Heavenly Homemakers

Encouraging women in homemaking, healthy eating and parenting

Easiest, Tastiest, Healthy Pizza Crust (Freezable!)

by 77 Comments

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

I have officially worked myself out of a job. Elias, our 10 year old, has now been declared our Chief Pizza Maker.

Why? Because I’ve figured out how to make quick and easy pizza crust – and I’ve figured out that this pizza crust freezes really, really well. Therefore, I make a double batch of pizza dough, shape it, and bake it into personal sized crusts – and then I freeze them. On “pizza day”, Elias gets out the crusts and toppings, and puts together “made to order” pizzas for everyone. He then bakes them in our toaster oven, all while I am sitting with my feet up in an easy chair, sipping lemonade, and flipping through a magazine.

Just kidding. I’m typically working right beside him on another kitchen chore. But it sure is nice to have a my big guys around who help so much. And it’s so very nice to have such an easy recipe to work with so that making pizzas is crazy easy.

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough (originally posted when I shared my Whole Wheat Calzone recipe)

Easiest, Tastiest, Healthy Pizza Crust (Freezable!)
 
Save Print
Author:
Ingredients
  • 5 cups whole wheat flour (I use freshly ground flour from hard white wheat)
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 4½ teaspoons active dry yeast (or 2 pouches)
  • 2 cups warm water (The water should feel warm, but not hot.)
Instructions
  1. Mix all ingredients together, knead for 3-4 minutes, then allow the dough to “rest” for about 10 minutes (give or take).
  2. This dough makes 2 large pizzas, or 18 mini pizzas.
  3. Shape dough into desired pizza sizes and place on baking sheets.
  4. Bake in a 375° oven for 5-7 minutes.
  5. Remove crusts from oven, allow them to cool, then freeze in freezer bags.
  6. Or, top hot pizza crusts with desired pizza toppings.
  7. When you're ready, bake the pizzas at 375° for 10 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and beginning to brown.

FYI – I find that 2 cups (16 ounces) of pizza sauce is typically needed to go with this pizza crust recipe.

Whole Wheat Pizza Crust

Yum

I found little mini turkey pepperonis at the store. Our boys love them.  :)

I love how easy this dough is to work with. I simply pinch off a little dough, and quickly roll out crusts and bake them.

Once they have baked and cooled, I put them into freezer bags. I don’t even get them out in time to thaw before we top them and bake them. So convenient!

If you’d like to borrow my ten year old sometime, I’m sure he’d be happy to come build you some pizzas. Then, you too can put your feet up in an easy chair, sip lemonade, and flip through a magazine. :)

Ever tried freezing pizza crusts?  If not, I highly recommend it. It makes homemade pizza so very easy!

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

Gratituesday: Homecoming Weekend

by 19 Comments

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

I look forward to it…long for it even. Homecoming weekend here at York College always brings lots of house guests, soccer games, and festivities. All throughout the weekend, we run into so many friends that we love catching up with. Often, we don’t know who will be coming, so bumping into people we love all throughout the weekend is always so much fun!

One of the highlights of this weekend was that Matt was able to talk his former YC roommate – the best man in our wedding – into making the trip from Texas. They played soccer together, traveled to church camps together during summer breaks, and have been wonderful friends from the time they first met. Having him here for the weekend was fantastic. The only thing that would have made it better is if his family could have joined him. Next year. (Cindy, that was a hint.)  :)

Here they are after playing in the alumni soccer game. Watching my guy play in that game is a highlight of my year – probably because it is a highlight of his. Why yes, he did score a goal that day.  :)

Before all the running around began, we were able to sit in the living room and play games together. Love this.

I had the most fun making meals for all of our guests. I’m thankful I had so many meals made up ahead of time so that I was able to relax and enjoy my company. Our friend Lisa was celebrating her birthday while she was here, so the Cake Boys rose to the occasion. That episode will be coming soon, I’m sure.

Lisa loved the cake. Well, we all did, as a matter of fact.

