In the Kitchen Archives | Page 7 of 28

16 Favorite Recipes to Make With Strawberries

June 3, 2018 by Laura 1 Comment

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

Hands down, strawberries are my favorite fruit. I can’t get enough. So today, as we head into summer, I thought it fitting to share my family’s favorite recipes to make with strawberries.

16 Favorite Recipes to Make With StrawberriesYum

Mix and match other berries or bananas if you wish.

Chocolate Whipped Cream on Strawberries

This recipe is one I request my boys to make for me on Mother’s Day. Because obviously.

Strawberries on Whole Wheat Waffles

Now that we started making waffles like this, there is no turning back.

Strawberry Bread

This recipe makes it worth it to turn on the oven and heat up the kitchen during the summer.

Creamy Chocolate Fruit Dip for Strawberries

You will take a bite of this and become speechless. Or you will have many words to say about how amazing it is. Maybe a little bit of both.

Strawberry Cream Muffins

These muffins make the word “moist” a happy word.

Strawberry-Peach Slushies

Don’t look now, but there’s a fresh spinach hiding in this slushy. You can’t tell? No one can. That’s the beauty of it!

Strawberry Christmas Salad

No one said you have to wait until Christmas to eat this one. Christmas in July? Christmas next Thursday? Christmas every day? Okay then.

Low Sugar Strawberry Cheesecake Parfait

Where there are strawberries, there must be cheesecake parfait stuff in the fridge to go with them.

7-Minute Strawberry Ice Cream

Or maybe you can make this in 6 minutes. But who’s counting?

Be a kid again. Make and eat creamsicles. Share with the neighbors if you’re feeling extra nice.

Straw berry Shortcake

Sometimes we make and eat this for breakfast. Life’s too short to eat fruit loops.

Low Sugar Chocolate Cheesecake Parfaits

Sometimes our cheesecake parfaits need cocoa. No need to say more? Shucks, I had an entire speech prepared.

Waffle Brownie Strawberry Parfaits

Now this is just fun.

Strawberry Spinach Salad with Vinaigrette

There’s something about the combo of strawberries with pecans and the dressing that will make you feel you’re eating at a nice restaurant.

No Churn Strawberry Ice Cream

Just blend it and freeze it. It’s heaven in a bowl.

Cream Cheese Fruit Dip

Cream cheese. What would we do without you?

What are your favorite recipes to make with strawberries?

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

7 Ways I Save Money on Groceries With a Houseful of Teenage Boys

May 29, 2018 by Laura 5 Comments

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

I wrote this a few months ago to share as a guest post at MoneySavingMom.com. As I prepare to feed my teens and their friends throughout the summer, I thought it would be fun add a little to it and post it here for you! After all, who couldn’t use more ideas about ways to save money on groceries?

7 Ways I Save Money on Groceries With a Houseful of Teenage Boys

I just watched my 18-year old son eat an entire pound of strawberries for an afternoon snack. Tonight for dinner my family will plow through three pounds of boneless chicken, three or four pounds of potatoes, a pound of frozen green beans, several handfuls of mixed greens, and a big bowl full of grapes. They’ll be hungry again before bed, no doubt.

This is my life. Four sons, all teenagers. My table is full and so is my heart. My grocery budget? Well, it’s not so small either.

When our four boys were little, people told me that I’d have to stock up on lots of potatoes, rice, and pasta as they got older so I could afford to feed them. I’ll admit these tricks help the grocery budget somewhat, but I’ll also tell you that I much prefer to fill my family with nourishment instead of empty calories.

That leaves me in a bit of a pickle then, doesn’t it? (Pickles? Oh yes. We go through a lot of those too.)

So how can we afford to feed four teenage boys (and frequently their friends!) without breaking the budget or compromising on nourishment? Well, it’s a continuous learning process, for sure, and I’ve been working at it for the past seven years. I’m excited to share some of my best grocery saving tips! But first let me say this:

Our grocery budget isn’t small. It can’t be – not if I want my kids to feel satisfied after a meal and to be filled with nutrients too. Did I mention all my sons are athletes and three out of four so far are over 6 feet tall? If you’re brave, you can click here to get an idea of how much we spend on groceries for our family every month. You’ll see that I’m certainly not one of the moms who spends”$50 a week to feed my family!” because of the huge appetites at our house and our preference for highly nourishing food. I love reading those mom’s tricks, though, because I always learn new ideas for ways to save.

So here we go!

How I save money on groceries with a house full of teenage boys:

1. We drink water.

I can’t imagine how much money this saves us (yes I can) and it’s a win-win! It’s healthier and saves money too! Our boys aren’t huge milk drinkers, so I buy one gallon of milk every week from local farmers, which I use for cooking and baking. If the boys want something special to drink, they buy it themselves as a treat. As you can see, the fact that we deprive our kids of fun drinks like juice and soda has left them terribly sulky and despondent.

family-sillysm

2. We eat soup.

Homemade broth is extremely nourishing, and I’ve found that it really helps stretch the meat in a meal. If I cook a chicken for one meal, then use the bones to make broth for soup, we’re getting a two-for-one! Here are our 12 Favorite Soup Recipes that help stretch our grocery budget.

