Heavenly Homemakers

Encouraging women in homemaking, healthy eating and parenting

Quick and Easy New Year’s Snacks and Treats

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Need some quick and easy New Year’s snacks and treats? We’ve got a great list of fun recipe ideas for you!

Yum

This time, we’re going to focus on finger foods. After all, on the final day of the year, who wants to use a fork? We’ve done that for 364 days already this year. At this point, we just.can’t.handle.picking.up.a.fork.

And also? Finger foods are more fun on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. Right?

My personal preference is to make several fun snacks and treats, then pull them out onto a buffet so we can all munch and graze while we play games, hang out, and visit. Here are some of the ideas I’m working on for this year:

Quick and Easy New Year’s Snacks and Treats

And for some added fun, may I suggest that you brew some coffee and have bowls of these set out for people to add to their mugs?

For the record, I will be making an enjoying these finger foods, but I will not be staying up until midnight. You?

Happy New Year!

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Super Soft Chocolate Cookies

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If I told you that these Super Soft Chocolate Cookies taste a little bit like an Oreo, would that make you want to try them?

The good news is that they won’t make your teeth all Oreo-y like Oreos do. (Don’t try and picture it. Oh wait, you just did.)

And of course, these are made with real food ingredients and I don’t know what Oreos are made with. So these Super Soft Chocolate Cookies are a win in every way!

My kids found that they like turning them into actual Oreos by frosting them. Well, I guess they’re still not actual Oreos because they are my homemade, real food version. But with the frosting, they taste almost exactly like an actual Oreo.

Tell me I haven’t made you all want to eat Oreos now?!

Just make these cookies, and your craving will subside. They stir up quickly and bake in 10 minutes. So you can have your Oreos – um, Super Soft Chocolate Cookies – in less time than it takes to go to the store to buy purchased cookies!

Super Soft Chocolate CookiesYum

Super Soft Chocolate Cookies
 
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Serves: 20
Ingredients
  • ½ cup melted butter
  • ½ cup raw sugar or brown sugar
  • ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 eggs
  • ¾-1 cup whole grain flour (I use freshly ground soft white wheat)
Instructions
  1. Cream butter, sugar, and cocoa together in a bowl.
  2. Add baking soda, vanilla, and egg - stirring until well combined.
  3. Add flour and mix well. (Start with ¾ cup then add more if needed.)
  4. Roll dough into 1 inch balls and place on a cookie sheet.
  5. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 8-10 minutes until cookies are barely set.
  6. Remove cookies from oven and allow the cookies to stay on the pan for at least 10 minutes so they will firm up.

What’s on your holiday baking list this year?

Chocolate Hint:

Do yourself a favor and order any of the Cocoa Powders, Chocolate Chips, or Chocolate Chunks from Olive Nation. (And use the code home to get 20% off!) I can’t tell you what a wonderful difference these cocoa powders and chocolate chips have made in my chocolate recipes. The quality is MUCH better, and they do not cost more than I was spending on the lesser varieties.

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

Easiest Chocolate Fudge Pie Recipe

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Your holiday season is about to get so much better! Introducing: Easiest Chocolate Fudge Pie!

The idea for this Chocolate Fudge Pie just came to me. The ingredients involved can’t help but be amazing together.

See, I had a baked pie crust sitting empty on my countertop begging to be filled. There seemed no other option but to fill it with something chocolate. College students would be joining us for lunch that day, and I already had Pumpkin Pies prepared.

Basically, I threw these ingredients together and hoped for the best. Hesitantly (but kind of selfishly, because I wanted some, ha!) I didn’t add extra sugar after I melted the chocolate chips. Would it be sweet enough for college kids to enjoy? We were heading to church soon so there wasn’t much time for me to contemplate.

Melt the chocolate and butter, whip in the cream (with the ease of my beautiful Blendtec), pour it into the shell, slide it into the fridge to chill for lunch.

OH MY CHOCOLATELY GOODNESS.

The college students raved about it! Apparently it was plenty sweet enough for them (even though not only did I not add extra sugar, I also used dark chocolate – who knew?!).

