Rev-a-Shelf cabinet organizers

I've been seeing a lot of kitchen and shelf organizers on Pinterest and knew I wanted to start this kitchen off right. After doing some research, I found that most units were made by Rev-a-Shelf and they were in the $250 range. Not wanting to pay that price, but insisting I have some kind of organization, I tracked them down to a few other online retailers, the cheapest being Lowes. At $130 each, these were a bit of an investment, but one I was happy to make, and will pay off in the long run. 

Most of our bottom cabinets were really, really deep, which made getting things in and out pretty difficult. Also, the only shelf was a little 10" guy way in the back. Not the most practical, and didn't allow for great use of space. We'll call this the "before" picture. 

Enter: 1 handy husband. Oh, and some tools. Can't forget the tools.

The first cabinet tackled was one in the island. I thought it'd be perfect for baking items, since I'd likely spread everything out on the island and make a big mess, there.

This one required re-routing of an outlet box for the wine fridge, but I'm happy with the final results! Both wire racks slide out and allow for full reach of items. Johnny was able to position the top rack tall enough that the bottom, tall items (like jugs of oil and vinegar) even fit!

The next shelf required Johnny to remove the center divider. He's going to attach it to one of the cabinet doors, so that one will close first and you'll never know the difference!

This one is probably my favorite, because it easily holds all of our pots, pans, and their lids. No stacking, or loud clanking around the find the one you need.

The bottom slides out and has dividers that adjust to hold each pot in place. I especially like this feature, because it makes it easy to see all the sizes, grab the one you need, and place them back neatly after washing.

 

The top has tilted hooks that allow each lid to sit at an angle, so they aren't too tall and still allow the unit to close easily.

Rev-a-shelf makes a gazillion and one other organizing pieces for the kitchen and bathroom that I might want down the road. But for now, these two were the most important for our kitchen organization. It allows me to make the best use out of the two cabinets that receive the most use and need to fit a lot of items.

The units are really high quality metal, and the engineering of how they fit together and are supported in the cabinet is impressive. Little details like the dividers and ball bearing glides let you know these are quality pieces, worth the investment.

(Even though this is a product review and endorsement, it's based solely on my personal opinion and experience with the product, which I bought with my own money. Rev-a-Shelf or Lowes has no clue who I am, or that I bought their products.)

New Sandwich Topper

As I was making a sandwich (on a hamburger bun from the freezer to use up) I went for the usual mayonnaise, but then stopped when I spotted a tub of hummus I made. I always see hummus spread on vegetarian sandwich options, but why not on a cold cut sandwich?

I smeared a healthy helping of a few tablespoons and it was delicious! Healthier than mayonnaise and adds another boost of protein to your lunch to keep you fuller longer!

This is what happens...

... when you accidentally turn the burner to LOW instead of OFF and don't notice for about an hour.

PFP Week 8 Update

My progress for the week:
Up 1 pound. I stuck to my meal plan throughout the week. Then we ate unhealthy things over the weekend. Week 1 of no soda a success!

Janelle's progress:
Despite it being her daughter's birthday week, she was still down .8 pounds!

Beth (aka Biz) reports:
She checked in with WW for the first time in 3 weeks, since having to concur her husband's cancer and hospital stay. She only gained .6 pounds during all of that stress! She gets to keep her -5 pound sticker! Awesome news!

Jenn's goal this week:
To get her ass in gear and workout in the morning, despite not being a morning person.

Menu Plan for the week:
leftovers
I also need to do a freezer and pantry inventory

Tip of the week:

Water!!! When trying to get healthy it is so important to drink plenty of water throughout the day.

Some important health benefits:

• can decrease your appetite
• contains important nutrients and oxygen
• helps remove waste from the body
• helps regulate body temperature
• keeps bowel movements normal

To calculate how much water you should be drinking, begin with your weight and divide by two. The resulting number is how many ounces of water you should be drinking daily.


I have some "fun" glasses that I devote to my daily water intake . I chose these glasses because it's easier to get excited about drinking water and to remember to refill them multiple times throughout the day. Invest in a reusable, refillable water bottle. I never leave the house without filling up my Sigg.

If plain water starts to bore you, you can thinly slice lemon or cucumber to "fruitify" your water. It adds a crisp, refreshing taste without the unhealthy addition of flavored packets, added sugar, or empty calories.

Culinary Mysteries

I've been having a blast reading a series of books I checked out from my local library, so I thought I'd share with you.

