DIY Kitchen Cubby Bar

I know, I know this post has been a long time coming.

I finished the kitchen bar thing in time for our house warming party. Just barely. I had to go out and buy a hand saw and cut about a quarter of an inch off the end the night before because it was too long. Mike said "measure twice, cut once." Well I measured about 4 times. And I watched the Home Depot guy measure a couple of times too. Apparently all that measuring was just not enough.

So before I show you the awesome pictures, a little back story.

I found this awesome minimalist desk on Pinterest one of the first days after I signed up and I fell in love. It was simple and functional and awesome. And we had just put a bid on our new place, which had a little space for a kitchen table. But we don't have a kitchen table. We do, however, have two bar stools. So I put two and two together and decided that this desk would be perfect in the kitchen. A little counter to put the bar stools under. As a bonus, it would be a test run for the bar that we're thinking of putting in in that space.

I liked the minimalist idea, but I wanted to give it a more kitchen-y feel and less of a desk feel. So I switched it up a bit. I used 1"x10" boards for the bottom and the sides (and the cubby hole sides) and a 2"x12" board for the top.

I had a ton of fun (can you read my sarcasm) sanding them down by hand, and I'm super picky, so I rounded the edges out a bit to give it a more home-y feel (and also as a bit of protection for the Z as she toddles around.).

Then I drilled pilot holes on the top and bottom where the ends were and also for the cubby separators. I put wood glue on both ends of each side and screwed right through it to strengthen the bond. In hindsight, I should have just used wood glue for the separators as I ended up with screws in the middle of the bar that weren't pretty. Just used a little bit of wood filler over them as camo and poof! Almost gone.

I wiped it down with paint thinner to get all the dust off and let it dry. Then I used Minwax pre-stain wood conditioner to get it ready for staining. (I have to say that I would have skipped that step, but we got a "welcome to the neighborhood" coupon from Ace for $10 off, so I thought, what the hell.) After letting it dry, again (you will see a pattern forming here), I stained it with Minwax Wood Finish in Puritan Pine. Insert more drying (the drying was the suckiest part of this project), and I sealed it with 3 coats of Minwax Polycrylic (more drying between coats).

Sidebar comment: Jeeze, you'd think that I'm getting paid by Minwax, but I'm not. I just heard good things about their products when I was researching how to stain and seal the bar.

I hung it on the wall using some cabinet cleats I found at Home Depot (something like this, but a stronger version rated for 200 lbs. Also I used two of them.).  I screwed them into the studs and used wall anchors -- the good kind and ones that are rated for 75 lbs. The whole bar doesn't way 75 lbs, but I'd rather be safe than sorry.

Ok, in that short description I left out the part where it didn't fit when I tried to put it on the wall and I had to take apart one end and saw off some and then reassemble it. That part is like the mistakes that Mom use to make in her cross stitching. :)

So yeah. That was the whole week long process. I wanted to take pictures of the process, but I did it all in our garage space and I kept forgetting to bring the camera down. So you'll just have to imagine. Or use the photos from the original post I used as inspiration. Those are pretty good.

In any case, here's what the kitchen looked like before:

And with our awesome addition:

Oh yeah, we painted the walls as well. After tearing down the wallpaper. Actually -- credit where credit is due -- the Dads attacked the wallpaper, skimmed, and painted the walls. And they did an amazing job. 

And the actual bar:

 I love the cubby holes and can't wait to find bins that will fit in them. And that corner is totally going to become my desk area for all the bills and paperwork that comes in. I've already got an in and out box up there (tutorial coming soon) and I'm going to have letter bins for Mike, Z, and I as well.

So slowly the kitchen is coming together. Can't wait to get all the ideas out of my head and into the real world.

Noodles Alfredo

 Momma Duck's Noodles Alfredo.

She was so good at having those quick meals that offered such variety in dinners. I never got sick of anything that she made all the time. This is a good quick fix for the creamy white sauce that I have yet to master. Honestly, somehow I cannot cook a good rue and make a good bechamel (look it up sister). I can't even melt cheese into a good cheddar cheese sauce. But with this - TADA!!! I can make cheesy pasta in the microwave.

Now I have a small kitchen, but I've managed to incorporate most every type of dish/gadget I need. Until now. I sat down yesterday morning and took a look at the recipe just to find out, I have only large casserole dishes. Its those stand by dishes that apparently I am lacking.

Anyway... this recipe will do just fine in any microwaveable dish that is large enough to hold your 3 cups of noodles.
 

It was sooo gooood to eat. Like adult mac & cheese.

I know there has to be a good way to make this slightly healthier. For one thing, we can probably swap the whipping cream for a 1% or skim milk. Also, we can probably use less butter, and maybe swap in some mozzarella cheese for the creaminess the butter would add. I had used the faux-parmesan cheese (ya know the fake stuff that's grated down). I bet this would be awesome though if you use freshly grated parmesan cheese - that would also help with creaminess.

Another swap that I know had been done before, is the pasta. Once you master the cheese sauce, any cooked pasta can be tossed in with the sauce. 

Still a good stand-by to add into the recipe box!

