Apartment Blog

You have enough on your plate this month with Easter rolling around, pictures needing to be taken and baskets to be assembled. Why not have your little ones help you out this Easter dinner? Below are really easy and simple recipes for you and your little helpers!

Edible Easter Bunny Salad



Ingredients:
Pear halves
Raisins
Miniature marshmallows or cottage cheese
Lettuce
Apple slices or Almonds

Directions:
Place a lettuce leaf on a plate. Add the pear half on lettuce, for body. Insert raisins for the eyes and nose. The ears are made from apple slices or almonds and a miniature marshmallow or cottage cheese become the bushy tail.

Banana Pops

Ingredients:
• 2 Bananas
• Honey (or melted chocolate)
• Dessicated Coconut (or rice krispies)
• Popsicle sticks
• Plates
• A baking dish lined with baking paper
Directions:
1. Peel the bananas, then cut them in half and push Popsicle sticks into the bottom of both pieces of banana.
2. First, Roll the bananas in some honey, and then in the coconut.
3. Place the banana pops on a baking tray lined with a sheet of baking paper and then freeze.
4. Your banana pops will be ready to eat the next day

Source: dltk-kids.com & amazingmoms.com

Are you throwing a Valentine’s theme party this year? Do you need some ideas? Check out our five tips for throwing an awesome bash this year!

Tip 1: Invitations

Depending on the formality of your party, you can choose official invitations, emailed invitations or just verbally announce. Either way you choose, make sure it’s using the holiday colors and verbiage (lots of LOVE) while also setting the tone for the party.

Tip 2: Décor

Obviously you’ll want to stick somewhat to the color scheme of Valentines, like red, white and pink. Incorporate these colors in many of the decorations to give your party a truly lovely look. You might want to think about streamers, plates, napkins, cups, table cloth and of course the party staple balloons! And as I mentioned in our ‘cheap decorations’ blog, you can always make a lot of your decorations by using construction paper, colored plates cut out in the shape of hearts, or print out images on your computer. It’ll add just a bit more flair while not depleting your funds!

Tips 3: Food/Beverages

This is where a lot of your budget is going to be spent. You could do the usual finger foods for the party, i.e. chips, dips, wings, etc. Or you could do a dessert buffet! Give your guests all the treats they can take! J For beverages you can have the normal soda, water, etc. Or you can have a theme drink like ‘lovers punch’ or something of that nature.

Tip 4: Entertainment

You’ll want your guests to be entertained during your party. So make sure there are plenty of fun games for everyone to be involved in, music for the background and/or dancing as well as crafts for any children involved or adults that particularly enjoy it! But if you’re having an informal gathering where everyone knows everyone, then it may not be necessary to do all this. Just let everyone mingle!

Tip 5: Gifts

If you are going to be doing games, make sure there is a prize for each of the winners. You could also do door prizes or a gift exchange. And don’t forget little party favors as a thank you for the guests attending.

Did these ideas help? Will you incorporate them in your Valentine’s Party? I sure hope so!

You want to host a Super Bowl party with all your friends and/or family, but have to watch what you spend? Food/drinks is obviously going to be a larger expensive, rightfully so, but how can you have a bit of décor to your themed party when you’re on a budget? Well, here’s a few tips to keep in mind:

1. Make Your Own Football! This is a really cute and neat idea. Just take some paper plates, cut them into shapes of footballs and decorate them (i.e. color them brown w/white threads or in the colors of the football teams playing that day). You could even hole punch them and string them up around the room like a banner!?!

2. Bake A Football Cake! Since you’re already going to be providing food (or maybe have a pot luck) make sure there is a football decorated cake. You can use food coloring for the icing and little sticks (or going really economical-matches) for the goal posts. It’s sure to be a crowd pleaser, decoration centerpiece and a yummy surprise!

3. Styrofoam Bricks! These are really cute ideas for people to throw on the ground when the referee makes a bad call or their team gets scored on. Guaranteed to get some use!! Just go to your local arts and craft store and pick up a bunch of blocks. Get some spray paint (preferably the reddish/brown color of bricks) and paint away! Stack them up in the middle of your room, they’re bound to be discovered!

4. Balloons Galore! Balloons are a cheap and easy way to decorate your house for this party. Get a few bunches (probably not more than a dozen, which can cost you about $6 dollars) and strategically place them where the majority of your guests will be. They will make a big impact for not a lot of $$!

5. Paper Chains! Going back to your childhood days when you use to make decoration out of paper strips, staple them together in circles and build from there. It made a cute little chain that you could decorate the classroom with. Why not mimic that for your party? Sounds goofy, but for two packages of different colored paper (very inexpensive), you can cut them into five strips each and get a pretty decent size streamer around your room! Be creative and do one of the teams colors around the food and the other team’s colors around the T.V.

