Simply wash them and place them onto your dehydrator tray.
Set your dehydrator setting on fruits/berries (approximately 135 degrees). Check on the berries in about 4 hours. They should feel firm but yet chewy-ish. Our 16 year old dehydrator is no longer working as accurately as it used to, so this batch is a little overdone as I left it unattended overnight.
If you do over-dehydrate just remember all is not lost. I can still partially reconstitute the berries by placing them into a bowl of water until they become the texture that I want. Even in their overdone state I can still put them into oatmeal and/or granola bars. However, I will reconstitute them slightly before placing into a trail mix.
Blueberries are much easier to freeze than strawberries! They are a very forgiving berry!
As with strawberries, you do not HAVE to wash the berries before you freeze them. However, I do! I simply wash the blueberries and try to make sure I don't have any stems left on any of them. Then I lay them out onto a cookie sheet. (I have a Demarle cooking sheet that I like to use for freezing berries due the holes in it) You do not have to worry about the berries touching as you do with strawberries. They easily seperate if they get stuck together.
Place the cookie sheet into your freezer. After about an hour or two the berries should be frozen.
Then place them in meal size portions (I freeze them in 2 cup quantities) into a freezer type bag, container, or vacuum sealer bag (my favorite way to store).
Tah dah! You have successfully stored a supply of blueberries for the winter!
When you are ready to use them, simply remove from the freezer. When they thaw they will be mushy, BUT...unlike strawberries, I have had success leaving them in a partially frozen state and using them on recipes that call for fresh blueberries. I wouldn't do this for a company dessert though as the blueberries do tend to run/ooze juice as they thaw. (This crew, however, could care less what the dessert looks like just as long as it tastes GREAT!) You do not have to worry about thawing the blueberries completely as most of your blueberry recipes are very forgiving. I have successfully stirred frozen blueberries into my muffin, coffecake, and bread recipes without any problems or strange outcomes.
We will use blueberries for making the yummiest blueberry muffins, smoothies, cobbler, bread, coffeecake and pancakes! Mmmmmm! *insert a drool here*
One of the wonderful things about homeschooling is that your children are not constantly bombarded by the latest and newest fads. They aren't subjected to peer pressure and teasing when they don't participate in the latest styles and fashions.
It has been a wonderful opportunity being able to teach and show our children how to save their money and spend it wisely, without peers interfering with that teaching. It was a blessing Friday to watch 2 of our children spend their money wisely. They had earned their money doing odd jobs for several neighbors. They didn't run out and spend it on something of little to no value or something that would provide them with instant but short lived gratification or something that would help them fit in with their so-called 'peers'. They chose to save it instead.
What a blessing it is to watch them pick up on some of our frugality skills...... I could go on and on about some of the things they have learned, i.e. couponing, gardening, calculating per unit cost, etc. but that would turn this post into a book.....
Anyhow...Where was I?....Oh yeah.... back to the story......
When I announced Friday in the early a.m. that I would be spending the morning yard selling. The children were eager to ask if they could come along. Yard selling for us, is like hunting for hidden treasure! The feeling that comes over you when you find the treasure, can't quite be explained.
I have found many a wonderful bargain at yard sales. New clothes still with tags for 25 cents. Shoes still with tags for 25 cents. Cleaning supplies, light bulbs, bedsheets, bookshelves, barely used cooking utensils, dishes, diapers, baby food, books, books, and more books, videos/DVDs, barely used toys, crayons, paper, unused coloring books, fabric, yarn, ribbon, tools, insulation, lumber, an ugly colored blender that eventually came back into style just as it finally died 16 years after purchasing it for $7 at a yard sale. I could go on and on about the deals we have found for meer pennies on the dollar..... That old saying stands true 'one man's trash is another man's treasure'!
Here is our list of found treasures on Friday:
Our oldest son found a $30 tool in GREAT condition that he has been 'eyeing'/watching/looking at in magazines for quite some time for just $1. He was incredibly excited over his find!
