Heavenly Homemakers

Encouraging women in homemaking, healthy eating and parenting

Simple Bacon Cheeseburger Roll

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Go bunless or go home. Wait. That’s just weird. Yes, that’s my weird way of saying that with this Simple Bacon Cheeseburger Roll there is no bun needed.

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Would you look at that bacon-wrapped meat, just waiting to be put into the oven to make everyone come and ask you forty times when dinner will be ready? This is the worst and the best thing about this recipe. All the smells. And the waiting. Because of the bacon and the cheese and the spices and the meat – everyone will be so eager to eat this delicious-smelling dish. It’s the best! And the worst. Life is very hard because of the good smells and the waiting.

Note how simple this is to make. It is also worth a big mention that this can be made ahead of time (up to two days), then slid into the oven in time to bake for dinner (and to frustrate all the people with the smells).

First, lay your bacon in a pan.

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Then press your hamburger meat over the top and sprinkle on everything that makes it smell better and taste better.

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Next, sprinkle on the shredded cheese.

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Then roll it up. Do you see how easy this is?

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You will bake this and smell this and try to be nice while you have to smell it but still wait eat it. We pray for strength to make it through these hard times.

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Then slice it and try to remember to throw out some form of fruit and vegetable because really? We’ve forgotten this nutritional need because today we’re all just in it for the bacon and the smells.

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Simple Bacon Cheeseburger Roll

5.0 from 1 reviews
Simple Bacon Cheeseburger Roll
 
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Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
  • ½ pound bacon
  • 1 pound hamburger meat
  • 1-2 teaspoons garlic powder
  • 2 teaspoons onion salt
  • 1½ cups shredded cheese
Instructions
  1. Lay bacon slices in single file into the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish.
  2. Pat hamburger meat evenly over the top of the bacon.
  3. Sprinkle garlic powder and onion salt over the meat.
  4. Top with shredded cheese.
  5. Roll it up.
  6. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 45-55 minutes or until bacon is cooked to your liking.

Simple Bacon Cheeseburger Roll

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The BEST Creamy Mac and Cheese, Made Simpler and Faster

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Back in the olden days of blogging, I shared what became one of my most popular recipes: Creamy Mac and Cheese. What makes this Creamy Mac and Cheese different? It’s made with whole grain pasta and it’s made with a completely different method which gives it the ultimate chance of creaminess. This happens because…

We cook the pasta directly in milk.

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Yes. We dump dry pasta into a pot and we pour in a generous amount of milk (whole milk, because creaminess). We salt it to taste, then we cook and stir until the pasta is tender and the creaminess becomes perfection. We remove it from the heat because we are people who read directions! Then we stir in the cheese and we cry tears of joy as we serve the delicious Creamy Mac and Cheese to our families.

So now, eight years after I first shared this recipe online, I will tell you a fun little tip so you can make this wonderful recipe in an even simpler, faster way. It’s this:

The smaller the noodle, the faster your Creamy Mac and Cheese hits the table.

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It’s kind of a no-brainer. However, I had always used penne or fusilli shaped pasta for this recipe, both of which are similar in size and take about 15 minutes to cook. Fifteen minutes is not a long time to get dinner on the table. But…

One day recently, I used small elbow noodles to make this Creamy Mac and Cheese and boom. The pasta was tender before I’d even cooked the peas or washed the grapes to go with our meal. Sweet! Not only can we make this meal without having to think ahead to thaw meat, we can throw it together even faster if we use a smaller noodle.

I’d say that taking advantage of this tip is really “using our noodle” but then I’d sound like Elmo and I’m not sure that’s how I want you to remember me.

Creamy Mac and Cheese Made Simpler and Faster

4.5 from 2 reviews
The BEST Creamy Mac and Cheese, Made Simpler and Faster
 
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Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
  • 2½ cups whole grain pasta
  • 3 cups whole milk
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt (more or less to taste)
  • 1 cup shredded cheese
Instructions
  1. Mix pasta, milk, and salt in a large sauce pan.
  2. Cook over medium-high heat stirring almost constantly until the pasta is tender (10-15 minutes).
  3. Remove from heat. (IMPORTANT!)
  4. Add cheese and stir until melted.
  5. Serve immediately.

Keep this recipe in your hip pocket for days you need to get a meal on the table quickly. Use small sized pasta so this will cook more quickly. Serve it with a salad and/or veggies and fresh fruit and you’ve just put a super simple meal on the table in record time.

