Favorite "Little" Kitchen Tools

Yesterday, I posted about my favorite Big Kitchen tools. Today I'm sharing my favorite little ones!

1. Garlic Press: These are great! My hands always hold onto the garlic smell for DAYS. This tool helps to prevent that. I use it almost daily.

2. Bamboo Spoons: These are another daily essential. When you cook on non-stick pans, you don't want to use metal and these are great. They last forever and they can be washed in the dishwasher.

3. Mix N Scraper and Scraper: I LOVE these for baking! We have every size and shape and they are great!

4. Measuring Cups: I love these and use them EVERYDAY! If you do get them, make sure to get the little "mini" because it is great for your small tablespoon amounts!

5. Scoops: I use these all the time when baking. They make the perfect round cookies, fill the muffin and cupcake cups perfectly and evenly! We have on in every size and they are great!

This wraps up my favorite kitchen tools posts. I'd love to hear what your favorite's are! Have a great weekend!

Favorite "Big" Kitchen Tools

I usually talk a lot about the tools I use when cooking. These are my favorite "big" tools that I use on a very regular basis. If you don't have these or something similar, I would highly recommend getting them as they are great everyday tools!

1.Le Creuset Cast-Iron 3-1/2-Quart Round Braiser: This is one of my favorites! It is a great pan for braising smaller pieces of meat. I also use it for all my risotto recipes as it heats the whole pan evenly so the rice cooks well.

2. KitchenAid Artisan Series 5-Quart Mixer: I love my mixer! Mine isn't a fun color like this but I would love it even more if it was :) I use this for just about every baked thing I make. It is such a great kitchen tool and has so many great attachments you can add later like a pasta maker, juicer, ext.

3.Crock-Pot 6-Quart Programmable Slow Cooker : If you don't have a crock pot, especially one with a programmable timer, I recommend you getting one. This is one of those tools I use during our very busy days and just love it!

4.Magic Bullet : Smoothies, baby food or anything else that you would blend, this Magic Bullet great!

5.Victorinox Swiss Classic 10-Piece Cutlery Block Set: We love our knife set we got as a wedding gift. It is great but any sharp, good quality knife set is a must have staple!

6.Kitchenaid 5 Speed Immersion Blender: I use this so much! It is great for soups and sauces and although you won't use it every day, you will use it often and it's great tool to help save of the amount of dishes you will do. I have also used it when making baby food and it works great!

7.Le Creuset Signature Enameled Cast-Iron 5-1/2-Quart Round French Oven: The last but probably most used tool in my kitchen is my French Oven. I use this for sooo much! Sauces, soups, roasts you name it! It holds a lot and I love it! It is seriously my most favorite tool in my kitchen. If I had to give up everything in my kitchen except one tool, I would choose this!

So these are my favorite "big" tools. Tomorrow I will talk about my favorite "little" tools. Until then, what are your favorite kitchen must haves? I'd love to hear them!

Roasted Tomato Sauce with Fresh Tomatoes

Maxwell has an amazing garden this year! We have 16 different tomato plants and they are producing like crazy! So much so that we are starting to need to come up with some ideas on how to use them :) I love that! So today as we ate some yummy Brandi Wine tomatoes on a BLT, we also roasted up a bunch of tomatoes and made a YUMMY sauce! So if you have extra tomatoes or if you just want to try to make a yummy tomato sauce, try this recipe!

I am also starting to prep some freezer meals for Flag Football season (Maxwell coaches) and for when Baby Girl gets here, so we doubled this recipe. We plan to freeze all of this sauce, after we eat it for dinner tonight. It's sure to be tasty!

Roasted Tomato Pasta Sauce

For the tomatoes

2-3 pounds fresh tomatoes

6-10 cloves of garlic 

1-2 teaspoons of salt

1 teaspoon of pepper

2ish tablespoons of Olive Oil

For the Sauce

1 can tomato paste

1 28oz can Diced Tomatoes

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1-2 teaspoons chopped fresh basil 

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 Beef Bone (optional)

1 parmasen rind (optional)

1. Preheat over to 375 degrees. Cut tomatoes and push all the seeds out. This reduces the amount of liquid and makes sure your sauce isn't seedy.
2. Spread on a foil lined cookie sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper and the garlic.
3. Roast in the oven for 1 hour.
4. Transfer roasted tomatoes into your pot. I use my Le Creuset or any heavy bottomed pot would do. Using your emulsification blender, puree the tomatoes. (If you don't have an emulsification blender, you could put the tomatoes into a regular blender or food processor to puree.) 
5. Once pureed to your liking (I left mine chunky), add the remaining ingredients.
6. Simmer on low for at least 2 hours to let all the flavors meld together. I let mine go for about 3 1/2. Use immediately or let cool and package it up to freeze. It should last in your freezer for 4-6 months.

