Getting Hot In Here- What's spicing up your Mid-At Kitchen?

I love my fresh door frig. I could have done without the water and ice in the door, but DH wanted it, so..... I do like the freezer on the bottom. I would always lose things on the bottom shelves of the frig. I figured since I am tall I wanted the things I used the most at the top, hence freezer is now on bottom.

Pork tenderloin, sweets, apple salad, corn bread and another veg tonight. Company is coming over. Table all set. I am just waiting a little longer before I get started

For some reason, DH talked my out of the bottom freezer because of Consumers Report. Am I sorry!! Most of my friends and relatives now have the bottom freezer without having any problems.

Boneless chicken thighs stuffed with asiago cheese and arrugula, rice pilaf and salad

Thought I made a big pot of chicken soup yesterday but it all went in one meal.

I rememebr ConsRep didn't like the bottom freezer but forget why. THis house has several huge fans of ice/ filtered water dispensing. Maybe when kids have moved out we would go to bottom freezer.

From the posts, the bottom freezer wouldn't work well for Speedie because her husband is so tall, and Jan likes the bottom freezer because she is so tall LOL. I guess it really comes down to how you use it most - getting things out of the fridge or getting things out of the freezer. Wonder what ConsRep didn't like about the bottom freezer?

I have the opposite problem of being really short - 5'0" if I'm standing up straight, 4'11" if not... I tend to get a lot of drinks and ice throughout the day. With the bottom freezer, the ice bin is at a perfect height for me, and it rolls out with the door making it even more convenient. But, if you have the ice dispenser in the door that probably works even better for people of all heights.

I'd love some homemade soup tonight, but I don't have the ingredients on hand and don't feel like taking the drive into Leesburg to go shopping. Nice and cozy here with the fire going (and Mike snoring in the recliner behind me, just lovely). Anybody making snacks for the super bowl? I'm making little smokies wrapped in bacon and baked in brown sugar - easy peasy recipe from my friend Cheryl, and perfect to take to the super bowl gathering Mike and I are going to tomorrow.

Lasagne for dinner tonight. TOmorrrow??

I saw football brownies yesterday- Cut brownies in diamond shape, then use white icing to write little stitches on it, just one line long ways and three little crossways. Cute!

Heehee. Since I'm the one going in for things the most, the choice was whatever pleased me. Good choice!!!

We are having a Soup-er bowl party at church. Soups and chili, a time of worship before the game then games during commercials and half-time. Never done this before. Lots of prizes.

What's heating up my kitchen? Sweaty people! =)

It's funny, DH and I had long discussions about the refrigerator/freezer... and it's only funny because we both have had the same viewpoint from the beginning: No Bottom Freezer. Yeah, with his height it would be a big pain, literally. The work he does is hard enough on his back and knees as it is (up and down ladders, on his knees on the floor and back up again repetitively, constantly, all day long, "switching and plugging")... anything else to make him have to bend or kneel while at home is just out of the question. We found a super nice side-by-side with a HUGE freezer section which could easily fit probably 6 or 7 of those jumbo sized frozen pizzas on one shelf if they're standing on their sides.... and still have 4 large shelf spaces for everything else, plus 2 door racks. It's really deep, but if I remember correctly, the shelves slide out half-way, making it a LOT easier to reach the stuff in the back, even on the top shelf. Aspen, I'm like you; SHORT. =) 5'1" here. Being able to reach stuff on the back of a top shelf (because the shelves slide out) was a BIG selling point to us. It's a 30 cubic foot unit by the way, not sure I mentioned that.

Anyway, DH and I huffed and puffed and sweated our buns off yesterday. Got the basement well organized and neatened so the guys could just roll the new stuff in and the old stuff out with no problem. We also moved the old washer/dryer out to near the door so they can remove it easily. AND got the wall/floor behind the old units cleaned and vacuumed. < =D Moved out the fridge, scrubbed ALL behind it (floor and walls), and removed those 3 cabinets, one above the fridge, one wall cabinet beside the fridge, and one base cabinet beside the fridge. Home Depot, here we come for 3 new cabinets! < =D

Oh, and to answer your question Gita, our ceilings are normal ceiling height, and yes, he changes the bulbs in our recessed lights and cleans the ceiling fans while standing flat-footed. < =D

Sally, thank you for the tips (on the appliances and home-reno forum), I will head on over there to find Cathy! =) I never knew that about not filling the soap dispenser cup of the dishwasher all the way full!!