The BEST Creamy Mac and Cheese

My favorite whole grain pasta to use in this recipe:

  • DeLallo Whole Wheat Elbows (quickest cooking pasta for the Creamy Mac and Cheese recipe!)
  • DeLallo Whole Wheat Penne
  • DeLallo Whole Wheat Fusilli
  • DeLallo Whole Wheat Shells
  • DeLallo Whole Wheat Gemelli (this is our all time favorite pasta shape for all the recipes in the world)

I have successfully made this recipe with Tinkyada Rice Pasta, so gluten-free friends, you get to enjoy this recipe too!

NOTE: It is quite important that you remove the cooked pasta from the heat BEFORE you add the cheese. If the pasta is still cooking when the cheese is added, this may cause the cheese to curdle. In addition, I’ve found that using pre-shredded cheese in this recipe doesn’t work as well because of the added ingredients in the packaging. I use cheese we shred at home for best results.

Creamy Mac and Cheese Varieties

Have you tried this method for making Mac and Cheese? What’s your favorite pasta shape?

Psssssst!

Seeing as this recipe is definitely a Heavenly Homemaker Favorite, you can bet that it’s included in my Best of Heavenly Homemakers book!! (There are only a few recipes included, but this had to be one of them!)

I just peeked and the book is up already on Amazon! Be the first to grab it!!

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Simple Overnight Pumpkin Spice French Toast Casserole

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My favorite aspect of this Simple Overnight Pumpkin Spice French Toast Casserole is that I can get it completely ready the night before, then slide it into the oven in the morning without having to think, measure, talk, or care. Allow me to share with you a bit about myself and how mornings work for me.

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I typically get up at least an hour before my family rolls out of bed in the morning. Do you know what that means? That means that for at least one hour every day no one talks to me, asks me questions, makes a request, or assumes I actually know the time of today’s soccer game. Once the people wake up, my brain must be on full power, ready to answer all the questions, write all the sentences, make all the reminders, plan all the meals, and remember to add toilet paper to the list.

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For the first several years of my married-with-kids life, I woke up and immediately hit the ground running. My quiet time in the mornings meant I could actually accomplish something before a small child unraveled my efforts with his sticky but adorable hands. I could get work done without interruption and perhaps enjoy some productivity – in the quiet.

This was all well and good, except that I missed out on one very important aspect needed in life: actual quiet.

I was deceived into thinking that productivity meant checking tasks off my to-do list. Now I know the truth, that productivity can look like rest. Productivity can mean that I’m sitting, savoring, breathing, and simply being loved by the Father in the moments of quiet. Nothing in this world is more productive.

Do I miss out on that precious and much needed hour of work time? No. I absolutely do not. The work is still there. The work still gets done (no it doesn’t). There’s peace in my heart that didn’t exist before I started giving my days to God in the quiet, and this means much, much more than a house full of completed check-lists.

All that to say: Making this French Toast Casserole at night, then effortlessly slipping it into the oven first thing in the morning means that I can still present an amazing breakfast to my family while still enjoying my quiet morning with the Lord. (Though to be clear, sometimes I present a half-hearted breakfast of stale cereal because as easy as this recipe is, I don’t have time to do something like this every night. No one ever died eating the stale cereal and everyone is happier when Mom starts her day with Jesus.)

Simple Overnight Pumpkin Spice French Toast Casserole

Simple Overnight Pumpkin Spice French Toast Casserole
 
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Serves: 6-8
Ingredients
  • 1 loaf whole grain bread
  • 2½ cups whole milk
  • ¼ cup brown sugar or sucanat
  • 6 eggs
  • 8 ounces pumpkin puree
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 Tablespoon Pumpkin Spice*
  • Topping:
  • ½ cup melted butter
  • ¼ cup brown sugar or sucanat
  • ⅓ cup pecan
  • 1 Tablespoon Pumpkin Spice*
Instructions
  1. Cut bread into cubes and spread them into a 9x13 inch baking pan. Set aside.
  2. In a bowl, whisk milk, sugar, eggs, pumpkin puree, vanilla, and pumpkin spice.
  3. Pour liquids over the bread cubes.
  4. Cover the pan and refrigerate overnight (or all day if you plan to make this in the evening for dinner).
  5. Before baking, stir together the topping ingredients.
  6. Sprinkle topping over the prepared casserole.
  7. Place casserole into a COLD oven, then turn it on to 350 degrees.
  8. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until casserole is lightly browned.
  9. Serve with real maple syrup.