3. We love meat, but still have meatless meals.

We love our cows and chickens (boy do we!) and I’m of the opinion that my active family needs the wholesome protein and nutrients that meat provides. But I’ve learned that we don’t need meat for every single meal. Beans and eggs and nuts and cheese help round out our menus and fill us with protein, and I’ve created many super simple recipes that are painlessly meatless.

4. We eat a lot of frozen veggies, fresh greens, and carrots.

It’s extremely important to me that I serve several veggies throughout the day. I keep frozen peas and green beans on hand at all times – veggies that are inexpensive and happen to be our favorites. Fresh greens are a staple and one of the most nourishing options to fill our plates. I pay $6 for a big one-pound container, which lasts our family one week. I’d say that’s a pretty great price for awesome nourishment, wouldn’t you? Fresh carrots are inexpensive year-round so we eat them often! I make homemade dips and dressings, which makes it easier to get the veggies down.

mixed greens

5. I buy in bulk.

If you saw my storage room, you’d realize this was an understatement. I buy huge quantities of pretty much everything from meat to grains, which means I can buy when I find a sale, then use up our supply while I wait for another sale. I’ve saved thousands through the years shopping this way – and I love that I’ve also saved time and energy since I don’t have to run to the store for single ingredients very often. I just shop my food storage room!

—> Grab a list here of Simple Ingredients I try to keep on hand at all time. It’s a free download you can enjoy at your house too! <—

6. We eat at home.

While this post is about saving money on groceries, it is important to mention that eating at home saves us a great deal of money compared to eating out. Restaurant bills – even fast food bills – are quite large for our family. So we save eating out for special times when we are on the road (though we almost always pack food for travel too!). I wrote here about other ways our family saves money so we can afford a higher grocery bill. I bet you’ll find you save in many of these ways too!

—> Here are 111 of our favorite recipes, all of which use only 5 or fewer ingredients! <—

7. We eat Simple Meals.

Nothing fancy here. After all, my boys just want to eat. They don’t care if it looks good on Pinterest. I avoid recipes that take lots of steps to make and I use only simple ingredients, which we mix and match to put together hundreds of meals!

—> If you enjoy simple eating and want to save time in the kitchen while still putting great real food on the table, I recommend you check out our Simple Meals plan and join the fun! <—

A table full of teenagers? Bring it on! I’ll continue to find ways to be creative and save money as I load my shopping carts and fill my fridge and freezer. Ok fine. My two fridges and three freezers. What can I say? I feed a houseful of teenagers. :)

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

P.S. It’s worth a mention that affording to feed these guys is only half the battle. Finding time to cook all the food is no small feat! Solution:

I taught all my kids how to cook.

I can’t say enough good about this.

My boys have spent hours of time with me in the kitchen through the years. Now that they are older, they are all very capable and can make entire meals if needed. Generally, we all work together to put food on the table. This is great for bonding but logistically speaking, their efforts and ability mean I’m not overworked in an effort to keep them all fed!

Learn more about how I taught my kids to cook here. And for just a few more days, take advantage of this great Kids in the Kitchen package offer!

[wp_eStore_fancy1 id=33]

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

How to EASILY Make Your Favorite Foods Healthier!

May 17, 2018 by Laura 2 Comments

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

Just when you thought eating healthy meant that you could never eat Pizza or French fries again, we’re swooping in to tell you how to easily make all of your favorite foods healthier!

At the beginning of our family’s real food journey, I went from a confident cook to suddenly feeling completely intimidated by my kitchen.

I stood at my pantry looking at my Crisco, white sugar, vegetable oil, Velveeta, and cans of cream soups wondering how I’d possibly re-learn to cook “the real food way.” Even worse, I worried about how I’d afford the high cost of real food.

I worried over how I’d ever get my little boys to eat healthy food. After all, they were used to pop-tarts and white pasta. How willing would they be to try new, better food?

I started our real food changes by tearfully throwing out all the junk. Then I decided to try making Homemade Chicken Nuggets with wholesome ingredients. Maybe that would be a good way to transition my family?

Ah-ha! My kids gobbled them up. Maybe this real food thing wouldn’t be so bad?

As it turns out, I learned quickly that real food is just…food. Thirteen years later I’ve confirmed that it actually isn’t hard to make a real food meal because well, have you ever sliced an apple? Washed a strawberry? Tossed a salad? Cooked a roast?

Real food is just food.

It’s easy to prepare and much to our surprise – it is actually affordable! Healthy food doesn’t actually cost more. I proved it here.

Not sure where to start when it comes to switching from processed food to real food? Wish you had a better idea of what real food substitutions you can make to easily transition your family to eating real foods?

