Heavenly Homemakers

Encouraging women in homemaking, healthy eating and parenting

Easy Recipes That Include Beans

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Looking for some easy recipes that include beans? These will save you money and make your tastebuds happy too!

Easy Recipes that Include BeansYum

We’ll start with our newest bean recipe, Simple Hearty Bean Casserole. It’s one of my favorites. No. It IS my favorite. My whole family loves it.

Next, I’ll share a wonderful and easy side dish: Simple Baked Beans. What a great way to round out a meal.


Did I say the Hearty Bean Casserole was my favorite? Because my other favorite is this The Simplest White Chicken Chili. Every bite is full of yum.

No shame, we like Simple Beanie Weanies at our house. From the little guys to the grown-ups, there’s something really delicious about beans and dogs. The fact that this meal can be on the table in 10 minutes is pretty rockin’ too.

If you’re looking for a SUPER FAST meal, make this Bean and Cheese Salsa Dip. Lunch will be on the table in five minutes flat.

You will love how flavorful this Simple Taco Rice Dinner is! It includes black beans and goes together quickly for a comforting meal any time.

Black Bean Salsa is so flavorful and good! It works as a meal or a snack and it goes together quickly.

Here are a few more bean recipes you’ll love and want to check out!

With all this talk about beans, I thought it would fun and a little bit silly to throw in a little discussion about buying vanilla beans to make homemade vanilla. Hey, it’s a bean recipe too, am I right?

The price of vanilla beans has gone up greatly the past few years, so is it still worth it to make homemade?

And also, let’s have a little talk about Green Beans. Here are Two Simple Tricks to Get Your Kids to Eat Green Beans.

So many great bean options!!!

How do you like your beans?

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Real Food Money Saving Tips

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Want some simple real food money-saving tips? Is it possible to eat healthy food and still stay on a budget? It’s like the best of both worlds! And it really is doable for everyone.

First, I should let you know that I found myself having this discussion with myself (tell me you do that too?). My self discussion sounded something like this:

  • Laura, why do you always feel the need to put the word “Simple” in front of everything?? “Simple Meals” “Simple Recipes” Simple Money Saving Ideas…”
  • Because it is…it’s all simple.
  • Well, I guess that’s simple enough.

And then one of my kids interrupted my self discussion and I moved on. This is probably a good thing.

But truly, I don’t do anything unless it’s simple. Life is hard enough. Why make food difficult?

With this in mind, we put gathered all of our best and simplest real food money-saving tips, and we put them into a new and fun little eBook. Obviously, we had to use the word “Simple” in the title. It’s all about switching to real food and it’s all about saving money – but all of the tips are SIMPLE.

You wouldn’t want it if it was difficult, am I right?!

  • “Buy complicated ingredients!”
  • “Shop at weird stores!”
  • “Stand on your head whilst straining the strange liquid thing into the never-before-heard-of dry thing.”

No. Not here. Not now. Not ever. {Sobs just a little bit thinking about it.}

Here’s the book we just completed, and would you look at that? The word “Simple” is right there in the title.

Notice that the word “Challenge” is also in the title. But don’t let that scare you. The challenges are our way of giving you simple (of course) goals to strive for throughout the book so that you are actually motivated to make some changes! Easy peasy.

We’re not ready to put this new book into our Shop yet, but we are ready to give it to you today for free!

See, here’s what we’re thinking: We kind of think everyone should invest in the Healthy Living Bundle because it’s cheaper than a doctor visit and gives you way more help and information than one doctor visit ever could give. (Not that this replaces your doctor, and blah, blah, all the other disclaimers, please go to the doctor as needed, you heard it here.)

We just really like the information we have learned and continue to learn from the bundle (read the specifics here if you don’t believe me) and want you to have all the information too. As a “thank you” for purchasing the Healthy Living Bundle through our links, we’ll give you this pretty new eBooklet for free!

Simple Real Food Money Saving Tips

What’s inside this book that’s worth reading? Well, I hate to give it away, but it probably talks about:

  • Why switching from fake margarine to real butter will actually save you money, even though butter costs more than margarine. Crazy, but true.
  • How adding spinach to many different recipes won’t even shock your family, but will add a lot of nourishment.
  • Leftovers. And how you should use them instead of waste them (thus wasting money). And how you can use them creatively even if your family doesn’t like leftovers.
  • The fun of actually cleaning out the pantry and freezer, making meals with food you already have before they go bad.
  • Packing food for road trips and outings so that you eat healthier and save money

Did I mention there are all kinds of wonderful links to inexpensive real food recipes throughout the book? We’ve got you covered.

