Pantry Makeover part 1

**Edited** I have linked this up to A Bowl Full of Lemons.

This is an old pantry makeover, and while I work on my new one, this is what I am sharing!!

As promised I have started my challenge. I hope you all have started something as well, after all for the rest of the month we can be working on not only amazing ourselves, but hopefully inspiring others with some amazing transformations.

My first thing to tackle on my pretty huge list here, is of course my pantry. Betty over at Frugal Mom x3, did a post the other day about Pantry makeovers, she highlighted some pretty amazing pantry makeovers. I wanted in, and so I came up with my very own challenge, to not only clean out the pantry but the whole house. Alright then, lets dig in and see what's been happening in my world. 


I got a late start on doing this and while I thought I would get it done 2 nights ago, I will be lucky to get it done by tonight. Follow along and you will see why.

My pantry/laundry room is soooooo small, that I have nowhere to stand and take a proper picture
of THE BIG PICTURE, so everything will be top half, bottom half pics, sorry, but I have no choice.
Anyway, this is my pantry, very stuffed, and as you will see with a lot of things that are not required.

The floor of my pantry, overflowing with bottles and containers.
I store my rice, and atta flour (wheat flour for chappati) in big containers, as I buy this in bulk.
I will write up another post soon, on bugs in your pantry, until then feel free to have flashbacks of your own.
Onions and potatoes I store in this lovely huge container, and in the bottom half, wasted space.
Just huge bottles hiding leftover halloween candy, my kids RARELY eat candy. 

See what I mean, now WHY do I have such a HUGE container holding only a few lollipops?
Nice choice to store it though right, kids would never think to look in that, hmm, now I need to figure out
an actual good use for these containers, as I saved them to be put to good use, just hasn't come to me yet.

Onions I also usually buy in bulk at the farmers market, HUGE bags. I share a little with mom, and then store the rest.
I just lined the bottom with paper bags, I know it doesn't look pretty but, all I have to do is shake it clean.

You can get a really good idea of my floor from the top left pic. It's crowded to say the least.
My big rice, and flour container, hold another container on top that I store all my cereal in.
Now Just to show you a few pics, on how much space cereal boxes, or ANY box takes up.
Notice after one serving of cereal the bags are nearly half empty. I have been wrapping them
in rubber bands for years now. It saves space, and it helps keep it fresh better than any clip.
I store mostly all my bags of cereal, chips, cookies, crackers, you name it, just like this.
Again just to give you an idea of how much space you can save by getting rid of boxes. 

I knew I wanted to store these trays, and baking stuff, somewhere other than where they were. 

So after cleaning up the top shelf, Before pic is on the bottom left, I decided to put them up there.
The top right pic, is more stuff that I just threw up on that shelf. Not very good use of space.
I also took down the 2 huge containers, as they were only holding 2 small bags of chips.
The drinks,  I had all on my floor, you can see in the above pics. We could never really get to them easily.
With the exception of two bottles, they are now up on the shelf. I added one container back to hold these.
Those really yucky dirty jars, are on my bench for a later project, if I can figure out something really useful for them.

This is one of my many door organizer things. Since it was torn up on the bottom, I cut that off.
Then I took this ridiculous waste of a hook off my wall, and after cutting the organizer in half, I will
hopefully have more usefulness out of that wall. Come back to see what I've come up with.

I know this may not look like alot, but if you read carefully about the bugs in your pantry up above, you will understand why this took so long. I must have spent over 2 hours getting rid of some bugs. I promise to post all about it later.

Now that I've started, I can't wait to finish. Please come back to see more of my pantry makeover.
Don't forget you can still add ANY project you are working on here at Amaze me August , this is
my new party. It is a Tuesday party, but for this one time, I have made it ongoing for the next 2 weeks, to give everyone plenty of time, to link up anything they might want to share.


As always ENJOY!

Special requests, or mad love always welcome:)
bellabeforeandafter@gmail.com

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Amaze me August, a BRAND NEW linky party!!!!

**Quick update: This is my first linky party, and although it will usually take place on Tuesdays, this one will be ongoing for the next 2 weeks, as I need a major kick in the butt, and I'm sure some of you do too, if you like my blog, (I hope you will) please consider joining the party at the bottom.**

Here's a quick look at some things I hope to achieve for the rest of the month.

It's already Tuesday August 17th, and with only a little more than 2 weeks to go let me be realistic with my goals. I hope to do a VERY LATE spring cleaning, to purge my home of all things not needed, and to get a clean slate going for all my future projects.

