Heavenly Homemakers

Encouraging women in homemaking, healthy eating and parenting

Is This Better Than Milk?

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On a chilly morning, when we need something filling but easy, when we feel the need for extra comfort: We have found this to be better than milk.

Yum

Our Warm Vanilla Soother recipe has been around for a while. If you’re a Heavenly Homemakers veteran, you’ve likely tried it a time or three. But just in case you’re new, or in case you’ve been around a while but need to be reminded, we wanted to highlight our Warm Vanilla Soother today!

Our 5-year old Bonus Boy is a milk-drinking-machine. He loves his milk, and didn’t bat an eye when he moved in with us and we started serving him our farm-fresh raw milk. He guzzles it down until we tell him “that’s all for now.” So I wondered how he’d like our Warm Vanilla Soother. Oh…he likes it. He likes it very much. And he likes the chocolate variety too. Who wouldn’t?

So what’s better than a milk mustache (worn very often by our 5-year old)? A Warm Vanilla Soother mustache, of course.

Better Than Milk: Warm Vanilla Soother

Is This Better Than Milk?
 
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Serves: 3-5
Ingredients
  • 3 cups whole milk
  • 4 egg yolks
  • ¼ cup real maple syrup
  • 2 Tablespoons arrowroot powder or corn starch
  • 1 Tablespoon butter (optional, but delicious!)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
  1. In a medium saucepan, whisk together milk, egg yolks, maple syrup and arrowroot powder.
  2. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly (I use a whisk) until mixture begins to thicken.
  3. Remove from heat and add butter and vanilla.
  4. Stir until creamy.
  5. Pour into mugs and serve warm.

Here are a couple other fun varieties we’ve created!

If you live in a colder climate as I do, it’s recipes like these that are getting us through these “it’s almost spring but still very chilly” days. We will make it through until warm weather finds us!

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Simple Saucy Parmesan Meatballs

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If it seems too simple, that’s because it is. Today I am sharing what is so obvious, you probably already thought of it yourself. Still, it is worth taking the time to mention the idea to take the Simple Make-Ahead Parmesan Meatballs, add sauce, and make the meatballs into a brand new meal of Simple Saucy Parmesan Meatballs!

Oh how I love food that is versatile like this. When we can make one recipe, but turn it into whatever we need it to be – now THAT is a recipe to keep in our back pockets!

Like literally. Print this out and put it in your back pocket. Later, you’ll reach in and say, “Oh! I have something in my back pocket. Could it be a $5 bill I forgot about? No? It’s a recipe for Simple Make-Ahead Parmesan Meatballs? Well that’s even better than surprise cash!”

Yes, that is exactly the scenario that will happen when you put this recipe in your back pocket.

Now my friends, watch and see how easy it is to make a delightful (and ridiculously obvious) variation to our newly beloved Simple Make-Ahead Parmesan Meatballs. We shall now add sauce, serve them with our favorite pasta, and make everyone in our family very happy. But no one will quite be as happy as we are because we are the ones cooking the food and we are the happiest about the ease of this recipe idea!

Simple Saucy Parmesan Meatballs

Simple Saucy Parmesan Meatballs
 
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Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
  • 1-2 pounds of pre-made Parmesan Meatballs*
  • 16-ounces of our favorite pasta sauce (red or white!)
  • 12-ounces cooked pasta
Instructions
  1. Reheat or bake meatballs* as directed.
  2. Pour sauce over meatballs and simmer until heated through.
  3. Serve over your favorite prepared pasta. OR
  4. Serve with rice or potatoes if you like!

* Here’s our recipe for Simple Make-Ahead Parmesan Meatballs.

Another of our favorite ways to enjoy these Simple Saucy Parmesan Meatballs? With this 10-Minute Instant Pot Mac and Cheese. Along with a salad and veggie, of course.

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Simple Make-Ahead Parmesan Meatballs

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Who gets excited about something silly like Simple Make-Ahead Parmesan Meatballs? This girl. Indeed, I get very, very excited.

I like beef. I like meatballs. I like anything that can be made ahead of time. No. Scratch that. I LOVE anything that can be made ahead of time. And if it’s also made from beef, well, that makes me one happy girl!

You can make this recipe ahead and store the meatballs in the fridge or freezer UNBAKED. Or you can PRE-BAKE up a huge batch and pull out a few as needed to reheat quickly. This recipe is flexible to meet your family’s needs!

Simple Make-Ahead Parmesan Meatballs

Simple Make-Ahead Parmesan Meatballs
 
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Serves: 16-20 meatballs
Ingredients
  • 2 pounds ground beef or turkey
  • 2 eggs
  • 3 Tablespoons dried minced onion
  • ½ cup shredded (or grated) parmesan cheese
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • ¼ teaspoon ground pepper
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
  1. Mix all ingredients together until well combined.
  2. Scoop any size balls out onto a cookie sheet (I use a large scoop).
  3. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30-45 minutes or until the meat is no longer pink.
  4. Serve right away, or refrigerate or freeze baked meatballs to easily reheat for a meal later.
  5. OR, freeze the prepared meatballs UNBAKED, thaw as needed, and bake as directed.