The author's name is Diane Mott Davidson and she writes culinary mysteries. They're centered around a caterer as the main character. She finds herself in all kinds of situations, sometimes deadly, which results in a mystery.

It's kind of like a grown up Nancy Drew with some Food Network thrown in! The cool thing is, when she is cooking in the book, the next page will list the recipe. So, if she is stressed and baking a big batch of cinnamon rolls, you turn the page and the recipe for the rolls is right there!

The titles are all kinds of puns too, like The Cereal Murders and Dying for Chocolate.

If you're a reader, or you like mysteries check them out! They're cute!

Hasselback Potatoes

I saw these potatoes while clicking around a blog carnival. I was immediately smitten, despite not being the biggest fan of potatoes.

We had company this week for dinner, so what better time to try something "special?" In reality it's just a baked potato, but the presentation is what earns it a gold star.

I used Chris's pictured tip of slicing the potato sandwiched between two items to avoid cutting all the way through. He used chopsticks, I used the handles of two wooden spoons. (See his post for photo demonstration.)

There really isn't a recipe, per se.

Just grab potatoes, give them a good scrub, slice them, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with Kosher salt and black pepper. Pop into a 350° oven for about an hour, until the insides are tender and the outside is crisp and browned.

Serve plain, with butter, with sour cream, or ketchup!

Sweet Treats

My mom sent some jars of sweet treats in the Christmas box for Johnny. (I'm a little late in posting this, and some of the jars were already dug into at the time of photos.)

Each one was in a jar that I can reuse later. She labeled the tops to let us know what was inside.

These are delicious pepita (pumpkin seed) brittle cubes.

Chocolate covered sunflower seeds. Really tasty and beautifully bright!

Rock candy! Har har - get it!!? These are Johnny's favorite - they're dark chocolate.

And "chicken bones" which are cinnamon flavored hard candy with a chocolate "marrow" in the center.

She purchased these in bulk bins for Christmas gifts by weight, then divided amongst recipients and jars. I think it's a really cute, special idea!

Hot Toddy

I like to tease Johnny that he has the weakest immune system in the world. Although it's not really a laughing matter, the truth is he would catch something from somebody rumored to be sick.

Usually this means the winter is a cyclical journey from one cold, to another sore throat, to congestion, to more aches, and finally to fevers.

One of his favorite ways to feel better from colds, congestion, and sore throats are hot toddies. He heard about this from an old co-worker of his, and I've now got a "recipe" down pat.

mug of hot water
1 slice lemon
1 cinnamon stick
spoon of honey
1-2 shots Scotch
cloves, optional

Boil water, or put a mug of water in the microwave until hot. Add the remaining ingredients and let steep for 2-3 minutes. Sip slowly, making sure to enjoy the aromatic steam under your nose.



Instant joy to those with weak immune systems!

P.S. The Dollar Tree has a big ass bag of like 50 cinnamon sticks for a buck!

P.P.S. I told Johnny I was putting that pic on the blog.

P.P.P.S. I think he thought I was kidding.

P.P.P.P.S. I wasn't.

Sweet Potato Bread

It feels odd to have not shared this recipe with you yet because I have been baking it all month long.

Seventeen total loaves to be exact.

20 pounds of sweet potatoes, 20 pounds of flour, four pounds of butter, a gallon of milk, and a whole jar of yeast has passed through my kitchen in the past few weeks to make those loaves.

It was worth it. I love this recipe! It was what I chose to gift to everybody this year.


I first saw the bread on Sophia's blog, shared from The Kitchn (in roll form). I'll share mine below for convenience, and since I made a few alterations.

3/4 cup warm water
1 scant Tbsp active dry yeast
1 heaping cup mashed sweet potatoes
1 cup milk (I used skim)
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) melted butter (I used salted)
2 Tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp kosher salt (*see Note below)
4 cups all purpose flour

Begin by scrubbing your sweet potatoes and baking them in a 350° oven until soft. Wait a few minutes to cool, peel off the skin, and mash.

Use a very large bowl and add the warm water and yeast in the bottom. Let it sit a few minutes to dissolve while you set up the other ingredients and prepare things, such as melting the butter. (*Note: I do not buy unsalted butter. It falls under the non-alcoholic beer category for me - what is the point? If the extra salt bothers you, simply omit one of the teaspoons of kosher salt.)