Truly, I don’t think there’s a pie recipe that’s as easy as this one. Certainly not one that turns out something so fudgy and rich. You will LOVE this Chocolate Fudge Pie. I highly recommend adding it to your holiday dessert table!

Easiest Chocolate Fudge Pie RecipeYum

Easiest Chocolate Fudge Pie Recipe
 
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Serves: 1 pie
Ingredients
  • 10-ounces chocolate chips
  • 4 Tablespoons butter
  • 2 cups heavy whipping cream
  • 9-inch pie crust
Instructions
  1. In a small saucepan, melt the chocolate chips and butter together.
  2. Once melted, whip the chocolate mixture and the cream with beaters or in a high power blender (like a Blendtec) until smooth and thick.
  3. Pour mixture into a prepared pie crust.
  4. Chill for at least two hours before serving.

Need some pie crust recipes?

Chocolate Hint:

Do yourself a favor and order any of the Cocoa Powders, Chocolate Chips, or Chocolate Chunks from Olive Nation. (And use the code home to get 20% off!) I can’t tell you what a wonderful difference these cocoa powders and chocolate chips have made in my chocolate recipes. The quality is MUCH better, and they do not cost more than I was spending on the lesser varieties.

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

Whole Grain Pumpkin Bundt Cake

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Don’t let the “whole grain” part of this Pumpkin Bundt Cake scare you. If you use the right kind of whole grain, no one is the wiser.

I prefer to use freshly ground soft white wheat when I make cakes like this. The flour is light and fluffy, acting much like all-purpose white flour. I love it! (Here are more posts sharing about grinding flour and choosing the right grain.)

You might notice that this recipe is quite similar to my Pumpkin Breakfast Cake recipe. See, the fun thing about recipes is that you can simply tweak them just a little, pour them into a different type of baking pan, and create a whole new treat!

Need a bundt pan? I have this one, and it sure makes holiday baking more fun!

Whole Grain Pumpkin Bundt CakeYum

Whole Grain Pumpkin Bundt Cake
 
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Serves: 16
Ingredients
  • 3 cups whole wheat flour (I used freshly ground soft white wheat)
  • 1 cup sucanat or brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 cups pureed pumpkin (or one 16 ounce can)
  • 1 cup melted coconut oil (or butter)
Instructions
  1. Whisk all ingredients together until smooth.
  2. Pour into a well-buttered bundt cake pan.
  3. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.
  4. Allow cake to cool for 15 minutes before removing it from the pan.
  5. Glaze with any of the tasty frosting recipe options below.

Glaze or Frosting Recipes

Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

8 ounces softened cream cheese
¼ cup softened butter
3-4 Tablespoons real maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

With a hand mixer (or in your blender), whip together all ingredients until smooth. Spread over cooled cake.

Stevia Sweetened Cream Cheese Frosting

8 ounces softened cream cheese
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Liquid stevia to taste (I use 2 droppers full)

Whip ingredients together until smooth. Spread over cooled Cake.

Orange Glaze

¼ cup orange juice
¼ cup honey
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract

Whisk ingredients together until smooth. Drizzle over cooled cake.

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Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Bread

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Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Bread is a huge hit!

One of my favorite things to do is to text my college-age son and tell him to invite friends to eat lunch with us on Sunday after church. So here’s how this works:

  1. Justus texts friends to invite them for lunch, then he tells his friends to invite friends too.
  2. His friends invite friends, and they are welcome to invite others too.
  3. We never know who is going to show up for lunch, and it is always a blast!

Often I’ll be in the kitchen putting the final touches on the meal while college kids pour into the living room. I walk out to greet them and get to be surprised every time by who was able to come!

I am often asked, “But how do you know how much food to make?”

Well, I don’t. ;) But God does. There’s always plenty, and I can always pull more from the pantry or freezer to stretch out each meal. In addition, if I’ve made lots and lots of food and not many are able to come for the day, that means we have extra food to share with sick or struggling friends throughout the week.

What does all this have to do with Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Bread?

