Heavenly Homemakers

Encouraging women in homemaking, healthy eating and parenting

Garlic Cheese Biscuits (Like Red Lobster’s) – the Real Food Way

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I used to go out to eat at restaurants just because of the baskets of bread they kept bringing to the table. Red Lobster Garlic Cheese Biscuits? Oh my, yes. But who am I kidding? I really used to go out to eat at restaurants for the unlimited Pepsi refills. Holy sugar crash, Batman.

Garlic Cheese Biscuits

I’m now in the stage of life where I recognize the value of nourishment and moderation, plus if I tried to eat more than one biscuit now my body’d be like, “What are you thinking, girl?” Ah….the 40’s.

We recently treated our boys to their first Red Lobster experience (and by we treated I mean someone gave us a gift certificate). They loved the biscuits in the basket – of course – which reminded me that I know how to make them the healthy way.

Therefore, we grilled chicken and steak a few days ago, prepped some veggies, and baked some of these biscuits. This led to me making them again a few days later and then again a few days after that. Yes, the boys like them because they are amazing (my boys, and also my biscuits).

Garlic Cheese BiscuitsYum

Garlic Cheese Biscuits (Like Red Lobster's) - the Real Food Way
 
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Author:
Serves: 12
Ingredients
  • 2½ cups whole wheat pastry flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • 2 teaspoons garlic powder (divided)
  • 1 Tablespoon sucanat
  • ⅓ cup palm shortening
  • 1 cup shredded cheddar or Colby jack cheese
  • ¾ cup milk
  • ¼ cup butter
Instructions
  1. Stir together flour, baking powder, salt, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, and sucanat.
  2. Cut in palm shortening until the mixture resembles crumbs.
  3. Fold in shredded cheese.
  4. Stir in milk until well combined.
  5. Spoon batter in Tablespoon-sized heaps onto a baking sheet.
  6. Bake in a 400° oven for 12-18 minutes or until they are golden brown.
  7. While they are baking, melt butter on the stove and stir in remaining teaspoon of garlic powder. Brush garlic butter over hot biscuits and serve immediately.

Garlic Cheese Biscuits - the real food way

With soup weather being right around the corner, I suggest you keep this recipe front and center. Soup with Garlic Cheese Biscuits is a wonderful combo.

Want a gluten free version of this recipe? This one is similar, though you’ll want to switch the onion powder for garlic powder.

How do you handle bread basket refills at restaurants? Or should I ask, how does your body handle it? 

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You Can Do This! Real Food Beginnings, Menu Planning Fun, Deals, and Freebies!

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If I could say one thing to encourage you as you work toward a real food kitchen, it would be to say this: You can do this (because you are amazing)!

I know cooking isn’t fun for everyone nor does it come easy to everyone. I know the transition from processed foods to real foods can be challenging. But as we all know, food is a necessary part of life, several times every day. Nourishment is necessary too.

I’m good at food. This is not a boast, it’s just that I love food and everything about it – just like you love what you love and are good at what you do. I also know that many of you are good at food, and some of you are better at it than you think you are! I’ve been working at this real food gig for 10 years now, and I love providing you with good recipes that are still easy and quick. I love putting together resources that will make your real food journey easier.

So this weekend, I had fun putting together a super inexpensive package deal of many of my favorite “You Can Do This! Real Food Resources.” I also compiled some of the free downloads from my archives that will help you on your journey. Real food deliciousness can be easy when you follow these simply laid out steps, ideas, and recipes.

Real Food Beginnings

First, I’m offering our You Can Do This eCourse, along with 6 of our simple, real food kitchen eBooks – worth $42.79 – for only $12.00. Total. For all of it.This is to encourage you on your real food journey.

You Can Do This Real Food eCourse and eBook package

This package includes:
You Can Do This! The First Five Steps to a Real Food Kitchen eCourse $5.00
What to Do With the Chicken in Your Kitchen eBook $4.95
What to Do With the Cow in Your Kitchen eBook $4.95
Do the Funky Kitchen eBook $4.95
Heavenly Homemaker’s Real Food Weekly Menu Plan Ideas Packet $5.00
1-2-3 Menu Planning eBook $5.00
Build Your Menu Planning Notebook $5.99

$42.79
$12.00

Add to Cart

Next, I’ve put together a list of freebie resources you can enjoy on your real food journey!

