A Multi Tasking Kitchen

I love my kitchen!!  Not because it's glamorous, spacious or efficient.  In fact, it is 23 years old, with not many improvements made in it!  Same wallpaper, same cabinets, same appliances.  I love it because it is the heart of the home and it enables me to bless my family through it.

As I write this, the kitchen is multi tasking!  There is bread being kneaded in the bread machine, strawberry oatmeal bars baking, beans soaking for dinner and tea steeping for an afternoon treat!

My relationship with my kitchen has not always been so intimate.  My visits there were short, sweet and completed.  Cooking hasn't always been so important to me.  Get em fed and move em out was my attitude.  But, alas, with three sons, they have to eat...alot!

Since I have been a stay at home mom, there is more time available for cooking.  But some of the age old techniques can be used today, with great results, even for those with little time for the kitchen.  It all comes down to the attitude.

What comes out of the kitchen is what goes into it.  A desire to bless and nourish our families puts nutritious meals on the table, delicious treats for them to snack on and lets them know how important they are.

It is so easy to fall into the trap of prepared, packaged food.  I did it for years.  It is easy, but expensive.  Here are some easy ways to get the most out of your kitchen:

• Bake a loaf of homemade bread.  They have pre-packaged loaves in the grocers freezer, which you simply take out and let rise.  Great way to begin, then do a google search for homemade bread recipes.  Let this be a weekend project.
• Do a homemade snack.  Start with some cookie mix in the bag or freezer.  A plate of this speaks more love than Chips Ahoy could ever muster!
• Purpose to do a little more from scratch cooking.  It really doesn't take that much longer.  Try things like homemade soup, rice and real gravy, dried beans (put them on in the morning to soak), fresh vegetables, real mashed potatoes and a cake from scratch. 

Don't get overwhelmed, go slow and easy!  Try one project a week.  Before long, some healthy and homey habits will be formed.   It's the extra time spent in the kitchen with the change of heart that this is a service and extension of love that will make you love your kitchen!