Heavenly Homemakers

Encouraging women in homemaking, healthy eating and parenting

How to Make Freezer Biscuits

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As with any freezer food, these freezer biscuits are going to make your life easier!

Freezer Biscuit Tutorial

Yum

My family loves biscuits and gravy. But by the time I brown sausage and make gravy, mix together biscuits, roll them, cut them out, and bake them – I end up with a very messy kitchen and a lot of time spent trying to get breakfast on the table. Therefore, I used to only make this meal on special occasions like birthdays and Father’s Day.

But now!! I have unlocked the secret to getting a meal of biscuits and gravy on the table within just a few minutes and with very little mess. My men think I’m wonderful for working so hard when they walk into the kitchen to see the delicious breakfast feast. Little do they know that making biscuits and gravy has become easier than trying to get them to see the laundry that is waiting for them to fold and put away. How can they not see it when they have to step over it to get to their room, I’d like to know. But back to the biscuits…

Making a super fast meal of biscuits and gravy is dependent on two simple tasks:

  1. Have sausage pre-made, browned, and frozen in meal-sized portions.
  2. Make biscuits ahead of time, then freeze them to pull out and bake.

If you recall, I typically make 12 pounds of Homemade Turkey Sausage at one time. It just makes sense. I’m already getting out all of the spices. I’m already dirtying a pot. Might as well just dirty a bigger pot and make a huge batch of sausage, right? Then I freeze the cooked meat in 12 quart-sized freezer bags. The night before I’m planning to make biscuits and gravy, I get out one bag of meat and put it into the fridge to thaw. Easy!

How to Make Freezer Biscuits

Now how about the biscuits? I’ve learned to mix up a triple or quadruple batch of Quick Mix Biscuits, roll and cut, then freeze the unbaked biscuits on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet. One mess, lots of biscuits. So easy! Once the biscuits are frozen, I transfer them to gallon-sized freezer bags. The night before I want to bake them, I place the desired number of frozen biscuits on a baking sheet, cover them with a cloth, then let them thaw on the countertop overnight.

The next morning, all I have to do is slide the biscuits into the oven to bake while I quickly make Homemade Sausage Gravy with the pre-cooked sausage. Slice some fruit, and I’ve got a favorite, hearty meal on the table within about 15 minutes.

My family will now be enjoying biscuits and gravy more often, thanks to these quick freezer methods!

Have you tried freezing unbaked biscuits before?

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Everyone Make Your Own Salad

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Want to know one of my latest tricks as I work to keep life simple (but still healthy) in the kitchen? While I’ve been working to have main dishes prepared ahead of time – when it comes time to serve the meal, we need a salad and/or veggie to go with it. No problem. Steaming veggies or tossing a salad together is super fast and easy.

But here’s what’s even faster:  Throw down all of the salad fixings and let everyone make their own salad. 

Everyone Make Your Own Salad

Is it just me, or does it appear that someone really should fill those empty jars of salad dressing?

Here’s what this looks like at dinner time at our house:

1. I had prepared a casserole last week and put it in the freezer.
2. At 4pm, I put the frozen casserole into the oven, turned the oven on to 250°, and let the casserole thaw/bake for two hours.
3. I wipe the sweat off my brow after that laborious twelve seconds of hard work.
4. At 5:50, I realize the casserole will soon be ready, so I decide to get out salad stuff.
5. I ask one boy to wash lettuce, another to wash tomatoes, another to get out salad dressing.
6. The casserole is taken out of the oven, the salad fixings are out, and everyone comes to the kitchen to fix a plate.
7. Each of us takes a scoop of casserole, then grabs some lettuce leaves. We all tear our lettuce onto our plates, grab tomatoes, choose our dressing, then sit down to eat together.

Even very young children can tear their own lettuce for a salad. And what kid doesn’t love being given permission to tear, rip, break, or shred their food? It’s like a salad eating privilege.

