Heavenly Homemakers

Encouraging women in homemaking, healthy eating and parenting

Freezer Full of Healthy Foods

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I’m happy to report that I was able to cross off everything on last week’s Make Ahead Healthy Foods list, plus a little extra! I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again:  If you want to get ahead in the kitchen, just do a little extra every once in a while. Here are a few pictures showing what I worked on during the past seven days:

I put my boys on the task of scrubbing 10 pounds of potatoes (the amount that fits well in my big roaster). We baked them to turn them into Hashbrowns.

If you’ve not tried making Hashbrowns this way – you’ve gotta try it! These are so easy, delicious and make for a great quick breakfast or dinner side dish. I freeze them on cookie sheets, then transfer them to freezer bags. Having frozen hashbrowns ready to grab and cook quickly is so nice!

I mixed up a batch of Honey Oat Crunch Cereal that is great to have on hand for a quick breakfast or a snack. (This recipe is in my Think Breakfast Outside the Box ebook.)  I wish I remembered to make this more often – it’s great to have on hand. I just stick it in a jar and put it on top of the fridge. We eat it with raisins and other dried fruit, plain or with milk or cream. So good!

I guess I was on a roll with breakfast foods last week! I made a batch of Giant Breakfast Cookies. We ate half and froze half.

I made six pounds of Turkey Sausage, freezing it into eight meal sized bags. I LOVE having this on hand to use in my Pancake Sausage Muffins and Easy Breakfast Casserole. Plus, since I now have frozen hashbrowns, I can throw some of this sausage in with the hashbrowns, scramble eggs into it and we’ve got a meal. Easy!

I had ordered a big box of strawberries from Azure Standard which arrived last week. We ate as many as we could while they were fresh, but the rest needed to make their way into the freezer. I like freezing them on cookie sheets first so that they don’t stick together in freezer bags later. Aren’t they purty?

I’ve already shared about how I made Homemade Beef Bologna – we ate some and froze some. I also made Tammy’s Homemade Spicy Beef Pepperoni, but if we thought my bologna pictures were not pretty, my beef pepperoni pictures were even worse. Come to think of it, I didn’t even take pictures of the pepperoni. The pepperoni itself was so very ugly, I hid it from my kids before they could see it and decide they didn’t like it before they’d tried it. BUT, when I sliced it and put it on pizza, it was very delicious. So, I now have ugly bologna and ugly pepperoni in my freezers too, but I’ll spare you the agony of having to see pictures of them. ;)

Have you made anything healthy and tasty for your freezer lately?

In case you’re wondering, here’s a post on How I Freeze Food.

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Menu Plan for the Week – Let the “Feeding the Masses” Season Begin! *With a Bun Update*

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I mentioned several weeks ago that we’d be hosting our High School Youth each Sunday night beginning in the fall. (This has traditionally been called “Huddle”.)  This begins today! I’ve been both excited and intimidated about this committment. Each Sunday night we’ll have around 30+ teens in our home. They are great kids though, plus we have two or three other great adult couples who will be joining us and who have offered to help with the food prep at any time. I plan to say “yes” to this offer of help whenever I need to – I’d be crazy not to! I’ll also be referencing this list of “Food to Feed a Crowd” as well as all of your helpful comments for meal ideas each week.

In addition to hosting the high schoolers on Sunday evenings, Matt and I have started teaching a marriage class on Sunday mornings in our home for six young married couples. We meet before worship time begins at church, and I’m hoping to provide some sort of muffin or other breakfast item along with coffee and juice each morning during class. Having these treats seems to put everyone at ease and well, the smell of hot coffee and muffins is just welcoming, isn’t it? We really want these couples to feel welcome and loved in our home. (Yes, food is my love language.)  :)

In order to pull all of this off this year, I’m going to have to be very organized and try to get as much done on Fridays and Saturdays as possible. When I can, I’ll take pictures to share. Although it’s not terribly exciting, I was able to snap a shot of my beverage table this morning before class. I had to put the Applesauce Bread in a separate spot since this table filled up too quickly!