How to get the Simple Real Food Money Saving Challenge eBook for free:

Purchase the Healthy Living Bundle through our links. Email me a copy of your receipt and I’ll thank you by emailing you this book. Easy and fun!

Or shall I say…simple. Yes, probably.

Be sure to email me after your purchase so I can send you this free book! Bundle sales close on Monday, September 9. This free book offer ends that day too!

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My Top 3 Small Kitchen Appliances That Save Hours of Time and Energy

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If my house started on fire, I would grab my family and my Blendtec and get out as fast as I could. Just kidding. I’m not that tied to material possessions. But I felt it was worth a post to share my top 3 small kitchen appliances I feel I can hardly live without.

I’m not exaggerating when I tell you that these gadgets save me hours of time and energy every week. As I’ve worked to simplify my real food kitchen, I have been amazed at how I’ve come to rely on 3 very important appliances.

Could I do without them? Well yes. Grandma survived all her many years of cooking for a large family without any one of the items I’m sharing with you today. But Grandma also didn’t have indoor plumbing for a good many years, and then welcomed it gladly when it became available. I’m pretty sure if she was raising her family now, she would very much enjoy the appliances I love having access to!

My Top 3 Small Kitchen Appliances

If you’ve been reading here long, you can probably guess my top three small kitchen appliances. Just for fun, I added two runners up in my “if I had to choose to keep only 3 small appliances, which ones would I keep?” contest. :)

1. Blendtec

Indeed. If I could only keep one appliance in my kitchen, it would be the Blendtec. I use this multiple times each week, and sometimes multiple times each day.

I mix batter in it, whip cream in it, make smoothies in it, whip mini cheesecake filling in it, the list goes on and on. From cakes to muffins to pancakes – the Blendtec takes away my need to stir and mix. Cream goes from liquid to perfectly whipped in less than 30 seconds. Recently I dumped in all the ingredients for these Mini Crustless Cheesecakes and had them in the oven within a grand total 5 minutes. Beautiful!

In so many ways, my Blendtec makes my cooking and baking effortless. It is extremely high powered, which is reflected in the price. A $25 blender gives only $25 of effort (and in my experience, lasts less than one year in my kitchen). The Blendtec, though much higher in price, comes with a warranty and is so high powered it turns frozen fruit into liquid in just seconds. Unbelievable!

I highly recommend saving up and investing in a Blendtec. Oh the time and energy you’ll save!

Recipes you’ll need for your Blendtec:

2. Instant Pot

I stubbornly refused to get an Instant Pot for several years after they became popular (silly me), and now I am one of the biggest advocates for them! This gem saves so much time and keeps us eating healthy too!

I love that it makes wholesome, rich beef or chicken broth with so little effort on my part. I LOVE that I can cook 7 pounds of frozen hamburger meat in it in just 30 minutes!! And I love the many meals and side dishes I can make in it within just a few minutes.

If you can swing it, get yourself an Instant Pot. I have the 8-quart variety for my large family. Here’s the 6-quart Instant Pot if that fits your needs more!

Recipes you’ll need for your Instant Pot:

Psst: I highly recommend that you bookmark our Instant Pot Recipes page for easy access as we continue to update it!

3. Crock Pot(s)

Yes indeed. I have two large crock pots and I often use them both at the same time. My favorite is this 8-Quart Programmable Crock Pot, but I also have this Basic 7-Quart Crock Pot, which works great too!

I’ve learned many tricks through the years that help me throw VERY quick meals into the crock pot so that later in the day, our meal has cooked itself. (See recipe links below.) What a great way to continue putting real, delicious food on the table on busy days!

Recipes you’ll need for your Crock Pot:

Top Small Kitchen Appliances, My 2 Runners Up

Just for fun, I thought it would be fun to add a couple others to my list of appliances I love and use often!

4. Nutrimill

Could I live without my Nutrimill? I guess. Does it save me time in the kitchen? Not really. But do I love having such a great appliance to help me grind fresh grain for our baked goods? Oh my goodness, YES!