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Our Family’s Favorite Real Food Make-Ahead Dinners

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To go along with our Getting Ahead for Dinner Challenge, I thought I’d share what my family’s top picks are for Make-Ahead Meals. Here’s some getting ahead inspiration for you:

Italian Pasta Bake

Hearty Green Bean Casserole (In Oh, For Real Cookbook)

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Chicken Fried Steak Strips

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Lasagna Casserole

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Creamy Salsa Enchilada Casserole (Found in Lesson 2 of Let’s Do This! eCourse)

 Creamy Chicken and Rice Casserole

Sweet and Sour Meatballs (found in Lesson 5 of Let’s Do This! eCourse)

Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole (from {Healthy} Make Ahead Meals and Snacks eBook)

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 Whole Wheat Calzones

Having any of these in the freezer to warm up without any effort is SO helpful to me! What are your favorite dinnertime meals that can be made ahead?

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Let’s Do This! Join the Getting Ahead {Dinner} Challenge

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I loved reading about all that you did last week to get ahead for breakfast! When I extend a challenge, you all really do jump right in. Thanks for making this so much fun! I’m sure your family thanks you too. But who really benefits the most from getting ahead? You and I. Yes indeed. The pay off for our efforts is that we make our kitchen work so much easier. Sweet!

Feel free to continue getting ahead with breakfast foods. (Yes, you have my permission.)  Our Getting Ahead eCourse and eBook can help. Now we’re moving on to the evening meal, the Getting Ahead for Dinner Challenge. Feel free to call this a Supper Challenge if you prefer. I grew up calling it supper, but now I call it dinner, but that’s a post I already wrote a few years ago. :)

Who’s with me?! Let’s Do This!

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What’s involved in this challenge? Anything that will help you put a healthy meal on the table in the evening a little bit faster or with a little less effort.

Some Getting Ahead for Dinner ideas:

And those are just a few ideas. There are so many tasks you can do ahead of time to make your dinnertimes easier. (Lesson one and two – well all the lessons really – in the Let’s Do This! eCourse will give you more guidance.)

I’m planning to get a few casseroles made this weekend to help with busy days the next couple of weeks. It is SO nice to effortlessly grab a frozen casserole out of the freezer to heat up for dinner.

Let’s hear it!  What are you going to make to get ahead for dinner? (Or do you prefer to call it supper?)

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Breakfast Crock Pot Casserole

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Every once in a while I think to myself, “Surely someday I will run out of recipes and ideas to share on my website.” But after blogging for almost six years, I have decided that no – the ideas will never run out. Why? Because when food meets internet {splat} – recipes, tips, ideas, and suggestions are never ending. I learn something new, I share it with you. You learn something new, you share it with me. As we all ask questions, learn from others, see new ideas, remember timeless ideas, or come across an idea quite by accident – and we share it with each other via this awesome tool called the internet – our healthy eating journey together continues on a fun and delicious path.

Case in point:  On my own, I would never have thought to make a breakfast casserole in my crock pot. I freeze my Easy Breakfast Casserole and for an easy breakfast to bake in the morning. But this crock pot idea is even better, because we can roll right out of bed and eat a hot, hearty meal within minutes.

A big thanks goes to Karli who sent me this idea. We’re lovin’ it! (So much that I named this recipe after you, and included it in my free Healthy Breakfast Made Simple eBook.)

Karli’s Breakfast Crock Pot CasseroleYum

1 pound turkey sausage
6 cups hashbrowns
1 green pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup milk
12 eggs

Brown turkey sausage. Butter the inside of a slow cooker, then stir in cooked sausage, hashbrowns, pepper, onions, and cheese. Whisk together milk and eggs, then pour mixture over the top of the contents in the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low overnight – about 10 or 12 hours. Serves 8-10.

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I thought it was funny that the sausage didn’t show up on the plate. It’s in there, I promise. :)

This recipe is very versatile – mix and match any veggies, meats, or cheeses that your family likes or that you have available.