*Find the recipe for our Pumpkin Spice mix here. Or substitute: 1 teaspoon ground cloves, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg in this recipe.

Simple Overnight Pumpkin Spice French Toast Casserole

 

Have you been able to find some quiet moments with the Lord in your day? What time of day works best for you to do this?

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From Burrito Bar to Casserole – a 5 Minute Way to Use Leftovers!

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Allow me to tell you about two of my favorite new Simple Meals tricks! From Burrito Bar to Casserole, here are two meals that go together super easily!

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The first favorite Simple Meals trick is this: Any time I’ve been privileged to feed a large crowd lately, I have been setting up a Burrito Bar. I fed Asa’s soccer team this way (35+ college male athletes, phew!). I fed Matt’s soccer team this way (20+ college women athletes – Matt’s their assistant coach).

It is important, yet frustrating, to note that I took no pictures of either meal because I always get too busy with the food and the fellowship and I forget to take a picture. I regret this every time. But moving on…

What is great about setting up a Burrito Bar is that each person can build a burrito (or three) to his or her liking. And best yet, those who have food allergies can still eat this meal! (My gluten free friends skip the tortilla but can eat everything else. My dairy free friends can skip the cheese and sour cream and eat everything else. It’s so simple!)

Burrito Bar Fixin’s

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And now for my second favorite Simple Meals trick! After I’m finished serving the Burrito Bar, I stir together the leftovers and spread it into a casserole dish. This makes it super easy to put away leftovers! And it makes for a very delicious meal on another day, which takes zero effort!

I fully admit that this doesn’t look super appetizing. For shame. Something so delicious should not look so…blah.

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I will now attempt to give you an idea of measurements so that you, too, can stir together Burrito Bar leftovers and create a new meal of…what shall we call it? Burrito Bar Casserole? Cheesy Mexican Rice? Mom’s Night Off? Yes, let’s call it that.

From Burrito Bar To Casserole

From Burrito Bar to Casserole - a 5 Minute Way to Use Leftovers!
 
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Serves: 6-8
Ingredients
  • Leftover cooked chicken or hamburger (1-2 pounds)
  • Leftover cooked rice (2-3 cups)
  • Leftover beans (up to 2 cups)
  • Salsa (2-3 cups)
  • Sour Cream (2-3 cups)
  • Shredded cheese (1-3 cups, optional)
Instructions
  1. Stir these leftovers together, not worrying much about the measurements!
  2. Spread the mixture into a 9x13 inch casserole dish.
  3. Top it with cheese (optional).
  4. Cover and refrigerate until ready to warm and serve. Or cover and freeze for up to two months.
  5. When you are ready to serve this meal, cover it with foil and slide it into a cold oven.
  6. Bake a refrigerated casserole at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes. Bake a frozen casserole at 275 degrees for 2-3 hours or until hot and bubbly.

From Burrito to Casserole - a 5 minute way to use leftovers

Do not get stuck on the measurements for this “casserole.” Simply stir the leftovers together until it looks right for your family. Then your kids might do what mine did, take one bite, and say, “This is actually pretty good.”

Actually?

Yes, because it’s so shocking that my food would taste good. (Okay, but in their defense, it didn’t look super tasty, right?)

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Make life even simpler when you sign up to receive our weekly Menu Planning Packets. One tiny price, loads of weekly help. Read about this and sign up here!

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

Honey Sweetened No-Bake Cookies – Prepare To Be Amazed!

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When you no longer eat much sugar, but you want to enjoy your childhood favorite No-Bake Cookies…you make the cookies with a little bit of honey to see if you can pull it off. They turn out so delicious you start dancing in the living room.

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What? Of course you can dance about cookies. Delicious No-Bake Cookies made with honey are worth dancing over.

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For the record, I don’t dance in public. There is good reason for this as my feet and my head don’t always play nice together. My head knows where my feet should go and gives directions accordingly. But then my feet are like, “Are you kidding me right now?” then my head is like, “That is not at all what I told you to do; what are you actually thinking?” and my feet say, “You aren’t the boss of me, I’ll do what I want.” So then my brain gives up and says, “Forget it. At least I’m good at making cookies.”

My friend Kim sent me this recipe idea, then I tweaked it just a bit to make it my own. I guess we could say that it’s Kim’s fault that I was dancing in the living room. She can be glad I didn’t invite her over to watch. Though I probably should thank her with a cookie sometime.

