Natural Homemade Living

For me, homemade applesauce is another one of those items that once you've had homemade, the stuff in the jars just doesn't cut it! Both of my grandmas made applesauce without a recipe. I had some notes from them that helped me remember the process. I used organic ingredients, but you don't have to. I would recommend using sweeter apples so you don't need as much sugar. This is super delicious! Ingredients : 6 pounds apples (about 12-16 medium apples) peeled, cored and sliced 1/2 c water 1/2 c white sugar  1 tsp ground cinnamon 1/2 tsp allspice 1/4 tsp ground cloves Directions : I used organic apples, honeycrisp and gala. Peel, core and slice the apples and put them in a large pot. Add the water and sugar. Cook over medium heat for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the spices and simmer over low heat until the liquid has cooked into the apples. Remove from the heat and cool for about an hour. I like to use jars to store the applesauce in the refrigerato...

I picked the last of my cucumbers today from my garden and decided to make some refrigerator dill pickles. Angie had posted our grandma's pickles Simply Grandma's Refrigerator Pickles for sweet pickles, so I thought I would try some refrigerator dill pickles. I found a recipe on growveg.com so I decided to try it. It worked great! Even though canned pickles are my favorite, we liked these and they worked great on sandwiches! Refrigerator dill pickles:   4-5 washed, sliced cucumbers 1 cup white vinegar 1/4 c water 1/4 c sugar 1 teaspoon salt 2-3 cloves peeled garlic Place sliced cucumbers in glass gallon jar.  Heat the brine mixture in small pan just enough for the sugar to dissolve.  Pour over the sliced cucumbers. Add 1 teaspoon dill or about a handful of seeds, leaves or flower heads. Add 2-3 cloves peeled garlic. Shake gently.  The liquid will not cover your cucumbers, that's ok. They will settle down in the jar as they sit in the refrigerato...

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...

  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 ...