Heavenly Homemakers

Encouraging women in homemaking, healthy eating and parenting

How Our Menu Plan Helps During Busy Days – Wednesday On the Run

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Our Wednesdays tend to be busy since we have Home School P.E. Class in the morning, and then Bible Class in the evening. Today, I had a 2:00 appointment as well, so I feel like I was only home to cook and eat today. (As I’m typing this, I hear Matt in the kitchen rinsing the dinner dishes. I love how he’s always willing to pitch in.)

Our Wednesday menu plan was:

Wednesday, January 30
Chocolate chocolate chip muffins, applesauce
Meat and cheese burritos, fruit
Alfredo sauce with pasta, tossed salad

Having a plan in place is so helpful for days we are on the go! I had our muffins started last night, so all I had to do this morning was finish mixing them up, put them into the oven, and let them bake while I got ready to go and got the boys up. Along with Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins, I also made a batch of Coconut Flour Muffins, per Malachi’s request. It was easy to do, and it was very nice to have the variety of choices this morning. I always need to make a double batch of muffins to fill us anyway, so having a single batch of two different kinds worked out great.

I had some leftover Caramel Apple Dip in the fridge, so I sliced up apples to go with it, and poured everyone a glass of milk. It had snowed a couple inches during the night, so Matt (who has a snow-removal business) had gotten up bright and early (or should I say dark and early) to get to work moving snow. We were nice enough to save him a few muffins to eat when he got home.

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When we got home from P.E. the kids were “starving”. I pulled Meat and Cheese Burritos out the freezer (which I had made last week), and put them into the oven. The kids got a big drink of water, then worked on school assignments while they waited for lunch. I think one or two of them may have swiped a leftover breakfast muffin to hold them over too. :)

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While the burritos baked, I made smoothies. Admittedly, frozen fruit on a snowy day didn’t sound like the best idea. But smoothies are a great way to get lots of nutrients. And I thought the kids would find them to be refreshing after running so much during P.E. Sneaking spinach into smoothies is so easy – you can’t even tell it’s in there!

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See?

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Why yes, we did shiver while we ate them. It was oh-so worth it though. Yum!

I got a later start on dinner than I meant to, so I was a little rushed to get us fed before we headed to church tonight. I get frustrated with myself when I do that. What? Like I expect myself to pull this off perfectly all the time? It’s hard to remember to give myself grace. And it’s also hard to give the kids grace when we have ten minutes to eat and they aren’t hurrying like I’m asking them to. Grr. Chill out, Mom. 

And now, back to the happy post in which I share about how I fed my family lovely food today… {blush}

I steamed broccoli and carrots together to go with our Pasta Alfredo and Salad. (And by salad, I really just mean “torn lettuce leaves” because that’s all we had time for!)

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Oh, and we were out of Ranch Dressing so I had to mix that up real quickly too. Shew! At least I had a jar of mix already put together so that all I had to do was scoop some out and shake it with the other ingredients. 

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I do believe tomorrow should be a slower day. Without a doubt, having a menu plan saved me today! (Having ranch dressing already made would have saved me even more, but whatever.)  :)

So, how was your day?  Hope you got to chew your food at dinner tonight. I think I may have just swallowed mine whole. I don’t recommend that. :)

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Tuesday’s Meal Times – And Why I’m Getting Really Excited

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I hope you’ve been enjoying the play-by-play of our meals this week. :)  Today’s menu plan was:

Tuesday, January 29
Scrambled egg sandwiches, oranges
Tuna casserole, peas
Sloppy joes, green beans

When I got up this morning, I decided to change things up a bit. Between scrambled egg sandwiches this morning and sloppy joes tonight – that would have been a lot of bread. Somehow I didn’t think of that when I was planning our original menu. Therefore, I decided to instead use our eggs to make Crepes with jelly this morning. I rarely think to make these, and the family loves them. Fifteen eggs later, along with oranges, bananas, and clementines – we were finished with breakfast. (My crepe recipe is in this eBook.)

crepes

A little while after breakfast, I had a phone call from my friend and web designer, Char. I am sooooo excited because she’s almost finished formatting my newest book, which we are planning to launch in February!! She and I worked out some details on the book and the layout, then I got back to doing school work with the kids. (I love that they can work independently on several subjects and that they were busy checking work off their lists while I was on the phone.)

Unfortunately, even though everyone had eaten lots and lots of crepes – breakfast didn’t seem to stick with anyone very long. About an hour and a half after breakfast, the boys were looking for snacks already. Cheese to the rescue.

I made a big pot of Tuna Casserole and peas for lunch. Most of the boys went back for seconds and thirds, leaving no leftovers. Yay! I read our latest Ralph Moody book, Mary Emma and Company while the boys were eating. We can’t get enough of the Ralph Moody books! 

