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Easy and Healthy Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

December 11, 2016 by Laura 17 Comments

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

I have eaten at least three of these Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups every single day since September. Please, you must join me in delighting in this simple, and apparently necessary, pleasure of life.

chocolate-peanut-butter-cups

Before I share more about this recipe, allow me to tell a story so that when you eat these in front of others, you will not make the same mistake I did.

See, it all started out back in September when I learned that I needed to add a significant amount of good fat to my diet if I wanted to improve my health, have more energy, and get rid of my brain fog. Seeing as I had no desire to lick coconut oil off a spoon or peel open a stick of butter like a banana, my quest to figure out how to easily eat all these good fats led me to discover these Chocolate Peanut Butter Fat Bombs.

They changed my life, and I’m not exaggerating. They are so very nourishing, made with loads of healthy fat and protein, and sweetened with stevia (stick with me though, even if you hate stevia). The fat bombs are delicious and I started feeling better immediately after I began eating several each day. Who knew? My body had been screaming for more nourishment from healthy fats!

Well, back to my story of what not to do.

We had company one weekend in October. I was eating a Fat Bomb while preparing breakfast. (Had to get my brain going, you know?) One of our guests walked in and asked, “Oh, what are you eating?” Suddenly I found myself in a quandary about how to answer. I could have simply said, “It is a healthy Peanut Butter Cup.” Right? Couldn’t I have just said that??

But no. I found myself launching into a very long narrative about my health journey during the past four years and how I’d been feeling awful during the past few months and couldn’t figure out what I could eat that wouldn’t make me feel awful. The very minute I started the story, I wanted to stop. I quickly realized that the kind ears listening to my “what are you eating” explanation were on extreme overload and most definitely confused. But I couldn’t stop because I’d already started and for the life of me, I couldn’t figure out how to wrap it up. So I kept going on and on. I even found myself using phrases like “adrenal fatigue” and “intense detox.”

The poor dear. Some people want to know more about natural doctors and bad bacteria lurking in the gut. But some people just want to know, “Hey, what are you eating?”

So you guys. Make these, eat them, enjoy them, and let them nourish you. But for the love of pleasant conversation, when an innocent person asks you what you’re eating just say, “It’s a healthy Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup.”

Now, it is Christmastime and treats are fun at Christmas. That’s why I’m re-sharing this recipe. But today I’m calling them Healthy Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups to ease the pain of anyone you might be having a conversation with over the holidays. You are so very welcome.

Healthy Chocolate Peanut Butter CupsYum

(Let’s all practice saying it together:
They say: What are you eating?
We say: “It’s a Healthy Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup.”
There now. Was that really so hard?)

Easy and Healthy Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups
 
Save Print
Author: Laura
Serves: 12
Ingredients
  • ½ cup coconut oil (I use expeller pressed so the coconut flavor didn't overpower.)
  • 1 heaping Tablespoon cocoa powder
  • 4 Tablespoons butter
  • ½ cup natural peanut butter
  • Liquid stevia to taste (I use 1½ droppers full of NuNaturals Brand.) OR 2-3 Tablespoons of honey or maple syrup
Instructions
  1. In a small saucepan, heat and stir together coconut oil, cocoa powder, butter, and peanut butter.
  2. Once melted and mixed, remove from heat and stir in stevia.
  3. Pour into 12 muffin lined muffin tins.
  4. Freeze for 20 minutes or refrigerate for 2 hours.
  5. Store in fridge and eat as needed.
3.4.3177

By the way, these really taste best when they are right out of the fridge!

healthy-chocolate-peanut-butter-cups

I love that these are completely free of sugar when made with stevia. But if you don’t like or don’t have stevia, you can use maple syrup or honey instead. These will still be wonderful for you and only lightly sweetened.

I use silicone muffin cups like these when I make these “Healthy Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups.” This makes it so very easy!

Ever found yourself in an uncomfortable conversation while trying to explain something “weird” that you’re eating? Fun times.

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30 of Our Family’s Favorite Holiday Recipes (with a throw-back picture from 2007!)

December 8, 2016 by Laura 10 Comments

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

I’ve shared nine years worth of holiday recipes here at Heavenly Homemakers. Nine! 

You guys. Our boys looked like this back in 2007 when my site first became a thing:

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Now they look like this. As you can tell, we got a taller tree. (I’m sure that’s the first thing you noticed.)

