Heavenly Homemakers

Encouraging women in homemaking, healthy eating and parenting

How To Replace Cream Soups in Recipes

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Once I announced our new Real Food Recipe Makeover:  Heavenly Homemakers Edition feature, many asked me to come up with a substitute for cream soups in recipes. Well, I can check that one off my list right away, because I already have several options for cream soup substitutes that I can share!

The best part of replacing canned cream soups is that it can be absolutely SO SIMPLE! You can take some time to make homemade cream soup if you want, but if you don’t, there are a couple of very easy substitutions you can make that take no extra effort at all!

Cream Soup Substitution Idea One:

Add sour cream instead. If a recipe calls for one 10 ounce can of cream of ________ soup, you can use one cup of sour cream instead. This is how I make Cheesy Beef and Rice. The sour cream makes the casserole creamy and adds great flavor too. So easy!

Cream Soup Substitution Idea Two:

Add heavy cream instead. If a recipe calls for one 10 ounce can of cream of _________ soup, you can add one cup of cream instead. This is how I make Creamy Chicken and Rice Casserole. You won’t miss the cream soup at all!

Cream Soup Substitution Idea Three:

Make Homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup. This takes a little more effort than the other two ideas, but you can make up a batch, use it right away, or freeze it for future uses! I use homemade cream of mushroom soup when I make One Dish Meat and Potato Casserole.

For any of these ideas, specificially ideas one and two, you may want to add a few extra herbs or spices to your recipe, since taking out the canned cream soup may also take out some of the flavor. But I have found that taking out the cream soup and replacing it with heavy cream or sour cream – I am then able to taste all the other great natural flavors in the casserole (chicken, vegetables, etc). The result is a fresh, clean taste.

Ah…real food. I love it. :)

Do you have some recipes that call for canned cream soups? Do you think any of the above ideas will work well as a substitute?

If you have a recipe you’d like for me to try and make-over, click here and fill out the form provided.

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Funky Fresh Kitchen Challenge #5: Try Something New

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This is your fifth and final challenge during our month of the Funky Fresh Kitchen. How about that? We’re almost to the end of the month already!

This week, our Funky Fresh Kitchen Challenge is to try something new. 

I suppose I should clarify by letting you know that my intention with this challenge is that perhaps we all try a new recipe or two. But if you really want to take the challenge beyond my original intent, you are welcome to try sky diving, or walking backwards everywhere you go, or learning to speak Swahili.

Me? I’m going to try my hand at Whole Wheat Pita Bread. (Besides, I already speak fluent Swahili and had a lovely time sky diving with my family yesterday.)

Oh, I am so stinkin’ hilarious.

And boring. 

It is a fact that the idea of trying to make Whole Wheat Pita Bread makes me get all excited and jittery inside. But you couldn’t pay me a million dollars to sky dive. And I think we already know how many languages I speak. (Owhay aboutay uoyay?)

So, just supposing you also have already mastered the art of speaking fluent Swahili, how would you like to join me in trying a new recipe this week? 

Awesome.

Is there something you’ve thought about trying but just haven’t had the motivation to get it done? Now’s the time. Maybe you’d like to try making a Homemade Salad Dressing? Or how about Homemade Donuts? Whole Wheat Bagels? 

donutssm1.JPG

How about trying your hand at Homemade Yogurt, Buttermilk, or Kefir? Or Alfredo Sauce? Or Cheeseburger Macaroni?

Oh, the list can go on and on. Take a look at all of the recipes I have posted on Pinterest. Or simply look through my huge recipes lists on the drop down Recipes link at the top of my site.

Or, of course, you’re welcome to try a recipe from another Website or cookbook. Try anything new that you think your family would like which will take you another step in the direction of having a healthy and Funky Fresh Kitchen.

I’ll report back on Friday to let you know how my Whole Wheat Pita Bread turns out. I’ll provide you with a chance to link up to share your progress too!

Be sure to leave a comment on this post, sharing what you plan to try during this challenge! All comments will be entered in our giveway for two $25 and one $50 gift certificates to the Heavenly Homemakers Shop.