We created this Simple Real Food Substitutions FREE PRINTABLE for you to use as an easy guide!

Make Your Favorite Foods Healthier!

You’ll be amazed at how simple these real food substitutions are!

Sign up here so we can send you this wonderful freebie. (As an added bonus, we’re including several surprise freebies too!)

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

The Day I Proved That Healthy Food DOES NOT Cost More

May 8, 2018 by Laura 12 Comments

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

Today I thought it would be fun to explore whether or not healthy food actually costs more than…how should I say it? Unhealthy food? Would you believe me if I told you that I discovered that most healthy food does not cost more? Some healthy foods actually cost significantly less! Who knew?

I don’t even like to call it healthy and unhealthy food, simply because not every person’s dietary needs are the same. Sometimes what’s healthy for me might not be healthy for you.

So as we talk through this subject, let’s switch the word “healthy” with the word “nourishing.” I always encourage people to focus on eating food that offers nourishment. Don’t just eat edible stuff that fills a hole. Work to eat real food that offers nutrients and provides the body with goodness to thrive.

Want to read more on this subject? Read this —>

What is the Perfect Diet for Everyone?

Now back to our initial discussion about the cost of nourishing food vs. the cost of empty calories.

I’ve been crunching some numbers this week because after all my years of working to make a nourishing diet affordable for my family, I still hear so many people talk about how they can’t afford to eat good food. I always cringe at this declaration because I no longer believe it to be true.

Does Healthy Food ACTUALLY Cost More?

In an effort to get to the bottom of this debate, today I decided to compare the prices of basic, real foods to the price of a big box of Goldfish Crackers from Walmart.

Obviously this comparison doesn’t factor in coupon use or off brand options. But spoiler alert: Would you believe me if I told you that an ounce of Goldfish Crackers costs only a little bit less than an ounce of Grass-Fed Organic Hamburger Meat?? This blew me away! Is it possible that we’ve been wrong all these years about the high cost of real food?

Check this out! You’ll be amazed at my findings!

Goldfish Crackers = 30 ounce box for $6.46 = $0.22/ounce

Keep this price point in mind as we look at the costs of other basic, real, nourishing foods most of us love. We’ll start by comparing average costs of favorite fresh fruits and veggies.

Cost of Fresh Fruits and Vegetables

Here’s the breakdown of produce price points I usually shoot for. NOTE: These are the prices I pay. Prices will vary from city to city.

Grapes = $2.50/pound or less = $0.16/ounce
Apples = $1.50/pound or less = $0.09/ounce
Strawberries = $2.30/pound or less = $0.14/ounce
Bananas = $0.59/pound or less = $0.04/ounce
Carrots = $0.99/pound = $0.06/ounce
Cuties = $1.50/pound or less = $0.09/ounce
Peaches/Nectarines/Plums = $1.50/pound or less = $0.09/ounce

These are all much lower in cost compared to Goldfish Crackers. How fun is this?!

Cost of Fresh Meat, Milk, Eggs, and Cheese

This was a little bit more difficult to measure as we don’t calculate eggs or milk in pounds. Still, it was interesting to note some price breakdowns of these nourishing foods. Notice how many of these prices are significantly less per ounce compared to Goldfish Crackers! NOTE: These are the prices I pay. Prices will vary from city to city.

Free Range Eggs = $2.50/dozen or less = $0.21/egg
Cheese = $4.00/pound = $0.25/ounce
Raw, Grass Fed Milk = $5.00/gallon = $0.04/ounce
Grass Fed Beef = $5.50/pound = $0.34/ounce
Naturally Grown Boneless Chicken Thighs = $3.00/pound or less when I see mark-downs = $0.19/ounce
Naturally Grown Chicken Legs or Whole Chicken = $2.50/pound or less when I see mark-downs = $0.16/ounce

Wow! Bring on the nourishing, real foods!

Cost of Whole Grains

I typically purchase my grains in bulk through Azure Standard. (Curious how many cups of flour in a pound of wheat? I did the math for you here.)

Freshly Ground Organic Wheat Flour = $1.00 per pound = $0.33/cup = $0.06/ounce
Organic Brown Rice = $1.10/pound = $0.07/ounce
Organic Rolled Oats = $0.87/pound = $0.05/ounce
Organic Whole Wheat Pasta = $2.55/pound = $0.16/ounce

Healthy Food Does Not Cost More

With the exception of fresh cheese and grass fed meat, which is only a few cents more per ounce than Goldfish Crackers, we see a lower price on all real, whole foods compared to this empty calorie snack. I am so encouraged by this!

This isn’t to say that we should never eat a goldfish cracker. Some moments in our life call for fun convenience foods! But we should never feel discouraged or defeated about the cost of purchasing wonderful, nourishing food for our family!

I can do it! You can do it!

Are you surprised about these price comparisons? What are some of your favorite inexpensive real foods?

