Laura, Author at Heavenly Homemakers

Simple Ranch Taco Chip Dip

May 9, 2021 by Laura Leave a Comment

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

This Simple Ranch Taco Chip Dip can become a super-fast lunch or supper for your family!

Well now. It’s been a hot minute since I’ve created and posted a new recipe. I blame these people:

And also these.

This picture features the gorgeous people of college students and friends who joined our family for Easter this year. Our home is full and so are our hearts. And I suppose that it goes without saying that our hands are a little bit full too. So lately, I’ve been sticking with my favorite tried and true recipes just to keep life as simple as possible in the kitchen.

How amazing is God, by the way? (Well, so amazing, of course.) But specifically, I love how a few years ago, while He was very well aware of the turn of events that would happen in our home, He started me down the road of creating the simplest recipes ever. It all turned into a cookbook, and these recipes are how I survive now!! I love this.

But all that to say, sometimes I still itch to be creative in the kitchen. And sometimes I have a few minutes to tinker. This recipe is the result of such tinkering! It’s simple and can be stirred together with only one hand (while holding a baby in the other, ask me how I know). Enjoy this dip as a snack, a side dish, or a meal with a side of fruit!

Simple Ranch Taco Chip DipYum

Simple Ranch Taco Chip Dip

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Author: Laura

Serves: 6-8 servings

Ingredients

3 Tablespoons Ranch Dressing Mix
2 cups sour cream
15-ounce can black beans, drained
10 ounce can Rotel (diced tomatoes with green chilies), drained
1 cup shredded cheese (we prefer Colby jack or cheddar)
1 teaspoon chili powder (more or less to taste)
Your favorite tortilla chips

Instructions

Mix all ingredients together until well combined.
Cover the dip and chill for at least an hour before serving.
Or just eat it right away, because who can wait an hour?

This is one of those delightful recipes that allows you to quickly dump everything into a bowl and stir it up. All of our kids – even our pickiest eaters – enjoy this dip! See how easy? Dump it in, stir it up, get out the chips. :)

I love dips that can turn into a simple meal for our families!

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7 Meals in Minutes (Grocery List Included!)

May 2, 2021 by Laura Leave a Comment

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Is it really possible to make meals in minutes? Yes!!! All of these meals I’m about to share can be put together and served on super short notice! No thaw. No fuss. No problem. My family loves these meals, so I think yours will too!

By the way, these are all perfect for summertime when we need something fast on a hot day. And guess what? I have some amazing summer snack recipes ready for you too, so stay tuned!

You’re going to want to keep all of this information handy!

These recipes and ideas are for:

the days we forget to thaw meat.
the meal times that come around that leave us feeling stumped as to what to make.
the times nothing sounds good but the family is getting hungry.
the days we don’t feel like cooking.

7 Meals in Minutes

I’m going to give you 7 complete meal ideas plus a quick-grab grocery list. The grocery list will help you to be able to have every ingredient on hand at all times, giving you the ability to make any of these meals in minutes! To make this even easier, I put all of this great info into a (free!) eBook so you can download it and print it to use all the information super easily!

None of these Meals in Minutes ideas are fancy. But for some reason, my family considers them all to be a treat. And so do I, because they are all effortless to make!

When I was putting together the grocery list for these 7 Meals in Minutes, I got extra excited! As it turns out, it only takes 20 ingredients to make all 7 of these meals. And you probably already have most of them on hand!

Get the grocery list and recipe eBook:

Here’s how 7 Meals in Minutes works:

I try to keep every single one of the needed ingredients on hand so that at any time, on any day, I can put any of these seven quick meals together. This is so helpful to just “shop in my own pantry/fridge” for our fast meals!

There are 7 complete meal ideas here. These are great all year ’round, but I’m putting this together now so that we can use them during the summer for lunches when everyone is home from school. And for quick supper ideas after everyone has spent the afternoon at the pool and comes home starving. :)

7 Meals in Minutes

Ask us to send you our complete grocery list and free 7 Meals in Minutes recipe eBook here. Here’s a quick rundown of the ingredients I keep on hand and the meals I can make with them:

Cans of Chicken and Tuna to make Chicken Salad or Tuna Salad for sandwiches or wraps
Refried Beans, Salsa, and Cream Cheese to make Bean and Cheese Salsa Dip
Nitrite-Free Hotdogs and cans of Baked Beans to make Simple Beanie Weanies
Pizza Crust, Pizza Sauce, Shredded Cheese, and Pepperoni to make Pizza or Pizza Boats
Pasta, Milk, and Cheese for Creamy Mac and Cheese
Pasta, Sauce, Shredded Cheese, and Pepperoni to make Pizza Pasta Bowls
Eggs and Cream for Crepes

In addition to the ingredients needed to make the above meals, I always keep a supply of fresh or frozen vegetables, and fresh, frozen, and canned fruits on hand so that I have easy, healthy side dishes to go with all of our meals.