Honey Sweetened No-Bake Cookies

3.5 from 2 reviews
Honey Sweetened No-Bake Cookies
 
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Serves: 18-20
Ingredients
  • ½ - ¾ cup honey
  • ⅔ cup natural peanut butter
  • ½ cup butter or coconut oil
  • ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 3 cups old fashioned oats
Instructions
  1. In a medium-sized sauce pan, stir together honey, peanut butter, butter, and cocoa powder.
  2. Melt and stir ingredients over medium heat until well combined and slightly bubbly.
  3. Remove from heat.
  4. Add oats and stir until coated.
  5. Scoop 1-2 Tablespoons of mixture onto a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet.
  6. Chill No-Bake Cookies in the refrigerator until they are set, about 1 hour.

Honey Sweetened No Bake Cookies

Want some more Low Sugar Cookie recipes?

With all these recipes making us so very happy, we will all be dancing in our living rooms. What will the neighbors think?

Are you a No-Bake Cookie fan? Did you grow up eating these? Can you dance? (I mean, any of us can. But are you good at it?)

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Real Food I Consistently Buy at Walmart

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I’m writing a small series of posts to share what groceries I purchase from each of my favorite stores – either online, co-op, or from brick and mortar grocery stores. I recently shared about the groceries I buy from Aldi and groceries I order from Amazon. Today I’ll tell you about the real food groceries I often buy at Walmart!

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I know many people strongly dislike shopping at Walmart. But for me, it is one of two options in my small town. I have the choice of shopping at our one local grocery store (which is quite a bit more expensive and does not always have great quality produce) or Walmart. The produce selection at our Walmart is usually pretty good, plus I can price-match great deals from stores an hour away like Aldi and Fresh Thyme Market.

So Walmart it is, almost every week. Typically I’ve found the quality of their produce to be very good! And they even carry several organic options.

Real Food Groceries I Buy at Walmart

What do I buy at Wal-Mart?

A cart full, you can bet on it. :)

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~ Fresh Fruits and Vegetables

I look at Pricematcherz.com each week and take advantage of all the deals from stores in Lincoln. I get amazing deals on fresh produce this way, and I am so thankful for this!

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~ Frozen Veggies as Needed

Typically I buy frozen veggies from Azure Standard. But since that order only comes once each month, I buy (non-organic) from Walmart in the meantime to fill in gaps.

~ Chicken

Our Wal-mart carries a “natural” brand of chicken at a very reasonable price. I often find it marked down and buy every bit of it when it’s available at the discount. But even if it isn’t discounted, the price is still good. I can get whole chickens as well as boneless thighs and breasts. Boneless thighs are my absolute favorite!

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~ Cream and Half-and-Half

No it’s not organic. Yes we go through a lot of it.

~ Colby Jack Cheese

Our Walmart has Joseph Farms brand that is a great price and made from cows that are not given hormones. I usually buy 2-3 of these four-pound hunks of cheese each month. We shred it all in our food processor and keep it in these bowls with lids to pull out and use as needed.

~ Day-Old Bread on the Mark-Down Cart

I always check this cart to see if their French or Italian bread is available for $0.53. If so, I grab a few loaves so my boys can make Pizza Boats for a quick lunch or so we’ll have it on hand to serve guests. No it’s not very nutritious. But it makes a nice side for an otherwise nutritious meal, and our guests enjoy it slathered in butter!

~ Hormel Naturals Lunch Meat

If we need sandwiches to take on the road for soccer or basketball games, I grab a couple family packs of these.

~ Nitrite Free Hot Dogs

They recently came out with a Walmart brand of hotdogs that I would consider “better for you” and their price is better too. I like to have these on hand for Beanie Weanies once in a while. :)

~ Organic Mixed Greens and Fresh Spinach

The prices on these are great, and actually cheaper than the conventional options! I love how simple these make my life!

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Are you a Walmart shopper? Does your Walmart still offer Price Matching? What do you frequently buy at Walmart?

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Make Your Own Real Food Pudding Cups (and Save Money!)

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Perhaps you are excited as I am about the Easy Peanut Butter Pudding recipe I shared a few days ago. If so, you can get even more excited about how you can make different varieties of homemade pudding to create your own transportable Real Food Pudding Cups! Not only are these Pudding Cups made with real food, you will be amazed at the low cost for such a wholesome treat!

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Take note that some people (who shall remain nameless) tried to overfill their cute little cups and then the lids wouldn’t go on. Correction: The lids did go on, but pudding pushed up and over the top through the lid and squished down the sides of the cup, ruining the cuteness and creating a mess. I don’t know who would do this, but some people did this, so don’t be one of these people.