I frequently grind hard and soft white wheat in my Nutrimill, which turns out the most delicious flour, which then turns out the most delicious breads, muffins, cakes, cookies, pancakes, and waffles. Now that I’m so used to baking with freshly ground flour, I’d have a hard time turning back. We’re pretty spoiled! ;)

Details about using flour ground in a Nutrimill:

5. Coffee Maker

Last Mother’s Day, at the recommendation of several who frequently drink coffee at our house and help with our babies, we treated our family to this Bunn coffee maker. It is amazing!!!!!! I’ll never go back.

Recipes to go with your coffee:

I’d love to hear what your favorite small kitchen appliances are. Which ones do you feel you can’t live without?

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What I’m Focused on Now Instead of Saving Money at the Grocery Store (It’s not what you think.)

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How well I remember the years of being an extreme couponer. I would spend hours at home preparing to shop for the best deals, so that I could spend hours at the grocery store(s). Every week. My focus was on saving money – and for many a good reason.

Whether it was during lean financial years or during more comfortable financial years, I knew that a focus on saving money meant that I was being a good steward of what God gave us. I actually loved the hobby and challenge of seeing how much money I could save at the store. Yogurt for $0.09? Eggs for $0.20? How incredibly fun!

I remember thinking during those days that no matter what our financial situation became in life, I would always be a couponer and always spend the time finding all the best deals – because good stewards are good stewards whether they have $10 or $100,000, right?

Well. Yes. But also…

I’ve since learned that seasons change. Circumstances change. Priorities change. Needs change. Meanwhile, God stays the same, and He continues to lead and evolve our focus to become exactly what He needs it to be during each season.

My twenty-something self would be shocked to learn that my forty-something self hasn’t clipped a coupon in ages. (I have pulled them off of food products at the store and used them right then and there – score!) I have evolved from being a coupon clipper to a real food eater – so one might think that my desire for healthy eating has turned me away from clipping coupons and scouring for good food deals. But actually – my focus now goes far beyond both saving money and eating healthy.

God is teaching me more about loving people.

You would think this would be a no-brainer. Something that wouldn’t have to be taught. Love people. Easy peasy. Yes, some of it sure is. But what about the parts of loving others that involve dying to self and surrendering fully to the plans God has for us? This is hard and can only be done through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Couponing and deal finding and saving money can be fantastic – as long as it is done intentionally and for the greater purpose of loving people.

A focus on eating real, healthy food can also be fantastic – as long as it is done intentionally and for the greater purpose of loving people.

As God continues to teach me more about living through His Spirit, seeing people, and caring for people as He directs, I’ve found that I no longer want to or have time to use energy to find all the best deals or take pictures of all my groceries to share with you here.

I still very much care about eating nourishing, real food – but no longer is my desire based on earthly health.

Should I continue to eat nourishing, whole foods? Absolutely. Should I continue to be a good steward with my money? Absolutely. Especially as I see so many needs around me. I want to use money wisely so we have plenty to give.

But the ways I “save money” simply involve not frequenting coffee shops or restaurants, choosing Redbox instead of the theater, and shopping the clearance racks when we need clothes because yes, it is still really fun to find a good deal! And if I choose to spend a little more at the grocery store now – it is because I want/need to spend my time loving people instead of spending an hour trying to figure out how to save $3.00.

Being good stewards of our time and energy is just as important as being good stewards of our money.

We can become comfortable and stay put, or we can become comfortable and choose to get uncomfortable.

Gratefully, becoming uncomfortable with Christ is starting to actually become comfortable. We’re learning to settle into this new way of living – the kind that involves letting go of control and trusting God with each day as never before. The kind that involves letting go of plans we made and saying yes to the plans God has orchestrated that are better than we could have ever dreamed of.

And as it turns out, we’re finding that we’re saving money in other ways because as we spend more time loving people, there simply isn’t as much time to shop or pay attention to the latest and greatest gadgets and deals we were drawn to before. :)

So there you go. We’ll continue to save money in any way we can as long as it doesn’t take our focus away from what is truly important: Loving God; Loving People.

Then when we happen upon a good deal while doing our normal shopping, we’ll praise God for His provision and care. And we’ll do a little happy dance because shucks, scoring a great deal is still an awful lot of fun!

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Winter Survival eBook Package 6 for $6!

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It had to be done. Christmas is over. School is back in session. Sports seasons are in full force. Some of us (who shall remain nameless) actually look forward to washing the dishes so that we can warm up our hands in the hot water. Baby, it’s cold outside. We need a Winter Survival Package!

