Homemade lasagna is rich and filling, but with the freshness of spring and summer veggie flavors. Use up your fresh parsley, zucchini, lasagna noodles, farm fresh meat, and cheese in this delicious lasagna recipe the whole family will love.
[Read more…] about How to Make Homemade LasagnaInstant Pot Sausage Soup with Bone Broth
This instant pot sausage soup is hearty, healthy, and perfect for the winter months. I love using homemade bone broth in this recipe, but if you have store bought bone broth that works too. Pick out your favorite sausage for this recipe. I had just been to the local butcher shop in our area and got some nice Italian ground sausage, but just about any sausage will do. What I love about this recipe is that it makes good use out of the instant pot. You can leave the instant pot on all afternoon and have dinner ready when you get home!
The thing about this recipe is this – good food doesn’t have to be complicated. You can follow this recipe if you want, but the basics of this soup are quite simple. Good sausage, beans, kale, and tomatoes, mixed with a hearty bone broth, and you can’t go wrong. Add extra onion if you’re an onion fan, or extra garlic if you love your garlic like we do.
[Read more…] about Instant Pot Sausage Soup with Bone BrothHow to Make Sweet Chewy Lemon Bars
We’re getting in the Christmas spirit over here and every year I make sweet chewy lemon bars for Christmas morning breakfast. I love that these are so sweet and lemon-y, as they use lemon zest and a whole cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice! Make these lemon bars to enjoy on Christmas morning and your family will be so pleased!
For past several years I have made these lemon bars for Christmas morning. In fact, these were one of the first recipes I learned how to make way back in the day. Something about the taste of lemon in the morning makes these sure taste healthy and refreshing, even if they do have sugar in them! But we like to eat these on Christmas morning alongside a hearty egg, sausage, and cheese casserole dish, so that we can enjoy opening presents all morning long. If you like lemons and you like dessert for breakfast, you will love these!
[Read more…] about How to Make Sweet Chewy Lemon BarsHow to Make Pumpkin Pie Naturally Sweetened
It’s pie season! We are making farm fresh pumpkin pie, sweetened only with natural flavors and spices. Healthy enough to be eaten for breakfast even! What I love about this recipe is that is uses a real pumpkin, so it’s more like a pumpkin meal than a dessert pie. And pumpkin is so good for you too! This no sugar added pumpkin pie is fun to make and is one of the best ways to go farm-to-table this year. Don’t forget pumpkins are in season for a long time, so enjoy this dish well into the holidays!
[Read more…] about How to Make Pumpkin Pie Naturally SweetenedHow to Make Hearty Instant Pot Beef Stew from Scratch
This is our go to recipe for when temperatures drop into the low 20s, we go for that walk in the cool crisp fall air, and we come home and need warming up. I make a lot of soup during the fall time, and this has been a favorite since I was a kid and my mom used to make it. Learn how to make instant pot beef stew from scratch, a meal that will keep you happy for all the cold days to come.
read moreScandinavian Farmhouse Christmas Home Tour
This year we went with a Scandinavian Christmas theme full of fresh greeneries, cloved oranges, rustic wood, and an antique farmhouse feel. Being from Sweden, Germany, and Italy, John and I have a lot of European culture in our families and home. So to bring some of that in this year for Christmas was the perfect combo. Come see what we did in our Scandinavian Farmhouse Christmas Home tour.
In years past we have always kept our Christmas decorating pretty simple. We cut down our own Christmas tree, buy fresh garland and use greeneries from our yard, and wrap presents with brown and white craft paper. I use firewood for decor and pull out all of our woven baskets for blanket storage. This year, I wanted to do the normal traditions, but I also wanted to bump it up and add some true Scandinavian touches.
In this tutorial I will show the farmhouse entryway, the family & living room, the dining room tablescape, our office, and the front porch. Make sure to check out the video tutorial for the full tour!
