Three Inexpensive Thanksgiving Kid Crafts
Today’s topic: The Thanksgiving Kids Table. Yes, the ingredients for a full-on Turkey dinner can wipe out a budget, but there’s no need to spend a bundle to keep the kiddos entertained while you concentrate on the stuffing. So here are three adorable activities your kids (and wallet) will love.
…Thanksgiving Side Dish: Shaved Brussels Sprouts with Pecans and Parmesan
Thanksgiving is such an easy holiday to love. Why? Well, first, it’s so self-contained — there are little to no accompanying activities or assignments or tasks, just the big feast! And second, the focus on gratitude and family is pretty darn terrific. We’ve discussed perfecting a roasted turkey and pie crust, but the sides are where a lot of the fun starts. This year, you can’t go wrong adding Shaved Brussels Sprouts with Pecans and Parmesan to your table.
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Do These 3 Things Early in November
Question:
I’m hosting Thanksgiving this year. Any tips to make it less stressful? — Rebecca
Answer:
Great question! There are a few simply things you can do in early November to make Thanksgiving prep easy.
1) Get your kitchen knives sharpened. Your guests will likely be helping you in the kitchen. You won’t want them using crummy tools.
2) Take inventory of your dinnerware/china and utensils. Do you have enough place settings for all your guests? Have you lost a few random spoons over the last year? (Spoons are notorious for getting thrown out with yogurt cups or lost in the sandbox.) If you have any gaps to fill in, this is the time to place your orders. We’ll be adding more silverware this year — our preferred pattern is Old Denmark by Yamazaki.
3) Ask guests if there are any particular foods or recipes that will make or break Thanksgiving for them and add those recipes to your menu. At our house, there’s a particular veggie dip that we are totally homesick for if we don’t get a bite at Thanksgiving. While asking your guests this question, it’s also a great time to check in on any allergies or other dietary requirements they might be navigating.
What about you? What are your best tips for preparing for Thanksgiving?
Ideas For Dealing With All That Candy
Between school and church activities, parties and trick-or-treating, we always get way too much candy in October. I’m sure it’s no different at your house. The question is: what on earth do you do with all that candy?!
Don’t you worry, I’ve searched out the cleverest ideas to help you deal with the sugar overload.
…10 Great Halloween Books
Not-so-scary scary books are the best way to ease into Halloween, which can sometimes be a little overwhelming for even the bravest kids on the block. From charming to lightly creepy, this list should lighten up the darkest October nights. Enjoy! (Hmm. Perhaps Beware! is more in the spirit of this list!)
…Easy 30-Minute Fajita Bowls
These easy 30-minute fajita bowls are one of the easiest and most flavorful meals to make. They come together in about thirty minutes, which is perfect at the end of a long day of work, or for when kids are melting down. This meal is popular with groups and families because it’s so easy for people to customize — someone can skip the cheese, another can skip the limes, cilantro-tastes-like-soap-people can skip the cilantro.
If you can, mix up the marinade in the morning; it takes about five minutes. The chicken gets so much flavor from the marinade, and remains really juicy after cooking. If the weather is good, we love to grill this chicken for that smoky flavor, but this chicken bakes well too. While the chicken and rice cook, you can chop up all the veggies and garnishes. Everything is ready at the same time, and dinner is served.
…Living With Kids: Juliana Rotmeyer
I am utterly fascinated by high-rise family living. I think of all the little things, like getting groceries up 30 floors – which is an entirely different dilemma if the elevators aren’t running! Or, do dwellers in the sky ever miss having a backyard just outside the door? They probably have far less mud in their foyers. And how do you create that sense of indoor-outdoor childhood freedom when getting outside from the super-elevated inside involves a bit of planning? Today’s high up home shows us that it can be done.
Juliana‘s place in Hong Kong, with its endless views and unique space considerations, reminds me of a nest. I love the thought she put into creating a warm and workable family home in what was once a plain white box of an apartment. Friends, I know you’re going to enjoy this very different, very citified Living With Kids tour. Welcome, Juliana!
