Heavenly Homemakers

Encouraging women in homemaking, healthy eating and parenting

Come Get Your “What I Loved About Summer” Printable

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Here’s something I’ll assign my youngest during the first week of school. It’s simple, but a good way to get his juices flowing and make him think about all he loved about summertime.

Free Printable Summer Writing Prompt

Want this and many more free printables?

We’ve been creating and collecting all sorts of printable learning activities for all ages. These are free for everyone and will connect you to our fun Heavenly Homemaker’s Learning Zone.

Enter your email address here, then check your inbox for download instructions. Print one, print them all, use them in whatever ways work best for your family!

If you are already subscribed to Heavenly Homemaker’s Learning Zone, you should have received an email yesterday giving you instant access to this freebie. Look in your inbox for the subject: FREE Summer Writing Prompt

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How to Make Bacon Bits and Why You Should Make Them

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Five pounds of bacon. That’s how much I cooked at one time a couple weeks ago. This might sound excessive to you, but have you met my family? 

The following are conversations I have every single time I am at the grocery store when people see my shopping cart:

Person: Wow, what are you going to do with all those berries?
Me: Eat them.

Person: Wow, what are you going to do with all that chicken?
Me: Eat it.

Person: Wow, what are you going to do with all those peaches?
Me: Eat them.

And on it goes. Every time. Without fail. At least one person at the store comments on the abundant contents of my shopping cart. Apparently my cart looks like one big party. This is what happens when you have a household of teenage boys. Also, when there is a good price, I buy in bulk. It only makes sense, but apparently people aren’t used to seeing a woman with 15 packages of cheese. I had no idea I was such an anomaly. As if 15 packages of cheese at one time is somehow weird. It’s a day in the life, man. A day in the life.

So back to the bacon. No, we did not eat all five pounds at once. Goodness.

I found it for a fantastic price, which of course means that I bought 10 packages. (Wow, what are you going to do with all that bacon? We’ve been through this already…)

I froze five packs and then proceeded to cook the other five pounds. Why?

  1. Because why cook one when you can cook five and only dirty one pot?
  2. Having bacon bits in the freezer saves oodles of time and means all I have to do is grab the cooked bacon and use it in a meal (see ideas below).
  3. When I cook bacon, my clothes and hair smell like bacon. I’d prefer this scent to be my perfume of choice only occasionally.

How to Make Bacon Bits and Why You Should Make Them

Yum

What’s the easiest way to make Bacon Bits?

I pick up the entire package of bacon, with the strips all stuck together, and I cut it with kitchen shears like this:

bacon bits 1

For five pounds, I use my largest pot. Once the pieces are cut, I cover it and cook it on medium heat for about an hour, stirring every once in a while so it cooks evenly. (A smaller amount of bacon would take much less time, but I know nothing about cooking in small amounts.)

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Once the bacon is fully cooked, I strain out the grease, allow it to cool, then package it up in meal-sized portions for the fridge and freezer.

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What will I do with all the Bacon Bits? As needed, I’ll pull some out to quickly make:

In other “why you should make your own Bacon Bits” related news, I believe it is important to be aware that we’re aware that: “Bac’n Pieces™ Bacon Flavored Bits are artificially flavored textured soy flour to imitate bacon pieces.” Ingredients include Textured Soy Flour, Canola Oil, Salt, Caramel Color, Maltodextrin, Natural And Artificial Flavor, Lactic Acid, Yeast Extract, Disodium Inosinate And Disodium Guanylate (Flavor Enhancers), And&Nbsp;Fd&C Red 40.

I’d stick with real bacon if I’m you. It’s not difficult and the taste is no comparison.

Ever made your own bacon bits? Ever get amazed comments at the store because of the amount of food you buy? Ever cut bacon with scissors?

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Freezer Cooking I’ve Been Doing to Prepare for Back-to-School

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With a houseful of teenage boys, it’s difficult to get ahead.

I’m talking about food in this case, although I guess the same statement is true in every area of life in a household full of kids. (I’m looking at you, Laundry Pile. Dirty Dishes. Mail. Shoe Closet.) Bah.

This is why I did some freezer cooking a few weeks ago when three outa four of our boys were still at church camp. With hardly anyone here to eat, I actually had leftovers to put in the freezer. Yay me!

I took a few pictures along the way to share with you. Take note that not all freezer cooking involves making casseroles. There are many other ways to get ahead. For instance…

I had a cheese shredding marathon:

school food1

It only takes a few minutes and NO EFFORT to shred 8 packages of cheese when I use my food processor. I ran it through the shred piece, so now I have two big bowls of shredded cheese ready to add to everything we need for the next couple of weeks! (Yes, this will be gone by the time we start school. Whatever.)

Almost as important as shredded cheese is the double batch of frozen cookie balls I made. These won’t last long once the boys discover them, but I love that they can take out a few and bake them for an afternoon snack. I used this Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe.

school food2

If you don’t have any of these Silicone Baking Mats,
I encourage you to read more about why I love them here!

I made two bags of our favorite Apricot Chicken. I’ll dump this into the crock pot on a busy school day. (This is a recipe from our Eat Right Away Collection. These are a must have because they save so much time!)

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You know I didn’t do all of this, all on the same day, right? No way. But, there was a day I made not one but SIX batches of homemade whole wheat tortillas. That was a tortilla making record for me!

Malachi helped me use the tortillas to make 24 Lazy Dogs and 24 Meat and Cheese Burritos. We still had leftover tortillas for a few quesadillas, so I felt very accomplished that day.