Combine the rest of the ingredients except the flour in the bowl, stirring with a large wooden spoon (Any other people out there from an Italian household that grew up with a deep fear of wooden spoons?) until fully incorporated. Add the flour and begin working with the spoon, using your muscles. It will seem like too much flour and you'll wonder how you will get it all mixed - but trust me, it will eventually come together.

Spray another large bowl with non-stick spray and plop the dough into it. Let rise until doubled - about two hours. (Tip: I have two favorite methods for letting my dough rise. The first is in a warmed microwave. Our microwave is right above our oven, so it conveniently was warm from baking the potatoes beforehand. Another great place to let dough rise is in your kitchen sink with the drain plugged and a few inches of hot water in the bottom.) After two hours, transfer the dough to a greased loaf pan. Bake at 400° for approximately 40-45 minutes.

This really is a beautiful bread. It's not like a sweet, desserty bread you'd expect from the name. Instead, it's more savory with a hint of sweetness. The crust gets a delicious crunchy exterior, while the inside remains moist and fluffy.

My favorite way to eat it is toasted with a drizzle of honey.

And that is exactly how I finished a whole loaf.

In three days.

By myself.

Spaghetti Carbonara

Long time readers will remember my brother did a guest post long ago to show off a carbonara recipe. I was tempted to try it then, but sadly I never got around to it.

Then, skimming through Project Food Blog videos I saw a video on bell'alimento where she made it look so easy. I made a point to remember to make it this time around.

1 lb. dried spaghetti
6 slices bacon
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
2 eggs, room temperature
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
black pepper, to taste

In a large pot, bring water to a boil. Once up to temperature, salt the water and add the pasta. Cook until al dente, 8-10 minutes.

While the water is coming to a boil, brown the bacon until almost crispy. (Tip: Cut the bacon using kitchen shears over the pan.) Add the garlic the last minute or two, taking care not to burn.

In a large serving bowl, crack the eggs into the bottom and whisk well. Add the cheese and black pepper. Set aside.

Drain the pasta well, reserving about 1 cup of the pasta water. Immediately dump the pasta into the bowl with the egg mixture. It is important to get this in there right away while it is hot to cook the eggs. Using tongs or two forks, continue tossing the pasta in the egg mixture to incorporate well. Add some pasta water if necessary to thin it (I ended up using about 1/4 cup). Last, add the bacon/garlic mixture and toss until evenly dispersed through the pasta.

Plate and serve immediately. You can add more black pepper or grated cheese for garnish. Serves 4.

Holy cow, it's amazing how simple and delicious this is. It really tastes special, like something you'd get in a small Italian restaurant.

The best part is that it's ready in under 30 minutes - just as long as it takes to boil the water and cook the pasta. It could easily be a weeknight dinner with just a few more steps than plain old spaghetti and marinara.

Have you ever ordered or made carbonara?

Stuffed Pork Loin

My dad made a rolled pork dinner last summer when I visited them in NC and I've been wanting to try it since.

I was reminded when I saw Laura's beautiful pork loin in April and thought "I can do that!" even though cooking pork scares me.

Johnny's dad co-owns a meat packing company here in Illinois where he butchers pork. A few weeks ago on a Sunday visit we snagged a fresh 19 inch long loin. I used about 6 or 7 inches of it for pulled pork in the slow cooker, made four 1" pork chops that I pan-fried, and still had an 8 or 9 inch loin!

Before I froze the last loin, I butterflied it, just as Laura had instructed. Today I just unrolled it and decided on stuffing choices.

1 1/2 lb. - 2 lb. pork loin, butterflied
~2 oz. goat cheese (I used basil and garlic flavor)
6 cloves of garlic, minced
the inner stalks and leaves of celery, minced
3 slices of genoa salami
salt and pepper
~1 tsp olive oil

Preheat the oven to 350° and cover your work area with wax paper.

First I seasoned the pork with salt and pepper. Then I spread the goat cheese on using a rubber spatula until it was evenly covered.

Next I sprinkled the minced garlic and celery evenly over the goat cheese. I layed the three pieces of salami so they went across the entire loin. Beginning at the end closest to the salami, I started rolling tightly pushing the ingredients in as needed, until I reached the other end.

I secured with toothpicks because I don't have any butcher's twine. (Tip: When using toothpicks in your cooking always count how many you have used. This way you can re-count when you remove them and avoid the risk of injuries or choking.)

