Tag Archives: how to do

Easy pan grilled chicken with mushroom sauce


IMG_4942It’s one of those delicious meals for busy moms or even bachelors who wants their food to be served in less than 30 mns. Incredibly flexible dish, can be served with grilled or sauteed vegetables, with mashed potatoes or even pasta.

To create the easiest and quickest mushroom gravy you need:

  • 4 cups of water
  • one sachet of mushroom soup (50g)
  • 2 cubes chicken stock (20g)
  • 3 tbsp flour
  • 1 cup sliced mushroom
  • 1 tbsp whiskey

Choose your favorite brand of mushroom soup and prepare the creamiest and most tasty gravy for your quick meal. Combine water, mushroom soup, chicken stock and flour in a casserole, mix well and bring to boil. Keep whisking all the time to get the consistency you need, about 3-4 minutes.

Add the mushroom slices and boil for two more minutes. Take off the heat and add the whiskey. It will give it the twist you will enjoy. Eh voila the gravy is ready.

IMG_4935Season around 800g of chicken breast with salt and pepper and pan grill. Do not flip the chicken many times, they will become dry and chewy. Keep each side around 4-5 minutes for tender and juicy result. This quantity will serve 4 people.

Serve it along with what you fancy to eat, personally i like mashed potatoes and sautéed vegetables in salt and butter.

IMG_4943You will probably make it a regular in your home but what I promise for sure you will lick your plate clean, not a single drop will be left at all. Enjoy!

IMG_4938IMG_4931If you like this post give it some likes and shares to spread the love. Don’t forget to like marmite et ponpon facebook page and follow on twitter. More delicious posts are yet to come.

Easter/spring burlap door wreath


IMG_4525The second item falling in the burlap decoration series, a colorful door wreath! Last year we did buttons made bunny, we had to remove it after Easter which made Nady a bit disappointed. This year our door decoration is more springy to keep it longer!

Cut a big circle of styrofoam then a smaller one within to make it look like a hoop. Wrap it with burlap and here it is, ready to decorate with pinwheels and flowers done with your sweetheart’s tiny hands with so much enthusiasm and love!

All you need is felt and burlap cut in squares and glued back to back. This is how we do pinwheels, step by step.

how to do a pinwheel flowerDepending on the size, you decide how many pinwheels to do. We made 3 different sizes and colors, as per Nady choice. He was the leader of the craft and i was following his instructions.

spring wreathInitially i prepared for only pinwheels, but he asked to add flowers, specifically green, yellow and purple 🙂

Click on flowers to download a high resolution file to help you trace them before cutting.

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Such activities develop your child’s motor skills while having fun cutting, pasting, folding, drawing, tracing, and coloring. . .  These are big skills for tiny hands. It’s beautiful to see your children growing and being proud of their achievements!

“i can paste”! don’t undermine this sentence. Motor skills enable your child to perform important everyday tasks, and when combined with hand – eye coordination also open new doors to exploration, learning, and creative expression.

Researches show that emphasis on purely intellectual activities such as memorization of letters and numbers… is far less useful at this stage than encouraging fine motor abilities and hand-eye coordination. These skills lay the foundation for academic learning in later years. In order to learn to write or draw, for example, a child’s hand must be strong enough to hold a pencil steady for a long period of time.

The best way for you to help promote motor skills is to provide your child with a good choice of materials (blocks, crayons, nontoxic and washable markers and paints, paste, glue, modeling clay, safety scissors…) to manipulate as his imagination dictates.

IMG_4524We played a bit with the wreath before mounting it on the door. That was the best part; my precious is exploring the different usages of it 🙂

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This is what i call a way to play! If you like this post give it some likes and shares to spread the joy. Don’t forget to like marmite et ponpon facebook page and follow on twitter. More posts yet to come, stay tuned!

Peach rose tartlets celebrating spring


IMG_4649A beautiful and elegant tart, ideal to welcome the spring season and embellish your Easter tabel. Very refreshing and fall in the wow category of desserts, and what makes them even better they are very easy to do.

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For these bright tarts you need to prepare Crème pâtissière (pastry cream). Check the link of the recipe posted earlier.

To make the crust you need: (yields 12 small-medium tarts)

  • 100g butter
  • 1 1/2 cup flower
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla

Combine all together and knead until the dough is smooth. Let it rest couple of hours or better overnight before rolling it in small tart molds.

Bake for 6-8 minutes on 180°C, Keep on checking, when the edges start to turn to golden, it’s time to remove, you don’t want them to get brown.

IMG_4645Remove form oven and let it cool. Take out the pastry cream already prepared and stored in the fridge, spread a rich layer of the cream before adding the peach slices.

IMG_4647If you are hosting a lunch or even afternoon tea, prepare them an hour ahead and keep them in the fridge. The best served cold, soooo refreshing!

If you are not fan of peach, you could substitute the peach with strawberry or pineapple and still deliver the same WOWness!

IMG_4663As festive as flavorful, these tarts are to be considered on your to do list for this season. You would love to close your eyes when eating to involve all your senses.

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IMG_4659If you like this post give it some likes and shares to spread the joy. Don’t forget to like marmite et ponpon facebook page and follow on twitter. More posts yet to come, stay tuned!

Napkin folding Easter bunny


IMG_4579Setting the table for special occasions makes it more special. Folding the napkin in a cute bunny shape improves the table adornments if you are willing to organize Easter lunch at your home.

Follow this step by step tutorial to know how to transform a flat sheet into a 3D shape Easter bunny.

how to fold napkin as bunny

Et voila the lovely bunny!

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I am sure this cute bunny can energize any Easter table! You don’t have to be an origami master, all you need is enthusiasm. If you have kids, include them in this fun activity and teach them about Easter while playing 🙂

IMG_4581If you like this post give it some likes and shares to spread the joy. Don’t forget to like marmite et ponpon facebook page and follow on twitter. More interesting posts are yet to come, stay tuned!

DIY – “My angel” Palm Sunday candle


IMG_4630There are endless ways to decorate a Palm Sunday candle; fast, simple yet elegant. This one is so fresh and springy and could go for both boys and girls and match several outfit colors. It won’t take too much of your time and doesn’t require craft skills.

Follow the step by step tutorial and make it ready in less than 10 minutes. All you need is : A candle (i chose light green), burlap ribbon and angle motif (i chose a white wooden one)

how to do angel palm sunday candle

  • Wrap a piece of the burlap ribbon around the candle
  • Make a bow of the same ribbon and stick it on it
  • Hold the angel motif with a burlap thread in the center of the bow

I told you it won’t take even 10 minutes. To prepare the material requires even more time!

IMG_4631For more Palm Sunday candles ideas, check these ones posted before on marmite et ponpon:

1- Baby aviator Palm Sunday candle

2- Nautical Palm Sunday candle

3- Marine Palm Sunday candle

4- Flowers Palm Sunday candle

5- Traditional olive branch Palm Sunday candle

If you like this post give it some likes and shares to spread the joy. Don’t forget to like marmite et ponpon facebook page and follow on twitter. More posts yet to come, stay tuned!