easy recipe Archives | Heavenly Homemakers

Simple Honey Glazed Pork Tenderloin or Roast (Crock Pot Recipe)

June 20, 2021 by Laura Leave a Comment

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Here we are with another super fast meal for summertime! This Simple Honey Glazed Pork Tenderloin will wow everyone!

There’s something about the combination of flavors poured over this pork tenderloin (or pork roast) that makes it so very good. It slow cooks all day, so that makes the meat extra juicy and the flavor extra amazing. Simply put a Pork Tenderloin in your crockpot (these are inexpensive, by the way!), stir together a few ingredients to pour over the top of the meat, turn on your crockpot, and walk away!

What’s great about a meal like this is that well, a Pork Tenderloin or Pork Roast just feels like a special meal. You can serve it with:

a salad
a steamed veggie
and some fresh fruit

and your meal will be amazing!! But you will have worked very little to pull it off.

Meals like this are my favorite. Or have you figured that out about me by now? :)

Tip for choosing a cut of pork:

Check for meat mark-downs! Our local grocery store often has a high quality brand of pork marked down when it’s getting close to the “freeze-by” date. When I see these, I grab them! They are usually between $2-3/pound at this point, making for some very affordable and delicious meat options for our freezer!
Pork Tenderloin, Pork Butt (he-he-he, Pork Butt…I’m in middle school), and Pork Roast are my favorites. They turn out tender and juicy every time with this recipe!

Simple Honey Glazed Pork Tenderloin or Roast (Crock Pot Recipe)

Simple Honey Glazed Pork Tenderloin (Crock Pot Recipe)

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Author: Laura

Serves: 4-6 servings

Ingredients

2 pounds Pork tenderloin
½ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons garlic powder
¼ cup honey
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
½ cup water
2 Tablespoons soy sauce

Instructions

Place the pork tenderloin in the crock pot.
In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients.
Pour the mixture over the pork tenderloin.
Cook on low for 6-8 hours or until pork is tender and falling apart.

I hope the recent meal ideas I’ve shared recently have been helpful to you this summer as you figure out what to feed your family when it’s too hot to care about cooking. I’ll keep the recipes coming!

What I’ve shared so far:

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Simple Ranch Taco Chip Dip

May 9, 2021 by Laura Leave a Comment

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

This Simple Ranch Taco Chip Dip can become a super-fast lunch or supper for your family!

Well now. It’s been a hot minute since I’ve created and posted a new recipe. I blame these people:

And also these.

This picture features the gorgeous people of college students and friends who joined our family for Easter this year. Our home is full and so are our hearts. And I suppose that it goes without saying that our hands are a little bit full too. So lately, I’ve been sticking with my favorite tried and true recipes just to keep life as simple as possible in the kitchen.

How amazing is God, by the way? (Well, so amazing, of course.) But specifically, I love how a few years ago, while He was very well aware of the turn of events that would happen in our home, He started me down the road of creating the simplest recipes ever. It all turned into a cookbook, and these recipes are how I survive now!! I love this.

But all that to say, sometimes I still itch to be creative in the kitchen. And sometimes I have a few minutes to tinker. This recipe is the result of such tinkering! It’s simple and can be stirred together with only one hand (while holding a baby in the other, ask me how I know). Enjoy this dip as a snack, a side dish, or a meal with a side of fruit!

Simple Ranch Taco Chip DipYum

Simple Ranch Taco Chip Dip

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Author: Laura

Serves: 6-8 servings

Ingredients

3 Tablespoons Ranch Dressing Mix
2 cups sour cream
15-ounce can black beans, drained
10 ounce can Rotel (diced tomatoes with green chilies), drained
1 cup shredded cheese (we prefer Colby jack or cheddar)
1 teaspoon chili powder (more or less to taste)
Your favorite tortilla chips

Instructions

Mix all ingredients together until well combined.
Cover the dip and chill for at least an hour before serving.
Or just eat it right away, because who can wait an hour?

This is one of those delightful recipes that allows you to quickly dump everything into a bowl and stir it up. All of our kids – even our pickiest eaters – enjoy this dip! See how easy? Dump it in, stir it up, get out the chips. :)

I love dips that can turn into a simple meal for our families!

