Heavenly Homemakers

Encouraging women in homemaking, healthy eating and parenting

A Reverse Advent Idea – Consider Serving With Your Family Like This!

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I saw a similar idea to this on Facebook, did a little more research and brainstorming, then decided that I wanted to share this fabulous Reverse Advent idea with you! Join this fun!! Instead of a regular count-down-to-Christmas calendar, consider serving with your family like this during the holiday season…

What is Reverse Advent?

Instead of eating a piece of chocolate or opening a small gift as you count down to Christmas, the idea of Reverse Advent lends itself to giving. Instead of receiving something each day as Christmas gets closer, or even simply counting down the days, we’ll reverse the idea and choose something to give to someone!

Here are some Reverse Advent examples I saw online as I was researching:

  1. Add a non-perishable food item into a box every day leading to Christmas. On Christmas Eve, deliver the food box to someone in need or to a local mission or food pantry.
  2. Follow the same idea as above, only add a toiletry item such as toothpaste, toothbrush, comb, socks, feminine hygiene products, toilet paper, etc to your box.
  3. Choose an Act of Kindness to do as a family each day leading up to Christmas.

I brainstormed more ideas:

  1. Follow the same idea as above, only add a baby item to the box to give to an expectant mama.
  2. Add a children’s book, coloring book, crayons, and small toys each day and deliver it to a family with young children on Christmas Eve.
  3. Pray for someone new each day…

The sky’s the limit, and I have no doubt that if you and your family pray about this Reverse Advent idea, He will lead you to give and to serve in just the right way leading up to Christmas.

Here’s a sample of one list we came up with if you’d like to spend December 1-24 filling a box with food for a food bank or for friends:

I made a complete packet of all kinds of Reverse Advent list ideas here. (It’s free!)

Our Family’s Reverse Advent Project

We decided that this year our family’s Reverse Advent project will be to fill a box with baking supplies for a family we know. They LOVE to bake, but struggle to afford even basic groceries. So we’re going to put together a box of baking supplies so they can bake their hearts out this Christmas season. (So actually, we’re going to give them their box a few days before Christmas instead of delivering it Dec. 24!)

I made a complete list of 24 items to include in a Baking Box here.

Your Reverse Advent project might cost money or it might cost time. Maybe a little of both. But what a great way to make Jesus a part of your Christmas season!

Don’t have extra money for a Reverse Advent project?

Let your Reverse Advent project focus on prayer for 24 people or families as you countdown the days until Christmas. (I’ve got a great list for you here, plus another page so you can make your own prayer list!) No matter what you choose, if God is in it, He will bless it!

Besides the Baking Box we’re putting together for our Reverse Advent Project, my family and I plan to make a Paper Chain with 24 strips of paper. We’ll write the name of someone we want to pray for on each strip, put the strips into a chain, then pull one off each day as we count down to Christmas, praying each day for the person on the paper!


I also really like the idea of stringing up 24 paper hearts with people’s names so we can count down and pray this way.

Make it a family project…

If you do choose to purchase 24 items for a Reverse Advent box, make a list as a family, go shopping as a family, put all 24 items in a pile, and begin adding them to a special box on December 1. As Christmas draws near, watch the pile get smaller as the box fills up! Pray over the recipients, pray for generous hearts for your own family, pray for God’s work to be done and for His light to shine brightly through this.

Want some ideas and ready-made lists to guide you along as you plan a Family Reverse Advent Project? We worked hard and HAD FUN making a packet full of ideas and lists for you. Sign up below and we’ll send you this completely FREE printable packet! (It includes 10 pages and is so helpful to have!)

 

Download your packet, then spend time praying as a family as you decide how to serve this Christmas season. You’ll want to begin your Reverse Advent Project on December 1, so start getting ready right away!

Please comment here so we can all share in encouraging each other. What has your family chosen for your Reverse Advent Project?

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Would You Like to Win a Royal Berkey Water Filter (Worth $330)?!

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Giveaways like these are some of my favorite. Who wouldn’t want to win such a valuable prize?!

