Natural Homemade Living

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

Cauliflower Cheese Soup If you are looking for a simple, easy and delicious recipe especially for these cold winter days, this is your recipe! Last week in our Bountiful Baskets we received a huge head of cauliflower. I am not necessarily a raw cauliflower lover so I decided cauliflower soup would be a great option. I think living in the Midwest, you learn to love soup when the outside temperatures are hovering below the freezing level. The taste testers absolutely loved this soup, so I thought I'd pass it on. It's great for non-meat eaters and it is also gluten-free. Ingredients: 1 large head of cauliflower, washed and trimmed into smaller pieces 1 medium size shallot (or small sweet onion), diced 2 cloves garlic, minced 3 Tbsp butter 2 quarts chicken stock 1 cup milk (I used 2%) 1/2 c plain yogurt 1 c Monterey Jack cheese or your favorite cheese, shredded 2 Tbsp parsley flakes Salt and pepper to taste Directions: I used a large soup pot to melt the butter ov...

DIY Valentine's Day Wreath Project Last year my DIY projects consisted of making holiday wreaths for the front door. Here is a refresher for the DIY Valentine's Day wreath. Now is a great time to find Christmas ornaments on clearance and who doesn't like to save a few dollars? The Christmas colors are perfect for a Valentine's Day wreath. For this project you will want to buy shatterproof ornaments rather than glass ornaments. This little wreath also makes a great gift! After making all of those wreaths last year, I discovered a great way to store them. I use a clothes hanger for each wreath. Place your wreath over the top of a clothes hanger and hang them in my extra closet. It saves space and you don't have to find shelf space or worry that your wreath will be damaged in a box. Supplies : 60-75 ornaments (depends on the size of your heart and the size of the ornaments) 1 wire hanger or heavy wire to shape in a heart Hot glue gun and hot glue Ribbon...

DIY decorating with an old picture frame for border and family photos Happy New Year everyone! I made only one resolution for 2015, to do better. I know it may seem like a rather broad concept but I know myself and I don't do well with specific goals in my personal life. I decided that every day there is at least one thing I can do better. Some days it might be small things like taking out the garbage before it overflows and the coffee grounds spill all over the floor , hang up my coat, eat more veggies, read more books, make more homemade jam...you get it, right? Then there will be those days that I will have an opportunity to make a difference in a life. It may seem like a small gesture but all of us need more kindness in our day. Maybe smile at a stranger, share a Bible verse, share a meal, tell someone thank you. Who knows? So that's it...do better every day. My new year starts with organizing, cleaning out and of course more DIY projects! I finished a project yester...

Simply the best minestrone soup ever! I decided not to follow an old tradition this year for our Christmas Eve meal. Luckily the guilt didn't last too long - haha!! We usually have oyster stew and a couple of other soups but this year I decided to replace the oyster stew with minestrone soup. I also made cheesy potato and ham soup (for the meat lovers in the family). I baked a smoked turkey for sandwiches, a variety of dips and of course goodies. Most of us still love lefse so I was busy making lefse on Christmas Eve morning. I just don't think I can give up on my lefse! The minestrone was an absolute rock star move on my part (or so I was told). And to top it off with grated Parmesan cheese was the best! My secret for the best flavored soup, use fresh ingredients or frozen from the garden. I know there are many varieties of minestrone soup so substitute as you like. For example, I don't like kidney beans so I use pinto beans or navy beans. I also love that you can make...

Vintage quilt for a tablecloth  I'm not too fancy at my house but I love vintage and one of a kind decor. My aunt recently visited with a great idea for a unique setting for the dining room table, use a quilt instead of a tablecloth. I loved it!! For the holidays I am using a vintage quilt from Mom. Even though we are a family of "spillers" (every meal someone spills something) I figure everything can be washed. But if you do get nervous about spilling, etc., you may not want to use the vintage quilt, maybe something less sentimental, like from the store. Mom gave me a set of her white china so I am using that, then of course I always use the ball jars for drinking glasses because I like to mix the fancy with the not-so-fancy. I always use cloth napkins so the girls folded them in the shape of a rosette. This is really simple. Start with a square cloth napkin and lay it flat so it looks like a diamond shape. Take the point at the bottom of the napkin and bring it to t...