Heavenly Homemakers

Encouraging women in homemaking, healthy eating and parenting

Easy Cheesy Bean Dip

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Need an easy and filling lunch, dinner, or snack?

No Laura, what we actually need is a complicated recipe filled with weird ingredients that our family will hate.

Okay, fine. The question above was rhetorical. Did you know that sometimes I like to be sarcastic? (also rhetorical)

Well anyway, my family loves this recipe and I think yours will too. It’s great to throw together at lunchtime and serve with organic corn chips and fresh fruit. Or, you could smear this dip in a whole wheat tortilla and wrap it up to take on the go. You could take it to serve at a party. You could make it for a game night. You could make it for a simple evening meal. You could make it for breakfast. Really? Well, sure, if you really want to. Would the breakfast police actually show up and arrest you for serving bean dip with your morning coffee? Don’t answer that. It’s rhetorical.

Easy Cheesy Bean Dip

Easy Cheesy Bean DipYum

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 cup sour cream
4 cups refried beans
3 Tablespoons taco seasoning mix
3 cups cheddar cheese, shredded

Mix cream cheese and sour cream in a large bowl. Stir in refried beans and taco seasoning. Spread mixture into a 9×13 inch baking pan. Sprinkle cheese over the top. Bake in a 350° oven for 25-30 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Serve with organic corn chips and salsa if you like.

What are your favorite quick meals to serve?  (I’d like you to answer that question. That one is not rhetorical.)

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Stock Up On Whole Food Staples – Here’s a Free $10!

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It is so much fun to throw all of you a ten dollar bill. :)

iHerb is an online store that carries all kinds of whole food groceries. Shipping is always free for orders over $20. The best news: If you’re a brand new customer, that means you get $10 off your first order of $40!

Here’s a sample $40 order that you can get for just $30 (with free shipping!):

Grand total for this cart full of real food is $41.29. If you are a new customer, you can use my referral code: BID487 to receive $10 off your $40+ order. That means you get all that food I mentioned – or whatever you choose to put into your cart, for just a little over $30! Shipping is free.

Doesn’t that list look like fun? Think of all you can make! iHerb also carries a lot of gluten free products. Oh, and be sure to check out the pages of super cheap trial products you can add to your cart just for fun!

Enjoy your free $10!

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Poppyseed Bread With Orange Glaze ~ This Week’s Freezer Cooking Challege

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This quick bread recipe is our family’s favorite, hands down. It is super moist, very flavorful, and well, it kind of tastes like cake. It definitely tastes like a treat, even if you cut down the sugar in the recipe.

Speaking of cutting down the sugar – I’ve been really focusing on chopping sugar quantities in most of my recipes. I’ve found that the recipes still tastes great, and my family is definitely benefiting from not eating so much of the sweet stuff. All that to say, a few week’s ago I edited the {Healthy} Make-Ahead Meals and Snacks eBook (where you’ll find the recipe for this bread) to cut the sugar down significantly. If you purchased this book before April, your version likely calls for 1 1/2 cups of sucanat. Yikes. Do that if you must, but I think you’ll find that cutting it in half (or more) still turns out a great product.

poppyseed bread for freezer

For the Freezer Cooking Challenge today, find some time to make a double recipe of Poppy Seed Bread with Orange Glaze (recipe in {Healthy} Make-Ahead Meals and Snacks eBook). Doubling the recipe will turn out four loaves. Once they have completely cooled, you can set aside a loaf (or two, if you are my family) for tomorrow’s breakfast, then wrap and freeze the others for another day. I typically just place them in freezer bags, push all the air out, and seal. Be sure to label your bags.

When you’re ready to serve your frozen loaves, simply get it out of the freezer the night before you plan to serve it and let it thaw on the countertop. In the morning, you can slice and eat!

This bread is wonderful with scrambled or fried eggs and a fruit such as apples, bananas, applesauce, or berries.

I can’t wait for you to try this bread! 

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Gratituesday: Special Choir

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gratituesday[2]

Every year since our oldest was a 3rd grader, we’ve headed to Kansas City each spring for a big event called Leadership Training for Christ (LTC) that our church participates in with other churches in the area. Our kids work super hard ahead of time preparing for Bible bowl, skits, puppet shows, choirs, sculptures, paintings, stories, poetries, speeches…and the list goes on. It is a lot of work for parents and kids alike, but the fun we have at LTC is so worth it!

