Recipes Archives | Heavenly Homemakers

Simple Green Beans in the Air Fryer

December 20, 2020 by Laura 2 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

I love how simple and tasty it is to make green beans in the air fryer!

Do you have an Air Fryer? If no, you might consider putting it on your Christmas wish-list. Here’s how I’ve found it to save a lot of money. Not to mention it turns out some super fun foods, making us feel like we’re eating a treat meal from a restaurant!

So green beans in the Air Fryer? Well, these are super healthy and our kids gobble them up because they’re so delicious. They take about two minutes to prepare, so you can’t go wrong there.

Simple Green Beans in the Air FryerYum

Simple Green Beans in the Air Fryer

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Author: Laura

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

12-ounces frozen fine green beans
1 teaspoon olive oil
¼ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon garlic powder (optional)

Instructions

Pour green beans into a bowl (or cheat by cutting open the bag of green beans to use it as a disposable bowl!)
Add olive oil, salt, and garlic powder.
Toss with a spoon or tongs to coat the green beans.
Cook in your Air Fryer at 400 degrees for 7-10 minutes, tossing them half-way through cook time to make sure they are cooking evenly.

These have an awesome crunch. And did you see that simple hack I shared in the recipe? I simply open a bag of frozen green beans and use the bag as a bowl! Drizzle in the olive oil, sprinkle in the seasonings, shake the bag, and pour the coated green beans into the air fryer. No dishes!! NO DISHES!!!! That is my favorite part, besides of course, the fact that we can make this awesome vegetable in the air fryer. Nourishing and fun all in one!

P.S. I have this Air Fryer and we’ve been very happy with it!

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The Best Pumpkin Recipes (20+ Recipes for You to Try!)

November 4, 2020 by Bethany Lotulelei Leave a Comment

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‘Tis the season for all things pumpkin (and everyone rejoiced)! Today I’m sharing the best pumpkin recipes for you to try!

Do you like to drink pumpkin with your coffee or no? I have never been a fan of the famed Pumpkin Spice Latte, it’s just not my cup of tea–ahem–coffee. Honestly, I would vastly prefer sipping a cup of coffee with Chocolate Whipped Cream, some Hot Vanilla Milk, or a Peppermint Cream Cocoa.

While I may not be a fan of drinking my pumpkin, I sure do like eating it in baked goods! Give me all the pumpkin donuts, bread, muffins, cookies, and custard. YUM!

To celebrate pumpkin season, this week we are sharing how to make your own pumpkin puree, and our very best pumpkin flavored baked goods!

Are you ready? Let’s go!

Make Your Own Pumpkin Puree

Are the stores out of canned pumpkin? Or do you have a pumpkin on your front porch that you’d like to process, and freeze? Then you should follow this tutorial on how to cook a whole pumpkin!

Did you know that you don’t have to slice up a pumpkin before you bake it? It’s true! Simply bake it in its whole form, and you won’t have to deal with the awful task of sawing through the tough outer skin. I’m not sure why I haven’t been cooking the pumpkin in its whole form all along – but once I figured it out, I’ve never cut up a raw pumpkin since!

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What I’ve Been Baking

We’ve been mixing up a big batch of Pumpkin Waffles every Sunday, and then using that batter to make fresh waffles for the first few days of the week. They are a big hit with my toddlers, and I feel good that they are getting a veggie in with their breakfast! I’ve also frozen several batches of Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins for easy snacks and breakfasts later on. As a result, we have a freezer full of yummy food ready for busy mornings! I love baking and freezing pumpkin baked goods this time of year, while we have a lot of pumpkin to use up, and then using those easy snacks and meals in the coming months.

Next, I really want to make a big batch of my Make-Ahead Pumpkin Donuts!

The Best Pumpkin Recipes

Now that you have secured the pumpkin puree, what are you going to do with it? Well, you could freeze it for later, but I highly encourage you to give a few of these recipes a try!

Here are my absolute favorite pumpkin recipes for you!

You've got to try this recipe!

What’s your favorite pumpkin recipe? Share below!

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What Should I Bake?

