Heavenly Homemakers

Encouraging women in homemaking, healthy eating and parenting

Menu Plan for the Week – and Our First Two Meet and Greet Events!

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Our family is hanging out in Branson with extended family for a long weekend – having a blast!! What I’m most excited to share with you though, is that our first two Meet and Greet events were SO MUCH FUN!!

I was excited about it and knew it would be fun to meet some of you. I just had no idea how much fun it would be. We laughed. We met each other’s kids. We shared. We asked questions. We laughed some more.

Thank you so much to all of you who took the time to come for a visit. This made me want to take a huge tour so that I’d have the opportunity to meet more of you! Someday, maybe our family will make it to your area. :)  (Here are the upcoming  Meet and Greet events we know of for sure. And if you’re anywhere close to Springfield, MO – please come visit on Tuesday, March 19! Read the time and location details here.)

Below is a picture of part of our group in Kansas City. There were a lot more kids playing in a different room, and another gal showed up later (forgot to get a picture at that time!). And just in case you were wondering, we hid all of our sugary drinks before having Matt snap the shot. Oh wait, did I just rat all of us out?!?! Oops. :)

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Here’s the group at Branson. Don’t worry. We weren’t hiding our sugary drinks in this picture. We just hadn’t ordered them yet.  ;)

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Here is a good guess as to a menu plan for this week. Here’s hoping by the time we get home, I will have enough of a brain to follow it. If not, we can always resort to Creamy Mac and Cheese with a veggie.

Sunday, March 17
Banana muffins, apples
Taco bar with all the fixin’s (cooked by another family member)
Bbq beef brisket, baked potatoes, green beans, cream cheese corn (cooked by yours truly)

Monday, March 18
Giant breakfast cookies, applesauce
Burgers on the grill (cooked by another family member)
Supper – Reservation at Mel’s Hard Luck Diner (my dad has a gift certificate!)

Tuesday, March 19
Traveling day – not sure what we’re eating but we’ll see you Springfield, MO folks at Panera Bread at 10:30! I can not wait!

Wednesday, March 20
Baked oatmeal cups, clementines
Easy noodle stir-fry with broccoli and carrots
Chicken fried steak strips, mashed potatoes, gravy, peas

Thursday, March 21
Pancake sausage muffins, applesauce
Cheeseburger macaroni, green beans
Creamy chicken and rice casserole, carrots, tossed salad

Friday, March 22
Honey whole wheat bread with peanut butter and honey, grapes
Homemade pizza, fruit salad
Salmon patties, rice with butter, tossed salad, steamed broccoli

Saturday,  March 23
Homemade granola with dried fruit and milk
Leftovers
Potato soup, carrots

Are any of you enjoying a spring break?  :)
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My Proof Copy of “Oh, For Real” Came Today! (Guess What That Means?!)

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I warned the guy at the printing company:  “I’m probably going to cry when I come pick up the first book. Is that okay?” He was nice enough to say that he wouldn’t blame me if I did. When he emailed this morning to let us know he had a proof copy ready for us to come look at, I almost flipped! (But I didn’t cry. Aren’t you proud?)

We hurried and got the boys going on their school work, then Matt and I headed to the printer to take a look. When we got there, they handed the book to me, and once again, I didn’t cry. (Shocking!)  Instead, all I could do is smile non-stop. We looked through it page by page, discussing with them any changes that needed to be made, which thankfully, were very few. 

I am so happy to share that this book, in its professionally printed and spiral bound form, is everything I pictured it and desired it to be – only better! We brought it home, and I continued to look over it – loving how convenient and helpful it is going to be to have in the kitchen with me.

the_book_1

I needed an excuse to use it right away. :)  Thankfully, I had some black bananas that needed to be put to good use. Banana Muffins it is!

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I love that the book will open up and sit flat on my kitchen counter while I’m reading a recipe. I love that as I’m reading it I can flip pages back and hold it easily. I love that is such high quality. And I love that it will soon be ready to ship to you! 

Here’s the plan:  We leave for Kansas City, Branson, and Springfield on Thursday morning. There will be a few printed copies ready for us to pick and up and take with us on the road to have available at our Meet and Greet events. Then, when we get home from our travels, we should be able to pick up the remaining printed copies and mail them out on Wednesday (the 20th) to all those who have pre-ordered!

So, the sooner you order, the sooner you’ll receive your book. Our goal is to have envelopes ready for those who have pre-ordered so that your copies can go out next week as soon as we pick up the books. Don’t forget that you’ll receive a $10 pre-order bonus if you purchase before March 19!

Click here to learn more about
Oh, For Real: Real Food, Real Family, Real Easy.

As for me, I’ll be getting envelopes ready for shipment, preparing for our trip, and thanking God that He made all of this happen. He is so good!

