Sunday, November 18, 2012

Fun Thanksgiving Dinner Appetizer

2nd grade snack


Fun Thanksgiving Craft With The Kids

handprint turkey


Materials needed for your Turkey Handprints:
Paint
Paper (heavyweight)
Markers

optional: craft foam

1,2,3 EASY INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Have the child dip their hand in a choice of paint. (We used a couple of different colors that they swirled around.) Yes we ended up with a pink turkey...
2. Print several hand prints on a heavy paper. This will give you the option to cut out the best print or give some to the visiting family.
3. Once dry add the turkey's eye and waddle and legs with markers.

Great Thanksgiving Recipe


  • Cornflake, Pecan, and Marshmallow-Topped Sweet Potato Casserole


  • SWEET POTATO FILLING:
  • 2 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes (about 5 medium)
  • 2 tablespoons butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup 2% reduced-fat milk
  • large egg
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Vegetable cooking spray
  • CORNFLAKE, PECAN, AND MARSHMALLOW TOPPING:
  • 1 1/4 cups cornflakes cereal, crushed
  • 1/4 cup chopped pecans
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon melted butter
  • 1 1/4 cups miniature marshmallows

Preparation

  1. 1. Prepare filling: Preheat oven to 400°. Bake sweet potatoes on a baking sheet 1 hour or until tender. Reduce oven temperature to 350°. Let potatoes stand until cool to touch (about 20 minutes); peel and mash with a potato masher.
  2. 2. Beat mashed sweet potatoes, 2 Tbsp. softened butter, and next 5 ingredients at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Spoon mixture into an 11- x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.
  3. 3. Prepare topping: Stir together crushed cornflakes cereal and next 3 ingredients. Sprinkle over sweet potato mixture in diagonal rows 2 inches apart.
  4. 4. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Remove from oven; let stand 10 minutes. Sprinkle miniature marshmallows in alternate rows between cornflake mixture, and bake 10 more minutes.
  5. More Irresistible Options
  6. Golden Meringue-Topped Sweet Potato Casserole: Omit Cornflake, Pecan, and Marshmallow Topping. Bake Sweet Potato Filling at 350° for 30 minutes. Remove from oven; let stand 10 minutes. Beat 4 egg whites at high speed with an electric mixer until foamy. Gradually add 1/4 cup granulated sugar, 1 Tbsp. at a time, beating until stiff peaks form and sugar is dissolved. Spread meringue over sweet potato mixture; bake 10 more minutes or until golden. Hands-on Time: 30 min.; Total Time: 2 hr., 40 min.
  7. Per serving: Calories 216; Fat 3.8g (sat 2.1g, mono 1.1g, poly 0.2g); Protein 4.8g; Carb 41.3g; Fiber 3.1g; Chol 31mg; Iron 1mg; Sodium 271mg; Calc 66mg
  8. Pecan-Topped Sweet Potato Casserole: Omit Cornflake, Pecan, and Marshmallow Topping. Pulse 3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour and 1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar in a food processor until combined. Add 1 Tbsp. cold butter, cut into small pieces, and process 45 seconds or until mixture resembles coarse meal; stir in 1/3 cup finely chopped pecans. Sprinkle mixture over Sweet Potato Filling in baking dish. Bake at 350° for 40 to 45 minutes or until topping is golden brown. Hands-on Time: 20 min.; Total Time: 2 hr., 20 min.

Thursday, April 12, 2012

A Few Of The Many Fun Things To Do in Maryland This Weekend

April 14 Cherry Blossom Parade- DC  Link
April 14 Main Street Chili Cookoff- Mt. Airy Link
April 14 My Lady's Manor Steeplechase And Champagne- Monkton Link
April 14,15, 21 MS Walk- DC, Bowie, Rockville, Waldorf Link
April 14-15 17th Annual Bunnyland- Germantown Link

As always please check the left side of this page for upcoming Maryland things to do!!!

Have a great weekend!

Friday, March 16, 2012

Spring Housing Market Looking Up!!

The spring buying season is just around the corner, and this year the housing market landscape might not be as daunting for buyers and sellers, according to a new report.

The number of homes for sale has been steadily creeping downward, helping list prices stabilize and giving both buyers and sellers a little more confidence. Overall, national inventories have dropped more than 20 percent since last year, according to a Realtor.com report, and houses are staying on the market for shorter periods. List prices are looking up, too, rising almost 7 percent since last February.

Still, the housing market has numerous hurdles to jump before experts are willing to say it's truly in recovery mode. That's especially true when you drill down to state or local markets. Take for instance some of the hardest hit markets—Florida or Phoenix, Ariz.—and they have some of the largest year-over-year declines in inventories and healthy increases in median list prices, both good signs.
But shift to the places that didn't see huge home value run-ups during the housing boom—Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee—and they're now registering some of the largest declines in median list prices year over year.

