We Like Making Our Own Stuff

Few things can top the taste of homemade Fettuccine Alfredo, made with fresh noodles.  It is one of my family's staple meals.  But we eat all kinds of fresh pasta here, from spaghetti and meatballs, to lasagna, so pasta is something we make frequently. Why make pasta when you can just buy it? Good question.  It takes more time than picking up a box of it at the grocery store, doesn't it?  My reasons include: 1.  Fresh pasta tastes better. 2.  We like thick noodles.  Thick and chewy, slathered in a sauce of some kind. 3.  We can use healthier flours (whole grain, sprouted, freshly ground) and avoid unhealthy additives (synthetic vitamins, like niacin, iron, and folic acid). 4.  We just like making our own stuff. Whatever your reasons are, I'm sure that you will find pasta easy enough to make.

Whoopie pies, made popular by the Amish, are a dessert sandwich made by enclosing a vanilla frosting between to chocolate cake-like cookies.  This recipe has been modified somewhat from it's original Amish version however, mainly to substitute a healthier fat for the shortening that was initially called for.

Ask me to finely dice an onion, and I'll do it.  Tell me I have to strip the leaves off a huge bunch of thyme, and fine, it's done.  Command me to peel five pounds of potatoes, and your wish is granted!  But ask me to roll out a pie crust, and you can kiss my apples. For some reason, rolling out dough is probably my least favorite kitchen task.  I don't make cut out cookies, perfectly round biscuits (only drop biscuits), or fancy pie crust.  Rolling out dough generally turns into a sticky mess for me, so I avoid it. But you know, sometimes, I miss pie. My good friend pie.  So now, I make a press-in-the-pan pie crust so that pie and I can spend time together.  It's very simple--I haven't screwed one up yet--and tastes just as good as a rolled out crust.

Nice weather has finally arrived, and we are all busier than bees around here!  But we always have time to fire up the grill! These two recipes are so simple and fast to make, that grilling can even become doable on a weeknight.  However, if you don't feel like firing up the grill, they can also be modified for the oven and stove.

I created this simple recipe for my sons to take in their school lunches and to have as after-school snacks.  You can make your own granola to use if you'd like; I have instructions for doing this in my recipe for Homemade Fruit-on-the-Bottom Yogurt . There are plenty of healthy fats and protein in these bites--just what young, growing bodies need (but these make fine snacks for grown-ups too).  It is best to keep these refrigerated, since they can become quite soft if your house gets warm.

The month of April has been a cold and snowy one here in Wisconsin, but finally, here in these last days of the month, Spring has finally decided to show her warm, sunny face.  With temperatures now hitting the sixties and seventies, I have taken to the outdoors and begun cleaning out my flower gardens.  I'm pleased to see some crocus bulbs coming up, and the green returning to my thyme.

Skip the corn syrup and low-fat milk found in store bought fruit-on-the-bottom yogurts, and make your own homemade version.  Making yogurt is actually quite simple--all you need is milk and a yogurt culture (either from a previous batch of yogurt or a purchased starter ) and a little warmth.

Here is a new spin on breakfast that's wonderfully simple.  You can leave the potatoes to cook as you get dressed for the day, while the eggs and sausage fry up quickly once it's about time to eat.  To save even more time in the morning, you can have all the ingredients pre-cooked the night before, and then just reheat everything the morning.

I looked at our weekly menu plan last night, and saw that my husband had written down "cheesy biscuits" as that evening's side dish.  What a perfect opportunity for me to bust out my grain mill.

If your kids are taking lunch from home to school, you may be running out of ideas.  I know I am!  Sandwiches and wraps get old after a while, you know? When looking for inspiration, many parents cross paths with a product known as Lunchables.  You know, the cool pre-made lunches sold at grocery stores?  The ones your kid begs you to buy every time you pass them in the store?  The ones that are highly processed and over-priced?  We pass on those, but I'm not above trying to copy them myself.