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Isn’t that a nice picture? Yes. Of course, this one is more normal:

family-christmas-silly700

I can’t get over how quickly my boys turned into men. I was there, and now I’m here, and I’m not sure how it happened. With love, prayer, tears, and lots of green beans, no doubt.

Today I decided to share 30 of the recipes that I’ve posted through these many Christmas seasons. You can bet the recipes that used more sugar were from my earlier blogging years! Slowly but surely, we’ve cut back on sugar content in our treat recipes. Somehow, the boys have still grown and lived to tell about it.

If you come across any of these older recipes and you think, “Hmm. I wonder if I can cut the sugar down in any of these?” the answer is most likely yes! The treats will still be delicious and your family’s Christmas will still be merry.

30 of Our Family’s Favorite Holiday RecipesYum

Cinnamon Sugar Pecans

Cinnamon Sugar Pecans

Peppernuts

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Low Sugar Frosted Sugar Cookies

Low Sugar Frosted Sugar Cookies

Dark Chocolate Peppermint Mousse

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Hot Cocoa

Homemade Hot Cocoa

Peppermint Cream Cocoa

Peppermint Cream Cocoa

White Chocolate Peppermint Popcorn

White Chocolate Popcorn

Cranberry Orange Scones

Orange Cranberry Scones

Caramel Popcorn

Caramel Popcorn With No Corn Syrup!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Balls

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100% Juice Sparkling Punch

Christmas Brunch Punch {with 100 juice!}

Peanut Butter Chocolate Truffle

christmas_truffles

Christmas Spice Cookies

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Chocolate Snowballs

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Reindeer Cuties

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Snickerdoodles

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Coconut Macaroons

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Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Kiss Cookies

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Peppermint Patties

Homemade Healthier Eggnog

Whole Wheat Gingerbread Men

Warm Vanilla Soother

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Sweet Pepper Fritata

Quick Eggnog Muffins

Vanilla Muffins with Crumb Topping

Strawberry Christmas Salad

Strawberry Christmas Salad
Christmas Sourdough Biscuits

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Christmas Graham Crackers

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Christmas Pizzas

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Christmas Donuts

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You’ll want to pin this so you can make these treats from now until the new year! —>

30-favorite-holiday-treats

 

Please leave a comment to tell me how long you’ve been reading here! Were any of you around when my boys were as little as that first Christmas picture?

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Simple Crock Pot BBQ Spareribs

December 6, 2016 by Laura 5 Comments

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

Here’s the thing about making BBQ Spareribs:

You can go to a lot of trouble and take several steps to make them taste incredible. Or, you can spend five minutes to throw them into your crock pot, pour on your favorite BBQ Sauce, and then watch them fall off the bone in amazingness at the end of the day.

You know me. I will always choose the five-minute method.

bbq-ribs

The only trouble I run into with making ribs at my house is that only so many will fit into my crock pot, so it doesn’t turn out to be an all-you-can-eat rib fest for my men. Other than that, making ribs has become one of my favorite fall back meals.

Who knew making a meal of BBQ ribs would be easier than making a box of mac and cheese? Who knew?

Just last week, I put some ribs into my crock pot before heading out of town for the day. This took no effort except for the tiny amount of finagling it took to manhandle a big rack of ribs down into my oval crock pot. Never fear. Laura: 1. Ribs:0. Mom for the win. It probably helped that I had just had my morning coffee, which pretty much ensures I can conquer the world.

I arrived back home later that night to delicious meat falling off the bone. I steamed some veggies, got out the mixed greens for salad, and dinner was served.

Feeling a little bit busy these days with so many holiday preparations and activities? Let your crock pot make you some BBQ Ribs. At the end of a busy day, you’ll shock yourself with how awesome you are that you actually managed to make such a delicious meal when, in fact, you spent the day addressing Christmas cards and trying to locate the missing gifts you put in a safe place for no one to find. (Sounds like you found a pretty good hiding spot.)

