Cuban Sandwiches

Quick, what to make for dinner that is quick and easy but filling and yummy. Enter the Cuban sandwiches. Grilled cheese and ham and a few extra tangy ingredients deliver the yummiest grilled sandwich ever!

The real recipe does not call for tomatoes but my husband and I wanted them on there and boy what a taste. So good!!

How To Make Cuban Sandwiches

Sliced sour dough bread or any other sturdy bread
sliced ham
cheddar cheese
mustard
sliced pickles
butter

1. Butter the bread first on the outside and assemble the sandwiches while your pan is heating up.
2. Add mustard to the inside of your bread slices.
3. Layer, cheese, ham and pickle slices. (We added fresh garden tomatoes too).
4. Grill on both sides until cheese is melted.

DIY Panini Press

 You could just make these grilled Cuban sandwiches but if you want them pressed and don't have a panini maker like me, then you can use two pans. You are supposed to fill a tea kettle to set on the top pan for pressing but I don't have one right now so I filled a pan with some water which was a little wonky but worked. Just toast on one side and then flip for a couple more minutes.
Sometimes I use my iron skillet and just press real firmly with the backside of a spatula to act as my own panini press.
Some cool creamy potato salad would be the perfect side to this hot tangy sandwich. You can find the recipe to my mom's famous potato salad on our recipe page.

My Favorite Kitchen Tool, A Meat Masher - A Kitchen Quick Tip

If I had to say what kitchen tool, not an appliance, but a hand tool I love the most in the kitchen, it would be my ground meat chopper. I actually don't cook that much ground meat but I use this meat masher tool for so many things that need a bit of chopping up.

I cook everyday, often breakfast, lunch and dinner so I love tools that are easy to grab and have multiple purposes. I keep my masher right next to the stove in the tool caddy.

Multiple uses for a meat chopper:

1. Besides ground meat, I use my chopper to shred any meat I am cooking up in the crock pot for say tacos or meat sandwiches. It perfect chops up shredded chicken or beef.
2. I use it to mash potatoes up before I am ready to whip them up for mashed potatoes.
3. It easily crushes bread crumbs or corn flakes for toppings or mix ins.
4. When I make banana bread it mashes the bananas super quick.
5. If I need to tenderized some meat, this works perfectly.
6. For egg salad sandwiches, this chops the eggs up in no time.
7. I have even used this masher to break up dried egg shells to spread in the garden.

Vintage Kitchen Decor

We have a vintage 1958 kitchen so finding fun vintage kitchen decor is always top of mind. This blue vase has been in this house for decades so we mixed it up with some polka dots and cherries for vintage decorating fun.

While wiping the kitchen down and playing around with my shelf when I put everything back, I decided all the pokie dotted things needed to live together.

My kids and their friends are making fun of my funny blue vase but I think she looks good up there by the little pitcher.

What is it about dots? I love them. But I love a lot of stuff and that my friends can be a problem.

Farmhouse Valentine Kitchen Decor

I wasn't quite ready but hubby took down Christmas and went straight to Valentine Kitchen Decor arranging. He took our little tree in the fresh eggs daily bucket and turned it into a Valentine tree.

From farmhouse Valentine decor and a little prim Valentine our kitchen is so cozy. As always full credit goes to the hubby as he does all our decorating.

Our Valentine Kitchen

Hubby left all the black and white enamel in the kitchen and added touches of red and hearts that will be the perfect January to February decor.

This little shelf has a place in my heart and holds our main kitchen display area.

This is my mom's old cheese grater and I love to display it. I think it makes a nice prim or vintage Valentine statement.

 A little rustic Christmas tree was tucked into our fresh eggs daily bucket. Some glass heart ornaments and other hearts add the finishing touches. The perfect farmhouse February decorating.

I can't wait to see what hubby has in store for spring.

Coffee Time Images of The Week

On our Facebook page we like to greet you with a good morning - coffee time greeting.

Mainly because this is probably my favorite time of the day. Here are some of images from our home.

Halloween Vintage Kitchen Tour

Our house is very busy this year so I told hubby to keep Halloween decorating to a minimum and of course he never listens so I give you a Halloween vintage kitchen tour aka Dean's decorating for Halloween.

This little area all started with the cotton picks my husband picked up at a local shop. He knew he wanted them for fall. He is so funny. He tweaked his fall decor until he came up with this and I love the blue ball jars with the red touches and a few splashes of orange and black.

