Heavenly Homemakers

Encouraging women in homemaking, healthy eating and parenting

How to Make Food Easy!

by 6 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see our disclosure policy.

It’s time for a brand new challenge! Ready to learn how to Make Food Easy?!

Our Take Ten Challenges were so fun and popular that we decided to create a brand new challenge – this time with a twist!

The Make Food Easy Challenge offers this:

  1. A complete Make Food Easy eBook full of everything you’ll need to easily complete this two-week challenge! (We’ll send it to you right away after you sign up to join!)
  2. Two weeks worth of menu plans and grocery lists.
  3. Simple instructions for spending just a few minutes prepping meat for each week so that you can easily and quickly put your weeknight meals together.
  4. Daily weekday emails during the two-week challenge, telling you just what you need to do each day to quickly prepare your evening meal. (With bonus ideas and recipes!)
  5. Guidance to help you see how one meal leads to another!

Here’s how we’re making food easy:

One meal will lead to another. Like this…

If you’ve made meat for one meal, you’ll set some aside to use for another meal later in the week. If you bake potatoes for one meal, you’ll save the extras to use for a brand new meal later in the week. If you’ve prepped potato toppings for one meal, you’ll pull them right back out later in the week to use for tacos. See how easy and wonderful this is!!?! One meal truly does lead to another, making your daily meal prep incredibly simple and your family meals perfectly delicious!

Once you sign up to join this challenge, we’ll give you the complete eBook, grocery lists, recipes, and everything you need so you’ll be guided through these great ways to learn how to Make Food Easy. Here’s a peek at the first week’s menu and prep-ahead guide:

Here’s a little “map” to help you see how one meal leads to another:

Clear as mud? Don’t worry! The eBook and daily guides walk you through everything you need to know, step by step. Like this example for Day #3 of the Make Food Easy Challenge:

You’ll use the leftover baked potatoes from Day #3 to make a delicious Ham and Potato Skillet on Day #4. You’ll use the leftover Potato Toppings from Day #3 to fill your Tacos on Day #5. Your meat will have already been prepped ahead so that all you have to do each night is pull out what you need and create your quick meal.

See how fun it is to Make Food Easy?!

The Make Food Easy Challenge comes with two entire weeks’ worth of grocery lists, menu plans, prep-ahead guides, daily to-do pages, serving suggestions, recipes, and more.

And I suppose I should mention: Today through October 20 it’s completely FREE!! ($17 value!)

Yep, as we launch this brand new challenge, we want to make it accessible to everyone!

Here are the simple Make Food Easy Challenge details:

  • This Make Food Easy Challenge will run October 21-November 2.
  • Sign up for FREE by Sunday, October 20 and we’ll send you your brand new Make Food Easy eBook, grocery lists, prep guides, and everything you need to be prepared for this challenge.
  • Share this post with your friends so they can sign up too!! Email me a screenshot of your share on any form of social media and we’ll thank you by sending you a FREE copy of our Let’s Do This! eCourse. It’s worth $10 and it teaches you how anyone can get ahead in the kitchen! You’ll love it!!
  • Stick around through the entire two week’s Make Food Easy Challenge. Take pictures of each day’s meal prep or final meal. At the end of the challenge, send me all 10 meal pictures and I’ll send you ANY one eBook from my shop that you want. Yep, you can pick from any of them. (There are 21 to choose from!)

Get this for FREE when you share our new challenge on social media!

Notice how the free stuff just keeps on coming!

We’re giving every one of you up to $52 worth of free products here – are you amazed!?

  • FREE Make Food Easy Challenge package ($17 value)
  • FREE Let’s Do This! eCourse when you share this challenge on social media and send me a screenshot ($10 value)
  • FREE eBook of your choice from the Heavenly Homemakers Shop when you complete the entire challenge and send me picture proof (up to $25 value)

Ready to get started with the fun?!

