Butter’em Up

Homemade butter has been popping up on my Pinterest feed lately and then when my soon-to-be-sister-in-law was sharing about her own butter making experience at our family Easter gathering, I knew exactly what I was going to try out this week!

This was so simple to do in my KitchenAid stand mixer, but of course my brain started overflowing with all the possibilities for some super fun science experiments. I came across an article from Scientific American that outlines a great activity that the kids would love to try sometime! To all you teacher friends out there this could be a great interdisciplinary activity … science {molecules}, history {how we used to make butter}, math {measuring}, writing {write your own story or poem about butter}, and I’m sure you could find a good book for any level that could be related!

Enough with the lesson planning J

Homemade Butter

1 pint of heavy cream

½ teaspoon of salt (optional)

Stand mixer

Pour cream into mixing bowl with flat beater attachment. Cover stand mixer with towel {unless of course you thoroughly enjoy cleaning up cream that has splattered EVERYWHERE}. Beat on high for 15 minutes checking periodically. Once the butter and buttermilk has separated, drain off the buttermilk and reserve {this would work great in some homemade ranch dressing}. Knead and wash butter in a bowl of water to remove any remaining buttermilk, replacing water periodically until the water remains clear {this step is optional but will prolong the shelf life of your butter}. Press clean butter into a bowl with lid. Refrigeration not required. Makes about 1 cup.

Cost Comparison: Homemade butter about $3.65 for 1 lb vs. store bought about $3

Although it’s not a money saver, there is something about seeing the cute little bowl of butter sitting out on the counter that is quite satisfy. And then there is the pure deliciousness of this freshly made butter melting on a piece of warm bread … yum!

And of course I cannot go without wondering how this would all work if I had my own cow? I’m considering trying to butter up the Mr. J!

on this idea … hehee

Homemade 'ArmorAll'

It’s the time of year of warmer weather and BASEBALL games!  So let me breakdown what those two things mean for you and me.  Warmer weather = a much more pleasant environment to clean your car so I know you are all dying to get out there and use this J. Baseball = a lot of time for us spent in the car … dirty filthy car (inside and out) + 4 kids + 1 mom + the full moon that is upon us this week (oh boy) =

picture credit = worldartsme.com

So needless to say, I was highly motivated to make time this past Sunday for our car.  And now that I have a recipe for ArmorAll that leaves my dashboard looking AMAZING, I have a feeling I will be much more likely to keep the inside of our car (I’m working on the outside also, homemade car wax is on my list!) looking much better than usual. Since I would much rather go without something if it’s not a necessity than go to the store to buy it AND then if it includes a label that is filled with a bunch of ingredients I wouldn’t even want to attempt to pronounce … I for sure would rather go without! So this has been one of those items, instead of ArmorAll, I have been using my Norwex Envirocloth (ask me where you can get this if you are interested) which has worked great, but doesn’t condition or protect the car’s interior. This recipe does both!!

My recipe was inspired by Jillee at onegoodthing, but I didn’t have everything on her list so I improvised.

Homemade ArmorAll

3/4 cup almond oil

1/2 cups water

2 tablespoons vinegar

5 drops dishsoap

5 drops of tea tree essential oil             

5 drops of lemon essential oil

Combine all ingredients into spray bottle and shake. Spray directly on surface and wipe thoroughly.

Since it is likely some of the spray will get on your windows, I would recommend doing this before cleaning your windows. This homemade 'ArmorAll' will leave behind a non-greasy, glossy brand-new car look. With results this good, my new place to get away from the endless commotion and chatter in our house might just be our car! J

Cost Comparison – about $4 for 20 ounces for homemade vs. about $5 for 16 ounces ArmorAll brand

I spent nothing since I already had my almond oil leftover from a few other recipes. I am sure other oils would work as well, I would just keep in mind the scent of the oil and how it may respond when heated ... with the weather warming up so will our cars! 

