I do not want to clean, so I will dehydrate!

Today I decided instead to dehydrate some fruits. Banana's were a great price this week, I had blueberries in the freezer, and my local store had a coupon for a free pint of blueberries with 2 juice purchases. I put the following together in the food dehydrator. They are not done yet, but looking good!

Blueberry Leather

* 2 pints of blueberries (mine were frozen)

* 3 tablespoons sugar

* dash of lemon juice

* 1/8 of a cup water

Put the ingredients in a saucepot. Cook until berries thaw and begin to soften. As you stir smoosh the berries. Cook for a total of 15 minutes. Taste to make sure they are sweet enough. Blend the ingredients until smooth and place on 2 fruit leather sheets that go in the dehydrator. This can also be done in the oven. Make sure your layer is thin. Dehydrate for 8 - 12 hours or until no longer sticky.

Dehydrated Blueberries

Place one pint of blueberries on the rack. I used the insert made for smaller items. Make sure berries have been rinse and throw out any soft berries. Dehydrate.

Banana Chips

6 - 7 bananas will fill 2 dehydrator trays. Slice about 1/8 - 1/4 inch thick. Toss in lemon juice for a few seconds. This allows the color to remain and banana not turn brown. Dehydrate for 8 - 12 hours.

Here is is very humid. You may have to run the dehydrator longer. It will not hurt the items to stop and check on them. The blueberries seem to be taking the longest time. All other items are about 1/4 was done and it has been 6 hours so far.

If you do this is the oven, you may need to turn the bananas after a few hours. Recipes suggest 140 degrees for the oven, but the lowest mine goes is 170 degrees. I cooked last week for 8 hours, then turned oven off and let it continue over night.

Meal Planning Made Easy

Starting August 1st, there will be a special on the Hines-Sight Blog on meal planning made easy. I will update this page with her ideas and suggestions. You can click on the button at the bottom of my page to directly link to her site at any time. Have fun and I look forward to more recipe ideas!

No Sew Oil Cloth Placemats

It is such a rainy day and I have to go to the craft and fabric stores for school supplies. I thought of a great rainy day project for me to do with the Reeseter. No Sew Oil Cloth placemats. I will use my Hancock coupon and this should be great! I found a how-to over at Pink of Perfection. Check it out! It really is a cute, easy, fun idea for home or for a gift.

How do I get the cute clothes for my kids without breaking the bank?

Well, I have always loved to dress my children really well. This is a family tradition after all. So, how do I do this and still stay on some kind of budget. I am also terrible about making it to the huge consignment sales. I always seem to be busy and by the time I go everyhting is gone. Introduce Facebook sales. Well, I have become huge fans of certain sites on FB and I watch them regularly to see if something is on sale or just a great price. Perfect example: about 2 months ago I got an orange knit dress with a black monogram for Halloween. I spent less than $20 and that included the monogram and shipping. I will pair that with the cite Chez Ami tight and I have a great outfit for far less than I would have paid. I have done the same thing for Christmas. The quality is great and I purchase smocked things as well. If you have not tried Facebook auctions yet give them a try. This is the main way I save on children's clothing. I can get a clearance dress for the same or less than at Target with a better quality. In years past I have also hosted various trunk show parties. This season I am a consultant so that will also help out on the clothing end. The point is, your can dress your children really well even on a budget.

Links:

www.lollywollydoodle.com the is the website and there is a FB link on it

https://www.facebook.com/Smockadot Has Auburn and Alabama Collegiate wear tonight

www.caroline.dube.chezami.com link to my chez ami where I will get the tights to match the sale dresses I purchase.

Dinner Tonight and Later - Chicken Spaghetti

Here is a recipe that I found on The Pioneer Woman website. I love Ree Drumond and the way she writes and photographs all of her recipes. I did alter this a bit. I thought I had more soup than I had and I wanted to beef up the chicken. The original recipe can be found here.

This is my version which is very close to the original. I cooked the chicken in a large glass casserole. Since I am oh so lazy I shredded the meat in the same casserole and used it to mix ingredients. I even used it to bake once I had removed half. Easy cleanup!

Chicken Spaghetti - Ree Drumond

Ingredients

Ingredients

• 2 cups Cooked Chicken - my store sells in packs of a little over 1 lb and I used two full packs.
• 1 box Dry Spaghetti, Broken Into Two Inch Pieces
• 1 can Cream Of Mushroom Soup
• 2 cups Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese
• 1/4 cup Finely Diced Green Pepper
• 1/4 cup Finely Diced Onion
• 1 jar (4 Ounce) Diced Pimentos, Drained - I left this out
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Lawry's Seasoned Salt
• 1/8 teaspoon (to 1/4 Teaspoon) Cayenne Pepper - I left out due to the kids
• Salt And Pepper, to taste
• 1 cup Additional Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese

harp Cheddar Cheese

Preparation Instructions

Cook chicken breasts in the oven. I sprinkle mine with a little salt and pepper and spray with cooking spray. Cook at 350 degrees until done which varies based on the thickness of your breast. Cook spaghetti. Do not overcook. When spaghetti is cooked, combine with remaining ingredients except additional 1 cup sharp cheddar. I used more stock since I used less soup. Split mixture in half and top each with equal amounts remaining sharp cheddar. Cover and freeze up to six months, cover and refrigerate up to two days, or bake immediately: 350 degrees for 45 minutes until bubbly. (If the cheese on top starts to get too cooked, cover with foil).

I baked one immediately in the original pan and the other I doubled bagged in a gallon freezer bag for later use. With bread this easily will make 2 casseroles that serve 4.

