I’ve been looking for the perfect gift to give my friend for her new home. She’s moving in next month and she’s  very excited about owning her own home for the first time. She’s been renting for years and most of the things she’s owned are due to be replaced, including many of her bath and kitchen accessories. She’s picked her colors for the kitchen, so I’m planning to get her something special that will be both stylish and functional. One thing I’ve just found that I think she’ll love is this beautiful cobalt blue ceramic kitchen canister set. It has a matching utensil holder that I think will be perfect as well.

Quality stoneware and ceramic kitchen canisters make a great housewarming gift as well as a wonderful bridal shower present. Canisters are a great way to keep kitchen counter tops neat and organized while adding a nice splash of style at the same time. I think whenever you can give someone a gift that is both useful and stylish, it’s sure to be a big hit with the recipient.

While spring is still months away, I’ve found myself lately yearning to do some spring cleaning. I think it started after we took our holiday decorations down at the beginning of the year. After everything was restored back to normal, things still looked a little cluttered. I can’t help but notice that the window blinds are in desperate of dusting and most of our rugs need cleaning. Not the fun stuff, but I know it would look and smell a lot fresher in here once they’re cleaned. Maybe we can paint some of the main rooms while we’re at it too.

I really need to address the kitchen and do something about the cluttered counter tops and cabinets. Once they’re decluttered we’ll probably need to do something about our outdated counter tops. If they can’t be cleaned up with some good scrubbing and brightening, I’m hoping we can get a reasonably priced replacement top and maybe resurface the cabinets. It would look like a whole new kitchen!

Do you find yourself cooking (and eating!) a lot more now that it’s so cold outside. I have! And it wouldn’t be so bad if I was getting more exercise in my schedule. But it’s too cold out lately and it’s a perfect excuse to sit on the couch and watch a movie while drinking hot cocoa and eating warm chocolate chip cookies. Of course there are some people that have gotten off to a better start on the New Year’s resolutions! Cooking and baking is fun though, and you can’t beat the taste of fresh baked goodies. If you’re planning something special at home for Valentine’s Day this year, check out this great Heart Shaped Aluminum Flan Pan.

Aluminum cake pans like this great flan pan from Kaiser are a great addition to any kitchenware collection. And flan is a really delicious treat that gets easier to bake the more often you make it. Some people create this delicious custard-style dessert quite often, though a heart-shaped flan would be a really unique twist on this old-world favorite.

It’s hard for me to believe that it’s nearly Thanksgiving.  Doesn’t it feel like we were just putting up Halloween decorations and carving our pumpkins, doesn’t it? Now family is calling to see what the plans are for Thanksgiving, who is cooking what, and who needs to bring the wine, desserts, or other such goodies. Some families do a potluck-style meal, where everyone does the cooking, thus making it easier on the host or hostess and all ensuring everyone has their favorite dish at the feast.

Many people like to create a more lavish feast, setting the table with their best dishes and silver and cooking all of the entrees, side dishes, and pies themselves. I know others that enjoy eating out in a nice restaurant to celebrate the day. If you don’t like cooking, you can even order much or all of the meal from the grocery store. While it might not be the same as homecooked meals, it can make the day much less stressful if cooking is not your strength. It will also give you more time to spend with friends and family since you won’t be working all day in the kitchen.

While many people might not have heard of cooking in clay, there is a population of people around the world who have always cooked in this material. It actually dates back to Roman times, or perhaps even further. Then the meat would be covered in moist clay, tossed into an open fire, and then cracked open when finished to reveal a fully cooked piece of meat. Now, rather than tossing their food into an open fire, many people use Romertopf Clay Pots for oven cooking instead. These wonderful pieces produce delicious meals in the comfort of your home.

What is wonderful about using a large clay baker to bake your meal in is how moist and tender the food is when it is done. Clay bakers come in a variety of styles and sizes, making it possible to cook a small dish for one or two or a large holiday turkey. The cookware is easy to work with as long as you follow some basic rules. These rules include: always soaking the baker in water prior use, never preheating the oven prior putting the dish inside, and never using the cookware on a stove top. With proper care your baker will last you for many years to come.

