Quick Organizational Tip

Organization doesn't have to be difficult, complicated or expensive.

Long before we made any moves towards our new kitchen we knew that tomato red would be playing a large role. But, at the moment, the kitchen was sans red. Enter, the coffee cans.

If you don't like red - perhaps blue or yellow are options for you!

We go through coffee like water in our house. That means we have a LOT of empty - perfectly reusable - tomato red canisters. So we put them to use.

We got out our Brother P-Touch labeler, and when I was lazy I just grabbed a Sharpie. At one point we had about 10 in our kitchen cabinets and on the counter - holding everything from AP Flour, wheat flour, brown sugar, live sourdough starter, homemade pancake mix, and even just instant oatmeal packets.

Eventually we pulled our vintage Kromex canisters our of storage and put 'em to use. (You can get decent prices from Etsy, if you are interested.)

And, since our tomato red accent wall had gone from the planning stage to reality, our red canisters now live in closets keeping things organized there.

If you liked this quick tip, you might enjoy the series we ran last fall.

"Take 31 Minutes or Less...
To Make Your Life a Little Easier!"

Tell us your quick tips!

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Linking up to:
Organize and Decorate Everything, Momnivoire's Dilemma

Tasty (Seriously) Turkey Meatloaf With Pan Gravy

We are NOT health food nuts.

You know that from our cinnamon rolls and our knock-off of The Corner Bakery's chicken pesto cavatappi.

And, our sausage gravy recipe is not for the weak willed.

Since we can't live on bakalava alone - and yes, I'd love to try - we try to get some variety in our diets. We learned in a while back in our veggie research project how different the nutrition was in russet potatoes, sweet potatoes, rutabaga, and cauliflower. And, ever since we've been trying to get a variety of different foods in our diet. Including proteins.

We don't eat things simply because they are low fat, or low carb, or whatever is making the headlines this month. We try to eat things our great-great-grandmother would recognize as food.
(I love Michael Pollan - though I eat some things that would make him cringe. Funyons, anyone?)

This week ground turkey was on sale at the market. Now, I'm guessing my great-great-grandmother might not recognize a chub of ground turkey. But, she would probably recognize meatloaf and gravy.

And, so it was that we made some darn good tasting turkey meatloaf. I'll give you our technique, and you can play around with it to suit your family's needs and tastes.

Tasty Turkey Meatloaf

ground turkey
onions (small dice)
carrots (small dice)
celery (small dice)
garlic (crushed)
tomato paste
egg
cornbread croutons or turkey stuffing mix (crushed into breadcrumbs)
crushed sage
chopped thyme
parsley
salt
cracked black pepper
Worcestershire sauce

Preheat oven to 350F.

While the ground turkey comes to room temp, we saute onions, carrots and celery - your standard meatloaf mirepoix. In bacon fat. In a cast iron skillet. (The bacon brings some flavor to the party - something that ground turkey can lack.)

At the very end I add garlic and a tablespoon of tomato paste. (I try to caramelize the paste a bit while not burning the garlic.) Remove the veggies to a cool plate.

After the veggies cool, I combine the veggies, turkey, cornbread crumbs, an egg, and the seasonings - including a tablespoon or 2 of Worcestershire sauce. I add additional breadcrumbs as needed. (Don't skimp on the salt or pepper here - and feel free to add your favorite seasonings. I take my inspiration from Thanksgiving, but you can use whatever you want.)

In terms of consistency, I look for someplace between "sloppy wet mess" and dry and crumbly. Mine looks like the texture of ground meat again - but with colorful veggies dotting the landscape.

Take veggie oil and lightly lube the bottom and sides of a loaf pan. (Some use "Pam for grilling" for just a fine mist - just saying.) Then I form the meatloaf into the loaf pan, pressing down to get into the corners (glass pans work best to see the bottom) and then invert it onto a sheetpan lined with a silpat. The meatloaf should slide out in a block. *Thunk*

Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes to an hour - till the center reaches 160 using an instant read thermometer. Then remove the meatloaf to a platter and cover and rest for 15 minutes. I take the pan drippings and make a gravy using the sausage gravy method.

While the gravy thickens, I stab a cleaned russet potato a bunch of times and stick it in the microwave. Seriously. (I cheat and I'm okay with it. It comes out pretty fluffy and you can't beat a 7 minute potato.) Slice and serve.

If you try the turkey meatloaf, let us know in the comments below.
What change-ups, like turkey in meatloaf, do you like to make?

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Linking to:

Foto Friday

I call this...
Tim Ponders the Grand Canyon.

Because I'm wildly creative. Not.

