Natural Homemade Living

I was recently having a conversation with my oldest granddaughter about butter. (I know...haha!!). She was telling me about the yummy butter served at one of her favorite restaurants. Since my husband and I rarely eat out except for a few locally owned establishments, I asked her to describe the butter for me and that's where I started for this recipe. I served it at Thanksgiving with our Simply Sweet Homemade Buns and she loved it! Actually, everyone loved it, even me because it was easy to make, it was sweet, and my time was becoming very limited! Directions : 1 cup butter, softened to room temperature 1/4 cup honey 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon 2/3 cup powdered sugar Mix all ingredients together and beat on low speed with mixer until everything is combined and smooth. Serve immediately on warm buns or refrigerate until needed. If you serve the buns warm, the butter will melt a little right into the buns. Yummy-licious!  Love and peace, ~ Simply Tammi

It seems like whenever our mom comes to visit me, we "shop til we drop" literally-then we start projects! I saw these cute little figures and trees on sale when we were out shopping, (after all the hustle and bustle was pretty much over, Black Friday afternoon).  The glass jar was a thrift store find for $1, then I added fake snowflakes from Target, for $2. I used poster tack to stick the trees and people to the bottom of the jar so later I can take them out and use my jar for other things. The whole project cost about $8.  This would also be a fun project to do with the kids.   We also canned Spiced Cranberry Sauce and made a "No Sew Valance" from a bed skirt we found on clearance..more on those in a future post!   We hope you enjoyed time with your friends and family, and also had some quiet moments to just relax...or maybe work on some fun projects! Let us know what you are working on, we love hearing new ideas! ~Simply Angie

I put the finishing touches on my kitchen organization project this week. I previously used a basket to store my bowl lids which worked well for me but I realized that when my family helps out in the kitchen, they needed something that they could see the lids rather than digging through a basket. So instead I used a dish draining rack to organize them. I tested my new system on Thanksgiving and it worked great! I started with the larger lids on the right and worked to the left with the smaller lids. It was much easier to choose the correct lid because we didn't have to take the basket out to look through all of them. A simple tip to help you get organized on a budget! Another tip to help organize your lids if you don't have a dish draining rack, is to use a file folder holder, Simply A Kitchen Use For File Folder Holder . They both work great! Organizing lids with dish draining rack  Love and peace, ~ Simply Tammi

This is probably the shortest post ever, but I had to share the idea. I mentioned in an earlier post that I was changing the color of my Christmas decorations this year. I typically use red and green but my living room is now shabby chic, so I have chosen pink and white colors this year. My Christmas tree is a white flocked tree so I have been searching for a shabby chic tree skirt. I encountered 2 issues in my quest, on-line shabby chic tree skirts are very expensive so this is not an option, and many local shopping trips have proven that I might be the only shabby chic lover in town! I finally decided my only option would be to make my own shabby chic tree skirt. As you probably know by now, my sister and I are always looking for ways to re-purpose items. So...I was looking around my house for something pink and white, and I found the perfect item! It was a bridesmaid dress from my own wedding! I have been using the material from the dress for other small DIY projects, such ...

We are celebrating Thanksgiving Day today! It's early in the morning, the sun is shining through the windows, and it is perfect, peaceful morning. In a mere 5 hours, the house will be filled with the aroma of turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, sweet corn, squash, sweet potatoes, fresh fruit salad, freshly baked sweet buns, and warm peach cobbler! The sounds of laughter will fill our home, children talking (all 7 of them at the same time), and the clanging of pots and pans will ring in the background as we place the food on the table. Then it happens, we are finally sitting at the table, ready to eat. But first, we give thanks. After the Thanksgiving blessing, we all share what we are most thankful for. The most touching and humorous responses are from the children - I can hardly wait! I am most grateful this year for the everyday blessings. I am grateful for each morning, for my family and friends, my health, my faith, my freedom, and the tradition of holidays. As we begin the holida...

