Who doesn’t love a good ole fashion bake sale?! They are easy, fun and enjoyable for kids and adults, too! Organizing a bake sale for your school, church, community or team doesn’t have to be complicated and overwhelming if you keep a few things in mind. In no particular order our tips are listed below.
The first order of business is gathering volunteers to help with the following tasks and creating a workable list so that everything stays organized.
Baking & Goodies – Decide early on if the cookies, pies, popcorn, cupcakes and other goodies will be home-baked, store purchased or perhaps both. It has been said many times over that home-baked goods sell much better than store bought goods so keep that in mind. Narrow down the options to about five – give or take – keeping in mind different flavors of the same items.
Keeping food allergies and healthy choices in mind will go far such as low-carb, nut-free and gluten-free options. Offering coffee, hot chocolate and bottles of water or lemonade are also popular items at bake sales. [click to continue…]
This is a guest post by Noah King.
Naturally it would happen that not only did one of the kitchen appliances cease to work this week, so did the water heater and right before Easter when I was set to host the family dinner no less. I guess I should be thankful that I learned I had no hot water when washing dishes rather than in an ice cold shower!
The stove was an relatively easy purchase, but the heater proved more difficult. While doing some research it became abundantly clear that although a gas water heater would cost more money upfront, in the long run they are half the cost to operate in comparison to electric water heaters. In fact, the U.S. Department of Energy estimates that 12 percent of the average home utility bill – and carbon footprint – comes from heating water.
A few general points to keep in mind when shopping for a new gas water heater.
Gas water heaters require a gas supply, cold water supply and also a flue connection to filter any harmful gases. Most importantly is ensuring that your home has adequate venting as one important concern is carbon monoxide – which can prove fatal if it builds up in the home. [click to continue…]
Recently I’ve found my way back to cooking and baking with the sole purpose of finally being able to use some of the kitchen toolz and cooking gadgets that I’ve acquired over the past months.
In doing so I noticed the laptop becoming my newest “cooking gadget” in that it was always propped up on the counter so I could access a recipe while baking or watch a YouTube video showing me how to make pizza dough or chop an onion to perfection. That’s when it occurred to me that maybe I should invest in a kitchen laptop. My regular laptop is heavy and annoying to tote around but with so many new light laptops on the market, that problem would be solved. [click to continue…]
Cooking can be cumbersome or fun – you get to decide. I waiver somewhere in between both, but the one thing I am certain of is that I want it to be as easy as possible, especially on those nights when I’m exhausted from work and dealing with the kids and everything else.
When I was young, a lot of time was spent in the kitchen with my grandmother. And while I am so very thankful I did learn how to cook and that I remember much of her recipes, at this point in my life I don’t have the time or want to be in the kitchen all day. I like buying things for the kitchen, not spending the day by the stove.
I use my Samsung Galaxy to host my collection of cooking apps which are a part of my kitchen toolz arsenal. What I really like is that I only need my phone in the kitchen – with all the liquid hazards – it is no place for your beloved laptop. Let’s just say my laptop has been known to inhale more coffee than me and that is never a good thing. That’s not to say that I haven’t ruined a phone or two but that’s another story.
Without further delay below are our favorite cooking apps. We hope you find them as helpful as we do! [click to continue…]
I decided I needed to take a short break from the cupcakes and make a grown up cake. I keep looking through this cookbook and my mouth salivates every time I pass the recipe for Raspberry-fudge Fantasy Torte. What the heck is a torte anyway? I had to look it up because my mom told me this was not a Torte. I replied with “Yes huh! It says so right here!” For those of you that don’t know, my definition of a Torte (that I have created from several sources) is a rich almost pudding like cake that usually is made with no flour, and is made with eggs, nuts or bread crumbs. Also, it is covered in icing, especially on the sides.
That being said, I can only assume that this recipe qualifies because it is a rich cake with icing and chocolate chips on the sides? Anyway, it’s fabulous. And once again, I come back to the challenge of “will mine look like the picture?” I think I did a good job, but can’t wait to perfect it! [click to continue…]
My husband requested a chocolate cupcake now that I’m all about the cupcake baking. Since I can’t just make a chocolate cupcake, I found a recipe for Molten Chocolate Cupcakes. Much better.
I guess I really wasn’t at my best when I decided to make these cupcakes. I used the KitchenAid Mixer and forgot to lock the bowl in before I turned it on. If that wasn’t bad enough, I hit high speed by accident. Oooops.
So try number 2 was better. Had to start over since half of the batter covered the kitchen. The recipe does say “serve warm”, and this is great advice because the next day they were good but, the insides are much better when it’s warm.
The recipe calls for shortening and flour instead of paper cups. I’m not sure why but, I hate doing all that in muffin cups and I would say that my tip of the day is to use Pam with flour. I think it even says “for baking” on the can. It works great!
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My next cupcake I chose because it’s my favorite. When I get ice cream and buy vanilla – it has to be “Vanilla BEAN”. So, a Vanilla Bean cupcake has got to be awesome, right??!!
I now know that a Vanilla Bean is a little pricey at the grocery store. The recipe calls for 2 and my store only carries the Spice Island brand that has only 1 bean in the jar, for about $8.00. OK THEN! These better be awesome I’m thinking! And I was pleased, because they were absolutely delicious!
Scraping a vanilla bean was, hmm…interesting. Tip for the day:: be really careful, because as I was scraping, a huge chunk flew onto the floor and the dog ate it. TRUE STORY. (Then again, maybe it’s me. Some people do call me heavy hands as I’m not always so dainty.) So, after all that scraping I hoped and believe now that a little vanilla goes along way. There wasn’t a whole lot that came out of those two beans, but the vanilla taste was perfection, even with the dog having a taste! [click to continue…]
It seems to me all I hear about lately is cupcakes. I’m in the grocery store last Sunday and see this cute little cupcake on the cover of a mini-cupcake magazine at the check out. Actually, It caught the eye of my 4 year old first, and he has taken up an interest in everything I do in the kitchen. Why wouldn’t it? On the cover was a tie-dye cupcake. Plenty of bright colors and it looked simply delicious. So we bought it. When I got home I sat down and looked through all the recipes and each one appeared better than last. So I decided to cook my way through this cookbook. Now I’ve made cupcakes before out of a box, using the icing out of the jar, but this is going to be different. Many of these recipes are from scratch and I’m going to have to use a few new things. Two of these new things are a pastry bag and a cupcake frosting tip. [click to continue…]
Replace your food processor, blender, and coffee grinder with this convenient mixing system. Keep it handy on the countertop for instant meals and snacks – easy peasy. I think I must have it so I can make myself some yummy smoothies!
* 100-page Magic Bullet “10 Second Recipe” book included.
Available at Amazon
Cherry Pie anyone?
Pitting cherries doesn’t have to be a messy job! As soon as I saw the Cherry Chomper , I had to order one for my husband. He absolutely loves cherries (in fact, he just bought MORE) and this little gadget looks so cute! On another note, is it just me or are cherries crazy expensive?!
“The Talisman Designs Cherry Chomper is compact, fun to use, mess-free, and kid-friendly. It uses a plunger-type action that pushes the cherry pit and residual juice into the bottom container of the pitter. The protective ‘tooth’ ensures that hands and fingers won’t be touched by any of the components. Also pits olives. It stands six inches tall and is dishwasher-safe.”
Available at Amazon