November 1, 2020 by Laura Leave a Comment

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As much as I love summer the best of all the seasons, I sure love fall so I can get to baking again! In case you’re in the baking mood too, I thought it would be fun to give you some ideas if you’re asking yourself: What should I bake?

What should I bake?

I organized 111 of our favorite baking recipes into Yeast Bread Recipes, Muffin Recipes, Quick Bread Recipes, Cookie Recipes, Bar Recipes, and Cake Recipes. You’ll love how simple, yet how delicious these recipes are!

Get ready to bake up a storm and share with your neighbors. Wondering “what should I bake?” Wonder no more!

And by the way, if you don’t have a Bosch Mixer, I do highly recommend one. That has made my baking endeavors so much easier!!! (Read about why I invested here.)

Yeast Bread RecipesYum

Muffin Recipes

Quick Bread Recipes

Cookie Recipes

Bar Recipes

Cake Recipes

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The Easiest Pulled Pork

October 28, 2020 by Laura Leave a Comment

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Need a meal to feed a crowd? Make the Easiest Pulled Pork!

You know I’m not a gourmet cook. I’m not even super eager to try new spices in my recipes, simply because I like to stick with basics that I always have on hand. It’s just easier for me this way and saves brain energy and effort.

The food is still delicious!

One of the first times I made this Easiest Pulled Pork and fed it to our YC soccer teams, one of the coaches told Matt, “I don’t know what your wife does to season that meat, but it is so good!”

Truth: Matt’s wife barely does anything to season the meat. But shh. Don’t tell!

I just find that food can really taste great without going to a lot of trouble and taking a lot of time. Since it was a hit last year, I made pulled pork again for the teams this year. I made 20 pounds of pork, and I’m pretty sure it only took 5 minutes of prep.

How I make pulled porkYum

Put the pork butt in the slow cooker (when I make huge amounts, I use a large roaster instead of a crockpot).
Sprinkle on salt and garlic powder.
Peel a few onions if I have time. Cut them and throw them in with the meat.
Cover and walk away.
Well yeah, plug it in and turn it on low first. Then cover and walk away.

The meat slow cooks for hours then falls apart at the end of the day. It practically shreds itself. Then it can be served on buns with barbecue sauce and that’s that!

Now, those of you with smokers can surely turn out much better-tasting pulled pork than I! But this is a method that any of us can do if we have a slow cooker of some kind. And pulled pork is an inexpensive and easy way to feed a crowd!

The Easiest Pulled Pork

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Author: Laura

Serves: 24 servings

Ingredients

6-8 pound pork butt
sea salt
garlic powder
2-3 onions (optional)

Instructions

Place the pork in a slow cooker.
Sprinkle on seasonings liberally.
Peel onions and chop them on top of the meat.
Cook on low for 10 hours.
Use a knife and fork to shred the meat, which pulls apart quite easily after the meat has cooked slow and low!

Don’t need to feed a crowd, just your family? You can still make this easy meal and then freeze the shredded meat in meal-sized portions to pull out and rewarm as needed. SO EASY!

Feeding a crowd and want to get ahead? Make this meat days or weeks ahead. Put the shredded, cooled meat into freezer bags to save in the freezer until you need it. Then thaw and reheat as needed.

Great Sides to Serve with Your Pulled Pork

Buns and Barbecue Sauces
Party Potatoes
Simple Cream Cheese Corn
Simple Baked Beans
Raw Veggies with Dip
Fruit like grapes, watermelon, or cantaloupe

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Low Sugar Granookie: Granola Cookie

October 25, 2020 by Tasha Hackett Leave a Comment

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Tasha brought these Granookies to our family along with a meal when our newborn moved in with us in September. They are SO GOOD and I felt great letting our toddlers eat them along with the rest of us! (Bonus peek at “Baby Sister”—>)

Low Sugar Granookie: Granola Cookie

by Tasha Hackett

When you want a cookie, but you’re actually starving and what you need is a hearty snack or breakfast? Never fear, granookie is here! Granookie is a granola cookie and is the next best thing to stir-and-pour bread. (Go ahead and add Granookie to your dictionary.

