Heavenly Homemakers

Encouraging women in homemaking, healthy eating and parenting

Menu Plan for the Week

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Where is my brain sometimes?? 

Apparently, a few months ago I made two huge Apple Crisps and put them into the freezer for a “future huddle.” Hooray for me – I got ahead!! Boo for me – I forgot all about the Apple Crisps. (I think I made them back in October.)  Yay for me – I found them last week! 

They are now in my oven, baking for Huddle tonight – and they smell super good! I’ve gotta say – with how crazy our schedule has been with finishing the book and being on the road for Asa’s basketball games, etc.,  it sure is nice to have a ready-made dessert. 

The moral of the story:  Make a dessert. Freeze it. Forget about it. Find it when you need it most, and consider yourself blessed. :)

Here’s what’s on our menu this week:

Sunday, March 3
Oatmeal, fruit
Lasagna casserole, tossed salad
High School Huddle – Crock pot bbq chicken, green beans, cream cheese corn, french bread, apple crisp (unless I forget to serve it…)  :)

Monday, March 4
Peanut butter pancakes, bananas
Chicken patty sandwiches, fruit salad
Italian roast wraps, tossed salad

Tuesday, March 5
Mini breakfast pizza, clementines
Pigs in a blanket, green beans
Calico beans, quick mix honey cinnamon muffins

Wednesday, March 6
Creamy orange coolers, fried eggs on toast
Black bean taco salad, apples
Shepherd’s pie, tossed salad

Thursday, March 7
Giant breakfast cookies, applesauce
Chicken noodle soup, carrots
Popcorn chicken, steamed broccoli and carrots with rice

Friday, March 8
Honey whole wheat bagels, oranges and kiwi
Sub sandwiches, fruit, baby carrots
Meat and cheese burritos, tossed salad

Saturday, March 9
Fruit pizza
Leftovers
Hamburgers and french fries, fruit

Ever made something for your freezer, then forgot it was there?  :)

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Whole Wheat Quick Mix Honey Cinnamon Muffins

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Simple. Tasty. Fast. Isn’t that what we want in all of our recipes? This muffin recipe is all of that and healthy too!

See? I told you this Whole Wheat Quick Mix has been a life saver!

Quick Mix Honey Cinnamon MuffinsYum

2 cups Quick Mix
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ cup honey
½ cup milk
1 egg

Mix all ingredients until just combined. (Do not over-stir.)  Scoop batter into 9 paper lined muffin cups. Bake at 400° for 15-20 minutes or until muffins are golden brown.

Honey_Cinnamon_Muffins_2

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Menu Plan for the Week (Can following this menu plan save you money?)

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I loved what one reader emailed recently in regard to the menu plans I share:

I just wanted to say I have learned so much in the last fews months from your website. I grew up in a home where if it wasn’t instant, it wasn’t food. Therefore, when I got married and started a family I knew how to cook nothing besides frozen food and instant mashed potatoes. My husband left about 5 years ago and it’s just been me and my now 8 year old daughter. Money is tight and since I started following your meal plans and cooking real food, my grocery bill has been cut in half!

I love it when people share that they have switched from processed food to real food – and I love it even more when they share that this practice has saved them money! Feel free to follow my menu plan all you want. It just might save you some money!

Sunday, February 24
Easy breakfast casserole, oranges
Alfredo sauce with pasta, steamed broccoli and carrots, tossed salad
Chili cookoff at church

Monday, February 25
Banana bread, scrambled eggs, applesauce
Chicken noodle soup, carrots, kiwi
One dish meat and potato casserole, peas

Tuesday, February 26
Flaky cream cheese pastry, apples
Homemade corndogs, fruit salad
Pizza casserole, tossed salad

Wednesday, February 27
Cinnamon swirl bread, scrambled eggs, clementines
Hamburger cream cheese dip, tortilla chips, apples
Crock pot barbecue chicken breasts, green beans, tossed salad

Thursday, February 28
Coconut flour muffins, kiwi
Pizza boats, tossed salad, fruit
Rice and veggie stir fry with chicken, broccoli, carrots, and mushrooms

Friday, March 1
Giant breakfast cookies, apples
Baked potatoes with various toppings, peas
Quick mix pancakes, scrambled eggs, turkey bacon, fruit

Saturday, March 2
Chocolate chocolate chips muffins, bananas
Leftovers
Bbq brisket, tossed salad, cream cheese corn, green beans

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Whole Wheat Quick Mix “Very Vanilla” Cookies {Sneak peek into our upcoming Oh, For Real! book}

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vanilla_cookies

I have to say thank you for giving my younger two boys a bit of educational entertainment this evening. I called them in to help me count the “votes” to determine which Whole Wheat Quick Mix recipe I would share with you first. They made a list of the options, and then made tally marks as I called out “cookies”, “fruit pizza”, “pancakes”, etc.

