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Gratituesday: Happy New Year!

December 31, 2012 by Laura 11 Comments

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For some, 2012 was filled with trials, disappointment, and grief. For others, the year provided happy opportunities, new life, fun experiences, and excitement.

For many, it is likely that 2012 contained a mixture of both.

I am so thankful that no matter what this world threw our way in 2012…God is good. All the time, during difficulties and during times of happiness.

He is our provider, our protector, our joy.

No matter what 2013 brings to each of us, we can be assured of this:  God is good, He will continue to be good, and because of Him, we have hope.

We are blessed.

May we all have a rich and God-filled New Year!

Share how God is working in your life on your blog, then come link up with us here. If you don’t have a blog, be sure to leave a comment letting us know what you’re grateful for! Please read through the Gratituesday Guidelines so that you understand what kinds of posts you can link up to share here. Posts that are linked but do not fit our Gratituesday theme will be deleted.

If you are linking up a blog post for Gratituesday, please copy and paste the following sentence into your post! Thanks!

Join us for Gratituesday at Heavenly Homemakers!

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Homemade Caramel Brownies

December 30, 2012 by Laura 3 Comments

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

How’s this for a great way to begin the new year?! :)

I got this idea from my friend Kim. Smart! You can either bake these in a 9×13 inch pan, or in muffin cups for fun, individual servings.

Caramel BrowniesYum

2 sticks butter, melted
2 cups sucanat
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 recipe of Homemade Caramel Sauce

Stir together butter, sucanat and cocoa. Mix in egg and vanilla. Stir in flour and mix until combined.

To make a 9×13 inch pan of these brownies, spread the brownie batter into the pan. Drizzle the Homemade Caramel Sauce over the top and “cut it in” with a butter knife. Bake at 350° for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

To make individual Caramel Brownies:

Divide brownie batter evenly into 12-15 paper lined muffin cups.

Make a small “well” in the middle of each brownie cup. I used the end of the spoon to do this, since I’m so professional and fancy.

Next, drizzle warm caramel sauce into the well and over the brownie – one or two tablespoons for each.

Bake in a 350° oven for 25 minutes.

Not interested in the Caramel Brownies? How about Peanut Butter Brownies? :)

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Menu Plan for the Week

December 30, 2012 by Laura 1 Comment

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

After one or twelve too many pieces of fudge, the veggies in this Teriyaki chicken dish are really going to hit the spot!

Since we’re on Christmas break, our menu plan is pretty laid back. We may follow this, or we may not – depending on what we have going on each day. Still, it’s nice to have a basic guideline to follow:

Sunday, December 30
Banana muffins, applesauce
Teriyaki chicken and veggies
Hamburgers, fries, veggies

Monday, December 31
Monkey bread, bananas
Ham, potato salad, raw vegetables, apples
Nachos, fruit salad

Tuesday, January 1
Pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, apples
Sandwiches, peaches, veggies
Taco corn fritters, tossed salad

Wednesday, January 2
Peanut butter pancakes, bananas
Easy noodle stir fry with broccoli and carrots
Grilled cheese sandwiches, tomato soup

Thursday, January 3
Flaky cream cheese pastry, pears
Hamburger sauerkraut dip with chips
One dish meat and potato meal

Friday, January 4
Blueberry muffins, apples
Tuna casserole, peas
Fiesta chicken with tortillas

Saturday, January 5
Warm pumpkin custard, scrambled eggs
Leftovers
Three cheese garlic chicken pasta, tossed salad, green beans

Are you eating anything special this week?

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Crock Pot Beef Stew ~ Real Food Dollar Menu

December 28, 2012 by Laura 12 Comments

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Yum

Here is another healthy meal that is super easy, quick to make, and low in cost. There is really nothing fancy about this meal. But it’s comforting and warm and perfect for a chilly evening.

Crock Pot Beef Stew with Cornbread Muffins

1 pound stew meat, cut into bit-sized chunks
2 pounds potatoes, scrubbed and cubed
1 pound carrots, peeled and sliced
1 medium onion or 2 Tablespoons Onion Soup Mix
1/2 cup water
Sea salt to taste

Combine all ingredients in a crock pot. Cook on low for 5-6 hours or on high for 3 hours.

The cost of this meal, including the cornbread, added up to $8.29*. It fed 9 people. Cost per plate (um, bowl) =  $0.92. I love this price!!!

beef_stew

Looking for more meals on our Real Food Dollar Menu? Here are the recipes I’ve shared so far:

  • Hearty Chili
  • Spanish Rice
  • Pasta Alfredo
  • Crock Pot Barbecue Chicken

Stay tuned for many more recipes and ideas for our Real Food Dollar Menu!

