Ninja Cooking System as Stove/Oven Stand-In

We're redoing our kitchen, and as you can see in the photo, our stove is out of service. (Note plug taped to the back.)

I was able to bake chicken for dinner last night just like in an oven, though, thanks to the Ninja's versatility. And the night before, I could boil pasta - like normal people do on a stove. I sometimes use it to make rice slow-cooker-style, like I mentioned in the last post. That's a great trick for those two-slow-cookers-necessary days when I have to take the kids to something in the afternoon and we need dinner waiting for us by the time we get home.

My toaster oven, microwave, and slow cooker keep busy too; I can use all the help I can get from my robot kitchen underlings, and I tend to require multiple appliances for a single meal. But if you don't already have a slow cooker and/or your toaster isn't a toaster oven style, the Ninja is super handy... especially if you don't have an oven or stove.

Making rice in the slow cooker

Just follow the directions on the rice for the right ratio of rice and water, and cook on low for two hours. 

This has greatly improved my dinner-making ability. 

I spend most of the early afternoon stuck at home managing school bus arrivals and the after-school routine. Some time between 4 and 5pm, though, half the time I have to hustle the kids off to whatever their extra activity is. Then we stumble home 90 minutes later, tired and hungry. I already have a handle on setting up the slow cooker in the early afternoon for the main course, but now to be able to get the rice going in the late afternoon makes things that much easier. It helps that I have multiple slow cookers.

One Panty To Fit Them All

...OK, most.

I have a hard time figuring out the right size and style for underpants for myself. Wacoal takes the size issue out of the equation with these panties that stretch to fit size S to size XL. I'm definitely somewhere in that range, so they fit fine. It cracks me up that they came up with this, and I imagine they are a very popular choice for those who have to buy panties for others. "Is she an M or an L? Oooh, if I get these, it doesn't matter!" I bet these panties help a lot of marriages, come Valentine's Day.

Busboy dish bin for table cleanup

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I admit this is aspirational, because sometimes I forget to put out the bin, and even when I do, I forget to remind the urchins to put their place setting in it. But! When I DO remember, it makes after-meal cleanup much easier.

Older kids can certainly carry their goodies to the sink themselves, but my oldest has to squeeze behind her sister's chair, which is particularly dicey and unwieldy when she has a stack of dishes and silverware. Also, having everyone put their things in the bin at the table means it arrives sink-side pre-stacked and in a bit of order. And even the toddler can participate.

The photo above is from breakfast. The photo below is from lunch. At least I remembered to put out the bin, sigh.

Running Playlist based on song length

I have a playlist for jogging/running that's just every upbeat song in my iTunes that is between 3:15 and 3:45 minutes long. That way I can use the songs as a general gauge of how long I've been running/walking: about 3:30 per song, give or take a few seconds.

Shareable Grocery List Phone App

My husband and I have been using "AnyList" for the past year or two. It's a free iPhone app where you can make a grocery list and share it and whoever you share with can update the list immediately. So I can text my husband that I'm going to the store, and he can check the list and add anything I've forgotten. 

There are several nice programs that do this; we like some of the features in AnyList. I like that I can make shortcut lists of frequently-bought items, so I can go through that list and tap on the ones I need and they get added to the shared grocery list. I only rarely use the recipe features, but they are very helpful for shopping for a recipe you make regularly.

Chalk Markers for labeling

I use chalk markers to label almost everything - everything stored in glass or plastic. From refrigerated leftovers (shown) to craft supplies (not shown), these "flourescent wet erase" markers are used in almost every room in my house.

Monthly storage of kid art

I have the kids put all their precious creations in a scrapbook storage box labeled with the month. I start a new box each month, and the old box works as an archive. The older box (in the photo, December) gets moved to cheaper real estate (basement, under parent bed, etc) and I have a month to pick through it for a few gems. The rest goes to recycling, and since it's been 6 weeks at that point, I don't worry about a kid coming to me to find some old piece of art.

Sticky-side-out packing tape inside a kitchen cabinet door

Collecting box tops for school is tedious, but I've made my life easier by putting a sticky-side-out length of packing tape in one of my kitchen cabinets. Now I just cut out the box top and stick it to the tape. When I run out of room, I send the tape to school and start a new one.