May 7, 2021 | Corner, DIY Crafts, Mother's Day
Looking for a cute homemade gift kids can make for Mother’s Day? Check out this tutorial for making a handmade picture frame craft decorated with Scrabble tiles or wooden letter tiles. It’s absolutely adorable and would make such a special gift!
I love handmade and meaningful gifts from kids. This homemade picture frame using Scrabble tiles (or wooden letter tiles) is such a cute gift for kids to make for Mother’s Day. After decorating the frame, children can place a special picture inside and give it to Mom, Grandma, or any other special person in their lives.
I love that you can use real Scrabble tiles (like in the photos below). You can often find old Scrabble games at garage sales or thrift stores. You can also now easily purchase similar wooden tiles at your local craft store or online!
Materials for DIY Scrabble Picture Frame
- Plain, wooden picture frame in whichever size you prefer (You can purchase frames at your local craft store. Here’s some options online: 5×7 frames, 4×6 frames.)
- Acrylic paint(s)
- Tacky glue or hot glue gun
- Scrabble tiles or wooden letter tiles (like these or these)
- Baker’s twine or yarn
- Buttons
Directions for DIY Scrabble Picture Frame Craft
This craft really allows for kids to get creative and personalize their homemade gift in a special way by allowing them to choose whichever color or colors they’d like to use for painting, coming up with their own words for the frame, and adding special touches at the end!
1. Start by painting your frame with acrylic paint. Paint it all one color or let kids paint it multiple colors. Let it dry completely. (We chose to paint ours in turquoise and used a few touches of white to make it look more aged and vintage.)
2. Decide what lettering you will be using for your frame. You can spell out “Mom”, “Mother”, “Aunt” etc. or even someone’s name. Children can also spell out words like “love” or “family”. There are tons of options!
3. Before gluing the letter tiles onto your frame, be sure to play around with them and make sure they fit. Younger children might find it easier to do just one word, while older children might want to do multiple words that intersect.
4. Glue your tiles in place on your frame using a strong glue like Tacky glue or a hot glue gun.
5. Optional: Add some details to your frame. You can wrap twine or yarn around one side and/or glue buttons on it.
6. Place a special photo inside and give it to someone special!
May 7, 2021 | Main Course, Mother's Day, Poutlry, Recipes
Bursting with flavours, this is anything but your average roast chook.
SERVES: 4 PREP TIME: 15MINS COOK TIME: 1HR 20MINS INGREDIENTS: 14 DIFFICULTY: EASY
INGREDIENTS:
200g amaranth (from health food shops)
15 unpeeled garlic cloves, bruised
2 baby fennel, cut into eighths
8 Asian (red) eschalots, halved
2 tbs currants
2 tbs finely chopped preserved lemon rind
1/4 cup (60ml) extra virgin olive oil
1.2kg whole chicken, butterflied (ask your butcher to do this)
2/3 cup (165ml) chicken stock
1/2 bunch each mint, parsley and basil leaves
Lemon wedges, to serve
ALMOND DUKKAH
1 tbs each cumin, coriander and fennel seeds, toasted
1/4 tsp dried chilli flakes
1 tbs chopped roasted almonds
METHOD:
1.For the almond dukkah, using a mortar and pestle, pound seeds until coarsely ground. Stir through chilli flakes, almonds and 1/2 tsp salt flakes, and set aside.
2.Place amaranth and 2 cups (500ml) water in a saucepan over high heat and bring to the boil. Cover, reduce heat to low, and cook for 20 minutes or until amaranth has absorbed water and is tender.
3.Preheat oven to 220°C and grease a shallow roasting pan.
4.Cover base of prepared pan evenly with cooked amaranth. Combine garlic, fennel, eschalot, currants, lemon and 1 tbs oil in a bowl, then arrange over amaranth. Top with chicken, breast-side up. Spoon remaining 2 tbs oil over chicken and roast, on top shelf of oven, for 15 minutes or until chicken is slightly golden.
