One of the fun facts about my home state of Michigan is that it produces 75% of the tart cherry crop in the United States. In fact the lovely town of Traverse City in northern Michigan is known as the Cherry Capital of the World and is host to theRead More
Layered Jar Mix: Healthy Snack Bites
One of the simplest homemade gifts, and often times one of the most economical too, is a layered jar mix. As a bonus they don’t take long to make either and can usually be put together with familiar pantry ingredients. I guess that’s why I so often get the urgeRead More
Homemde Larabar Bites
One of my recent snacking discoveries has been the Larabar, a healthier alternative to all those snack bars on the store shelves. The Larabar has the tagline of being “the original fruit and nut bar” and is made with minimal ingredients. If you read their ingredient labels you’ll find thatRead More
Make Your Own Microwave Popcorn Bags
A few years ago I discovered that if I wanted to quickly make homemade popcorn in the microwave, all I needed was a brown paper lunch bag and some popcorn kernels. There was no need to buy the store bought microwave popcorn bags that always feel so greasy to me. Read More
Using a Yonanas for Healthy DIY Ice Cream
Perhaps you’ve made your own ice cream in the past with a traditional ice cream maker. If you’ve done that, you know the ingredients are lots of milk or cream, and sugar. Unfortunately these are all ingredients we’re trying to have much less of at our house. But ice creamRead More
5 Ways To Keep Apple Slices Fresh
Back in the early days of this blog I wrote a post about how to make your own Apple Dippers. This was a copycat idea of an item on the McDonald’s menu called Apple Dippers (a little bag of sliced apples with dip) and I shared a quick tip to keepRead More
Parmesan Bites Appetizer
Appetizer recipes aren’t your everday recipes. No, appetizer recipes are those recipes you go in search of only a few times during the year for special get-togethers or for the holidays. But even though you might not make them very often, it’s good to have a few dependable appetizer recipesRead More
Pea Guacamole Recipe
It’s not unusual for family or friends to ask me, “What’s coming up next on the blog?” This week when I was asked and I proudly answered “Pea Guacamole!”, well, those folks looked back at me like I had finally gone ’round the bend. Pea Guacamole?? Why in the worldRead More
Homemade Fudgsicles
This summer I’ve been enjoying making some of my own frozen treats, especially my homemade milk and honey berry popsicles, an easy mixture I can make with ingredients I usually have around the house. I love the refreshing taste of the frozen berries, but every now and then . . .Read More
Patriotic Jars (and Pretzel Treats!)
Holidays can be busy – even the warm weather holidays when we’re supposed to be enjoying the lazy days of summer. So if I’m going to do homemade crafting around any holiday, I like to keep things simple and easy. For the upcoming Fourth of July holiday, I made aRead More
Milk and Honey Berry Popsicles {Patriotic too!}
Popsicles (or maybe you call them ice pops) are a traditional and favorite treat for those warm, lazy days of summer. And one of the great things about popsicles is it’s super easy to make your own! A homemade popsicle can be as simple as freezing some juice or someRead More
Almond “Brownie” Bars
Are they brownies? or blondies? Or just bars? I’m never sure what to call these tasty little homemade treats, but I’ve kind of settled on calling them brownies even though they are not in any way brown. The final texture of these bars and the ingredients used most resemble aRead More
Homemade Cheez-It Crackers
Not every homemade recipe is something you’ll make all the time. I think every cook has a stash of recipes that include the day-to-day basics that get used all the time, but then also has a stash of recipes for special occasions, and those every-now-and-then times where something a littleRead More
Make Your Own Vanilla Wafers
I few weeks ago I decided I wanted to try to make my own vanilla wafers, those tasty little bite sized cookies that are often sold with the shortened name of “Nilla” wafers. Cookies are my sweet snack of choice and I’m always looking to add another good cookie recipeRead More
Homemade Chocolate Covered Cherries – Success!
It’s been a couple years since I first tried to make my own homemade chocolate covered cherries – and it was a big failure (you can read that original story here: Failed Chocolate Covered Cherries). They were a pretty sorry looking mess as you can see in the picture below.Read More
Quick Mix Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies
Who likes homemade cookies? Me! Who likes homemade cookies but doesn’t feel like baking them in the summer and would rather float around in the pool instead? Umm, me again. What to do? Well, many times in the summer I rely on my No Bake Chocolate Cookies which are always aRead More
Homemade Microwave Applesauce Recipe
Back when I was an ambitious young mother with lots of energy, I used to can applesauce. My mother-in-law would come to help, bringing along her special apple-peeling and mashing tool that looked kind of like an old fashioned meat grinder that we would attach to the edge of theRead More
My Favorite Cut-Out Cookie Recipe
Most of the time when I make homemade cookies I stick with the basic stuff. I whip up some chocolate chip cookies, or I stir together my trusty Chocolate No Bake cookies, or these tasty Oatmeal Chip cookies. But every so often I get a little more ambitious (usually aroundRead More
Homemade Gifts: Popcorn Seasoning
I hope you’ve enjoyed the homemade gift ideas I’ve shared in the last couple of weeks that are non-sugar ideas for gifts from the kitchen. We’ve looked at a Southwestern Dip Mix spice blend that’s perfect in a cute jar for gift giving, and these delicious Spicy Pecans that canRead More
Homemade Gifts: Spicy Pecans
I love to have quick ideas for homemade food gifts during the holidays. That’s why I’m keeping this recipe for spicy nuts handy because it can be put together in just 20 minutes, plus it’s a nice change of pace from the sweets. This recipe that I clipped outRead More