Natural Homemade Living

This is our favorite summer jello cake recipe from the vintage archives. 😀 It's easy to make and refreshing during the hot summer months. The kiddos love it too! Use your favorite flavors of cake mix and jello to change it up a little. Ingredients for cake: 1 box white cake mix 1 small box strawberry jello Ingredients for topping: 1 small box instant vanilla pudding 1 1/2 cups milk 1 cup whipped cream or Cool Whip Directions: Make cake according to the instructions on the box using a 9 x 13 pan. Let cake cool for 30 minutes. While cake is cooling, dissolve jello in 3/4 cup boiling water. Once the jello has dissolved, add 1/2 cup cold water. Let it sit for 30 minutes. Poke holes in the top of the cake with a fork about an inch apart. Using a large spoon, spoon jello over the top of the cake. The holes will soak up the jello. When all of the jello is gone, refrigerate the cake until you have the topping made. Whisk the dry pudding mix with the milk then fold in the Cool Whip with a ...

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...

My holiday baking marathon has begun! I decided to use a few recipes this year that I haven't made for years and this was the first one I found. I had forgotten about these yummy bars but back in the day, they were a favorite from our family friend Delores. She was our neighbor, an excellent baker and had a heart of gold. During the holiday season maybe take a little time to reminisce about those who are no longer with us. The happy memories are so heart warming and the kiddos love hearing the stories from the past. I smiled when I found this recipe that our Grandma had received from Delores dated 11/15/1978. 😇 The great thing is that you can make them with gluten-free cereal, which means everyone in our family can eat them! And we all like the part that they are easy to put together, no baking! Marshmallow Bars Ingredients: 1 bag milk chocolate chips (11.5 oz.) 1/2 bag butterscotch chips 1 stick butter (1/2 cup) 1 cup creamy peanut butter Melt these ingredients togethe...

Pumpkin pudding with a ginger cookie on the side 😊 Homemade pudding is still one of my favorite childhood desserts. I love to make my own pudding and experiment with different flavors. A perfect fall flavor is pumpkin. This pudding is creamy and has all of the pumpkin pie spices. Try this awesome recipe if you love pumpkin and pudding! Ingredients: 2 T cornstarch 1/2 cup brown sugar 1 egg 1-3/4 cup milk (I used 2%) 2/3 cup canned pumpkin 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg 1/8 tsp allspice 1/8 tsp ground ginger 1 pinch ground cloves 1 pinch salt 1 tsp vanilla extract Directions: Whisk brown sugar and cornstarch in a medium pan. Cook over medium heat. Whisk milk and egg then gradually add to the above mixture. Continue whisking the mixture until it boils, it'll take a few minutes. Boil for 1 minute and keep whisking. Remove from heat and whisk in the pumpkin, spices and vanilla. Place pan on burner over low heat. Whisk for another 2 minutes. ...

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

                                                                          It's officially fall and suddenly I am hungry for pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting! SO you know what I have to do...make some pumpkin bars and post my pumpkin bars recipe.  😉 Ingredients : 1 c vegetable oil 1 c brown sugar 1/2 c white sugar 4 eggs 1 15 oz can of pumpkin puree Mix the above ingredients together until combined. 2 c flour 2 tsp baking powder 1 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt 1 T pumpkin pie spice or 2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ginger, 1/2 tsp nutmeg 1/2 tsp cloves Add dry ingredients and mix well. Pour into a parchment paper lined 11x15 baking sheet with sides. Bake at 350°F for 25-30 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool on a cooling rack. Cream Chees...