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Menu Plan for the Week (with surprise, surprise – lots of potatoes)

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Here is my inspirational and insightful thought for today:  When you have a lot of potatoes, it is neato to come up with a meal plan that includes a lot of potatoes.

How deep was that?

What I mean is…sure I ended up with twice as many potatoes as I really need. But what a blessing to have an abundance of food that is so versatile. There are soooo many yummy dishes to make with potatoes. I had fun coming up with our menu plan. :)

taco_potato_1

Mmmm, Taco potatoes.  :)

Sunday, February 17
Baked oatmeal, apple slices
Leftovers
High School Huddle:  Nacho bar with chips, meat, cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, olives, sour cream, and salsa; brownies with fudge frosting

Monday, February 18
Whole wheat waffles, blueberries
Easy noodle stir fry with broccoli and carrots
Chicken fried steak strips, mashed potatoes and gravy, peas

Tuesday, February 19
Applesauce bread, bananas
Calico beans, homemade soft pretzels, sliced kiwi
Cheesy chicken and rice (this recipe, except using chicken instead of beef) with carrots

Wednesday, February 20
Easy breakfast casserole, oranges
Potato soup, carrots
Pizza boats, tossed salad

Thursday, February 21
Homemade poptarts, applesauce
Taco potatoes, fruit salad
Alfredo sauce with pasta, tossed salad, steamed broccoli and carrots

Friday, February 22
Scrambled eggs, hashbrowns, creamy orange coolers
Chicken patty sandwiches, homemade fries, green beans
Cheesy salsa enchiladas, tossed salad

Saturday, February 23
Peanut butter pancakes, bananas
Leftovers
Lamb chops, baked potatoes, asparagus, tossed salad

100 pounds of potatoes aside, I have some really fun plans to share with you this week. Be on the lookout! :)

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Menu Plan for the Week

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We walked into the house today after church to the delicious smell of pot roast. I quickly made gravy, and we sat down to eat. By the way, see that itty-bitty tiny amount of gravy? There wasn’t much juice in this roast for some reason, so our gravy portions were very small. But hey, how nice is it that our worst problem today at lunch was lack of gravy?

roast

After this week, we will officially have two teenagers in the house. Justus turns 13 on Friday! 

I was disappointed that last week I never got around to making A Moment With Mom’s Potato Soup. She is one of our site sponsors and not only does she share the occasional yummy recipe, she has lots of encouragement to share. Be sure to check out her blog! Here’s hoping I’ll get this soup made Tuesday as planned. :)

Sunday, February 10
Giant breakfast cookies, clementines
Beef chuck roast, carrots, potatoes, gravy, whole wheat butterhorns
High school huddle – Breakfast casseroles, peanut butter chocolate chip muffins, banana muffins, applesauce bread, apples, oranges, pineapple

Monday, February 11
Whole wheat pancakes, blueberries
Chicken salad on whole wheat pita bread, fruit salad
Leftover roast made into stew, cornbread muffins

Tuesday, February 12
Granola, dried fruit
A Moment With Mom’s Potato Soup, baby carrots
Lamb chops, baked potatoes, green beans

Wednesday, February 13
Scrambled eggs, turkey sausage, creamy orange cooler
Quesadillas, sweet peppers, apples
Bbq chicken legs (baked in a 350° oven for an hour), cheesy mashed potatoes, peas, tossed salad

Thursday, February 14
Honey whole wheat bread with peanut butter and honey, applesauce
Easy noodle stir fry with chicken, broccoli, and carrots
Hamburger steak, ranch potato wedges, peas, pineapple, some sort of special Valentine’s Day treat?? Ideas?

Friday, February 15 – Justus’ birthday choices!
(He hasn’t decided yet.)  :)

Saturday, February 16
Homemade poptarts, fruit
Leftovers
Mother-Son Banquet with church family

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Get Your Kids Involved in the Kitchen {You Can Do This! Bonus Tip}

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ECourse1BonusTips

I am very excited that so many of you are taking part in our You Can Do This! The First Five Steps To a Real Food Kitchen eCourse!

As an added bonus – for those of you who are participating in the course and for those who aren’t – each Monday for the next few weeks, I plan to share a Bonus Tip to encourage you along in your Real Food Journey. Remember though, these are just bonus tips. If you take the eCourse, you’ll get loads more information, guidance, downloads, recipes, and worksheets – all for just $5! (Click here to purchase if you are interested.)

Today’s tip is to get your kids involved in the kitchen with you. This will help them learn how to cook, and learn how to make healthy choices.

Just by helping me in the kitchen, my kids have learned how to adapt a recipe to use healthier ingredients. Case in point…

Elias got a new cookbook in his stocking – and all of the recipes are for yummy desserts, his favorite! Simply by looking through the recipes, he can  figure out how to make dishes and desserts using healthier ingredients. He’s only 11. 

kids_in_the_kitchen

This it not because I’ve spent countless hours drilling my kids on how to cook and how to adapt recipes. It’s because they learn simply by being in the kitchen with me, and because truly, adapting a recipe to make it healthier is not really very difficult! (Read more about how to do this here.)

