JuBella.com – Get Your Creative Dose

So, although I was on a hiatus from blogging, I can say that I was still steaming up a bit of creativity in the kitchen. I cook A LOT! At least 3 times a day, so I figure if I am going to spend that much time in the kitchen, then I better make it fun, creative, and special! I love plating up dishes, planning menus, and coming up with simple ways to make breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, drinks, and even snacks for our family of five exciting! So, I thought I would share a few pics of some of my favorite dishes that I have prepared & plated this summer. One fine day I hope to publish an e-cookbook…only time will tell.

I MUST plan our meals 2 weeks at a time or else my grocery budget goes out the window, plus knowing what I am going to prepare for dinner seems to take a huge amount of stress out of my day! So, with that said, I hope these photos inspire you to cook up something new on your next menu! Do you plan your menus or do you just figure it out as you go? What is something new that you want to try cooking?

What inspires you to be creative in your kitchen?

There are many reasons why we hate going in the kitchen to cook dinner or even to prepare a snack. Here are five tips to get you on your way to being creative in the kitchen!

1. Clean Kitchen: This is the most important thing to remember. Having a clean kitchen will motivate you to actually want to cook.

2. The Decorative Kitchen: Adding some personality to your kitchen space really can effect how creative and inspired you are in the kitchen. This can be done inexpensively with magazine tear-outs, tea towels, decorative aprons, and so on. You will also want to stock your kitchen with creative and pretty cookbooks. Also, disguising all of your kitchen cleaning products such as sponges and dish detergent by using decorative bottles & containers can make the tasks of cleaning a bit more pleasurable.

3. The Refrigerator: When you go to cook, there is nothing worse than having to dig around plastic zip-lock bags and tons of tupper-ware to find all of your ingredients. Don’t forget that making the inside of your fridge pretty is just as important as making your entire kitchen pleasing to the eye.

4. Fresh & New Ingredients: We all have our basic items that we need to pick up from the market, but try buying just a few items if you can that has a packaging design that you love. Something that makes you feel special, such as: specialty teas in pretty tin cans, unique bottles soda or fresh juice. Also, make sure that your ingredients are fresh and beautiful!

5. Tools That Works: Last but most definitely not least, make sure you invest in quality kitchen utensils, cookware, bakeware, and storage containers. In the long run it will save you a lot more money if you buy quality first! Good tools will result in good food, and that alone will motivate you to want to experiment more in the kitchen!

I like to cook, and sometimes, I pause in the midst of flour on the counters, chocolate covered spoons waiting to be licked by the little one, water boiling over, bread in the oven, and soup simmering to its flavor, to take a few photos of my favorite foods that I try to prepare with love and creativity for my little family of 3!

Happy Friday everybody! I thought that I would end the week with a few images from my recipe journal. I started this journal as a way to keep lovely images of food to inspire me with my own dishes that I fix at home for my family. Usually the images consists of desserts because I have quite the sweet tooth! Most of these images & collage are from the Fabulous Donna Hay! I love that magazine…the photography and food styling alone just makes my mouth water.

I would like to know, how do you all find inspiration for the meals and desserts that you cook at home? Do you have recipes that have been handed down to you from family? How do you keep your recipes written down, on pretty recipe cards, or do you jot them randomly on notebook paper? Sorry for all the questions, but I am curious to know how others find inspiration for your meals!

I hope this will inspire someone to create a special meal or yummy treat! Have a lovely weekend everybody and I will be back Monday with a couple of creative interviews and fresh new posts. I am off now to go play in the sandbox with the little one! Thank you all so much who come by to visit JuBella…she just loves your company!