Heavenly Homemakers

Encouraging women in homemaking, healthy eating and parenting

How About Making Homemade Vanilla for Mother’s Day and End of the School Year Teacher Gifts?

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I’m just as bad as the discount stores with the way Christmas is barely over and they start putting out Valentine’s stuff. But I promise, there’s a good reason for me mentioning Mother’s Day and the end of the school year at the beginning of January. Really.

First, it takes 4-6 months to make a good, strong batch of delicious homemade vanilla extract, so starting this process now is a great idea. Second, you can get 10% off Vanilla Beans at Olive Nation, plus free shipping.

1. Read here about how to make Homemade Vanilla Extract.
2. Get your vanilla beans  ordered, using the code home for a 10% discount.  
3. Your vanilla beans will come in just a few days (their customer service is as awesome as the quality of their vanilla beans). Then you can get your vanilla started and have it ready for simple, quick, but wonderful gifts come Mother’s Day and the end of the school year. Order some fun labels to make your bottles extra pretty! I love this set of labels that my friend makes: they are customizable, and come in a variety of designs!

And it certainly doesn’t hurt that you’ll also have fantastic vanilla extract for yourself too. :)

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Somehow I Still Don’t Have Enough Pyrex

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You would think that with my lovely collection of 9×13 inch dishes, I would have plenty of Pyrex. You would think. But when freezer cooking and baking up a storm, I still find that I still run out of needed casserole and storage dishes.

I hold to the truth that buying Pyrex saves me money…because it does. Having healthy meals and snacks prepared and in the freezer keeps our food budget from exploding. It is also worth mentioning that having healthy meals and snacks prepared and in the freezer also keeps my brain from exploding while trying to feed five enormous appetites (plus my own normal person appetite) three meals each day.

That is why I found myself searching the internet today for yet another good deal on glass dishes with lids. These dishes must have lids, otherwise they are not nearly as useful to me.

I was searching for a set of 9×13 dishes with lids, but everything I found was too pricey. Then I came across this:  Pyrex Easy Grab 6-Piece Value Pack, includes 1-ea 3-qt Oblong, 3-cupRectangleStorage, 6-cup Rectangle Storage.Yes! I have all of these pieces and use them alllll the time, so I already know I love them. Having more for casserole making, food storage, and for freezing goodies will be perfect!

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I snatched this set up, and thought you might be interested too. Keep in mind, when you click on the link, the set with blue lids will show up – and that set costs a few dollars more. It’s the dishes with red lids that are the lower price. You just have to select red lids instead of blue when ordering. :)

The top dish pictured is a wonderful 9×13 casserole dish with handles. Super nice! The middle dish is 7×5 – perfect for storing leftovers or prepared veggies or cheese for snacking. The bottom dish is one of my favorites. It’s 8×6 and can be used to bake a batch of brownies or a side dish. It’s also great for storing leftovers and prepared snacks. And they all have lids! (I know. I said that already.)

I have plans for them already once they arrive on my door step. Getting organized and freezer cooking for the new year…here I come! (And thanks to Swagbucks, I hardly have to pay anything out of pocket. Bonus!)

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Free Coconut Oil With Purchase For Everyone From Tropical Traditions!

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This Christmas, Tropical Traditions is once again offering a free 32-ounce jar of coconut oil to each person who places a minimum order of $12.99. This is the best Christmas gift they could offer!! There’s no catch – it’s just a free jar of their highest quality, Organic Virgin Coconut Oil.

To go along with my free jar of oil, I ordered some bars of my favorite coconut oil soap (the only kind I feel comfortable with Malachi using with his very sensitive skin). Shipping costs were just $6.67 for me, making this one amazing deal! Here’s a list of my favorite Tropical Traditions products if you need some more add-on ideas.

Go grab your FREE Organic Virgin Coconut Oil!!  Offer expires midnight, December 25.

FYI:  I highly recommend Tropical Tradition’s Virgin Coconut Oil Book, which you will receive for FREE if you are a first time customer to Tropical Traditions! This book is loaded with wonderful information and recipes. If you, as a first time customer, purchase through the referral links in this post, Tropical Traditions will automatically include this book in your order. Please also be aware that I receive Tropical Traditions credit if you are a new customer purchasing through my links. See my full disclosure policy here.

