In The Kitchen--Meme

I will not hide that I completely stole this meme from my friend Zoanna, who stole it from one of her friends. Wanna' steal it from me? Go right ahead! :-)

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1. My favorite and cheapest kitchen gadget...
I recently posted on my favorite finds from ALDI's, so aside from my 2 Qt. batter/measuring bowl, I'd have to say my 1-3/8" cookie dough scoop. It's great for uniform-sized cookies (especially sticky batter) mini meatballs, and much more.

2. Something I should use, but don't...
Okay, it's real confession time: my Polish china.

It's a source of contention between the hubby and I.

See, when we got married the handy-dandy scanner gun registering thing wasn't as much the norm as it is now. Or maybe we were just ignorant of such things. So aside from our silverware, we didn't really pick out anything. Just gave a list of general things we needed to my mom and she gave suggestions as people RSVPed. And it worked out perfectly...almost.

My husband's aunt and uncle said they would buy us a full set of Polish china (they actually carried the boxes onto the plane) and asked for color/style preferences. Pete told them blue and gold instead of blue and silver. And I am a silver girl...never gold. Jewelry, household fixtures, you name it--I like it silver.

It's a silly thing I know, they went to such lengths to bless us, and for my hubby it was an honest mistake. I've forgiven him and I do use the plates--occasionally. I desperately wish the whole silver/gold clashing thing didn't grate on my nerves so much.

Now, the coffee/tea china set from his aunt in Vienna is another story completely! Though I didn't pick that out either, I TOTALLY would have chosen that set!




3. I LOVE my...
White Corelle. We started out married life with dishes from IKEA, and I loved them. They were simple, white, with plain blue petalled flowers around the rim. But they got chipped and cracked into oblivion.

I like the idea of plain white dishes. You can change your linens and table decor to fit anything that way. And when it comes to durability yet still lightweight, you can't beat Corelle. I've now accumulated a nice set of them thanks to a few birthdays.

4. What gets disorganized the most is...

Hmmmmm. Leftover container cabinet or my computer desk? It's a toss-up.

I'm going to go with the computer desk. (This post was good incentive to clean that space up! I give it a week.)

It's my 2' square command center. It's my work space and I can get a little territorial about it.

It's where I mealplan because my laptop (and allrecipes.com) is there, my cookbooks are in the cupboard above. It's where I blog, schedule appointments, keep our family calendar, listen to music, Skype the hubby, keep track of library items, and catch a missed episode of The Amazing Race or Blue Bloods on Hulu.



The person who hijacks my command center most frequently? Do I really need to mention names?

Let's just say Starfall.com and Natalia are BFF's.




5. Meal planning...
I'm lost without it. Seriously.

I only began meal planning a few years ago. I have a small magnetized white board stuck to the side of the fridge, next to my computer desk. I write out a week's worth of meals, pull my recipes out, clip them to the fridge, and make my grocery list for those meals. It's easy to see what I have to pull from the freezer each morning, has saved me from many headaches, the 4 o'clock WHAT AM I MAKING FOR DINNER?! panic, spending money on things I don't need and extra trips to the store.

6. I want...
to fully utilize my SauceMaster this summer. It's a wonderful contraption for making applesauce and all kinds of yummy things from your garden abundance.

So far I've only used it for applesauce (and my mom used it for black raspberry jam). This year I want to make tomato sauce and vegetable juice to can.

7. My best tip is...
streamline.

Find ways to simplify your kitchen space, declutter your counters, hide things that make your space look "busy", and get rid of gadgets you rarely use.

Clutter and me--we fight like cats and dogs.

8. I would like to know...
What silverware do you use on a regular basis?

We received 5 settings of our "nice" silverware when we got married, (my mom has given me more settings over the last 10 years bc she knew I wanted a total of 12), and 2 smaller sets of "everyday" silverware. The everyday sets have gotten used heavily and are still fine, but I'm wondering why I'm not using my "nice" stuff more than a few times a year. Seems silly, especially when you consider that it's just silverware. What am I saving it for? A fancy schmancy meal for the Queen?

(pictured is our design, which I love!)

9. Another tip is...
have a plan.

When I was first married I was clueless about what a good home manager looked like. Not because I didn't have a good role model of this growing up--I did! My mom is a home manager extraordinaire. But I had never done it myself. It took like 4 years til I got a clue. (My poor husband.)

By the grace of God and much trial and error, I now mealplan, cook, and shop in the way that serves our family budget and goals. Your budget and goals may be different. That's okay. But you've got to have a plan, and it should result in less waste, stress, and fuss. Because who needs those things?!

10. I love to drink out of...
I'm gonna' say 2 things...because it's my blog and I can. :-)

For nostalgic reasons: my mug from HONDURAS. It's got a handpainted mountain village painted on it. Brings back wonderful memories.

For practical reasons: the clear glass mugs we bought at IKEA years ago. They are microwave safe, dishwasher safe, and on the small side, as far as mugs go. Perfect for those of us who like our coffee strong.

I hope to get another set of 6 soon. We've used the set we have every single day of the last 6-7 years since Pete and I are heavy hot drink drinkers. (At first I wrote 'heavy drinkers', but that didn't quite sound right. Tee hee.)