Kitchen Tip Tuesday: Simple Kitchen Decorating

I love to decorate my house for the seasons! Americana tends to be the theme here during the summer. Fall brings pumpkins, bittersweet, Indian corn, and straw bales. Christmas is so much fun with each room having different styles. The mudroom is a bird house type outdoorsy, the kitchen is gingerbread, the rest of the house is an eclectic country mix of snowmen, wreaths, trees and lots of lights! This time of year always brings the question of how to decorate. I like snowmen and all but I'm looking forward to spring too much to leave them out past January. I recently have discovered a sort of useful style of decorating in the kitchen...using what I have and use regularly to decorate.

I am regularly inspired by Country Sampler magazine. They have a mix of styles from primitive to country, classic to cottage.

Here are my tips:

*Use muffin tins, cake tins, pie plates, large spoons, rolling pins, etc. to decorate shelves, cupboards, and counter tops.
*Fill large jars (I use large pickle jars -- cleaned out of course!) with cookie cutters, or food even...beans, rice, etc.
*Use large bowls and baskets not only for decoration but to store items such as linens, extra baked goods, etc.

Here are a few examples:

See the baskets hanging? I bet those aren't empty! At least they wouldn't be at my house! : )


Notice how the bowls are hanging on the wall? I would use those to serve bread (with a breadcloth). I would use that basket on the pie safe to hold extra napkins or linens of some sort!

Whether you are a country style decorator or not, you can still place useful items in the kitchen to decorate with and give your kitchen a little life. Go through your cupboards and get imaginative!

Giveaway!!!

I can't believe how far this little blog has come in just 28 days! So to show my appreciation I am excitedly hosting Old House Kitchen's very first ever giveaway!! The winner will receive a pint of grape jelly made from our very own grapes from our mini-vineyard and an Old House Kitchen biscuit mix. Now...I know this isn't exactly a high-end giveaway like a gift card or a KitchenAid mixer or anything. We're starting off small here, ya know? : ) Imagine setting down to read your favorite blog (Old House Kitchen, of course!) and enjoying warm biscuits and homemade jam!

So...enter as follows:

• 1 entry for commenting on this post (i.e.."Enter me please -- Jane from Omaha, NE")
• 1 entry for being a fan on FaceBook -- If you're already a fan just let me know.
• 1 entry for blogging and linking about this on your blog -- please leave the link so we can visit!

** Please post each entry individually!**

Drawing begins now and ends at 9:00 p.m. Wednesday evening, EST. I'll let ya'll know Thursday who the lucky winner is!

Best wishes to all! : )

Easy Peasy Chops

This recipe is so simple it's crazy! I got this from a friend years ago. In my opinion besides Lemony Pork Piccata, it's the only way to cook pork chops. They are nice and tender and if you trim most of the fat off of the pork chops you can use the left over juices (after cooking) for gravy!

Easy Peasy Chops

2-3 lbs. of boneless pork chops (I buy pork loin and have the meat counter slice it about 1/2 in. thick)
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 1/2 cans water (No need to dirty a measuring cup, right?)
6 T. worchestershire sauce
1/4 - 1/2 tsp. black pepper (depends on how much you like pepper)
a few dashes of salt

Place your chops in a 4-ish qt. crock pot. Mix the remaining ingredients in a bowl or mixer then pour over the chops. If there are some parts of the chops exposed just pour a bit more water over it or half way through the cooking turn them over so they don't dry out.

Cook on high for 4-6 hours. Remove the chops to a dish and cover so they can rest (that cooking process is tiring, you know?). Strain the bits out of the remaining juices and if you feel it's a bit too runny add 1 T flour to take 1/2 cup of cold water in a small bowl or tea cup. Then when it's no longer runny add it to the juices and mix in a saucepan over medium heat until it's thicker. (I usually do this a bit at a time so it's just the right thickness.)

I serve this with mashed potatoes or rice. With a side veggie dish and rolls. Mmm mmm good, and easy peasy!

Menu Plan Monday -- Week of March 1

This week's menu plan:


Monday (March 1)
Breakfast: cereal
Lunch: Chicken & Cheese Quesadillas
Dinner: Missionary Conference dinner at Cracker Barrel

Tuesday (March 2)
Breakfast: bagels, cream cheese, and homemade jam
Lunch: grilled cheese/grilled p.b., grapes, carrots
Dinner: Rigatoni (Our Missionary Conference dinner has an international theme...this is what works for me!)

Wednesday (March 3) -- this is our busy day so I use the crock pot for lunch and dinner
Breakfast: cereal
Lunch: grilled cheese and soup or chili
Dinner: sloppy joes, carrots, chips, applesauce

Thursday (March 4)
Breakfast: bagels w/ cream cheese and homemade jam
Lunch: left over sloppy joes, carrots, chips, apple slices and grapes
Dinner: Chicken and Noodle Casserole, veggies, bread

Friday (March 5)
Breakfast: bagel, egg and cheese sandwiches
Lunch: left over chicken and noodle casserole and grilled cheese
Dinner: Lydia's birthday...ordering Pizza
I'll be making her cake, though. She requested strawberry cake with strawberry frosting...that was always my request when I was a child. She's got good taste! ; )

Saturday (March 6)
Breakfast: cereal
Lunch: left over pizza
Dinner: Parmesan Crusted Chicken, steak fries, corn on the cob, rolls

Sunday (March 7)
Breakfast: baked egg with bacon casserole and muffins
Lunch: Chicken burritoes, refried beans, taco rice, tortilla chips
Dinner: "Clean out the fridge night!" (We use up whatever leftovers are still there and come up with some interesting combos!) carrots, apple slices