So...it is already shaping up to be a tough week.
Have not done very well at creating and sticking to menu plans, but have not been eating out as much either. This week we I fixed two new recipes. Ham and Cheese Sliders and Autumn Pasta Crunch Salad. It is so hard to prepare supper these days, daughter's work schedule changes weekly and son's schedule has just been changed to a split shift (plus he was talking in to going back to work part time at the restaurant he used to work at) so I never know if I am cooking for 2, 3 or four people. Casserole type dishes don't really matter, but since the family is not really keen on them I try to not make them too often. Also we are attempting to cut back on carbs, so cutting pasta, rice and potatoes. In other words, the cheaper eats. Throw chicken in there, because I am the only one that likes it. However, I am the main cook, so am going to cook what I can eat most of the time and then cook for hubby's taste a couple of times a week. Son is a bit of gourmet snob, don't know where he learned that from because he grew up on basic country home cooking. However, he has said that from time to time he will take any left overs to work with him. Really trying to cut back on the cost of groceries around here, especially since the family is shrinking a bit. But, they don't seem to really go for the cheap stuff so much anymore so I am having to try some new things. I am working on budgeting for the whole house, not just the groceries though. Coupons don't work around here, and I took advantage of a local grocer on their daily markdowns but they are closed now.
Recipe review. The sliders were...okay. Not great, not terrible. My biggest complaint was that the bread toasted a bit too hard. If I make this again I think I will cover with foil for the first half of the cooking time. The pasta salad was...okay. I actually enjoyed it, but I didn't read the recipe correctly and left out what I feel were a couple of important steps. Also, when I make this again...and I will make it again...I will cut down on the amount of dressing. It really didn't seem like it was that much, but in the end it was. For my taste, it needed a little more sour to it. Maybe it is just me...but today's vinegar just doesn't seem to be as strong as it used to be.
So...here is what the menu plan looks like for the rest of the week.
Tues. - probably going out to the Crest, a neighborhood restaurant (both kids are working there part time) because it has been a really tough day. Besides, I set two whole chickens in the fridge to thaw yesterday morning and they are still froze solid. Also, Tuesday is Minestrone night at the Crest (the restaurant I mentioned) and they absolutely make the best.
Wed. Chicken - trying two recipes. One I have made before - beer can chicken (in the oven instead of on the grill) and the family actually does like that one. The other is a kind of take on that, using a bundt pan. Bundt Pan Roasted Chicken from Just a Pinch...because anything from that site is just good. I am making two chickens with the purpose of having cooked chicken ready for some other dishes.
Thur. Pork Tenderloin with a couple of sides.
Fri. Some type of beef dish.
I love looking at Organizing Junkie's site and especially on Menu Plan Monday. Check it out if you need some inspiration. Hoping to take advantage of grand kids being gone to get some cleaning done and better organized meal plans.
Having our first winter storm...nothing much to it for my area except temperature change. Enough to have my bones really aching. This time change is hard on me too, the early darkness (we are on Pacific time, it get's dark about 5 now, by Jan. it will be totally deep dark by 4:30) is so depressing.
Just when I plan out some major chores, around keeping grand babies, something happens and changes it all. I know that you all have had that experience. At any rate, my heavy cleaning plans have been put off by a couple of days...no big deal...just need to accept it and go on. On that note, it looks like my youngest daughter will be moving out this week end, so may be able to actually empty out one of the storage units. YEAH, cuts that cost in half. I plan to turn her room into a play room slash den. The grand babies will use it during the day and I can just put a gate up to keep the youngest safely in check while I do my chores and maybe even a bit of sewing. (Hopefully, praying for this) then in the evenings I can use it as a room to hang out in away from all the sports that floods my television. LOL I am daycare for the youngest two grand babies (age 2 and 4) during the week so a room for them will be so awesome. I can get all the toy clutter out of the living room.
Okay...on the list for major cleaning.
1. Master Bedroom - it is full of clothes that need to be put up or washed and several boxes of misc stuff that I just can't seem to let go of. I am hoping to get it all cleared away and then will be able to bring in my dress form so I can actually work on my "old West" or "Victorian" wardrobe for our cowboy action shooting matches. I have some crochet projects that need to be finished up so I can get the yarn put up. Also hope to weed out some clothes and shoes and such for donation or for yard sale.
2. Living room/dining area - I need to move all the furniture and clean out the toys from underneath, vacuum the furniture to hopefully get rid of a lot...I MEAN A LOT...of cat hair. Dusting, cleaning walls and floors, mopping as well.
3. Bathroom - have tried everything I have seen on the web and several commercial products. NOTHING works. The bathtub is old, original to the house (1985) and really just needs to be replaced. Am working on nudging hubby to start on that project.
4. Kitchen - need to clean out cabinets and pantry again. There are a lot of things I just don't use taking up room and some things I need to be using more (vegetable steamer) that is still boxed up in storage from when we remodeled the kitchen...almost two years ago. My pantry is so jumbled up that I have no idea what I have and what I don't have...and so much it makes it hard to use the pull outs because cans and boxes are constantly falling over or the weight causes the pull up to fall down when pulled out. Need to clean out the freezer and organize it as well. Also have an extra fridge that is mainly used for beer, soda and extra milk. Hubby has told me I can go ahead and get rid of all the beer because it is so old. He is convinced that the fridge is costing us an extra $30 to $40 dollars a month in electricity. I am not, but am willing to empty it out and shut it off...after holiday meals. LOL
5. Holidays - have to figure out what we are doing...where we are doing it...for the next couple of months.
6. Organize - I am great at making plans, writing list, just not on execution. If I can finally get #1 & 2 done, I can actually be able to get time to plan out meals and such.
WELL...guess I got on a bit of a rant there. Especially since this was supposed to be posted yesterday, but after my little venting episode about Paleo Diets (Nov. 8) I should just cut it off and post already.
Thank you for visiting and please come back again.
Nov 10, 2015
Nov 8, 2015
My Take on the Paleo Diet Plan.
Wow, best intentions and all that. Nothing has gone as planned for many...many...months now. I am hoping to do better, and I guess considering it had been almost an entire year between my last two postings, guess a little less than a month is an improvement. So here goes.
Okay, we need to make some serious changes (have mentioned that on the blog before but have not followed through) so that is #1 on my list at the moment. Cleaning has moved to #2 because the changes in diet and lifestyle are hopefully going to change my...and my family's...health and that has become a top priority. I have spent several hours going over different food plans. Not going to say diet...that is a bad word that kind of defeats me before starting. I know that is all in my brain, but you know...the brain runs the body so guess I will humor it. At any rate...I have side tracked so back on the trail of thought.
I have seen so much about Paleo diets, that I just had to investigate it a bit. OH MY GOSH! I don't want to be a negative Nancy here, but come on people, that is so TOTALLY beyond rational. I am not going to slam anyone that believes in it and is following it, but here are my reasons for crossing it off of my list.
For one, it is way too confusing. I mean, the sites are so random in their information that the only thing I found consistent was the fact that they all agree your food intake, or your meals, should be that of what a caveman would eat, based on what was available to them at that time. That is the only consistent point. I find through my limited amount of research (because it just all started running together in my brain) that I had some serious questions come up in my thought process. Here are some things I just don't agree with and why.
1. Early man was healthier. Okay, how can we know this when the life span for them was 34 years for the man, 30 years for the woman. They worked too hard and didn't live long enough to develop obesity or problems related to such. They died - according to what scientist have found in fossils and bones - of broken bones, starvation, infections, animal attacks and exposure to the elements. If the Paleolithic peoples had the technology in medicine, farming, engineering and weaponry of even the middle ages, much less modern today, they would not be extinct.
2. Eat low amounts of meat and high amounts of vegetables. Those people ate what they could find. They hunted, so probably was large a mounts of meat. They didn't farm, so the general view is that all cereals and grains would be out. I know that archaeologist have found proof of ancient tribes that ground corn and grasses into some type of loaf or biscuit to eat, it carried well in their travels. True they didn't eat bread, muffins or pastas as we know it. For one they hadn't figured out how to farm and stay in one place at that time and also, they barely had figured out fire, much less ovens to bake in. This point also brings me to some recipes that are supportive of the Paleo diet and I just don't understand a few things. How can potatoes be Paleo friendly? Their origins are with the Indians of Peru, around 8,000 to 5,000 BC, and not really even cultivated until the 1500's. Much later than the Paleolithic period. Cauliflower is another allowed vegetable, however, it wasn't until the 12 and 13 century that it started showing up in the form as we know it when it was brought from Syria to the Brittanys.
3. A couple of sites suggest eating lots of fats, such as butter - but dairy is not allowed due to no domestic cattle in the Paleo world. So the suggestion of duck fat I get, even rendering boars down for their fat, But butter and oils...no way. I just don't buy it that they knew how to process corn or olives in to oil...if they even knew what corn was.