Simple Crock Pot BBQ SpareribsYum

Simple Crock Pot BBQ Spareribs
 
Save Print
Author: Laura
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
  • 3-4 pound package of beef or pork spareribs
  • 1-2 cups of your favorite BBQ Sauce*
Instructions
  1. Place spareribs in your crockpot. I typically have to fold them over to get them to fit.
  2. Spread BBQ Sauce over the meat.
  3. Cook on low for 7-8 hours or until meat is falling off the bone.
3.4.3177

*Here’s our favorite BBQ Sauce recipe!

simple-crock-pot-bbq-spareribs-5-minute-prep

Other Simple Recipes I’ve Shared Recently:

  • Simple Baked Salmon and Asparagus
  • Simple Crock Pot Chicken Soup with a Kick
  • Simple Skillet Taco Pasta
  • Simple Sweet and Sour Baked Chicken Legs
  • 20-Minute Taco Soup
  • Simple Cheesy Baked Chicken
  • Simple Creamy Chicken Stew in the Crock Pot
  • Simple Italian Beef and Broccoli Skillet
  • Simple Bacon Ranch Chicken
  • Simple Hawaiian Crock Pot Chicken
  • Simple Taco Rice Dinner
  • Simple Last Minute Nacho Plate
  • Simple Chicken Cheeseballs with a Kick
  • Simple Beanie Weanies

It’s recipes like these BBQ Spareribs that makes Simple Meals such a life saver for families. We’ll provide the plans. We’ll provide the recipes. We’ll provide the grocery list. All you have to do is take a deep breath and enjoy how simple your life in the kitchen has become! Join Simple Meals!

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

Get a FREE $15 Toys R Us Gift Card – No Joke, No Catch, But Hurry!

December 5, 2016 by Laura 3 Comments

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

Man, I love it when TopCashBack offers us freebies like this!! It’s a completely free $15 gift card to Toys R Us, delivered right to your mailbox. It’s an easy, free gift!!

toysrus

Here’s how to get your FREE $15 Toys R Us Gift Card!

1. Sign up for a free TopCashback account here.
2. Once you’ve successfully signed up for TopCashBack, you’ll be redirected to the Toys R Us Gift Card Freebie offer page. Click “Get Offer Now.”
3. Add 1 mail in Toys R Us gift card to your cart and checkout.
4. Within 14 days, your TopCashback account will be credited with your $15!

Three very important items to note:

  • Check your email inbox and confirm your TopCashback account! (This is very important, otherwise you won’t get your money back!)
  • For this offer to be valid, make sure your cart only has one $15 Toys R Us gift card in your cart during checkout.
  • Be sure the gift card you select is “Mail Gift Card.”

This offer is for new TopCashback accounts only. But you can have more than one account per household, so you can still take advantage of this deal when you use a family member’s email address.

You’ll need to hurry as this offer is only good through Tuesday, December 6.

Go grab your free gift card here!

These links are my referral links.

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

My Favorite Things Giveaway – Christmas 2016

December 5, 2016 by Laura 325 Comments

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

It’s the 3rd annual Favorite Things Christmas Giveaway! I’m sharing one here (wait till you see!), plus you’ll want to click over to the other 14 wonderful bloggers to enter their giveaways too!

1. Thriving Home // 2. Happy Home Fairy // 3. Nourishing Joy // 4. Intoxicated on Life // 5. Chaos to Peace // 6. Mommy Hates Cooking // 7. The Nourishing Home // 8.Young Wifes Guide // 9. Martha Martha // 10. Heavenly Homemakers // 11. The Realistic Mama // 12. Keeper of the Home // 13. Kitchen Stewardship // 14. Gwen’s Nest // 15. Make Healthy Easy

favorite-christmas-things-collage-2016

What can you win from my giveaway this year? Some of my forever favorites, of course!

This year’s giveaway here at Heavenly Homemakers includes:

10 Vanilla Beans from Olive Nation
MadeOn Hard Lotion – 3 Pack Skin Care
Lilla Rose Flexi-Clip
Tropical Traditions – Coconut Oil and Palm Shortening Bucket!
Simple Meals – year long subscription

favorite-things-2016

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This giveaway will end Sunday, December 11 at midnight. I’ll draw a random winner Monday morning the 12th!

Click on the links below to learn more about the bloggers!

