Heavenly Homemakers

Encouraging women in homemaking, healthy eating and parenting

Menu Plan for the Week…Plus Cake Boys Episode 3!

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Here is our menu for this week. But more importantly, below you will find Cake Boys Episode 3! (Watch Espisode 1 and Episode 2 if you haven’t already.)  This time, the boys made a cake for Matt and me as we celebrated our 18th wedding anniversary. It was so very sweet. Be sure to admire my very messy kitchen and cluttery countertops as you watch. Yikes. ;)

Sunday, August 26
Oatmeal, fruit
Cheeseburger macaroni, tossed salad, green beans
Potluck picnic – taking drinks, veggie tray, and Texas sheet cake (made by the Cake Boys – Episode 4 coming up!)

Monday, August 27
Whole wheat pancakes, blueberries
Taco salad
Creamy chicken and rice casserole, carrots

Tuesday, August 28
Honey whole wheat bagels, cantaloupe
Tuna salad on tomatoes, pickles, olives, watermelon
Grilled bbq chicken, corn on the cob, zucchini

Wednesday, August 29
Crepes with jelly, applesauce
Italian roast wraps, tomatoes, lettuce, sweet peppers, green beans
Chicken patty sandwiches, ranch potato wedges, peas

Thursday, August 30
Fried eggs on toast, creamy orange cooler
Hamburger patties, steamed broccoli and carrots
Pizza casserole, tossed salad

Friday, August 31
Pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, apple slices
Grilled cheese sandwiches, tomato soup, carrots
Tacos

Saturday, September 1
Whole wheat donuts, grapes
Leftovers
Steak on the grill, creamy cole slaw, corn on the cob

And now, Cake Boys Episode 3!

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Finishing the List…Almost

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Today was a beautiful, cool day – something we’ve not had for a long time! It was the perfect day to spend in the kitchen, and as my husband pointed out, it was the last Saturday until November that we will have free to be home getting work done. Ready or not, soccer season – here we come!

I sent two of the boys outside with the shop-vac and some old rags to clean out the van. Wow, did it ever need it! (Pictures not included. It was too scary and I was too embarrassed busy to snap a shot.)  Matt sent the other two boys outside with a bucket with instruction to bring in as many peaches as they could from our tree. We were blessed with a beautiful crop this year! (Amazing, since we’ve had such little rain.)

Matt then spent quite a bit of time slicing the peaches for the freezer. For lunch  today, I had peaches, leftover chicken, peaches, and a side of peaches. Best lunch ever!

In the meantime, I was making several rounds of Homemade Peanut Butter. Remember how I said that typically, when I make one batch of peanut butter, I make three or four – just to be efficient? Yup, the food processor got a work-out that’s for sure. 

Instead of putting the last round of peanut butter in a jar, I used it to make a double batch of Chewy Granola Bars. These are  now individually wrapped and ready to grab to take to games for snacks.

I then made some Corndog Muffins. I often get lazy with these – so they always turn out ugly. Truly, the dog is not supposed to be showing, but there they are, in all their hotdoggy glory. We’ll eat them just the same. But it sure would be nice to have a pretty picture to show you instead of well…this one.

I did not quite finish all the tasks on my Getting Ready for Fall To-Do List. I never got around to the Whole Wheat Graham Crackers or the Whole Wheat Calzones . Why? Because I did everything else on the list and now I’m tired. That’s the simple truth. I just decided to be done. My freezers are full. My jars are re-stocked. My kids’ books and assignments are ready for school. My house is clean (relatively). And several days after we finished organizing it, the Lego Room is still in good shape. It’s a miracle!

Thanks for coming alongside me this week as I worked through my list. School, soccer, gardening/canning season? Bring it on! I’m ready.

Just as soon as I clean the kitchen….

