Stocking your kitchen for the holidays

Who's getting ready for some serious baking over the next two weeks? Me! You? I've started on my annual cookie baking as well as a few candies. Can't forget the sweet and yeast breads! Oh dear, I feel 20 pounds coming back on! Once again, I'm fortunate to be able to share a wonderful article with you on stocking your kitchen up for the holidays. Thank you to Amber Brubaker for sharing!

Key Ingredients for the Holidays

Just because Thanksgiving was last month doesn’t mean there won’t be any more baking days this year. The holidays are filled with the best foods to share with friends and family. You don’t want to be found without an essential ingredient in your kitchen when you need to make an impromptu side dish or dessert for a party or gathering. The secret is to stock up now on essential holiday ingredients.

Lucky for you, most of the essential items go on sale during the weeks following Thanksgiving, so you can rest assured that you are stocking up at the best prices. Use this comprehensive guide to help you complete your shopping list and store the ingredients properly.

Candies

You’ll want a selection of candies for both baking and serving. Chopped up candies are great in treats, and when friends come calling, you can offer them a candied treat from a pretty dish on your coffee table.

Butter

Butter is one of the most expensive baking essentials. Luckily, it stays good for awhile, especially if you freeze it. So when it’s on sale, stock up, freeze it, and simply thaw it when you need it. For your holiday preparations, you’ll want both salted and unsalted butter—salted for spreading and cooking and unsalted for baking.

Margarine and Shortening

Similar to butter, these can be frozen too. Certain recipes specifically call for margarine or shortening and you can’t use butter as a substitute. For example, using butter instead of shortening may ruin your pie crust.

Meats

If you see a great deal on meats—particularly ham and turkey—snatch up as much as you can. These meats have plenty of natural salt in them and will last in your freezer for up to six months if put in good quality, freezer-safe bags. You’ll have plenty of protein for the holidays and after.

Sugars

You’ll need brown and white—and plenty of it—for baking, and confectioners sugar for frosting and sprinkling. Store all sugar in waterproof, airtight containers.

Store-Bought Crackers and Cookies

It’s always a good idea to have these on hand for a last-minute addition to a party. Cookies also make easy pie crusts or dessert toppings when crumbled.

Flour

Flour is a must, and you’ll want different kinds, including, whole wheat, all-purpose white, and cake flour. There’s also white wheat flour, which offers all the health benefits of wheat flour with a lighter, fluffier taste. Store your bulk flour in waterproof, airtight containers to avoid contamination.

Powdered Milk

Fresh milk is difficult to buy in bulk, since it quickly expires. To work around this, get a supply of powdered milk which you can mix up for baking or cooking at a moment’s notice when you’re out of milk.

Leavening Agents

Leaveners like baking soda, baking powder, and yeast, will last for years, but it’s still good to change them out every now and then. The holiday season is a perfect time to do just that. Store your fresh baking soda and powder in airtight containers in the cupboard, and store yeast in the fridge or freezer.

Extracts and Flavorings

If you’re going to bake anything at all, you will need a good supply of vanilla, but it’s also a good idea to stock up on other flavorings, especially if you love trying new recipes or want to make candies. For the holidays, don’t forget almond, peppermint, lemon, anise, rum, and any other flavorings you love.

Heavy Cream

You can store heavy cream in the freezer for up to two months, which is perfect for the holidays. Get as much as you can when it goes on sale, and then thaw it for all your whipped cream and topping needs.

Liquid Sweeteners

Molasses, light and dark corn syrup, sweetened condensed milk, and maple syrup are must-haves for any candy making you’ll do during the holidays. You’ll want to have agave nectar and liquid stevia on hand as well in case you’re baking for those with specific food needs.

Canned Goods

Canned goods are fabulous because they last. Stock up on corn, green beans, pumpkin, pie fillings, yams, beets, evaporated milk, and all the other delicious canned foods you love at holiday meals. Stack these carefully on your shelf to avoid injury.

