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Thursday, November 28, 2013

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone. Today we are thankful for having the ability to spend the day surrounded with our loved ones. We hope you and your family have a happy and safe Thanksgiving Day!


Thursday, November 21, 2013

Thanksgiving Table Setting and Decor

We know - it's one week before Thanksgiving and you have a TON on your plate. So instead of writing a lengthy post filled with lots of information for you to read, we decided to just give you a few images of our favorite Thanksgiving table settings/decor. So take a peek and then get back to getting ready for the big day!






Thursday, November 14, 2013

Kids Thanksgiving Table Ideas

One thing we always get asked is how can we make the "kids table" a little bit more fun and memorable. The last thing people want are bored kids. so here are some quick and simple ideas that you can incorporate into your Kids Thanksgiving Table this year. 

The first thing we suggest is to make the "kids table" a comfortable place for them to sit. It's been our experience that kids normally like to sit on the floor, so for the table you can use storage bins pushed together and for the chairs you can use pillows. Just make sure to cover the table and chairs (you can use t-shirts for the chairs to make it an easy clean up).

For the centerpiece, try to utilize some items from outside. One thing you can do is use regular branches from your yard and hot-glue brightly colored cut out leaves. 


For the placemats, give the kids something to color. There are tons of free downloadable images to pick from, but this is one of our favorites. Like the image? Click here to download.


After dinner have the kids (and the adults) work on making a "Giving Thanks Banner". Each person can fill out one (or more) leaves to declare what they are thankful for. Then once everyone is done, string together the leaves and hang them somewhere everyone can see and read them. Our favorite location is the archway between the kitchen and dinning room. Click here to download the full tutorial and leave patterns. 

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

A Sweet TV Turkey Dinner

Wow - We can't believe it's November already. Where does the time go?! It seems like yesterday we were digging through our closet looking for shorts and flip-flops; and now we are bundled up in sweaters and leggings. 

This month we will be dedicating each post to one of our favorite holidays of the year - Thanksgiving. And to start us off we are sharing with you an out of the box cupcake dessert. 

If you are tired of serving the same old boring apple pie or pumpkin pie, then why not serve up this sweet version of a TV turkey dinner with all the fixings. 


TV Dinner Cupcakes
Serves 6

Supplies Needed:

1 aluminum muffin tray, with 6 spots
6 cupcakes, baked in foil liners
White frosting (at least 1 container)
Green food coloring
3-4 Orange fruit chews (Starbursts, Tootsie Fruit Rolls), cut into 1/4 inch cubes
Green hard candies, such as Runts or Skittles (I liked the Runts best)
1/4 cup white melting chocolate
1 c crushed cornflakes
3 plain donut holes
1 Yellow Fruit Chew (Starburst, Toosie Fruit Rolls, Laffy Taffy), cut into a 1 inch cube
Caramel Sauce, slightly warmed for easier pouring
2-3 Tbsp. Chocolate frosting
Colored Sprinkles 

For the Vegetables:

1. Tint about 2-3 Tbsp. of the white frosting bright green and frost 1 cupcake with the green frosting. Arrange cut up orange fruit chews and green hard candies on top, to look like peas and carrots.

For the Mashed Potatoes:

1. Frost 1 cupcake with white frosting, mounding slightly on top, and making a small well on top with a spoon.

2. Drop the yellow Starburst at an angle in the well, and pour heated caramel sauce over the frosting and Starburst, allowing it to drip down the sides, to look like gravy.

For the Dessert Cupcake:

1. Frost or Pipe chocolate frosting on top of one cupcake. Sprinkle with colored sprinkles.

For the Chicken Legs:

1. Draw yourself a bone template. Place it on a cookie sheet and cover with a piece of wax paper. Melt the white chocolate wafers in a small freezer duty Ziploc bag. Microwave in 20-30 second intervals, massaging the bag after each time. Repeat the process until the chocolate is completely smooth.

2. Press the air out of the bag, seal it, and snip a small corner form the bag, making yourself a piping bag. Pipe the bone outline onto the wax paper. Fill in the outline with the chocolate and tap the pan lightly to smooth the top of the chocolate. Repeat and make at least 3 bones, although I recommend making more, in case you break one. Refrigerate bones, until firm.

3. Lightly frost 3 cupcakes with white frosting.

4. Frost the donut holes with white frosting and place on top of the cupcakes. Now using the white frosting, frost around the donut holes to make smooth, rounded surface that tapers slightly at the top.

5. Pour crushed cornflakes into a shallow bowl. Press donut topped cupcakes into the cornflakes, covering completely. Do this carefully. As I turned my cupcake sideways, my donut hole started to slide off. You may have to sprinkle the cornflakes over the top of the cupcake and lightly press it into the frosting with your hands. Place the cupcakes in the aluminum tray.

6. With a very sharp knife, make a slit along the top of the donut hole. It needs to be deep enough and wide enough for the chocolate bone to slide into at least 1/2 an inch. Carefully insert the chocolate bones into the slit you've made.