*I calculated my cost based on the food sources and prices I have available to me. Most of the ingredients I use are organic. Your cost may be slightly more or less depending on where you find your ingredients.

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

Are You Ready To Get On Track With Healthy Eating?

December 27, 2012 by Laura 6 Comments

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Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

The fudge. The chips and dip. The pie. The mashed potatoes and gravy. The rolls with butter and jelly.

Going back for seconds…then thirds. Snitching another cookie in between meals. Snacking on the leftover ham and turkey. Grabbing just one more piece of candy.

It’s that time of year. 

We are likely all feeling it. In the midst of very much enjoying all of the delicious foods and treats this holiday season…in the back of our mind lurks the nagging truth that we really need to get back to reality and eat just a little bit (or a lot bit) better.

Are you ready to start eating healthier, but you’re not sure where to start? Do you feel overwhelmed with the loads of contradictory “health food” information out there? Are you reluctant to give up your favorite comfort food and treats?

What if I were to walk you through some simple steps you can take to get on track with healthy eating? What if I make your transition to a Real Food Kitchen simple and painless? What if I told you that you very likely can continue to eat many of your favorite meals and desserts – and that healthy, real foods are the most delicious foods you’ll ever eat?

I believe that everyone has what it takes to create and maintain a Real Food Kitchen. If you’re ready to make healthy changes that are affordable and realistic – at your own pace – I would be thrilled if you join us in taking the You Can Do This! The First Five Steps to a Real Food Kitchen eCourse!

Get ready for it! (And by get ready, I really just mean…enjoy the holidays and wait patiently for a few more days while we put on the final touches.)  This eCourse will launch on January 7. Cost will be just $5 for the entire course.

We can’t wait to walk with you through these steps to a Real Food Kitchen. You Can Do This!

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

To Prove How Bad I am at Geography

December 27, 2012 by Laura 18 Comments

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us_map

Geography. It’s probably my weakest subject. Next to Spelling. And Foreign Languages.

But hey, at least I can make homemade cheese.

Oh, have you never heard me say that before? That’s the fall back phrase I always use when I feel inadequate about something. The scenario goes something like this:

We are in a group of people who are talking about subjects that go way over my head – like baseball statistics, politics, auto parts, building structures, capital gains, and the like. I try to smile and nod occasionally to at least look as though I am following along in the conversation. All the while, I am thinking in my head, “wow I feel like a complete dodo brain”. But I tell myself (while continuing to nod and smile politely) that it’s okay that I don’t know any of this stuff because God, in His great wisdom, made us all different to fulfill His purposes. And then I remind myself that while I have no idea what an acid dissociation constant is, at least I do know how to make cheese. And I bet that those who are talking about the above subjects probably don’t know how to make cheese, so there. And then I feel better about myself.

Welcome to the inside of my brain.

I feel as though I should quickly let you know that while I do know how to make cheese, I haven’t actually taken the time to make it in over three years. But if I needed to I could, especially if someone were to ask me about quadratic equations and I needed to make myself feel smarter.

So what was the point of this post? Oh yes. I was telling you that I’m not good at Geography.

Now, the irony is that I actually got A’s in Geography in high school and college. As a matter of fact, in my college World Geography class, for our final exam, we had to (brace yourself) label every single country in every single continent on the planet earth and name each country’s capital. It was the Geography test of all tests. We were handed a big, blank world map and a pencil and away we went. I had studied my tail off for that test and ended up getting 100%, thank you very much.

You would think that after taking that class I would be good at Geography. But no. I’m just good at studying for tests…and forgetting information promptly after taking a test. It’s rather pitiful.

So to prove my complete Geographical cluelessness, you may find it funny to know that when I was talking to my friend Jodi about how we should get together some day – I almost suggested that on our upcoming trip to California, perhaps we could take a route that would lead us through to her place…in Ohio. Thankfully, before I threw out the idea, I decided that I had better look at a map. Sure enough, Ohio is exactly four states to the east of Nebraska. Which – in case you’re as bad at Geography as I am – is not the direction you take when you go from Nebraska to California. Okeedokee then.

It’s a good thing I didn’t actually make this suggestion to Jodi. She’s super sweet and would have surely come up with something kind to say when she explained to me that we’d be going about two days out of our way to come for a visit “on our way” to California. And then I would have had to say,

“Yes, but did you know that I can make cheese?”

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

Christmas Sweet Pepper

December 25, 2012 by Laura 6 Comments

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

My husband babied our potted pepper plant. He carried it outside on “sunny” days – which are few and far between in Nebraska this time of the year. He brought it back in at night so that it wouldn’t freeze.