Sign up here and watch for an email with your Make Food Easy eBook and getting-started instructions. Then watch for emails full of all the simple details you need throughout our Make Food Easy Challenge October 21-November 2.

We’re going to head into the holiday season stress-free and with all kinds of simple recipes and meal plans at our fingertips!

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

Chocolate Pumpkin Cake Recipe

by Leave a Comment

This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see our disclosure policy.

If you love chocolate, and you love pumpkin spice, then you are going to love, love this Chocolate Pumpkin Cake!

I love any treat that includes ingredients healthy enough for us to serve for breakfast.

What? Cake for breakfast? Oh yes. All year long. And since this one includes pumpkin, it’s a step above. #veggiecake

Of course, the pumpkin in this recipe makes it super moist. And the chocolate in this recipe? Well, that makes it chocolate. Need I say more?

You’ll love that this cake is topped with a thin layer of Honey-Sweetened Chocolate Frosting. Sigh…while I sure do love summer best, NOTHING can beat fall baking!!

Enjoy this fun video we put together, sharing how to make this cake!

Chocolate Pumpkin Cake RecipeYum

Chocolate Pumpkin Cake Recipe
 
Save Print
Author:
Serves: 15-18
Ingredients
  • 1 cup melted coconut oil
  • 1 cup water
  • 4 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
  • ½ cup sucanat
  • dash of sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 cup pumpkin puree
  • 2 eggs
Instructions
  1. In a large mixing bowl, stir together flour, sucanat, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda.
  2. Set aside. In a saucepan, bring oil, water, and cocoa to a boil.
  3. Pour liquid mixture into the bowl with the dry ingredient mixture.
  4. Stir well.
  5. Add pumpkin puree and eggs, mixing well.
  6. Pour batter into a 9x13 inch baking pan.
  7. Bake in a 350° oven for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Allow cake to cool completely before frosting.

Low Sugar Chocolate Frosting

1/2 cup butter
4 Tablespoons cocoa powder
2 Tablespoons milk
2-4 Tablespoons honey (sweeten this to your taste)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a small saucepan combine butter, cocoa, milk, and honey. Cook and stir over low heat until ingredients are well combined and mixture begins to thicken slightly. Removed from heat. Stir in vanilla. Spread over cooled cake.

Do you love fall baking like I do? Will you be eating this cake for breakfast? :)

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

Easy Whole Grain Cherry Muffins

by Leave a Comment

This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see our disclosure policy.

Why have I not thought to make Cherry Muffins before?

I was inspired a few weeks ago after helping out at our church’s monthly food bank distribution.

It’s one of my favorite days of the month, by the way. Well over 100 families are served, and they get to pick up lots and lots of food to help meet their grocery needs for the month. I’ve loved taking as many of our boys as are available each time. Yes, even the little boys. Brayden stays with a big brother and helps transport boxes of food in wagons. Boy Babe hangs out with me. Without even trying, he makes all the people waiting in line smile. Then they often start telling me about their kids and grandkids. It’s fantastic.

As a perk, after all the community has been served, if there are any food leftovers we volunteers can go through the line and take what we can use. In August, there were huge bags of dried cherries available. I snatched one right up with the idea to make trail mix. But then I got the idea to try these Whole Grain Cherry Muffins.

Not too shabby of an idea if I do say so myself.

I love that we can take a basic muffin recipe and add so many different add-ins. Fruit, nuts, chocolate chips – so many great options! Find a huge list of other muffin recipes here, many of which are simple tweaks to the recipe below.

For this particular recipe, I added a hand full of dried cherries, then a splash of lemon juice to make them extra tart and flavorful!

