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Shared Apr 14, 2015 comment

Freebies in my mailbox this week: Gilead (book), Kotex samples, Gevalia coffee, and adorable earrings!

Published: by Crystal Paine on April 14, 2015 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Here are the freebies that showed up in my mailbox this past week:

Gilead from PaperBackSwap — I’m so bummed that PaperBackSwap is now going to be charging a small amount per transaction. I had some credit in my account that had built up over the years that I was able to use to cover the cost of an unlimited yearly membership. But after that year expires, I’m not sure that I’ll continue to use them.

U By Kotex samples

Gevalia Coffee samples

Earrings from Cents of Style — these weren’t free, but I was so excited about them that I just had to include them. They are adorable and with this deal that they ran recently, they were just $6.47 shipped. I see myself wearing these over and over again in the months and years to come!

What freebies have arrived in your mailbox recently?

By the way, if you want to start getting great freebies in your mailbox, just start signing up for the freebies I post every day that interest you. Within 4-6 weeks, your mailbox will start filling up with great freebies!

Shared Apr 13, 2015 comment

How to Make a Snail Mail Craft Kit

Published: by Crystal Paine on April 13, 2015 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Guest post from Jennie of Little Girl Designs

I love sending (and receiving!) good old-fashioned snail mail. Though life moves at lightning speed these days with our access to email, texts, and tweets, I’ve noticed that there is a growing movement of people who long for real mail in their mailboxes.

Last Christmas, as I was brainstorming ideas of what to make for my nieces and nephews, I decided making a craft kit for them would be fun. I assembled elements from my own crafting supplies (scrapbook paper, stickers, glue sticks, etc.) and created individual kits for each child.

To say they loved them would be an understatement. (That made this Auntie so happy!)

Since my family lives in three different states, one of the ways that we keep in touch is through the mail. Because the craft kits were such a hit, I thought it would be fun to assemble another one for each kid that could fit into a regular-sized envelope.

To get started, I took an assessment of what I already had in my craft drawers. If you’re a craft-lover, you probably have elements left over from 100 different projects that you have created in the past. As long as they are flat and light, these elements are exactly what you are looking for in assembling a snail mail craft kit.

If you don’t have many items to spare, you can check out the Dollar Store for ideas as well as Target’s One Spot (my new favorite place to find care package trinkets.)

Assembling the Card Kits

For each craft kit, I cut up several different kinds of construction and scrapbook papers. My nieces and nephews will be able to use this paper to collage, draw on, or paint.

I made two blank mini-books for them because I know they like to make up their own stories and illustrate them. (Here’s a tutorial on how to make a mini-book if you’d like to make one.)

I found a cute piece of fabric and cut out the bird pattern; they could glue that onto a larger card if they would like. I also cut a piece of watercolor paper into small sections and rounded the corners with a punch that I have. These would make really cute gift tags!

I rounded the edges of another strip of watercolor paper so the kids could make that into a mini bookmark.

If you’re the owner of decorative hole punches, you can punch out shapes for your craft kit. I punched out circles using various scrapbook papers. These can be used to assemble in a collage.

I also found some small googly eyes that I thought the kids would love gluing onto their projects.

Finally, I included stickers… because what kid doesn’t love stickers?

All of these pieces fit easily into a business envelope.

Depending on what craft supplies you add, you can change the theme to match pretty much anything you can imagine.

I’ve found that I don’t have to write out instructions on how to use each element, but rather tell the kids that this is a craft kit for them to use to create art. If your little recipient will feel frustrated by all of that freedom, feel free to include ideas of how to get started.

Snail mail doesn’t have to be limited to cards and letters. Take a look into your craft drawer and you might just find there’s a snail mail craft kit waiting for you to make!

Jennie is a craft-lover who writes about DIY craft projects and creativity on her blog, Little Girl Designs. She firmly believes everyone has creativity ingrained in them and how it is expressed is part of the fun of living. She spends her days playing with her toddler, going on walks with her sweet family, and working on craft projects. She has been a maker since childhood and loves the feeling of finishing a project and especially giving it away as a gift.

