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| Mom never stops being your mother |
Yup, the good old standby, the potato can be boiled, baked, fried, grilled, mashed with a smooth potato masher
, whipped, scalloped, juiced and probably a million other configurations. Potatoes make a great side dish. So does rice easy with your 3-cup rice cooker
. Fluffy white rice. Brown rice. Spanish rice, and rice cooked in more ways that mom can count. ,
Noodles is the final pick in my trio. It seems as if there are a gazillion types of noodles with your easy pasta maker
and as many ways to fix noodle dishes. But all this aside, planning a menu for the day let alone the week can be exhausting, especially if you just can't think of a creative way to prepare a side dish to the main entree.Menu planning does not have to be exotic and when the kids were young, it wasn't. Theses days my honey and I and the dog love to make dinner special. Admittedly, we do not plan or have a hearty meal every evening. It's just not good for our bodies these days. But I do like to put zest into an otherwise same-old routine meal.
I mean zippity zoom zest. So planning the menu is a big deal, and choosing the best American side dish
to serve is troublesome. It is easy to choose a main dish. Meats a plenty and I love to find some unique way to present beef, pork and chicken. What oh what goes with the main? Not the run of the mill. Adding a salad is easy. Vegetable dishes are also easy. I mix things up with sauces
and Kazamm! Something sweet, something tart, makes the tastebuds sing. Here's Why The Family Looks Forward to Sharing Meals Although it doesn't seem like much of an original idea to me now, when planning the menu, you want to plan the whole experience. It's makes it less of a chore, and adding surprise is fun for all even if it's just one meal a week!
Plan the Whole Experience When You Plan the Family Menu
1. Take control of the menu. Kick "Free for all night" off the list. Organization and preparation easily take time down to minutes, not hours in the kitchen. Plus, it's fun to cook when you are prepared. Plan the week's menu of breakfast, lunch and dinner as if you are planning just one day. Yes, it's one day at a time that takes the sweat out of the task.
2. Imagine on what the meal looks like on the table before you focus on the food to cook. I mean visualizing really does help get you excited. It takes any drudgery you may feel and replaces it with a picture of how happy your loved one or the whole family react when you present your fine meal.
3. Plan each meal with a plate of color in mind. For example, have different foods that add green, red, yellow, orange to the plate.
4. Make every meal a special remembrance. Even if there isn't a birthday or anniversary to celebrate, you can make your meals memorable. Eat in the dining room instead of the kitchen, and leave the TV off. Instead of serving out of the pots and pans, use colorful serving platters and bowls. Use a table cloth or lovely platemats with fabric napkins instead of the paper ones. Add a fruity centerpiece to the table, flowers or candles. Eat somewhere in the house that is different than normal, like in front of the fireplace or on the patio. Serve dinner on unusual plates. Create a theme like red hearts for love.
5. Prepare food ahead. Make as much as you can days before. Even the best restaurants prepare food ahead of time. This way you won't feel tired and can enjoy good food with good company.
6. Serve lemonade or iced tea in wine glasses. Wine is good, too.
7. You can make marvelous memories by dressing up your home, as well as the areas where you share meals. Get a little smoozed up yourself.
8. Take pictures to feed the great joy that every day brings when you wake up to a warm beverage and good food.
1. Take control of the menu. Kick "Free for all night" off the list. Organization and preparation easily take time down to minutes, not hours in the kitchen. Plus, it's fun to cook when you are prepared. Plan the week's menu of breakfast, lunch and dinner as if you are planning just one day. Yes, it's one day at a time that takes the sweat out of the task.
2. Imagine on what the meal looks like on the table before you focus on the food to cook. I mean visualizing really does help get you excited. It takes any drudgery you may feel and replaces it with a picture of how happy your loved one or the whole family react when you present your fine meal.
3. Plan each meal with a plate of color in mind. For example, have different foods that add green, red, yellow, orange to the plate.
4. Make every meal a special remembrance. Even if there isn't a birthday or anniversary to celebrate, you can make your meals memorable. Eat in the dining room instead of the kitchen, and leave the TV off. Instead of serving out of the pots and pans, use colorful serving platters and bowls. Use a table cloth or lovely platemats with fabric napkins instead of the paper ones. Add a fruity centerpiece to the table, flowers or candles. Eat somewhere in the house that is different than normal, like in front of the fireplace or on the patio. Serve dinner on unusual plates. Create a theme like red hearts for love.
5. Prepare food ahead. Make as much as you can days before. Even the best restaurants prepare food ahead of time. This way you won't feel tired and can enjoy good food with good company.
6. Serve lemonade or iced tea in wine glasses. Wine is good, too.
7. You can make marvelous memories by dressing up your home, as well as the areas where you share meals. Get a little smoozed up yourself.
8. Take pictures to feed the great joy that every day brings when you wake up to a warm beverage and good food.
At some point, you and your family have to eat. Make it the best moment of the day. The whole idea to plan the family menu is to plan it all, not just the food you prepare. Enjoy! An Evening With Il Divo - Live In Barcelona
That's it for today, blog.