Spice Girl

Several months ago I came across a spice storage set. Most of them are designed to sit on the counter and look pretty. But I keep my spices in a cupboard to the left of the stove. I want them organized and within reach. I want them all to be accessible.

When we first moved into our house and I was organizing our kitchen, I went to the garage and grabbed a couple bricks. I washed them then covered them in foil. I then placed them in the back of the cabinet and placed my spices on them. It worked fairly well, but it only elevated one row of spices, as if they were on a stage. The rest of them were mingling in a crowd and every time I wanted oregano, I had to pick up about half a dozen red capped bottles til I found the one I was looking for.

I finally convinced myself that I could have a spice rack. You see, I have a hard time spending money on myself. I may want many things but I feel selfish when I buy stuff for myself. I'll have to work on that :-) Anyway, after a long day and a few curse words at my spice cabinet, I went to the computer logged on to Walmart.com and ordered the spice rack of my dreams.

I originally found the Spice Stack on Target's website then again on Amazon.com. But, I'm a bargain shopper and I have to find the best deal. I think Amazon had a lower price, but then you add in shipping costs and it's no longer a good deal. Then I found it at Walmart for a dollar more, but you can do the "Site to Store" purchasing and pay tax, but no shipping charges. So that's what I did. And I love it!

Tagco Spice Stack Before:

See my foil covered bricks?

After:

It takes up just as much room as my spices did before, so it's not space saving, but it's spice organizing. I have sweet spices, sprinkles and sparkly sugar on the top rack, herbs on the second rack and salts and and spices on the bottom rack.

See this and more on my Favorite Things list.

In My Stocking

For Christmas, I got a few kitchen goodies in my stocking and I thought I'd share.

I got a funnel set from OXO that has a strainer in it. You see, I have always convinced myself that I don't need a funnel that they're a waste of money. Then when I need one I have to go out to the garage and steal one of my husband's paper funnels. Then I tell myself that I am going to get one. I go to the store, I put it in the basket, then before checkout, I take the funnel out of my basket once again convincing myself I don't need one and they're a waste of money. It's a vicious cycle. So my honey got me some.

I also got an OXO Y-shaped peeler. I have a regular vegetable peeler, but I've read that the Y-shaped ones are easier to use for peeling things such as squash and thin skinned fruits. I haven't used it yet, but I'm sure I'll like it. I have a regular OXO peeler and it works really well.

I got 2 packages of Crate & Barrel holiday cupcake liners. They're so cute. They're red and green polka dots and stripes. I can use them for Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Cinco de Mayo and Christmas! I'm so excited to start making cupcakes.

Well this wasn't in my stocking...I got a beautiful footed cake dome from Crate & Barrel. I don't have anywhere to store it, but it is so pretty. My husband's birthday is next month, so his cake will probably be the first one in it. I'm sure he planned that. I just love it!

What fun stuff did you get in your stocking, or under the tree?

I Converted!

I'm not usually a fan of banana bread. I don't know if it's because it's too banana-y or too nutty or too spicy...I'm not really sure why, I've just never been a fan. I don't like artificial banana flavor either, like Banana Laffy Taffy- gag! But I do like fresh bananas, especially the under ripe, slightly green ones. I think it's a texture thing.

Anyway, I came across this recipe for banana bread and thought I'd give it a try. But really only because I had 3 overly ripe (seriously, they were black and wrinkly) bananas sitting in the fruit basket. Usually I make strawberry jello salad , but my husband doesn't like the bananas to be that ripe, so I used some other less brown ones for that.

I was hoping I would like this banana bread and I did! The batter was really light and fluffy and it was whiter than the usual banana bread. I think the lemon juice helped to keep the 'nanas from turning dark. Dawn added chocolate chips and walnuts to the top of her bread, but I decided to add mini chips to the batter. Yum- they taste very much like the oatmeal banana chip cookies I made earlier this year! Go make this, I promise you'll convert if you're an anti-banana bread person like I am. I mean, like I was :-)

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread adapted from Mama Dip’s Kitchen via Vanilla Sugar

• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup mashed very ripe bananas
• 3 tbsp. sour cream
• 1 tbsp. lemon juice
• 2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl with an electric mixer or a spoon, cream shortening and sugar together. Beat in eggs one at a time; then mashed bananas, sour cream, and lemon juice.

Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Slowly add dry ingredients to the wet mixture, then fold in chocolate chips. Pour into greased and floured 9x5x3 loaf pan. Bake for 60 minutes.

NOTE: If your bread is getting too dark, loosely cover bread with foil. I did this for the last 15 minutes of baking time.