Make Mom's Mother's Day Extra Special With a Gift She'll Really Like

If you are looking for a different Mother’s Day present this year, give the gift of convenience. For many mothers thinking of nutritious, great tasting and simple to create meals can be extremely time consuming. Many moms can spend hours each week just deciding on what to make and putting together dinner for their family. If you are looking for a gift that will not only save her some time, but also make the entire family happy and satisfied with a delicious meal, look into a menu planning service.

Menu Planning Services are an extremely convenient and effective way to help mom plan the family dinner each evening of the week. But planning what to cook for each dinner is just the beginning. Such services generally also include easy to follow grocery lists that show all the ingredients for the meals of the week, so mom can easily shop one time and pick up all the ingredients she needs to prepare each week’s meals. No more running to the store each day after work and wasting precious time that should be spent with you.

Menu Planning is also especially helpful for those that are on a budget or who would like to save more. You can save hundreds of dollars each month by not taking the family out to eat, and instead providing a tasty and nutritious meal right at home.

With a menu planning service you generally get recipes for each night along with side dishes and desserts that can be cooked any time. Additionally, you also get a tailored shopping list for each week of food that goes along with your meals. No more scouring all the recipes for the ingredients you need. It's already done for you. Plus, you will receive lots of extras each month that can help you save on your grocery bill and ensure your family is eating delicious and nutritious meals. Something mom is sure to love!

If you are searching for the perfect Mother’s Day gift, give her the enjoyment of Meal Planning.
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To Give Mom a Menu Planning Gift this Mother's Day visit www.dinewithoutwhine.com

How to Care for Your Glassware

Taking a few moments to care for your glassware will help keep it brilliant and clear throughout a lifetime of use. We recommend the following care:

Do not expose to rapid temperature changes or extremes of temperature.

Do not place in the microwave, oven, dishwasher, or freezer.

Avoid placing in direct sunlight.

For best results, avoid contact with metal utensils when stirring or serving.

For candleholders, do not secure candles with molten wax or allow candles to burn within three inches of the candle cup. Drips less candles are preferable. If wax does adhere to candleholder, clean gently with denatured alcohol.

Store your glassware right side up; do not stack vessels. Avoid sliding or twirling the glass.

Avoid contact with hard or abrasive materials. You may wish to cover display areas with protective felt.

Avoid packing glassware in newspaper or other moisture-absorbing materials for long periods of time; soft cloth or bubble wrap is preferable.

Avoid contact with hard or abrasive materials. You may wish to cover display areas with protective felt.

Avoid packing glassware in newspaper or other moisture-absorbing materials for long periods of time; soft cloth or bubble wrap is preferable.

Cleaning your glassware:

Hand wash using a non-abrasive (mild soap like dish washing liquid) cleaner in warm water. You can not use any type of chemical cleaner like Windex. You may wish to cushion the sink with a towel or rubber mat.

If stains appear on the vessel, gently rub with half a lemon, wash with vinegar, or soak the interior with powdered dentifrice dissolved in lukewarm water.

In areas with very hard water and high mineral content, distilled water will help prevent staining.

To dry, use a soft, lint-free cloth, or air dry.

To avoid scratching, dust with a soft, lint-free cloth dampened in a mild solution of 1-part ammonia to 3-parts water.




Dippity Do - Fun With Easter Eggs

Easter is just about here and one of the fun activities to partake in this and every Easter season is to color Easter eggs. Easter eggs are easy and enjoyable to color; you just need to abide by the following hints.

Easter eggs generally start with hard boiled eggs, so purchase one dozen or two for coloring. Gently lower them in boiling water for about 10 minutes. The eggs will cook and become hard boiled. Now just let them dry.

The most convenient way to color your Easter eggs is to acquire an Easter egg decorating kit. These kits generally include dyes to paint your Easter eggs several colors, templates or stickers to adorn and design them, and an Easter egg holder to easily allow them to dry. Most kits only cost a few dollars and are extremely practical.

