Heavenly Homemakers

Encouraging women in homemaking, healthy eating and parenting

Menu Plan for the Week ~ The Boys Are Back in Town

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After a very busy and full three months of travel, mission trips, family reunions, and church camps – our family is all home and back together again. We have loved all the great experiences we’ve had all summer, especially loving that our boys have had such rich times of spiritual growth at church camp. We also really loved seeing family we don’t get to see very often. But being home together again and settling into a routine? We are so thankful!

I counted.  In all 31 days of July, I was home only 7 days. And those 7 little days I was home? I was only able to do bare minimum, like laundry and packing for the next trip. Phew! My house is dirty. My computer work is backed up. I don’t even know what’s in the back of my fridge. No matter. I’m refreshed and ready to settle back into home and work life again.

Also? I’ve missed you.  I really needed the computer break. I needed the break from writing day after day. I needed to step away from all the work it takes to keep up with this blog. Now that I’ve had this time of refreshment and break from the norm, I am so ready to sit here with you, sharing what I’ve learned, hearing about your experiences, and serving alongside you as we create heavenly homes and love our families together.

So, hi! I’m back. Praise God for how He works and the opportunities He provides to give us just what we need. I hope your summer has been full of God and the perfect lessons He teaches as we seek His will.

Fresh Peaches

Our peach trees are giving us all kinds of delicious fruit right now.
What a great treat to come home to!

In other news:  As of today, I am 41 years old. It’s been a fun, happy birthday so far with all my men spoiling me. I look forward to celebrating my birthday with you, too. Watch for fun sales starting tonight!

Fresh Peaches 2

Fresh banana bread and sliced peaches right off the tree? Perfection.

Now how about a menu plan? I haven’t written one for the past few weeks, so here’s hoping I still remember how. After all, all the boys are back home, and a couple of them grew several inches during the summer. I’m getting shorter and shorter all the time in this family of growing boys. People who haven’t seen them for a few weeks have commented that they didn’t even recognize them at first. Seriously, these teenage boy growth spurts are nuts. Wow, I love these kids – and their appetites.

pasta salad bar 3

Have you tried this great Pasta Salad Bar idea yet? What are you waiting for?!

Here’s this week’s menu plan:

Sunday, August 3 (Happy Birthday to me)
Banana bread, strawberries
Out to lunch for a birthday treat
Shrimp and veggie stir-fry with asparagus, broccoli, yellow squash, carrots, and zucchini; watermelon

Monday, August 4 (We start our school year today)
Whole wheat waffles, strawberries, blueberries, whipped cream
Meat and cheese burritos, sweet peppers, olives, pineapple mango smoothies (with spinach blended in)
Italian cream cheese chicken, tossed salad, asparagus

Tuesday, August 5
Honey cinnamon muffins, scrambled eggs, raspberries
Chef salad, banana bread, watermelon
Grilled barbeque chicken, corn on the cob, garden green beans, fried zucchini

Wednesday, August 6
Cream cheese filled crepes, fresh berries
Baked potatoes in the crock pot topped with ham, cheese, sour cream, and peas; cantaloupe
Burgers on the grill, zucchini-cheese casserole, tomatoes, pickles, honey dew melon

Thursday, August 7
Fried eggs, sausage, cantaloupe, blueberries
Baked beans with hot dogs, strawberry peach slushies, carrots and cucumbers with homemade ranch
Lamb chops, cheesy cauliflower cakes, tossed salad, green beans

Friday, August 8
Raspberry oatmeal bars, applesauce, cheese
Pasta salad bar with lots of veggies, watermelon
Chicken veggie quesadillas, tossed salad, cantaloupe

Saturday, August 9
Scrambled eggs, hashbrowns, creamy orange cooler with spinach blended in
Leftovers
Salmon patties, tossed salad, sweet peppers, cucumbers, strawberries with chocolate cream

What’s on your menu this week? Have any fun plans?

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Easy, Healthy, Delicious ~ Zucchini Recipes

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Zucchini Recipes - Easy, Healthy, Delicious

We never plant zucchini in our garden any more. Why? Because about this time of year, friends, family, and people we’ve never met are begging us to please take 3 or 4 or 19 extra zucchini off their hands. Everyone who has zucchini growing in their garden seems to have more than they need. We save our garden space for other great produce, and are happy to “help” others by taking some of their excess fresh zucchini. Servant-hearted, that’s what we are. ;)

If you are someone who has lots of zucchini in your garden, or someone who lovingly takes zucchini from other people’s gardens – here are some of our favorite zucchini recipes:

1. Easy Fried Zucchini

Simply slice zucchini, and lightly stir-fry it in a little olive oil, coconut oil, or palm shortening. Cook until lightly brown, salt, and serve. Unbelievably delicious!

