November 6th 2006
Dine Without Whine's Weekly Newsletter
An Extension of our Menu Planning Service
www.dinewithoutwhine.com
Publisher ~ Christine Steendahl
Read Past Issues In Our Newsletter Archives
~
Tell Your Friends About This Newsletter! ~
This Issue:
A Personal Note
Homemade Chicken Pot Pie
Time to Start Thinking About Thanksgiving Article
A Personal Note
It has been an “exciting” week here. My poor little 2 year-old
decided to stand on a folding chair on Thursday and here is the result.
http://www.steendahl.net/pictures/151.gif He has a spiral fracture on his
right femur. So now my very active little guy can not sit up or walk. If you
think of creative activities to try let me know! I can only handle so much Dora
The Explorer on T.V.! (I think we have just about every episode recorded) So far
we have tried reading books, coloring – if I hold the paper up he can color,
balloons, little toys, peek-a-boo under the blankets, and his favorite –
throwing stuffed animals across the room and having his brothers pick them up
for him. Nothing keeps him entertained for too long of course – he’s two after
all! He is in the “I can do it myself stage” and is very frustrated that he can
no longer do things himself.
I wanted to tell you this week about my friend Jodie
Lynn over at Parent To Parent. She has a great contest this fall. You can read
all about it by going to
http://www.parenttoparent.com on the left hand side there is a link to
enter. All you have to do is share why you are a Mom CEO – Chief Everything
Officer. Go check out the prizes – they are great! (Including Mom CEO - a book I
contributed to. You will find lots of tips and recipes from DWW in the book.)
All right, I need to get back to my little guy. Have a great
week!
Christine
Recipe of the Week
Exerted from this week's family friendly menu plan
and convenient grocery shopping list.
Have you tried our
/sample.htm menu?
Homemade Chicken Pot Pie
Makes
6 servings
3 chicken breasts cooked, cut in small pieces.
1 8-ounce can mushrooms drained
1 16-ounce bag mixed vegetables frozen
1/2 teaspoon thyme
2 10 1/2-ounce cans gravy (chicken)
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 frozen pie crusts (Pillsbury Pie Crust Dough)
1 egg white
1. Place one pie crust into pie plate.
2. Mix all the other ingredients in a bowl.
3. Place mixture into pie shell.
4. Place second crust on top and flute edges.
5. Bake 350° for 45 minutes or until crust is browned lightly. Let set for 10
minutes, serve.
This Weeks Top Five Referring Sites
(These sites have a link
to DWW somewhere on their site and have sent the most visitors to
www.dinewithoutwhine.com this week)
www.showmomthemoney.com
www.activityvillage.co.uk
www.catholicmom.com
www.healthy-kids-snacks.com
www.showkidsthefun.com
Kitchen and Cooking Tips, Articles, And Product
Reviews
Can you believe it is already time to start thinking about
Thanksgiving?
Setting the Perfect Family Thanksgiving Table
The family has been invited. The Thanksgiving
dinner menu is planned. Turkey is in the oven, cornbread dressing is almost
ready to bake. Now it’s time to set the dinner table. Here are some tips for
setting the perfect family Thanksgiving table.
Keep it Simple – Why stress yourself out during the holiday? Don’t try to
overdo the dinner table with crystal, fine china, or fancy cloth napkins
(especially when children are involved). Keep it super simple. Buy
heavy-duty disposable dinner plates, plastic silverware, cups and paper
napkins. Party stores offer holiday disposables at a very affordable price.
You can purchase nice dinner wear quite inexpensively. Plus, you’ll have a
quick and easy clean-up without all the extra dishes to wash. This route may
be a bit less traditional, but everyone will enjoy knowing that the hostess
doesn’t have 2 hours of clean up to do on top of the long preparation that
has already taken place.
Fun Centerpieces - Make your centerpieces fun. In lieu of elaborate floral
centerpieces, try something fun this time. Little mini pumpkins and gourds
are great. You can also find fun decorative things at local craft stores. A
fun tablecloth idea is to purchase a white tablecloth and let guests write
in permanent marker what they are thankful for and sign and date it. Then
each year you can pull that tablecloth out and continue to have your guests
add to the memories.
Go Back in Time - Create an old-fashioned Thanksgiving theme. Lay mismatched
table cloths or table runners on your table and use oil lanterns as your
centerpiece. Set the table with a variety of different dinnerware. Set small
wooden buckets on the table to hold silverware and napkins. Use anything
that doesn’t match to create an old-time feeling for your Thanksgiving
dinner.
Don’t Set the Table at All - One of the easiest and best ways to go, is to
simply not set your dinner table at all. Lay all dishes on your bar or
serving cart, with the plates and silverware at the beginning. Let everyone
serve themselves buffet-style and sit where they choose.
Above all remember that this is a family dinner. Relax and enjoy the food
and your family and friends. Keeping your Thanksgiving dinner table setting
simple will make your dinner much more enjoyable for everyone.
|
