Susanne from Living to Tell the Story has tagged me for a kitchen meme. I’m to name eight random things from my kitchen/cooking. I’ll do it, but you all know how I am with staying in the lines…
- Below is my best cooking tool ever! It slices, dices and even kisses the cook!
And I’m afraid I got the only one, so that just reeks for the rest of you… too bad! Seriously, finding someone who likes to cook will be your best asset in the kitchen, plus you can spend more time together in your hectic schedules.
- My sweet little Braun coffee maker… oh how I love thee! (especially around 6 AM or when we’re serving up a fresh from the oven apple pie or brownies)
- Speaking of oven/stove, I love it. I can’t cook without it. Well, I could, but I’m not into cooking over a fire or rubbing sticks together to start the whole production… How else would I make my mind-numbing, smile-enducing apple pies?
- I must say that I absolutely adore living in a time and place when I can have a refrigerator. It keeps my cream for my coffee cold and my ice cream bars frozen.
- Frozen… oh yes – my upright freezer, which is not in my kitchen, but rather just outside the door to my garage, is a blessing beyond measure. Without it, I could not take advantage of meat, cheese and vegetables sales. (And blessed we are! Right now it’s packed to the gills with food just waiting to be made.)
- Also not in my kitchen but on the back porch is the grill. When the weather is nice, you will often find our grill in use. Steaks, chicken, pork, shishkabobs, ribs, vegetables – we grill them all.
- My favorite spice by far is garlic. I use it in as many recipes as possible. Breath mint anyone?
- I’ve fallen in love with the Cascade 2-in-1 action pacs. Doing dishes has never been so easy… (And I fill the rinse dispenser with vinegar – no smell and no spots!)
- You really need a great (not good, GREAT) set of knives in your kitchen. Save up and purchase ones that will last your lifetime. After a good amount of searching, reviewing and researching, we settled on JA Henckels, which we’ve loved since day one.
- I love my Calphalon pans. Did you know that they come with a lifetime guarantee? I
received my set as a graduation from college present from Mr. Right, which I’m sorry to say was quite a while ago. Sigh. It seems like just yesterday that I was in high school… but I digress. At around the 10th year of ownership, I discovered that I could send them back for replacements. I did and now I have an entirely new set of pans which are actually better than the ones I bought originally because they sent me the ones with the latest updates. I love a great deal!
- I like to cook all sorts of things. Entrees, baking, sides… all these things appeal to me. One of my favorite things to do now is to ask the kids to help me with these tasks. I’m hoping to pass on the love of cooking/baking to both of my kids – my daughter so that she can later enjoy taking care of her future family and my son because I don’t want to send him out of our house thinking that it is only something girls do well. With Mr. Right as a role model, I have a feeling that it is a scenario that will never happen.
- Lastly, I like to play in the kitchen. Recipes are great and all, but sometimes I like to throw caution to the wind and make stuff up. And we’ve discovered some fantastic new recipes that the entire family asks to have again and again. I’ll even share with you my most recent foray into the realm of the unknown (which the family promptly deemed “a winner!”
Apple Pork Roast
(Realize that I’m guessing on some of the measurements since my method of cooking that was “a little of this, a bit of that”…
3 lbs. pork loin roast (or any other, but the leanness added to the texture and flavor)
2 apples, peeled, seeded and quartered
1 1/2 c apple juice
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
Put roast and apples in slow cooker. Mix remaining ingredients and add to slow cooker. Cook on low all day. (If you’re home while it’s cooking, turn roast a couple of times to keep all the meat flavorful and moist.) Slice or shred meet and serve with stewed apples. (A gravy can be made from the juice if desired. Use cornstarch and water to thicken juices and ladle over meat.)
Very fun meme. I live in my kitchen. And I’m very territorial. I even put up the baby gates to keep the children out. 🙂
I’m so going to try the vinegar in the dishwasher trick!
Very fun meme. I live in my kitchen. And I’m very territorial. I even put up the baby gates to keep the children out. 🙂
I’m so going to try the vinegar in the dishwasher trick!
Very fun meme. I live in my kitchen. And I’m very territorial. I even put up the baby gates to keep the children out. 🙂
I’m so going to try the vinegar in the dishwasher trick!
Very fun meme. I live in my kitchen. And I’m very territorial. I even put up the baby gates to keep the children out. 🙂
I’m so going to try the vinegar in the dishwasher trick!
I just LOVE the picture of you and Mr. Right! Right on!
Oh, that apple pork roast sounds DELICIOUS. Yum. And you and Mr. Right are a beautiful couple.
I love my coffee maker too. I use it to make hot water for my french press. Seriously, Shalee, you should get one. A press, that is.
First thing I did even before commenting is save that recipe! Yum!
Loved this! I should have known you wouldn’t stick to the “requirements”. LOL!
I’m totally with you on the garlic! Yup, garlic and sour cream definitely made it on my list. Hungarian through and through I am. ;v)
What!? No Garlic ?!
(sounds great)
Love you
Tell me more about replacing my Caphalon… mine’s not quite 10 years old, but to know I can replace when the time comes – great!
The roast sounds yummy!!
Come visit – I’ve got a book giveaway going on!
Vinegar??? Really??? I honestly didn’t know that, and I hate buying something else to put in the machine… I’m gonna try it out this weekend!
How often to you fill it?
Oh good timing! I just gave my kitchen a very thorough cleaning this week, and I was thinking about how I should blog about it. 🙂 You must have been reading my thoughts. 😉
You look so sweet in that picture–so pretty and happy!
What a beautiful pic of you! I’ve got to have that one on my desk.
I’m surprised you didn’t include the Kitchen Aid to the list. How else could we have pie or biscuits? I’d miss your garlic mashed potatoes! (You know they’re SO creamy.)
Ok woman. Fess up.
What’s the secret recipe to your garlic mashed. I’m telling you … send it along.
And #8? Who’d a thunkit? Vinegar. How often you do fill it? Every time? Full?
If you like cooking you may like this store…
http://www.chefcentral.com Located in Harstdale NY and one store in Paramus NJ.
Your slicer-dicer-kisser tool is a lot cuter than the ground meat chopper upper I just got from Pampered Chef Monday evening. LOL
Holy Cow! I didn’t realize you’d tagged me for this. OK. I’m going to let my shocking friendship cake post sit a day or two and then I’m all over this. 🙂
You two are SO cute!
Okay I finally did this! Here is my post.
Sorry it took so long, but we moved in the meantime! 🙂