Come Get Your Real Food Resource Freebies!

breakfast_e-book cover_sm

Enjoy these resources, and be sure to grab the big package of You Can Do This! Real Food Resources at a huge discount here now (discount ends Tuesday, September 29)!

You Can Do This! Real Food Resources
$12.00

Add to Cart

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Proof That I Can’t Talk and Cook at the Same Time

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I’ve told you this before, but I thought maybe you needed some pictures to back up my claim. I can multitask till the cows come home, but when I try to have a conversation with someone while multitasking in my kitchen, this is when I know that the cows have indeed come home.

So there I was, making cheese. And lunch. While talking to our college-age friend Brittany who was over doing laundry and chatting with me while I did too many things at once. This led to a ranch dressing disaster.

While I was in the “wait one hour before doing something or other with the cheese” process, I got out my Ranch Dressing Mix to make some Spicy Ranch Dressing because I wanted to wow Brittany with the ranchy goodness at lunchtime. (Oh, I wowed her alright.)

I should never talk and cook at the same time.

I loosened my dressing mix jar lid, but somehow – and I can’t imagine what it could have been in my relaxed, stress free kitchen – I got distracted and walked away. Coming back to the jar of dressing mix, I gave it a good shake – which is always a good idea so that the ingredients are mixed well before you put them into the buttermilk/mayo.

Except that this is not at all a good idea when the lid is not securely on your jar. But I had loosened the lid, so off it flew, as did thousands and trillions of tiny ranch dressing mix ingredients.

It doesn’t look like much…

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But trust me. It was much. All over me. In between my toes. Under my feet. Everywhere.

ranch disaster

That there is a lid that can’t be trusted.

No use crying over spilt ranch, but we all declared that very soon, I would smell ranchy (or would that be…raunchy?). I swept my precious dressing mix into my dustpan and dumped it into the trash. Sad day.

 ranch disaster3

Somehow I got lunch on the table, even the Spicy Ranch Dressing.

Too bad this story isn’t over yet. Oh no. That was just the beginning.

About an hour after lunch, I offered to make Chocolate Frappes for Matt and Brittany. (The older boys weren’t home to enjoy one, but slowly I’m pulling them all over to my coffee drinking ways. All except Malachi. He thinks we’re all weird.)

All was well until I tried to talk while pouring the last bit of foamy frappe goodness out of the blender. Blop. It all came out at once. All over the counter, down the front of the dishwasher, and yep – all over my foot and in between my toes. I now had Ranchy Frappe toe jam.

ranch disaster8

This post has no point. It does link you to some delicious recipes, so there’s that. (Chocolate Frappes, Spicy Ranch Dressing, Ranch Dressing Mix, and Mozzarella Cheese) Let us wrap up our time together with some lessons learned:

  1. I should stop talking and cooking at the same time. You would think I’d know better by now.
  2. Always be sure the lid is securely on your jar of dressing mix before you shake it. This is obvious.
  3. Frappe foam blops. It just does. Stop being surprised by this, or maybe you can just get out a spoon to help it to ease out nicely.

I’d love to hear what you can do until the cows come home, and maybe the point at which you have crossed the line and realized that the cows have arrived.

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Win Shampoo and Conditioner from Maple Holistics

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Special thanks to Maple Holistics for sponsoring this post and givaway!. This keeps our site alive, and helps you find healthy products too!

maple holistics

There’s a new shampoo in town (fine, just in my shower, which is still technically in my town so as always, everything I say makes sense). Anyway, I’m loving it. Maple Holistics sent me their Argon Shampoo and Silk18 Natural Conditioner to try out. Lovely! There’s just something so yummy about new shampoo smells.

Now, I like clean hair, but clean and clean don’t always mean the same thing. I love that this shampoo cleans, but doesn’t include harsh ingredients, sulfates, or parabens. Their products are also cruelty free and vegan friendly. So in this case, clean stays clean.