Here is my Go-To Grocery List for fast fruit and veggie side dish options:

Canned pineapple
Applesauce squeezies
Peach, Pear, and Mandarin Orange Fruit Cups in 100% Juice
Gala Apples
Grapes
Bananas
Fresh Fruit that is in Season (Berries in the summertime!)
Frozen Fruit to make Smoothies
Mixed Greens
Avocados
Fresh Broccoli
Petite Carrot Sticks
Frozen Green Beans
Frozen Peas
Frozen Corn

What do you think? Will your family eat all or some of these simple, tasty meals? You will love how quick they are to put together! And if you have all the ingredients on hand? All you have to do is run to the pantry and grab a few items to throw a quick meal together!

Let us email you a full, fun (FREE!) pack of resources so you can get your pantry ready! Get it here.

Bonus!

I’d love for many more people to have access to this fun and helpful information. So I created one more fantastic freebie for you! If you share this post with your friends on social media so that they can come to grab the resources too, we’ll send you this brand new recipe eBook! You will love these recipes!!

Perfect Summer Snacking is filled with brand new no-bake recipes. I’m super excited to share this with you because I’ve been recipe-testing these with my kids and the treats have been a huge hit. These are going to be so wonderful to have on hand this summer! OH! And all of the recipes in this eBook only call for 5 or fewer ingredients. So easy!

Here’s a list of some of the great no-bake recipes included in our free Perfect Summer Snacking eBook:

Chocolate Chip Energy Bites
Strawberry Cheesecake Pops
Snickerdoodle Fruit Dip
Frozen Yogurt Meltaways
Tangy Lemon Yogurt Cups
Perfect Peach Sorbet
No-Bake Brownies
MORE!

All of these recipes include real food ingredients and very little sugar. But the kids won’t care about the fact that they’re eating healthy snacks. They’ll just think their summer treats are amazing! Perfect Summer Snacking even includes a set of gorgeous printable recipe cards for even easier use!

Let us give you Perfect Summer Snacking bonus for free when you help us spread the word about our resources!

Ready to make your kitchen life simpler than ever?

Sign up here so we can email you our fun free 7 Meals in Minutes eBook and grocery list resource packet. (There’s even a big surprise coupon inside this packet. You want this!)
Share this post with your friends on social media so they can enjoy this too.
Email me a screenshot of your social media share. I’ll email you your bonus Perfect Summer Snacking ebook! (There’s another big surprise coupon in this ebook you’re going to love!)

Get all of this for free!

Thank you for joining us, for sharing the fun freebies, and for putting your family first this summer!

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

Easy Food to Pack for a Game or Picnic

April 29, 2021 by Laura Leave a Comment

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

On the go a lot? Want to avoid concession stand prices? Here are some fun and easy ideas for food to pack for a game or a picnic!

What’s tougher than caring for and keeping up with a bunch of littles day after day? Juggling their needs in with all the big kids’ activities and needs too.

Worth it? Yah. Times a million. Doable? Yes, with help. :) Always say yes to help.

This lovely picnic happened on the sidelines of Malachi’s high school soccer game this spring. With mouths full of burgers, we cheered for “Bubba” and tried to keep Keith from running into the street. Good times.

—-> Not pictured: The second-story window Keith broke right before we left for the game. That pretty much scared this mama out of her flip-flops. <—-

Right after that game, we dropped Keith and Baby Sissy off with sitters, and the rest of us headed to the college campus for Justus’ final choir performance of the year. I had to be very organized with food that day. But hey, what’s new? And I’m sure most of you can relate to the chasing and the events and activities and trying to keep everyone fed while doing it all.

The food list I’m about to give you is great for games, park days, and picnics too!

As spring and summer activities have ramped up, I’ve found myself trying to be a little more creative with the food I pack up. The kids (and the parents) get tired of sandwiches pretty quickly. And while many of the foods I’ve been packing to take along with us aren’t the healthiest of all of our meals, they are at least cheaper than buying concession stand food.

So, maybe this post is more about saving money than it is about eating healthy. And if you’re like me, you’re also happy to have all the food in one bag on the sidelines to avoid taking a parade of small children to the concession stand and dripping ketchup all the way back. After all, we can get ketchup all over ourselves without that added walk to concessions.

Ready for the grand food list I’ve come up with? These ideas are easy, tasty, inexpensive, and fun!

Easy Food to Pack for a Game

1. Hotdogs

While these are cooking on your stove or grill, prepare buns by putting condiments in the fold of the bun. Place cooked hotdogs on top of the condiments (this keeps the ketchup and mustard from seeping out!). Wrap them individually or put them all into a sealed plastic bag. Place them in a thermal lunch bag to stay warm. (Ignore the picture below. It’s trying to be cute, but if you’re packing food to take to a game, you really want that ketchup and mustard UNDER the dog.)

