Dec 02 2008
These absolutely kill me. How funny are these cookie cutters? I so need a set, though I am pretty sure I could just do this myself. But be sure and visit the site that sells these and read their funny little “blurb” about them.
Dec 01 2008
As I’ve mentioned in previous blogs, I love baking cookies for the holidays. This year we have decided that we want to try out a great Gingerbread cookie recipe I have, and make actual Gingerbread Cookie men and women this year. The recipe can be used for gingerbread houses or gingerbread people, but works better for cookie cutter shapes because it is a moister, softer cookie. So delicious.
We have been using the same plastic cookie cutters for years, but when I went through our huge stash (we seriously have over 250 or so cookie cutters) I only found ONE gingerbread man. While I have no problem making other shapes (we have tons of Christmas ones) we really want to make gingerbread men and women, and we cannot do that with five kids and one cookie cutter. And so I had to set out to find some cute Gingerbread cookie cutters. Let me just say, they aren’t ALL cute. And the prices for some are ridiculous. But here are my favorites:
Aug 31 2008
Many people actually own conversion charts to make preparing meals easier. Whether you want to half the recipe, or double the recipe, conversion charts simply make cooking easier.
Have you seen Online Conversions? I love this site. It has conversions for everything, but their cooking area is great offering a way to not only convert standard sizes, but can sizes as well. In addition, it offers weight, volume and even oven temperature conversion to make things much easier, especially when a recipe comes from somewhere besides your home country. I love this site the most for conversions.
In addition to online conversions as a source for cooking conversion charts, there is also Convert Me which is a great site but has popups that annoy the heck out of me. It is accurate and helpful and has much more to offer than the first site if you can get past the annoyance.
Of course, I don’t like to stop what I’m doing when I am working in the kitchen, so I purchased a conversion chart that is magnetic and sticks to the side of my fridge. I love it. I got one free a few months back from a business in my junk mail. It was strange, but it has a few conversions the other chart doesn’t have, but the one I bought has much more.
Do you have a conversion chart?
Jun 16 2008
My crockpot is often my life savor in the summer months. It’s just too hot to turn on the oven or do any stovetop cooking. So the crockpot (also known as a slow cooker) is the appliance I turn to. Of course I also love to grill, but for those days I don’t feel like doing much of anything, the slow cooker wins out everytime. Here are my families favorite crockpot recipes that can be made any time of year.
Coca−Cola Pot Roast
3 lbs. Beef
2 Tbs. Oil
1 can Tomatoes
1 c. Coca−Cola
1 onion, chopped
1 pkg. spaghetti sauce mix (look where you find packets of gravy mix, etc.)
1 1/2 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. Garlic salt
Place beef into crockpot. In a bowl, add remaining ingredients, stir well. Pour over meat. Cover; and cook for 4-6 hours on high, 8-10 hours on low.
Easy Enchilladas
1 lb. Hamburger
1 Onion, chopped
4 1/2 oz. chopped chilies
1 can enchilada sauce (choose flavor to your taste - we use mild)
1 can of golden mushroom soup
1 can cheddar cheese soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of celery soup
1 package tortilla chips
Brown hamburger and chopped onion in a skillet. When browned, pour off grease. Put all remaining ingredients in
crock pot except the tortilla chips. Mix and cook low 6-8 hours. Add Tortilla chips and stir. Replace lid and allow to cook an additional 15 minutes.
Ham and Potatoes
10 ham slices
10 med. potatoes, thinly sliced
1 c. cheddar cheese, shredded
2 onions, thinly sliced
1 can cream of mushroom soup
Paprika
Salt and pepper to taste
In a crockpot put half of ham, half of potatoes, and half of onions in crockpot. Sprinkle with salt and
pepper, and then add some grated cheese. Repeat with remaining half - ham, potatoes, onions, and then add undiluted cream of mushroom soup over the top. Sprinkle with paprika. Cover and cook on low 8 to 10 hours. (High:
4-5 hours).
Lemon Crockpot Chicken
1 chicken, whole
1 tsp. Oregano
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbs. butter
1/4 c. water
3 Tbs. lemon juice
salt and pepper, to taste.
Wash chicken and pat dry. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Sprinkle 1/2 of the oregano and
1/2 of the garlic inside the cavity of the chicken. Melt butter in large frying pan. Brown chicken on all
sides. Transfer to crock pot. Sprinkle with remaining oregano and garlic. Add water to
fry pan, stir to loosen brown bits. Pour into crock pot. Cover. Cook on LOW
8 hours. Add lemon juice in the last hour of cooking.
Jun 13 2008
Thought I’d real quick jot a few words about the Magic Bullet. While it seems cool, it might not be worth the money for what you want it for. Honestly, I could end the product review here, and call it that - not real helpful though is it? Or real fair to the poor product?
So here is a bit more on the scoop and how I feel.
At first glance, it looks like a useful handy gadget and rather plainly put it is. And I looooove gadgets. Especially if they are designed to make my life easier. This one is not exactly easier, though it can be useful.
Unless you are single, which some people are, this little gadget is a hard sell - you can make things individually and that’s about it - great for singles. When you have a family of four, five (or seven in our case) it is not a very realistic item for the kitchen. It reminds me of those single serve coffee makers. I’d be standing at the coffee maker the whole freakin’ day if I had to make cup by cup.
