Who doesn’t love Easter and all the delicious food that comes from the inevitable family dinner? What is your favourite thing about Easter dinner? Do you have any favourite recipes to make?
Here’s one that’s always a crowd pleaser, and pairs perfectly with a traditional Easter ham:
Scalloped Potatoes!
Ingredients:
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces, plus more for brushing
1/2 clove garlic
2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/8-inch thick
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 1/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup skim milk
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
4 fresh bay leaves
1/2 cup grated gruyere cheese (about 2 ounces)
Directions
Position a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 425 degrees F. Generously brush a large skillet with butter, then rub with the garlic. Heat the skillet over medium-high heat. Add half of the potatoes, sprinkle with 3/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste, then arrange the remaining potatoes on top. Sprinkle with 3/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste. Pour the broth and milk over the potatoes, then add the nutmeg and bay leaves; simmer 3 minutes.
Generously brush a shallow baking dish with butter and slide the potatoes into the dish; arrange with a fork, if desired. (If your skillet is ovenproof, you can skip this step and bake the potatoes right in the skillet.)
Dot the potatoes with the cut-up butter and sprinkle with the gruyere. Bake until golden, about 25 minutes. Let rest 5 minutes before serving. Discard the bay leaves.
You’ve probably heard of “staging”. It involves setting up each room of your home in a way that maximizes its appeal to buyers. You’ve probably also heard that this strategy can help sell your home faster – and for a higher price.
That’s true. However, if you’re like many homeowners, you’re worried about the time, energy and cost involved in staging your home properly. After all, don’t professional stagers bring in special furniture and décor? Will you have to do the same thing?
Not necessarily. Staging doesn’t have to be a big imposition. In fact, there are many staging techniques that most homeowners can easily do on their own. Among the simplest are: cleaning, decluttering, fixing, and painting.
Rearranging furniture can also improve the look of a room, while putting some furniture into storage can make the room look more spacious.
A helpful technique is to think of each room in your home as a product for sale. Then, explore ways to make it the kind of room buyers would want to buy. When it comes to effective staging, that’s a good mindset to get you started.
With the availability of more and more powerful mobile technology, it’s reasonable to presume that there is less need to dedicate time and space to a permanent home office. However, we also know that, from time to time, we need the opportunity to isolate ourselves at home, in order to get certain tasks accomplished. Getting “down to business” is a part of life, whether it’s for a student cramming for exams or a homeowner budgeting for a new mortgage. Getting these tasks done can require much less time if they’re easily accommodated. Fortunately, thanks to new modern furnishings that are flexible and adaptable, it’s no longer necessary to create a space that is uniquely dedicated to work.
Nowadays, a homeowner can create a convertible workspace that allows a room to serve a dual role. By installing shelving that can fold out to a desktop, a worktable with an adjustable height, or a bed that folds up into the wall, any room can have the flexibility to serve as a quiet place to read, study or pay monthly bills, and convert into a cozy, welcoming guest room. So, the truth is, we all need a home office – but we don’t necessarily need it to be a dedicated single-use space.
You’ve probably heard the expression, “The early bird gets the worm.” It refers, of course, to those who get in early and reap the rewards. For example, if you arrive early to a retail sore for a big blowout sale, you’re likely to get the deals before the inventory runs out. The stragglers who come later, miss out.
Well, this same wisdom can be applied to selling your home. Starting the process early – even if that means simply doing some initial planning – gives you the edge in several ways.
First of all, you get extra time for preparation. That means you can get your home cleaned, uncluttered and staged without feeling rushed. You also get more time to find out how much your property will likely sell for on today’s market. That’s important information, especially if you’re also looking to finance a new home.
Secondly, there’s less stress. You’ll have more time to make the right decisions. The last thing you want is to be scrambling around, last minute, trying to get your home ready for sale.
Finally, with your initial preparations done, you’ll be able to put our home on the market at a moment’s notice. That’s a huge advantage that’s likely to lead to selling your property more quickly and for the best price. In fact, by getting an early start on the process, you might even find that right now is the best time to list – and you’ll be able to do so, with confidence.
Want help getting an early start on selling your home? Contact me!
As technology becomes more advanced, solar panels using photovoltaic cells to absorb sunlight and create electricity are becoming more affordable, portable and efficient. They are readily available in various sizes to serve a range of needs. Smaller self-powered units are now very common – think of wireless patio lights with solar panels on their tops.
But other types are also gaining wider use. For example, you can buy flexible solar panels small enough to roll up and carry on a backpack, and then roll out to capture sunlight for powering a computer or smartphone while camping, hiking or boating.
On a larger scale, any rooftop, balcony or yard with reasonably consistent exposure to direct sunlight, might be a potential site for a solar panel that provides free energy for home use.
Such installations, of course, would require further investigation, as the upfront costs can be quite high. To begin, check your current electricity bill to see how much you consume in order to determine the size of panels you would need. Next, speak to an expert to find out if your exposure gets enough sunlight to generate sufficient electricity to be worthwhile – a quick search on google will help you find one in your area. Finally, find manufacturers and installers and look for government agencies that may provide discounts, rebates or credits for the electricity you generate.
Scalloped Potatoes!
You’ve probably heard of “staging”. It involves setting up each room of your home in a way that maximizes its appeal to buyers. You’ve probably also heard that this strategy can help sell your home faster – and for a higher price.
With the availability of more and more powerful mobile technology, it’s reasonable to presume that there is less need to dedicate time and space to a permanent home office. However, we also know that, from time to time, we need the opportunity to isolate ourselves at home, in order to get certain tasks accomplished. Getting “down to business” is a part of life, whether it’s for a student cramming for exams or a homeowner budgeting for a new mortgage. Getting these tasks done can require much less time if they’re easily accommodated. Fortunately, thanks to new modern furnishings that are flexible and adaptable, it’s no longer necessary to create a space that is uniquely dedicated to work.
You’ve probably heard the expression, “The early bird gets the worm.” It refers, of course, to those who get in early and reap the rewards. For example, if you arrive early to a retail sore for a big blowout sale, you’re likely to get the deals before the inventory runs out. The stragglers who come later, miss out.
As technology becomes more advanced, solar panels using photovoltaic cells to absorb sunlight and create electricity are becoming more affordable, portable and efficient. They are readily available in various sizes to serve a range of needs. Smaller self-powered units are now very common – think of wireless patio lights with solar panels on their tops.