This year, our family and some friends of ours decided to team up and put together a special choir. Why? Well, let me give you a little background:

Matt and Tim played soccer at York College together for four years. At the time, Tonya and I sat in the stands together during every game – so proud of our boyfriends. :)  Those boyfriends became our fiancés, then in 1994, those fiancés became our husbands. Yep, we got married the same summer.

The years went by, and babies were born. They had a girl, we had a boy. They had a girl, we had a boy. We had a boy, they had a girl. And then, last but not least, we had a boy…and they had a girl. Yep, every time one couple had a baby, somehow the other couple had a baby. We began to wonder if we were drinking too much of the same water. However, they seemed to have all the girl-flavored water, while we had all the boy-flavored water.

We’ve loved raising our kids together, going to the same church together, and of course, playing soccer together. This year, we realized that this would be the first and last year that all eight of our kids would be in LTC together. Our youngest kids are finally eligible, as 3rd graders, and their oldest is a senior. This is it.  That’s why we signed our kids up for a small choir together.

For several weeks our families have gotten together to practice the songs. Tonight was our final practice. This weekend is the real deal.

coppcarr

Here’s a picture I snapped on my phone tonight while the kids were practicing.
I have got to remember to turn the volume down on my phone as the “snap” was completely distracting. Sheesh.

I’m so grateful for friendship and the joy these kids bring to us. Can’t wait for the fun this weekend!

Now your turn. Share what you’re thankful for!  Leave a comment on this post letting us know how God is working in your life. If you’ve written a blog post about what you’re thankful for, leave the link in the comments so we can visit your blog to read about it. We love sharing and reading about God’s blessings!

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Easy Breakfast Casseroles ~ This Week’s Freezer Cooking Challege Begins

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Today for the Freezer Cooking Challenge, we’ll be making Easy Breakfast Casserole (x2). This is, for sure, one of the easiest make-ahead-meals to put together.

I save dirty dishes by cracking eggs directly into my casserole dishes. Then I add remaining ingredients, whisk it up, and it’s done. Super simple! If you have kids old enough to crack eggs, delegate that job to them while making these casseroles.

I made two of these casseroles last week with the help of my 12 year old. Once my casseroles were put together (it took 15 minutes, tops) – I put the lids on, and put one in the fridge to bake the following morning. The other, I labeled and put into the freezer, unbaked.

egg casseroles for freezer

To bake my frozen Breakfast Casserole, I’ll simply put it into the fridge overnight, then bake as directed the next morning. I may need to add a little extra baking time if it hasn’t thawed entirely.

You will love how easy it is to make this casserole ahead of time! This kind of freezer cooking is my favorite. It’s practically effortless, and makes putting healthy food on the table for breakfast a piece of cake. (casserole. whatever.)

Go thou into the kitchen and begin cracking eggs. Breakfast has never been easier.

Check out how easy it is to make these great casseroles!

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Menu Plan For the Week ~ Waking Up To a Ready-Made Breakfast

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Every day this week, our family will be waking up to a healthy breakfast that has already been prepared. You wanna do the same? Here are all the plans to make this happen. You are going to love this!

Speaking of breakfast, you should know that I made the worst breakfast ever yesterday. I think my hair is still holding on to the smell from the nastiness I put in front of my family to eat. I had grand plans to fill us all full of good protein by making a hearty (but quick) meal of Bacon Cheesy Eggs before soccer games. Therefore, I already had the bacon chopped up and cooked ahead of time. While getting eggs cracked open and whipped, I started rewarming the bacon in the skillet – on high heat. Within just a few seconds, it started smoking and smelling up the kitchen. Oh well, I thought. I’ll just quickly add the eggs, scrambled them up together, and all will be well.

If only.

That bacon was apparently beyond repair, making the bacon/egg/cheese mixture taste like ashes. Not that I’ve ever eaten ashes.

We sort of choked it down, because it is very hard to throw away farm-fresh eggs, even if they do taste like burnt fire wood. And that is how I sent my children off to the soccer fields so that they could run several miles and attempt to do fancy footwork. It was not one of my finer moments. But as Asa (our 16 year old) said with a grin, “Well, the cantaloupe sure is good. At least you didn’t burn that.” Yes, at least. :)

Raspberry Oatmeal Bars 12

These Raspberry Oatmeal Bars aren’t in our freezer cooking plan for this week,
but they are another example of a great recipe you can make the night before
to serve first thing in the morning. We love these bars!