Speedie, that was quite a day! I was thinking of you and your hubby hard at work in total contrast to my lazy day. I really need to find a way to get Mike and I motivated to finish up the many in-work projects. I didn't even make much of a dinner - just cooked up a container of that refrigerated pasta and jarred spaghetti sauce.

Sunday morning breakfast with my neighbor friends has been a tradition for years. We meet up with Mark and his 3 year son, and when his mother (my friend Cheryl) and her DH Jack are home from FL (Apr - Nov) they join us too. A few weeks ago I switched over from a stack of pancakes and bacon to sausage gravy and biscuits. I was always afraid to try sausage gravy because of the texture (yes, I've been childish picky about vegetables and texture since I was a child - immature I know, but my preconceived notions of yuck have been pretty hard to put aside all these years). Anyway, I finally decided to try a bite of Mike's and it was delish... as long as I get the gravy on the side and can take charge of just how much of that creamy consistency goes on my biscuit LOL.

Sally, I remember that one of the objections to the bottom freezer refrigerators was "too noisy". ?????

Speedie, first time I've learned about not overfilling the dishwasher cup. Boy, am I guilty of that! Need to break the habit.

Terri, you're making me want to try the gravy even though I've always been a little turned off by it.

Oh Terri, sausage gravy and biscuits.. YUMMMMYYYYY!!!!! Now I am hungry, and it's all your fault! < =P But I don't think it's childish to have a 'thing' about textures in food... texture is one of the main parts of what makes food good or not. It is also the main reason I hate canned peas, the texture is YEUUCCHH!!! Fresh ones are great, canned ones are icky-and-a-half! < =D

... and don't get me started on my preference of the texture of my oatmeal... ;)

Aside from their disgusting texture, canned peas don't even taste like peas. The worst yet is canned spinach, which came onto my plate at a friends house. OMG!!

Just lurking here but memories of my mother and one sister sharing that horrid can of spinach is terrible! It bears no resemblance to the real thing!

Hi pirl!

Sausage gravy and biscuits this morning were great. I only used a small portion of the gravy on my biscuits and packed up the rest for Mark to bring home to his chocolate lab Reece.

haha, every time I see canned spinach in the store I just think why bother??? Never tried and knew it would be horrible.
I've never been a big fan of sweet peas in any form, really. When I grew them we'd eat them right from the pod- but partly because I never grew enough at once.

I luv sausage gravy!

Eventually I figured out that oatmeal being too thick was my problem there- eeeccchhh so gluey. Today we had 'steel cut oats' they get sort of creamy but the grains are chewy and kind of pop, really different from rolled oats.

Going to look up a recipe for red beans over rice- and try out a new rice cooker.

aspen -- how do you make your little smokies wrapped in bacon?

Very very simple - 1 pkg little smokies, 1 pkg bacon cut in thirds, 1 cup of brown sugar. Wrap each little smokie with a piece of bacon, place in a baking dish, cover with brown sugar, refridgerate for a while (Cheryl does overnight, but I just put them together this morning for cooking later this afternoon). Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

Sigh -- what is a "little smokie?"

They are in the hotdog section - Hillshire Farms brand name, and they are small little hog dog look alikes - labeled Lit'l smokies smoked sausage, beef, etc...

This message was edited Feb 3, 2013 3:34 PM

Catching up, here... so many tasty recipes!

Rose, I'm glad to have that Mex. Chicken recipe... I managed to buy an extra pack of thighs at Wegman's, thinking I was "out." (Their boneless thighs are a good deal, and I like them for things like curry where I want to cook the chicken a little longer without cooking all the chicken flavor out of it.)