We couldn't believe the emotional intensity
which sprung from a hole in the ground.

We watched.

In awe.

At the wonder.

The...majesty.

We were overwhelmed. And, mostly speechless...
And, we can't wait to go back.

~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~
A special Happy Friday to my friend Karah.

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Linking up to:
Flip Flops & Pearls, Live and Love Out Loud, Project Alicia, Parenting by Dummies, A Fresh Perspective, NOLA Mommy, Baby Baby Lemon, Dagmar’s Momsense, Better in Bulk

Help! No Idea What to Call It...

Have you been following our bedroom plans on Pinterest?

We still don't have a name for our style.

Rustic Old West with style and grace?
Lodg-i-riffic?

Pacific Northwest Native American
artwork is going up, too.

Edited to add:
I think I might have thrown people for a loop with the artwork. Have you ever looked at the walls in Grey's Anatomy? Set in Seattle, much of the artwork is grounded in the Pacific Northwest Native American style. You can see examples on my Artwork Pinterest page.

We have a couple of pieces with colors similar to this bird.

How about this?

Our bedroom:
"Where the Northwest Mountains meet the Southwest desert."

Well whatever it is...
It's coming along nicely :)

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Imperfect...Cinnamon Love!

Quick and Easy...
Cinnamon Heart Rolls

~~~~~~~

These are NOT perfect.
Not even close.

Yet, there's a chance that when it comes to cooking...
"It doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful" - or tasty!

Mine aren't homemade, like the ones shown
on my Valentine's Day Pinterest board.

Kudo's to Poppies at Play for the idea.

Nope, mine sure aren't perfect.
Look at the tiny guy and the bigger one next him!

See all the imperfect shapes and sizes?

And, I learned a lesson that when you mess with the shape
they need a lot less time to cook!

These are a bit too...caramelized.
Yeah, that's it!

I asked our 14 year old what he thought of them.

"They're cute, I guess.
But, I don't care if they look like heart...
They just have to taste good."

So, there you have it.
Next time maybe I'll just forget the fancy shape.
My family's feeling the love without it.

When it comes to my cooking,
"It doesn't have to perfect to be beautiful" - it just needs to be tasty!

What have you done to surprise your family...
Only to have it fail?

Linking to the following parties:
The Nester's "It Doesn't Have To Be Perfect To Be Beautiful" and Momnivore's Dliemma's Creative Juice, and Funky Junk Interiors.

How to Store Sharp Kitchen Items Safely

Storage of sharp kitchen tools can be a challenge.
Creativity can help.

You may have a mandolin, the slicer, not the musical instrument.
Here’s the problem.

After our kitchen reveal,
I still wasn’t too happy about how we were storing our mandolin –
It’s one sharp puppy.

Our Food, Glorious Food Pinterest board.

If you want to make even thin cuts like these, a mandolin is a great tool!

But...

Even in the “locked” position,
there’s still a little a little room to get a finger next to the blade.
That’s why storing a mandolin in a drawer can be a bad idea.
And, why I would like to have second piece – the finger guard – kept with it.

Not my favorite way to store it – just sticking it in a cheese box-
there on top of the microwave. It’s cute. But, there must be a better way.

Five minutes and two Command Hooks later, I have a better set-up.
Now, the mandolin sits on 2 hooks –
out of the way where we don’t put our hands,
And it's easy to grab when we want it.

Since the youngest member of the family is 14,
and he loves cooking,
he's skilled at using a mandolin.

If we had small children in our home -
we would have chosen a different method.
But, this fits us perfectly.

Now it's stored with the finger guard in place.
(I did have to use a couple pieces of tape to get the guard to stay...don’t tell, okay?)



Do you have any sharp kitchen utensils you are looking for a way to store?
Comment and share!

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2 Treats for You - Chocolate and Non-Chocolate!

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone.

Whether you have a special honey in your life, or not -
a little chocolate can make most of us smile.

We first showed you these...
Double Chocolate Espresso cookies a few Christmases ago.
Man we made A LOT of sweets that year!

Here's the recipe.
Please take a moment while you are there and say hi to Lisa.
(Great blogger, that gal.)

If chocolate isn't your thing,
maybe a lovely Pomegranate Granita will do.
Please ignore the Christmasy pic ;)



There are MANY more DIY craft
and foodie treats over at our Pinterest Valentine's Day board!

~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~

However you celebrate your day,
please know that I am very grateful
