I’m Heather and This is My Kitchen

This post is part of my “I’m __ and this is my kitchen” series of posts, in which fabulous home cooks dish a little about their cooking lives and their kitchens.  The goal is to get inspiration, ideas and insights from other regular people about shopping, planning, cooking and kitchen organization.  See more here.

Name Heather Sidwell

Age 29

Location Farmington, MO

Occupation/Pasttimes? I am a stay at home mom and wife. I like to read, go geocaching with my family, and search for new music/bands to listen to.

Do you follow a specific diet or food philosophy? No specific diet. Even though I am not a great cook, I still make sure that my family has home cooked meals, made from healthy ingredients.

How do you plan for meals? I’m not a very creative cook, so I have to follow a recipe exactly to a T. I look on Pinterest for new recipes, and I use Cozi as a meal planner.

How many people do you cook for? Six

Does your family cook with you?  If so, who does what? I have four boys! The three that are old enough to help, love to! They all gather the ingredients for me. My eight year old measures out the ingredients, my five year and three year old takes turns putting the ingredients into the bowl and then they mix it. If no mixing is required, there is an assembly line in my kitchen. Like if we make tacos, my three year old will put the tortillas on a plate, then my five year old adds the meat, my eight year old adds the cheese, then I add the sour cream and wrap it!

How often and where do you get your food? I go grocery shopping every other Friday with my mom when she comes to visit! I live in a small town, so I try to shop locally. There is a small store that sells fresh fruits and vegetables at amazing prices!

Describe your kitchen.  What’s your favorite thing about it? Right now, we are temporarily renting a small house. We just sold our house in August and we are at our current home until spring. My kitchen is very small. I only have my essentials here, most is in my storage unit! My favorite thing about it, is my decor! It is decorated with cupcakes! I’m obsessed with all things cupcakes. I love that my husband is fine with my pink, girly kitchen!

How do you organize your kitchen? Organize? What is that? Seriously, with the lack of space, it’s hard to stay organized. I only have two cabinets designated for spices and dry goods. That’s ok with me, since we buy mostly fresh foods.

If you could change one thing about your kitchen, what would it be? I want more space! I  can deal with it for now, because when we move, I am making sure I have all the space I need!

What ingredients do you always have on hand? Chicken broth, dry kidney and black beans, pasta, white oats, tortillas, canned chickpeas, and hot sauce!

What ingredient is in your pantry that you’re not sure how long has been there? Everything is actually pretty new. When we moved in August, I gave my old neighbor pretty much everything that I had in my freezer and pantry.

Favorite dish to make? Pizza! I love the endless possibilities! Cheese, macaroni and cheese, bbq chicken, and you can even make desert pizzas!

If you could instantly master any dish on earth, what would it be? Authentic Pad Thai with tofu!

What’s your biggest struggle in the kitchen? My biggest struggle is that I’m not that creative. It’s hard for me to tweak a recipe to fit my own taste.

Favorite tips? I’m a total klutz, and I have broken so much glass! I found that you can use a piece of bread to clean up broken glass! Peroxide and baking soda is a great kitchen cleaner (make a paste out of the two.) You can clean pretty much anything and make it look new again.

Name 3 absolutely necessary pieces of kitchen equipment – Magic Bullet,  Kitchenaid mixer, and my griddle!

Do you listen to music while you cook and if so, what’s usually on the playlist? Yes! If my boys are in the kitchen with me, we usually listen to a pop station. If it’s just me, I prefer listen to metal and hardcore music. Arsonists Get All the Girls, Slayer, Otep, Horse the Band, and Terror are usually on my playlist.

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