Archive for September, 2012

Kitchen renovation: Lighting

Sep 26th

Posted by MyKidsEatSquid in Kitchen remodels

The kitchen renovations have begun! If you recall from last week, my Mad Men kitchen is undergoing a serious makeover. First step: lighting.

Lighting can be a relatively easy tweak to your kitchen that makes a big difference–if you know how to swap out lighting. Changing light fixtures is simple and you can learn how it’s done through online guides and videos. The most important advice: make sure to switch the electricity to the room off before you get started.

Here’s what we did:

•Moved the black-iron light fixture over our kitchen table into the dining room and took out the gold chandelier (I’m just not a chandelier person).

•Put in a simple, brushed nickel overhead light with clean lines from Home Depot ($29.88).

•Took out the florescent lighting near the refrigerator with track lighting from IKEA ($49.99).

Hitches:

•We discovered that the lighting wasn’t in the middle of the kitchen so we couldn’t center our lighting either. Solution: the movable track lighting looks intentional placed farther away from the sink. On my list: putty the extra hole with sheetrock compound and repaint the ceiling.

•Originally, we forked over a little extra money to buy vintage light bulbs. Even though we loved the look, the light bulb just didn’t give enough light–even the 60-watt bulb. Solution: We returned the light bulb and we’re sticking with regular bulbs (hey, they’re less pricey anyway).

Your turn: Have you ever changed the lighting in your kitchen? What inexpensive fixes have made a big difference in your kitchen?

ceiling lights, changing light fixtures, inexpensive kitchen updates, track lighting, vintage light bulbs

Breakfast burgers

Sep 19th

Posted by MyKidsEatSquid in Recipes

10 comments

When Mr. Squid mentioned he wanted to make breakfast burgers I wasn’t immediately on board. See, we tried out breakfast pizzas once on a whim and the results were, well, not good.

But sausage patties are perfect for the grill. We buy ours from a local farmer’s market that makes fresh pork and turkey varieties. Top your grilled patty with the works like bacon, cheese, and a fried egg. Or keep it simple–I like just a turkey sausage patty topped with thick-sliced tomato.

Recipe

Prep time: 30 minutes

Servings: 4

Ingredients

4 sausage patties (1 pound)

4 whole wheat kaiser buns

4 slices bacon, if desired

4 slices cheddar cheese, if desired

4 eggs

Directions

Form the sausage into 4 thin patties.
Heat the grill to high, then place the sausage patties on the grill.
Cook for 3-4 minutes on each side.
Take the patties off the grill. While they cool prepare a fried egg for each.
Place the patty on the bun followed by the bacon, cheese, and fried egg. (Alternatively, top the sausage patty with a slice of tomato.)

breakfast, burgers, eggs, sausage

My Mad Men kitchen

Sep 14th

Posted by MyKidsEatSquid in Kitchen remodels

22 comments

Welcome to the 1960s mixed in with a little 1990s or what I like to call, my kitchen. Who knew that my new home would have a Betty Draper- style plaid kitchen courtesy of Mad Men?

Well, the plaid wallpaper’s gotta go. Along with the dinosaur of a double oven, the evergreen laminate countertops, and the overhead microwave that makes the cooktop feel like a cave.

Just one problem. See the other day when I was eating my breakfast, the ceiling dripped into my bran flakes. And with those drips went a few of our kitchen renovation plans. They’re now in the fix-the-leak-in-the-bathroom-that-isn’t-covered-by-the-home-warranty plan. So if you’ve wondered why I haven’t posted in awhile, I’ve traded my paintbrush for a spatula. (But I’ve got to eat sometime, so our grill and smoker have replaced my oven.)

Our plans now are to re-purpose as much of our current kitchen as we can.

Here’s what’s on the list:

Anyone need a trash compactor?

Paint the kitchen cabinets white (bring on the oil-based primer)
Paint the cabinet hinges in brushed nickel
Paint the laminate countertops gray (Rustoleum is on my shopping list)
Take down the wallpaper
Remove the trash compactor (done;)
Replace the double oven and stovetop with a range (opens up the space and it’s less expensive)
Decide on a backsplash
Nix the over-the-stove microwave–where can you hide a microwave?
Swap out the lighting
Plans posted in the kitchen for inspiration
Refinish the wood floors