I was pulling out the dinner plates to set the table, and I realized, that out of the ten white plates I bought as a set, about four years ago, I have only three left. Three. I checked the dishwasher, the sink, the refrigerator to be sure. Yet, just three. Lakelife is rough, tumble and active. And so are boys…
Thankfully, I still have the full set of the melamine dishes that Aunt Joyce gave us the day we bought the lake house, in 2006. Every single one of them looks just as pristine as the day she gave them to us. What’s more remarkable, is that we when got them, they had already been used by Aunt Joyce’s Aunt. These plates are as old as the hills — and are still fully functional and just as beautiful as the day her aunt bought them.
As the boys get older, the groups of kids who come and stay keep getting larger and larger… and I will never say no to the boys, and the friends they want to bring — within reason. Which is how I ended up feeding a party of 11 for four days.
Feeding them, was an exercise in food acrobatics that started brewing in my mind in the wee morning hours when the panic of hungry children crawled into my sleep and prompted me into action. The whole effort took lots of pre-planning, lots of creativity. The Instant Pot, and the Air Fryer, were my lifesavers.
For example, I made Chicken Tetrazzini in the Instant Pot, and only had to dirty one pot — the Instant Pot. I simply cooked the chicken first, then sauteed the onions and mushrooms while I shredded the chicken, added the pasta, water, and chicken back to the pot, and cooked for 6 minutes, opened the lid and added the cream, cheeses and milk.
The Instant Pot helped me create lots of healthy appetizers and between meal snacks — Just throw some sliced zucchini, or Brussels sprouts or potatoes into the air fryer, cook until crispy, then add salt and cheese — and the vegetables are gone. I couldn’t believe how quickly they went.
We made lots of bean dip and lots of hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill. Lydia helped me slice the leftover hotdogs, and put a toothpick in each one to hold everyone at bay while we made the rest of the food…
Paper plates can only take you so far…and I don’t have a matching set from Aunt Joyce…
So, I am overjoyed to have found these beautiful blue plates… and can you believe they are melamine too!? They are called, the Melamine Dinnerware Set, and the come with the dinner plate, salad plate, and bowl.
I can hardly believe it because they look like beautiful stoneware.
They arrive Friday — just in time for the next group of kids…and someday, who knows who will be handed these beautiful plates someday after I am long gone…