In a mere two days, my little baby boy will be a whole one years old.  Hard to believe, oh how the time flies.  We had to push back his birthday party a bit because of the never ending illness around our house these days, but that is ok, it gives me more time to plan and prepare.  I am thinking about going a simpler route for his cake.  One cake for the party goers, and cupcakes for my little man and the kids.  I always scheme these elaborate cakes and then end up cursing and swearing I'll never do it again, especially since all my cakes seem to fall into a million pieces every time I have to transfer them.  That being said, I am sticking with it, going the easy route, and plan to do a simple cake like the one below.  Easy enough right?  Maybe I will fancy it up with a pudding layer in the middle.  Yum.

Speaking of cakes, I realized I never shared the cake I made for my older sons fifth birthday.  A pirate cake, yes, he is still obsessed with pirates, which is fine with me!  I found this image originally through Pinterest, but have included the direct link here, just in case you attempt to make one yourself.  I was pleasantly surprised to find all the supplies needed at Walmart, all those different pretzels and all!  The only thing I did differently was to eliminate the breadstick on the front and instead just use another pretzel rod in its place.

What do you think?  It turned out pretty good, in my opinion.  I have a number five candle and 4 pirate themed candles stuck in the center if you were wondering what all that junk was.  The only thing I would do differently is to make the sails a tad bit smaller and work at getting more of a "yellow" icing color than the peach that is below.  My son was tickled pink and that is all that matters.  I had left over icing, so I dyed it blue and made the "ocean" around the ship, which also hid those crumby edges.  As good as this looks, the cake fell into a million pieces and is held together by mushing it with my hands and icing.  Very frustrating at the time, but at least the end result is good.  All this talk of cakes falling apart had me wondering, do you know of a store bought cake mix that holds together well?  I know for sure that Pillsbury is just too spongy and soft, it falls apart every time.  I used to think that Betty Crocker was perfect, but lately those cakes have fallen apart too?  Any ideas or suggestions?

Linking up to Tuesday at the Table over at A Quilter's Table.  Hop on over and visit all the other wonderful link ups.

A few random bits today...
I recently joined up to the largest time waster of all... Pinterest.  Yes, I know I am late to the game, and I tried not to join the band wagon, but alas I caved.  I am trying really hard to use this website as efficient as possible and mostly signed up to keep track of the tons of bookmarks that were piling up on my computer, and this site is perfect for that.  I also wanted to keep track of great recipes and cooking ideas, especially those that have been tested by others out in blog land and proven delicious!  I'll be sure to share those great ones I run across also!  If you want to follow me on Pinterest, you can find me HERE.

Today I wanted to mention the whole idea/concept of menu planning.  I'm not really talking about week to week menu planning but rather doing it monthly and doing some serious planning in hopes of doing some serious time and energy saving.  Have you heard of or tried this approach?  I am going to write it out this week, gather grocery lists and plan to start with October.  Click on the photo below to read this gal's plan and concept.

Going hand in hand with the above concept is the idea of preparing a ton of meals at once (raw) and then freezing them for future use.  This concept utilizes the Crock Pot and I am really curious to try it out, though I do have some reservations in doing so.  For instance, I know a lot of meats actually need to be browned first before they are thrown in the Crock Pot, so I'm thinking of sticking to the recipes that don't need that step.  Also, am I crazy in saying this, but I thought some vegetables (like potatoes) don't freeze that well?  Or did I dream that?  I am really thinking about trying this, but on a smaller scale, like freezing 5 meals, trying them out and seeing what recipes I like and go from there.  I'm just trying to stop the "What is for dinner?" debate that rages in our house daily.  I'm tired of thinking about it honestly.  Maybe a few days worth of planning can provide for a whole month of meals?  Click on the photo below to visit this gal's website that includes directions and a ton of recipes for this technique.

I lucked up and had one of these babies this weekend (see photo below!)  It had been years since I had one and little known to me our local Dairy Queen just started having them on their menu!  Yeah!  And yes, this Orange Julius was all that and a bag of potato chips!  Yum, I see more in my future!

Make sure to hop over to A Quilter's Table, visit Debbie and see all of the other delicious link ups and recipes!

Last, but not least, time to announce the winner of the Traveling Stash Giveaway!  I had 16 entries, and the winner is...

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

6

Timestamp: 2012-09-25 13:20:28 UTC

Number 6 is Kathy!  Kathy blogs over at Qreative Quilts and Quests and the Traveling Stash will now be traveling to her house!  Kathy, look for an email from me in your inbox!  Congratulations!  Thanks to everyone who entered and visited my little blog!

I'm getting Figgy with it!

Yes, those lovely jars contain Fig Preserves or Fig Jam as I like to call it, and it is easier to spell.  Doesn't really look like figs, and to be honest, it doesn't really taste like figs either, but you won't hear me complaining.  I like figs, but they aren't my favorite, and I'm not really sure what I did to create this unique tasting batch, but this jam tastes a lot like strawberries, and the pretty color lets my brain think it is strawberries too.

My mom brought over bags and bags of figs this weekend from a neighbor who was swimming in them, and since one batch was really really ripe, I decided to go ahead and cook them, thus the canned jam you are looking at here.