…Easy Entertaining: 3 Fabulous No-Prep Menus
When life gets busy, it’s hard to make time to prep a meal for guests. So I thought it would be fun to come up with a few menus that are entirely store bought, requiring no prep, plus totally gorgeous and majorly delicious.
The idea is that you can swing by the grocery store on the way home from work, or after school (or you could even use a grocery delivery service), and pick up an instant meal that tastes amazing, is fun to eat and serve, and requires no apology.
Does a no-prep, grocery store menu sound right up your alley? Then you’re in luck! I’ve got 3 for you today. One French-themed, one Scandinavian themed, and one filled with All-American flavors. A stop at the store, a few minutes opening bottles and packages, and boom, you’re hosting a stress-free dinner party.
…Dessert For Two: Sautéed Caramel Apples
Caramel and apples are one of the greatest combos ever. Not sure if it even matters how they are combined, there’s just something wonderful about that buttery, sweet and sticky caramel paired with tart, juicy apples. These Sautéed Caramel Apples are no different. If you’ve got a craving for something sweet, this will most definitely satisfy it. Can you imagine digging into a bowl of ice cream topped with warm, tender caramel-y apples? Yeah, it’s like pie without the crust. But in a good way.
Here’s what I love about this recipe, besides how delicious it is: it tastes fancy (but isn’t), it’s easy to make, and you can make it even easier with a little shortcut (see the notes!). Oh, and because you’ll probably be wanting to make this on a daily basis (no judgement) you can also make a larger batch and store it in the fridge for up to a week. Woot!
The ingredients are very simple. You probably have everything on hand already — apples, sugar, butter, lemon juice, cream, and vanilla. It really spruces up a bowl of vanilla ice cream, but you know what would take it up another notch? Sea salt caramel ice cream. It’s almost too much to think about!
…8 Secrets to Perfectly Polished Shoes
A good pair of shoes that is properly cared for will last a lifetime. That may seem like an exaggeration, but it’s not! Not only that, a pair of good, polished shoes is a key to feeling well-dressed when you walk out the door. It is one of those details that is easily overlooked, but makes all the difference.
…Living With Kids: Jen Hansard
Bargain hunting is a true skill, but doing it with style is another kind of trick altogether. So when Jen Hansard told me that 99% of her home furnishings were bought second-hand from Craigslist, The Salvation Army, and garage sales, I wanted to see more. Naturally, I wanted to show you, too! I hope you enjoy the tour of the Hansard’s brand new home as much as I did. Her reasons why she loves her photo wall absolutely melted my heart. This is a good one, Friends.
…3 Simple, Beautiful Polymer Clay Earrings — Even Kids Can Make These!
I’m perpetually on the hunt for sweet, pretty, usable, handcrafted projects. Ideas that are perfect for a rainy afternoon, or for a Ladies Crafting Night, or for a birthday party activity, or to make as a gift. And this project definitely fits the bill! Homemade earrings that don’t look homemade at all! And so easy that your kids can get involved too. Yes, please!
Let’s get to making.
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Chile Verde Slow Cooked Pork Shoulder
The beauty of this recipe is two-fold. First and foremost, it’s easy to make in a slow cooker, on the stove-top, in the oven, and I assume in an Instant Pot. The sauce is comprised of Mexican-style salsa verde (made with tomatillos and green chiles), onion, ground cumin, garlic, a little brown sugar, and vinegar (the secret ingredient). The other secret ingredient is nothing more than time.
Second, it’s one of the most versatile big-batch recipes you can make. That means cook it once and enjoy it several times during the week or freeze in portions to use later.
If you need some ideas on how to use slow cooked pork shoulder, here is a short list: nachos, enchiladas, soup or stew, tacos, burritos or wraps, over polenta or rice, taco salad, a base for tamale pie, etc..
