Natural Homemade Living

For some reason when we posted this recipe back in March, we had "technical difficulties" and it disappeared. We think we have the problem fixed, so in case you missed it before, here it is again. There are a few steps and a little messy, but they are definitely worth it - my official taste tester (husband) absolutely loved them! I used my own pancake recipe but you can use a box or your favorite pancake batter. This was the order I made my pancakes. My recipe made 8 pancakes. If you need gluten-free, you can go to this post, Gluten-Free Cinnamon Pancakes First I prepared the cinnamon filling : 1/2 cup butter melted 3/4 cup brown sugar 1 T cinnamon Mix together until smooth and pour into a baggie. It'll get thicker, just let it sit until you're ready for it. Next I made the glaze : 4 T butter 2 ounces cream cheese (I used the reduced fat) 1 1/4 cup powdered sugar 1 tsp vanilla extract Heat the butter and cream cheese until melted (I used the m

Here is a simple and yummy snack idea I got from tasteofhome.com.  It's a lemony refreshing version of People Puppy Chow (made with peanut butter and chocolate chips). What you will need: 9 c Rice Chex (this is exactly a 12.8 oz box) 1 1/4 c white baking chips 1/4 c butter or margarine 4 t grated lemon peel 2T fresh lemon juice 2 C powdered sugar In large bowl measure cereal and set aside.  In a microwavable bowl, microwave chips, butter, lemon peel and juice uncovered on High for 1 minute, or until it can be stirred smooth.  Pour mixture over cereal and stir until coated evenly.  You can either put the powdered sugar in a resealable 2 gall. bag and shake it, or just pour it over the mixture and stir it until it's all covered.  I never have much luck with the bag so I just coated it in the bowl.  Spread out until cool then store in airtight container. Enjoy! UPDATE 8/29/12: It seems I left out one of the important ingredients before...it has been updated with the

Do you ever have a little DIY project on your mind that you just can't let go of? It happens to me all of the time. I really like the stuff I have but I have a few things that I can't leave alone. My latest DIY project was the chandelier in my dining room. This chandelier was a hand-me-down from my parents and I have always loved it, but I could see room for improvement - haha! My favorite projects are those that don't take much time or money.  I especially love the items that have been in our family over the years. For some reason, I am most creative when my husband is at work! So yesterday, I got out my cream color acrylic paint and my stencil brush (harder bristles) and started dry brushing the darker parts of my chandelier. Dry brushing is so simple, just put some paint in a bowl, dip your brush in and brush a few strokes on a paper towel. You are now ready to dry brush. In less than 20 minutes, and for no cost at all...my chandelier was transformed into my new, old, s

Since Angie and I spend so much time in our kitchens they have to be organized. We have found great little organizing products under $5.00 that work great for kitchen organization. I love holiday entertaining and I've accumulated a little collection of holiday serving platters. I used to keep them in my pantry but I decided since I didn't use them on an everyday basis, they could be stored in the cabinet above my refrigerator. We both found simple little organizers that allow your items to stand. I used mine to store holiday platters so they take less space in a cabinet. So while on my kitchen stool, I also decided to reorganize the entire space. It's now being used for my extra holiday entertaining extras such as my holiday salt and pepper shakers, punch bowl and ladle. The pans and cookie sheets are stored on a rack normally used for filing. I turned one on end to hold my plates. I found them in an office supply store on clearance! Love and Peace ~Simply Tammi

I know there are tons of different trail mix recipes out there, but usually it's hard to get everyone to agree on what to put in it, or someone doesn't like something so they eat everything but that one thing..ok, I'm guilty.  This is one the kids helped mix up, we all picked our favorite things and threw them in for our week long camping trip.  (Even the non-raisin lovers ate the mix without picking them out!) You could also put them in small snack or sandwich baggies for individual servings.  Feel free to make it your way and share your recipe with us! Here's our recipe: 1c. raisins 1c. dried blueberries 1c. pecans 1c. whole and sliced almonds 1c. peanuts 1c. chocolate chips 1c. butterscotch chips 1c. sunflower seeds ~Simply Angie