I jumped online, looked up this RECIPE, and got to chopping, then cooking, and finally canning.  I did not want to leave the figs whole, so I quartered them, and then in the cooking process used a potato masher and mashed the heck out of them.  I left the skins on and just cut off the stem and the very bottom of the fig.  Below are the ingredients and measurements that I used, and I am putting it here more as a reference for myself later, like I said earlier the full recipe is available at the link above or below.

Ingredients:
5 1/2 cups of quartered figs, stems and bottoms removed.
7 cups of sugar
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup water
1 box of regular pectin

Directions:
Step by step directions can be found HERE.  I found this site to be very easy to follow and understand.  The longest part is cleaning the figs, the rest goes really quickly!

My mom and husband seem to think that the lemon juice is what created or preserved the pretty pinkish red color, but I'm not sure.  Any ideas?  Maybe it was just this variety of figs, the inside was very pink/red and the outside was not very brown, but rather more of a light green/brown color.  I'm rather ignorant on the matter, but was quite pleased that it turned out so pretty.

Make sure to hop on over to A Quilter's Table and visit Debbie and all the other entries this week at Tuesday a the (summer} Table!

We visited the in-laws for Father's Day this year and my mother-in-law treated everyone to BBQ ribs and a host of other sides and deserts.  Aside from being delicious, we also got to bring home leftovers.  Score!  Nothing better than having a bunch of home cooked food that I didn't have to cook!

Last night was time to eat the leftovers, and rather than just reheat them, I created what I am now calling "Lazy Pulled Pork."  The meat from the ribs was already falling off the bone, so I just finished pulling it off the bone and created this super easy, quick dish.

Ingredients:
Left over rib meat.  I used the equivalent of one rack of ribs.  Meat pulled off the bone.
1/2 red onion, chopped into thin strips.
Your favorite BBQ Sauce, preferably one made with Sugar and not High Fructose Corn Syrup.  (I used Bull's-Eye Memphis Style)  I have found that BBQ sauce made with real sugar tastes better and caramelizes better too!
1 Tbsp Oil (your choice)
Hamburger buns, pickles and anything else you would like to top it with.

Directions:
Heat 1 Tbsp Oil over medium heat in a large pan.  Add red onions and cook until nice and soft.  Add rib meat and heat through.  Add BBQ Sauce, enough to make everything nice and covered and saucy, I used around 1/2 cup, but it is totally up to you.  Simmer for about 10 minutes, until everything is nice and hot and bubbly.  Toast buns, and serve topped with pickles. Enjoy!

I am linking up to Tuesday at the {Summer} Table over at A Quilter's Table, make sure to head over and visit Debbie and all of the other delicious recipes and link-ups.

Have I ever mentioned the insane amount of Blackberry bushes that are around and behind our house?  When I say an insane amount, I am talking about if we hired crews of people to pick, I don't know that they could pick them all.  INSANE AMOUNT!  When we first moved in we had a bush that was literally 10 foot tall and about 20 foot around, and covered in berries.  I think inside the bush was actually a tree, but who knows.  Unfortunately, not long after we moved in construction crews tore it up (not our choice or decision, but it was technically "city property.")  Even with that loss, we still have tons and I spend a few hours every day during blackberry season picking until my hearts content.  My husband says that I am the caveman definition of a "gatherer."

This past year wasn't any different, and I picked a lot, not as much as I normally do, but if memory serves, I was just starting serious morning sickness and not quite up to my normal routine.  I froze two gallon ziplock bags with the intentions of making Blackberry Jelly with a family friend for the first time, after trying hers last year, and deciding it was the best thing ever.  Time passed, morning sickness continued, and it just never happened.  Sometime in December I started cleaning out the freezer preparing for the approaching holiday, and discovered all my frozen berries.  I realized I needed to do something with them, or toss them out.  Why not just make blackberry jelly myself?  So I did some basic research (I've never canned anything before) had the recipe from the friend, and bought a box of canning jars.

Blackberry Jelly Recipe and basic canning directions HERE.  These are the only things I did differently and a few hints:
1.  I didn't want seeds in my jelly, so at first I started pushing the berries through a strainer, which worked, but was very slow.  I ended up putting about two cups in my blender, processing them, and then pushing the puree through the strainer to remove the seeds.  This worked really really well, and I'm not quite sure why some of the recipe comments say not to do it, it worked just fine for me!
2.  Two gallon bags of frozen berries produced exactly the amount of juice needed for this recipe (5 cups) and filled around 9 8 ounce jars.
3.  On Step 11, I didn't have a fancy canning pot, so I just used a large pot that I filled with water, and laid a towel inside.  The towel inside kept the jars from clanking together while the water boiled.  Make sure the water is 1" above the lids during the boiling process.  Be extra careful removing the super hot jars from the boiling water after you are done, this part is rather dangerous and especially so if you are using regular tongs and not specialty canning tongs.  Go slow and be careful!

Enjoy the fruits of your labor year round!  We have already eaten our way through three jars, and I can't wait to make more jelly during the next blackberry season!

P.S.  I wrote this post before I gave birth, and just never had the chance to post it, so fortunately for me, blackberry season is in full swing right now and I swear there are more than ever out there ready to be picked!  I am ready!

_Linking up to Tuesday at the Table over at A Quilter's Table.  Hop on over and visit the others and their great recipes!