Heavenly Homemakers

Encouraging women in homemaking, healthy eating and parenting

Breakfast Organization (With Some Great Giveaways!)

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At the mention of my family’s Oatmeal Rebellion, many of you piped in with your ideas for quick and easy breakfast ideas. You shared some great suggestions, which made me excited to mention some more. You can NOT have too many helpful breakfast ideas in your back pocket. Although I don’t really recommend keeping your actual breakfast in your back pocket. That would be a bad situation on so many levels.

While Sunday mornings are a bit crazy as we all try to get out the door looking halfway presentable…I’m going to also venture to say that every day can be hectic at breakfast time if we don’t have a plan. My kids are hungry from the moment they wake up. One of my boys would actually eat my leg if I didn’t shove an egg in his mouth as he rolls out of bed. He is that hungry. You’d think I didn’t just feed him four helpings of dinner the night before (and a snack before bed).

One of my best recommendations for us to keep our Breakfast Time Organized is to plan ahead. But my best, best recommendation is that if at all possible…make breakfast the night before. 

If I can, I bake our next day’s breakfast muffins or bagels or quick bread while I’m making dinner the night before. Or, I’ll start my pancakes or waffles to soaking. Or, I’ll mix up a Breakfast Casserole to have ready to bake the next morning.

It’s easy really…to make breakfast the night before while I’m cooking dinner. I’m already in the cooking mode. I’m already making a mess. Might as well make a bit of a bigger mess and get breakfast baked up too, right?

Then, after dinner, we get the whole kitchen clean (LOVE our Kitchen Chore Chart!) and put our breakfast on the table for the next morning (unless it needs to go into the fridge because leaving out a raw Breakfast Casserole would be about as bad as putting your breakfast in your back pocket).

chocolatechocolatechipmuffinssm

You’ll find links to all of my Bread and Breakfast recipes on this page, but I thought I’d highlight my favorite “make-ahead breakfasts” for you here:

Add some fruit or a smoothie or a quick scrambled egg to round out these meals! Planning ahead and cooking ahead can save money and help your family to eat much healthier too. It’s much better than letting my son eat my leg, is it not?

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Part of this complete breakfast (and part of these giveaways) are brought to you by Say Mmm. Excited to hear more?

First, I encourage you to visit Organizing Junkie, who is sharing how she is using Say Mmm to create printable grocery lists. If you’re a blogger, you can link up your recipes and grocery lists with Say Mmm. Organizing Junkie shares how. I’ve shared about how I appreciate Say Mmm’s features for menu planning, grocery list making, recipe organization and more. 

Then, be sure to visit each of the following sites who are sharing their wonderful organizational strategies.

Are you ready to hear about the giveaways already? 

Thanks to Say Mmm, you have a chance to win one of four copies of Organizing Junkie’s book Clutter Rehab here at Heavenly Homemakers. Or, you could win one of three subscriptions to Say Mmm Plus (you can use Say Mmm for free, but subscribing to their Plus plan gives you even more great options!). And…I’ve thrown in three copies of my Do the Funky Kitchen ebook too, to help jump start you on your way to having an organized (and functional!) kitchen.

Leave a comment here for a chance to win one of these ten great prizes!

Plus, be sure to visit the above sites for additional chances to win!! If you visit all the sites and leave comments, you’ll have SO many more chances to win!!

This giveaway is now closed…thanks!

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Gratituesday: Hard Work Tastes Good

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Remember all the abundance of produce that I was tripping over last fall and trying very hard to appreciate? All the canning and preserving we do during August and September (in the midst of soccer season) is overwhelming at times. We know we’re doing it for our family’s health and to save money…but it really is a lot of hard work!

But now that it’s (almost) February? Now THIS is why we work so hard in the fall!!

Everytime we run out of applesauce, we go to the pantry. Each time I decide to make spaghetti or pizza? We get out a jar of sauce. We’ve enjoyed many a grilled cheese sandwich with homemade tomato soup. We’ve got a great supply of salsa left. We have canned peaches to eat in cottage cheese for a quick and easy snack. Our supply of frozen green beans and corn is holding up just fine, and we haven’t been holding back.

Healthy food doesn’t get much easier than this.

All that hard work back in the fall? It was SO worth it.

Remind me of this post in September when I’m again overwhelmed and tripping over boxes of apples and tomatoes.

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!

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Homemade Tater Tots

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If all of the recipes in the Heavenly Homemakers Recipe Challenge turn out to be this easy…I’ll whip through the list in no time. (But don’t get your hopes up.)