Homemade Bronzer

I usually try to have my blog post ready to go by Tuesday evening, so all I have to do on Wednesday is give it a quick read and get it published. However, between cheering on our local high school boys basketball team to a state championship on Friday and Saturday (WAY TO GO SPARTANS!), loosing an hour to daylight savings, getting our NCAA tournament picks completed before tomorrow, and then an ER visit last night because of a broken arm for our sweet and spicy #3 (beautiful weather + bicycle + big brother = minor bike collision and a tough little girl who at least for now thinks it's pretty cool she's the only one in the family that has had to have a cast!) ... all this meant was I pushed writing my post until this evening.

For this week's posted, I was hoping to share a concealer recipe because I am almost out and I would really like not to have to buy more, but after not being able to RE-find the recipe I was hoping to use and then a few failed attempts left my eyes irritated, I decided it was going to have to wait. So I moved on to the next item on my list, bronzer.

This is something I usually just go without, so I don't have much to compare it to but it's extremely simple to make using what I had on hand, the color is very adjustable, and goes on nice with a very natural looking color. I also must add through my reading on homemade makeup I've come across how beneficial cinnamon is for the skin ... double bonus!

I followed Robin Konie's recipe at "thank your body" and the color works well for my fairer skin.

Homemade Bronzer

1 tablespoon cinnamon powder
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
1 teaspoon nutmeg powder
2 teaspoons cornstarch

Combine all ingredients into a mortar and pestle (which I found things around my house to make my own, but you wouldn't have to I just found it to make the mixture finer) and blend well. Store in a small container with lid. Tap excess powder off brush before each application.

diy mortar and pestle using a bowl and small baseball bat 

Best part about this recipe, it cost me nothing!

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

Ever since I posted my Biscuits and Gravy recipe and gave a shout out to Homemade Fresh Cinnamon Rolls, I’ve been CRAVING the PioneerWomen’s rolls! So last weekend I decided I wanted to get up early Saturday morning … this may or may not been initiated due to the fact our breakfast options could have possibly been very limited only because somebody (cough … me … ehhem) decided we potentially could last a few more days before desperately needing to go grocery shopping. Either way I was up early enough with the great intention to make some fresh cinnamon rolls, only to find out after already starting to mix up the first few ingredients that we were almost out of all-purpose flour as well (Like I mentioned … we were SLIM pickins!)

Well, at this point I had only a few options left 1) run to the store and buy more flour, 2) or something else for breakfast, or 3) substitute the remaining flour needed for whole wheat flour. Some days I would have gone with option #2 hands down but today I had already done the hardest part about making fresh cinnamon rolls on a Saturday morning by forcing myself to get up in enough time for these to be eaten for breakfast AND I really didn’t want to leave the house, SO whole wheat cinnamon rolls it is.

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

Dough-

4 cups whole milk

1 cup vegetable oil

1 cup sugar

4 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast

4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

5 cups whole wheat flour

1 ½ teaspoon baking powder

¾ teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon salt

the milk, oil, and sugar mixture

In a large stockpot, heat milk, oil, and sugar to almost boiling. Allow to cool until warm. Sprinkle yeast a top the warm milk and let stand for 1 min. Stir in 5 cups of whole wheat flour and 3 cups of all-purpose flour until combined. Cover with stockpot with dishtowel and set in a warm place to rise for 1 hour. Add baking powder, baking soda, salt, and remaining 1 cup all-purpose flour. Stirring until thoroughly combined. Divide the dough in half. On a floured surface, push the dough flat with your fingers to form a rough rectangle. Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough into about a 10” x 30” rectangle with the long edge facing you.

the dough before rising

Filling-

1 cup butter (2 sticks)

¼ cup cinnamon

2 cups sugar

Melt ½ cup butter (1 stick) and spread out onto the dough. Sprinkle with half (2 tablespoons) of cinnamon and ½ (1 cup) of sugar evenly onto the buttered dough. Starting with the long side farthest from you, roll the dough towards you. Once all rolled up, pinch the edge closest to you into the roll to close. Slice using a sharp knife into about 2 dozen 1 ½ inch wide slices. **At this point you could freeze the rolls, place them on cookie sheets covered with saran wrap and place in the freeze until frozen, then place in freeze container of your choice.** Prepare pan(s) by coating the bottom with butter, place rolls 1 inch apart. Cover with dishtowel and allow to rest for 20 minutes. Bake at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes until golden, do not overcook. Repeat with second half of dough.