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Simple Spaghetti Squash for Delightful Sapiens

March 29, 2021 by Tasha Hackett Leave a Comment

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

This is a regular (albeit amazing) spaghetti squash recipe. It’s intended for all people, mankind, and sapiens. However, WordPress informs me that titles with uncommon words perform better. Sapiens fits the bill. Ha!

Simple Paleo Spaghetti

I’ve been eating a paleo diet for over three months! Simple meals are slowly making their way back into my life. I spent the first month floundering and relearning how to use my kitchen. The second month I discovered all the “junk” food I could make with honey and maple syrup and and ate an insane amount of homemade chocolate. But I’m rocking this new diet now. My crowd-pleasing, feed-the-people meal is either a ginormous salad with Almond-Orange Dressing or spaghetti squash. (Or both.)

The spaghetti squash topic has already been covered by Laura.

spaghetti squash

Yum

If you search on this sight you will find multiple spaghetti squash posts. Like how to cook it in an instant pot. (Highlights: Gut it. 5 minutes. Or leave whole and 20 minutes.) But, I had more information to share. I’ll see your spaghetti squash and I’ll raise you sausage. At first I was afraid this idea was too simple to even bother sharing, but after our great dinner last night with friends, they encouraged me to please share. Mostly because she wanted the “recipe.”

Make it now. Eat it later. It’s a no-fuss dinner.

Here’s how it went down. One morning I remembered I had a meeting scheduled at my house the next day. This meeting would last until suppertime. Therefore, I wanted to make something I could pop in the oven at four o’clock and then feed the delightful sapiens at five o’clock. No prep. No mess.

While I was overseeing third-grade math and language arts I baked two spaghetti squash in the oven (In short, slice in half, gut, bake “bowl-down” at 350* for 40-50 minutes. Or use the instant pot. Or bake whole and gut later). I chopped romaine leaves and other vegetables for a nice salad and put it all-together in a bowl in the fridge to be served with the amazing Almond Orange Paleo Dressing. Next, I cooked two pounds of pork sausage.

When the squash was thoroughly cooked, I pulled it from its shells with a fork. This next part is where it gets exciting. THEN I mixed it with the sausage and a can of pasta sauce and spread it all into a 9X13 pan. Done. Mostly.

A pre-made simple meal!

The next day, I simply popped the pan into the oven and re-heated it at 350° for an hour. At five o’clock the smell filled the dining room and I remembered I had completely forgotten to extend the invitation to dinner to our friends. “Oh, hey. You guys wanna stay and eat with us? Dinner’s already in the oven. We’re having squash and salad and stuff.” Haha. Who could turn down an invitation like that? They stayed. A good time was had by all indeed. Especially by my four-year-old, who cleaned his plate and spent the majority of the meal explaining, in detail to fresh ears, everything he knew about dinosaurs.

Simple meal prep is the best kept secret for the ease of serving other sapiens.

I want to be able to host and feed the people at a moment’s notice. When I first switched to paleo, I wasn’t able to do this. How could I bless others when I was following detailed recipes that included ingredients I wasn’t used to and only had enough on hand for four servings? After weeks of learning new skills, I’ve been able to put Laura’s good advice to work with my new diet requirements. I have pre-formed Salisbury steak (fancy burgers) in the freezer. I have riced cauliflower and shrimp on hand for quick and fun stir-fry. My fridge is usually full-to-bursting with fresh vegetables for snacks and salads because that’s fast food around here. Homemade chocolates, almond flour muffins, and green smoothies are a new staple. Whatever your diet needs, there are ways to make it simpler. I’m sure of it!

Premade Spaghetti Squash Dinner

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Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

1 hour

Total time

1 hour 5 mins

Author: Tasha

Serves: 8 servings

Ingredients

Two Spaghetti Squash
Two Pounds Pork Sausage (or regular ground beef or pork)
24 ounces of pasta sauce of your choosing
If using a plain pasta sauce, add salt, pepper, garlic, and Italian seasonings to taste.

Instructions

Slice the squash down the middle to make two bowls and discard the seeds with a spoon.
Oil the cut rings and place bowl-down on a pan with edges. Bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes.
To check for doneness, a knife should easily slide into the squash.
Brown the sausage in a skillet, pour off the extra grease if desired.
Mix the squash, sausage, and sauce together. Add any extra seasonings to taste (salt, pepper, garlic, etc.)
Serve immediately, or spread in a 9x13 and refrigerate up to three days.
To reheat, put the cold pan in the the oven and then set to 350 for an hour.