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Side note:  I want to be Ralph’s mother when I grow up. She was the picture of hard work and patience. But anyway, back to the tuna casserole…

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Late in the afternoon, I was very excited because Kate, a college student who is a great photographer, came over to help me get a few last minute pictures for my new book. She did such a good job, it makes me want to have her come over so we can redo all of the other pictures! What a gift!

Who knew Turkey Sausage Seasoning Mix could look so good?

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Kate is special to us because she’s on the York College soccer team that Matt helps coach. To have her photography in my book is a huge blessing!

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Our dinner was Sloppy Joes with green beans, carrots, and applesauce. Kate took this picture for me too. So pretty!

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So let’s see…did I stick with my menu plan today? Not entirely. I adapted the menu just a little at breakfast, and everyone was thrilled with the treat. Then, I added to our dinner menu plan – which is something I often do. I’ve found that if I plan something simple like “Sloppy joes with green beans” – then add to it depending on what sounds good and what we have on hand (or what needs to be eaten before it goes bad!) – I’m able to be organized and flexible at the same time.

Not only did I add carrots and applesauce to our dinner menu, I made Chocolate Milkshakes too. Nobody argued that idea. :)

milkshakes

Tonight, while the boys were having a snack right before bed (Granola), I mixed up the dry ingredients for our breakfast muffins tomorrow. We have to be out the door soon after breakfast for our home school P.E. morning, so anything I can do to get ahead the night before helps us to actually be on time. ;)

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I’m anxious to share more about my soon-to-be-released book (which will be available in eBook form, print, and hopefully Kindle too!). Stay tuned for more details.

How well are you able to “go with the flow” or change things up on your menu plan as needed?

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Gratituesday: Food is Fun!

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I decided to let my Gratituesday post become my “here’s what we ate on Monday post”. Why? Because feeding my family is fun for me. Because I think it’s important to be grateful for all of the “little” things in life – like food – that we don’t typically give much thought to each day. And because I’m thankful for all of the variety God has provided. (Let’s all give a big hooray for the fact that we don’t have to eat a diet exclusively of manna and quail for 40 years straight, eh?)  So here we go:

I was the first one awake this morning (as is typical) and was ready to get started making blueberry pancakes when Elias, usually the first boy of the house to wake up, joined me in the kitchen. He had received a “Snacks on a Stick Maker” for Christmas, which has been so much fun to play with. Since we hadn’t tried pancakes on a stick yet, he asked if we could try it this morning. Sure? Why not. ;)  (By the way, I didn’t have any fresh blueberries so decided to use freeze dried berries that I’d bought from Vitacost. These worked great!)

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Well, the “pancakes on a stick” turned out to be a big hit with the whole family. However, making breakfast this morning took approximately two hundred hours. The machine only makes six at a time, and the boys could all eat about that many per minute. I cranked them out as fast as I could, while reading Bible to the boys and getting them started on their other assignments for the morning.

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Check out our mis-matched drinking glasses. Being the same would be so boring, don’t you think?

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I thought the blueberry pancakes on a stick turned out especially pretty.

After a morning filled with world history, math, laundry, and answering a few emails – I started making our lunch of Chicken and Noodles with carrots. While it was cooking, I mixed up the Bbq meatballs which were to be our dinner. I was also planning to take dinner to our friends who just had a baby! Four pounds of hamburger later, our meatballs were put into the fridge, ready to bake at dinner time. (My meatball recipe is in this ebook.)

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I finished up our lunch, “cheating” just a little bit by using purchased whole wheat fettuccini noodles. Ya can’t make noodles without eggs – and I had used the last of mine in the meatballs. :)  I also rewarmed some homemade cabbage rolls (recipe coming to you soon) to help make the soup stretch a little farther.

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To help clean out the fridge, and to add more nutrients, I threw some leftover peas into my soup. Yum!

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Not surprisingly, we still needed to stretch our lunch to fill the boys. A jar of this summer’s applesauce to the rescue!

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After lunch I got out a few frozen cookie dough balls I had made a while ago and baked them to take to our friends tonight. 

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Apparently this move was a little bit cruel since I only made enough cookies to take to our friends, and didn’t make enough for our kids. (The poor little dears had to settle for the leftover fudge brownies I had made a few days ago.)

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Sometime mid-afternoon as the boys were wrapping up their school work for the day, I had them head into the kitchen to take turns scrubbing potatoes for dinner. Elias and I left to pick up a few things at the store – including jeans for his ever-growing long legs. 