I love serving these Simple Make-Ahead Parmesan Meatballs with:

Meals like this are truly satisfying, extremely delicious, and still very simple to put together!

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Simple Popcorn Chicken Tacos

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Here’s an idea for you. Make extra Popcorn Chicken to serve in tacos for a super simple meal! Popcorn Chicken Tacos are surprisingly good and of course, super fun.

Here’s our very easy, very delicious Popcorn Chicken Recipe. I love making a double, or triple, or quadruple batch of this chicken and then freezing it to reheat at another time for a super easy meal. As an extra fun variation, I reheat it and we use it to build tacos any way we like!

Simple Popcorn Chicken Tacos

Simple Popcorn Chicken Tacos
 
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Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
  • 1 pound pre-made popcorn chicken*
  • 8 whole grain flour or corn tortillas
  • Fresh taco fixins like tomatoes, lettuce, black beans, sweet peppers, corn, cilantro, onions, salsa, olives, etc
  • Shredded cheese
Instructions
  1. Rewarm popcorn chicken.
  2. Prepare taco fixins and set out a buffet for each person to build Simple Popcorn Chicken Tacos per their preference!

*Find our Simple Popcorn Chicken recipe here.

Want toasted tortillas? Simply warm them in a skillet over low heat for about 1 minute on each side until they turn lightly brown and barely crispy!

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FREE Spring Learning Activities for Your Kids!

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If you don’t have these yet, or if you do have them and need to be reminded to pull them out again, here are our FREE Spring Learning Activities for Kids!

As a special gift to you as you might find yourself needing to little help getting over winter blues and spring fever, I’ve created March “In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb” Activity Packets. They are FREE.

There’s a packet for Pre-K to enjoy, as well as a packet for K-5 to enjoy. Use them in whatever works best for your family!

Free Pre-K March Learning Activity Packet

Free K-5 March Learning Activity Packet
Gain access to the free March Lion and Lamb Learning Activities here.

I have Spring Activity Packets ready for you too!

Just like the March Packets, there is a Spring Activity Packet for both Pre-K and for K-5. You can download one or both. (I mean, they’re free, right?) They include fun springtime learning activities and a few coloring pages too. I like coloring pages for read-aloud time. I always found that my kids listened better when I was reading if they were doing something to occupy their hands! Plus, your kids can give away their colored pages to someone to offer them some springtime cheer!

Spring Activity Packet Pre-K FREEBIE!

Spring Activity Packet K-5 FREEBIE!

Click here to sign up and grab the freebies!

I’m super excited to share that signing up for these freebies will connect you to our new Heavenly Homemaker’s Learning Zone. It’s free, of course. You can unsubscribe at any time, your info will never be shared or sold, and being on this list means that you’ll be the first to know of the other fun (yes, FUN!) educational tools we’re putting together!

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

When You Adopt a Five Year Old and Start Teaching Him to Cook…

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I taught all of his brothers. It was well worth the effort as now our 14, 17, 19, and 21-year-old sons are quite proficient in the kitchen. It only makes sense then that we would take our 5-year old Bonus Boy into the kitchen and start teaching him to cook.

About the time I started counting down to the empty nest years, as I joyfully started to say “that’s the last time I’ll ever need to XYZ for one of my kids,” while I was beginning to eagerly look into the very near future of life with no more intense parenting requirements, God showed me that He clearly had other, better plans. He provided for us a Bonus Boy. This one with chocolate brown eyes and a giggle that fills our entire house with laughter.

I’m learning to balance the needs of my adult and teen children with the needs of a little one. I find myself juggling two seasons at once, paying college bills with one hand while wiping a nose with the other. Somewhere in there, I’m squeezing in Government and History lessons with my high school and middle school aged sons.

Once again, I have found myself pulling up the stool in the kitchen for the little guy, showing him how to crack eggs without getting it all over the…oops. Too late. Let’s clean it up and try again. Meanwhile, my high schooler is scrambling his own eggs over at the stove. He used to be the one smashing eggs onto the countertop. Now he is capable and resourceful – and if I need him to, he’ll make an entire meal for the family.

Aww, it’s our little Malachi. The same Malachi who now shaves and is taller than me. Here he is now —>

I know this will be the outcome for our newest one too. So I patiently clean up the egg slime with Bonus Boy and we practice again cracking an egg without making a mess. I show him (again) how to stir the muffin batter without flinging the…oops. Let’s clean up the flour mess on the countertop and try again.

