Super Easy Apple Crisp with a gluten free option

I love Fall and all the produce that goes with it! My favorite treat at this time of year is apple crisp.  It's super easy to make and so tasty.  With just a few modifications, you can easily make it gluten free too!

Here is our favorite recipe:

Ingredients:
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup flour (replace this with oat flour for gluten free option)
1/2 cup butter, melted
3 cups of apples
1/2 cup white sugar (or coconut sugar)
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

In a large bowl, combine brown sugar, oats, flour, and butter. Mix until crumbly.  Spread half the mixture into the bottom of a 8-inch square pan.

Mix apples with white sugar, cinnamon, and a pinch of flour.  Pour them on top of the crumb mixture.

Put the other half of the crumb mixture on top of the apples.

Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes.

We also put the same recipe in our dutch oven with great results.  You just need to remove the lid for the last 5 minutes to brown the top.

We like to top ours with vanilla ice cream and a little caramel syrup.  Mmmm!

Easy Oatmeal and Honey Bread

Our journey to a natural life has been just that: a journey.  We did not make all of our lifestyle changes overnight.  Take one thing at a time and make your changes slowly.  Recently one of our changes has been with bread.  Many have jumped on the gluten-free bandwagon, and you'll be happy to know that this recipe can be modified slightly to make gluten-free bread.

For our family though, we believe that all things should be in moderation.  We have no health issues with gluten but we still try to eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables with very little wheat included.  We try to make all of our food ourselves so we only eat bread as often as I'm willing to make it.  That being said, there's nothing like the fresh baked bread smell in the house! Mmmm!!

This recipe quickly became my favorite because it had so few ingredients and truly is one of the easiest there is.  Most kitchens already have all the ingredients! Enjoy!

Oatmeal and Honey Bread

1 C. old fashioned rolled oats or instant steel cut oats

2 pkg. yeast (equivalent to 4.5 teaspoons if you have it in a jar)

2 and ½ tsp. salt

½ C. honey (we use only raw, local honey)

2 T. oil (my favorite is grapeseed for this recipe)

5 cups flour (we use unbleached organic flour)

• Soak oats in 2 C. boiling water until lukewarm
• Dissolve yeast in 1/3 C. warm water (110-120 degrees) and add to the oats.  The oats must not be warmer than 120 degrees or it will kill the yeast.  Use a thermometer if you are new to bread-making. 
• Add salt, honey and oil to mixture.
• Add flour in 2 cup increments until dough is smooth.  The honey will make the dough slightly sticky, do not add too much flour.  Knead until smooth (about 5 minutes).
• Place dough in a greased bowl and cover to rise until double. Usually about an hour.
• Punch down the risen dough
• Divide in half and shape into loaves.  Place in greased loaf pans.  Cover and let rise until double. Usually 1-1.5 hours in a warm spot.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until browned and the loaves sound hollow when tapped.  Remove from pans and cool on wire racks.

photo credit: babble.com

Laundry!

If you're a crafter, you may walk through the aisles of decorations and think, "I could make that." I have a few family members that are great at woodworking so when they see a table at Pottery Barn, they think the same thing: I could make that.

Part of homesteading is defined by self-sufficiency.  We are attempting to rely less and less on pre-made, factory processed items and figure out how to make things ourselves.  Truly, all progress is not in a forward direction in my opinion.  In the name of "progress" we have introduced more chemicals into our homes.

Last year we started making our own laundry soap.  I am thrilled with the results.  Here is a recipe that has worked great for us!

1 4 lb 12 oz box Borax (2.15 kg or 76 oz) found in the detergent isle

1 4 lb box Arm & Hammer Baking Soda (1.81 kg) found in the cooking isle

1  box Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda 55 oz (3 lb 7 oz) found in the detergent isle

3 bars of Fels-Naptha soap, found in the detergent isle (if you use Zote bars use 2 bars instead, Zote can be found at Home Depot)

2 small containers of Oxy Clean or store brand Oxy Clean (try to get about 3.5 lbs total (1.58 kg)) found in the detergent aisle.

(this is optional. I did not add it but if you notice your clothes getting a little dingy, you can add it).
You should be able to find all of these items at your grocery store or walmart.

Grate the bars of soap and mix all ingredients together in a large bucket.  This makes approximately 2 gallons of detergent.  

**Use 1-2 Tablespoons per load. I know that does not seem like enough but this recipe does not have fillers like the store bought detergent so you only need 1-2 Tablespoons.**

This detergent is fairly mild smelling, it is not over powering. If you love a strong scent you may have to add a fabric softener or laundry crystals to each load. You can find laundry crystals in the detergent aisle.

We got our recipe from this site: http://beingcreativetokeepmysanity.blogspot.com/2010/11/homemade-laundry-soap.html?m=1

As for fabric softener, we have discovered that nothing works better than just plain old white vinegar! Your clothes are soft and dont smell like vinegar.

Enjoy!

photo credit: littlegreenbow.com