Suddenly the beautiful fall colors are everywhere! The stores and garden centers are stacked with Halloween decorations, colorful mums, and rows of pumpkins of all shapes and sizes. The air is crisper and it feels to good to get outside and enjoy the day without dealing with heat and humidity. The acorns are already hitting the ground and soon the leaves in the trees will be putting on quite a colorful show.

Before you know it we’ll be planning for the upcoming holidays that traditionally follow Halloween like Thanksgiving, Chanukah, Christmas, and New Years Day. But for now it’s nice just to enjoy the new season that’s just begun. We’ll be turning on the oven more, cooking bigger meals, baking more desserts and filling our homes with the delicious smells of homemade goodies.

While many people are not familiar with it, cooking in clay is wonderful option for cooking some of your favorite dishes. Being rather delicate, it is not meant for stovetop cooking as the rapid heating of cool clay would cause the clay to crack. When cooking in clay, the meal is placed in the cookware then placed in a cool oven before setting the oven temperature. The resulting dish is delicious and moist, quite a bit more tender than meals baked in an open steel pan. Something like this Large Covered Clay Baker is a good example of an excellent piece of clay cookware.

This quality item is from the Romertopf Clay Cookware line. Popular for many years, this cookware is not only useful but quite attractive. Many people even use it for a serving dish. The large clay baker can hold up to 14 pounds, big enough for many of your favorite family meals! There’s even a maxi baker that can hold up to 17 pounds, making it plenty big enough for your holiday turkey.

Do you ever feel like you have run out of ideas to make for dinner? Especially in the summer when you’ve likely been barbecuing every weekend. Then of course there’s pizza, which many families order weekly.  Lots of people make slow-cooked meals during the summer. One of our friends likes to make thick bean soups for her family with some hearty homemade bread on the side. It’s an easy meal that’s very satisfying and very inexpensive. Plus there’s always leftovers for later in the week.

You can have fun with the menu too. One night can be taco night. It’s a lot of fun for the kids since they can put their tacos together anyway they like with options such as cheese, meat, lettuce, tomatoes, sauce, sour cream and other simple sides. Or you can try a meal from a different country each week. It’s easy to find recipes online and it puts a whole new spin on dinner. Plus it’s a great way to introduce new foods and flavors to the whole family.

Like many people I have quite a few plastic containers that I use in the kitchen. Mostly they serve as food storage containers, but we also grab them sometimes as a mixing bowl or food prep bowl. They’re generally  handy and inexpensive. But they have their limitations. For one thing, you can’t use them to heat your food in. You can’t freeze them too often without them become damaged. And over a short period of time they start to show their age, looking stained and scraped. So switching over to something like this Glasslock Large Rectangular Glass Food Storage Set is a great idea.

Not only can you heat your food in these durable lidded glass storage containers, but you can easily use them to store food in your fridge or freezer too. They stack very neatly giving you more room on your shelves and they clean up as good as new in your dishwasher. These great containers are air-tight and liquid-tight, keeping your food fresher longer and helping you prevent spills and messy clean-up issues. A big step up from plastic storage containers for me.

With many children home from school for the summer, it takes a bit of creativity to find budget-friendly activities to keep them busy. If you’re one of the lucky ones with your own pool, then you’ve got one of the best ways to entertain the children right in your own yard. Of course, you’re also bound to be a popular house for the other kids in the neighborhood, so you’ll need to have extra snacks and drinks around. Instead of bearing the cost all by yourself, you can do what many others do and have the other parents chip in for the refreshments. Most are happy to do it since so much of the activity is taking place at your home.

 Besides all of the yard games that can be played, you can also treat the kids to a special movie day at home. You can have them pick out one of their favorite movies, make some fresh popcorn and settle in for some good family entertainment. Movie days are perfect for rainy days as well as for days when everyone needs a break from the heat. Other days you can also get out and explore some of the local parks and museums if they’re some in your area. Many of these activites are free or very inexpensive. The summer days will pass rapidly, so have fun enjoying your time with family.