2. Hamburgers

I find that these stay hot for up to two hours or more when I wrap them individually in foil, then place them in a thermal lunch bag before toting them to a game. If I do this, I can also use a sharpy to label which burger is for who, in case there are any picky burger people among us.

3. Quesadillas

These travel best on a paper plate covered with foil. Make them easier to eat by cutting them into triangles with kitchen shears.

4. Pizza

If your family likes cold pizza, make this ahead, slice it and then throw it in the fridge until time to go. (Or, simply take leftover pizza if you have it.) Otherwise, a hot pizza from the oven, sliced and packed with napkins and paper plates works great.

5. Smoothies

I have a cabinet full of cups with lids and straws. I have these big ones and these small ones and I highly recommend them – especially for smoothies on the go! Smoothies are a great way to get some nourishment into all of us while cooling us down on a hot day.

Worth noting: When you put your kids’ smoothies in cups like this,
you can hide the fact that you’ve snuck fresh greens into the blender.
Ask me how I know.

6. Corndogs

Bake a bunch, throw them in a ziplock, then cart them to the game in an insulated lunch bag.

7. Chicken Sandwiches

I buy a big bag of frozen chicken patties for outings like this. Bake or air fry some breaded chicken patties. Prepare buns (we like these with mayo), place hot chicken patties on the buns, and either individually wrap the sandwiches or slide them into gallon-sized ziplock bags, then into an insulated lunch bag.

8. Tuna or Chicken Salad

Pack this in jars and take along crackers for “spoons.” This keeps the kids busy for a while, which is kind of fine with me so that I can watch my sons’ games a little more easily. :)

9. Burritos

I love to make big batches of these Easy Burritos. Individually wrap these in foil before putting them into the oven to heat. Grab the hot burritos and put them into an insulated lunch bag.

10. Chicken Nuggets

Bake or air fry a package of nuggets (or make them homemade), then throw them into a ziplock bag (or individual baggies if that makes it easier to hand them out at the game or picnic). Everyone can enjoy munching on chicken while watching the game! Consider taking small paper plates and some ranch dressing for dipping. And if you’re taking ranch, you might as well take carrots. Which leads me to…

But what about nutrition?

Well, like I said. This post is a little bit more about saving a buck than it is about eating well. However, it is super easy to throw fruits and veggies into to-go bags as well! These travel well and are simple to grab and go:

Apples
Containers of Washed Berries (blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, strawberries)
Containers of Washed Grape Tomatoes
Bags of Petite Baby Carrots
Oranges
Grapes
100% peach, pear, pineapple, or mixed fruit cups
100% fruit applesauce cups or squeezies
100% Fruit Leather

Other fun food on the go:

Veggie Straws
Pretzels
Yogurt Squeezies
Muffins (40+ recipes here)
Omelet Muffins (protein and veggies included!)
Cheese Sticks

Your turn to share! What are your favorite foods to take to games and picnics?

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Best Gifts for Teachers

April 28, 2021 by Laura Leave a Comment

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

It’s the end of the school year! Here’s a list of the best gifts for teachers. Leave a comment to add to the list!

After an especially difficult school year, I think all of our teachers deserve extra love and some spoiling, don’t you?!

Best Gifts for Teachers

1. Gift Cards

Teachers deserve some big treats after a long school year, wouldn’t you agree?! Write a kind and appreciative personal note, then slide in a gift card that will provide your teacher with free dinner, free ice cream, free coffee, free shopping, or free anything fun from around your community.

2. Supplies for the Classroom

When I asked for gift suggestions on my Facebook page, Stephanie said this, “I always ask the teachers if they have any classroom needs-supplies, games or activities for inside recess days, etc.” Brilliant gift idea! Restocking some fun and necessary supplies after a school year is a great idea to help them get ahead for next year!

teacher gift4

3. Simple Cookbooks

This is what we gave Brayden’s teacher for Christmas and she was thrilled with the simple, tasty ideas! Get these books here.

4. Breakfast in the Break Room

Meredith shared this fabulous suggestion, “One year I brought in breakfast for the office staff of our elementary. We were newish to the school then, and I didn’t want to bring in homemade food that might make some uneasy, so I made up my own shortened (and with prices that fit in my budget per person) list of breakfast options from Panera and handed it out early with a date on it I needed to collect them. I brought in orange juice and iced coffee from the grocery dairy section and a chopped fruit bowl from the grocer (but bananas and oranges or apples would be good too, I was just really wanting everything to clearly be commercially prepared if that makes sense) to go with each person’s selections. Panera boxed all the other stuff up and I brought it in early before the kids arrived. It was about $6-7 per person and we have a small office staff. They really loved it!”

Fruit tray

5. A Monogrammed Tote

Oh my goodness, how cute are these?! I think teachers will love this gift! Check out the options here.

6. Homemade Vanilla

Did you make some vanilla? What a fantastic gift this makes! If you haven’t made some yet, get some started for Christmas gifts or next year’s teacher gifts! Here’s how.