You may see the price on these shampoos and say, ooh, that’s a bit steep! Pure ingredients do cost more, and I’m happy to say that I’ve found that a tiny bit of shampoo in the palm of my hand goes a very long way. This is saying something since I have long hair and only wash it twice a week. My bottle is going to last me for a very long time. I appreciate this!
Maple Holistics would love to offer you a chance to try their products too. One of you who leaves a comment on this post will win a set of shampoo and conditioner of  your choice from their site. For additional entries, you can follow them on Facebook, Tumbler, Instagram, Twitter, and/or Pinterest.
I’ll draw a random winner on Tuesday, September 29. Be watching for a post stating the winner as you’ll be responsible for contacting me if your name is chosen!
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Baked Apple Pancake Recipe

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We all used to think that a pancake was just a pancake. But that made us all go to sleep with boredom and we all screamed for something different. Actually, none of us did that. Normal pancakes are the bomb-diggity and change is hard. Flipping regular round pancakes is nice, easy, and who doesn’t love a fresh pancake right off the griddle?

quick_mix_pancakes

But now we can also make Easy Pancake Muffins. They’re fun and easy too. Our people love them.

Easy Pancake Muffins - Great for the Freezer

To go along with our newly discovered pancake experimentational adventures (seriously, it’s just a recipe idea but here I am trying to pull out big words to make it sound impressive) – we can now add this Baked Apple Pancake to the mix.

apple pancake31

This delicious idea came from “Busy Mom in AL” when I shared about making Easy Pancake Muffins. This long-time reader said,

“Put apples and cinnamon in the bottom of a 9×13 inch pan and then pour the pancake batter on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes. Serve in squares with tons of maple syrup! :) It is called Apple Pancake Bake.”

Knowing my family would love it, a few mornings later I gave this idea a try. It earned the “take pictures and blog about it” award, so here you go!

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Baked Apple PancakeBaked Apple Pancake Yum

Baked Apple Pancake Recipe
 
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Author:
Serves: 6-8
Ingredients
  • 5-6 apples, any variety
  • 1-2 Tablespoons ground cinnamon
  • 2 cups whole wheat flour (I use freshly ground hard or soft white wheat)
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 1½ cups milk
  • ¼ cup melted butter
Instructions
  1. Wash and slice apples, laying them evenly on the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish.
  2. Sprinkle liberally with cinnamon.
  3. Mix remaining ingredients well, then pour the mixture over the apples.
  4. Bake in a 350° oven for 20-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Slice and serve with real maple syrup.

I think you’ll love this simple recipe idea! It’s perfect for this fall, what with its cinnamon awesomeness.

Once again we learn that pancakes don’t have to be just pancakes. Have any more pancake variations to share with us?

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Help! My Alfredo Sauce Leftovers Don’t Reheat Well!

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Not that I know much about leftovers around my house anymore. But occasionally when we have a small amount of alfredo sauce leftovers, we’ve found that the butter separates when reheated, making for a greasy noodle on a plate. Have you ever run into this problem? Not to worry – I am here to solve the dilemma.

alfredo leftovers 2

What to do with alfredo sauce leftovers

Perhaps you have figured out the trick to prevent this and would like to share. In the meantime, this is what our family does to remedy the problem:

We stir the leftover Alfredo Sauce into some marinara sauce. Have you ever had marinara mixed with alfredo? It’s incredibly delicious. It’s so delicious, in fact, that my boys sometimes request that I make this on purpose. This is fine because I always love preparing two separate sauces when I make pasta because I have nothing better to do than to double my efforts in the kitchen.

alfredo leftovers 1

But seriously, it’s worth making two sauces because the combination is so good. Or…we could simply make extra Alfredo Sauce on purpose one day to eat as Fettuchini Alfredo. Put the leftovers away, then make spaghetti with marinara sauce the following day. Put those leftovers away, and then on the third day we can stir all the leftovers together and have a Spaghetti Alfredo meal.

Probably the day after that, we should make something besides pasta. You think?

The Perfect Solution for Warming Leftover Alfredo Sauce

Yum

The two sauces together with pasta truly is delicious. If only all leftover issues could be solved by stirring them into something else to create a delightfully brand new dish.

For the record, Homemade Alfredo Sauce with pasta is amazing and tastes even better than what you order at a restaurant. Talk about a money saver!

Have you discovered any tricks for reheating Alfredo Sauce?

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Make Your Own “Nesquik”

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Oh yeah. Homemade Nesquik coming right up.

Homemade Nesquik

Want to know something about Chocolate Milk?