Not only is the Royal Berkey Water Filter high in monetary value, but it’s also even more valuable to our health! It’s hard to put a price tag on that, and drinking pure water is one of the best choices we can make!

The folks at The Berkey are eager to get the word out about all their products offer. So what better way to pique your interest than to offer to give you a free one!!

From The Berkey website:

The Royal Berkey system removes pathogenic bacteria, cysts, and parasites entirely and extracts harmful chemicals such as herbicides, pesticides, VOCs, organic solvents, radon 222 and trihalomethanes.

This system is so powerful that it can seriously remove food coloring from water without removing the beneficial minerals your body needs. Virtually no other system can duplicate this performance.

With this system, you can use up to 4 Black Berkey purification elements, though this particular one includes 2. With the 2 Black Berkey elements, it can purify up to 4 gallons per hour, while with 4 Black, Berkey elements you can have up to 8 gallons of filtered drinking water per hour.

*Due to state regulations, we are currently not shipping this product to California or Iowa.

We love that we can fill our Royal Berkey at night and have pure water ready for our family to drink the next morning. (Not that it takes that long, but that’s the system we often use to make sure we’ve got a Berkey full of clean water in the mornings!) It is amazing how good the water tastes once it’s been filtered so thoroughly!

Not that we care too much about appearance, but we do love that the Berkey is such a pretty device to set on our countertop. It’s a beautiful, clean stainless steel system.

If you live in an area that provides water with lots of added chemicals (I think most of us do!) – I really recommend that you save to invest in a Berkey Water Filter. Maybe one should go under your tree this Christmas? ;)

Check out all the Berkey Water Filter options at The Berkey!

Want to Win a Royal Berkey Water Filter?

All you have to do is sign up through the Rafflecopter below! This giveaway ends on Monday, November 25.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Top 10 Tips for Healthy Hair

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I’m fascinated by this wonderful guest post by Erin Ramm: Top 10 Tips For Healthy Hair

Get ready to learn great tips about having and maintaining healthy hair!

All right! Raise your hand if you want healthy hair!

*raises hand* I sure do. Who doesn’t?

The key to healthy hair is actually a lot more straightforward than you might think.

The top ten tips for healthy hair are all summed up below.

So, are you ready to learn how to get that healthy hair you have always wanted?

Let’s get started!

1. Eat a Healthy Diet

Healthy, shiny, and beautiful hair all begins with the inside-out!

If you are healthy, then so is your hair.

Be sure to load your meals with nutrient-dense food bursting with vitamin E, omega 3, biotin, iron, and protein

You can find these nutrients in foods such as green leafy vegetables, beans, nuts (such as almonds), eggs, fish, and chicken, bone broth, and cinnamon.

Be sure to cut back on the sugar and soda. Those will only lead to poor health and hair loss.

2. Stay Hydrated

Next tip: Drink LOTS of water.

Your hair needs moisture to stay strong and grow.

Without the moisture it needs, your hair will become brittle and form split ends.

So take a step back and ask yourself, are you drinking enough water? (Sorry, coffee doesn’t count)

3. Brush your hair… the right way

How do you brush your hair?

If you come away from combing your hair with a brush filled clumps of hair, you are probably doing it wrong.

To ensure that you don’t damage your hair when you brush it, start from the bottom and make your way to the top.

Brushing your hair this way is much easier on your hair and scalp.

When your hair is damp and vulnerable to breakage, make sure you only use a wide-tooth comb or your fingers to brush it.

Oh, and don’t forget to keep your brushes clean!

Dirty brushes are the main culprit of bacteria transmission and withering hair.

Remind yourself to wash your brushes with baking soda and a toothbrush at least once a month.

You may also want to consider using a Boar Bristle Brush. These natural brushes promote healthy hair growth by gently massaging the scalp and promoting blood flow to the hair follicles. They also naturally condition and add shine.

4. Wash your hair the right way

It’s nice to have a hot shower every once in a while.

However, blasting your hair with scalding water will do your hair no favors.

Hot water will dry out your hair and create tangles that are susceptible to breakage.

If you wash your hair by smacking a dollop of shampoo into your hair and scrunching it, STOP!

Instead, use a small amount of natural shampoo and start from your roots to create suds.