Free Simple Ingredients Printable List

We’ve created a wonderful, practical, basic real food ingredients list for you to download and use as a guide. Now that you know that real food is so affordable, this list will be even more helpful than ever! This resource is free and it’s for everyone. Get yours here!

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

How to Have a Successful Baking Day

April 15, 2018 by Laura 5 Comments

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

Just like my grandma used to do, sometimes I like to have a big baking day in an effort to crank out food for busy days ahead. My most recent baking day happened right after our basketball season ended and just before our soccer season started. I was feeling the crunch to get ahead before life turned crazy again. Allow me to share pictures of this adventure and my best tips for having a successful baking day!

How to Have a Successful Baking Day

Block out several hours to focus on being in the kitchen.
Make a plan. Write a list of items you want to bake.
Don’t bite off more than you can chew. (Literally, because of the baking. I’m so funny.)
Gather ingredients so you can be efficient. (Many baking ingredients overlap in recipes, so it’s nice to get out what you need and leave them out to use in a variety of recipes.)
Plan simple meals for the day or plan to serve leftovers for lunch and/or dinner. I’ve found that it’s too difficult to cook regular meals and bake extra food all in one day!

Ready to see how my recent baking day played out?

First, I made a list of baked goods I wanted and needed to make.

Stove-Top Granola (x2)
Orange Glazed Poppyseed Bread (x2)
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Balls (x2)
Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies (x4)
Pancake Mix and Muffin Mix

I gathered all my ingredients.

I ground two rounds of flour, both Soft White Wheat (pastry flour). My poor Nutrimill has seen better days, but it still gets the job done!

Once flour was ground and all other ingredients were gathered, I mixed up a double batch of Orange Glazed Poppyseed Bread. I put it into the oven and realized I’d buttered one-too-many bread pans. What’s a girl to do?

I decided to stir up a batch of Stir-and-Pour Bread to fill my extra bread pan. It’s wayyyyyy too easy! (It’s a yeast bread recipe so I needed to use hard white wheat for this one. I had some on hand in the freezer already, so this made mixing up this bread very simple!)

With the Poppyseed Bread in the oven and the Stir and Pour Bread mixed up and rising, I started a double batch of Stove-Top Granola.

Once done, I moved the Granola off the stove and poured it onto a cookie sheet to dry a bit before transferring it to a jar. The Stir and Pour Bread went into the oven and I paused my baking to do a Biology lesson with my kids. But wait!! Why not get two jobs done at one time?? While I was reading Biology, I put my kids to work unwrapping Hershey kisses for my Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies. (I’d picked up a few packages of kisses the day after Valentine’s Day – what a score!)

Biology finished and boys onto their other school work, I headed back and mixed up a double batch of Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies. I frozen them all in cookie dough balls to have on hand for an upcoming weekend when we were hosting teens.

Suddenly I realized I was starving, so I prepped a very easy lunch of Beanie Weanies. #noshame

Next, I cleaned my kitchen. Why? Because after all that baking, it was a mess. Also, next on my baking agenda was Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies. I wanted to keep these gluten free to serve at a high school gathering. Three of our high school youth group need to eat gluten free, and these cookies are perfect! But not with all the wheat flour flying around my kitchen. So I cleaned up so I wouldn’t cross-contaminate with wheat before baking a quadruple batch of these easy cookies!

Breads done, granola done, cookies done…I packaged everything up for the fridge, counter, or freezer.

Finally, I ground one more batch of flour so I could fill my Muffin Mix and Pancake Mix containers. Having these on hand saves me tons of time and effort, and these are our favorite mixes of the collection.

You can bet I needed to do some extra kitchen cleaning after all these hours baking! I had my kids mix up Tuna Salad for dinner, which we ate on my freshly baked Stir and Pour Bread. Then we headed out for our boys’ Choir Concert. Never a dull moment.

Why Have a Baking Day?

Because if you’re going to make a mess, you might as well make a big one.
Because many baking ingredients overlap between recipes. It’s nice to get out ingredients like baking powder, oats, butter, and flour and use them for several different recipes before putting them away.
Because taking a few hours to bake in one day provides baked goods to last you for many days.
Because it’s nice to have baked goods in your freezer to pull out for your family’s needs on busy days or to share with others who have needs you become aware of.
Because everyone likes cookies.

What are your favorite foods to bake?

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

The Best Places to Shop for Real Food Groceries

March 20, 2018 by Laura 5 Comments

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

Want to feed your family healthy food but feel stumped as to where to shop for real food groceries? Hopefully this post will take away uncertainties and ease your mind!

The Best Places to Shop for Real Food Groceries

I have good news for you! Shopping for real food for your family is not as difficult as you might think. You don’t have to live in a big city. You don’t have to have access to fancy stores like Whole Foods. You can buy and eat real food no matter where you live! I live in a small town in the middle of Nebraska. If I can do it, you can do it. :)

1. Your Local Grocery Store

Yep. While it might seem that your regular local grocery store doesn’t have much to offer, I’m here to tell you that it is still full of real food. Vegetables, fruit, rice, beans, meat, eggs, nuts, oats, and the list goes on. Even the smallest of grocery stores have these basics! They might not be of the highest quality, they might not have a wide variety of options, but these are still real foods and can allow you to eat wholesome meals without falling back on highly processed foods.