Nobody needs it. It’s not a health food. We probably shouldn’t drink it.

Yet I still have a homemade “Nesquik” recipe to share with you. Why?

Because it’s fun, because it’s tasty, and because some people love their chocolate milk. So if you at least had an option to drink a healthier version of chocolate milk, wouldn’t that be nice?

Here’s the info I found on the official Nesquik website. This is what you find in the store-bought variety of the powdered mix…

INGREDIENTS: SUGAR, COCOA PROCESSED WITH ALKALI, SOY LECITHIN, CARRAGEENAN, SALT, NATURAL FLAVOR, SPICE. VITAMINS AND MINERALS: SODIUM ASCORBATE (VITAMIN C), FERRIC PYROPHOSPHATE (IRON), NIACINAMIDE, ZINC OXIDE, THIAMIN HYDROCHLORIDE, COPPER GLUCONATE, MANGANESE SULFATE, BIOTIN.

What’s with all that stuff in there? If you can possibly imagine, I just learned to make a chocolate milk mix with the simple yet magical ingredients I like to call cocoa and sugar. For real? Are we sure we can have our chocolate milk without adding some niacinamide? Because I just don’t know.

Here’s how easy this is: You put your cocoa and sugar in a jar, then you add two dashes of salt – which is a fun little ingredient that enhances the sweetness and completes the package. Shake it up, and you’ve got a fine little treat – if you think you can get along without the copper gluconate. (I am having the best time listening to all of you try to pronounce these words as you read.)

Homemade NesquikYum

4.5 from 2 reviews
Make Your Own "Nesquik"
 
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Author:
Ingredients
  • ½ cup cocoa powder
  • 1 cup sucanat or brown sugar
  • 2 dashes of salt (I use Redmond Real Salt)
Instructions
  1. Put all ingredients into a pint sized jar.
  2. Put a lid on and shake the ingredients until they are well mixed.
  3. To make chocolate milk, add 1-2 Tablespoons of mix to a 12 ounce glass of milk.
  4. Stir well.

And that’s it. Making Homemade Nesquik will take less effort than finding your missing shoe.

Make Your Own Nesquik

My boys were thrilled with this fun treat, so I went ahead and made a half gallon of chocolate milk. The next morning was chilly, so I used the mix to make hot chocolate. (Just warm the milk, then stir in the milk as directed above.)

What’s your relationship with chocolate milk? 

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The Boy Who Brought Thousands to Their Knees

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You know what I’ve really appreciated the past 8 days? My dirty kitchen. It is so normal. The laundry pile. School work. Soccer practice. Vacuuming. Messes. Sibling arguments. Busy schedules. All of the normal.

When there is a tragedy, normal tasks are a blessing. Does this even make sense? It’s just that the things I might normally complain about (dirty dishes and all of the above) became something I was so thankful to be dealing with this past week. After all, my cousins were in the hospital watching their 16 year old son fight for his life. Just days before, they had been doing all of the normal. How we long for the normal when suddenly nothing is normal.

Friday, September 11 our 16 year old cousin sustained a head injury on the football field. He slipped into a coma, underwent surgeries, became weaker, continued to lose ground. I’ve never been so obsessed with Facebook. It was my link to my cousins in Oklahoma when all we could do here in Nebraska was pray and watch for updates from those who were at Ben’s bedside.

Here’s what I watched transpire: All of us who knew Ben were praying. We all asked others for prayer. Others began praying. Word spread. People who didn’t know Ben began praying. In just a few days, I watched as thousands and thousands of people shared that they were praying. Most were praying for a family they didn’t know and for a boy they’d never meet.

This is love, this is Jesus in the heart of people, and this is powerful.

God answered our prayers, but He didn’t let us keep Ben. He healed Ben fully, but not in the way we all asked. Ben is whole again, but he’s not home with his family. He is in his new home. His forever home.

ben

Should we ask why? It never hurts to ask. Will we ever know? Does it even matter?

God’s plan for our lives, for Ben’s life, for the life of Ben’s family – God’s plan is absolute. Even if it hurts and even if it doesn’t make sense to us. We choose to trust God through the pain.

As we mourn our devastating loss of Ben, we are in awe of the beauty of God and His work in and through His people.

Because of this one boy – this boy and his family who are so loved by so many – thousands and thousands of people got on their knees and talked to the Creator last week.