I could go on and on, but I won't. My head is already about to explode due to overload. I will conclude with this. Hamburgers are not Paleo friendly, even if you wrap it in lettuce instead of a bun. 1. Beef was not hunted
2. Cheese was not processed
3. For years tomatoes were considered poison.
Based on my research...and I am in NO WAY a professional researcher, dietitian, nutritionist or historian...Paleo diet is just not for my household.
So, I keep on searching for the plan that fits us best. I readily admit that we need to make some huge changes in our eating, I just don't know which direction that needs to go. For now, I will be easing us in to some changes. Less processed foods, more whole vegetables and fruits, less sugar and smaller portions will be the focus at present.
Okay, we need to make some serious changes (have mentioned that on the blog before but have not followed through) so that is #1 on my list at the moment. Cleaning has moved to #2 because the changes in diet and lifestyle are hopefully going to change my...and my family's...health and that has become a top priority. I have spent several hours going over different food plans. Not going to say diet...that is a bad word that kind of defeats me before starting. I know that is all in my brain, but you know...the brain runs the body so guess I will humor it. At any rate...I have side tracked so back on the trail of thought.
I have seen so much about Paleo diets, that I just had to investigate it a bit. OH MY GOSH! I don't want to be a negative Nancy here, but come on people, that is so TOTALLY beyond rational. I am not going to slam anyone that believes in it and is following it, but here are my reasons for crossing it off of my list.
For one, it is way too confusing. I mean, the sites are so random in their information that the only thing I found consistent was the fact that they all agree your food intake, or your meals, should be that of what a caveman would eat, based on what was available to them at that time. That is the only consistent point. I find through my limited amount of research (because it just all started running together in my brain) that I had some serious questions come up in my thought process. Here are some things I just don't agree with and why.
1. Early man was healthier. Okay, how can we know this when the life span for them was 34 years for the man, 30 years for the woman. They worked too hard and didn't live long enough to develop obesity or problems related to such. They died - according to what scientist have found in fossils and bones - of broken bones, starvation, infections, animal attacks and exposure to the elements. If the Paleolithic peoples had the technology in medicine, farming, engineering and weaponry of even the middle ages, much less modern today, they would not be extinct.
2. Eat low amounts of meat and high amounts of vegetables. Those people ate what they could find. They hunted, so probably was large a mounts of meat. They didn't farm, so the general view is that all cereals and grains would be out. I know that archaeologist have found proof of ancient tribes that ground corn and grasses into some type of loaf or biscuit to eat, it carried well in their travels. True they didn't eat bread, muffins or pastas as we know it. For one they hadn't figured out how to farm and stay in one place at that time and also, they barely had figured out fire, much less ovens to bake in. This point also brings me to some recipes that are supportive of the Paleo diet and I just don't understand a few things. How can potatoes be Paleo friendly? Their origins are with the Indians of Peru, around 8,000 to 5,000 BC, and not really even cultivated until the 1500's. Much later than the Paleolithic period. Cauliflower is another allowed vegetable, however, it wasn't until the 12 and 13 century that it started showing up in the form as we know it when it was brought from Syria to the Brittanys.
3. A couple of sites suggest eating lots of fats, such as butter - but dairy is not allowed due to no domestic cattle in the Paleo world. So the suggestion of duck fat I get, even rendering boars down for their fat, But butter and oils...no way. I just don't buy it that they knew how to process corn or olives in to oil...if they even knew what corn was.
I could go on and on, but I won't. My head is already about to explode due to overload. I will conclude with this. Hamburgers are not Paleo friendly, even if you wrap it in lettuce instead of a bun. 1. Beef was not hunted
2. Cheese was not processed
3. For years tomatoes were considered poison.
Based on my research...and I am in NO WAY a professional researcher, dietitian, nutritionist or historian...Paleo diet is just not for my household.
So, I keep on searching for the plan that fits us best. I readily admit that we need to make some huge changes in our eating, I just don't know which direction that needs to go. For now, I will be easing us in to some changes. Less processed foods, more whole vegetables and fruits, less sugar and smaller portions will be the focus at present.
Aug 17, 2015
Life Gets Crazy Sometimes.
My life has been so chaotic the past few months, almost a year now, that I had not even realized how long it had been since I posted. I will be getting back on track with that soon. Actually I am working on getting every thing cleaned up and back on track with planning and cooking and cleaning and such by September 1. That is the goal anyway.
I made Chicken Gyros with Tzatziki sauce for lunch yesterday and they were a hit. It was really cheap as well as being very quick and easy. I cheated a bit and bought the sauce already made from a vendor at the farmer's market. I am going to try and make a batch next week as it looks simple and would be much cheaper. So, total for meal $2.93 for four servings - not including the sauce - which is about .73 which is pretty darn cheap.
I had scored a big purchase of mark down meat at the local grocery store. Spent less than $50 and have enough meat for around 22 meals, depends on how the left overs go, may even be more. I pulled out the foam tray and bagged up in recipe portions using my vacuum sealer. Left the price and weight tags in it for two reasons: 1. I can know what the meat is, and 2. I can know how much it weighs and the price I paid so I can figure cost of meals better. Fixed just over a pound of chicken breast, had half of it left over, will use it later in the week for chicken enchiladas.
So far, the menu plan is still a little sketchy as I am trying to get adjusted to new schedules for everyone around here. The grand babies (am daycare for them during the week) started preschool three mornings a week now. Youngest daughter gave up her temp job and is now only working her primary job which the hours change a lot in. Next week I will post what I actually made. Tonight we are having something out of ground beef. I have it fresh but need to use it as it has been in fridge for a couple of days already. Was going to make burgers, but hubby had that for lunch - so did I but we won't tell him that. Thought about tacos, a favorite around here, but we had mexican last night. I would love to have some spaghetti, but hubby doesn't like pasta. He may just have to eat the sauce on bread - which he usually does - or just have cereal. I have some handmade pasta from the farmer's market, so may make stroganoff. Who knows.
I am hoping to get the house all cleaned up and do a little purging so I can make room an get rid of clutter. Now that we are fully in to our new hobby of cowboy action shooting, also known as SASS or Single Action Shooting Society.
You have no idea how much room I need to store these old west clothes and matching accessories. Guys have it lucky, pair of pants, shirt some suspenders and they are good to go. Women, we have hats, purses, frilled up dresses with thousands of yards of fabric, corsets, petticoats and that is just for a dinner party. To actually shoot (we compete in SASS sanctioned shooting competitions), it is a plain skirt and blouse, maybe a corset, then leather holsters and ammo belt on top of that. The clothing is expensive and I hope to be making some for myself soon.
I am not as bad as a hoarder on the tv shows, but getting alarmingly close. I have two storage units and once our weather cools down a bit I am hoping to get rid of at least 30% of it and go in to one unit. Would really help save some money.
Well, thanks for dropping in and hopefully will be seeing you next week. If you need some help with planning meals, check out all the great cooks linked up to Meal Plan Monday each week.
I made Chicken Gyros with Tzatziki sauce for lunch yesterday and they were a hit. It was really cheap as well as being very quick and easy. I cheated a bit and bought the sauce already made from a vendor at the farmer's market. I am going to try and make a batch next week as it looks simple and would be much cheaper. So, total for meal $2.93 for four servings - not including the sauce - which is about .73 which is pretty darn cheap.
So far, the menu plan is still a little sketchy as I am trying to get adjusted to new schedules for everyone around here. The grand babies (am daycare for them during the week) started preschool three mornings a week now. Youngest daughter gave up her temp job and is now only working her primary job which the hours change a lot in. Next week I will post what I actually made. Tonight we are having something out of ground beef. I have it fresh but need to use it as it has been in fridge for a couple of days already. Was going to make burgers, but hubby had that for lunch - so did I but we won't tell him that. Thought about tacos, a favorite around here, but we had mexican last night. I would love to have some spaghetti, but hubby doesn't like pasta. He may just have to eat the sauce on bread - which he usually does - or just have cereal. I have some handmade pasta from the farmer's market, so may make stroganoff. Who knows.
I am hoping to get the house all cleaned up and do a little purging so I can make room an get rid of clutter. Now that we are fully in to our new hobby of cowboy action shooting, also known as SASS or Single Action Shooting Society.
I am not as bad as a hoarder on the tv shows, but getting alarmingly close. I have two storage units and once our weather cools down a bit I am hoping to get rid of at least 30% of it and go in to one unit. Would really help save some money.
Well, thanks for dropping in and hopefully will be seeing you next week. If you need some help with planning meals, check out all the great cooks linked up to Meal Plan Monday each week.