Have you ever given spaghetti squash a chance?

I double-dog dare you to make it for dinner this week. Only mix in some great sausage and pasta sauce and voilá: Simple dinner for the masses. Just to be clear: viola is a musical instrument (played by skilled sapiens). Because I already knew that, I did not *ahem* need to search the web for the proper spelling of the French term “to suggest an appearance as if by magic.” Ya learn something new every day!

Tasha Hackett, friend of Laura and author of Bluebird on the Prairie, a Christian historical romance releasing Spring 2021, is fueled by sunshine, paleo pudding, or hot chocolate—whichever is more readily available. Though she often pretends to be a ballerina while unloading the dishwasher, her favorite thing is writing with hope and humor to entertain and encourage women. Her time is spent with four chatty children and an incredibly supportive husband . They give her the kind of love people write books about. You can connect with her at www.TashaHackett.com or Instagram @hackettacademy

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

Decadent Simple Paleo Pudding

February 22, 2021 by Tasha Hackett Leave a Comment

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Decadent Simple Paleo Pudding

by Tasha Hackett

I was Surprised by my Love of Paleo Puddings

I’ve been eating a paleo diet since December 20th. Do some math there—it’s been a few days! And for most of that time, there was no pudding. Truthfully, I was blindsided at first: No sugar of any kind, no grains of any kind, no legumes of any kind, and no dairy of any kind. Quickly I discovered a whole new world of food that has brought delight to my family as well. One of our favorites is Salisbury steak with a mushroom gravy and mashed potatoes and asparagus. I’m drooling just typing about it.

Yum

And Then There was Coconut Vanilla and Pumpkin Pudding

Most winters I make Laura’s vanilla and other flavored soothers for my family. Instead of hot chocolate when they come in from the snow, they get a protein packed healthy version.

My paleo version, I believe is even healthier, doesn’t have any dairy, hardly any sweetener, and a solid amount of healthy fat for growing kids and all of us using up so much energy trying to stay warm this winter.

Dairy-Free Paleo Pudding Special Ingredients

Coconut Cream

I ordered a case of this from my local grocery store for a small discount. It’s not cheap. But I found I can get it for much cheaper from Azure Standard. (Currently $2.30/can.) Though I haven’t tried the Azure ordered cans yet, it will be coming on the truck in a couple weeks! Canned coconut milk has a higher percentage of liquid and less of the fat/oil. You can use that in this recipe instead of canned coconut cream, just factor in the extra liquid. You may need to add more thickener.

Coconut Milk in a jug

I buy the jug in the cold aisle and go through about one a week. Be sure to buy unsweetened and check labels if there are options at your grocery and get one with the fewest amount of added ingredients. I use this in my coffee, smoothies, baking, and pudding! It is much yummier than almond milk. I’m just going to pretend I didn’t even mention almond milk, because I like to pretend it doesn’t exist. Almond Milk in my opinion is one of the most disgusting . . . blech. So, don’t even. Get yourself some unsweetened coconut milk from the jug.

Egg Yolks

You can make this recipe with whole eggs, but I’ve had better luck just using the yolks. Egg whites will curdle and get chunky if you heat past 165* and nobody in my family wants to eat curdled pudding. Save the whites in another bowl because you can use them in baking or scramble with a few other eggs. Go ahead and store them in the fridge for a few days.

Arrowroot Powder

I ordered a bag of this years ago and use it in place of cornstarch. If you’re not on a restrictive diet, cornstarch will work. Or you can skip this entirely if you want to drink your pudding. A healthy gelatin powder, or collagen works to thicken puddings, but they thicken upon cooling. To recap: if you use gelatin to thicken pudding, it will not thicken on the stovetop!

Sweetener

My preference is maple syrup. For the vanilla pudding recipe, I only used one tablespoon. I think the natural coconut cream is quite sweet. The vanilla extract needs the sweetener, I think. If you wanted to try this with NO syrup, I suggest going very easy on the vanilla extract. The pumpkin recipe calls for two tablespoons to counter the spices and vanilla. Start with less, you can always add more. Feel free to experiment with honey or stevia or other sweeteners of your choice.