7. Handmade Earrings

I love these so much!! I also love supporting small businesses. Use the code Heavenly to get $3 off your order at Delight Accessories!

8. A Fun Tumbler

I love these! Choose from several different colors and styles. They are simple and practical and fun all at the same time! See these options here.

9. Car Wash Tokens

As someone who constantly has a filthy vehicle, I like this idea very much!! Lyn said, “When the boys got into middle and high school and had so many teachers, I started getting gift cards for the local car wash (one or two washes each). Our local place runs a “20 for $100? special each year. It’s inexpensive, different and they love them!”

Fill in the gaps! What are your favorite gifts to give teachers?

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How to Ask for Help

April 21, 2021 by Laura Leave a Comment

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Here’s how to ask for help. See also: How to say yes to offers of help. Ready? Let’s do this!

Why ask for help?

First, we should probably tackle the reasons we need to ask for help. Is it because we are weak and needy? Well, yes actually. But not in the negative way we typically use those words.

I’ll reshare what I wrote a post a couple of years ago explaining Why You Need to Say “YES” to Offers of Help! The reasons included:

You don’t want to miss out on the powerful work of the Holy Spirit on your behalf through others.
We are called to live a life of humility.
Because…we need it. We. Need. Help.

You can read all the words I said about each of those points here. But in summary, when people offer to help you? Say yes. You’re missing out on more of God’s goodness if you don’t!

So we need help. But…

Why do we struggle to ask for help?

Straight up: I believe that the reason we struggle to ask for help is that we are ashamed. We are holding onto pride. We don’t want to admit to ourselves that we actually need help. We don’t want to appear weak. We would rather be the helper, not the one who needs help.

Stop it.

There is nothing to be ashamed of when asking for help.
Ungodly pride is sinful and keeps us in a place of hurt.
It’s time for us to admit that we most certainly need help!
You can still be a helper. You can also be helped. This is a win-win. Keep reading!

If asking for help is hard for you, it’s time to stop reading this and pray. Ask God to show you how to ask for and say yes to help. Ask Him to heal your pride and to help you acknowledge your needs. Ask Him to fill you with peace and to provide you with answers. Then watch Him be at work for your good!

How I learned to ask for help

The short story is that God didn’t give me a choice. During the past three years, He has filled our home with foster and adopted children, giving us a current total of nine kids as I write this. I currently have three in diapers, one with extra medical needs, and two who are trauma survivors.

My days are so full and the needs in our home are so great that if I didn’t ask for and receive help, I would be drowning.

Right now, I absolutely cannot keep up with laundry. I cannot keep up with dishes. I cannot keep my floors clean. I am running and chasing and training and snuggling and disciplining and in general keeping tiny humans alive all day long. Plus I have a calendar full of meetings, appointments, and events. Caseworkers, therapists, doctors, WIC, lawyers – my phone blows up constantly. My door is revolving with people coming in and out. Sometimes I don’t have time to eat lunch.

Also, I have four older kids. Three out of four have launched, but I’m still their mom. I try to attend their events, answer the phone when they call, offer advice when asked. Our high schooler needs help with school work and guidance in many other ways. I’m not complaining! I’m just sharing the many reasons that:

I have to have help. And I love that God has helped me to embrace my needs and to reach out and ask. The response is overwhelmingly beautiful.

You might be saying to yourself, “Well, I don’t have tons of kids. I don’t have any special needs right now. I am not like you. I can handle my life without help.”

But I caution you to be open-hearted as you consider your true needs. We all need help daily. Some days we need more help, some days we need ALL THE HELP, and some days we may just need a friend to pray for us. Whatever it is you’re doing, be prayerful about humbly accepting help.

Here are some examples of the ways I’ve asked for help JUST THIS WEEK:

Can you go with me to Malachi’s soccer game and help me chase kids on the sidelines?
Can you come help me clean my kitchen?
Can you come watch kids so I can get some blog work done?
Can you come over at 3:40 and stay with sleeping littles while I go pick up Sister?
Can you make those cookies we love so much so I can serve them with our college student lunch on Sunday?
Can you fold the laundry piled up on my bed?
Can you come stay with the kids while I go to the chiropractor?
Can you come help put kids to bed while we go to Justus and Elias’ performance?
Are you available to go get my Walmart pick-up order for me?
Can you pray for me? Pray for Baby? Pray for…

Sometimes, I don’t even have to ask. Often, because we have been open to help, people reach out and ask what we need.

I have learned that if someone asks to help me, this is God at work in my life for my good. I will not say no to God’s work in my life for my good. So before I answer, I stop and pray. Then I say yes to their offer and tell them what they can do to help me. Why? Because:

I WILL NOT SAY NO TO GOD’S WORK IN MY LIFE FOR MY GOOD.

Say this out loud. Proclaim it for yourself. May God transform us all into people who joyfully receive help when we need it!

Don’t feel guilty. Feel grateful!

