Easy Fruit Leather Recipe

I am always looking around for ways to preserve our produce. Over the last 2 years I have tried many recipes. Some have been more successful than others and that is ok. It is all about learning.

The other day I picked 12 pounds worth of strawberries at a local farm. I look forward now for the last 2 years in a row going with my soon to be sister in law talking about how we like our new tradition. This is a day I look forward to and enjoy spending with her.

I have learned how to place the strawberries just so that I can fit many strawberries. After making 16 half pints of jam I still had more strawberries! I had found a few recipes for fruit leather and decided to give it a try. I made some

before but lost the recipe. Well I just looked through the pantry and came up with this easy recipe. 

Strawberry & Peach Fruit Leather

2 cups puréed strawberries ( about 1 quart )

1 cup puréed peach ( about 4 peaches) 

Destem about a quart strawberries and place into blender. I used my Ninja and it worked just fine. You could use food processor to  purée strawberries. 

Turn on the blender until smooth. 

I then cut up the peaches and took the skin off of 2 of them. My blender does not like the skin on the blade and complains ( yes it complains :)) 

Turn on the blender like before until smooth.

This is what mine looked like after blending. I did not add anything else to the blender. I wanted it to be only fruit nothing more, nothing less. 

There are two different ways you can dehydrate the fruit. 

If you do not have a dehydrator you can use your oven. Set the oven at 135 degrees and pour mixture onto parchment paper. Let it bake for 12 hours. It should not be crispy but like leather. 

I use the dehydrator. Last year my parents found me this jewel for my birthday.  It works nicely for our family. 

The dehydrator came with what I call the fruit leather trays. ( excuse the non manicured garden hands :))  These work perfect for this recipe.

Just place the tray on the rack and pour the mixture. I do not put anything under it because I do not want it to be sticky. The leather will come off once you start pulling ( gently). 

I bring my dehydrator to the basement and plug it in so I do not have to listen to it for 12-13 hours. Set at 135 degrees. I love my dehydrator because it has it has an automatic shut off. 

I will check it around 12 hours but set it for 13 if I forget. 

Once it is done it will look like leather and I just roll it up into strips and put into a mason jar. They usually only last 3 days in our house. 

Another recipe I used and did not picture was a quart of apple sauce I canned and a quart of strawberries. Same process as above. 

Enjoy! Let me know what you think of the recipe and any suggestions or combinations. 

Life with a Golden

When B and I purchased our home we decided we needed an addition to our family. We researched many different breeds and decided that the Golden Retriever was the breed for us.

2 years later and we are still laughing every night at the antics of Beau. He is the silliest puppy I have ever met. His personality is like none other.

Beau enjoys soaking up the sun while I work in my garden. One of the most rewarding hobbies I have is to garden and can my food. Beau always enjoys supervising my working skills. He always enjoys stealing a stick or two to play with.

While supervising sometimes he decides watching me is to much work. He often takes naps on the hammock B made in Honduras. The fence in the background B made to keep our sweet Golden out. He does love to dig. 

In my classroom and in conversation I will admit I love to talk about our puppy. He does bring lots of laughter with throwing himself against the side of furniture to tell us he needs out to running full speed for a piece of cheese. He is such a loving breed of dog and I foresee maybe convincing B to getting him a sister Golden soon. 

Southern Girl in a Northern World

Southern Girl in a Yankee World

        I grew up in the deep south. I was blessed with air conditioning and for mild winters. I have never in my life shoveled snow or really dressed for winter. I had never had a white Christmas or for that fact even really watched the seasons change until I met my future husband.

        I always knew I wanted to be a teacher; however in 2005 my world changed more than I had anticipated. I was in my 2^nd year of college when Hurricane Katrina hit my hometown. My world was turned upside down because my family lost everything in our home.  I took a year off from school to become settled back down as temporarily as we could after the storm. I worked many odd jobs in order to buy clothes,a car, and create a life that was somewhat normal, or what I now look back as an illusion of normality after Katrina.