So we came up with this…

I’m pretty giddy over all that this package offers, so let me dive right in to show you all you will get for just $6.00, total! (Take note that this offer is only good for 6 days. Winter, however, is there to stay for a while.)

What’s in the Winter Survival eBook Package


1. Do the Funky Kitchen, $4.95 value

Hoping to be a little more organized this year? Can’t find the lids to match your favorite Pyrex dishes? Have too many plastic cups falling on your head when you open the cupboard?

Do the Funky Kitchen was one of the very first eBooks I wrote, and the basics of creating a functional kitchen hold fast. Let this fun guide help you get your kitchen organized and ready for simple, real food cooking!

2. Eat Right Away Collection, $8.00 value

This collection is actually a set of four books in one! Each of these mini eBooks walks you through putting together 5 meals in 1 hour for your fridge or freezer. Then you can pull out your prepared food and have a meal in minutes! 20 meals in all, these books not only give you recipes, but they provide you with grocery lists, bonus tips, and instructions to help you be efficient as you quickly put these tasty meals together!

 

3. 1-2-3 Meal Planning, $5.95 value

Hate meal planning but not ready to join Simple Meals yet? 1-2-3 Menu Planning walks you through the simplest of steps to help every person plan easy and nourishing meals your family will love. Then it gives you 100s of meal plan ideas. Whoa!!!

 

4. What to do with the Cow in Your Kitchen, $3.95 value

Here’s another of Heavenly Homemaker’s original eBooks from 2007! Have beef? It’s what’s for dinner. What to do with the Cow in Your Kitchen is filled with basic and delicious beef recipes that have been family favorites for years!

5. 30 Real Food Money Saving Tips, $2.95 value

If you’re like me, after the holidays, I’m ready to cut back on spending and use up the great food we already have on hand. This handy eBook contains awesome tried and true ideas from Heavenly Homemakers readers that not only save money, they make real food eating doable and fun!

6. Totally Tortillas, $2.95 value

If you’ve never eaten a homemade tortilla, you are missing out! Totally Tortillas provides you with my family’s favorite whole wheat tortilla recipe, then it gives you recipes and ideas for fun ways to use them. Truly, this tortilla recipe is a must-have and the extra recipes included in this book are a huge bonus. Every family needs this one!

Get all 6 eBooks for $6.00!

Today through Wednesday, January 16 these eBooks (worth $27.75) are packaged together for just $6.00! Total. For all of them. Because winter is upon us and we are cold, broke, and hungry. Or because we simply look forward to learning more about saving money and eating well!

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This $6.00 offer is good through Wednesday, January 16. Purchase your package then watch for an email which contains all 6 books for quick download!

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

Take the 30 Day Real Food Money Saving Challenge!

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Guess what we’re going to do together in September? We’re going to eat sweet, crisp apples and save money. We’re going to sprinkle cinnamon on everything and save money. We’re going to take a leap into the fall season together, and take on simple real food challenges that will help us all save some grocery cash!

Who’s with me?

Take the 30 Day Challenge

It’s simple, actually. Would you expect anything less? 

All you have to do is:

Sign up to take the 30-Day Real~Food~Money~Saving Challenge here.


Throughout the month of September, I’ll send out quick and easy real food money saving tips. Should you choose to accept each challenge, you’ll be on your way to filling your table with simple real foods while keeping extra money in your wallet.

It’s a win-win!

Take the 30 Day Real Food Money Saving Challenge

As we settle into a new school year, I can’t think of a better time to focus on eating real food and saving money.

We’ll share some of the most basic, family friendly ways to save grocery money. And we’ll take the fear out of switching to a real food diet. Not only that, we’ll find out why eating real food actually tastes incredible and hmmm…is it possible that we can do all of this without increasing our grocery budget?

As a mom of four teenage sons who has made the switch from processed to whole foods, I can attest to the fact that eating real food has saved us grocery money. Tip #9 will actually share one simple way we save $1,000 every year by eating real food. True story!

I can’t wait to share all these fun tips and to extend challenges for your family to enjoy with me.

Are you ready?

Sign up to take our 30-Day Real~Food~Money~Saving Challenge!

As a thank you for joining us, we’ll give you a free copy of Heavenly Homemaker’s Top 10 Money Saving Recipes.