Here’s what I’ll be trying not to burn this week:

Sunday, April 13
Raspberry oatmeal bars, applesauce
Cheesy beef and pasta casserole (recipe in {Healthy} Make-Ahead Meals and Snacks eBook), tossed salad, green beans
Small Group potluck

Monday, April 14
Easy breakfast casserole, cantaloupe
Chicken patty sandwiches, lettuce and tomatoes, pickles, carrots, fruit smoothies
Cheeseburger macaroni, tossed salad, roasted asparagus

Tuesday, April 15
Poppy seed bread with orange glaze (recipe in {Healthy} Make-Ahead Meals and Snacks eBook), eggs, strawberries
Rice and veggie stir fry with zucchini, carrots, and broccoli
Chicken tacos, fresh pineapple

Wednesday, April 16
Sweet pecan French toast casserole (recipe in {Healthy} Make-Ahead Meals and Snacks eBook), kiwi
Sloppy joes, creamy coleslaw, cucumbers and carrots with ranch, blackberries
Lamb chops, baked potatoes in the crock pot, tossed salad, peas

Thursday, April 17
Poptarts, bananas
Popcorn chicken, potato wedges, steamed carrots and broccoli
Tuna casserole, peas, roasted asparagus

Friday and Saturday – travel days (packing some food for the road, especially fruits and veggies)

Please make plans to join us this week for the Freezer Cooking Breakfast Challenge.  You’ll love getting ahead for the morning!

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The Plan ~ Getting Ready For Freezer Cooking, Week Three – Breakfast Foods

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350x350_Challenge

I’ve shared with you before that while I am a morning person, I’m not a fan of standing at the griddle flipping pancakes for an hour. After all, there are all kinds of other important things that need to be done to get the day going. Making breakfast the night before or pulling breakfast out of the freezer rocks my world and makes me a much more lovely person in the morning. (Lovely at heart, that is. I’m not saying a word about my frizzed, right-off-the-pillow hair.)

Let’s keep our mornings simple, while feeding our families healthy food too! That’s why we’ll be focusing our Freezer Cooking Challenge around breakfast foods this week.

Here’s what I hope you’ll love about this week:  Each day we’ll be making something new from the list below. We’ll put part of it into the freezer for another day. But we’ll be saving one meal’s worth to serve for breakfast the following day. That means each day this week we’ll all wake up to a breakfast that is already prepared! Once you get into this habit, I think you’ll love it as much as I do! Then we can all be lovely at heart in the morning. And for those of you who naturally roll out of bed with pretty hair, you can be lovely in appearance too. Some of us just have to live with the frizz.

french_toast_casserole_3

Here’s what I have planned to make this week:

I always serve fruit with breakfast, and I often serve eggs. Keep that in mind as you plan your menus!

Want to join in? Here’s what you’ll need:

  • 42 eggs (3 1/2 dozen)
  • 5 cups heavy cream (1 quart plus 1/2 pint)
  • 2 cups shredded cheese
  • Add-ins for the Easy Breakfast Casserole (x2) – I’ll be adding ham I already have in the freezer
  • 7 cups whole wheat flour
  • 10 cups whole wheat pastry flour
  • 3 cups butter (1 1/2 pounds)
  • 2 cups plain yogurt (16 ounces)
  • 2 cups sour cream (16 ounces)
  • 10 ounces 100% fruit jelly or jam for Poptarts
  • 3 3/4 cups sucanat
  • 6 cups milk (1 1/2 quarts)
  • Add-ins for muffins
  • 2 loaves whole wheat bread (homemade if you like)
  • 2 cups chopped pecans
  • 1/2 cup orange juice

Be sure you have:

  • Sea salt
  • Baking powder
  • Vanilla extract
  • Almond extract
  • Cinnamon
  • Nutmeg
  • Honey
  • Poppyseeds

Looks like a lot, but these groceries will provide you with 10+ meals!

I’ve created a downloadable and printable grocery list for you here:  Freezer Cooking Grocery List Three

Important Note:  If you purchased {Healthy} Make-Ahead Meals and Snacks eBook before March, 2014 – I’ve since edited both the Sweet Pecan French Toast Casserole and Poppy Seed Bread with Orange Glaze recipes to cut the sugar (sucanat) in half. Those recipes taste just as yummy without all that sugar!

