Heavenly Homemakers

Encouraging women in homemaking, healthy eating and parenting

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!

A Simple Way to Plan a Menu (and Free Downloadable Fall Menu Planners!)

by 12 Comments

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

I know menu planning isn’t for everyone. I also know that many people go about menu planning in different ways. If you’d like a little more insight as to how and why I plan my menus the way I do each week, I’d encourage you to read this post. I also encourage you to check out Plan to Eat as a great source to help you with planning meals for your family.

What I want to share with you today, however, is a very simple method I use as I go about planning the meals our family will eat. When planning our meals in this simple manner, I find that I can really keep our costs low, even while eating a diet of real, whole foods.

Really, planning a meal that is inexpensive, well rounded, nutritious, and delicious isn’t as difficult as it sounds. If this is an area you struggle, how about following these simple steps?

A Simple Way to Plan a Meal:

1. Pick a main dish.
2. Choose one or two side dishes that will compliment the main dish.
3. That’s it. There is no number three.

See? I told you it was simple. :)

I used to go all out for meals, making sure we had bread and dessert all planned out along with a main course and a couple of sides. And sure, for special occasions or when we have company, I typically plan a little extra. But for our day-to-day meal plans? I stick with what is simple.  I figure out what our main dish will be. I think about what vegetables and other side dishes will round out the meal. And that’s it.

Here is an example:

Monday, I decided to make Grilled Barbecue Chicken. (Pick a main dish…check)  Tossed salad and green beans go great with bbq chicken. (Choose one or two side dishes that will compliment the main dish…check)  I was also hungry for sweet corn, had some in the freezer, and decided to make that too. (Flying by the seat of my pants and going with what sounded good at the moment…check)

Now, a few tips as you follow this simple meal planning method:

Tip #1:  Try to always choose at least one green veggie to go with your main dish.

Tip #2:  Fruit is always a great addition to a meal and a perfect way to add nutrients, especially if your family is picky about veggies.

Tip #3:  Avoid serving too many starchy foods with one meal. As in, you probably shouldn’t plan corn, potatoes, noodles, and bread all in one meal. It’s a bit of a carb overload and not nearly healthy as a meal that has green veggies. That is, unless you enjoy experiencing a sugar crash about thirty minutes after you eat. In that case, go for it.

Tip #4:  And speaking of bread, you really don’t need bread at every meal. Unless you’re my dad. And then it is a must, because how else are you supposed to sop up the gravy?

Free Menu Planners for Fall!

And with that, I wanted to remind you that we offer several free downloadable menu planners that are perfect for this fall! And, they come with free coordinating downloadable grocery lists. They are fun. They are free. Print them, put them on your fridge, and use them to your heart’s content. Some have even laminated them so that they can use them over and over!

Download your free fall menu planners and grocery lists here.

What is the easiest way you’ve found to plan meals? Or do you fly by the seat of your pants?  :)

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

Are You Using Swagbucks?

by 10 Comments

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

Search & Win

It’s been a while since I’ve mentioned Swagbucks here. With Christmas coming, I thought this would be a great time to share it again so that you can earn some free gift money!

Swagbucks is on online search engine that I use just like I would use a Google search engine. The difference? With Swagbucks, I earn “bucks” which can be redeemed for prizes. What prizes do I choose? Amazon gift cards – which I then use for school books, organic groceries, or Christmas gifts! (FREE!)  I’ve also redeemed some of my Swagbucks for Starbucks gift cards. And there are tons of other options, including restaurants, clothing stores, and much more.

I have found that the easiest way to use the Swagbuck search engine is to download the Swagbuck toolbar, or install the Swag Buck Plugin – either of which will make doing internet searches through Swagbucks simple. I don’t earn “bucks” every single time I do a search, but I do earn them several times each day. They all add up – and then they can be turned into gift cards!

In addition, you can refer your friends and family – then you earn more Swagbucks each time they earn. It’s a pretty sweet deal  – all for doing online searches that you would be doing anyway. 

Let me know if you have any questions about how this works. I have found this to be a wonderful, easy way to earn free credit for gifts and books. Sign up now and start earning!

Here’s an awesome Lego set that Swagbucks Matt and I got our boys for Christmas last year. Score!

 

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

Easy Homemade Chicken Salad

by 28 Comments

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

I couldn’t very well make homemade pita bread last week without making Chicken Salad, now could I?

Matt happened to be out of town for two days last week on a soccer trip. The poor guy. All I talked about when he came home was how good the new pita bread recipe ended up and how I’d made chicken salad to go in it and served it all with fresh tomatoes from our garden. And how all four boys scarfed it up and came back for more.

And then I had to tell him that all of it was gone – that we’d saved none at all for him.

Yeah. Welcome home, Dad. ;)

Not to worry. I’ll make him more soon. Have you tried the Whole Wheat Pita Bread recipe yet?

Easy Homemade Chicken Salad

Easy Chicken SaladYum

Easy Homemade Chicken Salad
 
Save Print
Author:
Ingredients
  • 2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
  • ½ cup mayonnaise (I use Hain Safflower)
  • 2 Tablespoons pickle relish (I use either homemade pickle relish or an organic variety from Amazon or Vitacost)
  • ¼ teaspoon onion salt
  • 2 hard boiled eggs, chopped (optional)
Instructions
  1. Mix all ingredients together and serve on crackers, on bread, or in pita pockets.

Shucks, get out a fork and eat it plain if you want. It’s good stuff. :)

Recipes and links you might need for your Chicken Salad:

  • Hain Safflower Mayo
  • Homemade Pickle Relish Recipe
  • Pre-made pickle relish from Amazon or Vitacost

I’m not a fan of hard boiled eggs in my meat salads. You? And you know, if you all leave a comment answering that question, this will make for one of the most exciting blog conversations – ever.  :)

You can also use this recipe to make Turkey Salad with turkey leftovers after a holiday meal. This is one of my favorite ways to use up chicken or turkey leftovers! Chicken or turkey salad makes a wonderful convenience food!

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

Gratituesday: Spanish

by 21 Comments

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

If I felt like being cute and clever, I’d write some of this post in Spanish, just to impress you. However, as we all know, I struggle mightily with speaking anything but English. And actually, depending on the busyness of my day, sometimes my English doesn’t even come out very clearly. Bless my family’s heart for translating my well meaning but oft times meaningless garb when I’m in the midst of doing too many things at once. (I’m a master of not finishing sentences and making my family guess where in the world I’m asking them to go put the…)

Which is why I’m so thankful for the fact that my boys are learning to speak Spanish through Rosetta Stone. It’s pricey software, no doubt. But we are so thankful we invested in this for our kids. It has been a fabulous tool. In fact, Justus now sometimes speaks more Spanish than English – just because he enjoys it so much. Matt understands what he’s saying, and so does Asa (who is on his second year of learning the language). Me? Well, slowly I’m actually beginning to pick out a few words so that sometimes I can shock him by actually answering his questions that he asks entirely in Spanish. 

Sometimes.

I mean, I have a time or two accidentally told him that we are having blue for breakfast or that it is cheese o’clock. Need I remind you that foreign languages are not my gift? 

As a home school mom, I am thankful that I don’t have to be a master of all subjects in order for my children to receive a great education. The resources available are fantastic, and Rosetta Stone is just one example. 

Now if I can just keep up with my kids. ;)

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!