Natural Homemade Living

If you are looking for an inexpensive gift to give this season, this is a recipe we have had around for years, it's another one from our Aunt Joanne. It's always a great gift for those on your list that you don't know what to buy. I have tried several recipes for hot chocolate mixes but this one is a favorite. It makes a cute gift in a jar or even a single serving given in a cute bag. I found these little glass spice jars at our Bed Bath and Beyond Store, they came in a pack of 4 for under $5. Give it with a bag of our Simply Homemade Marshmallows to make it even more special! What you need: This will make about 2 quart jars of powder, enough for several servings (or gifts!) 10 cups of powdered milk 6 oz container of powdered coffee creamer, I used the store brand french vanilla 1 lb. container of Nestle or Hershey Cocoa Powder 1-2 cups powdered sugar Pour all ingredients into a large bowl and mix together. Then put into separate containers or jars for gifts. ...

Simply Homemade Blueberry Lemonade We hope everyone is enjoying their summer! It always seems like there is SO much going on when the weather is warm. The gardens are growing, camping trips are happening and lots of outdoor grilling! This afternoon is hot and humid so I decided to make some fresh homemade blueberry lemonade. I am not really a fan of lemonade but it makes all of the difference with fresh fruit. Ingredients: 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, I used 7 organic lemons 3/4 c sugar mixed with 2 cups water 2 cups frozen blueberries (or fresh ) 5 cups water Start by squeezing the lemons to get fresh lemon juice. Then pour the lemon juice into a pitcher. I used my tea pitcher. Add the sugar to 2 cups water and microwave it for a minute (or until the sugar dissolves). Your objective here is to make a simple syrup. Let this cool for a few minutes then pour it into a blender. Add the blueberries and puree for about 15 seconds. Pour this through a fine strainer unle...

Pineapple-banana smoothie It finally happened to me...I'm officially addicted to smoothies! I was looking for something filling for breakfast because I wasn't enjoying my hot oatmeal during the summer months. I bought a KitchenAid blender (that I love) and knew I would end up using it to make something delicious! This led me to my current smoothie experiments and they are simply awesome! These are my 3 favorite smoothies (so far): pineapple-banana, banana-vanilla and peach-vanilla bean.  So try something new and let us know your favorite fruit smoothie ideas! Pineapple-banana directions: 1 cup V8 Splash Smoothie juice (tropical colada) 1 cup frozen pineapple chunks 1 banana, peeled 1 cup crushed ice 1/2 tsp coconut extract Place all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth. Banana Vanilla Smoothie Banana-vanilla directions: 1 banana, peeled (fairly ripe) 1/2 c vanilla soy milk (or milk of your choice) 1/2 c vanilla yogurt 1/2 vanilla bean, scrap...

It was a busy weekend at our house, we had so many projects going on I couldn't keep track of them all! A  headboard was being made, car panels were being upholstered and I was quilting and cooking. About 2:00 we all ended up in the kitchen at the same time for refreshments! I love making these in the summer but they also work great on a heavy project day, Italian Cream Sodas, I call them my "comfort drink." How cute would these be for Valentine's Day? Ingredients: 3/4 c sparkling water (I use Perrier water) 2 T flavored syrup per drink (my favorite is Torani) 1/2 cup half-n-half (or milk if you want) ice cubes whipped cream (optional but necessary in this house!) Directions: This is really simple. Place 2 T flavored syrup in a glass, we used raspberry. Add the sparkling water, then the half-n-half, then about 3-4 ice cubes or some crushed ice. I usually stir it gently at this point. Add whipped cream on top and place your straw in the glass! That's it, ...

Do you ever have those days that you just don't feel your usual great self? Yep, me too! I notice it when my diet changes or if I try to add something that my body doesn't like. I have always had a touchy tummy and it seems to react with different types of unpleasantness, including nausea. For a few days last week I was feeling kind of yucky and remembered I had read that ginger helps relieve nausea. I got busy and researched several web sites and articles that said ginger has many health benefits, but also precautions with usage (if you're pregnant, diabetic or have heart problems). As always, do your research and check with your doctor if you have questions. With no obvious health issues, this is how I made my ginger tea.   Directions : Ginger root - I washed mine rather than peeling it, then broke off a couple of the roots. Slice into 12-15 pieces, place it into a pan with 3 cups of water. Boi...

If you like to add a little sweetness to your coffee, tea or other drinks, simple syrup is a great concentrated sweetener, and is quick and easy to make. In the Midwest it isn't exactly "cold drink" weather this time of year but it works in hot drinks or desserts too.  It can also be brushed over a cooled cake to keep crumbs from getting into the frosting. This recipe is for vanilla but you can use other flavors too, depending on what you are using it for and what you like.  I added some to my half-n-half for coffee creamer. Here's what you need: 1/2-1 cup sugar (depending on how sweet you like it, and what you're using it for, I used 1/2 c) vanilla bean, cut in half lengthwise, scrape and keep the seeds and pod  if you don't have vanilla beans you can use about 1 1/2-2 teaspoons of vanilla or other extract In a small saucepan over medium heat add 1 cup of water, sugar,  vanilla seeds and pod. Bring to a boil, then simmer for about 5 minutes stirring ...