Easy Whole Grain Cherry MuffinsYum

Easy Whole Grain Cherry Muffins
 
Save Print
Author:
Serves: 9-12
Ingredients
  • 1½ cups whole grain flour (I use freshly ground soft white wheat.)
  • ⅓ cup sugar (sucanat, brown sugar, honey, whatever your preference)
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 egg
  • ¾ cup milk
  • ¼ cup sour cream
  • ¼ cup melted coconut oil
  • 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
  • ½ cup dried cherries
Instructions
  1. Mix dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
  2. Add egg, milk, sour cream, coconut oil, and lemon juice.
  3. Stir well, then fold in dried cherries.
  4. Scoop batter into prepared muffin cups.
  5. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 18-22 minutes or until muffins are golden brown.

**Do you have our Simple Mixes to Save the Day eBook yet? Grab it so you can save time and energy by using the Muffin Mix for this recipe!! I LOVE having these mixes on hand!!!

Simply exchange the dry ingredients in this recipe for 2 cups of Muffin Mix. :)

[wp_eStore_fancy1 id=27]

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

Easy Recipes That Include Beans

by 1 Comment

This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see our disclosure policy.

Looking for some easy recipes that include beans? These will save you money and make your tastebuds happy too!

Easy Recipes that Include BeansYum

We’ll start with our newest bean recipe, Simple Hearty Bean Casserole. It’s one of my favorites. No. It IS my favorite. My whole family loves it.

Next, I’ll share a wonderful and easy side dish: Simple Baked Beans. What a great way to round out a meal.


Did I say the Hearty Bean Casserole was my favorite? Because my other favorite is this The Simplest White Chicken Chili. Every bite is full of yum.

No shame, we like Simple Beanie Weanies at our house. From the little guys to the grown-ups, there’s something really delicious about beans and dogs. The fact that this meal can be on the table in 10 minutes is pretty rockin’ too.

If you’re looking for a SUPER FAST meal, make this Bean and Cheese Salsa Dip. Lunch will be on the table in five minutes flat.

You will love how flavorful this Simple Taco Rice Dinner is! It includes black beans and goes together quickly for a comforting meal any time.

Black Bean Salsa is so flavorful and good! It works as a meal or a snack and it goes together quickly.

Here are a few more bean recipes you’ll love and want to check out!

With all this talk about beans, I thought it would fun and a little bit silly to throw in a little discussion about buying vanilla beans to make homemade vanilla. Hey, it’s a bean recipe too, am I right?

The price of vanilla beans has gone up greatly the past few years, so is it still worth it to make homemade?

And also, let’s have a little talk about Green Beans. Here are Two Simple Tricks to Get Your Kids to Eat Green Beans.

So many great bean options!!!

How do you like your beans?

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

The Best Apple Recipes

by 1 Comment

This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see our disclosure policy.

Apples, apples everywhere! Here are the best apple recipes around!

The Best Apple Recipes

Take a peek at what you’ll be able to make with these recipes:

ApplesauceYum

First let’s talk about making Applesauce.

Through the years, I’ve learned to make the process easier and easier. This is a good thing because I usually make a lot of applesauce every year!

I make the applesauce using this method, then just dump the cooked apples into my Blendtec and blended until smooth. It actually makes the applesauce creamy, and it takes so little time and very little effort on my part. (By the way, you can read about my cute little applesauce cups here.)

Apple Treat Recipes

Now let’s look at some of the other great ways to use apples this fall! Here’s our Favorite Apple Recipes list at a quick glance. But I’ll describe some of them in detail below.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Applesauce Bread

This one is a family favorite, but also a wonderful treat to make and share with others!

Crock Pot Apple Cider

You’ll love how easy this is and how great it makes your house smell!


Stick with our basic Apple Crisp recipe, or take it a notch above with Salted Caramel Apple Crisp.


Some of the college kids I’ve fed Cream Cheese Fruit Dip to have declared it to be the best thing they’ve ever eaten. Who am I to argue? We go through a lot of apples when I make this dip!

These Apple Nachos are kind of an awesome snack. kind of.

What a fun time of year fall is, with all the apples and spices and everything nice. What are your favorite ways to enjoy apples?

 

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

Reminder: One Last Day!

by Leave a Comment

This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see our disclosure policy.

