Heavenly Homemakers

Encouraging women in homemaking, healthy eating and parenting

Menu Plan For the Week (Have I Told You How Much I Love Food?)

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We were in the kitchen putting dirty dishes into the dishwasher together after lunch. As is common after a meal, we were all discussing what we needed to do the rest of the day and how it was all going to get done. Beyond our normal “at home” work, we had two outside commitments to keep: 1) Pick up our food co-op order and 2) Elias, age 12, had soccer practice in the evening.

When Elias realized he may be at soccer practice when the Azure order was brought into the house, without thinking he said, “Wait. Can you maybe not put it away until after I get home so I can look at it first?” Quickly, he grinned at himself for requesting something so silly.

I think this kid is a lot like his mama. There is nothin’ silly about wanting to stare at food. Right? Right???

I see food and I’m like, “Oh my goodness! Look at the beautiful green beans and all the deliciously juicy grilled meat! The canned peaches are sooooo pretty and see these great potatoes that I just got at the farmer’s market?!” But then there are those of you who are like, “there. is. a. watermelon. and. some. other. food. please. pass. the. salt.” Do you mean to tell me I haven’t yet convinced you all of the joy of staring at food? I’ll keep trying.

anniversary trip 144

EEEHHEEEE!!! IT’S SEVERAL DOZEN SWEET CORN FALLING OUT OF BAGS!!!!!!!!

Well anyway, it seems that Elias and I are very similar when it comes to our love of food. He loves going to the grocery store with me – just to look at all the food (and, of course, to smell the pineapple’s bottom). He loves seeing our Azure orders and our Amazon Subscribe and Save orders come in. He likes looking into the pantry to see all the goodies. He loves looking through cookbooks to get new ideas. He loves chocolate and desserts. Hopefully, eventually, he’ll love eating vegetables. We’re working on that one.

So…food. This time of year is so rockin’ with all of the amazing FOOOOOOOOD!!!!!!!!!! Who’s with me on this? Peaches and nectarines dripping with sweet juice. Sweet corn dripping with butter. Watermelon dripping down my chin. I’m not ashamed. I love this time of year. 

We got home from our anniversary trip and had to get to work right away putting up fresh garden produce. It’s hard work! But the bounty and the goodness of this food?! There’s so much to be grateful for. We’ve been picking, snapping, blanching, and freezing (or eating!) green beans. We found a great price on sweet corn (see beautiful picture above) and got several dozen shucked, blanched, cut off the cob, and frozen. This week, we’ll be making fresh salsa with tomatoes and peppers from our garden. We’re frying okra from our garden and eating it like it’s candy.

Meat off the grill with all these fresh fruits and vegetables on our table? Well, it is just incredible.

I’ll take the hard work. I’ll step around overflowing compost buckets and stand over a steaming pot of boiling water in a hot kitchen. Then Elias and I will stare at it all and imagine how great it will be this winter when we can pull this goodness out of our pantry and out of our freezer to eat.

Having said all of that, you can imagine how much fun I have making a meal plan this time of year. With all the fresh variety available – healthy menu planning is awesome.

Speaking of menu planning, I’ll let you in on a little secret. This weekend, we finished a project we’ve been working on! Watch for details of how you can get this resource for free. :)

123 Meal Planning Cover sm

Here’s our menu for this week. (Won’t that food be fun to look at??!!?!)

Sunday, August 17
Creamy orange cooler, granola, blueberries
Italian cream cheese chicken, tossed salad, cherry tomatoes, green beans
Grilled burgers, tomatoes, lettuce, homemade pickles, watermelon

Monday, August 18
Green machine milkshakes, giant breakfast cookies, raspberries
Pasta salad bar, cantaloupe
Grilled barbeque chicken, corn on the cob, fried okra, peas, grapes

Tuesday, August 19
Crock pot breakfast casserole, nectarines
Hamburger sauerkraut dip with tortilla chips, cherries, kiwi
Grilled Italian chicken, baked potatoes in the crock pot, green beans, tossed salad

Wednesday, August 20
Pancake and sausage muffins, cantaloupe
Spanish rice with taco meat, spicy avocado dip, fresh pineapple
BLT wraps, sweet peppers, carrot sticks, strawberries

Thursday, August 21
Pineapple mango smoothies, fried eggs
Black bean chicken nachos, olives, pineapple
Beefy enchilada bake, tossed salad, strawberry/peach/apple fruit salad

Friday, August 22
Instant oatmeal packets, blueberries and strawberries
Cheddar ranch burgers, cherry tomatoes, sliced cucumbers, watermelon
Chicken salad with crispy cheese crackers, sweet peppers, honey glazed carrots, peaches

Saturday, August 23
Cheesy scrambled eggs, strawberry-peach-orange smoothies
Leftovers
Taco salad, nectarines

I’ve asked before but I’ll ask again:  Who likes staring at food?