Pasta is probably one of the easiest foods to make, even though it can get a little mushy if you leave it in the hot water too long. And if you buy one of the whole grain or sprouted varieties offered in the grocery, your pasta dish will offer a good amount of fiber and protein to make it quite a satisfying meal. Add a small green side salad or some fresh colorful vegetables along with a red or white sauce and you’ve got the perfect meal. A tasty, healthy meal that’s ready in less than twenty minutes. Now many of the pasta strands are long, forcing you to have to break the pasta into smaller pieces. But with a great pot like this Rachael Ray Hard-Anodized 8 Quart Pasta Pot, you can place the pasta strands in without breaking them.

Rachael Ray makes great, durable cookware and this large aluminum stockpot is no exception. It has an attractive gray matte finish with comfortable silicone handles and a quality nonstick finish. The glass cover makes it easy to keep an eye on your dish while it cooks too. I also like using a pot like this for making homemade soups and stews too. And the oval shape works well for allowing multiple pots on the stove top without overcrowding.

I walked into a friend’s home recently and was shocked to find how stark it was. Now I know I have a bit too much clutter in our home and trying to tackle it is a bit of a lifetime challenge. I heartily give the children much of the blame since they can’t seem to part with even the smallest trinket they took home from a birthday party or get rid of any of the puzzle books and magazines when they’re finished reading them. But I have to take part of the blame too since I keep a lot of books and magazines around myself. However I’m pretty good at organizing items into baskets and shelves and we even have a couple of rooms that remain quite neat yet comfortable. My friend though has taken de-cluttering to the next level where it seems there isn’t even a nice family photograph to be found or a small vase of flowers on the table. I guess to each their own? I could use a few decorating tips myself though and found some great ideas on iVillage.

They have loads of common-sense, low cost ideas for keeping a family home neat and fun at the same time. I’ve gotten great ideas for our kids rooms as well as ways to add colors and artwork to our family areas without breaking the bank. Staying organized is another ongoing battle, and iVillage has advice from others in the same boat that I’ve found very helpful. There’s also tips for things like planning a family game night, time-saving tips for moms, planting a vegetable garden, money-saving tips, and much more.

During the summer we often have a lot of company that comes to visit. Mostly it’s because our family is spread out across the country and it’s the only time many have off from school for extended vacations. So they’ll hit the road for a couple of weeks to visit a few of us and spend time camping out in our homes. It’s always fun to spend time catching up on things and just enjoying simple things together. With the price of gasoline, it’s nice to not have to shell out for hotels too. Plus we all get a lot of time together like we used to. One of our favorite things is to sit down to a big breakfast, using our Oster Family-Size Electric Griddle to cook up big batches of eggs and pancakes.

We love this griddle and use it nearly every weekend, even when we don’t have company. The beauty of an electric griddle is that you can cook anywhere in your kitchen, so you’re not restricted to the stove top. This griddle also has a ‘keep warm” tray that slides right underneath so we can keep the sausage and bacon warm while we cook our pancakes. It’s a good size to and it has a removable drip tray for easy clean-up when we’re finished. The Oster Family Size Nonstick Electric Griddle makes it easy to conveniently create your favorite family-sized breakfasts and dinners anywhere on your kitchen counter top. Included warming tray slides from underneath keeping portions fresh and warm for the whole family. Anyone who enjoys cooking would surely get a lot of use out of a great nonstick electric griddle like our Oster griddle.

For those of us that are admitted coffee addicts, there is nothing like a rich cup of hot coffee to get our days off to the right start. The smells and flavors of the coffee is enough to put a smile on our faces. Then there is the delicious special specialty coffees like cappucino and espresso that we usually only get to enjoy when we’re out in a restaurant. But you can enjoy these wonderful coffees in the comfort of your home with the De’Longhi Espresso & Cappucino Maker.

This cool looking, retro-style cappucino maker creates top notch coffees that will make you think you’re in a fine restaurant. It automatically self primes and is constructed with a durable stainless steel boiler that will last for many years. It even has two distinct thermostats so that you can control the steam and water temperature. What’s great is that this machine can be used with pods and with an ESE filter holder. Makes a great frothy drink too! Simply a perfect coffee machine for any coffee-lover.