While the rolls are baking it’s onto the frosting, which I offer to options. A maple frosting from the Pioneer Woman’s recipe or a cream cheese frosting of my own.

Maple Espresso Frosting (Pioneer Woman’s)-

2 pounds (about 8 cups) powdered sugar

½ cup whole milk

6 tablespoons butter

¼ cup strong brewed coffee

Dash of salt

1 tablespoon maple flavoring

Whisk together until very smooth. Frosting should be thick but pourable. Generously drizzle over warm rolls.

Cream Cheese Frosting-

6 cups of powdered sugar

½ cup milk

½ cup (1 stick) butter melted

4 ounces cream cheese softened

Whisk milk, butter and cream cheese together. Gradually add powdered sugar until the thickness you desire. Top warm rolls.

Although, I would have preferred using only all-purpose flour, these turned out really well. I was a little worried at first since more often things turnout much denser when using whole wheat flour, and this recipe was not that way.  So good and what makes this even better I was able to make enough rolls to enjoy over the entire weekend AND save the other half of the rolls for the freeze to enjoy these deliciousness later without all the time and effort!

the second half before going into the freezer, froze them like this
then put them in a freezer bag

I’ll have to share an update once we eat up the second half of the recipe from the freezer. 

Homemade Granola

Tonight's going to be a short, sweet, and to the point post! While I realize should have waited until the kiddos were in bed so I could hear myself think, I decided to just sit down quick and push through all the noise while they are entertaining themselves with basketballs, spoons and garbage cans, let's just say loud doesn't describe it!

Granola is not a staple grocery list item or one that I'd consider as 'needed' but this is something I really need to make more of! The process takes a little time but is extremely easy and really the options are endless with what you want to put in it as well as how you could use it.

Natalie at Super Health Kids offers a great list of ways to use your granola. My recipe was inspired by Alton Brown but that was only the start!

Homemade Granola Recipe

4 cups rolled oats (not quick oats)

1 cup slice almonds

1 cup pecans

1 cup shredded sweetened coconut

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup honey

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Mix oats, nuts, coconut, and sugar in a large bowl. In a separate bowl mix honey, oil and salt. Pour honey mixture onto of oats mixture. Stir until well coated and combined (use your hands if needed). Spread granola onto a cookie sheet with edges. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until evenly toasted and to your desired crunchiness (keep in mind it will get crunchier as it cools). Stir every 15 minutes. 

This would be great with any kind of dried fruit or your favorite nuts or seeds added to the mix! Ultimately all you need is your base (rolled oats), something sticky to hold it all together (honey or syrup), an oil (I'm sure any kind would do) to thin out your sticky to make it coat everything easier, your favorite extras (fruit, nuts, seeds, coconut, etc.), and a little sweet and salty to your liking. 

Now I just need to make some more yogurt! J

Homemade Washing Soda

A common laundry detergent ingredient :)

Well Mother Nature, you sure had your own plan for today and I really didn't appreciate our electricity going out because of you just as I went to go start typing my post for today!

The other day I went to go make another batch of laundry soap and found I was out of washing soda. I am about 50/50 between my homemade laundry detergent and Norwex laundry detergent ... I love the no fillers for some of the sensitive skinned family members but I LOVE the price of my homemade detergent. But since I was completely out of laundry detergent altogether and I couldn't wait for a new bag of Norwex to arrive, I made a point to run out over my lunch break the next day to pick some washing soda up.