The hugs, the visits, the fun – they all filled me up and left me refreshed. I am so thankful for all of the wonderful people God has put in our lives to encourage and sharpen us.

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!

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

Cake Boys Episode 5

by 5 Comments

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

It’s been a while since I’ve taken the time to post our boys’ latest Cake Boys Episode. This one was put together a few weeks ago when we welcomed the 6th graders from church into the youth group. Justus thought it would be a nice idea to make a cake in their honor. :)

I’ve heard from many of you that your kids really enjoy watching the Cake Boys videos. For your convenience, I’ve created a link that will make it easy to find all of the episodes easily:

Cake Boys

I will also add the Cake Boys link to our “Search Categories” page. :)

They are already almost finished with Episode 6. Mom is behind on posting, obviously. Our boys are getting great experience in the kitchen, as well as on the computer creating and editing these “shows”. Thank you so much for your support of their efforts. They love watching their “number of views” increase. :)

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 – and Hi, I’m Back

by 8 Comments

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

Wow, it has been one busy, wonderful weekend. Every day I thought maybe I’d have a chance to get on the computer and update my blog, but I barely took time to check email, much less write a post.

(Secretly, I really enjoyed the little break. And I’ve enjoyed visiting with friends and family so much, I’m bubbling over.)

But I’ve missed you, so it’s great to be back. 

Here’s just a little glimpse into what we’ve been up to this week. We had 11 house guest between Wednesday to Sunday. They all came to celebrate Homecoming at York College (our alma mater). Among the guests were my wonderful Kansas nieces and nephews. The cousins had so much fun together that some of them were in tears as they pulled themselves away from each other when it was time to separate. Thanksgiving just won’t come soon enough for these fast friends.

Saturday, Matt was among a group of guys honored at the soccer game. Why? Because 20 years ago, they were a part of the YC soccer team that won the National Championship. I was Matt’s girlfriend with big hair, back in the day. Ah, the memories. :)

I’ll share more on Gratituesday. And now, on to our menu plan (which includes a few leftovers from this weekend):

Sunday, October 14
Oatmeal, fruit
Cheesy beef and rice, peas
Huddle at friends house

Monday, October 15
Leftover whole wheat pancakes, applesauce
Leftover sloppy joes, peas, pears
Creamy crock pot chicken and rice, carrots

Tuesday, October 16
Scrambled eggs, creamy orange coolers
Tuna salad on whole wheat pita pockets,
Leftover chicken and noodles, sliced pears, carrot sticks

Wednesday, October 17
Flaky cream cheese pastry, grapes
Chicken burritos, pineapple
Cheesy salsa enchiladas, tossed salad

Thursday, October 18
Pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, apple slices
Cheeseburger macaroni, green beans
Taco potatoes, fruit salad

Friday, October 19
Peanut butter honey toast, applesauce
 Tomato soup, grilled cheese sandwiches
Italian pasta bake, tossed salad

Saturday, October 20
Fried eggs on toast, pears
Leftovers
Hamburgers, homemade fries, peas

 

 

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

Save Your Dry Hands! Win a $50 Gift Certificate for MadeOn Lotion – Plus a Discount!

by 782 Comments

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

It is that time of year again. My hands start getting dry and cracked. And then they start to bleed and feel miserable.

Oh wait…not any more.  While I had struggled with that issue all my life, ever since I began using MadeOn Hard Lotion Bar, my hands have been absolutely fine during the long winter months. It has been amazing.

I’ve recommended MadeOn Hard Lotion to so many people who struggle with dry skin, and even with eczema, and they are all amazed at how well it works. (Most see a difference within only two days. It was even less than that for me.)  The best part is that it is made with three pure ingredients (coconut oil, beeswax, and shea butter). It is completely safe and healthy for our skin.

MadeOn also makes Lip Balm that I love. It’s great, and so good for your skin that you could eat it and it wouldn’t hurt you. (Not that I do…eat it. But I’m just sayin’ that you could…eat it.)