Your first assignment in this week’s challenge is simply to purchase all groceries, and/or make sure you have all ingredients on hand. On Monday, we’ll begin prepping these great breakfast foods to serve and freeze. It’s gonna be a great week!

Let’s Do This! eCourse and {Healthy} Make-Ahead Meals and Snacks eBook are discounted to just $5 for the whole package. The recipes included in that package are some that we use all the time at our house to get ahead!

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Bacon Wrapped Cream Cheese Chicken – A Family Favorite Freezer Meal

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I don’t think it would matter how much I of this Bacon Wrapped Cream Cheese Chicken I made – my family would keep asking, “Can I have another piece of chicken?” I definitely never can make enough.

Ah bacon and cream cheese…two of life’s happiest ingredients. Today, I made a batch of this chicken – serving half for lunch and freezing half for another day. It’s a super easy freezer meal to make, and great to pull out and cook quickly. You can even cook it from its frozen state – so having it on hand can save your neck if you forgot to thaw anything for dinner.

Bacon Wrapped Cream Cheese Chicken

What a great way to finish out this week’s freezer cooking challenge! I served this at lunch today with peas and smoothies (full of spinach, strawberries, peaches, and mango). It was a super easy lunch, packed with nourishment for my family. I’m excited to have more of this chicken in my freezer for another meal soon.

Have you made this chicken dish yet?  You’ll find this recipe in our {Healthy} Make-Ahead Meals and Snacks eBook (which is currently part of a package deal you can get for just $5). The recipes included in that package are some that we use all the time at our house to get ahead!

As a reminder, here are the other posts from this week’s challenge:

If you’re just joining us for the Freezer Cooking Challenge, that’s great! You can get started here.

Coming up next week, we’ll be filling the freezer with breakfast items. I’m so excited about this, as having quick, easy, and healthy breakfast foods on hands is such a life-saver for me!

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Budgeting. What’s the Point?

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budget focus

We can be super smart with money, always buy items on sale, shop around for the best deals, and stay perfectly within our budget each month. We can live very frugally, make food and household items from scratch, recycle, reuse, patch, repair, and gratefully accept hand-me-downs. We can work hard, pay off all our debt, build up our savings account, and put ourselves in a wonderful position financially.

Awesome. Go you! Rock that budget. Being wise with our money is just what we’re called to do. Becoming financially free is a tremendous blessing. I will forever and always work toward this and encourage others to do the same.

But if we aren’t working to be financially savvy for the right reasons, all of our money-saving, frugal, happy budgeting ways are really for nothing.

We can, of course, decide that focusing on money is a bad thing, and therefore scrap the budget altogether. We can buy the newest and best of everything. We can rack up credit card debt so that we never have to deprive ourselves of anything we want. We can throw money at all forms of entertainment and not really be sure where our money went at the end of the day. We can fly by the seat of our pants, not really paying attention to our wallet or the bank account or the pay check. It’s just money, right?

Hey you. I think you’re awesome too, but wisdom suggests that you set up a budget and learn to stick with it. ;)

Why? What’s the point?

Whether we’re talking about spending or saving, I believe we’re called to be wise with our money so that we can be a blessing in God’s kingdom. If we’re so hung up on padding the savings account that we can’t see the needs around us – we’ve missed the point. If we’re so into stuff and splurges that we lose sight of those whose basic needs aren’t met – we’ve missed the point.

And that point is?

I believe that if we truly want to be financially free, we have to learn to let God be in control of our money. Every decision, every investment, every expense, every gift, every penny stashed away into the savings account – every line item in our budget. We are all blessed so that we can be a blessing. Your budget can help you be the blessing to others that you are called to be.

Are all of our budgets going to look the same? Will all of our spending priorities jive with everyone else who is working to be wise financially? Will we all need to start darning socks and making homemade laundry soap in order to be considered a wise steward?  No, no, and I hope not.  After all, you could fit the entire state of Nebraska through the holes in the socks we finally threw away last week.

Let your budget be a blessing – to your family and to those you minister to. Because that, my friends, is the point.

Want some help getting your budget on the right track? Already have a great budget, and want to dig deeper? BudgetFocus is a great resource, and I highly recommend it. Use the code HH33 to receive 33% off a 12-month plan. Can’t go wrong with a great discount like that!

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