How to Make Party Hats

December 28, 2012 by 2 Comments
How to Make Party Hats - Growing Up Gabel

Kids love to wear party hats and I'll admit they add a nice touch to a party.  Party hats are easy to make at home with paper, card stock or even felt. Just add a little glue for some personalized homemade party hats. Before I had kids I thought that party hats were a silly waste of money.  I mean, who really likes to wear those things? Well, it turns out that kids love them.   My kids think that party hats are one of the best parts of a party.  So a few years ago the kids and I made homemade party hats for  New Years brunch we were hosting.   We made them out of paper and the were a lot of fun to make with very little mess.  Just some paper, glue and glitter glue and we were all set. This year I decided to try making the hats out of felt.  I picked up a package of felt sheets on clearance that were the perfect colors and size.  The felt worked great and hopefully they will last a little longer than the paper party hats did. 1. Print and cut out party hat ... [read more]

Filed Under: Crafts, New Year, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , ,

Baked Pancakes for A Crowd

December 21, 2012 by 1 Comment
Baked Pancakes

Here is a trick to make pancakes without spending hours standing at the stove. Simply make your favorite pancake batter and then bake it up.  Cut in to squares or use cookie cutters to make fun shapes for the kids.   Do you have family coming in to town for the holidays? I do! I have my sister and her husband, my aunt and my step-daughter all arriving on the same day.  Our head count for the holidays is 11 people! That's 11 people that need to be fed three times a day for about a week.   So I really, really need to be organized and use every short cut I can think of to not be a slave to the kitchen. My first rule of cooking for large masses: use paper everything.  Throw it out, don't wash it!  My second rule is to cook with as minimal effort as possible. I want to enjoy my holidays not spend them cooking and cleaning.  Making breakfast can particularly be a pain for large groups, but if you plan right, you can be in and out in no time.  Frittatas and ... [read more]

Filed Under: Breakfast, New Year, Recipe, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , ,

Homemade Lox

December 12, 2012 by 12 Comments
Homemade Lox

Homemade lox is easy and inexpensive to make in your own kitchen! All you need is salmon, salt and time to enjoy this delicacy at home. When I met my husband, I knew that we would have some minor cultural differences to overcome.  I was raised in aPolish family in a small town in rural Michigan.  My husband was raised in a Jewish home on Long Island, New York.   I call athletic shoes "tennis shoes" and he calls them "sneakers."  I drink pop and he drinks soda.  One of our biggest dilemmas to overcome - are donuts for breakfast or dessert?  We still haven't solved that one so we eat them for both. In order to make up for any cultural awkwardness in our home, I've tried very hard to learn to make as many of my husband's favorite Jewish foods as I can.  I started with salmon patties, served with a side of spaghetti, in our first few months of marriage.  I conquered latkes last year.   And my noodle kugel is out of this world!  One of my husband's favorite foods is ... [read more]

Filed Under: Breakfast, Fish, New Year, Recipe, Uncategorized Tagged With: , ,