Looking for a good snack for movie night?  I have one for you.  But be careful, because good popcorn can be addicting! You can make a batch of delicious Cheesy Garlic Popcorn in about 15 minutes--not really much longer than it takes to make a bag of the microwave stuff, and this popcorn is much tastier and healthier (there's definitely no "natural butter flavor" in this popcorn, whatever that is). I used a trusty cast iron pan with its lid to pop this popcorn.  If you use cast iron, please note that you will not need to do your workout that day; just making the popcorn counts as exercise.  Seriously, that pan was really heavy, next time I'm using a different one.  Nonetheless, the popcorn doesn't care how heavy your pan is, it still tastes delicious!

Are you looking for ways to save money?  Who isn't nowadays? Every little thing you do helps and the small things really do add up.  Which is why I have a somewhat creepy tub of soap scraps in my bathroom. I admit, it seems a little weird to save soap scraps, but it wasn't always this way.  In fact, they used to have little contraptions for saving your soap scraps. But those days are gone.  Or are they? I think frugality is making a comeback--at least, it is around here, because I save all our soap scraps.  What do I do with them? Recycled Soap Scrap Bars If you are regular users of bar soap, a family of four can easily manage to get six additional bars of soap per year by saving soap scraps.  It doesn't seem like much, so I'll write it this way instead:  in ten years, that would be 60 bars of "free" soap.  There, that seems more impressive. Ingredients: Soap scraps Water Herbs (optional) 1.  Grate or fi...

This homemade body spray recipe is both simple to make and inexpensive. All you need are four ingredients and a little time. You will want to begin by eating some oranges.  In fact, make your whole family eat an orange, because you need some peels!  The peels will go into a pot with just enough water to barely cover them.  Be careful not to use too much water, or your orange fragrance will be too dilute. Bring the water to a boil, and then immediately cover the pot with its lid and remove from heat.  Allow the pot to sit for 12 to 24 hours. When you take the lid off the next day, you will see that a lot of the liquid is gone. If you dip your finger into the liquid, you may notice that it feels somewhat oily.  That's good!  It's orange oil, extracted from your peels. To get the most oil out of your peels, you'll want to squeeze the crap out of them.  Pour the liquid and peels into a cotton tea towel or jelly bag that you ...

If you've got kids in school, chances are mornings can feel a bit rushed.  But don't send the kids to school hungry.  Instead, fix them this quick breakfast wrap, perhaps with a few chunks of cheese or a side of scrambled eggs.  If you'd like, skip buying the packaged tortillas and make your own ahead of time.   PB, J, & Banana Breakfast Wrap Ingredients: 1 flour tortilla 2 Tablespoons peanut butter 1 Tablespoon jam 1 banana 1.  Spread peanut butter and jam down the center of the tortilla. 2.  Place the banana in the center of the tortilla, cutting the banana down to fit if necessary. 3.  Roll it up and eat! “When you wake up in the morning, Pooh," said Piglet at last, "what's the first thing you say to yourself?" "What's for breakfast?" said Pooh. "What do you say, Piglet?" "I say, I wonder what's going to happen exciting today?" said Piglet. Pooh nodded thoughtfully. "It'...

For the past few weeks, life has been pretty busy for me (see my belated announcement in the second half of this post--thought I'd build some suspense), and so my poor blog has been horribly neglected.  So now, I will dust off the cobwebs and sweep the dust bunnies out the door in order to give you my favorite DIY pins on Pinterest.  Just click on the picture to be taken to the pin. Incidentally, if you are on Pinterest and would like to follow my pins , I would be honored, and feel somewhat obliged to follow you back. DIY Cooking Homemade Cream of Wheat.  Yummy breakfast indeed!     Source: theelliotthomestead.blogspot.com via calendula on Pinterest   Homemade Pita Pockets taste so much better than store-bought. Source: underthehighchair.com via calendula on Pinterest   Homemade Mayonnaise is way healthier than anything you'll find at the grocery store. Source: realfoodkosher.com via calendula o...