Because of this one boy and his family, thousands of people are still on their knees, pleading for comfort and peace for Ben’s family. Tears are being shed, love is being shown, and Jesus is being glorified.

Praise be to God for the heart of His people.

May we not wait for tragedy to renew our relationship with our Creator. May we stay humbly and joyfully on our knees as we recognize the truth of the strength this provides.

Praise God with me for the life of this one boy – the one who brought so many into precious communion with others and with the Father this week.

We’re gonna miss you, Ben.

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Finally! Free Shipping and 45% Off Palm Shortening at the Same Time!

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Man, I’ve been waiting for this one!! It’s hard for me to fork it out for shipping on something heavy like Palm Shortening (because I’m spoiled…and I like to save money). I’ve been needing palm shortening, but I was waiting for it to go on sale and sync up with a free shipping weekend. I waited, and I waited, and I waited…

Here it is! It is a free shipping weekend at Tropical Traditions AND their Organic Palm Shortening is 45% off through Sunday! $26.89 for a gallon…yes please.

palm_shortening

How do I use Palm Shortening?

Well first of all, it’s almost pie baking season. Palm Shortening is a fantastic, healthy alternative to Crisco when making pie crusts (because our bodies can digest it well). I fry foods in it because it can withstand high temperatures without becoming hydrogenated (this is rare for a fat!). I use palm shortening to make my Whole Wheat Quick Baking Mix (like Bisquik), which is then used to make all kinds of goodies.

My Favorite Ways to Use Palm Shortening (and why it's good for you)

Yes, I love palm shortening.

Heard about the deforestation problem that accompanies the harvest of palm oil? This is not an issue where Tropical Traditions is concerned. They practice safe and environmentally friendly methods of palm tree farming. Read more details here. You can trust Tropical Traditions when it comes to healthy, nourishing food and the care of the earth.

Find the Organic Shortening here. Use the code 21159 at checkout to receive free shipping. The sale price is only good through Sunday, September 20. Stock up time!

Do you love palm shortening? How do you use it? Do you like frying food in it or do you prefer to fry in coconut oil?

This post contains my referral link. New customers who purchase through the links in this post will receive a free Virgin Coconut Oil Book!

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

The Easiest Way to Make Muffins, Plus 23 Delicious Muffin Recipes

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The Easiest Way to Make Muffins

I love it when I order something and then I forget about it. When a package comes I get to be surprised! What did I order? What did I get? What’s in the box?

It is especially silly that I do this even when ordering with Amazon Prime two day shipping. There are just too many things to remember from a Wednesday to a Friday, apparently.

Remember when I told you about the fun-shaped silicone muffin cups for a great price? I got me some of those, then I surprised myself with them two days later when the package came. “What’s in the box?” asked the boys. I have no idea. And then this was inside:

silicone4

I think I squealed.

The 12 regular Muffin Rounds together with a set of 12 Stars is still on sale. You, too, could surprise yourself with a package.

Early this week I went with the freeze muffin batter for easy breakfasts idea. The easy idea just got easier with these cups!

silicone muffins 1

silicone muffins 2

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See how easily the frozen batter pops out?

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To clean these, I simply rinsed them well in very hot water.

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I put all of the frozen batter shapes into a freezer bag for another day.

silicone muffins 6

Then I baked a few muffins for a snack. Not only do I sometimes forget what I order online, I also sometimes forget I have muffins baking in the oven. This is what timers are for, Laura. Ah well. So they are only slightly overdone. This is what milk is for, Muffins. But are those cute, or what?

silicone muffins 7

Well, I for one am very excited about my new toys. I also love the bright colors. Silly as it is, the rainbow of muffin cups made the stirring and the freezing and the baking more fun. It doesn’t take much for me, apparently. After all, I’m the one who squeals when I open a package that I ordered for myself.

Did you get yourself some of these? Check out all the varieties I found, along with the coupons some of them offer. (These circles and stars are the best deal though.)

Here’s a list of the 23 wholesome muffin recipes we have listed here at Heavenly Homemakers:

23 Kid Friendly Muffin Recipes

What are your favorite muffins? Please tell me you’ve tried the “freeze the muffin batter” idea. Did you get some of the fun silicone muffin cups? Think of all the fun we’ll have!

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