Today’s your last chance to save on my favorite hair accessories ever! (I mean, they’ll probably have another sale eventually. But this is the last day for THIS one.)

Now tonight: Monday, September 30, you can get 20% OFF EVERYTHING on my sponsor Paula Ramm’s  website, www.lillarose.biz/BeautifulLife,  with coupon code 20%OFFNOW.

You can also get FREE SHIPPING on your order of $50 or more! Just be sure to choose “free shipping” at checkout!

If you have any questions whatsoever, please just let Paula know…she’d be glad to help you!

Have fun shopping!

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

Homemade Chewy Granola Bars

by Leave a Comment

This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see our disclosure policy.

Our Homemade Chewy Granola Bars recipe has been one of our most popular ever since I originally posted way back in 2010! So I decided it was time to bring it back, update it, and put it back on your radar as we all enjoy a new school year.

The beauty of this recipe – besides the fact that it uses only real food ingredients and NO corn syrup – is that you can add any of your family’s favorite ingredients. Leave out anything your family doesn’t like, add what they love! I love versatile recipes like this!

Homemade Chewy Granola BarsYum

Homemade Chewy Granola Bars
 
Save Print
Author:
Serves: 12
Ingredients
  • ½ cup peanut butter, almond butter, or sunbutter
  • ⅓ cup honey
  • ¼ cup coconut oil (or another oil of your choice)
  • 1 cup oats
  • 1 cup total of any combination of: sesame seeds, coconut flakes, sunflower seeds, dried fruit, mini chocolate chips
Instructions
  1. In a medium sized saucepan, melt together peanut butter, honey and coconut oil.
  2. Remove from heat and add one cup of oats.
  3. Choose your favorite combination of coconut flakes, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, dried fruit and mini chocolate chips, to equal a total of ONE CUP. (I just got out my one cup measuring cup and poured in the ingredients until the cup was full.)
  4. Pour in and stir well.
  5. Spread mixture into a 8x8 or 9x4 pan.
  6. Chill for two hours, then cut into bars.

 

We often bag these individually to take on the go. I usually make them with whatever we have on hand, but I always have chocolate chips on hand, so it is a given that I always add them to these granola bars. Is there really any other way? (Well sure. Another way is to skip the chocolate chips and instead add chocolate chunks. I am nothing if not flexible.)

What are your favorite Granola Bar add-ins?

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

Easy Whole Grain Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

by 10 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see our disclosure policy.

Sure, banana bread is delicious. But why not take it a notch above and add some chocolate chips? I’m guessing that no one would argue if you made Chocolate Chip Banana Bread…

Even if you made it with whole grains, who’s gonna know? No one. You know why? Because it still tastes delicious. It’s still moist. And there are chocolate chips in it. It’s an amazing treat!

How many times have I said that I wished more food could be made from “spoiled” food. What I mean is – after bananas turn black, we can use them to make fantastic treats like this Chocolate Chip Banana Bread. Why can’t everything be made into something wonderful after it’s past its prime?

Everything should be like a banana.

By the way, this recipe is made millions of times better simply by adding sour cream. Mmm, always add sour cream. :)

Easy Whole Grain Chocolate Chip Banana BreadYum

Easy Whole Grain Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
 
Save Print
Author:
Serves: 1 loaf
Ingredients
  • 1½ cups whole wheat flour (I use freshly ground soft white wheat)
  • ½ cup sugar, brown sugar, or sucanat
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 cup mashed over-ripe bananas (about 2-3 bananas)
  • ½ cup sour cream or plain yogurt
  • ⅓ cup melted coconut oil or butter
  • 2 eggs
  • ⅓ cup chocolate chips
Instructions
  1. In a large mixing bowl stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
  2. Add mashed bananas, oil, sour cream and eggs.
  3. Stir until ingredients are well combined.
  4. Fold in chocolate chips.1
  5. Pour mixture into a buttered bread pan.
  6. Bake in a 350 degree oven for one hour or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

 

Lately, Brayden and I have been making lots of loaves of this Chocolate Chip Banana Bread to share with friends. He’s becoming quite the chef and loves delivering treats to friends.