Thriving Homethriving-home-logo-FINAL-WEB

At Thriving Home, Polly and Rachel strive to encourage moms to thrive in every area of home life. They try to keep it real when it comes to sharing about healthy recipes, raising little people, growing in their faith, freezer cooking and various other topics that motherhood and life may bring their way

mhclogoMommy Hates Cooking

Mommy Hates Cooking is a national cooking and lifestyle website that encourages families to take back the dinner table. Through her easy-to-prepare (yet looks like you spent all day in the kitchen) meals and her knack for breaking down meal planning, Kristy has become the busy-mom’s resource for the modern family.

chaos2peace_logo-170x170Chaos to Peace

Jennifer and her family live in the South. She and her husband, Fred, have three boys ages 13, 10, and 7, and one unruly dog named Dash. Chaos2Peace is a blog designed to bring peace in the midst chaos by providing organizational tips, menu planning, simple recipes, and a whole lot of laughter. Join us on the blog today as we do life together, one step at a time

logoHeavenly Homemakers

Laura Coppinger and her husband have four sons ages 11-19. HeavenlyHomemakers.com is dedicated to inspiring women daily with healthy (and easy!) recipes, homemaking tips, spiritual encouragement, and good ol’ clean fun.

iol_header_design_no_taglineIntoxicated on Life

Intoxicated on Life is a blog about raising strong families – body, mind, and soul. We believe, with the right education, busy moms can be equipped to make small changes one step at a time, transforming the life and health of her family. Join us on a journey as we raise holistically healthy children: nurturing their bodies, cultivating their minds, and inspiring their souls!

tapinfluence-logoMake Healthy Easy

Jenna Braddock is a registered dietitian nutritionist, football coach’s wife, mom of boys, and entrepreneur. At Make Healthy Easy she shares real life strategies for better health and doable and delicious recipes. As a MHE reader you can breathe a sigh of relief knowing your daily health struggles are normal. You’ll also get a little dose of family and football through the eyes of our Friday Night Lights life.

hhf-logoHappy Home Fairy

Happy Home Fairy is a resource of fun ideas, simple recipes, free printables, holiday traditions, and encouragement to help moms build happy homes

kitchen-stewardship-header-for-newsletterKitchen Stewardship

Katie Kimball has shared her journey to real food and natural living for almost 8 years at Kitchen Stewardship, a blog that encourages moms to keep their families healthy without going crazy.

final-logo-cmykYoung Wife’s Guide

Young Wife’s Guide exists to encourage and equip Christian homemakers to form Gospel-Centered Homes. Jami Balmet shares about her own struggles with running and managing a home and hopes to provide Biblical resources for the struggling homemaker.

gn_square_logoGwen’s Nest

Visit Gwen’s Nest and discover simple home remedies, in depth holistic health articles, healthy recipes, & Gwen’s health & weight loss discoveries. Come meet Gwen, and enjoy the funny, holistic, and friendly-efficient way of life in her nest!

koth_logo_final_2016-03Keeper of the Home

Keeper of the Home is a resource and community for women and families in all seasons of life who are striving to be healthy – body, mind, and soul. It covers a wide range of topics from healthy recipes, cleaning practices and self-care. Our inspiration begins with our faith. Stewardship inspires the way that we approach our homemaking. In fact, it’s the foundation of what you’ll find when you pull up a chair, grab a mug of something delicious, and come share this journey with us!

The Nourishing Hometnh-logo

The Nourishing Home provides family-friendly, gluten-free, whole food recipes; free weekly whole food meal plans; helpful cooking tips and techniques; and lots of encouragement to help you in your journey to live a more nourished life.

logo-headerMartha, Martha

Peace and Productivity coexist at Martha, Martha, a blog for busy women who, like biblical Martha, often get distracted by life’s demands and lose sight of Jesus! Devotional thoughts, productivity planning, simple recipes, and more will help you stay focused on the “one thing {that} is needed”

The Realistic Mamatrmcoloredwatermark

The Realistic Mama is all about family, how to spend more time with your family, activities you can do with your kids, how to create an online business that benefits your family, and more! You’ll find everything from saving money, parenting tips, kids activities, easy recipes, and DIY to online entrepreneur ideas, and more! Our tribe of moms and family-oriented entrepreneurs is one-of-a-kind. The connection, transparency, and trust are just a few of our favorite things about our community!

logo-with-avatar

Nourishing Joy

Nourishing Joy is dedicated to real food and natural living. We’re on a mission to equip and inspire busy parents with the tools to make intentional, thoughtful decisions easy. Or at least easier.

