Road Trip Prep

The excitement is beyond.  As a little girl, we didn't take very many out of state trips as a family... with the exception of ONE.  South Dakota.  I must've been about 5 or 6 years old, packing it up in the family station wagon and headed west.  I remember hotel swimming pools with my brother, a trip to the corn palace, adventures in deep dark caves and of course, seeing Mount Rushmore.
As a mother, I'm ALL for packing up the kids and heading out of state.  I want them to see it all and have all sorts of travel experience. So... we're headed back to South Dakota.  WITH my parents! Say whaaaaaat????  Yes, I'm pretty pumped about it.  I'm also a bit nervous.... I haven't spent that much time with my parents since... well... since I moved out of the house.  But I'm really excited that my children will be able to have this special time with Grandma and Grandpa, I will get that special time with my parents and my dear husband is going to be the ring leader of this trip.  YIKES!  Bless his heart... he is a KEEPER!
So... traveling with my husband, two children, my parents, and of course, Pixie (the family dog) I'm trying to prepare as much as possible.  One of the things I'm doing is fixing a few snacks for the road.  I'm not really a huge fan of giving my kids fruit snacks.  I really think they are just big huge cavity makers.  No, thanks.  Instead, I give them dried fruit.  Mostly mango and strawberries.  Honestly, they don't even miss the fruit snacks.  They are easy peasy to make!  I just go to Costco and get a big ol' carton of strawberries, rinse them, slice them and throw them in the dehydrator.  About 8 hours later... VOILA!  Healthy snack!

Mmmmmm!

Another one of my FAVORITE road trip snacks (and Little One is a big fan, too) is homemade beef jerky.  My Recipe?  Simple...

*package of round steak (up to 3 lbs), sliced into strips

2 cups soy sauce (or reduced-sodium soy sauce)

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup liquid smoke

Mix the soy sauce,  sugar and liquid smoke together.  Throw in the round steak and let sit in the fridge for 5-8 hours to marinade.  (I find if I let it go longer than 8 hours the taste is too strong for my liking)  If you have a dehydrator, lay the strips on the racks and let them dry according to your dehydrator recommendation.  Mine is set to about 145 degrees.  OR if you don't have a dehydrator, you can stick tooth picks through one end of the strip and hang from the racks in your oven. Set the over to 200 and leave it cracked open a bit so the meat dries out nicely.  Low and slow.  Check after about 6 hours.  Then check every hour or two after that until it's done.

We've been getting some MAJOR rain this past week.  Since the last few days have been sun shiny and bright (thank goodness) you just know I can't resist some relaxation time on the deck.  My latest book I finished is The Unlikely Pilgimage of Harold Fry.  I loved it.  Read it. 

Ahhhh... water with lemon and strawberries.  DELISH. 

And just because I'm obsessed with flowers everywhere in my house during the warm, summer months...

Fresh flowers.  In the bathroom.  Yes.  I just take one of two and stick them in a little vase.  I get compliments on them all the time.  Never mind the big bouquet as a centerpiece in the dining room.  Nope.  Bathroom flowers are apparently where it's at. 

 

Give the treats a try and let me know if you're a fan.  What are your fav road trip snacks?