        I decided in 2007 that I wanted to finally finish school and become a teacher. I always had people who said that I would never be able to be a teacher because I am to HYPER! Well they are right I can be hyper, but it only makes my job more enjoyable. It took me awhile to finish my degree. I had to retake a few classes because I will sadly say I did not take school seriously my first year. (Whoops) I did it. I graduated in 2011 with a degree in Elementary Education.  I did not graduate with honors, highest honors, or anything fancy. I was just a plain graduate that was so proud of what I had accomplished.

        In the summer of 2011 most of my friends found their first teaching job. At that time I had interviewed for 5 jobs and yet to find anything. I will never forget getting a denial letter in the mail and crying. I could never figure out what I was doing wrong and why I was not being hired. I received a phone call from a school I had never applied for to interview, and then received a phone call from the school next door to that school for interview.  I had two interviews in one day an hour apart. Talk about STRESSED OUT!

 Well I was blessed to receive the job at one of those schools. I recall getting a phone call at 6:30 in the morning with a nice lady saying she did not want anyone else getting me.

        Slowly I began to move into my classroom. I organized the best I knew how at the time. My phone began to ring the day I was hired. The schools I had interviewed at in the past were offering me positions. I politely declined and hoped I was making the right decision where I was. I did. I could not have been happier my first year teaching. People were so kind and helpful. It was a year that I will always remember.

        I will always remember this year because in February 2012 my now soon to be husband called me to tell me he finally received the phone call that he was transferring back home in New England in a month. I was super excited because I always joked that I was going to move to New England with my family and friends, but reality had set in. The dream actually came true. I packed a moving truck up a month later and moved everything.

        I did not give my resignation and leave when I got the notice in February. I had 24 kids I was responsible for and I made sure to finish the school year. Boy it was tough giving away a lot of the things I bought for my classroom my first year. You see  I had to fit everything I owned  in a SUV to drive across country to my new home.  A bit of advice do not let your classroom pack your things. I found some interesting assortments of items.

        Once I relocated we bought our first home, added our newest and cutest family member Beau (our Golden Retriever), and began our new lives. I applied and applied for jobs. I watched the bus drive past my house on the first day of school and cried. I did not find a job my first year in New England. I was heartbroken or so I thought.

        I decided I could not sit at home. Granted my fiancé’ has an enormous family that I now know is most of the population of the county we live in. I feel sometimes to keep me entertained  (ok a little exaggerating but still). I decided I would substitute. This became the most humbling job I have ever had. Before I subbed I was and I admit still awful at leaving plans for subs. I never realized how much work people who are guest in our classroom are expected to do at a drop of a hat. It worked in my favor. I was able to show a few people that I was a southern girl who came from absolutely nowhere and knew what I was doing.

        This school year I did not cry as the bus passed. Instead I welcomed 18 smiling faces into my classroom. I have had much laughter and joy this school year. I experienced snow days, dressing 18 kids properly for snow, getting 18 students dressed and undressed during winter. I never realized how much space winter clothes for 18 kids can take up or the amount of time to get ready.  

In November I shared the most exciting news with my students. I told them before even friends that I was getting married. Some said they were good luck because their first grade teacher got engaged too when they had her. I think they are a charm.

        With the year coming to an end I am now packing my classroom again by placing my books, stickers, binders, lessons, and memories in boxes again for the summer. Once again another school year quickly came to an end. I still do not know what grade I shall be in for the upcoming year, but that is ok. I know God has in his mind where I am supposed to be. Growing up in the south I learned to go with the flow but living in the north now I know I need to prove myself as well. I think I have balanced that pretty well.

I love what I do. I laugh at the people in my life who doubted that I could be a teacher. I truly know this is who God intended for me to be. All my students may not remember me and that is ok. I always vow to be fair in everything, caring always, and show my students how to love learning and who they are. 

So as I always randomly walk into people’s room and say “SMILE” I hope you smile today.  

Love, 

Miss Stetson

All About Miss Stetson

Hey Ya'll! Thanks for taking time to read a little more about me. This is my 3rd year teaching and I am always amazed by how much my students can accomplish in 1 year time.  I am so blessed to have found a career that I love and I would never do anything else.  I can honestly say I LOVE my job. 