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Elias and Malachi (age 8) chose a Mint Chocolate Bar recipe and got to work, with very little help from me. They used sucanat in place of sugar, whole wheat flour in place of white flour, and real butter in place of vegetable oil. These are all one-to-one substitutions. See? not hard at all!

Their special treat turned out delicious. And I love knowing that I’m preparing my kids for a healthy future. (Because yes, they do know how to cook more than just desserts.)  :)

 Interested in learning more about our
You Can Do This! The First Five Steps To a Real Food Kitchen eCourse?
We’d love to have you join us!
And don’t forget to take advantage of our
Buy a $10 Gift Certificate for $5 deal.
With it, you can get the eCourse, bonus recipe cards, and another eBook
– all for five bucks!

 

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

Menu Plan for the Week

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Thanks for following along all last week as I shared how our menu plan played out each day. And a big thanks to my family who, three times a day – six days in a row, was kind enough to say, “Can we eat this now or do you need a picture first?” Gotta love ’em. :)

You really should be impressed with how well I followed the menu last week. I did tweak it here and there, but overall, I stayed on track pretty well. This doesn’t always happen, trust me. Sometimes what I planned just doesn’t sound good. Sometimes there are other items in the fridge that need to be eaten before I make anything new. And often – I am working on food experiments to share here on the blog (or for my new book), so we eat the food I’ve been playing with so that I can document the correct ingredient measurements and get some pictures. Again, a big thanks to my family who sees a new dish, gets excited, but pauses long enough to ask, “Can we eat this now or do you need a picture first?” :)

Oh dear. If my kids ever come to your house and happen to be there during meal time, you may want to get out your camera and snap a quick picture of the food, just so that they know it’s okay for them grab a fork and chow down. At our house, when Mom puts the camera away, that means it’s “time to eat”. It’s kind of like Pavlov’s dogs. Not that I’m comparing my family to dogs. Or myself to a Russian physiologist. Oh never mind.

So moving on to this week. Last night I made a batch of Whole Wheat Cinnamon Rolls, put them into the fridge just after shaping them, and baked them this morning. If you recall, we had some teenage guests. I figured homemade cinnamon rolls would hit the spot. I added a few tablespoons of orange juice concentrate to the Cream Cheese Frosting – so yummy!

cinnamon_rolls

Here’s what we’ll be eating this week. After I take pictures. (Okay, it’s really not every time we eat…)

Sunday, February 3
Whole wheat cinnamon rolls, fruit
Church meal to feed the youth after the rally:  I signed up for and took cookies and chips
Huddle/Super Bowl Party – taking cheese/crackers, and sliced sweet peppers

Monday, February 4
Honey whole wheat bagels, creamy orange coolers
Veggie soup, cornbread
Easy noodle stir fry with broccoli and carrots

Tuesday, February 5
Peanut butter pancakes, turkey sausage, apples
Grilled cheese sandwiches, tomato soup, baby carrots
Creamy chicken and rice, carrots, tossed salad

Wednesday, February 6
Pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, applesauce
Calzones, fruit smoothies
Cheesy salsa enchiladas, tossed salad

Thursday, February 7
Warm chocolate soother, toast, clementines
Pigs in a blanket, smoothies, baby carrots
Chicken fried steak strips, mashed potatoes, gravy, peas

Friday, February 8
Strawberry bread, bananas
Moment With Mom’s Potato Soup, raw veggies
Crock pot bbq chicken, potato wedges, green beans

Saturday, February 9
Whole wheat donuts, fruit
Leftovers
Italian pasta bake, tossed salad

I want to know how often you take pictures of your food before you eat.  C’mon. Fess up. Even non-bloggers do it I bet. :)

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Menu Plan for the Week – and – Do I Really Follow My Menu Plan?!!?!

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Ever wonder if I really follow the menu plans I share each Sunday? This week is your chance to find out! Every day (as much as possible) through Saturday, I will take pictures of my kitchen work and of our meals and share them with you here. 

I’ll warn you right now – wait – no I won’t. You’ll just have to keep visiting every day to find out more about my days and to see what we’re really eating. :)

In the meantime, here’s our “menu plan”. This may look clean and organized – but how does it really look at our house from day to day? Hmmmm…

Sunday, January 27
Oatmeal, fruit
Cheesy beef and rice, tossed salad, green beans
Leftovers (no huddle tonight!)