Delicious! When you're short on time and ingredients you can make a delicious, rich chocolate cake from a boxed mix. This has become a favorite at our house and it's so easy to make.   Ingredients: 1 box chocolate cake mix 1 package instant chocolate pudding (small) 4 eggs 1 cup sour cream 1/2 cup vegetable oil or 1/2 cup melted butter (cooled slightly) 1/2 cup water or milk Preheat oven to 350°. Mix all ingredients together and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Pour batter into a 9x13 greased or parchment paper lined pan. Bake 35-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes our clean. Let cake cool before frosting it.  Chocolate canned frosting is perfect if you don't have time to make frosting. Add 1 tsp vanilla to the frosting and mix it for 30 seconds with your mixer. It tastes better that way 😋 Enjoy! Love and peace, Tammi 

Maybe you've seen the TikTok trend for frozen yogurts treats. They looked so good I had to make them! There are several variations but I used a couple of my favorite flavors for mine. They are a little messy to make but they are SO good and totally worth chocolate covered fingers! 😋 Ingredients 1 cup vanilla Greek Yogurt 2 cups strawberries, cut into small pieces 2 cups milk chocolate chips, melted 1 T coconut oil Directions Stir the yogurt and strawberries together in a medium bowl. I used a cookie scoop to place them on a parchment paper covered cookie sheet. Freeze them for 1-2 hours. Before you take them out of the freezer, melt the chocolate chips and coconut oil in the microwave using 30 second increments until they chips are melted and smooth. Remove the clusters from the freezer and dip each cluster in the melted chocolate. Place each cluster back on the cookie sheet and freeze again for about an hour. Once mine were frozen, I put them in freezer bags until and returned th...

A dessert that our Mom used to make is still at the top of our favorite desserts list! Her original recipe used blueberry pie filling but our families prefer cherry filling. The original recipe also used a 9x13 pan but you can also use two 9 inch pie pans so you can have different toppings. Then the blueberry and cherry lovers are both happy. 😀 Crust 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs 1/2 cup melted butter 1/2 cup white sugar Stir together and press into a buttered 9x13 pan (or two 9 inch pie plates). Let sit until you prepare the filling. Filling 2-8 ounce packages of cream cheese 1/2 cup white sugar 2 eggs Mix together and beat on medium speed until smooth. Pour over graham cracker crust. Bake at 350º for 25-30 minutes or until the middle is set. Cool at room temperature for about an hour. Add the topping. Topping 2 cans (21 oz each) blueberry or cherry pie filling (or your favorite) Refrigerate overnight or at least 4 hours before serving. Makes 15 servings in the 9x13 pan. Store lef...

                                                              These amazing gooey little bars have been a family favorite for years. I usually have these ingredients on hand and they don't take long to put together.  Ingredients List for the Crispy Rice Layers (divide in half for each layer): 10 cups Crispy Rice cereal  (I use Malt O Meal Crispy Rice cereal because it's gluten free)  8 cups mini marshmallows 12 Tbsp butter Ingredients List for the Caramel Filling: 1 bag Kraft caramel bits (11 oz bag) or Kraft caramels, unwrapped 6 Tbsp butter 1 can sweetened condensed milk Instructions: Line the bottom of a 9x13 pan with parchment paper or grease with butter. Start by making the caramel filling in the microwave.  Combine the caramel filling ingredients together in a large microwave safe bowl. (I use a 4-cup Pyrex m...

Creamy Lemon Curd - Natural Homemade Living We have been busy making creamy, delicious lemon curd! Our favorite is to add it to plain yogurt or use it in overnight oats with a few blueberries or blackberries mixed in! The best recipe is from Ina Garten, it's easy and turns out every time. Ingredients: 3-4 lemons 1 1/2 c. sugar 4 eggs, room temperature 1/2 c. butter, room temperature 1/2 c. lemon juice pinch of kosher salt Directions Remove the peel of the lemons using a vegetable peeler. Make sure you don't get the white part, it is very bitter. Place the lemon peelings and sugar in a food processor and pulse until the lemon zest is mixed into the sugar. In a separate bowl, cream the butter and add the lemon sugar mixture and beat with an electric mixer. Add the eggs one at a time then add the lemon juice and salt. Mix until combined. Pour the mixture into a medium saucepan and cook over low heat until it thickens. It u...

