Blog - In A Tickle

5 Reasons Why You are Not a Good Cook

Posted on July 12, 2013 by Melinda PrinceMay 7, 2019

Have you ever seen the Food Network show called Worst Cooks in America? They take a handful of the worst cooks and turn them into chefs. I loved watching these people transform.

When I hear people say they are not good cooks, that show will often come to my mind. I believe that there are people out there that are really not good at cooking, but I feel like everybody has a chance at becoming good if they try. Maybe you won’t be a chef for a five star restaurant anytime soon, but you can make a decent meal for your family. Being a bad cook does not have to be a badge you wear forever.

Here are the reasons why I think people end up being bad cooks. . .

1. You are distracted

When you start cooking and get interrupted by your children, husband, facebook notification etc., that makes you lose track of how long something has been baking, boiling, sauteing etc. It’s easy to let something get overcooked or even burned to a crisp.
And to let you know it can happen to anybody…I’ve made quinoa so many times I can’t count. One morning, I started making it and walked away, distracted by who knows what. I didn’t realize till I smelled something burning that I had put something on the stove. Mmmm burnt quinoa!
It happens. Sometimes it’s not our fault and we have to stop what we are doing to pull the sister off the brother before someone gets hurt or you have to stop the toddler from eating toilet paper out of the toilet. I understand. However, the best way to get the correct results out of your meal is to stay at the stove and be able to focus on what you are doing. If it helps, set a timer to check back in a couple minutes so you don’t completely forget about it.

2. You don’t slow down

It’s easy to mess things up if you are in a rush. The best way to make a good meal is to have enough time to accomplish the task. If you are constantly starting dinner at 5pm after everyone is already in upset hungry mode (the term my family uses when we are so hungry we start getting angry with each other too easily), it’s easy to rush and pour something in before it was supposed to be poured in, start cooking on a pan that’s too cool, or pull something out of the oven before it’s fully cooked. Give yourself enough time to complete every step in the right amount of time. You are not on Chopped. Nobody is making you make dinner in 30 minutes or less. Even if you only have 30 minutes to cook, prep some of it earlier when you do have time. Slow down long enough to plan ahead and keep your mind clear enough to think straight.

3. You start the recipe before reading it all the way through

Mom and I made waffles a couple weeks ago on their new waffle maker. We decided to try the recipe that came with it. Unfortunately, we didn’t read through it all the way and once we got to the last step, realized that it was supposed to sit for an hour before cooking the batter. If we had read it all the way through first, we would have used a different recipe. It didn’t turn out so great.

Have you ever started a recipe and halfway through realized you were missing or were short on an ingredient? It’s even worse if it is something you can’t or shouldn’t stop part way through.

If you read the recipe ahead of time, you will know what ingredients you need, how long it is going to take, and what step will be coming up next. You can prepare or measure some of the ingredients ahead of time so they are ready if they need to be added quickly. You will be prepared for each step as it comes.

4. You don’t watch

I haven’t always cooked like I do now. When I was younger, I lived on boxed macaroni and cheese. In college and when I first got married, I had plenty of ramen, Hamburger Helper, and frozen meals. Our first year or two of marriage, the hubby and I watched a lot of Food Network shows. We learned a lot from Alton Brown’s show Good Eats. It got us thinking about food differently and empowered us to try new things. We tried new techniques when cutting food and tried new ingredients that we hadn’t used before. You can watch some Food Network shows on YouTube.

To get your food ideas cooking (wink wink), you can also listen to a new podcast by Alton Brown.

You don’t have to watch Food Network shows to watch people cook. When you are at someone’s house for dinner who you know is a good cook, watch carefully what they do. Maybe even ask how they do something and get information that way. As you eat your food, ask what spices or techniques they used if you like it.

5. You don’t practice

If most of what you eat is packaged foods or go out to eat more often than not, then you aren’t allowing yourself enough practice cooking. You have to remember that you will make mistakes. Your family will probably have to eat a few meals that are, well, not so great, but keep trying. Keep practicing and you will get better. All it takes is a little determination and lots of practice. Every time you make a recipe, you will gain confidence and learn better techniques to get tasty results.