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Our 20th Anniversary Trip – And What We Came Home To

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Floating down a river on a raft for hours, staying overnight in a family owned bed-and-breakfast type lodge, sitting on the patio relaxing for hours – this is what Matt planned for us on our anniversary.

I loved our getaway so much – I am still flying high from it. We only had to drive a little over two hours to our destination, which was perfect since both of us are a little “traveled out” after this very busy summer. I’m amazed at what Matt found for us to do, right here in Nebraska. It truly was perfect.

anniversary trip 141

The lady who owned the lodge where we stayed set up an anniversary breakfast table for us. It was beautiful!

anniversary trip 142

What were our boys doing the whole time we were gone? Well, we left them with long school work lists and chore lists. We bought food we don’t normally buy – as a special treat and to keep things easy and fun for them (making them promise to eat at least one fruit or veggie with every meal). :)  The college grad living with us made sure all was well with the boys overnight.

But beyond that? Well, we had no idea what these boys were really up to. We trusted that they were being responsible and wise with their time. And just what did they do with their free time?

Amazing. I’m telling you – this is amazing. We thought our welcome home “gift” looked like this:

anniversary trip 143

Truly, homemade cookies, a homemade card on a piece of notebook paper, wild flowers floating in a cup of water – it was much more than we expected. We were simply hoping the dishes would be done. (They were.)

What we didn’t know was that there was more waiting for us than the surprise cookies and card. We sat down to an incredible music video, made entirely by our boys.

Before you watch it, you have to know what all went in to this. Our boys created the music and beats to this rap/song on FL Studio, our music creation software. Our boys wrote the lyrics (which is evident in the fact that you may not “get” some of the inside family jokes). They planned all of this on their own. They spent hours filming, and even more hours editing. I have watched this over and over. I am amazed by it. Our boys used their gifts, they worked together – well, let’s just say this video does my heart real good.

If for no other reason, you should watch this video to see the JUNK our boys ate while we were gone. They certainly enjoyed themselves, and who can blame them?! :)

Thank you for your sweet comments this week as we celebrated our 20th anniversary. Thanks for letting me share a bit of our lives with you in this video. It is so much fun to see our boys growing and creating together! I’m thankful for the family God has blessed me with. I do not take this for granted.

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Cinnamon Nectarine Muffins

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I am well aware that I feed an army each day. But sometimes, the reality of how much food it actually takes to feed this army leaves me with my mouth hanging open.

Take, for instance, the fact that we got 20 pounds of nectarines last week in our Azure Standard order. Within only 5 days, our family had polished off 15 pounds of them. Do you know how many nectarines that is? Neither do I. But it was a lot of nectarines.

As the box was emptying, I decided to get a little bit creative. Some of the nectarines were getting pretty soft – a little too soft to slice nicely. Therefore, into the food processor they went, skin and all. (I did remove the pit. I thought I’d mention that for those of you who were considering throwing the entire piece of fruit directly into the machine. Don’t do that.)  The food processor turned out a very nice nectarine puree, which when stirred into other fine ingredients, turned out a most deliciously moist muffin.

Feel free to sub peaches for nectarines in this recipe. :)

Cinnamon Nectarine Muffins

Cinnamon Nectarine MuffinsYum

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup sucanat
3/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 3/4 cups nectarine or peach puree (4-5 peaches or nectarines)
1/3 cup sour cream
1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg

In a large bowl, mix together flour, sucanat, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Stir in pureed fruit, sour cream, melted butter, vanilla, and egg. Once mixed, scoop batter into well buttered or paper-lined muffin tins. Bake in a 400° oven for 25-30 minutes or until muffins are golden brown. Makes about 15 muffins.

