Homemade Crackers

Crackers are one of our family's favorite snacks.  When we decided to start eating cleaner the crackers got cut from the grocery list.  I did not have a hard time giving up the crackers but hubby on the other hand was struggling.  So I whipped up an easy cracker recipe with only a few ingredients that are clean and pantry staples.

Easy Homemade Crackers

1 c. whole wheat flour

1/2 c. water

1/2 tsp. salt

Mix flour and salt then slowly add in the water until you have a doughy consistency. (see pic below)

Flour your counter top and rolling pen.  Roll dough out until it is cracker thin.  

Once it is rolled to desired thinness place on a cookie sheet and cut with a pizza cutter desired cracker size.  Place in oven on 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes. 

After crackers come out of the oven break them up and place in an air tight container.  They pair deliciously with hummus!

 

A Cleaner Clean with NO SCRUBBING!

When we bought our house we knew that it would be an adventure of renovations and cleaning up.  You don't buy a 1950's house and expect it not to have a little "character".  One little piece of our house that adds to the character is the bathroom.  Originally it had pink and gray tile... PINK TILE.  It was the first thing to go, click here for that adventure.  However getting rid of the old iron tub was not an option.  I have scrubbed that tub to sparkling white  but something that is hard to clean is the bright white caulk until I discovered this little trick!

BEFORE

Here is the thing, I am a super clean person, and I am scrubber.  So scrubbing my tub clean and not being able to clean this mess was driving me crazy!!

AFTER

Amazing right??  My little trick is to twist up a paper towel and dip it in bleach.  Lay the soaked paper towel across your trouble area for a couple of hours.  When you remove the paper towels it will look like mine bright white again!  So easy and no scrubbing!  

Here is the  side by side comparison.

Amazing!!

Baby Puffs with Only Two Ingredients!

I can't believe baby Colt is already old enough to eat solid foods, but now that he is, I wanted to be very intentional about introducing him to wholesome clean foods. 

After our first experience introducing him to finger goods, I quickly learned two things: 

1.) They needed to be easy to eat 

2.) They needed to be tasty enough so that his hard work (of picking it up) paid off.  

Several people suggested starting with  baby puff snacks, but I really wanted to avoid processed food, and not to mention they are pricey. This started my quest for the perfect baby puff recipe.  After finding several recipes that had either a ton of ingredients or ended up using (boxed) baby cereal, I decided to develop my own recipe. I've shared it below, for other mommy's who want to avoid processed foods and who want to save a little bit of money. 

Easy Baby Puffs – Sweet Potato

1 c. mashed sweet potato

1 c.  old fashioned oats

Preheat oven to 350.  Measure out oats and place in a food processor until oats have a flour consistency. 

Mix in mashed sweet potatoes.  

Roll into small pieces and bake for about 3-5 minutes.

Yes it really is that easy! I'd love to hear your feedback. If you make these, comment below and let me know what you and your sweet baby think!

Baby Colt Approved!

Mamaw's Peanut Butter Pie

I was blessed with two amazing grandmothers and they both are amazing cooks. One of my favorite childhood memories are of Sunday lunches with Mamaw.  All of the delicious food, time around the table, and, my favorite, DESSERT!  This recipe is easy and always a hit on the homestead.

Peanut Butter Pie

1 tub of cool whip
4 oz of cream cheese
1/2 c. peanut butter
1 graham cracker crust
1/4 c. crushed peanuts

Let the cream cheese and cool whip soften.  Whip together the cool whip and cream cheese until smooth.  Gradually add in the peanut butter and whip until smooth.  Pour into the graham cracker crust and sprinkle with crushed peanuts.  Refrigerate until ready to serve. 



This recipe really is that easy!  One could even say it is as easy as pie!

Party of 2... I mean 3!

Big news on the homestead!  

Baby C joined the homestead in August
 and isn't he just the cutest!