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Another time, I cut and cooked 5 pounds of bacon to have on hand for salads and scrambled eggs. More on that later. :)

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I mixed up a double batch of Blueberry Muffins and froze the batter so we can bake the muffins fresh on a school morning. I love this time saving technique!

frozen muffins

Last, I made a double batch of Giant Breakfast Cookies. Instead of baking them, I froze them into unbaked cookie balls. This means we can take out a few and bake them fresh any morning we want/need them. I’ll share specifics on how to do this another day soon!

breakfast cookies1

I’m hoping to make a triple or quadruple batch of this Real Food “Velveeta” and Rotel Dip for the freezer during the next few days. That will be great to have on hand for Nachos, Spicy Mac and Cheese, or Simple Taco Soup.

Now your turn! Have you done any freezer cooking lately? What have you been making in an effort to get ahead before school starts?

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Make Ahead Breakfast Ideas to Make Back-to-School Mornings Easier

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Here you go. 60 Make Ahead Breakfast Ideas to give us a boost as we kick off the school year! All of these are made with real food ingredients and will hopefully save our mornings from being too hectic.

60 Make Ahead Breakfast Recipes and Ideas
The beauty of these ideas is that they make mornings easier whether your kids have to get out the door for school in the morning or you homeschool and want to get your day off to a productive start without spending too much time putting breakfast on the table. (For that matter, these ideas are great even if you aren’t in the kids-in-school season of life!)

I love getting breakfast foods made ahead of time so that my kids can easily help themselves in the morning. Often we’ll also scramble or fry eggs to go with our meal and we always get out fresh fruit. My teenage boys often also crave protein at breakfast, so I try to have something meaty available for them to cook for themselves. Hmm, it sure does sound like we eat a lot around here. Truth: We eat a lot around here.

So 60 Make Ahead breakfast ideas. Here we go!

Recipes and Ideas You Can Make Ahead for a Fast Breakfast

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

Homemade cereal recipes you can make ahead and serve right away in the morning

Some mornings are cereal mornings, so there. Here are some homemade cereal options we enjoy!

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Recipes that freeze well and can be thawed and reheated easily

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

Recipes that Can Be Made Easily with Whole Wheat Quick Baking Mix

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Fun Ideas to Enjoy Stir-n-Pour Bread

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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 – maybe even with jelly :)

Drink Your BreakfastYum

Most smoothies are pretty quick to make and can be filling if you include peanut butter or cottage cheese. Add fresh spinach for an extra punch of nourishment.

pineapple_mango_smoothie_2

Muffins,  Muffins, Muffins!

I’ve learned to love freezing muffin batter, which you can read about here. What a time saver! I’ve also learned that silicone muffin cups are fantastic. More about that here.

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Make it Ahead, but Cook it in the Morning

Overnight Whole Wheat Waffles

  • Mix up Overnight Waffle Batter before bed so that all you have to do in the morning is cook the waffles and serve.
  • Make Turkey Sausage in large batches and freeze it in meal sized portions. Make Freezer Biscuits, and thaw only the amount you’ll need in the morning for a meal. Make a quick meal of a big treat – Biscuits and Gravy – when you’ve done the prep work ahead! Here’s my Sausage Gravy recipe.
  • Follow the freezing muffin batter idea mentioned above, set some out at night before bed, then bake them in the morning.
  • If you want to serve pancakes, mix the dry ingredients the night before so that all you have to do in the morning is add your liquids and cook. This isn’t as fast as other ideas shared here, but it does make the pancake process a little easier in the morning! Here’s our favorite Whole Wheat Pancake recipe.

I have several new breakfast ideas in the works, so be on the look-out for those. Sign up here for our free weekly newsletter to be sure you don’t miss a post!

Leave a comment to share your favorite Make-Ahead Breakfast ideas!

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Making Back to School Time FUN! Recipes, Tips, and Freebies!

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I’ve been in denial. I chose to pretend that summer break could last forever. Now all of a sudden it’s August and reality has hit. Rude. 

It’s not actually school that I’m dreading. Learning is fun and all that. Yay for routines. It’s the fullness of all the school year brings with it that makes me take a deep breath and brace myself. The school year means music lessons, sports practices (and games and reffing and coaching), many church activities, many commitments – and yes – the actual school work.

Thank you God for the refreshment of summer. 

So here we are, gearing up for the 2016-17 school year. Our oldest moves back into the dorm mid-August when his soccer schedule begins. Classes begin the 24th, so we’ll begin our homeschool year that day too. This year still at home we have a high school junior (who is taking several college/dual credit classes), a high school freshman, and a sixth grader. It’s amazing to be at this point in our lives. What a good God we serve – a God who faithfully walks us through each season.

I’ve decided to choose to look forward to the launch of a new school year (because dreading it sure isn’t much fun). I’m focusing on words like fresh, new, bright. This is better than thinking about papers due, barely keeping up, Geometry lessons, and harried schedules – doncha think?

We might as well have us some fun with this Back-to-School thing!

Back to School Freebies, Tips, and Encouragement

There’s a lot of fun to be had when we think about this time of year. Really, there is. I’ve been coming up with some fun new recipe ideas that are great for helping us work back into a routine. I’m working to stock my freezer to make school days easier, and I have a lot of greatness to share with you!

Be on the lookout for timely giveaways too. :)

So that’s what we’ll be focusing on here during the month of August. Don’t have school aged kids? I bet you’ll still enjoy these recipes and tips. After all, everyone loves saving time and money, right?!

Want some great free printables?

Dozens of FREE School Printables

Everyone who is a part of our Learning Zone list has access to oodles of great school freebies! Plus, we continue to add more to the mix. It’s all free, so you’ll want to sign up to be a part of this!

Let’s kick off this Back-to-School series by sharing in the comments section:

What are some of your best “Back-to-School” Sanity Tips?

Posts coming up this week:

  • Back-to-School Breakfast Prep
  • Freezer Cooking for Back-to-School
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