My Favorite Things I Have Discovered

I love the boil over gadget that I bought at Bed Bath & Beyond last month. It was around $3.00 give or take. Who knew that these actually worked? I have been having fun using my ceramic disc to see if the water boils over. I have yet to have a boil over. It is nice to save time having to clean up that foamy starchy mess on my glass stove top. The other day i was cooking Quinoa and the little disc was just rattling away! My husband and son thought I had put a rock in the pan, :)

                                                                                                                                I  am always using garlic in all my recipes it seems. I have used fresh garlic but I really detest having to smash the cloves and separate them and all the mess. With the Christopher Ranch peeled garlic my garlic fetish is in high swing! This brand taste divine and is so easy to use. I just cut off the tips and then either use the whole clove or slice, dice, or chop them up! I have been using them on homemade pizza, in green beans, soups, stews, chili, even for hamburgers, sauteed for an omelet, and just sauteed with an onion and mushrooms as a side!

This is the best thing around for storing knives! I hated the knife block it was ugly and took up counter space. I had thought of having my knives on the wall on a magnet strip but that just is creep to me. I do not like the idea of a knife just there ready for Freddy Kruger to get me with. OK I prefer to have my knives in the drawer way from within little fingers reach and bugs doing *the nasty*. I bought this at JCP for $30 minus my friends 25% discount with free shipping to the store. This one is expandable from side to side but fits here just perfect. 

I really enjoy my 3 in 1 adjustable mandoline slicer. It works great for onions! It is made by The Sharper Image and I found this one on sale at Marshalls for just $9.99. I have done other vegetable with it but I seem to prefer the perfect onion slices I get with this.

I tried these the other day at Costco and I am hooked! With hubby and I trying to eat a healthier way and really watching our carbs now I have found the perfect chip. I am addicted to the zesty Ranch Straws. I will have a bag of my chips as one of my snacks and the salty craving and chip cravings go away. 

Pantry Spring Clean

It is hard to believe how fast the pantry can get so cluttered up with any and everything. I was able to toss two grocery bags of expired food. Yes now I love being able to see what is in the pantry and what I need to buy.

Linen Closet Spring Clean

This was actually fun to be able to do. I got rid of a lot of towels as you can see. I gave away most of the games being as no one plays them. The sheets sets are now all matched up. I also gave away a few sets of sheets that I disliked immensely. I added in the storage unit here and now the linen closet looks smashing!

Office Spring Clean

This is my office area with the before and afters. It is so much nicer having the desk cleared of junk that is not needed or really used that often. I can sit at the desk now and pay bills and organize stuff!

OK I am trying to figure out how to get pictures off of my older camera to post before and after pictures. I put in the good memory card but I guess it is to new for the camera. I will look for the older card in a bit. I was not going to do the kitchen counters today but with looking for a grinder part it was easier to do the counter tops today.
These are the after pictures that I just took tonight.

In the first picture there is my Scentsy purple warmer that matches my kitchen colors. I have the red radio in the corner and that can be moved outside in the spring. The black basket is holding the bread and bagels. I also have a white utensil holder. I did have the utensils in a drawer but as much as I use them it is easier to have them at hand.

The second picture is the oven/stove in case you did not know lol. I had stuff like candles on the stove top along with a pan that was clean and a dish rag. All clean now and I even ran the cleaning cycle on the oven last week. I can not get near oven cleaning products being as my asthma kicks in and if any gets on my skin I react with a bleeding rash.

The third picture is the other corner of the oven. This corner is easy to pile stuff up on for some reason. Now it is straightened up and looks pretty darn good to me. I have my two olive oils next to the stove being as they are a daily usage pretty much. I am thinking of just having the smaller jar of olive oil to use and just refill it when needed. The large jar is to tall to sit in the cupboard by the stove.
There is the fruit bowl with apples, bananas and oranges. I am trying to see how to get the fruit off of the counter tops. I might try and hang the fruit in a basket but not sure how much I like having fruit hanging around lol.
Then I have a bowl of onions which are usually a daily used item as well. The paper towels are on the counter but I am thinking I might like an under the counter holder for them. The could go under the counter next to the can opener.

OK here is my before of the center island. Yes that is for real. OK some of the stuff was just put there tonight but hey I needed a good before picture! There is the meat grinder that is missing its blade that has caused all heck to break out here at the Gray's house. On top of the meat grinder is a crystal bowl I am giving away at church. A few other things are going into a giveaway box as well. I will have the island cleared off tomorrow and will post pictures of it when I do.