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Oh Beautiful Jars!! Stocked and Ready For Gawking

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One of the jobs on my “To Do” List was to refill all of the jars in my pantry so that I’d have easy access to all of the staple ingredients I reach for so often. Since I typically purchase these ingredients in 25-50 pound quantities, I store them big buckets, and pour a smaller portion into easy-access jars in my kitchen, refilling as needed. (Read more here about where I purchase most of my food, and scroll through these posts to learn more about my bulk shopping and storage.)

My favorite part of this system, besides the fact, of course, that this just makes my life easier and saves us money while we strive to eat a whole foods diet is this:  I love staring at my jars full of pretty food.

It’s a slight obsession. A major obsession? Yeah, probably something like that.

Well, after just a few minutes of going back and forth from storage room to kitchen, lugging buckets and bags of dry goods (a great upper arm work-out!), all of my jars are re-stocked and ready to go. Pasta, sucanat, wheat, salt, beans, corn, and rice. Oh so beautiful.

 This is the part of my pantry I stare at when I most need a fix:

Hey, it’s much healthier than my former Pepsi addiction, right? :)

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Menu Plan for the Week (What? We’re Actually Eating Out?!)

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Well, I’m off to a great start on my “To Do” List, and you’ll be getting a play-by-play all throughout this week. Bless your heart for being a fly on my wall.

In true “Getting Ahead” fashion, and also in true “I’m totally veering off of my original “To Do” list already” style – since I was making one Cheesy Chicken and Rice Casserole for lunch today, I went ahead and made an extra one for the freezer. Twice the food, but only one set of messy dishes. Score one for the freezer. (I used my Cheesy Beef and Rice Casserole recipe, but you guessed it, instead of using beef, I used chicken. Clever, huh? Oh, and I also cooked the rice in chicken broth for extra flavor. Tasty!)

We often have a couple extra boys with us on Sundays. Today we got to celebrate a birthday with one of them. I gave him some choices, and he picked Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Bars… “with Chocolate Milkshakes, please?” Well, of course. (Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Bars:  This Oatmeal Butterscotch Chip Cookie recipe baked into bars – 350° for 25 minutes. Wow, it is the day for recipe variations, apparently.)

Note to self:  Never again put candles into cookie bars which have just come out of the oven.
They are hot. Duh.
Therefore, they will, of course, melt down into the cookie, causing a nasty,
waxy mess which will almost, but not quite, ruin your birthday celebration, for Pete’s sake.
And also:  As soon as you get off the computer, you need to remember to put “new birthday candles” on your shopping list…

Here is our menu plan for this week:

Sunday, July 29
Straw Propeller Gourmet Oatmeal (The boys were SO excited to help me review these this morning. More info on Thursday.)
Cheesy chicken and rice, green beans, sweet bell peppers
Spicy avocado dip with organic corn chips, fruit

Monday, July 30
Whole wheat pancakes, blueberries
Out to lunch for our “back to school” outing – more on that later this week
Crunchy ranch chicken, stir fried rice and veggies

Tuesday, July 31
Creamy orange cooler, scrambled eggs
Black bean salsa, fruit
Taco potatoes, watermelon

Wednesday, August 1
Pancake sausage muffins, cantaloupe
Tuna salad, tomatoes, sweet peppers, peaches
Lasagna casserole, tossed salad, zucchini

Thursday, August 2
Coconut flour muffins, applesauce
Salmon patties, peas, smoothies
Grilled Italian chicken, zucchini, corn on the cob

Friday, August 3
Cereal (Mom’s day off)
Out for lunch (wow, really?)
Grilled steak, tossed salad, green beans, corn on the cob (um, yeah, it’s my birthday)  :)

Saturday, August 4
Easy breakfast casserole, fruit salad
Leftovers
Cheeseburger macaroni, peas

If you looked thoroughly at my menu plan, you will see that we are eating out not just once, but twice this week. Craziness, huh? It’s a week of celebrations, what can I say? Oh, and do you think the “Cake Boys” might make an appearance on Friday with a special birthday edition? I’ve been sensing that something sneaky is going on behind my back. Just so long as there is chocolate involved… :)

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Menu Plan for the Week…and Are You Having Trouble Leaving a Comment On My Posts??