Recently I was in the hospital for an unexpected few days with our baby girl. She was my full-time focus, but we had all of our other children at home needing to be cared for. I called on many people to help, and they all went above and beyond.

I didn’t feel guilty about needing help. I didn’t feel bad about asking for help. I didn’t feel weak for needing help.

Instead, I felt grateful that we have such a loving community surrounding our family. I felt joyful that so many were willing to step in and meet our family’s needs. I felt overwhelmed with all the goodness God provides through His people.

Often the Help is Mutual

Here’s one of the biggest truths I’m learning: When people come to help me, I am helping them too. No one is keeping score. This is simply the beauty of how God works!

Some of our biggest helpers are college students. This has turned into a win-win! They bring over their laundry to throw in while they are helping with our kids. They come over as dating or engaged couples and are being given the opportunity to serve together while they grow in their relationship. They bounce babies while I’m cooking and they learn valuable kitchen skills while they observe. They sweep my floor while we talk about Jesus, giving us both the opportunity to grow as I mentor them and they encourage me. Do you see the beauty in this!?!

Start with prayer

It’s time to learn to ask for help. You can do this, and you need to! We all need to! Listen to God’s direction about this, and obey. Ask Him to show you what kind of help you need. Let Him tell you who to ask and how to ask.

Then watch as He provides the answers, the help, and the humility. Be amazed as peace and love fill you in ways they never could before you reached out for help.

God is good. He is the ultimate helper. Say yes to Him!

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The Best Recipes That Use Cream Cheese

April 18, 2021 by Laura 1 Comment

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Who needs recipes that use cream cheese? All of us, that’s who. Everything tastes better with cream cheese.

If you disagree with that statement, we can still be friends. In fact, I’ll just take one for the team and eat all of your cream cheese for you. Notta problem.

The idea to share my cream cheese recipes came after a conversation I had with a college student recently. He sat at my kitchen counter and he couldn’t stop dipping into my Strawberry Cheesecake Parfait. He was like, “This is the best whipped cream I have ever eaten in my life!” and I was like, “Well, that’s because there’s cream cheese in it.”

And then we both declared that OF COURSE it was the best whipped cream he’s ever eaten because:

Everything tastes better with cream cheese.

So.

It only makes sense that I now provide you with easy access to all of my recipes that use cream cheese. First, here’s how I find affordable cream cheese:

Buy at Aldi.
Buy at Costco.
Watch for sales and stock up at your local grocery store.

Cream cheese to avoid:

Walmart brand cream cheese
I repeat, never buy the Walmart brand cream cheese.

Some off-brands of cream cheese are just as wonderful as the Philadelphia brand, and I love that these good off-brands cost half as much. But I’ve never been happy with the results of my recipes when using the Walmart brand of cream cheese. And now on to the wonderful recipes!

Recipes That Use Cream Cheese

Strawberry Cheesecake Parfait (My very favorite thing to eat in all the world.)
Chocolate Cheesecake Parfait (My second favorite, and another huge hit when feeding guests.)
Cream Cheese Pastries (You should make these next Saturday.)
Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Bread (Every word of that title should make you want to bake this.)
Easy Low Sugar Cream Cheese Cookie Cutouts (The best sugar cookie you’ve ever eaten.)
Easy Chocolate Cream Cheese Marble Cake (The cake is moist, and then there’s the cream cheese part. Always enjoy with coffee.)
Cream Cheese Corn (This is a favorite side dish to share on special holidays. And also on Tuesdays.)
Cream Cheese Salsa Dip (You haven’t had chip dip until you’ve had this dip.)
Easy Chicken with Cream Cheese Sauce (This makes people cry tears of joy whilst they eat it. Beware.)
BLT Wraps (You’ll never go back to a regular BLT again.)
Crepes with Cream Cheese Filling (Fix these when you don’t want to work hard, but you do want your family to think you are extra amazing.)
Cream Cheese Pumpkin Muffins (There’s an actual wedge of cream cheese in these. Check them out!)
Easy Cream Cheese Fruit Dip (Fruit is good. Fruit with this dip is 100% better.)
Flaky Cream Cheese Pastry (Made with homemade dough instead of the kind that pops out of a can. So good.)
Italian Cream Cheese Chicken (The meal one of my sons requests for every birthday.)
Whole Grain Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars (Cookie and cheesecake all in one!)
Whole Grain Raspberry Cheesecake Bars (For dessert or for breakfast. Or both in the same day.)
Pumpkin Cheesecake Cups (These are a big reason to be thankful at Thanksgiving.)
Mini Crustless Cheesecakes (I love having these on hand for grab-and-go snacks!)
Chocolate Cheesecake Dessert (It’s like a fancy dessert that is easy to make. Love!)
Cream Cheese Fruit Dip (You’re going to need a lot of apples to go with this because people can’t stop eating it.)

Cheesecake Topped Muffins

You can make muffins. Or you can make muffins topped with cheesecake. I think we all know the right choice to make.