The messes? They are worth it. The effort and time and energy it takes to teach a child how to cook? My adult and teen sons prove that it absolutely is all worth it.

Here’s our Bonus Boy, getting in on the Homemade Applesauce action last fall!

I never thought I’d again be teaching a little one to cook, but well, never say never. God’s plans are much bigger, much wiser, and much better than ours. My chocolate-eyed boy proves this to me daily, filling me with wonder at what else God has in the works.

I’ve said it many times but I’ll say it again: Teach your kids to cook.

Even if it’s just the basics, give them the know-how they need to be comfortable in the kitchen. It’s good for them, but it’s even BETTER FOR YOU!!! With all the major changes in our lives (fostering and adopting kids!), if my big kids didn’t know how to cook, there would be days we would be scrambling to eat because my time is so limited right now.

Need some resources to help you know where to start?

We have this great eCookbook package that is a huge help!

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Better yet,  I highly recommend this incredible Kids Cook Real Food eCourse! We used it with Malachi and it was a lifesaver!

Our foster and adoption journey

As soon as I’m able, I’ll share more details about how God has brought us to this surprising and beautiful time in our lives. My writing time is extremely limited now, and for some very sweet and tiny reasons. Whatever you do, don’t make plans. God makes plans. We simply get to learn to trust and obey Him as we walk our daily journey with Him!

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My Current Favorite Cheat Meal – and How I Make it Healthier

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I have a new favorite cheat meal, and I don’t even feel bad about it.

It was about this time last year that I wrote my Beyond the Free Range Chicken post. In that post, I expressed that while I still love and desire to feed my family as healthy as possible, I’ve learned that it is more important to focus my time and energy outside the kitchen loving people. What’s more important?

  • Raw milk and organic produce? OR
  • Loving God and loving our neighbors?

I’m going to go with The Greatest Commandment.

Learning to Love

Little did I know what God was doing in our lives as He was teaching us to take hold of His commands and the promises of joy that came with them! He’s helping us learn to love better, to see people, and to share the hope He constantly provides. Meanwhile, He moved a 4-year old Bonus Boy into our house. He’s the son of one of the “neighbors we were loving on.” The 4-year old turned 5, and after a few months, it was decided that our family would adopt him.

The busy lives we had been living became much, much busier – but no matter because God has been in every part, perfectly providing everything we need. He’s been showing us during all of this how to let go of what isn’t important for His Kingdom and to fix our eyes more firmly on what He has to offer.

I could share thousands of words about all we are learning. But today, regarding food? Here’s a biggie I’ve learned: Who cares if you sometimes need to eat a less-than-perfect meal if the tradeoff is having more time to share Jesus’ love with others? Pray over the food, throw out the mixed greens or easy veggie to go with it, and trust that God is still providing His best for you.

This leads me to share my current favorite cheat meal. Don’t get too excited. It’s not even something to pass out over.

My Current Favorite Cheat Meal

It’s homemade-ish pizza.

Sure, I can make homemade pizza crust. Here’s the recipe for the days you have time. It’s fabulous. I recommend it. But you know what else I recommend for the days you don’t have time (because you’ve been sharing God’s love with people)?

Pre-made Pizza Crust. Organic…or not. Whole grain…or not. God is bigger, my friends. It’s just a pizza crust. This should not make us lose sleep. God’s purposes for our lives are bigger than the occasional serving of white flour.

I now regularly buy pre-made pizza crusts to keep in my freezer. About once every week, between foster care meetings and court dates and diapers and bottles and therapy appointments, I ask my big boys pull some out and top them as they please. This is our lunch or our dinner and it is so easy!

How do I make it healthier?

First, I don’t stress over it. A peaceful heart is great for one’s health. Second, we pull out mixed greens and eat salad with it. Often fresh fruit too. Again – SO EASY. It’s also fun and tasty, an added bonus.

And there you have it: My favorite cheat meal.

In the tug of war for all that demands our attention, loving people should win every time!

 

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Simple Popcorn Chicken

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There is no popcorn involved in the making of this Popcorn Chicken. You can simply pop it into your mouth as if it is popcorn, and it is definitely coated in butter. But otherwise, it is nothing like popcorn. So sorry for any confusion.

This Popcorn Chicken recipe was one of the very first I shared here back in 2009. I’m sharing it again today and adding it to our Simple Recipes list because this is one of those recipes we all need in our hip pocket!

You can make these ahead and freeze them. You can eat them in a variety of ways. They are super kid-friendly, which is a plus whether you have kids or not. (What? Some grown-ups really like kid-friendly recipes, am I right?)

This Simple Popcorn Chicken tastes good hot or cold. I do prefer it hot, but made ahead and packed cold in a lunch box? Still great!

We love eating this Popcorn Chicken as-is with a few fruits and veggies on the side. But it’s also amazing in a tossed salad!

