Kitchen Organization Goals

Yo folks, iHeart Organizing is doing a monthly organization challenge and February is kitchen month. Now I am not usually a participator, it's just not my thing, but I do love me some organization and I thought perhaps, just maybe you would want to see what I come up with. So children's attitudes permitting here is what I hope to accomplish this month.

My kitchen organization goals:

1. Create a lunch prep station for my Beloved.
I want to move all of his lunch needs to one location making sack lunch prep uber easy. Here are a few of my inspirations.

For the cupboards:

ApartmentTherapy

 For the Fridge:

iHeartOrganizing

I have a bit of a start on this, but they are on opposite sides of the kitchen. That bugs me.

For the cupboard:

For in the Fridge:

In this box I keep lunch meat, sliced cheese, carrots, sting cheese and the small containers are for ranch, but this week they have fudge inside :). I haven't put the ranch ones in yet, but I will. I try to restock this after I grocery shop but sometimes it gets a little neglected. 

I would like to find storage on the fridge side of the kitchen for lunch prep. I have my eye on two drawers on that side. They currently house pasta and baking goods. I think the pasta could fit on the shelf that currently houses the snacks but I may need to get creative about the baking goods. I like things near where they are used but I can't fit everything on the stove/oven side of the kitchen.

2. Spice Storage

This is an on going issue for me. And one that I think if I can solve I might have a home for the aforementioned baking goods.

I previously housed my spices on a double tiered lazy susan in the cupboard to the right of the microwave. However, I decided that my cookbooks would do better there and so moved my spices to a drawer. I  labeled the tops of the jars and placed them in. I don't have photographic proof of this because as the spices were used the containers they came in were tossed and I often forgot to save the lid for the new container. Now when I need a spice I spend several seconds, sometimes minutes, searching the drawer for the one that I need.

Here are some of my inspirations for this project.

iHeart Organizing

Raising up Rubies

I've been thinking for some time that I need to go to universal containers but this scares me. Mainly because I sometimes buy a small container of a spice and other times a large container and what do I do if there is excess spice? I don't have room to store excess spice! And I keep a LARGE stash of spices, at least large compared with what I see in blogland cupboard photos.

Here is my spice drawer in it's current state of MESS:

My other concern with universal containers is they have to be easy to obtain that way if I buy something out of the ordinary it's not hard to maintain the cohesive look of the space.

3. Organize Freezer and Maintain an Inventory List

I have a confession, I have been coveting. . . for sometime now. . . I have coveted this freezer:

iHeart Organizing . . . yes again!
I can't get enough. It's become a disease. . . perhaps a disease of the heart? Probably just in my head though.

Wouldn't it be lovely to open your freezer and see this loveliness staring back at you? I've tried a variation but my boxes weren't large enough and they just over flowed and now I am stuck with this:

We have loads of frozen berries, vegetables, meat, breads, goodies and msg laden frozen foods for lazy days. Oh hey I think I just came up with my categories!

This? . . . well this doesn't bother me. Actually I love this! This is a freezer FULL of beef! It's just a little baby freezer, but when it's full it means I don't have to think to put beef on the grocery list. If I need it, it's probably in there. And I've re-organized it since this picture was taken. We had to use a bit before I could make each category easily accessible. Mmmmmm beef.

As for that inventory list. I did this once upon a time when I had more random items in the chest freezer. Now that it is almost strictly beef storage I fell out of the habit. So last night I defrosted some ground beef and seasoned up some taco meat only to find as I stowed the leftovers in the freezer, that there was a bag already in there! Seasoned and everything all I would have needed to do was thaw and reheat. Blast! Foiled again by my lack of a list. Well That Ends TODAY. . . well not literally today, but when I get around to the freezer project that problem is history.

Creative Organizing

I found this free printable and it's one idea.

I used to have a small dry erase board propped up next to the freezer and I kept that updated but that area is getting a little busy with my cleaning schedule, grocery list and hand towel so. . . this one is going to take some think tank juice to figure out. Perhaps I could place it under my grocery list on the clip board.