I don't know about you, but I can't cook in a dirty kitchen, and can't exactly think about projects when I have stuff all over the place. I feel like I'm going crazy, so before I can do a redo, I need to tidy up first. I know it sounds weird, but that's what I HAVE to do.

So I will challenge myself to go through every room in my house, (thank goodness it's only a small 3 bedroom) and get RID of anything I don't need. Put away all things required for future projects in a way that I will actually use them and do a quick clean up.

Then I can get to the nitty gritty, and start this darn home makeover, I am constantly thinking about.

Tonight I am clearing out the pantry, and fridge. Not a pretty redo, just cleaning up. Still a sight to see, so please watch as I get under way, and wipe one thing off my list.

Here's the lovely list so you can follow along:

1. Pantry, Fridge (both of them)
2. Kitchen drawers, and cabinets
3. Shoes in garage, clean microwave, and toaster oven
4. Door hanging organizer thingies
5. Coat closet
6. Piano, cookbooks
7. Desk, paperwork, bills
8. Take down dino decorations, collect all dead plants, RETURN
9. Big B closet, including sorting through winter and summer clothes
10. Big B desk, including old school work
11. Princess M closet, including clothes that need to be sorted
12. Dino D, dresser and linen drawers, plus all his toys, and books
13. My dressers, and closet, including tons of boxes of paperwork
14. Bathrooms under sinks
15. Office library books, videos, dvds.
16. Deep clean everything, probably take a day or two. 
17. Almost forgot my deck, I need to clear that place up for sure.
18. My very neglected garden will get a very quick peek, if weather is cooler, and I feel up to it, otherwise sorry to say you will be next on my TODO list. 

So with just about one thing to do everyday, I think it's very manageable. I hope to get these things done by the end of the month, so I can start on some fun, and ever prolonged projects I've been waiting to do for years now.

Please join me in challenging yourself with things you can do this month, to amaze not only yourself but others as well.

I will be highlighting several neat posts I've seen throughout the next few weeks, so  keep your eyes open, you might be one of them. Also don't forget to link up to the party, as it will be going on until the end of the month.

Ok gals, AMAZE me ALREADY!!!

Ok gals Quick TIP.
NEVER throw away your lemons, limes, oranges, or grapefruit. After you eat it, save the rind.
If you are after the juice, like I was for my fresh salsa, save those lemons, and FREEZE everything.
Just toss, leftover lemons, peels, whatever, in a bag, and pop in the freezer.
Then when it's time to clean, pop some in your microwave with some water, takes off all the gunk.
I use mine frozen in the garbage disposal ALL THE TIME, works wonders, and smells yummy.
Use to wipe your cutting boards, or even shower doors, and sinks. I use baking soda, and vinegar for most everything.
Next time you think about trashing your citrus, DON'T, remember my advice, and take it.
P.s. you could always compost it, too, something I want to start soon, for everything else of course.


For a complete list of all the parties I participate in go here party hardy.
Im linking up to these parties with my lemon tip, and new linky party:

Rules for entering are so simple.

• Become a faithful follower of my blog :) add my button if you'd like, it took forever to make. 
• Comment on at least three other blogs.
• Create a link back here, so others can join in the fun.
• Post as many Amazing things you've done or are getting ready to do. 
• This time ANYTHING goes. 
• Also you know the rules, link directly to your project not your home page. 
• Although I love etsy, please no selling, no business, just free fun for the taking.

Don't forget to follow me, and please share this great party with your friends. Remember I'm new, so I need all the kindness, I can get, of course ONLY if you mean it! ***Have fun ladies.***



As always ENJOY!

Special requests, or mad love always welcome:)
bellabeforeandafter@gmail.com

For a complete list of all the parties I participate in go here party hardy.

Im linking up to these parties today:

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Twilight Cupcakes, oh ahhhh!!

SO I did some red velvet cupcakes for a friends baby shower some time ago. How to decorate them without spending a week. Hmmm, I knew I wanted Edward on there, and of course Jacob. Sooo hey I just printed some great pics out, and stuck some forks in there to act like fangs, you get the picture.

I did these way before I ever really thought about doing a blog, so I do not remember the recipe I used, however just make your favorite, this post is mostly just to show you how awesome they turned out.

Wouldn't you want to sink your teeth into something like this???