Admittedly, smaller grocery stores tend to need to charge more for their food. Sometimes the produce selection is not as good as what you’ll find in a larger store. But you can still eat well enough. And sometimes, a local shop owner is willing and able to order groceries per your request. It never hurts to ask!

Become familiar with your local store(s) so you can learn your favorite sources, find the best prices, and become assured that no matter what your other options, you can still find good food right up the road.

groceries feb 174

2. Azure Standard

This food co-op has been a main food source for our family for years! They are based in Oregon, but ship to hundreds of drop points every month. If you aren’t already a member of Azure Standard, I highly recommend giving it a try if a drop point is available in your area. (If there isn’t one currently, you can look into starting one. That’s what I did many years ago, and now they deliver right to our town!)

azure

Azure Standard carries just about every food item you need, from meat to fresh produce to dairy to frozen food and everything in between. They also have paper goods, diapers – everything a large grocery store has. They allow you to buy individual items or a full case of that item for a discount. I consider Azure Standard to be like a Whole Foods grocery store that is less expensive and delivered directly to me! I love it!

How Azure Standard works:

Become a member. (It is completely free.)
Join a local drop point (or start one).
Order online each month according to your needs. (There is no obligation to order if you don’t need or want anything. Just shop as needed.)
The drop coordinator for your group will be informed of the truck delivery time each month. He/she will send information to let you know when/where to meet.
Meet at the designated pick-up time and location to help unload the truck and take home your order! This unload and sorting process usually only takes 15 minutes. Easy peasy!

3. Bountiful Baskets

I’ve been able to enjoy this fun real food groceries delivery option for the past two years and while I don’t order every time it is available, I sure do love it on the weeks they offer great cases of produce at great prices! This is what a typical basket can hold:

bountiful basket 815

Check here to see if there is a Bountiful Basket location near you. If there is, you can order as often as every two weeks. They supply you with a wonderful basket full of fresh fruits and vegetables for just $18. They also offer “Add-Ons” if you’d like to purchase cases of fresh produce to your order at a discount. Some locations also offer bread, and sometimes there are special offers like coconut oil or apple cider vinegar.

Bountiful Baskets is a lot of fun and gives us some great options for having plenty of fresh fruits and veggies on hand!

stir fry

Like I always say: When life gives you Bountiful Baskets, make Stir-Fry.

4. Amazon

It’s amazing all the real food you can find at Amazon.

groceries august9

amazon_order

I often buy food by the case, and it is delivered for free right to my porch! I wrote a post here detailing real food I often buy at Amazon. Also, I’ve learned to make the most of Subscribe and Save to save me money on real food groceries from Amazon.

5. Zaycon Fresh

This one is new to me, but definitely worth sharing when it comes to a great source for real food. Zaycon Fresh can save a lot of money and get you stocked up on good meat for your family!

Sign up for a Zaycon account here.
Click on See Locations and select the best option for you.
Order meat as needed, picking up at the designated time and location.

zaycon chicken

What are your favorite sources for real food?

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

My Favorite Real Food Cheat Trick to Save Time Chopping Onions

March 18, 2018 by Laura 12 Comments

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

This Real Food Cheat Trick is going to sound fairly lame. I admit it. But this tip saves me oodles of time without costing much, if any, extra money! This is how I save time chopping onions!

minced onion trick

How’s this for a tip? Want to save time chopping onions? Don’t chop them. Hold your applause. Please stay tuned for more brilliant tips like this one.

Now that I’ve fully prepared you to be unimpressed, I will admit that it’s likely that many of you will thoroughly dislike my trick. Why? Because most certainly the smell of freshly chopped onions and minced garlic sauteing in a pan with olive oil or butter is incredible!

You are right and I agree. But I still like my trick and I love the time this saves.

How I Save Time Chopping Onions

I always keep a huge supply of Dried Minced Onion on hand. I almost never go to the trouble of chopping an onion. I simply grab my jar of dried minced onion, dump in the desired amount, and stir it into the meat I’m cooking. It still smells amazing. It flavors the food marvelously. And I save myself the trouble of chopping an onion, crying a river, and cleaning up the mess afterward.

I suppose it goes without saying that this method also keeps me from having to work at getting the onion smell off my fingers. (Yes, I know. Rub your fingers on stainless steel. I do. It works. But still.)

Also, for people who don’t love chunks of onion in their food, but do love the flavor onions give, using Dried Minced Onion is a great solution!

Save Time Chopping Onions

I might as well make a garlic confession while I’m here.

I frequently cheat with that too. True story: I almost never buy fresh garlic, a fact of which has many of you throwing tomatoes.