Today, we also had a church potluck. Food, food and more food! Here’s our menu for the week:

Sunday, September 18
Applesauce bread, fruit plate, coffee, juice
Potluck – Italian pasta bake, frosted brownies, green beans
“High School Huddle” – BBQ pulled pork sandwiches, cream cheese corn, homemade pickles (provided by my friend), carrot sticks with homemade ranch, grapes, butterscotch bars

Monday,  September 19
Simple soaked pancakes, blueberries
Taco potatoes, fresh peaches
Chicken noodle soup, carrot sticks

Tuesday, September 20
Crustless breakfast quiches, oranges
Tuna salad on tomato slices, strawberry-peach slushies, sweet peppers
Cheesy salsa enchiladas, tossed salad

Wednesday, September 21
Coconut flour muffins, apples
Black bean salsa, organic corn chips, grapes
Chicken veggie quesadillas, fruit salad

Thursday, September 22
Pancake sausage muffins, applesauce
Cheeseburger macaroni, peas, cantaloupe
Lamb chops, baked potatoes, zucchini

Friday, September 23
Peanut butter honey toast, pears
Chicken burritos, fruit
Hamburgers, potato wedges, peaches, green beans

Saturday, September 24
Scrambled eggs, hashbrowns, peaches
Leftovers
Beef stroganoff, green beans, tossed salad

Question for you – for tonight’s pulled pork sandwiches, I purchased a 9 pound pork roast. I feel like that will be plenty of meat for 30 people, but I don’t think I got enough buns. How many buns would you feel necessary for 30 teens and adults? I know this shouldn’t be so complicated but for some reason I can’t feel comfortable with the amount of buns I got. But I don’t want a bunch of extras because one of my sons LOVES white flour buns and I’d prefer not to have lots leftover for his happy little white bun indulgence. :)

—————————————————–

Hi. I have a bun update. :)

I had originally purchased 40 buns, but we went and got two more packages just to be safe. We ended up only using 38 (surprisingly), even though there were 35 people here (my kids included). Therefore, we would have been okay with only the 5 packages of buns. Still, it was great to have piece of mind about the buns. Also, the 9 pounds of meat was the perfect amount as we only had enough meat leftover for two sandwiches.

Several ate only meat and bbq sauce without the bun. Several others came back for seconds. I still think using what many of you suggested as a general rule, estimating 1.5 buns per person is a great idea. I’ll do it this way from now on.

Also, the Butterscotch Bars and Cream Cheese Corn (recipe in Holiday Hospitality ebook and Learn to Cook ebook) were HUGE hits!!!

Most exciting of all – we asked the kids to each rinse their plates and cups and put them into the dishwasher after they were finished eating. At the end of the night, all I had to do was wash a few serving dishes and turn on the full dishwasher. Awesome! We are definitely going to go with that system every week!

Thank you all for your helpful input about my buns. I mean about the burger buns. Oh, you know what I mean. ;)

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Azure Standard is Expanding!

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Visit our blog: www.azurestandardblog.comMrs. Joseph Wood, who advertises with us here at Heavenly Homemakers, is always trying to keep me up to date on the latest great news from Azure Standard so that I can pass it on to you. Her husband is one of their trusted truck drivers, and she and her family are extremely dedicated to serving through Azure. If you’ve been reading my posts about Azure Standard and wishing you had access to this service, you’re going to be excited to read this news!

Azure Standard is going to be adding IL, IN, IA and parts of TN the first of January. They will also be rearranging the current M-1 and M-2 routes into five smaller routes so that food can be fresher when delivered to customers. This is allowing them to add new areas of CO, NM, KS, OK, TX, MO and AR if there were families in those states that used to be off route.

Because of these changes, Azure Standard is super busy, which means that it would be best at this time for you to contact Mrs. Joseph Wood instead of contacting Azure Standard themselves. To learn more or to see about setting up a drop point in your area, call 785-633-3152. Or, if you’d rather contact her via email you can do that at: mrsjosephwood @ gmail dot com.

Also, be sure follow the Azure Standard Facebook page for regular updates and great Azure Standard information!

If your location was not mentioned today, don’t despair! As you can see, Azure Standard is constantly working to expand and meet more needs. Your state might be coming soon!

 

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Mentor Relationships

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~Appreciate Your Spouse~Buoyancy in Marriage~Consult Your Partner~
~Dream Together Part One ~Dream Together Part Two~Empower Your Spouse~
~Have Fun With Your Spouse~Give to One Another~Honor Each Other~
~Be Intentional~Jubilee~Kingdom Focused~Listen

Mentor Relationships

What School are You Paying for? – Matt’s Thoughts

“How much better to get wisdom than gold, to choose understanding rather than silver!” (Proverbs 16:16)  I’ll Amen that.

“Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding.” (Proverbs 4:7)  Amen to that too.

Now, how do I get me some of that wisdom and understanding that I so desperately need?