Shared Apr 13, 2015 comment

A peek into our past week, 10 goals for this week, + an update on my goals from last week

Published: by Crystal Paine on April 13, 2015 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Happy Monday! I hope you had a great weekend!

Ours was quite full, but so good! Our friends, the Odoms, were driving through TN so we had them over for dinner on Friday night. And then Erin and I stole out to have coffee and great conversation afterward until late into the night.

Saturday, I had my usual early morning coffee accountability coffee date with my friend, Allison. Then, I shopped for supplies for our church’s cafe, did some blog work, and Silas had a baseball game.

That afternoon, it was “Operation Find Tam an Outfit to Wear at Her Upcoming Speaking Events”. 5 things you should know about this picture:

1) Angie (the gorgeous gal in the passenger seat) was the one who introduced Tam to me just a few days after we moved.

2) We will forever be grateful because Tam and her family (including Kass – the adorable girl next to me in the back seat) have become like family to us — some of the greatest gifts since our move to TN.

3) We quickly discovered while shopping that pretty much everything looks good on Tam. However, despite how crazy cute she is in everything, I will still be her friend… Because you just can’t not love her!

4) Dressing rooms were not made for 4 grown women to stand in and try to give input on someone’s clothes. But we improvised and made it work — while having a blast doing so!

5) The best line of the afternoon from Tam after trying on a shirt that was rather unique and drape-y: “you need Google maps to figure out how to put that thing on!”

On Sunday, we got up early to go to church and help out at our church’s cafe for both services. We met a new family this weekend who moved here recently and also started coming to our church, so we invited them to come over for dinner on Sunday evening.

So Jesse headed to take our girls to a birthday party and then he and Silas went Jesse’s softball game, while I came home and got food and the house ready for hosting our Community Group and having the family over for dinner afterward. It ended up being such a great afternoon and evening full of fellowship, great conversation, and new friendship.

Here’s an update on my goals from this past week:

Marriage/Mothering/Homemaking Goals

~~1. Take the kids on a field trip to the Nashville Zoo.~~

We had a lot of fun on our outing with friends to the zoo! It was a beautiful day and I was very impressed with the Nashville zoo.

~~2. Write a love note to Jesse.~~

~~3. Continue working on developing the habit of obedience in our home~~ (I attended the Laying Down the Rails workshop at the recent homeschool conference and it’s really motivated and inspired us in our parenting. We’re choosing the habit of obedience to implement in our home for the next 6-8 weeks. Just a week of working on this and it’s already made a big difference. Watch this video here for a snippet of the workshop.)

Personal Goals

~~4. Exercise at least 5 times.~~

5. Finish at least two books.

~~6. Listen to at least two inspiring audios/podcasts while working/driving.~~ (I’ve recently been challenged to do a better job of using those little cracks of time throughout the day to fill my mind up with good things and things that make me think and analyze life.)

Swoon. Got to hang out with adorable Ezra and the amazing Jessica Turner for a lunch date last week. I was so in love that I didn’t even know Jessica took the top picture. Be still my heart. He kept smiling and cooing at me… And I’m smitten. Also, I think his mama is just downright incredible. So fun to talk books, blogging, business, babies, and balancing with her over a yummy lunch.

Local Ministry/Hospitality/Friendship Goals

~~7. Have a lunch date with a friend.~~

~~8. Have friends from out of town over for dinner.~~

9. Finish reading a friend’s manuscript & writing an endorsement for it.

Business Goals

~~10. Outline/write 3 substantive blog posts for next week.~~

I did a little freezer cooking session last week: two pans of bacon, two loaves of Banana Bread, and some Trim Healthy Mama Pancakes. I’m so happy to be back into the swing of Freezer Cooking again… I have missed it and I’ve been reminded as to what a difference doing a little cooking ahead can make in our lives.