I recently served this fun bread on a Sunday afternoon to our college guests along with Taco Soup and a buffet full of sides. This bread was gone within minutes! The chocolate chips are the main attraction, but if you ask me, the cream cheese is the most valuable player in this recipe. You’ve got to try it!

Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip BreadYum

Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Bread
 
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Serves: 1 large loaf
Ingredients
  • ½ cup melted butter
  • 8-ounces softened cream cheese
  • ½ cup sucanat or raw sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ¼ cup milk
  • 2 cups whole grain flour (I use freshly ground soft white wheat)
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon sea salt
  • ½ cup chocolate chips
Instructions
  1. In a large mixing bowl or in a powerful blender (like a Blendtec), whip together butter, cream cheese, sugar, eggs, vanilla, and milk.
  2. Add flour, baking powder, and salt.
  3. Fold in chocolate chips.
  4. Pour batter into a well-buttered 9" loaf pan.
  5. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Tip: How about making batches of this bread to give as gifts this holiday season?

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

Simple Ham and Cheese Soup

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One of my favorite ways to cook is to turn leftovers into a brand new meal. That’s how this Simple Ham and Cheese Soup came to be.

Did you see the recipe I recently posted for Easy White Queso? I simply took that recipe, added three more ingredients, and turned it into a most delicious and flavorful soup!

But you don’t often have leftovers, you say? Oh, I hear you. That’s why I often double recipes so that I create leftovers on purpose! That way we can have a Taco meal with White Queso one night, then have Simple Ham and Cheese Soup the next night with very little effort!

Simple Ham and Cheese SoupYum

5.0 from 2 reviews
Simple Ham and Cheese Soup
 
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Serves: 6-8
Ingredients
  • 8-ounces cream cheese
  • 16-ounces pepper jack cheese
  • ¾ cup sour cream
  • 1 cup half-and-half or whole milk
  • 10-ounce can Rotel (diced tomatoes and green chilies)
  • 1 pound ham, diced or cut into small bites
  • 3-4 cups frozen hashbrown potatoes
  • 32-ounces chicken, beef, or vegetable broth
Instructions
  1. Whisk the cream cheese, pepper jack cheese, sour cream, half-and-half, and Rotel together in a large pot over medium heat until cheeses are melted and mixture is smooth.
  2. Add diced ham, potatoes, and broth.
  3. Cook and stir until soup is bubbly and potatoes are tender.

For the record, I don’t add garnish because as pretty as that is, who has time for garnish? So when I make this, it looks just like what you see in this picture except for the pretty green garnish. #realmom

Note: If your family doesn’t prefer much spice, substitute your favorite cheese (cheddar or Colby jack maybe?) for the Pepper Jack cheese. You can also skip the Rotel. We prefer both the Pepper Jack and the Rotel for the awesome flavor those add to this soup!

What to serve with Simple Ham and Cheese Soup

Need some ideas for tasty breads to serve with this soup? Here are a few ideas:

Want More Simple Recipes?

We’ve got a huge list, and it keeps growing!

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Simple Pumpkin Waffles

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I highly recommend enjoying a fall brunch with these Simple Pumpkin Waffles. These are light, fluffy, flavorful, and perfect!

When I told our 17-year old that I was going to make Pumpkin Waffles he saw right through my “add a veggie to breakfast” scheme. Still, he went back for seconds and even ate homemade applesauce on the side. It was a perfect fall breakfast – or brunch as was the case that day as we tried to squeeze in a hearty meal between high school/college classes, kindergarten homeschool, babies’ naps, a college soccer game, and tennis meet.

It’s rare that I have time to stand at the waffle iron these days. So it only made sense that I double the recipe and make a huge pile of waffles so we can easily toast and enjoy them another day soon. If you’re going to make a mess, you might as well make a big one, right? :) So now I have a freezer full of Simple Pumpkin Waffles to pull out and serve as needed!

I highly recommend whipping some cream to serve on top of these waffles. A huge dollop of whipped cream along with real maple syrup drizzled over the top of these waffles makes an incredible meal. Sausage, applesauce, and coffee too? It’s breakfast heaven.