Most of my life I’ve been enrolled at UHK (University of Hard Knocks). UHK has an amazing presence. There are satellite campuses everywhere I go. But in my shining moments I’ve sought out a mentor and avoided the expense of UHK.

As Laura and I have aimed for a healthy marriage, we also have looked to some couples modeling a healthy marriage who are farther down the road in their marital journey. We have watched them from a distance and visited with them couple to couple. We’ve been encouraged from afar and challenged by their words. We’ve heard their regrets, taking them to heart so as to avoid UHK for ourselves, and we’ve taken mental notes regarding their victories so that we can attempt to gain the same outcome.

Why don’t we do this more often, rather than paying room, board, tuition and fees to UHK? Many times it’s because I’m chasing gold and silver rather than wisdom and understanding.

How can I get me some wisdom?

“Listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will be wise.” (Proverbs 19:20)

Red Flag Relationships – Laura’s Thoughts

Most of us tend to gravitate toward those who are in the same stage of life we are in. Singles like to hang out with other singles. Young marrieds like to spend time with other young marrieds. Parents with babies like to get together with other parents of babies. And on it goes. This is all great and truly – many of our best friendships are based on the fact that we have so much in common. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with spending time and enjoying others in your stage of life – unless those are the only people you spend time with.

We’ve seen marriages destroyed because couples were not willing to look beyond their 20 or 30-something age group for companionship, guidance and encouragement. We’ve been heart-broken to see relationships crushed because young couples were spending too much time with other young couples. It’s dangerous – watch and be aware of how close you are becoming with other couples, especially if these relationships are purely for fun and hold little spiritual depth. Let a red flag be raised and make changes in your couple-to-couple friendships if you begin to find yourself becoming too “comfortable” with your friend’s spouse.

Be intentional about spending time with couples who will sharpen you, encourage you and make your marriage stronger. Seek out couples who have been married longer than you and who know more than you about maintaining a healthy marriage. Don’t be afraid of people who are older and wiser than you. Sit at their feet, ask questions, soak in what they have to say.

Your healthy marriage depends on it.

Ladies, we know you’re reading here more often than the guys. ;)  We’d love husbands to read this article as well. If you feel so inclined please send the link to your husbands, or if it’s easier, we’ve created a downloadable article for you to quickly print off and share. Healthy Marriage Tips A to Z – Mentors

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Homemade Beef Bologna

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I did it. I made bologna. Mine didn’t turn out nearly as pretty as Tammy’s. Maybe that’s because I adapted the recipe? Or maybe it’s simply because Tammy has a magic touch I don’t seem to have. (Tammy is super talented!)  Either way, we have a healthy, easy-to-make lunch meat that I will feel no guilt about feeding to my family.

A couple of notes about this recipe:

In order to avoid artificial flavorings, you’ll want to use a liquid smoke which does not have any additional ingredients beyond “liquid smoke”. Some liquid smoke varieties have caramel coloring and I don’t know what else. I have found that Lazy Kettle Brand contains only liquid smoke. I’m sure there are other “all natural” brands of liquid smoke – this is the one I found first.

In addition, Tammy’s recipe includes Morton’s Tender Quick Salt, which is a great salt for preserving. However, I hesitate to use this salt now that I’ve learned that it contains nitrates. Therefore, I tried simply using my trusty Redmond’s Real Sea Salt. I figure, I’m keeping the bologna in the fridge or freezer anyway so I don’t need to worry about “preserving” the meat, right?

Overall, I’m pleased with how the bologna turned out. Well, aside from the fact that mine didn’t turn out pretty like Tammy’s. Tammy, how do you do it? :)

Homemade Beef Bologna (adapted from Tammy’s Recipes)Yum

3 pounds ground beef (I used grass-fed beef)
2 Tablespoons sea salt
1 cup water
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1 1/2 teaspoons “all natural” liquid smoke

Mix all ingredients together, sticking your hands into the bowl to squish it all together in order to mix the ingredients well. Mmmhmm, that’s the fun part.

Divide the mixture into two parts and shape two “logs” of meat. I don’t like having plastic touch my raw meat if at all possible, so I placed parchment  paper on top of plastic wrap to help form the log and to wrap it for the fridge. (Yes, this may seem obsessive, but I’m weird – what can I say?)

Wrap the bologna logs well and place them into the refrigerator for 24 hours.

Unwrap the meat and place both logs into a buttered baking dish. I used a 9×13 inch Pyrex dish. Bake in a 300° oven for 30 minutes, then in a 200° for another 2 1/2 hours.