My husband I were blessed with a healthy baby boy in August. Yes, I know that was 7 months ago, but for those of you who have children, understand the struggle is real.  I am lucky to even know today is Friday. It is Friday, right? <jk>

Baby C is now 7 months old. He's a curious little boy, strong and smart. He's already got a mind of his own, disregarding "early-childhood normalities" and pulling himself up onto his feet. No, we haven't seen him crawl yet, but maybe he's skipping crawling and heading straight for walking? 

Over these past few months, I've come to realize we have a new life. An enhanced life. With our boy by our side, we see the world in a whole new light. I'm not only learning more about my son and husband, I'm also exploring myself as a parent. I've been trying out new and old parenting theories (elimination communication, anyone?), rediscovering the joy of gardening and attempting to live a more holistic lifestyle. I'm starting Nashville Homestead back up, and I hope you'll follow along and learn from my attempts, successes, projects and fun!

Storing up for Winter: Basil Pesto

Basil is one of the easiest herbs for me to grow, especially since I have figured out it loves full sun. With this new found knowledge I have had an abundance of basil and there is only so much Caprese salad I can eat.  With all the excess basil growing I am on a mission to save it!

The best way to preserve basil is in pesto form, but what I have learned is that pesto doesn't last long jarred. (It last about a week refrigerated). So I have moved on to finding a new way to preserve and boy have I found it! FROZEN BASIL CUBES!

Basil Pesto

2 c. chopped fresh basil
2 tbsp. minced garlic
1/3 c. cashews (or walnuts or pine nuts)
1/2 c. shredded Parmesan
Salt & Pepper to taste
Olive Oil

I use a small food processor to chop up the basil, garlic, cashews, and Parmesan.  After the ingredients are pureed I slowly add olive oil until it becomes the desired consistency.  Once the pesto is at your desired smoothness add salt and pepper to taste.

Once the pesto is finished spoon into a plastic ice cube tray. I measured it out by tablespoon so I will know how much is in each cube for recipes later. Once you have filled the trays drizzle a little olive oil over each section in order to keep in the freezer.  Once frozen solid, pop out of tray and store in a zip-lock bag.

It was so easy and now I can't wait to have fresh pesto in December!

Gardening for the Busy Bee

Something I have been meaning to do as a new homesteader is start a garden.  Actually I doubt you would even call me a homesteader since I am lacking that important little piece homestead... a garden.  So this past fall I started the task of a garden.  I should also mention that our neighbors on both sides are master gardeners.  

This means two things:
 1)  Their yards always look amazing
 2)  A free resource of tips and advice on gardening (flowers or veggies!)

When I mentioned to our neighbor that I was wanting to start a garden but had no idea where to start he recommended a method called layer gardening.  So here is our journey to monster tomatoes, salsa all year round, and bell peppers that are so delicious we can't keep them around.

Layer #1

I did not prep the ground in any way.  I looked around our yard at different times of day to see which spot would receive the most sun since I planned on planting tomatoes and peppers.  The first layer is cardboard laid flat.  Be sure that your cardboard is wax free and all the postage or tape has been removed before laying flat.

Layer #2

After the cardboard was down I started the layering process.  The next layer is leaves and/or grass clippings.  We used both.  If you have a yard full of leaves its nice not to have to bag them all.

We ended up putting a little chicken wire fence around our garden because the pup was very nosy about what we were mixing up.

Continue to layer, layer, layer throughout the fall and winter.  Don't worry about piling it to high over the winter and spring showers it dwindles down and leaves you with a bed of lush compost.

Layer # 3 (optional)

After spring rolled around and we were preparing to plant we added in compost from our compost pile.  This is not necessary since you've been essentially composting all winter.

This is the garden before planting!  Needless to say the flimsy chicken wire did not hold up against our 70 pound golden retriever .

Lets Plant!

Now we are ready to plant!  This garden is great for any kind of vegetable you want to plant. We chose tomatoes, bell peppers, and jalapenos. 

The garden quickly grew and turned into a jungle!  

We had tomato cages when we started but the plants quickly outgrew their cages and we had to tie them up to 8 feet dowels!

Our first little harvest!

Now we can hardly keep up with all the tomatoes!