Our Kitchen!!!!

Since being married, I have quickly come to realize that I love having my own home. I love walking in the front door and placing things where I know they belong. (Of course I am certain my mother would stop me right here to point out that children change this.) I love planning a grocery list, coming in under budget, and cooking our meals. I love all of this even more now that we have our very own kitchen.


Apartment Kitchen

One of the few things I knew I wanted when we started looking for houses was a kitchen with plenty of cabinets and counter space. Our apartment was great for a start, but not everything could be kept in the kitchen. We had to leave a few things in storage or on shelves in the office. Now...


Before (view from the front door)

The kitchen was beautiful! It was the same fresh, mint green as the rest of the house. It had a built pantry, large drawers, and lots of cabinets. Husband looked at it and saw a tiny kitchen, but I saw something else entirely. Yes, it is a small square of a kitchen, but not being Italian promises my future is free of needed pizza-throwing space or anything of the sort. I pointed out that the sink was big enough to bath babies (something my parents did with all of us when we were very little). The cabinets...where to start. Not to mention, it was clean and new, yet old. I loved it.



Before

Before

Before (view from the kitchen)

Just like with the rest of the house, the green had to go. I had originally planned on painting the walls a bright teal blue or sea foam green, but seeing as the kitchen wall ran straight into the living room I knew it would throw off the warm look we wanted. What better color then than RED!!!! I love red. It is happy, warm, cheerful, and a mixture of two of my favorite decades- 1940s & 1950s.


After (on our first day of painting)

After (Moving Day!)

We had to buy a new fridge. My husband loves telling the story of how they had to turn the fridge onto its side and push it over the counter. I am just thankful I wasn't here because...well...we would probably still be without a fridge. Either way, we now have one and it is right where it belongs. The crazy thing is that they did not plug in our fridge or hook it up. Apparently this is common knowledge to everyone, but us. In our defense though, we asked this specific question and we were told that the delivery men would deliver it and connect the water line. Not true. Husband was going to connect it, but ran out of time before having to go back to work. Thankfully, my wonderful family offered to stop by & help last Monday with anything we needed. They even hung a few of our blinds for us. (The house came with completely bare windows.)



After
Instead of a "Coffee Bar", I set up a "Breakfast Bar" in the corner. :)

I love going into our kitchen. I know where everything is, and there are even some cabinets that are not full. I actually have a drawer now just for my tea towels, hand towels, aprons, and table cloths. It is luxury, I know, but it makes me smile to open this drawer. This drawer pretty much sums up my kitchen.


Drying Mat (left)
Top (left to right) Dish Towels, Tea Towels, Cloth Napkins, Aprons, Tablecloths
Bottom (left to right) Potholders, Small Towels, Hand Towels

When I step into my kitchen, I can't help but smile. I get to see all of the pieces that I have collected over the years. I see things I bought, pieces my family bought me for my hopechest, and a few wedding gifts. It makes me smile. I see myself cooking years from now, with our children propped on barstools watching me. I hear all the stories I am going to share with them; just like my mother did with me.


After

After

After
(Where better to display my antique mixer than the kitchen!)

It is just a very happy room. I love my new kitchen!



Our New Kitchen!

Midnight Runs and Kitchen Creations

Two weekends ago, my husband and I decided to make a midnight run to Taco Bell. For the record, it is a mere five minutes from our apartment. It was freezing outside, and I've still not figured out whether or not it was the chilly night air or the excitement that had me giggling all the way out to his truck. We decided on the 99cent grillers. I decided on the Ranch Chipotle Chicken Griller. It was delicious!
The next morning I woke up in one of those moods. You know the one. You have a menu planned for the day, but you are feeling adventurous and want to try a new recipe. Crazy to me that I can feel this way when every recipe is new to me these days. Still, I began to wonder if I could make the griller. Without a way to grill it, I knew the answer was no. I did a mental recap of the ingredients in the kitchen and this is what I came up with. *Please bear with me. I don't use exact measurements unless I am following someone else's recipe.*

Spicy Ranch Chicken

 

Ingredients-

2 chicken breasts

butter

Pillsbury biscuits

Shredded Cheese

Tony Chachere's Original Seasoning

garlic salt

onion salt

chili powder

Seasonings

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 





Casserole Ingredients

1. First, I bake our chicken breasts. I cook ours in a small baking dish with butter, a little water (to help prevent dryness), and seasoning. I sprinkle with garlic salt, onion salt, chili powder, and Tony Chachere's seasoning. I bake the chicken at 400 degrees for about 45 min.

 

Before Baking

2. When our chicken has baked, I remove it from the oven. I turn our oven down to 350 degrees at this point (following the biscuit cooking directions).

 

3. I spray our casserole dish with a non-stick spray first. I then lay the biscuit circles along the bottom of the dish, and press the circles firmly together to form one base.

4. I lightly cover the base in ranch dressing. (Too much softens the biscuits even after baking.)

5. I shred our chicken and then lay the pieces over the ranch dressing.

6. I cover the chicken in ranch dressing (again, just enough to cover).

7. I add a layer of shredded cheese, seasoning with Tony Chachere's seasoning & chili powder.

8. I bake the dish in the oven for 15 min. or until the biscuits begin to turn golden.   

 

My husband loves it. *I promise never to makes this for my family though if they come to dinner. They don't like ranch dressing.* :)
It's amazing what you can come up with after one midnight ride for a snack.