Have fun taking advantage of this Merry Christmas deal!

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How to Get Over $44 Worth of Delicious Whole Food Ingredients for Just $26.32 With Free Shipping

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Vitacost is one of my favorite online food resources. I watch for their great sales, plus take advantage of their free shipping (with $49 purchase). While doing this, I find that I save a lot of money on high quality ingredients. If you are a brand new customer to Vitacost, you are going to love what I found! Obviously, you can put together your package however you like. But here is a cart full of goodness that I found to be a wonderful deal for you!

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vitacost 1  vitacost 2

All of these items are perfect for Christmas-time baking and enjoyment. (Gotta have coffee with the chocolate goodies, right?)

Typically, shipping on orders less than $49 would be a flat $4.99 (which is great, but still not free). That would make the original price of that package without sales, free shipping, or bonus discounts $44.37. But Vitacost is offering free shipping if you order just $25 worth of their Vitacost brand products. (The coffee and coconut oil in this package meet this requirement.)

In addition, if you are a brand new customer and sign up through this referral link, you’ll receive a bonus $10 of credit when you place your first $30 Vitacost order. So with free shipping and the $10 bonus discount, your package comes all the way down to $26.32!

I hope you’re able to take advantage of this great deal! If you’re not a coffee drinker, simply see what other Vitacost brand item you can put into your cart to meet the $25 free shipping minimum. Ready to get started? Click through this link to receive your $10 referral code to apply toward your first order. Enjoy these wonderful deals and delicious holiday savings!

Some of the links in this post are my affiliate links.

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Gifts of Books For Christmas

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I posted this list a couple of Christmases ago, but felt it was worth sharing again. I love books and love that my family loves books! Here are some of our favorites through the years:

Books for the Little (and big) Ones

  • Dr. Seuss Beginners Book Collection
  • Curious George
  • Llama Llama Red Pajama
  • Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus
  • If You Give a Mouse a Cookie
  • Just in Case You Ever Wonder

Books for Early Readers

  • Frog and Toad Treasury
  • Nate the Great
  • Amelia Bedelia

Great Chapter Books for Kids

 

  • Encylopedia Brown
  • Boxcar Children Books
  • Ramona the Pest
  • Henry and Ribsy
  • The Sword in the Tree (and other books by Clyde Robert Bulla)
  • Little House on the Prairie
  • All of a Kind Family

 

Great Cookbooks

Other Books We Love:

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  • Abraham Lincoln:  A Photobiography
  • The Story of US (This set seems a little pricey, but it is WELL worth the cost. We love these books!)
  • Story of the World
  • Ralph Moody Books
  • Christian Heroes Books(our new favorite history/geography/missionary books)

What are your favorite books? Do you enjoy giving/receiving books for Christmas?

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Wow! Vanilla Beans Are 20% Again!

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Did you miss the sale on vanilla beans last week? Not to worry. Olive Nation has a code now that gives you 20% off everything in their shop – which of course, includes vanilla beans!

Take advantage of this great deal. And don’t forget, they always offer free shipping on vanilla beans. Click here to order.  Use the code HLTWC to receive the 20% discount at check-out. Offer ends December 22.

You might also note that their tea is very good, and also includes free shipping (with 20% off!).

Here’s my post on how to make Homemade Vanilla Extract. Yum!

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One Day Left – 20% off Vanilla Beans and Chocolates

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Want to make homemade vanilla extract and get an amazing deal on vanilla beans? Olive Nation has discounted all of their baking supplies, which includes their vanilla beans.  Receive 20% off select baking products when you use the code HOLBAKA at check-out.  When you order only vanilla beans, you’ll also receive free shipping! (Read here about how to make homemade vanilla extract.)

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Don’t forget that the 20% discount will also work for Olive Nation’s baking chocolates. These are by far the best chocolates I’ve ever worked with! I’ve experimented so far with their milk chocolate, white chocolate, and blond chocolate. These melt down wonderfully, making perfect Christmas treats! Free shipping does not apply to chocolates.

This code is only valid through Friday, December 6 – so don’t wait! Happy vanilla extracting, and chocolate treat making!