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EASY! Overnight, No Knead Yeast Bread

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No Knead Bread. Let’s make life easier, shall we?

No-Knead Bread

I love having smart friends.

Smart friends who give me great, easy, healthy recipes are my favorite kind of friends. As are my friends who give me chocolate. Or jars. Or hugs. Or the friends who listen to my constant and sometimes nonsensical chatter. And the ones who put up with my unreasonable freak-out moments of stress. And the ones who pray with me. And the ones who deal with me during soccer season when I can’t finish sentences.

Let me just pause and wipe a tear. I really have the best friends ever…

Well now. (stops to loudly blow nose and gain composure)  I really brought all that up to say that one of my great friends, Nikki, shared this recipe with me. She’s one of my smart friends who I believe has done all of the above and then some (God bless her).

Once when I was at her house, she let me try some of the bread she had made that morning. It was great! And then she started telling me how she made it. How you don’t have to knead it. How you start it the night before and how it takes about three minutes to mix up. I think I grabbed her neck, hugged her fiercely, and knocked her over when she handed me the recipe. Not really. I truly can control myself. Usually. But hey, there was a great recipe involved, so no guarantees. See, I told you my friends are great to put up with me.

And now, the easiest bread recipe in the world…

No Knead Yeast BreadYum

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EASY! Overnight, No Knead Yeast Bread
 
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Ingredients
  • 3 cups flour (This recipe works a little better with unbleached white flour, but I prefer to use freshly ground hard white wheat so that it is healthier.)
  • 1 ¾ teaspoon sea salt
  • ½ teaspoon active rise yeast
  • 1 ½ cups water
Instructions
  1. Stir ingredients together in the evening. (No need to proof the yeast.)
  2. Cover and allow dough to sit over-night on the counter-top.
  3. In the morning, dump the dough onto a well floured surface.
  4. Shape it into a ball.
  5. Let it sit for 30 minutes.
  6. Preheat the oven to 450°, heating the baking dish in the oven at the same time.
  7. Place the dough in the hot baking dish.
  8. Cover and bake for 30-40 minutes.

Note:  You need a covered dish to bake this bread.  I found a deep-dish casserole dish with a lid that worked for me, similar to this one. But if I can save up and splurge on this one, would that not be the coolest?

When you mix it and cover it in the evening, it starts out looking like this:

In the morning it will look like this:

After you bake it, it will look like this:

And when you slice it it will look like this:

Once you serve it, it will look like this:

(There’s no picture. The bread is gone. Obviously.)

I highly recommend that you give this recipe a try, and that you consider serving it with this wonderful Calico Beans dish. It’s a wonderful combo!

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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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Whole Wheat Calzones

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We have some lovely friends in town that make delicious homemade pizza. Their last name is “Tandy”, and because they have made their awesome pizza for so many, most people around here who know and enjoy their pizza lovingly call it “Tandy Pizza”. If you say, “We’re going to have Tandy’s Pizza for lunch,” everyone will get excited. This family has turned their pizza into a ministry, feeding loads of teenagers each week, making their pizza for large groups, baking it for kids at church camp, and the list goes on. Everyone loves the Tandys and their pizza ministry.

Well, a few weeks ago, I finally perfected my own homemade whole wheat pizza crust, and then adapted it to make calzones for a quick, grab and go meal. Malachi, our seven year old, took one bite of his and excitedly declared it to be “as good as Tandy Pizza!”. Now that is quite an honor. Ever since, Malachi has been calling these calzones “Tandy Pockets”. It seems as though the Tandys are getting the credit for allllll my hard work, but hey, I’m okay with that. (And P.S. it doesn’t really take a lot of hard work to make these. I just wanted to sound momentarily pitiful.)  ;)

How to Make Whole Wheat Calzones

Whole Wheat Pizza DoughYum

5 cups whole wheat flour (I use freshly ground flour from hard white wheat)
1 teaspoon sea salt
4 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast (or 2 pouches)
2 cups warm water (The water should feel warm to the touch, but  not burn your finger. How’s that for a specific temperature. This is how thorough I am…)

Mix all ingredients together, knead for 3-4 minutes, then allow the dough to “rest” for about 10 minutes (give or take). Use the dough to make two pizzas, baking for about 25 minutes each. (More specific pizza instructions coming eventually). :)

To make Calzones:

Prepare filling ingredients your family enjoys (sauce, shredded cheese, meat, peppers, olives, veggies, etc.).