What are your favorite ways to use cream cheese?

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Foods to Purchase and Have on Hand for Busy Days

April 14, 2021 by Laura Leave a Comment

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Here are some of my best tips for foods to purchase and have on hand for busy days!

If you haven’t already, go check out all these amazing ideas for ways to get ahead in the kitchen!

Beyond homemade food, which of course we all love best, it’s nice to have some healthy convenience items on hand for busy days.

Foods to Purchase and Have on Hand for Busy Days

You know I’m going to start with this one:

1. Fresh Fruits and Vegetables

Just do it. These are so easy to purchase and so easy to serve and eat! Eating lots of fruits and veggies is the biggest, best way to be sure we’re getting lots of nourishment. And when we’re talking about busy days and maybe eating on the fly, we can feel good about what we’re eating or serving our families if we are making sure we’re/they’re eating an apple with their frozen pizza (or whatever). ;)

Great fresh fruit and veggie ideas that can be easily eaten on the run:

Apples
Bananas
Berries
Oranges or Clementines
Carrots
Mini-Sweet Peppers
Sugar Snap Peas
Pears
Peaches
Grapes
Grape Tomatoes
Cucumber Slices
Prepared mixed greens for quick salads

Regarding fresh veggies? I’m all about the dips. If ranch dip helps you or your kids eat the veggies? SERVE THE DIP. Veggies with dip is better than no veggies at all, am I right?

Need some dip ideas and recipes?

2. Frozen or Packaged Fruits and Veggies

These are great because they can be eaten or prepared quickly!

Have frozen fruits on hand for smoothies. Add greens to your smoothies and you have incredible nutrition in a cup!
Frozen green beans, peas, broccoli, mixed veggies, etc can be steamed quickly for a simple, nourishing side dish.
100% fruit cups (peaches, pears, pineapple, mandarin oranges) or 100% fruit squeezies are super convenient and fun to eat!

3. Whole Grain Breads

I prefer to make this Simple Stir-and-Pour Bread. But lately, since I haven’t had time to bake, I find that having 100% whole grain breads and bagels on hand has been very helpful.

These give us breakfast, lunch, and snack options from simple bread and butter to peanut butter sandwiches or lunch meat sandwiches.

Sometimes, on my busiest days, all I have time to serve is a peanut butter sandwich with one of the fruits or veggies listed above. It fills their bellies and offers nourishment too. I call it a win!

4. Boneless Chicken or Chicken Legs

My favorite is boneless chicken thighs. My second favorite is a package of chicken legs. If I have these in the freezer and I don’t have time for anything else, I can easily dump some sauce on some chicken and put it into the crockpot, into the oven, or onto the grill.

I serve the chicken with a steamed veggie (from the frozen veggies mentioned above) and a fresh fruit and we have a fantastic, healthy meal that hardly took any time to prepare!

5. Potatoes

I am not a fan of russets, but we love Yukon Gold or Red Potatoes! We can make so many fast meals with potatoes, specifically:

Baked Potatoes in the Crock Pot – which can be topped with anything we have in the fridge! Ham, leftover chicken or hamburger or taco meat, cheese, sour cream, broccoli, peas…

Baked potatoes make quick meals or side dishes.

6. Frozen Hashbrowns

This Mr. Dell’s brand of hashbrowns contains only potatoes, which I love! I buy them in 5-pound bags and use them to make so many of these recipes. Fast, easy, good for us!

7. Packaged Convenience Foods??!

Yep, I just said it. This is where I’m at now that we have so many kids and so much going on. Loving people is more important than standing in the kitchen. So some days, we eat the packaged nuggets and the frozen pizza. I feel no guilt about this. We eat salad with our pizza, we still have energy to smile at each other. It’s a win!

What do you purchase to help you get through busy days?

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5 Easy Ways to Get Ahead in the Kitchen

April 7, 2021 by Laura Leave a Comment

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Want to try to get ahead in the kitchen this month? It’s a great idea! After all, April and May are typically a pretty busy months as we wrap up a school year and head into summer.

Here are 5 ways to get ahead in the kitchen. If you do even some of these, you’ll find your days just a little bit less hectic on extra busy days!

5 Ways to Get Ahead in the Kitchen

Ready for lots of links, recipes, and lots of ideas? We are going to have a lot of fun getting ahead and making our lives easier!

1. Make and freeze some breakfast foods.

All of these recipes can be made the day before and served right away in the morning!

You can make these cereals to make for super fast breakfasts:

If you have these in your freezer, you can thaw and rewarm in the oven or toaster oven!

This super easy Stir-n-Pour Bread takes practically no effort, but turns out a delicious loaf of bread. When I have this on hand, we can slice it and make:

Peanut Butter Honey Toast
Fried Eggs on Toast
Cinnamon Toast
Scrambled Egg Sandwiches
Simple Buttered Toast

2. Make and Freeze Muffin Batter

This could have fit up in the breakfast bullet point above. But I wanted to feature it separately because it deserves a headline of its own! We can make and freeze muffin batter!