[Read more…] about Scandinavian Farmhouse Christmas Home TourHealthy Ratatouille
Ratatouille is a great way to get several vegetables on your family’s plate. Whether you’re cooking for two or for eight, ratatouille is a yummy vegetarian side or main dish. Ratatouille uses eggplants, zucchini, red pepper, tomato, garlic, onion, and olive oil. And this recipe uses NO salt. We make this healthy ratatouille about once a week. And if a party is happening, this is what I bring!
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Ratatouille is already very healthy for you with so many vegetables in one dish. This recipe also uses no salt, and each vegetable is cooked on its own to get the best nutrient and flavor before combining them all into the pot. I actually learned how to make this dish from an authentic French chef, and she gave me some great tips that I will share!
We love to cook with whatever vegetables are in season. If you have access to fresh zucchini, eggplant, peppers, or tomatoes, use those for the best and fullest flavor. If not, you can just grab some organic veggies from your local grocery store. I’ve done this recipe with vegetables that are in and out of season, and it always turns out great!
[Read more…] about Healthy RatatouilleHow to Make a Homemade Natural Christmas Wreath
There is nothing better than a simple, natural homemade Christmas wreath! Stop by your local nursery, grocery store, or maybe even your backyard to pick up a variety of winter greens so you can make your own wreath for Christmas this year. For this wreath, you’ll need a wreath frame, cable ties, and greens of your choice. That’s it!
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We decided to make homemade Christmas wreaths this year because they are easy, fragrant, and much less expensive than buying pre-made wreaths every season. If you buy a wreath frame and some cable ties, you can create beautiful wreaths every season by taking off the old greenery or decor and replacing it with new decor.
[Read more…] about How to Make a Homemade Natural Christmas Wreath5 Christmas Greenery Ideas
Time to pull out the Christmas greenery! Every year we take to our own backyard or the local nursery to find some fragrant, beautiful Christmas greenery to decorate our Homestead for Christmas. This year I found 5 different Christmas greeneries to get in the Christmas spirit and decorate our home. To us, bringing in natural elements from the outside into our home is the best way to get ready for the Christmas season. Christmas greeneries smell good, they are beautiful, and I think they are one of the easiest ways to decorate the Homestead for Christmas.
Why Christmas Greenery?
For Christmas every year we like to bring the outside in and pull in as much Christmas greenery as we can to decorate for Christmas. We live in the Pacific Northwest where we have a lot of greenery, forest, lakes, rivers, and mountains near us. John and I are definitely nature junkies! We love being out on hikes and taking the kayak out in the summertime. So, it is only fitting that one of our favorite ways to decorate around the holidays is with Christmas greenery.
Christmas greenery looks beautiful with the dark green, white, and red colors. It also smells great! Pine is one of the main scents from Christmas greenery and it is as natural way to smell your house like Christmas.
We went a few local nurseries in the area and found 5 Christmas Greenery Ideas to decorate the inside/outside of our Homestead. You can also pull some pine branches from your yard if you have them. Get creative and use whatever you have available to you – that is part of the fun!
[Read more…] about 5 Christmas Greenery IdeasHow to Make Crispy Brussels Sprouts
We love that crispy, crunchy, tangy taste you get when brussels sprouts are cooked on the cast iron skillet with only lemon and garlic. Here’s how to make crispy brussels sprouts using the stovetop and a simple recipe with one secret step. We make this recipe at least once a week and pair it with a chicken or steak on the side. You can also add bacon or parmesan cheese on top – yum!
In our homestead, we like to have one veggie, one protein, and one grain for dinner every night. Usually we will do a chicken or steak, a stovetop veggie, and sourdough bread or skillet potatoes. Brussels Sprouts are one of our favorite side dishes to pair with chicken or beef. This recipe only has a few ingredients and is simple to make – but there is a simple secret to how to make crispy brussels sprouts. I am posting this recipe alongside a few other bloggers who are sharing delicious Thanksgiving recipe ideas. You can check out their recipes at the bottom of this page.
Many people don’t care for brussels sprouts, but this may be because they haven’t found the right way to cook them. For example, if you microwave frozen brussels sprouts, you may end up with a soggy cabbage-like side dish that doesn’t smell too great. And we don’t want that!
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