Another interesting point I found - the one I was playing around with testing, worked well, and seemed made of quality materials. However, I know at least a half dozen people who have owned one who said theirs broke or fried. That seemed weird to me because I put it through a lot of tests including accidentally dropping it at one point (hey my hands were slippery) and it is still doing what it is supposed to do to date.
So here is my final verdict: The Magic Bullet is not a practical smoothie or mixed drink maker. Making individual servings is a waste of time. However, if you want something that quickly chops, dices, etc…it works really well for that and typically holds what you need it to hold. Would I recommend it? Yes if you can find it for cheap. If you have to pay the full $80 retail price - forget it. Buy a blender!
May 20 2008
There are a few things that every kitchen should have, that will make cooking easier. Not all appliances mentioned are necessary, as it will differ in the type of cooking/baking or other kitchen preparations you do. However, no matter which ones you elect to have, or not have - they are all helpful and serve a purpose in the kitchen.
Crockpot - This is a must for those that look to an appliance that does a lot of work with not a lot of effort. It is easy to drop all of the ingredients into a Crockpot, turn it on and leave for the day. Coming home to a sweet smelling meal has never been better. Crockpots are more typically used in the winter, but should definitely be considered in the summer. Not having to turn on the oven, means a much cooler kitchen while a family can still enjoy a hot home cooked meal.
Blender - A blender is useful for many things. Not only is it a good method for blending/mixing everything from drinks to cake batter, it can even chop veggies if the blender comes with that feature. It is important to look for a blender that has multi-functions to enable the chef to prepare more meals using this appliance. Multi-speeds are a must, interchangeable blades are a perk.
Oven/Stovetop - No kitchen would be complete without an oven and range. Most items are cooked using one of these two items, and cooking meals will be much more difficult without one. A stove top can hold up to four different items cooking at once, while an oven with multi-level racks can hold between two to four, depending on the size of the pan or dish inside.
Coffee Maker - This is an optional item that doesn’t necessarily fit within all kitchens. Drinking coffee is not a necessity to owning one, however a household that drinks coffee is more apt to have one. A coffee pot can boil water quickly, can create coffee OR tea, or can help brew coffee for a recipe. Many baked items call for coffee as an ingredient and having an inexpensive coffee maker will make this much easier to do.
Mixer - Mixer’s come in many styles. Some come with a bowl which makes mixing easier, but these can be pretty expensive. The perk of a bowl style mixer is that it can be turned on and left while other meal preparations are being made, all the while it is doing its job of mixing whatever is in the bowl. Having a hand mixer is equally as good, anything that makes mixing a bit quicker is better than trying to stir everything by hand.
Microwave - Microwaves are great. They can reheat leftovers, thaw frozen food and cook meals all by themselves. When it is time to purchase a microwave oven, it is important to look for a large capacity microwave, so that a single plate or larger can fit inside. This might be one of the most useful items in a kitchen.
Toaster Oven - A regular pop up toaster is great for a kitchen, but a toaster oven is a much better alternative. Smaller items can be cooked quickly inside a toaster oven and if a large meal is being prepared there is much less cooking time with this item.
There are about a dozen more appliances that would make kitchen duty a much easier job, but this is a good list to get started with. Especially if there is an interest in freezer cooking. These items all make a once a month cooking session a bit easier to get through.
May 19 2008
Aside from my scrapbooking room (sorry it’s my favorite), the other place I love to spend loads of time in is my kitchen. I love to cook and bake and often you can find me coming up with my own meals from things I have on hand, making my own recipes. I love to design recipes, but for a long time it was fairly difficult. Why? Because there were appliances and utensils and other items that my kitchen was lacking. Now I have everything I need to create any meal I want.
Pots
I would think that most of you already know that this is important. You need to have several different sizes. Usually places like Wal-mart and Target sell large sets that have everything you would need. We purchased a new set several years back that came with a small skillet, a large skillet, a small, medium and large pot and a stock pot. The only thing we had to purchase was a LARGER skillet. You might also enjoy having more than one large pot/pan for sauces, and other items.
Pans (Bakeware)
Another must have item and another item that sells in sets. Usually the sets don’t come with everything you need though, so keep that in mind when looking. Bakeware pans that are good to have include a medium sized cookie sheet, a larger cookie sheet, a 12 cup muffin pan, a 6 cup muffin pan, a sheet cake pan, two circle pans, a loaf pan and a pizza sheet. Many of these items are available in silicone and glass.
Corning Ware
Probably one of my favorite sets. I got mine at Wal-mart I believe, but it is available all over the place. These are the white bake and serve style pieces with the glass lids. A very popular item because not only can you bake the food right in the dish, but they are pretty enough to serve out of, and pop the lid back on and you can go right into the refrigerator after dinner.
Pyrex Set
I got my Pyrex set at Bed, Bath and Beyond several years back. I believe it was about $30 and it came with an 8″x8″ baking dish, a 9″x13″ baking dish, a loaf baking dish, a measuring cup, and several sizes of bowls. Pyrex is all glass and is a wonderful set to have for any meal preparation.
These items are the standard stove-top and oven cookware pieces. You can add whatever you would like to them. I do a lot of baking for children so I tend to have some shaped muffin pans and cake pans too.
Tomorrow we will discuss utensils that are important to have in your kitchen.