2. Zucchini Brownies

Yes, brownies with zucchini. Does life get any better?

3. Cheeseburger Zucchini Boats

These are easy to make and fun to eat. Perfection.

4. Zucchini Cake

With cream cheese frosting. You’re welcome.

5. Whole Wheat and Honey Zucchini Bread and Muffins

This is what we always think of when we have extra zucchini, right? Made with whole wheat and honey, this is super moist and wholesome at the same time.

6. Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cookies and Bars

No one even knows these have zucchini in them. :)

7. Easy Noodle Stir-Fry

This is one of our favorite “throw-together” meals. You can add any veggie you want, so why not zucchini? You won’t believe how delicious this is.

8. Teriyaki Chicken and Veggies

This is tangy and full of flavor, perfect for fresh zucchini.

9. Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

It doesn’t get any better than chocolate muffins that have a hidden vegetable inside! :)

zucchini muffins

What are your favorite ways to eat zucchini? Do you grow zucchini in your garden, or cheerfully take extra zucchini from friends?

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Cream Cheese Filling For Your Crepes

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Want a Cream Cheese Crepe Filling that will change your life? I’m not even exaggerating (because I never do that). It doesn’t hurt that my Crepe recipe is super simple and delicious too. Need to eat gluten free? Gotcha covered. The crepes are made without flour and of course the filling is gf too. These are all real food and so, so good!

Quick and Easy Crepes

While Matt and I were cooking out at camp a couple weeks ago, we were blessed to work with a very talented lady who has been cooking for campers for years. One of her specialties? Homemade Crepes with cream cheese filling, topped with berries. You should have heard the kids as they walked by the kitchen and saw we were making crepes. “Is it crepe day tomorrow?!? I’ve been waiting all year for this day!”

Seriously, the campers love them. I believe we cranked out over 300 crepes in preparation for “Crepe Day.” Phew, what a job! But it was worth it. The crepes were amazing! The key to making these so great had to be the filling. Cream cheese filling.  Sooooo good!

We used powdered sugar at camp, but when I got home, I played with the idea to make the filling with stevia or maple syrup. Yum, yum, yummy.

Cream Cheese Crepe Filling

Cream Cheese Crepe FillingYum

Cream Cheese Filling For Your Crepes
 
Save Print
Author:
Ingredients
  • 8 ounces softened cream cheese
  • 10 drops liquid stevia or 2 Tablespoons real maple syrup
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
  1. Beat ingredients together until smooth.
  2. Place about 2 teaspoons of filling in each crepe.

I whip my cream cheese filling ingredients together in my Blendtec, which takes about thirty seconds.

Here’s my super easy Crepe Recipe.  Wholesome, filling, and delicious. And with cream cheese and berries? Heavenly. :)

Want more Simple Recipes like this one?

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How To Cold Brew Coffee

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Why? Why would we want to cold brew coffee instead of sticking with regular hot brewing methods?

Well, so that you can make iced coffee. Or iced coffee cubes for your iced coffee. Or so you can make this awesome and healthy Chocolate Frappe.

In the past, I’ve simply hot brewed coffee as normal, then chilled it for about 24 hours until it’s cold enough to make cold coffee drinks. That has worked just fine, and I assumed I needed some sort of special equipment to make cold coffee brew. Thanks to those of you who shared your easy cold brew coffee methods, I now know it’s as easy as can be – without any special equipment!

Cold brew coffee is less acidic, and has a wonderful, smooth taste. I’m loving this variety of coffee on a hot afternoon. My favorite way to drink cold coffee? Coffee ice cubes, cold coffee, and a shot of real cream. It is heaven. (And not at all sweet. I love it that way, but my family thinks I’m crazy. Yup.)

How to Cold Brew Coffee

How to Cold Brew Coffee

  1. Place 1/3 to 1/2 cup ground coffee (or more if you like your coffee really strong) in a French Press or quart-sized jar.
  2. Add 4 cups cold water.
  3. Allow this to sit on your countertop for 8-24 hours. I usually start mine at night so it’s ready in the morning.
  4. If using a French Press, simply press filter down to separate liquid from coffee grounds.
  5. If using a quart jar, carefully pour your cold brew coffee through a coffee filter to separate liquid from coffee grounds.
  6. Refrigerate. Or make Coffee Ice Cubes. Or you can do what I do and make some coffee ice cubes then refrigerate the rest to use them together for cold coffee drinks.

Some instructions I’ve read suggest using quite a bit more coffee in this brew. What has been your experience with this?

Are you a fan of cold coffee?