{More details and pictures and recipe links from my freezer cooking session coming tomorrow.}

This week’s goals:

Marriage/Mothering/Homemaking Goals

1. Finish buying all of our homeschool curriculum for next year.

2. Write a love note to Jesse.

3. Have a date night with Jesse.

4. Continue working on developing the habit of obedience in our home (I attended the Laying Down the Rails workshop at the recent homeschool conference and it’s really motivated and inspired us in our parenting. We’re choosing the habit of obedience to implement in our home for the next 6-8 weeks. Just a week of working on this and it’s already made a big difference. Watch this video here for a snippet of the workshop.)

Personal Goals

5. Exercise at least 5 times.

6. Finish at least two books.

7. Listen to at least two inspiring audios/podcasts while working/driving. (I’ve recently been challenged to do a better job of using those little cracks of time throughout the day to fill my mind up with good things and things that make me think and analyze life.)

Local Ministry/Hospitality/Friendship Goals

8. Plan out summer drinks for our church’s cafe.

9. Finish reading a friend’s manuscript & writing an endorsement for it.

Business Goals

10.Finish the final edits for the course handbook for our new online course.

How did you do on last week’s goals? What are your goals for this week? I’d love to have you share your progress on last week’s goals and your goals for this coming week in the comments. Of, if you’ve blogged about it, leave your direct link below. Let’s cheer each other on to live purposeful and productive lives! You can download a free customizable weekly goal-planning sheet here.

Shared Apr 13, 2015 comment

My Monday Morning Plan + Today’s Cleaning Project

Published: by Crystal Paine on April 13, 2015 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Good morning! I hope your day is off to a great start!

It was a very full but good weekend. I slept in this morning and we had a slow start to our day, but after some quiet, Bible, and blogging, I’m ready to hit the ground running!

My cleaning project for today is not only to get the house back in order after hosting multiple gatherings/guests at our home this weekend, but also to go through the kids’ clothes and change out their wardrobes for the warmer weather.

Here’s my plan for this morning:

~~Bible reading/journaling~~
~~Blogging/Business work~~
~~Breakfast~~
Get kids started on chores/independent work/Daily Lists
Clean up the house — start a load of laundry
Clean up my room/make bed
Go through the kid’s clothes
Fold & put away laundry
Morning Time
School with Silas
Run/shower
Ready to go — lunch made — head to work at our office space

This evening (hopefully!), I’ll share a post about how our day went and give you an update (with pictures) on my progress on our house and the kid’s clothes.

Need some motivation? Check out my post on 10 Ways to Make Cleaning More Fun.

Want to join me? Leave a comment to let us know you’re participating! If you have time, tell us what your morning plan is, too.

Shared Apr 12, 2015 comment

The 4 Most-Read & Most-Commented On Posts This Week

Published: by Crystal Paine on April 12, 2015 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

What 2 Words Would You Write in a Note to Your Younger Self? (The comments on this post are incredibly interesting and insightful!)

Easy Whole Wheat Bread Recipe

A Day In My Life: When My Plan Didn’t End Up Happening, But That Was Okay

How I Made Money Redecorating My Home

WANT TO SAVE $100 FAST?!Join the FREE 14-Day Savings Challenge!

Click here to sign up!

Shared Apr 11, 2015 comment

Gretchen’s $40 Grocery Shopping Trip and Weekly Menu Plan

Published: by Gretchen on April 11, 2015 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Homeland

3 pkg Glad Sandwich Bags – $1 each, used 3 $1/1 printable (first one doubled) – Free plus overage after coupons

1 loaf Nature’s Own Bread – $1.79, used $0.55/1 coupon from the 3/29 SmartSource insert (doubled) – $0.69 after coupon

2 Cucumbers – $0.69 each

1 McCafe Coffee K-Cups – $5.99, used $1/1 printable (doubled) – $3.99 after coupon

1 Farmland Pork Sausage – $1

2 Ronzoni Pasta – $1 each, used $1/2 printable (doubled) – Free after coupon

0.5 lbs Tomatoes – $0.50

2 Tic Tacs – $1.29 each, used $1/1 printable (doubled) – $0.29 each after coupon

2 Horizon Mac & Cheese – $1.79 each, used $0.75/2 printable (doubled) – $1.04 each after coupon

1 Skippy Peanut Butter – $2, used $0.55/1 printable (doubled) – $0.90 after coupon

3 Chobani Greek Yogurt – $1 each, used $1/3 printable (doubled) – $0.33 each after coupon

Total with tax ($1.63) after coupons: $12.75

Dillons

3 half gallons Dillons Milk – $1 each

1 Kroger Half & Half – $1.99

1 Romaine Lettuce – $0.99

2 Kroger Cottage Cheese – $0.50 each

1 Kroger Sour Cream – $0.50

2 Jello Puddings – $1.50 each, used $0.80/2 e-coupon – $1.10 each after coupon (I got this as a special treat for my husband who has been working long hours this week.)