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How Malachi Made the Most Delicious Chocolate Dipped Pretzels Ever

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Twas the night before Thanksgiving and Mama was tired.

I’d been cooking off and on for several days, preparing for our big feast. We’d just arrived home after our Wednesday night devotional time with our church family. I was ready to do one final round of dishes and call it a night. Malachi headed to the sink to wash his hands saying, “Now can we finally make my special treats for tomorrow?”

Ah yes, we still needed to make Malachi’s treats. He’d been waiting so patiently. After all, our big box of baking chocolates had come in the mail weeks ago and Mom still hadn’t done anything with it. Imagine the torture everyone had gone through, staring at all the incredible bags of chocolates and not being allowed to do anything with them. (I know, you’re all shocked that I would actually have chocolates in my house and not eat them for weeks. What can I say? I’ve been busy.)

olive nation chocolate

Olive Nation, my favorite source for Vanilla Beans, had sent us a big variety of their baking chocolate disks. I’ve never worked with such high quality chocolate before. Each variety is super wonderful! We simply melted about a cup of disks with a tablespoon of butter on the stovetop, then worked quickly to dip pretzels. The melted chocolate was super smooth and easy to work with.

Malachi and I had so much fun together making this simple treat. It didn’t take long at all, and the final results were yummy and fun. Malachi was so excited about his treats that he got up bright and early with me on Thanksgiving morning so he could arrange them on a tray to put on the dessert table. They ended up being a perfect treat a few hours after our meal while everyone was playing games.

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We thought they’d be fancier (and easier) to just dip half of each pretzel.

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Malachi and I made three varieties of chocolate dipped pretzels: White Chocolate, Milk Chocolate, and Blond Chocolate. I was excited that making these treats didn’t even make a dent in my chocolate supply – a little goes a long way! I think these will be fun to make again, then bag up to deliver to friends at Christmas. I’m also thinking about making some truffles for gifts.

I was excited to get an email yesterday stating that Olive Nation baking supplies (including chocolates!) are 20% off through December 6. Use the code HOLBAKA at check-out for the discount.

Wow, I love this time of year – and all the great food involved!

Some of the links in the post are my referral links.

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

Need a Cast Iron Skillet?

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I love cooking in cast iron! Not only is it a safe and healthy way to cook, cast iron cooks food to deliciousness. Cast iron skillets can be pricey, so I am very excited to find these great prices. No guarantees on how long these prices will last!

Lodge L8SQ3 Pre-Seasoned Cast Iron Square Skillet, 10.5-inch  ($19.00 – down from $36!)

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Lodge L8DSK3 Pre-Seasoned Deep Skillet, 10.25-inch  ($29.52 – down from $37.00)

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Lodge LPGI3 Pro Grid Cast Iron Grill/Griddle  ($38.97 – down from $57.99)

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I use cast iron every day for scrambling or frying eggs, browning meat, or cooking pancakes.

The links in this post are my referral links.

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Plan to Eat (Because it just works better with a plan.)

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I hear from so many people that they “wish they did a better job with meal planning” and that “meal planning is such a struggle.” And it’s not just menu planning that is a struggle. It’s figuring out a grocery list. Ugh, how many eggs will you need, anyway?

This is why I love what Plan to Eat has to offer!

Plan to Eat – The Online Menu Planner from Plan to Eat on Vimeo.

It doesn’t get much simpler, and this weekend, the price won’t be any better. You can sign up for a free trial right now to play with the system and see how great it is. Then, watch for their great Black Friday through Cyber Monday sale where you can get 50% off all subscriptions! I’ll be sure to post some reminders on Facebook so that you don’t miss the deal.

Hesitate to spend money on a meal planning subscription? I believe that it can actually save you money in the long run, since you’ll rely less on eating out in a pinch. Plus, you’ll be able to keep up with eating healthier foods once you’ve made a plan. Head over here to try it for free.

Here’s what Vicki had to say when I posted about Plan to Eat on Facebook:  “Plan to Eat has saved my sanity! I love being able to share recipes with my friends!”

A big thanks goes to Plan to Eat for being a Heavenly Homemakers sponsor!

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