Despite the variation local markets are seeing, encouraging numbers nationally can go a long way in boosting Americans' perception of the housing market locally, says Steve Berkowitz, CEO of Realtor.com. So even if your hometown is lagging national trends, the prospect that conditions are improving boosts morale.

The bottom line is there's still a long way to go before the housing market reaches some sort of equilibrium, especially with the gigantic shadow inventory still looming. Experts anticipate inventory to rise as more sellers put their homes on the market this spring home buying season, and as foreclosures held up by legal delays begin to trickle onto the market.

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Free Real Estate Market Tips Event March 18!

Discover the latest real estate trends and get the hottest tips from industry experts.  This is a free event.  Absolutely no obligations!

March 18, 2012
1 to 4 PM at
716 Glenbrook Drive Middletown, MD 21769

Meet and greet the experts and understand how to analyze your local real estate market for investment opportunities, buying, selling and holding strategies.  Come and get a fresh perspective.  Your personal situations will be confidential.

Food and drinks will be provided.  Everyone will leave with a gift!

Topics include:
- Emerging Real Estate Trends
-Real Estate Fluctuations
-Insightful Market Analysis
-Practical Advice
-Short Sales

Feel free to email Kimberly.Kloster@cbmove.com, JulieRobinson@cbmove.com, or MarkSMith@cbmove.com for more information.

Easy St. Patrick's Day Drink Recipe!

Tired of Green Beer?  Try this easy to make drink on St. Patrick's Day (or any other day!)

Ingredients:

1 oz gin
1 tsp green crème de menthe
2 dashes bitters

Preparation:

Pour the ingredients into a cocktail shaker filled with ice cubes.
Shake well.
Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Crab Cake Sauce Recipe

Easy to make sauce that is a great addition to your crab cakes!


Ingredients


1 cup sour cream

1 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup cottage cheese

1/3 cup hot salsa

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 cup plain yogurt



Directions

Combine the sour cream, mayonnaise, cottage cheese, salsa, cayenne pepper, lemon juice and yogurt in a blender and puree until smooth. Chill before serving.




    Sunday, February 12, 2012

    Summer 2012 Camp Fair Next Weekend

    Lakeforest Mall Summer Camp Expo
    February 18-19, 2012, 11 am – 6 pm
    701 Russell Avenue, Gaithersburg, Maryland (301) 840-5840

    Thursday, February 9, 2012

    Great Valentines Day Dinner Recipe

    Spicy Thai Beef SaladServes 2
    Steak and marinade:
    2 0.6-pound choice skirt steaks
    ½ cup soy sauce
    4 teaspoons honey
    1 clove garlic, smashed
    1-inch piece of ginger, peeled and grated
    6 tablespoons grapeseed oil 1 lime, zested and juiced
    Toasted cashews:
    ½ cup cashews
    Lime Vinaigrette:
    2 cups lime juice
    1 cup fish sauce
    1 cup honey
    1 cup grapeseed oil
    ½ cup chopped cilantro
    2 teaspoons red jalapeño
    2 teaspoons chopped ginger
    Salad:
    1 head romaine lettuce, chopped
    1 green papaya (available at Whole Foods), peeled and thinly sliced into long strips
    1 cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced
    1  jalapeño, thinly sliced
    1 carrot, peeled and thinly sliced into long strips
    1 red onion, thinly sliced into long strips
    1 mango, peeled and thinly sliced
    1 bunch cilantro leaves, picked
    1 bunch mint, roughly chopped
    1 bunch Thai basil or regular basil, picked and torn by hand
    1 cup bean sprouts
    1 bunch scallions, sliced
    Marinate steaks: Place steaks in a bowl. In a separate bowl, mix together marinade ingredients and pour over the steaks. Cover, and marinate in the fridge for 3 hours.
    When the meat has been marinating for one hour, make the dressing by mixing ingredients together in a bowl. Let sit for 2 hours. 
    Toast the cashews: Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Spread cashews on a sheet tray and toast in the oven for 18 minutes or until golden brown. Remove cashews from oven and let cool.
    Assemble salad: In a large mixing bowl, add all the ingredients except for the herbs, scallions, bean sprouts, and cashews.
    Cook steaks: Remove steaks from fridge and pat dry. Lightly season with salt and pepper.
    Heat large pan over high heat. Add 3 tablespoons oil and sauté steaks, turning every 3 minutes for 10 to 12 minutes, until medium rare. (A meat thermometer should read 125 degrees when inserted in the middle of the steak.) Remove steak from pan and let rest about 6 minutes.
    Pass vinaigrette through a fine mesh strainer. Dress salad ingredients (except reserved herbs and cashews) and season with salt and pepper.
    Slice steak, cutting across the grain.
    Split salad between two bowls. Place steak slices on top of salad. Garnish with picked herbs, toasted cashews, and bean sprouts. Serve.