Being a bad cook is not permanent! Just keep working at it and take care of some of these issues. You’ll be making great meals before you know it!

A few weeks ago, there was a great post on Becoming Minimalist about enjoying cooking. I had already been thinking about writing this post, but after I read this one, I thought it would go right along with it.

Cookie Cutter Gift Tags

Posted on July 11, 2013 by JanJuly 11, 2013

Need a quick gift tag for a package? Look in your cupboard for your cookie cutters. Unless you bake a lot of cookies, they probably sit in the back of your cupboard hardly ever used. You can probably put them to use more often as stencils for crafting projects. A big tub of cookie cutters is also more economical than purchasing crafting stencils. Melinda got this big tub of 100 cookie cutters for $10.

You can trace the edges of the cookie cutter onto the back of scrapbook paper, cut out the shape, and then embellish the front (if you have time). Write on the tag and tape it to your present. The recipient of your gift will think you are amazingly creative!

Here are a few tags we made and added a some ribbons, buttons, beads and wood cutouts to embellish them.

Special thanks to a friend (you know who you are) for this wonderful suggestion!

Word Doodles

Posted on July 10, 2013 by JanJuly 10, 2013

Are you a doodler?

The dictionary defines doodle as:
verb- scribble absentmindedly
noun- a rough drawing made absentmindedly

Do you find yourself scribbling absentmindedly on the agenda during a meeting at work? Do you feel guilty doodling on the edges of the bulletin during the sermon? Did your teacher accuse you of not paying attention when you were doodling around the notes you took during a lecture? Well, turns out you are doing something good for your brain! A study done in 2009 showed that the doodlers retained 29% more information than the non-doodlers. That’s good news for those who love to doodle and for those who don’t, maybe you should start.

Today, we are going to give you some encouragement to doodle with words. The inspiration came from the children’s TV program called Word World. The body’s of the characters in the program are made of the letters of what they are (dog, pig, sheep, etc.) They work on building words with new letters that end up in the shape of that new word. If you have not seen it, watch:

I made a list of “summer” words, and then chose three of them to make word doodles. Here’s what I chose:

Now pull out your pen or pencil and paper. Choose some words from my list, or make your own list and START DOODLING!

Summer Words:
beach
summer
walk
flowers
garden
water drop
rest
relax
play
flip flop
tourist
pool
waves
splash
boat
picnic

If you still think doodling is a waste of time, just remember that a whole division at Google is dedicated to creating doodles. People do that for a job! They even have an annual contest for kids grades K-12 to create a doodle for their homepage. The winner receives a $30,000 scholarship and the child’s school also receives a huge technology grant. So if you have kids, get them doodling with you. Not only will it help them retain information better, they could potentially win a scholarship for college.

Have fun doodling!

Rocking Chair Inspiration

Posted on July 9, 2013 by JanJuly 9, 2013

A couple weeks ago we showed you the chairs we found at a thrift store that we transformed into playroom chairs for the two older kids.

Well, Miss Tickles felt left out. She needed a chair of her own. Melinda had been given an old wooden rocker that needed a face lift:

It got a coating of yellow paint, but seemed too plain. So we added a little bit of scrapbook paper to make it match the bigger chairs.

While my sisters were in town, we made a trip to Eureka Springs, AR. Lovely little town to visit if you are ever in this neck of the woods, by the way. The town is filled with quaint Victorian houses. As we rode around looking at the homes, I got a revelation for the rocking chair. On so many of the porches, the balusters were painted in multiple colors. Here’s just a sampling of what I saw:

I decided to paint the rocking chair in a similar fashion. If it didn’t look good, I could always paint back over it with the solid yellow paint. It’s tedious work and I decided after painting the chair, I would not want to have to paint a whole porch this way! But it turned out great. It was just the touch needed to go with the seat cushion to match the big chairs.

Miss Tickles loved it too. She had observed all the progress up until that point. After I painted the white, orange and pink sections, the first time she saw it she kept pointing to the paint and jabbering about it. I’m pretty sure she said, “This is awesome, Grandma! I love it! Where did you come up with the idea to paint it this way?” Or something like that.

Keep your eyes open to possibilities every where you go. You never know what may inspire you for your next creative project.