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Gratituesday: Sister Symposium

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I grew up without any sisters. Matt’s sister grew up without any sisters. Matt’s brother’s wife grew up without any sisters. Now that we are all married and a part of the same family? We all have each other.  As much as we love our brothers, having sisters in our adult lives has been such a special blessing.

Perhaps the biggest blessing of all is that we all love being together. Not all sisters-in-law are able to enjoy this, and the three of us don’t take it for granted.

This is a picture of us two years ago when we got together for our bi-yearly “Sister Symposium.”

Since they both live in California, I’m the only one who has to travel far. Therefore, they are kind enough to share my airplane ticket expense to make this get-together possible. We save more expense by staying in one of their homes so we don’t have to pay lodging.

What do we do during the 2-3 days we’re together? We talk, and talk, and talk. We shop (oh yeah!). We eat out. We go to the beach (this Nebraska girl’s favorite place to visit!). And we pray together: for our husbands, for our children, for our parents, for each other.

With our lives all so full and busy with working and raising families, it keeps getting harder and harder to get away and find time to spend together like this. But never once have we regretted the effort it has taken. Our time together as sisters is always rich. This week is no different.

I’m so grateful to be spending time with my sisters this week. What are you thankful for?

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Putting up Green Beans for Winter

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This was originally posted in 2008. This is evident in the fact that Justus and Elias are only 8 and 6 in the picture below. They are now 14 and 12. Time flies – and little boys become teenagers. The green bean freezer method is still the same, however. Since we have been harvesting many the past few weeks, I thought it would be fun to re-post this tutorial. :)

How to Freeze Fresh Green Beans

After posting about how I put up corn for winter, many of you asked about green beans. I just happen to be in the middle of crazy green bean season. So…here you go!!

beans5sm.JPG

After picking our beans, I usually get my boys on “bean snapping duty” right away. (They never complain about this job. I think it’s because they are given permission to “break things”….what do you think?)  They snap off the ends and put the green beans into a colander. As soon as the colander is full I wash the beans to try to get as much “garden” (my nice way of saying bugs and dirt) off.

It is my understanding that in order to maintain as much green bean nutrition as possible, it is best to only snap the ends off the bean…not to snap the bean into pieces. It makes sense that if you snap the green bean into three pieces, when you cook the bean, more of the nutrients will be washed away in the water. But if it’s a whole bean…more of the nutrients stay inside the bean. (And you can have “My green bean is longer than your green bean” competitions while you eat dinner.)

beans1sm1.JPG

After washing the green beans, I then put them into a pot of boiling water. This blanching process stops their aging process. (No, you can not blanche people in order to stop their aging process.)

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After about two minutes in the boiling water, the green beans are a brighter green…and they go back into the colander where they are given a cold, cold shower. This process stops the cooking process that the blanching part started.

beans3sm1.JPG

After the green beans are cooled from the cold water shower, I then spread them out onto a dry towel. I use another towel to pat over the top of them to help dry them off more. If your beans are too wet when you put them into a freezer bag, you’ll have ice form around your beans. (You don’t want ice to form around your beans.)

beans4sm1.JPG

And then, I put my beans into a gallon freezer bag and label it. And into the freezer it goes. I know some people prefer to can their green beans. I don’t can them for two reasons:

1. Freezing them maintains more of the green bean’s nutrition.
2. I’m incredibly afraid of my pressure cooker. (When I got my mom’s pressure cooker, it didn’t have a manual with it. I have no idea how to use it properly.)  I do not need to cause an explosion in my kitchen.

So there you go! As I begin to can and freeze my tomatoes and fruit for the winter, I’ll be sure to show you those processes too! (Yeah, because those don’t require a pressure cooker, just a hot water bath…and I’m not so afraid of those.)

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A Very Manly Menu Plan

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bacon_cheeseburger_casserole

Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole (recipe in Healthy Make-Ahead Meals and Snacks eBook)

For the first time in a couple of months, the six of us are all been home together again! All four of the boys are now home from camp. We’ve enjoyed some catch up time and heard lots of stories of adventures from the boys being away. We’re doing tons of loads of laundry and getting caught up on work we are behind on. I can’t tell you how nice it is to have all of us back under one roof, even if it is just for a couple of days.

So what does this week hold? Well, since this is the summer of crazy, you can bet it holds more excitement. I’m heading out tomorrow for a traditional “Sister Symposium.” (More on that for Gratituesday.)  Then the two younger boys will be heading to Kansas to spend several days with grandparents. Left at home will be Matt and our two oldest boys.

Since Asa and Justus have been at camps for weeks and weeks this summer, they’ll likely be spending quite a bit of time this week catching up on sleep. They’ll work with Matt on some house and garden projects. And what will they eat?