No, it’s not spelled wrong, your computer just isn’t up with the times.) It’s not simple, being that it has about a thousand ingredients and then there’s the whole stirring and making into cookie balls and baking. . . okay, it’s still pretty simple. Especially so because this recipe makes 5-6 dozen cookies. I bake one pan for eating right away, and I freeze the rest into premade cookie balls for a fresh granookie snack or breakfast or dessert for later. Tip: Freeze on a flat pan and then transfer to a bag once frozen.

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Granola Cookie: Granookie

Before you skim straight to the recipe for the granookie, you may want to take a few things into account. These are low-sugar and mildly sweet, but not nearly as sweet as cookies, nor even as sweet as traditional granola. In addition, there is a hearty mix of nuts and seeds that makes them deliciously healthy, along with the whole grain addition to stock you up on healthy carbs, fiber, and an exorbitant amount of vitamins and minerals. However, can we cut the healthy talk and just be amazed at how delicious these are and hand them out guilt free?

Whole grain for the win!

I always use fresh-ground flour when baking these. Either soft or hard wheat will work, though I use soft white wheat as it is marginally cheaper than hard wheat. If you’re using store-bought flour, you may need a touch less in your recipe. But it’s a fairly forgiving recipe.

I developed over the past year after much frustration of my granola crumbling everywhere. I’ll sheepishly tell you that I changed it every time because I didn’t follow the recipe… but people kept asking me how to made these granola cookies (and I’d correct them, “It’s called a granookie.”) so I was determined to write down legit measurements and this is the winner!

Enjoy!

Tasha Hackett is a friend of Laura and a bedroom closet jalapeno Cheeto eater. She lives in the great Midwest where the winter whisks your breath away and the summer smothers. Laura is still here, but likes to take a shower every now and then and let Tasha play on the blog. In other news, Tasha’s debut novel, a historical fiction romance, is currently being evaluated by a publisher. She’s been lost in the 1800’s for decades, dreaming of ways to bring her heroes to a happily ever after.

Low Sugar Granookie: Granola Cookie

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Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

10 mins

Total time

25 mins

Author: Tasha

Recipe type: cookie

Serves: 60

Ingredients

2 Cups of Butter
¾ Cup Brown Sugar
5 Eggs
1 tsp Caramel Flavoring (I use this one.)
1 Tbs Vanilla Extract
1½ tsp baking soda
1½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3 Cups Flour
3 Cups Thick Rolled Oats
1 Cup Unsweetened Shredded Coconut
1 Cup Slivered Almonds
½ Cup Pumpkin Seeds
⅓ Cup Sunflower Seeds
1 Cup Chocolate Chips
½ Cup Butterscotch Chips

Instructions

Whip the butter and sugar until fluffy, add the eggs, flavoring, and dry ingredients. Add the nuts and seeds and chips. Dough will be quite firm.
Form into cookie sized balls and bake at 375* for 8-10 minutes (until golden brown). They do not flatten much.

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Vanilla Extract in the Instant Pot. Is it Good??

October 21, 2020 by Laura 1 Comment

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I’ve heard about making Vanilla Extract in the Instant Pot. But I had to wonder: Is it good? As good as the Homemade Vanilla Extract I usually brew for 6 months? I decided to give it a try!

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I’ve been making my own vanilla extract since 2009. It’s super easy to make, but it does take 4-6 months to finish extracting so that we end up with good strong vanilla.

Recently I saw on the internet that you can make vanilla extract in the Instant Pot – in 40 minutes!!! Fun fact: 40 minutes is a lot less time to wait on homemade vanilla compared to waiting for 6 months. I figured it wouldn’t cost much to try it out and compare it to my super special 6-month homemade vanilla. So I gave it a try!

First, let’s look at how this works:

When I long-brew my vanilla extract, I cut my beans and put them into a big jar filled with vodka for 4-6 months. It’s as simple as can be and turns out THE MOST AMAZING vanilla extract!

The Instant Pot method for making vanilla extract takes fewer beans and way less time. I cut a total of 6 beans – first the long way, then in half so they fit into pint-sized jars.

