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Giant Breakfast Cookies For the Freezer

September 13, 2016 by Laura 27 Comments

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

It’s likely that many of you have been making my Giant Breakfast Cookies for years. It was one of my very first recipes I shared here. (Aww, sweet memories.)

Freezer Breakfast Cookies5

Yum

I used to always bake big batches of these cookies (or even a double batch) and freeze them to pull out as needed. This is great! But I like this new idea better.

See, with this idea we can have hot, fresh breakfast cookies whenever we want them. I think we can all agree that a hot, fresh breakfast cookie with a glass of milk or a cup of coffee is much, much better than a room temperature cookie with a glass of milk or a cup of coffee.

So this is what I do now:

Make Giant Breakfast Cookie Dough Balls for the Freezer

I mix up the Giant Breakfast Cookie recipe as normal. I scoop out cookie dough and freeze it on a cookie sheet like this:

Freezer Breakfast Cookies1

Once frozen, I transfer the cookie dough balls to a freezer bag.

Freezer Breakfast Cookies2

In the morning, I get out a few cookie dough balls to bake fresh.

Freezer Breakfast Cookies3

I put them into the oven (yep, from their frozen state) and bake them while the coffee brews.

Freezer Breakfast Cookies4

When the family wakes up, there are hot, fresh breakfast cookies ready to go with the rest of our breakfast!

These cookies are always the star of breakfast, but I usually only make enough for two per person so the fruit and protein can get the attention they need. :)

Here’s the recipe and freezing instructions:

Giant Breakfast Cookies (with frozen cookie dough ball instructions)

Giant Breakfast Cookies For the Freezer
 
Save Print
Author: Laura
Serves: 20-24
Ingredients
  • 1 cup melted butter
  • ½ cup honey
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ cup buttermilk (the recipe will not be effected if you choose to leave this out)
  • 2 cups whole wheat flour
  • 2 cups rolled oats
  • ½ cup raisins or chocolate chips
Instructions
  1. Mix butter, honey, eggs, salt, cinnamon, baking soda, vanilla, and buttermilk.
  2. Stir in flour and oats.
  3. Fold in raisins or chocolate chips.
  4. Scoop heaping tablespoons of dough onto a cookie sheet.
  5. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.
  6. TO FREEZE:
  7. Mix dough and scoop side-by-side onto a cookie sheet.
  8. Freeze dough balls, then transfer them to a freezer bag.
  9. Place desired amount of frozen cookie balls onto a baking sheet while oven pre-heats.
  10. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.
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Breakfast Cookies for the Freezer

Ever tried freezing cookie dough balls before? I’ve been doing this with regular cookies for years. Why it took me this long to do this with Breakfast Cookies is just sorta silly.

More freezer recipes and ideas coming soon!

TO MAKE COOKIE BARS:

If you’d like to skip the scoop, simply spread the cookie dough into a 9×13 inch baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 18-22 minutes or until cookie bars are lightly browned and cooked through to the center. I like to take them out of the oven when they are barely brown so that they are gooey and moist!

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49 Favorite Breakfast Freezer Foods

September 11, 2016 by Laura Leave a Comment

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

Bunches and bunches of our favorite breakfast freezer foods…coming up!

49 Breakfast Freezer Foods

First, some of my favorite breakfast tips (that my family supports 100%):

Biscuits and Gravy Made EasyYum

You know how Biscuits and Gravy is one of those breakfasts you save for special occasions because it takes quite a bit of effort to prepare? What if you could follow these Freezer Biscuit instructions and have Turkey Sausage made ahead of time so you can quickly put together Sausage Gravy while your effortless biscuits are in the oven? Then you can have Biscuits and Gravy on the table within just a few minutes without breaking a sweat. My family loves it when I do this! (More details here.)

