Heavenly Homemakers

Encouraging women in homemaking, healthy eating and parenting

12 Days of Gifts in a Jar Recap

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Thank you all so much for your fun input as I shared 12 days of Gifts in a Jar ideas! To make things simpler for us all, I compiled a list of all of the ideas and links here. Need some ideas for inexpensive, homemade gifts? We’ve gotcha covered!

1. Applesauce Bread
2. Cranberry Biscuit Mix
3. Steak Rub
4. Homemade Bubble Bath
5. Caramel Sauce with Apple Basket
6. Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffin Mix
7. Apple Crisp
8. Peppernuts
9. Santa’s Snot
10. Cranberry Pecan Granola
11. Whole Wheat Pancake Mix
12. Fruit and Nuts Trail Mix

For more ideas, don’t forget to download our FREE Gifts in a Jar eBook!

Be sure to Download Your Free Gifts In A Jar Tags too!

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Menu Plan for the Week, My Busy Kitchen, and a Persimmon Question

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I decided this weekend to make two week’s worth of High School Huddle food. With it being such a busy time of year, anything I can do to get ahead is great! 

And so, on Saturday morning I cooked up several pounds of hamburger meat and chicken breasts at the same time. Not in the same pot. Just at the same time. In different pots. Try to keep up.

Then I boiled noodles in the hamburger meat sauce for Italian Pasta Bake. And I cooked rice in broth for Creamy Chicken and Rice. Thankfully, I didn’t mess up and put the rice in the red sauce and noodles in the chicken broth. I mean, I could have made do with that, but it would have certainly made for some interesting concoctions that I’m not sure the High Schoolers would have appreciated.

Several huge casseroles (and a lot of dirty dishes) later, we are ready for the remaining Huddle get-togethers before Christmas. 

You may be very interested to know that, at the suggestion of my good friend Kim, I also experimented this weekend with my Fudge Brownie recipe and my Homemade Caramel Sauce recipe – to make Caramel Brownies. Let’s just say that this was a very successful experiment and you will be hearing more about it soon. The kids at Huddle tonight will be testing them out for us. But since my family and I already tasted them, we’re pretty sure they will approve. ;)

 

I’m hoping to get a little freezer cooking done later this week. If that happens, I’ll be sure to take pictures of the mess for you at that time too. :)

Here’s what our menu looks like for this week:

Sunday, December 9
Oatmeal bars, clementines
Potato soup, raw veggies
High School Huddle – Creamy chicken and rice casserole, carrots, green beans, bread and butter, peanut butter brownie cups

Monday, December 10
Whole wheat waffles, blueberries and whipped cream
Cheeseburger macaroni, green beans
Beefy enchilada bake, salad

Tuesday, December 11
Baked oatmeal cups, bananas
Chicken burritos, fruit salad
Pizza boats, tossed salad

Wednesday, December 12
Mini breakfast pizza, clementines
Easy noodle stir-fry with broccoli and carrots
Italian cream cheese chicken, tossed salad

Thursday, December 13
Honey whole wheat bagels, apple slices
Pigs in a blanket, baby carrot, pineapple
Fiesta chicken, tossed salad

Friday, December 14
Easy no-knead bread, fruit and yogurt smoothies
Sloppy cornbread muffins, baby carrots, apples
Lasagna casserole, tossed salad, green beans

Saturday, December 15
Giant breakfast cookies, applesauce
Leftovers
Grilled cheese, tomato soup, veggies

Heya, a friend of mine just sent me these awesome persimmons from California. I’m very excited to use them as I never have tried them before. I just wondered if any of you have some fun recipe suggestions for me?

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Fruit and Nuts Trail Mix {Gifts in a Jar ~ Day Twelve}

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We made it! 12 days in a row of Gifts in a Jar.