Cool and store in the freezer or fridge.

Homemade Beef Bologna

A big thanks again for Tammy’s Recipes for inspiring this recipe! Now, on to her Spicy Beef Pepperoni!

I’m super thrilled with this recipe because I totally love bologna. I know that’s a silly thing to love, but love it I do. Kinda like how I love beef hot dogs.

Do you like hot dogs and bologna, or do you think I’m a little bit nuts for thinking they taste good? Hey, at least now I can eat bologna again without feeling like my stomach is turning inside out!

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Easy Chicken Burritos (Perfect for the Freezer!)

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As I sat down to write this post, I could think of nothing exciting to say about these Easy Chicken Burritos. Therefore, I have decided to see if I can win “The Most Boring Blog Post Ever Award”. Most of this post has nothing to do with burritos, but really, there’s only so much a person can say about burritos. See look – there they sit:

Here is my very boring post:

Today I cleaned my ceiling fans and dust bunnies fell down onto the math books below. It was gross. When I got the mail this morning, most of it was junk mail so I put it directly into the recycling. We can’t find Malachi’s left tennis shoe. Today I’m wearing a brown shirt. I have a lot of brown shirts. I like brown.

I gouged my thumb on a kitchen cabinet yesterday. It hurts. Today I bonked it again. That hurt worse. The weather today is nice. Tomorrow it might get cooler. I need to pick green beans. And tomatoes.

I picked up our Azure Standard order today. We got a box of strawberries. They are good. Somehow we got strawberry juice on our kitchen floor tonight. I wiped it up.

I did four loads of laundry yesterday. They aren’t folded yet. Asa’s jeans are all too short. So are Elias’. So are Justus’. Kids grow fast.

We have crickets in our house. They are loud.

Here is a burrito recipe. These taste good. They are pretty much exactly like the Bean and Cheese Burritos and Beef and Cheese Burritos I’ve already written about, except that instead of using beans or beef, you use chicken.

(Told ya it was boring. Although that part about the weather was really pretty exciting. Except for not really.)

Easy Chicken BurritosYum

10 whole wheat tortillas (one batch homemade)
2 cups cooked chicken
1 cup shredded cheese (I use white cheddar)
1 cup salsa
Sea salt and/or chili powder to taste

Chop cooked chicken into tiny pieces or run it through a food processor. Stir together shredded chicken, cheese, salsa and spices. Spoon mixture into a warm, soft tortilla. Wrap and serve.


We like freezing these burritos, then rewarming them for quick lunches. To rewarm:  Place desired number of burritos on a baking stone or cookie sheet. Heat in a 350° oven for about 15 minutes or until slightly brown, crispy and hot.

What’s the most boring thing you can think of to tell me right now? Or maybe the most exciting? (If your laundry is folded and put away, I don’t want to hear about it. Over-achievers.)

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Gratituesday: Burden Lifted

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I was carrying a burden and I didn’t even recognize it. Well, maybe I did recognize it but it seemed like such a petty matter in life’s big picture, so I was choosing to carry the burden alone. To talk to anyone about it seemed like I’d either be whining or gossiping – and I certainly didn’t want to do either one. Therefore, I just trudged along, carrying the burden – because I’m strong, right? I can deal with it, right? Right.

Until last Sunday. That was the day a good friend of mine showed up on my doorstep unannounced. I’m always glad to see my friends, but I could tell that she had come with something on her mind. I thought maybe something was troubling her and that she’d come to unload a burden of her own. Yes, because apparently I think I’m the one that can carry my own burdens alone, and then help others carry their burdens too. (Who do I think I am, for goodness sake?)

Instead, she lovingly told me that she had no idea why, but that God had put me on her heart. She had come to ask if there was anything troubling me and she had come to pray with me.

For about one half of a second, my stubborn heart began to blurt that I was absolutely fine. And then the Spirit revealed the truth to me, making me realize that God had sent my friend here for a reason. She was fulfilling His purpose.

So I shared, and we prayed. I wasn’t gossiping, I wasn’t whining. I had a burden and my friend met my need and helped me let God take over the burden.

I’m not sure I’ve ever experienced anything so immediately transforming. Since that day, I’ve been a new woman. The issue causing my struggle is still there, but it is no longer a burden weighing me down. I am no longer carrying it alone and the difference is amazing.

Thank God for friends who listen to the Spirit and who can help meet our needs. I am so grateful.

What are you thankful for this Gratituesday? Write about it 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!