You can also prepare your own colored dye. You can mix about 1 tbsp. of food coloring with a half tsp. of vinegar, then add about 1/2 cup to a third cup of water. Now just soak your Easter egg into the colored cup of water. The longer your egg sits in the water, usually the deeper and darker the color.

Moreover you can hand paint your Easter eggs. You can find many water color paints or other types of paints to design and decorate your eggs. Even undiluted food coloring usually works. It is important to note that you shouldn’t eat any eggs that you have used paint on.

Designing or decorating your egg is fun and easy as well. Once the eggs are hard boiled, you can secure stickers to the egg, use a brush to carefully coat a creative design, or glue construction paper cut outs to your egg. Some people even dress their Easter eggs up with doll or handmade clothing made from wool or other kinds of fabrics.

Christine Steendahl Is The Founder Of Dine Without Whine – The Number One Online Source For Affordable And Family Friendly Weekly Meal Planning. Eliminate Your Dinner Hour Stress And Re-Discover The Pleasure Of The Dinner Hour! For A Free Sample Menu And Grocery List Visit www.dinewithoutwhine.com

Ideas for Decorating Easter Cookies

For those of you anxiously awaiting Easter time, the one thing that makes Easter extra special are decorated Easter cookies. Just like Christmas cookies have become a staple of Christmas time, so have Easter cookies become a part of Easter tradition. There are numerous great ways to dress up the Easter season and embellished Easter cookies are just one of them. Here are some tips on putting smiles on the faces of your little ones or friends this Easter season.

Decorated Easter Cookies Come in Many Shapes and Sizes

Decorated Easter cookies can come in all kinds of shapes and sizes and if you can conceptualize it you can surely create it. For most people Easter is affiliated with bunnies, rabbits, chicks, lambs and Easter eggs. For the most part you can usually find all these shapes and more in the form of cookie cutters.

Cookie cutters are almost always easy to pick up at numerous discount shops, grocery stores, and craft shops. Or you can usually make them yourself- you just need some pliable metal and an idea. If you do not have a cookie cutter, no big deal. In fact many people that are artistically gifted choose to cut their own shapes out of cookie dough themselves, without the use of any cookie cutter.

Decorated Easter Cookies Start Out with Scrumptious Cookie Dough

The most important thing about the embellished Easter cookies that you prepare is that must taste just as great as they look. No one likes a nasty tasting cookie. For many chefs, a tasty cookie begins with delicious cookie dough. Yes, you can purchase the dough already pre-made and ready to cut, but for the purists out there, start with a family recipe that is either chocolate chip or of the sugar cookie nature.

Decorate Your Cookie Using the Tools of the Trade

It's easy to adorn your Easter cookies, just make sure you have all the tools of the trade. They usually involve, food coloring, colored frosting, sprinkles, delicious candies such as licorice, M& M’s, nuts, marshmallows, etc. Once you have gotten the cookie shape, let yourself or your kids use their creative magic to make wonderfully decorated Easter cookies. You can find food coloring and many cool decorating accessories at your local grocery store. You can even purchase ready-made Easter embellishments to add to your cookies, cakes or Easter eggs.

Presentation is Key

Once your decorated Easter cookies are complete, make sure to show them off to the rest of the family and even give them away to your colleagues and friends. Savor the Easter spirit by showing off your tasty and creative embellished Easter cookies.

One creative tip is to take some photos of your adorned Easter cookies and include them in your yearly Easter scrapbook, this way you can regularly look back at the savory and beautifully adorned Easter cookies that you have created.

You can also write the cookie recipe on a pretty note card and include a photo of your Easter cookies to give to family and coworkers. Many people cherish handmade gifts, especially when it's a treasured family recipe.

If you are looking to maximize your gratification of Easter this year, take part in making decorated Easter cookies.

Christine Steendahl Is The Founder Of Dine Without Whine – The Number One Online Source For Affordable And Family Friendly Weekly Meal Planning. Eliminate Your Dinner Hour Stress And Re-Discover The Pleasure Of The Dinner Hour! For A Free Sample Menu And Grocery List Visit www.dinewithoutwhine.com

Great Ideas for Easter Meals

With spring fast approaching, Easter is just around the corner. One of the most enjoyed holidays is Easter and part of the reason why this holiday is so much fun is the food associated with it. If you are hosting an Easter meal with your friends or loved ones this year, here are some great hints for some yummy Easter recipes.