Monday, January 28
Whole wheat pancakes, blueberries
Chicken and noodles, carrots
Bbq meatballs, baked potatoes, green beans

Tuesday, January 29
Scrambled egg sandwiches, oranges
Tuna casserole, peas
Sloppy joes, green beans

Wednesday, January 30
Chocolate chocolate chip muffins, applesauce
Meat and cheese burritos, fruit
Alfredo sauce with pasta, tossed salad

Thursday, January 31
Simple sourdough biscuits, fruit
Homemade corn dogs, baby carrots, fruit
Popcorn chicken, homemade fries, peas

Friday, February 1
Giant breakfast cookies, apples
Taco corn fritters, fruit smoothies
Homemade pizza, fruit

Saturday, February 2
Whole wheat cinnamon rolls, fruit
Leftovers
Chicken pot pie

I’ve got my camera in my pocket, ready to take pictures all week long. I’ll check in later tonight to share with you how today went! :)

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Menu Plan for the Week

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It’s been a few weeks since I’ve made this easy Overnight No-Knead Bread. I have to ask myself why???? It’s too easy and yummy not to make often. :)

For High School Huddle tonight, I made a double batch of Chocolate Crinkle Cookies. Can you smell them from where you are? Yum!

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Here’s what we’ll be eating this week:

Sunday, January 20
Baked oatmeal, applesauce
Cheeseburger macaroni, green beans
High School Huddle – Chicken enchiladas, spanish rice, chips and salsa, tossed salad, chocolate crinkle cookies

Monday, January 21
Whole wheat waffles, blueberries
Salmon patties, rice with butter and salt, steamed mixed veggies
Italian stew, tossed salad

Tuesday, January 22
Warm pumpkin custard, toast
Taco corn fritters, fruit-kefir smoothies
Fiesta chicken, tossed salad

Wednesday, January 23
No-knead overnight bread, fruit salad
Popcorn chicken, ranch potato wedges, peas
Homemade pizza, tossed salad

Thursday, January 24
Creamy orange cooler, toast
Taco potatoes, fruit
Sloppy joes, potato salad, green beans

Friday, January 25
Scrambled eggs, fruit-kefir smoothies
Calzones, raw veggies
Chili with cheese and sour cream, fruit

Saturday, January 26
Whole wheat cinnamon rolls, fruit
Leftovers
Chicken salad, whole wheat pita bread, veggies, apples

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Menu Plan for the Week

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Last night before bed, I pulled some Whole Wheat Butterhorns out of the freezer to thaw and rise so that we could have them with our lunch today.

Correction.

I was in bed already and beginning to relax when I remembered that I had intended to get the butterhorns out of the freezer. I then had to wrestle around in my head while I tried to decide whether or not it was worth it to get up and get them out as planned. 

We were planning to invite college students over to share our lunch, and I knew they would love them and that they would help our lunch “stretch” a little farther. So I went ahead and got up. Oh, it was so worth it. These butterhorns are yummy! And the college students, as well as our family, were very happy to eat them today. :)

whole_wheat_butterhorns

Don’t worry. I made more than just these few.
This was the second round I pulled out of the oven.

Here’s our menu for this week:

Sunday, January 13
Baked oatmeal, fruit
Lasagna, whole wheat butterhorns, tossed salad, green beans
High School Huddle:  Chili cheese dogs, fritos, olives, baby carrots, chocolate chip cookies

Monday, January 14
Whole wheat pancakes, blueberries
Beefy vegetable soup, corn bread muffins
Creamy crock pot chicken and rice, carrots, tossed salad

Tuesday, January 15
Pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, applesauce
Chicken patty sandwiches, fruit plate, baby carrots
Beef stroganoff, green beans

Wednesday, January 16
Scrambled eggs, creamy orange coolers
Grilled cheese sandwiches, tomato soup, carrot sticks
Pizza boats, fruit salad

Thursday, January 17
Whole wheat bagels, cottage cheese and pineapple
Chicken tortilla soup, oranges
Tacos

Friday, January 18 (Elias’ 11th birthday choices!)
Donuts
Pizzadillas, fruit
Hamburgers, chips, veggies, fruit

Saturday, January 19
Breakfast pizza, oranges
Leftovers
Pasta alfredo, tossed salad, steamed broccoli and carrots

Did you make a menu plan this week?  Share if you’d like!

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Dairy Free Options to Replace Cream Soups

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If you’re looking to replace canned cream soups on a recipe, there are several options I’ve recommended. (Read this post to learn more.) 

However, all of the ideas I’ve thought of include dairy. What about those of you who need to avoid dairy? 

Shucks…I have no ideas. We’re very creamy and buttery at our house.

Our One Dish Meat and Potato Meal, which uses Homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup

Never fear though – I have a whole lot of readers and they are all smart and full of ideas. I’ll just bet many of you have some experience with this and can chime in with some great suggestions.

So let’s hear it! What can you use in a recipe to replace Cream Soups that will be a healthy alternative but does not include dairy?

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