Biscuits and Gravy

Breakfast Casserole Made Easy

And Breakfast Casserole. That sounds intense right? Except that it’s not intense when you use this recipe and make it ahead of time.

cinnamon_muffins_with_casserole

Cinnamon Rolls Made Easy

How about Cinnamon Rolls? Well now those are for special occasions. Yes, because of the sugar. But not because of the work. Try these No-Knead Cinnamon Rolls that you can make ahead of time and freeze!

cinnamon_rolls

Muffins Made Easy

We’re all in love with the fact that we can mix up muffin batter and freeze it in muffin cups for easy fresh muffin baking! If you haven’t tried this yet, get all the details here. You will LOVE IT!

Freeze Your Muffin Batter 3

And now, from oatmeal cups to muffins to burritos, here are 49 great, real food recipes that can be made ahead of time and frozen.

49 Favorite Breakfast Freezer Foods

  • Applesauce Bread
  • Bacon Cheese Muffins
  • Baked Oatmeal Cups
  • Banana Bread and Muffins
  • Blueberry Streusel Muffins
  • Breakfast Burritos
  • Breakfast Cake Muffins
  • Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins
  • Chocolate Swirl Bread
  • Chocolate Swirl Muffins
  • Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
  • Cinnamon Swirl Bread
  • Cracklin’ Oat Bran Cereal (Not as much a freezer food as a food that can be made ahead of time for ease. But you can freeze this if you like!)
  • Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Breakfast Cookies
  • Crustless Breakfast Quiches
  • Easy Breakfast Casserole (I usually put this together and freeze it un-baked.)
  • Eggnog Muffins
  • Giant Breakfast Cookies
  • Ham and Egg Breakfast Bowls
  • Hashbrowns
  • Honey Cinnamon Muffins
  • Honey Whole Wheat Bagels
  • Lemon Bread
  • Mini Apple Pies
  • Mini Breakfast Pizza
  • Multi-Grain Pumpkin Waffles and Pancakes
  • Oatmeal Breakfast Bars
  • Orange Muffins
  • Pancake Muffins
  • Pancake and Sausage Muffins
  • Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins
  • Peanut Butter Pancakes
  • Poptarts
  • Pumpkin Breakfast Cake
  • Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread
  • Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
  • Simple Whole Wheat Pancakes
  • Snickerdoodle Muffins
  • Strawberry Bread
  • Strawberry Cream Muffins
  • Sweet Potato Streusel Muffins
  • Turkey Sausage (I like to make 10-12 pounds at once and freeze it in 1 pound packages.)
  • Vanilla Muffins with Cinnamon Crumb Topping
  • Whole Wheat and Honey Zucchini Bread and Muffins
  • Whole Wheat Cinnamon Rolls
  • Whole Wheat Waffles
  • Zucchini Carrot Bread

Time Saving Tip: These Ham and Egg Breakfast Bowls are tasty and wonderful, but they only save time if you make a bunch ahead and freeze them to warm up later. If you haven’t made them ahead and want ham and eggs for breakfast, I’d skip the cute bowl making step and just quickly scramble ham, eggs, and cheese together. :)

Easy Ham and Egg Breakfast Bowls

Did you see the 24 Favorite Main Dish Freezer Meals I shared last week?

Coming up during the next few days, I’ve got some great new freezer breakfast food tips!

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

Easy 5-Minute Frozen Yogurt Cups

September 8, 2016 by Laura 6 Comments

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

I think I just discovered my new favorite snack. Look at these adorable Frozen Yogurt Cups!

Frozen Yogurt Cups

How is it that just when I think there can’t possibly be any more great new food ideas, I come across another wonderful new way to make something delicious and fun? I love how many wonderful ways we can enjoy real food.

I am one of the biggest food geeks. Nobody loves food as much as I. Except for maybe you, which is why you and I have so much fun together here. Isn’t food so very much fun!?!?!!!!!!

frozen yogurt2

At the very least, we all love to eat. It’s just that some of us like to also gawk at our groceries, get a thrill out of creating fun menus, and dream daily of new recipe ideas. Occasionally we might tear up when we look at the full shelves in our beautiful pantry. Some of us.