Dried Fruit and Nuts

Dried fruits and nuts make great add-ins for cookies, candies, and pies, and they’re fantastic for snacking. Stock up on dried apricots, dates, raisins, cranberries, peanuts, walnuts, pecans, brazil nuts, and anything else you like.

Spices and Herbs

Contrary to popular belief, spices and herbs don’t last forever. In fact, they begin to lose their potency six months after opening. Use the holiday shopping as an excuse to replace some spices. If nothing else, you’ll want to replace cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, ginger, sage, rosemary, thyme, and your other favorite spices. Try using these classic spices to make something new. For example, did you know you can use cloves in a glaze for your meat? Click here for other ideas.   

Chocolate and Chips

A solid collection of chocolates and chips to add to your cookies and desserts will get you through the holidays. You’ll want unsweetened bakers chocolate, cocoa powder, and high-quality dipping chocolate. You’ll also want every kind of chip imaginable for the best cookies. Store these in cute cannisters along your kitchen counter to keep them fresh.

With these ingredients filling your kitchen, you won’t have any problems making the best holiday foods!  

Continue Reading... »

Getting More Out of Your Kitchen

We're heavy into the holiday season now, and food is something that surrounds all of the holidays.  Something I cannot stress enough is the importance of your kitchen - the safety, the cleanliness, and general tips to make the most of your kitchen.  Here's a great article written by Whitney Hollingshead on these issues.  Take 5 minutes out of your busy holiday schedule to make sure your kitchen is ready!

The kitchen is probably one of the busiest rooms in your home. Here are some great tips to help keep your kitchen running as a safe, clean, and more useful space.

A Safe Kitchen

Keeping your family safe in the kitchen is a top priority. Here are some important rules to make the room a safer place:

1. When returning from the grocery store, make sure all refrigerated and frozen food is in your refrigerator/freezer less than two hours from the time it was placed in your cart. If it’s hot outside, you will only have one hour.

2. Remove colorful kitchen magnets from your fridge if you have children in the home. The bright colors are enticing to children and present a choking hazard.

3. Remove any dangling jewelry before cooking.

4. Place a damp rag or towel on the counter under your cutting board to keep the cutting board from slipping while cutting.

5. If you have children at home, use the back burners on the stove as much as possible to keep cooking food out of their reach. Never leave cooking food unattended on the stovetop.

6. If a grease fire breaks out in your kitchen, immediately cover the fire with salt or baking soda. Cover the fire with a pan or pot lid if possible. Never use water on a grease fire.

7. Never use a wet or damp cloth, towel, or hot pad when touching anything hot. Always use dry hot pads or oven mitts to avoid getting burned.

A Clean Kitchen

When it comes to cleaning the kitchen, the best solutions are those that are quick and easy to use and focus on using items you most likely already have in your kitchen. Here are some tips to help with common kitchen messes:

Tile - if you have tile anywhere in your kitchen (tile flooring, tile countertops, tile backsplash, etc.) you should try this homemade cleaner:

Kitchen Tile Cleaner
2 gallons of warm water
½ cup of baking soda

1. Mix the baking soda with the water in a bucket. Apply to tile with a sponge and scrub until clean. 2. Gently wipe with a damp cloth to polish.

Microwave - keeping the microwave clean can be a pain. Try this simple cleaning solution that uses natural ingredients:

Microwave Cleaner
1 lemon, lime, or orange, cut into small pieces
1 cup water
8 tablespoons of vinegar

1. Place the ingredients in a microwave safe bowl and cook in the microwave on high for five minutes. Do not open the door for 15 more minutes. After 15 minutes, wipe out the inside with a damp rag or paper towel.

Disposal - while your disposal does help to keep your kitchen clean, at times the odors coming from the disposal can make your kitchen smell anything but clean. Try this simple cleaning tip:

Disposal Cleaner
3 tablespoons of baking soda
2 ice cubes

1. Drop the baking soda and ice cubes down into the disposal. Turn the disposal on. Run hot water while the disposal is running.

Toaster - since your bread products are often near your toaster, at some point some plastic packaging may melt and stick to your toaster. Here’s how you can get it off:

Melted Plastic on Toaster Fix
Unplug your toaster. Wait for the toaster to cool completely. Grab a bottle of nail polish remover. Rub the remover on the melted plastic until the area is clean again.

