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10 Fun Ideas to Try This Year

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It’s too easy to put off trying fun new ideas! So I’ve made it easy for you. I made you a list. Which of these have you already tried? Which have you thought about trying but still haven’t? Now’s the time!! These are all so much fun!

10 Fun Ideas to Try This Year

1. Make Homemade Vanilla. I hear from many of you that you have thought about it many times but still haven’t tried this fun idea. Maybe now’s the time!! Here’s the “old fashioned way” to make vanilla. Here’s how to make Vanilla Extract in your Instant Pot. You’re going to love this!

2. Drink a Green Smoothie. It’s the best way to eat lots of greens every day. Just do it!! (Or eat a salad, whichever you prefer!)

3. Make Frozen Muffin Batter. This idea is so fun and practical that if you haven’t tried it yet, you simply must. Freeze your muffin batter. Pull out batter balls and easily bake fresh muffins with no effort!

4. Make a High Five Recipe. Scroll through these recipes that only call for 5 or fewer ingredients. These are so easy and good!! Make one or two of them. And if you love them (which you will, of course) go get our lovely printed High Five Recipes Cookbook!

5. Make a Five Minute Recipe. Most of these recipes call for very few ingredients also! Most of them take just a few minutes to prepare. Yet they are all made with real, healthy ingredients! Pick one to make soon. They are so good and easy! Here’s our Simple Meals Cookbook filled with recipes that are ridiculously easy to make.

6. Make mashed Potatoes in the Crock Pot or Instant Pot. I’d stopped making mashed potatoes because they felt too messy and hard. Then I learned how to make them in the Crock Pot. Then I learned to make them in my Instant Pot. Life-changing!!

7. Make Stir and Pour Bread. Have you been thinking about trying this but still haven’t taken the time (haha, this hardly takes any time!!)? Go get the recipe and make your family some bread! You will all be amazed at the goodness!

8. Read your Bible regularly. It’s easier and way more amazing than you think. Here’s how.

9. Make one simple, healthy change in your kitchen. It’s as easy as switching from margarine to butter. Truly, there are so many healthy changes that won’t rock your world one bit!

10. Make Coffee Ice Cubes. This is simply too much fun not to try! People are amazed when they find these in my freezer. What a fun way to enjoy iced coffee at home!

Which one of these ideas will you try first?

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How to Drink Your Salad (and love it!)

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Today I will teach you how to drink your salad. I’m quite sure you will love this idea as much as I do!

See, here’s the thing:

Matt and I like to eat a big salad every day. Scratch that. Matt and I know we need to eat a big salad every day. It’s amazing for our overall health as leafy greens are so incredibly nourishing! But shucks if eating a big salad isn’t actually as much fun as we all wish that it was.


As our family has grown and my hands have become more full of little ones again, I’ve been known to frequently grab greens out of a container in the fridge and eat them on the fly – no dressing, no extras – simply because I rarely have time to build a salad in a bowl and then sit down to chomp it down. Does it takes good, these greens straight out of the fridge? Well, it doesn’t taste bad. But it’s not as fun as eating other food. Again, I just do it because I know my body needs it. Every single day.

Most of us have heard about throwing leafy greens in smoothies. I’ve done it off and on for years, but I never really bought into it as a great daily habit until last summer.

Our three littlest boys and I would go on super long walks every day (before our girls moved in). We’d come home and enjoy chilled smoothies to refresh us. I loaded them with frozen fruit and greens. The boys drank them without hesitation. Matt and I loved them. And finally it hit us: Why should we ever eat salad again?

Well, we did wonder: Would smoothies made with frozen fruit and greens be as wonderful during the cold winter months? Would we get burned out on green smoothies? Was this only a temporary wonderful idea?

Many months and hundreds of smoothies later, I’m happy to report that we are still so very happy with the fact that we can drink our salad every day! It goes down easy. It tastes like fruit. We can drink it on the fly, which is incredibly important during this very busy season in our lives full of both big kids and many little kids.

How to Drink your Salad (and love it!)