I recently started using my grandma's old sewing cabinet in my craft room and paired it with my husband's grandma's sewing chair. It made a perfect duo and the chair is exactly the right height. I was not too fond of the material on the chair since it goes with nothing in our home. I had one piece of my shabby chic material that I used for the DIY Shabby Chic Ottoman Project and a few other little projects, so I decided to use that. Then the chair can serve as an extra dining room chair when we are all together for special occasions. I tipped the chair upside down and removed the 4 screws underneath and the seat fell off, just what I wanted! So I measured my material, leaving a couple of inches all the way around the outside. I cut the material and using my rather new staple gun, stapled 2 sides, then stapled the other 2 sides folding the ends like the ends on a present. One side underneath and then fold the remaining corner over the top, staple and done! ...

It was craft time at Nana's last weekend. My 9 year old granddaughter spent some time with me and she made a cupcake decoration. We had a house full of family, helping me with my Christmas tree, stringing lights around the deck, and making some new holiday decorations. Usually I decorate using red and green but this year I really wanted to change to a more shabby chic, vintage Christmas. You know what that means, lots of pink! How to make cupcake decoration : Styrofoam balls (use any size) I used the hard foam Mod podge Acrylic paint Epsom salts Glitter Cupcake wrapper Decoration for the cupcake top Start with the size ball that will fit in your cupcake wrapper. Paint the ball with your favorite color. Let it dry, it only takes 15 minutes. Brush a coat of mod podge over the ball but don't brush over the top. Sprinkle glitter over the mod podge, we used pink glitter. When this is dry, paint mod podge over the top and dip the top into Epso...

If you are looking for a crunchy, healthy snack then this is a recipe for you. I have to admit, I was a little skeptical at first, I'm not particularly fond of... beans, but thought it was worth a try. After all, garbanzo beans are cheap so wouldn't be out much if I didn't like them. I found several recipes for them on allrecipes.com. You can add what you like, there are several ideas and seasoning combinations that can be used.  I didn't really follow a recipe I just added what seasonings I like and was happily surprised when they actually tasted good! Here's what you need: 1 15oz can garbanzo beans 2-3 T olive oil or oil of your choice, canola works well too cayenne pepper Spanish paprika dash of salt, optional any other seasonings you like, If you prefer sweet instead of salty you can use 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 T honey and 1T sugar Rinse and blot dry with a paper towel, this will also get some of the extra skins off the chickpeas. Drizzle with oil and spri...

I really love using  my crockpot, especially during the week, so when I found this recipe on Pinterest, I grabbed my phone (cuz that's where my pinterest app is).. and ran to my kitchen to throw this together for supper. It only took me about 5 minutes...(most of that time I was wrestling with a pan and a cupboard door, if I hadn't had that little problem it would have taken me hardly any time at all!) Then 6 hours later my family had a delicious supper and my kitchen didn't even look like a disaster.  I love that about crockpot cooking! This recipe came from forkinit.blogspot.com. Her chicken picture looked much yummier than mine, but you get the general idea. Here's what you need for Crockpot Barbecue Chicken: 4-6 pieces boneless skinless chicken breasts, I threw them in half frozen...my crockpot manual said I could..so I did... check your manual, or defrost them first 1 bottle BBQ sauce, I used Sweet Baby Ray's 18 oz size, use what you like, it doesn'...

Yes, I have to admit I'm already thinking about the holidays. The weather changed overnight in the Midwest and I think winter is on the way. And I love, love, love getting all of my little gift lists together! Personally, when someone gives me a gift that is homemade, homegrown, or hand-crafted, I am thrilled! It's one of my favorite things! And let's face it, some people just seem to have everything! Here are a couple of gift ideas for you. If you haven't tried our Simply Homemade Apple Cinnamon Granola , the time is now! This is the best granola ever! So get your jars and ribbons ready for granola, a jar of our Simply Pancake Mix , and top it off with a jar of apple cider syrup. Who wouldn't love that? In case you don't know this, my sister is a genius! She found an awesome recipe for Apple Cider Syrup at foodinjars.com which I was thrilled with because I didn't have to go shopping for apple syrup, one of my new favorite things! Ingredi...

