My kitchen tip for this week is to think outside the box when it comes to counter space.  If you have an appliance as heavy as a KitchenAid mixer, you probably store it on your countertop.  Here are three tips to help you make better use of time and space:

1. Put a dishcloth or small towel under the mixer, making it easy to slide around your counter as needed.
2. Allow yourself to store a few items inside the bowl. You know, those random little things that you use often and/or don’t seem to have a rightful “place” in your kitchen?  In my bowl, you’ll find my candy thermometer, because I use it almost every week for homemade yogurt and was always leaving the sheath on the counter cluttering things up.  You’ll recently find a coffee filter, which covers my new countertop-incubating yogurt starter (I can’t wait to tell you more about that and share a freebie with you in a few weeks!).  Sometimes you’ll find a couple random items that were on my counter when someone stopped by and I quickly cleaned up!  Tee hee hee…don’t tell!
3. Try to use it twice, every time. I hate washing big things like mixer bowls, food processors, and blenders.  I really despise using them quickly for one little things and them having to disassemble and clean the whole darn thing.  Just this week, I’ve combined without washing in between:
   • Chopping nuts and making these smoothies in the blender (not at the same time, mind you – you chop the nuts, quick rinse, then make smoothies)
   • Slicing and shredding zucchini (for 2 batches of bread and two meals), then salsa, then chopping extra jalapenos to freeze in the food processor
   • baking these breadsticks (half as hamburger buns), then pumpkin muffins AND zucchini bread – I did a quick rinse after the breadsticks and brazenly went from one quick bread recipe to another without even a thought to the disastrous consequences of not rinsing…and everything was delicious!
   • I often double up on bread crumbs and green smoothies in the blender, and granola and granola bars with the KitchenAid.  Less dishes is a super time saver!

If you don’t already have one, there are Kitchen Aid coupons available online.

Find more simple Kitchen Tips at Tammy’s Recipes and all sorts of stuff at Works for me Wednesday at We are THAT Family.

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Kitchen Stewardship is dedicated to balancing God’s gifts of time, health, earth and money.  If you feel called to such a mission, read more at Mission, Method, and Mary and Martha Moments.

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