Just One Mom Trying: delightful dining

Showing posts with label delightful dining. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Turkey Place Setting

So, I know it's WAAAY past Thanksgiving but I thought I'd post this cute little turkey place setting buddy.

I painted a little wooden peg (meant to be a baby or bee shape), sprayed it with some glossy finish, and added some raffia "feathers" on the back. I thought he was a cute little guy so I thought I'd share.

These are super cheap and easy to make. The piece of wood was $0.10 each.

Friday, February 3, 2012

Chalkboard Placemats

Emily 5:23 AM 1 Comments

I've been wanting to make chalkboard placemats for months now. I finally did it. I decided that I would follow the directions from Sew 4 Home. However, I wanted to have waterproof fabric on the back instead of regular fabric so I grabbed some oil cloth. When it came time to put the placemat together, I couldn't press anything with an iron or use too many pins. I didn't want to melt my fabric and once the fabric is punctured with pins, the hole stays there.

I decided to do this thing a super basic way using bias tape.

What you'll need:

Chalkboard cloth (found in the "utility fabric" section of your fabric store)

Oil cloth (also a "utility fabric")

Bias tape (extra wide, double fold bias tape- 3 yd. Plan on one package per placemat just in case)

Jean needle (strong needle to sew your fabrics)

Scissors

Sewing machine (with jean needle)

What you'll do:

1) Cut one piece of chalkboard fabric and one piece of oil cloth the same size. Cut it to the size you'd like your placemat to be.

2) With wrong sides together, line up your bias tape on one edge of the chalkboard side! This is important! I found that the chalkboard fabric is quite slick and thick and doesn't grab onto the feed dogs well. So, having the oil cloth on the bottom allows for easier and nicer sewing.

3) Sew your bias tape on. See the following tutorial.

I already finished 2 edges. I'm going to show you the top edge. (Pretend this is your first edge.)

Here's one side of the placemat.

Here's the other side of the placemat.

Here's where the bias tape comes in. For super clear instructions on using bias tape without swearing, watch this video.

I followed the instructions in the video almost exactly. The only change I made was that I lined up the edge of my bias tape with the edge of my fabric. The woman in the video, Amy, lines up her bias tape a little below the edge of the fabric but, don't do it! You need that space when you're using the thicker fabrics.

So, unfold your bias tape, with the thinner edge up. Sew along that first fold. I tucked in my sides like Amy did too.

Start folding your bias tape over to the other side of the placemat.

Now it should look like this on the reverse side.

Sew the edge down. The chalkboard side will be facing down but since you now have the bias tape on the bottom, the feed dogs will grab onto the bias tape nicely and you won't have problems.

Repeat with the remaining sides.

You're done!

Prep your chalkboard by rubbing the edge of your chalk all over the board. Wipe it clean with a clean cloth. You're ready! You can also use liquid chalk which I'd like to try out sometime. It looks a lot cleaner and brighter.

This post was part of The Shady Porch's Rock 'N' Share! Visit The Shady Porch for other great ideas across the blogosphere.

# birthdays # breakfast

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Delightful Dining: Halloween Week

Emily 11:43 AM 0 Comments

It has been a while since I did a post for family dinners.

This week make your family dinners fun and interesting with these ideas:

DELIGHTFUL DINING: Halloween Week

Come to dinner dressed up in your Halloween costume.
Make a dish or dessert that includes pumpkin as a main ingredient (pumpkin stew, pumpkin bread, pumpkin cookies, etc.)
Serve gruesome dishes. (Brains and blood = spaghetti, mummies = hot dogs wrapped in crescent rolls, make homemade pizzas and create monster faces with toppings, etc.)
Have dinner in the dark. Cover the table in a white table cloth and turn on a black light, or eat by candle light.
Have a murder mystery dinner. Invite some other families over for some extra fun. HERE's a great site for CLEAN games on sale now!

TABLE TOPICS:

What do you want to dress up as for Halloween?
If your whole family had to dress up together for Halloween, what would you dress up as? (Scooby Doo and his friends? The Simpsons? A bunch of cowboys and cowgirls?)
What is your favorite part about the fall?

