Natural Homemade Living

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...

This morning seemed like a great time to make a favorite bread from the past. This recipe makes 2 loaves. Enjoy! Ingredients: 1 cup softened butter 2 cups white sugar 2 eggs 2 cups buttermilk 4 cups flour 2 tsp baking soda Cinnamon Topping: 1/2 cup white sugar 2 tsp cinnamon Cream butter then add sugar and eggs. Beat until blended then add milk. Mix in flour and baking soda. Pour batter into 2 greased loaf pans (9x5 inch) until they are 1/4 full. Sprinkle half of the cinnamon topping over the batter in each pan. Spoon the rest of the batter over the top of cinnamon mixture. Sprinkle the rest of the cinnamon mixture over the top. Use a knife to gently swirl the cinnamon mixture throughout each loaf. Bake at 350° for 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of each loaf comes out clean. Place on a cooling rack for 15-20 minutes then remove from pans. Slice and enjoy! Love and peace, Tammi and Angie

My favorite fall scents and flavors are cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves. One of the reasons I love making apple bread is that your home will be filled with the best fall smells! This bread reminds me of coffee cake that my grandma used to make. It was the perfect choice this morning since our weather is cooler and fall is on the way! 😊 Ingredients for Bread : 1/2 c butter, room temperature 2 eggs 2/3 c white sugar  2 tsp vanilla extract 1 2/3 c flour 2 tsp baking powder 1/4 tsp ground cloves 1/2 tsp nutmeg 1 tsp cinnamon 2/3 c buttermilk or add 2 tsp lemon juice or white vinegar to 2/3 c white milk, let it sit for at least 5 minutes, then add it instead of buttermilk.  2 medium apples, I used honey crisp apples, peeled and chopped into small pieces. Ingredients for Topping: 3 T brown sugar 1/8 tsp cloves  1 tsp cinnamon  Mix it together with your fingers or a fork and sprinkle over the top of the bread batter. Directions: On low speed beat butter ...

                                            These moist orange muffins are delightful! Our favorite muffin taste-testers highly recommend these and they are easy to make! Ingredients and Directions : 1 yellow cake mix (dry mix only) 1 1/4 c orange juice 3 egg whites 1/4 c oil Zest from one orange Combine all ingredients and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Pour batter into lined muffin pans filling about 2/3 full. Makes 24 muffins. Bake at 350º for 18-20 minutes.  Glaze: 1 c powdered sugar Orange juice from two oranges Zest from one orange Stir ingredients together until smooth. Dip the tops of the warm muffins into the glaze and place on the cooling rack. Store in an airtight container. These muffins freeze well. Love and peace, Tammi and Angie

This is a bran muffin recipe that we have been making for years. It's from a favorite restaurant we used to eat at as a family when we were younger, like way younger, in the 1980's! It has closed since then but luckily our Dad asked them for the recipe while they were still open! It makes about 6 1/2 dozen but you can keep the mixture in the refrigerator for up to 6 weeks..if you have it around that long! Here's what you need : One large bowl (big enough to hold all the ingredients but can fit in your refrigerator). If you don't have room in your refrigerator you can split up the batter once you have mixed it up. In a medium bowl, pour the boiling water over the All-Bran cereal and let it sit. 2 c. All-Bran cereal 2 c. boiling water Cream the following ingredients together in the large bowl:   2 1/3 c sugar 4 eggs 1 cup oil (I usually use canola) 1 quart cultured low-fat buttermilk Add the water/bran mixture (from above). Mix by hand once the ...

Simply homemade banana muffins I must apologize if you've been looking for a new post. It has been a busy couple of weeks around our house. We have been quilting, sewing birthday dresses for the twins, sewing some new spring clothes for ourselves and chalk painting some old furniture! I've also been working on a new Easter wreath so keep checking back for that fun DIY project. I'm attempting to make some freezer food this weekend so I am starting with banana muffins, although I have a feeling they won't make it into the freezer! Maybe a double batch would have been a better idea! Ingredients: 1/4 c applesauce 2/3 c milk Egg whites from 2 eggs or 1 whole egg 1 1/2 tsp vanilla 2 c flour 3/4 c sugar 2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp baking soda 1 tsp cinnamon 1/8 tsp cloves 1/8 tsp nutmeg 2 ripe, mashed bananas I mix all of the ingredients with a wooden spoon rather than an electric mixer. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk the applesauce, milk, eggs and vanilla t...

Yes, they are as wonderful as they look! We have some lemon lovin' people in our family, so I used my favorite muffin recipe, added some lemon curd to the middle and tops and they are now the favorites! I must admit I had to bend a homemade rule and bought the lemon curd in a jar. These only take a few minutes to put together but they will disappear rather quickly! Ingredients: 2 c flour 3/4 c sugar 2 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 2 eggs 1/2 c butter, melted (I let it cool for about 10 minutes) 3/4 c milk or half-n-half 1 tsp vanilla extract fresh lemon juice from 1/2 lemon, squeezed 1/2 jar lemon curd Directions : Whisk dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.  Add eggs, butter and milk. Stir with a spatula or I use a wooden spoon.  Add vanilla and lemon juice. You don't need to use an electric mixer so stir together with your wooden spoon. I use a muffin-cupcake baking pan and paper liners and fill them about 1/2 full (using a cookie dough sco...