I found that these muffins required a little more baking time than a typical muffin. You may want to prick one with a toothpick to make sure it comes out clean so the muffins aren’t doughy.

Which do you like best: nectarines or peaches?

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Every Recipe Has a Story ~ What’s Yours?

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My email inbox gets flooded every week with your stories: stories of how you’ve been using Heavenly Homemaker recipes and what you love about them. These recipe stories are so much fun for me to read. It occurred to me recently:  Why keep these to myself? You should all be in on the fun!

Introducing our new Share Your Story feature:

Share Your Heavenly Homemakers Recipe Story

Whether your story is as simple as, “I made your brownies to share at work and everyone loved them!” or “Your chewy granola bars are perfect for my husband to snack on at work.” or “My mom’s group loves your breakfast cookies!” – we want to hear about it. Maybe you used several Heavenly Homemakers recipes for a special meal for your family. Maybe your child’s birthday party treats were from a recipe you found here. Maybe there’s a recipe here you haven’t tried yet that you’re hoping to try soon.

Whatever your story, we want to hear.

So pick out your favorite Heavenly Homemakers recipes and get busy! Snap a picture or two. You’ve all seen these recipes from my kitchen. Now we want to see them in YOURS! Email your pictures and stories to me! As often as possible, I’ll share them here with everyone.

To get us started, I wanted to share a recent story from April. Here’s what she wrote:

I am officially a chocolate granola junkie! I made a batch with honey instead of sucanat and homemade chocolate chips and I cannot stop eating it!!! Thank you SO much…I think. :)  Made another batch this weekend..my helper is Skylar, who’s 7. She loves ‘Mama’s homemade cereal’…but without the homemade chocolate chips! Oh, well…more chocolate for Mama.

dark choc granola story 1
How adorable is this helper in her apron?? Love this!

Grab our Dark Chocolate Almond Granola recipe here.

I can’t wait to hear from the rest of you. Pick a Heavenly Homemakers recipe – pick any at all. There are hundreds here on the site to choose from. Share your story!

As a special thank you (to everyone, whether you share a story or not), we’ve made a set of 8 downloadable and printable recipe cards for you. I recommend printing each page onto white cardstock. Enjoy!

Free Printable Recipe Card Pack

Download: Heavenly Homemakers Recipe Cards Pack 1

Download: Heavenly Homemakers Recipe Cards Pack 2

I can’t wait to hear your stories and see your pictures – and I really can’t wait to feature them here on the site. Let the fun begin!

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Healthy Marriage Tips from A to Z ~ A Free Download

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Twenty years.  That’s how long Matt and I have been married – as of today. We are so thankful God has blessed us with each other.

In honor of our anniversary, we wanted to remind you of the (newly revised) eBook we wrote together a few years ago. While we still have a lot of growing to do, and much to learn about living selflessly for each other, it is a joy to share some of what we’ve learned during the past two decades.

Healthy Marriage Tips from A to X ~ Free Download

Free to everyone, please download, enjoy, and share Healthy Marriage Tips from A to Z eBook.

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

Gratituesday: I Don’t Know Where I’m Going!

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I walked down the aisle 20 years ago this week. Twenty years!!!! I’m not sure where the last two decades have gone, but 4 kids and many other life changes later – here we are.

anniversary13

We’re not much into gift-giving, and typically, we only quietly slip away for a lunch or dinner out together to celebrate our special day. But this year is different. Since it’s our 20th anniversary, Matt decided to plan something special.

What has he planned? Well, I have no idea. I was given a specific list of items to pack and a departure time for a get-away. Other than that, I don’t know a thing about our plans. How fun is that?

We’ll be leaving a long list of school assignments and household chores for our boys. They’ll be all set up with easy-to-make foods. We have a recent college graduate living at our house for several months, so we’re leaving him in charge of overseeing our kids and making sure they get their school work and chores done both days that we’re gone.

Everyone is sure to have a great time! I’m excited for a little get-away with Matt…and as soon as I find out where we’re going, you’ll be the first to know. (AFTER we get back.)  :)

What are you thankful for this week? Leave a comment to share how God is working in your life!