All this excitement over little frozen yogurt cups. Hey. You have no idea. I saw this idea and loved it, but I didn’t know that I would love it, love it. But the easiness of this idea! The endless options of what can be done to create variations that every family member will like! The deliciousness.

frozen yogurt4

Because making Frozen Yogurt Cups is so very easy, this would be a great “recipe” to hand over to your kids to make. Everyone can create these with their favorite goodies (granola, berries, nuts, peanut butter, chocolate chips…).

You can buy pre-made, flavored yogurt if you like, but since many store-bought options are so loaded with sugar and other not-so-great ingredients, I much prefer to buy or make Whole Milk Plain Yogurt and add my own sweetener and vanilla. If you don’t make your own yogurt, plain store-bought yogurt works just fine for this “recipe.”

It’s easy to make yogurt: learn more here.

Easy 5-Minute Frozen Yogurt CupsYum

Easy 5-Minute Frozen Yogurt Cups
 
Save Print
Author: Laura
Serves: 10-12
Ingredients
  • 1 cup whole milk plain yogurt
  • Sweetener of choice (I used 1-2 Tablespoons real maple syrup)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Toppings like fresh berries or peaches, granola, chocolate chips, etc.
Instructions
  1. Prepare muffin tins with liners (I used silicone liners which makes this very simple!)
  2. Stir together yogurt, sweetener, and vanilla until well combined.
  3. Scoop 2-3 Tablespoons of yogurt mixture into prepared muffin cups.
  4. Top with fruit if you like.
  5. Freeze for 1-2 hours until solid.
  6. Serve.
  7. Transfer leftovers to a freezer bag and pull out for snacking as needed.
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Easy Frozen Yogurt Cups

To Fantastic Frozen Yogurt Cup Tips:

1) These worked wonderfully in my Silicone Baking Cups. They popped right out once frozen and clean up was so simple!

2) You can use your Frozen Yogurt Cups to make smoothies! I mean, frozen yogurt and berries? This is what smoothies are made of. Throw some Frozen Yogurt Cups into a blender with a little milk and you’re set!

Raise your hand (and leave a comment) if you’re a food geek like me. Raise your hand (and leave a comment) if you aren’t a food geek, but appreciate that other are so that you can enjoy eating yummy food. See, everyone wins. :)

 

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You’ve Never Colored Like This Before (Win the Coolest Coloring Book Ever!)

September 8, 2016 by Laura 83 Comments

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

Get out your favorite markers or crayons. We all need them for this, AndHeDrew’s Book of Coloring.

A few months ago I discovered that grown-up coloring books are wonderful and amazing. But that wonderment and amazement have just been taken to a new level because of this:

andhedrew

See, the pages in this coloring book all flow together into one cohesive design. Color each page individually, then take them out of the book and place them side by side by side by side – in any order. Every page fits together with all the other pages – can you even imagine? I think this is genius.

AndHeDrew is the guy who just so happens to be my site designer. Yeah, someday I’ll be able to say, “I knew him when…”

Malachi and I are having so much fun coloring these pages together. He said, and I quote, “These are amazing. We need to color all of these then get a bunch more…”

book-of-coloring1

As we finish the pages, Malachi has been hanging them up on his Lego Room wall.

book-of-coloring-2

See how they all fit together like a puzzle? It truly amazes me. I can’t imagine the time it took to design these pages. But yay me. I get to color them. (With my son. Perfection.)

book-of-coloring3

Definitely check out AndHeDrew’s Book of Coloring for your family!

AndHeDrew is giving away one printed copy of his Book of Coloring plus two digital copies! Enter the Rafflecopter below for a chance to win. I’ll select three random winners on Wednesday, September 14.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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How to Make Homemade Chicken Patties for Sandwiches (Freezable!)