(I wasn’t actually sure it was going to happen today. Did you try to check my site today and see that it was nowhere to be found? My server was down ALL day. Wow.  I never realized how much I rely on my own website to look up recipes until I didn’t have access to it today. Anyway, here we are and all is well. Even if I did have to wing it when I made Breakfast Cookies this afternoon.)

Today’s Gift in a Jar idea is really too simple. There’s not really a “recipe” for this trail mix, because you can throw in whatever dried fruit and nuts that you like. Of course, I like to pour in some chocolate chips for good measure. :)

Here are some suggestions for ingredients to use when creating your Trail Mix:

Roasted peanuts, cashews, pecans, and/or almonds.
Dried cranberries, blueberries, cherries, and/or raisins
Chocolate Chips – any variety (dark, semi-sweet, or milk)

You can use any size jar – and simply fill it with the recipients favorite trail mix treats. 

And there you have it. Twelve days of Gifts in a Jar that ended just a little bit…nutty. But you expected nothing less, right? :)

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Whole Wheat Pancake Mix {Gifts in a Jar ~ Day Eleven}

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Our family devours homemade whole wheat pancakes! Storing this mix in the freezer is best. Be sure to attach mixing instructions if you’re giving this as a gift. 

I think it would be fun to tie a whisk and/or a metal spatula (for flipping pancakes) to this jar of mix. And, you could sprinkle mini chocolate chips into the mix to make Chocolate Chip Pancake Mix, which would be even more fun!

Whole Wheat Pancake Mix

6 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup baking powder
3 teaspoons sea salt
3 teaspoons sucanat (optional)

Mix ingredients and place in a 1.5 quart jar. 

Instructions for making pancakes:  Mix 1 cup mix with 1 egg, 1 cup of milk, and 1 Tablespoon melted butter or coconut oil. Cook pancakes on a hot griddle or skillet.

Want a fun tag to use for your gift? Download Your Free Gifts In A Jar Tags Here!

 

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Heavenly Homemakers Holiday Gift Guide

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In past years, I have written individual  posts highlighting some of my favorite gifts to give (or receive). This year, I decided to post the links for you to look through if you’re interested. Each link will take you to a post describing some of my favorite gifts. (P.S. I’m not into bling, knick-knacks, or anything expensive. I like practical gifts. This surprises you so much, doesn’t it?)

Why yes, as a matter of fact I do have Pyrex dishes on my “Gifts for Women” list…

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Cranberry Pecan Granola {Gifts in a Jar ~ Day Ten}

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Tweaking my Easy Homemade Granola recipe just a little bit, you can create a yummy Gift in a Jar that is perfect for the season. Shoot, what am I talking about? Cranberries and pecans are great during any season. ;)

Cranberry Pecan Granola

4 cups rolled oats
1 cup shredded, unsweetened coconut
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup sunflower nuts
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup coconut oil
3/4 cup honey

In a small sauce pan, melt together coconut oil and honey. Stir all remaining ingredients together in a large bowl. Drizzle on the honey/coconut oil mixture and stir well. Pour mixture onto a large, parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake at 300° for 35 minutes, stirring after the first 20 minutes. Store granola in an air tight container.

This makes 4 pint sized jars of granola, so you can make lots of gifts…or have several servings of granola on hand for busy mornings. :)

Want a fun tag to use for your gift? Download Your Free Gifts In A Jar Tags Here!

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Pasta Alfredo ~ Real Food Dollar Menu

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One of my family’s favorite meals is Pasta Alfredo. It is easy to make, and tastes even better than when you order alfredo at a restaurant! And of course, when you’re making this at home, you can use real food ingredients, making this dish super healthy. :)

Isn’t it nice to know that while you’ll pay around $8.00 per plate for a nice meal of Pasta Alfredo at a restaurant – when you make it homemade, it will cost you (drum roll please)…

…$0.99 per plate. Seriously. And that’s including whole wheat pasta and steamed veggies. Yes indeed!