The nameless people who overfilled their cups had to scoop out pudding into an extra cup before placing lids on top. But then look:

Homemade Pudding Cups

Transportable pudding cups!

A couple years ago I discovered these awesome BPA Free Cups with Lids at Amazon and have used them over and over. We’ve used them for applesauce cups and for transporting berries or veggie dip. They come in super handy! And now, we learn that we can use them to make these Easy Homemade Pudding Cups.

Let’s talk Pudding Cup Ingredients and CostYum

I recently checked the price and ingredients for pudding cups at the store. First of all, the store-bought pudding cups sit on a shelf instead of in a fridge, so we can be sure there are many preservatives included. The biggest reason to avoid these is that they include two kinds of hydrogenated oils plus vegetable oil, none of which can our bodies digest well or utilize for nourishment. Cost for store-bought is roughly $0.25 for a 3.25 ounce cup.

How much do Homemade Real Food Pudding Cups Cost?

I used all real food, organic ingredients and my cost break down was still surprisingly low! So if you use non-organic ingredients you might find yourself saving even more!

I estimated that one batch of pudding cost me about $1.75. This made six 5-ounce cups of pudding, which breaks down to $0.29 per pudding cup! But since the cups I’m using are slightly bigger than store-bought pudding cups, the price per ounce of homemade pudding is actually less expensive than purchased pudding cups!

How about that? Making Real Food Pudding Cups saves us money and ensures that we’re getting a wholesome, filling snack or dessert!

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You can have fun making pudding varieties and mixing and matching fun flavors! Reuse the disposable cups (they wash up easily!) to save even more.

Easy Recipes for Pudding Cups

Two Great Pudding Cup Tips

  1. Adjust the sugar amount in each of these recipes to your liking. Take note also that you can use any sweetener you choose, from maple syrup to honey, brown sugar, or sucanat.
  2. These Pudding Cups freeze well! Make a bunch ahead of time, then pull out a few at a time to thaw as needed.

What can you do with extra egg whites after making homemade pudding? 

These pudding recipes call for egg yolks as the egg whites tend to create a funny texture as the pudding cooks. I set the egg whites aside, store them in a jar in the fridge, then often add them to our scrambled eggs to use them up. Or you can make Coconut Macaroon Cookies.

2025 UPDATE: I’ve started adding the entire egg to our pudding recipes. As long as I whisk the mixture very thoroughly, the recipe turns out smooth!

Make Your Own Real Food Pudding Cups

What’s your favorite variety of pudding? Do you have any other great ideas for utilizing these reusable plastic cups with lids?

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Easy Peanut Butter Pudding

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This one was Justus’ idea. He’s my 17-year old, my senior in high school. These are my last few months with him at home so when he said, “Mom, do you think you could figure out how to make Peanut Butter Pudding?” of course I immediately dropped whatever I was doing to work on his request.

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I kid. I mean, I would never drop whatever I’m doing to go with a whim of one of my children. Never would I attempt to spoil any of my kids. Especially when it comes to food. They must be taught patience, that the world doesn’t revolve around them, even if it is their senior year and the mother can’t breathe at the thought of missing out on the delightful morning conversations she enjoys with her second born every morning before the others wake up. Even if.

Okay fine. I dropped what I was doing and I made the kid some Peanut Butter Pudding. It sounded like an amazing treat, and I agreed with Justus that the protein mixed in with the sweetness would be a fabulous combination.

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As an aside, it is worth a mention that I learned with our first born that the world doesn’t end when you graduate a child and send him from home. Life with your adult child does, indeed, grow in richness (this is ironic because of the college bills). But this doesn’t stop me from feeling all of the many feelings associated with launching another child from our nest. I will enjoy this time with him to the full. I will cry tears of joy and pride frequently. And I will make him pudding with peanut butter in it, just because he mentions that it sounds good.

The recipe is simple (you would expect nothing less, right?). It is creamy and rich and delightful. It tastes even better served with Chocolate Pudding.