1 bag Kroger Frozen Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts – $6.99

1 Kroger Frozen Orange Juice – $1.59

1 bag Kroger Chocolate Chips – $1.88

1 Chobani Kids Yogurt – Marked down to $1.50

1 Cantaloupe – $0.99

1 bag Kroger Potatoes – $2.79

Total with tax ($1.94): $27.36

Total for both stores: $40.11

Menu Plan for This Week

Breakfasts

Cereal x 2

Toast & Eggs x 3

Date with my son at Starbucks (using a gift card)

Cinnamon Rolls

Lunches

Macaroni & Cheese, Fruit

Lunch at my sister-in-law’s house

Tossed Salad x 2

Baked Potatoes, Fruit

Lunch at my in-law’s (I’m bringing dessert)

Leftovers

Dinners

I’m trying to use up random things we have in our refrigerator and pantry this week. 🙂

Chicken Noodle Casserole, Steamed Peas

Venison & Cabbage, Biscuits (from the freezer)

Baked Ziti (meatless), Tossed Salad, Steamed Broccoli, Toast

Salad Bar with Grilled Chicken

Bean Burritos, Chips and Salsa, Fruit Salad

Venison Roast, Potatoes, Carrots, Butterhorn Rolls

French Toast, Eggs, Orange Juice

Shared Apr 11, 2015 comment

4 Ways to Make Fun Money Without Getting a “Real Job”

Published: by Crystal Paine on April 11, 2015 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Guest post from Miriam:

Getting a job (or a second job) isn’t always feasible… especially for parents.

Fortunately, there are many ways to bring in some additional income without leaving your kids to daycare, sitters, or nannies all the time.

1. Swagbucks and Bing Rewards.

If you are just looking for a little bit of fun money to spend, Swagbucks and/or Bing Rewards are the way to go.

Searches, videos, and surveys can earn you small gift cards to places like Amazon.com, Target, and Starbucks in just a few weeks.

2. Babysitting.

If you are already caring for children at home and aren’t too overwhelmed, consider babysitting for another family. Done regularly, this kind of work can really add up.

3. Mystery Shopping.

This is a bit more involved, but signing up to do this a few times per month can easily get you $50 or more. You just need a Paypal account in order to receive the payments.

4. Online Surveys.

Typically, the points received from taking these surveys take a long time to accumulate. But you can earn some fabulous rewards.

I once earned a $20 Amazon gift card; it took a while, but refusing to check on my points totals for several months made it seem much faster!

There are many other simple, creatives ways to earn a little extra fun money without getting a “real job”, so i’d love to know…

How do you earn fun money?

photo source

Shared Apr 10, 2015 comment

Brigette’s $55 Grocery Shopping Trip + Weekly Menu Plan for 6

Published: by Brigette on April 10, 2015 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Since I got such great deals on bulk produce this week, I decided to keep the rest of my grocery shopping pretty simple. We still have eggs leftover from last week, and I will be using milk and meat from my freezer stash. I went ahead and stocked up on cheese even though we still have some and don’t actually need it right now. It was a good price, I had wiggle room in my budget – and there is no such a thing as too much cheese, right? 😉

Sawyer’s Produce

(We will be eating lots of strawberries and grapes over the next week, and then freezing or dehydrating the rest. This is ALOT of produce – much more in real life than it looks like in this picture!)