Simple Paleo Vanilla Pudding

Four egg yolks
One 13.6 oz can of coconut cream
13.6 oz of coconut milk from the jug (use empty can to measure)
A couple dashes of salt

Mix those three together in a pot and then turn on the heat. Be careful not to boil.

Scoop out a ¼ cup of pudding and mix a slurry with ¼ cup of arrowroot powder and stir it back in the pot.

Once it begins to thicken, turn off the burner and add in:

One teaspoon of vanilla extract
One tablespoon of maple syrup.

Taste and adjust sweetener if necessary.

Either drink warm or chill for pudding.

Frequently I serve this chilled for breakfast with toasted shredded coconut and pecans, blueberries, sliced bananas, apples, or any other toppings to create a full breakfast. We love this for a make-ahead breakfast. My kids can’t get enough.

Simple Paleo Pumpkin Pudding

The same as the vanilla pudding, except add in:

A can of pumpkin,
2-3 teaspoons of pumpkin spice
An extra tablespoon of maple syrup to counter the spices

I poured this one in a paleo pie crust and pretended I was eating pumpkin pie for breakfast and had enough for six small servings for the next day. (No, it wasn’t as thick as a traditional pumpkin pie. But it was just as good!)

Psssst! All of these great ingredients can be purchased from Azure Standard!

Paleo isn’t a Prison

Clearly I’m not saying everyone must eat the way I do, but I have found it to be more freeing than I ever expected. My motivation for staying on this diet is different than most. If you’re curious about that, ask any questions you have! I’d love to chat about it. I’ll just briefly explain, though some people have found great success losing weight with this meal plan, that is not my goal. I’ve suffered headaches for over a decade, and recent lab results show evidence of chronic inflammation and infection among other things. In a nutshell, the paleo diet eliminates all foods that are prone to causing inflammation, as well as cutting out any processed foods that add toxins that prevent my body from healing itself.

God is Greater than Paleo

While I 100% agree that love is better than food and who even cares about free-range chicken anymore? I know I’m on the right path. Laura spent years developing simple recipes and then they were there for her when she needed them! I believe the same has happened to me, for the first time in my life I have the budget to purchase more meat, vegetables, and nuts, to fill in the extra calories I’m no longer receiving from grains and beans and other “cheap” fillers.

Honestly, two years ago I fed my family on $200 a month. Six months ago it was about $450 a month. Paleo food for six (thankfully three of them are still tiny) is costing me $900 a month. If a doctor had told me to eat this way three years ago I would have cried. Point is: Food isn’t everything. Do what you can. Love your people. Love yourself.

Right now, for me, loving my people and myself means spending more time in the kitchen figuring out how to make paleo simple. For Laura, it means spending less time in the kitchen and more chicken nuggets. And we are not trying to confuse you. Ha!

toddler messes

And just in case you think I have my act together, this salad-dumbing disaster, in some form, happens daily. Canned chicken on salad is a go-to lunch for us and that is not the face of a repentant toddler.

What’s your greatest struggle in the kitchen right now? Are you spending more or less time in the kitchen these days? Have you ever been put on an elimination diet of some form?

Paleo Coconut Vanilla Pudding

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Prep time

2 mins

Cook time

8 mins

Total time

10 mins

Author: Tasha

Recipe type: Breakfast

Serves: 6

Ingredients

4 egg yolks
1 13.6 OZ can of coconut cream
1 13.6 OZ of coconut milk from the jug (use empty can to measure)
A couple dashes of salt
¼ C arrowroot powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon real maple syrup

Instructions

Mix egg yolks, coconut cream, and coconut milk, in a medium-sized pan.
Add a few dashed of salt.
Heat mixture on the stove being careful not to boil. Stir constantly.
Remove ¼ cup of the mix and make a slurry with the arrowroot powder. Mix it all together in the pot.
Keep stirring and just as the mixture begins to thicken, turn off the burner and add in the vanilla, and maple syrup. Taste and adjust sweetener if necessary.
Drink warm or chill for pudding.
Serve chilled pudding with a variety of toppings for breakfast or snack: sliced apples, bananas, cherries, blueberries, toasted coconut, pecans, etc.

Try both and tell us your favorite!