How is the Getting Ahead for Breakfast Challenge coming for you?  I love that there are so many ways to get ahead for breakfast, and not all of them involve putting food in the freezer. This crock pot casserole is a great example. As is the Homemade Instant Oatmeal Packet recipe and the Dark Chocolate Almond Granola recipe. And the Homemade Grape Nuts Cereal. And the Freezing Muffin Batter idea. Oh wait. That one does involve the freezer. I guess I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to bring it up again.

I also wanted to mention that I’ve had great feedback from people taking the Let’s Do This! Getting Ahead in Your Real Food Kitchen eCourse. Families are finding new ways to get ahead in the kitchen, saving time, saving money, and becoming healthier. I LOVE it!

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Let’s Do This! Join the Getting Ahead {Breakfast} Challenge

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It’s a great time of year to get a little more organized in the kitchen so that you can stay ahead of your busy schedule. That’s why we created the Let’s Do This! Getting Ahead in Your Real Food Kitchen eCourse and the {Healthy} Make-Ahead Meals and Snacks eBook. Hopefully you’ve grabbed yours already and have started working your way through them. If not, you can do that here.

Whether you’re taking the course or not, I hope you’ll all join me in this Getting Ahead Challenge! We can all benefit from working ahead in our kitchens!

During the next four weeks, we’ll be offering four different challenges so that together, we can take steps to get ahead. I’ll be sharing more getting-ahead tips, new recipes, plus some freebies to help us all in our efforts. My goal with these challenges is to put you to work in the kitchen so that you can see how easy and beneficial it is to get food made ahead of time.

Who’s with me?! Let’s Do This!

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Our first challenge is all about Getting Ahead for Breakfast.

Why are we starting with a breakfast challenge? Because that’s the meal I struggle with most as I try to get ahead in my kitchen. Dinnertime casseroles in the freezer? No problem. Burritos in the freezer for a quick lunch? Done. But breakfast? I often forget that there are so many make-ahead breakfast options. Therefore I rarely remember to put these items on my make-ahead-to-do-list. (Except for freezing muffin batter. I’ve been obsessed with that recently, as you know. But man can not live by muffins alone.)

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As much as I appreciate being ahead and having dinner time foods prepped and ready, I think I need healthy breakfast foods prepared and accessible even more. We need to get our day started quickly and smoothly. We need a full, hearty breakfast. We need to not have to think straight the minute we roll out of bed with fuzzy brain, crazy hair, and a long to-do list for the day ahead – am I right?

Therefore, for the past few weeks, I’ve been focusing on creating new recipes and coming up with new ideas for ways to get ahead for breakfast. I am so excited to share all I’ve been learning! You’ll be glad to know that not all methods of getting ahead involve filling the freezer. And they definitely don’t involve spending a lot of extra time working in the kitchen. (The eCourse already taught you that though, right?!)

Now through next Thursday, make plans to join me in getting ahead with breakfast foods. What’s involved in this challenge? Simply pick one (or more!) breakfast foods that you can prepare ahead of time – and get it done! Here are some suggested ideas:

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There are lots of great ways to get ahead for breakfast! (Here are all of the Healthy Breakfast Recipes on this site.)  You aren’t limited to the suggestions above. Do whatever you can to make healthy breakfasts easier at your house. Be watching for more recipes and ideas in the coming days. I can’t wait to share!

Are you joining this challenge? Leave a comment on this post letting me know that you’re taking part.

So let’s hear it!  What are you going to make to get ahead for breakfast?

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Getting Ahead in the Kitchen When You Don’t Want To Heat Up the House

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I love seeing how many are grabbing the Let’s Do This! Getting Ahead in Your Real Food Kitchen eCourse and {Healthy} Make Ahead Meals and Snacks eBook. It is especially great to hear how some of you are already using the techniques described in the eCourse and the recipes in the eBook to get ahead. As one person commented this morning, “Because of your course, I now already have dinner made for tonight! That’s a first for me!” Awesome. :)  It’s so exciting to me to see how many of you are saving yourselves so much time and energy in your kitchen!

