Pantry "Re-organize"

A couple of months ago, I decided that I couldn't take the mess in our pantry any longer. It was so cluttered and crowded that every time I went in there for something, I would wind up having to move a ton of boxes and packages and cans and bags of stuff trying to figure out where it was. So off to Wall-Mart I went. As much as I hate chain stores and would much rather shop locally, sometimes you just can't find deals as good as you can at Wall-Mart. I came home with two shoe organizers that hang on a door, as well as a few different shelf racks and one of those plastic stands with the drawers in it. I spent less than $5 on each of the racks and I think around $10 each on the hanging shoe organizers and $15 on the plastic drawer thingy. Well worth it for the results I got.

This is what the shelves looked like before I started.

As you can probably tell, I had made small attempts to organize but with everything that was in there it didn't accomplish much. All of the bottles had been on the pantry floor which I apparently forgot to take a picture of.  I started with the shoe organizers and hung one on the front of the pantry door and one on the back. All of our bottles of stuff (We both cook for a living and love to cook at home so we have several different kinds of Olive Oils, Vinegars, Sauces, Dressings etc.) went into the shoe organizers.

Next I gathered all of our tupperware containers (which were in another area of the pantry not shown in these pics) and put them into the Plastic Drawers, freeing up space on another shelf that was much needed for small kitchen appliances. Lids in the top, most commonly used containers in the middle, less used ones in the bottom.

I then tackled the pantry shelves and took everything off the shelves. I was surprised at how much stuff was crammed in there. I also took down the green hanging organizer that you see in this pic. 

Once the shelves were empty I wiped all 3 down and set to work. I put the racks in first. You'll notice in the first couple of pictures that there are two of the purple ones on the top shelf, however I ended up taking out the one on the right before I finished.

Most of the stuff that was in a box or bag went into containers and jars of various types and sizes. 

  

Top shelf, pasta, rice, flour etc. Middle shelf is all of our extra spices and baking ingredients. Bottom is cereal, cans and jars of stuff. 

All done with room to spare! WAY easier to find anything we need right away without having to search every shelf! And as an added bonus, cooking comes with much less stress! And anything that relieves a little bit of stress is okay with me. I still need to label a bunch of the jars and containers but that will come another day with another post. 

Happy Organizing!

~Kay

Pork Chops /w Dill Cream Sauce on a bed of Sauteed Veggies

Better late than never. This is what I made my boyfriend and I for dinner last night. It looks more complicated than it is! I promise! And SOOOO delicious! My only criticisms are that I wouldn't put the onions in the sauce raw, (For those who like raw onions, you would probably be fine to toss them in raw, I'm a really sauteed or caramelized onions kinda gal.)  and next time I want to make my own cream sauce instead of using creamed soups as the base of the sauce.

I started by pre-heating my oven to 350f. Different ovens may vary in cooking times and temps so use whatever temp you would usually put a casserole in at. Then I grabbed a package of four Pork Chops and a casserole dish. To be honest I didn't pay much attention to what cut the chops were, I just grabbed the ones that seemed like the best deal. I think I paid around $5 for these. Normally I buy thinner chops that have a slight fat cap on one side, rather than these which had a vein of fat running through them. These ones turned out very tasty none the less. 

Next I put about a level tablespoon of minced Garlic on top of each piece of meat. Again, you can adjust this amount according to your preference. We currently buy our Garlic already minced in a jar because we use so much of it. In the spring we will be starting a new veggie garden and Garlic is definitely on the list of things to grow this year. :)

Ok, maybe it was more than a tablespoon... lol Like I said, we like our Garlic in this house! I took a small Vidalia Onion (Sweet Onion) and diced it, as well as about 1 cup of Button Mushrooms (also diced) and sprinkled them over the chops and around them. 

Next came fresh Dill. Another thing my BF and I both love! I diced quite a bit of it. I'm not sure how much exactly, maybe around 1/3 of a bunch? Once it was chopped up fine I sprinkled it over the diced Onions & Mushrooms. Feel free to use however much Dill you like. 

Next came the cream sauce. Now I will say one thing, I do prefer to make my own cream sauce from scratch, but sometimes that's a lot of effort when you cook for as many people as I do on a daily basis! So in this case I used Campbells Creamed soups as the base sauce. Three cans. One was Cream of Mushroom & Garlic, as well as a Cream of Broccoli & Cheddar and  a regular Cream of Broccoli. I mixed these together and poured it over everything in the casserole dish and spread it around with a spatula. First pic is the cans of soup mixed together, second is after I had put the sauce over the chops. 

And into the oven they went! They were left in the oven for about an hour, but they probably could have stayed in longer and turned out even more tender. Next time. :) 

Once the chops had been in the oven for about 45 mins, I set to work on the veggies. I diced another small Vidalia Onion and sauteed it in a little olive oil until it started to brown up a bit. 

Next I added the rest of the package of Button Mushrooms, sliced this time. And sauteed them with the onions for a few minutes. I'm gonna be honest and tell you that I got sidetracked at this point and let them cook longer than I intended to and forgot to take a pic for you. So I made sure to get one after I had added Sweet Red Peppers, julienned (sliced into thin strips), and let those saute for a few minutes. 