It sure is fun to share pictures of our son. Here are more photos of his big adoption day in case you missed it. :)

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

Lilla Rose Customer Appreciation Sale!

by Leave a Comment

This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see our disclosure policy.

Yay! It’s a Lilla Rose Customer Appreciation Sale! Save on my favorite hair accessories ever!

Now through Monday, September 30, you can get 20% OFF EVERYTHING on my sponsor Paula Ramm’s  website, www.lillarose.biz/BeautifulLife,  with coupon code 20%OFFNOW.

You can also get FREE SHIPPING on your order of $50 or more! Just be sure to choose “free shipping” at checkout!

If you have any questions whatsoever, please just let Paula know…she’d be glad to help you!

Have fun shopping!

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

How to Make Easy Fruit Cobbler

by Leave a Comment

This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see our disclosure policy.

Hopefully, we’ve all been taking advantage of summer and fall to pick and preserve all the fresh fruit we can get our hands on. Now let’s learn about how to make Easy Fruit Cobbler!

Almost 12 years into sharing recipes here with you, I am shocked that I have yet to post our favorite fruit cobbler recipe! This is, hands down, Matt’s favorite dessert. And who am I kidding? Sometimes we make it and eat it for breakfast. It’s fruit and bread, am I right?

What fruits work best for Easy Fruit CobblerYum

In our experience, with the exception of melons and citrus, just about any fruits will work. Our favorites are:

  • Peach (our favorite, favorite!)
  • Strawberry
  • Raspberry
  • Blueberry
  • Boysenberry (Matt’s favorite since he grew up in California – but we don’t have access to these berries in Nebraska!)
  • Blackberry
  • Apple
  • Pear
  • Cherry

You can buy fresh or frozen fruit at the store or farmer’s market to use in these cobblers. Our favorite and most economical option is to use whatever fruit we’ve been blessed to pick and preserve. We grab peaches or berries that we’ve frozen during the summer and quickly make an Easy Fruit Cobbler to enjoy!

Use as much or as little sugar as you prefer. Through the years, I’ve cut the sugar content down in this recipe (so we can eat it for breakfast, you know?). And of course, I use freshly ground wheat flour. So our cobblers are made with whole grains, healthy fats, and amazing fruit!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 —- > Want to know more about grinding fresh flour and using whole grains? Read these posts! <—–

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I love that using whole grains in dessert and treat recipes takes them up a notch on the healthy scale! Yes, these are still sweet treats to be eaten in moderation. But when we cut down the sugar content, use whole grains, and use all wholesome, real food ingredients – we’ve got ourselves a dessert that is actually nourishing!

Easy Fruit Cobbler

How to Make Easy Fruit Cobbler
 
Save Print
Author:
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
  • TOPPING:
  • 1 cup whole grain flour (I use freshly ground soft white wheat)
  • 2 Tablespoons brown sugar or sucanat
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ cup melted butter
  • 1 egg
  • 3 Tablespoons milk
  • FRUIT:
  • 6 cups fresh or frozen fruit, washed and sliced if needed
  • ¼-1/2 cup brown sugar or sucanat, depending on your taste
Instructions
  1. In a medium saucepan, cook fruit and sugar until soft and syrupy.
  2. Pour fruit mixture into a 9x9 inch baking dish.
  3. Mix together topping ingredients, beginning with dry ingredients first.
  4. Add melted butter, egg, and milk until well combined.
  5. Spoon mounds of topping over the fruit filling in the baking dish.
  6. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 20-25 minutes or until cobbler is bubbly and topping is golden brown.
  7. Serve as-is, or topped with ice cream or milk

If you prefer a crunchy topping instead of a cake topping, try this awesome Fruit Crisp Recipe instead!

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