16 1-lb pkgs Strawberries – $10.00

18lbs Green Grapes – $12.00

4 2-lb bags of Green Leaf Lettuce (these are huge bags!) – $5.00

Total: $27.00

Walmart

2 32-oz bags of Baby Carrots (price matched Aldi @ $0.69/each – fantastic price for the big bags!) – $1.38

2 huge heads of Cabbage (price matched Aldi @ $0.99/each) – $1.98

1 24-oz container Cottage Cheese (price matched Bi-Lo) – $2.69

1 32-oz container Half and Half (price matched Food Lion) $1.97

1 32-oz container Egg Whites – $4.44

1 bunch Bananas – $1.11, plus receive $0.25 back from Checkout 51 – $0.86 after rebate

Total: $13.32

Harris Teeter

10 bags of Shredded Cheese – $13.00

1 box Reeses Puffs – $2.50, used $0.75/1 printable (doubled) – $1.00 after coupon, plus receive $0.25 back from Ibotta – $0.75 after coupon and rebate

1 box Honey Nut Cheerios – $2.50, used $0.50/1 printable (doubled) – $1.50 after coupon, plus receive $0.50 back from SavingStar – $1.00 after coupon and rebate

Total after Coupons and Rebates: $14.75

Weekly Grocery Total: $55.07

Weekly Menu Plan

Breakfasts

Oatmeal and Strawberries x 3

Toast and Eggs (Veggie Omelettes for me) x 2

Cereal x 2

Lunches

Baked Potatoes with Cheese, Grapes x 2

Build-Your-Own Tossed Salad Bar, Strawberries x 2 (I plan on eating a tossed salad everyday for lunch since we have so much lettuce to use up!)

Peanut Butter and Honey Sandwiches on Easy Whole Wheat Bread, Baked Carrot Fries, Fruit

Leftovers x 2

Dinners

Three Cheese Baked Spaghetti, Tossed Salad with Homemade Dressing, Dill Bread

Chicken Gravy over Brown Rice, Steamed Broccoli, Tossed Salad, Easy Whole Wheat Bread (I will make a double recipe)

Egg Roll in a Bowl, Brown Rice, Fruit Salad

Homemade Cheese Pizza (meatless), Tossed Salad, Carrot Sticks

Ham and Potato Soup (using this recipe and subbing ham instead of hamburger – we still have a lot of ham in the freezer from a friend), Leftover Dill Bread, Tossed Salad

Leftovers x 2

Snacks

Coconut Almond Crunchies, THM Shakes, Strawberries, Grapes, Carrots, Strawberry Oat Muffins

Shared Apr 9, 2015 comment

Do you have questions about how to make money blogging?

Published: by Crystal Paine on April 9, 2015 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

As I was writing my next book about how to start your own business, it got me to thinking about how many mistakes I’ve made as a blogger and how much I’ve learned over the years when it comes to how to make money blogging.

I never would have dreamed 10 or 15 years ago, that I’d someday be making more than a full-time income through blogging. I never would have imagined even 7 or 8 years ago, that the income we’d be earning through our online business would be enough to support our family, support our team, and allow us to save and give generously.

There is so much possibility nowadays to make a good income online and to enjoy the flexibility and freedom that working for yourself on your own time frame brings. And I have a passion to share the knowledge I’ve learned with others.

Which is why I’d like to do a weekly post with tips and tactics I’ve learned for making money online. If you want to find a way to quit your job, work less, or be able to save and give more, I’d love to help you.

So, I’d like to open up the floor: What burning questions do you have when it comes to making money blogging or making money online? Leave a comment on this post or shoot me an email (crystal @ moneysavingmom.com) and I’ll do my best to start answering as many of these as I can in the following weeks.

Want some step-by-step help to get started making money blogging? Check out this post where I walk you through how do just that.

Shared Apr 9, 2015 comment

“How we’re living for just $200 per month — all summer long!”

Published: by Crystal Paine on April 9, 2015 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

I’ve been so inspired by Lori from Moms By Heart over the years. Her post today on how their family of seven is paying for housing, utilities, water, garbage, cable, and internet for just $200 per month is really impressive.

Read her post all about how they are making RV living work for them and how they made the transition to this lifestyle over the past few years.