Divide prepared dough into 18 balls. Roll each on a well floured surface. Top with pizza filling of choice.

Fold pocket in half and pinch ends together. Place each calzone on a baking sheet until pan is full.

Bake the pan of calzones at 375° for about 25 minutes or until calzones are golden brown. Makes about 18 calzones. Serve immediately. Or, allow the calzones to cool completely, then refrigerate or freeze them to serve another time. To reheat, place cold or frozen calzones in an oven or toaster oven for 8-15 minutes or until they are heated through.

You can also freeze these before baking if you prefer. Simply place the raw, shaped calzones on a baking sheet and freeze immediately after forming. Transfer frozen calzones into a freezer bag. Bake directly from frozen state in a 375° oven for 25-35 minutes or until golden brown.

Making these Tandy Pockets Whole Wheat Calzones is super easy, and a perfectly wonderful “Make Ahead Meal“. What are your family’s favorite pizza pocket fillers? And oh yes, these would be perfect for meat and cheese pockets, breakfast pockets, and what else can you think of?

 

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Baked Oatmeal Cups (Bird’s Nests)

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Baked Oatmeal Cups are perfect for a spring breakfast.

Baked_Oatmeal_Cups

My four boys are just about getting too old to appreciate anything cutesy I try to make with food.

When they get up in the morning, they bound into the kitchen, excited to see a big pile of bacon on a tray with a dozen scrambled eggs and mountain of pancakes. Does it really matter to them if I tried to arrange the food in such a way as to make the platter look pretty? Do they even care that I woke up extra early, and lovingly mustered all of my artistic ability to form the pancakes into the shape of the country of India? After all, we’ve all been enjoying our studies about William Carey and his missionary efforts there. Who wouldn’t have fun smearing butter all over Calcutta? I figured they’d be thrilled!

But no. They don’t care at all. They just want me to hurry up and pass them the maple syrup and while I’m at it, another slice of bacon.

I’m telling you, I am sooooo unappreciated around here. From now on, I think I’ll just flip some boring ol’ round pancakes straight off the griddle and onto their plates ten feet away. I’ll skip the serving platter. I won’t mess with a lovely presentation of fruit arranged on a plate in the shape of a clown face. They can just stuff their faces with “normal” food for all I care.

Hmmph.

Now that I’ve thrown a fit that is so becoming of a grown-up, I suppose I should now confess that my intentions and my artistic abilities are not even close to being able to pull off much of the above. I’ve never really attempted to make pancakes into the shape of India – or any other country for that matter. Incidentally, I did turn out the state of Texas once, but that was totally an accident and as usually happens when I have not gone out of my way one little bit, my boys were actually quite impressed.

“Whoa Mom! You made a Texas pancake! Can you make me a Maryland and an Idaho next?”

I obviously got right on that, but ended up instead with a lopsided gourd and another pancake that resembled the fuzz under my couch. I gave up at that point and figured they could chew the pancakes into the shapes of their requested states, because really, have you ever tried to pour Florida onto a griddle with a spoon?

This leads me to the special breakfast I made recently in an effort to be cute. It is spring after all. Doesn’t the idea of eating a bird’s nest for breakfast sound simply delightful?

Okay fine. We can just call these Baked Oatmeal Cups. Either way, these are easy to throw together and are versatile enough to add variety and meet your family’s taste preferences.

