Rethinking My Kitchen

We have been updating the kitchen over the last year with different appliances...
About two months ago, a big appliance switch took us from updating to rethinking.

We now have two new appliances that we use ALL THE TIME:

#1 TOVALA 
(they don't know that I am writing about them)

MBB talked me into the Tovala oven over the summer and we committed to a year of their meal program. It is really nice to have something that takes about 2 minutes of effort and 20 minutes later - dinner!  It also has the great factor that we could eat different things (like a restaurant).

The extra nice thing is when cooking other things (not their meals), you can save the cooking times in the app (if they aren't already there) using the barcodes on boxes. This helps with tweaking the cooking times/styles and saving for future ease. 

It has replaced our toaster oven (which previously replaced our toaster) and some things that used to go in the oven or microwave now get cooked here.


#2 NINJA 4-IN-1 AUTO IQ
(they don't know that I am writing about them)

When my large crockpot cracked over Thanksgiving, the "investigation" of the replacement began.
There was a big instapot vs crockpot discussion  in our house that evolved into watching a YouTube video of instapot vs crockpot vs multi-cooker.
I had never considered a multi-cooker before, but being able to make my crock pot recipes while dirtying up less dishes was a huge bonus in my book.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the IQ.
The IQ Cookbook is extremely helpful and has got me back into cooking WAY MORE.  MBB also picked a bunch of recipes that he was willing to try that were things I NEVER thought he would try.  Score!

I am now starting to look into using my IQ for some other non-crockpot recipes that are not in the super convenient cookbook. This may take a bit as the IQ does cook extremely hot, so my cooking temps and times may need to be adjusted slightly.

It has replaced all of our large crockpots (I still have some small ones for dips).  It also has the capability to kick my steamer to the curb, but still working on that one.


SO...
We are still looking to see if any other new great appliances would help reduce the amount of older appliances taking up space in our cabinets and will help with my goal to reduce our restaurant spend this year.

Any suggestions (no, I don't want an instapot!).

Namaste.

#FridayFinds - Tovala Oven

We have a new appliance...
And a new meal delivery plan...

And I am loving it.
Meet the Tovala:

In the picture was the first "delivered meal" that we cooked in the Tovala - Chicken Pot Pie.
And it was yummy! If they offer it again, I'll be flagging it for delivery...

It is great - take plastic off the containers, put in the oven, scan the bar code and hit start!
Usually takes me about 2 minutes...
Add a few if you need to pour a container of sauce over something...

I am a big fan!  We only order 4 meals a week, so 2 nights worth and there are some nights that I am disappointed that we don't have more.  The portions are perfect for me (I feel full even counting calories), but MBB has to supplement sometimes to have a full meal.

I will say their meal plan is a bit pricey ($12 per meal - that's for one person)...
But then I remember that we would spend more if we ate out...
Most of the time I don't feel like cooking after a 9 hour day at work...
And this is a bit more on the healthy side too, which is big with me counting calories again.

Another benefit?

You can scan stuff that you buy at the grocery store to cook...
Sometimes, it is there (Grands Cinnamon Rolls) and sometimes it isn't.
If it isn't, you can program the cook time (and adjust it for future cooks if you need to) and it will save it for future barcode scans.

And - the Tovala is a steam oven... I'm not sure how that works, but stuff like the individual Red Baron pizzas cook way better here than in the microwave! At least that's what MBB says.

Namaste.

*Note - Tovala did not pay me to write about them.  They don't even know I exist.
But, if they see this and want to offer me a few free meals, I wouldn't be opposed!  :)

Fun Popsicles

We bought some molds awhile back, but hadn't had a chance to try them...
Until now.

Meet the dinosaur pudding popsicles.
Turned out pretty good, though the T-Rex's picture (the second one) has a lot to be desired!

I think that I am going to try juice in them on the next visit and see how the boys like those.

Namaste.

Found One...

So, a few weeks ago...

Most of clothes don't fit and my thyroid levels are all over the place...

I realized that I just needed to be miserable and take care of it by myself.

 

In doing so, I have been searching for some things that make it a little less miserable...

 

The "snack" that I have found that I like the most is the one that appears to be the hardest to find.

I have had to give money to a co-worker to buy them for me... :(

 

But, they make me feel like I had a treat and don't kill my calorie tracking...
Which is a VERY good thing.