Simply Homemade Fudge Oatmeal Bars I was on a freezer food roll last week and after making several pans of veggie lasagna roll-ups and french bread, I decided I needed to make something sweet for my family. I'm pretty sure they have some kind of alert system when they know I am baking because suddenly I have many guests! This a perfect little recipe for an occasional treat when you want rich, chocolate and absolutely deliciousness! They only take a few minutes to put together and they will disappear quickly. I cut mine in small squares for 16-20 servings. Ingredients for Batter: 1/2 c melted butter, cooled to room temperature 1 egg, whisked 1 c brown sugar, packed 1 T vanilla extract 1 1/2 c rolled oats (not quick-cooked) 1 c flour pinch salt Ingredients for Fudge Filling 1 c chocolate chips (milk chocolate or semi-sweet) 1/2 can of sweetened condensed milk Directions: Preheat oven to 350F. Use an 8x8 or 9x9 square pan lined with parchment paper. In a ...

Simply Homemade Lemon Cake This is one of our favorite lemon cake recipes. It is simply lemony, moist and amazing! I had several fresh lemons from some of my recent Bountiful Baskets contributions so I immediately thought of this recipe. Even the non-lemon lovers love it! Ingredients: 3 eggs 3 tsp lemon zest (about 2 large lemons) 3 Tbsp lemon juice 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 1 1/4 c plain yogurt 1 c sugar 1 1/2 c flour 1/2 tsp salt 2 tsp baking powder 1/4 c canola oil Mix the eggs, lemon zest and juice, yogurt and vanilla extract with a whisk. I use a wooden spoon to mix the dry ingredients into the liquid ingredients. Add the oil last and fold it into the other ingredients. Grease the sides of a 9x5 loaf pan. I love parchment paper so I use that to line the bottom of the pan. Bake in a 350F oven for 50 minutes (depending on your oven). I stick a toothpick in the middle to check if it's done. If the toothpick comes out clean, it's done. When i...

A blast from the past! If you celebrate Valentine's Day and need a quick idea, these Cherry Lollipops take about 20 minutes from start to finish, taste great-and look good too! Here's what you need: 3/4 c sugar 1/2 c light corn syrup 1/4 c butter 3oz box of cherry jello 15-20 lollipop sticks (you can find these at craft stores or Wal-Mart in the baking aisle)  Butter a cookie sheet or line with parchment  and lay out your sticks, make sure you leave room between them for the syrup to spread a little. Stir butter, sugar, and corn syrup over low heat in a saucepan until sugar is dissolved and candy thermometer reaches 275 degrees.Remove from heat and stir in cherry jello until smooth.  Use a metal tablespoon or  a small metal cookie scoop and spoon syrup over the end of each lollipop stick, cool and store... or share with your favorite Valentine! This recipe adapted from foodnetwork.com  ~Simply Angie Simply Cherry Lollipops

Soft pumpkin cookies I have to admit that I am one of millions using pumpkin as my favorite ingredient right now. Pumpkin and fall are a perfect match! I've been adding pumpkin to my yogurt with a little cinnamon, pumpkin in my smoothies, pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin tea...the list goes on and on. I had a strong feeling that grandma would have a pumpkin cookie recipe and she did! My family loved them and they were great for the lunch boxes! Makes 42 cookies soft, delicious pumpkin cookies. Ingredients: 1 stick room temperature butter (1/2 cup) 1 egg 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 cup pumpkin 2 1/2 c flour 1 1/2 c sugar 1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp baking powder pinch of salt 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp nutmeg 1/4-1/2 tsp ground cloves (I love the flavor so I used 1/2 tsp) Directions: Mix butter, egg and vanilla together. Once mixed, add the pumpkin and beat until smooth. Add dry ingredients and mix until smooth. I used a cookie scoop and placed the dough onto parchment pa...