  1. Stuff as many leafy greens into your blender as you dare. I put in way more greens than we would typically eat in a regular bowl of salad and our bodies are very happy about this. I also have and highly recommend a Blendtec blender as this will blend your greens into complete smoothness and oblivion.
  2. Add your choice of frozen fruit. I buy big bags of mixed fruit for a fun variety. It includes berries, peaches, and pineapple. Super delicious!
  3. Pour in milk to fill the blender half-full or whatever liquid amount is recommended for your blender so that your smoothie doesn’t explode to the ceiling of your kitchen. Whole milk yogurt is also an awesome “liquid” to include.
  4. Add sweetener or protein powder if you like. Matt and I have found that the fruit alone makes the smoothie sweet enough, so I don’t add any maple syrup or stevia anymore. During the summer we added protein powder to make the smoothie more like a meal. But this winter we’ve left it out.
  5. Put the lid on and blend until smooth. Drink your salad and love it.

And just like that, you have one or two days worth of salad to drink. Perhaps you’ve been doing this all along. Perhaps this is a new idea for you. Perhaps you knew about it but needed the reminder about what a great idea it is!

Here’s what my blender looks like before I get all the goodies mixed up. :)

Give this a try and let me know how you like it!

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Can Mom Have More Fun?

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Can mom have more fun? Any fun at all? How is it even possible with all these responsibilities? I absolutely adore this post from Tasha. I cried through it, because my mom-life is full and amazing but hard and exhausting. I needed this. I’m guessing you might too…

Can Mom Have More Fun?

by Tasha Hackett

Being a mother is amazing. A-ma-zing. But being trapped and tied down weighs on me until I might crumble. When all the parts of me that made me Tasha turn into Mom Mom Mom Mom, I begrudge this life that I find myself in. Sometimes it appears I’ve forgotten how to have fun as a mother. This post is because I know I’m not alone. I know I’m not the only overwhelmed mom out there who needs to hear this.

Why is it hard for moms to have more fun?

Of course it’s a foolish thing to wish myself out of where I am. I mean, come on! This is my happily ever after! This is the life I always wanted, always assumed I would have. As a kid, I hardly had any career goals because I knew I would be home with my kids doing all the things I loved–cooking, creating things, teaching my kids, singing, playing, holding babies and going on adventures with my mom friends and their kids. But instead I’m stuck doing laundry, and dishes, and managing the budget, and sweeping the floor over and over and over again until I’m staring at this home I’ve built around me and wanting to take a sledge hammer to all of it and go live in a cabin in the woods–which I would hate by the way, unless my family came with me because I totally love them. 

As it turns out, God absolutely and completely knew what he was doing when he gave me these kids. Motherhood is a baptism by fire, and it’s growing me into a woman of courage and strength and refining me into something beautiful. (Right?! God love me for it, but I am so stinkin’ broken.)

tasha and baby

Why is the fun gone?

You know why. For those of us who are in the grind of raising little tiny kids, we have routines that must be abided. We mothers are stressed by all the things we’re in charge of rattling around in our brains. When meals, sleep, and routines get out of whack, everyone pays for it. The energy it takes to simply survive doesn’t always leave much room to have more “fun.” Now, let’s be clear. I am not talking about creating more fun for the kids. No, I’m not worried about their fun. They get to play, play, play all the live-long day. I’m interested in mothers. Why aren’t we having fun? As a parent, am I having fun? Am I fun? What used to be fun? Is it still fun? Why not? What else can I do that makes me happy? 

tasha

Side story about how much fun I had the past three years. 

Incidentally, the past three years have been a doozy. Blessings upon blessings, but also a pile of personal, internal, trials. In the meantime, I thought it would be a good idea to start my writing career. Maybe not the best timing with the whole birthing of the fourth child and all. 

But here I am, and writing has been so much stinking fun. 

During the first lock-down of the pandemic, the husband worked from the basement. I seized the opportunity of the extra time and support and finished my novel, Bluebird on the Prairie. I don’t tell you this to brag . . . nope, okay, I’m bragging a little. . . but mostly because I am amazed and full of joy at having completed such a magnanimous accomplishment that I can’t help sharing it. Was it ever so much work? Yes. Girl… yes. So. Much. Work. Guess what else it was? Rewarding. And, you guessed it. Fun! It was fun. 