My family loves to eat breakfast together on the weekends and french toast is a favorite. This is a simply delicious french toast recipe that I have used for years. Today I actually measured the ingredients so you can make it just like me! You can use Texas bread if you like big slices, french bread, white bread, gluten free bread, pick your favorite bread or my favorite is to choose the bread that is the least fresh, rather than throwing it away. Ingredients for 6 pieces of french toast: 2 eggs 1/2 c milk 6 slices of bread 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 1/2 tsp cinnamon a pinch of sugar Directions: I mix all of the ingredients on a dinner plate (because that's how Mom did it). With a fork, whisk the eggs until they look slightly scrambled, add the rest of the ingredients and whisk together. I use my electric lefse griddle and heat it to 325F. Dip one side of the bread into the egg mixture, turn it over and coat the other side of the bread. Place it on the griddle for about ...

If you are looking for a tasty little treat, or an easy little breakfast idea, you will love these little muffins! They are super quick to make and you probably have the ingredients already. I got this recipe from my mom, who hardly every watches the food network, but saw this on Trisha's Southern Kitchen show. They are like mini pecan pies but in the form of a muffin. Here's what you need: 1/3 c butter, softened and set aside 2 eggs, beat into the butter 1/2 c flour 1 c brown sugar 1 c chopped pecans This recipe makes about 9 muffins depending on how big you make them, but I'm going to warn you, you might want to double it because they are going to be GONE fast! Mix the 2 eggs with the softened butter then add the dry mixture of flour, brown sugar, and pecans, stir together. Grease your muffin pan, papers, really well...they are sticky little buggers. Bake 350 degrees about 22 minutes. They don't really rise much so don't be alarmed. (I panicked and...

A few weeks ago, I tried a new muffin recipe, had it ready to share and forgot about it until this morning when I discovered a few muffins left in the freezer! So here it is ...I adapted this muffin recipe from The Barefoot Contessa . They are simple to make (no electric mixer needed) and the taste testers loved them! Ingredients: 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1 1/2 cups white sugar 4 1/2 tsp baking powder 1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp salt 1 cup buttermilk (or add 1 T lemon juice to r egular milk, let sit for 5 minutes) 1 cup plain Greek yogurt 1 tsp lemon zest 1/2 cup melted and cooled butter 2 eggs, lightly beaten 2 cups fresh blueberries Directions: Start by melting the butter then let it sit until the other ingredients are mixed. Whisk the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl. I use a 4 cup glass measuring cup to stir the milk, yogurt and eggs, then add the cooled, melted butter and lemon zest. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir (I use a...

Simply Homemade Blueberry Pancakes with Blueberry Sauce I was so hungry for blueberry pancakes on Mother's Day, I decided to make my own Mother's Day brunch! My favorite blueberry pancake recipe is simple and delicious! For the finishing touch I like to use fresh blueberries to make my own blueberry syrup, our favorite recipe is here Simply Homemade Blueberry Syrup or Sauce . Don't forget a special treat at the end and top off your pancakes with a dollop of real whipped cream! Dry Ingredients : 2 cups all purpose flour 3 T organic cane sugar (or white sugar) 1 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp baking soda Whisk these ingredients together in a medium bowl (I use a Pampered Chef batter bowl). Make a "well" in the middle of the ingredients so you can pour your liquid ingredients there. It's easier to mix that way. Liquid ingredients : 2 eggs 1 c milk 1 c plain, Greek yogurt 1 tsp vanilla 1/4 c melted butter 1 cup fresh, washed bl...

I never realized that creamed honey was something you could make yourself, until recently. I bought some delicious creamed honey and was almost out when I searched and found lots of people explaining how to make it yourself.  Who knew?!? All you need is regular honey and a little bit of creamed honey. (which is all I had left).  I'm not technical or scientific so I won't explain it. Here's a more scientific explanation. You might want to look it up if you want to know the science behind it..I just know it works and it tastes delicious. You need to add about 10% of creamed honey to regular honey. I added a couple tablespoons to my pint jar of honey. If your honey has crystallized then warm it a bit by putting the jar in hot water or pop it in the microwave for just a little bit and stir. Then add the creamed honey to the mixture. I used my hand mixer with the whisk attachment and did it right in the jar. You want to make sure it mixes all the way to the bottom. When it lo...