September 6, 2016 by Laura 14 Comments

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

You want to know one of my favorite convenience foods I miss the most since switching to real food? Processed chicken patties for chicken sandwiches. (Bet you never would have guessed that, since that’s what this post is about.)

chicken patties9

I grew up microwaving Schwan’s chicken patties and slapping them on white buns for a quick meal or snack after a sports practice. They were yummy and easy and while I couldn’t care less about many other processed convenience items (I gave up boxed pizza rolls several years ago and never looked back) – I do miss the taste and handiness of chicken patties.

So why it’s taken me this long to figure out a recipe that resembles the beloved frozen chicken patties, I do not know. But here I am, finally learning a way to make breaded chicken patties for sandwiches. The best news is that you can make these in bulk and freeze them for a fast, convenient, ready-made meal on a busy day.

Homemade Chicken Patties for SandwichesYum

How to Make Homemade Chicken Patties for Sandwiches (Freezable!)
 
Save Print
Author: Laura
Serves: 15-20 patties
Ingredients
  • 3 pounds ground chicken
  • 4 teaspoons onion powder, divided
  • 3 teaspoons garlic powder, divided
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt, divided
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 cup milk
  • 3 cups whole grain flour (I used whole wheat, but if you need these to be gluten free, use your favorite flour choice)
  • Palm shortening or oil of choice
Instructions
  1. In a large bowl mix ground chicken, 2 teaspoons onion powder, 2 teaspoons garlic powder, and ½ teaspoon sea salt.
  2. Shape meat mixture into 15-20 patties (make them larger or smaller depending on your family's portion size needs)
  3. Beat eggs into a bowl.
  4. Pour milk into a separate bowl.
  5. In a third bowl, mix flour, 2 teaspoons onion powder, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, and ½ teaspoon sea salt.
  6. Heat palm shortening or oil on a griddle.
  7. Dip prepared meat patties in egg, then flour mixture, then milk, then flour mixture again.
  8. Place battered chicken patty into oil on the griddle.
  9. Repeat process with each chicken patty.
  10. Cook for 7-10 minutes on each side, mashing down lightly as needed.
  11. Serve right away, or cool and freeze for future use, then rewarm in a 350 degree oven until heated through.
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Are you ready to see some ugly chicken patty pictures? This isn’t pretty, friends. Raw meat pressed into patties – well there’s a reason we call stuff like this “processed food.” But take great comfort in the fact that this is all made from real food and wholesome ingredients and ignore the fact that naked ground chicken pressed into a patty really just ain’t purty.

chicken patties2

See the patty breading process? First the egg.

chicken patties3

Then the flour.

chicken patties4

Then the milk.

chicken patties5

Then the flour again.

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Then comes the part where we fry the patties in oil.

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We watch in amazement as they turn into beautiful chicken patties we can’t wait to put on a bun or between two big leaves of lettuce.

chicken patties8
Sure, it’s thicker than the patties we grew up eating. We like it that way. That means there’s double the meat.

Homemade Chicken Patties for Sandwiches - Freezable

One of the biggest perks is that you can form your chicken patties into any size you need for your family. Have small children? Make small patties. Have teenage boys? Make the patties nice and big. Have some big eaters and small eaters? Make a variety.

The biggest win is that if you make a bunch, you’ll have yummy chicken patties ready to warm up for sandwiches on a day you don’t have time to cook!

Did you grow up eating and loving processed chicken sandwiches? 

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24 Favorite Freezer Foods (with new recipes and ideas coming this month!)

September 4, 2016 by Laura 4 Comments

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

I decided to devote much of the month of September to sharing freezer-friendly recipes and fun freezer food tips. The idea came to me as I was obsessively thinking of everything possible that would keep me from being overwhelmed with the beginning of school and fall soccer season. Freezer foods are a life saver this time of year. That, and calendars. And dry erase boards. And strong coffee.

