Heavenly Homemakers

Encouraging women in homemaking, healthy eating and parenting

Bacon Cheese Muffins

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I believe bacon is the language of love when it comes to most males, and I happen to like bacon too. You want to know the best way I’ve found to get all of my men-folk out of bed in the mornings? Make bacon. Hoooah! <—that was me grunting out a manly sound, did you hear it? That’s the sound that typically follows the word bacon in our house. “Mmm, bacon. Hoooah!” Based on this idea, I created Bacon Cheese Muffins.

I usually stick with turkey bacon, but it really is hard to beat the taste of the pork bacon I can get from our local farmer. It’s a wonderful, occasional treat at our house – and yes, it does drive the boys out of bed in the morning.

These Bacon Cheese Muffins are easy and delicious – perfect for a holiday brunch. (You may remember seeing this recipe in our free Healthy Breakfast Made Simple eBook.)

bacon cheese muffins

Bacon Cheese MuffinsYum

Bacon Cheese Muffins
 
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Serves: 12
Ingredients
  • 1½ cups whole wheat flour
  • ¼ cup sucanat or brown sugar
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 egg
  • ¾ cup milk
  • ¼ cup melted butter or coconut oil
  • ½ cup bacon
  • ½ cup shredded cheese
Instructions
  1. Using kitchen shears, cut bacon into bite sized pieces.
  2. Brown bacon pieces in a skillet until thoroughly cooked.
  3. In a mixing bowl combine flour, sucanat, baking powder, and sea salt.
  4. Add egg, milk, and butter. Fold in cooked bacon and shredded cheese.
  5. Scoop batter into 12 paper-lined muffin tins.
  6. Bake in a 400° oven for 15-20 minutes or until muffins are golden brown.

Are you bacon lovers at your house?  Hoooah!

Muffin Info You Need

The Easiest Way to Make Muffins

Even though muffins are easy to make, these tips make them even easier. I love real food made easy.

All of these tips work great for these Bacon Cheese Muffins!

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Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

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It’s kind of a no-brainer, converting muffin recipes into quick bread recipes and vice versa. Still, it’s not something I always think about doing.

Remember how I turned Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins into Chocolate Chocolate Chip Bread? That worked just as well when I decided to turn Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins into Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

To make it easy, I’ll post the recipe here with revised instructions for making this batter into a delicious quick bread!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip BreadYum

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread
 
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Serves: 1 loaf
Ingredients
  • 3 cups whole wheat flour (I used freshly ground hard white wheat)
  • ½ cup sucanat
  • 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)
  • 1 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
  1. In a large mixing bowl, stir together all dry ingredients. Add eggs, pumpkin and oil. Mix well. Fold in chocolate chips. Pour batter into two buttered loaf pans. Bake in a 350° oven for 45-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Allow bread to cool for about 10 minutes before removing from pan.

 

(I prefer either homemade chocolate chips or soy free chocolate chips)

Do you like muffins or quick bread better, or does it depend on the day?

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Mix and Match Oatmeal Bars

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Whenever I say something to someone about one of my kids not liking something I make for a meal or snack, I get reactions like, “What?! Your kids are picky eaters?” No, no. I say. All four of them shout, “YES!” and do a fist pump each time they look over and see what has been prepared for them to eat. They give me a loving squeeze and pick me up off the floor (because three out of four of them can do that now), swing me around, and offer to do the dishes after we eat. They eagerly dig into each prepared dish, helping themselves to seconds and thirds – no  matter what I have fixed. I’m four-for-four on every single breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack item I prepare.

Bahahahaha….haha…ha

The truth is that if I ever happen to prepare a meal that all four boys like without making any adaptions, it’s an amazing feat. They aren’t brats about it (usually), but shucks if two of my boys don’t even like corn. One won’t eat peanut butter. One hates bananas. One likes just about anything…but he’s not a big fan of anything with pumpkin unless it’s pie. One will only eat green beans if he has ketchup to dip them in. Only one boy will eat a fresh tomato and it’s beyond me why one of my cute blondies won’t eat a sweet potato fry because it’s orange and you know, tastes a little funny.

Do I baby my kids when it comes to food? Only in my spare time. When one of my boys hesitates about the food I’ve made, I remind him that I have not made anything weird or gross to eat, that I’m not going to make anything else for this meal, that most of what I make they do like, and they are to be grateful for the wonderful variety of food we always have at our house. They always have to eat some of what I make. If it truly makes them gag, they are on their own to find something nutritious that is less disgusting to them.

Hey, I get it. I don’t really love bananas either. We all have different tastes and preferences. But we don’t get to whine or complain, and we do need to be tough and thankful. Why yes, I have given that lecture a few (hundred) times.