Well, I’m guessing they’d be just as happy as can be if I simply left them several pounds of bacon and some steak. :)  For the most part, they’ll be fending for them selves. But I did have the chance to do some freezer cooking in preparation for my being away. Here are some food choices I left for them:

Breakfasts:

Eggs, bacon, hashbrowns, sausage, homemade instant oatmeal, and plenty of fresh and frozen fruit for sides and smoothies

Lunches and Dinners:

Sandwiches, Meat and Cheese Burritos, Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole (recipe in Healthy Make-Ahead Meals and Snacks eBook), Tuna Salad or Tuna Casserole (they can easily make either one on their own), Spicy Avocado Dip, and plenty of fruits, veggies, and salad fixings.

My guys do great figuring out food when I’m away. I love it that they can all cook! I’m pretty sure they’ll even keep up with dirty dishes. :)

guacamoledipwithchipsm.JPG

Asa makes a great guacamole. I grabbed some avocados at the store so he can whip some up. Here’s the recipe!

Here’s to a great new week. Hope your summer has been awesome so far!

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A Special Map to Send Your One Child Matters Sponsored Child

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It’s been a while since I mentioned One Child Matters here. Last week at camp, I was wearing my One Child Matters t-shirt. This sparked several discussions throughout the day with other camp staff members about what One Child Matters does, who they are, and why we as a family are so excited to be a participant with the organization. It was fun to share with others something we are so passionate about. Oh that everyone would/could help meet the needs of a child in another country by becoming a sponsor.

This might seem a little silly, but based on an idea we had a few months ago when we were writing a letter to our little girl, Gladis – I put together a printable you are welcome to use for your sponsored child. We used a map like the one below, colored in where we live, then colored in the area Gladis lives. We prayed over this, then sent it in our letter to Gladis. This is fun for many reasons, in particular because most children in these situations don’t have maps of their own to look at.

One Child Matters Map

If you’d like, print one of these maps to use in your next letter to your sponsored child:  Download One Child Matters Printable Map

Not sponsoring a child yet? Can I encourage you to please look into this, pray about it, and go for it if you feel God’s leading? One Child Matters is an awesome organization, and I’m so grateful and blessed to be working with them to spread the word about taking care of these precious children.

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It’s Not Too Late To Start Making Vanilla For Christmas Gifts

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Just wanted to pop in real quick to mention:

  1. Homemade Vanilla Extract makes a wonderful Christmas gift.
  2. If you start making it within the next couple of weeks, it will be just right by Christmas.
  3. You need to get your supplies now and get ready to brew your vanilla!

Read all the details about How to Make Vanilla Extract. Order your vanilla beans using the exclusive Heavenly Homemaker discount Olive Nation gives us all. They have the best quality vanilla beans I’ve found anywhere, and they are very reasonably priced. Use the code home for 20% off plus free shipping!

How To Make Vanilla Extract

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14 Oven-Free Breakfast Ideas for Summer

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Have I ever mentioned that we don’t have central air conditioning in our home? People think we’re crazy. Well, yeah. But there are a few important aspects to note about our variety of crazy – and about our lack of central air conditioning:

1. Our house is over 100 years old and was built to stay cool back before air conditioning was invented. We have high ceilings, which makes a significant difference.
2. We have an attic fan that sucks hot air out and pulls cool air in. (I believe I just told you that our attic fan sucks.)
3. When a person is used to air conditioning, a person tends to think they need air conditioning. When a person is not used to air conditioning, a person gets used to not having air conditioning.
4. I freeze to death when I go to Wal-Mart and other places with air conditioning and freezer sections. See #3 above.
5. We have several window air conditioning units. Remember this?  Ain’t she a beaut? We haven’t even installed it this summer. We haven’t been home long enough to care. But we have that one, another for out guest room, and another for our boys room upstairs. Window units work great for our needs.

All that to say:  I rarely turn our oven on during hot summer days. We typically deal with lack of air conditioning just fine – but avoiding the oven makes this much more doable. Baking muffins, quick breads, and egg casseroles is rarely an option. Instead, we stick with stove-top meals, toaster oven choices, or smoothies. Here are some of our favorite oven-free breakfasts, which of course can be made for lunch, snacks, or dinner too. Breakfast for dinner always rocks. Kind of like my attic fan sucks. (Oh, stop it.)

14 Oven Free Breakfast Ideas For Summer

14 Oven-Free Breakfast Ideas for Summer

It’s always fun to throw in the occasional bacon or sausage too, if I have time.  Fresh fruit in the summer time is amazing.  All the delicious berries, nectarines, plums, peaches, melons available – incredible. Yes indeed, summer time is my very favorite time of year – even without central air conditioning. :)

What are your favorite oven-free breakfast ideas?

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