6. Use Your Computer! Have you found all sorts of neat graphics online that you’d like to use? If you have a color printer, why not use it! Print out some of these images and cut them out. Tape them on various surfaces around your apartment. It actually turns out quite nice (and really good for your budget)! Place them on the bathroom mirrors, the kitchen cabinets or on the fridge. It’s just a little bit of decorations everywhere without a lot of extra money coming out of your wallet!

7. Use The Dollar Store! I swear by this place to everyone! Seriously it’s amazing. Go here for your other items that you have to buy (i.e. paper plates, napkins, cups, utensils, table cloth, etc.). It’ll really save you money in the end and still be sufficient enough for your party! Other stores that are economical that might be in your area are: Dollar Tree, 39 cent store, Party City, etc.

Do you have anymore cheap ideas for decorations? Let us know! The more ideas you share, the more money in everyone’s pockets this Super Bowl Sunday (especially for any of you who have wagered on the game and might loose!!)

So you want to throw a little party this Sunday, huh? Celebrating the Patriots and Giants going to the Super Bowl? Well, here are a few tips for the host of this year’s Super Bowl party:

Tip 1: Prepare

You’re going to have rowdy activity take place in your home. So make sure you remove any fragile or breakable items out of the rooms where guests will be. Also start assembling a list of whom all you would like to invite and verbally invite them. A Super Bowl party isn’t something that’s formal so written invitations or RSVP’s wouldn’t be necessary.

Tip 2: Decorations

If you’re cheering for a specific team, make sure you incorporate their colors into the decorations for the party. You might also want to bring out all your memorabilia of that specific team. If you’re hosting the party and not for any specific team, then just incorporate football themed decorations like napkins, plates, banners, balloons, etc. I wouldn’t go too overboard with the decorations as the main purpose for this event is to watch the T.V. and not the area surrounding it! (p.s. make sure none of your decoration hinders the ability to watch the game for anyone!)

Tip 3: Entertainment

Yes, your guests are there to watch the football game! The T.V. is the most important piece of entertainment, but be sure to have activities for those not interested in watching the game. Have a separate room for those who would rather chat and make sure that room won’t interfere with those watching the game & vice versa. Also try and have fun activities for half time, like maybe a football shaped piñata!

Tip 4: Food/Drinks

This is a BIG tip, as most of your guests will be snacking on quite a bit of food. So buffet style is really your only option. You can have finger foods such as chips & dip, pizza rolls, veggies & dip, wings-‘easy food’. And make sure you have plenty of napkins in the areas where the food is and where the guests will be seated!! Usually the drink of choice for this manly custom is beer, but you don’t have to serve it if you would rather not. Just be sure whatever type of drink you are serving is enough for your guests to have more than a few glasses of since they will be there for several hours.

Tip 5: Clean Up

You’ve just had a successful party! YAY!! Hopefully your team won! But regardless, you’ve just hosted a party that you have to now clean up after! Don’t worry! If you bought plastic/paper plates, going through should be easy! Just take your trash can and dump everything! You need to vacuum up the little crumbs that are everywhere and wipe down any surfaces that are messy. If you have a few friends that’ll stay a little while after the game, enlist their help too!

Hope everyone has a wonderful Super Bowl Sunday!!

We at For Rent Media Solutions are continuing our efforts to be environmentally friendly. All FRMS newsprint pages are printed on recycled paper. Our coated paper has a percentage of recycled content, depending on the availability. All of our insert cards are printed on a UV press that uses non hazardous inks and emit no VOC’s into the atmosphere. We also recycle all of the metal for the plates and the ink/water/fountain solution. And all waste paper is returned to the mill to be used in recycled papers.

So take a cue from us! When you’ve finished searching for apartments for rent in For Rent Magazine, be sure to recycle it!

Thanks!

Hot Artichoke and Tuna Dip
3 oz. tuna, drained
12 oz. marinated artichoke hearts, drained
1-2 cloves garlic
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
¼ cup chopped canned green chilies
1 tablespoon minced green onion
2-3 tablespoon mayonnaise
Hot pepper to taste
Crackers or French bread to eat with

Blend all ingredients, expect crackers or bread, in a food processor. Process till blended, not pureed. Put in ovenproof dish and bake uncovered in 350 degree temp (Fahrenheit) for 30 minutes or till golden brown. Serve hot with crackers or bread. Makes 12 servings.

Crab Dip

8 oz Cream Cheese

1 ½ tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon of mayonnaise

1 small finely minced onion

Dash of Tabasco sauce

Garlic powder to taste

Mix well and spread in round glass pie plate.

1 12oz. bottle of Heinz chili sauce

Dash of Tabasco sauce

1 tablespoon of horseradish sauce

Mix and spread on top of cream cheese layer

1 lb. of lump (or claw) crabmeat-sprinkle on top of chili sauce (add chives on top for color)

Hope you enjoy these!