Less than a week now until Mother’s Day. There are a lot of great ways to help your Mom celebrate her special day on this Sunday May 10th, 2009. It does have to get expensive to let Mom know you appreciate her and that you’re thinking of her today. If you still live home, it can be the simple things like treating her to breakfast in bed and taking care of dinner at night. If you have little ones at home, they can make her a card or small homemade craft gift like a picture frame or handprint art. And let Mom take the day off spending it the way she’d like, whether it means going out shopping by herself or spending the day relaxing at home.

If you want to splurge, you can buy her something special she’s had her eye on for awhile or treat her to a gift package at a popular day spa. Whatever you choose to do will be appreciated if it comes from the heart and shows you put some extra thought into the gift. All you have to do is remember how much Mom does to keep everything running smoothly at home and it will inspire you to come up with just the right present.

We recently had a lot of company at our home and did a lot of entertaining day and night. We had a lot of big breakfasts to serve and tried to get creative with lunch ideas and dinner menus. Of course sometimes we simply took the easy route and had a big pizza and salad night for dinner one evening and we went out to dinner another. But for the nights we ate had home we had a lot of fun entertaining and including tasty appetizers and fresh fruits and dips too. We have our Perfect Party Platter and other great serving dishes for times just like these.

Anyone who enjoys entertaining would get a lot of use out of a quality ceramic serving platter like this one. We use it for chips and salsa, shrimp and sauce, fruits and vegetables with dips and for desserts too.  It’s large twelve inch size is perfect for our needs and the dipping portion holds about 8 ounces.  We use this particular dish quite often as it’s one of our favorite and most versatile kitchen serving bowls.

Whether you’re celebrating Easter or Passover, it’s likely you’re looking forward to spending time with family and enjoying your favorite traditions. Since many of us that have family living far away,  the holidays give us the chance to spend time together and catch up on each other’s lives. Cousins get to know each other and play together, siblings bring up all of the old stories from childhood again. And let’s not forget that it usually includes a big meal followed by a variety of delicious desserts.

It’s fun to host the holidays, but it can also be a lot of work. If the dinner is at your home, maybe you can take it a little easier this year and let more people bring their favorite dishes and desserts. It might be a mix of items you might not normally serve, but it sure will give you more time to relax instead of spending most of the day in the kitchen. Plus everyone is guaranteed to have a least one of their favorite dishes that day.

If you’re moving into your first place and furnishing your home with the essentials. make sure you pick a quality set of cookware for your kitchen. If you make the mistake of purchasing lesser quality pots and pans, you’ll end up ruining some of your favorite dishes and find yourself frustrated with the limited lifetime of second rate cookware. That’s why this Rachael Ray Hard-Anodized 10 Piece Cookware Set is an excellent deal, for both it’s price and it’s durability.

This versatile cookware set includes 2 covered saucepans, 2 French skillets, a large covered stockpot, and a covered saute pan. These are exactly the type of pots and pans you’ll use in your kitchen all of the time. The hard-anodized construction is great for even heating and the nonstick interior makes it easy to cook in and easy to clean up. The pots have attractive glass lids so you can watch your food cooking and comfortable silicone grip handles. You just can’t beat the value in this kitchenware - it’s probably the best cookware set you can get for this price range.

I don’t know about you, but I am so glad to feel spring in the air. The air is filled with that beautiful feeling of possiblities and newness. The flowers are starting to pop up and the trees are beginning to bloom. Of course, it was a particularly cold and long winter here, and topped with the constant barrage of negative news - well the brightness and cheery sunshine is even more welcome.

Pretty soon spring will be in full force and then it will be Easter. Family gatherings filled with good food and good company, the simple things that make everything right. I am already dreaming of summertime and swimming in the pool or making a trip to the beach. Sometimes it’s hard to decide what my favorite season is as there’s something wonderful about all of them.