Simple Popcorn Chicken

Simple Popcorn Chicken
 
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Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
  • 3-6 large boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts
  • ¾ cup whole grain flour (I use freshly ground white wheat, but you can use any flour you like!)
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • butter
Instructions
  1. In a medium-sized bowl stir together flour, salt, and garlic powder.
  2. Using kitchen shears, cut chicken into tiny bite-sized pieces.
  3. Toss chicken in flour mixture to coat well.
  4. Smear a thick layer of butter on the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish.
  5. Pour coated chicken into the dish, spreading so that they are in a single layer.
  6. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes. Stir chicken and bake another 10 minutes.

Need some dipping sauce to go with your Simple Popcorn Chicken? Here are our favorites:

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Simple 5-Minute Shredded Chicken

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Just in case you have forgotten this truth, here it is again: Cooking meals for our families does not have to be a difficult job. This Simple 5-Minute Shredded Chicken is going to drop-kick the “cooking is hard” lie straight out the window.

Even if you don’t enjoy cooking, you can make this. Even if you don’t have time to cook, you can make this. Even if you can’t afford to spend much on groceries, you can make this. Even if you forgot to thaw meat, you can make this. Even if the idea of making a homemade meal brings tears to your eyes – wipe your tears, find 5-minutes, and make this. Even if you’re allergic to poultry…oh wait. That one is for real. If that is the case, please don’t make this.

To sum up, unless you are allergic to birds, there is no reason you should not make this (overuse of negatives, anyone?). Just make the chicken.

Let’s take a moment to get excited together about why making this Simple 5-Minute Chicken is a fabulous idea:

  • It takes 5-minutes of “work.” This was obvious, but worth shouting about because no one can even go through a drive-thru in 5-minutes.
  • You can make several meals worth of this chicken at the same time, storing it in the fridge or freezer, then pulling it out to add to meals as needed. This means that if you make 3-meals worth of this chicken at once, your 5-minutes of effort turns out 1.6666-Minute Chicken. #mathintherealworld
  • If you have made this chicken ahead of time and you are storing it in your fridge, you now have ready-made chicken which has now become 0-Minute Chicken.
  • Simple 5-Minute Chicken tastes really good and it is real food. We can’t say that about all convenience food, now can we?

Please note that the following recipe is barely a recipe. I am here to make your real food cooking life EASY. Simply get out chicken and get out spices. Place in crock pot, sprinkle, plug in, walk away, enjoy.

Simple 5-Minute Shredded Chicken

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Simple 5-Minute Chicken
 
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Serves: 2-3 meals
Ingredients
  • 3-pounds boneless chicken thighs or breasts
  • Any seasonings you like (I use garlic powder, sea salt, paprika, and parsley flakes)
Instructions
  1. Place chicken in a crock pot and sprinkle with any herbs or spices you like.
  2. Cook on low for 4-5 hours.
  3. Shred chicken to use in any of your favorite recipes or to serve in tacos, or even as a main dish as-is!

How to use your 5-Minute Chicken

Add it to:

Or eat it plain with veggies on the side. So easy and delicious!

Having Alfredo? Just add Simple 5-Minute Shredded Chicken…

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Free Printable Scripture Memory Cards for your Family!

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It all started when our oldest was about 2-years old. Seeing as that little boy is almost a college graduate and God has started us on a brand new journey of raising and fostering children – we thought it was time to bring back the Scripture Memory Cards our family has been using for so long. But we also thought they needed a make-over! Look how beautiful!

There are 12 Scripture Memory Cards in all!

For years and years, we have used our family meal times for Bible reading and Scripture memory. When our boys were little, while we sat at the table for lunch or dinner, we started a practice that got dubbed “Repeat Afters.” Mom and Dad would speak a few lines of scripture, the kids would repeat after us, and we’d continue phrase-by-phrase until the verse was complete. Like this:

Dad: In the beginning…
Kids and Mom: In the beginning
Dad: God created…
Kids and Mom: God created
Dad: the heavens and the earth.
Kids and Mom: the heavens and the earth.

The kids and Mom all took turns leading “Repeat Afters” too. So when our first set of kids was little, we’d work together to recite six verses during each meal.

In no time at all, our little ones learned scripture after scripture in this way! The more they learned and the older they got, the more scripture we added to the repertoire. And as their understanding grew, we continued to add scriptures that helped us with parenting needs. Such as:

As far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Romans 12:18

Siblings sometimes need to hear that one, am I right? ;)

Scripture Memory Cards for you!

You can use these Scripture Memory Cards however you like. For a limited time, they are FREE for you to download and print and use with your family!

There are 12 scripture cards altogether!

Join us here and grab your free download right away! Click here to sign up to receive your free printable or enter your email address in the form below:

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