Massage your scalp with your fingertips, not your nails.

This leads us to our fifth point.

5. Don’t over-wash your hair

How often do you wash your hair?

Many people mistakenly believe that the more you wash your hair, the better.

So they tend to wash their hair once or even twice a day.

The truth is, you don’t need to wash it that often.

Your hair is designed to create natural oils that protect and condition your hair.

Stripping away these oils every single day with shampoo is a mistake.

Just cleansing your hair with cold water and massaging your scalp can go a long way.

That doesn’t mean you have to ditch shampoo entirely.

Shampooing two to three times a week is the perfect amount for clean and robust tresses.

6. Don’t use a towel to dry your hair

Now, after learning the tricks of washing your hair, it’s time to cover how to dry it.

Most people habitually dry their hair with a regular old bath towel.

As it turns out, that is one of the worst ways to dry your hair. It can lead to damage and excessive dryness.

If you have been using a regular towel for a while now, don’t worry! Simply swap out your towel with an old t-shirt or microfiber cloth.

My personal favorite is to use a bamboo hair towel. These are amazing since they:

  • Are light and easy on your hair
  • Don’t collect bacteria
  • Don’t develop a bad smell
  • Dry quickly

Whatever you use, just don’t go back to drying (damaging) your hair with a regular bath towel!

7. Keep your hair up and out of the way… but be careful of what accessories you use

All the ladies with long hair will understand.

Sure, it’s nice to have your hair down once in a while, but there are just so many ways to harm your hair that way.

Tangled, knotted, caught in things, ripped, burnt, and even grabbed by young toddlers with hands coated in syrup from their breakfast of chocolate chip pancakes.

It’s best just to keep your hair up.

It doesn’t have to be fancy. A ponytail, braid or a bun should do.

Warning! Don’t use hair accessories that pull at the root such as scrunchies, elastics,  or claws.

They will only harm your hair in the long run and pull out your hair when you take them out.

Flexi Clips and Lilla Rose hair bands are my go-to hair accessories.

These hair-friendly accessories not only stay comfortably in your hair all day, but don’t pull at the roots, breaking or damaging the hair and giving you “ponytail headaches”…Not to mention, they are absolutely gorgeous!

If you’d like to receive 7 days of easy hairstyles you can do with a Flexi, click HERE!

8. Use Natural Oils and Treatments

It can be difficult to sift through all the brands and products out there and determine which hair product is, in fact, the most beneficial.

The answer is just to keep it simple and natural!

Here are a few products that are known for promoting luscious hair:

  • Shea butter
  • Rosewater
  • Argan oil
  • Camellia oil
  • Coconut oil

Experiment with them yourself, and discover which treatments your hair responds to best!

9. Ditch Chemical-laden Hair Products

A surprising amount of shampoos on the market are filled with toxic chemicals that do your hair way more harm than good.

That shampoo with that wonderful scent? It could have toxic artificial fragrances.

All those different kinds of sulfates? Avoid them like the plague.

Chemicals are harsh on your scalp.

They strip away all of the natural oils, leaving you with frizzy, dry hair and an irritated scalp.

Find out what exactly is lurking in your favorite shampoo and hair products.

Make sure it is not having and adverse effects on your locks!

10. Satin or silk pillowcase

My final tip is to treat yourself to a nice satin or silk pillowcase.

They are immensely beneficial to hair for several reasons:

  • They reduce friction
  • They prevent tangles and split ends
  • Unlike cotton pillowcases, they don’t drain the natural and beneficial oils from your hair while you sleep

So if you wake up in the morning with hair that resembles a birds nest, definitely give a silk or satin pillowcase a try!

There is no secret pill or product for getting perfectly healthy hair.

A combination of a healthy lifestyle and restorative hair care habits will reward you with strong and shiny hair.

So try out the above tips, and say hello to healthy hair!

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Whole Grain Pumpkin Bundt Cake

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Don’t let the “whole grain” part of this Pumpkin Bundt Cake scare you. If you use the right kind of whole grain, no one is the wiser.