for the moments you spend here at Cooking at Cafe D.

Whether you follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, or Linky Follow
- We appreciate the time you spend with us.

How will you be spending your Valentine's?

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25 Things...And a Linky Follow Blog Hop!

First, here are my 25 Things for today.

Below that, we're participating in a Linky Follow Blog Hop.
What's that?
Read on past the 25 things below :)

1. I'm glad that we haven't had very much snow in Chicago this winter.

2. I think I would be happy moving our West - but I would need all of my loved ones to come with.

3. That won't be happening anytime soon. (But, a gal can dream.)

4. I'm sometimes amazed at how much my decorating style has changed over the years.

5. I'm style confused.

6. If you look at my Pinterest boards, I pin both soft feminine cottage looks and heavy rustic masculine looks.

7. I think a blend of both is "my style." (Which isn't a style at all, is it?)

8. We have a list of things our family wants to do / visit on the back of a door.

9. We barely make a dent because the list gets longer all the time.

10. We don't mind :)

11. I have 2 overdue books - I use the library system a LOT!

12. My library just started an online "Wish List" so you can make lists of books you want to request.

13. I can't figure out how to add anything to the wish list.

14. I'm a computer technician, by trade. (Ironic, no?)

15. Thanks to strategic coupon use and stockpiling, we have a low grocery budget.

16. But, we waste too much food. Spoiled leftovers.

17. I need to start planning out food menus.

18. I hate the inflexibility of food menus.

19. Perhaps I'll make batches of cooked proteins and freeze them, instead.

20. I could survive on crusty bread and butter. (I’d be willing to try.)

21. I had a whole series planned centered on healthy inexpensive winter cooking.

22. And, winter never came. Gah!

23. I'm not ready to start decorating for Spring and Easter.

24. I'm starting to pour through my lists of blog ideas - collected over the winter.

25. I'm darn excited about the upcoming posts!

~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~
Linky Followers Scoop!

By now you've probably heard the rumbles and rumors. There's change underway.
Google Friend Connect is going away real soon and so will be the ability to keep track of and view all your favorite blogs in your reader.

But, there is new way to follow your favorite blog, LINKY FOLLOWERS.

In an effort to not loose any of our fabulous readers, Cheri over at It's So Very Cheri has started a Linky Followers Blog Hop.

Here’s all the info-

1. you MUST have the LINKY FOLLOWERS tool on your site to participate.

{You can have both the LINKY FOLLOWERS & GFC on your site but you must have the LINKY FOLLOWERS to participate in this party hop.}

2. You MUST follow the person who has the party on their site as a thank you.

3.Just add your blog button to the LINKY PARTY below.

4.Then grab the BLOG HOP code

You will find the code right under the Linky Party where it says CLICK HERE TO ENTER–
just under that it says: WHAT IS A BLOG HOP? GET THE CODE HERE
Click on GET THE CODE HERE and enter it into a post on your site.

You can grab the party button code in the FOOTER at Its So Very Cheri

5. Then you follow other bloggers–(as many as you want)
–leave each one of the blogs that you follow a comment letting them know you are following them and ask them to follow you back.

If you want to add the BLOG HOP to your own site you will get lots of new followers–(see rule #2)

So, I’m going to start following all my fav blogs RIGHT now! Join in on the fun and don’t get stuck out in the cold with Google Friend Connect. This is a Blog Hop!

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Linking up to: Perfectly Imperfect's 25 Things Linky Party

A Follow-Up: Getting a Grip

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~~~~~~*~~~~~~
Sometimes simple organization is the best.

A while back we did a 31 Days series called
31 Minutes to a More Organized Life.

Feedback in e-mails and comments indicated that the series
was helping some of you find new tips to help you in your day.
That made me smile.

Here's a secret.
I learned a LOT from writing the series, too.
As I tried to think of tasks that only took 31 minutes...

I suddenly saw larger projects as lots of tiny little easy tasks.
And, the tasks became sorta fun.

Take 31 Minutes or Less..
To Make Your Life a Little Easier!

Back on Day 2 we talked about gift card organization.
At that point my solution was working well for me.
But, it was short lived.

Soon my family grew tired of me shuffling through cards at the register.
And, I couldn't blame them.
It was a fine idea - if you only have a few cards.
I needed a new system.

So simple.