Top 10 Money Saving Recipes

 

Let the 30-Day Real~Food~Money~Saving Challenge begin!

Bonus points if you tell your friends about it. Friends don’t let friends pay too much money for groceries (or eat margarine), am I right? :)

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

Real Food Recipes That Are Easy AND Save You Money

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I used to make everything from scratch. Everything. Ketchup, graham crackers, and even mozzarella cheese. It’s great to have the skills and knowledge to do this. But at a certain point I had to ask:

Am I getting enough bang for my buck, here? As in, is the time I’m taking and the energy I’m extending to make all of this food really saving me money and therefore, is it worth it?

mozzcheese2sm

For the record, homemade mozzarella costs more than store-bought.

Now, sometimes it’s worth putting forth the effort or spending more to make food from scratch because of the health benefit and great flavor. I mean, I don’t even care how much it saves or doesn’t save to make Homemade Ranch Dressing because this recipe tastes thousands of times better than the bottled stuff and it only includes healthy ingredients. I don’t want high fructose corn syrup on my salad.

ranchdressin2sm

But as my schedule has gotten busier and as the quantity of food we plow through every day has increased, I’ve had to be more choosy about what I make, what I buy pre-made, and what I skip altogether.

For instance, I used to make all of our Whole Wheat Tortillas, without fail. These taste amazing and we miss them, but it takes triple the amount of tortillas to get us through a meal now, compared to the days my kids were little. It’s a rare occasion that I “go to the trouble” to make tortillas now, because it takes over an hour to get the job done. (Though when I do, there is much rejoicing.) We either skip tortillas now (often subbing corn chips), or I’ll buy a case from Azure Standard to keep in the freezer.

Having said all of that, today I thought I’d share some recipes I’ve stuck with for all these years, even with a busier schedule and a higher volume of food consumption. These recipes are worth my time, because the time investment is tiny. And they are cheaper than store-bought so they are a win-win! Also, homemade always tastes better, so score one more for that!

Real Food Recipes that are Easy and Save Money

Seasoning Mixes

I make all of our Ranch Dressing Mix, Italian Dressing Mix, Onion Soup Mix, and Taco Seasoning Mix. These cost pennies to make, saving a significant amount. And since I make big batches, the time saved on these is great!

condiments

Vanilla Extract

The price of beans has gone up, but it still saves money to make Homemade Vanilla Extract. It’s ridiculously easy to make, and well worth the effort because homemade vanilla is amazing!

vanilla_four

Stir-and-Pour Whole Wheat Bread

We don’t eat as much bread as we used to at our house. I think it’s wholesome and filling and my family loves it, but I prefer to fill everyone with more nutrient-packed sides like fruits and veggies. So bread has taken a back seat at our house.

I do sometimes buy a loaf of 100% whole wheat sandwich bread for sandwiches when we need to pack them for a road trip. But for bread at home, when as do eat it with a meal, I make this Stir-and-Pour Whole Wheat Bread. It takes hardly any time or effort, and it doesn’t cost very much. And it tastes awesome!

stir and pour bread loaf 5

Homemade Granola

I discovered this 5-Minute Granola Method and haven’t looked back. I add in whatever we have (dried fruit or chocolate chips) and we’ve got ourselves a great cereal for much less than store bought!

Stove-Top Granola

All of these Simple Meal Recipes

Check out this Spanish Rice Bowl and the long list of other Simple Real Food Recipes it includes. I keep coming up with more of these recipes and am amazed at how much time and money they are saving! I’ve cut down my kitchen time with these Simple Recipes so much that I feel like a cheater. Almost. ;)

spanish rice bowl11

Cool Pineapple Cream Dessert

This is ridiculously easy and so super yummy! Throw three ingredients in the blender and you’re set!

pineapple dessert 3

Special Coffee Drinks

It’s a rare thing for us to spend $$ at a coffee shop since we can make fun coffee drinks at home for much less! This Chocolate Frappe is awesome. Sometimes we put this Chocolate Whipped Cream in our coffee. We freeze coffee into ice cubes like this to make easy Iced Coffees. This Coffee Milkshake is awesome in the summertime. Sometimes I make a big batch of Chocolate Iced Coffee to offer several people at once. While all of these take a little time, it doesn’t feel like a lot of effort because it’s FUN to make drinks like this!

What are some of the foods you make from scratch that are easy and save money?

Did you get your Money-Saving Freebies yet?