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In the meantime, Matt got the meatballs and potatoes into the oven to bake for dinner. When we got home, all the boys unloaded the van while I made green beans and packed up the food to deliver to our friends. I was blessed to have a wonderful visit with them while I held their new baby. Bliss!

When I got home, we sat down to eat our own dinner. Not only had Matt baked the potatoes and meatballs for me, he had put a spaghetti squash into the oven. What a great addition to our meal!

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And there you have it. I mostly followed my meal plan, with several additions and adaptations to round everything out and to fill up the boys. Plus, why make pancakes when you can make pancakes on a stick (and kill two hundred hours of your morning)?! :) 

God is good. Food is fun. Thanks for letting me share!

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Join us for Gratituesday at Heavenly Homemakers!

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What We Ate On Sunday (Because I Can’t Think of a Better Title)

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Are you ready to get a glimpse into our world this week? As promised, here are some pictures of the food we ate today. 

What was on the menu:
Sunday, January 27
Oatmeal, fruit
Cheesy beef and rice, tossed salad, green beans
Leftovers

Did I stick with our menu plan today? Yes. But it’s always easiest to stick with it on Sunday since I’ve just made the plan. ;)

I began my day with one of the last of the oranges we brought back from California. I still can’t get over how delicious they are! And by the way – starting your day with a piece of fresh fruit is always a great idea. :)

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While I was eating my orange, I made oatmeal for the family and set it out for them to come eat after they got dressed for church. For some reason, in the picture these bowls look very empty. I promise I fed my husband and boys more than three spoonfuls of oatmeal. 

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I decided to make myself some Warm Vanilla Soother – just because it sounded good. I can’t figure out what I did wrong, but it never did thicken. Oh well. It tasted good just the same, even it if was like drinking warm, sweet milk. :)

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Before we left for church, I got out a frozen Cheesy Beef and Rice casserole and put it into the oven at 200° to thaw and bake while we were gone. I love being able to do this to save time and effort on a Sunday morning!

When we got home, I made green beans and Matt made a salad to go with our casserole. We had our meal on the table in a very short amount of time! It’s a good thing too, because we had stayed and talked to friends after church for a long time and didn’t get home until 1:00. We were hungry. :)

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Tonight, before heading back to church to listen to our York College Choir sing, I told the boys to pick out some leftovers from the fridge. We had all sorts to choose from.

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Here is a blurry, semi-unappetizing picture of the Spanish Rice that I warmed up for myself. I love that our boys know how to either warm up food on the stove or use our toaster oven so that we can avoid using a microwave.

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So there you have it. That was our Sunday. Just curious:  Did you make a plan today and stick with it?

Check back in tomorrow to see how our Monday goes. Here’s this week’s menu plan if you want to imagine us eating those specific foods. But the question is…is that what we’re really eating??? We’ll find out. :)

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A Fresh Batch of Homemade Buttermilk

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I’ve been making homemade buttermilk for about seven years now. It’s such an easy-to-make food item! 

The beauty of homemade cultured dairy products, besides the fact that it saves you a lot of money to make them yourself, is that once you’ve made a batch, you can then use that batch to make more batches. In other words, once you have a jar of homemade buttermilk, you use the last cup of that batch of buttermilk to make another batch of buttermilk. Then you use the last cup of that buttermilk to make another batch of buttermilk. Then you use the last cup of that buttermilk to make another….

Well, you get the picture.

This system works very well. Until you go on a long trip across the country and come home to find that the buttermilk that has been untouched for several weeks in your fridge smells gross and you need to begin a fresh, new batch. 

That would be the predicament that I found myself in this week. I found that the last little bit of buttermilk in my fridge had seen better days and needed to go. That’s okay though. Every once in a while, it’s a good idea to begin with fresh cultures and start a new batch of buttermilk.

Why do I like having buttermilk on hand? I use it often for pancakes and baked goods. And I really love using it in Creamy Orange Coolers. It tastes delicious and refreshing in that recipe, and gives our tummies some great, live cultures. It’s awesome for digestion!

I’ve shared it before, but I’ll share it again – just to reinforce to you how easy it is to make buttermilk. 

First, you get a starter culture. My favorite comes from Cultures for Health. Also, you need milk. I prefer raw milk, but this does work with store-bought milk as well.

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Next, you pour the starter culture into a cup of milk. I use a pint sized jar for this.

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Put the lid on and shake it up. 

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Once you’ve done this, place your jar in a “warmish” spot in your house for about 24 hours. (In the winter, I find that it often takes longer than 24 hours.)  I usually put mine in the cabinet above my refrigerator because it tends to be a little warmer there. Don’t put it on your fireplace – that’s too hot and it will kill the live culture. Not that you were thinking about doing that. But just in case, I thought it was worth mentioning. We’re going for warm here, not hot. (About 70°)

In about 24 hours, the milk will have turned into buttermilk. You’ll know that the process is complete when you turn the jar over and instead of being liquid, the buttermilk will kind of “plop” away from the side of the jar in a single mass. It’s pretty cool.