At another yard sale, he found a canvas type fishing bag in new condition for just $1. He wants to use it as a field bag for his hunting and gun accesories. You should have heard him jump for joy when we came home and he discovered this bag STILL had fishing supplies in it, one of which was a name brand (I am not very well educated on fishing supplies) filet knife that would have cost $40 if he bought it brand new. (This is what I call the creative trigger of yard selling. Finding things that could be used or made to work for one's projects or needs. Ya know, thinking OUTSIDE of the box.)
He also purchased a soft mallet hammer for use in his hobby at a meer $3. His total out-of-pocket expenses for the day...... $5.
Our other son spent his hard earned money on a small interchangeable screwdriver set, $20 new in stores for a mere $1. He was also excited over his find.
MY found treasure was a brand new Wagoner Spray Painter for dh, never before opened, for a mere $10.
TWO full bottles of carpet cleaner and a full bottle of 2006 expired vinegar for just $3. (Don't worry I won't be cooking with that vinegar, I will use it to clean with. I don't think vinegar expires though. I'll have to look that up for future reference.)
Then we stopped at a small church thrift shop, which unbeknownst at the time, was having a $1 a bag clothing sale. The clothing had pretty much been picked over, but I still managed to pack/find 3 overflowing bags worth. I also found shoes for 3 kids in like new condition for a mere $.25 a pair.
I also found 12 books (the old educating type. I can't stand 'fluff' or 'junk' books) and paid a total of $1 for them.
A cute table runner for our table for $1.
My total out-of-pocket expenses for the day was $19!!
Our 3 youngest girls each found a small stuffed animal for $.25 each. Which they paid for out of their own stashed/saved birthday money.
Dh came home early and stopped by the opened-all-day yard sale. He picked up 2 new-in-the-box fog lights and 2 new-in-the-box round head lamps that he plans to rig up to his 196? backhoe, and some fancy, I-don't-know-what-it's-called, string. His total out-of-pocket expenses for the day was $10 and now he can operate the backhoe in the dark.
Do you have any yard sale treasure stories to share? I would LOVE to hear all about it!
Hope your week is filled with abundantly blessed treasures!
"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field." -Matthew 13:44
Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried;
Quietly, patiently, lovingly, God replied.
I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate . . .
And the Master so gently said, "Wait."
"Wait? you say wait?" my indignant reply.
"Lord, I need answers, I need to know why!"
Is your hand shortened? Or have you not heard?
By faith I have asked, and I'm claiming your Word.
"My future and all to which I relate
Hangs in the balance, and you tell me to wait?"
I'm needing a 'yes', a go-ahead sign,
Or even a 'no' to which I'll resign.
"You promised, dear Lord, that if we believe,
We need but to ask, and we shall receive.
And Lord I've been asking, and this is my cry:
I'm weary of asking! I need a reply.
Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate,
As my Master replied again, "Wait."
So I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut,
And grumbled to God, "So, I'm waiting....for what?"
He seemed then to kneel, and His eyes met with mine . . .
and He tenderly said, "I could give you a sign.
I could shake the heavens and darken the sun.
I could raise the dead and cause mountains to run."
"I could give all you seek and pleased you would be.
You'd have what you want, but you wouldn't know Me.
You'd not know the depth of My love for each saint.
You'd not know the power that I give to the faint."
"You'd not learn to see through clouds of despair;
You'd not learn to trust just by knowing I'm there.
You'd not know the joy of resting in Me
When darkness and silence are all you can see."
"You'd never experience the fullness of love
When the peace of My spirit descends like a dove.
You would know that I give, and I save, for a start,
But you'd not know the depth of the beat of My heart."
"The glow of my comfort late into the night,
The faith that I give when you walk without sight.
The depth that's beyond getting just what you ask
From an infinite God who makes what you have last."
"You'd never know, should your pain quickly flee,
What it means that My grace is sufficient for thee.
Yes, your dearest dreams overnight would come true,
But, oh, the loss, if you missed what I'm doing in you."
"So, be silent, my child, and in time you will see
That the greatest of gifts is to truly know me.
And though oft My answers seem terribly late,
My most precious answer of all is still . . . WAIT."
We followed the recipe in our Ball Blue Book of Homecanning (I highly recommend this book) and then processed it in a water bath for 10 minutes.