I prefer to use freshly ground soft white wheat when I make cakes like this. The flour is light and fluffy, acting much like all-purpose white flour. I love it! (Here are more posts sharing about grinding flour and choosing the right grain.)

You might notice that this recipe is quite similar to my Pumpkin Breakfast Cake recipe. See, the fun thing about recipes is that you can simply tweak them just a little, pour them into a different type of baking pan, and create a whole new treat!

Need a bundt pan? I have this one, and it sure makes holiday baking more fun!

Whole Grain Pumpkin Bundt CakeYum

Whole Grain Pumpkin Bundt Cake
 
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Serves: 16
Ingredients
  • 3 cups whole wheat flour (I used freshly ground soft white wheat)
  • 1 cup sucanat or brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 cups pureed pumpkin (or one 16 ounce can)
  • 1 cup melted coconut oil (or butter)
Instructions
  1. Whisk all ingredients together until smooth.
  2. Pour into a well-buttered bundt cake pan.
  3. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.
  4. Allow cake to cool for 15 minutes before removing it from the pan.
  5. Glaze with any of the tasty frosting recipe options below.

Glaze or Frosting Recipes

Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

8 ounces softened cream cheese
¼ cup softened butter
3-4 Tablespoons real maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

With a hand mixer (or in your blender), whip together all ingredients until smooth. Spread over cooled cake.

Stevia Sweetened Cream Cheese Frosting

8 ounces softened cream cheese
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Liquid stevia to taste (I use 2 droppers full)

Whip ingredients together until smooth. Spread over cooled Cake.

Orange Glaze

¼ cup orange juice
¼ cup honey
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract

Whisk ingredients together until smooth. Drizzle over cooled cake.

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Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Bread

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Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Bread is a huge hit!

One of my favorite things to do is to text my college-age son and tell him to invite friends to eat lunch with us on Sunday after church. So here’s how this works:

  1. Justus texts friends to invite them for lunch, then he tells his friends to invite friends too.
  2. His friends invite friends, and they are welcome to invite others too.
  3. We never know who is going to show up for lunch, and it is always a blast!

Often I’ll be in the kitchen putting the final touches on the meal while college kids pour into the living room. I walk out to greet them and get to be surprised every time by who was able to come!

I am often asked, “But how do you know how much food to make?”

Well, I don’t. ;) But God does. There’s always plenty, and I can always pull more from the pantry or freezer to stretch out each meal. In addition, if I’ve made lots and lots of food and not many are able to come for the day, that means we have extra food to share with sick or struggling friends throughout the week.

What does all this have to do with Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Bread?

I recently served this fun bread on a Sunday afternoon to our college guests along with Taco Soup and a buffet full of sides. This bread was gone within minutes! The chocolate chips are the main attraction, but if you ask me, the cream cheese is the most valuable player in this recipe. You’ve got to try it!

Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip BreadYum

Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Bread
 
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Serves: 1 large loaf
Ingredients
  • ½ cup melted butter
  • 8-ounces softened cream cheese
  • ½ cup sucanat or raw sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ¼ cup milk
  • 2 cups whole grain flour (I use freshly ground soft white wheat)
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon sea salt
  • ½ cup chocolate chips
Instructions
  1. In a large mixing bowl or in a powerful blender (like a Blendtec), whip together butter, cream cheese, sugar, eggs, vanilla, and milk.
  2. Add flour, baking powder, and salt.
  3. Fold in chocolate chips.
  4. Pour batter into a well-buttered 9" loaf pan.
  5. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Tip: How about making batches of this bread to give as gifts this holiday season?

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Simple Ham and Cheese Soup

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One of my favorite ways to cook is to turn leftovers into a brand new meal. That’s how this Simple Ham and Cheese Soup came to be.

Did you see the recipe I recently posted for Easy White Queso? I simply took that recipe, added three more ingredients, and turned it into a most delicious and flavorful soup!

But you don’t often have leftovers, you say? Oh, I hear you. That’s why I often double recipes so that I create leftovers on purpose! That way we can have a Taco meal with White Queso one night, then have Simple Ham and Cheese Soup the next night with very little effort!