A crazy thing about writing books is how much I learn from my characters when they start speaking all by themselves and spout off random bits of wisdom that I never could have thought up on my own. They’re smart like that.

Please read this scene snippet that tugs at my heart: 

Zeke lowered himself to the ground and leaned against the tree. “It’s not that I’m not grateful, because I am. But I can’t . . . I’m not a farmer. I don’t want to be a farmer.” He set his hat on the ground. Running both hands through his hair before clasping them behind his neck, he sighed. “I don’t know, Chipmunk, do you ever feel like everyone’s got a plan for your life, and forgot to ask how you felt about it first?” 

“Why do you call me Chipmunk?”

He grinned at her. “Wouldn’t you like to know.”

She pulled a handful of grass and threw it at him. The wind caught most of it and she watched it drift. “I envy you.”

“How so?” 

“You wanted to go, so you did. To have that kind of freedom. To be brave enough to take a chance.” 

“Stupid enough, you mean. Did you get a good look at the goober who fell on his face? That man was lonely, dirty, and starving.” 

Eloise did remember, and blushed thinking of it. If it hadn’t been for her standing in the creek only half dressed, he never would have fallen. “At least you keep smiling through it,” she said, “I don’t know how to have fun anymore.”

“I just do what makes me happy. Within reason . . . Fried chicken? Makes me happy. Catching frogs? Makes me happy. Singing? Makes me happy. What makes you happy? Do that.” He shrugged, like there was nothing to it.

What did make her happy? There were things she used to do for fun, but when put to the question she was stumped. 

Zeke prodded. “There isn’t anything you do, that makes all the bad stuff disappear for a while?” 

“I don’t know. If there is, I’ve forgotten.”

Can I share a fun secret? 

Fun doesn’t need to be extravagant. Sometimes I forget to be happy. It’s wrong and it’s not God’s plan for me. Sometimes I don’t know how to have more fun as a mother. I get so caught up in what I can’t do and what I wish I could be doing, that I don’t make use of the fun freely available. One of the things that brings me joy is writing. And so I do, and I did. Laura lets me talk to you and I have dreams of many more novels to come! But… the simple, freely-available-doesn’t-cost-anything fun? That comes from a spirit of peace. A peace that knows my kids are well loved, even if their rooms are a mess because I haven’t properly trained them on how to keep them tidy. A peace that extends to the husband when he’s 20 minutes later coming home from work than I expected.

tasha and kids

Peace comes from knowing I am worthy of God’s love. 

Listen up, friend. You are worthy of God’s love. He didn’t raise his son from the dead for someone he didn’t love. He didn’t come back from the grave for us to walk about the house grumpy about laundry! I believe He wants us to have life, and have it to the fullest–not just later, but now! Absolutely we are called to sacrifice so much of ourselves. But nobody ever asked us to stop having fun, we did that all on our own. 

Here’s how I had fun today: 

  • When the kids played in the yard, I read a book for 45 minutes. 
  • When the kids asked for a snack I opened a jar of peanuts and gave it to them. And then showed off, unsuccessfully, how I could throw and catch one in my mouth.
  • While the baby played with a stack of books I got on my hands and knees and growled at him until he looked my way, then I slinked towards him like a tiger. He squealed and laughed at me. 
  • I was blasting show tunes on my phone when Ben came home from work (20 minutes late), and as I sang along, I started dancing for him. He pulled me into his arms, twirled me around a few times and dipped me over his knee before the kids claimed his attention. 
  • At dinner I shared a new book idea with the kids and asked them to come up with any funny things that might happen to my characters. 

You are pretty when you smile.

Yeah, okay. I know. Sometimes life is really really hard. I understand hard. I’ve been there, and I’m still there sometimes. To be perfectly honest, I don’t want to get out of bed most mornings because I dread the tasks ahead. Being a mom and the humility, compassion, empathy, and selflessness that needs to come with that is the hardest thing. I’m a work-in-progress. 