I felt like I hit the jackpot this week - Colorado peaches $.99 a pound! For me, the process to freeze peaches is simple and relatively messy free. I also prefer freezing over canning peaches. You don't need a lot of fancy stuff for this little project either. I bought a lug of peaches but you can freeze any amount. I buy them a few at a time and freeze them throughout the season. Last summer I bought the cheap little vacuum gadget with the baggies and I love it!! It was on clearance and I got the gadget with the baggies for about $3.00. I also bought some gallon bags and use those for freezing corn and apples. This is my peach freezing process: Ripe peaches (as many or few as you want) Containers or plastic bags Fruit Fresh - I use about 1 T for each cup of peaches I start with a large bowl filled with hot water and place about 8 peaches in the bowl for a few minutes. Then I transfer them to another large bowl filled with ice and cold water. After they sit in the cold water f

If you like chocolate, these are for you!  This is our mom's recipe, it never fails and makes a moist, cake like brownie. Here's what you need: 1/2 c (one stick) softened butter 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 c sugar 4 eggs 1 c + 1 T flour 1 16 ounce can Hershey Syrup (usually found in the ice cream topping aisle) In a bowl cream together butter, sugar, eggs and salt. Then add flour and syrup and mix well. Pour onto a jelly roll pan or cookie sheet with sides. Bake 350 degrees for about 20-25 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Keep an eye on it, you don't want to over bake them. For the Ganache: 1 c whipping cream 2 c chocolate chips or about 8-12 ounces of chopped chocolate pieces You may have some Ganache left over, I keep it to top ice cream... or anything..YUM! I used to try to make homemade frosting but it would always turn out too thick or sugary, then I made Ganache, it can be whipped for filling or icing, or just poured over whatever while it'

I'm not really a collector but I have "collected" some heirlooms and family memorabilia over the years.  Glass jars, vases or bowls are a great way to display collections, special heirlooms, and small items.  I used a couple of candle holders that I got "free" with a purchase years ago, and since I rarely use things for their original purpose, I filled them with special items from both of my Grandmas. I used one for thread, wooden spools and rickrack, in the other I put some game pieces and cards from a game that Grandma and I played together. Tammi uses a cake plate to display necklaces, earrings, vintage lipstick and pin. These could also be used to display and store the jewelry you use everyday also. ~Simply Angie

I finally tried a recipe with goat cheese and it was amazing! How did I not know about goat cheese?  I thought it tasted like cream cheese but a little tangier. This recipe is adapted from Giada DeLaurentis. The flavors are very distinct and it is easy to make. My taste testers were split on this recipe, but the majority loved it! Ingredients : 1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 3/4 inch cubes 1 onion or 2 shallots, diced olive oil (to mist the above ingredients) Kosher salt and coarsely ground black pepper 12 oz box of penne pasta (I used organic) 7 ounces goat cheese (I used 2 - 3.5 ounce packages - see picture below) 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, cut into small pieces Let's put it all together : Preheat oven to 400F. Line a baking pan (or large cookie sheet 11x15) with parchment paper. Using an oil mister or your hands, lightly mist olive oil over the squash and shallots (or onions). Mix them around with your hands a little and spread the veggies in a single

If you have some garden tomatoes and zucchini, try this simple and delicious recipe that you can use as a side dish or an entree. I made it gluten-free but you could use regular bread crumbs instead of gluten-free crumbs. Ingredients : 1 1/2 cups grated mozzarella cheese 1/2 tsp oregano fresh basil - chopped (I used about 1/4 cup) 2 cloves garlic, minced 2 small to medium size zucchinis, sliced 3 tomatoes, sliced (I used beefsteak tomatoes) 4 T butter 1 small shallot, chopped 2/3 cup gluten-free cornflake crumbs (or regular bread crumbs) Putting it together : Preheat oven to 350F.  Use a large bowl and mix together the cheese, herbs, and garlic. Grease a round casserole pan or you could use a square pan (I used a little olive oil). Use about 1/2 of your zucchini slices and cover the bottom of your pan with them. Sprinkle the top with your some of the cheese mixture, use about a third of it. Slice the tomatoes and place them over the zucchini and cheese, then sprinkle mo

So the other day I was strolling through the grocery store and one of the food samples was Quinoa Salad. I knew it was my lucky day, usually it seems they strategically place the greasy, cardboard-looking frozen pizza in my way! (maybe it's good pizza - I don't know, I've never tried it...but anyway). The store chef told me he used a little olive oil, some fresh veggies and some pepper. So I tried his version and of course I added a few more herbs, because I like them! Ingredients: 1 cup quinoa (this is uncooked) 1/2 medium cucumber, diced 2 medium tomatoes, diced 1 carrot, sliced into small pieces 1 small shallot, diced 1/2 tsp garlic powder 1 T olive oil black pepper to taste I included some steps for cooking the quinoa from the savvyvegetarian.com . It's helpful if you this is your first time using quinoa.  Soak the quinoa in warm water for 5 min in a 2 quart pot. Soaking helps quinoa to cook evenly. taste. Rinse the quinoa into a small screen mesh st