Today, I wanted to share an additional tip that has helped me to get ahead this week. It’s been hot at our house the past several days – too hot to bake. In fact, I’ve hardly even wanted to cook anything on the stovetop because even that heats up the kitchen on hot days. But I still found myself with about thirty minutes of time yesterday that I could work ahead in the kitchen.

So what did I do? I mixed up items that could be frozen raw and baked later. It was the perfect solution to getting ahead without heating up the kitchen!

Here’s what I made:

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough (a necessity, right?)

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To freeze cookie dough, simply mix up the batter and scoop it out onto a cookie sheet. Place the cookie sheet in the freezer until the cookie dough is frozen. Transfer the frozen dough to a well-labeled ziplock bag. Store in the freezer for up to two months. To bake the cookies, place the frozen balls of dough onto a baking sheet, two inches apart. Bake as directed, adding a few minutes extra baking time.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffin Batter

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Here are the details you’ll want to read to learn about freezing muffin batter. On a chilly morning someday soon, I can use these frozen muffin balls to make fresh muffins without any effort!

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Quick Mix Biscuits

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Don’t like the hassle of rolling out and cutting out biscuits at breakfast or dinner time? Me neither (even though it really isn’t hard). I mixed up a double batch of biscuits, rolled them, cut them, and froze them on a cookie sheet. Once they were frozen, I transferred them to a freezer bag. To bake frozen biscuits:  Place desired number of biscuits on a baking sheet to thaw for 30 minutes to one hour before baking.  Bake as directed.

Other ideas of ways to get ahead when it’s too hot to cook/bake:

What else have you done to get ahead in your kitchen that doesn’t require using a stove or oven?

How has it been going for you as you’ve been
working through the eCourse and trying new recipes from the eBook?
Haven’t started yet? We’d love to have you join us!

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How To Get Ahead With Real Food Make-Ahead Meals (eCourse and eBook Now Available!)

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Get out your mixing bowls, Pyrex, and freezer bags! The Let’s Do This! Getting Ahead in Your Real Food Kitchen eCourse and {Healthy} Make-Ahead Meals and Snacks eBook are now available for purchase! Join me as together we get ahead and save time (and money) while we feed our families healthy, delicious food!

The Let’s Do This! eCourse answers your questions about Getting Ahead in Your Real Food Kitchen:

  • I can’t even keep up – how am I supposed to get ahead?
  • I don’t have freezer space for freezer cooking, how I can I make this work?
  • Will this actually help me save money on food?
  • Will this really save me time and energy?
  • How can this work for me if I’m not an organized person?
  • My family is picky. Will this frozen food taste good?
  • I want to get ahead, but I don’t even know where to start…

Even if you already have a pretty good idea of how to work ahead in the kitchen to prepare meals and snacks ahead of time to make life easier – I still believe you will benefit from these resources. After all, you can never have too many healthy, make-ahead recipes!

Getting Ahead – is it possible?

If I can do it, you can do it. This eCourse shows you how!

The Let’s Do This! Getting Ahead in Your Real Food Kitchen eCourse includes five simple but detailed lessons:

  1. Getting Ahead for the Day
  2. Getting Ahead for the Week
  3. Getting Ahead With Snacks
  4. Getting Ahead During Spare Moments for Busy Moments
  5. Using Your Make-Ahead Meals and Snacks

Within each lesson, you will be given loads of practical tips and information, online links, downloadable worksheets and planners, and plenty of down-to-earth encouragement. Each lesson includes a brand new, exclusive recipe not found on my website or in any of my books. (Sweet and Sour Meatballs, Creamy Salsa Enchilada Casserole – plus three more delicious recipes you’ll love!)  In addition, I’ve recorded short videos for each lesson so that you can watch me in action – getting ahead in my real food kitchen.

This entire eCourse costs only $10! Your purchase will allow you unlimited, lifetime access to all of this information. These lessons are available to download onto your computer so you can view it forever and print pages as needed!

