Heavenly Homemakers

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Black Bean Chicken Nachos ~ Freezer Cooking Week Two

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Ugly picture alert. 

Below is a picture of my container of cooked and frozen salsa chicken. It looks kind of…eh.

black bean chicken nachos frozen 2

Makes you want to get right into the kitchen and make some yourself, doesn’t it? It’s a shame, really, to put that picture at the top of a blog post. Trust me though, when I say that as ugly as that chicken is in its frozen state, it really is a delicious dish. The best part is how easy it is to make this. Ready to get started?

You’ll find the recipe for Black Bean Chicken Nachos here. Simply get your chicken and salsa cooking (double the recipe). This chicken cooks on its own while you work on something else. Then, you can add the beans and serve part of the chicken dish at lunch or dinnertime. Allow the remaining chicken to cool, then, freeze it in a jar or Ziploc bag to pull out and serve another time.

If that wasn’t the easiest freezer cooking you’ve ever done, I don’t know what is.

Below you’ll find a much more attractive picture of this meal. Serve it with fresh fruit, and you’ve got one very easy and family friendly meal – times two, because now you also have one for your freezer. I’m loving this freezer cooking challenge!

Black Bean Chicken Nachos

How is the challenge going for you at this point? If you haven’t started yet, you can join at any time! Up next, Crock Pot Barbecue Chicken Breasts.

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The Plan ~ Getting Ready For Freezer Cooking, Week Two

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350x350_Challenge

Are you ready (to get ready) for our Freezer Cooking Challenge, week two? This time, we’ll be focusing on chicken recipes. Want to know what’s coming up after this week? I’ve updated the post which shares the challenges to come. You’ll want to check it out!

Here’s what I have planned to make next week in an effort to put chicken dishes in the freezer. Want to join me?

If you joined the challenge last week and ran out of Pyrex dishes, you’ll be glad to know that you don’t have to use any casserole dishes this week (unless you want to)! This week, you’ll just need Ziploc type freezer bags and jars. :)

The Grocery List

  • 2 whole chickens (more if you like)
  • veggies for making broth (like carrots, onions, and celery)
  • 10 pounds (give or take) boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • 1 1/2 cups ketchup (for barbecue sauce)
  • 4 cups salsa
  • 4 cups cooked black beans (or 2 cans prepared black beans)
  • 4 ounces cream cheese
  • 1 pound bacon

Miscellaneous items you’ll need:

  • minced onion
  • sea salt
  • garlic powder
  • black pepper
  • liquid smoke
  • cheese, chips, sour cream, and other nacho toppings if you plan to serve Black Bean Chicken Nachos this week
  • fruit and veggie side dishes

I’ve created a downloadable and printable grocery list for you here:  Freezer Cooking Grocery List Two

Your first assignment is simply this:

Check out the recipes above and purchase all needed groceries. Then, look at your schedule next week to see how you might be able to work out the following:

On Monday, we’ll start by cooking our whole chickens to make Chicken Broth. Wednesday we’ll work on Black Bean Chicken Nachos. Thursday will be our Crock Pot Barbecue Chicken Breasts day. And we’ll wrap up on Friday by making Bacon Wrapped Cream Cheese Chicken. By the end of the week, you will have fed your family very well, plus you will have a freezer full of broth, pre-cooked chicken for salads, stir-fries, and casseroles, plus packages of bbq chicken, salsa chicken, and bacon wrapped chicken for easy-to-heat-up meals!

If that particular schedule doesn’t work for you – no problem! Those are the days I’ll be blogging about my freezer cooking progress with each of those recipes, but you can certainly work at your own pace and in your own time.

Ready…go!

Don’t forget, Let’s Do This! eCourse and {Healthy} Make-Ahead Meals and Snacks eBook are discounted to just $5 for the whole package. The recipes included in that package are some that we use all the time at our house to get ahead!

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Cheesy Beef and Pasta Casserole ~ Finishing Freezer Cooking Week One

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Heya! We are in our final stretch with week one of the Freezer Cooking Challenge. I have loved hearing from so many of you that have joined in. This is so much fun – cooking together! Too bad we can’t also do dishes together. Or make our kids do dishes together so that we can all just sit and drink coffee together and chat. Yes, I like that plan. Why did I not think of that before?

Here’s what we’ve made so far:

Now, we’re down to Cheesy Beef and Pasta Casserole (recipe in {Healthy} Make-Ahead Meals and Snacks eBook). This casserole has definitely become a family favorite. It is as simple to make as spaghetti, yet it tastes like something super special. That’s probably because I always stir in a lot of love.  Love, that is, in the form of cream cheese. It has a love language all its own, right?