Simple Ham and Cheese SoupYum

5.0 from 2 reviews
Simple Ham and Cheese Soup
 
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Serves: 6-8
Ingredients
  • 8-ounces cream cheese
  • 16-ounces pepper jack cheese
  • ¾ cup sour cream
  • 1 cup half-and-half or whole milk
  • 10-ounce can Rotel (diced tomatoes and green chilies)
  • 1 pound ham, diced or cut into small bites
  • 3-4 cups frozen hashbrown potatoes
  • 32-ounces chicken, beef, or vegetable broth
Instructions
  1. Whisk the cream cheese, pepper jack cheese, sour cream, half-and-half, and Rotel together in a large pot over medium heat until cheeses are melted and mixture is smooth.
  2. Add diced ham, potatoes, and broth.
  3. Cook and stir until soup is bubbly and potatoes are tender.

For the record, I don’t add garnish because as pretty as that is, who has time for garnish? So when I make this, it looks just like what you see in this picture except for the pretty green garnish. #realmom

Note: If your family doesn’t prefer much spice, substitute your favorite cheese (cheddar or Colby jack maybe?) for the Pepper Jack cheese. You can also skip the Rotel. We prefer both the Pepper Jack and the Rotel for the awesome flavor those add to this soup!

What to serve with Simple Ham and Cheese Soup

Need some ideas for tasty breads to serve with this soup? Here are a few ideas:

Want More Simple Recipes?

We’ve got a huge list, and it keeps growing!

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We love how Simple Meals has been saving family time for so many, and helping people put great food on the table each night! Join us for just $1/week!

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Get Ready for Winter With This!! {Time Sensitive!}

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You all know how much I love, need, and use MadeOn products! So I asked Renee (owner and creator) if she would be so kind as to offer us something great to help us get ready for winter. She said yes, and here’s what we put together to protect our skin from harsh winter conditions:

Get Ready for Winter!

My skin gets terribly dry in the winter, and regular lotion (I tried them all!) made it worse. So when I discovered MadeOn several years ago and their BeeSilk Hard Lotion worked instantly, I was overjoyed!

What made it even better is the fact that BeeSilk and all the MadeOn products are made with only a few ingredients – and all of them are pure and safe.

I’ve been hooked on MadeOn ever since and never leave the house without it. I always keep a big supply of their products on hand because now the entire family uses them!

So here’s the offer Renee came up with for us to get us ready for winter. It’s got a great big freebie with it AND free shipping too – whoo!

  1. Add $35 worth of MadeOn products to your shopping cart (I recommend stocking up on BeeSilk Lotions and Lip Balms)
  2. Once your cart has reached $35, add the Simply Shea Facial Emollient to your cart.
  3. Apply the code HHFREESHEA at checkout, which will take off the entire price ($14.75!!) of the Simply Shea.
  4. Enjoy free shipping because you’ve got over $45 worth of product in your cart!
Expires at 11:59 P.M. PST on Friday, November 8th. Tuesday, November 19!

What’s special about Simply Shea?

I’ve sung the praises of BeeSilk Hard Lotion for so long that you might wonder why I specifically asked Renee to offer a deal including the Simply Shea Facial Emollient. Here’s why:
I got to try it back in September and quickly learned that it’s as great and as necessary to keep on hand as the BeeSilk Lotion! I rub it on my face to protect it from drying out in this already harsh wintery weather. And while I’m at it, I often rub some onto my hands too. I know it’s supposed to be for the face, but it works for hands too, and I’m often in a hurry. So Simply Shea on the face AND the hands as needed!
I’ve fallen in love with Simply Shea, just like I did the BeeSilk Hard Lotion so many years ago. Therefore, as soon as Renee sent me this offer, I put in my order for $35 worth of goodies so I could enjoy them along with my FREE Simply Shea Facial Emollient. Our skin will be well protected this winter! (And for the record, since I’m already stocked up on BeeSilk products, to take advantage of this deal this time I added extra Simply Shea to my cart, along with the Baby Rash Cream to use on our itt-bitty guys.)
Head here to take advantage of this wonderful offer! This ends Friday, November 8 Tuesday, November 19 so don’t wait and miss out!