A few years ago I laughed at something and my, then five-year-old, son said, “Mom! You’re so pretty when you smile.” And it broke my heart in a million tiny pieces because what he really said was, “I haven’t seen you smile in a long time.”

ben and tasha

Do it for you.

Can you find ways to have more fun? I don’t know everything going on in your life that’s causing you so much stress you’ve forgotten how to have fun. But I can guess at some of it. Here’s a hint: Don’t make food harder than it has to be. Laura’s given us way too many resources and recipes for us to be wasting time complaining about kitchen duty. 

I’m not even going to leave you with scientific facts about how laughing is healthy and makes you live longer. Nope. How about we make time for fun, simply because fun is fun? Nobody goes to bed thinking, “Man, I wish I hadn’t had so much fun today.” 

Tasha HackettTasha Hackett, author of Bluebird of the Prairie, (a heartwarming romance releasing Spring 2021), is fueled by sunshine or hot chocolate—whichever is more readily available. She pretends to be a ballerina while cleaning the kitchen and can sing along to every word of every Wee-Sing Silly Songs album. Four children and a husband have filled her days with more than enough to keep her busy, but creative hobbies continually find their way onto her to-do list. You can connect with her on Instagram @hackettacademy or for Laura @heavenlyhomemaker. 

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

7 Ideas to Make Your Home Extra Cozy

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It’s this time of year when I always start looking around my house, and brainstorming ways to make it a nicer, comfier place for my family. That’s why today I am sharing 10 ideas to make your home extra cozy, in case you, too, are feeling a bit cooped up in need of inspiration!
7 Ways to Make Your Home Extra Cozy
I always want my home to feel like a respite, a safe place, a comforting spot for my family to return to at the end of the day. But with littles underfoot, a very busy schedule, and a other committments it can feel super overwhelming to stay on top of all the homemaking tasks some days, anyone else?

However, I do think that with just a bit of effort, we can all create cozy, warm, and inviting homes for our families. Here are my top tips for creating a bit of extra coziness in your home this winter.

7 Ways to Make Your Home Extra Cozy

1. Declutter

One of the best ways to make your home feel better in the short term is to donate anything that you no longer use, need or like. The more I declutter each room, the happier I am with my home! January is the perfect time to start going through clothes, toys, and closets to rid of anything that no longer brings you joy.

2. Serve hot drinks to your family

Is there anything cozier than holding a hot mug while you watch the snow fly? Every winter I try to find a new, yummy drink to make every afternoon. It’s the best! Need inspiration? Here’s a list of the best hot drinks for fall and winter! Try a couple, and let me know which one is your favorite! Might I suggest this recipe for the perfect Hot Chocolate or a Warm Vanilla Soother!

3. Pull out the warm blankets

This is a great time of year to set a basket full of soft, fuzzy blankets in your living room. Even my toddlers like to cuddle under a blanket while they read books! In need of a few new blankets for your home? Here are a few of my favorites:
Ultra Soft Sherpa Blanket(comes in many colors!)

4. Bake some bread or other goodies

On especially cold days, I love mixing up a few loaves of bread, a couple dozen muffins, or a few pans worth of cookies. There’s nothing like the smell of warm bread or cookies in the house, when everyone is cooped up inside. Not sure what to bake? Here’s 111 recipes for you to choose from!

5. Play a board game with your family

Build family memories together while enjoying a fun board game! Pop popcorn, make hot cocoa, and then pull out one of your favorite games. Better yet, grab a new game to learn together! Here’s a list of our family’s favorite games!

6. Light a candle

Candles are one of my favorite ways to make a room feel extra welcoming. Grab a new candle or two, for the warmth, the scent, and the decor!

7. Start a new book as a family

I love choosing a new read aloud for my family! We open it up, and read a chapter or two every evening. When I was growing up, my Dad always read the Little House series to us or James Herriot books. Here is a great list of book ideasfor you and your kiddos!

How are you making your home extra cozy this time of year? Share your tips below!

