Susie's Valentines Cake Decorating Party!

I have always wanted to do a cake decorating party for one of my girls, and I have always wanted to do a Valentines Birthday party for Susie (since she was born in February). So this year I decided to combine the two. It turned out so cute, and was probably one of the funnest parties we have had.  It was a lot of work, but in the end worth it! I made all of those cakes plates (a dollar store candlestick, and plate glued together), and all of those mini cakes. So with that being said, if you plan to do a cake decorating party remember there is A LOT of prep work!

Canning my own Tomatoe Sauce

Ok so I read an article about the dangers of eating tomato sauce out of a can recently.......Ugh I hate that! We use so much tomato sauce in our house, it really is the one can food item that I always keep in the pantry. I hate that it's so NOT  good for you! So of course I had to try jarring my own. It turned out really good, but I'm not gonna lie it's a chore.  It took a long time and had a lot of steps. I will say it tasted so much better, and fresher, I will definitely try to keep making it!  Here is how I did it..... oh by the way this is the most basic recipe I could find.

• 8 lbs. supremely ripe tomatoes (a bit overripe isn't bad here either)
• 1 tsp. sea salt
• 4 Tbsp. jarred or bottled lemon juice
• 4 pint-size jars with sealable lids for canning

Preparation:

1. Rinse the tomatoes clean and pat them dry. Now you need to remove the seeds and skin. This can be done one of three ways: Option 1: Cut a small "x" in the bottom of each tomato and blanch them for about 30 seconds in boiling water, remove to an ice bath, slip off their skins, cut in half and squeeze out the seeds.
   Option 2: Roughly chop the tomatoes and run them through a food mill.
   Option 3: Whirl the tomatoes quickly in a blender and push the puree through a fine sieve.
2. Put the peeled and seeded tomatoes or tomato puree in a pot with the salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook, stirring now and again, until the mixture is reduced by about a third, about 45 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, sterilize the jars and lids bring a canning kettle full of water to a boil.
4. Put 1 Tbsp. of the lemon juice in each of the 4 jars. Transfer the hot tomato sauce to the hot jars, leaving about 1/2 inch of head space at the top. Screw on the lids, put the jars in a canning rack, and lower them into the boiling water in the canning kettle. Process for 40 minutes.
5. Remove jars and let them cool. Store in a cool, dark place (a cupboard or pantry works great) until ready to use.