 

 

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Simple Pumpkin Waffles

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I highly recommend enjoying a fall brunch with these Simple Pumpkin Waffles. These are light, fluffy, flavorful, and perfect!

When I told our 17-year old that I was going to make Pumpkin Waffles he saw right through my “add a veggie to breakfast” scheme. Still, he went back for seconds and even ate homemade applesauce on the side. It was a perfect fall breakfast – or brunch as was the case that day as we tried to squeeze in a hearty meal between high school/college classes, kindergarten homeschool, babies’ naps, a college soccer game, and tennis meet.

It’s rare that I have time to stand at the waffle iron these days. So it only made sense that I double the recipe and make a huge pile of waffles so we can easily toast and enjoy them another day soon. If you’re going to make a mess, you might as well make a big one, right? :) So now I have a freezer full of Simple Pumpkin Waffles to pull out and serve as needed!

I highly recommend whipping some cream to serve on top of these waffles. A huge dollop of whipped cream along with real maple syrup drizzled over the top of these waffles makes an incredible meal. Sausage, applesauce, and coffee too? It’s breakfast heaven.

Simple Pumpkin WafflesYum

Simple Pumpkin Waffles
 
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Serves: 6-8
Ingredients
  • 2 cups of whole grain flour (I use freshly ground soft white wheat)
  • 1 teaspoon of baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon of cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice
  • ½ teaspoon of sea salt
  • 1½ cups of milk
  • 15 ounce can 100% pure pumpkin
  • 3 eggs
  • 4 tablespoons of melted butter or coconut oil
Instructions
  1. Whisk all ingredients together until smooth.
  2. Scoop about ½ cup of batter into a hot waffle iron.
  3. Cook until waffles are golden brown.

What is it about pumpkin and cinnamon in the fall that just doesn’t taste the same any other time of year?

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Easy White Queso

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It’s my favorite splurge at any Mexican restaurant. So finally, I decided that it must be time to try making White Queso at home.

Why make White Queso at home?

Mostly, because of the deliciousness. Also, because of this:

At a birthday party several months ago, the hostess had picked up one of her birthday boy’s favorites: White Queso from our local Mexican restaurant. She set it out as a part of a delicious taco bar. Maybe I was just extra hungry that day (probably), or maybe my friend is an excellent cook (most definitely). But my taco plate that day tasted so good that I went back for more and wanted to duplicate it later at home.

So a few days later, I decided to surprise my husband and kids by picking up a large cup of White Queso to go with our taco dinner at home. Great idea, thought I. They will love it and be so surprised that Mom actually went to a restaurant to buy part of our dinner.

Were they surprised? Yes, and delighted. Was I a little bit sticker-shocked by how much it costs to buy a large, delicious cup of queso at the restaurant? Gulp.

So while it was fun and delicious, I knew I could only do something like that on a special occasion. A few months later, I was craving the White Queso and decided to try my hand at it. (Sometimes I wonder why it takes me so long to try to make something at home. Isn’t this my hobby?)

Take a few seconds to watch this fun video Malachi helped me make to show you how easy it is to make Easy White Queso at home!

Easy White Queso – See how it’s made —->

Guess what? It takes less time to make White Queso at home than it does to stand in line at a restaurant waiting for them to bring you a cup and take your money. Obviously it costs less. And while the authentically made queso at the restaurant is still better than mine, I’m so excited to be able to make and eat this regularly now instead of waiting for the very occasional splurge at a restaurant!

Easy White QuesoYum

Easy White Queso
 
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Serves: 6-8
Ingredients
  • 8-ounces cream cheese
  • 16-ounces pepper jack cheese
  • ¾ cup sour cream
  • 1 cup half-and-half or whole milk
  • 10-ounce can Rotel (diced tomatoes and green chilies)
Instructions
  1. Place all ingredients into a medium-sized saucepan.
  2. Whisk over medium or low heat until mixture has melted together smoothly.
  3. Serve!

See how easy that is!!?

What’s your favorite restaurant splurge?

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Does Family Really Come First at Mealtime?

