How to Clean Stainless Steel With Olive Oil & Vinegar When you bought your beautiful stainless steel appliances, the helpful salesperson probably didn't mention that within minutes of installation they would look like they'd been licked by a hound dog and wiped off with a piece of buttered toast. Well you can have bright and shiny stainless steel in your kitchen - without the overpriced stainless steel cleaner you'll find in stores. First, pour a little olive oil on a rag. Wipe the stainless steel surface all over with the oil. You'll be amazed at how it effortlessly lifts fingerprints and shines your appliances. Then dampen another rag with white vinegar and rub over it again. This method not only cleans and shines your stainless steel, but it will keep it smudge free for … [Read more...]
8 Tips and Tricks to Organize Your Pantry
Pantries are great, but it can be tough to keep a pantry organized. It is easy to pile up extra food that you think you may need someday and then forget what you already have because of the clutter. You may not have a separate pantry that was built with the house or apartment and you may be using a small cabinet or have a small area to house your food products. Whatever your situation, you can have a organized pantry area that works for you and your family. If you follow my tips to organize your pantry you will be well on your way to having an organized pantry that can serve the whole family. Purge before you start. Get rid of old cans and expired food. Group like items together. Create sections. (Ex. Cereals, Breakfast, Condiments, etc.) Take items out of bulky boxes … [Read more...]
A Thanksgiving Cooking Checklist
By now you should have your Thanksgiving plans made. Are you hosting? If you are, you need to start planning now. What you need to do now! Put together your meal plan. If you don't have a meal plan in place, I have you covered and have put a Thanksgiving meal plan together for you. Ensure that your meal plan will work. Do you have enough space in your oven for more than one item? Do you need multiple stove-top burners at the same time? You may need to tweak your menu accordingly. Confirm your guest list. Order or purchase your turkey. If you have a smaller oven, make sure the turkey is going to fit. Order flowers if you don't want to risk there being very little to choose from the day before. Check your seating. Do you need to rent or borrow a table and chairs? 4-7 … [Read more...]
5 Most Adorable Themed Bento Lunches
Do you Bento? Bento" originates from the Southern Song Dynasty slang term 便當 (pinyin: biàndāng), meaning "convenient" or "convenience." - source Wikipedia Over the past couple of the years Bento lunches have been rapidly gaining popularity here in the States; you can even buy an entire 'how to bento' book on Amazon called; Yum-Yum Bento Box. I must admit that I'm becoming increasingly fond of Bento - for as long as my daughter has been eating 'big girl' lunches, I've used cookie cutters to make her sandwiches and decorated her plates and lunch boxes with fruits and veggies. Now that she's older, I've been wanting to get more creative. While searching for inspiration, I've stumbled across some amazingly adorable and creative Bento - these are my 5 favorite Themed Bento Lunches from … [Read more...]
Fall Decorating for your Kitchen
Like most Moms, whether you stay at home or work outside the home, we spend lots of time in the kitchen. Surrounding ourselves with beautiful things, makes your time in the kitchen, a little easier. Using what you have on hand, is one of the best ways to decorate on a budget. I recently used several vases and candlesticks to decorate our Buffet for Fall. Also, using your collections to decorate with, and bringing similar items together, makes a statement. Here I used some of my cookie cutters, Fall themed, to fill the wooden box. And in the vase, I simply added cinnamon sticks and potpourri that had nuts and dried apples in it. The cookie cutters in the wooden box are not only a fun display, it's also functional having them close and easy to get to saves time and inspires me to … [Read more...]
Easy, Waste Free Lunch Solutions
The backpacks are hung by the front door with care. New shoes are all nestled on the mud room floor. And visions of free time dance in your head. Yet, packing a school lunch that’s both healthy and waste free can often feel like a Christmas miracle. With a few simple changes, packing a lunch can be simple, inexpensive and green. Buy Bulk Single-serve packages are colorful, convenient and so tempting – but create unnecessary waste for our landfills. Choose larger packages you can divvy up as needed. Skip the tiny packages of crackers & pretzels, which are expensive to begin with, and go with a full-size bag to divide amongst your kids or use throughout the week. Reusable Containers There are a variety of kitchen storage option that will work for lunches. The key to actually using … [Read more...]