All that to say, last week I decided to make Raspberry Oatmeal Bars for breakfast. When I mentioned my plan, one of my boys said, “Okay, but I like apricot jelly better than raspberry.” To which I replied, “And I like summer better than winter, what’s your point?” Not really. Although I do…like summer better. But it occurred to me how easy (and tasty) it would be to make the oatmeal bars half and half. Not always can I run with the taste preferences in my household, but for this? Sure, why not?

Mix and Match Oatmeal Bars

I doubled this Raspberry Oatmeal Bar recipe. I pressed the mixture into a 9×13 pan. I spread apricot jelly on one half and raspberry jelly on the other half. I sprinkled the oatmeal deliciousness on top, I baked the bars, and we all had a breakfast we loved. All six of us. Even the one who didn’t really think oatmeal bars sounded good that morning. To which I answered, “This is what we’re having for breakfast. And don’t forget to drink your milk.”

Next time, instead of making them half and half, I think I’ll make them like a checkerboard – each piece a different flavor.

Bahahahaha….haha…ha

In my spare time.

Does everyone in your house eat everything you make every time?

 

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Easy Oatmeal Breakfast Bars

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Easy_Oatmeal_Bars

Yum

What’s great about these Easy Oatmeal Breakfast Bars?  You can eat them in a house. You can eat them in a rush. You can eat them in a car. You can eat them near or far. Inside outside upside down. Sam…I am.

We’re in the process of trading in Seuss for Shakespeare at this point in our lives, so apparently I felt the need for a Dr. Seuss flashback. I mean, I could have gone with Macbeth or Romeo and Juliet and said, “All that glitters is not breakfast” or “An oatmeal bar by any other name would smell as sweet” but those didn’t make nearly as much sense within the context of this post. And as all of us who have ever come across a nooth grush on our tooth brush can attest to, Dr. Seuss always makes perfect sense.

You might look at this recipe and ask, “How is this one different from your Breakfast Cake, Giant Breakfast Cookie, and Oatmeal Cookie recipes? I would answer by telling you that they are all similar, except that this recipe uses the fewest ingredients and is easiest to throw together. It’s also a little gooier and chewier and at this point in my life, since it’s so fast and easy, it has become my favorite of them all.

I usually try to make these at night before going to bed so that when we get up in the morning, breakfast is ready to eat right away. Which leads me back to how you can eat them in a rush, in a car, with your coffee, wherever you are. Parting is such sweet sorrow. I’ll stop now.

Easy Oatmeal Breakfast Bars

1 cup melted butter
3/4 cup sucanat or 1/2 cup honey
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups rolled oats
2 cups whole wheat flour (I use freshly ground hard white wheat)

Stir together melted butter and sucanat. Add eggs, baking soda, salt, and vanilla, mixing well. Stir in oats and flour until well combined. Spread mixture in a 9×13 inch baking dish. Bake in a 350° oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

Feel free to stir 1/2 cup chocolate chips or dried fruit to the batter before baking!

To Freeze These Bars:  Bake as directed and allow them to cool completely. Cut into bars, then wrap individually. Place wrapped bars in a freezer bag in the freezer. Thaw for at least one hour before eating.

Who do you enjoy more? Seuss or Shakespeare?

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Flourless Fudge Cookies

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flourless_fudge_cookies_3

You can’t go wrong with a recipe that has the word “fudge” in its name. These cookies are very easy to make and live up to their name. Mmm, fudgy cookies. Yes please.

Flourless Fudge CookiesYum

2 1/4 cups sucanat powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup cocoa powder
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Put 2 1/4 cups of sucanat into a blender. Process until sugar has become powdered. (Here is a post with picture tutorial showing you how easy this is!)  In a bowl, mix sucanat powdered sugar with the remaining ingredients. Scoop teaspoon sized balls of batter onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet (very important). Bake in a 350° oven for 8-10 minutes.  Allow the cookies to cool completely while on the cookie sheet.

If you bake them on a baking stone or try to remove them before they are completely cooled, you’ll end up with this:

flourless_fudge_cookies_2

See below, how the cookies sit patiently and cool on their parchment paper so that they will come off the pan nicely?

flourless_fudge_cookies_1
Ah yes, that is the way to do it. These cookies are worth the wait!

flourless_fudge_cookies_4
Have you ever made your own powdered sugar with sucanat?  It’s very easy – and these cookies are a great way to experiment with that idea!