Next I took a part bag of Brussels Sprouts, probably about 3 cups, (If you don't like them, by all means, add whatever vegetables you do like! :) ), shredded them, and added them to the pan. I should mention that I did add more olive oil in small amounts to the pan as the veggies (especially the mushrooms) started to soak it up. Just to make sure nothing burned. 

I let them saute a few more minutes, added a tiny bit of water to the pan, covered it with a lid for about 3 minutes and they were done. :)

I removed the veggies from the burner and set them aside to pull the chops out of the oven. I couldn't get a good picture of the whole casserole dish but I did manage to get a close-up of the sauce itself when it came out of the oven. 

Yum!! If you're not sure whether you've left it in long enough or not, check for bubbles. If the middle isn't bubbling when you pull it out, it's probably not done. Another quick tip, depending on the size of casserole dish you are using and the amount of ingredients you use, the sauce very well might bubble over the sides of the dish. To prevent it from getting all over the elements and bottom of your oven, put the casserole dish on a baking sheet to catch any sauce that bubbles over. 

Once it's finished you should have a very tasty meal on your hands! Feel free to make some sort of starch as another side if you wish as well. :) I used the veggies as a base but you can serve it however you like! 

Bon Appetite! 

~Kay

End Table Makeover

Living in a small apartment means I spend a lot of time in the living room. Most of the events of my day happen there. My laptop sits on the coffee table in front of my spot on the couch. My painting supplies are in the living room. I do all of my crafts and most of my projects in here as well. 

I have an end table beside my spot that is my "Catch all" table. There is a lamp, pens, markers, my small sewing kit, books, my essential oils (I currently only have 5 small bottles but already want more) etc... As you can imagine it gets pretty cluttered. While I was at Dollarama (the same time I purchased the Tea Towels and curtain rods in my last post here), I noticed some black baskets that I liked so I grabbed two. I figured that since our living room walls are blood red, and my lamp is silver with a black shade with a white pattern on it, that they would go with both. And it just so happened that one of the tea towels I already had in my cart was white with a black and grey pattern on it. Bonus! I couldn't wait to get home to start my projects. I have to say, the stuff in Dollarama might not be the best quality. But some of it isn't bad and I do find lots of stuff for cheap there that works perfectly for whatever I may be doing at the time. 

I started by clearing everything off the table and giving it a good wipe down. I then took the stuff that was on it and sorted it into piles. Next I put down the Tea Towel followed by the lamp in the middle and set the two baskets on either side. Into the baskets I organized some of the stuff that had been cluttered on the table. I had decorated a Mason Jar earlier the night before with rope and a piece of cloth. I set that in front of the lamp, between the baskets. 

Perfect!

Well...Almost...

I needed to find somewhere to put the TV and DVD player remotes. And my little note pad that I keep on the table as well. I thought about it for 30 mins or so and then a light bulb went on in my head. The Tea Towels! I got my sewing kit out and set off pinning and sewing a "Holder" of sorts to hang off of the end table. I meant to take pictures while I was working on it but to be honest I was watching The Big Bang Theory and let's face it, that show is hillarious! Maybe you disagree and that's ok. But my Boyfriend and I love it. I did remember to take a picture once I was finished the initial sewing though. I sewed a small seam on the middle pocket about 1/4 of the way up because I realized once I got the DVD remote in there, it was a pain in the behind to get out because it is much shorter than the TV remote.

Next came time to figure out how to hang it... I tried double sided tape but the weight was too much for the tape and it fell to the floor in less than 5 minutes. I had used yet another Tea Towel to cut the strip of material that I used on the Mason Jar above. So I cut the edge with the seam off one edge of the towel and cut it in half. I then sewed little clasps (can't remember what they're called for the life of me. If you read my last post, you know I'm not really much of a seamstress) onto the holder. I slipped each one over the bar on the bottom of the table, hooked the little hooks into the loops and I was done. :)

If any of you are better with sewing than I am and know what those little hook and eyehole clasp thingys are called, please let me know! I've been calling them "Those little hook loop things" for a long time now. lol 

I could have sworn that I took a pic of the table from further away so that you could see the entire makeover as a whole but I've just spent 15 minutes going through my pictures and can't find it for the life of me. If I find it I will update the post and add the picture. Either that or I will have to take another picture and post it. But for now at least, this is what I have to share with you. :) 

~Kay

DIY Pantry Shelf Curtains.

I actually started this project a couple of months ago and never got around to finishing it. You'll find I do that a lot. I'm hoping that this blog will help me complete more of the projects I start in a shorter time period. I think the problem is that I'm OCD, but I think I'm also a little ADD. lol I came to this realization a few years back when I stopped to actually think about the way I clean. I had spent the day cleaning and organizing my apartment and afterwards, I got thinking about my day and realized that I start cleaning and organizing one room, find things that go in another room, switch to that room, go back to the first before finishing the second, find more things that go in yet another room... And that's how it starts. Now that I'm older and have been on my own for 10 years I've learned that I'm the same way with crafts and DIY projects. But since my Boyfriend and I live in a small apartment I have to dig things out in order to start almost any project I do. Thus taking longer to get going, which then results in not always accomplishing the entire task before it's late and I'm tired. 

