52 Weeks: #15 Stove Drawer

I cleaned and organized my stove drawer.

I took everything out and washed the drawer.

I put everything back when I was finished. No purging required for this project, although I have consider getting rid of the blue bowls but we use them for chips at parties. I would have to decide if I have enough glass bowls to make up for them being gone.

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I'm an Organizing Junkie 52 Weeks of Organizing

Cake Mix Recipes: Strawberry Yogurt Torte

1 box white cake mix

3/4 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 egg whites
1 container (6 oz)  fat free strawberry yogurt
2 containers whipped vanilla frosting
20 fresh strawberries, cut into 1/4-inch slices
Assorted fresh berries, if desired
Fresh mint leaves, if desired

1. Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pans). Grease and flour 15x10x1-inch pan, or spray with baking spray with flour.


2. In large bowl, beat dry cake mix, water, oil, egg whites and yogurt with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds. Beat on medium speed 2 minutes (batter will be lumpy). Pour into pan.

3. Bake 24 to 28 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pan to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 1 hour.

4. Cut cake crosswise into thirds. Place one-third on flat serving plate; spread with 1/2 cup of the frosting. Arrange half of the sliced strawberries on frosting. Repeat with another third of cake, 1/2 cup of the frosting and remaining strawberries. Top with remaining third of cake. Frost side of torte with thin coat of frosting to seal in crumbs, then frost side and top.

5. Cover loosely and refrigerate at least 2 hours until chilled. Before serving, garnish with berries and mint leaves. Cut into 12 slices; cut each slice in half. Store loosely covered in refrigerator.

Servings: 24
Calories: 250

52 Weeks: #15 Small Appliances, Pots & Pans

I cleaned, and organized my small appliances, pots & pans cabinet I did not purge anything with this project.

Before

I took everything off the top shelf such as pots & pans, lids, mixing bowls, strainers, and roasting pan I organized, cleaned the shelf  and then put everything back.

I did the same to my small appliance shelf except I also wiped them down. I wipe them down after each use but I wanted to do it again since other people in the house don't always. The crockpot liner & lid are in the fridge and the coffee pot & basket are in the dishwasher which is why the are not in the photo. I store my extra appliances in the basement kitchen storage.

The top and middle drawers slide out but I never do that except when I clean them.

Appliances on the drawers slide out.

I store my platers and baking trays on the bottom shelf.

Everything clean and back in place.

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I'm an Organizing Junkie 52 Weeks of Organizing

April 11-17 Menu Plan

Monday: Homemade Pepperoni Pizza, and Salad

Tuesday: Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Stuffing, Green Beans, and Carrots

Wednesday: Skillet Bow Tie Lasagna, Cheese-Garlic Biscuits, and Salad

Thursday: Pizza Bread Salad, Cheese-Garlic Biscuits

Friday: BBQ Chicken Legs, Chicken-Parmesan-Pasta Salad, Peas

Saturday: Ham and Cheddar Strata, and Corn

Sunday: Sloppy Joe Cornbread Bake, Green Beans, and Corn


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Visit I'm an Organizing Junkie to see more menu ideas.

Spinach-Strawberry Salad

Honey-Dijon Dressing

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 tablespoon cider vinegar or white vinegar
1 teaspoon poppy seed, if desired
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

Salad
1 small jicama
2 kiwifruit
1/2 pint (1 cup) fresh strawberries
8 cups ready-to-eat spinach (from 9- or 10-oz bag)

1. In a tightly covered jar or container, shake all the dressing ingredients.


2. Peel the jicama, removing the brown skin and a thin layer of the flesh just under the skin. The skin can sometimes be slightly tough. Cut about half of the jicama into about 1x 1/4-inch sticks to measure about 3/4 cup. Wrap remaining jicama and refrigerate for another use.

3. Peel the kiwifruit. Cut lengthwise in half, then cut into slices. Rinse the strawberries with cool water and pat dry. Remove the leaves and cut the berries lengthwise into slices.

4. Remove and discard the stems from the spinach leaves. Rinse the leaves in cool water. Shake off excess water and blot to dry with paper towels. Tear any large leaves into bite-size pieces.

5. In a large salad bowl, place the spinach, strawberries, jicama sticks and kiwifruit slices. Shake the dressing again to mix ingredients. Pour the dressing over the salad ingredients, and toss with 2 large spoons or salad tongs. To keep salad crisp, serve immediately
 
Servings: 4
Calories 190

Chicken-Parmesan-Pasta Salad

8 oz. (3 cups) uncooked pasta nuggets (radiatore)
1 cup fresh baby carrots, halved diagonally
1 cup fresh small broccoli florets
2 cups chopped cooked chicken
1/4 cup sliced green onions
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cucumber, chopped
1 cup purchased peppercorn ranch salad dressing
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon salt

Cook pasta to desired doneness as directed on package, adding carrots and broccoli during last minute of cooking time. Drain; rinse with cold water to cool. Drain well.


In large serving bowl, combine cooked pasta, carrots and broccoli with chicken, onions, bell pepper and cucumber; mix well. Add dressing, cheese and salt; toss gently to coat.

Servings: 6
Calories 490

52 Weeks: #14 Dinner Cabinet

I decluttered, cleaned, and organized what I call my dinner cabinet and this is the before picture.

This is everything out of the bottom shelf such as rice, pasta, potato flakes, bread crumbs, croutons, soup mix jar, gravy, rice kits.

This is the middle shelf unloaded onto the counter. It has mac n' cheese, barley, helper kits, pasta sauce, mushrooms, ramen noodles, and split peas.

This is the top shelf stuff on the counter I have lots of  beans, and pasta. The two plastic containers was a purchase I made a couple weeks ago at Wal-Mart for $3.00 each. It is a failed attempt to have my beans all in containers. They are too wide and are not long enough to fit my cabinets but I will have to deal with the two I bought until the beans are used up and then I will take them out of this cabinet. I wanted ones similar  to the blue ones that I have on my bottom shelf and I wanted them to go all the way across the shelf. I guess I will just keep stacking the bags since that has worked the best so far.

This is the after picture of my dinner cabinet. I actually added 3 boxes of mac n' cheese from my basement food storage.

Breading crumbs, chicken sauce mix, and french fried onions is what went into the trash.

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I'm an Organizing Junkie 52 Weeks of Organizing