He decided for fall to pull one of my mom's recipe cards out of her recipe box. Of course I almost cried when I saw it. I love seeing that faded old piece of her with her hand writing in my kitchen. 

Just a mix of tins and Halloween baubles and it all works together.

The little kitchen shelf is Halloween ready and of course in my kitchen he hangs "The Witch Is In" sign. I don't know if he is telling me something or not. Lol!

Even the fall Pyrex got a Halloween touch. 

Here is my extent of the decorating...I turned the calendar to October.
You can find the barn star calendar hanger here.

Here's a quick video:

Vintage Drainer Becomes Under Sink Organizer

When you find an antique dish drying rack, and it is in red you know you must have it for something. I knew it would be perfect  and so a vintage drainer becomes under sink organizer.

Five On Monday - New Favorite Cookbook & Garden News

Our garden, oh it is bringing us so much joy right now. A cool May has made the flowers really last. 

Find this Cookbook

Our garden, oh it is bringing us so much joy right now. A cool May has made the flowers really last. I find surprises at hubby decorates even outside. He hung this old bee skep out among all the vines on our garage wall.

The patio fountain was cleaned and readied for spring and summer on the brick patio. We love all these vines for the way they soften the side of our garage wall. You can see more of this in Softening a Hard scape.

I am working on a little white garden. In our small backyard we have to do areas in mini garden room form. I already removed those two red begonias as they were bugging me and transplanted them elsewhere in the garden.

I received this new cookbook as a gift and I love it. I have already made two dishes from it. I cook for so many people that this is perfect. I want to keep collecting hard backed cookbooks and not only collect recipes online as I love the time perusing a cookbook looking for ideas.

Found some darling plates on clearance at Home goods. I was down to only a few salad/dessert plates and these were perfect. $3 a piece on clearance and I had a gift card.
This post may contain affilate links.

Five On Friday - Farm Fresh

Awe, April in Southern California is such a pretty time. Not yet too hot and days are spent gardening and cooking up farm fresh goodies from the garden and hubby is busy putting up farm fresh decor.

Chickens and farmhouse inspired decor have long been what I always seem to gravitate to when I am decorating. Remember the old rooster wall paper borders? Yep, I had some, did you? I think rooster decor will never go out of fashion.

I love my gingham rooster kitchen canisters and probably get asked about those the most. They are from Certified International and Amazon carries a ton of really cute ones so check it out.

My garden is just so pretty right now and loved all our rain Southern California received this year. Cilantro is something I always let go to seed as it makes such a pretty garden flower and then they reseed and sprout for me again in the fall.

I love hanging baskets and picked up this new one to add to our patio. Once summer comes, they won't survive but for now they are beautiful.

The patriotic decor comes out next week and we will keep it up until after Labor day. This vintage Butter-Nut coffee can came from hubby's grandpa's garage complete with old nails in it but I rescued it for the house.
Affiliate links in this post.

How To Store Cookie Cutters

If you are like me and have amassed loads of cookie cutters, here are some ideas on how to store cookie cutters. So far mine are stored in a plastic bin but I love some of these cookie cutter organization ideas.

An organized kitchen is important to make cooking less stressful and more fun. Cookie cutters may be used only once a year so storing them put up away is how I roll. This is one of the clutter storage issues we need to deal with for an organized kitchen.

How To Store Cookie Cutters:

Large Glass Jars would be perfect to keep them clean. But can take a lot of space.

via eatwell101

How To Get Rid Of Pantry Moths

If you ever have those little brown moths flying around your house then you need to know how to get rid of pantry moths. You never know when you might bring home a bag of pasta or grains that will have pantry moths in them. Here is what to do.

How To Organize A Baking Drawer

I bake a lot of our food from bread to cookies and treats and this is how to organize a baking drawer frugally in order to make all that baking easier. I wanted a drawer where my tools were at hand but didn't want to spend any money to organize baking supplies so I used what I had on hand for a free organization project.

Kitchen Quick Tip - How To Get ALL The Mayo Out Of The Jar

You know I hate to waste any food and this frugal tip on how to get all the mayonnaise from the jar is a simple one but works so great. Frugal tips to save money on food is something I strive for.

I used to use a standard butter knife when try to get the last of the mayonnaise out of the jar. Then I thought maybe a spoon would work but then you had to get the mayo off of the spoon. A few years ago it dawned on me that a rubber kitchen spatula would be perfect. And made even more fun with a cute chicken rubber spatula.