Remember that anyone who signs up to join our FREE Heavenly Homemaker’s Savings Club gets both of these freebies sent to them. Fun!!

Top 10 Money Saving Recipes

30 Real Food Money Saving Tips

Sign up here, confirm your subscription, and both booklets will be in your inbox very quickly! Then we can keep you informed of any other money saving tips and deals we come across!

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

Simple Oven Roasted Rotisserie Chicken

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Brace yourselves. Today we’re going to learn to butter up a chicken and rub him down with herbs and spices. This might not be the most precious moment of your day, but I guarantee you will find it to all be worth it after you taste your delicious Oven Roasted Rotisserie Chicken.

simple rotisserie chicken

Now, I’ve buttered many a slice of bread in my day. I would even venture to say I’m pretty good at it. But never before had I buttered a bird – until the first day I made this chicken.

Recipe research told me to “brush on the butter.” But that would require that I melt butter in a saucepan and dirty up a pastry brush. In the name of lazyness simplicity, I just slapped butter on my bird with a butter knife.

Did it work? Meh, good enough. I figure what didn’t get spread on smoothly will just melt and drizzle itself over the skin while baking.

Now, beyond the butter, we’ve got to do a little chicken massage for this recipe too. Don’t freak out about this because your hands will wash up just fine afterward. Sure, rubbing spices over a raw piece of meat in the shape of well, a chicken, will feel strange. But you can do this.

Here’s why the buttering up and the rubbing down are well worth your few minutes awkward chicken moments:

  • You will create a most delicious meal for your family. This chicken is incredibly juicy and flavorful.
  • All the “effort” you put forth to create this chicken will take less than 10 minutes.
  • You’ll save money, because making this chicken at home costs less than buying one pre-made.

So gather up your chickens and let the fun begin.

Simple Oven Roasted Rotisserie Chicken

5.0 from 1 reviews
Simple Oven Roasted Rotisserie Chicken
 
Save Print
Author:
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
  • 3-4 pound chicken
  • 3 Tablespoons softened butter
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground pepper
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon thyme
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
Instructions
  1. Place chicken in a 9x13 inch baking dish.
  2. Remove gizzards from the cavity. Discard them or save them to make broth later.
  3. Spread or brush butter over the chicken.
  4. Mix herbs and spices in a bowl, then rub them all over the chicken.
  5. Bake, uncovered, in a 300 degree oven for 2½ hours.

Oh yes. I failed to mention the “reach up into the ‘cavity’ of the chicken and pull out the little bag of gizzards.” I guess I was trying to stop while I was ahead so as to avoid scaring you away from this recipe. But alas, this task cannot be avoided.

I’ve found it’s best to go ahead and say “eeeewwww” while completing this gizzard removal step, because that’s how I feel and it truly is helpful to express oneself verbally during moments of trouble.

So before you butter and rub your chicken, get the gizzard step over with. After that, you will feel empowered to do anything. All hail queen/king chicken preparers. We are all super heroes.

Simple Oven Roasted Rotisserie Chicken

Keep this meal simple by serving this chicken with tossed salad, a steamed veggie, and fresh fruit (like strawberries, pineapple, or cantaloupe).

Make your life simpler by joining Simple Meals. Then you won’t even have to think about what to cook or what to buy because we do the work for you every single week!

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Check out how long this list of Simple Recipes is getting!

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How to Make Homemade Chicken Patties for Sandwiches (Freezable!)

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You want to know one of my favorite convenience foods I miss the most since switching to real food? Processed chicken patties for chicken sandwiches. (Bet you never would have guessed that, since that’s what this post is about.)

chicken patties9

I grew up microwaving Schwan’s chicken patties and slapping them on white buns for a quick meal or snack after a sports practice. They were yummy and easy and while I couldn’t care less about many other processed convenience items (I gave up boxed pizza rolls several years ago and never looked back) – I do miss the taste and handiness of chicken patties.

So why it’s taken me this long to figure out a recipe that resembles the beloved frozen chicken patties, I do not know. But here I am, finally learning a way to make breaded chicken patties for sandwiches. The best news is that you can make these in bulk and freeze them for a fast, convenient, ready-made meal on a busy day.

Homemade Chicken Patties for SandwichesYum

How to Make Homemade Chicken Patties for Sandwiches (Freezable!)
 