Al, I've never come across the "body bag tacos" before, and I think that idea is genius! My brother and sister-in-law are both scout leaders, and they're going to love it too. It would be great food for a campout, as long as they didn't get grief for serving chips (hey, all the rest of it is nutritious!). I'm going to try it at our next get-together... almost nobody RSVPs any more, so sometimes I don't know if I'm going to have 10 people or 40. This is a very flexible recipe -- extra taco (or chili-seasoned) meat can be frozen, extra "fixin's" can be next week's salad.

Penzey's -- YES! I'm so spoiled with their cinnamon & vanilla... I bring them along when I go to visit my in-laws, because I know I'll be baking! (My MIL doesn't do much in the kitchen any more, or I'd make sure she had a supply also.) I've also switched to King Arthur Flour, especially for a couple of cookie recipes (like Jim's favorite chocolate chip cookies) that tend to be a little persnickity.. with the KA, I find I don't end up trying to adjust the amount of flour to get the texture just right.

Happy, thanks for the offer to pick up from Penzey's... seems like I'm out of something, too, will have to check to see what!

I think The Spice House was started by Bill's parents and is still run by one of his brothers, while he split off to create Penzey's. I don't know that there was any animosity in it, just different business models maybe.

We got a new fridge about a year ago, and I "won" the style argument, got one with the freezer on the bottom and a central "snack drawer" that Joyanna and I love for yogurt, cheese, lunch meat, etc. It has "french doors" on top, and it still does ice & water through the door. (That's the one thing I know Jim wouldn't give up!)

Any fridge or freezer that's older than 10 years (maybe 12 now since the new-ish energy use regs went into effect) is costing you a lot to run compared to the new ones. I wanted an old fridge for the garage, and Jim said a new one (basic model) would pay for itself within a couple of years.

Sally, if your new rice cooker is a "cooker" and not a "steamer," I've got a good thing to try! I've been trying to shift my carb/protein ratio (more protein, fewer carbs), so I've been experimenting with barley. Our rice cooker does a perfect job with it if I use the "brown rice" setting! I use about 1 1/4 cups water to 1 cup pearl barley (either the regular size or another that I found that's these huge pea-sized kernels). Sometimes I add quinoa, 1/4 cup with 1 3/4 cup barley. The red quinoa from Trader Joe's is visually appealing, also, and adds a nutty flavor. A couple of broken-up dried shiitake mushrooms are a good addition. You can mix barley with brown rice, also.

Hi, Pirl!!

I LOVE steel cut oats

Canned peas are horrible. Frozen much better, but fresh is the bestest!!

Will have to try those bagged tacos. Great idea!!

Hi, Jan! Another frozen or canned (OMG) product I won't eat is asparagus. Only fresh from our own garden and it's worth the wait.

If we're served limp/gray broccoli I have no problem not eating it - tastes like punishment for a sin I didn't commit.

No bouncing ball store bought winter tomatoes either.

Hahaha

Awesome soup-ER bowl at church tonight. There were about 8 crockpots of soup or chili plus some things on the side and desserts. During commercials there were 'minute to win it games'. Kids had choir then a praise time during halftime. It was great. Most people left after that. We used cups for the soup, so you could walk around. I think I tried about 6 of the soups. Just a taste each time added up. Someone made root beer float cupcakes. They were awesome!!!

Sounds great Jan.
I watched some of Minute to win it one night, and that looked like great 'teen group' stuff to play.

Made red beans and rice. Love the rice cooker! First time. Rice and water in, push button, go play till done, comes out perfect and automatically goes on stay warm when the rice is done. $30 at Target.
My recipe for Red Beans needs tweaking. But we ate plenty anyway.
Then Krusteaez pumkin bars mix, that was good too.

We've been loving our rice cooker, too... replaced a steamer-type one about a year ago... that one was also pretty "set it up & walk away," but this one is easier yet, plus it makes great barley, steel-cut oatmeal, etc.

Here's a recipe for bean soup seasoning. Got this from am magazine ages ago. It would make a good seasoning base for almost anything though. It turns out 'savory" not just chickeny or beefy.
You might put a ham bone in with this too. Maybe cut down the bouillons if you do.