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Who Even Cares Anymore About Free Range Chicken?

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Would you look at this? My first post of 2021 is about our beloved Free Range Chicken. I bet you’re wondering how I feel about this subject now…

What I’m about to share may surprise you. It might even disappoint you. But well, life has taken a huge shift for us and while I wouldn’t have believed it myself had you told me I’d feel this way in 2021, here we are, and here is how I feel.

I don’t actually care about free-range chicken anymore. This is the truth.

What am I even talking about?

This free-range chicken chatter all started back in 2014 with my God is Bigger than a Free Range Chicken post. Remember that? In my early healthy-eating days,  was allllll into organic and free-range and fermented and all the best of the best. Then God reminded me that He is bigger and biggest and real food is still real food, even when it wasn’t raised at Harvard and sung to from the womb. So I wrote this to encourage us to focus on eating healthy food without stress.


Oh look. It’s a couple of free-range chickens.

Then God taught me even more, so the next post on this subject in 2018 turned out: Beyond the Free Range Chicken. God had shown me in hundreds of ways how loving people is much more important than loving food. That focusing on Him is a better choice and much healthier and more balanced than focusing on organic salad and grass-fed beef. That while eating well is important – the only reason for it is so that we are healthy enough to serve in all the ways He asks us to serve. You can read the full post here.

So now here we are in 2021. As we’ve sought God in new ways and opened our hearts to His plans for us, He surprised us by starting our family over again. Just when we thought our grocery budget would finally go down as our big boys launched the nest, the grocery budget stayed the same and maybe even went up a little as God moved more kids into our home.

We’ve currently adopted two and have three others in foster care with many unknowns as we walk forward each day. (Those pesky unknowns? These are all completely known to God. We just don’t know the full plans yet. We wait and we pray and sometimes we cry because unknowns on earth are hard if we focus on the flesh instead of looking down from our seat in the Heavenly Realms.)

So here we are, with nine kids at the time of this writing. (Three are launched from the nest. Three are under the age of 2. Some are healing from intense trauma. One has some minor medical issues. You don’t want to know how many diapers we go through in one day.)

Our foster care/adoption journey has taken us on a beautiful, wild, challenging, ever learning-to-trust-God ride since April of 2018. Every day of that ride, God shows us more about what is truly important and what we need to let go of so that we can focus on what actually matters for the Kingdom.

What does actually matter?

Love. Trusting the One who loves us beyond what we can possibly understand.

But the truth is also this: It’s easy to think about how beautiful that is – the loving and the trusting – but it is hard to actually live fully in that truth.

While love overflows from our hearts because of the Spirit living in us, what currently overflows from my house is a big pile of dirty laundry or on a good day, a big pile of clean laundry unfolded on top of and falling off of my dresser. Our toddlers can destroy the house from top to bottom in five short minutes. The dishes don’t ever get washed efficiently, and even if the kitchen floor gets swept, it’s dirty again after the next meal or snack.

Keeping up with so many little ones is a big job in and of itself, but then we’ll throw in all of the many meetings and court dates and appointments brought on by foster care life. It takes me from my regular homemaking duties and sometimes leaves me emotionally drained.

I am complaining about none of this. I will live in a filthy house with zero domestic accomplishments for the rest of my life if it means that I get to love on and live with all these children. But it is all worth mentioning to explain why I have come to the conclusion that, when talking about the beloved free-range chicken:

I don’t really care much anymore about what we eat. I’m just so happy to actually put any variety of food on the table every day (for my toddlers to smear on their head and drop onto the floor under their chairs).

Happy 2nd birthday to Keith!

So I bet you’re wondering:

Have I lost my actual mind? Do you even know who I am anymore? Do I still love butter? Have I started buying the high fructose corn syrup and the MSG and the hydrogenated oils?

Well, yes obviously about the butter. I still love it and always will. And no way about the HFCS and MSG. I’ve been at this real food, simple meals thing for long enough that much of this is an automatic no-brainer for me as I grocery shop. We still have a great source for grass-fed beef and raw milk, so I stick with this because I don’t have to do anything different or difficult.