Nov 24, 2014
Menu Plan 11/24
Wow, has it been a week or what? Grand kids and their mom have been sick, I have been sick, youngest daughter, Miss Zebra turned 18 this past Friday and had a party in the back yard...man cave...what ever you want to call it, and we had our Thanksgiving this past Saturday.
If you are visiting from Organizing Junkies page for Meal Plan Monday, welcome. I do my planning a little differently for the blog, I post what we had for the week as opposed to what we are going to have. Still trying to organize a system that will work for me with my crazy home life. I love all the inspiration on the MPM links and I love all her other info about organizing, storage, time management and such. So, here we go.
I have to say, I can't remember what all I cooked this past week, will have to do better about that, but know that I did cook at home. I take that back, Tuesday hubby got stuck at work late and I had one of my stupid little heart episodes (at least no emergency room this time) and since I was all by myself I went over to the Crest Bar and Grill. Tuesday is there Minestrone night so I had a bowl of that with a baked potato on the side.
On Wednesday, I do remember making Chile relleno quiche. Hubby loved that one.
All I remember about Thursday was spending most of the day, literally hours of the day, defrosting and cleaning my deep freeze and fridge. I had to make room for all the stuff I intended to make ahead and get a jump start on the turkey dinner. OH MY GOSH! I bet I bagged up and threw away at least $200 worth of meat and vegetables all freezer burnt and I knew my family would not touch it. It makes me physically ill when ever I do that, feels like such a TOTAL waste of good money. Something I am DETERMINED to change. More about that later.
As I said, Friday was the party, we had pizza and cake.
I don't normally buy bakery cakes likes this, but since it was her 18th birthday, I splurged. She's worth it. I was however very disappointed at how dry and crumbly the cake texture was. Especially for the reputation that particular bakery has as being the best in town. Costco cakes are WAY better.
Saturday, I got up early, did my grocery shopping (three stores I walked through) for the Thanksgiving meal and for the house for the next week. I am proud to stay I stayed with in my budget. We got paid on Friday so it worked out great. Except for the fact that either I have some new ailment going on or I am so terribly out of shape that I can barely function. By the time I did the shopping, put it away, did the cleaning and cooking, I was one done chick. I honestly can't remember hurting so bad before. I was actually limping by feet hurt so bad. To add grief on top of all the work I was doing, I found out (when we cut in to the turkey) that my stove is not heating correctly. I had it set on 350 degrees, the turkey was still raw, the sides were not cooking, so we ended up eating an hour and a half later than planned. EEK GADS, I have so much food left over. Seems by then no one was much in the mood to eat, two of my kids were having stomach problems as well. On the menu for our Thanksgiving dinner...a few days early...was turkey, dressing, gravy, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, fruit salad, pistachio salad, buttermilk pie, cranberry sauce and a relish tray with Hawaiian rolls.
Sunday I slept in, did dishes, hubby helped me do the laundry, played computer games, and took some boxes to the storage unit. We had lunch at Wendy's...since it is in the parking lot of the Home Depot and we had just finished up a little shopping in there...OH MY GOSH it was totally HORRIBLE. I ordered the Asian chicken cashew salad...first they didn't give me any dressing, then there was not a single cashew in it. Will not be going back there. Hubby grilled steaks for supper and I made seasoned new potatoes, and we grazed on left overs.
Thanks for stopping by, I hope you have a very happy Thanksgiving Day.
If you are visiting from Organizing Junkies page for Meal Plan Monday, welcome. I do my planning a little differently for the blog, I post what we had for the week as opposed to what we are going to have. Still trying to organize a system that will work for me with my crazy home life. I love all the inspiration on the MPM links and I love all her other info about organizing, storage, time management and such. So, here we go.
I have to say, I can't remember what all I cooked this past week, will have to do better about that, but know that I did cook at home. I take that back, Tuesday hubby got stuck at work late and I had one of my stupid little heart episodes (at least no emergency room this time) and since I was all by myself I went over to the Crest Bar and Grill. Tuesday is there Minestrone night so I had a bowl of that with a baked potato on the side.
On Wednesday, I do remember making Chile relleno quiche. Hubby loved that one.
All I remember about Thursday was spending most of the day, literally hours of the day, defrosting and cleaning my deep freeze and fridge. I had to make room for all the stuff I intended to make ahead and get a jump start on the turkey dinner. OH MY GOSH! I bet I bagged up and threw away at least $200 worth of meat and vegetables all freezer burnt and I knew my family would not touch it. It makes me physically ill when ever I do that, feels like such a TOTAL waste of good money. Something I am DETERMINED to change. More about that later.
As I said, Friday was the party, we had pizza and cake.
Saturday, I got up early, did my grocery shopping (three stores I walked through) for the Thanksgiving meal and for the house for the next week. I am proud to stay I stayed with in my budget. We got paid on Friday so it worked out great. Except for the fact that either I have some new ailment going on or I am so terribly out of shape that I can barely function. By the time I did the shopping, put it away, did the cleaning and cooking, I was one done chick. I honestly can't remember hurting so bad before. I was actually limping by feet hurt so bad. To add grief on top of all the work I was doing, I found out (when we cut in to the turkey) that my stove is not heating correctly. I had it set on 350 degrees, the turkey was still raw, the sides were not cooking, so we ended up eating an hour and a half later than planned. EEK GADS, I have so much food left over. Seems by then no one was much in the mood to eat, two of my kids were having stomach problems as well. On the menu for our Thanksgiving dinner...a few days early...was turkey, dressing, gravy, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, fruit salad, pistachio salad, buttermilk pie, cranberry sauce and a relish tray with Hawaiian rolls.
Sunday I slept in, did dishes, hubby helped me do the laundry, played computer games, and took some boxes to the storage unit. We had lunch at Wendy's...since it is in the parking lot of the Home Depot and we had just finished up a little shopping in there...OH MY GOSH it was totally HORRIBLE. I ordered the Asian chicken cashew salad...first they didn't give me any dressing, then there was not a single cashew in it. Will not be going back there. Hubby grilled steaks for supper and I made seasoned new potatoes, and we grazed on left overs.
Thanks for stopping by, I hope you have a very happy Thanksgiving Day.
Nov 17, 2014
Last Weeks Hits
Everything just kind of fell apart around here, and I do mean everything, as far as cooking, cleaning and organization. The goal this week is to get back on track and hopefully do a mini cooking session for the freezer as well.
I wanted to get back on track with posting to Meal Plan Monday over at Organizing Junkie, but don't have a plan for the week as yet. So...I figured maybe I would just share some recipes I tried this week that were hits.
Maid-Rite Copycat - or Loose Meat Sandwich. OH MY GOSH!, this was crazy good. I had never heard of these, guess they are a mid-west thing. The ingredients sounded like something the hubby would like, I am focused on trying some new things, so I gave it a whirl. It is a hit, the only change we will make is eating them in a tortilla instead of a bun.
Authentic German Potato Salad - Really great for a little bit of a change.
Here are few other dishes. Don't have recipes for them, but can tell you how to make them.
Honey Buttermilk Bread...okay, so it stuck to the top of the bread machine, but it was still good.
Cheese enchiladas, Spanish rice, pinto beans and Frito salad.
Fry bread tacos.
Ham steak, sweet potatoes and green beans.
If you live here in central to southern California, enjoy the fallish weather and pray for needed rain. If you live in the rest of the country...stay warm and safe. Thanks for stopping by.
I wanted to get back on track with posting to Meal Plan Monday over at Organizing Junkie, but don't have a plan for the week as yet. So...I figured maybe I would just share some recipes I tried this week that were hits.
Maid-Rite Copycat - or Loose Meat Sandwich. OH MY GOSH!, this was crazy good. I had never heard of these, guess they are a mid-west thing. The ingredients sounded like something the hubby would like, I am focused on trying some new things, so I gave it a whirl. It is a hit, the only change we will make is eating them in a tortilla instead of a bun.
Authentic German Potato Salad - Really great for a little bit of a change.
Honey Buttermilk Bread...okay, so it stuck to the top of the bread machine, but it was still good.
Cheese enchiladas, Spanish rice, pinto beans and Frito salad.
Fry bread tacos.
Ham steak, sweet potatoes and green beans.
If you live here in central to southern California, enjoy the fallish weather and pray for needed rain. If you live in the rest of the country...stay warm and safe. Thanks for stopping by.
Oct 29, 2014
I am so behind.
I am so terribly behind with my blog post. Might as well just say I have abandoned it all. Kind of feels that way to be honest.
I have a famous, or maybe infamous is a better word, at any rate I have a "to-do" list. You know the one. All the things that need to be caught up? I should be taking advantage of the break from taking care of my two grand babies, but it just ain't happening. I won't get side tracked on that subject, want to stay on track with this.
Okay, so this is the food part of my blog. Here it is in a nutshell. All my grand plans for being organized, all my plans for grand cooking sessions, is all out the window. I can't remember the last time I planned a menu, although I have been cooking more and eating less processed meals. I am still terrible at resisting the urge to go out to eat, but working on it.