My first idea for and attempt at making Homemade Tater Tots turned out great. Then I tried them a second time…just to be sure. Even better. All six of us were so excited! These look like a tater tot, feel like a tater tot and well (if I do say so myself) taste better than a tater tot (funny thing about fresh potatoes and healthy oil).

My idea was to try the homemade hashbrown trick. Remember, I bake the potato, let it cool, shred it, then cook up the shredded potatoes into hashbrowns. SUCH a fabulous and easy way to make nice hashbrowns. And now…Tater Tots!!!!!!

Here’s how I did it…

Homemade Tater TotsYum

3-4 medium russett potatoes
Oil of choice (I used the very healthy and delicious Palm Shortening. I’d also recommend Expeller Pressed Coconut Oil because it’s flavorless yet healthy for frying.)  (You can read my research based opinions on healthy frying here.)
Sea Salt

First, scrub and bake your potatoes. Allow the potatoes to cool. Peel the potatoes (and save the skins to make Potato Skins as described in Katie’s Healthy Snacks to Go ebook!).

Chop the peeled and cooled potatoes and throw them in a food processor to shred finely. I’d recommend using the “pulse” setting if you have one. You don’t want your potatoes to turn to mush. Well, maybe you do, but I don’t. 

If you don’t have a food processor, you can always shred the potatoes
with a cheese grater…it’ll just take a bit longer.
And be careful to keep  your fingers away from the grater.
You don’t want fingers in your tater tots. Well, maybe you do, but I don’t.

Next, heat some oil in a skillet (medium heat). You  just need enough oil to barely cover the bottom of the skillet. You don’t want greasy tots. Well, maybe you do, but I don’t.

Use a small cookie scoop and pack in the shredded potatoes to make a nice firm ball. (If you don’t really pack it in, the potatoes will just fall apart when you place the ball in the skillet.)  Gently set the ball into the skillet. Allow it to cook thoroughly on one side before carefully turning it over. Press the ball down slightly when you turn it. Each side takes about 3-4 minutes to cook.

Remove tater tots once they look nice and crispy and golden brown. You don’t want blackened tater tots. Well, maybe you do, but I don’t. Sprinkle with desired amount of sea salt.

You should eat these right away because you don’t want cold tater tots. Well, (say it with me now) maybe you do, but I don’t.

If you can possibly keep your family out of them…we discovered that these freeze and reheat very well!! We used our toaster oven to reheat some leftover tater tots a day or two after I initially made them, just to test and see if these can be made ahead of time and YAY…it can be done!!

Just for fun, you may also want to check out the Homemade Tater Tot recipe at Finding Joy in my Kitchen. She came up with a different way of making tater tots that looks pretty tasty!

Overall, I’d say making Homemade Tater Tots is easy. Is it as easy as opening up a package and throwing the contents onto a cookie sheet? No. But it sure doesn’t take a lot of effort overall. And then, if you make several batches and freeze some…you’ve got easy, healthy tater tots ready to reheat for a quick side dish or snack!!

Okay…one recipe down…fourteen to go. Unless you count all the other ideas you challenged me with.

Now, go bake some potatoes so you can hurry up and make some tots. You don’t want to miss out on the delicious taste of fresh, Homemade Tater Tots.

Well, maybe you do, but I don’t.

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Menu Plan for the Week

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Every Sunday morning for the past…I don’t know…forever or so, I’ve been making oatmeal for breakfast. It’s one day out of seven that I know exactly what I’m making without having to think…and it’s the easiest, most filling breakfast I can make on a Sunday morning. Sunday  mornings are a little bit nuts, are they not? Or maybe they’re just nuts at my house. Somehow making it out the door on a Sunday to get to church by 9:15 with hair combed and shoes on the right feet for all six people (myself included) is quite a chore. Therefore, oatmeal has been my go-to meal on Sunday mornings. 

Suddenly though, there seems to have been A Big Oatmeal Rebellion. Okay, I’ve got to admit…it’s not actually come on all that “suddenly”. The Rebellion has been coming on slowly…I’ve just been working very hard to pretend it’s not there in hopes that it will all go away. In other words, I’ve been ignoring the more and more frequent whiny oatmeal complaints and have lovingly replied to any oatmeal rebels that THIS is breakfast so hurry up and tuck your shirt in and get downstairs and eat some of it so we can try to be on time to church for once.

This week, I decided that before this Rebellion gets ugly I should do something really shocking and make something completely different from the traditional Sunday Oatmeal.

