Natural Homemade Living

It's hard to believe August is almost halfway over and the kids are getting ready to go back to school. Where did the summer go? We've been busy camping, working on projects, organizing and redecorating so we'll have some cool stuff to share once things settle down. Today I wanted to share my favorite pantry organizing tip, the DIY chip holder. I don't usually buy chips in small bags but for camping these little bags are perfect. I used to store them in a large basket but it seemed like it was a mess when everyone was digging through a basket to find their favorite chips. I decided to make a holder for them and hung it inside the pantry door. It was a quick little project and the kids love it! Most of the items I already had in my craft baskets so the project only cost $3.00. What You Need: Rulers - I bought the craft rulers at Michael's (4 in a package) Small wood clothespins - you can get these at the craft store Craft...

Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Overnight Steel Cut Oats I have been experimenting with overnight oats for a couple of months and I have found my favorite, chocolate peanut butter banana! I think part of the problem is that I really don't like to eat breakfast so after trying other options such as protein drinks, yogurt, cereal and breakfast bars, I decided to try this. I don't like the texture of rolled oats but the steel cut oats are chewy and I like that! You can also make this gluten-free, just choose gluten-free oats. Ingredients and Directions: 1/4 c steel cut oats (not cooked) 2 T peanut butter powder (Costco has Honeyville Organic for a reasonable price) 1/4 c chocolate cashew milk 1/4 c Greek Yogurt (plain) 2 T sliced almonds (optional) 1/2 banana (add this prior to eating) Stir all ingredients together. I use glass jars. Refrigerate overnight. Add the banana prior to serving. If they are too thick, add a little more milk. It works best for me when I make 5...

This is the perfect chicken recipe for the grill or to roast in the oven! I roasted these in the oven because we haven't quite arrived at grilling season in the Midwest. They are quick to pull together and they have great flavor! Ingredients and Directions : 6-8 chicken drumsticks 3 T melted butter 1/2 c hot sauce (I use Frank's) 1 clove minced garlic 1 tsp lemon juice 1 tsp cayenne pepper Salt and pepper to taste Remove the skin from the drumsticks, rinse and dry with a paper towel. Melt butter and mix together with hot sauce, lemon juice, garlic, cayenne pepper and salt and pepper in a small bowl. Line a baking sheet with foil and preheat your oven to 425F. I take a small amount of the liquid out and use it for basting during the baking process. I do this before I dip the drumsticks so I don't contaminate the liquid mixture. (I'm weird like that). Dip each drumstick into the melted ingredients and place on the baking sheet. Bake for 40-45 min...

It's grilling season in the Midwest so I wanted to share my twice baked potato shortcut with you. This method is faster than baking the potatoes first and is perfect for entertaining or serving at family grill night! Ingredients and Directions: 4 potatoes, I use russets 1 c Greek yogurt 1/3 c ranch dressing or your favorite dressing 1/3 c milk 1 c grated cheese, Colby-Jack or your favorite, and a little extra for topping at the end Optional: bacon pieces, onions, finely diced peppers Wash and dry your potatoes. Poke small holes in each potato using a fork. Wrap in wax paper or a paper towel and microwave on high for about 10 minutes. You will need to adjust this time based on the number of potatoes you are making.  Let the potatoes cool just until you can handle them and cut each potato in half lengthwise. Carefully scrape out the middle and place in a medium size bowl. Using an electric beater, beat on low until the potato insides are mashed....

If you have a toddler in your house you know it can sometimes be a challenge to find a craft project for them to do. This is a fun Easter or Spring project for kids of any age, but especially the little ones.  All you need are some cotton balls, glue and construction paper. You could also use something heavier like card stock, if you have it. I drew and cutout the bunny shape-you can use any shape, it turns out...toddlers don't really care! If they are older, they can cut out the shape themselves. Put a little white glue on a paper plate, plastic lid or whatever you have, and let them dip the cotton in the glue (you will go through quite a lot of glue, I just kept adding to it, instead of having one big puddle). You can also tear the cotton balls to make them go farther, or better yet, have them tear the cotton. This is a good project for building necessary preschool skills, like hand eye coordination and dexterity. Which helps them later on with reading and writing. Remember, it...

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...