So far, so good on the “freezer foods save my neck” thing. Except that we’ve already used most of the freezer foods I’d made for the start of our school year. But hey, that’s what they’re for. It’s not like I can’t make more, right?

24 Favorite Freezer Food Recipes

Get excited because I’ve got some fun posts in the works with new recipes and ideas! To kick things off, I thought I’d share 24 of our favorite Main Dish recipes that can be made and frozen for easy meals!

24 Main Dish Freezer Foods

  • Barbecue Beef and Cheese Hot Pockets
  • Bean and Cheese Burritos
  • Beefy Enchilada Bake
  • Calzones
  • Cheesy Beef and Rice
  • Cheesy Salsa Enchiladas
  • Chicken Burritos
  • Chicken Fried Steak Strips
  • Chili
  • Corn Dogs and Corn Dog Muffins
  • Italian Pasta Bake
  • Lasagna Casserole
  • Lazy Dogs
  • Meat and Cheese Burritos
  • Pigs in a Blanket
  • Pizza Pockets
  • Popcorn Chicken
  • Sloppy Cornbread Muffins
  • Sloppy Joes
  • Taco Corn Fritters
  • Three Cheese Garlic Chicken Pasta
  • Turkey Sausage
  • Whole Wheat Pizza Crust
  • Frozen Pizza

There’s no doubt having these made and in the freezer saves me so much time and money! I’ve got breakfast ideas and snack ideas too, so you’ll definitely want to stop by often and get all the good info. (Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter so you won’t miss anything!)

Make this and freeze it for convenience and health!

Make Your Own Frozen Pizza

Think of the money you’ll save and the healthy ingredients you’ll be able to use! Coming up next…Breaded Chicken Patty Sandwiches. (My kids think they taste like store-bought, which I find strangely satisfying.)

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“My State Study” Free Mini-Unit Printable For All!

September 1, 2016 by Laura 9 Comments

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

In an effort to have my 6th grader do a little digging into what makes our state special, I created this mini-unit for him to work through. You can have it too!

This generic packet allows students of any age from any state to learn more about where they live.

My State Study free printable for all

Ways to use the My State Study packet:

  • Print and allow your student to work through a page or two each day for a small one-week unit.
  • Use it as a launch pad as your student digs even deeper into learning about the state where you live.
  • Print one set of these pages for all 50 states and have your student put together a United States study during this entire school year!

Want this and many more free learning printables?

Dozens of FREE School Printables

We’ve been creating and collecting all sorts of printable learning activities for all ages. These are free for everyone and will connect you to our fun Heavenly Homemaker’s Learning Zone.

Enter your email address here, then check your inbox for download instructions. Print one, print them all, use them in whatever ways work best for your family!

If you are already subscribed to Heavenly Homemaker’s Learning Zone, you should have received an email yesterday giving you instant access to this freebie. Look in your inbox for the subject: FREE “My State Study” Mini-Unit

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

Quick! Today you can get a free programmable Hamilton Beach Slow Cooker!

August 31, 2016 by Laura 6 Comments

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

I’ve been saving most of the deals I share with those who have signed up for our Homemakers Savings Club, but this one is too good not to shout about to everyone possible! (If you received an email about this already, sorry to be repetitive. It’s just that THIS DEAL!!! Everyone needs to know.)

Get a free Hamilton Beach Programmable 5-Quart Slow Cooker!