However, to my disappointment our Target didn't carry washing soda, WHAT?!? Now most of you would have just grabbed some other laundry detergent but of course that would be way too easy for this girl! Instead, the crazy thought "I wonder if I could make it" entered my mind (oh ... Homemade Day by Day you have really created an addition here, heehee) and sure enough while standing in the laundry detergent aisle at Target I did a quick internet search and BINGO.

The initial recipe I found was from One Good Thing by Jillee but I really enjoyed Penniless Parenting's chemistry explanation! Now I am no chemist and I would like to do more research on this, but I did give it a try! This would for sure be a great alternative for when washing soda isn't available.

I'm sure there was a much more graceful way to do this :)

Homemade Washing Soda

2 cups of baking soda (1 - 16 ounce box)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spread baking soda onto cookie sheet (preferably one with an edge). Bake for 1 or more hours until all the baking soda has turned into washing soda. 

I baked mine for 2 hours after dinner one evening and I am thinking I could have gone longer according to Penniless Parenting's comparison, but for now I am pleased! 

Cost comparison - $0.50 for 2 cups homemade washing soda vs. $1.39 store bought

Homemade Biscuits and Gravy

the biscuits, melt in your mouth inside with a little crunch on the out

Hoping I've shared this early enough in the week for any of you out there that would like to give this a try come Saturday (or Sunday) morning this weekend! It’s not as quick as a bowl of cereal BUT it is much more time efficient than let’s say, oh … homemade cinnamon rolls … which I always have great intentions the night before, but when it comes down to it, my sleep is much more enjoyable! One of these days, I will find a recipe and process that works for us AND when I do, I won’t forget to share because everybody needs to enjoy a piping hot fresh homemade cinnamon roll every once in while! But until that post, these biscuits and gravy will definitely satisfy those taste buds :)

... and the finished gravy

A Saturday morning favorite around here for sure … even #3, this generation’s “Kara you need to stop talking and eat” girl (just a little inside fun from growing up at ‘the farm’ with a dear friend), loves gobbling this deliciousness up and almost always asks for seconds!

The first recipe feeds a family of 6 generously with seconds and leftovers … which is how I usually cook on Saturday mornings so it covers breakfast plans for Sunday morning also! If you don’t need this large of a recipe, check out the half recipe version at the bottom of the post (I know you all could do your own math, but I also know myself well enough that if there’s an additional step I would need to do in order to try something, its very slow to making it to the top of my priority list … and these biscuits and gravy just might make it to the top of that list once you have tried them!)

From start to finish, the kids can be eating these in about a half hour. To speed the process up, I always make my homemade buttermilk first and start preheating a large skillet for the sausage. The biscuit recipe is one from Foodie Friend on Food.com and the gravy recipe is a from a family recipe book “Breads of a Feather Cook Together”. I’ve shared about this great recipe book before that was inspired by my great-grandparents.

what it looks like before kneading

Homemade Biscuits 

4 cups flour

5 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ salt

2 tablespoon sugar

1 cup butter (2 sticks)

1 ½ cup buttermilk

Make sure you have already started your buttermilk if you are using my homemade version. Shred butter (yes, with a cheese grater J, SO much easier than cutting it into small cubes!) into a large bowl. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar to the bowl with the shredded butter. Using your hands, lightly toss the butter and dry ingredients together until the butter pieces are well coated. Pour the buttermilk over the coated butter. Using a wooden spoon (I like to use this because it makes me feel pioneery ... any spoon will do), stir for about a minute… it may not be completely combined. Pour dough out onto flour counter and knead for about 6-8 times until you have the dough forms a sloppy ball. Move the dough to a cookie sheet (one with edges is preferred). Work the dough to form a 1 ½ inch thick rectangle that is approximately 9”x15”. Cut dough into 2” squares (like you would bars) and do not separate. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes.

before the baking

While the biscuits are baking, it’s onto the gravy. 

Gravy

the roux and milk ... love a good-ole cast-iron pot!