Yeah me too, and guess what I DID!

Enjoy!

Bella

So what do you think, not bad hugh? See the yummies on the cupcakes. Yes, if you are not a twilight fan, at least don't hate, but if you are like me, then show me some twilight love.

Bella

For more wonderful ideas check out some of the parties I'm linking up to at Party Hardy.

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Birthday Decorations using wrapping paper!

I wanted to do a quick post on how I decorated for my daughters bday last fall. She wanted a butterfly theme, and although I love the way a perfectly decorated party looks, I hate the idea of spending all that money and then decorations rarely if ever get used again. So in my never ending attempt to waste as little as possible, and at the same time not waste money. Here's what I came up with for her party!

I wanted something bold, and large, we have a huge wall that is empty as of now (eventually will either add family pictures, or kids art). It is the perfect background for decorating.

I found this wonderful pink metallic wrapping paper at walmart for $3.00, and it was a HUGE roll. SO I got 2 of them. I came home and got to cutting. I simply cut out huge lettters to spell out her name. I made huge butterflies, and smaller ones. Decorating them with craft paper as I went along. I also made a bunch of hearts, of different sizes and then we stuck them on the walls, all over the house, on the doors, in the hallway, everywhere I could. Our house was taken over by butterflies, but it was cute and exactly what I wanted.

After her party all I did was put some of the decorations on her walls in here room, and it's been almost a year now and she is still able to enjoy them. I am ready for a change in her room, so they will probably come down soon, and into the recycling bin they go. How awesome if that, hardly any waste, no plastic, or other things that will get dumped into our landfills. I think for the $6.00 I spent, this was definitely worth it, and she actually enjoyed it for far more than her bday party day.

I also am not a huge party favor mom, for the same reason as above. I hate wasting time, money and unnecessary resources, on something that kids get bored with and often break even before you get back home. So for her party, I did little flower headbands.

Attaching a few pipe cleaners, I made them big enough to fit around a childs, or adults head. I twisted the pipe around a flower and then added long colorful yarn to the other end. The girls loved pretending they had long hair. I got a bunch of flowers from the dollar store, and this was a very simple way to create a party favor for the little girls, and moms, and thankfully we still use these, as my daughter loves wearing it. Hopefully the other little girls, are still enjoying theirs too.

Heres some pics, and remember you too can decorate for a party using the simplest of materials, and still make a huge impression, only not on your wallet.

As always, ENJOY!

Bella

Here you can see her beautiful butterfly cake thanks mom
over at Euro Style Cakes for making my princess yet another fabulours cake.
Also check out her headpiece I was talking about, see her long pretty hair, so cute.

Pretty cool hugh?

Butterflies may not go with everything but hey, it worked.
The theme was carried out throughout the house. 

Almost got the whole wall in the pic.

Butterflies heading in the hallway.

Quick squeeze from Big B!

See all the butterflies still up in her room. She has been enjoying them for a while now.

Short and sweet. Hope you liked it, and if you did be sweet and leave me a comment on any quick cheap party decorating ideas you may have had.

For more wonderful ideas check out some of the parties I'm linking up to at Party Hardy.

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How to make an inexpensive FISH dinner.

Quick update, just wanted to send a shout out to Jen over at http://www.remodelaholic.com/, for being awesome enough to feature my recipe on her blog today. Thank You girl, her blog is INCREDIBLE, please check it out and show her some love too!!

So while at Kroger the other day, I picked up 3 packs of Mahi Mahi, on sale. I like to make fish curry a lot, and when making a dish like that, your fish can go a long way.

Here is my breakdown of the dishes I created with just under 2lbs of fish. :)

Oh btw, I am NOT a recipe person, so this was actually a very hard way for me to cook, so I tried  my best in writing down a recipe, but I also hate binding you all to a recipe. So I think I am going to do it a little different, and plus I made like 4 meals with this fish, so kinda hard doing 4 recipes without getting everyone confused. So try to pay attention, and HAVE FUN.

Please not that this was not a 30 minute meal, but rather took me about 2 hours. (Not bad considering how many dishes, I made, and the fact that I was trying to write my recipe, take pics, and deal with my hungry family, asking when is the food going to be ready.) So before you get started, look at all the pics, and do as much prep work before hand, then get started. It shouldn't take much more than an hour at most, with everything ready to go. Enjoy!