TODAY ONLY, as long as supplies last, we can all get a completely free Hamilton Beach Programmable 5-Quart Slow Cooker. Even if you don’t need it for yourself, get it and save it for a Christmas or wedding gift! Because it’s free.

hamilton beach slow cooker

 

How to Get Your Free Slow Cooker

1. Click through this link and sign up for an account with TopCashBack. (This offer is only available for brand new TopCashBack members, but if you already have an account, you can sign up with a different email address because they allow more than one account per household.)
2. Look for an email from TopCashBack and CONFIRM YOUR ACCOUNT. This is important so that you will get your money back in full!
3. Once your account is confirmed, go to this TopCashBack page (if it hasn’t already redirected you) where you’ll see the details of this offer.
4. Click through the pink “Get Cash Back” button, which will take you to the Hamilton Beach 5-Quart Programmable Slow Cooker at Walmart.com, which costs $24.94.
5. Purchase that slow cooker and nothing else! (That’s important – adding other items to your cart will mean you won’t get your money back on this. Only add the specific slow cooker on the page.)
6. Check out using “site to store” or “in store pick-up” so you don’t have to pay shipping. You may need to pay a couple dollars in tax, which is minimal considering you’re getting a free slow cooker!
7. Walmart will email you when your slow cooker is available for pick-up. Go grab it and revel in the fact that you just got an amazing, free appliance or gift!
8. Within 21 days, your TopCashBack account will turn payable (as long as you’ve confirmed your account via the email they sent you when you signed up), reimbursing you the $24.94 you spent. You can have the money transferred to your paypal account, your bank account, or you can get it back as an Amazon card!
That’s it! A free slow cooker!
I’ve been working with TopCashBack for several years now and I always get the money back that they’ve promised. I love it when they send out freebie deals like this one!
This offer ends Thursday, September 1 at midnight, or earlier if the stores sell out. I’d do this now if I were you so you don’t miss it!!
Some of these links are my referral links.
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What Do I Eat? (My Mostly Grain Free Food Diary)

August 30, 2016 by Laura 19 Comments

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

When I shared the latest about my Grain Free Journey several asked, “Can you tell us more about what you eat?”

To answer the question, I started taking pictures every time I got myself some food. Here’s what I learned:

I eat approximately every two hours. If I don’t, I get fussy. I’m like a newborn. If only I got to nap after every feeding.

Why I eat frequently:

I can’t eat big quantities anymore, which means I get hungry more often. Also, I’m not filling up on empty calories, so it seems I need worthy calories quite frequently. I’m trying to listen to my body and give it what it’s asking for!

As mentioned here, I’ve been given the green light to eat grains again. I’m eating them occasionally but not often. When I do eat them, I’m making sure it’s worth it! I mean, I’m not going to waste grain consumption on something silly like crackers or a store-bought hamburger bun. It’s going to be a thin slice of Homemade Bread with butter or well…a Homemade Poptart.

diary1

That picture is an example of how much I eat in one sitting. You should know that I savored that fresh-from-the-oven poptart with my cup of coffee that morning as if I was eating a gourmet breakfast. It was amazingness.

Mid-morning, I was hungry so I had a half a sweet pepper and a hunk of cheese. Exciting, huh?

diary2

Lunch at noon was a big chef salad with mixed greens, fresh tomato from our garden, leftover grilled chicken, avocado, and Homemade Ranch Dressing.

diary4

Sometime later that afternoon I had a bowl of Pineapple Fluff Salad. I forgot to take a picture. :) The rest of the day got away so I didn’t take pictures of my dinner, nor do I remember what I had. Great diary, huh?

The remaining pictures I took sporadically throughout the week to show other meals or snacks I ate. Here, you’ll love this next one. I was feeling sluggish one morning so I decided I might need some extra fat. Therefore, I got myself a little scoop of coconut oil. I kind of like eating it straight and I kind of don’t because eating fat off a spoon is weird. I took a “down the hatch” selfie for your viewing pleasure.

diary3

The following pictures are good examples of what I typically do when I feed my family something grainy.