OVER-SPENDING EVERY SINGLE MONTH?Grab these FREE Budgeting Sheets!

Click here to download!

Shared Apr 9, 2015 comment

What two words would you write in a note to your younger self?

Published: by Crystal Paine on April 9, 2015 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

I saw this question on Facebook earlier today and really pondered it for awhile. What would your answer be?

Mine would be: You’re enough.

Stop chasing after people-pleasing, perfectionism, and performing. Just be you. Be all that God called you to be. Exercise your gifts and talents. Don’t wish you were her or try to be her. Learn from her. Be inspired by her. But don’t compare yourself to her.

Because you’re not her. You’re you. Embrace your talents and passions. Own the gifts you’ve been given. The world needs your gifts, your skills, and your talents. The world needs you.

Your turn. I’d love to hear what your two words (or four words — or however many words you need!) in the comments!

Shared Apr 9, 2015 comment

Wheat Bread Machine Recipe

Published: by Crystal Paine on April 9, 2015 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

This easy homemade whole wheat bread will delight your tastebuds and likely be an instant hit with your entire family. It’s a great beginner recipe as it’s almost foolproof!

If you love homemade bread fresh from the oven, you HAVE to try this go-to bread recipe! It is healthy, super easy, and can be thrown together in less than five minutes if you use a bread machine.

You will love making this Wheat Bread Bread Machine Recipe

Guest post from Brigette Shevy

There’s nothing like homemade bread fresh from the oven! While I love baking and trying new recipes, this is my standard go-to recipe. It is healthy, super easy, and can be thrown together in less than five minutes if you use a bread machine.

I normally use all whole wheat flour (I grind my own using hard white spring wheat), but you can use any combination of white flour/ bread flour/whole wheat flour. I’ve even been known to throw in some other flours on occasion and make it multi-grain! The dough is extremely versatile and can be used for dinner bread, sandwich bread, rolls, and buns.

If you’ve never made bread before, this is a fabulous recipe to start with!

Bread Machine Whole Wheat Bread Ingredients

1 c. plus 1 T. warm water
1 T. coconut oil
1 T. other oil (vegetable, canola)
2 T. honey
1 t. salt
3 c. whole wheat flour
1 scant T. instant active dry yeast

Easy Whole Wheat Bread Recipe Variations and Substitutions

OIL: You may use any type of oil for this recipe, however, we highly recommend that you use coconut oil. I have made this recipe hundreds of times over the years, and the coconut oil absolutely does make a difference (especially if you are using all whole wheat flour). It makes the bread soft and light. I used to use various dough conditioners (wheat gluten, citric acid, etc), but found I didn’t need them anymore once I started using the coconut oil.

FLOUR: Store-bought whole wheat flour tends to be denser and not rise as much as freshly ground wheat flour. If you use store-bought wheat flour, I recommend doing one cup white or bread flour (or more) to two cups whole wheat for a better finished product. Another option is to add a couple of tablespoons of vital wheat gluten to the dough.

How to make this Whole Wheat Bread Machine Recipe

1. Put all ingredients in the bread machine, in the order listed, or in the order recommended by your bread machine model (I have a Zojirushi model).

2. Run the dough cycle (my bread machine has two dough cycle options, and I use the shorter one – 45min. total).

3. When the dough is finished, shape it into a loaf and place in a greased 8 ½ x 4 ½ inch pan, OR shape into rolls/buns and place them on a greased cookie sheet.

4. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 30-40 minutes.

5. While dough is rising, preheat oven to 350ºF.

6. When the oven is preheated, bake bread for 30 minutes for bread (cover bread with foil after 15 min. to prevent over-browning), or 11-13 minutes for rolls.

7. Let the bread sit for 10 minutes after coming out of the oven, then remove the bread from the pan and cool on a wire rack.