No need to fear leaving this dairy product out in the open for 24 hours. Live cultures are healthy and will not spoil your milk. Leaving it out in a warm place is all a part of the culturing process. I promise.

Once my buttermilk is finished culturing, I can then use the last cup of that buttermilk to make another batch of buttermilk. 

Pour your one cup of cultured buttermilk into a quart or even half gallon of fresh milk to make larger batches once you’ve activated your starter. Allow the buttermilk/milk combination to culture in a warm place for 24 hours or until it has become buttermilk. Then refrigerate it and use as needed, saving the last 1 cup for a future batch.  

Then you can use the last cup of that buttermilk to make another batch of buttermilk. Then you can use the last cup of that buttermilk to make another….

Oh wait. I think I told you that part already. But yay for saving money and eating healthy at the same time!

Ever tried making buttermilk? If not, what is holding you back?

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Have Leftover Mashed Potatoes? Make Peppermint Patties!

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Yes, seriously. 

I tried it last year, and they are incredible!! You can’t even tell that there are mashed potatoes in these. 

We can’t really call them a “healthy treat”, because they have a lot of sugar in them. But at least they don’t contain any unhealthy fats. And they make a wonderful gift or party food to share!

Homemade Peppermint Patties

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Pumpkin Pecan Pie Squares – In Case You Need Another Dessert for This Weekend

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Yeah, I know. There are likely to be plenty of desserts at your table this weekend.

But just in case you wanted one more idea, I wanted to remind you of my Pumpkin Pecan Pie Squares dessert. We love the combination of pumpkin and pecan. And it is fairly simple to put together. 

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Pumpkin Pecan Pie Squares

Hey, if it makes you feel any better – pumpkin and pecans are really good for you. 

Now how can we justify the sugar??? :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Wash Your Potatoes in the Dishwasher

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The look on my boys’ faces were priceless.

I mean, when I give out orders like, “Fold and put away the laundry” or “Go clean the bathrooms” I usually just get a routine shrug, nod, and a big high five. (Just kidding. My kids don’t like cleaning the bathrooms enough to warrant a high five.)  But when I asked my boys to fill the dishwasher with potatoes, they thought maybe I’d finally lost my mind.

Apparently they hadn’t read the same tip I had that stated that if you need to scrub a large amount of potatoes, you could let your dishwasher do the work for you. Mom, crazy? Naw, just efficient.

(Okay, yeah, and a little crazy too.)

Recently, after ordering 50 pounds of potatoes from our food co-op, I had my boys put about a third of them into the dishwasher. I ran the load, without soap, and had tons of potatoes ready to bake and make into Homemade Hashbrowns.

Wash Potatoes in the Dishwasher

I just wanted to share that tip in case you’re feeding a bunch of people for the holidays, in case you want to make Homemade Hashbrowns…

Or in case you wanted to make your kids giggle when you ask them to do a chore. ;)

Side Note:  I typically bake a full roasting pan full of potatoes (with lid on) for about an hour and a half at 350°. Or easier still, I’ll bake them in a crock pot. Read full instructions here.

Ever washed potatoes in the dishwasher?

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Using Stale Homemade Bread To Make Bread Crumbs

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Well, if this isn’t the most boring blog post ever, I don’t know what is. 

Although, I suppose I could tell you how to fold wash rags. That might be even boringer. I mean – more boring. I was just trying to sound like the seven year old in my household, who is just now finally getting the hang of some of those grammatically correct statements. But I tell you what – he could not be more cuter if he tried. :)

I’m warning you now that the above paragraph was one of the most excitingest in this whole post. Making bread crumbs is seriously a no brainer. I guarantee that finding something else to do besides reading this would be much more funner.

Oh look at me, getting carried away. And you thought you came here for a little bit of grown-up conversation. ;)

Anyway, as I cleaned out my fridge a few days ago, I found several bags with a few straggling pieces of my Honey Whole Wheat Bread. No one was ever going to eat them because they were dried out and stale. What to do? Feed the birds? Sure, maybe. But I find that having bread crumbs on hand for making Meat Loaf or Salmon Patties is very handy.

Therefore, I got out my food processor, obliterated the stale bread, and within 30 seconds I had a jar of bread crumbs in  my freezer.

I bet after reading this, you feel so enlightened and encouraged, you’re going to search high and low in your kitchen until you find some stale bread – just so you can try this incredibly exciting and useful tip. 

Your day just got a whole lot gooder, didn’t it? :)

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