1 pound breakfast sausage

½ cup butter (1 stick)

½ cup flour

4 cups milk

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

In large preheated skillet, brown sausage until fully cooked and the delish crusties form on the bottom of the skillet. While the sausage is cooking, melt butter in a separate saucepan. Whisk flour into melted butter. Cook butter and flour (also known as a roux) for about 1 minute. Add milk to roux and whisk occasionally until sausage is ready. Once sausage is cooked and drained, add the milk mixture to the large skillet. Continue to cook gravy to desired thickness, being sure to scrap the bottom of the pan to incorporate the deliciousness left on the bottom of the pan from the sausage.

the finished product ... we love a little maple syrup to top things off :) 

½ Biscuits Recipe

2 cups flour

2 ½ teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

¼ salt

1 tablespoon sugar

½ cup butter (1 stick)

¾ cup buttermilk

½ Gravy Recipe

½ pound breakfast sausage

4 tablespoons butter

¼ cup flour

2 cups milk

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper

Cost for the meal: under $7 for full recipe. I'd love to hear from you if you give these a try!

Homemade Antacid Remedy

DISCLAIMER – There are a wide variety of essential oils on the market. Please be sure to check the labels on your oils so you are using them safely and according to their directions. Some are for external use only.

My intent was this will be a quick post … easy-peasy! And then there was a need to explain about the different oils available, so if you already have oils that are safe to be used internally feel free to skip to the recipe. If not, let me share some insight.

I’ve been using essential oils since early 2005 after receiving an ‘off-the-list’ Christmas gift from my sister. She had my name for the Christmas exchange and came across this book (be sure to check this link out for the free book sample); it sounded like something I would enjoy trying and BOY AM I GLAD she went outside the box! Now just so you know, I have not read this book word for word, but it has been in active circulation in our home ever since I received it … the worn edges and AMAZING smell that covers its pages from the variety of essential oils that have accidentally splattered them are a true sign of how well it’s been used!

The book sparked my curiosity and I started looking into finding the oils, but I was caught off guard by how expensive they were! I had NO background knowledge and at the time didn’t know anybody else that used them so I was treading through ALL of the endless information about essential oils on my own. I was an amateur essential oil user and found a reliable site that offered a wide variety of oils for a reasonable price (you know me … always trying to get a better product for the cheapest price); however, these could only be used externally which I thought was normal for all essential oils … little did I know at that time there was something out there that COULD be used internally also.

A few of the ones I started with were eucalyptus, lavender, chamomile, tea tree, thyme, lemon, vetiver, rosemary, rose geranium, and bergamot. Why those you ask? These were the ones that weren’t outrageous expensive and seemed to give me the most options when following some of the recipes from the book my sister gave me. Later I added: grapefruit, palmarosa, peppermint, spearmint, coriander, fennel, juniper berry, cypress, cinnamon bark, hyssop, and frankincense.

Fast-forward five years after I had started making bath salts with blends I had created for a variety of purposes and was completely satisfied with the essential oils I was using. One day my cousin shared she had started using Young Living oils, she liked the idea they were okay to be used internally since she would be using them on her children and it made her feel better to know if they would get a little of the oils in their mouth it would be safe. Truth be told - my first response was WOW, these sound great and then I looked at their price and my tuned went from I want to use Young Living oils to my oils have served their purpose well for the past five years just fine, I REALLY don’t want to spend that amount of money.

Fast-forward five more years, I just recently used some of my Christmas cash and bought a starter kit from Young Living … at this point I wished it hadn’t taken me 10 years to get my hands on essential oils that are safe for internal use. Before Young Living I would state, “I really don’t have any desire to use them internally, so what’s the big deal?” Well, now that I have them, I have changed my tune yet again and have been trying out the many ways to use my Young Living essential oils to support a healthier lifestyle.