Simple Pumpkin WafflesYum

Simple Pumpkin Waffles
 
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Serves: 6-8
Ingredients
  • 2 cups of whole grain flour (I use freshly ground soft white wheat)
  • 1 teaspoon of baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon of cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice
  • ½ teaspoon of sea salt
  • 1½ cups of milk
  • 15 ounce can 100% pure pumpkin
  • 3 eggs
  • 4 tablespoons of melted butter or coconut oil
Instructions
  1. Whisk all ingredients together until smooth.
  2. Scoop about ½ cup of batter into a hot waffle iron.
  3. Cook until waffles are golden brown.

What is it about pumpkin and cinnamon in the fall that just doesn’t taste the same any other time of year?

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Easy White Queso

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It’s my favorite splurge at any Mexican restaurant. So finally, I decided that it must be time to try making White Queso at home.

Why make White Queso at home?

Mostly, because of the deliciousness. Also, because of this:

At a birthday party several months ago, the hostess had picked up one of her birthday boy’s favorites: White Queso from our local Mexican restaurant. She set it out as a part of a delicious taco bar. Maybe I was just extra hungry that day (probably), or maybe my friend is an excellent cook (most definitely). But my taco plate that day tasted so good that I went back for more and wanted to duplicate it later at home.

So a few days later, I decided to surprise my husband and kids by picking up a large cup of White Queso to go with our taco dinner at home. Great idea, thought I. They will love it and be so surprised that Mom actually went to a restaurant to buy part of our dinner.

Were they surprised? Yes, and delighted. Was I a little bit sticker-shocked by how much it costs to buy a large, delicious cup of queso at the restaurant? Gulp.

So while it was fun and delicious, I knew I could only do something like that on a special occasion. A few months later, I was craving the White Queso and decided to try my hand at it. (Sometimes I wonder why it takes me so long to try to make something at home. Isn’t this my hobby?)

Take a few seconds to watch this fun video Malachi helped me make to show you how easy it is to make Easy White Queso at home!

Easy White Queso – See how it’s made —->

Guess what? It takes less time to make White Queso at home than it does to stand in line at a restaurant waiting for them to bring you a cup and take your money. Obviously it costs less. And while the authentically made queso at the restaurant is still better than mine, I’m so excited to be able to make and eat this regularly now instead of waiting for the very occasional splurge at a restaurant!

Easy White QuesoYum

Easy White Queso
 
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Serves: 6-8
Ingredients
  • 8-ounces cream cheese
  • 16-ounces pepper jack cheese
  • ¾ cup sour cream
  • 1 cup half-and-half or whole milk
  • 10-ounce can Rotel (diced tomatoes and green chilies)
Instructions
  1. Place all ingredients into a medium-sized saucepan.
  2. Whisk over medium or low heat until mixture has melted together smoothly.
  3. Serve!

See how easy that is!!?

What’s your favorite restaurant splurge?

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Easy Whole Wheat Cinnamon Rolls

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Tis the season to bake, bake, bake! (And also eat vegetables. Never forget to enjoy the broccoli. Man shall not live on baked goods alone.) Since it’s baking season, it’s time for me to re-share my recipe for Whole Wheat Cinnamon Rolls!

Are cinnamon rolls difficult to make? Well, they do require more steps than say…all of the Simple Recipes I share. I prefer quick and easy – just like most of us do!

But are cinnamon rolls WORTH THE EFFORT? Can I answer a question with a question? Do I need to even answer that question? Do we all know the answer?

(Making homemade Cinnamon Rolls is worth the effort.)

And also, I find that making homemade cinnamon rolls isn’t terribly difficult. I don’t make them often, but when I do, we are all so happy that I did! It’s also worth noting that these can be prepared, then frozen to thaw and bake later. Now THAT makes baking cinnamon rolls easy!