8. Store in sealed bags at room temperature, or freeze for later.

How to make this Whole Wheat Bread by hand

1. In a large bowl, stir together 1 ½ c. flour, yeast and salt.

2. In another bowl, mix water, oils and honey until coconut oil is melted.

3. Add wet ingredients to dry and beat with a hand mixer for 1-2 minutes (or knead by hand for 10 minutes).

4. Gradually stir in additional flour by hand until the dough forms a ball.

5. Turn onto a floured surface and knead for 5-10 minutes, adding additional flour as necessary.

6. Let rise in a greased bowl until double (approx. 45-60 minutes).

7. When the dough is finished, shape it into a loaf and place in a greased 8 ½ x 4 ½ inch pan, OR shape into rolls/buns and place them on a greased cookie sheet.

8. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 30-40 minutes.

9. While dough is rising, preheat oven to 350ºF.

10. When the oven is preheated, bake bread for 30 minutes for bread (cover bread with foil after 15 min. to prevent over-browning), or 11-13 minutes for rolls.

11. Let the bread sit for 10 minutes after coming out of the oven, then remove the bread from the pan and cool on a wire rack.

12. Store in sealed bags at room temperature, or freeze for later.

Tips for making the perfect Bread Machine Whole Wheat Bread

Be sure to add the ingredients in the order called for (wet ingredients first) or your dough will not mix well.

Also, give your dough plenty of time to rise so your bread will be light and fluffy!

If you like a softer crust, brush the bread with melted butter immediately after it comes out of the oven.

Storing Whole Wheat Bread

Eat as much as you can when it’s still fresh from the oven!

However, if you have leftover, store it sealed bags or food storage containers at room temperature. This bread also freezes wonderfully if you want to make a bunch at one time. You can even slice it before you freeze it, which makes it really easy to just pull out one or two slices later on.

Whole Wheat Bread in Bread Machine FAQs

Why is my bread machine wheat bread so dense?

Dense or heavy bread is often the result of not kneading the dough mix properly. Another cause for dense whole wheat bread is because whole wheat flour has less gluten then bread flour or even all-purpose flour, and gluten is what allows bread to be soft, fluffy, and elastic, yet still maintain a good structure. You could try adding 1 T. of Vital Wheat Gluten to your dry ingredients when you mix the dough.

Is it cheaper to use a bread maker or buy bread?

Making bread from a machine is marginally cheaper than buying it, as long as you eat bread frequently enough to offset the cost of the appliance — which will cut into your bottom line for a while! That said, homemade bread has a higher nutritional value, so you can weigh those “costs” as well when deciding if making and eating homemade bread is worth it for your family.

Can I use regular flour in a bread machine?

Yes. While most breadmaching recipes call for bread flour, you should easily be able to substitute all-purpose flour for any of your favorite recipes. Or, like we’ve done here, swap in whole wheat flour!

Recipe

Whole Wheat Bread in Bread Machine

Author Brigette

Course Bread

Cuisine American

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 30

Rise Time 1 30

Equipment

Bread Machine

Ingredients

1 cup warm water
1 tbsp warm water
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp honey
1 tsp salt
3 cups whole wheat flour
1 tbsp instant active dry yeast

Instructions

Put all ingredients in the bread machine, in the order listed, or in the order recommended by your bread machine model
Run the dough cycle.
When the dough is finished, shape it into a loaf and place in a greased 8 ½ x 4 ½ inch pan, OR shape into rolls/buns and place them on a greased cookie sheet.
Cover and let rise in a warm place for 30-40 minutes.
While dough is rising, preheat oven to 350ºF.
When the oven is preheated, bake bread for 30 minutes for bread (cover bread with foil after 15 min. to prevent over-browning), or 11-13 minutes for rolls.
Let the bread sit for 10 minutes after coming out of the oven, then remove the bread from the pan and cool on a wire rack.
Store in sealed bags at room temperature, or freeze for later.

Notes

If you have a 2-lb bread machine, you can make a double batch of this dough. Just be sure to bake it in the oven (not the bread machine) as the instructions state.

Nutrition

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Shared Apr 9, 2015 comment

Gretchen’s Target Shopping Trip: Spent $3.11 for 7 items!