I have a wonderful soon-to-be husband B that is so understanding to my shenanigans and late nights working on school stuff.  He never complains about the amount of crayons, markers, or craft supplies that liter every available nook and cranny I can find. He has been my support system during my student teaching and in my classroom. We have a Golden Retriever named Beau that brings us much laughter. He never seizes to amaze me how silly and smart he is. I always try to create little writing prompts about him with random pictures I take. The stories I get from my students are always creative and make me giggle. 

What do you think Beau is thinking about right now?

I love my coffee and seltzer. At all times you can find me carrying one or the other around. My students make fun of me on a daily basis about my seltzer since we will save the bottles for growing plants in for the spring. I can say I had enough saved for almost 2 bottles per student. =) 

I love love love ghost shows. It is my guilty pleasure during the summer time, vacations, and snow days. B makes fun of my for my shows, but when I find a ghost I will tell him "good thing I know what to do."

When I am not teaching or preparing for a new classroom adventure I am in my garden. I love to garden and can my own vegetables. I love sharing online how simple preserving food really is. I have taken this hobby up out of realizing how much food we waste because of spoiling.  Many of my family and friends love to tell me when the world comes to an end I will be prepared. I enjoy sharing these things with my class. In the spring we do a lot of activities centered around nature. 

Green beans from my garden

I must say God is always at work in my life. I always thank him for setting things into place. Many times in my life things seemed so out of place and I did not know why life happened the way it did. One huge example is I grew up in the south and lost my house to Katrina. I love I can share this experience with my students in New England because they see you can survive with a smile.  I have been blessed to discover TPT and the resource it provides in my classroom. I love getting ideas from others and learning how to use my computer to create projects for my students. It has been my goal to network, follow, and gain friendships in the teaching community to better teach my students. This is a new path I believe God has put in front of me and I am excited to see what it has in store for me. 

Once again, thank you for taking time to read a little more about me. 

Love, 
Miss Stetson

Mealworm Habitat for FOSS Science Kit

Insect Unit

In Miss Stetson’s 2^nd grade classroom we have been learning a lot about insects. The newest members of our classroom include 200 meal worms, 25 crickets, 50 wax worms, 8 painted lady caterpillars, 50 milk weed bugs, and a praying mantis egg. Our classroom is completed “BUGGED OUT.”

Meal worms:

I found a link on Pinterest while I was looking up activities about meal worms. The habitat was a 3 tiered housing unit for the meal worms.  I found this much more visually appealing for the times we were not observing the meal worms. The unit has 3 layers and cost me about $20.00 total since I had some of the materials at home.

The top layer houses the adult meal worms. I put wheat bran and old fashioned oats for the adult meal worms to eat. I also put an old egg carton ripped up for the meal worms to climb and hid under. (They love to hide) They will begin to mate in this section and their eggs will drop into the middle layer.

The Middle Layer

The middle layer houses the pupa and eggs. I call this the resting chambers. I learned the hard way that too much handling can cause harm to the mealworm pupa. When the eggs hatch (9-20 days) the bran will begin to move little that is how you know you have baby meal worms. I did keep a fresh apple in this layer in case over the weekend any eggs hatch or meal worms transform into their final stage.

The Bottom Layer

The bottom layer was my classroom’s favorite layer. It was filled with 200 meal worms. I put cut up apples in the drawer on for the meal worms to drink. If the bran starts to look like sand it is time to change the bran. (The meal worm droppings are great food for your plants) Every morning I assigned a student to go through the bottom layer to look for pupa to put into the middle layer.

Benefits to this system

I found it was much cleaner and I did not get grossed out having worms open for the class to see. The students looked forward to watching the entire life cycle of the meal worms and enjoyed searching for them. We had some causality in our meal worm container, but they learned this sometimes happens for no reason.  We even once caught the adults “playing” aka mating in our habitat. It will take the meal worm about 1-4 days to begin laying eggs.

Cons to the System

I found out that if you put the mesh on top of the drawer that a meal worm may get stuck underneath the mesh. I had to remake the liner only once to get it to work. I hot glued it underneath. It did make it stick a little but it kept the meal worms safe. I also found that opening the top drawer sometimes makes a mess. So I would open the middle and top together or put a plate underneath habitat for the bran to fall on.

After the Unit

I have a student who has many chickens. I am donating the habitat to his chickens since I have had many delicious eggs this school year.

We really enjoy this habitat and I hope your student do as well.