Manda Monday--The 2nd Annual Super Souper Bowl

The 2nd Annual Super Souper Bowl was a huge success and a ton of fun!  We had five entries and everyone had a great time.  Three of the entries were from new competitors...if this keeps up, I might have to get a bigger kitchen island in a few years!

Entries included a traditional chili, a pork chili with ditalini, jambalaya and bacon-infused potato soup.  All were delicious, but this was the winner:

We provided appetizers, drinks and desserts for our guests.  Here's the dessert table:

I made dipped pretzels, cupcakes, cookies and a pretzel-jello dessert not shown because it was in the fridge. And I have to admit, the eclairs are store-bought.  It happens sometimes.

These cookies, however, were not:

Decorated sugar cookies are always a hit, and these are quickly becoming a family project.  The kids and I make the dough, the Big Guy rolls it out, the kids do (most of) the cutting, I bake everything, and then the Big Guy and I decorate the cookies.  My plan is to withdraw bit by bit from this process over the next few years, so eventually I'll be able to supervise from the couch while eating bon-bons and reading magazines.  And maybe napping.  Good times!

I hope everyone had a great Sunday afternoon/evening, whether it involved watching TV or not.

Martha Monday--Organizing the kitchen

Did you know that Martha's to-do lists are on her website? It's true, they are!  And today, Martha is making time to "organize kitchen drawers and discard any unused items."

Of course, I'm sure Martha's kitchen drawers are in perfect order already, and her "to-do" is more of a reminder for the rest of us. I'm on it, Martha!

For more kitchen organization, check out Martha's 50 Top Kitchen Tips. Happy organizing!

Mag-neato!

Here's yet another great thing I saw on Pinterest and replicated: an oil drip pan magnet board for the kiddos.

Like most households with small children, we have a ridiculous amount of fun magnets.  My kids play with these a decent amount, but for some reason they played the most with the magnets just as I was starting to make dinner every night.  As you can imagine, having two small children parked in front of the refrigerator during meal preparation time was not convenient.  Especially when I am rushing to get a meal in the oven before those two small children turn into ravenous wolves.

In addition to battling the kids to stop playing with magnets long enough for me to get in and out of the fridge, the magnets themselves were tearing up my walls when the fridge door was completely open. Not cool.

Tee hee.  I said "cool" while talking about my refrigerator. See what I did there?!

Enter one oil drip pan. I bought this at my local Super-Walmart for $9.96--it was in the automotive section.  It had an oily coating (no doubt to make it easier to get actual oil off) but that came off easily with a de-greasing cleanser. 

Big Guy secured the drip pan to the wall with screws, and it is located under our huge cork board communication center. The kids can still play with their magnets in the kitchen, but now they are not directly underfoot.  Score!

This magnet board was an easy and inexpensive solution to a small but vexing problem.  And now that the kids' magnets are gone, my refrigerator front looks so much more organized and clean! 

Right?! Well, maybe not...the stuff that's left is mostly mine.  I'm working on it, okay?

My kitchen elves

Yesterday, I shared with you some great chocolate-peppermint Whoopie pies. What I didn't show you is the little elves who helped me make them.

My regular readers know that Little Guy and Little Miss are my constant companions in the kitchen.  When I begin a recipe, one of them (usually Little Guy) will drag the step stool from the pantry to the island, and they'll both climb up and beg to help. 

Little Guy has been successfully wielding a hand mixer since he was two, and now it's Little Miss's turn. She's not quite there yet, but then again, she's not quite two years old. 

Baking with kids is hard under normal circumstances, and even harder when a time constraint is involved. Still, I try to let my kids do as much as my patience will allow, knowing that I want them to have fun in the kitchen and enjoy the processes of cooking and baking.  But it's more than just having fun and making memories:  I want them to see up close what it means to read a recipe, follow directions, measure, pour, mix, stir and improvise when necessary.  These are all important life skills that while learned in the kitchen, are applicable everywhere.  Further, I want them to be able to take pride in the result and understand that only when you put in the work can you reap the reward. 

And they sure do like the reward!

I wonder if my little kitchen elves know all that.  Maybe they're too busy enjoying the reward. 
Then again, so am I.  I just love my kitchen elves.