But, well? If you open my freezers now, along with our lovely beef from the organic farm, you will also find bags of prepared french fries and several frozen pizzas. I haven’t made a homemade tortilla in years and I almost cried when I thought about trying to can any of the tomatoes from our weed-filled garden last summer.

The best I can truly is the best.

Did you know that? The best we can do really is best. :)

I’m doing the best I can to be sure we’re getting fruits and vegetables each day with whatever else we’re eating because I know we need the nourishment that fruits and veggies provide. What I also know is that food overall has taken a big back seat in my brain and heart, simply because it has to.

And it makes me wonder: Should it have been this way all along?

What if focusing on good health and perfect foods and ingredient labels keep us from freely fixing our eyes on Jesus? What if good health and good food is important, but only so that we are fueled with what we need so that we can serve as God asks us to each day?

I love all that I’ve learned about nutrition and good health. I love that I’ve been able to share what I’ve learned here and to learn from all of you too! This knowledge is carrying me through this season, and for that I am thankful. Real butter and vegetables are pretty great. But the more time I spend in the Word and with people, the more I recognize that Jesus is the bread of life and He is the one who brings real nourishment.

God’s call to love.

God calls all of us to love people. All people. Whatever that looks like in your life, whoever He has put in your path, on your porch, in your church, in your living room – He calls us to love, and He tells us that this is the most important. While there is glorious beauty in loving Him and His people in all the ways He calls us to love, there is also challenge and hardship. It takes time and energy – and I am becoming more and more convicted that this is time and energy that should be taken out of our kitchens and into the hurting world.

God doesn’t care if we make frozen pizza but He does care if we are resting in Him. He’s not concerned about what items in my fridge are organic. He cares about our hearts and He calls us to Him constantly to teach us to trust His ways as we walk this path with Him. He knows our weariness and our joys. He’s well aware of what each day holds and if my free-range chicken has turned into bags of dino nuggets? Well. When I serve them to my kids I sometimes actually cry tears of thanks for them because it means my family is fed and I still have the energy to smile at all these precious people at the end of the day.

So where do we land on the topic of eating healthy food?

I absolutely do still care about our health. I cook the most wholesome of food if and when I can, you can bet on it. Malachi (our only teen left at home) knows how to cook and is a huge help when he’s not working or at sports practice or play practice or youth group or…

I make smoothies daily and pack them with mixed greens so that we can “drink our salad” on the fly. I serve fruit with every meal and veggies with most. We aren’t giving up on good health; we’re simply focused on overall health now – emotional, spiritual, and yes, physical – but it begins and ends with a focus on love.

In summary:

God is bigger than ALLLLLL THE CHICKEN.

Struggling to find balance when it comes to healthy eating and healthy living in general? Ask God to show you what matters. He will show you. You may be at a point in your life where you have failing health and you NEED to focus on all things nourishing and good. You may be at a point where you need to get your emotional and spiritual life healthy and you need to find a Christian therapist to walk you through (best decision I’ve ever made and continue to make is to let my Christian therapist help me through challenges and spiritual cleansing and healing!). You may need both.

But we all need Jesus. And we all need to know that He is biggest. Bigger than any question we have about life and caring for our families.

Let Him direct you. This is not a cop-out (I’ll just eat whatever I want and let God take care of it please hand me another Snicker bar). This is a matter of choosing to surrender our hearts (God is bigger than anything I’m worried about or focused on this earth; I trust Him and will listen to Him).

Share with me.

What has God been teaching you about love? Who has He put on your path? How has He shown you ways to focus on what truly matters?

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Ready to Get Organized? (Exciting news for you!)

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Every year after Christmas I find myself ready to declutter and get organized for a fresh start. I tell myself that I’ll chill and enjoy the Christmas decorations all the way until January 1, but nope. I love Christmas, then it’s over and I’m like: CLEAN THE HOUSE!!!!!!

Who’s with me?

I was going to save this for a week or so, but I need it now and you might too. Soooooooo……

This fun and wonderful little packet comes at a perfect time!