We're preparing for camping at the Lifelight Festival in a few weeks and I feel like one of the kids - I can hardly wait!! I am busy trying out new recipes for some (well somewhat) healthy snacks. Of course, I'll stock up on fruit and veggies granola bars but we will want some special snacks too! After paying $4.00 for a bag of organic popcorn at the store, I decided to splurge and buy a popcorn air popper last week and save some money in the long run. I must be honest, normally kettle corn is not my favorite use of popcorn but the cinnamon sugar kettle corn from the store turned that around for me. Welcome to my first experiment making cinnamon sugar kettle corn. It was everything I thought it would be and I have many taste testers that agreed with me. I used organic ingredients but use what you like. I calculated the calories - 70 calories per cup if you follow the recipe. Just a few simple steps : 1/2 cup popcorn (about 14 cups of air popped popcorn - 2 very large bowls)

I've been cruising around Pinterest lately and I have found some cute little DIY projects! I saw several tutorials for tissue paper flowers and this is my favorite because it most like the way my grandma taught me! They are easy to make, inexpensive and so cute! I was short on bows and I usually stock up on all colors of tissue paper at garage sales or when its on sale. So instead of a bow, I used my flower as a bow for my granddaughter's birthday present. She loved it! The website I pinned was michaelannmade.com , they lots of other great ideas there too! Instructions : Use 2 regular size sheets of tissue paper, put them together as one sheet, and fold it lengthwise in half, then keep folding it in half until you are at the end. I ended up with a long strip about 4-1/2 inches wide. (second picture) Then I did the same thing except I folded it half the opposite way until I ended up with a not perfect square about 5 inches by 4-1/2 inches. (third picture) I drew a pictu

If you have been following our blog you probably have realized that Tammi and I like decorating with heirlooms, antiques and distressed furniture.  Usually we use what we have but sometimes when you're looking for just the right look but don't want to spend much, you can buy something close to what you want and then mess with it until it looks old and worn out.  I found this ladder at a yard sale for $1.00, so I did my usual painting and sandpapering until it looked like I found it in a barn.   I found these old dish towels at an antiques fair for $2.00.  Even if distressed isn't the look for you, ladders can be functional as well as decorative.  You can use them to hang and display  magazines, in a bathroom for towels, hang it from the ceiling in a kitchen for pots and pans or hang it on the wall to display photos. Share your ideas with us, we'd love to hear your decorating and project stories! ~Simply Angie

Last weekend I made meals for the freezer. It takes a few hours but this will save you time during the week (in case you have nights like I do when you don't feel like cooking) and your family will love it! I adapted this recipe from Paula Deen (it's called Bobby's Goulash). I used organic ingredients but use the products of your choice. I would have liked to use fresh tomatoes from the garden but my tomatoes weren't quite ready. You can also make it gluten-free by using gluten-free elbow macaroni. It's so tasty - my family loved it! Ingredients : 1 pound ground turkey 1 pound lean ground beef 1 -2 small onions, diced ( I used red onions) 1 (28 ounce) can tomato sauce 2 (15 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with juice 3 cups water 3 cloves garlic, minced 2 T Italian seasoning 3 bay leaves 3 T soy sauce or Worcestershire sauce 1 T seasoning salt course ground pepper to taste 2 cups elbow macaroni (uncooked) Putting it together: Brown meat and onions in a lar

When we built our house a few years ago, at the top of my short list of requests was my very own closet, I didn't want to share a bedroom closet with my husband. Our house plan showed a walk-in closet but I knew that would never work! I wanted my own space for my clothes and so did my husband. For some reason I can remain organized in all rooms of our house except for my closet. I have no idea what the problem is, but if you ask my mom, she would tell you I've always been that way. Well mom, I have finally conquered my messy closet syndrome! It's been 5 days - all is clean and tidy in the closet area! For the past 4 years, I have wasted my money on purchased several organizing bins, space bags, shelves, totes, baskets, hanging bins, shoe organizers, etc., and still nothing worked, nothing was organized the way I envisioned it in my head. But over the weekend I had a revelation and decided that maybe I had too much stuff ! So I revisited my Peter Walsh organizing book a