Renee, at MadeOn, is always great to work with. She’s created a special 10% off discount code for Heavenly Homemakers readers. Enter HH2012 at check-out. Plus, if you spend more than $25, you’ll automatically receive a free tinted lip balm. (We got to test one out recently – love it!)

Not only that, she’s offering to give away one $50 gift certificate to one of you today! Think of the fun you could have with that! (And the really nice, soft hands.)  Leave a comment on this post for a chance to win. (If you are a subscriber, you will need to click over to the post and leave a comment. Emailing me will not gain you an entry.)  Join the MadeOn Facebook page for an extra entry, leaving a second comment here to let me know that you did. I’ll draw a random winner on Monday, October 15. Be watching for a post stating the winner as you will be responsible for contacting me if your name is chosen.

The 10% discount at MadeOn is good through October 31. Take advantage and save your hands this winter!

 

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

Healthy Crock Pot Recipes: Fiesta Chicken

by 13 Comments

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

Since yesterday’s Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cake in the crock pot really isn’t a great crock pot recipe, here’s a great one for Fiesta Chicken. This was a hit with our whole family!

Crock Pot Fiesta ChickenYum

2 Tablespoons olive oil or coconut oil
3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 medium onion, chopped
1 large green pepper, chopped
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced (or one teaspoon garlic powder)
1 small jalapeno pepper, chopped
1 – 14 1/2 ounce can of Mexican style diced tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon oregano

In a skillet, cook the chicken pieces in the olive oil until browned. Remove chicken, and saute onion, pepper, garlic, and jalapeno in the juices and oil. Combine all ingredients in a crock pot. Cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 6-8 hours.

Serve over rice, or on a soft tortilla. Top with cheese, olives, lettuce, sour cream – or any toppings you choose. Add frozen corn and/or black beans to the crock pot if you’d like.

The houseful of company I told you we were having? They started coming in today. The fun is just beginning!

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

Healthy Crock Pot Recipes: Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cake

by 15 Comments

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

While searching for crock pot recipes, I came across one for a Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cake. Cake in a crock pot?  With peanut butter and chocolate chips? Sweet…sign me up! I was excited to recreate this recipe using healthier ingredients.

Without a doubt, this cake is delicious. But aren’t crock pot recipes supposed to save me time? Isn’t that the point? This recipe took extra steps and caused me to have to stand on my head while pulling a muscle to search in the back of my corner cabinet so that I could find a baking dish that would fit down into my crock pot. And then it took four hours to bake. 

FYI:  Laura does not make recipes that take lots of time. Laura likes to eat healthy and save time.

And apparently, Laura occasionally talks in third person like Elmo.

Anyway, while this cake recipe is very easy to mix up, I think it would be even easier if I threw it directly into a cake pan and baked it in an oven.

When might I want to make this cake in a crock pot? Maybe if I need to go somewhere and want to come home in four hours to a freshly baked cake. Or maybe if I’m having company and am busy, I could get the cake put into the crock pot so that I could then focus on the roast beef. Or, I could see the crock pot being an option if it’s really hot outside and I don’t want to heat up my house by using an oven. Yes, those would be the times I would use my crock pot for this. Otherwise, it’ll be a conventional oven at 350° for me.

Here is the recipe, with both crock pot or conventional oven options. (Because Laura thinks it’s nice to have options.)

Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter CakeYum

1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup sucanat
1/2 cup natural peanut butter (I use homemade peanut butter)
3 eggs
3/4 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup chocolate chips (I used Enjoy Life Soy Free Chocolate Chips)

Cream together melted butter, sucanat, and peanut butter with an electric mixer. Add eggs, sour cream, and vanilla. Blend in baking powder, baking soda, sea salt, and flour until well combined. Fold in 3/4 cup of chocolate chips.

To Bake in a Crock Pot:

  1. Line crock pot with foil. 
  2. Pour batter into a 2 1/2 or 3 quart baking dish that will fit inside your crock pot. Spread batter into the baking dish, then set it down inside the crock pot. 
  3. Sprinkle on remaining chocolate chips. 
  4. Cover loosely with 4 layers of paper towels, leaving the lid off the crock pot. 
  5. Cook on high for four hours, testing doneness with a toothpick.