Easy Peanut Butter Pudding

5.0 from 1 reviews
Easy Peanut Butter Pudding
 
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Author:
Serves: 6-8
Ingredients
  • 2½ cups milk
  • 3 egg yolks
  • ½ cup natural creamy peanut butter
  • ½ cup real maple syrup, honey, sucanat, or brown sugar
  • 4 Tablespoons corn starch
  • ¼ teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 Tablespoon butter
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
  1. In a medium saucepan, whisk together all ingredients except butter and vanilla.
  2. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until pudding begins to thicken.
  3. Stir over the heat for about 15 more seconds or until pudding has reached desired thickness. Remove immediately from the heat, and continue to stir until pudding is creamy.
  4. (I use my whisk the whole time for stirring and find this works great!)
  5. Add butter and vanilla and continue to stir until mixed.
  6. Pour into serving dishes and serve warm, or chill for two hours and serve cold.

Easy Peanut Butter Pudding

It’s possible you can look forward to me sharing other great food ideas Justus has this year. Not that I’ll drop everything and make them on a whim. We would never, ever want to spoil our children. Especially with food. Even if it’s their senior year.

Justus Senior2600

“Hey Mom. Think you could make my favorite Italian Cream Cheese Chicken soon?” Absolutely, Justus. Absolutely.

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Chocolate Chip Breakfast Bars – From Freezer to Oven!

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Well, here we are. The school year is in full swing. Fall soccer season is knocking our (smelly) socks off. I have completely forgotten which way is up.

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I already lost track of which way is south because when people give me directions they are not allowed to use ridiculous phrases like, “Turn east and you’ll see our house on the north corner.” What kind of foreign language are they even speaking? When giving me directions, people may only use phrases like, “turn right” or “turn left” or better yet “turn toward the sign with the monkey.”

In summary, September is always a very busy month for our family, and I am extremely directionally challenged. However, as long as I do everything I can to keep our food simple, I handle myself okay in the kitchen (which, as it turns out, is located in the northeast corner of our house).

Stashing prepared food in our freezer (found when you take a south at the stove and head due west toward the toaster) is only helpful if said prepared food doesn’t get lost in the back and freezer burned. I’ve discovered a couple of tricks during the past couple of years that make freezer cooking much better for our family, and my favorite is this:

Stir together breakfast baked goods, but freeze them before baking. Pull out desired amount of said frozen goods and bake them fresh on the morning you plan to serve them.

When doing this, I get baking messes out of the way so I don’t have to measure and mix on busy school mornings. But we can still eat the goodies fresh out of the oven.

Breakfast Cookies for the Freezer

Take, for instance, my “famous” Giant Breakfast Cookies. I mix up a double batch (because why make one batch when you can make two?). I scoop the dough onto cookie sheets and freeze the cookie dough balls. Each morning when we want hot, fresh Breakfast Cookies, I simply pull out some frozen cookie dough balls and bake them while I scramble eggs and slice strawberries. We all eat a fabulous breakfast and I’ve hardly worked at all.

Freezer Breakfast Cookies5

I do the same with muffin batter, freezing it in muffin cups, unbaked, and pulling them out to bake as needed. Homemade Poptarts are perfect frozen unbaked as well.

The Easiest Way to Make Muffins

This is all wonderful, seeing as I must use all my energy after breakfast to try and understand what my phone means when it tells me to “head north toward Highway 2” as I’m trying to locate a soccer field in another city. For the love of my brain cells, JUST TELL ME TO GO STRAIGHT OR TURN RIGHT. Well, anyway…

My most recent “Mix and Freeze” breakfast food discovery is this: I can mix up big batches of these Chocolate Chip Breakfast Bars, freeze them unbaked, then pull out squares and bake them as needed.

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See? I line my 8×8 inch pans with parchment paper, press in the dough, and freeze. I even freeze it in layers (though learned the hard way that it is important to keep parchment paper between the layers). Once frozen, I transfer the unbaked dough to gallon-sized freezer bags. If I think about it the night before, I’ll pull out a square to thaw in the fridge so I can bake it the next day. Otherwise, I simply pull out a frozen square in the morning, put it into a pan and bake it with a few minutes of extra baking time.

Where has this tip been my whole life? (Probably hiding somewhere between the east and the west, but of course, I could never find it.)

Chocolate Chip Breakfast Bars

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Chocolate Chip Breakfast Bars - From Freezer to Oven!
 