Or perhaps inside my household binder or the recipe one. . . . hmm something to ponder. (No, Aunt D., I will not start a whole new binder for this list . . . I don't think.)

~And So That's What She Did.

On The Quiet Side of The House

Today I fulfilled one of my lifelong desires. I canned peaches.

I have wanted to do some canning for quite a while now but not until we spent an inspiring weekend in Walla Walla did I finally decide to take on this daunting task.

My children were blissful little angels while mommy was completely consumed with all things peaches. . . at least that's what I thought. Then I turned around. . . 

Oh well at least they were quiet. 

We picked up all the toys from the living and dinning rooms, put them into the playroom and shut the door and voila! Clean house!

 The girls played baby sitter on the back porch for the rest of the day. 

Either that or they ate sand from the sand box. 

Like I said they were quiet.

 

~And So That's What She Did.

Freezing Up Some Food

This morning I mopped up a lake in our dinning room, my Beloved made the coffee and I was tired of eggs and toast. I didn't know what else to make. Then I remembered two things, a package of sausage in the fridge and a recipe my friend Suzanne gave me. So this morning I whipped up 30 of these little delightful breakfast biscuit muffins.

They are great, easy to grab breakfasts, they freeze well and after a quick zap in the microwave they are ready to go. Great for us and great for my Beloved as he dashes out the door in the morning mere moments after his alarm buzzes.

This got me thinking, I am in the freezing food mood. Last week I made 59 tamales and froze most of them. We have a chicken in the freezer. And now I am contemplating freezing some macaroni and cheese . . .oooh I should bake it in the muffin tin for easy portions. Also I was thinking that since we have a little taco meat leftover that will probably not be eaten in time I should make some muffin tacos or pizzas or something like that.

*After writing this and before posting it my Beloved brought home a flat of FRESH strawberries. These are the sweetest strawberries I have ever tasted, to my memory. I have half of them in the freezer and I might make freezer jam with the other half if there is enough.

What recipes do you freeze? What are your go-to recipes for quick dinners? Feel free to link up with a recipe on your blog (Let me be honest, I don't know how to do that but it sounds good. So if you know how, please feel free) 

Speaking of food have you ever made one of these?

It's a German Pancake I got the recipe here. it is delightful, although I doubled the recipe and added a few minutes cooking time because the first time I made it, it was scarcely enough for 4 people.

Here is the recipe from Suzanne's kitchen:

Breakfast Muffins

1 tube refrigerated biscuits

1/4 lb. sausage browned & drained

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

5 eggs

1/2 cup milk

1/2 tsp. salt

Shape biscuits with fingers in bottom and up sides of greased muffin cups. Divide sausage and cheese among the cups. Beat eggs, milk and salt. Pour over cheese. Bake @350 for 20-25 minutes or until the eggs are set. Makes 10 muffins.

***I also use bacon or little smokies etc. for meat.***

Hope you enjoy this recipe with your family.

I'm so irritated that I forgot about this picture of Ballerina with "Dora's last egg". So here it is.

~And So That's What She Did.

A Week of Summer in Spring

This last week the weather seemed more like summer than spring. It was De-lightful!

I can't wait for summer schedule. We eat breakfast, the girls get dressed, we have worship and they spend the rest of the morning outside until lunch. Which gives me incentive to do yard work. Even if it is just weeding one flower bed.

After lunch if there is time they head back outside for a half hour or so and then it's down for naps, right during the heat of the day. I stay in and clean while they nap and after naps, you guessed it back outside they go. I love it. The house stays a bit cleaner. . . well not cleaner but less cluttered.

This past weekend I finally managed to make the breakfast I have been planning since mid-winter. Huevos Rancheros (recipe to follow) and Pina Coladas on the back porch. My Beloved was very happy with this choice. I'm on the look out for some umbrellas for our drinks. I am pretty sure that Party City will have them if Winco doesn't.

After breakfast and worship the girls begged to put on their swim suits and play in the sprinkler.

My Beloved just purchased a new spray nozzle with something like 7 settings so they had fun playing with that.

This is how we do a water slide!