You know boys. Everything is a competition. As we went through each of your comments, the excitement grew. Who knew that counting recipe votes would be so much fun? At one point early on, Malachi shouted, “Muffins are in the lead!!” And so it went.

Ah, it’s the simple things in life that are the most fun, right?

Malachi and Elias are excited to share that Very Vanilla Cookies won the vote, with Fruit Pizza and Pancakes trailing in very close behind. They personally each wanted to vote for Fruit Pizza. I think they thought I was going to drop everything and immediately make the recipe that won the vote. Sorry boys. Cute as you are, your vote doesn’t count this time. Besides, I don’t have any fresh strawberries on hand. ;)

So here you go – a very easy and delicious cookie recipe that you can stir together in no time using your Whole Wheat Quick Mix. If you happen to have homemade vanilla extract to use in this recipe, yay! But even if you don’t, I bet you’ll still be able to choke these down. :)

Very Vanilla CookiesYum

3 cups Whole Wheat Quick Mix
1 1/4 cup sucanat
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Mix all ingredients together. Scoop 1 ½ teaspoons of dough onto a cookie sheet, about 3 inches apart. Bake in a 375° oven for 12-15 minutes. Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

More of our new Oh, For Real recipes coming soon – in particular, recipes that use this Whole Wheat Quick Mix.

I’m curious (and this has nothing to do with cookies, books, or quick mixes):  Is it snowing where you are?  We’re getting several inches right now. Fun!

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Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Balls {Christmas Brunch}

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I love treats like these Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Balls that are on the healthy side, plus they are very easy to put together! With four simple ingredients that many of us have on hand – I’ll bet some of you will hop right off your chair and get them started right away. I highly recommend that you do.

But beware – these are little balls of peanut butter, chocolatey, coconutty addictiveness. You’ve been warned.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip BallsYum

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Balls {Christmas Brunch}
 
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Author:
Ingredients
  • 1 cup natural peanut butter
  • ¼ cup coconut oil
  • 2 Tablespoons honey
  • ½ cup mini chocolate chips
Instructions
  1. Melt coconut oil and honey together in a saucepan.
  2. Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter until mixture is smooth.
  3. Fold in chocolate chips.
  4. Spread mixture into a 9x9 inch pan.
  5. Refrigerate for about two hours.
  6. Roll mixture into 1 inch balls.
  7. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

I use homemade peanut butter, which makes all the difference in every recipe if you ask me. You can’t beat the taste of fresh peanut butter. (It’s easier to make than you think!)

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Balls

Find more No-Bake Snack and Dessert Ball recipes here:

I use Homemade Almond Butter in most of these recipes. Once you learn to make nut butters, you’ll never go back to store-bought!

No-Bake Cookie Bites - Easy Recipes!

Keep these recipes on hand – especially in the summer time when you don’t want to turn on the oven but you want to make a treat. I love that all of these No-Bake Balls are filling and offer nourishment too. Protein, fiber, lightly sweetened…they are the perfect dessert of snack!

These also work great in a lunch box. To top it all off, these freeze well so you can make several ahead of time and store them in the freezer until you need them!

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Menu Plan for the Week (and My Barbecue Chicken Advice)

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Today, I had a teeny tiny dilemma. 

Our oldest son Asa (age 15) knew that some of his friends were coming to town this weekend and that we would see them at church. What he didn’t know was what his friends’ plans would be after church. We decided that we wanted to ask them to join us for lunch. But we knew that there was the possibility that they would have other plans already.

What was I to do? I needed to have plenty of food prepared in case I had 6-10 or so extra kids. But I sure didn’t want loads of leftovers if they decided not to come.

Problem solved:  I made eight pounds of Crock Pot Barbecue Chicken Breasts, knowing that we would either eat it all up at lunch, or I could freeze whatever was left for easy Barbecue Chicken Sandwiches another time.

Elias (our 10 year old) found those little snowman potholders at a thrift store and picked them up for us. 
They are perfect for hauling the crock pot across the kitchen. 