Best Manicotti Recipe Ever!

Remember the other day when you called me and I was making manicotti? Well here it is!

I got the recipe years ago in Home Ec. class in middle school. This time I made it with whole wheat flour 'cause that's what we have. I probably should have changed something in the recipe because of this, but I didn't and it still turned out delicious.

I made it the hard way, because it's just more fun that way. Also, because I have a crepe maker and I haven't used it in forever.

Without further ado,

Manicotti:

First we make the crepes...

2 eggs
1 cup water
1 cup flour
2 tbsp butter (melted)

Beat the egg, add the water and butter, then add the flour.

Pour batter onto a plate.

Use crepe maker to make deliciousness. (If you don't have a crepe maker then a: get one and b: you can make them in a pan it's just harder. You have to pour some of the batter in a heated pan and then tilt to spread the batter out. Then cook it for a couple of minutes. I haven't done it this way in a very long time. The other option is to buy manicotti pasta from the store and just cook it and then fill it, but that's just not as much of an adventure. And I like adventures.)

Yum! (on a side note, awesome blister right?)

I stacked them up on a separate plate with wax paper between them so they didn't stick together. I don't know if I was suppose to, but I did.

Then we make the filling. I'm a cheese person, and since I'm trying to eat better I added spinach. (and extra parmesan cheese because it's delicious.)

1 lb ricotta cheese
1 egg
1 tbsp parmesan cheese
1 cup mozzarella
1 cup cut spinach
dash of salt and pepper

Mix the cheeses and egg together. Add the spinach.

And then comes the fun part: Manicotti burrito time!

Fill the crepes and fold like a burrito and then place in a baking dish (best described in pictures):

Fold over the top and bottom (or what you deem the top and bottom to be).

Then a side. 

Fold over the last side and...

Ta-da!

Cover with sauce (I used Culinary Circle's Marinera sauce. It's delicious and doesn't have any added sugar, which is a big button for me. Because, really, who needs added sugar.) Sprinkle mozzarella and parmesan cheese on top and then stick it in the oven for 25 minutes at 325 degrees. 

Dig in. Even Z loved it. She picked the spinach out and some of it ended up in her hair and on her lap, but she'd just been finger painting before dinner so she needed a bath anyways. 

Tick Tock

So I'm a clock fanatic. We have wall clocks in every room of our house. (Wait, let me think.... I need a new one for the kitchen. The old one didn't fit the new decorating scheme and is now in the office. And I don't have any in the bathrooms. But almost every room in the place has a clock.) I didn't use to be this way, but with Z having to be at day care and me having to go in to work in the afternoon instead of the morning, I started losing track of time (and my cell phone). It became easier to just look at the wall and see what time it is no matter where you are.

It helped that I had a clock that I absconded with when I moved from Cali. I think that was the first wall clock I had and the rest of them I've collected over the past couple of years. Every time I think about getting rid of the original clock I find a new place to put it. And now, I get to give it a second life (or third, or fourth life. I haven't really been keeping track.)...

In it's old incarnation it fit in perfectly with Z's old room. (Remember those striped bins? Perfect, right?) Well, now the Z's room is purple (as are the bins). And really, I'm not going to have a green and blue room again any time soon. So what to do? Paint it! I love painting things. I'm so glad we have a paint closet in storage, because we have so much paint now. Love it!

I designed and printed up some new numbers (free printables!). Sanded down the face of the clock a bit, and then painted it purple with the left over paint from Z's room. I marked where the numbers were on the side edges and kind of guesstimated putting the new ones on based on the marks. The plain purple with the numbers was kind of boring, so I reached into my ginormous Sharpie box and added some curly cues. Cover the whole thing with Mod Podge to seal it and hang it up.

And now the Z has a clock that fits right in with her decor! I think it's the only clock in the house that doesn't tick, so I don't have to worry about it bugging her when she goes to sleep. (Like the one in our room does to me. Thank goodness for earplugs!)

Answer Unknown

The Great Kale Chip Question

I just don't know sister...

I have a lot a kale in my house right now. I was able to snag both a bushel and a peck of kale from my local produce store (which is my new favorite place - because the kale was only $2!). I have been trying to eat more fresh fruits and veggies in order to be healthy and lose weight through an overall life change. Incorporate more fruits and veggies, and OPTIONS of different fruits and veggies, I will be less tempted to eat the whole cheesecake I made the other week.

So - kale was purchased for green smoothies (something like this). But because my produce place is the creme de la creme of all produce, I have a TON! Thus comes the kale chip.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Remove tough stems of kale, wash and tear into large bite sized pieces.
Toss kale in 2 tbs olive oil
Spread in one layer on a baking sheet
Bake for 15 min
Sprinkle with salt immediately after removal from oven

They taste like little munchies :) It still definitely tastes like a dark leafy green, with a pinch of salt. The curly kale has provided all sorts of little crunch capabilities. I would warn, they shrink more than I expected. So when tearing, keep your pieces larger than bite sized. I have to say - it is no potato chip, but I will also admit, these would be a great replacement for that large bowl of popcorn during a movie!

Please try it yourself and let me know what you think about it :)