To finish up this week’s freezer cooking assignments, all you need to do is get out the remainder of your cooked meat, boil your noodles, stir together all remaining ingredients, spread mixture into pans, top with cheese, put on a lid, label, and you’re done. Phew. Sounds like a lot, but really, it’s as easy as making spaghetti. While stirring in love.  And cream cheese.

beef freezer cooking 6

The night I finished this and served it, we ate it with a simple salad and roasted asparagus. So much deliciousness! I love knowing I’ve got another dish of this casserole in the freezer ready to be served on a busy day.

cheesy beef pasta meal

At this point, hopefully you’ve put together eight casseroles: four to eat this week, and four to freeze for another day. This freezer cooking thing really isn’t so hard, is it?

Stay tuned for upcoming plans for Freezer Cooking Week Two – the week of the chicken. I’ll have a grocery list and game plan ready for you on Friday. :)

Give us an update! How is the challenge going for you this week?

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Creamy Salsa Enchiladas – Freezer Cooking Week One

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How’s the freezer cooking challenge going for you at this point? Hopefully you’ve got your groceries purchased, browned your hamburger meat, and put together your first casseroles:

If you haven’t checked all this off the list at this point, no problem. Feel free to jump in on the challenge at any time!

Today, we’ll continue on with the next phase of our freezer cooking for this week. Get ready to make Creamy Salsa Enchilada Casserole (recipe in Let’s Do This! eCourse, Lesson 2). Or if you prefer, you can make the Cheesy Salsa Enchiladas version of this recipe.

If you already have your meat browned, this is going to be a very easy day for you! Simply scoop out two pounds worth of cooked meat, stir in salsa, sour cream, and spices – and put your casseroles together according to directions. You can cover and label one casserole to put into the freezer. Then, plan to serve the remaining casserole for dinner tonight along with some yummy fruit and veggie sides!

creamy salsa enchiladas 2

We actually already ate both of the Creamy Salsa Enchilada Casseroles I made when guests came over on Sunday after church. Freezer cooking is meant to be shared, right? This made for a super simple meal for company.

creamy salsa enchiladas

A note about cooking your frozen casseroles when you need them:  My favorite way to cook a frozen casserole is to put it directly into a cold oven in its frozen state, turn the oven on to 250° and let the casserole thaw/cook for about three hours. So easy!

Okay, head on into your kitchen to get these casseroles made. Stay tuned for one more freezer cooking assignment coming up this week. Here’s the run-down of our remaining plans. Then next week we’ll focus on Chicken Recipes!

Just a reminder, Let’s Do This! eCourse and {Healthy} Make-Ahead Meals and Snacks eBook are discounted to just $5 for the whole package.

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

Cheesy Beef and Rice and Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole ~ Freezer Cooking Week One

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Here’s hoping you got all your grocery shopping done for this challenge. If not, you can certainly join this challenge at any time!

Did you brown 8 pounds of hamburger in preparation for the freezer cooking? How long did it take?

Wait.  You didn’t time yourself cooking the hamburger meat? It’s possible that you aren’t as much of a food geek as I am. Be thankful.  I just get a kick out of knowing how much time it saves to double – or octuple, as the case may be in this beefy situation – in order to get ahead.

Today, we’re going to make both Cheesy Beef and Rice and Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole.

Why are we making both recipes in one day? Because they both call for rice. It makes sense, then, to cook up all the rice we need for both recipes, then divide it up and make our four casseroles. Oh the efficiency. Oh the productivity. Oh the smell of bacon…

Yeah, by the way, prepare yourself for the fact that your family will likely get excited about eating bacon once they smell it cooking today. If you weren’t planning to serve the Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole tonight, you may need to change your plan to accommodate all the bacon sniffers and the sad I can’t believe you’re making bacon and we can’t eat it faces in your home.

So let’s get started. 

I’m assuming you’ve already cooked your meat. If not, well – cook your meat. Because we’re making four casseroles today, you’ll need four pounds of cooked hamburger.

Now, begin by getting the rice cooking since that’s what takes the longest. The beauty of this: while your rice cooks, you can do 45 minutes of other work or play. Unless, of course, you want to stand at the stove watching your rice get plump and tender.  snore

We need 5 cups of brown rice for these four casseroles, so measure out 10 cups of water and bring it to a boil. Stir in 5 cups of rice, turn down your burner to simmer, cover the pot, then walk away. Here are more detailed instructions on cooking brown rice.

beef freezer cooking 1

There it is. It can cook all by itself and will actually turn to mush if you stir it.
So put the lid on, set a timer, and walk away. 