So check me out. I changed our normal Sunday breakfast plan…

Sunday, January 30
Oatmeal  Giant Breakfast Cookies (Mwoohaha…they still have oats in them. And, I made them last night so that I actually had less cooking to do than a typical Oatmeal Sunday morning. Everyone was SO happy to see these cookies.)
Cheeseburger Macaroni, green beans
Sloppy joes, creamy cole slaw, carrot sticks

Monday, January 31
Simple soaked pancakes, blueberries
Tuna salad on toast, peaches and cottage cheese
Chicken fried steak strips, potato wedges, peas

Tuesday, February 1
Creamy orange cooler, soft pretzels
Hamburger patties, steamed broccoli and carrots
Venison steak, baked potatoes, tossed salad

Wednesday, February 2
Vanilla muffins with cinnamon crumb topping, bananas
Black bean taco salad, apples
Oven fried chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, peas

Thursday, February 3
Scrambled eggs, oranges
Stir fry with chicken, veggies and rice
Homemade pizza

Friday, February 4
Breakfast burritos, oranges
Creamy mac and cheese, green beans
Tacos

Saturday, February 5
Homemade whole wheat donuts
Leftovers
Lamb chops, spaghetti squash, fruit salad

What is your go-to Sunday morning breakfast??!   :)

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Be sure to check out Say Mmm…our sponsor specializing in making menu planning simple!

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Also…take note of our two new sponsors:  No More Bricks Bread Class and A Coupon Chick!

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Which Boots?

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A Nebraska girl should have boots.

I keep putting it off, but I really need some new boots. My cute little brown slip on shoes are not terribly graceful on ice. Nor are they warm when snow gets into them and you know…melts.

I do actually have a pair of boots that I got a few years ago. They’re really cute and I found them on sale and they look really nice. They really dress up an outfit. But they are incredibly uncomfortable. So much so that each time I give in and wear them, people ask me why I’m limping and please can they can help me get to a chair. Pitiful.  Cute boots aren’t so cute anymore when the wearer looks like she’s just lost a kick boxing match.

I also have some really cute slippers that look like boots that I got from Target last year. I’m finding that I wear them now all the time. By all the time, I mean that I tuck my jeans into them and wear them like real boots. Everywhere. Out and about. To church fellowship nights. To the store. To basketball games. Yes, my boot slippers.

They don’t hurt my feet in the least and when I wear two pairs of socks with them, my feet stay relatively warm. They actually have tread on the bottom, so they don’t do too bad when I’m walking down icy porch steps. I’ve received compliments on my “cute boots” and I’m never quite sure if I should say, “Oh thanks…they’re actually my slippers” or maybe, “They also look great with my Mickey Mouse pajamas” or if I should just keep my mouth shut, nod and smile. 

So, because the cute slippers look and act like boots…I’m having a hard time breaking down and buying any real boots. But for real – I live in Nebraska. I think I need to buy myself some boots.

I’ve been looking over at Coupon Trunk, a great site full of (obviously) coupons, specifically at their shoe section to see what kind of boot coupons I can find.

My question for you all though – because I’m assuming you have more boot knowledge than I have – and no pressure but I’m counting on you all here…what’s the best boot for my buck?

What kind of boots do you have and like? Which ones are the warmest? Which ones last the longest? Which ones are the most comfortable? And shucks…do you think the ones you have would look cute with my Mickey Mouse jammies?

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Teaching Little Ones About God? Podcast #7

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Did you wonder if I’d ever get around to recording another podcast? I have lots of excuses as for why it’s been weeks and weeks since recording. Maybe I’ll write those down for you in my spare time. ;)  But lookie what I got in the meantime! Char, my wonderful friend and talented designer, made me a pretty podcast graphic. I LOVE it!

If you’re new to the Heavenly Homemakers site and would like to check out my previous podcasts, you can find them all here. As always, I encourage you to grab some laundry to fold while you’re listening, hop on the treadmill, or do something else equally productive so that you can multi-task. For the record, I believe that sitting down and putting your feet up to rest and listen is very productive as well. Rest is a good thing.

The purpose of our podcasts is to encourage us all on our journey as Heavenly Homemakers while I answer some of the questions I receive from readers. Today’s question is regarding how to teach our teeny-tiny kids about God. I don’t have any teeny-tinies anymore (says the lady whose oldest son can almost look her directly in the eyes)…but I think it was just yesterday that I did. I share in the podcast some of the ways we talked to our kids about God from the time they were newborns.

I’ve gotta throw out a huge thank you to my husband Matt who does the majority of the work to make these podcasts happen. I record myself…then  he spends the time to splice in the music and make everything time out just right…and he is kind enough to edit out a ridiculous number of “ums” and “you knows” that I you know, don’t mean to um…say. You know?