This is a great sauce to use on pasta, pizza, meatball sandwiches or anything else you want to use tomato sauce for. It is delicious! Enjoy!

July Birchbox

I got my July Birchbox in the mail on Saturday! I get so excited every month when it comes and have so much fun opening it and discovering what's inside. If you are into trying new beauty products and don't have the time to go out and search for new things, I would HIGHLY recommend that you subscribe. I have found some awesome products that work great for me from this little box!

This month, this is what came in my box:

Birchbox Bobby Pins:
I thought these were very cute however they are HARD to get in and out of my hair. I have thick hair and it took a lot of effort to get them in and out of my hair. They are very tight and don't bend well without stretching them too much. But they are super cute!

Kerastase Cleanse and Masque Hair Treatment:
This is a hydrating treatment for colored hair. It did leave my hair feeling soft however it didn't want to hold a curl or anything today. I know this can happen with deep conditioners but I have another one I use and love, so I won't be trading to this any time soon.

Model Co Party Proof Lipstick:
This stuff is AMAZING!!! I just wish a local store carried it so I could go try on some of there other colors. I received "Get Naked" in my box which is a very light nude color, not the color for me BUT it feels amazing! Super soft and hydrating and doesn't dry out your lips AND doesn't come off! I've stopped wearing lipstick since having Aston because it rubbed off on him and the typical lip stains were too drying. This stuff is amazing! I think I might have to purchase a color online and just go for it!

Purminerals CC Cream:
I have started to like using CC cream. I don't use any foundation as of now but as I'm getting a bit older, my skin is starting to get a little uneven. Not enough for a foundation but the CC creams have really worked well for me and don't look or feel heavy. This one however is too smelly for me. I'm very sensitive about smells on my face. So I'll have to go look for something else.

Benta Berry G-1 Moisturizer:
Not a fan. It was very sticky for my skin. I didn't like how it felt.

So this is what I received. I'd love to hear what you think of products I didn't get that you liked!

And again, if you have been thinking about doing Birchbox, I would highly recommend it!


*I do not work for Birchbox or get anything from them. Just love the box!

Necklace Onsie Using Silhouette Designer Software

I've got the nesting bug to start getting ready for our baby girl! Although we have about 17 more weeks until we meet this little one, I've got things I'm working on to help pass the time :)

I created this necklace template using Silhouette's Designer Software! This upgrade has been AMAZING to work with and I have used it's features on numerous occasions. If you have a Silhouette or are thinking about purchasing one, I strongly recommend you getting the Designer Software too! And over the next 10 days, Silhouette has a great offer for you.

But first, let me show you how I made this necklace. I got the idea here and thought that I could easily make it using my Silhouette and it's fabric ink. Here's how I did it.

Using the circle drawing tool on the left side, I created 3 circles. One large one for the guide, and then two sizes for the beads. I placed the large circle at the top of the page and then copies and pasted the two sizes to create the necklace. It was great using the guide.

 This is what it looked like when I was finished.

I then removed the large circle, selected the whole image.

 Then Go up to the Object menu bar, to Modify and select "Modify Options." This bar will show up on the right hand side and click "Make" to make it into one shape not 20. This isn't necessary but it will help to not loose the shape you have.

Once I made it into one shape, I measured across the neckline of the onsie and made the shape the same width of the onsie.

I then used the instructions in then cut Silhouette's stencil vinyl and took the center portions out of the shape.

 I then peeled clear stencil off the paper backing. (I didn't use any transfer tape because it is just one shape without inner portions that needed to stay in place.) I placed it on the onsie in my desired location.

 I slid a piece of foil covered cardboard into the onsie to keep the ink from going through to the other layer. Using the black Silhouette fabric ink, I used the sponge brush to dab paint into the open areas of the stencil.

When the ink has dried, remove the stencil and set the ink with an iron. Further instructions are on the ink bottle. This is just to insure that it sets and doesn't wash out.

To finish off the onsie, I added this flower to the onsie. You can find the tutorial for this felt flower here. It's my new favorite!

Now, here is the offer over the next 10 days. This is a great deal if you are looking into this product! $100 off the Portrait is HUGE!

To get this deal, my code word is BEAR! www.silhouetteamerica.com/designer and enter BEAR at check out! I hope you take up this great offer! I seriously LOVE my silhouette and all I can do with it!