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Whole Wheat Pizza Swirls ~ The Make-Ahead Lunch Box

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The Make-Ahead Lunch Box

I’m excited to kick off our new Make-Ahead Lunch Box series with a fun new recipe I recently tried for my family. We all love these Whole Wheat Pizza Swirls.  Here are my favorite perks to this recipe, and why I think this is perfect for your Make-Ahead Lunch Box:

  • You can make Pizza Swirls ahead of time, wrap them individually, and store them in the freezer until you need them.
  • You can fill the Pizza Swirls with any of your favorite toppings, making this recipe versatile and ideal for accommodating food preferences.
  • These taste great both hot and cold.
  • Pizza Swirls are simple to make.
  • Pizza Swirls are filling and easy to eat.

Whole Wheat Pizza SwirlsYum

1 recipe of Whole Wheat Pizza Dough
1 cup pizza sauce
2 cups shredded cheddar or mozzarella cheese
3 Tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
variety of pizza fillings – your choice – like meat, olives, and veggies
2 Tablespoons olive oil (optional)

Mix Whole Wheat Pizza Dough as directed. On a clean, well floured surface, roll dough into a long oval until it is about 1/4 inch thick. Spread pizza sauce over the dough. Sprinkle with cheeses and your favorite pizza toppings. Roll the dough up, beginning on the long side. Tuck the ends under. Place on a cookie sheet. Spread olive oil over the top if you like. Bake in a 375° oven for about 15 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Slice and serve. Makes about 8-10 Pizza Swirls.

Whole Wheat Pizza Swirls

Bonus Tips:

  • Want to pack these Pizza Swirls to go? Once the swirls have cooled completely, wrap them individually and place them in an air tight container in the freezer. Set frozen wrapped Pizza Swirl in the fridge overnight to thaw to pack in a lunch box the next day.
  • Need to eat Gluten Free? Copy the idea and use your favorite gluten free dough recipe.
  • Tired of pizza? Skip the sauce and use turkey or chicken with cheese to make Meat and Cheese Swirls.

Great to Serve with Pizza Swirls:

  • Fresh fruit like apple slices, orange slices, peaches, cantaloupe, pineapple, or pears
  • Carrot sticks, sliced cucumbers, celery, or sweet peppers
  • Olives or pickles

I double, triple, or quadruple this recipe so that I can make lots at once to make my getting-ahead efforts worthwhile. This also means I can make a variety of different Pizza Swirls to have on hand. Our favorites are:

  • Pepperoni and Cheese
  • Combination (meat, cheese, green peppers, mushrooms, olives)
  • Hamburger and Green Pepper
  • Pepperoni and Olive

What kind of pizza swirls do you think your family will like? Have any other ideas you feel would be good to serve with Pizza Swirls (especially ideas that will pack well in a lunch box)?

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

Menu Plan for the Week

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Menu planning in the summer is so much fun for me! Winter is fun too, with soups and such. But summer?! With all the fresh produce available? Mmmmm, I love this time of year. Bring on the watermelon, corn on the cob, nectarines and peaches, strawberries, tomatoes….

Sunday, August 10
Creamy orange cooler, toast
Pasta salad bar with lots of chopped veggies, cantaloupe
BLT wraps, watermelon, fried okra, carrot sticks

Monday, August 11
Chocolate chocolate chip muffins, sausage, strawberries
Sloppy cornbread muffins, cucumbers and carrots with ranch, nectarines
Grilled barbeque chicken, tossed greens, tomatoes, corn on the cob, zucchini

Tuesday, August 12
Crepes with cream cheese filling, strawberries and blueberries
Turkey ranch pinwheels, fruit and kefir smoothies
Cheeseburger macaroni, tossed salad, green beans

Wednesday, August 13
Cereal, fruit
Scrambled egg sandwiches, peas, nectarines
Cheesy beef and rice, green beans, zucchini, tossed salad

Thursday, August 14
Green machine milkshakes, scrambled eggs, toast
Pizza boats, carrots, cherries, sweet peppers, olives
Popcorn chicken, cheesy cauliflower cakes, green beans, watermelon

Friday, August 15
Fried eggs, hashbrowns, peaches
Black bean chicken nachos, grapes
Grilled burgers, lettuce and tomatoes, watermelon, zucchini

Saturday, August 16
Whole wheat donuts, raspberries
Leftovers
Chicken patty sandwiches, tomatoes, broccoli salad, cantaloupe

What fun summer foods are you enjoying?