As it turns out, Asa’s friends made other plans. So, our normal crew ate all we wanted for lunch, and now I have a nice bowl full of BBQ Chicken in my freezer for a quick, healthy meal another time. Asa has been able to fellowship with his friends from church camp all day…at someone else’s house. I’m so thankful that he has such great friends. :)

So there you have it – my helpful BBQ Chicken advice. It’s easy to make a big batch when you’re serving extras – and it’s easy to freeze if you make too much. And it takes a delightful five minutes to throw together. I love it!

Here’s what our menu looks like this week:

Sunday, December 16
Oatmeal, fruit
Crock pot barbecue chicken – shredded and made into sandwiches, peas
High School Huddle – Italian pasta bake, tossed salad, green beans, bread and butter, chocolate chip cookies

Monday, December 17
Pancake sausage muffins, applesauce
Whole wheat calzones, raw veggies
Barbecue brisket, baked potatoes, green beans

Tuesday, December 18
Pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, bananas
Pizza boats, fruit-kefir smoothies
Teriyaki chicken and veggies

Wednesday, December 19
Easy breakfast casserole, clementines
Snowflake quesadillas, fruit salad
Taco potatoes

Thursday, December 20 (Malachi’s Birthday – his food choices)
Donuts  ;)
Homemade corndogs, fruit
Pasta alfredo, tossed salad, steamed broccoli and carrots

Friday, December 21
Giant breakfast cookies, apples
Tuna salad, crackers, baby carrots, peaches
Pizza, tossed salad

Saturday, December 22
Scrambled eggs, clementines
Leftovers
Hoagie sandwiches, chips, apples, carrots

Have anything yummy on your menu this week you’d like to tell us about?

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Cream Cheese Cookie Cutouts

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In preparation for a Christmas Cookie Exchange with several of my friends tonight, I made our favorites – Cream Cheese Cookie Cutouts. The cookies have cream cheese in them and the frosting is made with cream cheese. Let’s just say these cookies are soft, rich, and I have to work hard to keep myself out of them.

Cream Cheese Cookie CutoutsYum

1/2 cup melted butter
4 ounces softened cream cheese
1 cup sugar (sucanat works, as does brown sugar)
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups flour (I use freshly ground hard white wheat flour)

Stir together melted butter, softened cream cheese, and sugar. Add egg, baking powder, and vanilla. Stir in flour until well combined. (Use a little less or a little more flour as needed.)  Place dough in the refrigerator for at least two hours.

Once dough is chilled, roll on a well floured surface and cut out into desired shapes. Bake in a 350° oven for 10-15 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned. (I prefer mine just barely done so that they stay soft!)  Allow cookies to cool completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 cup butter, softened
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
4 1/2 cups unbleached organic powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whip butter and cream cheese with beaters until fluffy. Add vanilla and powdered sugar and beat until mixed thoroughly.

Makes about 30 cookies.

My (poor, deprived, starving) boys were not very happy with me when I told them that most of the cookies were  going to the Christmas Cookie Exchange. Not to worry, I told them. They could have all the broken cookies. Considering the fact that I am not a perfectionist, I’d say they made out just fine with a lovely assortment of broken stars, branchless trees, and torn stockings. 

 
If you’d like a printout of the Cream Cheese Cookie Cutouts recipe, you can download it here. I needed to print off the recipe anyway for the cookie exchange, so thought I’d share it with you too!

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Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffin Mix {Gifts in a Jar ~ Day Six}

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I love muffins. Most people love muffins. Putting ingredients for muffins into a jar = happiness. :)

One of my favorite muffin recipes is Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins. If you layer the dry ingredients into a quart sized jar, the result is fun and enticing.

The ingredients in your jar will include:

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/3 cup sucanat or brown sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup chocolate chips

Include instructions for mixing and baking:

Add 1/4 cup melted coconut oil or butter, 2/3 cup milk, and 1 egg. (Add a little extra milk if your dough is too stiff or dry.)  Mix well and scoop mixture into 12 paper lined muffin tins. Bake at 400° for 15-20 minutes.

Want a fun tag to use for your gift? Download Your Free Gifts In A Jar Tags Here!

 

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Real Food MakeOver: Crock Pot Chocolate Peanut Butter Pudding Cake (and Cake Boys Episode 7!)

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Yum
 
Have a recipe you’d like me to try and make over? Submit your recipes on this Real Food Recipe Makeover Submission Page.
 