Stainless Steel Appliances - stainless steel finishes are common in the modern kitchen. Unfortunately, the surface often looks spotty or is covered in fingerprint smudges. Here’s a trick to help:

Stainless Steel Appliance Polish Tip
Pour a small amount of olive oil on a soft rag. Buff the surface of the stainless steel appliance until the surface shines.

A Useful Kitchen

In addition to having a safe and clean kitchen, you also want to make your kitchen as easy to use on a daily basis as possible. Check out these smart tips:

If you have more condiments than fit on your refrigerator door, consider placing a lazy susan turntable on one of the shelves to store the remaining condiments with easy access.

When you open any container that will be stored in the fridge, write the date on the container with a black marker. This will make it super easy for you to know when to toss the container.

Purchase coffee filters and use them to cover food heated in the microwave.

Never pour grease down the drain. For more helpful tips on dealing with your kitchen drains and plumbing concerns, check out this advice from the experts.

Keep a notepad on your fridge, or easily accessible nearby to make grocery shopping lists as you go.

Use kitchen scissors to cut herbs, green onions, cooked bacon, and even meat. Just make sure you clean the scissors thoroughly after use.

Always read a recipe start to finish before you start making anything. This way you won’t find any surprises at the end that may leave you in a lurch.

Follow these tips and common sense to make your kitchen a safer, cleaner, and more useful space.

Continue Reading... »

Life

Is this for real?  Is this an ACTUAL blog entry from Cat?  Yup, sports fans, it is.  I am still here.  Just divided into several parts.  Life has been so insanely busy for me that, unfortunately, my little blog has fallen onto the back burner.  Well, I guess I shouldn't say that.  Cooking fell on the back burner, as in for 2 whole months, I think I cooked a meal maybe a handful of times.  I am so ashamed to admit that.  I still made some awesome meals, but they were just very few and very far between.  So awful.

I have been at odds with myself over whether or not I should continue to make you all think that I still have a life outside of my little home office where I run sales and accounting reports all day long.  Then school started and my afternoons were consumed with homework help and carpool and PTO and..... and..... and.... And when the hubs and I finally sit down at night, I've been on the computer for most of the day and I am just simply burned out.  It's been a nightmare.  I'm very grateful that we've been able to support ourselves for almost a year now  - holy crap, it's been almost a year of running our own business.  But I've learned quickly that it is not easy. Like AT ALL!  At least if you want to make it work for an extended amount of time.

Then there's the other awful, embarrassing part of my life that I have to admit.  I've debated about doing it on my blog and putting it out there for the world.  But I think I need to.  I think I need get my dirty laundry and secret stashes of cookies out there (I might mean that quite literally).  Over the last decade, between pregnancies, depression, stress, and just plain old bad eating habits and lack of desire to exercise, I've put on an enormous amount of weight.  At least for me.  Some people might say, "It's not THAT bad."  But it is to me.  And all the things that I love about this time of year, including Pietober and the Holiday Cookie Swap, are going to be put to the side for next year after I have control of my health.

And now it's fall (yes, we do have fall in Vegas), and all I want to do is knit cute little hats and scarves for my nieces, nephews, friends, and my family.  You might have caught some glimpses of those if you follow me on Instagram.  And my excuses just seem to keep piling up.  So me, myself, and my blog had a heart to heart talk.  And I think we came up with a happy medium.

Over the next little while, you're going to start seeing more posts about my journey to lose weight (and yes, I'll be sharing numbers with you.  Sigh.  I may vomit a little when I hit the "post" button.).  You'll also see posts about my love for loom knitting including patterns and links to some of my favorite loom knitters.  I may even share the occasional graphic design element that I've been working on (yup, I do that too!).  You'll still get recipes, but I will be sharing more of my life with you than just my life surrounding food.  Make sense?

So here's my official apology for leaving you hanging.  And my official thank you for hanging in there with me.

Continue Reading... »