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41 Years Old, 42 Jars, and 40% Off. Last Day for Sale!

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Remember how I turned 41 on Sunday and how I’m running a 40% off sale in my shop all week to celebrate? That sale was supposed to end Friday. I usually throw out a “last day” reminder, but I got distracted yesterday and completely forgot.

Distracted, you ask? Distracted with what?

canning jars 1

Well, I got on a roll with my canning jars, and I just couldn’t stop.

We’d been given several bags of cucumbers on Wednesday night at church. On Thursday I made and canned a double batch of Sweet Pickle Relish. I then canned peaches that Matt and the boys had brought in from one of our peach trees. Then, since I had cucumbers left after making relish, I tried my hand at dill pickles. (We haven’t eaten them yet – hope they’re good!)

I had so much fun. There’s just something so rewarding about seeing all the food fill the jars, knowing my family will be well fed this winter. 36 canning jars later, we wrapped it up for the night. Then Friday, I made 6 jars full of Super Creamy Peanut Butter to keep in the fridge. We should be all set with peanut butter for a few weeks now.

canning jars 2

 You like how I dribbled peanut butter all over the outside of the jars,
then didn’t clean it up before snapping the picture?
“Wow, Laura is so clean and neat when she cooks,” said no one.

All that to say, I’ve extended the 40% off sale one more day. I wanted to give you a “last day” shout out, which means that instead of the last day being Friday, the last day is now Saturday.

Head to our Heavenly Homemakers Shop. Every downloadable item and eCourse is 40% off – a great deal! (Printed books are not included in this sale.)  Use the code BIRTHDAY at check-out for your 40% discount.

Shop our 40% off sale now through midnight, August 9.

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Why Did I Choose To Share a Review About Plexus?

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I’ve heard from several that you were surprised that I would promote a weight loss product here at Heavenly Homemakers. Fair enough! It does seem out of the norm for me.

I have to say that I really appreciate those of you who are questioning, “Wait! Is this really a safe product?” I much prefer this over people just taking my word for it and not looking into it for themselves. Please never read what I write and jump right in without doing your research.  (Also, while I’ve got you – never listen to a sermon and jump in with what the preacher is saying without checking what the Bible says first.)

To those who are questioning if my promoting Plexus goes against what Heavenly Homemakers is all about:

I always encourage you to eat well, drink water, exercise – all the wonderful things we need to do to be healthy. That’s why I put those at the top of the review post. Those are FIRST. Always. If you aren’t doing those things, don’t ever think you can just take a supplement or product and you’ll suddenly start feeling better or achieve a healthy weight. There is no fast and easy ticket to good health. You have to be intentional about taking care of yourself, period.

I don’t talk about it much here on the blog, but my family and I take quite a few nutritional supplements to help each of us with specific weaknesses and ailments. We have all benefited greatly from eating whole foods the majority of the time, and I believe that is key to helping our bodies respond to healing and finding overall good health. But Malachi’s eczema did not fully go away until we had help from holistic doctors who gave him supplements to assist his body in healing. My asthma and migraines need more than just whole foods. I am taking supplements for overall body healing, to detox my system from heavy metals, and to help my body learn to digest properly. Asa’s allergies are finally more manageable, thanks in part to supplements. Each member of our family is taking vitamins and being boosted by specific remedies to aid our overall health.

So about Plexus:

I researched it as a supplement. I’m trying it out as a supplement. I’ve noticed a difference in my emotional stability and energy after taking it for one full week. A good friend of mine has experienced similar results, and since she has some pounds to lose, she has also experienced weight loss. She’s also watching what she eats, exercising, drinking water – well, she’s working at overall good health. I’m proud of her.

I promoted Plexus to you because I’m working with an advertiser here on my blog who asked me to give it a try. I’m not a sales rep. I don’t get a kick-back if you purchase. I simply wrote a review on my experience with this product, just like I do many other products that are sent to me for this purpose. Do the research and find what is right for you, just like you do about anything you come across.

I’m thankful I’ve had the chance to try Plexus, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to work with Stefanie to inform you about it. She has been fabulous to answer all my questions, so do feel free to share any you might have with her as well! (sbosket5 at yahoo.com)

 

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