Pour a small amount of olive oil in the bottom of the baking dish. Place the rolled pork in and turn to coat in the oil. Sprinkle the top with more salt and pepper. Bake, uncovered, for about 1 1/2 hours. Remove the pork when a meat thermometer reads 160-170°. Tent and let rest for about 10 minutes.

Slice using a sharp knife and serve displaying the beautiful rolls.

I served with some couscous and fresh corn on the cob! It was really juicy and flavorful. The goat cheese stayed really creamy, which gave the bites containing it a nice texture.

Eco-Friendly Fire Starters

With grilling season upon us, I thought I'd show you how to make these eco-friendly fire starters. My mom used to make these for personal and Girl Scout use when I was little. It reuses a lot of headed-for-the-trash items to make something useful.

You will need:
cardboard egg cartons
paraffin unscented wax
dryer lint
shredded paper scraps
sawdust

Melt the wax using a double boiler. *Do not melt wax over an open flame because it is flammable!* Use unscented paraffin wax so it burns cleanly. Do not use leftover candles or crayons because they may have scents or chemicals you don't want burning near food.

Using flammable items such as dryer lint, shredded paper scraps, or sawdust distribute them into the cups of cardboard egg cartons. I used dryer lint from cotton loads, such as towels, sheets, and jeans. Cotton is a natural fiber and will burn cleanly, so avoid using lint from man-made fabrics. Also be careful in choosing your paper scraps, selecting those without glossy finish or harsh dyes and inks.

Once the wax has melted, carefully pour just enough to cover the material in the egg cups. Allow to set for a few hours and then rip the egg cups to separate. You can now use one or two of these to start a fire safely without the use of harmful chemicals that are bad for the environment!

How to Bake Bacon

I don't know about you, but on the rare occasion that I make bacon, I really regret it. Not because of all the fat or calories, but because of the mess.

My mom has this awesome CorningWare bacon tray she uses in the microwave that drains off all the fat and gives her perfect, flat strips every time. When I try to make bacon in the microwave I just end up with either burnt little tasteless crisps or soggy blobs.

For many years I've resorted to trying to make bacon on the stovetop. It splatters, it spits, the bacon curls up, and afterwards my entire kitchen seems to be covered in grease.

Then I watched an episode of Good Eats with the genius Alton Brown showing his method of cooking bacon. To bake it. Ah-ha! Why don't I ever think of these things?

Place a cooling rack inside a baking sheet. Lay strips of bacon on the rack. (I happened to use turkey bacon this time, but any type of bacon will work.)

Place in a cold oven.
Turn the temperature to 400°.
Cook for 12-15 minutes, depending on thickness and crisp preference.
Remove from oven and enjoy!

Oh, it was such a simple process! No babysitting it, turning it, and no mess. Just one step, pop it in the oven and come back when it's done! Such a great way to enjoy bacon!

Sushi Style Ham Rolls

Wow, I started a new semester yesterday and I am worried about the next 8 weeks! My two professors this semester are both giving the impression of real hard-balls! Both have the strictest schedules I've seen since I started school again and huge research paper assignments on the syllabus. Yikes! At least it'll be nicer weather outside because it really helps me to be able to do a lot of reading on the patio or lounging in a lawn chair! It also helps my tan, too!

I got this recipe from the Philadelphia Cream Cheese web site because it looked really interesting. Of course I made some changes!

6 or 12 slices deli ham (*See notes below)
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cup leftover cooked rice
1/4 cup thin pepper strips
1/4 cup thin cucumber strips

Divide the cream cheese and rice into six even portions. Spread a slice of (*rectangle shaped) ham to the edge with the cream cheese. Top with the rice, gently pushing in to adhere it to the cream cheese. Place two or three strips of the peppers and cucumbers at the short end of the ham slice and roll up tightly. (*If your ham cracks or is sliced too thin, roll using 2 layers of ham.)

Cut each roll into 5 pieces and serve as an appetizer, lunch, or light dinner. We ate this as a light dinner since we had eaten a late lunch that day. It took only a few minutes to whip each one up with very little mess!

These actually reminded me of real sushi, surprisingly! The rice and crisp bite from the peppers and cucumbers were correct, while the saltiness from the ham was reminiscent of the saltiness of seafood and soy sauce.

Tips:

• To make ahead and serve later, make each roll and then wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Store in the fridge and slice just before serving.
• For brighter colors feel free to use red, orange, or yellow peppers. The green ones were on sale, so I chose those.
• If you have kids, make sure you let them help out! The assembly of these is pretty straight forward and leaves little room for great mess or error!