The packet contains lovely printable pages to help you organize your kitchen and home life right now. I’ve already started using them and I love all they offer. My freezers are in much better shape and I know what’s in them so that I can meal plan better. My seven and five-year-olds (and even my two-year-old) have new chores on their fun new chart (found in the packet) that they are excited to tackle. Case in point:

I think you’ll enjoy and use this printable bundle as much as I am! The printables are simple, practical, fun, and all a part of the wonderful Heavenly Homemaker’s Club (where members have access to our eBooks, eCurriculum, menu planning resources, hundreds more printables, exclusive tips and posts and…).

There’s even better news!

This wonderful exclusive printable packet is just the first of many that we’ll be offering to our Heavenly Homemakers Club Members! We’ve decided to launch a brand new monthly printable surprise package which just makes our membership one step better. Every month, members will be given a brand new exclusive printable packet. This month’s is focused on home organization. What will next month bring? Just wait and see! Club members have so much to look forward to! Each month you can count on the printables being just like this – simple, practical, and fun!

Ready to join?!

What Club Members Enjoy…

You can read all about it here. But in short (if it’s possible to keep it short since it includes so much!!), our members get:

  • Access ALL of Heavenly Homemaker’s eBooks – anytime!
  • Access ALL of Heavenly Homemaker’s eCurriculum – anytime!
  • Access ALL of Heavenly Homemaker’s Printables – anytime!
  • Access 52 weeks of Simple Meals Planning Packets plus Meal and Snack Ideas Cheat Sheets, a Recipe Search Bar, and Menu Planners – anytime!
  • Access dozens of member-exclusive homemaking, kitchen, money-saving, family-life encouragement and tips – anytime!
  • Enjoy exclusive new eBooks, eCurriculum, printables, and content being added regularly.

Take advantage of our awesome membership offer and enjoy loads of incredible resources. Join us here —>

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

How to Make Perfect Hot Chocolate

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Want to learn how to make Perfect Hot Chocolate? You’ll want to learn these “tricks” so you can enjoy a mug of this during holiday break with your family!

I am so thrilled to have a huge houseful right now! We’ve got five littles, four bigs, plus two amazing girlfriends. Our holiday time food shared together has been simple but fun. And since I’ve got more big people around to help with all the littles, I find my hands are a little freer to make special treats.

That’s where the Perfect Hot Chocolate comes in. Sure, Christmas is over. But the fun treats and the special drinks will keep on coming until school and work starts again!

Now, to make Perfect Hot Chocolate, I believe it takes three perfect recipes:

Not to worry, these are all easy and fast. (Do you even know me at all?)

  1. Hot Cocoa
  2. Whipped Cream
  3. Homemade Hot Fudge

The Hot Cocoa whisks together quickly on the stove. I whip cream in my Blendtec, which takes 25 beautiful seconds of effortless “work.” I often have Homemade Hot Fudge already in the fridge that we can warm up and drizzle into our hot cocoa. If not, I can make that quickly too.

The ingredients in all these recipes overlap with one another. Plus they are ingredients I always have on hand. Simple but special – that’s what I love about treating our family and guests to this Perfect Hot Chocolate!

Once you’ve got your three recipes made: 1) Fill a mug with hot cocoa. 2) Add a generous amount of whipped cream. 3) Drizzle hot fudge over the cream.

If it all oozes out over the sides of the mug, well, this can’t be helped and it is one of the best problems you’ll have because you’ll have to lick the sides of your mug to “clean it up.”

And there you have it! The Perfect Hot Chocolate. Let me know how you like it!

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Simple Green Beans in the Air Fryer

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I love how simple and tasty it is to make green beans in the air fryer!

Do you have an Air Fryer? If no, you might consider putting it on your Christmas wish-list. Here’s how I’ve found it to save a lot of money. Not to mention it turns out some super fun foods, making us feel like we’re eating a treat meal from a restaurant!

So green beans in the Air Fryer? Well, these are super healthy and our kids gobble them up because they’re so delicious. They take about two minutes to prepare, so you can’t go wrong there.