"Oh no, slides wet!" Beloise doesn't care for being sprayed with a hose. I don't either. I'm planning on picking up a little swimming pool this weekend or next.

Ballerina's art is getting better all the time. 

This is one of the pictures she drew recently. Things at least remotely resemble what they are supposed to be.

She's also become rather creative with her block towers.

Cheater Huevos Rancheros

When I don't have much time but want a taste of Mexico to remind me of that trip we took before we had kids, this is my go to recipe. Oh how I miss the Coco Bar.

Per person:
2 eggs
1 corn tortilla
shredded cheese
salsa
fresh cilantro, if you've got it.

• Heat canola oil in a small frying pan for your corn tortillas. Place corn tortillas in hot oil for about 30 seconds per side just to warm them, give them a tasty flavor and make them a little more pliable. 
• Fry your eggs as desired in a separate pan.
• Place a warmed corn tortilla on a plate top it with some cheese, your eggs, more cheese and some salsa.

See why this is the cheater version. . .

~And So That's What She Did.

My 10 Favorite Things Countdown: Number 10

Here we are 10 posts before the big 1-0-0! The truth of the matter is, I thought I was at 100 last week so I saved my post about my bedroom and spoke to a friend about doing a give-away of her beautiful creations and then realized that I was actually at 90. So I are trying to catch up so I can get to the win-it-before-anyone-can-buy-it giveaway post.
I am endeavoring to create two posts a day, each about one of my favorite things. Some will be simple giveaways, some just informative, such as recipes, pictures, Bible verses etc. So here's hoping I can keep up with this.

The first thing I would like to share with you here is. . . . . drum roll . . . .

Paula Dean's The Ultimate Lady's Macaroni and Cheese Recipe. 

I LOVE this recipe, my girls LOVE this recipe and if I load the top with bacon my Beloved LOVES this recipe.

Ingredients

• 2 cups dried elbow macaroni (4 cups cooked)
• 1/3 cup grated Cheddar
• 1/3 cup grated Swiss
• 1/3 cup grated Jack
• 1/3 cup grated colby
• 1/3 cup grated Muenster
• 1/3 cup grated Gouda
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 4 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 cup milk
• Nonstick spray

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large pot, bring water to boil. Season water with salt and cook macaroni until al dente, about 10 minutes. Drain pasta and place in a large bowl and while pasta is still hot add all the cheese. In a separate medium bowl, using a whisk, combine the sour cream, butter, eggs, salt, pepper, and milk and add to the macaroni mixture. Spray casserole dish with nonstick and pour macaroni mixture into the dish. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes or until golden brown. Top with additional cheese, if desired.

Yummy, yummy, yummy!!

~And So That's What She Did.

Hawaii Trip-Days 4&5 Plus Tortilla Recipe

I forgot this all important picture from the night of day 3. After Nickle came home from his day of work at the dive shop, we went to a delicious local fast foodery, L&L. When we got back to the property it had cooled off just enough for a fire. The guys built a fire while I sat and watched. . . uh supervised. After the fire was roaring Nickle grabbed his guitar and my Beloved grabbed a drum.

I will always love the memories of these little concerts we had most nights. Nickle is a fantastic musician, and he is a darn good song writer too. I'm still humming the two songs he wrote that he played for us.

Day 4

This was undoubtedly one of the "perfect vacation days". Nickle took us to a fantastic beach. To get there you have to hike through one field of lava rock, over one beautiful beach, through a second field of lava rock, before you reach the most ideal beach I have ever seen in my life.

Up till now my Beloved and I had been commenting that we weren't particularly wowed by Hawai'i. The sea turtles were awesome but nothing else was a take-your-breath-away-awesome-vacation moment. We were having a great time but that had more to do with the company than the location. That is until we came to Makalawena (w is pronounced as a v. a's as in ah).

The sand on this beach, as my Beloved said, is like walking on powdered sugar. I also attribute the less salty water to the sand being so fine. I don't know if that makes sense. It seemed to me that the water in this location was not near as salty as the other beaches we went to. My skin is a little extra sensitive to salt water.