Meatloaf in Peppers - Freezable

It seems that ground beef does not last but 2 days once purchased. Since I shop on the weekends this often causes a problem. I either have meat go bad, I have to freeze it, or I have to prepare in advance. Yesterday I made 2 different beef dishes. The first is here. The recipe below is modified from a Food Network Recipe by Sunny Anderson. I modified to first double the recipe so I can freeze some, and to work with ingredients I had in the pantry. When I finished I had 3 bags to freeze. They contained the following meatloaves per bag: 4, 6, 7. This is perfect for small meals or larger.

PAN FRIED MEATLOAF IN PEPPERS

Ingredients

• 6 green peppers (I ended up needing 7)
• 2 lbs. ground lean beef
• 2 cups breadcrumbs
• 2 (28-ounce) cans Hunts diced tomatoes with basil, garlic and oregano (1 to be used now and 1 for when final meal is cooked)
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 egg2
• 2 small onion, chopped
• 2 tablespoons chopped sage leaves
• A few dashes Worcestershire sauce - 6 dashes
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon oil
• Vegetable oil, for frying

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Remove core and seeds from peppers. Slice into 1 inch rings and place on nonstick baking sheet. You should get about 3 rings per pepper. In a large bowl mix together beef, bread, 1 can of the tomatoes, garlic, egg, onion, chopped sage, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, and season with salt and pepper. Press meatloaf mixture evenly into pepper rings. In a skillet over medium-high heat, add oil. Saute meatloaf rings on both sides until golden brown, about 5 minutes per side. Add remaining tomatoes to skillet and bake until cooked through, 20 to 25 minutes.

To Freeze: Do not brown. Transfer after preparation immediately to a freezer bag. Freeze for 3 months. Once ready to serve thaw in the fridge. Follow above directions.

Hines-Sight Blog - Frame Giveaway

There are so many cute blog out there, but one that I personally follow is the Hines-Sight Blog. I love the cute things she posts and it is refreshing to not always read "deal" blogs. Check her out and while there please register for the cute personalized frames. Go to her FB page and say The Family Toy Box Sent you!

The Hines-Sight Blog

Ravioli Bale - Freezer Friendz Meal

I found this wonder site via Facebook (of course). Freezer Friendz is a group that each compiles recipes for the month. There are also some great tips. I will begin stocking my freezer in about a week so now if the time to get the recipes out and buy items on sale. This recipe is from an April post and I will be making this in about 2 weeks when I start my meals.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2011

Ravioli Bake by Jen

Ingredients:
1 jar (16 oz.) spaghetti sauce, you may need more sauce depending on your taste.
1 can (14-1/2 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (10 oz.) fat-free reduced-sodium beef broth
1/4 cup Italian dressing
1/2 lb. ground beef, browned
2 pkg. (9 oz. each) refrigerated or frozen cheese-filled ravioli
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Assembly: Brown ground beef. Combine first 4 ingredients in 13x9-inch baking dish. Add ravioli; toss to coat. Cover with one layer of plastic wrap and one layer of aluminum foil.

To Eat On Assembly Day: Heat oven to 375°F. Brown ground beef then combine first 4 ingredients in 13x9-inch baking dish. Add ravioli; toss to coat. Cover. Bake 50 min. or until ravioli is tender. Top with cheese; let stand 5 min. or until melted.

Special Extra: You can also use frozen ravioli - no need to thaw. For a delicious flavor twist, stir 1 Tbsp. pesto or 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil into the hot baked ravioli before topping with cheese.

Freezer Friendz: Thaw, bake covered 50 mins. Top with cheese and let stand 5 mins. or until cheese is melted.

Blueberry Jam

Ah, well with help I am trying to perfect blueberry jam. We think the recipe is finalized and I have to say it has half of the sugar from last year! I probably should now share it, then it may not be as fun to receive, but here it is! Above you see two batches of jam. Remember berries freeze up to a year! This was made with the last of the berries from last summer.

Less Sugar Blueberry Jam

Yield 10 – 11 (8 oz.) Half Pints - I tend to use 8 or 9 half pints, and then 2 or 4, 4 oz. jars.

6 ½ - 7 cups prepared fruit (about 10 cups whole fruit pulse in a blender)

2 cups apple juice

2 lemons, zest and juice

1 package (1.75 oz.) Sure Jell No Sugar Needed Fruit Pectin (pink box)

1 ½ teaspoons each cinnamon and allspice

2 pinches of black pepper

3 cups sugar (reserve ¼ of a cup)

½ teaspoon salted butter (optional)

• Prepare jars and lids. Keep in hot water until ready to use. Do not boil lids. Make sure not to touch the interior of the lid so they stay sterilized.
• Combine prepared fruit, juices, zest and seasonings in a 6 – 8 quart saucepan.
• Combine ¼ cup sugar with the pectin. Gradually stir pectin into berry mixture.
• Add butter to reduce foaming. (Optional)
• Place on stove and bring to a full rolling boil that can’t be stirred down. Stir constantly.
• Add sugar, and return to a full rolling boil for three minutes, stirring constantly.
• Remove from heat.
• Pour into 1 or 2 jars at a time. Leave 1/8 – ¼ inch head room.
• Use a damp cloth to clean rims and threads of jar. Center warm lids and place bands on tightly. DO NOT try to tighten later. This can break the seal!!!
• Process in hot water 10 minutes.
• Remove from heat and let cool on the counter.

• If your jam doesn’t set after 24 hours, wait 2 weeks and check again. If necessary remake it. For each cup of unset jam add 1 teaspoon no sugar added pectin and 1 tablespoon water as directed on package.