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I’ve heard from several of you that you’ve tried to leave a comment on a post sometime in the last couple of weeks, but my site hasn’t let you. How very rude of my site to not let you say what you would like to say. I’m so sorry. We’ve tried to get to the bottom of this, with little success. So, the only thing we can think of is that, since my site has recently been upgraded (on the back end), many computers are remembering my site as it used to be, and is therefore not letting you leave a comment.

Doesn’t that just totally make sense? No? That’s okay. I know what I mean. Sort of.

What I recommend to you is that you “clear your computer cache“. Hopefully that will take care of the problem. Because I reallllly want you to be able to leave comments when you want to leave comments. I always love hearing what you all have to say.

Not sure how to clear your cache? Here is a “how to clear your computer cache” tutorial, which is very helpful.

Don’t you wish there was some method of clearing your brain cache when you’re feeling bogged down and overwhelmed? If I ever find a tutorial for that, I will be sure and let you know. (Although I suppose prayer would do the trick, wouldn’t it? God is always good to take a load off our hearts and brains.)  :)

I am loving this time of year, with so many great, fresh fruits and vegetables available!! Can’t get enough! We are focusing on having two or three fruits and vegetables for each meal. It’s awesome!

Here’s what our menu looks like this week:

Sunday, July 22
Oatmeal, fresh peaches
Tuna salad, cherry tomatoes, applesauce, cucumbers
Calzones, cherries, baby carrots

Monday, July 23
Banana muffins, cantaloupe
Chicken burritos, watermelon, carrot sticks, kiwi
Cheeseburger zucchini boats, green beans

Tuesday, July 24
Whole wheat waffles, blueberries
Homemade chicken nuggets, peas, kiwi
Taco potatoes, smoothies

Wednesday, July 25
Pancake sausage muffins, cantaloupe
Pizza on the grill, peaches, peppers from the garden
Turkey sausage and red bean stew, watermelon, tomatoes

Thursday, July 26
Scrambled eggs with cheese, cherries
Grilled hotdogs (I use Applegate brand all beef hotdogs), watermelon, green beans
Italian pasta bake (on the stovetop so I don’t have to heat the oven), tossed salad, zucchini

Friday, July 27
Peanut butter honey toast, peaches and cream
Cottage cheese and pineapple, tomatoes, sweet peppers
Steak on the grill, zucchini, corn on the cob, cucumbers

Saturday, July 28
Granola, fruit
Leftovers
Bbq chicken, fried zucchini, green beans

 

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Be Efficient in the Kitchen – {Eat Healthy ~ Save Time}

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I am often asked, “How do you do it all?” 

Oh my. Without a doubt, my answer to that question is always, “Mercy, have you seen my closets?” (or cabinets, or laundry pile, or toilets, or pick your messes depending on the day…)

I don’t do it all. I don’t even do half of it all. In fact, it’s almost 6 pm as I’m trying to write this. I still haven’t done my breakfast dishes and I haven’t started to make dinner. For the first time today, I finally got a chance to sit down and work on my website at 5:35 – and I’ve had three interruptions since I started. I think I forgot to have the boys put the laundry into the dryer, which means that the clothes might start to smell sour soon. I didn’t make my bed this morning. I didn’t hang my dress up after wearing it on Sunday. My hair looks kinda funny. And it seems that I have misplaced all of the pens that are supposed to be in my cute pen basket in the kitchen. (FYI:  It does not work to write a check with a fat sharpie or an unsharpened pencil.)

But for all of my unmade bed and missing pen issues, one thing I feel that I am getting figured out is efficiency in the kitchen. I believe that one of the reasons I am able to feed my family a (mostly) healthy diet while keeping up with a very busy schedule is because I try to make very good use of my time in the kitchen. I’m not sure I could make it work otherwise. (Although some days, no matter what I do, nothing works, of course. Those are my pancakes and creamy mac and cheese fall back days.)