Traditional Chile Verde is a Mexican stew that uses most of the same ingredients in this recipe, but is definitely more stew-like. This slow cooker pork shoulder doesn’t have as much sauce or liquid, which makes it more versatile in that array of dishes mentioned above. But you could add an extra bottle of sauce, plus some chicken broth, and turn it into stew, if desired.
…Living With Kids: Kimberly Senn
I get so many notes from readers wishing they could find the courage to send photos of their homes, but then months pass without even a peek! When I check back in with them, they sometimes tell me it’s not yet camera ready or they just need one more perfect piece to make their living room livable or “WE ALL HAD THE FLU AND NOW I WANT TO MOVE!” The goal of perfection really does get in the way of life, don’t you think?
I get it. And so does Kimberly Senn. But somewhere along the way, after missing out on opening up her home to old and new friends because of a fear that it wasn’t stylish enough or clean enough, she consciously stopped pausing her life and holding her breath and waiting for everything to be perfect. Instead of sitting alone pondering the layer of grimy fingerprints on the lower three feet of her walls, she and her family now open up their home as often as possible — today, to us! (As she put it so eloquently, “Our friends don’t like us because we have a perfect house. They like us because we keep our fridge stocked with good beer.” Ha!)
And guess what? No one notices the grit. All I can see is the joy. Come see it, too! Welcome, Kimberly!
…Three Lunch Box Ideas for Three Age Groups — from Pre-K through 6th Grade
The new school year makes me feel nostalgic. I can still smell the distinct scent of opening up a box of brand new crayons, and still enjoy the satisfaction of a newly sharpened pencil, with a squishy pink eraser on the end. At our house, school supplies are marked off the list pretty easily. The more challenging part of back-to-school for so many families? The morning struggle for lunch box ideas.
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The Perfect Gift: Clay Chandelier Mobile
Let me guess: someone you know is having a baby, or is decorating a nursery, and you’re on the hunt for a baby gift that will knock their socks off. May I humbly suggest a pretty little mobile, hand made in their very favorite colors?
They can hang it above the changing table, or the bassinet — there is a calming peace that comes with the quiet twirl of a mobile.
Or maybe they’ll hang it in the corner of the family room to add some visual interest to the space.
With air dry clay, an embroidery hoop, string and some paint, the possibilities are endless.
…Living With Kids: Meghann Halfmoon
We caught Meghann just before her family moves from Amsterdam to the island of Saba. (So that you don’t have to disappear to look up Saba, it is a Caribbean island and the smallest special municipality of the Netherlands. It consists largely of the potentially active volcano, Mount Scenery, which at 2,910 feet, is the highest point within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Thank you, Wikipedia!) I was instantly intrigued when she described her life in her 700 sq. ft. home, using terms like “micro dwelling” and “huge bathroom to fit even tall Dutch men” and “big love” during our correspondence.
Her enthusiasm is infectious. And I hope it’s the best thing you catch all day. Welcome, Meghann!
…On The Grill: Shrimp Skewers with Spicy Pineapple-Mango Salsa
Grilled Shrimp Skewers are such a fun meal on the grill, even more so with homemade Spicy Mango-Pineapple Salsa. It’s colorful and just the thing for a BBQ or 30-minute dinner.
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Living With Kids: Rachael Alsbury
All you really need to know about Rachael is that she’s one of those wildly entertaining writers who might make you laugh out loud a few times throughout her interview. She’s real and aims to live a debt-free life in her detoxed home. You’re going to enjoy this one, I just know it.
Welcome, Rachael!
…Recipe: The Most Delicious Non-Alcoholic Sangria
This Non Alcoholic Sangria refreshing and light, and you get to eat the fruit too. That is definitely one of the best parts. For this recipe, we’re using a combination of stone fruit (peaches, nectarines, cherries, plums) because they are what we most associate with summer.
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