Kitchen Quick Tip:

Use a rubber kitchen spatula to get the last of the mayo out of the jar and use it to spread right on your bread or stir into your recipe using mayonnaise.

Check out the entire quick tip series.

Get more frugal tips by email here:

Frugal Friday - Cheapskate Way I Replace Missing Silverware

Return of frugal tip Friday series and today it's: Frugal Friday - Cheapskate way to replace missing silverware.

When it comes to some things, I admit, I am a cheapskate. Mostly because I have to be. I live in California and it is expensive to live here but I also like being a stay at home wife and mom so watching the buck is a must.

One item or items I should say, that always seem to disappear around here, is our silverware. I would shutter at the thought of buying a new set of everyday utensils to replace lost silverware, so what I do is hit the Target kitchen area and pick up a few of whatever I am missing. These stainless steel babies were .75.

You can't go wrong there. Our set is somewhat mismatched but who cares. I just need ample amounts for the large dinners when the kids are all here. For special occasions I have a nice set of silver from my mother in law but those are washed and put away immediately. You could pick up pieces from the thrift store too to replace lost flatware.

It's not about how much money you make, but how much you save!

Our newsletter goes out each Friday. Subscribe and we would be happy to send it to you.

Upgrade Your Kitchen On A Budget

*This is a sponsored post from PlumbTile.com

Upgrading Your Kitchen on a Budget

If you want to upgrade your kitchen but have to stick to a tight budget, there are plenty of options available for you. Turning your old or outdated kitchen into a new, beautiful space can be as easy as changing colors, applying a fresh coat of paint, or opting for upgrades in a few key areas.

The following are some suggestions for giving your eating space an inviting, and inspiring, new look while keeping to a strict kitchen upgrade budget:

Change Lighting

For an instant kitchen makeover, think about swapping out your existing lighting for a new pendant lamp, chandelier, or other piece. Most lighting options will set you back only a couple of hundreds dollars or less, and they’ll bring you many rewards when it comes to having a bright focal piece in your kitchen.

Purchase New Hardware

For a budget-friendly kitchen upgrade, remove old and tired-looking kitchen hardware and replace it with something stunning and new. Get rid of your kitchen faucet, cupboard knobs, and door handles (if you have them) and opt for fresh hardware that reflects your style.

Upgrade a Few Accessories

To give yourself the feel of thorough kitchen makeover without the expense, focus on spending your money on fun cabinet features like pullout cutting boards, cabinet corrals, drop-down drawers, and little perks for your pantry.

Replace Cabinets

Sometimes all that’s needed for a kitchen makeover is a new set of cabinets (or just cabinet doors if you’re really tight on money). Consider that replacing your cabinets, which are focal points in most kitchens, will provide an instant face-lift for your space. If you can’t replace cabinets, or cabinet doors, simply give them a fresh coat of paint.

In addition to these tips, you can paint kitchen walls, add sconces or new artwork, hang a pan rack from the ceiling, or redo your floors with budget-friendly materials. All of these changes will breathe new life into a kitchen without forcing you to spend a lot of cash. Check out PlumbTile.com for all your kitchen remodeling needs!

Christmas Decorating Ideas In Red And White

First Christmas tour is part of our Christmas kitchen and this year Christmas decorating ideas in red and white. With our new butter yellow walls, a red and white Christmas was in order.

I love red so adding red and white Christmas decorations was easy and we loved the outcome. Of course hubby did most of the tweaking but I was in there too.

This was our bottle brush tree year. We just kept picking them up wherever we went. Gifts from friends and our toy vintage stove make for perfect red and white holiday decor.

The red vintage toy tractor was hubby's when he was a boy. I love that we still have it and vintage toys make great Christmas decorations. He added a little green Christmas wreath and waa-laa!

Of course some red, green and white Christmas decorations slipped onto our vintage shelf but that's okay. Adds just enough pop of Christmas color.

Whenever I search for red and white Christmas decorations Pinterest, I am always finding so much Christmas inspiration and charm. It is truly a favorite color combination and this may be my favorite little Christmas corner this year. Our original 50's kitchen is so fun to decorate. This is the room we go for bright colors in. We have always decorated the kitchen in previous years with lots of red. 

Next up is our little kitchen shelf all decked out in more vintage toys.