Here are my goals for the rest of the year.
1. Get back on track with menu planning.
2. Clean out freezer. Purge what is no longer any good.
3. Eat out less.
4. Cook more.
Sounds simple, but for me it is not. I really need to work very hard on getting back in control of this house.
I have a famous, or maybe infamous is a better word, at any rate I have a "to-do" list. You know the one. All the things that need to be caught up? I should be taking advantage of the break from taking care of my two grand babies, but it just ain't happening. I won't get side tracked on that subject, want to stay on track with this.
Okay, so this is the food part of my blog. Here it is in a nutshell. All my grand plans for being organized, all my plans for grand cooking sessions, is all out the window. I can't remember the last time I planned a menu, although I have been cooking more and eating less processed meals. I am still terrible at resisting the urge to go out to eat, but working on it.
Here are my goals for the rest of the year.
1. Get back on track with menu planning.
2. Clean out freezer. Purge what is no longer any good.
3. Eat out less.
4. Cook more.
Sounds simple, but for me it is not. I really need to work very hard on getting back in control of this house.
Mar 10, 2014
Finally On The Mend - MPM 3/10-16
I can actually say that I am finally...FINALLY...on the road to recovery. Still having coughing bouts at the stupidest of moments, but they are getting few and far between. Am I ever glad, because it seems the older you get the harder it is to hold in the bodily functions when you are coughing, sneezing, and coughing. Makes for a lot of laundry. Grand babies are doing great and for that I am very thankful. Would rather it be me that is sick and miserable than them.
Once again I am linking up with MPM over at Organized Junkie. If you haven't looked it over, there are over a hundred blogs linked up all sharing what their menu plan for the week is. Some are even thoughtful enough to post the recipes or links to the recipes. I don't have recipes or links today, but am hoping to post some through the week.
So far, this is the plan for the week.
Mon. - Rolled Meatloaf, green beans, mashed potatoes
Tue. - King Ranch Chicken casserole, corn, beans
Wed. - Meatball tortellini soup
Thu. - Tilapia, rice, broccoli
Fri. - Beef tips and noodles
Sat. - Waiting to see if we will be in town
Sun. - Steak, potato, salad
This is not set in stone, but it is the general plan. I have the freezer stocked well with a variety of meet. Local grocery had ground beef (93%) on sale for $2.99 a pound, which is a savings of $2.50 a pound. I loaded up, brought home just over 12 pounds and divided it up and packaged it in one pound packages for the freezer. Sunday may change if I end up having a family dinner, I have a big ham but was planning on it for Easter. The family has no clue, but I am implementing the "slash" plan this week. "Slashing" fast food, bad food by cutting portions a little but cooking healthier and more from scratch. "Slashing" spending as well. I have gotten cash for my budget for the next two weeks. Will be recording every penny I spend on a spread sheet to see where I am spending the most so I can figure out where I can cut the easiest. "Slashing" time wasters as well. At least where I can given that my day revolves around caring for a toddler and an infant.
This past week was pretty good as far as meals.
Slow cooked brisket. Man have I missed this. Still have a big portion in the freezer, already cooked, just waiting to be eaten.
Rotisserie chicken and noodles with butter cracker crumbs. My mom fixed this a lot when I was growing up and I was feeling a nostalgic so I made some. Of course I was the only one to eat them since hubby will not eat pasta of any kind.
My oldest daughter sent this box of heaven to me. A really sweet note telling me she had some good memories of me and wanted to thank me.
I made roast beef sandwiches one evening as well. They were good too.
No really great cooking went on, I was still a bit under the weather and it was a strange week with the little ones. However, no meals out, nothing brought home, hubby is happy we had home cooked meals each night. Okay, so the chicken was brought home from Costco, BUT...I can't buy chicken and spices to cook it up for less money than I buy one, and there is always some left over for other dishes.
Well, that is it for today. I have a huge stack of recipes printed out that I want to try so have to figure out how to throw them in the meal plan. I have some bananas that have for sure seen better days so am hoping to get them made up in to banana bread or muffins in the next day or two.
Thanks for stopping in, hope you enjoyed the visit. Come back soon to visit again.
Once again I am linking up with MPM over at Organized Junkie. If you haven't looked it over, there are over a hundred blogs linked up all sharing what their menu plan for the week is. Some are even thoughtful enough to post the recipes or links to the recipes. I don't have recipes or links today, but am hoping to post some through the week.
So far, this is the plan for the week.
Mon. - Rolled Meatloaf, green beans, mashed potatoes
Tue. - King Ranch Chicken casserole, corn, beans
Wed. - Meatball tortellini soup
Thu. - Tilapia, rice, broccoli
Fri. - Beef tips and noodles
Sat. - Waiting to see if we will be in town
Sun. - Steak, potato, salad
This is not set in stone, but it is the general plan. I have the freezer stocked well with a variety of meet. Local grocery had ground beef (93%) on sale for $2.99 a pound, which is a savings of $2.50 a pound. I loaded up, brought home just over 12 pounds and divided it up and packaged it in one pound packages for the freezer. Sunday may change if I end up having a family dinner, I have a big ham but was planning on it for Easter. The family has no clue, but I am implementing the "slash" plan this week. "Slashing" fast food, bad food by cutting portions a little but cooking healthier and more from scratch. "Slashing" spending as well. I have gotten cash for my budget for the next two weeks. Will be recording every penny I spend on a spread sheet to see where I am spending the most so I can figure out where I can cut the easiest. "Slashing" time wasters as well. At least where I can given that my day revolves around caring for a toddler and an infant.
This past week was pretty good as far as meals.
No really great cooking went on, I was still a bit under the weather and it was a strange week with the little ones. However, no meals out, nothing brought home, hubby is happy we had home cooked meals each night. Okay, so the chicken was brought home from Costco, BUT...I can't buy chicken and spices to cook it up for less money than I buy one, and there is always some left over for other dishes.
Well, that is it for today. I have a huge stack of recipes printed out that I want to try so have to figure out how to throw them in the meal plan. I have some bananas that have for sure seen better days so am hoping to get them made up in to banana bread or muffins in the next day or two.
Thanks for stopping in, hope you enjoyed the visit. Come back soon to visit again.
Feb 25, 2014
Crazy Times.
So, I finally get my kitchen back up and running and here I am sick as can be. So...this is going to be a short little posting just to make myself stay more current with my blog. Hopefully.
First of all, my bulb garden (the store's word for it) is doing wonderfully.
It smells so good when I go through the front door now. Not sure just which one, or if it is a combination of several, but the flowers fragrance really is divine. They are all still alive, except for the yellow tall ones (well the plant part is alive, the blooms have died off) and for me that is something.
The weather is starting to warm up finally and EVERYTHING in the town is budding, blooming and erupting with pollen and signs of life. We have all been under attack from our allergies, not to mention this cough and flu crap, so we just keep passing it back and forth.
The menu planning has been going pretty well. It has been fun finding all the gizmos I had put away for when I had my kitchen back. I was selling Pampered Chef, things got really crazy around here with the kitchen remodel, holidays, travel and illness I haven't been able to do much with it, trying to figure out if I want to continue with it, considering I am my best customer.
This is called a "salad chopper". You put a bunch of lettuce or spinach and stuff in a bowl, use this like a pair of scissors to chop up everything, right in the bowl. I saw a video where the demonstrator placed the chopper blade part straight in a can of tomatoes and just cut/chopped away, very interesting. However, I have to admit, I have not used it like that yet. I had a small bunch of green onions that I needed to slice for a recipe I was making, and I really hate chopping or slicing those little buggers, so I tried this gizmo on a whim. It worked WONDERFULLY! I will definitely be using this to chop those onions from now on.
Now this little gadget is called a julienne peeler. Also from Pampered Chef. I LOVE this thing. Those are zucchini and carrot strips in the bag, ready for stir fry. This thing just peels off a layer and cuts it in to strips at the same time. I will have to experiment a bit and see what other veggies this thing works on.
On the subject of menu planning. I have come to the realization that my current schedule is such that posting the menu plan for the coming week is just not going to work. One of the posters to the MPM site list what they did have for the week and that seems to work well. I will be trying that next week.
Thanks for stopping by, come back and visit often.
First of all, my bulb garden (the store's word for it) is doing wonderfully.
The weather is starting to warm up finally and EVERYTHING in the town is budding, blooming and erupting with pollen and signs of life. We have all been under attack from our allergies, not to mention this cough and flu crap, so we just keep passing it back and forth.
The menu planning has been going pretty well. It has been fun finding all the gizmos I had put away for when I had my kitchen back. I was selling Pampered Chef, things got really crazy around here with the kitchen remodel, holidays, travel and illness I haven't been able to do much with it, trying to figure out if I want to continue with it, considering I am my best customer.