Save Print
Author:
Serves: 15-20 patties
Ingredients
  • 3 pounds ground chicken
  • 4 teaspoons onion powder, divided
  • 3 teaspoons garlic powder, divided
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt, divided
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 cup milk
  • 3 cups whole grain flour (I used whole wheat, but if you need these to be gluten free, use your favorite flour choice)
  • Palm shortening or oil of choice
Instructions
  1. In a large bowl mix ground chicken, 2 teaspoons onion powder, 2 teaspoons garlic powder, and ½ teaspoon sea salt.
  2. Shape meat mixture into 15-20 patties (make them larger or smaller depending on your family's portion size needs)
  3. Beat eggs into a bowl.
  4. Pour milk into a separate bowl.
  5. In a third bowl, mix flour, 2 teaspoons onion powder, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, and ½ teaspoon sea salt.
  6. Heat palm shortening or oil on a griddle.
  7. Dip prepared meat patties in egg, then flour mixture, then milk, then flour mixture again.
  8. Place battered chicken patty into oil on the griddle.
  9. Repeat process with each chicken patty.
  10. Cook for 7-10 minutes on each side, mashing down lightly as needed.
  11. Serve right away, or cool and freeze for future use, then rewarm in a 350 degree oven until heated through.

Are you ready to see some ugly chicken patty pictures? This isn’t pretty, friends. Raw meat pressed into patties – well there’s a reason we call stuff like this “processed food.” But take great comfort in the fact that this is all made from real food and wholesome ingredients and ignore the fact that naked ground chicken pressed into a patty really just ain’t purty.

chicken patties2

See the patty breading process? First the egg.

chicken patties3

Then the flour.

chicken patties4

Then the milk.

chicken patties5

Then the flour again.

chicken patties6

Then comes the part where we fry the patties in oil.

chicken patties7

We watch in amazement as they turn into beautiful chicken patties we can’t wait to put on a bun or between two big leaves of lettuce.

chicken patties8
Sure, it’s thicker than the patties we grew up eating. We like it that way. That means there’s double the meat.

Homemade Chicken Patties for Sandwiches - Freezable

One of the biggest perks is that you can form your chicken patties into any size you need for your family. Have small children? Make small patties. Have teenage boys? Make the patties nice and big. Have some big eaters and small eaters? Make a variety.

The biggest win is that if you make a bunch, you’ll have yummy chicken patties ready to warm up for sandwiches on a day you don’t have time to cook!

Did you grow up eating and loving processed chicken sandwiches? 

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Homemade Taco Seasoning Mix

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I’m at church camp this week, loving life, swatting bugs, and trying to stay hydrated. While I’m gone, you can enjoy a re-posting of some of our most popular time-saving, money-saving, healthier eating mix recipes…

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Originally posted April, 2010

Save money by making your own taco seasoning mix. It is SO easy! And healthy!  And you can put it in a jar (my favorite part)! Actually, even if you don’t have a jar obsession like I do, I recommend putting this mix in a jar as the flavors are strong and will absorb into a plastic container, or mingle with other items it may be sitting beside in your pantry.

Homemade Taco Seasoning MixYum

Homemade Taco Seasoning Mix
 
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Author:
Ingredients
  • ½ cup chili powder
  • ¼ cup onion powder
  • ⅛ cup ground cumin
  • 1 Tablespoon garlic powder
  • 1 Tablespoon paprika
  • 1 Tablespoon sea salt
Instructions
  1. Put all ingredients into a jar and shake!

Um, after you put a lid on…then shake. The jar. Shake the jar. With the lid securely on the jar.

Taco Seasoing Mix

Three Tablespoons of Homemade Taco Seasoning Mix is equal to one 4-ounce package of taco seasoning mix. I would recommend adding 3 Tablespoons of mix to one pound of browned ground meat for tacos.

I would also recommend shaking again before each use to make sure the spices are well distributed throughout the mix.

The jar. Shake the jar. You can shake all you want, but if you don’t shake the jar, your spices won’t be distributed evenly.

Just wanted to be sure I made the instructions clear in regard to the shaking.

Great. I can see it now. Husbands everywhere will walk into the kitchen and see their wives shaking (boogie down).

He will look questioningly at his wife, smile and say,

“Taco night again?!”

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Recipes that use Taco Seasoning Mix

As you can see, having this seasoning mix on hand is super helpful. Just grab it, shake it, and stir it into whatever you are cooking. Love it!

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