Fresh garlic is tough to beat, no doubt. But time saved in the kitchen trumps all, in my book. So I either keep a jar of minced garlic in the fridge or I grab my jar of dried garlic powder from my spice cabinet. My food still tastes delicious, but I’ve saved myself some work by using these convenience items.

So there you have it. Now you know. I often cheat and use already-prepared onions and garlic. You can’t talk me out of it. (Though I suppose you can try.)

But doesn’t this cost more?

Minced Onion appears to be more expensive per pound compared to cost per pound of fresh onions. However, Dried Minced Onions have been dehydrated, shrinking them down and changing their weight. You’ll get a lot of dried minced onion per pound compared to fresh onions. One small fresh onion equals 1 Tablespoon Dried Minced Onion.

onion3

Where to purchase Dried Minced Onion

Most grocery stores carry these. They can be found in the aisle with the spices. However, I typically purchase it in bulk either from Azure Standard or Amazon.

Huge Bulk Amount of Dried Minced Onion

Dried Minced Onion options at Azure Standard

Now it’s your turn to tell me if you feel it is worth taking the extra time to chop onions and garlic. If you’re often feeling tight on time in the kitchen, I recommend giving this a try, especially on busy days!

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

Unique and Easy Way to Transport Hot Food For Lunches

March 15, 2018 by Laura 6 Comments

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

Apparently necessity is the mother of invention. Though I’d prefer to think that I’m the mother that came up with this great way to transport hot food for lunches.

Easy way to transport hot food for lunch

You will certainly love this “transporting of hot food” idea, but first I must tell you why we needed to transport the hot food in the first place.

I don’t think I ever told you about my husband’s latest entrepreneurial endeavor. (Please never make me say the word “entrepreneurial” out loud. I can barely type it, much less pronounce it. There are too many “r’s” in weird places and it is just too much for my mouth to handle.)

So about Matt’s latest ~~entrepre–~~ business venture. Several months ago he studied and apprenticed and studied some more, then he took two extremely difficult tests in order to become a licensed radon mitigator. What does a licensed radon mitigator do, you ask? Well, they mitigate radon, of course.

And by that I mean that he does a lot of hard work for many hours per project in order to safely and legally remove radon gas from homes. It is extremely hard work. There are pipes, holes, and fans involved, and that, my friends, is about all I know. Matt though? Well, he can do all the chemical equations and precise measuring and hole drilling and pipe placing and um…other stuff with brilliant accuracy. I am very proud and impressed with all he knows and does.

All this husband-bragging to tell you about my genius idea for sending a hot lunch to a work site with him. Oh please. If Matt can be a genius who mitigates radon gas out of homes in order to prevent people from getting lung cancer, surely my “here’s your hot lunch, Babe” idea is also genius. Nod and smile. Nod and smile.

portable food11

It all started on a cold day I was sending Matt off to another city for his latest radon mitigation job. Packed lunches are a must for these jobs so that he can grab a few bites and keep on working to get as many hours of work in as possible in a day. But sandwiches? Well, he is a bit tired of those at this point.

So I decided to try putting hot leftovers into the awesome “fake Yeti” Matt and the boys got me for Christmas. (By the way, actual Yetis are awesome but can be expensive! Matt found me this knock off for only $13, and it came with a stainless steel straw. I love it!)

I’ve been very impressed with how my insulated cup keeps hot drinks hot for HOURS! So I thought, surely it would keep hot food hot for hours too. I decided to give it a try, with a ready apology in advance to Matt if my brilliant idea provided him with barely tepid chicken and rice for lunch that day.

I’m happy to share that Matt’s lunch was piping hot that day, even after he let the cup sit in his cold truck all morning. (And by cold, I mean it was 15 degrees that day.)

Oh, and do you see the fork sticking up through the drinking slot in the lid? Brilliant idea, if I do say so myself. I inserted the fork and let the end stick up through the mouth piece so he didn’t risk losing track of it. Also? The smaller insulated cup is one Justus had received as a gift. I filled it with steamed veggies to send along with the bigger mug filled with chicken and rice. Matt ate like a king that day. I was so glad to provide him with a great meal to help sustain him in his hard work day.

portable food22

Radon? You don’t stand a chance when my husband comes to take you on. Hot lunch for the hard working radon mitigator? No problem at all.

Quick Links for insulated cups to transport hot food (and drinks)

30-ounce Double Wall Stainless Steel Mug with lid and straw
20-ounce Double Wall Stainless Steel Mug with lid

These links are my affiliate links.

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 Organize Your Recipes

March 8, 2018 by Laura 15 Comments

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

Today I want to hear the ways each of you has found to organize your recipes!

Favorite Recipes12

As you all know, I am a recipe nut. A full fledged recipe guru. Recipes are my thing. I love them. I collect them. I invent them. I dream about them. And often these recipes include butter. This cannot be helped.

But recently I was asked, “Laura, what’s the easiest way you’ve found to organize your recipes?” My response, “Oh, I don’t organize them. I just create them.”

