How to Clean Dehydrating Trays--The EASY Way!

I don't know about you guys, but I (used to) hate to wash my dehydrating trays.  They were big and awkward and didn't fit in my sink very well, making them very hard to clean.  

Well, here is the answer: the bathtub!  I heard about this and had to try it.  

I put all of my dehydrating trays and leather sheets into the tub with some hot water and a couple drops of dish soap.  I let them soak for about a half hour and then drained the water and rinsed them off.  They were so clean and I hardly had to do anything!  Love it!   I hope this helps all of you dehydrators out there. :)  

Cherries!

For the past couple weeks I have been busy with cherries. . . and kids, chemo treatments, an MRI, swim lessons, 4th of July activites, etc. :)  Our nearby orchard was selling them for $.75/lb and I was so excited to get some!  Aren't they beautiful?  

I pitted them with my cherry stoner, cut them in half and then had some help from my 2 youngest spreading them out on my dehydrating trays.

I dehydrated them for about 24 hours.  I think they got a little too dry, but it's hard to tell sometimes until it's too late.  

I also made a ton of fruit leather (I borrowed a second dehydrator from a friend because cherries won't wait!).  I think this is cherries with some pear sauce that I canned last year.  I like to add it to fruit leather to make it more pliable.  

 I also got some apricots and mixed those with cherries for fruit leather.  It is soooo yummy!  I love the tartness that the apricots add

So far I have gone crazy with fruit leather.  I have 3 gallon bags full of rolled up fruit leather.  And it's only the beginning of the harvest!  Fruit leather is what goes the quickest in my family. :)  

Hanging Towels. . . So Much Easier

This is what my kids' bath towels used to look like. (Actually, I should have left a couple of the towels on the floor!)

I saw this fantastic idea somewhere online. . . and once I was ready to do it, I couldn't remember where it was at all.  So, I kind of made up what I thought it was.  

I got some plain white ribbon at Wal-Mart (you can use cuter. . . I just couldn't find any that would match all of the colors of towels that I have).  It is about an inch wide.

I measured it out 10 inches and cut. 

I folded and ironed down each edge about 1/4 inch.

I looped the ribbon around (like so) and pinned it to the center of the towel.  

(To find the center, I folded the towel in half and marked it with the pin)

Then, I sewed the square where the ribbon ends met together and then an X in the middle, just for fun because it looks nicer.

Ta da!  Now my kids have no excuses when there towels are on the floor instead of on their hooks! :)  

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For My Own Record

I just wanted to let you all know that I have started a blog that is a record for me and my family during this time that our daughter is going through chemotherapy.  If you are interested in reading about our experiences, here is the site:  http://www.atlastiseethelight.com/

It is starting to be quite a book, but the posts will get shorter and I'll put more pictures on.  I just wanted to get the whole story covered of our crazy beginning times.

I will still try to do new posts here when I can!  Thanks for your support!

Freeze Dried Strawberries--a lifesaver!

With my daughter doing chemotherapy, we have to be careful with the food she eats.  Her diet is really pretty normal, we just have to make sure cold foods are cold, hot foods are hot, nothing out of bulk bins, and making sure fresh foods are very fresh.  The goal is to stay away from any bacteria and mold.  So, my daughter loves strawberries, but I don't make it to the store every couple of days to get her fresh strawberries.

Well, in my food storage I have some #10 cans of freeze dried fruit.  I had the great idea to open the can of strawberries for her to eat and she loves them.  This has been a great snack for her and I don't have to be so picky about which strawberry looks good.  

I also love these pour-able containers from Wal-Mart.  My other kids tend to just reach in and grab crackers or whatever out of the box.  So, I got a few of these containers that pour really easily and we can avoid germy hands contaminating snacks.

And my the way, Kayla is doing awesome with her treatments so far.  It's going to be long, but's it's going to be do-able.  Thanks for your support and prayers on our behalf!

And then life changes

Sorry for the lack in posts lately.  My little 4 year old was really sick for most of the month of February and then seemed to get better.  This past week we found out that she has a tumor on her optic nerves that is affecting her sight and she started chemotherapy that will be once a week for a year.  So, I will do my best to keep posting things, but I am trying to get adjusted to our new way of life.  With four little ones- one extra needy and one almost 2 year old (plus #5 on the way. . . ) it's going to be a busy year for us.  Please keep looking around at past posts and ask questions all you want.  I have really enjoyed all of the interest that I've had in my blog and will try to keep things going.

Thank you!!

Storing Bread

I thought I would share how I store my bread since my last post was on making it.  When I make bread I am making 5 loaves at a time and I don't like them to go bad or dry out.  So, I store them in the freezer.  After my loaves are all cooled, I slice them up and put them in Ziploc bags (gallon freezer bags).  This way when I need to make an immediate piece of toast or a sandwich for someone's lunch, I can grab a loaf out of the freezer and not need to wait for it to thaw before cutting into it.  Anyway, maybe you all do this already, I just thought I'd share this handy tip!  

(My fifth loaf got eaten right after it came out of the oven)

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