In the meantime, you can cut your bacon into bite-sized pieces and get it cooking. You can also get out your casserole dishes, set out your other needed ingredients, and trim your fingernails – though not all at the same time or all in the same place.

beef freezer cooking 2

Once your rice and bacon are finished cooking, divide the rice according to the recipes. Stir in remaining ingredients to create your four casseroles. I found that it was easiest to use two huge bowls – one for each recipe. Then I divided the contents of the bowl into two casserole dishes for each recipe.

beef freezer cooking 4

Cheesy Beef and Rice x2

You might notice that since I was making so many cheesy casseroles this week, I cheated and bought a big bag of pre-shredded Colby jack cheese. I know.  There are healthier options, and I always recommend the healthier options. But it’s still cheese, right? At least I didn’t purchase a pre-shredded Snicker bar (which doesn’t even make sense, but I was trying to divert your attention away from my orange cheese).

beef freezer cooking 5

Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole x2

I actually made these four casseroles over the weekend so that I could get ahead a little bit on putting together these challenge posts. How lovely it was to put a Cheesy Beef and Rice plus a Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole into the freezer. I then put one Cheesy Beef and Rice into the oven too cook and serve for dinner, and put the additional Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole into the fridge to serve another day this week. One big mess, four great meals!

beef freezer cooking 7

See how easy it was to set out delicious and healthy veggie and fruit side dishes with this Cheesy Beef and Rice? I cooked some frozen green beans, set out a package of mixed greens along with some homemade dressings that were already made and in the fridge, sliced a couple of pears, and called in the family. Except for about one serving of greens, this entire spread was gone in about a half hour.

Need more Pyrex? I found a 9×13 dish with lid for just $11.79 with free shipping if you have Amazon Prime. If you order today, it would arrive in two days, which works out great for this challenge!

pyrex 5

Be sure to leave a comment letting us know how you’re coming in this challenge!

Just a reminder, Let’s Do This! eCourse and {Healthy} Make-Ahead Meals and Snacks eBook are discounted to just $5 for the whole package.

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

The Plan ~ Getting Ready For Freezer Cooking, Week One

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I hope you’re planning to join me for Week One of our newest Freezer Cooking Challenge! I figured if I needed to spend some time getting ahead, you might too. Why not cook together, right?

For Week One, we’ll be focusing on beef recipes. If I’m going to brown one pound of hamburger meat, I might as well brown eight or ten. I still just dirty up one pot, and the time I save overall is amazing. So, we’ll be browning 8 pounds of meat at once, then we’ll put together 8 meals with the meat we prepared.

We’ll do this over the course of a week – so really, the time it takes each day to do the work is very minimal. I’ll walk you through all the steps! Here’s what is on my list to prepare during the upcoming week. My idea is to make two of each casserole listed below – one for our evening meal, and an additional one for the freezer. So easy! (All of these recipes can be made gluten free if you use GF pasta and corn tortillas.)

Don’t want to make them all? No problem. Want to make three of each? Okay. This needs to benefit you, not cause you stress – so you just grab hold of whatever part of this challenge works for you and drop kick the rest. The grocery list below assumes you’ll be making two of each casserole. You can adjust it accordingly.

What you’ll need:

  • 5-6 Casserole Dishes (I use 9×13 inch Pyrex Dishes with lids)
  • 8 pounds hamburger meat
  • 1 pound bacon
  • 16 ounces pasta (I use whole wheat)
  • 5 cups brown rice
  • 5 cups sour cream (40 ounces)
  • 4 cups salsa (32 ounces)
  • 4 cups tomato sauce (32 ounces)
  • 2 eight-ounce cream cheese packages
  • 1/2 cup dry minced onion
  • 14 cups shredded cheese (4-ounces equals one cup; you’ll need approximately 56 ounces – less is fine if you would like to save money by skimping on the cheese)
  • 12 whole wheat tortillas (homemade tortillas are awesome)
  • 1 cup ketchup
  • 2 cans black olives
  • 2/3 cup milk

Be sure you have:

  • mustard
  • chili powder
  • sea salt
  • pepper
  • garlic powder

I’ve created a downloadable and printable grocery list for you here:  Freezer Cooking Grocery List ~ Week One

Be sure to add plenty of fruits, vegetables, and salad items to your list to go with your casseroles!

Here are your first assignments:

  1. Pick up all needed items at the grocery store.
  2. Brown 8 pounds of ground beef, along with about a half cup of minced onion.

