Natural Homemade Living

Chicken Tortilla Soup The other night as I was trying to figure out something to make for supper and clean out my fridge and freezer at the same time I found a recipe for Chicken Tortilla Soup. It was a quick and easy solution to get rid of my leftovers and clean out the freezer at the same time! Add your favorites and  make it as mild or spicy as you like. Here's what you need: 3-4 cooked boneless skinless chicken breasts ( I had mine in the freezer and they were shredded already) 3 cups water or chicken stock 1-2 cups salsa V8 juice I used about 32 oz corn chili powder cumin garlic optional: you can also use a taco seasoning packet if you need something quicker than adding separate seasonings black beans, rinsed, (I actually forgot to add these and it still tasted yummy!) Tortilla chips shredded cheese This is one of those recipes I taste along the way, then you can add more or less seasoning, salsa, veggies or whatever you want.  Put in all in a larg...

Over the past year I've been working on making front door wreaths for each holiday. I'm close to having them all done but I still needed a Valentine's Day wreath. I am still finding Christmas ornaments on clearance and I thought they would be perfect for a Valentine's Day wreath. Lucky for me, I found red, silver, white and pink shatterproof ornaments. I'm sure you can guess what happened next, I bought 6 boxes of beautiful, shatterproof ornaments for $1.49 for a box of 16! It's always exciting to save some money and I love to create my own unique home decor or you could make a cute little wreath for a gift! Supplies : 60-75 ornaments (depends on the size of your heart and the size of the ornaments) 1 wire hanger or heavy wire hot glue ribbon to use for a hanger Directions : My ornaments had secure tops so I did not need to hot glue them to the ornaments. However, if your tops are not secure or feel loose, I would recommend hot gluing them to the orna...

Natural Homemade Living I wanted to adapt this recipe for those of you restricted to a gluten-free diet. I made these for my granddaughter on Sunday morning and they were awesome! I wanted to make the cinnamon roll pancakes but one of our granddaughters has Celiac Disease so I didn't want to make anything that she couldn't eat. So I experimented and revised my own pancake recipe from the original post. So you will need to substitute the all purpose flour with white rice flour. The texture is great and they taste just like the non gluten-free pancakes! This made 8 gluten-free pancakes. Prepare the cinnamon filling : 1/2 cup butter melted 3/4 cup brown sugar 1 T cinnamon Mix together until smooth and pour into a baggie. It'll get thicker, just let it sit until you're ready for it. Make the glaze : 4 T butter 2 ounces cream cheese (I used the reduced fat) 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar 1 tsp vanilla extract Heat the butter and cream...

Simply Homemade Taco Salad Served With Chips and Beans I decided to make fresh taco salad today since we are currently having a blizzard and taco salads make me think of spring and summer. Today's weather forces you to stay home and do the stuff that has been on your to-do list all winter like writing a blog post or cleaning your closets. I chose the blog post today since I have not posted for a few months. I don't really have a good reason other than the usual distractions of life. The good news is that my sister and I have some great decorating and DIY tips coming together however it is sometimes easier to complete the projects than to actually put them in writing. We'll work on that... So back to the food, if you like simple and fresh, I think you'll like this little recipe. You can make one serving or as many you need so feel free to add all of your favorite ingredients! This is what I had on hand so these are my favorites today. Ingredients:   4-6 cups l...

Simply Homemade: The Best Basil Pesto One of our favorite fresh garden herbs is basil. My sister and I were both making basil pesto around the same time so we decided it would be a great little recipe to share. Fresh basil is great in salads, sandwiches, beverages, soups and pasta dishes. One of our favorite things about making your pesto ahead of time is that you can freeze it so when you are in the middle of winter, you can still bring some summer freshness from the garden into your meal. Ingredients: 4 cups fresh basil leaves 4 garlic cloves 1/2 c sunflower seeds 1/2 c shredded parmesan cheese 1/2 c olive oil 2 T lemon juice Salt and pepper to taste Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. I freeze mine in ice cube trays but Angie had a great idea and uses small muffin tins. After they are frozen, remove from trays and keep in a freezer baggie until you need them. Use one square of frozen pesto for a pasta recipe that serves 4. Enjoy ...

Natural Homemade Living Trail Mix Trail mix is a great snack for traveling, camping, school, lunch boxes and a simple treat for home! I like to buy my ingredients separately in bulk, it is cheaper than cans or packages. The best part is you can use any ingredients you love! This is our favorite combination. Ingredients: 2 c peanuts 1 c cashews 1 c pecans 1 c almonds 1 c raisins 1 c sunflower seeds 1 c chocolate candies Mix with your fingers in a large bowl and store in a large, covered container. If traveling or using for lunches, I use small baggies for each serving, the snack size baggies work great. You can add dried fruit, more nuts, coconut, pretzels or any of your favorite snack items. I like this combination of sweet and salty and I use gluten free ingredients. Enjoy and be blessed! Love and peace, ~ Tammi

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...