Creating Your Perfect Kitchen
Simple housewarming suppers
Once you have moved into a new home and are all unpacked and settled, one of the first things you will probably want to do is invite your friends and family over for a housewarming meal to show off your new pad!
So, you’ve got the new furniture, the last of the removal boxes has disappeared, but there’s only one problem – you are not the best cook. Don’t worry, help is at hand. There are plenty of easy recipes you can whip up with the minimum of ingredients, cooking utensils and experience.
Today we’re sharing a favourite in many households and a dish that is ideal if you’re serving several people; good old macaroni cheese. All you need for this simple but tasty pasta dish is macaroni, butter, flour, milk and cheese.
Simply cook your macaroni pasta in water while melting butter in a pan and blending in flour to create a thick paste which you can then stir your milk into and later add your cheese. The cooked pasta and sauce are then simply mixed together and placed in an ovenproof dish with some cheese over the top and grilled until golden brown.
Hey presto; a simple and tasty meal with barely any hassle!
To brighten it up you can add slices of tomato to the top or you might choose to make a crunchier topping with breadcrumbs and black pepper. Once you’ve mastered this basic recipe, you can modify it to suit your tastes and ring the changes. For example, if you like your food to have a kick to it, you could add chopped chillies or use chilli cheese.
Serve with crusty bread and a side salad, plus some chilled white wine, and your guests are sure to leave with full tummies and happy faces! For more recipe ideas, try supersavvyme.co.uk.
Refurbish Your Kitchen
Many people go through a stage in life when they yearn to replace their current kitchen. Often this is led by a desire to keep up with the Joneses – whether that’s your next door neighbour’s or your daughter’s best friend’s mother. Usually the trigger is seeing a new kitchen and then going back home and thinking yours feels old hat and out of date.
Think carefully before you decide to go ahead though. Firstly how long do you plan to stay in the house? If you have any ideas about moving, it almost certainly isn’t worth changing your kitchen completely. You will never recoup the money spent on a new kitchen in the value of a house sale.
Secondly, are you really prepared for the upheaval that a full kitchen renovation will involve? You will be without a working kitchen for a number of weeks at least, and that time is likely to be extended as there are always delays of one kind of another.
Thirdly, there are the costs to consider. A new kitchen can cost thousands, or tens of thousands. Can you afford it and, if you can afford it, is that what you really want to spend that money on? You could go on a really nice holiday – or two – for the same price, and live with the kitchen you have.
Instead, why not just give your kitchen a freshen-up. Paint the cupboard doors a new colour, change the work surface for a more modern look. If you eat in the kitchen, buy a cheap dining table and chairs to make it feel new.
Some kitchens lend themselves to being more of a family room. If you have plenty of space in there, you might consider putting in a small sofa. This can be a great place for you to sit and have coffee when a friend comes over, and somewhere for people to sit in the kitchen without getting in the cook’s way. Take a look at the range of Harveys sofas which includes a number of two-seater sofas that would work really well in a kitchen.
Just a few changes like this will give your kitchen a real lift, without putting a real dent in your budget.
Kitchen Conservatories
For many families the kitchen is one place that brings people together – and can be a pivotal space and the central hub of the house. A kitchen conservatory can totally transform the space, is light and air and will be the perfect place for the family to meet, cook, entertain and dine. Ideally a kitchen conservatories would have some elements of an orangery – that is, at least part of more than one of the walls needs to be built either of brick or substantially of wood. It may be that it should be part extension with just one partially glazed wall and a glazed roof – there are many ideas for designing a bespoke kitchen conservatory. [Read More...]
Buying a new washing machine for your kitchen
It’s surprising how few people have really worked out exactly what they want from kitchen appliances before they go looking to buy one. A washing machine is one of the “big four” must have kitchen appliances and has lots of work ahead of it.
First of all you need to work out how your new washing machine is going to fit into your kitchen and whether it will be on display under your units or built into your units (these have a flat front so a door can fit into the top. It will also need to have a water supply and near to a waste water pipe… Not much room in your kitchen? How about putting it in a porch (like us) or in the garage (like my next door neighbours). Keeps lots of steam out of your kitchen. [Read More...]
Choosing a cooker for your kitchen
Whether you are setting up a new kitchen or just upgrading your cooker, you will want to look at a range of alternatives. Some ovens and hobs are split, some are fitted into units but one of the easiest to fit is as a replacement oven is the separate hob and oven with grill – and I think a dual fuel option is the most versatile. [Read More...]