Once your meat has been cooked, let it cool, then put it into the fridge to be worked with later. You can divide it into 4 equal(ish) sized portions if you would like, just to make it easier later. I personally just put my whole pot into the fridge and will scoop out 1/4 of the contents each time I need it.

beef freezer cooking 3
You’re welcome to put together recipes as your own pace, of course. But for the sake of those who want to do this freezer cooking in stages, I plan to break all tasks down into small chunks so that it will be doable for all who only have a few minutes to spend on this at one time.

On Monday, we’ll continue on by putting together our first round of casseroles. Don’t forget, Let’s Do This! eCourse and {Healthy} Make-Ahead Meals and Snacks eBook are discounted to just $5 for the whole package.

Hope your freezer cooking prep time goes well! Let me know how these first assignments go for you.

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

Real Food Reality Resources Package – Wait Till You See This!

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31 Days 300

It’s everything you need to gently walk through your journey to a Real Food Kitchen. Don’t know where to start? Can’t even find your kitchen? Hoping to save money and time? Need as many menu planning ideas as you can get? Check, check, check, check, and then some. This package covers it all!

Reality Resource Sale 2

This package includes five wonderful resources to make your transition to real food cooking a reality. I’m so excited to package these up and knock a bunch of money off the price in an effort to save you money coming and going. Yep, while you’ll be saving a nice percentage off the regular price of the eBooks and eCourses in this package, you’ll also be amazed at the money you’ll save by following the steps and tips described in these eCourses and eBooks. Here’s what this package includes:

Do the Funky Kitchen

Having an organized, well equipped kitchen isn’t a must, but well, it is very helpful. Spend a little time following the suggestions in this eBook, and have a functional (funky!) kitchen that you’ll love! Read more here…

Heavenly Homemaker’s 40 Weekly Menu Planning Ideas Packet

You’ll receive 40 simple, real food, family friendly, easy recipe menu plans in this packet. It is internet linked so that when you see a meal idea within a menu plan that you like, you can click the link directly from the eBook to find the recipe online. Be inspired and receive countless meal planning ideas! Read more here…

You Can Do This! The First Five Steps to a Real Food Kitchen

It’s an eCourse that includes five thorough but simple lessons to walk you through transforming your kitchen into a real food kitchen – one little step at a time. Work at your own pace. Work at it in your jammies. Love where this journey takes you! Read more here…

Let’s Do This! Getting Ahead in Your Real Food Kitchen

My favorite way to serve real food to my family is by making food ahead of time so that I have healthy convenience foods ready to grab and go. This five lesson eCourse teaches you how you can not only keep up in your real food kitchen – you can actually get ahead! You’ll love these methods and find that getting ahead in your real food kitchen is easier than you think! Read more here…

{Healthy} Make-Ahead Meals and Snacks

It’s an eBook full of easy, real food recipes that can all be made ahead of time and frozen for easy use. This includes many of my family’s favorite casseroles and snacks. This eBook will save you time and money, and the recipes are delicious too! Enjoy getting ahead with these fun recipes! Read more here…

Bonus!

The You Can Do This! eCourse automatically comes with a free set of What To Do With the Chicken in Your Kitchen Recipe Cards, which includes 24 delicious, real food chicken recipes on cute, printable cards. Enjoy this free bonus worth an additional $6!

Get your Real Food Reality Resources Package

$19.95

click to purchse

And one more thing…

I must also encourage you to purchase my Oh, For Real: Real Food, Real Family, Real Easy printed cookbook. It’s a wonderful resource to have in your hands and in your kitchen. Consider adding the book to this purchase and we’ll get it sent out to you right away.

ForRealBookCover6

Oh, For Real: Real Food, Real Family, Real Easy 

$25.95
Price includes shipping – U.S. only

Add to Cart

Just want the Real Food Reality Resources Package?
Get it here for $19.95.

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Our goal is that these resources will be a blessing to you as you venture on this real food journey!

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

Let’s Do This! Join the Getting Ahead {Snacks} Challenge

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It’s been a few weeks since I threw out a challenge for all of us. With the holiday season coming soon, I thought we could all use a little practice getting ahead in the kitchen. And not that it’s all about me, but I am feeling a little short in the snacks department at my house. So for this challenge, I decided that we would focus on getting ahead with nourishing snacks.

The Let’s Do This! eCourse has an entire lesson devoted to getting ahead with snacks. Why? Because snacks are a must for many of us, and having healthy options on hand and ready to grab means that we are making better choices for ourselves and for our families. Otherwise, when we get hungry in the middle of an afternoon, we may be likely to cave in and grab a handful of chocolate chips. Not that you or I have ever done that in a moment of weakness. Mmmmhmmm.

