DIY Homemade Dye Free Snow Cone Recipe

by Jenny Irvine // August 14, 2014 // 1 Comment

DIY DYE FREE Snow Cone Recipe - Fun for the whole family! Dye Free, Allergy Friendly, Gluten, and Dairy Free too!

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Have you every made your own snow cones? Summer is just getting started and we are excited to ‘dive in’ . Here at “My Happy Homestead” there are some long standing traditions that have just become a staple –

Yes, making our own snow cones is really one of our ‘must do‘ homestead activities– no food dyes, no artificial ingredients- just memories. If there’s time in your schedule this one is super quick, easy, and inexpensive.

Homemade Dye Free Snow Cones

Ingredients;

Ice

Frozen fruit juice concentrate or berry sauce

Other Supplies Needed;

Snow cone cups and straws (we have these and love them)

Blender or snow cone machine

Direction;

Prepare syrup. Simply combine 2 parts juice concentrate to 1 part water. You can also make your own berry sauce if preferred-it is just heavenly on a hot day. Thin berry sauce as needed with a bit of water. (Our most recent snow cones were orange pineapple…yummmmy!)

Shave ice in blender or if you have a cute little snow cone machine then use that. Using an ice cream scoop put desired amount of shaved ice in each of your snow cone cups-carefully pour syrup on top and dive in!

Printable Recipe

Supplies;

Walking Tacos

by Jenny Irvine // July 31, 2014 // No Comments

I’m sure I’ve said it before and if I haven’t- here it is, lunch is my least favorite meal of the day.

With so many food sensitive kids and the constant feeding of my little morning food grazers – breakfast runs into a morning snack- which runs into lunch- which seems to look like a little bit bigger snack. There is so much food served in my house between the hours of 7:00AM to 1:00PM there truly are days I wonder if I’m running a house or a food service company. Since lunch is at the tail end of it all- basically, it is the meal that gets the end of my energy, and lets face it Momma is ready to throw in the towel by then.

So I’m constantly searching for an easy way out or a quick serve solution – walking tacos my friend have won my heart for this reason.

Yes, they are not going to win an unprocessed, healthy living award but they taste good, are quick, easy, budget friendly, gluten free, and kids love them. So give it a try for a special treat- your kids will thank you- and heck, even healthy families can cheat sometimes.

walking tacos recipe, mexican food, gluten free, kid friendly, lunch ideas

Walking Taco Recipe

Serving 4

Ingredients;

1 lb lean ground beef (turkey or chicken work great too)

1 once of your favorite taco seasoning

4 (2.5 ounce packages of corn chips)

2 C, shredded lettuce

1 C. shredded or diced cheese

1/2 C. diced tomatoes (we only had cherry at the time)

1/3 C. salsa

1/3 C. sour cream

Directions;

Place ground meat in skillet on medium/low heat. Cook and stir until browned and cooked through. Drain any access grease. Add taco seasoning and prepare as directed.

Now, comes the fun part. With the bags unopened, carefully crush the corn chips (just slightly-do not turn them into corn powder). Carefully open the bags and begin assembly. Divide the ground meat evenly into all the bags and begin adding all of your favorite ingredients (lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, sour cream, salsa)

Serve in the bag with a fork- and to make them extra kid friendly I like to put my kids in a mug to prevent the bag from tipping/spilling over while scooping.

What is your go-to lunch for your family?

Printable Recipe

Homestead Crock Pot Whole Chicken and Overnight Chicken Stock Recipe

by Jenny Irvine // June 26, 2014 // No Comments

Gluten-free, recipe, slow cooker, homemade, easy recipe, simple dinners

Homestead Crock-pot Whole Chicken and Overnight Chicken Stock Recipe

Over Night Slow Cooker Chicken Stock

I have certainly tried my share of chicken recipes over the years and this one seriously does not get any easier. Especially when using the bones from the “Homestead Crockpot Whole Chicken” (see below) -once all the meat is removed leave all other remains in the crock pot (skin, bones, juices, absolutely everything). Our crockpot is nothing fancy it very similar to this.

Add the following;

2 stalks of celery

1 peeled and loosely chopped onion

1 carrot roughly chopped

2 bay leafs,

A dash of thyme and rosemary

Fill the crock pot with water covering all bones, skins, and veggies (leaving approximately 1/2-1 inch from the top of the crockpot). Put the crockpot on low (cooking 8-10 hours) overnight. In the morning using a soup ladle or slotted spoon scoop out and discard all the bones, cooked veggies, etc. Once only the broth remains I like to place it in the fridge for a day so that the fat solidifies on top. Skim the fat, discard, and sieve to catch any remaining herbs and skin.

Using a liquid measuring cup, and a freezer zip lock bag- freeze in 2-3 C. portions for future use. I like to freeze the bags flat to make the best use of our freezer space. Ice Cube trays are perfect for freezing small cubes of stock for those “just need a bit” moments.

Homestead Crockpot Whole Chicken Recipe

Ingredients;

2 T Minced Garlic

1 Tsp. Salt

1 Tsp. Fresh Ground Pepper

1/2 Tsp. Rosemary

1 Onion

1 Lemon

1/4 C. of Water

1 Large Chicken

Instructions;

Combine all of the dried spices in a bowl.
Add water and roughly chopped onion in the bottom of the crockpot.
Prepare chicken; remove the giblets. Place chicken in crockpot (on top of the onions) and squeeze lemon juice on top. Throw the lemon in the bottom of the crockpot once finished.
Gently rub chicken with minced garlic and the dried spices until evenly coated. Using a kitchen glove you can loosen the skin of the chicken for easy seasoning of the meat.
Cover and cook on high 4-5 hours (based on a 3-4 lb chicken) cook until internal temperature is 160+, juices run clear- or if your like me when the meat is falling off the bone.
Let rest 5-10 minutes and serve. Leave bones, skin, onion, and lemon in the crock pot for a yummy overnight chicken stock (see above)

Printable Recipe