Month: January 2020

DIY Hidden Pantry

The Idea

Josh has put a lot of time and energy thinking about how to do this project. He had leftover wheels from a long board he had, and we have some space between the fridge and an existing wall, so he thought this would be a nice thing he could build that would look nice and provide us with additional kitchen storage. We have an 8 1/2 inch gap that is 18 inches deep, and 63 inches until the back would hit an existing bracket on the wall, but 66 inches in the front to be level with the fridge.

The Space and Materials

For this project, we needed 3 1″x8″x8′, 12 3/8″ dowels that were 48″ long, and a set of 18″ Full extension drawer slides. We picked up the materials as home depot paying just under $14 per board, under $1 per dowel, and under $15 for the drawer slides.
We then cut the one board to 63″ for the back board, 65″ for the face board, and we cut 6 shelves at 16″ each. Josh also created a jig to help us pre-drill holes in the end of each shelf, so that when we add screws we didn’t split the wood. We also had to cut our dowels, which we cut to 18″, and drill holes for the wheels to mount. After drilling all of that, we also pre-drilled holes in the face and back, and drilled holes for the dowels to fit. Then we were on to assembly.

The Assembly

We assembled the shelves by making the slightly longest be on the bottom, and getting smaller as they go to the top. After drilling all the holes, we added wood glue to each end of the shelf and began screwing it together. When you make it, glue and screw into the face board, and once it’s dried, then attach the back. Though we predrilled holes, we still split a shelf, and we attached the back before the front, so the back is square while the front is sloped (oh well).

We attache the wheels by centering them and using screws to mount them to the board, and not the nuts and bolts that come with boards. And, for the dowels, we slipped them through the holes. The holes we were using were tight, so we didn’t, but you can also add glue here if they are loose.

Finalizing

To finish the project, I used wood putty to cover the screw heads and dowel ends, and let it dry for 4 hours as directed by the package. I then sanded the surface flat by hand. Finally, I painted the face of the cabinet with semi-gloss white paint. I had to use 2 coats, and finally, we drilled 2 holes at our desired height and attached a handle we got at Ollie’s.

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Stuffed Chicken Breasts

This was my first time making a stuffed chicken breast, however, I know many people enjoy stuffed chicken breasts. I probably cut too far when i was butterflying the chicken, since a lot of the cheese leaked out of the tail of the breast. I also used this mixture, because I will be using the rest of the mozzarella and cottage cheese to make Lasagna later this week. I also chose cottage cheese for it’s nostalgia, but you can also use ricotta if that’s something you have. I served it with french cut green beans and Knorr’s Chicken Broccoli Fettuccine. Josh and I also split 1 breast since we get big chicken breasts from Aldi’s, and usually 1 breast is big enough to share when we have sides.

  1. Preheat oven to 425 F.
  2. Butterfly your chicken breasts by cutting them in half with a sharp knife. Open up the breast to stuff.
  3. Mix 1/2 a cup of cottage cheese, 1/2 of mozzarella, and 1 Tbsp of Italian seasoning. (This is enough to stuff 2 large breasts). Place 1/2 a cup of cheese mixture onto opened breast, then close.
  4. Place chicken in the oven and bake for 30 minutes or until the internal temperature is 165 F.

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Potato Salad

Potato salad is another one of those sides that goes over perfectly well at any picnic or family Bar-B-Que. Potato salad perfectly compliments the meat dish it is usually served with; usually being hotdogs, cheeseburgers, or whimpies aka. Manwich or sloppy Joe’s. And, you can make a lot of potato salad without too much effort and without breaking the bank.

  1. Wash, peel, cube, then rinse 4 medium potatoes (2 1/4 cups).
  2. Cover potatoes with an additional inch of water, boil until done or when you can stab a potato with a for, it breaks into 2.
  3. Strain your potatoes and rinse with cold water. Transfer potatoes into your serving bowl.
  4. To your potatoes add 1 cup of mayo, 1/4 cups of sweet bread & butter pickles (I used my Thousand Island Pickles), and 2 tablespoons of mustard. You can also optionally add 1 smashed hard boiled egg at this point. This is enough to serve 3 people as a side.
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Venison Stir fry

This recipe is almost identical to my recipe for Turkey Stir fry except this recipe includes minced garlic and includes a meat that isn’t pre-cooked. I also like to use a little more Worcestershire sauce to my taste, however you can also use soy sauce and get less garlic and onion flavors. I also like how easy it is to make this recipe. I made this meal in less than 20 minutes including making rice. I also made way too much rice for 2 people. I made 4 cups of cooked rice, and that was a bit too much. After we ate, there was enough for both of us to have lunch for the next day, and a cup of plain rice left over.

  1. Start by placing 2 Tbsp of oil into a wok or dutch oven and heat to medium-high.
  2. Carefully add 1/2 to 1 pound of raw cubed venison and cook for 5-7 minutes until mostly to fully cooked.
  3. Add a bag of frozen veggies (stir fry or desired). Add 4 Tbsp of Worcestershire sauce, 1 tsp of ground ginger, and 1 Tbsp of minced garlic. Coat everything in the sauce and cook until veggies are hot.
  4. Serve over rice!
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Update and Mistakes

Josh and I have been working on multiple big projects since Christmas. We’ve been working to get a bit more DIY content on the blog, but we’ve found it’s just a little too hard to do some of these projects in winter.

We’ve pulled out our old dishwasher, since it stopped working mid-November, and though we would like another one eventually, we just don’t have the money or the options at this point to get another one, even used. So, we’re trying to come up with a plan for the now hole under our cabinets. We’ve also been working on a hidden roll out pantry. We started this project on the First, but we’ve been delayed a bit and it’s been taking a few days to finish it up, but hopefully, it will be up by Friday, fingers crossed! Finally, our big mistake.

We’ve been working on removing wallpaper for a few weeks now. But, there is a spot where they plastered over wallpaper, so we decided sanding would be the best option. So, last night we decided to sand down the wall, and though it looks great now, I think I’m going to go crazy with how much plaster dust is covering EVERYTHING! I’ve seen some forums talking about this problem and they encourage washing all fabrics and wet wiping down all surfaces, but man! It’s so much! So, if you ever attack a project like this, please, wear face masks (we did that atleast), make sure the room is well ventilated and sealed off from other rooms if possible, and try not to get frustrated with the mess you just made!

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