How to: Butterfly chicken
5.Reduce oven to 200°C, carefully add stock and roast for 45-50 minutes or until juices of chicken run clear when the thickest part of a thigh is pierced with a skewer. Remove from oven, scatter with herbs and almond dukkah, and serve with lemon wedges.
Almond dukkah chicken bake with amaranth and herbs
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Almond dukkah chicken bake with amaranth and herbs
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May 6, 2021 | Mother's Day, Recipes, Sides, Snacks
Im going to be serving an assortment of Banh mi for the adults attending my kids bday party. What should I serve on the side? has to be really easy as I’ll have a house full of out of town guests-prefer something prepared night before. Even considering purchasing frozen potstickers and making dipping sauce.
The banh mi IS a pretty filling sandwich. Its heritage is partly French, so it is appropriate for Euro-centric accompaniments. I’d have potato salad or macaroni salad. Not coleslaw since the sandwich has carrot/daikon slaw
It’s undeniable. Banh Mi is the PERFECT sandwich. Rich, savory meat combined with bright and crunchy homemade pickles stuffed into a fluffy baguette; what’s not to love?! We love this version because it requires minimal ingredients but still packs a powerful punch of flavor. Don’t sleep on it, people!
Made this? Let us know how it went in the comment section below!
YIELDS: 2 SERVINGS PREP TIME: 0 HOURS 15 MINS TOTAL TIME: 0 HOURS 40 MINS
INGREDIENTS
- 10 oz. pork tenderloin
- 6 tbsp. hoisin sauce, divided
- 6 tbsp. rice wine vinegar, divided
- 2 garlic cloves, grated
- 2 tbsp. fish sauce
- 1 medium carrot, thinly sliced
- 1 medium daikon radish, thinly sliced
- 1 tsp. kosher salt
- 2 tbsp. vegetable oil
- 12-inch baguette, sliced in half lengthwise
- 1/4 c. mayonnaise
- 1/2 c. cilantro leaves and tender stems
DIRECTIONS
- Preheat oven to 425°. Place pork tenderloin into the freezer for 15 minutes; this will make it easier to slice thinly.
- Slice frozen tenderloin as thinly as possible. Transfer to a medium bowl, add 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce, 3 tablespoons rice vinegar, garlic, and fish sauce to bowl; mix until well combined. Let sit at room temperature for 15 minutes.
- Toss carrot and daikon with remaining vinegar and salt; let sit at room temperature until ready to use. In a large cast-iron skillet on medium high, heat oil and add marinated pork. Cook without stirring for 4 minutes. Give it a toss and continue to cook 1 minute.
- Toast baguette in oven for 10 minutes until golden brown. Spread mayonnaise on bottom half and remaining hoisin sauce on top half. Layer pork, then pickled veggies and cilantro on bottom half. Place on the top half and slice cross wise before serving.
May 5, 2021 | Corner, DIY Crafts, DIY Holiday Crafts, Mother's Day
Mother’s Day gifts can sometimes be tricky, but I for one think you can never go wrong with flowers! Introducing an easy pipe cleaner pot craft! Potted flowers will not only last a lot longer than a bouquet but are made extra-special by a DIY decorated pot made with love. I’m over on the Kid Made Modern blog showing how kids (and adults!) can use supplies from their colorful craft kits to create a special decorated flower pot gift for Mother’s Day, or any day of the year!
These sweet flower pots just started with a basic terra-cotta pot painted white. From there, you can bend pipe cleaners into letters. You can also create colorful designs with pom-poms. Or you can make pictures and shapes like the rainbow on this flower pot, which is my favorite!
May 4, 2021 | Mother's Day, Poutlry, Recipes, Sides
This recipe was semi-inspired by the Chinese Chicken Salad at The Cheesecake Factory. I fell in love with dish in eighth grade—it made me feel grown up and sophisticated. Twenty something years later, I still find the salad delicious. It’s sweet, savory, refreshing, and extremely crunchy. (I’m a huge sucker for iceberg lettuce.)