When I was growing up there was this great wine & cheese place in town that served the best fondue. My friends and I would sit and visit for hours enjoying a nice glass of wine with some delicious cheeses and fondue. We’d dip chunks of bread in the warm cheese sauce or fruits like melon and strawberries in rich melted chocolate. So to me fondue brings back memories of warm, fun gatherings and special times. That’s why I love this Rachael Ray Enamel Cast Iron Fondue Set.

I really like the bright orange color - the set just makes me want to have a party!  Rachael Ray cookware has a great reputation too, so I’m sure it’s very well-made just like their other pieces. The set includes the fondue pot, the base, 6 fondue forks, and the fuel holder. This uniquely stylish serveware is sure to liven up any gathering at your home. Plus fondue is fun for the kids too!

Well it’s a few days early but Valentine’s day is on my mind. I can’t help it, I love this romantic holiday Though it is true it’s not as much fun for anyone not in love. But then again that’s why it’s important to have good friends, they can still make sure you’ll have a nice Valentine’s anyway,. You might want to take in a movie, go bowling, or go out dancing. Because it’s always a great time if the company is good.

We’re actually laying low this holiday, enjoying a nice romantic weekend at home. For once the calendar isn’t full and we’re looking forward to just kicking back and spending some quiet time together. We’ll get some fresh air during the day and plan to enjoy a special dinner at night. Sounds perfect.

There’s nothing quite like the feeling of getting your own first place. Whether it’s buying a home or condo, or renting that first apartment, it’s yours. And when it comes to supplies, every new homeowner or apartment dweller needs all of the help they can getting setting up their home. There are some wonderful kitchen items that can be very unique and useful housewarming gifts.

What’s great about giving a kitchen gift is that it is bound to get lots of use. Does your person like to cook quite a bit? Then why not pick a great pot or wok. Are they a big coffee drinker? Then a new programmable thermal coffee maker is sure to be a bright spot in their new kitchen and their daily life. So have fun picking something special, something that fits your budget but has that personal touch your friend or family-member is sure to love.

Long ago, long before our electric, induction, and gas stove tops people cooked on an open fireplace. Imagine regulating the temperature on your meals cooking on an open fire? But there is something so appealing about having a fireplace in the kitchen, or in multiple rooms of the house if possible. Something very romantic and soothing, especially on a wintry day.

Many homes now have fireplaces with gas logs that give the look of real logs without the mess of lugging firewood into your home and cleaning up the ashes. They’re also very efficient and can do a good job of heating a fair amount of square feet. Then there is the vision of the big stone fireplace stacked with fresh wood and the smell of real wood burning. That’s something you can’t get with a gas fireplace. Both types have their own wonderful qualities - wouldn’t it be nice to have a bit of both, say a nice woodburning fireplace in the den/kitchen area and gas logs in the master bedroom? Ah, perfect for a wintry day.

When we think of cookware we usually think of stainless steel pots, ceramic casseroles, cast iron pans, copper sets, and other such metals and materials. But a well-loved type of material for cooking in that seems also to be a well-kept secret is Clay Cookware. This fabulous cooking material has been used for thousands of years and for good reason. The unique material captures the best juices of the meats and vegetables cooked inside, creating juicy and delicious results.

One popular manufacturer of this type of cookware is Romertopf. They’ve been around for quite awhile and have built a solid reputation for delivering well-made and long-lasting clay bakers and roasters. If you haven’t yet tried cooking in clay, it’s something you might want to consider for yourself. Like many people, you’ll likely get hooked on owning this fabulous cookware and end up buying more and more pieces for yourself and your loved ones.

Well, it’s really coming down the finish line for getting ready for the holidays. Cards that need to be mailed, packages that have to be shipped, presents to wrap, menus to plan, and of course, homes to be decorated. If you haven’t already finished all of your decorating, then check out the great decorating tips at Better Homes and Gardens.

They have lots of ideas on ways to brighten your home and your holidays. There’s great craft ideas, baking recipes, decorating tips, party planning outlines and more. I know I can always use some fresh ideas and time-saving tips too. Honestly, I can’t believe Christmas and Hanukkah are next week! How did that happen so fast?