These were made from the remainder of last years strawberries and has received the highest rate of approval from our crew! Matter of fact, they devoured 2 loaves of homemade bread and the extra half pint of jam in record time.
And this is the only mess we made during the entire process.
Whenever I see corn-on-the-cob go on sale for 6 or more ears for a $1, I snatch them up! Sure enough, they went on sale for the 4th of July weekend, 12 ears for $1.96. I purchased 48 ears! A whole whopping $8 for 5 meals worth.
There are many types/brands/kinds of corn (i.e. Sweet corn, Popcorn, Feed corn, etc.) but generally the ears of corn you will see in the store are either yellow
or white.
The white corn is a sweet corn. That's our FAVORITE! *insert a Drooool here*
Some people can their corn. They do this by scrapping the corn off the cob and then canning accordingly. I however, am a very busy mom and really don't have time for scrapping and processing when it's much easier and simpler to freeze the corn on the cob itself.
The first thing you have to do in order to freeze your supply of corn is husk the corn. This is where the children can help out. The younger kids in our house LOVE husking the corn! (honestly they do, don't let the picture fool ya. They were in deep conversation when I 'surprised' them with the camera)
I like to husk the corn outside. It makes for an easy clean-up. Especially when the kids are "helping".
After you husk the corn, you simply place into freezer type bags, containers, or (my favorite) vacuum sealer bags.
Tah dah!! You have now successfully frozen a supply of corn for the winter!
When you are ready to cook it, simply take it out of the freezer and thaw. (I don't always allow it to thaw though. Sometimes it gets cooked while still in its frozen state.) Then you can either cook your corn-on-the-cob in a pot of water, or wrap it up in aluminum foil and grill it! *insert a huge DROOL here*
Have an ear filled and blessed day!
"She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard." -Proverbs 31:16
"MAKE IT BREATH! MAKE IT BREATH!! NO! NO! NO! This can't be happening? Not now! Not this weekend! Do something honey? Make it work!"
"I am doing everything I can!"
"Come on honey, your a genius when it comes to this stuff! I know you can make it work again! Zap it or something. Give it a good swift kick if you have to!"
"I think the dishwasher is beyond repair. I don't think there is anything I can do for it. It's been repaired so many times, I think we should let it rest in peace."
"But it CAN'T break down now! NOT THIS WEEKEND! Not on the 4th! Come on honey, you are soooo good at this kind of stuff! I know you can fix it! If it doesn't get fixed, I'm gonna need your help washing all of the dishes by hand!"
"KIDS!...... Bring me my toolbag!"
Fast forward to an hour later........ (You don't want to know what kind of hard time the dishwasher gave poor hubby. It got pretty ugly at times.)
"HONEY, THE DISHWASHER'S FIXED!!"
Then, like a scene out of a love story, I run towards my gallant Knight/lover and leap into his awaiting arms and envelop him with numerous kisses.
O.K......Not really!......A leap like that from ME would probably land him in the hospital for a week. But I did give him a great big ol' BEAR HUG and cooked him the best tasting rack of BBQ sparebibs, with pasta salad, and corn on the cob for our 4th of July family picnic. Then I loaded the dishwasher, ALL. BY. MYSELF. (the kids did the cleaning up, clearing off and putting away)
And later that evening......, once all the chaos of the day had died down. I thanked the good Lord for blessing me with him!!!......
Hope your week is full of husbandly love and blessed beyond measure!
"That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children.," Titus 2:4
"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free."
"The foundations of our society and our government rest so much on the teachings of the Bible that it would be difficult to support them if faith in these teachings would cease to be practically universal in our country."
Simply slice the strawberries into 1/8 -1/4 inch thickness. The thicker, the chewier. But not to thick or they'll never dry out.
Allow to dry on your dehydrator's low heat or berry setting (about 135 degrees) for several hours. After about 4 hours you should start to check on them frequently to make sure you don't over-dehydrate. You want dry, not brittle and crumbly. (Don't ask me how I know this?)
You can then store them in a container at room temperature if you like. I personally am paranoid about food storage, so I place dehydrated strawberries in Ziploc bags and keep them in the freezer until I am ready to use them.