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

Easy Low Sugar Pumpkin Cheesecake Whip

December 4, 2016 by Laura 1 Comment

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

Who even cares about a cheesecake crust? I’ve always been in it for the cheesecake filling anyway. Therefore, I have been making Pumpkin Cheesecake Filling and eating it with a spoon right out of a bowl.

For breakfast.

pumpkin-cheesecake-in-a-bowl

The way I see it, I’m eating a vegetable for breakfast, so I’m getting nourishment. I’m also eating good fat, so I stay full for longer than five minutes.

What else? Well, there’s hardly any sugar in this, so I feel no guilt that way, nor do I experience a mid-morning sugar crash. I should add to all of the above that this Pumpkin Cheesecake Whip tastes like spoonfuls of holiday happiness.

So between the vegetable thing, the good fats, the low sugar content, and the fact that this tastes wonderful – I think our holiday season will continue to get better by the bowlful.

Also, it only takes five minutes to make. This is what every Christmas recipe should be like.

Easy Low Sugar Pumpkin Cheesecake WhipYum

Easy Low Sugar Pumpkin Cheesecake Whip
 
Save Print
Author: Laura
Serves: 6-8
Ingredients
  • 2 8-ounce packages softened cream cheese
  • 1½ cups heavy whipping cream
  • 2 cups pureed pumpkin
  • 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • ½ teaspoon ground cloves
  • 2 Tablespoons real maple syrup plus liquid stevia to taste (I used 2 droppers full of stevia)
Instructions
  1. Blend all pumpkin cheesecake filling ingredients together until smooth.
  2. Chill in refrigerator for at least two hours before serving.
3.4.3177

easy-low-sugar-pumpkin-cheesecake-whip

Now let’s just say you’re a “gotta have a cheesecake crust” sort of a person. This is no problem. I have a crust recipe that is also low in sugar and incredibly delicious. You’ll find this recipe here.

no-bake-pumpkin-cheesecake

Or say you want a cheesecake crust, but you also want your cheesecakes to be cute and little and ready to serve to individuals. This is also no problem. I have Pumpkin Cheesecake Cups for you. You’ll find that recipe here.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Bites

Now, it doesn’t take too much reading to realize that these are all the same recipe, just tweaked slightly to make them crustless, regular crust, or individual cup-sized crusts. We aim to please, and also we are suggesting that you eat cheesecake for breakfast, so now’s who’s your best friend?

No need to answer that. I mean, go ahead, though, if you want to.

 

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How About a Simple Meals Gift Certificate for Christmas?!

December 2, 2016 by Laura 2 Comments

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

Love Simple Meals and want to buy a subscription for someone this Christmas? We make it easy! Purchase as many subscriptions as you need, print off this certificate to give to your loved ones, then email me and I’ll transfer each subscription to the preferred email addresses of your recipients!

simple-meals-gift-certificate

After purchase, download Simple Meals Gift Certificate here.

You’ll be able to tell people you got them time, energy, health, and deliciousness for Christmas!

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

We Love Books. Here Are Our Favorites.

December 1, 2016 by Laura 3 Comments

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

We love books at our house and I’m betting you do too! Today, as I’ve done in the past, I am sharing some of our family’s favorite books that we’ve enjoyed through the years. Books make wonderful gifts and stocking stuffers!

Our Family’s Favorite Books

Boxcar Children Books
These books were some of my favorites when I was little. (You know I had my very own boxcar, right?) Our boys have all loved these too!

boxcar_children

Ralph Moody Books

We read through most of the books in this series (as a family) several years ago, and I’ve since read them all again twice. What I love most about these books is that they show how important it is to be a hard worker, how much fun it can be to work together as a family, and how if you put your mind to it – you can always find a way to provide. I am so inspired by these books, and my boys love the adventure aspect they include.

Books by Clyde Robert Bulla

These are the first chapter books our boys have read. I love that Clyde Robert Bulla keeps his vocabulary simple and easy to read – all while teaching history and making his books fun and intriguing. When I pulled these books out for Malachi a few years ago, all three of his brothers said, “Oh, he gets to read those this year? Malachi, you will love them.” I love hearing the boys talk together about books they’ve all read.

clyde_robert_bulla

Ramona the Pest Series

Ramona is a mess, but in many ways we can all relate to her. I read this series several times when I was younger. Our youngest is now working his way through this series for the second time.

ramona_2

Christian Heroes Books

I can’t say enough good about all of the Christian Heroes: Then and Now books by Janet and Geoff Benge. We’ve actually decided to use about 15 of these books this year to go along with our History/Geography studies with our boys. What better way to study the culture and history of a country than to learn about missionaries who worked there? These books are so well written and inspiring!