On the subject of menu planning. I have come to the realization that my current schedule is such that posting the menu plan for the coming week is just not going to work. One of the posters to the MPM site list what they did have for the week and that seems to work well. I will be trying that next week.
Thanks for stopping by, come back and visit often.
Feb 10, 2014
MPM 2/10 - 14 Finally...A Working Kitchen...All New
Finally, I am so thrilled, I have a working kitchen again. My all new kitchen. The remodel is finally complete. I will add the photos shortly. I am just so happy it is all completely finished and it has turned out so much better than the one in my head.
First, getting back to a normal routine. I am going to link up with Menu Plan Monday over at Organized Junkie. I have not really had time to create the menu plans the way I wanted, but now that the kitchen is back up and running and I have my pantry, fridge and freezer all stocked pretty well, I will be working more on that. My main obstacle is the mess I face in my sewing room slash office. I can't even find the desk, have no comfortable chair to work out of, so that will actually be my priority this week. Nothing is going to get done today, I am taking a day off for my birthday. I know, kind of silly but just being honest. Another one of my goals for this year, honesty and being more realistic in my plans. So, that being said, this is my plan for the week.
Mon. - Steak, baked potato and salad. Hubby is grilling for my birthday tonight.
Tue. - Chicken enchiladas, beans. (using left over rotisserie chicken being)
Wed. - Roast, carrots, potatoes, green beans.
Thu. - Stuffed peppers, corn casserole
Fri. - Teriyaki Chicken and rice. (this is actually Hawaiian chicken that was on sale at Costco)
Sat. - Burgers and fries.
Sun. - Ham, broccoli cheese casserole, carrots, rolls.
This week end is Valentine's which has a totally different meaning for me than others. I will share that story another time. My son and his wife are going to a marriage retreat those days so I will have the babies all day and over night as well. Miss Zebra will be gone with the church youth to winter camp those days as well. I have had Mr. M overnight, when his little sister was born, but have not had baby girl over night. It will be a rough weekend for sure, but am glad that hubby will be here and son and daughter-in-law really need a little get away.
Now...drum roll...the new kitchen. Here is the post with all the before photos. If you want to see the journey, just look back over the old post. I will start out with one photo taken before we started to show what the old kitchen originally looked like.
Before, you the bar with the tan tile counters that divided the kitchen from the dining area. Notice the great glass door cabinet? I hated that thing after about the second year of living here.
One thing I did not plan on, or rather did not fully understand, was the fact that these cabinets were 15 inches deep while the new standard is 12 inches deep. The whole layout flowed very poorly. The pantry was next to the stove, but the only counter space to prep anything was by the sink and the bar area. Which by the way, the bar was the only space large enough for pots and pans but the stove is across the room. Granted, it is not a large distance, but still very awkward to work in.
Now, after moving the pantry to the opposite end of the kitchen, creating more prep area, moving the fridge to the opposite wall and end of the kitchen, centering the stove on that wall a bit more, moving the dishwasher as well, I now have a wonderful new kitchen.
Hubby finished all the trim and the nobs on his day off. I have only had it fully working for a couple of weeks. The last week of January I got the glass tile backsplash installed, so it has been kind of working and not working as the last of the work was done.
I have to say, I just love my new tile backsplash. The brown colors just feel so warm and inviting to me. I may be wrong, but it just doesn't feel so dated either.
The original window was a total mess, it is very strange to be able to see out once again.
And, as you know I have added a few new small appliances as well. Hubby was very skeptical of the Keurig, especially since I don't drink coffee I just wanted hot cocoa quickly. Have to say, he is getting in to the whole K-cup experience though. He had to go out of town for a week, work related, and he called to tell me he wished he had taken some pods with him because his hotel room had a Keurig machine in it.
This is the view in to the dining area now. The camera kind of played a trick here, making it look like a very small space between the walls. The fridge and pantry could both have the doors extended and have walking space for a couple of people between them. After all, the floor tiles are 12 inch tiles and there are six of them (6 feet) between.
The glass front china hutch is my newest purchase. It has all of my mom's glass ware that I ended up with when she passed away. Found out that one of the china trays dates back to 1840. It was my great grandmother's, passed to my grandmother, passed to my mom and now to me. I only knew these ladies through my mom. The smaller hutch was built by my father and it has some little vintage odd pieces from my child hood and my souvenir coffee cup collection.
As I said, I have only had the functioning kitchen for a couple of weeks, but OH MY GOSH, WHAT A TOTAL DIFFERENCE. It really is a pure joy to work in this new kitchen, the new design flows SOOOO much better. I have to admit also, it is a lot more fun to clean up, now that I don't dread walking in it. Still have to fine tune a few things, change up a few cabinet contents as I have found that some things that I use more often than I thought are located to high to comfortably reach often. I am bound an determined that I only have to use the step stool occasionally to reach a pan or such instead of every day, which seems to happen now. I will get it figured out though.
Okay, now for a couple of other photos to share. Remember I told you about that window? Well, the original window was a double pane. The seal had deteriorated which made the glass milky between the panes. While I could still see out, it was like looking through a window that had been smeared with white paint or such.
This is a closer look at the new window. My little gnomes hanging out happy in the new window sill, my new cactus balls and now I have some colorful wind chimes hanging in front of the window to look at as well.
Aren't these just the cutest little things. Should be very easy to care for as well and they are grown for indoor settings so don't need the heat and total sun that you think a cactus would. I just love them. The top one has a purple stone in it, so I naturally thought of my birthstone - purple amethyst - for February. The bottom one doesn't show it clearly, but the red spot is actually a little lady bug. My wonderfully bright grandson, Mr. M of course, noticed the bug first thing and wanted to be lifted closer to see it. So funny.
Speaking of plants. My front entry way is my on going new project.
It was a little bland. I just wanted to dress it up a bit. I had an old computer desk that is built to go in a corner that was no longer being used. In fact, it will probably not last long at all on the porch, it was the victim of a flooding incident so the bottom wood is all warped, but hey...just couldn't toss it to the dump just yet.
I moved this old birdhouse out to it, added a wind chime bell, which Mr. M is totally fascinated with and won't come through the door until he has rang it a few times.
And then I purchased this "bulb garden" which is supposed to be a house plant but the florist told me that if it were in a protected spot with indirect light it would be fine. She was right. I need an updated photo, but all the little yellow flowers have bloomed out, the purple and red flowers have spread through the bottom of the stemmed plants making a flower carpet almost and the other two bulbs are about ready to have their blooms all open up. Eventually there will be a lot more plants on this shelf unit, I hope to really load it down actually. I need to get some more nails in the rafters to hang some plants from as well. At the moment, we have had a little cold spell come back to us, so it is good that I don't have too much out there yet. I do love seeing the pop of flowers every time I walk through my front door, kind of like that little bit of spring that hints at how wonderful summer will be.
It has been so dreary with the weather and the remodel that I just couldn't resist some fresh flowers for the table. It was a really cheap mixed bouquet, but the colors are so vibrant and warm, just really love them.
Goodness, this posting has gotten long. Thank you for stopping buy for a visit and please come back again.
First, getting back to a normal routine. I am going to link up with Menu Plan Monday over at Organized Junkie. I have not really had time to create the menu plans the way I wanted, but now that the kitchen is back up and running and I have my pantry, fridge and freezer all stocked pretty well, I will be working more on that. My main obstacle is the mess I face in my sewing room slash office. I can't even find the desk, have no comfortable chair to work out of, so that will actually be my priority this week. Nothing is going to get done today, I am taking a day off for my birthday. I know, kind of silly but just being honest. Another one of my goals for this year, honesty and being more realistic in my plans. So, that being said, this is my plan for the week.
Mon. - Steak, baked potato and salad. Hubby is grilling for my birthday tonight.
Tue. - Chicken enchiladas, beans. (using left over rotisserie chicken being)
Wed. - Roast, carrots, potatoes, green beans.
Thu. - Stuffed peppers, corn casserole
Fri. - Teriyaki Chicken and rice. (this is actually Hawaiian chicken that was on sale at Costco)
Sat. - Burgers and fries.
Sun. - Ham, broccoli cheese casserole, carrots, rolls.
This week end is Valentine's which has a totally different meaning for me than others. I will share that story another time. My son and his wife are going to a marriage retreat those days so I will have the babies all day and over night as well. Miss Zebra will be gone with the church youth to winter camp those days as well. I have had Mr. M overnight, when his little sister was born, but have not had baby girl over night. It will be a rough weekend for sure, but am glad that hubby will be here and son and daughter-in-law really need a little get away.
Now...drum roll...the new kitchen. Here is the post with all the before photos. If you want to see the journey, just look back over the old post. I will start out with one photo taken before we started to show what the old kitchen originally looked like.