Paleo Pumpkin Pudding

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Prep time

2 mins

Cook time

8 mins

Total time

10 mins

Author: Tasha

Recipe type: Breakfast / Snack

Serves: 6

Ingredients

4 egg yolks
1 13.6 OZ can of coconut cream
1 13.6 OZ of coconut milk from the jug (use empty can to measure)
1 can of pureed pumpkin
A couple dashes of salt
¼ C arrowroot powder
3 teaspoons of pumpkin spice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon real maple syrup

Instructions

Mix egg yolks, coconut cream, and coconut milk in a medium-sized pan.
Add a few dashes of salt.
Heat mixture on the stove being careful not to boil. Stir constantly.
Remove ¼ cup of the mix and make a slurry with the arrowroot powder. Mix it all together in the pot.
Keep stirring and just as the mixture begins to thicken, turn off the burner and add in the vanilla , spice, and maple syrup. Taste and adjust sweetener if necessary.
Drink warm or chill for pudding.
Serve chilled pudding with a variety of toppings for breakfast or snack: sliced apples, bananas, cherries, blueberries, toasted coconut, pecans, etc.

Tasha Hackett, friend of Laura and author of Bluebird of the Prairie, a Christian romance releasing Spring 2021, is fueled by sunshine, paleo pudding, or hot chocolate—whichever is more readily available. Though she often pretends to be a ballerina while unloading the dishwasher, her favorite thing is writing with hope and humor to entertain and encourage women. Her time is spent with four chatty children and an incredibly supportive husband. They give her the kind of love people write books about. You can connect with her at www.tashahackett.com or Instagram @hackettacademy or for Laura @heavenlyhomemaker.

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

Simple Honey’d Italian Chicken and Potatoes

October 8, 2020 by Laura Leave a Comment

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

This Simple Honey’d Italian Chicken and Potatoes will take you just a few minutes to prep!

Our amazing across-the-street neighbors decided in the midst of April quarantine to start raising and butchering chickens. They generously asked if we wanted in on it.

Wellllllll. Yes. We wanted some chickens, most definitely. But we knew nothing about raising them and butchering them, and we didn’t have time to commit to it. They assured us that they’d take care of the hard part (which sounded more fun than hard to them). So how could we say no?!

We helped pay for feed and other supplies, saved all of our food scraps for the growing chicks, and best of all? Our littlest guys learned to stop whatever they were doing outside to holler “doodle-do!” across the street whenever their roosters started crowing. Cutest. Think. Ever.

So now we have several locally grown chickens in our freezer (can it possibly get more local than ACROSS THE STREET?!). They even went so far as to cut legs and thighs off for us during the butchering process.

I’ve been using the thighs in this Honey’d Italian Chicken recipe and not only is it incredibly simple to put this all together, but it is also super delicious! I can quickly slide this into the oven to bake, then steam a veggie and get out mixed greens to go with it. So easy!

Simple 4-Ingredient Honey’d Italian ChickenYum

Simple 4-Ingredient Honey'd Italian Chicken

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Author: Laura

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

2 pounds boneless or bone-in chicken thighs or breasts
2 pounds yellow or red potatoes
3 Tablespoons honey
¾ cup Italian Dressing

Instructions

Place chicken in a baking dish.
Scrub potatoes and cut them into wedges, placing them in the dish with the chicken.
In a small saucepan, mix honey and Italian dressing over low heat until combined.
Drizzle dressing mixture over the chicken.
Bake, uncovered, in a 425 degree oven for 45 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink.

If you prefer to use boneless chicken in this recipe, cut the baking time down to 25-35 minutes.

If you like simple recipes like this, you will love our Simple Real Food Recipes Cookbook. These are my go-to recipes now!

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How to Make Perfect French Toast

March 15, 2020 by Laura 3 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Want to know the secret ingredient that makes Perfect French Toast? How about two secret ingredients? Mhmm, these ingredients are about to become not-so-secret…

I realize that these tricks may be what you’ve been doing all along to make Perfect French Toast. Still, it’s fun to share, just in case. Nothing like taking a delicious and easy breakfast, brunch, or dinner and making it just that much better!

How to Make Perfect French ToastYum

Here are the two tricks I use to take our French toast up a notch:

1. Add Vanilla Extract to the egg mixture.

2. Use Cinnamon Swirl Bread.

The vanilla adds a wonderful flavor to your French Toast. And using Cinnamon Swirl Bread instead of “regular ol’ bread” is a huge game-changer for the better. THIS MAKES FRENCH TOAST SO GOOD!!