Maple Syrup Ham and Sweet Potatoes with Marshmallows

One of the most requested types of food to eat at Easter is ham and you can sweeten up the flavor of it by adding some tasty maple syrup. While your store bought maple syrup should work, try to purchase maple syrup that is 100% pure and not made with corn syrup. Adding pure maple syrup will add a sweet, delicious taste that your friends and loved ones will love.

You can quickly accompany your maple syrup ham with some yummy sweet potatoes smothered in miniature marshmallows. Sweet potatoes will be your maple syrup ham’s best friend. For an extra treat, add miniature marshmallows and you will definitely get some smiles from children and adults alike.

Easter Bunny Cookies

Although chocolate bunnies are pivotal to Easter, cookies can also be a fun treat. Just like Christmas cookies are fun to bake and yummy to eat, so are Easter Bunny cookies. Most food stores, discount stores, and craft retailers sell Easter Bunny cookie cutters to make your favorite chocolate chip or sugar cookie into some fantastic Easter Bunny shapes.

Easter Egg Cup Cakes

Easter Egg cup cakes are a fun way to add excitement to the holidays for your children. Easter Egg Cupcakes are an easy and fun way to bring color to any Easter dinner dessert. Instead of using cup cake holders, try to use small waffle cones to hold your cup cake mixture. Once baked, add coloring, sprinkles, candy, etc. to your creation.

Easter Bunny Carrot Cake

Easter Bunny carrot cake is an awesome way to add color and fun for the whole family. What goes better with bunny rabbits than carrots and a yummy carrot cake goes with an Easter dinner. You can simply buy a carrot cake and decorate the top by hand. Many people create their own frosting adding food coloring to color the carrot cake to look like an Easter egg.

Easter Cocktails

For those adults that prefer to top off their dinner with a delicious alcoholic libation, there are many fun cocktails that compliment the atmosphere of an Easter dinner. For example, certain liquors come in several colors such as grenadine for scarlet, blue Curacao for blue and mixing clear liquor with assorted fruit juices for multicolored Easter drinks. For those that like a cocktail without the alcohol, it’s easy to add color to your meal with a host of fresh fruit smoothies, just by adding fresh fruit with cream or milk. Many people even add a little yogurt to the mix.

If you are looking for a great way to enjoy your Easter this year, take a look at the above Easter recipes.

Christine Steendahl Is The Founder Of Dine Without Whine – The Number One Online Source For Affordable And Family Friendly Weekly Meal Planning. Eliminate Your Dinner Hour Stress And Re-Discover The Pleasure Of The Dinner Hour! For A Free Sample Menu And Grocery List Visit www.dinewithoutwhine.com

Healthy Easter Basket Ideas

Easter baskets don’t have to be full of chocolate and peeps. Here are some great ideas that will fill your Easter basket without all the extra fat and sugar.

Bubbles

What child doesn’t love to blow bubbles? Grab a couple of bottles of bubbles for this year’s Easter basket. The kids will have a blast with them and with a little luck it will be warm enough outside to keep them busy and running around chasing bubbles for quite some time.

Sidewalk Chalk

Another fun treat is sidewalk chalk. This is the perfect time to draw on the sidewalk with the weather warming up. Plus we get enough rain in the spring that your driveway or sidewalk won’t be decorated for too long.

Homemade Playdough

Make some playdough using your favorite homemade playdough recipe (we have one at kinderinfo.com). Get a couple of small playdough toys to go along with it and let the fun begin.

Toys from the Dollar Store

You can also pick up some very inexpensive toys at the dollar store. I have found anything from Easter themed coloring books to kites in there. This is also a great place to shop for the Easter baskets themselves, as well as some plastic Easter eggs that are great for hiding small trinkets and treats.