I cry at the end of every single one of these books. I can’t help it.

benge

 The Hiding Place 

This one is my favorite book of all time, written by Corrie Ten Boom. It is a beautiful story of grace and forgiveness and it’s one I need to read over and over.

the hiding place

A Quiet Strength

We listened to this book on CD a few years ago, and it is wonderful! This is a great book choice for men. But rest assured, women will likely love it too!

quiet_strength

What books are you and your kids reading these days?  Do you enjoy giving and receiving books for Christmas?

Some of the links in this post are affiliate links.

Pssst!

Lilla Rose has a wonderful sale going on right now!

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lilla-rose-dec-details

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

The Simple Meal I’m Almost Embarrassed to Tell You About

November 29, 2016 by Laura 14 Comments

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

It happened the day we were putting up the Christmas tree. I was also trying to help guide Justus, our 16-year old, as he was finishing a big research paper for his college class. Decorations had exploded all over the living room, and I’d just discovered that not one, but two of our strings of lights for the tree weren’t working.

Such is life. Tis the season. No big deal. But it was almost lunch time and not only was food not prepared, I hadn’t even found a moment to figure out what lunch was yet. “Help me with a quick idea for lunch, Malachi, then we’ll run to the store and get more lights for the tree.”

Malachi’s solution to every lunch would be hot dogs if I would allow it. So it was no surprise when that was his suggestion this day too.

Aha! That gave me an idea. I said, “Malachi, go grab a package of hotdogs from the freezer and get two cans of baked beans. We’ll make Beanie Weanies when we get home.” And there was much rejoicing by all.

This is where I pause to tell you how silly I feel right now. I’m actually writing a post to tell you this:

When you’re in a hurry and you don’t have anything planned for your meal, make Beanie Weanies.

I know this isn’t a typical recipe idea you’re used to hearing about from me. But there really is something about a pot of bubbly baked beans with bites of hotdogs that is comforting, am I right? Plus, this meal doesn’t have to be unhealthy if you use the right ingredients. Even the most health conscious among us need a fall back meal sometimes. Beanie Weanies it is. Rock on.

simple-last-minute-meal

Yum

Best tip of the day: Keep a supply of canned of baked beans in your pantry. Keep a supply of better-than hot dogs in your freezer. When you’re in a hurry and need a fast meal, mix them together and lunch is served.

You’re welcome, I guess.

simple-beanie-weanies

Not only did we manage to finish Justus’ big research paper that morning and put (working) lights on our Christmas tree, we had a fantastically satisfying meal that only took about ten minutes to make.

Am I weird? Is my whole family weird? What can we say? We all really love this meal. The Beanie Weanies tasted great along with a mixed green salad, clementines, sweet peppers, and slice pears. The sides took hardly any effort to prepare so I’m not kidding when I say that this meal really only takes about ten minutes to make.

simple-last-minute-beanie-weanies

Other Simple Recipes that are a little more “normal”

  • Simple Baked Salmon and Asparagus
  • Simple Crock Pot Chicken Soup with a Kick
  • Simple Skillet Taco Pasta
  • Simple Sweet and Sour Baked Chicken Legs
  • 20-Minute Taco Soup
  • Simple Cheesy Baked Chicken
  • Simple Creamy Chicken Stew in the Crock Pot
  • Simple Italian Beef and Broccoli Skillet
  • Simple Bacon Ranch Chicken
  • Simple Hawaiian Crock Pot Chicken
  • Simple Taco Rice Dinner
  • Simple Last Minute Nacho Plate
  • Simple Chicken Cheeseballs with a Kick

‘Fess up! Who’s a Beanie Weanie fan? 

Let Simple Meals save you money, time, and energy so you can enjoy your family! (Remember, the plans will be extra simple this holiday season. Sweet!)

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

I Couldn’t Decide If I Should Tell You About This (Plus This Year’s Coppinger Christmas Card!)