I then fill the jars with vodka and put them on the trivet in my Instant Pot. Carefully set lids on the jars, but do not screw on tightly. Add water to the Instant Pot, seal, and set the timer to 40 minutes at high pressure.

Allow the vanilla extract to pressure cook for 40 minutes, then carefully quick release the pressure so that you can open your Instant Pot lid. The result?

Beautiful vanilla extract in just 40 minutes!!!

How to make Vanilla Extract in the Instant Pot

Vanilla Extract in the Instant Pot. Is it Good??

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Author: Laura

Serves: 32 ounces

Ingredients

6 vanilla beans (use the code HOME for a 15% discount!)
1 quart of vodka
2 pint jars with lids

Instructions

Cut vanilla beans along down the middle of the bean, then cut them in half and place them into 2 pint-sized jar. (3 beans per jar)
Pour vodka over the beans.
Place a trivet into your Instant Pot.
Add 1 cup of water to the bottom of the pot.
Set the prepared jars of vodka/vanilla beans onto the trivet.
Loosely place the lids on the jars, not sealing tightly.
Lock on the Instant Pot lid and seal the pressure valve.
Cook on manual setting for 40 minutes at high pressure.
Quick release the pressure valve (watch out for the steam!)
Carefully remove the jar and allow the vanilla to cool.

How does it compare?

The old fashioned me wants to say, “Oh, the long brew method of making vanilla extract is so much better!!” But the truth is that I actually can’t tell much difference.

Therefore, the simple-cook me gets to say, “Hey, want to save A LOT of time and effort making vanilla extract? Try making it in your Instant Pot!!”

So in summary, we’ve got a win-win here! If you decide to stick with the regular, long brew method you’ll turn out wonderful vanilla extract! And if you have an Instant Pot and decide to make a fast batch, you will still turn out wonderful vanilla extract!

Make this for Christmas gifts!

If you do have an Instant Pot, you can order your beans and make a bunch of vanilla for gifts – it’s not too late!! People love receiving homemade vanilla as a gift – teachers, family members, neighbors, co-workers!

Where to buy vanilla beans:

I always buy my vanilla beans from Olive Nation. I’ve tried other sources to “save money” but instead ended up wasting money because the quality of the beans from cheap sources was terrible!

Olive Nation beans are so, so good. I’ve used their beans for years. They love working with us here at Heavenly Homemakers so they offer us 15% off when we use the coupon code: home. Plus we get free shipping on orders over $50!

Cost Breakdown to Make Vanilla in the Instant Pot:

I ordered the 25-bean package on this page and used the lovely discount code, home. This landed me 15% off plus free shipping, so total cost for 25 beans was $91.11. With these beans, I can make 4 quarts of vanilla!! (I’ve just made 1 quart so far.)

Cost for one quart of vanilla in my Instant Pot:

6 beans = 21.84
1 quart of vodka = $5.50
TOTAL = $27.34

With this, I can put together four 8-ounce bottles of vanilla for gifts!! This makes each 8-ounce bottle cost just $6.84! That is an incredible price!!

(Cost at the store for high-quality vanilla? Most of what I find has water added, and it’s still $8.97 for just TWO OUNCES. Homemade cost for two ounces is just $1.71!!!)

Extra resources:

Read this post to learn how to finish and strain your vanilla after 4-6 months if you choose to do the long-brew method.
You can purchase dark amber bottles here.
Order personalized vanilla stickers for bottles and gifts here.
Get your beans here, and use the code HOME to get 15% off!

I’m super excited about this option for making vanilla extract! Have you tried it before?!

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Special (Easy) Breakfast: Chocolate Syrup on Pancakes

September 27, 2020 by Laura Leave a Comment

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If you want to turn a regular breakfast into a special breakfast, simply pour chocolate syrup on your pancakes! Here are two chocolate sauce recipes for you (one is dairy-free and low in sugar!).

I have all sorts of recipes for you, actually.

First, we’ll talk about pancakes.
Then, I’ll give you these great chocolate sauce recipes.
Then, I’ll share different homemade whipped cream recipes to top everything off!