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Serves: 24
Ingredients
  • 1 cup melted butter
  • ¾ cup sucanat or ½ cup honey
  • 2 eggs
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 cups rolled oats
  • 2 cups whole wheat flour (I use freshly ground hard white wheat)
  • ½ cup chocolate chips
Instructions
  1. Stir together melted butter and sucanat.
  2. Add eggs, baking soda, salt, and vanilla, mixing well.
  3. Stir in oats and flour until well combined.
  4. Fold in chocolate chips.
  5. Spread mixture in a 9×13 inch baking dish (or two 8x8 inch baking dishes).
  6. Bake in a 350° oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.
  7. To Freeze Dough: Line 8x8 inch pans with parchment paper, press in the dough, and freeze. Once frozen, transfer the unbaked dough to freezer bags. Thaw dough squares in the fridge overnight to bake the next day. Or pull out a frozen square in the morning, put it into a pan and bake it with a few minutes of extra baking time.

Make-Ahead Chocolate Chip Breakfast Bars

I highly recommend making and freezing bacon ahead so that within thirty seconds, you can serve hot, sizzly bacon with these bars. Any fruit will go with these as well, and with that, breakfast is served.

May your mornings be pleasant, may your breakfast be tasty, and may you never tell me to head south on 6th street.

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Food I Keep in My Fridge and Freezer to Make the School Year Easier

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Simple as some of the items on the following lists are, I thought it was worth sharing the basic food I keep in my fridge and freezer to make the school year easier.

Food I Keep in my Fridge and Freezer to Make Meals During the School Year Easier

Some of these require work (as in, I actually have to mix something or cook something). But many of these only require that I purchase them and sock them away to use as needed. Either way, having these foods ready to grab at all times (if possible!) means I can relax more when feeding my family during busy school days.

If you haven’t already downloaded our free Master Lunch, Breakfast, and Snack Ideas and Recipes Lists, go grab those here. Those lists are helping keep my planning to a minimum!

Master List of 100 Simple Snack Ideas

And now, the big list of food I like to keep on hand to make many of those lunches, breakfasts, and snacks!

Food/Ingredients I Keep in my Freezer

Freshly Ground Flour

Here you’ll find all the posts I’ve ever written about grinding grain in a mill. I’ve been grinding all of our flour for almost 12 years now! It’s easy, saves money, and doing this makes our baked goods taste so much better. It’s also great for our health!

If possible, I try to keep a bucket of ground Hard White Wheat (for yeast recipes) and a bucket of Soft White Wheat (for non-yeast muffins and pastries) in my freezer so I can grab it out and bake as needed!

Pastry Flour 3

Pizza Crust

I’ve recently mentioned that I’ve been buying some premade crusts from Azure Standard to keep in the freezer for quick pizza meals. My Homemade Pizza Crust is also freezable. And if you want, you can even make your own Frozen Pizza!

Make Your Own Frozen Pizza

Frozen Cookie Dough 

My boys would say that having cookie dough in the freezer is a necessity for a happy school year. I say this is great to have on hand when people come over last minute so we can bake cookies without making a big mess. Sometimes we mix up cookie dough, roll it into a tube with parchment paper and freeze it until we need it. More often, we scoop the dough onto a baking sheet and freeze the dough balls to make very quick cookies!

How to Make Refrigerator Cookie Dough

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Breakfast Cookie Dough Balls

Along the same lines as the cookies I just mentioned, having these Giant Breakfast Cookie Balls in the freezer ready to pull out and bake in the morning is a huge time saver! I used to bake a double batch and freeze them as a ready-to-eat breakfast. But we’ve since learned that it’s fun to pull out a few frozen dough balls and bake them fresh as needed. It doesn’t get much better than a fresh-from-the-oven Breakfast Cookie with coffee in the morning!

Breakfast Cookies for the Freezer

Cooked Bacon

Pre-cooking bacon to store in the freezer has been awesome! I pull out a few slices to cook for each person a couple times a week, and I can have it on the table in about thirty seconds. I love this time-saving method!

how-to-cook-bacon-in-the-oven-and-freeze-it-for-quick-reheating

Hashbrowns

If I have time, the boys and I make hashbrowns to keep in the freezer. This task hasn’t been making it onto our to-do list lately though, so I was glad to find the Mr. Dell’s brand of frozen hashbrowns at our local Walmart, which contains one ingredient: Potatoes. I love having these in the freezer so I can throw together Egg and Cheese Hashbrown Waffles, Bacon Ranch Hashbrown Casserole, and Simple Hashbrown Casserole. Oh yeah. And hashbrowns. :)

hashbrowns3sm

Ground Beef

I feel like as long as we have hamburger meat in the freezer, we will never go hungry. There are so many meals a person can make with ground beef! And now that I’ve learned how to cook frozen hamburger in bulk in my Instant Pot, life just got even easier! :)

instant pot hamburger8

Boneless Chicken Thighs

Almost as versatile as hamburger meat is boneless chicken pieces! I have learned to love boneless thighs much more than boneless breasts, and as it turns out, thighs always cost less per pound! I watch for the natural brand at my store to be marked down, buy all I can, and throw them into my freezer to use in all our Simple Recipes!