Work through the lessons at your own pace, on your own time, in the middle of the night, while your kids are napping, in the morning, in the evening –  whenever works for you!

Access this eCourse now!

Our Heavenly Homemaker’s Club Members have access to this amazing resource plus ALL of our eBooks, eCurriculum, printables, and so much more – for one very low price! Join us here!

Or purchase separately below:

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Ready to dig in?

Our Heavenly Homemaker’s Club Members have access to this amazing resource plus ALL of our eBooks, eCurriculum, printables, and so much more – for one very low price! Join us here!

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Trust me when I say that getting ahead in your real food kitchen and stocking your fridge and freezer with healthy, prepared food IS doable for you! What are you waiting for? Let’s do this!

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Purchasing Information: Once you purchase, you will receive an email with a download link for the eBook and specific instructions for how to access the eCourse. Instant gratification!

Want more, and want to save money too!? This great package is for you!

Our Heavenly Homemaker’s Club Members have access to this amazing resource plus ALL of our eBooks, eCurriculum, printables, and so much more – for one very low price! Join us here!

 

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Getting Ahead a Little Each Day

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This has been a big week of catching up and getting ahead. I’ve hardly left the house all week, which has made for some very productive days at home. We got all of our laundry caught up from our time at camp, have been working to get our school books organized (we start our new school year on Monday!), and have been working very hard in the kitchen.

Allow me to emphasize the word WE in the above sentences. I’ve not done all of this by myself. Our boys have been a huge help – with laundry, dishes, grating cheese, stirring and measuring,  deboning chickens, taking food to freezers, and the list goes on.

Why are we making so much food? Well, it’s August. That means that college soccer (which Matt coaches) and our boys’ soccer seasons are about to begin. School work will keep our days full, soccer practices and games will keep our evenings full, and getting all this food prepared ahead of time will keep our bellies full. My sanity depends on having a full freezer of prepared food as we head into some very busy months.

At the beginning of the week, I made a list of the foods I was hoping to prepare for our fridge and freezers:

I took some pictures along the way. Here’s how it all went down this week:

On Monday, I made three jars of Homemade Peanut Butter. Malachi helped me make two Loaves of Banana Bread and a big Banana Cake. The cake didn’t make it into the freezer, but it sure was tasty, and the freezer won’t know what it was missing, so don’t tell.

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I like making several jars of peanut butter at one time because we go through quite a bit of it. Plus, I’ve found that making several batches at once means that I can get away with cleaning my food processor less. Making one big mess instead of several little messes saves lots of time!

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Tuesday was a big beef and tortilla day. I made a triple batch of Whole Wheat Tortillas (recipe found in Totally Tortillas eBook and/or Oh, For Real Cookbook). In the meantime, I browned several pounds of hamburger meat. Once finished, I made two meals worth of Sloppy Joes, two pans of Cheesy Salsa Enchiladas, and two meals worth of Meat and Cheese Burritos. (The boys spent the morning folding and putting away clean laundry. Yay!)

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Oh yes, and somewhere in there, Asa helped me crack eggs and make two Easy Breakfast Casseroles.

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Wednesday was a chicken day. I cooked three big chickens in my stock pot. With the broth, I cooked an enormous amount of rice. Then, Matt deboned the chickens for me (he’s always great to tackle that job) while I put together three big Cheesy Chicken and Rice Casseroles. The remaining chicken is now frozen and ready to thaw for Chicken Salad the next couple of weeks. That will make for some super quick lunches on school days!

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The boys should have counted the number of times I sent them to the freezer with prepared food.
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I am hoping to get around to making Pita Bread and Whole Wheat Pizza Crust this weekend. We’ve got to have pitas with our chicken salad, after all! (With fresh tomatoes from our garden.)

Also, I’ve got to make my way out to the garden to pick tomatoes and make Tomato Sauce. I’ll be sure and post once I get that done. Why? Because it gives me a chance to take a picture of jars filled with homegrown goodness, of course. :)

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My Weekend Baking/Cooking Marathon

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Some people soak in the tub. Some play a sport. Some read a book. Me? When I am worn out and need some refreshment, I find that cooking is just the pick-me-up I need.