Published: by Gretchen on April 9, 2015 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Target Shopping Trip

1 Purex Power Shot – $3.99, used 10% off Cartwheel coupon AND $2/1 printable AND $1/1 Target printable – $0.59 after coupons

2 Easter M&M’s – Marked down to $1.59 each, used 2 $1/1 coupon from the 3/22 RedPlum insert AND $1/2 Target printable – $0.09 each after coupons

2 cans Del Monte Pineapple Chunks – Marked down to $0.68 each

2 Horizon Sandwich Crackers – $3.49 each, used 10% off Cartwheel coupon AND 2 $1/1 Target printable AND Buy One Get One Free printable – $0.49 each after coupons

Total after coupons: $3.11

Shared Apr 8, 2015 comment

A Day In My Life: When my plan didn’t end up happening, but that was okay!

Published: by Crystal Paine on April 8, 2015 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

So, I promised you all I’d post about A Day in My Life on Monday evening… and well, it’s Wednesday morning and I’m just now getting around to getting the post done. Such is life some weeks, right? 🙂

The last few days have been very full. Full of wonderful times as a family. Full of wonderful times with friends. And full of many other responsibilities that have been more important than blogging.

But I finally have a quiet morning to write and finish this post!

Monday morning started bright and early. We’d had a busy Easter weekend and I woke up early to try to get caught back up on things. It didn’t really end up happening, but it was a nice idea. 🙂

After my Bible reading and blogging time, the kids got up and ate breakfast and then got started on their Daily Lists. I loved how Kaitlynn creatively decorated her list with sticker paper. That girl is all about beautifying every part of life and she inspires me!

The kitchen wasn’t in complete disarray, because Jesse had stayed up the night before cleaning it up for me. He knows that a clean kitchen is one big way to show me love, so multiple times per week, he offers to clean it up for me.

Silas was working on the letter “S” today. This curriculum is very basic and a lot of review for him right now, but it’s been good to reinforce all the letter sounds and how to correctly write each letter.

After cleaning up the kitchen and helping Silas with his school, I set to work cleaning up the rest of the house. I laughed as I realized how much Easter had spilled into our house! (It actually sparked some deep thoughts for me — which you can read here.)

After the kids did their chores and got started on their independent work, I worked on picking up the rest of the house and on the laundry. I had hoped to get all of the massive pile of laundry done, but I only made a dent in it before my time was up and it was time to have Morning Time with the kids.

After Morning Time, the kids asked if the could play with playdough and do the Word Searches that Miss Tam had given them in their Easter baskets.

They all sat at the kitchen table and helped each other on the Word Searches for quite a long time.

I especially loved watching the girls help Silas find the words in the Word Searches.

While they finished up Word Searches, I chatted with Jesse, did a little more housework, and then handed off the homeschooling reins to him and headed out to run on the treadmill, take my shower, and get ready for the day.

The afternoon at the office space was filled with phone calls, emails, taking care of some business projects, working on some blog posts, and answering comments. Before I knew it, it was 5 p.m.!

The day before, our friends, the Hodges, had discovered we’d never gone to Chuy’s to eat before. So we planned a dinner date there with them and then we invited a few other families to join us.

So I met Jesse and the kids there and we had a FUN evening of good food and lots and lots of laughter and good talks.

When we got home, I spent some time working on a project with Kathrynne that she needed to finish up, we put the kids to bed, and then I did a little more blogging before crashing into bed… without finishing up the laundry OR writing this Day in My Life post. Oh well, it was a good day and there’s always tomorrow (or Wednesday!) for writing blog posts and finishing up laundry! 🙂

~~Just for fun! Leave a comment and win this stack of books!~~

~~Want to win this stack of books + some fun goodies from The Tulle Box + a $50 iTunes gift cards? Just leave a comment on this post. I’ll choose and post a winner later this week.~~

The winner of this giveaway is: meghanbergunzi@ You should have received an email with details on claiming your prize.

Shared Apr 8, 2015 comment

You don’t need more of anything to be more content…

Published: by Crystal Paine on April 8, 2015 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

No matter how hard life is right now, remember that no one can take away your ability to choose your attitude in the middle of your difficult circumstances.

Choose joy. Choose love. Choose gratitude. Choose hope. Choose courage.

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You will love making this Wheat Bread Bread Machine Recipe

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