DIY Valentine's Day Wreath

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 ornaments for your first step. 

 

• Bend your wire or hanger into the shape of a heart. You don't have to be exact on this, just a general heart shape will work. My strong helper used a pliers to bend the hanger for this step :)

 

• Start by placing the one end of the wire through the tops of the ornaments. I placed mine on one at a time so I could arrange them by turning them. You can leave the other end of the wire open (the ornaments shouldn't fall off or you can bend it if you aren't using a hanger for your wire).
• Continue to add ornaments to the wire hanger and let them bunch together for a full look. 

•  Once you get to the end of your hanger, twist one end of the wire over the other end at the bottom of the heart. The pliers work great for this part too.
• I cut a piece of ribbon about 20 inches long and wrapped it between ornaments on the left and right side of the heart at the top and tied a bow at the top.
• The entire project took me about 2 hours including minor distractions, you know... phone calls, texts, taking the dog out, etc....
• Total project cost was $7.50. Love that part and it was a fun little project!

Love and peace,
~ Simply Tammi

Orange Muffins

If you use cake mix from a box, this recipe is for you! Our special muffin taste-testers highly recommend these orange muffins! And there is more good news, they are easy to make!

Ingredients and Directions:
1 yellow cake mix
1 1/4 c orange juice
3 egg whites
1/4 c oil
Zest from one orange
Optional - sprinkle a little sugar over the muffin tops

Combine all ingredients and mix for 2 minutes on medium. Pour batter into lined muffin pans filling about 2/3 full. Bake at 350F for 15-20 minutes depending on your oven.
Makes 24 muffins.

Natural Homemade Living Orange Muffins

Love and peace,
Tammi and Angie

GLUTEN-FREE Cinnamon Pancakes

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 cheese until melted (I used the microwave for 20 seconds). Whisk until smooth and add the powdered sugar and vanilla. Let this sit until the end.

 * Preheat your oven to 200F to keep the pancakes warm until they are all done.

Now make your pancakes

1 egg (slightly beaten)

2 T plain yogurt or 2 T softened butter

3 T white or organic sugar

Mix these together then add:

1 1/2 cup white rice flour (gluten-free)

2 tsp baking powder

Then add:

1 1/4 cup milk

Mix everything (I use a wooden spoon) together and leave the batter just a little lumpy.

I use an electric griddle about 300F-325F degrees. Preheat your griddle. I used 1/3 cup of pancake batter for each pancake. Then cut a bottom corner off your baggie with the cinnamon filling. As soon as your pancake batter is on the griddle, swirl your cinnamon filling around your pancake. Once you have bubbles over your pancakes, it's time to flip them. Now this is a little messy once you flip them because the filling may run out onto your griddle, don't panic, it'll be ok. Cook the pancakes about another two minutes on the other side with the filling. I put them a on a parchment covered cookie sheet and put them in the oven to keep them warm. Here is the recipe for the Cinnamon Pancakes, (not Gluten Free.

Enjoy your gluten-free cinnamon roll pancakes!

 Love and peace,
~ Simply Tammi

Taco Salad

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 lettuce of your choice, chopped or shredded
1/4 cup diced tomatoes, fresh are best
1/4 cup sliced black olives
1 pound ground beef
1/4 cup onion, diced
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup Colby-Jack cheese, shredded
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt or sour cream
Fresh cilantro
Salsa, as much you like
1 can re-fried beans
Tortilla chips
How to pull it together:

1. Start by browning your ground beef and onion in a medium size pan over medium heat on the stove. Add a little salt, pepper, chili powder and cumin. I usually turn the heat down to low and keep it warm until you have the salad and beans together. 
2. Heat re-fried beans in a small saucepan over low heat. Add 1/3 cup salsa and stir into the beans. Optional: sprinkle 1/4 cup shredded cheese over the top and let it melt. 
3. Mix lettuce, tomatoes and olives together in a bowl.
4. Layer the salad on plates starting with the lettuce.
5. Add meat layer and shredded cheese.
6. Add beans or serve them on the side.
7. Add another layer of lettuce.
8. Garnish with yogurt (or sour cream), fresh salsa, cheese and fresh cilantro.
9. Serve beans and chips on the side.

Enjoy and be blessed,
Love and peace,
~ Simply Tammi