I made some great little dessert pastries this weekend and the taste testers loved them! They are simple to make and they even look a little fancy! I think I will make my own pastry next time rather than the box, but the taste testers thought they were good. So much for homemade...sometimes!!! Ingredients : 1 box of frozen puff pastry (2 sheets in a box), thaw just until cool enough to unroll 1/2 c ricotta cheese (or you can use 8 oz of cream cheese rather than ricotta and mascarpone cheese) 1/2 c mascarpone cheese 1/3 c sugar 1 T flour 1 egg yolk 1/2 tsp vanilla * 1 T lemon zest (1 lemon) this is optional 1 egg, whisk until smooth for the glaze Directions : Mix cheese and and sugar together.  Add flour, egg yolk and vanilla. Mix until creamy and add lemon zest. I used a hand mixer and kept it on low. Don't over-mix. Unfold the pastry sheets unto lightly floured parchment paper, roll a couple of times with a rolling pin so that the dough is smooth then cut each ...

My husband used to like the scary breakfast muffins from the fast food restaurants. I tried a bite once then suggested we change that routine. To me, nothing about that bite tasted like real food. So I started making our own breakfast muffins, froze the extras in the freezer so he could take them to work and heat them or just grab one on the go. These taste great and are a healthy breakfast or I even like them for lunch. You can decide what you want to put on your muffins. The favorites for the children are ham, bacon or sausage, or you can make them without meat. The very best is to make your own English muffins using our recipe Simply Homemade English Muffins . It may seem like a time consuming process but it really isn't, there time while you are making them to multi-task and in the end you have 20-24 delicious homemade English muffins! Use your favorite English muffins if you don't have time to make your own. This recipe is for 6 egg breakfast muffins. If you are making ...

I love to look at all of the recipes and notes in our Grandma's old recipe book that she started to put together in 1929. I still laugh when I page through it and see all of the hand-written recipes, the little notes and the titles of some of the recipes, such as Date Bread (Mrs. Ness), Francis' Chocolate Cake (oh very good!!), Very Good Gingerbread Mix. So today I thought I would try "Mrs. Erickson's Banana Bread." I don't know who Mrs. Erickson is, but I would say either a neighbor or a church lady. Update : mystery solved, I called Mom and she said Mrs. Erickson was her piano teacher! She also said her house always smelled like baked goods - love it!! Ingredients: 1 cup white sugar 2 cups flour 1 tsp baking soda pinch of salt 1/2 cup sour milk (make this using 1/2 c milk and add 1 tsp white vinegar) 3 eggs 1/2 cup shortening (I used 1/3 cup canola oil instead) 3 overly-ripe bananas, mashed 1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional) There were no instr...

  Monkey bread is always a favorite weekend treat! It doesn't take very long to put it all together and my family can hardly wait for me to take it out of the oven! Ingredients : 3 cans buttermilk biscuits, quartered (we usually all just take a biscuit and tear it into a few pieces) 1 1/2 c sugar 1 tsp cinnamon Topping : 1/4 c evaporated or regular milk 1 stick butter (1/2 cup) 1/4 c brown sugar 1 c white sugar (I use the leftover sugar from above and add a little more if needed to make 1 cup, it's ok that the cinnamon is already mixed in) 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon Directions : Remove the biscuits from the packages and cut into quarters. Pour the sugar and cinnamon into a large baggie. Add the biscuit quarters to the baggie, seal the top and shake until the biscuit pieces are covered with sugar and cinnamon.  Place the biscuit pieces in an ungreased bundt pan. Mix the topping ingredients together and cook in a small pan over low heat on the stove until t...

Apple muffins on a cold morning got a thumbs up today! They are easy to make and your taste testers will love them. I used organic ingredients but use your what you have at your house. Muffin Ingredients : 1 egg 3/4 c yogurt, I use  Homemade Yogurt (you can use Greek yogurt) 3/4 c coconut milk, not canned (or your favorite milk) if you use regular milk only use 1/2 cup because it is usually thinner than coconut milk 1/4 c coconut or canola oil 2 c  flour 1/2 c sugar 1 1/2 tsp baking powder 1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp sea salt 1 c diced, peeled apples (I used organic Braeburn apples) Mix the liquid ingredients by hand with a whisk. Add the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon or spatula. Don't mix them too much, you only need to blend all ingredients. Stir in the diced apples. I used a medium scoop to put the dough in paper lined muffin tins, fill about 3/4 full. Makes about 20-22 muffins. Topping : 1/3 c flour 1/3 c brown sugar 1/4 c...

  Here is a recipe we have had for years, it's simple and healthy. It was on the Weight Watchers points plan, I'm not sure how it is done now, but they were 2 points per muffin for 12 muffins. It doesn't get much easier than 3 ingredients!  Here's what you need: 1 box spice cake mix 1 can pumpkin (not pie filling) or frozen pumpkin (check out the post on freezing fresh pumpkin ) 2-4 Tablespoons water Mix all ingredients well. Bake in sprayed muffin tins at 350 degrees for 15-25 minutes. I baked mine for 15 minutes and they were perfect. They are very moist, like cake, so be careful not to over bake them. ~Simply Angie 

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

  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 ...