One day I pulled Homemade Corndogs out of the freezer. While they were warming, I fried sweet potatoes and steamed green beans from our garden. Sometimes I just eat the non-grain parts of the meal, but I hadn’t had many grains all day so I splurged and enjoyed a little corndog. It was quite tasty, but I really, really loved the veggies! (I mean, green beans from the garden? It doesn’t get any better than that.)

diary6

Now I will show you what has become one of my favorite meals. Instead of eating my much loved Real Food “Velveeta” and Rotel Dip with chips, I am loving it stirred into fried zucchini. What an amazing combination!! Matt usually joins me in having this with zucchini while the boys stick with the tortilla chips.

diary7

It tastes much better than this picture makes it look.

It’s easy to avoid grains on mornings we make eggs. We almost always make them with cheese because that makes the egg rating immediately go from 4 to 10. If you look closely at the picture, you’ll see that while I served a few leftover Breakfast Cookies and Homemade Poptarts to the boys with our eggs, I also cut the tops off the leftover Chocolate Zucchini Muffins. I’d made the mistake of leaving them on the counter for one day too long and they got moldy on top. No problem. I just cut off the tops and served them. You can probably guess that those were not the favorite choice of the morning.

diary5

Last I will show you a boring picture of what I ate the day I served a Build Your Own Burrito Bar. I was not in the mood for cheese or anything fancy, so while Matt and the boys loaded tortillas with Salsa Chicken, olives, rice, cheese, salsa, sour cream, greens, and tomatoes – I ate greens with chicken. It tasted great and was all I needed for the moment.

diary8

Then of course two hours later I needed a snack. Surprise, surprise. :)

Care to share some of the meals and snacks you eat throughout the day? How often do you find yourself needing to eat?

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Menu Plan for the Week (We survived the first week of school!)

August 28, 2016 by Laura 1 Comment

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The first week of school is always known at our house as the week that “works out the kinks.” This is good because of all weeks for one of our computers to die, one died last week. So much for Math and Spanish lessons on “the back room computer.”

Now that we’re ready for “Week 2” I think we’ve got all the software set up (again) and schedules mostly situated into what actually works. If I’ve learned anything during my life 15 years of homeschooling it’s to be open and flexible. Expect life to happen. Don’t get tied down to the ideal schedule because as ideal as the ideal is, it is rarely pulled off ideally. <— Profound, eh?

Raspberry Oatmeal Bars 12

I kept last week’s menu plan simple and am doing the same this week. Is there any other way?

This Week’s Menu Plan

Breakfasts

Always served with some sort of protein and 1-2 choices of fruit.

  • Easy Breakfast Casserole
  • Raspberry Oatmeal Bars
  • Pancake Muffins
  • Stir-n-Pour Bread (toasted and served with peanut butter and honey)
  • Poppyseed Bread (from our Make-Ahead Meals and Snacks eBook)

Lunches

Always served with 2-4 choices of fruits and veggies. This week I have apples, grapes, avocados, bananas, nectarines, applesauce, cantaloupe, carrots, spinach, mixed greens, and zucchini to work with.

  • Chicken Salad
  • Lazy Dogs (prepped in the freezer)
  • Pizza Boats
  • Bacon, Egg, and Avocado Salad
  • Easy Cheesy Bean Dip

Dinners

I’m using my crock pot almost every night this week to save time after a busy day of work and school. Dinners are always served with 2-4 choices of fruits and veggies. I’ll work with all of the fruit/veggies options mentioned in the lunch section, plus sweet potatoes, frozen green beans, and frozen peas.

  • Baked Potatoes in the Crock Pot (served with ham, cheese, butter, and sour cream)
  • Italian Cream Cheese Chicken
  • Calico Beans
  • Apricot Chicken (one of our favorite recipes in the Eat Right Away Collection)
  • Grilled Italian Chicken

Anything yummy on your menu this week?

Final eBook Discount Day

Low Sugar Treats cover5

If you haven’t already picked up our new Low Sugar Treats eBook, you’ll want to do it today so you can get it at the introductory price! Get all the details about this book (with its 41 low sugar recipes!) here. Sale price ends at midnight Monday, August 29!

[wp_eStore_fancy1 id=18]

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