In some sense I feel like I am starting all over with my essential oils because there are so many more uses for Young Livings oils than what I was used to, so to help with my learning curve I attended a Young Living class about the chemistry behind essential oils and the instructor mentioned how peppermint essential was great as a dietary supplement and helped support the digestive system. LIGHTBULB! The Mr. struggles with heartburn on a regular basis, so my wheels started turning and it was worth a try. I am not opposed to over-the-counter and prescription medicine by any means, but if a simple natural solution would bring health benefits then I am open to giving it a try and if it works for us I am willing to make that lifestyle change if not then as least we tried and no harm was done. As we all know, everybody is different so may have different results, but we will be trading in our antacids for some Young Living peppermint oils. If you are would like to see how you can benefit from these oils ask me for a free sample, how you can get them at wholesale price, or how you can get your own starter kit.

Homemade Antacid Remedy

1 cup water

1 drop Young Living peppermint essential oil

Bottle with lid

Add water and peppermint oil to bottle. Shake well. Drink.

Cost comparison: $0.07 for one dose of peppermint water vs. $0.04 for two tums

The Deep Dish on Life

It's really much more simple than it is deep, but it's always so interesting to me that the simplest things are sometimes the hardest. So often I get caught up in all the distractions of life ... the pile of coats and shoes that often greets me at the door when I arrive home from work, the mile long to-do-list that only seems to get longer, and of course the unlimited access to all sorts of social media ... through all of these I often forget to focus on all the things that are much more important than any of these. The things that soothe my soul and make me happy. Now, as most of you could figure out one of my happy places is when I am creating anything from scratch; however I am fully aware this could have the complete opposite effect on some of you (!$#&...hair pulling...%@*!%...tears). Simply put, just because I find joy in doing something does not mean everybody else will also, but we can find joy in helping one another find our happy places and encourage each other go to those happy places when we need a break! :)

My Happy Places
my morning devotion
a cup of hot tea and honey
Jamie Grace on Pandora
essential oils in my diffuser
the corner of the couch with a good book
creating pretty much anything
a nature walk
snuggling with the kids and the Mr. to watch a movie
getting others to smile
crossing something off of my to-do list
date nights
sharing on my blog

Some of my happy places are visited daily and others are less frequent, but no matter when I visit any of these it brings me joy, happiness, and peace SO why shouldn't I visit them more often instead of allowing all of life's distractions to keep me from them!

Which is why I am going to commit myself to sharing a new post every Wednesday. So be on the lookout for Item No. 79 coming next Wednesday!

What makes you happy? I encourage you to make your own list and see if there is anything you would like to make more time for!

Kitchen Chalkboard Project

To be a plate rack or not to be ... 

Yet another project from start to finish that took should have taken well less than an hour of active participation. This void used to be a plate rack that rarely was dusted which meant the plates never were used since it would have required washing them before AND after eating off of them. Uhh ... double the work or use different plates ... bingo, the second choice :)

the BEFORE

I had a quart of chalkboard paint leftover from another project and thought it would be fun to have place to use all those cute chalkboard ideas off of pinterest. I love the the idea of chalkboard decor and being able to change it with the seasons or holidays ... although I know this will never happen as often as I intend it to. :)  Jess at 'Mom 4 Real' shares a simple way to make chalkboard paint in any color, can't wait to find an excuse to try this!

wet paint ... do not touch

Since the space was small, the painting itself didn't take long, but with three coats needed and the dry time in between, the start to finish time was a couple hours.

The chalkboard paint needed 2 to 3 days to cure before drawing on it, so it needed a few days before the finishing touch ... which actually turned into at least a month for me... oh life, why must I let you distract me from these fun projects.

the finished project

I'm loving the cute little nook for my cookbook stand, our 'garage-sale-find' change jar, and the much needed napkin holder for our family of six. However, the picture above is very deceiving since I so conveniently cropped out the extremely messy counter. This, my friends, is real life around here more often than I would like to think ... the mess I had to push through (mentally and physically) to get my kitchen chalkboard project completed!

 I would prefer to work in a clean and organized environment which when you have kids usually means - clean first ... then create ... then clean again, ugh! Through a life with kids I have come to realize life will always bring with it distractions, sometimes those distractions need our attention and we need to be interruptible ... other times we need to put on the binders and keep pushing through.