Functional Kitchens
+ My Favorite Fall Recipes
No matter what season it is, kitchens can be filled with aromas of seasonal recipes. You’ll find people cutting and chopping ingredients, ovens baking and stovetops cooking. This beautiful dance of ingredients turning into delicious foods is enhanced when performed in a functional kitchen. What is a functional kitchen? Perhaps you are redoing your home and need ideas or perhaps you are in the mood to reorganize your already established kitchen. There are a few things that can help improve the way your kitchen looks and operates.
Make sure you have plenty of working counter space. You always need room for chopping your fruits and veggies, but you also need room to store them until the exact moment your recipe calls for them. A good way to add more working space or countertops to your kitchen is to install or use a kitchen island. This can something installed or something that has four legs that you can simply set on your already existing floor space.
Place all utensils and spices in easy to grab locations. You don’t want to be in the middle of stirring something on the stove only to discover you need that one utensil on the opposite side of the kitchen. Don’t let your recipe get ruined by burning your ingredients. Make sure your kitchen is handy and ready for such an occasion.
Make clean up easy. Place your dishwasher next to your kitchen sink. Make sure your silverware drawer and plate cabinets are next to your dishwasher. This not only creates an easy way to rinse and fill up the dishwasher, it also creates a smooth transition and quick clean up after your dishes are clean.
Now that we are on the same page with having a functional kitchen, why not try out a few of my fall favorite recipes!? I cannot get over these recipes and how delicious they are!
Margaret’s Pumpkin Bread Recipe
Mix Together (Wet Ingredients)
1 c. vegetable oil
4 eggs
2 cups pumpkin
⅔ c. water
3 c. sugar
Sift Together (Dry Ingredients)
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon
3.5 c. flour
1 c. nuts
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stir your wet ingredients and dry ingredients together until well mixed. Place in greased 1 lb. loaf pans and bake for 1 hour or until toothpick comes out clean.
Pumpkin Bars
Mix Together (Wet Ingredients)
3 eggs
1 2/3 cup sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1 (29 oz) can pumpkin purée
Sift Together (Dry Ingredients)
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
Icing:
4 oz softened cream cheese
1/2 cup softened butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat 350 degrees
Combine wet and dry ingredients until well blended.
Spread in greased 11x15 pan.
Bake 25-30 min until toothpick comes out clean.
Make frosting and ice when cool.