We use dehydrated strawberries in homemade granola, trail mix or to toss into oatmeal or cereal. DE-licious!!
A dehydrator is another worthwhile investment! We own 2 of these. They get the most usage in the winter. We LOVE making our own Deer Jerky!! Jerky is great for teething babies, camping, hunting, hiking, etc. We also enjoy drying apples for snacking on later. You can make fruit leathers (aka fruit roll-ups) with it. Some people even make their own raisins. (Until I can find a free source of grapes, that won't be happening around here.) Some people dry their own herbs and flowers with them. (I couldn't grow an herb plant if my life depended upon it)..... Dehydrating possibilities are endless...dried tomatoes, dried plums, dried peaches, etc.
Now that we have strawberries, it's time to store them for the winter.
You do not have to wash the berries before you freeze them. However, I do.
As soon as we get the berries home we wash them, hull them, and place them onto cookie sheets. (I have some Demarle cooking sheets I like to use for freezing berries because of the holes in the sheets.) Do not allow the berries to touch one another. They will freeze to each other and take longer to harden.
After they are frozen (which should only take 1-2 hours depending on your freezer), you can take them out and pack them in convenient portions into freezer bags, containers, or vacuum sealer bags.
(What?!? What do you mean you don't own a vacuum sealer? We actually own 3 of these! We have our original one acquired many years ago. Then we purchased a touchless one a few years later....and our newest one is one of my/our favorites because it allows us to vacuum seal cookies and breads without crushing them. Believe it or not....we have all 3 working overtime when butchering season arrives. It's an investment that you can't go wrong with. Even if you don't hunt, you can use it to portion out discount bulk purchases for your family.)
We will use the strawberries over the winter months to make smoothies, milkshakes, muffins, breads, cobblers, a mousse or two, etc., while our neighbors will be paying high prices for fresh berries shipped from the other side of the country..... or worse yet.....IM-ported strawberries..... Now, remember you will not get a fresh berry look from your thawed strawberries. As they thaw, they will become mushy and liquidy. Perfect for recipes! Not good for desserts that call for the fresh berry look. (Don't ask me how I know this?)
"If a nation values anything more than freedom, it will Lose its freedom: and the irony of it is that if it is comfort or money that it values more, it will lose that, too."
William Somerset Maugham (1874-1965), British writer
Over the big mountain and through the winding roads to the strawberry patch we go........NOT!! Apparently Murphy's Law and his friends came along for the ride..........
"Uh mom, they have containers remember. So we don't need to bring any...."
Aw yeah, that's right!...............
16 miles and 1 hour later (if you saw these winding roads you would understand why it takes an hour to drive 16 miles).....we arrived at our destination....only. to. discover. that the farm was NOT where I recalled it to be......(Apparently, memory loss advances more quickly than you think it should when you reach a certain age. As much as I would like to be able to put the entire 'lost' adventure of the day behind me, our kids are never going to let me forget it.)
So....after a few more miles and exits and a few more 'How could it have just disappeared?' comments and a few phone calls to Information and friends who have never heard of the farm that you picked at just a year ago.... and as children's patience and exhuberance began to wain........we finally decided to give up and head home....but wouldn't ya know?.....as the good Lord would have it.....during our trip back home, we stumbled onto a totally different berry farm. One that was much closer to home, had more pick-your-own produces available throughout the year, and had a price that couldn't be beat!!!
Everyone was so happy to finally get out of the truck and stretch their legs. We had a beautiful time picking berries. The little ones had to compare strawberry sizes, the older kids had to race to see who filled their container up first..(competition has its benefits) ......THEN......I hear............" Excuse me? I am Jane Doe (not her real name, just my memory loss at work) with Orr's Farm?"
Me, who is thinking "(Aw, great! What did the kids do now? What did they do while I wasn't looking? I bet she caught them eating strawberries before paying for them? I wonder if the little one was throwing strawberries again? Oh boy! Did they crush a strawberry plant.)" I reply "Yes ma'am?"
Jane Doe "Would you mind if I took your all's picture?"