I used to always make Cinnamon Swirl Bread at home. I started using:

This Cinnamon Swirl Bread Recipe, then switched to an easier method which turned into:
This Stir-and-Pour Cinnamon Swirl Bread Recipe

But now that we’ve added little ones to our home again and I find myself juggling my bigs, my littles, my marriage, my home, my work, court dates, case worker visits/meetings, appointments, my own health – well…

I happily and un-guiltily buy the cinnamon swirl bread.

Does it need to be said? Ok. Let’s review:

God is bigger than store-bought bread.

Amen.

Hallelujah.

However you would like to make your Perfect French Toast, with whatever bread works best for you, go for it and enjoy! But oh making it with Cinnamon Swirl Bread does make it so much better!

Perfect French Toast

5.0 from 1 reviews

How to Make Perfect French Toast

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Author: Laura

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

10 slices of Cinnamon Swirl Bread
3 eggs
3 Tablespoons cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Butter for cooking French Toast
Fruit and Real Maple Syrup

Instructions

In a bowl, whisk together eggs, cream, and vanilla extract.
Heat butter in a skillet until melted.
Dip bread into the egg mixture, coating each slice entirely.
Fry each coated slice of bread in the buttered skillet until both sides are golden brown.
Serve with real maple syrup and fruit

What about making homemade vanilla? Goodness I would but is the price of vanilla beans ever going to go back down?? C’mon beans. We need you. And we need you to cost less than our sons’ college tuition.

Have you tried using Cinnamon Swirl Bread when you make French Toast? And do you add a little shot of vanilla? Mmm, so good.

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The Easiest Chocolate Fudge Recipe

January 26, 2020 by Laura 1 Comment

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

This Easiest Chocolate Fudge recipe is for real. I’ve never made an easier fudge recipe! (And you’ll love that these ingredients are REAL!)

You may notice that this Chocolate Fudge recipe looks strangely similar to our Chocolate Fudge Pie recipe. That’s because it is the exact same recipe minus the pie crust.

What can I say? One recipe always turns into another around here! It something works well for one recipe, it often makes sense that it will work well with a few minor adaptations. So it is with this Easiest Chocolate Fudge recipe.

When I first made the pie variety, I poured a little extra pie filling into a dish without a crust. It cut into pieces just like fudge, tasted amazing just like fudge, and so here we are with a recipe for the Easiest Chocolate Fudge.

Food really isn’t as hard as we like to think that it is. (This Simple Real Food Recipes Cookbook proves it. If you don’t already have it, you need it!! This will save you so much time and energy while you feed your family great meals!)

I figured you might need this fudge recipe this Valentine’s day as you make special treats for your special people. Use any chocolate chips you like best – milk chocolate, dark chocolate, bittersweet chocolate. So delicious!

Easiest Chocolate Fudge RecipeYum

The Easiest Chocolate Fudge Recipe

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Author: Laura

Serves: 40

Ingredients

10-ounces chocolate chips
4 Tablespoons butter
2 cups heavy whipping cream

Instructions

In a small saucepan, melt the chocolate chips and butter together.
Once melted, whip the chocolate mixture and the cream with beaters or in a high power blender (like a Blendtec) until smooth and thick.
Pour mixture into a 9x9 inch pan.
Chill for at least two hours before cutting and serving.

Chocolate Hint:

Do yourself a favor and order any of the Cocoa Powders, Chocolate Chips, or Chocolate Chunks from Olive Nation. (And use the code home to get 20% off!) I can’t tell you what a wonderful difference these cocoa powders and chocolate chips have made in my chocolate recipes. The quality is MUCH better, and they do not cost more than I was spending on the lesser varieties.

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Easiest Chocolate Fudge Pie Recipe

December 11, 2019 by Laura 1 Comment

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Your holiday season is about to get so much better! Introducing: Easiest Chocolate Fudge Pie!

The idea for this Chocolate Fudge Pie just came to me. The ingredients involved can’t help but be amazing together.

See, I had a baked pie crust sitting empty on my countertop begging to be filled. There seemed no other option but to fill it with something chocolate. College students would be joining us for lunch that day, and I already had Pumpkin Pies prepared.