\ silicone muffins 2

I like to do this with silicone muffin cups like these. Then I pop out the frozen batter and can bake muffins any time I need them for snacks or breakfasts.

With so many little ones in the house again, we go through a lot of muffins! Read more here about making and freezing muffin batter.

Need some muffin recipes? We have a couple:

3. Make Salad Dressing Mixes

Our house favorites are Ranch Dressing Mix and Italian Dressing Mix.

If I have a jar of these mixes on hand, I can quickly make Ranch Salad Dressing, a Ranch Cheese Ball, Ranch Potato Wedges or Cheddar Ranch Burgers.

With Italian Dressing Mix I make the obvious Italian Salad Dressing. And I use it for these easy recipes: Italian Cream Cheese Chicken, Italian Roast Wraps, and Italian Stew. It also makes a great marinade for grilled meats.

So many great salad and meal options to be made when we have these mixes on hand!

4. Make some Bacon

I love having pre-cooked slices of bacon and pre-cooked bacon bits in my freezer.

With homemade bacon bits I can make simple Bacon Cheesy Eggs, plus recipes like Bacon Cheese Muffins, Bacon, Egg, and Avocado Salad, BLT Chopped Salad, or BLT Wraps.

Pre-cooked sliced bacon in the freezer means that we can have a side of bacon with our pancakes and eggs with just a quick bacon warm up!

5. Cook hamburger meat for quick meal prep

Here’s how I cook 5-7 pounds of frozen hamburger meat in my Instant Pot in 30 minutes. This is a game changer at our house! Having pre-cooked hamburger meat means I can put together any of these meals (plus many others) super quickly:

Coming up next, I’ll share some great foods to purchase and have on hand for busy days!

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Easy Homemade Pancake and Waffle “Syrup”

April 4, 2021 by Laura Leave a Comment

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Nothing beats real maple syrup, but in a pinch, and to save a little money, here’s how you can stir together Easy Homemade Pancake and Waffle “Syrup.”

Why would we want to avoid Real Maple Syrup? Oh, we don’t want to avoid it. That stuff is delicious and natural! I keep it on hand and we use it…most of the time for our pancakes and waffles.

But, I’ll admit that I get a little bit stingy when feeding pancakes or waffles to a large crowd. Real Maple Syrup can be pretty pricey! And most people are used to drowning their cakes in syrup! When they do that at my house with the real maple syrup I set out, then they leave $3 worth on their plates and wash it down the sink, I cry just a little bit.

Not really.

Yes really.

So…if I’m feeding a large crowd and I don’t want $20 worth of the good syrup to be washed down the drain, I make a Brown Sugar Syrup that has always received rave reviews.

OH! And if you’re wondering why I don’t just buy some Aunt Jamima for occasions such as this the answer is: Well. I just can’t bring myself to put it into my cart. Because of the high fructose corn syrup. She just isn’t welcome on my table. Shucks, Aunt Jamima.

Easy Homemade Pancake and Waffle “Syrup”Yum

Easy Homemade Pancake and Waffle "Syrup"

Save Print

Author: Laura

Ingredients

2 cups brown sugar (give or take)
⅓ cup water (give or take)

Instructions

Heat and stir on the stovetop until sugar has dissolved.
Serve over pancakes and waffles.

Yes, it really is that easy. And those measurements? Don’t worry too much about them. Mostly you can just put brown sugar and water into a pan and heat it and serve it and it will be delicious (because it’s sugar).

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How I’m Using the Christian Living Bundle With My Family

March 25, 2021 by Laura Leave a Comment

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

This week, I’ve been sharing ways we try to keep God as center in our home. How we are making good changes for our kids, especially our teenager. How we love church, but know that our kids need more. Here’s how we make God a part of every day.

I’ve also shared about the Christian Living Bundle that is being offered this week. Today is the final day it is being offered, and I don’t want you to miss it. So I’m going to highlight some of the ways we’re using the resources with our family.

But do I really love it?

Ultimate Bundles are always good. Still, I only promote a couple of them a year, and only when I feel that they contain a worthwhile amount of content I can stand behind. The price of the bundles is always amazing considering the amount of resources we get. And because of the low price, even though the bundles contain dozens of materials, I can at least truthfully say something like:

Even if you just use 10 of these products, you’ll be getting your money’s worth!

But with this Christian Living Bundle that I’m sharing with you this week, I can actually say:

You’ll use almost all of the 50 resources in this bundle! Why? BECAUSE THESE MATERIALS ARE CENTERED AROUND OUR CHRISTIAN LIVES!!!!

And yes, that’s a lot of exclamation marks and maybe it sounds salesy and cheesy. That’s not my intent and you know I’m always honest with you.