Simple Green Beans in the Air FryerYum

Simple Green Beans in the Air Fryer
 
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Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
  • 12-ounces frozen fine green beans
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • ¼ teaspoon sea salt
  • ¼ teaspoon garlic powder (optional)
Instructions
  1. Pour green beans into a bowl (or cheat by cutting open the bag of green beans to use it as a disposable bowl!)
  2. Add olive oil, salt, and garlic powder.
  3. Toss with a spoon or tongs to coat the green beans.
  4. Cook in your Air Fryer at 400 degrees for 7-10 minutes, tossing them half-way through cook time to make sure they are cooking evenly.

These have an awesome crunch. And did you see that simple hack I shared in the recipe? I simply open a bag of frozen green beans and use the bag as a bowl! Drizzle in the olive oil, sprinkle in the seasonings, shake the bag, and pour the coated green beans into the air fryer. No dishes!! NO DISHES!!!! That is my favorite part, besides of course, the fact that we can make this awesome vegetable in the air fryer. Nourishing and fun all in one!

P.S. I have this Air Fryer and we’ve been very happy with it!

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Christmas Make-Ahead Breakfast Ideas

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I love baking, but who wants to spend all day in the kitchen when there’s hot chocolate to sip, family memories to make, and stockings to open? I am all about doing the work days earlier so you have a stress-free, peaceful holiday with your family. That’s why I put together this list of Christmas make-ahead breakfast ideas, to encourage you to get that baking done ahead of time so you have more time with your family.

Just in case you, too, are looking for ways to spend less time in the kitchen this holiday season, here are a few of our favorite tried and true Christmas make-ahead breakfast ideas!

Christmas Make-Ahead Breakfast Ideas

Mix and Match Christmas Make-Ahead Breakfast Ideas

1.Make-Ahead Pumpkin Donuts

We can mix up the pumpkin donuts, roll out the dough, cut the shapes, then freeze the uncooked dough on parchment paper or silicone mat-lined cookie sheets. We transfer the frozen dough into freezer bags, then any time we want fresh donuts (and when would we notwant fresh donuts?), we can grab some out of the freezer and fry them up fresh to eat while sipping a cup of coffee, tea, or hot chocolate!

2. Yogurt Parfait Bar

Simply purchase the ingredients beforehand, make the granola or other add-ins a few days beforehand, chop up the fruit the day before, and you are set!

Here are some of my favorite toppings:

3. Make-Ahead Muffins

I have to know:  Is this “freezing muffin batter” a brand new idea to you, or have you tried it before?  Once I tried this and learned how well it worked, I went on a muffin freezing frenzy (as confessed above). I now have Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffin batter, Blueberry Muffin batter, Chocolate Chip Muffin batter (recipe in Kids in the Kitchen eBook), and Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffin batter in my freezers. What a time saver!

Looking for a few new recipes to try for Christmas morning? Check out this list of 23 Muffin recipes!

4. Frozen Yogurt Cups

This recipe is easy enough for your kiddos to make! Invite them into the kitchen, and whip these up together!

5. Homemade Poptarts


I love to make these poptarts and freeze them before I bake them. On a day I declare to be a Poptart Morning, I pull a few out and bake enough for each person to have a couple with our eggs and fruit. So good!

6. Giant Breakfast Cookies

Make the dough ahead of time, scoop the cookies out unto cookie sheets, freeze the cookie dough balls, and you’re set! Hot breakfast cookies on Christmas morning! Serve with fruit, and bacon (of course).

7. Biscuits with Sausage Gravy

Biscuits and gravy is one of my favorite special breakfasts. Make your biscuits ahead of time, and pop them in the freezer then make your gravy the day before, and heat it up in the morning. Easy peasy!

8. Cinnamon Rolls

I couldn’t make a list of Christmas breakfasts without including Cinnamon Rolls! These are deliciously easy, and mostly low in sugar! They kind of resemble those frozen orange rolls you can buy in the freezer section – except that these have a little bit of nutritional value and not nearly as much sugar, so we can all rejoice.

What is your favorite breakfast to make for Christmas morning?

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