With that said though, I've actually gotten a bit better in the last 6 months or so with finishing what I start, even if it's not finished the same day. For this project I had purchased two cheapie curtain rods, as well as a ton of cheap Tea Towels (some for dishes, other's for the material to use in random projects). I had organized a couple of the shelves in our pantry a few weeks before and though they were organized, when you stood in the kitchen, you could see right into the pantry and see everything on the shelves as the pantry door is narrow and doesn't have an actual door on the frame. So I went to work on one of my least favorite tasks. Sewing. I wouldn't mind it so much if it weren't for the fact that I don't have a sewing machine. Makes the task I'm not very good at much more of a chore. I picked out 4 of the Tea Towels, grabbed my sewing kit and parked my butt on the couch in front of the TV. It took a while because, well, let's face it... Sewing is not my strong point. I CAN sew. I'm just not good at it. 

Here is a pic of the pinned edge that I was sewing along. I folded one of the short edges of each towel down to create the spot that I would later feed the curtain rod through. I sewed all the way across above where the pins are in this pic, along the hemmed edge of the towel. 

I'm going to apologize for the next two pics. When I started this project I had been using a small Pentax digital camera that was about 4-5 years old. The pic above with the pins was taken with that same camera, however the lighting in my living room is a little better than the lighting in my tiny pantry. 

The light that's in this room made these pictures turn out way more yellow than it really looks in that room. Ah well. I have a new camera now and I'm loving it! (Cannon Rebel for those who were wondering. :) ) Ok so I installed the curtain rods in front of the tops of each shelf I wanted to cover, put the newly sewn "Curtains" on the rods and voilla! The above pic is where I finished when I first started this project a few months back. I put one curtain rod up, took pics, got sidetracked with another project I was working on, did some dishes, vacuumed, made dinner and then parked myself in the living room to watch TV with my boy and the pups 'till bedtime. It's not that I didn't have the other two curtains finished, or that I didn't have the second curtain rod. I just never got around to putting the second set up. 

Well today I FINALLY finished my project. And I'm satisfied with the result. 

No, none of the curtains match, but I like it that way. :) You can use whatever Tea Towels you choose. So if you prefer them matching go for it! It was actually a fun project and I'm glad I took the 5 minutes out of my day to finish it! lol I hope you'll come back in a bit. I'm doing a few posts tonight to make up for lost time. 

Here's a little laugh for you! Went to preview my post before publishing it and out of the corner of my eye I caught the fact that I had my age down as 27 in my blog description! I'm actually 28! lol And it's not like I just turned 28. I'll be 29 in 4 months... lol Apparently I don't even know my own age anymore! God help me in 10 more years! lol

Ciao for now folks! :)

~Kay

Grapefruit, Lemon, Clementine, Mango & Strawberry Juice

I know, I know, it's been over a month since my last (first) post... I do apologize sincerely, it's been a busy rough month. Over the next few days I will be trying to make up for some lost time by posting a bunch of posts. With that said, here's the first one. Oh and HAPPY VALENTINES DAY to all!! <3

I recently purchased a "Big Boss" Juicer. I've wanted a Juicer for a long time and I was super excited when I found one for $69.99 at Wall-Mart! Every time I've been in there in the past few months I've checked, hoping that they would bring in something new that would be cheaper, but still a decent model. Although I love making smoothies in my blender, sometimes blenders just don't cut it. Naturally, as soon as I bought the Juicer, I bought fruit to juice. This was my first attempt at Juicing anything (and at the risk of sounding like I'm bragging) for my first try, the juice was amazing! I ended up with two and a half glasses and it was gone in a little over an hour! I have to say I LOVE MY NEW JUICER!!

I had purchased a bunch of fruit to start myself off but couldn't decide what to juice first. There were so many options! So I added some of everything. :) And the result? Wonderfully delicious fruit juice, without all the added crap that they pack into store bought juices!

I didn't use a recipe, just added what I thought would taste good. So I guess in a sense I invented my own recipe. With that said, here it is:

2 Grapefruit (as much work as it is, I recommend taking off all the pulp & membrane from around the fruit. I had read that it would leave a bitter taste to the juice)

2lbs Strawberry's (cored) 

2 Lemons (same rule applies with these as the grapefruit)

8 Clementines (I didn't bother with removing the membrane on these as they are tiny and would take a lot of time and well, I wanted my juice! lol)

1 Mango

Now I will say this, it takes a lot of fruit to get a decent amount of juice, as I said before I got two and a half glasses of juice out of all that fruit. But as far as I'm concerned, it's worth it! If you're worried about spending too much money on fruit, buy what's on sale, or in season to keep the cost down. Believe me, if you have a juicer, it is definitely worth making your own juice! And as an added bonus, you get several servings of fruit (or veggies) in one glass of juice. From everything I've read so far on juicing, the juice will keep 2-3 days but is best fresh. 

Happy Juicing and to those who celebrate it, HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!! And hey, if you make this juice today, it fits the theme! It's pink!