Since you have to do some walking not many people come here. Which made it that much more relaxing. I sunbathed on the beach until I got nice and hot, before going into the water with snorkel gear.

The snorkeling at this beach is nice, there are some huge, colorful fish, and some small near translucent ones. But mostly we just relaxed and rode the waves in and out, a "sport" that Nickle invented called Listing. So relaxing!

Although one man came and asked me if they were doing? Apparently he thought they were either dead of finding pearls.

I took a few pictures on our hike back this is the first lava field we hiked over. This is not a fantastic picture of us, but I wanted you to see the desolation we hiked over to get to the beauty of the beach.

Nickle laden with our dinner and his guitar.

The first beach we hiked over

Beautiful but a little more rocky than Makalawena.

On our way back we stopped at another part of the beach that had BBQ pits. We had purchased some marinated chicken earlier and Nickle seasoned and grilled it up for us.

Apparently people come alone and arrange the coral on the lava rock to say things, like graffiti but more socially acceptable.

Just as our food was ready, the sun set.

Day 5

Nickle had a grand plan for the fifth day of our vacation. We were to go to Pololu, at the top of the island I believe, and hike down to the beach. First we had to find a beach so we could get wet.

This picture sums up the whole of our vacation. I call it "Where's The Next Beach." It seems most mornings started with the guys saying this phrase in one way or another.

My Beloved loves the water. There is one thing I can always count on when we go to the beach, he will never lay on his towel. Which means that if I don't lay his towel out, I will have a sand free towel to dry off with if I get into the water. He doesn't mind, he prefers to air dry anyway. 

We ended up dipping in at Kapuna.

There is a gorgeous hotel right on the beach there (that I didn't take a picture of). I decided that if we ever come back in a more tourist capacity that I want to stay there. The beach is beautiful, not as beautiful as Makalawena. It's easy access, so there are more people, but the sand is white and not too dirty. The water is beautiful but a little more salty than Makalwena. We swam for a bit layed in the sun, washed up in the showers and then headed on our way.

Most of our pictures turn out like this. I can't tell you how many pictures I have where I look exactly the same and my Beloved is making some terrible face. I have often taken twenty or more pictures at a time just to get one good one.

We stopped at a town called Hawi (once again w as a v). They had a great little shop there called As Hawi Turns. There were several things I wish I would have bought there. The guys went across the street to this little shop, I don't remember the name. They have a great bathroom. I realize this is a strange thing to notice but when you are using a composting toilet and showering from a garden hose you notice these things :). One wall of the bathroom was chalk board so you could sign it or write a little something if you so desired.

Nickle the Barbarian.

We made it to Pololu a little later than planned and since we were wanting to make tacos for dinner with home-made tortillas we decided not to go on much of a hike.

We went down the path a little ways and decided this is definitely a place we want to come back to with more of the day ahead of us to explore. But it will have to wait for another trip since we didn't make it back to it this time.

The view from the path is breathtaking.

We got back to the property after dark but with the help of a few lamps we had no problem making our tacos. My Beloved built a grand fire, Nickle seasoned up a beautiful slab of beef and I showed Nickle how to make home-made tortillas so that he can live a richer life :). All in all we made some delicious tacos/ burritos to complete perfect vacation day number 2.

And, so you too can have a richer life, here is my recipe:

Tortillas

2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
3/4 cup warm water

*It is very important that your water be warm.

Mix your dry ingredients and then add your shortening once that is mixed throughout add the water and mix again. Knead it for about 4-6 minutes until it is smooth. divide into 8 even balls and cover with a towel to rest for 20 minutes. Heat a cast iron or whatever skillet on the stove over medium high heat. Roll out your tortillas till they are about 1/8 inch thick. cook them in your skillet one at a time wait for the bubbles to form and grow a bit, flip the tortilla and give it another 30 seconds to a minute longer pressing the bubbles down gently with a spatula to pass the time :). Remove from heat and let cool, only slightly, on a wire rack or if you are going to eat right away toss them in your tortilla warmer. Or onto one plate and then turn a second plate upside down on top of it to keep it warm, if you don't have a tortilla warmer.

Enjoy!

~And So That's What She Did.