Simply click on the link below to listen. This particular podcast lasts a little over seven minutes.

Heavenly Homemakers Podcast #7

I mentioned Songs for Saplings in the podcast so I thought I’d post the link here to make it easy for you to find if you’re interested! Also, I mentioned reading Bible books to your little ones. I love all of the Little Golden Books that are Bible related, so I’ve added that link too:  Children’s Little Golden Bible Books

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Time to move on and focus on the Cheeseburger Macaroni…

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Hello Friends. 

In an effort to keep my Heavenly Homemakers site a friendly and loving place, I am now turning off the comments on the Importance of Modesty post. There has been just a little bit too much chatting going on in the comments section that hasn’t been edifying and just as I wouldn’t invite that kind of talk in my living room, I don’t welcome it on my blog. I prayed over and worked very hard to word my post in such a way that would encourage us as women to honor and respect our husbands by dressing modestly. I didn’t tell you what to wear, I simply wanted to encourage us all that modesty is an important part of being a good help meet to our husbands.

I’m going to go with the assumption that you all mean to say what you’re saying in love, but some of the comments and arguments shared as you “talk amongst yourselves” are starting to make my head (and my heart) hurt.

We all have different opinions about what modesty is and as long as you feel like you are dressing in a way that honors God and your husband, you’re doing a great job. Follow where you feel God is leading you on this issue and do so with a loving heart.

I’m turning off the comments on this post too, just because. Feel free to (kindly and lovingly) email me if you have more you feel you need to address with this subject. I’m hoping we can all cheerfully move along to the Cheeseburger Macaroni post because unless you’re lactose intolerant, there’s not too much controversy there. :)

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Cheeseburger Macaroni (A Hamburger Helper Make-Over!)

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I’ve been meaning to share this recipe with you forever!!! It’s really become one of my favorites because it tastes so good and is SO easy to make. When I threw out the Heavenly Homemakers Recipe Challenge, a few of you mentioned Hamburger Helper make-overs. Isn’t there one that’s like a “Lasagna Skillet” or something like that?? You might want to try Lasagna Casserole as a very tasty alternative. And now…this Cheeseburger Macaroni!

Here’s the background information (that you may or may not care about) for my Cheeseburger Macaroni recipe:

Back in my good ol’ Coupon Queen days, I used to buy oodles of boxes of Hamburger Helper anytime they went on sale for 99¢ and I had a coupon to get them for less than that. Sometimes I’d have cabinets full of them that I’d found for just a few pennies each. I’d enjoy them for a quick and easy meal (and I’d drink a Pepsi or two with it, you can be sure).

My favorite variety of Hamburger Helper was Cheeseburger Macaroni. I LOVED it. I’d save it for special nights. Yes, special nights with Hamburger Helper, Cheeseburger Macaroni style. Wow.

Gone are the days of having a stockpile of Hamburger Helper (and my beloved Pepsi)…and I’ve gotta say that now that I’m used to eating more whole foods, the idea of either one makes me feel a little bit woozie in the tummy. But I still crave that hamburger-cheesy-noodly taste, you know?

So one day, I had some leftover taco meat and just for fun, I stirred it into the Creamy Mac and Cheese I was making for lunch. Wowza!!! My Cheeseburger Macaroni days were back…only better! Here’s how I make it:

Cheeseburger MacaroniYum

1 Pound (give or take) Ground Beef or Turkey
1 Tablespoon Taco Seasoning
1 Recipe of Creamy Mac and Cheese (pasta, milk, cheese)
Sea Salt to taste

The directions are super complicated…are you ready? Make the Creamy Mac and Cheese. Meanwhile, brown the meat. Once the meat is fully cooked, sprinkle in the taco seasoning. Stir the seasoned meat into the Creamy Mac and Cheese. Done.

If you feel like it, you can mix in about 4 ounces of cream cheese, 1/2 cup of sour cream, or 3/4 cup of tomato sauce…this recipe is very flexible. It’s super kid friendly, and very easy to throw together on a busy night.

Now, it’s been several years before I’ve made a “convenient” box of Hamburger Helper, but I’m going to venture to say that this healthier variety of Cheeseburger Macaroni doesn’t take any longer to fix than making a box of Hamburger Helper. How ’bout that?

Were you (are you?) a Hamburger Helper lover? If you currently are…is there anything more I can say that will help you stay away from the pretty little box?