Me (who is now feeling a great sigh of relief), inquisitively reply "Us?"
Jane Doe "Yes! Of you and the kids picking strawberries. We would like to take a few pictures to place up on our bulletin board, if you don't mind?"
Me "No Problem! Thanks for warning me before you took pictures! I wouldn't have wanted my rear in the air while the photo was being taken."
Jane Doe laughs and proceeds to take pictures.....Being the natural models that they are, the girls had no problem pretending like they WEREN'T intentionally posing for the pictures. I just wish I would have remembered to have asked for a copy of the pictures. Memory loss at its best......
We picked 4 trays of Strawberries in less than 1 hour. Many hands make for light work as they say. Fortunately, I 'forgot' how many we ate.
This wasn't how I had originally planned our day...Rather, it was how the Lord planned our day to be! He planned this day especially for us! He knew we were going to get lost, He knew we would stumble onto this farm, He knew my patience was going to be tried and that prayer would be gained from it.......and in the end....it created lasting, beautiful memories for a lifetime.......
God bless you and your family in your adventures this week. May they create memories that will last a lifetime!
(Hmmm? These trays were nearly overflowing. It seems Murphy and his friends, Idunno and Notme had a snack/small feast last night.)
Why is is that I am ALWAYS the last know? Why won't anyone ever tell me these things? I thought you all were my friends and now....well.....I think I may just have to reconsider our friendship. .....A real, true, open and honest friend WOULD NOT have allowed me, her FRIEND, to miss out on the MOST AWESOMEST homeschooling event EVER!!!!!!
For the first time in our 11 year journey of homeschooling, dh and I attended the HEAV (Home Educators Association of Virginia) Convention. IT WAS A BLAST!!!! Why didn't anyone ever tell me how awesome this event was? It was awe inspiring, encouraging, uplifting, revitalizing, educational, edifying, resourceful, magnificent, and also overwhelming! Words can't describe how wonderful it is to actually place your hands on a curriculum and glance/read through it before you purchase it. All those wasted dollars over the years. ... ..And being the cheapskates that we are, it was a blessing to our budget to be able to take advantage of free shipping and discounts that some vendors offered.
And the Keynote speakers.........SENSATIONAL!!!..... I have been listening to Voddie Baucham's podcasts for a little over a year now. His lecture on "Education and Worldview" was more than worth its standing ovation it received! I HIGHLY recommend his book 'Family Driven Faith' and his podcast "The Centrality of the Home". Dh and I loaded up on his other books, taking advantage of course, of discounts at the HEAV table. (We can't help being cheap, it's just ingrained in us) I have a link to Voddie Baucham's blog on my sidebar somewhere (remember I am technically challenged). Also, look up his sermons at sermon audio. You will be truly blessed, encouraged, uplifted and more confident with your Christian homeschooling walk/journey with the Lord. If you want to listen to his HEAV Lecture's, you can order a copy of ALL the workshop session's/Lecture's or just certain workshop session's/lecture's at Best Christian Conferences. The workshops are truly amazing and inspiring! Refreshing and invigorating..............
The Exhibit Hall was overwhelming!..... All those vendors! Right at your fingertips! It's what homeschoolers dreams are made up of! Not to mention, the fun of running into your fellow homeschooling friends in such a large and crowded place.
Speaking of crowds......many of you know I. AM. NOT. A. CROWD. PERSON! I can't stand crowds!!! I have been known to change shopping days because I can't deal with crowds, plus shopping, plus children, and still try to be a good wife and mommy when it's all said and done...... It is beyond my margin levels of sanity... With that said....yes, the convention was VERY crowded. Yes, we mentally prepared ourselves for the crowds ahead of time. Yes, we intentionally left our kids at home locked in the closet (just checking to see if your still awake. My sister babysat for us.). However, this crowd stood out. I forgot that this crowd of people were all fellow homeschoolers with similar goals, lifestyles, and mannerisms. This wasn't any crowd, this was a crowd of well mannered, patient, and polite people. There wasn't any pushing and shoving. If someone accidently stepped on your toe, they apologized for it. Then you returned their polite sentiment with a few kind words and then they replied with more kind words and then you found yourself trying to politely get out of an endless conversation. There were many traffic jams, but no one pushed their way through it or walked over people or jumped ahead in line. They were all patient, waited their turn, and gentlemen politely held doors and allowed the ladies first. (At one point, I was halfway down a hall when I realized my husband wasn't with me, only to discover him still holding the door back at the exhibition hall entrance.) I can deal with crowds like this! These are my kind of crowds!! I wish all crowds were like this!
