Gahanna Town Money Saver | November FOM 2021

BUDGET-FRIENDLY DINING ROOM RENOVATION IDEAS

If the kitchen is the heart of the home, then the dining room may be akin to one of its arteries. e mood created in the kitchen spreads to the dining space where family and friends gather to eat and enjoy one another’s company.

Dining rooms can get lost in the home renovation shu e, as many homeowners tend to focus on renovating kitchens and bathrooms instead. Homeowners do not have to invest a lot of money in renovations to give their dining spaces awe-inspiring makeovers. Here’s how to do so on a budget.

• LIGHTEN & BRIGHTEN. Dining rooms were once very formal spaces. Dark woods, large pieces of furniture, overthe-top chandeliers, and other details could be found in many homes. But now that houses are being built with open oor plans, dining rooms can blend with other spaces, which have moved to lighter colored walls, ooring and furniture. A fresh coat of vibrant paint can work wonders and it doesn’t cost much. If you can’t remove a oor, cover it with a brightly colored area rug.

• SWITCH THINGS UP WITH SLIPCOVERS. Slipcovers can be changed each season to dramatically alter the look of a dining room for little investment. Slip covers also protect chairs and can be easily laundered a er spills.

• ADD FLOATING SHELVING. Floating shelves provide much-needed storage or display space without the need to invest in another piece of furniture. Depending on the shelving, they can work in modern design schemes or even farmhouse dining spaces.

• CLEAR OUT THE CLUTTER. It might be time to say “so long” to that large curio cabinet and the knickknacks within it. Curio and china cabinets used to be de rigueur, but plenty of people now prefer more open and airy dining rooms. For those who want to keep the cabinet, try decluttering inside to only include the very best display pieces and see if the cabinet can be re nished with paint or a lightly colored stain.

• IMPROVE LIGHTING. Make the chandelier the statement piece of the space. Go for a bold color or an innovative design. en add accessories throughout the space that coordinate with the chandelier.

• ADD BENCH SEATING. ose who need additional seating may not have to get entirely new furniture. Swap out some chairs for benches, which can t a couple more guests than chairs.

• CREATE DEPTH WITH COLOR. HGTV says that using various shades of the same color in a space can add depth. Coordinate drapes, walls, seat fabrics, and accessories for a cohesive design.

Renovating a dining room doesn’t require a large investment of time and money. A few simple steps can give dining spaces a whole new feel without busting homeowners’ budgets.

with these

Begin your Thanksgiving Feast mouthwatering favorites!

Impossible Apple Pie

INGREDIENTS

• 6 cups sliced apples

• 1¼ tsp ground cinnamon

• ¼ tsp nutmeg

• 1 cup sugar

• ¾ cup milk

• ½ cup bisquick

• 2 eggs

• 2 Tbs butter, softened

STREUSEL

• 1 cup bisquick

• ½ cup chopped nuts (optional)

• 1/3 cup brown sugar packed

• 3 Tbs rm butter

Heat oven 325o. Grease pie pan. Mix apples & spices, turn into plate. Beat remaining ingredients (except streusel) until smooth. Pour over apples. Sprinkle with streusel. Bake until knife inserted comes out clean. 55-60 min.

Note: Make the Streusel rst so you don’t have to clean the beaters

Easy Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo

INGREDIENTS

• 5 Tbs. Butter

• 1-1/2 Cups Heavy Cream

• 1 cup Parmesan Cheese

• 1 Tbs Basil Pesto (optional)

• 1 lb chicken cut into bite size pieces

• Fettuccine noodles

Sauté chicken in olive oil seasoned w/ salt pepper & garlic powder. Melt butter, add cream and simmer. Add Parmesan cheese and simmer until thickened. Add the pesto (if using). Pour sauce in bowl. Top with cooked fettuccine noodles and sautéed chicken and mix. Serve with garlic toast.

Holiday Cranberry Salad

Serves 12

INGREDIENTS

3 envelopes un avored gelatin

½ cup cold water • 2 cups sugar

4 cups fresh cranberries

½ cup seedless green grapes

1 cup nely chopped pecans

1 (15½ ounce) can crushed pineapple –undrained

Soften gelatin in cold water; set aside.

Drain pineapple, reserving juice; set pineapple aside. Add enough water to juice to make 3½ cups. Bring juice mixture and sugar to a boil; add cranberries, and cook 7 to 10 minutes or until berries pop. Stir in softened gelatin. Chill until consistency of unbeaten egg white. Stir in grapes, pecans and pineapple; pour into a lightly oiled 8-cup mold. Chill until rm.

Making your turkey ahead of time is especially nice if you have a small kitchen with just one oven, OR it is also a great idea if you have a lot of people coming and want to make sure you have enough turkey—roast one on the big day and have this one waiting in the fridge!

And don’t worry, it will still smell like Thanksgiving—when the turkey reheats, delectable aromas will drift through the house just as if the turkey was being roasted.

with a liquid. Spoon some chicken broth or the drippings from the roasting pan over the turkey so it the pieces in a roasting pan with chicken broth. Cover the pan and heat through in a 350°F oven (the timing will vary according to the size of the bird, but allow

How to pair... beer with food

pronged approach to matching beer and food. It’s worth noting the BA does not view this approach as a 1-2-3 process, meaning beer lovers need not follow the steps in order to perfect their pairing skills.

1. Match strength with strength. e BA recommends pairing strongly avored foods with assertive beers and delicate foods with delicate beers. For example, a relatively low alcohol witbier should pair well with light seafood like steamed mussels. Beer lovers who enjoy strong barley wines, which are typically 10 percent alcohol by volume (ABV) or higher, should nd that a strong cheese or dessert matches up well with this overpowering style.

2. Find harmonies. e BA notes that beer-food combinations typically resonate most e ectively when they share some common avor or aroma element. e BA points to how the deep, roasted avors of an imperial stout o en pair nicely with chocolate tru es.

The cra beer boom has inspired millions of people to look at beer through a new lens. Once relegated to backyard barbecues and ballgames, beer is now served alongside gourmet meals. Much like the right wine can make a meal taste even better, beer can bring out the avors of food, making it an ideal complement to anything from steak to seafood to salad.

e Brewers Association is an American trade group whose membership consists of more than 5,400 brewers, suppliers and retailers. e group recommends beer lovers follow a three-

3. Consider sweetness, bitterness, carbonation, heat (spice), and richness. e BA recommends that beer lovers look to take advantage of the speci c and predictable ways that certain qualities of food and beer interact with each other. For example, malty sweetness can cool the heat, making a hoppy beer with plenty of malt a good choice to pair with spicy food.

Pairing the right beer with food can make any night out on the town that much better.