Remember that cake I tried to make in a crock pot that ended up being tedious and difficult? After that, my friend Jenny emailed me a recipe for Crock Pot Chocolate Peanut Butter Pudding Cake, figuring that I could surely make over the ingredients to make this a healthier recipe.
 

I was excited, yet given my experience with cake in a crock pot, I couldn’t help but wonder:  Would this cake be a lot of work? Would it be tasty in the end?
 

The answer to those questions are:  No, this cake is not a lot of work…and YES this cake is incredibly tasty.
 

I actually handed the recipe to the Cake Boys (aka Justus and bros) to make this for Matt’s birthday last week. It was so easy for them to adapt that they did it without any help from me. Yes indeed, this Real Food Makeover is brought to you by the Cake Boys. :)

 
You simply pour the batter into the crock pot, then drizzle over a layer of boiling water/cocoa/sucanat. The cake bakes in a crock pot for two hours, and when it’s finished, the cake has baked over the top and a layer of fudgy pudding is on the bottom.
 

This cake is dreamy, rich deliciousness. We all loved it!
 


Chocolate Peanut Butter Pudding Cake

 
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup sucanat
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
2 Tablespoons melted butter (or coconut oil)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup natural peanut butter
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

 
Combine flour, cocoa, sucanat, baking powder, and salt. Mix well. Make a well in the center and add milk, butter, and vanilla. Stir well, until batter is smooth. Stir in peanut butter (heat if needed, to thin). Stir in chocolate chips. Spread the batter evenly into a well greased slow cooker. Make the topping:
 
Topping:

 
3 Tablespoons cocoa powder
3/4 cup sucanat
1 1/2 cups boiling water
 

Mix cocoa and sucanat, whisk in boiling water until smooth. Gently pour over batter in crock pot, but don’t stir. Cover and cook on HIGH until puffed and the top layer is set, about 2- 2 1/4 hours. Turn off crock pot and let stand, covered for at least 30 minutes. Serve the cake (which is now on top) with ice cream or whipped cream and drizzle the fudgy pudding from the bottom over both.

 
Makes 6-8 servings

 

 
And now, you can enjoy Episode 7 of Cake Boys, which includes a ridiculous commercial break by Asa. Wow, our boys have tooooo much fun putting these together. Also, I should note:  Justus says that he added “shortening” to the cake. He really added butter. He was just reading the original recipe when he recorded. :)  And then we had a little lesson about what shortening is and why we don’t eat it unless it’s Palm Shortening. But anyway…

 

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Menu Plan for the Week (And Cake Boys Episode 6!)

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Remember how we hosted our church’s high schoolers for “Huddle” each Sunday night during the ’11-’12 school year? When school started this year, we were deep in the midst of Matt traveling many weekends for York College soccer, as well as being very involved in our city league soccer (Matt is currently president of the board) and of course our boys play and/or referee. I’ve talked about it plenty – you know our family eats, sleeps, and breathes, and loves soccer from August until November. 

During those months, we still wanted to be a part of Huddle, so we loved it that our friends hosted and fed the kids – and Matt and I just got to show up! Now that life has settled down a tiny bit for us, it’s our turn again! 

This morning I made Baked Oatmeal, using this recipe – baking it in a pyrex dish for about 25 minutes.

Here’s what we’ll be feeding the teens tonight, and what our family will be eating the rest of the week:

Sunday, November 11
Baked oatmeal, pears
Roasted chicken, potatoes, carrots, gravy
 Huddle – Cheesy salsa enchiladas, spanish rice, tossed salad, oatmeal chocolate chip cookies

Monday, November 12
Warm pumpkin soother, toast
Tomato soup, grilled cheese sandwiches, fruit
Chicken alfredo with pasta, steamed broccoli and carrots

Tuesday, November 13
Scrambled eggs, whole wheat biscuits, applesauce
Potato soup, zucchini muffins
Teriyaki chicken and veggies with rice

Wednesday, November 14
Blueberry struesel muffins, bananas
Creamy mac and cheese, peas
Calico beans, tossed salad

Thursday, November 15
Coconut flour muffins, pears
Pizza boats, fruit
Cheesy beef and rice, green beans

Friday, November 16
Whole wheat pancakes, fruit
Chicken and noodles, carrots
Taco potatoes, fruit salad

Saturday, November 17
Homemade donuts, fruit
Sloppy joes, potato wedges, peas
Leftovers

And now…Cake Boys Episode 6, in which Justus shares his recipe! And he also uses food coloring. Ugh.  Why yes, we do compromise every once in a while. ;)

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