You guys do not want to see my recipe cabinet.

Yes, it’s true. I have an entire, very unorganized cabinet full of recipes. (And also a cabinet full of Pyrex. These are needed so I can bake the recipes piled up in my cabinet. And also so that I can enjoy the butter.)

butter

#iheartbutter
#andpyrex

So my recipe cabinet. It is about as messy as can be. When I need to use one of the recipes in this cabinet, I have to dig and scrounge and muddle. But never fear. While looking through my mess to find the one recipe I need, I end up finding three more I forgot were there. And you guessed it. Many of them require the use of chocolate. (Bet you thought I was going to say “Pyrex” or “butter.” Ha. Just keeping you on your toes.)

So today, my friends, we’re going to talk about the easiest way to organize recipes. It’s high time I found a system. My messy cabinet pile is no longer working. It never worked. So let’s talk about how to organize your recipes!

I’m sure you’re eager to learn about this subject from someone who clearly has no clue. Come closer, my friends. I’ll teach you everything I don’t know.

Tips for the easiest way to organize your recipes

As I’ve searched for a system, these are the new tricks that are working best for me at this point.

Keep all your recipes in one place. (At least having all my recipes in one cabinet was better than tucking them randomly inside school books, the silverware drawer, and behind the toaster oven.)
If the recipes are cut from magazines, torn from a book, or printed off the computer, slide them all safely inside a large manila folder or envelope.
Invest in a binder. This is my best idea so far.

I came across this DIY Recipe Binder idea online and I don’t know why I never thought of it before! It’s way too simple, and turns my messy cabinet into a nicely organized recipe haven.

binder

DIY Recipe Binder – FREE Printables!!

DIY Recipe Binder - Free Printables

I spent a little time creating these lovely binder pages to help me become more organized. I like them so much I decided to share them with you! Not only can all of our recipes be in one place, we can put them all into one organized (and fun!) binder.

How to make and use your Recipe Binder

Enter your email address here and the free printables will be sent to your inbox. (This will connect you to our Heavenly Homemakers email list so I can continue to send you freebies, recipes, and deals!)
Print each of the Recipe Binder pages you will use.
Use a 3-hole punch to prepare them for a 3-ring binder.
As you print recipes from the computer, add them to your binder within the fitting category.
If you have small recipe cards, recipes cut from magazines, etc, re-write them on 8.5×11 inch paper so that they fit your binder. Or slide them into a plastic sleeve that fits in a 3-ring binder.

And that, my friends, is how we’re going to get our recipes organized once and for all!

Or at least that’s the hope. The fact that my new Recipe Binder is cute and fun offers me lots of incentive. :)

Get your FREE DIY Recipe Binder pages here.

What ways have you found to organize your recipes?

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

30 Real Food Money Saving Tips

January 22, 2018 by Laura 2 Comments

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

I couldn’t have done it without you. I asked what YOUR best real food money saving tips might be, and oh did you come through!

It was so fun to put all of our heads together and put together this great (FREE!) resource full of Real Food Money Saving Tips! There truly are many great ways to save money on real food groceries!

groceries august17

I love it when high quality meat is marked down!

Sure, I know some great ways I’ve learned to save money on real food through the years. But so many of you have different experiences and ideas from what I’ve learned. Putting so many of your tips together into this little booklet means we all get just that much smarter! (Just when we thought we knew everything about buying apples…)

Real Food Money Saving TipsYum

Ready to get started? You’ll find all 30 tips detailed in this absolutely FREE resource. Here are some of my favorites:

Crystal: I only have a family of 3, but because of prices of grass fed beef and organic chicken, I only use half a pound when I make spaghetti or a casserole and I use 1 chicken breast when I make a noodle dish or casserole that calls for chicken. I’m always using less meat than called for as a way to stretch it. That way I can afford higher quality meat. It works for us!
Nicole: Last year I switched around how I menu planned instead of finding recipes then going shopping for those ingredients I now hit the produce & meat area buying what’s on sale (and good quality!) then I come home and find recipes that contain those items. Now I don’t feel obligated to buy the higher non sale item because of the time I already have invested in menu planning.
Melody: We have meatless Mondays, tuna recipes for Tuesdays, and I “shop” my pantry and fridge/freezer first, then the on-line ads, and make my menu plan from that. I make out my grocery list for just the items I will need to make the items on my menu. We also use less meat than a recipe calls for and add beans to stretch out the meat in meals like tacos or casseroles.
Susan: My best money saving advice is the skip fancy recipes that require you to buy ingredients you don’t have on hand or use often. I often leave out or substitute a fancy ingredient for a more economical or practical ingredient. I can’t be a 5 star cook on my budget and some days I wish I had fresh herbs or a fancy vinegar, but running out to buy them for 1 recipe isn’t the best use of my funds. I have been sticking to simple real food recipes with basic cost effective ingredients. I make menus based on my own pantry and sale items. Also, I use leftovers for casseroles or soups (freezing them if I am not using them right away). Leftover or stale bread is used to make croutons.
Christy: Twice a year we clean out the pantry and freezer. We buy only milk, eggs and bread until we are down to almost nothing in the pantry. The meals get interesting, but it is great for the budget and can be as healthy as what you originally put in there.
Mary Beth E: Right now–and tomorrow– I am waiting for UPS and/or FedEx to drop off packages of grocery staple items I buy in bulk. Because I cook whole foods at home, this will cover all our bread, rolls, tortillas, rice, pies, cakes, spices, seasonings, and much more, even toilet paper. I will place another order about mid-year. When I see almost any recipe, I have on hand the basics. When I go to the grocery store–every other week–I mainly buy fresh or frozen produce, eggs, and dairy. Buying in bulk and thinking of your budget in terms of a year rather than a week, really saves a lot of money.
Birdie: Garden and can, however you are able. A small plot in your yard, partner with others on a shared plots, help a neighbor with a plot, encourage your apartment/duplex owner to allow some of you to garden in the yard (check bylaws), talk to the college in your area to see if they would be interested in allowing community gardens. Even create a raised bed so you can sit and garden from a chair or wheel chair if you are not as mobile. Container garden on a balcony or deck (remember to water often).If you can’t garden, buy meat, fruits and vegetables in super sales, can, freeze, and dehydrate. Approach a few farmers and see if you can have shares in their live stock. Participate in butcher time and you may receive a great deal on meat. If you can get your hands on garden herbs and spices from others, dry and add lots of flavor to your cooking.
Nedrda: One way I save money on quality meat is to partner with my sister and mom to buy a grass-fed/pasture raised cow or hog. We can buy those meats at $4.00 a pound and then split the meat between the three of us. We also do this for the bulk coconut oil through Tropical Traditions and other items through Azure Standard and Amazon. By doing this, I do not have to come up with total amount myself to buy the beef/pork/oil and I can enjoy the quality for a great price. It also helps with storage issues to split the order!
Crissi: For most of our grains, frozen fruits, some fresh fruits, and odds and ends we use Azure Standard. We’ve purchased foods from them for well over a year now, I’d highly recommend them. They have excellent customer service.
Cassondra: One thing I do when I run out of something like a spice or condiment or anything else is look online to see if I can make it from scratch with items here at home. For example, I make our taco seasoning but was out of chili powder…so I went online and found a recipe for chili powder, had all the ingredients for it and it turned out great. So now I have one more from scratch recipe on hand.

Want to read all 30 Real Food Money Saving Tips?

We’ve compiled them all into this simple-to-read FREE eBook!

30 Real Food Money Saving Tips

This great little book is full of tips I compiled when I asked you, “What are your best tips for saving money on real food?” Since we’ve been talking about Simple Meals on a Simple Budget this month, I thought it would be fun to remind you about this great free download. I truly loved compiling these tips and learned great new ideas to try as I work to save money while feeding my family well!

How to get 30 Real Food Money Saving Tips

Enter your email address here, confirm that you would like to receive this information, and the freebie will land in your inbox! Easy as that!

Bonus Freebie:

When you sign up to get the free 30 Real Food Money Saving Tips eBooklet, you’ll also get this free Heavenly Homemaker’s Top 10 Money Saving Recipes eBooklet! Don’t you love getting free books to help you learn more about saving money? It’s like we’re getting free grocery money! :)

Top 10 Money Saving Recipes

Want a sneak peek inside the 10 Money Saving Recipes eBook?? Here’s one of our favorites!

Dark Chocolate Almond Granola

(This recipe cuts the cost from $2.00/serving with store-bought granola to only $0.50/serving. Yep. The store-bought version really is that expensive!)

Dark Chocolate Almond Granola

Save Print

Author: Laura

Serves: 10-12

Ingredients

4 cups rolled oats
¾ cup shredded, unsweetened coconut
1 cup slivered almonds
¾ cup honey
¾ cup coconut oil
½ cup dark chocolate chips or chunks

Instructions

In a small saucepan, melt coconut oil and honey together.
Stir oats, shredded coconut, and slivered almonds together in a large bowl.
Drizzle on the honey/coconut oil mixture and stir well.
Pour mixture onto a large, parchment paper-lined baking sheet (or two 9x13 inch dishes).
Bake at 300° for 35-45 minutes, stirring after the first 20 minutes.
Allow mixture to cool.
Stir in dark chocolate chunks.
Store granola in an air-tight container.
Makes 10-12 servings.

Dark Chocolate Almond Granola - A Great Make-Ahead Meal

Saving money is fun when there’s chocolate involved.

I can’t wait for you to enjoy all of the money saving tips and recipes!

Sign up here and watch for these great free eBooks to hit your inbox!

P.S. Signing up for these great freebies will connect you to our free Savings Club so we can occasionally let you know of other wonderful food and homemaking deals we learn about!

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

« Previous Page