Here’s what works for me:  Hardly ever do I just stand and do one thing at a time. I grind flour while I’m washing dishes; prepare a casserole for dinner while I’m making lunch; bake breakfast muffins while I’m finishing dinner; chop veggies while I’m waiting for butter to melt; shout out spelling words while I’m stirring noodles; get out ingredients while going back and forth to the stove to brown meat…

(And if my boys are capable of doing any kitchen or cleaning chores that need to be done – and at their ages, they definitely are capable of much! – I pull them in with me to help cook or cleanout the dishwasher, or send them upstairs to do some cleaning. It’s multi-tasking at it’s finest! Those of you with little bitty ones, hang in there. It does get easier as your children get older!)

Want to know one of my favorite ways to save time in the kitchen? Make one big mess. (This sounds sooo efficient doesn’t it?)  What I mean is – there are some kitchen tasks that are pretty messy or take a while to clean up after. Take homemade peanut butter for example. Making peanut butter isn’t difficult at all, but I have found that washing my food processor afterward takes quite a bit of time. Therefore, I have begun to make two or three or even four batches of peanut butter while I’ve got the food processor already peanut buttery. It keeps just fine in the fridge, so if I’m going to make a mess, why not make plenty of peanut butter so that I don’t have to wash the food processor as often? Makes sense to me. (Kinda sounds like my lasagna making process, huh?)

Oh, and since we are on the topics of peanut butter and kitchen efficiency, you will be glad to know that while my peanuts are whirling about in the food processor becoming peanut butter, I am busy stirring up a batch of muffins, slicing fruit for a salad, or standing on my head trying to get a pyrex dish out while it sits at the bottom of a heavy (and slightly unorganized) stack of dishes in the cabinet. Why not? The peanuts don’t need help turning themselves into peanut butter. A watched food processor never boils you know. Or at least I believe that is how the saying goes. 

What tasks have you found that you can do in the kitchen to keep you efficient with your time?

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Menu Plan for the Week – and a Vanilla Announcement!

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I am blessed to have just arrived home after a lovely three day get-away with my sisters-in-law. I’ll tell you all about it on Gratituesday, but in the meantime, take a look at where I was on Friday:

Matt and the boys managed great on their own, eating much of what I had stocked away in the freezer. Now that I’m home, I’m anxious to get back in the kitchen. The break from the norm was refreshing, but now I feel the need to cook something. :)

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

Sunday, July 15
Oatmeal, fruit
Hamburger green bean casserole, cantaloupe
Leftovers

Monday, July 16
Turkey sausage and scrambled eggs, oranges
Homemade corndogs, fruit-kefir smoothies
Grilled bbq chicken, tossed salad, corn on the cob

Tuesday, July 17
Whole wheat pancakes, blueberries
Black bean taco salad, watermelon
Easy noodle stir fry

Wednesday, July 18
Mini breakfast pizza, strawberries
Fried zucchini, cantaloupe, peas
Chicken alfredo, steamed broccoli and carrots

Thursday, July 19
Granola, dried fruit
Tuna casserole, green beans, peaches
Creamy crock pot chicken and rice, tossed salad

Friday, July 20
Giant breakfast cookies, applesauce
Taco corn fritters, watermelon
Grilled steak, zucchini and yellow squash, tossed salad

Saturday, July 21
Chocolate chocolate chip muffins, bananas
Leftovers
One dish meat and potato casserole

And now for the Vanilla Extract announcement!

We have a batch of Homemade Vanilla Extract bottled and ready for sale. We will be offering this on Wednesday, July 18 on a first-come-first-served-while-supplies-last-get-it-while-you-can basis. :)  The sale will begin around 8:00 CST. Mark it down and come to the website early if you’re interested as we usually sell out very quickly. We have two, four, and eight ounce bottles to ship out.