FLAVORFUL FAVORITES: Mac & Cheese

This is a homemade recipe for mac & cheese that tastes good and that your kids will eat! I love it too. It's made with real ingredients and the "cheese sauce" is creamy! (I used ditalini pasta noodles so both my toddler and 1-year old could eat it without problems)

6 oz. pasta noodles (about 1/3 of 16 oz. box)

1 egg

1/2 c. evaporated milk

cheese, shredded (to liking)

salt

Cook your pasta, drain it, and return it to cooking pot. In a separate bowl whisk together egg, milk and a couple pinches of salt. Pour mixture over noodles. Stir in shredded cheese. Add more salt to taste if needed. If you'd like it extra creamy, add more milk. If you add too much cheese it will dry out quicker. You can't really ruin this recipe. It's very adjustable to your liking.

# delightful dining # family dinners

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Family Dinners: Back to School

Emily 5:36 AM 0 Comments

DELIGHTFUL DINING: Show and Tell

Each member of the family packs an item in a backpack, or tote, or other "school" bag. Be prepared to share the history or a story about that item to the other family members at the table. It can be a picture, an heirloom, book, toy, etc. Take turns sharing.

TABLE TOPICS:

Do you know anyone who can speak a second language? If you could speak a second language (or a third), which language would you like to speak? Why?
What was your very favorite part of summer? What are you looking forward to when school starts?
What do you hope to learn this year in school?

FLAVORFUL FAVORITES: Easy Chicken Lettuce Wraps

These are so delicious and perfect for busy weeknights. These won't disappoint. I love P.F. Chang's Lettuce Wraps but they're expensive and I rarely eat out. I love making my own version at home.

Ingredients:

1 can water chestnuts, diced

3 green onions, diced

1/2 pkg. fresh mushrooms, diced

1 chicken breast, cooked and diced

Trader Joe's Soyaki teriyaki sauce (add to liking)

1 head butter lettuce, washed

Directions:

In a skillet, combine water chestnuts, green onions, mushrooms, chicken and Soyaki. Cook until hot and mushrooms are cooked through.

Serve with washed butter lettuce leaves.

# delightful dining # family dinners

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Making Family Dinners Fun

Emily 11:41 AM 0 Comments

This week...

DELIGHTFUL DINING: More moon pebbles, please!

Use silly names for the foods you eat. Corn isn't "corn" but rather "moon pebbles." Spaghetti is "monkey brains," and salad is "the chewsen one." Make up funny and even some gross names. Kids will love naming and eating their "exotic" foods.

TABLE TOPICS: Never A Dull Moment

If you could re-name your family members, what would you name them? What name would you choose for yourself?
What should we do more of as a family?
If you could go somewhere with just mom (or just dad), where would you go?

FLAVORFUL FAVORITES: Brooke's MoROCKIN' Chicken

Moroccan Chicken

Ingredients:

1 medium onion, coarsely chopped (1/2 cup)

8 oz. baby carrots

1/2 cup pitted dried plums (prunes)

1 14 oz. can reduced sodium chicken broth

8 bone-in chicken thighs, skinned

1 1/4 tsp. curry powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Directions:

In a 4-5 quart slow cooker combine onions and carrots. Add plums and broth. Top with chicken. In a small bowl combine curry powder, salt and cinnamon. Sprinkle over chicken.
Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 8-10 hours or on high setting for 4-5 hours. Remove chicken and vegetables from cooker with a slotted spoon. Spoon some of the cooking juices on each serving.

I served this over rice. It was delicious.

Click HERE for a printable version of this recipe.

# delightful dining # family dinners

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Turkey Place Setting

Friday, February 3, 2012

Chalkboard Placemats

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Delightful Dining: Halloween Week

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Family Dinners: Back to School

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Making Family Dinners Fun

About Me

Social

Popular

Archive

Contact Us

Follow us @justonemomtrying

Instagram