kitchen

5 Ways To Get Ready For Unexpected Guests

by Jennifer | No Comments Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Imagine that the phone rings, and it’s your mother-in-law/aunt you rarely see/old friend from high school. She is in your part of town today and will be over in about an hour for a visit. You hang up, ask yourself why you answered in the first place, and then take a look around and realize the place is a complete disaster! It’s been a busy week for sure, and you have understandably let some things go. We all go through this. But before you panic, there is a way to get it all done (or at least done enough to make it look great!) And don’t forget to allow some time at the end to get yourself ready!

1. Close Off Rooms That Are Dirty.

You don’t have time to clean the whole house, so close the doors to rooms that you are sure you won’t get to, such as your children’s rooms, your room, etc. If your guest can’t see in there, they won’t know it’s messy!

2. Pick Up And Dust The Main Areas

The areas that you know will be seen, such as the living room, kitchen, family room, etc. just need a quick organizing (or just throw the excess in one of the closed off rooms, who will know, right?) Dust the areas that are the most obvious. Most people aren’t going to inspect every surface of your home, so focus more on the main parts of the rooms, such as the counters, tables, and shelves that are eye-level. Also, keep the lights just a little lower if possible.

3. Vacuum/Dry Mop Floors

Unless you have managed to spill everything and anything all over the floors, you don’t need to do a full cleaning. If you have carpet, vacuum the high-traffic areas, and if you have hard floors, go over them with a dry mop, such as a swiffer or microfiber to remove any noticeable dust or dirt.

4. Touch Up The Guest Bathroom

Close the shower curtain, clean the toilet, and wipe off the countertop and mirror. Then sweep and/or dry mop the floors. Voila! If you’re in enough of a hurry, this could take you 10 minutes total.

5. Clean Off Your Patio

You spend most of your time inside your home, so it can be easy to overlook the patio. But remember, this is the first thing your guest will see. Sweep it off and remove any unnecessary clutter. Make sure your porch light works, and turn it on, even if it is still daytime.

Now all you have to do is get yourself ready (hopefully that won’t be so challenging,) light a few candles to make your home smell nice, and voila! You are ready to go!

Tasty Banana Muffins That Are Good For You!

by Jennifer | No Comments Friday, April 27, 2012

These fantastic muffins only have about 150 calories and 5 grams of fat each. Not bad, considering most muffins have at least 300 calories a piece. They don’t have any butter or oil, and are so tasty you will want two of them, and that is ok! The recipe yields about 15 muffins.

You will need:
-1 1/2 cup flour
-1 cup of quick oats
-1/4 cup sugar
-1/2 cup brown sugar
-2 tsp. baking powder
-1 tsp. baking soda
-1/2 tsp. cinnamon
-1/2 tsp. salt
-1 egg, beaten
-3/4 cup skim milk
-1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
-1/2 tsp. vanilla
-1 tsp. maple extract
-1 cup mashed bananas (about 3)
-3 tbsp. ground flax (optional, but it doesn’t affect the flavor and is really great for you!)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees farenheit. Mix all ingredients together by combining wet ingredients and dry ingredients separately, then slowly incorporate the two together until you have a smooth batter. Spray muffin pans with non-stick spray, and insert muffin cups. Fill each cup about 3/4 of the way, and bake for 18-20 minutes on the center rack. We have found that 18 minutes is best, but it really depends on your oven.

If you would like, you can add one of these to your muffins:
-raisins, 1/4 cup
-chocolate chips, 1/4 cup
-blueberries, 1/4 cup
-pecans, 1/2 cup

Enjoy! I know we are!

5 Steps To Cleaning Out Your Kitchen

by Jennifer | No Comments Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Your kitchen accumulates a great deal of clutter, aka tools and devices that are really neat, but just don’t get used. Well, it’s time to clean out that mess, and let your kitchen stand out as a beautiful and functional area of your home, not the place where the drawers don’t close and every cabinet you open is subject to spill out. Use this as a checklist to get started. The general rule here is: if it’s not special enough to use at least once a year, get rid of it!

1. Cabinets

Go through each cabinet, one at a time, pulling everything out. Then, put everything that you still use back in. Once you see how much nicer it looks in there, you will be less likely to try and stuff everything back in it. Get rid of the rest. Leave extra space where you can, because there is a really good chance you’re going to need a new home for some of the items on your countertops.

2. Drawers

Just like cabinets, go through each one individually, pulling everything out, and replacing only what you use. Is your silverware drawer overflowing? I get it, you hate doing dishes, so the more flatware the better, right? It’s ok to have extras, but if there are 4 people in your home, and you have 15 forks, you are not saving yourself any trouble. And keep in mind, you probably don’t need more than one food thermometor.

3. Countertops

Is your countertop full of appliances? Does it take a long time to clean, because you have too many items to move? Take inventory of everything you have on there, and get rid of or find a place that is out of sight for everything that doesn’t get used daily. Sure, the breadmaker makes you look really cool, but if you’re only using it a handful of times a year, does it really need to take up that much space? Or maybe you keep the blender up there thinking it will motivate you to make healthy smoothies every day. But if you’re not, put it somewhere you can easily get to, but is out of sight.

4. Pantry

The pantry is one of the easiest areas to clutter. You buy something because it’s on sale, or you convince yourself you will eat it, and then before you know it, it has been in the back of the pantry for over a year collecting dust. Throw out all food that is past it’s expiration date, and donate food that is still good, but has been there long enough to where you know you aren’t going to do anything with it. And be realistic, just because those canned beats are good for you, doesn’t mean you will convince yourself that you like them.

5. Decor

Just like any other part of your home, decor can be easy to bypass in your cleaning adventure, especially if it has been there for so long it just seems necessary because you’re used to it. Your decor puts the whole room together, it creates the feel of the area, so have some fun with it! But don’t overdo it, for example if you can’t see more than the edges of the windowsill behind the kitchen sink, you have more on there than you need! Try reducing it to just your favorite picture, or a little plant.

How To Clean Your Oven With Baking Soda

by Jennifer | No Comments Thursday, March 8, 2012

I found this great video on youtube.com that I had to share! It gives a step-by-step on effectively cleaning your oven with baking soda and water. No chemicals, no self-cleaning cycle, nothing dangerous. If you have read some of our previous blogs, you know that we are big fans of cleaning with simple, green ingredients. And this is about as simple as it gets!

The Benefits Of Having Your Own Herb Garden

by Jennifer | No Comments Monday, March 5, 2012

Having your own herb garden can be very beneficial to you and your family. You tend to feel very accomplished when your plants grow and thrive. And having fresh herbs in your recipes can take your dish from great to WOW! Not to mention the savings. For example, a 1/2 oz. of fresh basil at the grocery store will run you $2-$3 dollars, whereas you can spend a few dollars to get a plant that will give you that same amount over and over again. And who knows, maybe it will inspire you to eat healthier!

For outdoor gardening, try this How-To From The Tasteful Garden.

If you live in an apartment, or just think the kitchen would look and smell great from an indoor garden, start with E-How’s Guide To Indoor Herb Gardening For Beginners.