    Grilled Prime Rib Cap with Stuffed Yorkshire Pudding 
    Serves 2
    This is a mixture of classic prime rib accompaniments served with a crispy on the outside, soft on the inside Yorkshire pudding. Once baked, the puddings are split open and filled with a shallot confit, Brie, and grated horseradish. 
    Red Wine Butter:
    1 bottle red wine
    1 pound butter, room temperature
    4 shallots, sliced
    Yorkshire Pudding: (makes 8  to 12 puddings)
    8 eggs
    4 cups flour
    1¼ cups skim milk
    1¼ cups whole milk
    1 tablespoon salt
    2 cups beef fat or clarified butter (Whole Foods carries both), melted
    Pudding filling (recipe for one pudding):
    1 shallot
    4 teaspoons Brie
    2 teaspoons horseradish, grated (optional)
    Steak:
    1 1-pound steak, about 2 inches thick
    2 to 4 tablespoons olive oil
    2 tablespoons butter
    1 garlic clove, crushed
    2 sprigs thyme
    Salt to taste
    Make the red wine butter: Mix wine and shallots in a saucepan. Cook down gently over low heat until the mixture reduces to a syrup, about 30 minutes it should coat the back of a spoon). Let cool to room temperature, then whisk until it forms a butter. Place in a container and leave at room temp if using right away. If making in advance, refrigerate.
    Prepare the puddings: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, crack 8 eggs and whisk thoroughly. Sift flour over the egg mixture slowly, so that no lumps form. Once flour is incorporated, add milk and salt and whisk until a smooth batter is formed. Set aside.
    Pour melted beef fat or clarified butter into the tins of a muffin pan or soufflé cups (2 to 4 ounces). Cook in a 425-degree oven for about 8 minutes. Remove, then carefully pour batter into muffin tins up to the halfway mark, and bake at 425 for 10 minutes. Reduce oven heat to 325 degrees and bake for an additional 10 minutes until golden brown. (Note: Once the puddings are baked, they can be held at room temperature and reheated as needed. To reheat, put in a 300-degree oven for approximately 5 minutes.)
    Prepare the pudding filling: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roast as many shallots as you have puddings, leaving the skins on, until soft, about 30 minutes. Let cool. Peel shallots, sprinkle with salt, and drizzle with olive oil. Cut open puddings and carefully place a shallot in the center of each. Add as much Brie as desired and bake in the 350-degree oven until the cheese has melted, approximately 8 minutes. Sprinkle with grated horseradish, if using.
    If red wine has been refrigerated, remove from fridge to return to room temperature.
    Cook the steak:
    Season the meat on both sides with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan on high until the oil starts to smoke a little. Place the steak carefully in the pan, then turn it every 3 minutes for about 15 to 18 minutes. Before the last turn, drop butter in the pan, along with the crushed garlic clove and thyme sprigs. Baste the steak with foaming butter. 
    When the steak is medium rare (the temperature of the meat thermometer should read 125 degrees), remove from pan. Rest the meat for about half the amount of the cooking time, about 7 to 9 minutes.
    When steaks are ready, brush with red wine butter, plate alongside pudding, and serve.

    Check Out These Mortgage Rates!

    http://www.bankrate.com/mortgage.aspx

    Feds, States, Banks Agree to Mortgage Settlement

    http://www.usatoday.com/money/story/2012-02-08/states-mortgage-settlement/53016420/1

    Great Resource for Home Buyers...Trulia

    Trulia, a leading site for home buyers, sellers, renters and real estate professionals, today unveiled a brand new Trulia Local experience. Trulia Local now analyzes and visually displays real estate values, crime, school ratings, and local amenities ultimately aiming to help answer the question, "what is it like to live here?"

    Leading the charge on developing more local, social and mobile tools is Lee Clancy, who joins Trulia as the company's new Vice President of Consumer Products. With more than 10 years of product management experience in social gaming, online community, and user-generated content, he brings a proven track record in driving product development and increasing revenues at both established companies like Yahoo! and innovative startups such as IMVU.