Bean soup seasoning for one large pot

3 TB minced onion flakes
2 tsp beef bouillon granules or 2 cubes
2 tsp chicken " " " " "
Bay leaf
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp basil
1 tsp parsley flakes

One pound or 1 1/2 to 2 cups of beans (or less beans and some small pasta)
One can diced tomatoes
Water

You can throw it all together and simmer until beans are done. Or presoak your beans and add seasoning and tomatoes later. If using pasta, add it later so it doesn't get too soft.

Critter -- we have a 25-year old subzero -- the cost of replacing it is fantastically high, plus we keep hoping to "re-do" our kitchen so I don't want to replace the appliances piece-meal. We have had it repaired so many times.... I didn't realize there had been such huge gains in energy efficiency, though. It does stand to reason....

Yum Sally, that bean soup (seasoning) looks great!! I saved the recipe and will try it soon.

Tonight the kitchen will be heating up with our Traditional Chicken dinner: roast chicken, mashed taters and gravy, and corn. Simple 'meat and taters' comfort food. And it'll all be cooked in/on my new range! < =D I've only tried the oven so far, so this evening will be the first time to use the cooktop... and I'm a little nervous, to be honest. Heeheeheee. I was told emphatically by the delivery guy that, no matter WHAT anyone tells me, do NOT use my cast iron on the ceramic cooktop. OK. =( Maybe I can save it for oven use though!? < =)

There was a HUGE fiasco with all the deliveries yesterday. I won't bore y'all with the details, but the only thing running and functional yesterday evening were the dryer and the range... and the dryer ran ONLY because DH hooked it up.

Today all was made right and the MONSTER of a fridge arrived. WOW that thing is huge! DH and I transferred EVERYTHING from BOTH the fridge/freezer and the stand-up freezer, and there is room to spare in both compartments! Great googley moogley!!

Man, it sure will be nice to have a 'real' meal tonight... last few nights have been quickies or pizza, too big a pain to carry it all up from the downstairs fridge, then back again when I'm done with it. =/ Well, it's all... and I do mean ALL, up here now! =)

Yay Suze!
Now go unplug that spare freezer/fridge/ thing, if you have not already.

Wait till you see that new washer wash. . I bet you stand there and watch it spin. Its like a jet taking off...

Are you on a well or city water? Have to watch your water pressure if a well.

Heeheee, yes Ma'am, we unplugged the stand-up freezer immediately! =) The other fridge will stay running (better go catch it!) for 'extras', our usual routine, but that's ok.

Oh heck yeah, we both stood there and watched how it works, watching all the little lights blink and go on and off, Hahahahaaa!! We're on city water, so I think it will be OK pressure-wise. I've already crawled around on the floor with a flashlight looking underneath for leaks too, LOL! All dry, thank GOD! < =D

Now I've actually got 3 pots on my new stove top (bites fingernails). I think I really like this range a lot better than the old one. Even the boring ol' frozen pizza we had last night was better than they had been before. Heeheeheee. Wheeee, new toys!! < =D

Sally good catch on the well, but I believe most people have adequate pressure any more. I think the minimum was only 15psi. The front load washer saves water for sure and mine spins the clothes so dry, my normal dry cycle starts at 38min.
I got my pot roast done for dinner, with carrots and potatoes, just as Holly likes it. I want to get my bacon bean soup started so I can drop stuff off at the in-laws tomorrow. I know they both enjoy it, she,so she doesn't have to cook, he, 'cause he likes more country style meals. LOL Ric

chuckle!!
My washer goes beBeep beBEEP be BEEP when its done, sings a little song. I skip gaily out to the laundry room when I hear it, LOL, it just has way more personality than a buzz.


Really tasty cole slaw today made with "Korean cabbage" from the 'world food store". Mayo, vinegar, sugar, salt.

How fun!!!!!

Yum Ric!
Well most people don't have our well; we discovered that if someone is showering while the washer runs, the washer senses low pressure and quits halfway, and makes us go "Wha?????" and call the repair guy...we used ta think we were smart but we didn't guess that our pressure was the problem. Thank heavens for minimum warranty periods!

Way to go with the new range et al, Speedie!