Baked Oatmeal Cups (or Bird’s Nests if you’re feeling cute)Yum

5.0 from 1 reviews
Baked Oatmeal Cups (Bird's Nests)
 
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Serves: 12
Ingredients
  • 2 cups rolled oats
  • ½ cup sucanat or honey
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 2 eggs
  • ¾ cup milk
  • ⅓ cup melted butter
  • Topping choices: mini chocolate chips, raisins, other dried fruit, coconut flakes, apple chunks
Instructions
  1. Mix together oats, sucanat, salt and baking powder.
  2. Stir in eggs, milk, and melted butter.
  3. Scoop batter into 12 paper lined muffin cups.
  4. Sprinkle toppings of choice into the center of each cup.
  5. Bake in a 350° for about 30 minutes, or until the oats are golden brown.

These are easier to eat with a fork, unless you like cleaning partial bird’s nests up off of your table and floor.

If you prefer, simply spread the mixture into a 9×9 inch baking pan. Bake in a 350° oven for 25-30 minutes.

Do you try to be cute when you cook and bake at your house? And how do those efforts go over for you? Ever tried to make India out of pancake batter?

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Creamy Crock Pot Chicken and Rice

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Hey, check it out! This is a chicken recipe AND a crock pot recipe! It’s as if the best of both worlds just came together for a lovely party, don’t you think? I mean, there is not much more exciting than combining the Week of the Chicken with a Crock Pot Recipes post, I’m pretty sure. (This makes it clearly obvious that I don’t get out much.)

And guess what else? Many of you have asked that I try to experiment and come up with some healthy alternatives to boxes of Rice-a-Roni – and I think this recipe might just meet that need for some of you. When it was all said and done, I thought this dish kind of looked and tasted rice-a-roni-ish. Try it and see what you think.

If you haven’t tried making my homemade Onion Soup Mix, I recommend throwing it together to use for this recipe. Store bought onion soup mixes typically have not-so-good for you ingredients in them that I avoid. The homemade mix is super easy and very inexpensive.

Creamy Crock Pot Chicken and RiceYum

2 cups brown rice (uncooked)
Sea salt
3 cups water or chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream
1-2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast
2 Tablespoons Onion Soup Mix

Place rice in the bottom of a crock pot, and sprinkle it generously with salt. Pour water or broth and cream over the rice. Cut chicken breasts into serving sized portions and place on top of the rice and liquid. Sprinkle Onion Soup Mix over the top.

Cook on a low setting for 4-5 hours. Serves 6-8.

Creamy Crock Pot Chicken and Rice

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Flaky Cream Cheese Pastry – The Healthy Way

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Back in my former life – the one in which I innocently and cheerfully ate Chillsbury* dough from a can – I loved making a cream cheese pastry dish that always got rave reviews. It was simple. You spread a can of Whillsbury* crescent dough on the bottom of a pan, throw in some cream cheese filling, top it with another round of Gnillsbury* crescent dough, bake it, and eat. I loved that stuff, as did everyone else who ate it with me.

Gone are my days of eating biscuits or crescents from a can. Oh, and can I just pause to say this:  I do not miss that vulnerable and insecure feeling that always came from never knowing when the can would pop open and dough would ooze out. Maybe it is just me, but waiting for the biscuit can pop always put me slightly on edge. Yeah, it was probably just me. I have can-popping-biscuit-bursting-forth issues, I think.

Anyway, I had forgotten all about this delicious dish, which is crazy, because hello? It does have cream cheese in it. It occurred to me recently that the perfect replacement for Billsbury* crescent dough would surely be my go-to whole wheat yogurt dough. Why I hadn’t thought of using it to figure out a new Cream Cheese Pastry dish, I have no idea. But I finally thought of it, tried it, and here it is. My family devoured it for breakfast this morning, which means that next time, I have to double it for sure!

*name changed to protect the innocent guilty

cream_cheese_pastry

Flaky Cream Cheese PastryYum

Dough:

1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup melted butter
1/2 cup plain yogurt

Filling:

1 – 8 ounce package of cream cheese, softened
1 egg
1/2 cup real maple syrup (sugar, sucanat, or honey would work too)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-2 Tablespoons lemon juice (optional)

Mix together all four dough ingredients and knead lightly to form a nice ball. Divide in half. Press one half of the dough into an 8×8 inch baking dish.

Whip together the cream cheese filling ingredients. Pour filling over the bottom crust.