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Blueberry Pancake and Waffle Syrup

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This little gem of a recipe has been tucked away on my Whole Wheat Waffle page for years. But I decided it needed to be brought out of hiding. Everyone must know about this. And you should also whip some cream and plop it onto your waffles with this Blueberry Syrup because then, you will experience bliss.

blueberry_waffle_2

Wondering how to make Whipped Cream? You’ll want to click over here to learn the easiest way I’ve found to make it. You can even make it ahead of time to pull out just before serving! Now anytime I serve waffles with fruit topping and whipped cream, my boys call them “Super Mama Waffles!”

Blueberry SyrupYum

Blueberry Pancake and Waffle Syrup
 
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Ingredients
  • 2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
  • ¼ sucanat (dehydrated cane sugar juice)
Instructions
  1. Stir blueberries and sucanat together in a saucepan over medium heat for about 10 minutes until syrupy.
  2. Serve as is, or blend to make the syrup smooth.

blueberry_waffle

Trying to get ahead? Make this syrup ahead of time, refrigerate or freeze, then rewarm when ready to serve.

Other fruity recipes you’ll love:

Of course I can’t provide you with syrups and toppings without also providing you with pancake and waffle recipes:

And we can’t talk about toppings without also mentioning that Peach Syrup, Raspberry Syrup, and Blueberry Syrup are wonderful on ice cream. Check out this post detailing how to set up a Brownie Sundae Bar. Wouldn’t it be nice to offer any of these fruit syrups as an option?

As you can see, once you know how to make a Fruit Syrup, your options for serving it are many. Such a tasty way to enjoy fruit!

Blueberry Pancake and Waffle Syrup

What’s your favorite way to top a waffle?

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Homemade Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups {Real Food Recipe Makeover}

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This recipe was inspired by Laura S., someone I met at the Colorado Springs Meet and Greet. Not only was her idea brilliant, I think her name is absolutely beautiful. ;)

I wasn’t able to make these Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups look perfect and beautiful like one you’d pull out of a Reese’s wrapper. But I did make them taste better, so we’ll go with “taste before beauty” on this one. And of course, with these, you avoid the hydrogenated oils and turn out an even more delicious treat than one that comes from a factory.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups
Warning:  These are super rich and slightly messy. Children and adults alike may end up with chocolaty fingers and faces, not to mention a sugar high. You’re welcome and I’m sorry.

Chocolate Peanut Butter CupsYum

1/4 cup natural peanut butter
2 teaspoons honey
1 cup chocolate chips
2 Tablespoons Butter

Stir together peanut butter and honey in a small bowl. Set aside. Prepare six regular sized or 15 mini-sized muffin cups with paper liners.

In a small saucepan, melt chocolate chips and butter, stirring until melted. Spoon half of the melted chocolate mixture into the prepared paper-lined muffin cups.

pb_cups_4

Place a spoonful of peanut butter mixture into each cup, dividing the mixture evenly among the cups. Top each with the remaining chocolate, smoothing it the best you can to cover the peanut butter.

pb_cups_5

Refrigerate for two hours until solid. (Or place in the freezer for about thirty minutes to speed the process.)  Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

pb_cups_2
pb_cups_3
You’ll be happy to know that while playing with this idea, I also came up with a Chocolate Caramel Cup. Recipe coming soon…

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Breakfast Pizza {Real Food Dollar Menu}

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Yum

Our boys discovered that you can use my Whole Wheat Pizza Crust to make an awesome Breakfast Pizza. They also discovered that if you work ahead in your math book, you will finish ahead of schedule. On the contrary, if you avoid doing math some days, you will have to do double the lessons on the days you’d really rather go outside and play with your brothers on the trampoline.

But back to the pizza.

breakfast_pizza_2

Make it just like you would a regular homemade pizza, using this crust recipe. Top it with salsa, scrambled eggs, cheese, and any other toppings of choice – like veggies and meat.  Homemade Turkey Sausage is great on this pizza!

Bake it as directed. Serve with fruit.

breakfast_pizza_1

Without adding meat, I found that it cost about $4.52 to make this meal, which filled my family of six. That’s about 75¢ per person, for a meal that actually sticks with them for several hours!

Easy, delicious, filling, versatile, inexpensive, and healthy. What more could you want? (Except maybe to be finished with math lessons for the year.)

*I calculated my cost based on the food sources and prices I have available to me. Most of the ingredients I use are organic. Your cost may be slightly more or less depending on where you find your ingredients.

Looking for more meals on our Real Food Dollar Menu? Here are the recipes I’ve shared so far:

Stay tuned for many more recipes and ideas for our Real Food Dollar Menu!