If you’re interested in making your own vanilla, read instructions here. Now is the perfect time to start a batch so that you can bottle it and give it away as Christmas gifts!

 

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Staying Fit While on Vacation

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Many people that I talk to share how they can be on a roll in their fitness routine, then go on vacation and everything falls apart. It makes complete sense. While on vacation, we’re out of the “norm”, we don’t have the same equipment, we’re on a different time schedule. I think these are all very valid reasons to struggle to keep up with working out. But is there any way to avoid falling off the workout wagon while on vacation?

Because I am getting ready to go on a short vacation soon with two of my sisters-in-law, this has been on my mind quite a bit. I asked Jen, my workout buddy from Getting Fit With Jen, to give me some pointers on ways to avoid losing the workout momentum we’ve had for so many months. Here’s what she had to offer. (And I have to say, she makes it seem so simple. I do believe I was making it more complicated than I should have.)

1. Go with a plan.  

If you don’t plan some workout time into your vacation and travels, it will be very easy to let it slip. Figure out how and when you can fit exercise into your trip. Make a plan, be prepared to be flexible, and do what you can to make your plan work. 

2. Make modifications to the norm.

You may lift weights when you’re at home, but taking dumbbells in your suitcase isn’t very practical! How about packing your resistance bands instead? You may take long walks or do workout videos at home, but your vacation may not allow time for either. How about taking advantage of short breaks between your travel activities to squeeze in a shorter walk or some crunches, lunges, squats, and/or push-ups?

3. Recognize that some of your vacation is likely to involve exercise, intentional or not!

You’ll get great exercise while you’re walking through an airport, swimming in the pool, taking a stroll with the family – even shopping! Hopefully your vacation will include plenty of rest, but don’t discredit the exercise you’ll be getting while participating in some really fun activities.

4. Give yourself a break.

Hey, you’re on vacation. Enjoy some down time. If you regularly work out pretty hard, your body may appreciate the rest and recovery period. 

5. Get right back into your workout routine once you get home. 

The longer you wait to get back into a regular workout routine once you get home, the harder it will be to get it going again. Be intentional about starting your exercise program within a day or two of settling back in. Your body will appreciate you for it!

And with that, I feel like I’m ready to head off for my vacation. I will power walk through the airport, shop till I drop, and without a doubt, I will eat cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory. What?  Did you or did you not read number four above?  ;)

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How To Make Pizza on the Grill

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Yum

I’ve always left the grilling up to Matt. He would head outside and cook the meat, I would be in the kitchen making the side dishes, and all was well.

But one day several weeks ago, I felt like cooking something on the grill for lunch. It just sounded good, you know? But Matt wasn’t home. It was then that I realized that I had no earthly idea how to even turn on the grill. Duh. But it’s true.

Why, yes I do feel ridiculous admitting that to you. And hey, if you want, I could list off all kinds of things I have no clue about.  Nah, how about we save that list for another day?

Well anyway, when he got home later that day, I asked my loving husband to teach me the fine arts of turning on a grill, which involved, as most of you probably already know, the push of a button and the turn of a knob. Wow, do I ever feel so much smarter than I did before.

With my newly found knowledge, I have become a little bit addicted to the grill. It is as if a whole new world has opened up to me. And this is why, after mastering burgers, hot dogs, bbq chicken legs, Italian chicken breasts, and several other varieties of meat,  I decided to try making pizza on the grill. I had heard it was great, so why not?

The good news:  Pizza on the grill tastes incredible and my whole family loves it. The bad news:  Pizza on the grill takes more time and effort than a hot dog or even chicken on the grill. Shucks. But hey, it sure beats heating up the house by baking it in the oven. And well, it tastes so good that I think it is worth the effort. 

How To Make Pizza on the Grill:

1. Make pizza crust – I used my favorite Whole Wheat Pizza Dough recipe. Roll it thin, and keep it small.  Individual sized pizzas are best for the grill.

