No Kitchen? No Problem!

It's been one month since I last enjoyed a fully functioning kitchen. I have to say, it hasn't been as horrific as anticipated. Maybe it's because my husband is so dedicated and has worked hard to keep the project moving, I don't know, but the end is in sight, and I couldn't be happier!

When we decided to gut the kitchen, I worried about meals during the renovation. Eating out frequently would kill our budget, not to mention my waistline, so I knew I'd have to get creative about cooking.

We have a working refrigerator in our garage, and our new house has an upstairs laundry room with a wash tub. Two problems solved right there! Cold storage and a sink. :) We set up a temporary kitchenette in the formal dining room. Until last week, a microwave took up half of our table, and I stacked my small appliances (electric skillet, crock pot, and griddler) in a laundry basket on the floor.

Our coffee maker and toaster stay on a small folding table, and I keep the handful of dishes we use there too.

One choice we made based on the lack of sink on the main floor was to use plastic silverware and paper plates. I confiscated a few cheapie shelves from my kids' rooms to store a small assortment of dry goods and the paper plates and such.

I found it challenging to cook meals for a month without the use of an oven or stove. Thank goodness the refrigerated section offers such a wide variety of ready-made foods. Here is a sample of some of the meals we enjoyed:

- Crock pot roast beef with ready-made mashed potatoes (we all decided the ready-made mashed potatoes must be full of cream and butter because they are delicious!)
- Hot dogs or brats on the grill w/baked beans heated up in the microwave
- Grilled pork chops, sliced cucumbers and tomatoes, deli pasta salad
- Grilled chicken tenders marinated in Italian dressing, large green salad
- Caeser salad with breadsticks
- Lasagna from the freezer section, salad, breadsticks
- Shrimp stir-fry with ready-made rice
- Chicken rice casserole (this was the only meal we all hated!)
- Grilled cheese sandwiches, chips
- Steak or Chicken tacos using frozen, cooked meat

Using ready-made products added to my overall food budget, but it still was a quarter of the price of eating out. Plus, we saved time, and we tend to eat less portion-wise when we dine at home.

Although our kitchen isn't 100% finished (next up--installing the sink, dishwasher, and stove!), I'll be unpacking our dishes this week. I'm so excited!

Have you ever had to live without a fully functioning kitchen? How did you do it? Any tricks you care to share?

Enjoy your Wednesday!

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Trying Different Approaches

This post was spawned by a horrific meal. I'm still attempting to digest the few bites I gagged down. I know it's bad when I spit a bite out into my napkin before my kids cry uncle. The terror on a plate?

*shuddering*

Shrimp rolls.


Now I love shrimp, and I adore mayonnaise. Throw the two together with some pesto and a few vegetables and slap it all on a hoagie--the picture for the recipe looked delicious. Yet, somehow, someway, something went wrong. Kids-I-don't-care-if-you-have-ice-cream-for-dinner-but-you-do-not-have-to-eat-another-bite wrong.

The meal? A big, fat FAILURE. Still, I'm glad we tried it. The recipe had been sitting in my binder for over a year. It now is crumpled up in the trash can, making room for another recipe to try. It's no longer staring at me with its why-did-you-cut-me-out-if-you're-never-going-to-cook-me eyes.

My cooking to-try list is similar to my writing idea journal. I write down any nugget of an idea in there to come back and consider later. Some of the ideas have been napping in the journal for over a year. Others tempt me enough to think, yes, maybe that will work.

Inevitably, when I take time to think through and flesh out ideas, some, like the shrimp roll, look good but don't live up to their picture. Those I don't pursue. Others might not be flashy, but by the time I've worked through them, they're as hearty as Sunday dinner and just as satisfying.

Sometimes we have to be willing to send a few ideas into the trash to get to the prize winner.

Have you made a meal so bad you couldn't eat it?

Have a wonderful weekend!

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Complicated Simple Tasks

Pick up any women's magazine and somewhere in it will be recipes, tips on saving money, ways to organize your life, or diet and exercise plans. Magazine editors study what women want--information on the complicated issues--and include articles each month to simplify the tasks.

If you've been cooking for ten years, the recipes might be a welcome reprieve from your rut of everyday dishes. If you've been carefully watching your pennies, the tips might give you a boost to keep saving. Savvy housekeepers will watch for new ways to organize, and healthy folks will find extra motivation from the diet and exercise plans.

But what if you've never picked up a pan in your life? If you're thousands of dollars in debt and don't even know the basics of financial health? If the last time your house smelled Lysol was the day you bought it--in 1996? Or if you've tried, and failed, at every fad diet on the market?

The magazine's simple tips make the hard jobs look simple, but getting to the point where you're comfortable cooking, budgeting, cleaning, and exercising can be very difficult and might involve complicated steps.

Take cooking. For even a simple recipe like spaghetti, you might need to purchase pans, learn how to brown ground beef, set a timer to cook the noodles properly, and learn words like simmer. I guarantee the process will take twice as long for someone who has never cooked than for someone who makes this dish once a month.

Learning simple tasks can be time-consuming, difficult, and miles away from our comfort zone. Sure, fast food isn't very healthy and can put a huge dent in your budget, but let's face it, it's a lot easier to drive to a window, order a few value meals, pay someone and drive away, than it is to take a few hours each night to learn the basics of cooking.

I can't speak for everyone, but in my case, learning to cook was one of the best skills I learned. It took time, patience, and many less-than-edible dishes, but it's satisfying to come home and be able to whip up a healthy meal for a fraction of restaurant costs.

The simple life is like that. We have to dedicate ourselves to learning many skills that will save us time and sanity in the long run, but short term might threaten our sanity, stretch our time limits, and cause us to wonder if the simple life is very simple after all.

I've been chasing the simple life for over a decade. The skills I've learned have simplified my life. They've given me the resources to chase my dreams, and they've given me the confidence to believe those dreams will come true.

Is there a complicated task you'd like to try? Do you purchase magazines when they promise to simplify that task? Am I the only one who gobbles up magazines like Halloween candy??

Join me on Wednesday when we'll look at society and simplicity.

I will be offline until August 11. I love to read your comments, so please leave one. Have a wonderful day!

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