 Chocolate Indoor S'mores! I love camping season and everyone loves s'mores made over the open fire. But on rainy days and during the winter months, these fancy s'mores are fun to make and are so delicious! I make a variety of flavors including gluten free. I start with chocolate graham crackers, honey graham crackers, gluten free graham crackers, mint chips, chocolate chips and white chocolate chips (make sure you use a good brand). Small marshmallows or marshmallow fluff are required at my house. Don't forget your favorite toppings. The kids love the chocolate and mint chip combination, they think they taste like thin mint cookies but better!   We love the sprinkled s'mores! Gluten free s'mores  Directions: Break your graham crackers in half or quarters. The gluten free graham crackers I use are already in squares. Place marshmallows on crackers halves and broil them in the oven broiler until they are lightly browned, it takes about one minute....

Grandma's homemade peach upside down cake I spent most of the weekend in the kitchen and loved every minute! My canner was on the stove from Friday night through Sunday afternoon. I canned peach jam, peach butter, mint jelly, blueberry jam, pickled banana peppers and dilly beans. My basil was getting out of control in the garden so I picked enough to fill a basket then made and froze pesto. We visited the local farmer's market so I froze enough sweet corn, Simply Freezing Sweet Corn to take us through the winter months. I bought 2 lugs of peaches and had some left over so I froze about 6 quarts, Simply Freezing Peaches . Three peaches were left on the counter so I pulled out Grandma's 1929 cookbook and discovered a peach upside down cake recipe. I love the old recipes and once again the taste testers said it was the best ever! Ingredients: 1/4 cup butter 2/3 cups brown sugar, firmly packed 2-3 fresh sliced peaches Cake Dough: 1 1/2 cups flour 2 tsp baking powder...

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer! We have been busy with projects, gardens and birthday parties! The favorite party idea this month was an ice cream sundae bar. I'm not sure who loved it more, the kiddos or the adults! This is super simple and you can use as many goodies as you want (or have on hand) for the toppings! We started with a half-gallon each of our favorite soft serve ice cream, strawberry, vanilla and chocolate. We served 12 people and had some ice cream left over. I bought some glass ice cream sundae dishes at our local Goodwill store, they're so cute! I used small dishes for the toppings and set them on the bar. For the super heroes party, I had some extra material to place under the goodies. You can serve fruit, nuts, sprinkles, flavored syrups, mini-m&ms, chocolate chips, cherries for the top, whipped cream, crushed cookies and your personal favorites! Enjoy a blessed day! Love and peace, ~Simply Tammi

We have our share of pie lovers in the family so when I suggested chocolate cream pie in addition to some fruit pies for dessert, I wasn't sure how they would feel about that. I was pleasantly surprised, they all wanted chocolate pie! I have issues with cream pies made with egg yolks so I make my chocolate pie filling without them. I always make homemade crust but you could use any crust. It also works great in a gluten-free graham cracker crust. And of course, top it off with a dollop of whipped cream! Homemade Pie Crust 1 1/4 c flour 1 tsp sugar 1/4 tsp salt 1/2 c butter, cold and into small pieces 4 T cold water I used my food processor for the pie crust but you can use a pastry cutter to mix your ingredients. I added all of the ingredients in the food processor and pulsed it a few times before I added the water. Add the water a little at a time, it should look a little crumbly, then it's done. Remove the dough with your hands and form it into a flattened ball. W...

Happy fall everyone! I love this time of year when the temperatures are cooling down, the trees are so beautiful with all of their autumn colors, the apples and pumpkins are plentiful and the baking has begun! I had some extra apples so I decided to make some apple crisp. I made it gluten-free today but you can use all-purpose flour for all of you gluten lovers - haha!! I wish I could send the smell of my kitchen through this post, it smells wonderfully fall-like and spicy! Ingredients: 8-9 apples, peeled, cored and cut into chunks (I used honey crisp apples) 1-2T lemon juice 1/2 c white or organic cane sugar 1 tsp cinnamon Topping Ingredients 2/3 c flour (I used King Arthur gluten-free all purpose flour) 1/2 c brown sugar 2 T white or organic cane sugar 1 tsp cinnamon Pinch of nutmeg Pinch of cloves or allspice Pinch of salt 1/2 c cold butter, cut into small pieces 1 c Old-fashioned or quick-cooking oats Directions:  Wash, peel, core, and cut apples into chunk...