music, and sports to kids who so desperately need to be kids! These extracurricular activities are often too expensive for foster parents to afford on their own, thus their children do not get to participate. We want to change that!
We are now gearing up to do summer camps and begin our full after school program this fall. We are having our 2nd Annual Swimsuit and Towel drive March 28th– May 1st. Last year, we collected over 65 new swimsuits and beach towels for the kids. Each towel was monogrammed with the child’s name. This little detail was the highlight of our drive. It makes such a difference to the kids to know that they have something that is all theirs. Other events we have planned for the spring are a yard sale on May 1st, an Open House and Silent Auction, and a day of lemonade stands all across the area to raise money for BigHouse on June 5th. We want to encourage kids to help other kids, and who doesn’t like having a lemonade stand!
In addition to a simple click over to the Pepsi site to vote {which takes just a couple seconds}, there are other ways you can help BigHouse {especially if you are local}, by donating items, your time, your talents, or financially. You can also help us spread the word on your blog or website by copying and pasting the code below on your sidebar or in a post… it will create a button like I have on the sidebar and link directly to the Pepsi voting site!
<a href=”https://www.refresheverything.com/bighouse”><img src=”https://www.flythroughourwindow.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/bighouselogo.png”></a>
Instead of commenting… click over to vote for BigHouse! They will be up for voting the entire month of April. The link to do so will remain on the sidebar the entire month, so if you see it, click on it and vote! The grant is completely based on the number of votes, and you can vote 1 time each day for BigHouse.
Have a great weekend!!