(My calculations* told me that our steamed veggies cost us $1.65 and the pasta with alfredo sauce broke down to about $5.30. This meal fed seven people.)

pasta alfredo

You’ll find my Pasta Alfredo recipe here. Feel free to add leftover cooked chicken to this if you have some!

*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.

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

How much do you love Alfredo Sauce?  My boys, who have birthdays “coming up”, are already telling me that they will be requesting this for their birthday dinner. (It’s never too early to plan for your birthday which is three months away, you know…)

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Santa’s Snot {A Gift in a Jar for the Practical Joker ~ Day Nine}

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A few years ago, I was invited to a gift exchange in which the gift needed to be silly…and homemade. If you ask me, that was a tough order to fill. I’m not big into making crafts, so I could think of nothing cutesy or crafty to make. I could think of all kinds of homemade food gifts I could make – but something silly? I’m way too practical (and apparently boring) for that. Plus, I didn’t want to go to the trouble to make something and have the food be wasted. 

Finally, I remembered that sometime in my life, I had seen mini-marshmallows in a baggie, given as a joke with the label, “Snowman Poop”. Ha…very clever. And so, I looked around my kitchen and tried to think of what other yummy…yet disgusting homemade gift I could create.

Thus, the idea for Santa’s Snot was born.

Disgusting? Yes. Funny? Mostly. Still practical and edible? Absolutely. (As long as you forget the label and remember that the jar actually contains Homemade Applesauce.)

This is certainly not a Gift in the Jar for everyone – can I get an amen on that? But if there’s a practical joker on your Christmas list and you have no idea what to give him or her…might I suggest a lovely jar of Santa’s Snot?

And now, back to our regularly scheduled programing in which Laura brings you cheerful, tasty, and much less icky posts….

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Honey Pecan Pie ~ Real Food Makeover

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Yum
I have had several requests for a healthier Pecan Pie – one that didn’t call for corn syrup. My family was happy for me to try this experiment. I’m excited to share that I was easily able to adapt a recipe to use honey in exchange for corn syrup. Simple as that! (If only all of the Real Food Makeovers were this easy…)
Hey, guess what else? Not only was this recipe simple to figure out – the filling for this pie only has five ingredients. It’s super quick to put together!
Honey Pecan Pie
Honey Pecan Pie
Honey Pecan Pie ~ Real Food Makeover
 
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Author:
Ingredients
  • 1 cup honey
  • 3 eggs
  • ⅓ cup melted butter
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1¼ cups crushed pecans
Instructions
  1. Whisk first four ingredients together until eggs are beaten and everything is well mixed.
  2. Add pecans and stir.
  3. Pour mixture into an unbaked Whole Wheat Pie Crust.
  4. Bake in a 350° oven for about 45 minutes or until the middle of the pie no longer jiggles.
Here’s my Whole Wheat Pie Crust recipe.
(My use of the word jiggles proves how professional I am in my use of cooking terms.)
pecan pie bites4
How about another, even easier Pecan Pie idea? Try these Easy Pecan Pie Bites! They are wonderful for your holiday dessert table because people can pop one or two in their mouths and still enjoy other favorite desserts too! Not that we all need more than one dessert. But that’s pretty much a holiday reality, right?
Cinnamon Sugar Pecans
And while you’re working with pecans, you might try these great Cinnamon Sugar Pecans! They are a great gift or snack!
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Homemade Peppernuts {Gifts in a Jar ~ Day Eight}

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Ahhh, Peppernuts. Little bites of delicious memories from my childhood.

One batch will go a long way – filling several jars for gifts! If you’ve never had peppernuts before, I can only describe them as spicy, sweet, munchy, crunchy bites of Christmas. My grandma made them each year at holiday time, and we all loved them. They are great for gift giving – and great to keep in a jar on top of your refrigerator! :)

Click on the link below for the recipe!
Homemade Peppernuts

Want a fun tag to use for your gift? Download Your Free Gifts In A Jar Tags Here!

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