Okay, yes – sometimes cooking is the last thing I want to do and passing out on my bed of pillows and quilty comfort is all I want. I’m not that tireless (or crazy). But over the weekend, travel weary though I was, I couldn’t stop myself from running into the kitchen to get some recipes made ahead for the coming weeks. I think it had something to do with the fact that I had suffered some kitchen withdrawal while being out of our home for eight days. And it may have had something to do with the fact that we’d eaten a few too many fast food french fries on our way home. Therefore I felt the need to grind flour, toss salads, and slice strawberries.

Anyway, I was magnetically pulled into the kitchen on Friday afternoon. I stood there for hours – cooking and baking and having a blast.  And then I passed out on my bed of pillows and quilty comfort long before my family went to bed. (They, of course, were playing a lively game of soccer in the living room with their Dad because they are all of the “some play a sport” variety of refreshment seekers. Yes, the ball was soft. Yes, one picture did get knocked off the wall. No, I don’t care. Yes, I slept through it all.)  But back to my kitchen time which happened before I passed out on the pillows.

I changed my plan just a little bit from the original list I shared on Friday. I was thrilled with what I accomplished in just a few hours and now have lots of healthy, prepared food ready to grab and serve. I hate that some of these pictures are ugly. Raw egg casseroles just don’t look pretty. They can’t help it. Bless their heart.

I started my marathon by getting several pounds of Turkey Sausage cooking in a pot. 

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While it was cooking, I started mixing up Giant Breakfast Cookies. I decided to make the Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Cookie variety since we loved those so much last time I made them.

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While the cookies were baking and while the turkey sausage was cooking, and while Justus chopped tomatoes for dinner (irrelevant to this post, but hey, there are tomatoes in the following picture) – I mixed up two Easy Breakfast Casseroles. As soon as the sausage was done, I stirred some into the casseroles. I put the casseroles into the freezer with a note to add cheese before baking. (I didn’t feel like grating any that night, what can I say?)

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Remember how Asa made a batch of no-bake cookies a few weeks ago, and it turned into Peanut Butter Chocolate Granola, so I posted the recipe? Well, this time, I made the granola and it threatened to turn into no-bake cookies. The nerve! I just smooshed it all into a platter and we’ve been breaking off pieces to eat all weekend. I think I should maybe bake it in the oven for a little while to crisp it up. Maybe I’ll do that later this week.

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Somewhere in there, the family came in to help me finish making dinner, I got out my Whole Wheat Quick Mix to make the crust for a Fruit Pizza (which we ate the following day), and I mixed up a double batch of Pancake Sausage Muffins. Shucks, I had the turkey sausage fresh and ready after all. And by the way, I referenced my Oh, For Real: Real Food, Real Family, Real Easy book about twenty times during this cooking session. Hope you’re loving your copy as much as I am enjoying and using mine!

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After dinner, I decided to go ahead and make a triple batch of Chicken Patty Sandwiches. I figured if I just got it done, I could then get the kitchen all clean and not worry about finishing my list the following day. We had fresh spinach from our garden, so I decided to grind some up and throw it into these sandwiches along with the carrots, onions, garlic, and chicken. 

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I ended up with 31 Chicken Patties for the freezer – full of all kinds of veggies and deliciousness. Unfortunately, I was on about sandwich number 27 before I remembered that I had not added one egg to the mixture. Ah well – the patties turned out great anyway. (And now you know that you can make this Chicken Patty Sandwich recipe without eggs and with spinach. Awesome.)

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Once all the food cooled, I bagged it, labeled it, stuck it in the freezer, loaded the dishwasher, started it, (took my vitamins, brushed my teeth, yada yada) and went to bed. My hair smelled a bit like a fried chicken patty sandwich – the kind with no eggs and fresh spinach.

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