To Bake in a Regular Oven:

Pour batter into a greased 8×8 inch baking pan. Sprinkle on remaining chocolate chips. Bake in a 350° oven for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

And now, I can not get the sound of Elmo’s voice out of my head. 

Laura is not a big fan of the sound of Elmo’s voice.

What would you do with this recipe? Bake it in the oven or in a crock pot?  Feel free to answer the question in third person. ;)

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

Gratituesday: Family On a Mission

by 25 Comments

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

I can not tell you how thankful I am to have such grown up kids who are so willing to help.

Since we were sick last week, we got pretty behind on day-to-day tasks, plus we have several projects we’d like to finish before our company comes on Wednesday night.

As our strength has slowly come back and we are getting back to normal (whatever the “Coppinger normal”  is) – the to-do lists are being made and we are on a mission. The house is being whipped into shape, and so far, I haven’t heard anything but a willing, “Okay, Mom” as I’ve handed out jobs. (Oh if they would always obey without arguing…)

If you have a household of  little ones right now, I really want to encourage you to take heart! As they get older, and if you work with them now to train them to be helpers, you will be amazed at the work load they can take on once they are a little older.

They may not always see what needs to be done and do it without asking (says the lady who lives with four male children who will forever and a day step over piles of laundry without ever once thinking about the fact that the clothes may be theirs and that they should pick them up and put them away for Pete’s sake). And the cleaning may not always be done the exact way I would like it to be done. But wow, can they tackle a job and take a load off my shoulders when asked!

Here are the cookies Malachi and I worked on together while the older boys were working on upstairs projects. (Yay! The summer/winter clothes are finally sorted and put away!)  While Malachi cut cookie dough into pumpkins, apples, and leaves, I worked on Lasagna Casseroles. Hooray for multi-tasking!

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!

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

Menu Plan For Company

by 9 Comments

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

We tried to fight it, but the flu bug hit our house anyway. :(

I am now quite behind on my work, as well as still very low on energy. And…we have 11 guests coming to stay with us this weekend for York College Homecoming.

All six of us will be working hard to get the house clean and ready for guests, and to get ahead on school work so we can take a couple days off at the end of the week. Papa and Grandma Tacy are the first to arrive on Wednesday night. Others trickle in on Thursday and Friday. We are all so excited! (Um, even if I am typing this from my pitiful little pillow right now.)  ;)

Obviously, food preparation is an important item on my to-do list this week. Thankfully, during the past couple of weeks, I’ve worked here and there to prepare some of the meals – so I already have quite a bit finished and in the freezer. Once again, freezer cooking saves my neck!

I haven’t planned our meals for this week entirely. (Look back at some of my older menu plans if you need some ideas for your menu plan this week!)

But here’s what I’m looking to feed our company this weekend. We’ll have anywhere from 7-20 people at each meal, depending on who is here at the time and who else from town might be able to join us. Here’s my plan, with possibly more information than you ever needed to know…

Thursday, October 11

My dad usually buys donuts for the boys for breakfast when he comes. Once or twice a year eating store bought donuts won’t kill us, right? And it’s a huge treat that the boys love. I’ll be requesting and enjoying a maple long john, thank you very much. And I’ll scramble eggs and get out fruit and milk to go with them. ;)

For lunch, I’ll make Homemade Chicken and Noodles (broth and noodles already in the freezer) with raw veggies and sliced fruit. Dinner will be Lasagna Casserole with Tossed Salad after we get home from our boys soccer games. They are very excited to have grandparents coming in time to watch their games!

Friday, October 12

For breakfast, I will have two Easy Breakfast Casseroles ready to put into the oven, and make big batches of Whole Wheat Pancakes to go with them, with either applesauce or pears.

Many of the men will go golfing at noon, so we’ll pack them a big cooler full of sandwiches and the works. The ladies and the kids will either go out to eat for our traditional lunch out, or we will stay home and make homemade pizzas.