What’s great about this idea is that it turns ordinary pancakes into something super special! And if you’re hesitant about putting chocolate sauce on your pancakes because of the sugar, might I remind you that maple syrup is straight sugar also (even if it’s pure maple syrup)? ;) Not only that, if you make the Dairy Free Chocolate Sauce recipe below you’ll actually have a lower-sugar option to pour (or spread) all over your pancakes!

Pancake Recipe Ideas:

Simple Pancake Mix Pancakes
Whole Wheat Pancakes
Peanut Butter Pancakes (with chocolate on top? YES PLEASE.)
Pumpkin Pancakes
Easy Whole Grain Chocolate Pancakes
Simple Banana Pancakes
Whole Wheat Applesauce Pancakes
Baked Apple Pancake
Easy Pancake Muffins
Whole Wheat Waffles (even better than pancakes!)

Chocolate Syrup for PancakesYum

Hot Fudge Sauce

Chocolate Fudge Sauce

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Author: Laura

Serves: 2 cups

Ingredients

1 ½ cups heavy cream
1 cup brown sugar or sucanat
½ cup cocoa
1 stick butter
1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

In medium saucepan, stir together cream, sugar, cocoa and butter.
Cook on medium heat until butter is melted and ingredients are thoroughly combined.
Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

Dairy Free Chocolate Sauce

Dairy Free Chocolate Sauce

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Author: Laura

Serves: 2 cups

Ingredients

13.5 ounce can of full fat, unsweetened coconut milk
⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ - ½ cup sweetener (honey, sucanat, or brown sugar)

Instructions

Mix ingredients in a small saucepan, cooking and stirring on medium heat until well combined.
Serve warm or cold.
Store this sauce in a covered container in the refrigerator, rewarming on the stove-top as needed. It will keep for up to a month in the fridge.

Drizzle or spread these onto your pancakes and you’ve got an amazing feast. But really, it’s thousands of times better if you then top it all with whipped cream!

Whipped Cream Recipes:

Still want more ideas?

Bonus Pancake Topping Recipes:

Real Maple Syrup
Apple Butter
Blueberry Pancake and Waffle Syrup
Peach Syrup (for pancakes and waffles)
Peanut Butter (just peanuts!)
Peanut Butter (super creamy – like Skippy or Jif)
Raspberry Syrup

What’s your favorite way to top a pancake?

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Simple Homemade Pizza

September 9, 2020 by Laura Leave a Comment

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Pizza might be one of my favorite meals, so of course, we need to have Simple Homemade Pizza recipe options!

Confession: I order pizza more often than I used to now that we have little ones again. Ok, that’s not really a confession, it’s just truth, but I don’t actually feel that it needs to be confessed. As if ordering pizza is evil??

Sure, I don’t make every single thing from scratch anymore. Sure, not everything we eat is top-notch anymore. We still strive to eat nourishing foods so we can stay healthy. How else are we going to keep up with this tribe?! But God’s strength is bigger than ours, and that’s the real way we’re thriving through this journey.

So. I order pizza sometimes. Guilt-free. I praise God for this option on busy days I have to be at court hearings or team meetings while juggling littles and bigs.

Also, we eat it on paper plates. This is a beautiful thing.

Well anyway, pizza. The homemade kind. It truly tastes better, and we have fun building it to our liking. Here are my top three homemade pizza methods, from easiest to hardest. But the hardest way isn’t really hard, because do you even know me at all?

How to make simple homemade pizzaYum

Buy pre-made crusts. Keep them in your freezer. Add toppings and bake. SO EASY. Plus cheaper and better tasting than ordering pizza.
Make crust from Stir and Pour Bread recipe. Flour your hands and press it onto a pan. Add toppings and bake. VERY EASY.
Make Whole Wheat Pizza Crust, because it is the most delicious. Make crusts ahead and freeze them if you’re as ambitious as I used to be and may be again sometime. Add toppings and bake. STILL EASY.

Here are the crust recipes for you!