I’m proclaiming all of this because I love that this bundle is all about Christian Living. This is what actually matters. Food and good health and productive homemaking matter. But what truly matters most is Jesus. And this bundle is all centered around Him!

It’s very hard to pass up such a great collection when the books and courses all point us Upward! These encourage us and teach us to pray more, to be in the Word more, to teach our kids about Jesus, to combat enemy lies, to love our spouses better…

Get it if you can. I plan to use almost all of these in our home. And I even created $21 worth of bonuses as a thank you to everyone who purchases through our links —>

The Christian Living Bundle Facts

Price: $29.99 + $10.00 cheat sheets
Value: 50 resources worth $1,182.78
Contents: 17 eCourses & 14 printable packs, 11 workbooks & 8 eBooks
Bonuses: $58
Laura’s Bonuses: $21

Want the math facts on this? The price divides up to each of these resources costing just $0.60 each! I think that’s fun, especially since many of my favorites in the bundle individually cost around $15 or more!

What I’m using for myself so far:

Candid Conversations – a wonderfully intriguing read filled with testimonies from over a dozen Christian women about their real struggles and ways God has helped them to overcome.
Every Thought Captive: Body-Mind-Spirit Exercises for Emotional Regulation – I love this!!! Many of the exercises described in this book are some that my Christian therapist uses. It’s great to have these as a resource to use on my own as needed. Get rid of the lies! Replace them with God’s truth! Take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ!
Fruit of the Spirit Yoga Series – I actually haven’t started this yet. But I signed up and can start just as soon as I have a minute to myself (toddler naptime hopefully!).
Gospel Love: How to Apply 7 Key Teachings of Jesus to Live Your Best Marriage eCourse – These are great videos and materials that Matt and I can use to grow our own marriage and to mentor the young couples who come to us for encouragement and counseling.

See these, and everything else included, here.

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What I’m using so far with Brayden (age 7), Sister (age 5), Keith (age 2), and Brother (age 2):

Walking with God: Bible Lessons for Families – This is such a fun online series of lessons! They include great videos that are short and appealing to kids. Our kids are having so much fun learning the Bible stories through video. Then we talk about it, sing the songs, do some of the offered activities. So far, the kids have really been enjoying this!
Alphabet Maze + Bible Verse Superhero Activity Bundle – This includes mazes, coloring, games, and other educational activities infused with bible verses and faith-based activities to create hours of fun and learning for children. These are perfect for quiet time learning.
Children’s Easter Coloring Book – There are pages for adults to color too, so sometimes we sit down together and color and visit about Jesus’ love for us as he died, and His power as He defeated death and rose again!
Miracles and Parables: Read and Color Stories from the New Testament – I haven’t done it yet, but I’m planning to print these for the kids so we can make books to work through this summer to focus on learning miracles and parables of Jesus with these read and color printable storybooks.

See these, and everything else included, here.

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What I’m using with Malachi (our 16 year old)

We’ve either started these or plan to during the next weeks and months:

Intentional Living Through Prayer – prayer prompts for every day of the year. These offer such great cues and inspiration to walk teens (and all of us!) through praying intentionally.
30 Day Retreat With God – I love everything about this one! It helps us dig into learning more about who God is so we can love and serve better. It’s practical and simple to work through. A super helpful resource to give us topics to discuss and pray over.
A Grateful Heart Bible Study – It’s too easy to be negative and to complain. I look forward to going through this study with Malachi as we focus on God’s work in our lives.
James: Self Study Workbook – I wanted to read through James with Malachi anyway, and this book makes it so much better!

See these, and everything else included, here.

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In short, while I don’t always do this with every bundle, this time I downloaded everything! If I’m not using it now, I’ll use it later. What a gift to have access to all of these!

And don’t forget the bonuses I’m giving you!

I’m excited about these because they answer questions I get frequently. And they are items we use in our home too! When you buy the Christian Living Bundle through our links, we’ll thank you by sending you a file with these printable items:

Bible Reading Guide ($8.00)

I have been working on this resource because it very simply answers frequent questions I get about personal Bible study and about spending Bible time with family.

How to Start Reading Your Bible Regularly
Three-Step Guide to Make the Bible Meaningful
How to Read the Bible with Little Ones
Scripture to Read and Discuss with Your Teens

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101 Scripture Focus Cards ($10.00)

I uploaded these to Walgreens and had them print this file onto 4×6 photo cards. We pull them out at mealtime and practice memorizing them as a family. These prompt great discussion too. I especially love this because everyone in our family, from age 2 to age 47, benefit from memorizing scripture!

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Table Talk Cards ($3)

And speaking of great discussion, these cards have been great at mealtime too. All of us at our house, from age 5 to adult can answer the questions on these cards and share them around the table!

Get your Christian Living Bundle here, then email me your receipt so I can send you the bonuses. Start digging in with your family. Let God be a part of every moment in every day!

This offer ends at midnight, Thursday, March 25. Get it while you can. Let’s turn our focus to Jesus!

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