I had this old bucket sitting outside for the summer with a plant in it and decided to bring it inside for the winter and do something decorative to it.  So I brought it in, cleaned it up and looked at it for a couple days, it seemed like a milk bucket to me-so I found a label in an old magazine (I'm sure you can get them off a website too). Mine was in color but I printed it black and white..it seemed like it would look older that way. It's hard to see the details in the picture but I glued it to the bucket then distressed it.  I realized later I probably did this in the wrong order but that's usually how I do projects...jump in then think later!  I used some strong coffee, you can also use strong tea, and brushed it on lightly with a small paint brush. While it was still a little damp I rubbed the edges and some of the front....I did it a little too much so there is more print missing than I wanted- what can i say I got carried away! Then let it dry and put a coat ...

This recipe is from Pioneer Woman, on the Food Network Channel. It is an easy caramel sauce and only took about 20 minutes. I made it to eat with some apples..but frankly this tasted so good I could have just eaten it straight from the jar! It would make a great topping for  fruit, cakes, brownies, fruit crisps, or with nothing...just on a spoon! Here's what you need: 1 c packed brown sugar 1/2 c. half-and-half 4 Tablespoons butter pinch salt (I used salted butter so I omitted salt) 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract Mix the brown sugar, half and half, butter and pinch of salt in saucepan over medium-low heat, whisking gently for about 5-7 minutes until it starts getting thicker. (Mine was boiling gently the whole time) then whisk in the vanilla and cook another minute. Don't worry, it will get even thicker as it cools. Then turn off heat and let cool down a little bit. Pour into a jar or container with a lid, I used a canning jar - let come to room temperature befo...

I've been looking for a new dessert, something light, yet tasty. My typical day in the kitchen involves the food channel in the background, my little dog curled up on a rug, my coffee, and I usually have at least a couple of cooking projects going on at the same time. I like to experiment in the kitchen but for some reason, I'm drawn to Italian food and some of my favorite chefs have been making panna cotta. So of course, I wanted to make it too! Most recipes use heavy cream for panna cotta but I wanted to use coconut milk instead of heavy cream. I love the flavor of coconut milk and it also happens to be dairy free and gluten free for all of you that avoid dairy products or need gluten-free. And the end result? I'm telling you, this is the perfect dessert! So try something different today, make your own panna cotta! Ingredients : 1-13.5 oz can of unsweetened coconut milk 1/4 c sugar 1/2 vanilla bean, inside scraped 1/2 ...

  Recently I have gotten back into canning. I don't really know exactly why I took a hiatus, but lately I have gotten really tired of walking through the grocery store aisles thinking "gosh, that's so expensive, I could make that!" Maybe as I've gotten older I have just become "cheap" but in the back of my mind I think I feel better just knowing what exactly is in the foods my family eats.  So here is my recipe for Apple Jelly. I know it's not the healthiest thing but I had to start with something simple to get back into it again. I used a combination of recipes. The jelly on the left is adapted from the Better Home's New Cook Book, Recipe for Fruit-Juice Jelly. Here's what you need:  4 cups unsweetened apple, grape, or orange juice ( I used unsweetened Apple Cider) 1/4 c lemon juice (not from a real lemon) has to be in the bottle 1- 1 3/4 ounce package powdered fruit pectin, if you use the little container of pectic (I use Ball ...

Never buy box brownies again!  I was so excited to find this recipe on Pinterest. I don't know who the original pinner was because the recipe took me to a spam site. ( I did make a batch of the brownies to be sure it was actually a real recipe).  They turned out delicious, in fact my 8x8 pan was nearly gone the same day!  They are a little chewy around the edge and moist in the middle..YUM!!  The dry ingredients can be layered or mixed together in a pint jar or baggie.  I put mine in a wide mouth pint jar. Here's what you need to make the mix for one batch of brownies: 1c sugar 1/2 c flour 1/3 c cocoa 1/4 tsp salt 1/4 tsp baking powder To make the brownies: add 2 eggs 1/2 c oil 1 tsp vanilla Mix dry ingredients with wet ingredients and pour into a greased 8x8 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Check after 25 minutes, mine took 35 minutes. You could put the dry ingredients into the jar and make a cute little tag with the di...