Now, after moving the pantry to the opposite end of the kitchen, creating more prep area, moving the fridge to the opposite wall and end of the kitchen, centering the stove on that wall a bit more, moving the dishwasher as well, I now have a wonderful new kitchen.
The original window was a total mess, it is very strange to be able to see out once again.
And, as you know I have added a few new small appliances as well. Hubby was very skeptical of the Keurig, especially since I don't drink coffee I just wanted hot cocoa quickly. Have to say, he is getting in to the whole K-cup experience though. He had to go out of town for a week, work related, and he called to tell me he wished he had taken some pods with him because his hotel room had a Keurig machine in it.
As I said, I have only had the functioning kitchen for a couple of weeks, but OH MY GOSH, WHAT A TOTAL DIFFERENCE. It really is a pure joy to work in this new kitchen, the new design flows SOOOO much better. I have to admit also, it is a lot more fun to clean up, now that I don't dread walking in it. Still have to fine tune a few things, change up a few cabinet contents as I have found that some things that I use more often than I thought are located to high to comfortably reach often. I am bound an determined that I only have to use the step stool occasionally to reach a pan or such instead of every day, which seems to happen now. I will get it figured out though.
Okay, now for a couple of other photos to share. Remember I told you about that window? Well, the original window was a double pane. The seal had deteriorated which made the glass milky between the panes. While I could still see out, it was like looking through a window that had been smeared with white paint or such.
This is a closer look at the new window. My little gnomes hanging out happy in the new window sill, my new cactus balls and now I have some colorful wind chimes hanging in front of the window to look at as well.
Speaking of plants. My front entry way is my on going new project.
Goodness, this posting has gotten long. Thank you for stopping buy for a visit and please come back again.
Jan 6, 2014
Week 6 - Kitchen Remodel
So, here we are in to week 6 of the remodel. Still about two or three weeks to go.
The neighbor surprised me while we were gone for Christmas and installed the new window. Still have to do some trim work on it but man is it nice being able to look out and see things once again. Last week we had some warmer weather during the day, so it was nice to be able to open the window for a change and let some fresh air in. Well, fresh as can be for our area. Ha Ha
We are slowly getting there. The stove in the photo has been replaced. The dishwasher is hooked up and working so I can at least wash dishes. Still have to take them to the bath tub to rinse them off. LOL The vent has been replaced as well. This past Tuesday the guy came and did the final measure for the counter tops. That paper work hit the New Year holiday, so was finalized this past Friday. I was waiting for the call from Home Depot, knew that I would have to go pay a bunch more before they could start on them. I originally paid for a color A price (A being the lowest price) and top mount sink. Decided however to go with an under mount sink, which is an additional charge. Then changed my mind several times on the color, ending up with one that was in color D price range (the most expensive group) but was on sale for the color B price, so knew that I would have to pay about $400.00 difference. Well, after he did the measure, found out my designer measured heavy, then find out that the price of the counter top has gone down even more, I ended up getting about $25.00 refunded. YIPPEE!
I had purchased a Hamilton Beach Toastation (is a toaster oven with a slotted toaster on top) thinking it would save counter space having two devices in one so to speak. It was great when I first used it, the first few times actually. Toaster slots worked well, had to do two cycles to toast a bagel, so was okay with that part. The oven part worked great the first few times, then, the door quit working and became very difficult to open or close. Best I can figure out, the brackets that move the shelf in and out as the door opens and closes was not made of metal strong enough to endure prolonged (more than 3-5 minutes) of higher heat temperature. It would warp or bend just enough to keep the door from functioning. I took it back and purchased just a toaster over. Half the price, works ten times better. Now to figure out if I am going to keep the big Faberware Toaster oven that I originally bought. It works really well, has a rotisserie function, but am having a devil of a time finding bake ware to fit in it. It is really too large for the regular toaster oven bake ware, but about a half inch short of smaller pans for a regular oven. I guess I really should take it back and get my money back, but am really wanting to try that rotisserie function first. OH MAN, would it be great to be able to cook rotisserie style chicken at home. Although, they are really cheap to buy already cooked from Costco. At under $5 bucks, can hardly buy the hen and spices for that. AND, they are sooo good.
Actually, I have several small appliances that I am waiting for my counter tops to come in and the back splash installed to determine what I will be leaving on the counters. Once I have that figured out, I will then determine where to store the rest and then possible get rid of some. I am a gadget obsessed hoarder to be sure. I have grills, waffle stick makers, processors, pressure cookers, rice cooker, steamer, I even have a slider grill that I have used twice. It works really well, as I love those little burgers, but it is heck to clean up and since I am the only one that likes them I just wait until we eat out to have them. I swore I wouldn't buy any more such appliance gadgets, but during Christmas Walmart put out there odd little things, like chocolate fountains, for customers to purchase as gifts. NO...I did not buy the fountain. Thought about it, but knew that it would sure be a bear to clean. I did however buy a doughnut maker (makes four cake doughnuts) because it seemed healthier than fried ones. But then I bought a funnel cake fryer. I will be taking it back, no one eats them around here, we are trying to cut back on fried food, but it is so cute in it's little blue size. Besides, Miss Z would probably have fun using to make up some funnel cakes during a super bowl party or something. If I ever get counter tops and sink back in the kitchen.
Oh, and we won't talk about the new deep fryer and bread maker that I bought and hid in the RV until the kitchen is finished. I know it is terribly wasteful, but I did buy them just because I wanted new stainless steel ones for my kitchen. I know, fried food, but some times a girl just has to have her fried okra and tater tots are so much better fried than baked.
We have all been sick with the crud, even the grand babies - poor things, and thought we were getting over it, had a few nice days, then BAM! it has all come back. Miss Zebra is done down with it in a huge way. I am still, after four weeks of this battle, coughing like I smoke and those coughing fits lead to little accidents which lead to a load of pants being washed each night. I am really seriously thinking about wearing a pad, if it weren't for the fact that the stupid things break me out. Bad enough during "that time" but just not wanting to add fuel to the fire so to speak.
Since I only have a partially functioning kitchen, my meal planning has been put on hold. While I can cook anything I want now, cleaning up and prep work is holding that back. Am cooking very simple things, not many pans, not a lot of prep. Hubby was sweet and has temporarily gotten me a piece of plywood over the dishwasher, so that helps some, plus we needed it to keep the dishwasher from tipping when we opened the door. I took some old shelves and have then placed around the stove, they are not very big, but it at least gives me something to work on, leave a spoon on and such.
I am still in a quandary as to where to put everything back in the cabinets. Not to mention all the Pampered Chef serving ware I went a little crazy on when it hit the clearance price. I have way too much stuff and as I posted earlier, the new cabinets are only 12 inches deep where the old ones were 15. Makes some of my platters not fit and I am having a hard time figuring out where to put plastic left over dishes. That is in the works for today, to empty a few more boxes of kitchen ware and then take what I am not using to storage for a time. You see, I have two children going in to an apartment possibly in the fall and I just can't let go of some of this stuff until I see if they will be needing it or not.
Thanks for stopping in, please come back again. If I can get myself organized, I will be posting at least once a week here. That is the goal anyway. See you next time.
I had purchased a Hamilton Beach Toastation (is a toaster oven with a slotted toaster on top) thinking it would save counter space having two devices in one so to speak. It was great when I first used it, the first few times actually. Toaster slots worked well, had to do two cycles to toast a bagel, so was okay with that part. The oven part worked great the first few times, then, the door quit working and became very difficult to open or close. Best I can figure out, the brackets that move the shelf in and out as the door opens and closes was not made of metal strong enough to endure prolonged (more than 3-5 minutes) of higher heat temperature. It would warp or bend just enough to keep the door from functioning. I took it back and purchased just a toaster over. Half the price, works ten times better. Now to figure out if I am going to keep the big Faberware Toaster oven that I originally bought. It works really well, has a rotisserie function, but am having a devil of a time finding bake ware to fit in it. It is really too large for the regular toaster oven bake ware, but about a half inch short of smaller pans for a regular oven. I guess I really should take it back and get my money back, but am really wanting to try that rotisserie function first. OH MAN, would it be great to be able to cook rotisserie style chicken at home. Although, they are really cheap to buy already cooked from Costco. At under $5 bucks, can hardly buy the hen and spices for that. AND, they are sooo good.