Soooo, healthy snacks. I’m really hoping you’ll share some fresh new ideas with me! Here is a list of options I regularly give my kids, but they would definitely welcome something new. I’ve been experimenting, looking all over the internet for new recipes, and am counting on you to give me some ideas and inspiration.  No pressure.  I’ll just be waiting by my computer with my apron on and my mixing bowls in my lap…

My goal by the end of next week is to have several fun and healthy snack options prepared for my family – and to have a great new list of healthy (make-ahead) snack ideas compiled to share with you. In the meantime, there will be new healthy snack recipes coming your way – so be on the look-out. Join the Getting Ahead {Snack} Challenge!

Who’s with me?! Let’s Do This!

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How to Make Freezer Biscuits

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As with any freezer food, these freezer biscuits are going to make your life easier!

Freezer Biscuit Tutorial

Yum

My family loves biscuits and gravy. But by the time I brown sausage and make gravy, mix together biscuits, roll them, cut them out, and bake them – I end up with a very messy kitchen and a lot of time spent trying to get breakfast on the table. Therefore, I used to only make this meal on special occasions like birthdays and Father’s Day.

But now!! I have unlocked the secret to getting a meal of biscuits and gravy on the table within just a few minutes and with very little mess. My men think I’m wonderful for working so hard when they walk into the kitchen to see the delicious breakfast feast. Little do they know that making biscuits and gravy has become easier than trying to get them to see the laundry that is waiting for them to fold and put away. How can they not see it when they have to step over it to get to their room, I’d like to know. But back to the biscuits…

Making a super fast meal of biscuits and gravy is dependent on two simple tasks:

  1. Have sausage pre-made, browned, and frozen in meal-sized portions.
  2. Make biscuits ahead of time, then freeze them to pull out and bake.

If you recall, I typically make 12 pounds of Homemade Turkey Sausage at one time. It just makes sense. I’m already getting out all of the spices. I’m already dirtying a pot. Might as well just dirty a bigger pot and make a huge batch of sausage, right? Then I freeze the cooked meat in 12 quart-sized freezer bags. The night before I’m planning to make biscuits and gravy, I get out one bag of meat and put it into the fridge to thaw. Easy!

How to Make Freezer Biscuits

Now how about the biscuits? I’ve learned to mix up a triple or quadruple batch of Quick Mix Biscuits, roll and cut, then freeze the unbaked biscuits on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet. One mess, lots of biscuits. So easy! Once the biscuits are frozen, I transfer them to gallon-sized freezer bags. The night before I want to bake them, I place the desired number of frozen biscuits on a baking sheet, cover them with a cloth, then let them thaw on the countertop overnight.

The next morning, all I have to do is slide the biscuits into the oven to bake while I quickly make Homemade Sausage Gravy with the pre-cooked sausage. Slice some fruit, and I’ve got a favorite, hearty meal on the table within about 15 minutes.

My family will now be enjoying biscuits and gravy more often, thanks to these quick freezer methods!

Have you tried freezing unbaked biscuits before?

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Everyone Make Your Own Salad

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Want to know one of my latest tricks as I work to keep life simple (but still healthy) in the kitchen? While I’ve been working to have main dishes prepared ahead of time – when it comes time to serve the meal, we need a salad and/or veggie to go with it. No problem. Steaming veggies or tossing a salad together is super fast and easy.

But here’s what’s even faster:  Throw down all of the salad fixings and let everyone make their own salad. 

Everyone Make Your Own Salad

Is it just me, or does it appear that someone really should fill those empty jars of salad dressing?

Here’s what this looks like at dinner time at our house:

1. I had prepared a casserole last week and put it in the freezer.
2. At 4pm, I put the frozen casserole into the oven, turned the oven on to 250°, and let the casserole thaw/bake for two hours.
3. I wipe the sweat off my brow after that laborious twelve seconds of hard work.
4. At 5:50, I realize the casserole will soon be ready, so I decide to get out salad stuff.
5. I ask one boy to wash lettuce, another to wash tomatoes, another to get out salad dressing.
6. The casserole is taken out of the oven, the salad fixings are out, and everyone comes to the kitchen to fix a plate.
7. Each of us takes a scoop of casserole, then grabs some lettuce leaves. We all tear our lettuce onto our plates, grab tomatoes, choose our dressing, then sit down to eat together.

Even very young children can tear their own lettuce for a salad. And what kid doesn’t love being given permission to tear, rip, break, or shred their food? It’s like a salad eating privilege.

salad_makings_2

This message brought to you today by the Stop Giving Excuses About Not Having Time To Eat Healthy Food Foundation.

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This make your own salad idea fits perfectly with our new Simple Meals program! Your meal prep is just about to become much, much easier. You’ll save money, too.

Join the fun! Check out our amazing Simple Meals program!

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