Of course every child should have some special treats in the Easter basket as well. Along with the obligatory chocolate bunny, include some healthier treats.

Chocolate and Yogurt Covered Raisins

Both chocolate and yogurt covered raisins look like little mini Easter eggs and are a yummy treat. Fill a small cellophane bag with these sweet treats and tie a pretty bow around it.

Trailmix with Jellybeans

Mix some low sugar cereal like Chex, or Cherios with some small pretzels, peanuts, raisins, and some jellybeans for an Easter inspired Trail Mix. You don’t have to feel bad about your kids filling up on this. Pour your trail mix in a small bag, or fill some large plastic Easter eggs with the mix.

To enjoy weekly healthy menu plans delivered to your inbox every week visit www.healthymenumailer.com. For family friendly weekly meal planning visit www.dinewithoutwhine.com

Easy Chicken Breast Recipes - Quick & Delicious

by Shannon N Jefferson

Quick chicken breast casserole is very popular in European & Asian countries. These 3 recipes below, by only reading it, will make your mouth watered and a strong will to start cooking that easy chicken breast casserole.

Chicken Breast Casserole Recipe

Ingredients:

~6 skinned and boned chicken
~Garlic
~Salt
~Pepper
~3 eggs
~1 packet of bread crumbs
~1 cup of milk
~Butter
~2 small cans of mushrooms
~1 lb of mozzarella cheese

Chicken Breast Casserole Instructions:

Mix up the milk and eggs and let chicken in the mixture. Put them in the refrigerator for about 25-35 minutes. After that put the cover the chicken pieces with the bread crumbs accompanied with the seasonings and parmesan cheese.

Heat the butter on fire until brownish color. Paste butter in the casserole from top to bottom. Place the chicken in layers covered with cheese and mushrooms.

Keep filling it with layers until the dish is full. Let it bakes uncovered at 200 degrees for an average of 25 to 30 minutes.

Tips: prepare the dish one night before for better taste and let it until cook, this will flavor it.

Serve: 6 people

Vidalia Sweet Onion Chicken Breast Casserole recipe

Ingredients:

~1 large piece of chicken breast
~2 tablespoon of vegetable oil
~2 medium-sized potatoes sliced and peeled
~2 medium-sized Vidalia sweet onions, sliced and peeled
~1 (10 3/4 Oz) can of cream of mushroom soup,(undiluted in paprika)

Vidalia Sweet Onion Chicken Breast Casserole instructions:

Cook the breast in oil until brownish and remove the excess oil on the chicken by a piece of paper towel. In a 1 1/2 guard casserole put some oil. Place the potatoes at the bottom then layer onion and at the top of the mushroom soup.

Smoothly place the chicken breast on the soup and shower it with paprika. Tightly cover and bake between 340 and 355 degree for one hour.

Serves: 2 people

Fried Chicken Breast

Ingredients:

~1 Egg white (beaten lightly)
~1/2 teaspoon of Salt
~4 Chicken breasts (skinned)
~1/2 teaspoon of Onion powder
~1 cup of Bread crumbs
~1 teaspoon of Parsley
~1/4 cup of Non fat yogurt
~1/2 teaspoon of Garlic powder
~1/4 cup of Flour
~1/2 teaspoon of seasoning salt

In a pie plate, mix all the dry ingredients then put the flour, yogurt and eggs white in a separate pie plate. Drop the chicken in the yogurt then in flour the in egg white. Then roll the piece of chicken in the bread crumbs and please verify that all part are well covered. Put on the baking pan sprayed with pam. Bake the whole at about 390 degree and 420 degree for a maximum time of 1 hour.

Serve: 1 person

Shannon N. Jefferson gets her recipes from http://quickrecipesdy.info/" so be sure to stop by and check for new updates. She also loves to eat awesome restaurant recipes at: http://secretrecipesdy.info/

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Outdoor Cookware Selections Make Eating Fun

by Jim Brown

For people that like to go camping throughout the year, it is particularly important for them to have a variety of cookware on hand so that they can prepare meals under many different circumstances. Some cookware selections are perfect for cooking in colder climates and other cookware selections will fit quite nicely into campsites that move around a lot.