• 2 lbs firm fish ( i used mahi mahi) reg $13.13--on sale $7.65
• 3-4 onions
• 2-3 tomatoes
• frozen green beans (please use whatever you have on hand, fresh or frozen)
• some coconut milk (I prefer the lite kind)
• canned beans (whatever you have is fine)
• rice (or pasta, or chappati (an indian bread similar to tortillas) or EVEN a crispy loaf of bread)
• cilantro leaves 
• curry leaves
• tons of spices (look below)

It's really hard to believe that all of this can turn into so much food, but it did. I'll show you how!
This is the kind of stuff my family deals with on a regular basis, I rarely ever cook the same exact thing twice.
I am always creating new combinations, and sometimes it works, and rarely it doesn't.

In this example, I had to use up those green beans as one of my kids decided to tear it open, and leave it.
They were starting to get freezer burn, so rather than freak out, and throw them out, I added them, and they were good.
Also you will notice leftover rice, one less thing to worry about, I always make extra.
I already removed the skin on the fish, and diced up 4 of the pieces, leaving 2 whole.
I have cilantro (corriander leaves), on the bottom, and CURRY leaves on the fish (found at indian grocery stores)

The lovely spices, that made this possible. I love Indian Food, and all the spices,  I use them in most of my food.
Im not going to tell you what they are, I have everything labeled so you can see. I will try my best to tell you
how much I used in the following pics, as I begin cooking. This is how I follow recipes, if I ever use one, and think
it's much easier then telling quantities at the beginning. I promise just get all your spices ready, have a small
teaspoon on hand, and follow along, you will do fine.

Ok like I said, just follow along with me, and you will see my style of cooking.   I am working on several dishes
at once, so don't worry about what goes with what just do what I say in the pics OK.

Add the following to a small bowl.

• 2 tsp oil
• 2 tsp vinegar
• 2 tsp chilli powder ( adjust to your taste, I love my food spicy)
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp ginger garlic paste (or make your own, I usually use one thats already mixed in a paste)
• 1/4 tsp fenugreek crushed

Mix this together and add the fish, mix around, then put fish in a smaller bowl.
Add green beans, or other veggie, and coat with remaining mixture, and let both just be happy for a while. 

Now get to chopping girl, or you could have done this earlier too.
Chop up 3 onions regular. Slice half of another, and finely chop the other half.

In most Indian dishes it calls for something called tempuring,  this can be done at the beginning, or sometimes
at the end of a meal to add the final touch. In this case it's done at the beginning.
Add a little oil (maybe 2 tsp) in a hot pan,  then add your curry leaves, a pinch of mustard seeds, and a pinch of
cumin seeds, and let sizzle and pop. Then add your onions. Add the entire big pile of diced onions.
Add a pinch of salt to help them sweat (med heat until they get glossy and translucent).
Add 2tsp ginger garlic paste, and continue to saute on med to low heat. Add dashes of water if it begins to stick. 

Now that my onions are caramelized, I have added about 1/4 of them to another pan, starting my other dish.
To the pan on the left add the following-
1 1/2 tsp corriander powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
I added the rest of my spices to the marinade remember. 

Time to add my masala ( combination of spices) to make this a yummy fish curry.

• 1 tsp turmeric
• 3/4 tsp chili powder (again adjust to your liking)
• 2 1/2 tsp corriander powder ( this helps thicken the whole things up)
• 1/2 tsp cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp fenugreek crushed
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1/2 tsp amchur powder (I forgot to take a pic of this. It's raw mango powder, and gives a slight sourness to the dish. Which I really like.)
• 1/2 tsp lemon pepper ( again adds a tang, my mother in law started adding a dash to all her dishes when she came for a visit, and I have been doing it ever since.)

Now mix, and you will probably want to add more oil at this point, but no need just add a dash of water, and let it
saute some more. Let it get pretty mushy, and then you go to the next step.

So you can see my other onions still chilling over there. Just let them chill. Dice up your tomatoes,
separate accordingly, about 1/2 of a roma I sliced instead of diced, and put next to the sliced onions.
It does make a difference when you eat a meal, if the onions and tomatoes, have been sliced or diced,
so do try to follow the steps I have showed you.

I've now added 3/4 of my diced tomatoes to the dish on the right, and the rest 1/4 on the left.  Now just let it simmer.
Don't rush this step, as you want everything to get really mushy, and do it on a lower heat, so it doesn't burn.
Again adding only enough water to prevent it from sticking. 