Declaration of Creativity

Posted on July 1, 2013 by JanJuly 1, 2013

The Unites States of America celebrates its birthday this week. When was the last time you read the Declaration of Independence? Probably you are most familiar with the following words:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,
that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,
that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

I encourage you to take a few minutes this week to read the Declaration of Independence and watch the following video:

Our forefathers had to make a Declaration of Independence in order to separate the colonies from British rule and birth the new nation of the United States of America. For those who signed the document, they knew it was a matter of life or death for themselves. And signing the document did not mean they were suddenly free from British rule. They still had to go through the battles to obtain their freedom as a new nation.

As we contemplate the birth of our nation this week and celebrate the freedoms we enjoy because of the sacrifice of so many, Melinda and I want to challenge you to make your own Declaration of Creativity. You were created by the Creator of the universe in His image. That means He put creativity inside of you. You were born to be creative like your Father God. But somewhere along the path of your life, that creativity may have been put down, or stifled and shoved into a box tucked away in a closet of lies. Your creativity needs to be set free!

According to Ann VosKamp, “All our lives we all need to create because creativity is the life breath of our Creator Father and if we don’t create we breathe stale air and we wither dry.”

Write your own Declaration of Creativity or print off this one that Melinda and I wrote. Decorate the edges with scraps of magazine pictures, or scrapbook papers, or doodle and color with crayons or paint around your declaration. Remember it doesn’t have to be perfect…it’s a start to the rebirthing of the creative you. Then hang it in a place where you will see it everyday and read it. There will be battles as your inner self continues to listen to the lies that say “you are not creative.” But each time you read your declaration, you will take another step in the battle to winning your freedom to be the creative person you were meant to be in every area of your life.

Enjoy your week of 4th of July celebrations and the declaration of your creativity. Melinda and I are taking a break and will be back with you next Monday!

Are You a Maker?

Posted on June 29, 2013 by JanJune 29, 2013

Are you a maker? Get inspired whether you think you are or not.

Cherry Apple Salad Recipe

Posted on June 28, 2013 by Melinda PrinceMay 7, 2019

Cherry Apple Salad was a staple when it came to church potlucks and picnics as a kid. Mom would make a huge bowl of it, and it became expected at every get together. Most of it was gone the first time through the line.
The original recipe use canned cherry pie filling that made the salad bright red. Nowadays we try to use fewer canned goods especially if they have that extra sugary syrup and red dye.
Since Fourth of July is coming up, we thought we would give our old go to picnic recipe a healthier update.

We used frozen Rainier Cherries. California Bing Cherries will turn out a brighter color.

Cherry Apple Salad Recipe:

1 lb cherries (fresh or frozen) 1 tsp coconut sugar (or other sugar, stevia, honey, etc)
2-3 apples chopped
1/4 cup raisins
1/2-1 cup Fresh pineapple chopped (optional)

1. Put cherries in a pot (add a little water if using fresh cherries) and add about 1 tsp sugar. On medium heat, cook until boiling, turn down and simmer until 3/4 of liquid has cooked out. It should have a syrup consistency with the cherries somewhat whole still.
2. Let the cherry syrup cool.
3. Mix cherry syrup with apples, raisins, and pineapple (if using).
4. Chill for 30 min to an hour before serving. And Enjoy!

You Don’t Need to Spend a Lot of Money to Start Making cards!

Posted on June 27, 2013 by JanJune 27, 2013

Last week I shared with you about my sisters’ visit and our card making activities. My east sister got to stay longer, and the card creating adventures have continued. We’ve been doing lots of experimenting with different methods and materials. It’s been loads of fun. But when she goes home and takes the supplies she brought, we mail back the supplies west sister left for us to play with, and we give back the Cuddle Bug embosser/die cutter that we borrowed from a friend of mom’s, Melinda and I will be left with very little card making equipment.

We realized that it can be rather overwhelming for someone who wants to make their own cards to figure out how to get started. You walk down the isles of the craft store and know you only have a few dollars to spend, but the shelves are packed with so many options you don’t know where to start– even if you knew what half that stuff was! So we decided to simplify it for you. You don’t need a lot to start.