 

And no, CLIF did not pay me to say that. 

They probably don't even know that my little blog even exists.

 

 

Namaste. 

 

Like it

I am not a fan of beer...

Back in my college / early 20s, I could be found with a jolly-ranger flavored Zima, but those days are distant memories.  Along with that particular boyfriend!

Current day and age, I can drink an Angry Orchard with a shot of fireball (no lie - it tastes like an Apple Pie!)... And now this beauty!

Yes, this stuff is amazing... And I'm not even a big Root Beer fan!

Now, to just have my local grocery store carry it!!!

On the other hand, it may be a good thing that they don't!

Namaste.

Mourning

I have found that I don't like making cookies anymore.  

Mainly, because I don't like all of the waiting that is involved!

Bagged cookies aren't so bad as they only have two or three cookie sheets to go into the oven... 

I can handle that much waiting.

But, when you have 10, 11, 12 cookie sheets.  No thanks...

So, I have found myself making more things that either only go in the oven once or not at all.

Cookie bars... Muffins... Mini-loaves... And yes, Christmas Wreaths!

I really like the wreaths and they tend to disappear whenever I take them anywhere...

And then, it happened...

The only place that carried the round pretzels, stopped (I'm looking at you Meijer!).

I literally stood in the aisle with tears in my eyes.

Yes, I can order them on-line... 

12 bags at a time...

Or pay twice the cost of the pretzels in shipping...

So, I started using the mini-twists (or small size...don't know which one I ended up with)...

Yes, they may taste better with more pretzel to the chocolate, but...

I am still mourning my wreaths.  

No more MnMs on it... 

No more clever name...

I also made a few recipes that I saw on facebook: 

Coal Bars

White Chocolate / Red Velvet Fudge

Neither turned out great and probably won't be a repeat for me.

Namaste.

Yummy!

I was back in my old neighborhood for a dreaded doctor's appointment...

So I decided to celebrate being able to use my favorite dry cleaner (my wallet was very happy too!) and my favorite grocery store... A treat made it to work to celebrate Thanksgiving...

It can't be too bad... it has fruit... right?

I REALLY miss this grocery store since I moved to Kentucky...

Namaste.

Yumminess!

Played around with a new drink...
But it needs a name...

Cup of skim milk
Tad of chocolate syrup
More than a tad of Bourbon Cream

Yumminess!

Namaste.

Caramel Apple Cupcakes

Calories: 127

 

Results

MBB - Okay - he wasn't a fan of the caramel.

SassyMarie - I liked the cake part (notice the few that didn't have nuts - those are mine.

I think we both agree that I need to combine the cake from this recipe with the icing of the Apple Streusel Cupcakes (posted yesterday).

Namaste.

Apple Streusel Cupcakes

Calories:  138 (148 if use sugarcane)

Results

MBB - Yep

SassyMarie - Yep

Namaste.

Merry Christmas to us

MBB and I agreed that we weren't going to buy anything to start new projects.

We were only going to buy things to finish projects already started...

I really want to try to get some things done this year and be able to call rooms "DONE".

We don't have a single room in the house that currently has that title.

In our defense, we didn't technically buy the items to start a new project.

We had a gift card that Luke and my favorite sister-in-law (sorry, can't remember her nickname on here right now) got us for Christmas...

So, technically, they started the new project.

And now that it is a project already started - we HAVE to finish it...

Right?

:)

Yep, we are going to attempt to install my backsplash in the kitchen.

You know that one that I have been wishing for since we worked on the kitchen oh-so-many years ago?

The one that the only things that I could find that I liked were way out of our price range?

The one that was going to be so messy with all of that grout?

Yeah, well, MBB found these...

No grout.

No piecing together.

And they match my colors, for the most part.  I think I can live with the small amount of green.

Now, just to find a zillion more gifts cards to finish buying the many packs that we will need to finish the project.  :)

Namaste.

15 more

I must really want to get back into blogging.

The amount that I just fought with the stupid Blogger App to get this picture posted is unbelievable!

Target #2 was my "left-over container" cabinet or whatever you want to call it.

I keep my measuring cups and plastic containers for left-overs.

I searched everywhere for all of the containers and lids and anything that may have tried to find another home.  Then I played find the match and these lucky 15 are being gifted to the trash man as I cannot find their matches.