P.S. I have a Tater Tot recipe almost ready to share with you!! :)

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The Importance of Modesty

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helpmeet

What does being modest have to do with being a good help meet to your husband? I personally think it has a lot to do with it. What’s mine is my husband’s, and not anyone else’s …and I’m not talking about bills and laundry duty…if you know what I mean.

It pains me to see women showing too much of anything anywhere at any time. I believe sometimes women (and girls) dress inappropriately without really knowing that they are…and I think that sometimes they know full well what they are doing and they feel like it is the MAN’S problem. Sure, a man has the responsibility to be godly and not gawk, but FOR REAL…if you put a rich piece of fudgy chocolate in front of my face and tell me that it’s not mine so I have no business looking at it…I’m going to do my best to have a conversation with you while you’re eating the chocolate, but you’re going to make life a little bit difficult for me. 

I’m growing more and more aware of this issue as my sons get older. How dare women and teens make my job as a parent and my son’s growing up challenges more difficult than they already are? I’m working hard to show my sons what true femininity and godly womanhood are. Please don’t cause my sons to struggle. We’re trying to prepare them to be true to each of their wives some day.

I wish I was just addressing a worldly problem here. It makes sense to me when women “of the world” dress immodestly. They don’t know the Truth and it makes me hurt for them. But in all my years of being a part of the Christian community, I’ve recognized that our admonition to “dress modestly” is not very clearly defined. It has become very clear to me that there are many different ideas about what it means to be modest. And I see that even in the Christian community, modesty isn’t very well understood.

I run the risk of stepping on some toes with this post, which of course is not my intent. My purpose for writing this post is to encourage all of us to think carefully about what we wear, about how it looks to others and about how it effects our marriage. As Christian women, we should have a heart that desires to build up others and draw them closer to Christ.  If what you’re wearing doesn’t do that…throw it away. It’s that important. 

Don’t worry, you’ll find another favorite sweater. I promise there are cute, trendy clothes out there to be found that ARE modest. To think that “this is just what everyone is wearing these days so I can’t really find anything else” is a big lie from Satan. Don’t believe it.

To me, being modest means that you respect what belongs to your husband, or if you’re not married yet, you respect what belongs to your future husband. If you’re married, there are some very appropriate (and FUN!) times to dress in skimpy, lacy, alluring clothes…so by all means…go for it…when you and your husband are alone. God has a purpose for a man being attracted to a woman’s body, and hello married women…this is it! Enjoy it!

But do you really want someone else to see what is your husband’s…even just a little bit? I big fat don’t. It sickens me to think of another man seeing or thinking about me as anything but as a Christian sister. Why would I dress in a way that causes a man to do exactly what I don’t want him to do?

Be cute, look attractive, smile sweetly…and dress modestly. Men everywhere (and mothers of boys!) will appreciate this so much. And so will your husband. The end.
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EDITED TO SAY:

Hello Friends. In an effort to keep my Heavenly Homemakers site a friendly and loving place, I am now turning off the comments on this post. There has been just a little bit too much chatting going on in the comments section that hasn’t been edifying and just as I wouldn’t invite that kind of talk in my living room, I don’t welcome it on my blog. I prayed over and worked very hard to word my post in such a way that would encourage us as women to honor and respect our husbands by dressing modestly. I didn’t tell you what to wear, I simply wanted to encourage us all that modesty is an important part of being a good help meet to our husbands.

I’m going to go with the assumption that you all mean to say what you’re saying in love, but some of the comments and arguments shared as you “talk amongst yourselves” are starting to make my head (and my heart) hurt.

We all have different opinions about what modesty is and as long as you feel like you are dressing in a way that honors God and your husband, you’re doing a great job. Follow where you feel God is leading you on this issue and do so with a loving heart.

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

Gratituesday: Prayer for Healing

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When my friends are hurt, I hurt. 

Last week, one of my friends became very ill. I’ve watched my church family rally around her family, helping with the kids, taking meals…and I’ve been so thankful to be a part of a body of believers that cares for one another.

I’ve been fighting a head cold myself, so it wasn’t wise for me to head over to her house to offer any help. But I’m doing much better now so finally tonight I got to go for a short visit. 

I didn’t do much. I delivered milk to her door and made a Wal-mart list of things they needed since I was on my way to the store. That was it.

But I got to hug my friend’s neck…and more importantly…I got to do what I’d been longing to do since I heard she’d become sick:  I got to pray with her.

Prayer is so powerful. When I feel helpless to do something to “make everything better” when truly, there’s not much I can do to help her body heal…I am so thankful that I can fall to my knees, take my friend’s hands, and pray.

It was beautiful, and I’m not sure but that she may have felt just a little bit better when I left. 

I know I sure did.

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!

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