And then, in December, we enjoyed the one last sweet pepper that we had grown. Yum!

May your Christmas be filled with joy and praise to our Father. And may you have unexpected blessings in your life – such as a fresh, homegrown sweet pepper in December. :)

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

Loads of Christmas Brunch Recipes

December 23, 2012 by Laura 63 Comments

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

When a bunch of women get together for any kind of party…what do they usually talk about?

Yes, the topics typically range from kids and snot to favorite ways to get stains out of clothes to a good sale someone found on sweaters – and everything in between.

Since you and so many, many women are joining us here at Heavenly Homemakers for our virtual brunch – I figure that if we were sitting around in my living room visiting in real life, after we covered the above topics and shared about what all of our plans are for Christmas, the topic would surely eventually turn toward favorite recipes. Don’t you think?

That is why I’m excited today, as part of our Christmas Brunch, to share with you several more recipe ideas from years past. We can never have enough fun, comforting holiday treat recipes!

Peppermint Patties

Homemade Healthier Eggnog

Whole Wheat Gingerbread Men

Warm Vanilla Soother

warmvanillasoother2sm

Sweet Pepper Fritata

Christmas Spice Cookies

christmasspicecookiessm.JPG

Quick Eggnog Muffins

Vanilla Muffins with Crumb Topping

Have fun clicking through getting new ideas! And please share your recipes in the comments section because I love getting new ideas too. :)

Be sure to leave a comment on this post for a chance to win one of three $25 gift certificates for something downloadable from the Heavenly Homemakers Shop!

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

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Balls {Christmas Brunch}

December 21, 2012 by Laura 94 Comments

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

I love treats like these Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Balls that are on the healthy side, plus they are very easy to put together! With four simple ingredients that many of us have on hand – I’ll bet some of you will hop right off your chair and get them started right away. I highly recommend that you do.

But beware – these are little balls of peanut butter, chocolatey, coconutty addictiveness. You’ve been warned.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip BallsYum

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Balls {Christmas Brunch}
 
Save Print
Author: Laura
Ingredients
  • 1 cup natural peanut butter
  • ¼ cup coconut oil
  • 2 Tablespoons honey
  • ½ cup mini chocolate chips
Instructions
  1. Melt coconut oil and honey together in a saucepan.
  2. Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter until mixture is smooth.
  3. Fold in chocolate chips.
  4. Spread mixture into a 9x9 inch pan.
  5. Refrigerate for about two hours.
  6. Roll mixture into 1 inch balls.
  7. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
3.4.3177

I use homemade peanut butter, which makes all the difference in every recipe if you ask me. You can’t beat the taste of fresh peanut butter. (It’s easier to make than you think!)

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Balls

Find more No-Bake Snack and Dessert Ball recipes here:

  • No-Bake Granola Bar Bites
  • No-Bake Peanut Butter Cookie Bites
  • No-Bake Chocolate Fudge Cookie Bites
  • No-Bake Snickerdoodle Bites
  • No-Bake Chocolate Fudge Bites

I use Homemade Almond Butter in most of these recipes. Once you learn to make nut butters, you’ll never go back to store-bought!

No-Bake Cookie Bites - Easy Recipes!

Keep these recipes on hand – especially in the summer time when you don’t want to turn on the oven but you want to make a treat. I love that all of these No-Bake Balls are filling and offer nourishment too. Protein, fiber, lightly sweetened…they are the perfect dessert of snack!

These also work great in a lunch box. To top it all off, these freeze well so you can make several ahead of time and store them in the freezer until you need them!

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

100% Juice Punch {Christmas Brunch}

December 20, 2012 by Laura 99 Comments

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

Many of you know how much I used to love drinking Pepsi – and how giving it up has been a great decision for my health. But you probably also know how much I miss that “burn”!

For the occasional treat, I like to put seltzer water into a small amount of 100% juice. It’s not too sweet – but just sweet enough to make the fizzy water taste better. And it gives me that burn I love and miss.

For our Christmas Brunch, I wanted to suggest this simple punch idea. It’s 100% juice – no added sugar or corn syrup!

Christmas Brunch PunchYum

12 ounces 100% cranberry juice concentrate, thawed but cold
12 ounces 100% grape juice concentrate, thawed but cold
2 (or 3) liters seltzer water

Mix all ingredients together in a punch bowl or large pitcher. The amount of seltzer water you use is up to you – depending on how sweet or fizzy you like your drinks.

Christmas Brunch Punch {with 100 juice!}

Feel free to add different kinds of juice depending on your taste.

Are you like me – do you like the “burn”?

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