Getting in the spirit of holiday cooking, here are some quick recipes for Hanukkah that I found on the Food Network.

Potato Latkes

Ingredients needed:

8 medium potatoes, peeled
1 medium onion
Lemon juice
1 cup flour
1 cup milk
1 egg
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/8 cup melted butter
Freshly grated nutmeg
Salt and pepper to taste
Watercress, to garnish
Caviar, to garnish
Applesauce, for garnish
Crème fraiche, for garnish

Process:

Grate potatoes and onions on a large-hole grater. Splash with lemon juice and squeeze out excess water.
Mix flour, milk, egg, baking powder, and nutmeg. Add to the potatoes and then add the melted butter.
Heat some peanut oil in a skillet and fry until golden on one side. Flip, and cook the same way on the other.
Serve with watercress, caviar, applesauce, and crème fraiche.
**For Passover, omit the baking powder and replace the flour with matzo (ground into flour), which will make a slightly denser latke. Fry it slowly.

Brisket

Ingredients needed:

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 (3 1/2 pound) first-cut brisket, with “fat cap” (do not trim)
3 tablespoons sweet paprika
1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus for brisket
Freshly ground black pepper
6 medium yellow onions, cut into thin wedges with root end attached
1 1/2 cups sweet vermouth
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
8 medium carrots, peeled, and cut into thirds (14 ounces)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Process:

Heat the oil a large, heavy bottomed Dutch oven over medium-high heat until beginning to smoke. Season the brisket generously with the paprika, salt, and pepper. Place fat side down in the Dutch oven and cook until brown on all sides, about 8 to10 minutes. Transfer the meat to a plate and set aside.

Discard about half the fat, then add the onions and cook over medium heat until browned and tender, about 10 minutes. Pour in the vermouth and cook until reduced by about half. Nestle the brisket into the onions fat side up, add the broth; bring to a simmer and bake, covered, until the brisket is fork tender, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Uncover, scatter the carrots around the brisket and cook until the carrots are tender, about 30 minutes more.

Transfer the brisket to a cutting board, cut the fat off the top and thinly slice the meat across the grain. Return the meat to the braising liquid and serve immediately or, cool to room temperature in the sauce, cover and refrigerate overnight. When ready to serve reheat in the sauce.

Source: Television Food Network.

I just love decorating for the holiday season. But if you’re like me, you don’t have a lot to spend on Christmas décor-given that most of your budget is dedicated to gift purchases and food. So here are a few quick and easy (plus cheap) tips to get your apartment festive for the holidays without spending lot of money.

1. Decorate your apartment with bows. You can put them on chairs at your dining room table, door knobs for the bathroom/bedrooms, wreaths, baskets, etc.

2. Create your own wreath. Last year I made my front door wreath and it only cost me $20. Most of the ones that I saw were at least $25 to $50!! I bought a medium sized artificial wreath, a pack of bows, red berries and holiday ribbon. I arranged them in a way that I liked and bam, I’ve got a wreath that’ll last me a few years!

3. Let there be light. Candles are a perfect way to add warmth to the chilly weather; you should definitely get some that smell like the holiday season! Remember to never leave a burning candle unattended and be sure to extinguish candles when you leave a room. If you have pets and small children and do not wish to have real candles then consider using battery-operated flameless candles.

4. Table décor is a must! Whether you have plates, bowls, cups with a festive motif or use a table cloth, be sure to decorate your table as it is the center of your feasts this month! For inexpensive centerpieces you can use candles, a bowl of fruit (preferably with the holiday colors, i.e. apples), nature (twigs, pinecones, leaves, etc.), fake snow and many other creative ideas.

5. Use ornaments in other places than your tree. Another idea I did last year for a Christmas party was use left over ornaments. I used them everywhere. I strung up various shapes and sizes of ornaments on ribbon and dangled them on my staircase. Another great idea is to place colorful ornaments in a hurricane lamp, ceramic bowl, and festive basket or on a large serving platter (This makes a great centerpiece).

6. Make edible centerpieces. Fill glass jars or hurricane lamps full of Christmas candy (like the green and red mints). Tie a ribbon around the top and place them anywhere in the apartment. Another candy idea that works well around the apartment is candy canes. You can put them on your tree, dinning room table centerpiece, in cocktails and more! Letting each guest pick a candy cane out of the centerpiece is a great way to say thank you at the end of a holiday party!

7. Recycle your Christmas Cards. Use Christmas cards that people have sent you (this year and in years past). Place them on bookshelves or on the T.V. stand. I have also strung them up (by binding them to ribbon) on a spare wall (I did it over my breakfast nook). You could also string them along the staircase banister. In addition to that, you can use recycled cards to make name placement holders and coasters.

Many of these ideas I did last year and plan to do again this year. Do you have anymore cheap and easy ideas to decorate your home this holiday season?