Once, way back when, I was the queen of Home Ec. I rocked it and I loved it more than anything. I had as many periods of food related class as possible. Could this …
2013
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6 Easy Tips for Organizing Your Kitchen
If you are anything like me, once the holidays are over and the Christmas tree has been taken down, you are ready to get yourself organized for the year.
Where is the best place to start? For me, I spend most of my time in the kitchen so I like to start there.
Here are a few easy tips to get your kitchen organized!
1. Roll your towels!
It saves a lot of room and they look cute!
1. Create a realistic cleaning plan for your kitchen and other parts of the house.
You can find a printable for this version over HERE.
3. Use hooks.
I like having my oven mit, pot holders and towels handy and hooks inside the cabinets are a great use of space!
4. Use labels to organize.
These labels are my very favorite because they are customizable in three colors! Labeling your bins and baskets helps your family and you remember where things go after you use them.
5. Create different zones in the kitchen.
I have a coffee, baking, lunch making, dish washing zone in my kitchen so that everything that I use when I do these tasks are all together.
Coffee Zone
Baking Zone
Lunch Making Zone
6. Create a menu plan and keep it handy.
I hang mine inside the door of my pantry. Having a menu plan really helps cut down on the stress that can happen around meal time. I remember many times standing at the fridge trying to decide what to make at the last minute, keeping an organized menu plan helps eliminate a lot of that!
I have a list of meals for each week but I can pick which meal I make each day. I mark it off as I have made them. Hanging below my Family Menu is my grocery list sheet, I like having it in the pantry so that I can add items that I have run out of right away.
Have fun organizing! I would love to hear any tips that you have for creating and maintaining an organized kitchen, leave your comment below!
Homemade Dry Ranch and Onion Soup Mixes
I cook and bake a LOT. I have a family of 7 and we very rarely eat out. We all know that groceries are not getting any cheaper and one of the ways I combat high prices in the store is to make my own mixes. You know, all of those little packets that you pick up- the taco seasoning, the ranch dressing mix, gravies, etc. I just make them in bulk and it has saved us a bundle! I thought that today I would share a couple of my favorite mixes with you and how I store them so they will last a long time.
Herbs and spices should be kept in a cool, dark place. One way that I help my mixes stay fresh for the longest possible time is to store them in plastic containers with tight fitting lids. But, I take it one step farther! I recycle plastic lemonade mix containers that I get from family, spray paint them black with spray paint meant for plastic outdoor furniture and then I store my mixes inside! Works like a charm.
I just use a bright colored paint pen to write on top of each one what I have inside and store them in my cabinets. They stack perfectly, keep me organized and make it really simple to mix up large batches of the mixes we use the most, like ranch dressing or chili seasoning.
Buttermilk Dressing Recipe
Source credit: Robyn’s View
- 1/2 cup powdered buttermilk
- 3 Tablespoons dried parsley
- 1 Tablespoon dried dill weed
- 1 Tablespoon onion powder
- 1 Tablespoon course Kosher salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 3/4 teaspoon pepper
Mix all the ingredients together ( you can use a food processor or grinder to make it really fine, but I don’t). Store in an airtight container. To use mix combine 1 Tablespoon with 1 cup mayo and 1/2 cup milk. Stir well. I like to let it sit in the fridge for at least 2 hours, I think it has better flavor that way.
Homemade Onion Soup Mix
Makes enough to equal 1 packet
- 1/3 cup beef bouillon granules
- 3/4 cup dried onion flakes
- 4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon sugar
Mix it all together and store in an airtight container. To make a dip, mix 5 tablespoons mix into 16 ounces of sour cream. To make soup, mix together 5 tablespoons with 4 cups of water, bring to a boil and let simmer for a few minutes.
Having these, and other, mixes at the tips of my fingers makes it so easy to whip up some healthy snacks for my kiddos whenever they want. We’ve started putting a tray of cut up raw veggies on the table at 4:oo pm every day to let the little (and big) people snack on in the afternoon. The kids are loving it and I’m loving that we aren’t spending a fortune in ranch or other dip!
Money Saving Tip: Meals by the Week takes meal planning off your plate. They plan dinner menus based on sale items at your grocery store. Currently, Meals by the Week publishes 18 different menus each week for grocery store chains, including Safeway, Hy-Vee, Trader Joe’s, Sprouts, and others. They also publish a Vegetarian and a 400 Calorie menu. Recipes are family-friendly, and we like to build convenient menus based on real food.
How To Make Easy Ranch Eggs
Sometimes I like to serve my family something just a little different. These eggs are a twist on Huevo Rancheros, the eggs aren’t poached in salsa, but they make a fabulous quick and filling breakfast …