I'm not sure of the "why not?" with the cast iron, unless maybe the bottom of the pots/pans might not be smooth and could scratch the surface. We've got a ceramic top on our stove, and I've even rolled the dice and used my canning pot & pressure canner on the big burner. I've never used a cast iron pan on it, though. One burner (back one, thankfully) is pitted, but that's because I thought it would protect the burner if I put down aluminum foil before heating a metal skewer on it (for putting holes in planting trays, nach)... not! The aluminum foil burned up, and the glass/ceramic stove surface under it was damaged a little. The burner still works fine, though, and I don't need to have everything look flawless, so we're good.

Zio's pizza tonight, because Jim had to go into Rockville for meetings this afternoon.

Speedie,
Just a quick note. I fill my unused freezer and fridge space with 2 liter (or any size) bottles of water. Doubles as my "emergency supply" and I think a full freezer uses less energy than one half full.

Happy, Radio Shack sells a small device that you plug into and then into outlet that will read out the energy usage of individual appliances, lights, etc. I believe a SubZero was pretty "efficient" to run and repair for 20 + years than new models that may use less electricity to keep the same volume of food cold but are meant to be replaced in 5-10 years rather than repaired! I also don't recall huge improvements in energy efficiency..just adding more insulation. Did you know that there are magnetic panels that adhere to old appliances to give them the "stainless steel" finish or match what ever?

http://www.applianceart.com/

PS, I hate my ceramic cook top stove (got it "free" another story) Yes, I can use my cast iron on it, but it does scratch and doesn't perform like on an old coil burner because it is not perfectly flat on the bottom and heats unevenly. Any pot or pan that rocks even slightly on the burners will heat unevenly on my stove. Also, can't make popcorn by the jiggle the pot method! There is a whole thread on ceramic cooktops in the Clean and Clutter forum. Mine is one that is harder to keep fresh and shiny looking. Many really love them, so I bet you are in that crowd!

This message was edited Feb 4, 2013 8:03 PM

Jill---

You can use "Bar Keepers Friend" cleanser and polish on your ceramic cooktop--without scratching it.
Says so right on the can. There are different formulas. so make sure you get the right one.
I got mine at "Bed bath and Beyond' on their clearance rack.
Home depot carries it as well, in a bit smaller can. I have used it on stubborn burnt on cruddy stuff, and with some
rubbing, this stuff cleans it off. Same for bottoms and insides of pots, my SS sink, etc...

http://www.target.com/p/bar-keepers-friend-multipurpose-household-cleanser-polish-21-oz/-/A-13304297

I think the Subzero freezers are in a league of their own! Jim (DH) says the "energy star complient" fridge/freezers are far more efficient, but you're right... with "modern" appliances lasting 10 years rather than 25, you end up with more environmental costs in manufacturing/resources as well as landfill space or recycling cost.

You're right, Gita... and I've been using special ceramic stovetop cleaner, meaning to pick up some Barkeeper's Friend next time I run out of the other stuff. Seems every time I turn around I'm reading about something else I could clean with it! It won't fix the actual damage I did to the cooktop with the aluminum foil, though.

hm thanks Gita, I have some Barkeepers Friend around here somewhere,,,,,need to try it on my regular enameled stove top with brown crispy crud around some of the burners.

The one HD sells is the size of a can of "Commet'. Regular size...

The one I got at BB and B is really big---21 oz.!
I have noticed on the one i am using up right now (quite seldom), that it seems to
clump a little due to moisture in the surroundings. If you can--try to find a lid that fits over it.
Something you can recycle---small container of Yogurt lid???

I have an older gas stove--(Sears) maybe 22 years? It does not have sealed burners--and the pans that
cover the openings are Steel--or some kind of metal??-- and can get beyond cruddy.
I have scrubbed and scrubbed--even with Bartenders. It did help--but not completely.
But this is years and years of spilled and burned on stuff. Maybe Oven Cleaner may help?
The grids above the pans, that the pots sit on, are cast iron--I think. They don't show any dirt--
as they are black, but I am sure it is all there.

I once looked (on-line) for replacing the pans only (4) for this stove--and it was close to $60.
Yeah right? I can live with what I have.