Basic supplies that would help you start making cards:
• Pair of small sharp scissors
• Paper*- white card stock and a few pieces of colored card stock
• Adhesive- glue stick, or refillable double-sided tape dispenser
• Small cutting board- makes cutting straight lines so much easier
• Basic Stamps and ink pad- Happy Birthday, Thank You, Thinking of You, and Congratulations stamps are good ones to start with. Look for stamps sets or stamps in the bargain bins at the craft store.
• Embellishments- buttons, ribbons, silk flowers- many items you can find already in your home if you have done any kind of crafting.
• Invitation size envelopes for your cards

*Standard card size is 5 1/2 x 4 1/4in (basically, cut a 8 1/2 x 11in paper on the 11in side so that each half is 5 1/2 inches tall, and when you fold the card, the width will be 4 1/4).

Keep your eyes open for bargain bin items and be sure to use coupons for some of the higher priced items as you add to your supplies. With just a few simple items, you can let your creativity go to work making cards for your loved ones and friends. If you need inspiration, just type in “card making ideas” online, and you will find more ideas than you could ever begin to make. Because there are so many to look at, just spend a few minutes to get your creative juices flowing then step away from the computer and start creating!

To show you that you really don’t need any special equipment or supplies to make cards, besides what you probably already have at your house, I gave my sister and Melinda a challenge to each create a card using the following simple items: brown grocery bag, glue, pen, white copy paper, a magazine.

(Melinda’s college roommate used to give cards like this all the time using construction paper and stuff cut out of magazines. She had a shoebox filled with magazine cut outs. Anytime she got a magazine she would cut out words and phrases or pictures that she liked and save them for card making).

Here is what they came up with:

The cards may not be fancy, but they definitely are creative and one of a kind. And they did not require a lot of fancy, expensive equipment, just some time and a little love!

Kid Snippets: Watch With Me Wednesday

Posted on June 26, 2013 by Melinda PrinceMay 7, 2019

I don’t often look up things on YouTube. Usually someone has to show me something and then I get hooked on a certain channel. I was introduced to one the other day and laughed harder than I have in a while. My hubby and I started watching a few, and I said we would watch only one more. About ten videos later, we finally put the ipad away to go to bed.

Kid Snippets on the Bored Shorts TV channel are some of the most creative YouTube videos I have seen. They are scenes imagined by kids and acted out by adults with the kid voices playing over it. The kids are hilarious, and I imagine my kids saying some of the sames things they say. The acting by the adults is above par!

Check it out! Good luck making yourself stop.

New Chairs for Playroom

Posted on June 25, 2013 by JanJune 25, 2013

In May, Melinda, her sister and I were checking out the thrift stores for treasures. We found two chairs that were begging to be transformed into new chairs for Melinda’s garage/playroom transformation. They were sturdy, well built chairs that looked a little dull. New seat covers would have done wonders, but we had something more creative in mind. It took a while to get started on them. But once we did, the kids were excited to help transform their chairs. The girls jumped in to help clean the wood.

My Princess eagerly helped me put on the first base coat of paint. And then I painted the legs and lower part with several coats of yellow paint.

Then it was time to take the old seat covers off. It was hard work pulling out the staples, but the kids had fun using the tools like big people!

Melinda and I chose scrapbook paper that coordinated with the colors for the new playroom and cut an assortment of shapes and sizes. We papered the front and backs of the chairs and the sides of the seats in a patchwork design using mod podge to stick the paper to the wood.When the paper dried, I sealed it with several coats of clear acrylic finish. Last step was recovering the seats. we used the old cover to make a pattern for the new fabric and then surged the edges of the covers to keep them from raveling. We assumed we could use the staple gun to attach the fabric to the seat board, but it was made from solid oak and the staples we had were too thick to go into the wood easily. Not having the right equipment (as in upholstery tools), we decided to try using thumbtacks, which worked quite nicely.

And here is the finished product. They will look great in the new playroom!

In case you are new to our blog, you can read about the garage and new playroom here and here. It is getting closer to being finished and we can’t wait to show you the pictures of the final project (because that means it will be done.) In the meantime, we will keep showing you sneak peaks!