Roll the second half of the dough into a square and place it on top of the cream cheese filling.

Bake in a 350° oven for 30-40  minutes, or until crust is golden brown.

Allow pastry to cool slightly before slicing and serving.


Tell me – am I the only one here with can-popping-biscuit-bursting-forth issues? I’ll admit it right now, it makes me jumpy just thinking about it. ;)

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Baked Three Cheese Chicken Pasta – a Make Ahead Meal

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This might be the best chicken pasta dish you’ll ever eat.

The chicken was on its last leg.

Well actually, the chicken no longer had legs, as it had already fulfilled its glorious life purpose and had been cooked and made into a rich broth and good healthy meat for my family.

Regardless, legless though he was, the last little bit of cooked chicken in my fridge was indeed on its last leg. It needed to be eaten. It could no longer be left alone…neglected, unused, and unwanted.

(It would appear that, apparently, I felt the need to create some chicken drama when all I really needed to say was:  “I had leftover chicken- so I used it.” I can’t just be normal. What fun would that be?)

So the chicken – it was begging to be used. I needed a quick lunch for the family. But I needed to make the meal in the morning and have the capability to reheat it quickly at lunch time. Therefore, I decided to play with my Three Cheese Garlic Chicken Pasta recipe and make it into a “Make Ahead Meal“. The chicken and I are happy to report that my idea worked, and the meal was delicious.

Actually, the chicken has nothing at all to report because not only is he not on his last leg anymore, he is officially gone.

Why? Why do I say these things? I’m going to just give you the recipe already before I say anything else ridiculous about the chicken.

Baked Three Cheese Chicken PastaYum

Baked Three Cheese Chicken Pasta - a Make Ahead Meal
 
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Serves: 6-8
Ingredients
  • 2 cups cooked chicken, cut into bite sized pieces
  • 2½ cups whole wheat pasta
  • 3 cups whole milk
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder (add more if you like)
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
  • 4 ounces softened cream cheese
  • 1-2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
  1. In a large cooking pot, combine cooked chicken, uncooked pasta, milk, garlic powder, and sea salt.
  2. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until pasta is tender and the starch from the pasta has thickened the milk, creating a creamy sauce.
  3. Remove cooking pot from the heat.
  4. Stir in parmesan cheese and cream cheese until it is mixed throughout.
  5. Pour pasta mixture into a casserole dish. (A 9x13 inch pan works well, or any variety similar in size.)
  6. Sprinkle shredded cheese on top and bake in a 350° oven for about 15 minutes or until cheese is melted.

If you make this ahead of time, you may need to adjust the baking time so that the casserole will be heated through and through. Also, you can freeze this dish! Simply thaw and bake in a 350° oven for 30-40 minutes.

Baked Three Cheese Chicken Pasta

All this talk about chickens and legs kind of has me hungry for fried chicken legs, which pretty much makes no sense – unless you are in my brain and then it does make sense. Oh people. Be glad you are not in my brain. It is not pretty.

So tell me, what do you do when your chicken is on its last leg? (Yes, I think I am actually talking about leftovers here.)

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Easy Homemade Granola

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I didn’t really plan it this way, but what better way to follow up a post about not soaking grains than by giving you a recipe which includes unsoaked grains. Do with this what you wish. :)

This recipe works great as a snack or for a quick breakfast, especially if you’ve made it ahead of time. We like to put it in a bowl and add dried fruit and milk or cream. A friend of mine even adds applesauce to this granola for a sort of “apple crisp” taste. Her kids love it that way!

Easy Homemade GranolaYum

4 cups rolled oats
1 cup shredded, unsweetened coconut
1 cup slivered almonds
1 cup sunflower nuts
1/2 cup sesame seeds
3/4 cup honey
1 cup coconut oil

In a small sauce pan, melt together coconut oil and honey. Stir all remaining ingredients together in a large bowl. Drizzle on the honey/coconut oil mixture and stir well. Pour mixture onto a large, parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake at 300° for 35 minutes, stirring after the first 20 minutes. Store granola in an air tight container.

granola_2

Are you granola eaters at your house?

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