2. Freeze the unbaked pizza crusts on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. This will make your crusts much easier to work with on the grill. 

3. Prepare all pizza toppings. It is important to have this done before you begin cooking your pizzas. Really, really important.

4. Get your grill hot and ready. (If you need my husband to come show you how to turn on your grill, he is very nice and I’m sure he would be happy to walk you through this step.)

5. Place crusts on the grill on low heat, as many as your grill will hold. Close the lid and allow the crusts to cook on one side for about three minutes.

6. Remove the crusts from the grill. Turn them cooked side up and fill with sauce and toppings of your choosing. Go easy on the sauce, unless you want soggy pizza. 

7. Place the topped pizzas back on the grill, close the lid, and cook for another 3-5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Not that I personally experienced any moments of absolute insanity my first time making these, but be aware that you may be forced to deal with a bit of craziness while feeling like everything needs to be done at once and everyone needs to get out of your way and not ask you any questions while you are trying to grill the crust, top the crust, grill the pizza, and not burn anything along the way. Just so you know. (It does get easier after you’ve done it once.)

And that is why it is very important that your pizza toppings are prepared and ready ahead of time. I am so not kidding. ;)

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Menu Plan for the Week

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If you recall, three out of four of our boys were at their grandparent’s house for several days last week. I missed them like crazy. But I sure did get a lot of work done! I helped Matt paint the front of our house (leaving the high ladder parts up to him). And I was able to spend hours writing a new eBook that I’ve had tons of requests for. This felt like a great accomplishment, as I’ve been working on this book here and there for almost three years. More details coming, just as soon as I feel I’m far enough along in the process to get my hopes up about ever finishing it. ;)

Our boys are all home, so now all is right in my world. A great friend of ours got married this weekend. We are so excited for her and her new husband! Here’s a shot of our family, taken just before the wedding started.

Is it just me, or do any of you married gals feel a little sense of “vow renewal” after attending a wedding? I always leave a wedding with all kinds of sappy feelings of newly married affection toward Matt. Eighteen years and four kids later, I remember how I felt on the day of our wedding so clearly. They tell you on your wedding day that your love will continue to grow. At that time, you can’t imagine that it’s possible. But wow, it’s so very true. Okay…just needed to share all of that since I’ve been feeling all kinds of mushy since yesterday. :)

Moving on to talk of food, since this is my menu plan post, let’s talk homemade chicken nuggets. I find that if I prepare (cut and bread) several batches ahead of time, then freeze them – grabbing them out to make for a quick lunch is super easy!

In case you were wondering, I had served the nuggets with
peas and Creamy Mac and Cheese the day of this picture.

Here’s our menu for this week:

Sunday, July 8
Oatmeal, apples
Grilled marinated Italian chicken, grilled potatoes, tossed salad, peas
Grilled hotdogs, carrot sticks, watermelon (We use all beef, organic Applegate hotdogs that we get from our health food co-op, Azure Standard.)

Monday, July 9
Whole wheat pancakes, blueberries
Homemade chicken nuggets, peas, cantaloupe
Hamburgers, green beans, watermelon

Tuesday, July 10
Coconut flour banana muffins, applesauce
Tuna salad with tomatoes, cottage cheese and pineapple
Spaghetti, zucchini and yellow squash

Wednesday, July 11
Giant breakfast cookies, bananas
Calzones, watermelon
Cheesy beef and rice, green beans

Thursday, July 12
Whole wheat waffles, applesauce
Ham and cheese with crackers, smoothies
Cheesy salsa enchiladas, tossed salad

Friday, July 13
Whole wheat donuts (frozen and rewarmed in the toaster oven)
Corn dog muffins, raw veggies
Leftovers

Saturday, July 14
Scrambled eggs, oranges
Creamy mac and cheese, peas
Bbq chicken, corn on the cob, tossed salad

If menu planning is a struggle for you (or even if it’s not!),
be sure to check into Plan to Eat and enter to win a free year’s subscription!

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