Natural Homemade Living

A fun little project you can complete in about an hour is a colorful Easter wreath! They also make great gifts!  What you need: 1 straw wreath (leave the plastic wrap on) or Styrofoam circle, mine is 12"  24-30 plastic eggs  Ribbon for bow or pre-made bow Small stuffed animal   Hot glue gun/glue Decorations of your choice  Floral moss or natural straw  Craft wire Directions: I start with making a wreath hanger. Cut a piece of craft wire about 12 inches long. Wrap it around the top of the wreath and twist it several times on the back of the wreath, form a small circle and twist at the bottom of the circle.  Turn the wreath over keeping the hanger on the top while you're working. Leave a space at the bottom for a bow and a small stuffed animal. Heat your hot glue and start by placing a generous amount of hot glue on an egg. Hold the egg onto the wreath for a few seconds until it sticks. I start by placing my eggs on the top and worked ...

The Best Biscotti A couple of my favorite things are a perfect cup of coffee and homemade biscotti! I'm all about simple and delicious treats. This is my best biscotti recipe! 😁 If you are no longer enjoying the hard and tasteless biscotti in a plastic wrapper that you find at the store, you should make your own! This recipe might sound complicated but once you make it you will find it is quite simple. Brew yourself a perfect cup of coffee and enjoy it with your homemade biscotti!  Ingredients : 1/2 cup butter  (room temperature) 1 cup white sugar  2 tsp pure vanilla extract or 2 tsp almond extract 3 eggs 2 cups flour 2 tsp baking powder 1/4 tsp salt Mix butter and sugar until blended. Add extract and eggs and beat until creamy and smooth (about a minute). You can use a hand mixer for this recipe. Add flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat until combined. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. You need to use parchment paper because you will need to lift...

Simply Homemade: The Best Mini Cheesecake If you are looking for an easy and decadent dessert recipe, this is it! These mini cheesecakes are a family favorite at our house. I make them for our special occasions. I make them gluten free but you can use regular vanilla wafers if you don't need gluten free. These little bites are always the first thing to disappear from the table. They have a slight hint of almond flavor in each bite and let's face it, they look pretty! Ingredients : 1 box vanilla wafers (I used gluten-free) 1/4 c butter, melted 1/4 c sugar 1 package cream cheese, 8 ounces, softened 1/3 c sugar 1 egg 1 tsp almond extract Toppings - cherry pie filling, fresh fruit, lemon curd, blueberries or raspberries are a great choice or even caramel or chocolate syrup. Directions: Place vanilla wafers into a food processor (or crush them in a large baggie). Melt the butter and add to the wafer crumbs. Add 1/4 c sugar and pulse in the food processor until th...

Creamy Macaroni Salad A childhood favorite summer salad for me is creamy macaroni salad. I add my favorite veggies (or what I have available) and even add canned tuna or chicken. It doesn't take long to put it together but the flavors come together when you refrigerate it at least a couple of hours before you serve it. Ingredients: One box elbow macaroni, 16 oz size 1 c Miracle Whip salad dressing  1 T yellow mustard 2 T dill pickle juice 2 T milk 1-2 T white sugar 1 T ketchup 1 c finely chopped celery 1/2 c diced dill pickles 1 medium cucumber, diced 1-2 medium tomatoes, diced Cook macaroni according to directions on package. Cool and drain by running cold water over it. In a large bowl, whisk together the salad dressing, pickle juice, milk, sugar, ketchup and mustard. Add the rest of the ingredients together and stir to combine. Salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving. Prior to serving add a little milk if the salad has soaked up the liquid ingre...

Marshmallow Pops I've been making these marshmallow pops for parties for years and I have figured out a couple of helpful hints to make it an easier process. I'm not a marshmallow fan but I think they look pretty in an arrangement. They are super cute for Valentine's Day and the kiddos say they are awesome! 💕 Ingredients : 1 bag Wilton Candy Melts (12 oz bag) 30 lollipop sticks 30 large marshmallows (I did not use the jumbo size) Sprinkles, coconut, chopped nuts, small candies Food coloring optional Directions: Melt the candy chips using a double boiler on the stove. Fill a medium size pan halfway with water and place a glass bowl on top. Heat over medium heat and make sure the water doesn't touch the bottom of the bowl or it'll get too hot. You can also melt the chips in the microwave in 30 second increments. Once the chips are melted, dip an end of the lollipop stick into the chip mixture about 1/2 inch then push it into the end of a marshmallow, al...

  This recipe is everywhere and I finally gave in and made some! It was so simple to make and already popular in our family! Everyone likes the sweet with a little salty taste from the dry roasted peanuts. Check it out! 😊 Ingredients: 24 oz. white chocolate almond bark 12 oz. chocolate almond bark 12 oz. milk chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate chips 5 cups dry roasted peanuts Directions: I started layering the ingredients in the crockpot. Here's the order starting with the peanuts on the bottom, the almond bark (both flavors) and the chocolate chips. Cover and cook on low for one hour, stirring every 15 minutes.  Cover 3 large baking sheets with parchment paper and scoop candy out of crockpot and place on the baking sheets. Add some of your favorite sprinkles.  Once the candies have set, mine took about an hour, store them in an airtight container. I also made a batch without peanuts and used gluten-free mini pretzels. They turned out great! Enjoy! Love and peace, Tammi