Kitchen Tips

Mary 1, 2011

Here are a few more kitchen tips:

Shop alone. Going with someone doesn't save that much on gas and if you shop with a friend she will only remind you to buy all the specials you don't need and totry the wonderful products she uses that you don't really want.

Buy your meat, milk and bread  first. Buy a week's supply at a time because if you don't you will find that each time you go for these items, you will pick up several other things that you could have done without. Especially today, shopping at Wal-Mart. How many times do you run into the store and buy more than what you needed. I am so guilty of this. I have started to grocery shop somewhere else besides Wal-Mart just for that reason. I end up going into other departments and purchasing things I don't need.

Here is a little tip someone told me but I have not yet tried but I intend to this week. When opening canned foods, open from the bottom. I know alot of cans today have pull pop tops but they don't always work so easy and when you open from the bottom of the can, it is cleaner (not so much dust) and due to gravity the heavy food has settled to the bottom and will pour out easier allowing the rest of the food to pour out easy also.







March 7, 2011

Keeping Refrigerator Clean.

Just a little tip. I learned this from my mother-in-law. Very frequently refrigerators have spills from food or leaks from drinks and leaves stains or sticky spots on the shelves that can be very hard to clean. I hate that.
Well, I rarely have that problem. I line the refrigerator shelves with dishtowels. If something spills, and it frequently does, I just change the dishtowel. That has been the greatest thing I have found to do to keep a refrigerator clean.








January 19, 2011
Not too long ago I purchased a recipe box. I had been keeping my recipes in a binder and that worked fine but I am switching to a recipe box. Mostly because I am trying to declutter my kitchen and one cabinet in particular. The recipe box sits on the counter top for convenience. With the binder I was seeking it frequently in a particular cabinet as I said was getting a little crowded with many cookbooks and binders. I like the binder idea and I use it for household organization. I don't know where I would be if I couldn't pull out my big binder for household issues but for recipes I am going to try something new.
So far, it is going pretty good. The box is handy and in a conventient place. This is probably a very small issue but as you will see I am an organization freak. I like my life organized and uncluttered. There will be alot more of that as time goes on.

















I recently purchased a Kitchen Madonna plaque and put it in my kitchen. I hope and pray I will  have the spirit Mary had when she cared for her family.
I, also, found this prayer on another blog. It was apparently written by an unknown writer. So here it is: 

              The Homemakers Prayer:

Lord of all pots and pans and things, since I’ve not time to be
A saint by doing lovely things or watching late with Thee
Or dreaming in the dawn light or storming Heaven’s gates
Make me a saint by getting meals and washing up the plates.
Although I must have Martha’s hands, I have a Mary mind
And when I black the boots and shoes, Thy sandals, Lord I find.
I think of how they trod the earth, what time I scrub the floor
Accept this meditation Lord, I haven’t time for more.
Warm all the kitchen with Thy love, and light it with Thy peace
Forgive me all my worrying and make my grumbling cease.
Thou who didst love to give men food, in room or by the sea
Accept this service that I do, I do it unto Thee.








While cleaning out my mothers house I found these great vintage little food advisers. They belonged to my grandmother.  This one is Sealtest Food Adviser winter 1942. I thought the advice was pretty good here.
After all the eating we do at Christmas now is a good time to start thinking healthy, cutting back. That is my plan. I hope to get more healthy foods in the kitchen.  I'm not real big on red meat. I try to eat more chicken. Just because we need to watch the fats and cholesterol, so I am not too crazy about the menu but I like the idea of balancing meals. I'll probably be posting about this another time but using the food guide pyramid or basic seven to balance meals will be a great guide.

What is interesting is the comment that American women's greatest task is proper diet for the family. As mothers and wives we are to be providing healthy foods for our family.  

Dear Lord help us to educate our family for your glory.

"Since parents have conferred life on their children, they have a most solemn obligation to educate their offspring. Hence, parents must be acknowledged as the first and foremost educators of their children. Their role as educators is so decisive that scarcely anything can compensate for their failure in it. For it devolves on parents to create a family atmosphere so animated with love and reverence for God and others that a well-rounded personal and social development will be fostered among children. Hence, the family is the first school of those social virtues which every society needs."--Gravissimum Educationis (one of the documents of the Second Vatican Council)

Helping and Loving Our Neighbor

Corporal works of Mercy
Feed the hungry

Give drink to the thirsty

Clothe the naked

Shelter the homeless

Visit the sick

Visit the imprisoned

Bury the dead



The Spiritual Works of Mercy
Admonish the sinner

Instruct the ignorant

Counsel the doubtful

Comfort the sorrowful
Bear wrongs patiently

Forgive all injuries

Pray for the living and the dead


Good Samaritain