The cabinet looks great, but we'll see how long that lasts!

(And why in the world are these sentences centered?)

Namaste.

Time To Organize

NOTE:  I am having a love / hate relationship with the Blogger App on my phone.

Here is the third attempt at this blog post.

And I wonder why I don't blog more often????

There is a blog that is on my daily read list...

She did a series on organizing "spots" in her house with a goal of removing/giving away/trading 10 things a day. I apologize for not linking to her - I think the viral bug got her and she hasn't blogged about this lately for me to grab.  

That got me thinking about some areas in our house that need some serious attention. 

I don't think I can do one a day (I may try to target one a week) and I may not always be able to get 10 things (I have a few spots that need organizing,  but I purged them not too long ago)...

Yes, I am going to give it a go. 

The first target was the spice cabinet (I actually did this a few weeks ago, so the second space will be posted soon as well!).  

I found a few duplicates that I combined - I must use a lot of Nutmeg and Cinnamon.  

Yeah - HELLO - French Toast.  :) 

One empty jar with empty wrappers (hi Ma Bell!) and a few things we never use and to be honest are so old we probably shouldn't use - see the gravy mix in the back?  I bought that when I lived in Lexington. For those of you who don't know me - that was about 17.5 years ago. 

One area done.  11 items pitched. 

NOTE: 

After the picture was taken, I checked with MBB about another spice container that I thought was originally his.  Not so much.  

Now that I think about it - I think I bought it was the gravy mix.  

New total: 12 items pitched.

Namaste.

Vanilla Latte Cupcakes

Calories: 127 each

Results

MBB - Nope (he doesn't like coffee...)

SassyMarie - Yep

Namaste.

Snickers-licious Cupcakes

Calories 137 each

Results

MBB - OK - too chocolatee (MBB is not a big fan of chocolate unless it is paired with peanut butter)

SassyMarie - Nope (I don't do nuts in things...Knew I wouldn't try them when I made them)

Namaste.

Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes

Calories 110 each (yes, I could reduce it further, but don't think I'm going to)

Results
Everyone who has tried them likes them.  Definitely a keeper.

Just have to figure out how to thicken up the icing a little bit!

Namaste.

PB Cheesecake Chocolate Cupcakes

Calories 154 each

Results

MBB - Nope

SassyMarie - Nope

(At first I had these marked as OK - we'll eat them, but not make them again... Then we ended up throwing them away.  No longer an OK.)

Namaste.

New Cookbook

I found a new cookbook recently...

MBB flagged a few that interested him, so I have been baking a bit lately.

The cookbook is Hungry Girl's Just Desserts, 200 under 200.

Fits right in line with my calorie tracking.

I made three recipes but didn't take any pictures...

Since I want to keep track of what we have tried and which ones we like...

Gooey German Chocolate Cake Mug (194 Cal, MBB deemed it OK)

Oreo Cheesecake in a Mug (171 Cal, Neither of us liked it) 

Double-Decker Fudgy Cheesecake Cupcakes (159 Cal, MBB said OK, SassyMarie liked the chocolate, but not the cheesecake)

I remembered to take pictures this time.

Banana Split Cuppycakes

Calories 147 each

Results

MBB - Good

SassyMarie - Good (better after being refrigerated)
This is a keeper!

Namaste.

Yummy

Saw a recipe for a 3-2-1 cake on a blog and decided to try it.
I must say - it is pretty yummy.
Okay - so it isn't much, but it seems to hit the spot with a bit of whipped cream.


Namaste.

Been Busy...

I was feeling a bit like baking.

Wish I was feeling successful too.

I through dinner in the crockpot and got busy.

Pumpkin Rolls...
Too thin.
Stuck to the paper.

Not quite the taste I was going after.

OB deemed them a failure.
MBB says that they taste good (guess he is closing his eyes when he eats them).
I'm going to search for another recipe.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Bites...

Failure.

Already threw the recipe that I clipped away.

Chicken and Dumplings...
Other than taking longer than I liked to cook, it was good.
My one success of the event.

I also baked bread.
A recipe that the family loves.

And it fell.  Sunk.  Whatever else you want to call it.
I also thought that it tasted bad, but both MBB and OB liked it.

Maybe I should stay out of the kitchen for awhile?

Namaste.