A hole punch, a $1 keyring, and 10 minutes
made my life my family's life so much easier.

(Yeah, they're alphabetized so I can flip quickly.)

What have you done recently that has made your life easier?

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Want to catch up?

Day 31 - Creating Your Dream Kitchen and Life!
Day 30 - Keep It Simple
Day 29 - Organizing Your Closet or Coat Rack
Day 28 - Raking It In
Day 27 - Take the Pill - Clean the Medicine Cabinet
Day 26 - Creative Uses For Storage Containers (Part 2)
Day 25 - Grab and Go!
Day 24 - Use What You've Got
Day 23 - No, Really...Look Over There!
Day 22 - Do you need THIS over THERE! (Part 2)
Day 21 - Do you need THIS over THERE! (Part 1)
Day 20 - Wish and Gift Lists
Day 19 - Grace and Rest
Day 18 - Easy Free Ornament Storage
Day 17 - Pantries and Shelters
Day 16 - Do You Have a Blue Box
Day 15 - A Blast From the Past
Day 14 - What would make it WORK?
Day 13 - Filling the Wasted Space
Day 12 - Spice Things Up
Day 11 - Clean out Your Purse and Wallet
Day 10 - Simple Safety Tips
Day 9 - Sorting the Sock Drawer
Day 8 - Creative Uses for Food Storage Containers
Day 7 - The Dreaded Junk Drawer (Part 2)
Day 6 - The Dreaded Junk Drawer (Part 1)
Day 5 - Day 5 - Cleaning and Organizing Your Cell Phone
Day 4 - Getting a Grip on Storage Containers
Day 3 - "Waxing Poetic"
Day 2 - Grab Those Gift Cards
Day 1 - We Dream

Sharing with:

Our DIY Jimmy John's Kitchen - The REVEAL!

Our kitchen is complete!
Welcome to the reveal!

Our new Jimmy John's kitchen, designed after our favorite sandwich shop,
makes us grin from ear to ear. Wanna catch up?

Part 1- The Why.
Did we seriously have Jimmy John's cater our wedding?
The design plans, and some catastrophic before shots.

Part 2 - The How.
BOLD COLORS - How can you be sure you will love them?
Here's 10 easy steps to fool-proof color picking!

Part 3 - The What.
Jimmy John's is a restaurant. Ours is a home. How do you make one into the other - ON A BUDGET?! See pics of the restaurant and the annotations of what we felt were the most important aspects we needed to replicate in our kitchen. Details about windows, walls, curtains, stainless switch plates, ceiling fixtures, etc.

And, now - The Reveal!
Ready for some Before and Afters?

Whew! We love it!
Here's the annotated pic with our original plan.

There were a few items we felt would be crucial to our design. Basically, we really wanted the crazy signs - the pickle was a must have - and lots of stainless steel. Lastly, we needed to find a way to replicate the feel of the tile work, but not the cost and labor that actual tile would involve.

Master Project List:

New stainless steel shelving - Menards with add'l shelves from Container Store

Curtains -Country Curtains

New floor - peel and stick from Menards

Wall plates and switch plates - Menards and Home Depot

Flush mount ceiling fixture -Home Depot

Paint - Behr - Exact shades

Signs (Funny metal signs - Hobby Lobby, Menards. Handmade paper signs printed and laminated at FedEx Kinko's. The metal JJ's sign was from Santa.

Crush vintage bottle opener - Ebay (Be sure to check Etsy, too!)

Vintage blackboard - Found on the side of the road!

Wrought iron basket - Lowes, was a gift years ago...

Cookie basket - Goodwill

What's next?
We have just started choosing colors for our new bedroom.
Talk about low-budget - this is NO BUDGET!
I have no idea how we're gonna do it, but we will!

Our inspiration is the historic and rustic southwest with comfort and style. See our progress on our new bedroom project on Facebook and Twitter. You can subscribe for free and receive Cooking at Cafe D in your inbox, if you'd like. And, if RSS is your thing, you can do that, too. Be sure to check out "Our Bedroom" board on Pinterest to see where we're headed!

Thank you!
A huge shout-out to the 6 gals who first challenged us to "Imagine the Impossibilities!" Please check out their sites (and the 200+ bloggers who rose to the "Impossible!")

Linda from It All Started With Paint.
Kelly from Eclectically Vintage.
Karah from The Space Between.
Stacey from A Sort of Fairytale.
Kari from Thistlewood Farm.
Andrea from The Cottage Market.

We all love comments, right?
So, what do you think of our new Jimmy John's Kitchen?
Would you ever turn your home into a restaurant?

TO COMMENT
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Linking to: Making the World Cuter, The Prairie Homestead, Craftomaniac, Between Naps on the Porch, Mad In Crafts, Polly Want a Crafter, Keeping It Simple, Skip to my Lou, The DIY Club, C.R.A.F.T., Sew Chatty, It's a Blog Party!, My 1929 Charmer, Shine Your Light, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia,Not Just a Housewife, Reasons to Skip the Housework, Carolyn's Homework, Me and My Boys, Coastal Charm, Hope Studios, Organize and Decorate Everything,Momnivore's Dilemma