Whole Wheat Cinnamon RollsYum

Easy Whole Wheat Cinnamon Rolls
 
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Serves: 30
Ingredients
  • 1 cup warm water
  • 2 Tablespoons yeast
  • 2 teaspoons honey
  • 2½ cups milk
  • ½ cup butter
  • ½ cup honey
  • 4 teaspoons sea salt
  • 8 cups whole wheat flour
  • CINNAMON FILLING:
  • ½ cup melted butter
  • ¾ cup sucanat (you can use white sugar if you want)
  • ½ Tablespoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
  1. In a large bowl mix water, yeast, and honey. Set aside.
  2. Melt butter in a large saucepan, then add honey, salt, and milk. Heat this to 120 degrees, then remove from heat..
  3. Pour milk mixture into yeast mixture and stir. Stir in 8 cups of flour, 2 cups at a time (more or less as needed).
  4. Knead the dough for 5-10 minutes.
  5. Place it in a bowl, cover it, and let it rise for 1-1½ hours.
  6. After dough is nice and fat, punch it down and knead out all it’s bubbles.
  7. Cut the dough in half, setting one half aside.
  8. On a well floured surface, roll dough into a nice big rectangle, about ¼ inch thick.
  9. Use a pastry brush to spread ½ of the melted butter all over the rectangle.
  10. Sprinkle ½ of the sucanat/cinnamon mixture all over the butter.
  11. Roll the prepared dough, then cut into thin slices, about ½ inch thick.
  12. Place slices in a buttered baking dish.
  13. Repeat process with other ½ of dough.
  14. Allow rolls to rise about 30 minutes.
  15. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown at 350 degrees.

Ooey-Gooey Frosting

1/4 cup butter
3 Tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1-2 cups powdered sugar to make the consistency you like

Melt butter. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla, milk and powdered sugar. Whisk together until smooth.

NOTE ABOUT WHOLE WHEAT:

I use freshly ground hard white wheat to make these Cinnamon Rolls. That makes these seem not as whole-wheaty as when using flour made from red wheat. Here are more posts that share about different varieties of wheat.

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

How to Make EASY Pita Bread

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I shared this Easy Pita Bread recipe here several years ago. But I decided that it’s worth sharing again as we head into fall baking season. Ready to watch some bread-making magic?

Don’t let the idea of making Homemade Pita Bread scare you! It’s as easy as:

  1. Mixing a few basic ingredients together.
  2. Rolling dough into little circles.
  3. Baking the little circles at high heat until they puff up and turn brown.

Also, filling them with delicious meat salads is quite fun too. Our favorites are:

  1. Chicken Salad
  2. Tuna Salad

Making Pita Bread will make you feel like a fancy cook, even though the work involved really isn’t at all complicated. Plus, watching the bread puff up in the oven is a lot of fun!

How to Make Easy Pita BreadYum

How to Make EASY Pita Bread
 
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Serves: 16
Ingredients
  • 3 cups whole wheat flour (I use freshly ground whole wheat from hard white wheat)
  • 1½ teaspoons yeast
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 2 Tablespoons honey
  • 1 Tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 cup warm water
Instructions
  1. Stir together flour, yeast, and sea salt.
  2. Add honey, oil, and water, stirring until a nice dough forms.
  3. Knead the dough on a well floured surface for 4-5 minutes. (In other words: Mix dry ingredients. Add liquid ingredients. Stir well. Knead.) See? Easy.
  4. Place dough back into the bowl, cover, and allow dough to rest and rise for about an hour.
  5. Pull dough out of the bowl.
  6. Knead for about 30 seconds.
  7. Cut dough into eight equal parts.
  8. Roll each into a circle, about six or seven inches in diameter.
  9. Place circles directly onto a baking sheet after rolling.
  10. I baked mine on a well seasoned baking stone, so didn't find that I needed to grease my pan, but feel free to grease yours if you need to.
  11. Allow the dough circles to rest/rise on the baking sheet while you heat your oven to 500°.
  12. Place baking sheet of pita circles into hot oven.
  13. Bake for 5-8 minutes - just long enough for them to puff up and brown slightly.
  14. Allow pitas to cool, slice in half, and serve as desired.

Have you ever tried making Pita Bread before? What are your best suggestions for Pita Bread filling?

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