Basically, I threw these ingredients together and hoped for the best. Hesitantly (but kind of selfishly, because I wanted some, ha!) I didn’t add extra sugar after I melted the chocolate chips. Would it be sweet enough for college kids to enjoy? We were heading to church soon so there wasn’t much time for me to contemplate.

Melt the chocolate and butter, whip in the cream (with the ease of my beautiful Blendtec), pour it into the shell, slide it into the fridge to chill for lunch.

OH MY CHOCOLATELY GOODNESS.

The college students raved about it! Apparently it was plenty sweet enough for them (even though not only did I not add extra sugar, I also used dark chocolate – who knew?!).

Truly, I don’t think there’s a pie recipe that’s as easy as this one. Certainly not one that turns out something so fudgy and rich. You will LOVE this Chocolate Fudge Pie. I highly recommend adding it to your holiday dessert table!

Easiest Chocolate Fudge Pie RecipeYum

Easiest Chocolate Fudge Pie Recipe

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Author: Laura

Serves: 1 pie

Ingredients

10-ounces chocolate chips
4 Tablespoons butter
2 cups heavy whipping cream
9-inch pie crust

Instructions

In a small saucepan, melt the chocolate chips and butter together.
Once melted, whip the chocolate mixture and the cream with beaters or in a high power blender (like a Blendtec) until smooth and thick.
Pour mixture into a prepared pie crust.
Chill for at least two hours before serving.

Need some pie crust recipes?

Chocolate Hint:

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Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Bread

November 10, 2019 by Laura Leave a Comment

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

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:

Justus texts friends to invite them for lunch, then he tells his friends to invite friends too.
His friends invite friends, and they are welcome to invite others too.
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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Author: Laura

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

In a large mixing bowl or in a powerful blender (like a Blendtec), whip together butter, cream cheese, sugar, eggs, vanilla, and milk.
Add flour, baking powder, and salt.
Fold in chocolate chips.
Pour batter into a well-buttered 9" loaf pan.
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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Easy Whole Grain Cherry Muffins

October 9, 2019 by Laura Leave a Comment

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Why have I not thought to make Cherry Muffins before?

I was inspired a few weeks ago after helping out at our church’s monthly food bank distribution.

It’s one of my favorite days of the month, by the way. Well over 100 families are served, and they get to pick up lots and lots of food to help meet their grocery needs for the month. I’ve loved taking as many of our boys as are available each time. Yes, even the little boys. Brayden stays with a big brother and helps transport boxes of food in wagons. Boy Babe hangs out with me. Without even trying, he makes all the people waiting in line smile. Then they often start telling me about their kids and grandkids. It’s fantastic.

As a perk, after all the community has been served, if there are any food leftovers we volunteers can go through the line and take what we can use. In August, there were huge bags of dried cherries available. I snatched one right up with the idea to make trail mix. But then I got the idea to try these Whole Grain Cherry Muffins.

Not too shabby of an idea if I do say so myself.

I love that we can take a basic muffin recipe and add so many different add-ins. Fruit, nuts, chocolate chips – so many great options! Find a huge list of other muffin recipes here, many of which are simple tweaks to the recipe below.

For this particular recipe, I added a hand full of dried cherries, then a splash of lemon juice to make them extra tart and flavorful!

Easy Whole Grain Cherry MuffinsYum

Easy Whole Grain Cherry Muffins

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Author: Laura

Serves: 9-12

Ingredients

1½ cups whole grain flour (I use freshly ground soft white wheat.)
⅓ cup sugar (sucanat, brown sugar, honey, whatever your preference)
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon sea salt
1 egg
¾ cup milk
¼ cup sour cream
¼ cup melted coconut oil
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
½ cup dried cherries

Instructions

Mix dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
Add egg, milk, sour cream, coconut oil, and lemon juice.
Stir well, then fold in dried cherries.
Scoop batter into prepared muffin cups.
Bake in a 400 degree oven for 18-22 minutes or until muffins are golden brown.

**Do you have our Simple Mixes to Save the Day eBook yet? Grab it so you can save time and energy by using the Muffin Mix for this recipe!! I LOVE having these mixes on hand!!!

Simply exchange the dry ingredients in this recipe for 2 cups of Muffin Mix. :)

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