Actually, I have several small appliances that I am waiting for my counter tops to come in and the back splash installed to determine what I will be leaving on the counters. Once I have that figured out, I will then determine where to store the rest and then possible get rid of some. I am a gadget obsessed hoarder to be sure. I have grills, waffle stick makers, processors, pressure cookers, rice cooker, steamer, I even have a slider grill that I have used twice. It works really well, as I love those little burgers, but it is heck to clean up and since I am the only one that likes them I just wait until we eat out to have them. I swore I wouldn't buy any more such appliance gadgets, but during Christmas Walmart put out there odd little things, like chocolate fountains, for customers to purchase as gifts. NO...I did not buy the fountain. Thought about it, but knew that it would sure be a bear to clean. I did however buy a doughnut maker (makes four cake doughnuts) because it seemed healthier than fried ones. But then I bought a funnel cake fryer. I will be taking it back, no one eats them around here, we are trying to cut back on fried food, but it is so cute in it's little blue size. Besides, Miss Z would probably have fun using to make up some funnel cakes during a super bowl party or something. If I ever get counter tops and sink back in the kitchen.
Oh, and we won't talk about the new deep fryer and bread maker that I bought and hid in the RV until the kitchen is finished. I know it is terribly wasteful, but I did buy them just because I wanted new stainless steel ones for my kitchen. I know, fried food, but some times a girl just has to have her fried okra and tater tots are so much better fried than baked.
We have all been sick with the crud, even the grand babies - poor things, and thought we were getting over it, had a few nice days, then BAM! it has all come back. Miss Zebra is done down with it in a huge way. I am still, after four weeks of this battle, coughing like I smoke and those coughing fits lead to little accidents which lead to a load of pants being washed each night. I am really seriously thinking about wearing a pad, if it weren't for the fact that the stupid things break me out. Bad enough during "that time" but just not wanting to add fuel to the fire so to speak.
Since I only have a partially functioning kitchen, my meal planning has been put on hold. While I can cook anything I want now, cleaning up and prep work is holding that back. Am cooking very simple things, not many pans, not a lot of prep. Hubby was sweet and has temporarily gotten me a piece of plywood over the dishwasher, so that helps some, plus we needed it to keep the dishwasher from tipping when we opened the door. I took some old shelves and have then placed around the stove, they are not very big, but it at least gives me something to work on, leave a spoon on and such.
I am still in a quandary as to where to put everything back in the cabinets. Not to mention all the Pampered Chef serving ware I went a little crazy on when it hit the clearance price. I have way too much stuff and as I posted earlier, the new cabinets are only 12 inches deep where the old ones were 15. Makes some of my platters not fit and I am having a hard time figuring out where to put plastic left over dishes. That is in the works for today, to empty a few more boxes of kitchen ware and then take what I am not using to storage for a time. You see, I have two children going in to an apartment possibly in the fall and I just can't let go of some of this stuff until I see if they will be needing it or not.
Thanks for stopping in, please come back again. If I can get myself organized, I will be posting at least once a week here. That is the goal anyway. See you next time.
Dec 12, 2013
Week Three of the Great Kitchen Remodel
Well, week three has come and not much head way has been made. We are kind of at a stand still waiting on some things.
My appliances have all arrived.
Stove and microwave have been installed. Microwave is awesome. All kinds of pre programmed settings for snacks and a kid's menu setting (chicken nuggets, hot dogs, French fries, frozen sandwich) as well as a snack setting (nachos, chicken wings, potato skins, cheese sticks). My favorite is the soften/melt (for chocolate, butter, cream cheese) and the defrost. Of course it has a popcorn (all though all the popcorn packages state to not use the preset timing), pizza, potato and veggie (love this for frozen veggies) sensor setting. I am just glad to cook something...anything...in the kitchen once again. I have the old microwave set up in the garage, but man is it cold out there.
Stove has been very disappointing. First of all, picked this particular model because it advertised a free griddle. When it was delivered, no griddle, is a rebate you have to send in. Personally, I think rebates should be illegal. Way too much time to fill out the forms, give them all kinds of information then wait and hope that you actually get it. I am waiting on one from Kitchen aid now. Any way, back to the stove. So then, after learning I have to send in a special form from Home Depot (would have been nice to have gotten it when I bought the unit instead of an extra trip to the store to find out why I didn't get it) we found out while installing the stove last night that the inside frame was damaged on both sides.
Enough so that the door won't seal for the oven so keeping any type of even temperature is out of the question. Also, the little storage drawer will not open correctly either so it totally useless. I have taken the issue up with Home Depot store manager, who pretty much told me I was out of luck because I accepted it that way. I explained that I questioned the delivery guy about the drawer not working, he just told me it was because it wasn't level. Then I was told because it had been longer than 48 hours there wasn't much they could do. I explained that we found it with the 48 hours, but that they were already closed. He then took me to the appliance department to see if it could be repaired. I didn't say anything, but really wanted to when the store manager asked me if the stove still worked properly. He kind of changed his tune a bit when the appliance guy told him that since the door was unable to seal, because of the frame damage, the heat would escape and could possibly catch the cabinets on fire. I had not thought of that, very scary thought.
Finally, after over an hour of discussion, Maytag is sending me a new unit to replace the broken one. It will be here next week. At least then I will be able to cook, although I have no place to prepare the food, no place to wash the dishes and no place to sit down and eat the food.
We also ran in to a little time delay regarding a problem with floor tile. Had to redo and then redo again differently. Just had to wait for it to all set up before walking or moving any appliances or cabinet bases on it. So, that delayed our counter top measurement, which delayed the counter top. However, maybe it was meant to be. Here is why.
I have to have the faucet when they measure for the counter top. I had originally decided to go with a stainless steel faucet and sink. Then I found this one, then found those cabinet knobs to match. Then I found out that I could get a brown sink. So...since we had to delay the measure appointment, I took it as a sign to go ahead and get the brown sink. It cost a little bit more because the counter top people offered a free one with the installation. When you look at the big picture, it really isn't that much more money considering what I have already spent. So, now there is no way to have the new kitchen going by New Year's day, but soon after.
Now that the floor is fixed and the appliances are here, hubby can finish up the installation of the cabinets. Was waiting for the stove and dishwasher to arrive so he could see how much room he would need. Once the dishwasher gets put in place, the cabinet next to it that houses the refrigerator can then be moved in place and attached to the wall. I am looking forward to all the cabinets being finally installed so that I can start loading the cabinets.
I spent the whole day yesterday just loading the pantry. I have come down with a stupid chest cold on top of everything else. As I loaded the new pantry, expiration dates were checked and any date passed or that will expire in the next month or so was discarded. An inventory was made of all products on hand so that I can start menu planning again. Plus, I also placed a couple of empty containers in the shelves for future use. I spent a small fortune in storage containers, guess I am turning anal in my old age because I wanted all the baskets to be white, all the plastic containers to have the same color lids. Also, all the trays are the same color in each drawer, although not all the drawers are the same. In the largest drawer, I have a mesh expandable organizer for cooking utensils. In one drawer I put a bamboo expandable divider for all the silver ware. The rest of the drawers have black containers to hold the rest of my cooking utensils, knives and snacks.
Now, today, I have to pick which drawer I want to designate for foil, plastic bags, wax paper and such. Depends on how all the cookware goes, may place that stuff in a hall pantry. Now starts the task of choosing what to keep and what to get rid of. I still have plenty of cabinets, some deep drawers and such. Once hubby gets the set of bottom cabinets attached to the wall tonight, I will be able to see how many pots and pans I will be able to store. I have surfed the internet and found some great sites that suggest the essentials needed for a well stocked kitchen. I mean really, I don't need 14 skillets, 5 sets of pots and pans, 6 glass baking dishes and so forth. I really need to downsize a bit. I not only have 30 years of married life collecting kitchen ware, my Pampered Chef items and I now have what is left of my mom's kitchen ware as well. You see, that gives me about 4 sets of mixing bowls. I don't really like my metal ones, but hubby likes to eat cereal out of them for some insane reason. Then, once I get my kitchen all back together, I will be looking in to purchasing a glass front china hutch or curio cabinet to display some collectable glassware. This would be so much easier if I wasn't a border line hoarder.
Well, enough of a break. Off to see how many boxes I can empty out by loading the new cabinets. Thanks for stopping by, come back soon to see how the great remodel is going.
My appliances have all arrived.
Stove has been very disappointing. First of all, picked this particular model because it advertised a free griddle. When it was delivered, no griddle, is a rebate you have to send in. Personally, I think rebates should be illegal. Way too much time to fill out the forms, give them all kinds of information then wait and hope that you actually get it. I am waiting on one from Kitchen aid now. Any way, back to the stove. So then, after learning I have to send in a special form from Home Depot (would have been nice to have gotten it when I bought the unit instead of an extra trip to the store to find out why I didn't get it) we found out while installing the stove last night that the inside frame was damaged on both sides.