The History of Chinese Chicken Salad
The exact origin of “Chinese Chicken Salad” is unknown. However, legend has it that it was invented in the 1960s at Madam Wu’s in Los Angeles because Cary Grant requested it. Sunset magazine published a recipe in 1970, and Wolfgang Puck created his own version of it in the 80’s.
The salad itself is much more American than it is Chinese. In her book, The Seventh Daughter: My Culinary Journey From Beijing To San Francisco, chef Cecilia Chang says, “In China, lettuce was imported and rare and salads were things that were pickled.” Because my recipe is based on a American chains version of a very American dish, I decided to change the name to more accurately describe what it is: a crunchy salad with chicken and mandarin oranges.
The Crunch Factor
Many restaurant versions of the dish, including The Cheesecake Factory use wonton strips and crispy rice noodles. I sub in a block of broken up ramen—the cheap, dried stuff, not the fresh noodles that come refrigerated. Broken up, the crunchy, wavy noodles act as croutons. The almonds can be easily swapped for cashews or roasted peanuts.
The Chicken
Leftover rotisserie chicken works wonderfully for this recipe, but if you have chicken breasts on hand, follow our easy guide to poaching chicken.
Mandarin Oranges
I’m a sucker for the syrupy sweetness you get from a can of mandarin oranges. But fresh mandarin oranges (aka clementines) will add the perfect pop of brightness to your salad.
YIELDS: 8 SERVINGS PREP TIME: 0 HOURS 15 MINS TOTAL TIME: 0 HOURS 20 MINS
FOR THE SALAD
- 3 c. finely chopped romaine or iceberg lettuce
- 2 c. shredded red cabbage
- 2 c. shredded chicken
- 1/2 c. jarred mandarin oranges, drained
- 1 instant ramen packet, crushed (flavor packet discarded)
- 1/2 c. shredded carrot
- 1/3 c. sliced green onions
- 1/4 c. sliced almonds
FOR THE DRESSING
- 3 tbsp. rice wine vinegar
- 2 tbsp. honey
- 1 tbsp. sesame oil
- 1 tbsp. hoisin sauce
- 2 tbsp. soy sauce
- 1 tsp. minced ginger
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/4 c. vegetable oil
DIRECTIONS:
- Make salad: In a large bowl, toss together lettuce, red cabbage, chicken, mandarin oranges, crushed ramen noodles, carrots, green onions, and sliced almonds.
- Make dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar, honey, sesame oil, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, ginger, and garlic. Slowly drizzle in vegetable oil, whisking constantly until emulsified.
- Before serving, drizzle dressing over salad and toss to combine.
Crunchy Mandarin Orange-Chicken Salad
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Crunchy Mandarin Orange-Chicken Salad
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May 3, 2021 | Corner, DIY Crafts, DIY Holiday Crafts, Mother's Day
well folks, now that easter’s come and gone i guess it’s a good time to get geared up for mother’s day! i have a couple fun posts planned for next week, but wanted to help get in the spirit this week with a free card template comes with 4 different messages or a blank option so you can fill in your own messages. keep reading for the instructions and download link…
HERE’S WHAT YOU’LL NEED:
- wheel card template, DOWNLOAD HERE
- envelope or baggie for the card
- scissors
- x-acto knife
- nail (optional)
- brad fastener
- download, print on card stock and cutout the card and wheel.
- use the x-acto knife to cutout the heart on the card.
- just below the heart is a small dashed dot; poke a hole through it using the nail. do the same thing through the center of the wheel.
- line up the hole in the card and wheel and use a brad to secure them together.
- fill in your name at the bottom and/or include a separate note and stuff into a baggie or envelope!
can hardly wait to celebrate all the phenomenal mama’s i know – do you have anything special planned?
Xx . rae be on the lookout for my easy crepe recipe (that can be made the night before), some gift ideas and another free download meant to share with friends!