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Does family really come first at mealtime? Or are we more concerned about perfect nutrients and working hard? Both are important, no doubt. But I’m excited to share some insights into this, given to me by my friend Tasha.

Remember The Cooking Guy? He’s the adorable one featured in this video. More importantly, his MOM is the one behind the super popular Stir-and-Pour Bread!

That bread recipe has been life-changing for many of us! Today, I’m sharing a super fun and insightful post she wrote and sent me. Enjoy this, then share your thoughts!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Does Family Really Come First at Mealtime?

by Tasha Hackett

“See this!? This is feasting with strife.” I all but yelled at my family. 

“This isn’t my favorite,” the four-year-old turns up her nose in disgust. The toddler pokes into the meat, scrapes it across his plate, onto the table, and off onto the floor. Then he looks up at me, “Uh-Oh.” No, Son. That phrase only works for an accident AND I SAW YOU DO IT ON PURPOSE. 

“I need a napkin.” I hop up to grab the family their napkins. The seven-year-old spills his water because he was trying to grab the ketchup before his sister could. I hop up to grab another towel to throw down on the mess. “Stop kicking me.” “I wasn’t even touching you!” “Would you please, both of you, just eat your food.” 

We’d been gathered around the table for ten minutes and I’d had two bites. The bickering goes on. I thought I was in a great mood before this family came in here and ruined it! Then it happens, “Mom, is there anything else for supper?” I stood up so fast my chair fell over backward. The crash of the chair falling got everyone’s attention. I brandished my fork at all of them, husband included: “See this?!” gesturing to the amazing spread of food I had prepared, and looking at each of them in turn. “This is feasting with strife.” I all but yelled at my family. I pointed to the verse, Pro. 17:1 I have taped to the wall and threatened, “Tomorrow, we’re having a dry crust.” 

Proverbs 17:1 “Better a dry crust with peace and quiet, than a house full of feasting with strife.”

I looked at my husband. “I’m going to time out.” And I left.

I sat down in the rocker in my room and looked at the fork in my hand and cried. Why couldn’t they all just be nice to each other!? Why couldn’t they eat the stupid food that I made? AND IT WAS GOOD FOOD! I had been in the kitchen since 3:30 pm. First I peeled sweet potatoes, diced them into cubes, I oiled and salted them and set aside. I prepared a salad with fresh romaine and leaf lettuce, chopped a cucumber, a pepper, and sauteed fresh green beans. I made my own Greek salad dressing with Dijon mustard and lemon (SO GOOD), sprinkled on feta cheese.

When the husband came in from work I smile and kissed him and said something like, “Get excited, supper is going to be super good!” And then kept working. Rush rush rush. I was running out of time, the kids kept coming in to ask me questions and tell me stories about their legos and blocks, and to watch them jump on one foot and the baby really didn’t want to be in his play yard anymore. At 5:30 I called in the family to set up the table and I served this amazing and well balanced, whole food, nutritional meal. As I often did many times a week! And by then I was so tired, I had ZERO energy left to enjoy my family. 

I had nothing left for them. 

As I sat in a self-imposed time out, I heard my family out there eating, they were hushed now… maybe a dry crust would be better. 

The next day was Tuesday. At 1 pm I whipped up a double batch of Stir-and-Pour Bread. I let it sit on the counter all afternoon. At 5:00 pm I preheated the oven. I dumped the dough on two large baking stones. Baked at 450* for 20 minutes. While it was baking I set the table with plates, butter knives, napkins, and water. I also set out butter. 

“Sup’s up!”

When they came to the table, you would have thought it was Christmas. Bread!? Just Bread!? I didn’t even cut it. They had to rip off their own chunks and butter their own “slices.” This has now become a regular meal… not every week, and when I make it as the main dish I usually serve a few carrots and apple slices. I know it’s not the most nutritional and well-balanced meal… but there is peace. And there is quiet (at least peace and joy if not quiet.) And best of all is getting to enjoy my family. I enjoyed them all afternoon, and I enjoyed them through the meal. And you know what? They certainly enjoy being with me when I’m not tossing chairs and brandishing forks on my way to time out.

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What’s more important, a perfectly nutritious meal or a peaceful family mealtime?

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