We can't wait to go back. We'll probably take the kids with us next time (only after weeks of mental preparation first). One things for certain though....... I won't be inviting my so-called 'friends' to tag along! I can't believe they've been holding out on me all these years! *Humph!*
"I would rather be what God chose to make me than the most glorious creature that I could think of, for to have been thout about, born in God's thought, and then made by God, is the dearest, grandest, and most precious thing in all thinking." -George MacDonald
"Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations." -Jeremiah 1:5
"Lord, thou wilt ordain peace for us: for thou also hast wrought all our works in us." -Isaiah 26:12
"Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter's clay: for shall the work say of him that made it, he made me not? or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, he had no understanding?" -Isaiah 29:16
You know that old saying....You never know what you have until you lose it?......well, it's true! Every last word of it!
Without Internet I am unable to communicate with friends and loved ones as often as I wish. (nothing like spending an entire hour on the phone with a friend/relative, when you could have easily emailed 5-10 friends/relatives in the same time frame. Not that I don't like talking to my friends/relatives for an hour,... just that I like to be efficient....*wink*.... Plus the fact that it's harder to break away from a phone conversation when your son is trying to give his sister a 'swirlie' than it is to just stop typing in mid-sentence, save your daughter from life long emotional scarring, and come back to it later)
Without Internet, banking becomes harder and more costly. (I know what your thinking....No, I didn't bounce any checks...) I had to drive 14 miles in a 12 mile per gallon vehicle to do my banking in a town where gas is running $2.75 a gallon. So much for buckling down during this economy.
Without Internet, homeschooling becomes EXTREMELY difficult!! However, it does promote thought provoking decisions.....Do I drive the 33 miles to the library in a 12 mile per gallon vehicle, with gas running $2.75 a gallon, or do we put that research on the back burner until hopefully, Lord willing, the Satellite part arrives?.........."OK kids...if the delivery truck leaves India (OK so that's not where the part was shipped from but it's where customer support is located) at noon on Thurs and it drives 75 miles per hour one day and 15 miles per hour the next day, when is it expected to arrive here? " ............ "Kids, the math lesson for today is to estimate the cost of our gasoline to the library, then subtract it from our monthly Internet bill less our down time and see who really comes out ahead?" .....(answer: *&$*#^ Internet company)
However... I must say......the worst thing of all.......the WORST thing about being without Internet...........is not being able to re-order our Netflix Queue!!!
Confessions of a SAHHM (Stay At Home Homeschooling Mom). SAHHM to six children, 3 cats, 1 German Shepherd, Chaos, Murphy's Law, Notme, Idunno, and one incredibly loving and patient husband! :o)
If I haven't blogged recently, it's probably because chaos has gotten loose. It does that from time to time. Rest assured I will be back as soon as it is under control again.
so I place dehydrated strawberries in Ziploc bags and keep them in the freezer until I am ready to use them.
We actually own 3 of these! We have our original one acquired many years ago. Then we purchased a touchless one a few years later....and our newest one is one of my/our favorites because it allows us to vacuum seal cookies and breads without crushing them. Believe it or not....we have all 3 working overtime when butchering season arrives. 
It's an investment that you can't go wrong with. Even if you don't hunt, you can use it to portion out discount bulk purchases for your family.)
I just wish I would have remembered to have asked for a copy of the pictures. Memory loss at its best......
... ..And being the cheapskates that we are, it was a blessing to our budget to be able to take advantage of free shipping and discounts that some vendors offered. 
Not to mention, the fun of running into your fellow homeschooling friends in such a large and crowded place. 
I can't believe they've been holding out on me all these years! *Humph!* 