ranch chicken salad1

Homemade Poptarts

No one will starve if we don’t have poptarts in our freezer, but these sure do make a fantastic and fun breakfast. My favorite way to make these is to put together a double batch but leave them unbaked in the freezer. Then I pull them out and bake just a few at a time so we can eat them hot. They are the best! I made a bunch of these before school started this year, and they’ve made mornings just a little bit simpler. :)

homemade-poptarts-for-the-freezer

Muffin Batter

This little tip is fantastic to fill your mornings with freshly baked muffins without having to get out a mixing bowl. I love having several different kinds of muffin batter in my freezer, pulling out a few of each, and baking up an assortment without going to any trouble!

Freeze Your Muffin Batter 3

Frozen Veggies

I have big bag of frozen peas and frozen green beans in my freezer at all times. This way, even if I haven’t made it to the store to restock our fresh veggies, we always have something green to serve with our meals. These steam up quickly, and I always add a good fat to them, which makes them healthier and tastier!

grilled chicken3

Frozen Fruit

If I have peaches, strawberries, blueberries, and/or pineapple in the freezer, I can make smoothies, slushies, or fruit cobblers very quickly. Typically I stock up on these during the summer because they are less expensive when then are in season. I don’t always buy them pre-frozen. I often buy them fresh and freeze them myself if they are a better price this way!

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Butter

But, of course. For all of the delicious, buttery reasons, I keep butter in my freezer at all times. Beef and butter, beef and butter…

beef_and_butter

Food I Keep in my Fridge

Shredded Cheese

I buy 4-pound chunks of Colby jack cheese, and sometimes mozzarella too. I have my boys shred it by running it through our food processor, which makes the job super fast! We store the shredded cheese in pyrex bowls with lids in our fridge and pull it out to use in any casserole, quesadilla, taco, scrambled egg, or anything else which calls for shredded cheese. This is, for sure, a refrigerator staple.

grating cheese2

grating cheese3

Mixed Greens

I buy a one-pound tub of these mixed greens every week so we can always have salads without any effort! Bonus: At our local Walmart, the organic greens are less expensive than the conventional!

mixed greens

Peanut Butter

I buy 5-pound bags of peanuts from Azure Standard every month and make the entire bag into about 6 pint-sized jars of peanut butter. I figure I might as well make one mess to produce 6 jars of peanut butter to have on hand, instead of making only one or two jars at a time every single week. We go through all 6 jars in a month. This homemade peanut butter is super delicious!

Super Creamy Peanut Butter

Cookie Bites

Having these No-Bake Cookie Bites, in one form or the other, in the fridge is great when any of us need a quick snack with protein and fiber. These are super low in sugar and naturally grain free. Yum, they taste good!

No-Bake Cookie Bites - Easy Recipes!

Fat Bombs

Just like the Cookie Bites, these Fat Bombs provide us with energy from good protein and fat. My husband and I like the Stevia Sweetened Fat Bombs. Our kids prefer the Honey Sweetened Fat Bombs.

fat-bombs-easy-and-delicious

Ranch Dressing

I always have a quart of Homemade Ranch Dressing in the fridge. It’s is our favorite dressing, it is easy to make, and we eat salads almost every day!

Ranch Dressing and Dip Mix

Cold Water for Javita Drinks

We almost always drink Javita coffee and tea hot, but for all of the others, I like to keep a jar of water in the fridge so that at any time, we can mix up whichever drink we need. The boys make a Rush drink for themselves before a workout. Matt drinks Flex before a hard day’s work to help with shoulder pain. All the boys and I drink Defend for an immune system boost. I drink Fiber every day to help with digestion, and surprisingly, it has helped keep me from needing to eat so often!

javita products snapshot2

Eggs

I cringe a little if we start getting low on eggs! We go through several dozen each week when we scramble or fry them for breakfast, and when we are baking. Of course, now that I have an Instant Pot, I’ve been boiling them quickly too.

eggs

Butter

Oh wait. Did I already mention butter in the freezer section of this post? Well, can I help it that I always have a nice supply in both my freezer and my fridge? This ingredient is very necessary. Very. :)

butter

What are your fridge and freezer staples?

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