November 29, 2016 by Laura 6 Comments

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

I feel so on top of things. It’s still November and I just ordered a package of personalized Christmas postcards to send out. Score one for me. (No promises that I’ll actually get them in the addressed and sent before Christmas. Let’s live in the moment though, shall we?)

Wanna know how much I paid for twenty-six cards plus envelopes? $0.72 plus $4.95 shipping. Boom! This year, we’ll be sending out Christmas cheer in the form of this card:

bundle7

Just another day in the life of the Coppinger fam.

How did I get these cards for such a low price? I had a $15 gift certificate for Artsy Cou. I’ll tell you how you can get one too!

For that matter, howzabout I tell you how you can get twelve $15 gift certificates?

gift-certificate-purchases

There’s a really cool package deal being offered right now and here’s the low down: You pay just $15 and you get $180 worth of gift certificates to spend at 11 different really cool online shops. The question I spent hours yesterday to answer is this:

Is it worth it?

I had to know for sure before I told you about this. Is it worth paying $15 for these twelve $15 certificates?

Well, even if you end up just using one certificate, you make your money back, so there’s pretty much no risk of wasting money. Then, of course, the more you use, the more you save.

As it turns out, I ended up using seven of the $15 gift certificates and I am very, very excited about the items I was able to get!

Nothing ended up being completely free after the $15 off. I still had to pay shipping on each item I ordered. Did I still save a lot of money on great gifts? Yep! One of my favorites:

bundle1

This ended up costing me $22 with shipping. Such an adorable, usable gift!

And this bamboo spatula from Life Without Plastic??? How amazing is this? It was only $4.95, so I picked out a fun flamingo reusable bowl cover for another $9.95. My $15 certificate knocked it all down to $0, then I paid shipping ($9.95, more than I would have liked, but still a great overall price for two wonderful items).

bundle4

But the question is: Do I give it as a gift or keep it for myself??

I was so excited to find these three amazing pouches at Porteen Gear to give to my oldest son to use in his camera bag for his memory cards and flash drives. All three, with shipping, only cost $14 after the gift certificate!

bundle8

I also got kombucha bottles, glass straws, and face cream that I’m excited to receive! I’m still trying to decide on a couple of the other offers, but I will tell you this:

My initial $15 investment was worth it and then some.

Here are some more specifics I learned after wading through all of these certificates yesterday. (Hopefully my wading will save you some time!) Remember, you pay just $15, then get $15 to spend at all of these sites!

  • Around the World Stories (Looked neat, but kinda pricey and not great for my family. I didn’t use this certificate.)
  • Artsy Couture (Got my super cute, super inexpensive Christmas cards here!)
  • Atlas Coffee Club (SO tempted. But I passed on this one. If you have a coffee lover in your life, this is a great gift! I couldn’t justify it for our family though.)
  • Bloom Naturals (I didn’t need to use this one, but if you have someone in your family with eczema or acne, definitely use this one!)
  • Crunchy Balm (I got the Frankincense Face Cream and can’t wait to use it! Yep, it’s a gift for myself.)
  • Ecocentric Mom (I haven’t used this one yet, but am thinking about using it to have a baby gift on hand.)
  • Healthy Moving (I decided to pass on this one.)
  • Hope Ink (I wasn’t impressed with the shipping price, but still felt like the hanging calendar gift was a good price after the gift certificate knocked off $15.)
  • Life Without Plastic (SO many great items. This is where I got the bamboo spatula and cotton bowl cover.)
  • Porteen Gear (Could have spent so much money at this site for my photographer/videographer son. Loved using this certificate on a gift for him!)
  • Strawesome (I love their glass straws, so I was very happy to use a certificate to get more for our collection.)
  • The Kombucha Shop (I got a great price for three really cool bottles for only $9.72 shipped.)

15-gift-bundle

So there you have it. After many hours of shopping (it’s a tough life) and learning about shipping costs, I have decided to share this with you because…

This gift certificate package is worth the $15 investment.

You’ll make your money back after using just one certificate, so truly, this is a no-risk purchase. Then you can have a blast making Christmas postcards and finding other great items for loved ones (or yourself!), all while getting $15 off each purchase! It’s very merry and bright!

This package offer is only available through Monday, December 5. Get it now and start shopping!!

Get Your Very Merry Gift Certificate Package Here.

Some of these links are my affiliate links.

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