Enough so that the door won't seal for the oven so keeping any type of even temperature is out of the question. Also, the little storage drawer will not open correctly either so it totally useless. I have taken the issue up with Home Depot store manager, who pretty much told me I was out of luck because I accepted it that way. I explained that I questioned the delivery guy about the drawer not working, he just told me it was because it wasn't level. Then I was told because it had been longer than 48 hours there wasn't much they could do. I explained that we found it with the 48 hours, but that they were already closed. He then took me to the appliance department to see if it could be repaired. I didn't say anything, but really wanted to when the store manager asked me if the stove still worked properly. He kind of changed his tune a bit when the appliance guy told him that since the door was unable to seal, because of the frame damage, the heat would escape and could possibly catch the cabinets on fire. I had not thought of that, very scary thought.
Finally, after over an hour of discussion, Maytag is sending me a new unit to replace the broken one. It will be here next week. At least then I will be able to cook, although I have no place to prepare the food, no place to wash the dishes and no place to sit down and eat the food.
We also ran in to a little time delay regarding a problem with floor tile. Had to redo and then redo again differently. Just had to wait for it to all set up before walking or moving any appliances or cabinet bases on it. So, that delayed our counter top measurement, which delayed the counter top. However, maybe it was meant to be. Here is why.
I have to have the faucet when they measure for the counter top. I had originally decided to go with a stainless steel faucet and sink. Then I found this one, then found those cabinet knobs to match. Then I found out that I could get a brown sink. So...since we had to delay the measure appointment, I took it as a sign to go ahead and get the brown sink. It cost a little bit more because the counter top people offered a free one with the installation. When you look at the big picture, it really isn't that much more money considering what I have already spent. So, now there is no way to have the new kitchen going by New Year's day, but soon after.
Now that the floor is fixed and the appliances are here, hubby can finish up the installation of the cabinets. Was waiting for the stove and dishwasher to arrive so he could see how much room he would need. Once the dishwasher gets put in place, the cabinet next to it that houses the refrigerator can then be moved in place and attached to the wall. I am looking forward to all the cabinets being finally installed so that I can start loading the cabinets.
Now, today, I have to pick which drawer I want to designate for foil, plastic bags, wax paper and such. Depends on how all the cookware goes, may place that stuff in a hall pantry. Now starts the task of choosing what to keep and what to get rid of. I still have plenty of cabinets, some deep drawers and such. Once hubby gets the set of bottom cabinets attached to the wall tonight, I will be able to see how many pots and pans I will be able to store. I have surfed the internet and found some great sites that suggest the essentials needed for a well stocked kitchen. I mean really, I don't need 14 skillets, 5 sets of pots and pans, 6 glass baking dishes and so forth. I really need to downsize a bit. I not only have 30 years of married life collecting kitchen ware, my Pampered Chef items and I now have what is left of my mom's kitchen ware as well. You see, that gives me about 4 sets of mixing bowls. I don't really like my metal ones, but hubby likes to eat cereal out of them for some insane reason. Then, once I get my kitchen all back together, I will be looking in to purchasing a glass front china hutch or curio cabinet to display some collectable glassware. This would be so much easier if I wasn't a border line hoarder.
Well, enough of a break. Off to see how many boxes I can empty out by loading the new cabinets. Thanks for stopping by, come back soon to see how the great remodel is going.
Dec 9, 2013
MPM - 12/9 - 15 Week Two of Kitchen Remodel
Wow what a week. Look back over the last few post to catch up with the new kitchen remodel.
Now, for Meal Plan Monday over at Organized Junkie. I have to be honest, I have no menu plan for this week, here is why. I don't have a kitchen at the moment. I have tried to cook, really I have, even bought a fancy toaster over that is also a rotisserie cooker as well. Still trying to decide if I am going to keep it though. At any rate, the problem with cooking is not really the cooking part, it is the prep part and the fact that I would have to wash all the dishes in the bathtub which kills my back. The sink will not be hooked up until after the counter tops are installed, which is about three more weeks at this point. Which hits during the week of Christmas, so if they can't deliver by the 20th, they will have to wait until after the 30th.
However, I do have the old microwave hooked up in the garage so can use it now, which does help. My new appliances are being delivered today. Hubby promised to install the stove and microwave this evening. Also, the new fridge as well, it will need to run a while before I start putting food in there. Here are some photos of how we have progressed.
There is actually a dining room table at the other end of these boxes. It is loaded down with small appliances (can opener, coffee maker, toaster oven) absolutely no room for any prep work for a meal.
First, the cabinets all arrived. All the boxes were stacked in my dining area. What a mess trying to live around these boxes. I am just thankful that it was only for the week. Hubby was waiting for his days off. I am so thankful for his willingness to be my labor and for him to have the skills to be my labor. He has some installing of appliances, repair to floor tiles and paint touch up yet, but actually for the most part he is finished until the counter top is installed (installation was included in the price) which thankfully, Home Depot was having a sale on.
And, hubby decided to let me know how he felt about my taking a picture and the labor he is doing.
I would be more than happy to help, if I just knew what to do and how. AND...if he would let me.
Hubby was hard at work Saturday morning, putting doors back on. Notice the space between the wall and the cabinets? They listed it as a 3in. space, added in a filler piece. This just shows that they do not look at these computer generated design diagrams (the designers turn in a set for each customer's job) all that closely, because there is not 3 inches of space left so hubby is having to cut down the filler board. There is one other wall that the same thing happened with. Actually, the bottom set of cabinets I just told hubby to leave the filler out completely. There is such a narrow amount of space left that we just moved the cabinets all the way to one end and just left a little space between the cabinet and the doorway. The counter top will still come all the way to end so it won't be noticeable at all.
So, how many people does it take to work on a sink base? Several when you find out your home's wall is bowed. Actually, the man in the yellow is our next door neighbor, he is a construction contractor and kitchens and bathrooms are what he does for a living. We were so very thankful that he gave up a little of his time and popped over to show hubby some pointers and help get through some rough spots.
My daughter's cat is checking it all out. You would think that with two cats in the house there would be no mice. Not so, we have one that the remodel forced to relocate, unfortunately it is in the wall of our bedroom and making it's presence known at all hours during the night and early morning. I have no idea how we will be able to get rid of the thing.
Measuring to cut out the back of the cabinet for access to the plumbing and electrical outlets to install the sink, dishwasher, garbage disposal and water line for refrigerator.
I think it is coming along so nicely. Now, today, I get to position the cabinet shelves where I want and can start loading the food in the new pantry and what ever I am locating in the upper cabinets as well.
I plan to go to Home Depot this afternoon and see if I can exchange the faucet I bought for a different that I think will look much nicer with the over all design. I have to have the faucet here tomorrow when they measure for the counter tops, so if they don't have it in stock I will just keep the one I bought. I even have decided on the knobs that I will be putting on the cabinets and have already purchased all the outlet plate covers as well. Was very lucky there as I found some that totally match the wall color and the glass tile for the backsplash which all matches the counter top I ended up going with.
Check back in a few weeks for the finished kitchen. This is the old fridge, but I just love the new design of the kitchen. You can check older postings for the before photos. Yes, once we get the floor repaired, some paint touch ups, the lights put back, new appliances installed, the counter tops and back splash all installed. NEW KITCHEN will be done. I am hoping to christen the new kitchen with New Year's Day dinner. Wish me luck.
Now, for Meal Plan Monday over at Organized Junkie. I have to be honest, I have no menu plan for this week, here is why. I don't have a kitchen at the moment. I have tried to cook, really I have, even bought a fancy toaster over that is also a rotisserie cooker as well. Still trying to decide if I am going to keep it though. At any rate, the problem with cooking is not really the cooking part, it is the prep part and the fact that I would have to wash all the dishes in the bathtub which kills my back. The sink will not be hooked up until after the counter tops are installed, which is about three more weeks at this point. Which hits during the week of Christmas, so if they can't deliver by the 20th, they will have to wait until after the 30th.
However, I do have the old microwave hooked up in the garage so can use it now, which does help. My new appliances are being delivered today. Hubby promised to install the stove and microwave this evening. Also, the new fridge as well, it will need to run a while before I start putting food in there. Here are some photos of how we have progressed.
I would be more than happy to help, if I just knew what to do and how. AND...if he would let me.
I plan to go to Home Depot this afternoon and see if I can exchange the faucet I bought for a different that I think will look much nicer with the over all design. I have to have the faucet here tomorrow when they measure for the counter tops, so if they don't have it in stock I will just keep the one I bought. I even have decided on the knobs that I will be putting on the cabinets and have already purchased all the outlet plate covers as well. Was very lucky there as I found some that totally match the wall color and the glass tile for the backsplash which all matches the counter top I ended up going with.
Check back in a few weeks for the finished kitchen. This is the old fridge, but I just love the new design of the kitchen. You can check older postings for the before photos. Yes, once we get the floor repaired, some paint touch ups, the lights put back, new appliances installed, the counter tops and back splash all installed. NEW KITCHEN will be done. I am hoping to christen the new kitchen with New Year's Day dinner. Wish me luck.
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