I love a fresh start and an exciting New Year! Ann Kelly wishing you a Happy New Year from Kelly’s Kitchen, where we have some wonderful things planned for 2012. We’ll have more videos from our beautiful new performance space here at Magic 94.9, I’ll be introducing you to some of the fun folks that are at the Hyde Park Fresh Market the first Sunday of each month, and we’ll take a look at some of the year’s best cookbooks. We’ll also tell you what gadgets you just can’t live without in your kitchen, and that’s a lot!

   I also want to hear from you. I appreciate your comments and suggestions, and would love you to share your recipes, kitchen shortcuts, and what you do to make entertaining at home fun, and less stressful. Feel free to leave comments below, or send them to me directly at ann.kelly@coxmg.com. And keep an eye out for more freebies!

   So, to start the New Year off, here’s Five Fun Things from Kelly’s Kitchen for January…

1. January is National Oatmeal Month. Okay. Hold down the excitement. But it’s a healthy food, that is one of my favorite ingredients for a really kicked up chocolate chip cookie, among other things.
2. So you think scented candles are just a girlie thing? Oh so wrong! Check out this new line called Man-Cans created by a 14 year old boy from Marysville, Ohio by the name of Hart Main in scents like Sawdust and Grandpa’s Pipe. Hart is a very cool kid. The candles are in recycled can that he uses from donations he’s made to a local soup kitchen. Think it’s no big deal? Think again. He’s already sold 10,000! Check it out yourself, maybe a Valentines gift for the manly man in your life. Very affordable, too at $9.50 each.
3. Found this one in this month’s Family Circle magazine; how about a soup mug that actually has a built in cracker caddy? Brilliant, and can be found at BrylaneHome, and are priced at two for $12.00.
4. My nephew Christopher turned me on to these sweet little things – Smencils! 100% recycled pens and pencils that are scented and really do smell pretty nice. The stats are interesting according to their web site; from one Sunday issue of the New York Times, they can make 430 Smencils. Reduce. Reuse. Recycle. Please! Priced at $2.50 each.
5. I am so loving these, and will be ordering them for Kelly’s Kitchen; you know how much use I get out of ice cube trays. I use them for actual ice cubes, freezing fruit juices and pureed fruit for smoothies, you name it I can freeze it! But if you really want to show off at your next bash, check out Ice-ball makers! Take the entertaining to the next level at a set of 4 for $10 from Prepara Kitchen Tools.

WORDS OF WISDOM FROM KELLY’S KITCHEN:

An optimist stays up until midnight to see the New Year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves - Bill Vaughan