    "Innovation is one of Trulia's core values and as a company we are committed to building the best tools available to consumers and real estate professionals. Under Lee's leadership, Trulia will no doubt stay at the forefront of local, social and mobile offerings and continue to build products that help people understand what it is really like to live in an area before they ever set foot into a neighborhood," said Pete Flint, CEO and co-founder of Trulia. "Adding Lee and his experience to our organization continues our theme from 2011 of attracting top-notch talent to help us deliver the best user experience to our rapidly expanding consumer and professional audience."

    Get the Inside Scoop with Trulia Local
    In addition to providing insights on local real estate markets, Trulia Local visually blends together geodata and user-generated content to give people the local scoop on where they live. Key features include:

    • Real Estate Values: Check out homes that are currently for sale or were recently sold nearby.
    • Crime: Avoid crime by identifying the most dangerous blocks in your city with a heat map overlay that aggregates all the reported criminal activity during the past year. Toggle between violent and non-violent crimes to see what was most recently reported.
    • Schools: Find out which school district your home is in and screen for schools with the highest parent ratings with an easy-to-use slider filter.
    • Neighborhood Amenities: Know where the closest restaurants, grocery stores, banks and gas stations are located and what the locals think.

    "Finding a home -- whether you're buying or renting -- is a very local and social process, from asking your real estate agent about home values to talking to neighbors and friends about the best nearby schools," says Lee Clancy, Trulia's VP of Consumer Products. "Now, Trulia helps consumers with their make-or-break real estate decisions by connecting them with unique and vital local information contributed by real estate professionals, in-the-know neighborhood enthusiasts, and select content partners, both online and on the go via our leading suite of mobile applications."

    To get the local scoop on where you live, visit: http://www.trulia.com/local

    About Trulia, Inc.
    Trulia is the fastest growing online real estate resource, empowering buyers, sellers and renters with smarter tools to help them find the right home. Trulia gives you the inside scoop to help you find the best place to live. Our smart and personalized real estate search experience brings together vital local information, community insights, market data, and national listings all in one place. Trulia is headquartered in downtown San Francisco and is backed by Accel Partners and Sequoia Capital. Trulia and the Trulia logo are registered trademarks of Trulia, Inc.

    Sunday, January 29, 2012

    Went to a Great Italian Restaurant This Weekend

    il Porto in Frederick   http://www.ilportorestaurant.com/

    Great service, great atmosphere, and most importantly great food.  Adding this one to my favorite restaurant list (on the right side of my page)

    Try it....you won't be disappointed!

    Important Maryland Mortgage Information

    ATTN: MAR LEGISLATIVE ALERT -- SAVE MD'S MID (Mortgage Interest Deduction)

    Under the Governor's proposed Budget Reconciliation and Financing Act of 2012 (BRFA, HB 87/SB 152), Maryland would be the first state to scale back the most important tax benefit that homeowners receive - this is NOT an honor MARYLANDERS want!  URGE your legislators to OPPOSE the Governor's BRFA Bill-follow the link below to learn more and then TAKE ACTION by completing your home/address REALTOR constituency information!  As always, thanks so much for your advocacy efforts!

    SAVE MD's (Maryland's) MID (Mortgage Interest Deduction)! <http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=vjfc4vn6&et=1109133463549&s=84379&e=001baz20iXb2fSVqGKv2XHoiQOEDGvyVhFgSsmS8OQZlOoqozZNNwYHxF6wvzgh_iJAAtsODwW0T_usNdfJwZCixbBTMi80Kygew4axJEw604dy6WCMMuoEfi0m-RgarJASc64Qz4v-aUZX7pufz3d-18d9-PDf440He1ZXpv5_hNg3drqjKZuxQ2DFymv9Cc-P>

    Wednesday, January 11, 2012

    Summer Camp Expo This Month!

    White Flint's Annual Camp & Summer Programs Expo
    January 28-29, 2012, Saturday 10 am – 6 pm, Sunday 12 – 6 pm
    11301 Rockville Pike, North Bethesda, Maryland
    http://www.shopwhiteflint.com/event/white-flintand-39-s-camp-and-summer-programs-expo/2145393522


    If you can't make it, there is also an Expo in February:
    Lakeforest Mall Summer Camp Expo
    February 18-19, 2012, 11 am – 6 pm
    701 Russell Avenue, Gaithersburg, Maryland
    http://www.simon.com/mall/EventsDetails.aspx?id=1254&oid=79466

    Know Anyone Getting Married Soon?

    There are a couple bridal shows this month in the Metro Area:

    January 15, 2012 11am until 5pm Washington Convention Center
    801 Mount Vernon Place NW Washington, DC 20001

    January 29, 2012 11am until 5pmPatriot Center - George Mason Univ.
    4500 Patriot Circle
    Fairfax, VA 22030

    http://www.bridalshowcase.com/