Kitchen Tips

When it comes to food, even if you simplify as much as possible... shopping, cooking, etc - on whatever level you do it - takes time and energy. I always have to remind myself that I dislike shopping and cooking on the same day. It's exhausting. I've found that I prefer to round up all the food one day and do my cooking and meal prepping on a day I'm planning to be at home.

Here's my farmer's market goods for this week. $19.50 total. All this would have been twice as much at the grocery store.

I recently learned a tip about cutting boards. If you have one that slides - which I do - put a slightly damp paper towel under it to give it some grip. It holds the board perfectly in place.

I love these Pure Kamachi knives.They were inexpensive and work really well. I've had mine over a year. They are a little lighter weight than your average knife which takes a little getting used to. Costco sells these on big time sale a couple of times a year. I think I bought mine for $30.

Every week or so, I find it helpful to make up a bunch of food in one session and have it all ready and available in the fridge. If I put couple of hours in on a Saturday morning, it gives me the freedom to coast for a few days. This past Saturday I made pimento cheese, chicken salad, homemade granola, chocolate chip cookie dough, and a bunch of sandwiches.

I love this box of sandwiches idea. This time I made turkey with light mayo and some pimento cheese. Between each layer of sandwiches, I placed a barely damp paper towel to prevent the bread from drying out. My box holds 12 whole sandwiches. These were perfect to come home to for Sunday lunch after church. I cut up some fruit and lunch was done!

Later that afternoon, I baked some of the cookies from the already-made dough.

You can add fresh, sliced tomatoes and lettuce right before serving.

Publix started selling my favorite Greek Gods Greek Yogurt. It's THE best. It inspired me to make homemade granola. I think this is a wonderful base recipe/tutorial. There is so much flexibility with homemade granola. I love it.

A while back I caught a really great sale on Ziploc bags at Costco. Because they were there, I found myself defaulting to them for most of my food storage. When we ran out of bags, I never replaced them and have been using plastic containers to store fruits, vegetables, leftovers, etc. I thought the washing of so many containers would be a burden. Turns out it's not at all. This is much more economical!

I would love to invest in some ceramic containers with lids if I found some I liked. 

On the same topic of disposable kitchen products, I did buy a pack of 300 paper plates. With baby coming so soon, it seemed practical. I love getting a rest from constant dishes.

Last but not least, chicken salad with these Rosemary & olive oil Triscuits is a fantastic combination. My mother-in-law served this to me at her house the other day, and I immediately came home and had to re-create the experience.

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What about you? Got any tips?

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Also, Feeding My Family: How I Deal