Homemade Crock-Pot Applesauce

I just have to say that there's nothing better than applesauce made from fresh apples! I was somewhat skeptical at first, and wasn't sure how it would turn out...but it was WONDERFUL!

Ingredients

8-10 Apples

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (I actually used less)

1 cup water

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Directions

1. Wash apples.

2. Peel apples.

3. Cut apples into small pieces.

(didn't actually get a picture of this step...but you get the idea!)

4. Combine apples, sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, lemon juice and water in crock pot.

5. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours.

I let mine cook until it was "mushy" enough for me! ha

ENJOY! :-)

 Oh and it also helps if you have a little assistant in the kitchen...

 Gracie got a little taste of the applesauce as well and she loved it too ;-)

 

Ain't nothin' sweeter...

I dont' think theres a better combination in the world than chocolate and strawberries. :-) I feel that most people would agree with me! I've been mentioning to Future Hubster that I wanted some chocolate covered strawberries lately. Well tonight we made some ourselves! It was such a fun "home date" :-) It all starts with this...

mmmm... :-)

and don't forget about these....

Don't they look DELECIOUS?!

Showing off the pretty strawberry on one of my new plates!

Future Hubster decided that I am good enough at "strawberry dipping" I should consider making it my career someday. Ha! I highly doubt that will happen, honey ;-)

The finished product, SO YUMMY!!!

This goofy dog never ceases to amaze me with how cute she can be :-) She is like a furry garbage disposal...she will eat ANYTHING. I still can't stop laughing at this picture! I tried to get some of Dixie but she is more shark like when it comes to her food...as you will see from the following pictures.

***Disclaimer***

The dogs weren't given ANY chocolate! :-) They just got to nibble at the end of the strawberry after the chocolate was gone! Thanks Gail for pointing that out!!! I would hate for people to think I was giving them chocolate, because it is toxic to dogs!!!

Duh nuh....

Duh nuh....Duh nuh, Duh nuh, Duh nuh

CHOMP! I'm so glad that the dogs were able to have a healthy little "snack" too! If you haven't ever made homemade chocolate covered strawberries, I think you should! Encourage your boyfriend, fiancé ,or hubby to make them with you this Valentines weekend! It's a fun activity and sure beats going to a store to get chocolate covered strawberries!

The verse I am sharing tonight represents how I feel about all of the sweet comments I got on my blog today. I never thought that I would interact with so many wonderful women just my linking my blog to Kelly's blog. It was so fun and I feel honored to be a part of it! So if you viewed or commented on my blog today, THANK YOU :-)

"Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones." Proverbs 16:24

Cakes in a Jar

I am an avid baker, and was SO excited to hear about this...have you ever heard of a Cake in a Jar before? I hadn't! I heard of this neat idea from my cousin Sarah. She is an Army wife and mother of two, who's husband was recently deployed to Afghanistan, 37 days ago to be exact. This isn't the first time he's been deployed either :-( I admire her so much for her bravery and courage. She has been posting updates to her Facebook of what she's done each day that her husband has been gone. I always check each day for that little update, and say a little prayer for them, as well as all families of the armed services :-) The other day she had a post about sending soliders Cakes in a Jar. FiftyTwoCakes has an excellent article about Cakes in a Jar and how to make them, you can find that here! If you know or are related to someone who is deployed this is such a great idea to send them. Here are the cakes that Sarah made for her husband!

Coconut Cake in a Jar! :-) Are you not SO impressed with these!!! And, get this...they're HOMEMADE!!! Talk about yummy!!! My cousin is an AWESOME cook and baker and she's an equally good, if not better, wife and mommy. Here she is with her husband and two sweet boys as they said goodbye on the day her husband deployed.

Are they not the cutest little family?! Look at those handsome boys, too cute! :-) Please take a moment to say a prayer for this sweet family. Pray for Cory to return home safe and for Sarah to have peace of mind while he's away. I cannot imagine having two little ones running around in the middle of the chaos of a deployment! I love you guys and am always thinking of you! :-) Thanks for letting me blog about you guys Sarah!!!

"For he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones" Proverbs 2:8

Love is in the Air!

I just love February! Hearts, candy, flowers, cute crafts, and don't forget about Presidents Day ;-) ! What's not to love? I have some cute Valentines Day decorations that I have up at home right now, they just make me happy.

I got this in the dollar section at Target! It says "XOXO, KISS, HUGS, and LOVE"

Gotta love the holiday kitchen towels ;-) These are the first decorations I put up for each holiday! Some people feel that Valentines Day is a holiday that is pushed upon us as a society in order to make us buy the cards, candy, flowers and decorations. Personally I feel that it's important to have a day to recognize the ones you love. Not that you shouldn't do that every day regardless of a "holiday" ;-) In my class today we made some very cute Valentines Day crafts! We made "heart people" out of hearts, they're just precious!

I think it's too cute when my sweet little boys draw hearts for eyes! One of them was cracking up today as he drew, and when I asked him what was so funny he held his heart up for me to see. It had a heart eyes, nose, and hearts all over the mouth. Apparently hearts are hilarious now-a-days!

Here's my heart! I'm not much of an artist, but it was fun to do a craft with my kids today! After having a highly stressful day yesterday it was nice to have a relaxed day with my class today. Due to the yucky weather that the south is getting hit with a lot of little ones were out today. The roads were slick and icy this morning and some parents chose not to send their kids to school. So today was a great day to review what we've been learning so far this week!

I am going to take a few minutes to brag on the wonderful...the talented...the sweet and caring, Future Hubster :-) He is always amazing, but some days he simply outdoes himself. Today, due to the yucky weather, he didn't have work. So what does he do? Sit around all day and watch TV? NOPE. Play computer games? NOPE. Catch up on sleep? NOPE. This amazing man worked all day to bake chocolate truffles AND cook dinner for me! Talk about a CATCH! Since the weather was bad today he took me to school this morning, and when he came to pick me up he brought truffles for all of the first grade teachers! He even let me drag him from room to room and introduce him to everyone :-) For dinner he made the most amazing taco soup! I am so impressed and I couldn't ask for a better person to spend my life with.

HOMEMADE TRUFFLES. It does not get better than this. God truly does have someone in mind for everyone ;-)

Best. Soup. Ever.

All in all, today was a great day and I am feeling much better about the rest of the week than I was at this time yesterday. Granted, there's a high possibility that the chocolate helped me feel better ;-) Future Hubster knows just what I need in the middle of a hard week. I will leave you with this calming verse tonight...

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  Philippians 4:6-7