It's been awhile ..

Yes, yes, it's been quite a while since I've updated you all, but I've been busy around the house and unfortunately it didn't involve the kitchen. As most of you know I bought a house back in January of last year and purposely didn't do any major renovations until I was ready. I wanted to make sure I'd previewed every design blog out there to get the absolute best ideas. Juuust kidding. I did however, want to make sure I was comfortable with the flow of the house, how I used it, and the best placement for furniture. I also wanted to gather my design ideas, color scheme, and overall look I was going for - because that's just how I operate. I mean you have to have a game plan before you can attack.

First things first, I have a dog that shed's like a maniac so the carpet in the living room HAD to go. After several trips to Lowes Home Improvement and Lumber Liquidators I'd finally narrowed down my flooring options. All of which were mid-range ($$) laminate options. This option seemed to be the best pet friendly solution.

I ended up going with the Swiftlock Auburn Oak from Lowes. It wasn't the cheapest and surely wasn't the most expensive, but for 420 sq ft., which included the living room and dinning rooms for a mear $900 ... I didn't think that was unreasonable for the materials. I had a friend do the install, Knowles Cabinets. He really did a fabulous job. So here's the before and after ...

BEFORE:

AFTER:

OH ... I've also been busy buying that lovely furniture you see there from ZGallerie and Painting those HUGE walls. Thanks to my parents for their assistance.


So, back to baking ... I swear, but until then this sneak peak should hold you over.


~ Sweet dreams loves!

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Maple Bacon

I have an insane fascination with BACON! Most people do, but I've got to tell ya, bacon cooked in the oven is the absolute best. I learned this method from Food Networks, Ina Garten. If you have a cookie sheet or jelly roll pan, like this one, it's able to stand the heat from the hot grease that collects below, but any tall lipped cookie sheet will do. You'll also need a rack that fits within your jelly roll pan. I got my el-cheapo racks from Target and they are fabulous! They're non-stick too, which comes in handy if you over cook the bacon a bit. Of course this all depends on how you like it ... I like mine chewy and some like theirs crunchy and well done.

So, now that you've got your tools together. Set the oven to 350º and line your jelly roll pan with aluminum. Easy clean up's fine by me ... I spray my rack with Pam over the sink. Yes, yes, it's suppose to be non-stick but I'd rather be safe than sorry. Also, if you use the 'fake' maple syrup you'll find it causes the bacon to stick more. Lay your bacon out as close together as possible and put it in the oven.

Keep a close watch, no one likes the smell or taste of burnt bacon. After about 15 min. of cooking take the bacon out of the oven and flip it. You'll then drizzle the maple syrup over the bacon and put back in the oven for 5 min. or so. And your done ... Ahh, the sweet smell of bacon ...

Whip up a batch of banana, apple cinnamon, or plain ol'normal pancakes and you've got my favorite meal anytime of the day.

**Side note: Let the bacon grease cool on the jelly role pan and you can fold it up and trash it ... that's one less dish to wash.** You can thank me later ...