Stir-and-Pour Pizza Crust

Simple Homemade Pizza

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Author: Laura

Serves: 2 large pizzas

Ingredients

4 cups whole wheat flour (I use freshly ground hard white wheat)
2 teaspoons active rise yeast
2 Tablespoons sucanat or sugar or honey
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 cups warm water

Instructions

Stir all ingredients together.
Cover and allow it to sit for 30 minutes.
Spread dough on two *well-buttered* large pizza pans (three if you want a thinner crust)
Bake in a 375° oven for 10 minutes.
Pull partially baked crust out of the oven and top it however you like.
Bake for 10-15 minutes more or until cheese has melted and becomes bubbly.

Whole Wheat Pizza Crust

Simple Homemade Pizza

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Author: Laura

Serves: 2 large pizzas

Ingredients

5 cups whole wheat flour (I use freshly ground flour from hard white wheat)
1 teaspoon sea salt
4½ teaspoons active dry yeast (or 2 pouches)
2 cups warm water (The water should feel warm, but not hot.)

Instructions

Mix all ingredients together, knead for 3-4 minutes, then allow the dough to “rest” for about 10 minutes (give or take).
This dough makes 2 large pizzas, or 18 mini pizzas.
Shape dough into desired pizza sizes and place on baking sheets.
Bake in a 375° oven for 5-7 minutes.
Remove crusts from oven, allow them to cool, then freeze in freezer bags.
Or, top hot pizza crusts with desired pizza toppings.
When you're ready, bake the pizzas at 375° for 10 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and beginning to brown.

What’s your favorite kind of pizza?

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Simple Oven-Baked Pizza Nachos

August 23, 2020 by Tasha Hackett 4 Comments

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Ready for a great recipe from Tasha? This is a pretty fantastic idea!

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What happened when Pizza met Nachos? Pizza Nachos.

by Tasha Hackett

You can probably go on your merry way and figure this one out: Oven-Baked Pizza Nachos. Got it? But wait! Come back! I have a secret tip that takes this to the next level. Dip in warmed pizza sauce!

If you asked my family, “What’s better than nachos for dinner?” They will tell you it’s Pizza. Coincidentally, “What’s better than pizza for dinner?” Nachos. But I bet you can’t guess the newest thing I’m in love with…? Okay, fine, you got me. Pizza Nachos!!

But how simple is simple? Like, do I have to wash a bowl?

This simple and easy dinner has become one of my favorite go-to meals where I feel like I’m meeting all the food groups (*cough* VEGETABLES) while still pleasing even the picky eaters. I started making this a few years ago, but I limited myself to traditional pizza toppings such as pepperoni, olives, mushrooms, peppers, etc., and mozzarella cheese. But this summer I realized, “I can hide all sorts of vegetables in mozzarella cheese!” (Namely zucchini.) One day, when I happened to be out of everything fresh I pulled canned chicken from my emergency pantry. Because even though I’m pretty talented at life, Laura still is mentoring me on the whole meal-plan-ahead-thing. Thus began the weekly Pizza Nacho extravaganza because even though Stir-and-Pour Pizza Crust is amazing and simple and easy, even that is too much for me right now. (Let’s be real, stirring and pouring I can handle, it’s the waiting and baking and that extra bowl to wash that does me in.)

Okay, Karen, you can stop scrolling. Here’s how SIMPLE Pizza Nachos are made.

Spread a baking dish with tortilla chips. I use my large pampered chef jelly-roll pan. But you can use any pan you like that has an edge to keep the chips from falling into your oven and burning and setting off your smoke alarm and will leaving you wishing you had just ordered pizza like Susan does every weekend and then maybe you wouldn’t be pulling out the fire-extinguisher on a busy evening. So… I’ve used two 9″ X 13″ pans before and that works well.
Sprinkle a very sparse layer of shredded mozzarella on the chips. This is the glue to hold your toppings together.
Add your toppings of choice. Feel free to be creative or not. I’ve been enjoying diced zucchini and green peppers with canned chicken on mine! Garden fresh basil and jalapenos are delightful.
Sprinkle with just a touch of Italian seasoning, salt, and garlic.
Add the rest of the cheese to completely cover any sneaky vegetables you don’t want certain family members to know about.
Bake in the oven at 350° until the cheese is melted and just starting to brown. About 8 minutes. You CAN use broil for a couple minutes instead and you will have dinner, like, yesterday. But broil is not for the faint of heart, or the easily distracted, and you may want to go back to step #1 read it through carefully before you ever ever ever use the broil function… you’re welcome. #TashaCantBroil #BurnedFoodGuaranteed #TrueStory #GoAheadAndUseBroilifYoureVeryBrave
While your Pizza Nachos are baking (or not burning under the broiler thing), warm up your pizza sauce of choice and do a little dance, but not too much dancing if you’re broiling.
Serve with metal salad tongs, because I don’t know any other way, and dip in pizza sauce.