This is the pan on the left. I've just added the fish that was marinating in the bowl.
Be careful so the fish doesn't stick. If it does add a dab of oil at this point, instead of water. I want my fish to fry a  bit,
and not boil, or be steamed you know what I mean. Just a dab, and only if you really need it. 

My masala is almost ready, at this stage you can mash the mixture with the back of a spoon, and it should
all fall apart, as in the tomatoes will completely blend in making a paste.  Add a little more water, and simmer.

To my fish fry, I have added 3/4 of my green beans, and 3/4 of my canned beans. Now I mix everything together
and let it mellow in that yummy sauce. It should start releasing some of the water from the frozen green beans,
just let it simmer, until it becomes kind of dry again, I don't want this to have a sauce, but be a dry fish fry.
When ready to plate your dish, squeeze some fresh lemon juice on there. It is so tasty, you'll love it. 

The rest of the beans are waiting for a quick stir fry without the hot spice of the other dish. This will be
the side dish for the kids, and they can't handle the heat like my hubby and I can.

After adding about 1 1/2 cups water I let it simmer to a boil, and then added my fish. The rest of the pieces I  had cut.
Mix everything well, and let it simmer away, slowly, on low heat. Does not take long, fish cooks fast.
I let mine simmer maybe 10 more minutes at this point, then really reduced the heat, just to let the fish chill,
and absorb the curry. The smell at this point was amazing. My husband was salivating just waiting to eat. 

I added some rosemary garlic seasoning to the 2 other pieces, and am now ready to cook those.   

My MAHI MAHI FISH FRY is ready!

Looks good doesn't it? This is enough to serve 4 people easily. 

Adding about 1/4 can of coconut milk to my fish curry. Do not have a high flame for this, low heat, and just
another minute or two. Does not need to cook much longer. Add a heaping handful of chopped cilantro.

Look at that! Yummy!!!!

MAHI MAHI FISH CURRY

Quickly cook the other 2 pieces. I choose to add a tsp of oil and cooked them  for
a  couple minutes  on both side, until firm and flaky. Not too long, you want it to be juicy still.

One of the fish pieces, and those green beans you know. I cooked just until hot.
MAHI MAHI WITH SPICED GREEN BEANS
Doesn't look like alot, but all 3 of my kids ate out of this. The fish was enough for all of them.
I plated it and it looks like one serving, but it was way more.

That other piece of fish, got chopped up for my last dish. A yummy fish salad.
I added that finely chopped onion, AND

• 1 celery rib, diced finely
• 1 green onion finely sliced
• several dashes of tapatio
• a few olives, sliced
• 2 tsp mayo
• small squeeze of mustard
• salt and pepper
• dash of lemon juice

Ta Da Yet another meal. Everyone really loved this one!
MAHI MAHI TUNA SALAD

Dinner is served. Well it was lunch for us! All five of us ate from this, and then my mom came

over from church, she also ate. I still had leftovers. Enough of the 

FISH FRY AND FISH CURRY for my hubby and I to eat another meal.

MAHI MAHI TUNA SALAD did not make it, and got devoured by everyone. 

You can also see the simple onion and tomato salad I served. No dressing just some lemon juice. 

Now thats what I call a feast. I don't know about you guys but I love to eat fish. You have to 

admit however that it is kind of costly, especially if you serve it up whole. So from what little I had, I was able to creatively create 4 meals and I had everything on hand in my pantry. 

The cost of these meal, was $7.65 for the fish. 

Ok you can add the other things too, I bet if you look around your kitchen you will have

most of the things I used, so you would only have to go buy some fish. 

I will be doing a post on what a well stocked pantry looks like, so you will always be prepared to cook. 

My pantry staples are always on hand, with plenty to spare. I always buy extra of things I use often, or can be added to anything to create a new dish. 

Look forward to sharing with you all my tips on pantry staples next time. 

Until then get cooking, you can do it. 

Hope you enjoyed!

Please share with me-

1. What's your favorite kind of fish, how often do you eat fish?
2. Do you cook it at home, or eat it out?
3. Have you ever tried making a fish curry, or eaten one before?

Bella

I've linked up to the following parties, check them out for more wonderful ideas.

http://itsablogparty.com/

http://tatertotsandjello.blogspot.com/
http://bargainhuntingwithlaurie.blogspot.com/
http://www.trashtotreasuredecorating.com/

http://lindycottagehill.blogspot.com/

Metamorphosis Mondays

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