This makes a great holiday gift but it's also a nice hot drink to serve on a chilly...or like our weather here in the Midwest... freezing cold ... night.  You can make several servings in the slow cooker or single servings. Here's what you need to make the mix: 2 cups orange breakfast drink powder (a.k.a. Tang) 1 c sugar 1 1/2 c instant tea with lemon (I used Lipton) 1 tsp ground cloves 1 tsp ground cinnamon Mix all ingredients in a large bowl or jar and shake or mix well. The mix will keep up to 6 months. To make the drink add up to 1 Tablespoon of powder to 1 cup hot water. Adjust to taste. We hope you are able to celebrate and enjoy time with your family and friends this holiday season.  We especially thank our veterans and their families for the sacrifices they make on a daily basis. We appreciate you all, Merry Christmas! ~Simply Angie and Tammi

This is the best tasting and prettiest punch you will ever drink! I have been making this awesome punch recipe for years and it never fails. It is so good that you will need to plan on running out of punch before your party ends! I make this for every special family event and I have never had leftover punch. Ingredients : 46 ounces chilled pineapple juice 1/2 quart or 1/2 liter of ginger ale, chilled 1 quart or 1 liter of Sprite or 7up, chilled 1 quart strawberry sherbet, soft but not runny.  Our favorite flavors are pineapple, orange, strawberry or raspberry but you can use any sherbet flavor. 1 quart (sometimes I use 2 quarts if I want a creamier texture) vanilla ice cream, soft but not runny. The ingredient list is for the entire batch of punch. I have always mixed half of the ingredients together in a punch bowl or large bowl and stir until most of the ice cream and sherbet melt. (You can use a potato masher to help mix in yo...

As you probably know by now, I am an avid coffee drinker. I love love love coffee. I am trying to reduce my coffee spending budget by making my favorite treats at home. Now that the warm weather is here, I like iced coffee and iced lattes. I'm not really into the whipped cream or the frozen drinks, crushed ice is my favorite. A couple of tips first, since you will brew your initial pot of coffee at double strength, you will probably want to keep the remainder of the brewed coffee in the refrigerator for the rest of the week. I keep mine in a Ball jar. You might have to experiment with the flavors since coffee preference may be different for everyone.  Directions for 1 iced latte: Brew enough coffee for about 10 cups - I use bold, dark coffee and almost double the amount of coffee I use for a normal pot of coffee. Let your coffee cool, if I'm not in a hurry I do this, otherwise I just add more ice at the end.  Pour 1/2 cup cooled coffee into a 12 ounce glas...

I have to admit, I love love love my coffee! I do have a couple of alternatives to coffee so I thought I would share my favorites. These are super simple and you only need a couple of ingredients. The first recipe is dairy, soy, and gluten free. Even though I'm not really a tea drinker, I like the flavors together and it smells great! You will need: 1 packet (tea bag) organic chai tea 1 6.5 fl oz vanilla coconut milk about 1/2 cup of hot water Regardless of the size of my cup or mug I fill it about halfway with tea, then I add the coconut milk and heat in the microwave for about 30 seconds to heat it altogether. It equates to about 1 part hot tea to 2 parts coconut milk. This is so yummy! I also make another variation of this because I like vanilla protein drinks. I substitute the coconut milk with a vanilla protein shake. Heat this at a lower heat because some of the protein shakes will curdle if you heat them too quickly. When I don't have time for breakfast, ...

Homemade Sweetened Condensed Milk Since I have been making my own coffee creamer for a while now, I keep trying to improve my recipe and try different combinations. Meanwhile I found a recipe on my instant dry milk box for sweetened condensed milk! It is easy to make and tastes even better (and is prettier) than the milk in the can! Here's the recipe: 1 c instant dry milk 2/3 c sugar 1/3 c boiling water 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 1/4 c softened butter Put it all in a blender or food processor and blend for 1 minute.  This makes approx. 14 oz., the same as the can. I used some of mine to make another version of coffee creamer and put the rest in the fridge. For the creamer: I used equal parts warm milk, sweetened condensed milk, a tablespoon of vanilla, then gave it a whirl in my food processor. Store it in the refrigerator. Angie

Here is a delicious, but very thick and rich hot chocolate recipe. It goes perfectly with the homemade marshmallows recipe shown earlier. I found the original recipe for this in Family Circle magazine. I have made it with a few different variations and it's always rich and delicious. Bring 1c milk to a boil on the stove. (I have made this with whole milk or skim milk instead, to cut calories) Add 3 T of cream, (I have also used half and half instead) Add  2-3 oz of chocolate. (I used Bakers semi-sweet, or chocolate chips and they both turned out yummy) bring to a second boil until the chocolate melts and is mixed well (the second boil is the key to the thickness). Then top it with a marshmallow and enjoy!  This is supposed to be one serving, but it is so rich that I split it into 3, half cup servings.   Angie

When we decided to do our favorite things section I had trouble deciding which of my favorites I should choose.  My coffee everyday is definitely a favorite, but not without my french vanilla creamer in it.  Every time I go to the store it seems to get more expensive to buy, then yesterday I looked at the ingredients on the creamer...there isn't any CREAM in it! In fact, there isn't even MILK in it!  OK, maybe everyone else realized this and didn't tell me, but I was shocked.  So then it occurred to me that I could try to make it myself.. so I did!  I will just tell you that I will no longer be buying it at the store! Here's the recipe if your interested, I found a few but this one sounded the best and tastes delicious! 1c. milk ( I used 1/2 c whole and 1/2 cup skim because that's what I had) 1c. cream or half and half About 2T of either Agave, honey or maple syrup (I use Agave for everything) 1 vanilla bean cut and scraped, or vanilla extract  Put t...