What are you waiting for? Go forth and make simple food.

And now I’m going to go eat one of those chocolate peanut butter cups that I have stored in my refrigerator because Laura made me do it and now I’m addicted and all this talk about pizza and nachos has me drooling.

Have you ever made pizza nachos before? I feel like I made this up, but I probably did not. Also, serious question: Is it even possible to broil without walking away and forgetting about what’s turning black in the oven? I know I’m a super unique and wonderful individual human person, but I can’t be only one with this skillset.

P.S. You’re still allowed to plan ahead with this meal and write it on your meal plan that Laura has been teaching us about, and then you can relax that you have one less thing to worry about because you don’t even have to wash a dough bowl.

Tasha Hackett is an unpublished Christian romance author who sometimes lives in a dream world of the Midwest 1800s with her characters. Graciously, Laura lets her play on the blog a few times a month! Tasha likes to encourage women, stay out of debt, read wonderful books, and homeschools with her four children. You can find her playing on Instagram @HackettAcademy and @heavenlyhomemaker.

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10 Favorite Back-to-School Crock Pot Dinner Ideas

August 9, 2020 by Laura 2 Comments

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Need some Back-to-School Crock Pot Dinner ideas? Here are my favorites!

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It’s time for me to get organized. Back to school at our house means much more than “get your pencils sharpened.” I usually consider this time of year “Back-to-Soccer” season and brace myself for the crazy that comes with it. Matt coaches our York College women’s team so usually in August I smile at him and say something like, “Whelp, see ya in November.”

Elias (who moved into the college dorm over the weekend; I’m not ready to talk about it, ha) will be playing on the YC men’s team. Malachi (15) will referee as many rec-league and club team games as he can. And Brayden (6) will play on a rec-league team. I try to pack everyone up and go to as many home YC games as I can, plus of course, I’ll be Brayden’s biggest cheerleader.

Awwww. There’s Malachi, back in his baby-soccer days. Now here we are again with our new set of Littles!

I’ve done this soccer-mom-wife life for so many years now that I know full well what it’ll be like. And as much as I know that it will be challenging as it always is (especially now that we’ve got so many little ones again!), may I just say this very loudly:

I AM SO THANKFUL SCHOOL IS STARTING and that WE GET TO HAVE A SOCCER SEASON!!!!

Last spring, we weren’t sure, you know? In early March, we sent all of our beloved college students home with barely a good-bye. We trudged through quarantine like so many of you did, wondering when or if life would ever be back to normal.

I’m not sure we can call everything “normal” yet, but praise God, students are moving back and soccer season is happening.

So as I celebrate this and also get ready for a very busy season, I’m putting these Crock Pot Dinner Ideas in my back pocket to make our mealtimes easier! These 10 ideas are the recipes I tend to fall back on first…

10 Favorite Back-to-School Crock Pot Dinner Ideas

Crock Pot Chicken Soup with a Kick
Hawaiian Crock Pot Chicken
Overnight Saucy Crock Pot Chicken
Overnight Melt-in-Your-Mouth Beef Roast
Crock Pot Pizza Casserole
Barbecue Beef Roast
The Simplest White Chicken Chili
Cheeseburger Noodle Crock Pot Dinner
Hearty Bean Casserole (which can be made on the stovetop, but is perfect to make ahead and keep warm in a crock pot until dinnertime!)
Crock Pot Fajitas

All of these recipes require almost no work or prep time. That’s why I like these best!

Oh, and if you like simple recipes like this, you will love our Simple Real Food Recipes Cookbook. These are my go-to recipes now!

What does your fall season look like this year?

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