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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Working Ahead for Healthy Food Convenience

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For the past two weeks during our Funky Fresh Kitchen series, we’ve talked all about getting your kitchen cleaned out and organized, getting rid of unhealthy foods and working toward making your own healthy foods from scratch. One thing I didn’t cover during the series which has become a very imporant way for me to keep my kitchen organized and healthy is making healthy foods ahead of time and freezing them for quick meals.

Whole Wheat Waffles are great to make ahead and
put into the freezer for a quick, healthy breakfast!

Having foods like healthy burritos, whole wheat waffles and homemade pizza pockets in the freezer to pull out for quick meals has been a life saver for me many times. This week, I plan to work on putting a few more healthy foods into my freezer for quick, convenience items. Here’s what’s on my list to try making this week:

At the end of the week, I’ll be back with an update on how my extra cooking times went. I can’t wait to try those new bologna and pepperoni ideas!!

Care to join me in trying to get ahead just a little bit? Think you might have time to make just one extra dish or item for your freezer for some healthy convenience? Leave a comment letting us know what you’re up to in the kitchen. I love hearing new ideas!!

P.S. I’ve got a new “Make Ahead Meals” recipe to share with you later this week!

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Menu Plan for the Week

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Pasta Alfredo

Here’s our menu plan for this week!

Sunday, September 11
Oatmeal, pears
Cheesy beef and rice, green beans
Leftovers

Monday, September 12
Whole wheat waffles, blueberries
Taco Corn Fritters, cantaloupe
Cheeseburger macaroni, peas, tossed salad

Tuesday, September 13
Scrambled egg sandwiches, creamy orange cooler
Chicken salad, apples, homemade ranch and carrot sticks
Taco potatoes, watermelon

Wednesday, September 14
Pancake sausage muffins, pears
Popcorn chicken, strawberry-peach slushies, peas
Lasagna casserole, tossed salad, sweet corn

Thursday, September 15
Breakfast burritos, peaches
Salmon patties, toast, strawberry milkshakes
Lamb chops, mashed potatoes, gravy, zucchini

Friday, September 16
Giant breakfast cookies, pears
Chicken burritos, fresh pineapple
Hamburgers on homemade buns, ranch potato wedges, carrot sticks

Saturday, September 17
Fried eggs on toast, oranges
Leftovers
Chicken pasta alfredo, steamed broccoli and carrots

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How To Leave a Comment on this Blog (and How to Enter Giveaways)

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I often receive emails from people asking me how to leave a comment on my blog. Most feel silly about asking – but don’t! If you’re new to the world of blogging, these things take a little bit of time to figure out. Plus, every blog is a little different!

I decided that instead of continuing to email each person individually, I’d save a little effort and type it here so that I can simply refer people to this post! Here is how to leave a comment on a post here at Heavenly Homemakers:

  1. Look at the top and the bottom of each post and you will see the word Comments with a blue number in parentheses beside it. Here’s a screen shot of what this looks like:
  2. In the case of our example above, you see that the number is (985). Click on that blue number (whatever it happens to be for that post) and a form will pop up for you.
  3. Fill in the form by putting your name (or a user name like “MomofFour” if you’d rather be anonymous), and then your email address. If you have your own blog, you can put the URL to your blog in the space that calls for “Website” – otherwise you can just leave that spot blank. Type your desired comment into the big space provided, then click on “Submit Comment”. If you are a first time commenter, I will have to “approve” your comment before it will appear on my blog. Once approved, your comments should automatically show up once you type and submit them!

Here’s what my completed form might look like just before I hit submit:

Take note: You can click on “Notify me of followup comments via e-mail” ONLY if you want to receive an automatic email every time someone leaves a comment on this particular post. This is a helpful feature if you are enjoying the discussion on the topic of this blog post. But if you click that on a giveaway post, you’re likely to get hundreds of emails full of comments saying “I’d love to win vanilla beans” and it may get annoying after a while. (If you run into this problem, no worries. You can email me and I can fix it!)

So there you go – that’s how to leave a comment here at Heavenly Homemakers.

I also wanted to take a moment to clear up any confusion on How to Enter a Giveaway here at Heavenly Homemakers. Often I have subscribers who simply click “reply” on the daily email newsletter that comes to their inbox and tell me via that email that they’d like to win. Unfortunately, I am unable to count those responses because they get lost in my full inbox.  To enter a giveaway, you MUST click over from the email newsletter to the actual post on this website and enter a comment as directed above.

Any questions? Leave a comment (it’ll be good practice!) here and I’ll try to give you an answer!!! :)

 

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