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

Crock Pot Chicken Tacos

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This is one of the easiest recipes in the world. Forgot to thaw the chicken? No problem. Have some random tidbits of lettuce or beans in your fridge you need to use up? Perfect. Planning to be out of the house all afternoon and need something ready to eat when you get home…but you only have five minutes before you need to rush out the door, you forgot to make a dinner plan, your daughter can’t find her left shoe, the delivery man knocks on the door, and your toddler is running toward the toilet with your cell phone?

Chicken Tacos to the rescue.

This idea came from my friend Emily. She’s an awesome mom of two little ones. I admire how she is always working to put healthy meals on the table, while trying to save time in the process. Hmmm, kind of sounds like the majority of us, huh? We need easy, fast, tasty…and we want it to nourish our families too. That’s why I thought you’d like hearing this recipe idea.

You simply put chicken breasts into your slow cooker, dump on a jar of salsa, and walk away. (I hate to discourage you or add to your work load, but you do have to plug in the machine and turn a knob. Try not to break a nail.)

My family loves these because they can build their tacos however they like. I love this recipe because it’s adaptable based on what I have in my fridge and pantry. If I don’t have whole wheat tortillas made, but I do have some organic corn chips on hand? That’s how we eat it. And last week, I decided to fry some corn tortillas in palm shortening and have Chicken Tostadas with this recipe instead. Incredibly delicious.

Crock Pot Chicken TacosYum

Crock Pot Chicken Tacos
 
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Ingredients
  • 1½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • 2 cups salsa
Instructions
  1. Place chicken (frozen, thawed, upside down, whatever) into your slow cooker.
  2. Pour salsa over the chicken.
  3. Cover and cook on low for about 4 hours.
  4. Shred chicken mixture.
  5. Serve with any of your favorite taco fixin's.

chicken_tacos_2

What is your favorite way to top a taco?  Last week when we had these, I asked Asa (our oldest) to make his famous Spicy Avocado Dip. It was so good with this chicken!

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Chili Mac ~ Real Food Dollar Menu

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I have a love-hate relationship with leftovers.

Most of the time, I really do love them. On the days I have way too many items on my to-do list and just don’t have time to cook – it’s great to just pull out leftovers to warm up and eat. But on the other hand, having a fridge full of little tid-bits of this and that? It makes my fridge look cluttered, which kinda makes me feel annoyed.

This, my friends, is what we call a “first world problem.” Too many leftovers? So much food in my fridge that I can’t find what I’m looking for? So many people around the world long to have the “problems” I have.

When I have to slide all sorts of bowls and jars around in my fridge, just to find the peanut butter stuffed way in the back? It’s a waste of a good thirty seconds of my life.

Ooh, and you know what’s really annoying? When I make enough peas for each of us to have a nice serving. And then the last person leaves about 13 peas in the pan. Why? Just take the rest of the peas, for goodness sake! I do not want to find a little container for 13 leftover peas, and then put them into the fridge so that I can slide them all around when I’m looking for peanut butter. Likely, they’ll become forgotten and fuzzy because really? Who wants to take the time to re-heat 13 peas?

Oh to have the luxury of complaining about “all” the food in my refrigerator. I truly am thankful for all of the food on my shelves – even the container of 13 forgotten peas. I promise to always be grateful for the cluttery tid-bits.

(But really, if you are the last one to serve yourself at my house, and there are a few peas floating at the bottom of the pan, please, for the love of my sanity as I search for peanut butter, just put them on your plate and eat them already.)

And now for a real food recipe that costs a very small amount of money and uses up some of the leftovers that are taking up space in your fridge.

Chili MacYum

6 cups (give or take) leftover chili
2 cups water
4 cups whole wheat or rice pasta (any shape)
Sea salt to taste
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

In a large pot, bring chili and water to a boil. Add uncooked pasta. Cover and cook on medium heat until pasta is tender. Sprinkle in salt, according to your taste. Serve with shredded cheddar cheese sprinkled on top.

chili_mac_2

Estimated cost of this meal? About 65¢ per person. And that includes the peas. All of them – even the last 13.

*I calculated my cost based on the food sources and prices I have available to me. Most of the ingredients I use are organic. Your cost may be slightly more or less depending on where you find your ingredients.

If you are sick of chili, and don’t want to eat your leftovers immediately – simply spread this Chili Mac mixture into a 9×13 inch baking dish, top with cheese, cover, and freeze. Reheat another day.

I am happy to report that the day recently when I served Chili Mac, there were no leftover peas. But just in case, maybe I should come up with a recipe that uses 13 peas…

Looking for more meals on our Real Food Dollar Menu? Here are the recipes I’ve shared so far:

Stay tuned for many more recipes and ideas for our Real Food Dollar Menu!

Are you a fan of leftovers? Do you sometimes find a few straggly uneaten peas in the pan? 

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