For dinner that evening, I am excited to make a Barbecue Brisket, Baked Potatoes, Green Beans, and Cream Cheese Corn. One of our guests will be celebrating her birthday while she’s here, so I believe The Cake Boys have something in mind to make for that evening’s dessert. :)

Saturday, October 13

Our boys have a soccer game at 9:00 a.m. – and we will all be on the run from then on. I have Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins and Apple Sauce Bread in the freezer for that morning. And yes, I’ll also get out the fruit.

For lunch, I’ll warm up the Sloppy Joe Meat that is already in the freezer, and serve the Joes with Raw Veggies and Kettle Chips.

Dinner that evening is a little iffy, since I don’t know who will be around and who will have other plans for the night. So, I plan to either get out leftovers and offer a “buffet”, or I have a Cheesy Beef and Rice Casserole in the freezer that I can get out if I need to.

Desserts

It wouldn’t be Homecoming weekend without desserts. Tacy (my dad’s wife) will bring some of her awesome cookies. Plus, Malachi and I made Cream Cheese Cut-Outs (this recipe, minus the orange juice), Chocolate Crinkle Cookies, and Chocolate Chip Cookies, which are in the freezer, waiting for us to get them out and have a sugar rush. Yowza.

Can’t wait until our house is full of so many people that we love. Hopefully I’ll have half a brain in the midst of all the fun to snap some pictures to share!

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

We Welcomed Fall With Pumpkin Muffins and Apple Bread. Oh…and Hot Cocoa.

by 22 Comments

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

Yesterday, with the weather finally cooling off and the leaves falling all over the yard, I could do only one thing:  Bake. 

Well, actually, I did more than one thing because we’re also switching out our summer clothes with winter clothes. Do you know how many loads of laundry that amounts to? Me neither, because I didn’t keep track. And I’m still not done. But hey, I sure am thankful God has provided so many hoodies for my boys. Seriously.

Also, before I could bake, we needed to finish our school work. And lunch had to be made. Right after lunch, Matt and I had a meeting. Then I had a workout with Jen.

Then Malachi had a soccer game, and Justus had two games to referee.

And by the time we got home from the games we were starving (and frozen) so I made a quick dinner.

But not before I switched out the laundry and started yet another load.

And then…I finally had my chance to bake. Ahhhhhhh.  Seriously, baking is a great way for me to unwind at the end of the day. I know. I’m weird. But just try putting some Applesauce Bread into the oven in the evening and tell me that smell of apples and cinnamon won’t relax you. Uh-huh. 

I made some of the Applesauce Bread into mini muffins, then made some Hot Cocoa (because after being home from Malachi’s soccer game for over an hour and a half, I still hadn’t thawed out).

While the rest of the bread and some Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins were baking, we all sat down in the living room with our mini muffins and hot cocoa while I started reading the latest book in the Ralph Moody series we’re reading.

We’d planned to stop at one chapter, but who can stop with one chapter? So we continued to read, deciding to stop at two chapters. But at that point Ralph was lost in the mountains, and even though we all knew good and well that he would make it out alive because he had lived to tell about it many years later when he wrote his books, we still couldn’t rest until we had read a third chapter and knew that he was home safe and sound.

I’m telling you, you’ve got to look into the Little Britches series, by Ralph Moody. And you should also do some baking. It’s very relaxing. (So says the crazy lady with sprinkles of flour all over her shoes.)

 This morning, Matt built a fire and we had Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins with milk and sliced pears. I love fall.

If you didn’t get them already, be sure to download your free fall recipe cards here, which include both of these recipes. Of course, you can simply click on the above links for the recipes too.

Did  I mention that I thought I was completely out of cinnamon at one point in the midst of my baking? Yes, there I was with apples and pumpkin – and an empty cinnamon jar. Tragic! Not to worry, I found a hidden jar of cinnamon up on a different shelf. Sheesh. 

What do you love about fall?

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