Many people that backpack through the back woods prefer to carry cookware along that is lightweight and does not take up a lot of room in a backpack. Some bikers have gotten so used to cooking by the roadside on a road trip that they will not carry any pots with them out on the open road. Instead, they will choose to carry portable fireplaces that are just big enough to warm up a can of food at a time.

Some cookware selections that are perfect for the great outdoors are made for campers that prefer to use propane stoves to cook their food on. The outdoor cookware used on these types of stoves is sold in sets and will usually include a frying pan with cover and a pot to boil water in. These cookware sets are compact and come with removable handles that make storage easy as pie.

There are also cookware sets available for people that love to cook outdoors but want the full flavor that fine quality cookware offers. People that have host afternoon cookouts on the back porch favor cookware that is made of highly polished stainless steel because this metal is very beautiful and tends to impress special guests immensely. This type of cookware can be priced higher but is well worth the additional cost because it maintains the flavor of foods for hours after cooking it.

Some cookware is very simple to use and very reasonably priced. Many people that camp out in tents prefer to use cooking containers that are made of aluminum and can be disposed of in the trash when the meal is finished. These cheap cookware alternatives can be used to warm breads when covered with aluminum foil or act as large serving trays to guests. Most of these cookware alternatives are sold in a variety of shapes and sizes and often include a plastic cover for storage use at home.

There are many outdoor cookware selections that make eating fun. There are colorful selections of plastic wrap that can be used to store foods in even if they are cooked in the same container. The best cookware selections for the outdoors are the ones that make clean-up's a breeze because there are more things to do in an outdoor environment than to stay at a campsite tidying things up for very long.

James Brown writes about Sears.com bargains, GoVacuum deals and PartStore web code

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What to Look for When Choosing Pots & Pans

Just as any good carpenter requires the exact tools to get the job done, so does a cook require the right tools - in this case pots and pans. We don’t realize it, but pots and pans have a lot to do with the type of foods we cook and the quality and ease of creating such meals. If you are seeking to maximize your meals and cooking experience, here are some tips on the precise pots and pans to use.

Every Family Can Benefit from a High Quality Pot and Pan Set

Today’s pots and pans can easily last numerous years even with constant use, so it is definitely worth the extra dough to buy a high quality pot and pan set that won’t give you issues for several years, instead of a set that can save a couple of hundred dollars at this moment in time but will lose their value in half the time. While you don’t need a signature pot and pan set, do your homework and comparison shop. You will be pleasantly at how affordable a high quality pot and pan set can be.

Essential Pots and Pans

You don’t have to be a master chef to use a wide variety of pots and pans in your home. Whether you are an occasional chef or cook meals each day, a wide variety of pots and pans is a great idea. Every good set should have a minimum of two types of sauce pans, usually 1 quart or 1.5/2 quart with lids, two varieties of skillets and baking casserole dishes. While each pot and pan set can vary, choose the one that most closely fits your cooking style.

Non-Stick is a Time Saver

Definitely, one of the greatest inventions in cooking has been the non stick pan and while there are a couple varieties of non stick surface types, they all are often great at saving you time and energy cleaning off the mess. One of the ways to maximize your cooking surface, especially if it is a non stick pot or pan is to use plastic or soft edged wooden utensils. Never scratch the non stick surface and never use any kind of metal to scrape at the pot or pan. This will significantly decrease the life and effectiveness of the non stick pot or pan.

Add Some Style to Your kitchen

One of the best reasons to buy a new set of pots and pans is if you are redesigning your kitchen. There are so many varieties for pots and pans and with so many types of colors, finishes, materials and designs available, you can simply accent your kitchen with a beautiful set of pots and pans.

While usually neglected, pots and pans are one of the most crucial tools in your house. Whether you cook a one day a week or several, the better the tools of the trade, the higher quality and easy your meals will be to create.

Dine Without Whine is a great menu planning service for active families. Go to www.dinewithoutwhine.com to discover even more rewards to menu planning.